First Eclipse

Fauna would have been proud of herself for keeping it together, but she was too tense to do anything except put one foot in front of the other. She checked behind them for the hundredth time which was silly, really. There was no other way in, and they hadn't walked by anyone. Were they going down? It felt like they were, but then it wasn't steep enough to be sure.

"How are you doing?" Tim spoke over his shoulder.

"Oh, you know, checking out the sights."

He scoffed. "This tunnel just keeps going."

"It has to end eventually, right?"

"Unless we missed a " He stopped abruptly, and she walked into his back. "Shit."

Fauna jerked her head and looked behind them. "What?"

"I didn't think to check for illusions." He swore again.

"Illusions?" She let go of his belt so she could look at his face.

"Yeah. Something happened when" He shook his head. "That doesn't matter right now." He blew out a breath, lifted the torch, and looked back the way they'd come from. "I don't want to go all the way back." She grabbed his arm. "Back? What are you talking about?"

He looked down at her, and she could see he was annoyed with himself. "This wall-" He tapped it with the table leg. "-could have been an illusion anywhere along it." She scowled at him. "Spelled to make it look like a wall, but it's not."

Her eyes widened. "And you think we may have walked right by the exit?" She turned around and looked back up the long, dark space. All she wanted to do was help a lonely mountain lion. "Do we go back and check or keep going and check from now on." She heard him sigh and looked at him.

"Logically, they'd have a closer entrance to that lived-in area..."

Fauna nodded. "So getting the tables and supplies inside wouldn't take a day of carrying them up the tunnel."

He sighed again.

"Okay. Let's go back."

Tim twisted and held the torch higher, lighting the other way. "All right," he said, turning back to her. "Get a bottle of water and a few of those bars."

Fauna was just about to ask why but then realized they needed to stay hydrated and fueled if they were going to find a way out.

~

Fauna put her hand through what looked like a rock and then eyed him. His expression said it all. He had been right but wasn't happy he hadn't thought of it sooner. The illusion was roughly fifty feet from the area the tables were in. She motioned to it. "After you."

His mouth quirked. "Stay behind me."

When he turned around, she nodded and grabbed his belt. When he stepped through, she followed and held her breath. She'd expected some sort of sensation as they moved through the illusion, but there was nothing. A few feet later, he stopped. Fauna leaned and looked around him to see why. Her side didn't like that movement at all. Pains shot into her back. There was more tunnel in front of him. "You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled.

"Hopefully, it's the shorter way, or why else would they cover it with an illusion?" He started walking again.

Fauna hugged her arm against her side. Now that the immediate adrenalin was gone, the aches from her hard landing were making themselves known. "Signs would be helpful."

He chuckled. "I'll be sure to tell anyone if we meet up with them."

Fauna shook her head. "No. Let's not put that out into the universe. I don't want to see anyone else in here." Exhaling, she focused on the area around them, hoping, actually close to praying, she could sense animals. The kind that didn't dwell in caves. She could feel the sensations that went with the rats and rolled her eyes. Her foot hit something, and she stumbled, jarring her side. She made the sound before she could prevent it. Tim stopped and turned around. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and blew out a breath. "Just a few tender spots from the fall. My landing wasn't good enough, I guess."

Tim held the torch over her and looked her up and down. "Your legs?"

"My side. I landed and fell on it at the same time."

His brows furrowed. "Let's take a look."

She gave him a surprised look. "Now?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She huffed out a breath and undid her jacket. "I'm sure there's nothing to see. Tomorrow, though, I'll probably be black and blue."

"Better to be sure." He continued to stand there.

His expression told her he wasn't going to budge until she checked her side. "Fine." She flipped the jacket back, pulled up the side of her sweatshirt, and looked down at her side so she could say, 'See nothing.' Only it wasn't. Her entire side, from under her arm to the top of her jeans, was scraped up. She yanked the shirt higher.

"You probably hit the rocks when we fell through." He leaned down and moved the torch so he could look at it closely. "Why didn't you say something?" His voice was soft, and she was surprised to hear such concern. This giant of a man was not how she had expected him to be.

"I didn't realize. It happened so fast, and I was focused on hanging onto your arm so I didn't fall to the bottom."

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"Mmm," He moved the shirt to look at more of her back. "Does it hurt to breathe?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Not internally."

"Good. No broken ribs." He straightened back up to his full height. "We'll find somewhere to stop, and I'll take a closer look."

"I'm sure it's just a few scratches." She lowered the shirt.

"Still. If it's not, porting can be risky."

Her eyebrows both raised. "I didn't think of that."

He nodded. "We can't port if there are serious injuries." He gave her a look of compassion. "Tell me if it gets worse."

She nodded. "Okay." She motioned in the direction they'd been going. "Can we go now? I'd like to feel some fresh air on my face soon."

He lifted the torch and turned. "I can't even be sure what time of day it is right now."

She grasped his belt when he started moving. "Well, we left mid-morning, and then there's the drive up to the cabin." She bit her lip. "We walked for what, three or four hours?" "Around that."

"And then we fell into here and have been wandering around since." She had no idea how long that was.

"Judging by my stomach, it's close to dinner time."

Hers growled as if his words had reminded it. "We've been down here that long?"

"Close to it, I think. When we stop to check your side, we'll have some more of those bars."

Her mouth dried out at the thought of them. "Oh, goodie."

He chuckled. "It's better than the alternative."

"What's that?"

"Fried rat."

She stopped and glared at his back. "I'm good with losing a few pounds."

He glanced at her. "You don't need to lose a few pounds or even ounces."

"I'm not eating rat for any reason."

"Then let's find the end of this."

Fauna motioned for him to go. Now that she was aware of it, her side hurt a lot more. Stupid brain. It was better when she hadn't realized. He slowed down, making her look around him. The tunnel started to go down. She almost cheered. It was about time. They'd probably walked under the whole damn mountain at this point. That thought made her look up. They were under a mountain. She clenched her teeth together. It's not the kind of thing she should think about. "Be careful. It's quite steep for a bit."

"Okay." She tightened her grip on his belt. "I'm going to be really angry if we find out later that there is a faster way in and out of this place."

He snorted. "I'm worried the royals will want to come and take a look."

"Why would they?"

"Because" He paused while they went down some rocks that we were close to the stairs. "Tables in caves, illusions, someone staying there it's all very familiar in the things we've been dealing with."

She slipped and managed to right herself by slapping her hand against the wall. "You think this has something to do with all that other stuff?"

"Yes. The little seer doesn't see things that aren't relevant to what is going on. At least if she does, I've never heard of it."

Fauna looked at her feet, hoping to prevent slipping again. "So, we were meant to fall through the earth and find this place."

"It seems likely." He slowed. "There's a turn up ahead."

"Please let outside be after that."

"Do you sense anything but rats?"

Fauna sighed. "No."

"Then we probably have a way to go." He sounded as disappointed as she felt. He paused just as they reached the corner and shone the torch around it.