The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 57

Aaron

The wind howled. Snow fell in harsh, diagonal streaks, cutting my face and hands. Even though I was bundled up in a fur coat, I felt the cold penetrate my body, chilling me to the core. My body wanted to freeze up and never move again.

"I think the cave is this way!" Indigo shouted over the blizzard. She took a few steps through the knee-deep snow in the eleven o'clock direction. I followed in her footsteps—literally—and tried to keep the rope between us slack.

The world around us was gray and white as the blizzard attacked relentlessly, surrounding us with swirling snow that moved so fast all we saw was a blur. When I looked back towards our cavern, I saw nothing; even our footsteps, the knee-deep holes we made, were wiped away already. Indigo's back faded in and out. I lost all sense of direction; it was an endless expanse of snow in every direction for as far as the eye can see, and visibility was very low already. I found myself veering off track sometimes, and Indigo had to tug on the rope between us to redirect me. I have no idea how she managed to keep walking in a straight line against the forceful wind.

We trudged for what felt like hours, but it was probably only fifteen minutes, since the two caves weren't that far apart. I felt Indigo pause as she touched solid rock.

"Look for the entrance!" she called back at me.

I ambled up to stand next to her and began slowly moving towards the left of the rock wall, my hands feeling the rocky surface. I didn't see any firelight or hear any conversations, but then again, how much can I see and hear in this blizzard?

The wall ended. I managed to make out a large concavity in the rock surface that looked suspiciously like the entrance. The only problem was that it was covered entirely by rock, as if a giant had made a dent in the rocky wall.

"Should we check the other side for an entrance?" I asked Indigo, who came up beside me. She ran her hands over the edge of the indentation.

"No, I'm positive that the entrance is on this side. This must be it."

"Are you sure? This whole thing is just rock. Maybe we should keep looking?"

"I'm guessing Lionel covered the entrance with a large boulder from the inside. We can try shouting to get his attention." Indigo knocked on the center of the indentation, but it was solid rock and made no sound. I guess making a racket is the way to go.

"LIONEL! HEY, LIONEL! IT'S AARON AND INDIGO. WE CAME FROM THE OTHER CAVE TO CHECK ON YOU GUYS, PLEASE LET US IN!" I put my face as close as I could to a crack on the edge and shouted at the top of my lungs. I felt silly just screaming into a rock; was Indigo absolutely sure this was the entrance?

"HELLO? ANYONE? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? THIS IS AARON KANE, FROM THE ROSEWOOD SEVEN. I AM HERE WITH INDIGO TO SPEAK WITH LIONEL. PLEASE LET US IN; THIS IS NOT A TRICK BY LORD VICTOR."

Indigo and I pounded on the rock as we took turns shouting. I put my ear against the rock to listen for any indication of a response from the other side. Finally, after we've shouted our throats hoarse, we heard a faint voice from the other side. "If it's really Indigo and Aaron, then answer this question: What happened when Aaron first met Lionel?"

"I was with Katherine, and we mistakenly identified Lionel as an enemy leader, so we tried to assassinate him!" I answered confidently.

"What happened when Katherine became conscious again?" The voice inside asked again.

"Aaron punched Lionel in the face and broke his nose." Indigo answered.