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Chapter 6

The thick wooden door creaked loudly as Colt tentatively pushed it open, freeing a shower of dust. The entrance obviously hadn't been used in a long time. The hallway past the door was dark and cold. Kodi could hear rats scuttling beyond the doorframe. Colt went back to the main chamber for a lamp and then plunged into the passageway.

Kodi followed after a quick look at Briar. Most Bags wouldn't walk into the passage if you paid them. They wouldn't want to sully their precious clothes. However, Briar didn't flinch as he followed Kodi down the hall.

They traveled through the passage in silence. Colt's light cast eerie shadows on the walls. It seemed like every sound was something creeping up on them in the dark. Colt and his friends' misguided pranks had cured Kodi of any fear of rats, but even she almost screamed when something scurried across her foot. Each section of the wall looked exactly like the one before it. Kodi was relieved when they reached a fork in the road because it proved they had been moving.

"I think it's this way," Colt called, pointing to the left fork.

"What do you mean think?" Kodi demanded.

Colt's ears reddened slightly. "I've never actually been down here," he admitted.

"It is the left fork," Briar said, cutting off Kodi's reply. "It's marked with an arrow." Colt and Kodi both examined the wall, but neither could see a mark. "It's written in magic," Briar explained when they looked at him. "Kodi, you can see it. Look for glitter at the corner of your eye."

"You had to turn this into a lesson, didn't you?" Kodi asked. Briar grinned wickedly, but gave no reply. Kodi sighed at looked for any light at the edge of her vision. Try as she might, she couldn't see an arrow.

Now Briar sighed. "I'll spell you so you can see it," he told her finally. "Now close your eyes." He stood over her, and with much arm waving, muttered an exotic sounding incantation.

Colt watched avidly. "I never seen wizards do magic like that-" Colt started to say, but Briar hushed him with a glance and winked.

"Now open your eyes," he told Kodi. She obeyed, and where there had previously been a blank wall, she saw a yellow arrow pointing towards the left fork. They started down it.

"He didn't really put a spell on you," Colt whispered.

"I know that." Kodi lied, feeling silly. Now that she had the ability, Kodi could see traces of yellow magic all through the tunnel, spells to protect and hide. A mage had been here recently.

The going was much easier in this passage. The floor was paved with stone and clean enough to keep rats away. Magically lit globes were placed at intervals along the walls. When they reached the end of the tunnel, it opened smoothly and without dust into a dimly lit chamber.

It took a while for Kodi's eyes to get used to the dark, but when they did her stomach gave a sickening lurch. The room was filled with weapons, enough to supply and army, or take out a country. She looked over at her two companions. Colt was just as shocked as she, but Briar surveyed the arms with grim satisfaction. He was expecting this, Kodi realized.

Briar walked over to a door at the far side of the chamber. He opened it, and Kodi saw a fine strand of power snake out into the hall beyond. In a couple of minutes, the thread came back, and Briar gathered in up again.

"The tunnel leads to the palace," he announced, eyes glinting dangerously. "We have him. Even Rididar can't wriggle out of this one. I have to go tell Lady Ailsa and the Baron. Are you two all right here?"

Kodi nodded and Briar strode out of the room. "Guess this means we don't have a hideout anymore," Colt muttered. Kodi rolled her eyes unsympathetically.

"I s'pose we should go back," Kodi said regretfully. She wasn't looking forward to the long trek back through the tunnels.

Colt was about to agree, but he never got the chance. Kodi could hear footsteps pounding on the floor, and soon faces started to appear, faces Kodi recognized. Izen had teased her with rats, and Eilia had taught her to braid hair. They had never been friends exactly, but they had always been friendly. Unfortunately for Kodi, the Thorns were back- and they were anything but friendly.