Chapter 7 · The door

He released her.

The hunter slammed into the pillar. Stone cracked. Cane seized Lyra's hand and ran.

They moved as one because the pact wouldn't let them separate. Every time she stumbled, his arm caught her. Every time he slowed, she dragged him forward. The hunters swarmed behind them, claws striking sparks from the floor.

Lyra reached the east passage first.

"The door," Cane said.

"I know where the door is."

"Then open it."

She jammed the brass token into a slot beside the frame.

Nothing happened.

Cane looked over his shoulder. The hunters were closing fast.

"Lyra."

"It's stuck."

"Break it."

"It's a seal, not a lock."

"Break the seal."

"If I break it wrong, the room floods with abysswater."

"We already have no air. Pick the problem you like."

She twisted the token.

A deep click moved through the wall.

The door opened three inches.

Cane shoved Lyra through the gap.

She caught the frame. "You're coming with me."

"Go."

"Don't you dare."

The first hunter hit him from behind.

Cane slammed into the floor, the creature's claws pinning his shoulders. His mask cracked against the stone.