Page 38 of Spirit Storm

Wylder gives my hand a squeeze. “I’ll go first. Stay close. Just because they didn’t trigger anything doesn’t mean there’s nothing there.”

I kiss his cheek. “Got it. Safe travels.”

He winks at me. “You, too, Hallowind.”

Once he’s picking his way down the hallway, I study the ground. And what do you know? It looks like ground.

It’s nothing but dirt, stone, grit, and the occasional crack running along the seam between fitted slabs.

No big deal.

I move forward slowly, each footfall deliberate, watching the surface for any shift or change of material or any give under my weight.

The others follow at the same pace. Ten careful steps, fifteen, and then I take another step and the ground under my foot falls away.

Wylder turns, and his eyes flare wide. “Poppy!”

I jerk backward fast, one sharp step, and Asher's free hand catches my elbow without hesitation. He pulls me against his chest and steadies me, his heart hammering against my cheek. “Got you.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” I give him a quick squeeze, then turn back to assess what happened.

There’s a hole in the floor where stone and dirt should be. It starts a few feet ahead of my toes and drops into a dark abyss. It’s not gradual, just gone.

Freya and Henrik catch up to us, and the light from her headlamp stretches down but doesn't find a bottom.

"That is a very deep hole," Henrik says quietly.

Freya kneels at the edge, inspecting the lip of the drop. "Definitely deeper than makes any logical sense.”

“Oh, the joys of magic,” Asher deadpans.

"There are symbols here." I move to the right wall, where the light in Henrik’s palm hits a section of carved marks.

“Those were definitely not there a minute ago,” Wylder says.

“No, they weren’t. I just finished scanning both walls before I stepped.”

Henrik straightens, his full attention on the symbols carved into the stone.

"Can you read them?" Wylder asks.

He doesn't answer immediately, which I hope means he’s deep in thought. His gaze moves across the wall in a way that's less reading and more parsing, like he's translating not just language but logic.

A full minute passes before he steps back. "They’re instructions to reset the mechanism and bring the floor back up." He traces a finger without touching the stone. "It says one of these sections triggers the return. Press the wrong one and—" He tilts his head side to side. “Well, it doesn't exactly specify, but the gist of it is ‘don’t press incorrectly.'"

"Helpful," Rowan says.

“Screw that,” Asher says. “We reset it and it takes out the next guys, or it’s another trap and you follow those instructions and we’re all blasted with sauron gas or something.”

I chuckle. “I think you mean sarin gas, sweetie. Sauron is the big baddy in Lord of the Rings. But yes, you’re right.”

“What’s your plan, then?” Henrik asked. “That’s one hell of a gap.”

“I’ll teleport everyone across.”

Wylder looks across the chasm at me as if he might protest, but I’ve been watching Asher practicing and have faith in him.

“A great idea. I’ll go first.” I step in close to Asher and wrap my arm around him. “Focus on the other side. Just like Tanner’s been teaching you.”