Children of the Eternal

XXXI

Darkness swallowed everything. A relentless void, leaving no hope.

Maybe this is what the Dark is like.

That thought drummed in Will's head as he descended with Kate into the darkened tunnels. They entered through an extinguished sanctuary, a desolate building with the faint stench of decay. Will could hardly see anything, but Kate led him around the prayer pools, devoid of water and light. Chills clung to him as they made their way through the Chamber of Worship and into the narrow hallway. Kate located the stairwell to the basement, where there was a hatch to the tunnels. If Will had thought the sanctuary smelled bad, the tunnels were worse. The musty air made him regret leaving the freezing Edges.

Kate pulled him toward the wall and ran her hand over what she said were markings on the wall. "These are directions. As long as no one altered them, we should be all right. The higher line leads out of the Edges."

Will reached over and ran his fingers over the chipped wall. If Kate never said anything, he wouldn't have thought there was a pattern.

"Why would anyone of altered them?" Will asked, hating how nervous his voice sounded.

Kate moved forward, keeping contact with the wall as she hauled him along. "Criminals who want to keep the route private. They have it memorized."

He couldn't fathom how anyone could memorize anything of the subterranean maze, let alone a safe path. Already lightheaded, it was like entering a dark ocean. Their footsteps left an eerie echo, and there weren't any familiar buildings to serve as a beacon.

"You've been down here before?" Will asked, needing any kind of noise.

"Yes. Once," Kate said, sounding sheepish. "My father took me through it a few years ago. He thought it was important that I know. Elijah wanted to take me down here to get a better understanding of the layout, but there's been so much going on. Now I wish he had insisted."

The mention of Elijah irked Will. He tried to understand Anna's advice, but it was hard not to feel rejected. As he trudged forward in the cold, dark tunnel, his mind drifted to when Kate held him. It was all to fool the guards, and he accepted she felt nothing at all. But he regretted not pressing his lips against hers when he had the chance. His feelings confused him so much and left him in a muddle of frustration. He hated that he was even thinking about it at such a time. The endless abyss of the tunnels offered no distraction and kept dwelling on the wrong things.

"I hope he's all right," Kate said, dragging him out from of dark thoughts.

"Who?"

"Elijah." She took a quicker step ahead. "He was helping move things tonight. If he's caught, it will be worse than a purification."

Will wanted to be indifferent to the older boy, but his curiosity was ignited. "What do you mean?"

Kate grunted as they stepped over some debris on the ground. "At his age, he's supposed to serve the Eternal. Since he has shirked that service, they could send him to a mining camp. So many young men are sent out of the city and never return."

"He seems pretty smart," Will said, annoyed with himself for being so petty about the other boy. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Part of me kind of hoped he would be here," Kate siad, her words cutting into his heart.

"You really like him?" Will asked, hating how much he needed to know.

"I do. Probably too much." She paused, leaving him confused about the last words. "That's not why I wanted him here. He knows the route better. It would be helpful."