Blood Codex

Chapter 52

Crowley, Rose and Cameron all flicked on the flashlight apps on their phones. The small space behind the fireplace was cramped, but the passage led away from them, descending at a shallow decline. Crowley took the lead, on his knees and one hand, holding his light up with the other. They knew instinctively not to talk, not drag their shoes or make any other noise. If Landvik did discover the secret entrance, which Crowley assumed he would eventually, they didn’t want him to do so just yet by giving themselves away with noise.

As he traveled further, Rose behind him and Cameron coming last, the ceiling began to rise as the slope continued down. After about twenty meters he was able to stand, albeit hunched over so as not to bang his head on the rough rock.

He eventually came out into a small, low-ceilinged cave, hewn roughly from the rock. One side, low down, was smooth like maybe that had been natural, with the rest mined out by human hands. As Rose and Cameron arrived beside him, adding their lights to his, he saw several other passages leading away. The space was like a rocky hand, the tunnel they had crawled down being the wrist, with five dark fingers leading away, spread almost evenly apart. On the far right, the tunnel was only about a meter in diameter and their lights showed that it quickly narrowed to something even a small child would have trouble navigating. The other four passages were all big enough for a grown adult, though a couple would require crawling once more.

“We should split up,” Rose said. “There’s no telling how much time we have. If Landvik finds the secret door, we’re in trouble. At least if we find the hammer, we’ve got a bargaining chip.”

Crowley opened his mouth to reply when Rose gasped and staggered. He ran to her side, grabbed her arm. “You okay?”

She made a noise of anger, almost a feral growl, and hauled herself upright. “I’m fine. Honestly, thank you. These memory flashes are disorienting, but I won’t let them weaken me.”

Crowley grinned, impressed again with her strength. “So can your memories tell us which tunnel to take?”

She shook her head. “That’s what I just tried to do, to remember where Aella had been, but it’s too dizzying. We’ll just have to check, I think. Quickly. Separately.”

“Yes, okay then,” Crowley reluctantly agreed. He pointed to his left. “I’ll take to the one on this side. Rose, you want to take the other side?”

“Sure.”

Cameron held out a shining bowie knife. “Take this. Don’t be squeamish about using it if you have to.”

“I won’t. Thank you.” She hurried over to the passage beside the one too small for access, then paused. She flicked a look back over her shoulder and grinned. “Good luck!”

“You too. Scream if you need us!”

She nodded once and vanished into the tunnel’s dark mouth.

Crowley pointed to the remaining two passages in the center. “Take your pick.”

“I’ll take the left one first,” Cameron said. “Whoever’s out first can check the last one if necessary.”

Crowley grabbed his friend’s forearm, squeezed. “Good job. See you soon.”

Cameron returned the pressure on Crowley’s arm, then ducked away into the darkness. Crowley dropped to his hands and knees and scooted as quickly as he could along his tunnel. At intervals, it rose high enough that he could crouch and crab-walk along, but was otherwise narrow and featureless. His light quickly shone back to him from a dead end of rock.

“Nothing,” he muttered, shining his light around to be certain, then spotted an iron ring set in the ceiling. Surrounding the ring was a circle of stone, maybe a little over half a meter in diameter. He frowned. An old-fashioned kind of manhole? He put his phone on the floor, light shining up so he could see, and worked at the ring, trying to work the stone loose. He pulled out his knife, ran the blade point around the circular edge, then shook and pushed and pulled at the ring again, hoping he wasn’t about to bring the round slab of stone down on his head.

After some muscle and grunt, the stone shifted, turning in its seat and raining grit and dust down onto his face. Crowley blinked and coughed, but pushed upwards with all his strength. The stone tipped up and he put both hands beneath it and slid it sideways as cold, damp air rushed in.

He grabbed the edges and hauled himself up, his head rising inside a gloomy building. Watery daylight shone in through stone arches that looked out onto broad swathes of green, the cold ocean not a stone’s throw away.

He remembered Rose’s museum brain moment on their way up to the castle and realized he must be inside the old lime kilns. He seemed to have discovered the escape route he had postulated. He dropped back down into the passage, wondering if this was all some ridiculous wild goose chase. Could he honestly believe that such a thing as Thor’s mythical hammer really existed? And that they might find it here? But what other choice did he have right now than to continue as if it were?

He retraced his steps and soon emerged back into the central cave. The others were nowhere to be seen, everything quiet and still. It felt as though the cave itself were waiting for something. Only one passage left unexplored, assuming Rose and Cameron hadn’t found anything. It was the lowest and narrowest of them all and Crowley bit down on rising claustrophobia as he squeezed his bulk through the small opening and crawled forward.