Obsidian and Stars (Ivory and Bone #2)(47)

I take this in. I remember hearing the creek right before I first saw the bear this morning. I wasn’t far in from the cliffs that overlook the sea. If we could crawl that far through the dark—all the way back to the cliffs above the sea—we might be able to get back to the beach and to the boats without being seen by Dora and Anki, or Thern and Pada, or whoever else might be out there stalking us.

But before we try crawling that far, we have other things to worry about. I crouch beside Kol where Pek and Seeri placed him on the floor of the cave, and his eyes flip open.

“That was a terrifying trip to the top.” A twitch flickers across his lips—an attempt at a smile? If it is, the attempt fails, as his lips twist into a grimace.

“You were awake?” I glance up at Morsk, who looks away. “I thought you were out. I thought maybe—”

“No, I was all too aware,” he says. “I’m still alert. Just terrible at walking. Even worse at climbing.”

He laughs a bit at his own words, but no one else makes a sound. Noni drops down beside him across from me. “If you could let me go outside, there’s feverweed near the lake. I saw a whole patch of it. If he chewed it—”

“No,” I say. Kol’s eyelids, which had already dropped shut, flip open again. I touch his hand. It’s scalding and dry. His eyes are clouded with fever. “Not yet,” I say, squeezing Kol’s hand. “Once we know we’re safe—that they didn’t follow—then I’ll let you go.”

But even as I say these words, I don’t know that I could really ever take that chance. Could I risk the welfare of the whole group to get a plant I hope will help Kol? Maybe if they all pressed on, if they all got through to the beach, maybe I could get to the lake and gather some feverweed myself? “Noni, is there feverweed near the beach?”

“On the cliffs there’s lots of it . . . more than here.”

“And can we all get through the opening—the space we need to crawl through?” I stare into the dark, imagining the trickle of water I hear running into another tall, well-lit room. Still, I hear nothing but the echo of close rock and I see nothing but blackness.

“It’s tight, but I don’t think it’s any tighter than the hole we just came through.”

I lean close to Kol. A salty scent rises from his skin. I run my fingertips across his brow, and I notice his temples are damp. Could his fever be breaking?

“We’re going to have to try to crawl through these caves to the beach,” I whisper to him, though I know all the others can hear. Every small noise reverberates. But I don’t care. Let them listen. They all know how I feel about Kol. I suppose this isn’t the best time to concern myself with our privacy. “Do you think you can do it? Can you crawl?”

I think of his leg—his left knee that he’s favored all day.

“Whatever we have to do, I’ll do it. Roon will never forgive me if it’s my fault Lees doesn’t get back to him soon.” From behind me, I hear Lees suck in a quick breath at the mention of Roon’s name. Kol smirks just a bit. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be right behind you,” he says.

And I hear it in his voice—the resignation. I can hear him letting go of hope to stay with me. But I won’t have that.

“No. No, you’re going ahead of me. You’re staying where I can see you.” I want to take a few more minutes to let him rest. I want to push up his pant leg and look at his leg to see how bad it really is—but I don’t dare. We need to go. And there’s nothing I can do to help him here, anyway. “Noni, you lead the way. Then Morsk, Lees, Pek, and Seeri. Seeri, I’ll send Kol in behind you, and I’ll come in last. If you get too far ahead of us, call to me. We need to stay together.”

The only answer is the singing of the water as it drips and pools. I watch Noni, so young but so strong, glance one last time at the circle of sunlight above our heads. Maybe she is soaking up the light before she plunges into darkness. Maybe she is wishing she could just make a run for it and leave the rest of us behind. Whatever she thinks, it’s brief, and she turns back toward the black shadows where the rock underfoot drops down.

“You can stand for only about five paces,” she says. “Then you need to duck. In another five paces, you need to crawl.” I watch the back of her head—her black hair damp and matted—as she disappears into the dark. The sound of her sealskin pants dragging across the stone, the splash of running water as she crosses through the stream—these are the only signs that she is on her way through the passageway.

Just as I asked, Morsk goes next. He doesn’t offer an opinion or even a glance back. Now it’s Lees’s turn.

“I’m scared,” she says. She crouches down beside me, and I see Kol open his eyes to look at her. She turns to Kol instead of me. He has the answers she wants. “What did Roon say? When you said you were coming for me?”

“He doesn’t know yet,” Kol says. I know he’s whispering intentionally, but his voice is a croak. “I left him in our camp when I came here. Someone needed to stay with our mother. But I never said where I was going, so he’ll be really surprised when you get back to him.”

“And why didn’t Chev come?”

And there it is—the question that I don’t want to answer. Right before I have to send her into the dark. Right before I have to send her into a place she’s afraid to go.