The hole she dove into started out straight then seemed to bend and twist as she tumbled through. A light appeared, small at first, toward the end. As it grew larger, she realized she would fall through the air before meeting a very rough and sudden stop. And when she did, the drop ended abruptly with her slamming into one of her men and tumbling to the ground as beads of rocks and pebbles dug into her skin, burning with the sting of salt.

Ezekiel conjured a light, illuminating the darkened cave.

Andreas helped her to her feet, and he, along with Edric and Ezekiel, checked her for injuries.

“I’m fine,” she said and surveyed each of her men for injuries of their own. Beyond a few unavoidable scrapes and cuts, they looked well.

“Why, Sophia?” Edric asked, a painful expression darkening his features. “Why did you follow us?”

She shook her head and bit her lip. Her heart pounded as the reason why filled her entire being. Because she couldn’t let them go. Because she couldn’t let them die. She had to follow them. She had no other choice. If she was going to die, then damn it all, she would die with her men at her side. But she escaped that fate, and now her focus was to get her men out before the magic of the mountain drained all the life from them.

She could have said those words, but the pain and relief that filled her wouldn’t let her mouth do the work. Instead, she just stood there hoping that her presence alone would be enough of an answer.

Edric approached her and wrapped her tightly in his arms. He breathed in the scent of her hair and placed a tender kiss on the top of her forehead. “You shouldn’t have followed us,” he murmured into her hair. “But I’m glad you did.”

She breathed in his scent and clutched him closer to her. “I had to.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked against the sting of tears nipping at her eyes.

“Well I, for one, am glad she did,” Andreas said.

Edric pulled from Sophia. Ezekiel stepped forth and took Sophia’s hand, gently kissing the top of her gloved knuckles. “I am relieved you are with us as well,” he said.

She smiled, relieved that her men were intact and happy she threw herself into the banishing well to come after them. Her eyes took stock of their surroundings, finding bits of roots sticking out from the cave wall. The ground was scattered with skeletal limbs, and huge claw marks left gouges beneath the hole they had just fallen out of. Sophia didn’t know what creature had made such marks, but she was glad that the creature hadn’t been able to make the more than a ten-foot jump to get there.

“Well, this wasn’t exactly how I planned the trip,” Ezekiel said. “Now what?”

“We go back,” Sophia said. “Before any of us start experiencing the effects of the mountain magic.”

Edric said, “You want to go back?” It came out disbelieving.

She nodded. “We need the right equipment, potions to stave off the magic, and our weapons.”

Andreas said, “Agreed. May also be a good idea to stop by the Shade to let my people know we are okay.”

Edric shook his head. “No. Let everyone think we are dead for the time being. The less anyone knows, the better, and I can’t trust that someone won’t be on the lookout for something like that.”

Sophia said, “That’s a good point.”

Andreas muttered something under his breath. He stared at a spot on the ground and ran a hand through his hair. Nodding, he said, “Fair enough. So, how do you propose we get out of here?”

Sophia pointed at the claw marks, “See those?”

The men’s gazes followed to where she was pointing. Ezekiel drew closer with the ball of light to better examine the markings.

She continued. “There are no skeletons here that would match anything that made those. That means there is a way out of here.”

Andreas nodded then shifted to shadow, but he seemed too low to the ground. He tried to move but looked more like the weight of sludge sliding down a stone pipe more than smoke floating weightlessly through the air. He shifted back and shook his head. “Wherever the opening is, I can’t move in my wraith form to find it.”

“That means the magic is already working,” Ezekiel said.

Sophia crossed her arms over her chest. “Either that, or the hemlock has yet to fully leave his system.”

“Whatever the reason,” Edric said, “we still need to figure out a way out of here.”

“Well we can’t get out the same way we came in. I can shift, but I can barely carry myself much less anyone else,” Andreas said.

“Zeke, how many of those lights can you make?” Edric asked.

He smiled. “As many as necessary.” To prove his point, he created a witchlight for each of them and passed them off one by one.

“Thanks,” Sophia said as Ezekiel handed her one.

Zeke winked and smiled.

The room’s glow grew brighter and illuminated the small alcove that led to a cavern toward the very back of the cave. It was marked by similar gouges as on the wall.

“There,” Sophia said and pointed, “I bet we get out through there.”

“Better than staying here to rot and die like these poor bastards,” Andreas said and took the first step toward the opening. Edric, followed by Ezekiel, went next. Sophia waited, shifting her ball of light around her to make sure that whatever creature had made those marks wasn’t lurking within the shadows, waiting to catch her and her group off guard. Satisfied after observing the absence of anything but her and the men, she followed after them.

After a few quiet moments, Edric said, “Once we leave this area, we’ll need to locate a scout to get us the rest of the way home.”

“Maybe we could find some information about the heirs while we are here too, as long as we are here and have the strength,” Ezekiel said.

“The headmistress said Sophia was found here as well, perhaps there is someone who could give us some more answers as to why?”

“Answers would be nice,” Sophia said. “Especially if we are to take out the Nameless Master.”

“Know thy enemy,” Edric said.

“Exactly,” Sophia said, knowing that she kept a mental list of several.