Revealed (Unbound, Book 5)

Chapter Twenty-Six

All around me is black. The cold is bone deep, the kind that seeps in and chills from the inside out. Shivering, I wrap my arms around me and rub my skin, hoping to generate warmth. Taking tentative steps, I pivot, moving in circles as I try to discern my surroundings. My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness.

I jump as thunder booms and a strike of lightning lights the darkness.

For some reason, I'm not scared but angry. Confused.

I blink the stars the bright flash popped into my vision like a firecracker that burned bright and then quickly died. My surroundings come into just enough focus to make out shapes of gray. Not that it helps, since everything is rock and attached to the shiny walls.

A drip of water echoes around me like a leaky faucet you don't even notice until you are trying to fall asleep, at which point the sound keeps you from slumber. Wherever I was, it was a small space, and the noise is deafening.

Drip, drip, drip.

Scratch.

Something scuttles across the ground by my feet, so close I swore I feel fur.

I step back until I feel a wall behind me, holding me upright. I turn my arms place my palms against the surface, then pull back, stepping away. Bringing my hands in front of me, I barely see the outline. The slime from the wall transferred to my palms, making them appear shinier as the minimal light reflects off them. I swallow, trying to keep my gag reflex from starting to work. Bringing my arms down, I move to rub my palms on my legs, but stop just before making contact.

I'm wearing shorts.

Gross.

Keeping my arms away from my sides, I force myself to look around.

A cave?

Rock surrounded me on three sides, though it was too dark to see what lay beyond the entrance. Outside, a storm was raging, the lightning brightening the cavern every few seconds. A breeze gushed in and out, lifting my hair, and I smelled grass and water.

Why was I in pajamas?

Squinting as the next flash flickered and the ground rumbled, I saw a tunnel leading away from the cave near the back. I took a step towards it, then another. Every few seconds, I pause to wait for the next lightning strike to flash to ensure I wasn't about to run into a wall, then continued. It was slow going—only a few steps at a time—but at least my nose wasn't covered in the slime that covered the walls.

Two steps away from the back entrance, I gasp and come to a stop.

The entrance to the tunnel leading from the cave seemed to have some sort of barrier I could see when the lightning struck—like the plastic film that had been on the cabin's front door. It shone with the light. In its center, a translucent face appeared that shimmered bright when the light flashed. Even when as it faded and I could no longer see the barrier, the face remained.

Aaron Byers.

The missing boy grimaced in the image; otherwise, he appeared much like we'd found Carter: confused as though he'd been drugged. I could sense his fear. Even more, I felt his pain and, surprisingly, magic. It wasn't a signature I recognized, and it didn't feel like it had at the cabin. No, this wasn't residual or stemming from a spell that was used against him, so nobody placed it there to hold him in. This belonged to the boy.

His face turned to me, and he blinked. Just for a moment, it was as though he'd achieved clarity when the next lightening struck lit my surroundings. His eyes met mine and he said, "Help me! Please!"