Testimony of Children (Alice Gray Book 2)

40

Right now, the best that Lucas could do for me was to steer me towards a corner of the crypt, using my residual silver glow to investigate the source of a smell that might be a clue to escape.

On the plus side, the new light source had revealed my pendant on the floor. I may not need it as a safeguard against Lucas, but I still felt safer with it in my possession.

The flipside was that this was our second attempt. The first such smell had resulted in Lucas lifting the lid of an ancient looking coffin, disturbing the poor fellow inside. Luckily it wasn't a vampire or any other graveyard dwelling creature. It did, however, offer up a cloud of dust so thick that every bit of exposed skin on both of us got covered. I tried really hard not to think what that dust was made up of.

This time we had more luck.

I stifled a giggle when Lucas began digging into the wall. Until recently, I may not have known he was a wolf, but with that knowledge came an understanding that put many of his behaviours in context. Right now he looked like a puppy trying to get to his favourite bone that he'd buried in the back garden for safe keeping.

If only we were really in the back garden. I shivered, pulling Lucas's jacket around myself. I don't think I'd ever longed to see the sky so much.

Having cleared the dirt away the best he could, Lucas put his shoulder to the wall and pushed. After a few seconds he was rewarded with the rumble and scrape of stone against stone.

An overwhelming urge to assist in the labour brought me to Lucas's side. I added my strength to his and pushed with all my might. The opening increased in size to create a space big enough for us to move through.

Pride in our joint achievement swelled inside me. Looking up at Lucas for approval, I basked in the indulgent gleam that washed over my face from his sparkling green eyes.

We peered through the space together. Only darkness met us.

No, not only darkness. The acrid and slightly sweet smell of old decay wafted towards us on the air. It probably hadn't been disturbed for many years. If that was the case, there must be more than one way in and out of this place because this wasn't the way we were brought in.

Lucas pushed me behind him, intending to take the lead. It was a protective impulse that I now understood to be more about our pack relationship than our human one. Lucas would behave this way towards anybody in his pack, whether male or female. It was his duty to look after me now.

Uncharacteristically, I was content to let him. Until, that is, I realised how foolish it was to let him lead us when I was the only source of light, and he was stumbling along in the dark.

Grabbing his hand, I halted his progress, and manoeuvred my way around his body in the tight space of the passage. It was almost too much effort to tear myself away from the reassurance that physical contact between us now brought me.

Keeping hold of Lucas's hand, I took small, slow steps, keeping it sure and steady. The passage walls were cold and damp. They were also smooth, meaning that we were in a man-made structure. Every time I lost my balance on the unevenly paved floor, my skin met freezing slimy walls, and my body recoiled in on itself until my limbs were stapled to my torso, my chin to my chest.

After a few minutes of walking, the panic of claustrophobia crept into my mind and expanded until there was as little room for rational thought in my brain as there was space in the passageway. With no end in sight there was nothing to suggest that we weren't walking further and further into the earth.

Lucas pushed calming energy through our connection, but it wasn't enough to take away the consuming fear of being buried alive that was stealing my breath and making me hyperventilate.

"Where the hell are we?" I whispered, not wanting to raise my voice despite the silence all around us.

Lucas paused, I could feel his uncertainty. It wasn't because he didn't know our location. I think he'd guessed a while ago. He didn't want to tell me. That meant he didn't know if we were going to get out.

Crap.

Gasping for breath, I looked at Lucas, my eyes bulging out of my head as I struggled to get the oxygen that I needed. My life-force buzzed and crackled in response to the stream of panic that ran like an electric current around my body.

Head spinning, I braced myself against the wall. The slick icy sensation that met my hands did nothing to calm my raw nerves. I knew I would pass out any second, but that just increased the frenzied beat of my heart.

Just as I felt myself go, warm arms wrapped around me.

"Look at me," Lucas commanded.

My eyes shot directly to his, without a thought from me. It was as if my body obeyed him despite the unruliness of my mind.

"Breathe."

I took a deep shuddery breath, my mind filling with Lucas. The warmth of him encased me as his scent filled my senses, pushing out all the fear and panic. I stayed where I was for longer than was necessary.

"Thanks, and I'm sorry. I'll try to keep it together from now on."

Lucas just patted me on the back in a reassuring and rather paternal manner. He waited for me to extricate myself from the embrace before moving away from me just a step to make sure I was ready to stand on my own.

"Ok, you can tell me. Where are we?"

"We're in the catacombs."

"What? Which catacombs? And excuse me, catacombs?"

I was certain that we hadn't been transported to Paris or Rome, and they were the only catacombs that I'd heard of. In fact, we couldn't have travelled far at all. I could rely on my stomach to tell me if I'd missed a meal. And it wasn't telling me that it was breakfast time, which meant it was still the same night as the gala.

Then I realised that I wasn't focussing on the right thing. Catacombs were notoriously difficult to navigate. Particularly if you have no guide, light or any idea where you started.

Back to my original question.

"Can you tell which catacombs these are? Have you been here before?"

"No, but they're not as rare as you think. Many cemeteries have them, and they aren't necessarily that big. If we keep walking in the same direction, then we have to reach the exit sooner or later."

Unless the exit is in the other direction.

I kept that thought to myself.

Oh dear! Not surprised Alice is losing it a bit in the catacombs...