The Storm Runner (The Storm Runner 1)

“Hate to tell you, but it’s going to get a whole lot worse than this.”

“Right, the second freaky thing. You still haven’t told—”

Brooks plunged ahead, crawling into the dark space.

“Wait!”

She glanced back over her shoulder, and her eyes locked with mine. I definitely didn’t want to go in that dark cave where a demon might be lurking. But I couldn’t let her go alone. That would make me the biggest wimp of all time. Ugh!

Rosie looked up at me with her big brown eyes and let out a little groan like she was saying You can’t be serious.

But this was my volcano, and if we were going to go monster hunting, then I should lead the way. If we had to get outta there fast, I knew the route by heart. “Come on, girl,” I coaxed Rosie as I got down on my hands and knees. “You’ve done this before.”

Brooks allowed Rosie and me to pass in front of her. “How far do we have to crawl?” she asked.

“Just up ahead there’s a chamber where we can stand, and then we can walk the rest of the way.” I clutched my cane as I crawled on all fours through the tight rocky passage. “What exactly are you looking for?” My voice hung in the cool air. “You said you had to be sure this is the place?” I had a gnawing feeling that whatever Brooks was searching for was the same thing the demon runner had been digging for.

A sudden light illuminated the corridor.

I looked over my shoulder. Brooks was holding a mini flashlight that hung from her neck by a black cord. Seeing my surprise, she smiled and said, “I’m always prepared.”

A minute later we came to a twelve-by-twelve chamber where three tunnels branched off in different directions. I got to my feet, wiping my hands on my jeans.

“This place is so cool,” Brooks said, standing. “Which passage do we take to get to the center of the volcano?”

“First things first. We had a deal,” I said. “I gave up my story, and now it’s your turn to spill the rest. You said something about a prophecy?”

“Right. Okay, there was this Great Soothsayer—the first seer of all time. She was very powerful, and her prophecies were never wrong.”

“Is that the second freaky thing?” Dumb question, I know, but a guy could hope.

Brooks tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Like I told you, Ah-Puch was imprisoned. The gods placed him in a magical artifact they created to make sure he never got out.”

“Okay…”

Rosie sniffed the ground eagerly.

Brooks pointed to the tunnel where Rosie had wandered to. “Let’s take that one.”

“It leads to a dead end,” I said. “That one over there leads to another chamber. But maybe if you told me what we were looking for, I could point us in the right direction.”

With a breathy whisper, Brooks said, “He’s in here.”

I felt woozy. “The demon runner?”

“Ah-Puch.”

“WHAT?” The cavern spun around me. Everything felt so big and real and out of control all of a sudden. Inevitable, like the hands of a clock, turning in a direction I couldn’t stop. “How do you know?” With a quick whistle, I called Rosie to my side.

“It’s perfect, right? Stick the god of death in some artifact laced with magic and bury it in the depths of a volcano that the gods themselves created,” she said. “Did you really think it was an accident you discovered this entrance? It’s destiny, Zane. It tells me the prophecy is real, and it’s happening.”

Rosie broke free of my grip and took off down the corridor that led to a larger chamber. “Rosie!” I hurried after her, catching her in a few strides. “What’s gotten into you, girl?” I tried to tug her back to the first chamber, but she resisted.

Brooks was right behind me, shining her flashlight down the narrow curved passage. “How far does this go?”

“About fifty yards, but I already told you it’s a dead end, and I’m not about to go looking for some god of death and darkness that you think is hidden in this volcano because of some dumb old prophecy.”

“Zane, why do you think the demon runner crashed here?”