Page 76 of Jay's Silence

You’ve got this, girl.

I really don’t, but we can wing it.

We couldn’t go back to London. Even if we could, we got what we needed: the video of me stealing another piece of Gorm’s Casket.

We had to keep moving forward. Marduk brought Caoimhe here, and Marduk was definitely powerful enough to come and go from Under London at will. Fuck, he probably had a portal down here. This was our exit.

“Did Marduk use a portal to get you down here?” I asked.

“Yes,” Caoimhe answered, her voice gaining strength. “It’s guarded by demons. Lots of them.”

“Demons?” Rehan asked. “Like the ones who attacked the island?”

“I don’t know.” Caoimhe’s clothing rustled like she was rubbing herself. “I didn’t even know demons attacked the island. I didn’t… I didn’t bring the demons to the island?”

“No. You didn’t. We know you didn’t,” Lux said, his voice so calming it almost made me relax a second time. “We just want to help.”

When Lux stepped into my conversation with Tenzin and took it over, I’d been pissed. Og kept taking control away from me and it felt like Lux tried to do the same. After the hurt in the air dragons’ eyes and this short bit of conversation, I doubted my snap judgment… worse. I planned to use Lux as cover to hide my new plan to get us out of Under London.

I’m a bitch.

Yup.

Caoimhe pressed herself further into Tenzin. “Tenzin got us out of the cell Marduk put us in, but we didn’t make it far on our own.”

A boom of slow steps sounded. A golem, Marduk. Shit. Lux must have heard it before me. That’s why he stepped in to try and speed us along.

Snap judgments really weren’t my forte.

Marduk, my ancient and evil enemy, had a portal. If we stayed here and let his golems take us, we’d get to his lair faster, but then I’d have a lot of explaining to do. If Marduk had made his usual deal with Caoimhe, the same he sorta made with me, he wouldn’t hurt her. But Caoimhe wouldn’t believe or trust that to be true. She’d obviously already tried running once the reality of her situation hit her. On the other hand, if we found his portal without him knowing, I could get Rehan to activate it right under his nose and possibly avoid my past altogether.

Avoidance is good.

Let’s go with that.

“Do you know which way you went when you ran?” I asked, my hands dropping for nonexistent weapons.

Fire sword time, Jay.

Nope, it's too bright. Keep thinking.

“I do.” Tenzin’s dragon-slit gaze narrowed in the darkness. “But once the spider got us in cocoons, I lost track of everything… I’d probably put us right back in Marduk’s clutches.”

I prayed I looked sympathetic and not hopeful he’d do exactly that. The booming footsteps grew louder, and the shuffling of uneven demon strides joined the cacophony.

I snapped my fingers, the sound sharp compared to our voices. “Tenzin, scales on, no matter what from here on out.” I turned to where I thought Og stood. “Og, does the little tunnel dead end?”

Og closed his eyes, and more clothing rustled as I assumed he knelt to send his earth magic into the stone. “No. It comes to a ‘T’ after a quarter of a mile.”

“Perfect.” I wanted to take the lead, but I couldn’t fucking see. “Someone with dark vision lead us.” I smiled like an idiot and blinked. Only their floating eyes came in and out ofexistence. Rehan started to take my weight, but I pushed him off. “You’re a fighter and the tallest of us. You need to be in the front.”

Rehan grunted unhappily but did as I asked.

After my first limping step, my entire injured side screamed in pain. I stumbled.

Og and Lux both rushed to me at the same time, each steadying me with a hand on my left arm. Their fingers brushed, and they stepped back, their dragon-slit eyes blinking uncomfortably in the darkness.

I steadied myself in the pitch dark by kneeling and putting a single hand on the ground. This was down.