Chapter 4 — The Long Passage

The tunnel swallowed sound.

Every footstep, every scrape of claw, bounced off the stone and ran ahead of us into the dark. Merlin limped at my side, chest heaving. The glow that had made him a giant in the chamber was gone now, leaving only damp air and black walls closing in.

I groped along the stone, hand slick with moisture, guiding us forward. Merlin stumbled, his legs buckling for an instant. I dropped to one knee, pulling him close.

"Just a little further, buddy," I whispered, pressing my forehead against his.

He blinked at me, tongue lolling, too tired even to wag his tail. Still he pushed forward when I urged him on.

The corridor stretched endlessly, the silence broken only by faint horns far above—and something else. A heavier sound. Breathing that wasn't ours. Always ahead. Always waiting.

We found a hollow in the wall where the stone had collapsed, barely enough space to crouch. I half-carried him inside. He sank down, head on his paws, sides rising and falling too fast.

I sat beside him, shoulder against the wall, forcing my own breath steady. My body trembled, not just from the run, but from everything. The fire, the summoners, the circle, the horns. And Merlin.

He'd given everything to save me. Nothing but him. And now he needed me.

I pressed my hand to his fur, whispering, "Rest, Boodles. I'll keep watch."

In the distance, the horns faded. Silence stretched. Then, from the dark beyond our hollow, came the scrape of claws on stone.

The sound came again, closer this time. A breath, slow and heavy.

Something was hunting.

And sooner or later, it would find us.

— End of the first day, hiding in the tunnels —