* * *
By the timethe tunnel widened into a large open space, my leg muscles were protesting this sudden uptick in exercise. We had been walking for at least an hour, and my entire body was sore.
“This is it,” Sebastian said, letting go of my hand before giving me the stone. “I believe it came from here.”
Appearing to be a central meeting point, this part of the tunnel was illuminated by two dozen glowing purple orbs. The large chamber was twice the size of our bedroom. A dozen separate passages branched off from the space, going in all different directions.
I pursed my lips, turning the stone over. “Alright. So we find the tunnel where this stone came from and then…”
“Once we know where the killer came from, we can find out why they did this,” Sebastian said. “It seems unlikely that Julieta was the intended target. It would explain the… overkill.”
My chest tightened. “You mean—“
“This was an attack against you,” he said gravely. “An attack against both of us.”
“Who would want me dead? I’m just… me.” My voice betrayed the bewilderment roiling within me. I had suspected that Julieta’s death was my fault, but this served as confirmation.
But why?
“I don’t know.” Sebastian pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. “But I’m not going to let them hurt you.”
Renewing my vow to find whoever did this, I drew in a deep breath.
“Alright,” I whispered. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”
At least I was good at that. Making lists. Analyzing things. Breaking them down. Following recipes. Steps were good. They were simple. Steps didn’t require emotions.
Shoving the bewilderment down into the same dark place within me where the numbness waited, I forced myself to become a blank slate.
Julieta needed me to be strong.
Holding the stone with one hand and the lantern with the other, I stepped away from Sebastian and turned in a slow circle. Black rocks the same color as my stone filled the gaps between the numerous bones that lined the walls. Worn wooden support beams stretched to the ceiling, and sconces made of bones added to the eerie atmosphere.
Running my hands over the walls, I carefully avoided touching the bones. The black rocks were smooth and frosty beneath my fingertips, and from the corner of my eye, I watched as Sebastian did the same on the other side of the space. A few times, I thought I might have found a match, but when I held up my stone, they didn’t quite line up. The rock I found in Julieta’s room had a silver line that ran through it, and none of the smooth black stones down here seemed to match.
I frowned. “I don’t know. What if this is the wrong place?”
“Can I see it?” Sebastian held out a hand, and I tossed the stone over to him. It curved, a marker of my terrible aim, but he caught it anyway.
Pursing his lips as he inspected the only clue we had, Sebastian raised a brow and turned in a slow circle. He ran his hand down a tunnel a few feet away from him.
“This one.” He patted the wall. “I think—”
A massive tremor ran through the ground, cutting off Sebastian’s words. I cried out, my heart pounding, as I flung out a hand and grabbed onto the nearest wall. The ground shook beneath my feet, and my heart pounded as a distinctive rumbling sound came from down one of the tunnels.
“Luna!” Sebastian shouted. He turned, stretching out his hand towards me as his eyes widened. Fear tinged his voice, and his words echoed around the chamber made of stone and bone. “Come quickly. We need to go.”
I ran towards him, but at the same time, a horrible groaning sound came from the ceiling. A fissure ran through the roof, like cracks in the dry summer ground. Another tremor ripped through the earth. The air thickened, and I sucked in a deep breath.
A single rock the size of my head broke away from the ceiling. My heart was in my throat as the rock careened to the ground. It hit the ground with asmash, and for a single second, nothing happened.
Then all hell broke loose. Clumps of dirt and shards of stone rained down on us. Another tremor ran through the tunnels, this one worse than before. The ground shook, and the walls trembled.
It was as though a god was having a fit.
“Luna!” Sebastian yelled over the roar of the earth. “Hurry!”
The ceiling collapsed with a roar, drowning out his cries. Dust billowed up all around me, and all of a sudden, darkness was everywhere. My lungs struggled to draw breath and my eyes tried to function, but nothing was working.