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Mace clearly sees her as an object to be used for his whims. When he looks at her, it’s with hunger and obsession. I’m still trying to figure out what he wants to use her for, but it cannot be good.
I don’t want to use her. I just want to keep her safe and near me. I’m not sure when she transformed from a thought that popped into my head randomly to a calling, but I know now that’s what it is. Something inside me must protect her at all costs.
Even if that means going up directly against Mace.
I strain to catch the words of the travel party, but Viola’s voice cuts through the din of the command center.
“We’re going to the elevator.”
The phrase hangs in the air, carrying a weight I cannot fully comprehend. Mace’s eyes widen, his previously clenched fists unfurling, revealing reddened palms. His body slacks, the unseen and heavy weight removed from his shoulders. The realization dawns on me that Mace is wound tighter than I’ve ever known him to be. That one phrase spreads over him like cool water on a hot day, erasing the tension that was there just seconds before.
His eyes haven’t left the connection, and a smile crosses his face. It is so starkly different than how he looked just moments before, and a foreboding shiver travels up my spine.
He looks on the verge of madness, a wicked glint in his eyes.
I am suddenly more worried for Viola Mistflow than I have ever been.
Chapter 20
Viola
Myproclamationthatweare going after the elevator does nothing but worsen Max’s already deteriorating mood. She has been steadily spiraling downwards, her cheery demeanor eclipsed by a dark cloud. Not only is she irritable and seemingly depressed, but her body moves slower than usual as if her heart is no longer in this endeavor.
“Okay, so say we find the elevator,” Max sneers sarcastically. “Doesn’t the story go that you die if you’re not the first? And there are three of us.”
Tulip turns to look over her shoulder at Max. “What? I’ve never heard that death part before. Maybe it’s just a campfire story.” She shrugs nonchalantly. “Besides, even if it’s true, we’re all entering together, right?”
I nod emphatically, for the first time acknowledging something I was sure could never happen. “We’re a team. We’re going together.”
The tension in the air is suffocating. Max has pulled me aside several times, questioning why I trust someone I didn’t want to join us. And though it feels so starkly different from how I have treated anyone else in my life, I don’t have a good answer to that. There’s something about Tulip that exudes safety, and I am powerless to ignore it.
I have always relied on my intuition; this time, it tells me to deviate from my usual solitary path.
“Well, how are we going to find it, then?” Max hisses, keeping her voice low so Tulip cannot hear.
I shrug, “I figure it will speak to us. I’m not sure, honestly, Max. I just have this feeling that there’s no way we can lose if we do this.”
After the battle with the Wendigo, I have kept the Witch’s Ladder in my pocket for easier access, sometimes pulling it out just to feel the pleasant buzz on my fingers. The Ladder seems to come alive in response whenever we mention the elevator. On more than one occasion, we encountered a fork in the path, and I relied on the Ladder to guide our decision in a split second. Clearly, there is magic in the elevator, and since this area is so devoid of it, the Ladder must be responding to what it senses in the distance.
I have not pulled out a feather since the fight, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t have an intense curiosity. I ache to know what all the spells contain. The shadow spell was so comforting, its tendrils wrapping around me with care. What would the rest of the Ladder’s magic feel like? I imagine a flurry of ice spinning around me, a cocoon of white. Would it feel cold, or would my body, as the spell caster, be immune?
This must be why humans do not have magic. It feels almost addicting.
We reach another split in the mountain path. Our options are to go straight up toward the arena, where we see multiple resting spots but anticipate a long and grueling vertical journey, or to take the winding path along the side of the mountain, which will also lead us to the arena but at a much slower pace.
Tulip turns to me, her eyes questioning. “Which way do we go?”
I scan the area, my hand in my pocket, gently stroking a feather. This time, there is no pleasant remnant of magic in response. “I don’t think we’re in the right spot,” I mutter, stepping around Tulip to better look at our surroundings.
Max sighs heavily, frustration oozing from her pores. Ignoring her momentarily, I walk along the winding path, searching for anything that calls out to me.
“You know what, Vi? I can’t. I’m done.”
My head snaps up, locking eyes with my oldest friend.
“You can’t what, Max?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I cannot sit here and watch you use a piece of string to decide our path. I’m not staking my future on a fucking feather!”
