It drowned out any noise Kayla made as she followed Jasper’s man ever downward and she was grateful for it. He walked fast, forcing her to skip around puddles slippery with fungus and lengthen her stride to stay within sight of his torchlight. Whatever damage the fire had done to the above-ground part of the tower, the tunnel under it was untouched. The walls were streaked bright green, orange and purple with lichen, and the air was heavy with the musty smell of stale water and spores. The passage twisted in a wide spiral. Jasper’s man slowed at the turn ahead, and Kayla heard a sound, a creak of hinges and the squeak of metal rubbing metal. He lifted the torch higher, and Kayla trailed after him, keeping close to the wall and as far back into the darkness as she could. They came suddenly and without warning into a large room, rough enough to be a natural cave. As she stepped into the chamber, Kayla felt a strange sense of being stripped, as if she’d lost something. Her hand went to the apple, but it was in her pocket, and still she could not shake the feeling that something had been taken from her.
