Free Demons (Eirik Book 1) by Ednah Walters Page A

likely to melt the snow in the cave and drown.
    Gah, when did I become so negative?
    My eyes flew open, and I angled my head. Someone was singing.
    I stood and listened. Sounded like a woman. The singing came from deep inside the tunnel. Where in the world did people still live in caves? Because of the snow, I’d narrowed it to somewhere north. I didn’t know there were any cave dwellers left in the world, but you just never know. Or maybe this tunnel led to a village of cave dwellers.
    Feeling hopeful, I inched farther inside, my knees knocking with fear and cold. There was just so far the light from the entrance could reach, so I wasn’t surprised when the tunnel grew darker and darker. At least, it was wide and clear of debris. But it slanted slightly upward. I was debating whether to stop and go back or continue when I saw wet snow on the ground. Someone put it there. I looked up. There was a crack on the roof of the tunnel. Maybe it came from up there. But once again, I had enough light to see where I was going.
    There were more and more patches of wet and black ice. Melted snow. The farther I went, the more fresh snow I saw. Then more black ice. Those gave way to the wet tunnel floor. The tunnel grew wider, and the humming got louder.
    I turned a corner, and I saw flames flickering on the wall. The humming was directly ahead. I crept forward and peered into what looked like a cave. It was big and dry and right smack in the middle a fire was burning.
    The humming came from my right, but I couldn’t see the person doing it. Instead, I saw an opening, probably leading to a side tunnel. I was so desperate for warmth I stopped caring. Let them kill me. I rushed forward and stuck my hands toward the fire, tears of relief filling my eyes.
    I wasn’t sure how long I sat there before I noticed the silence. Whoever had been humming had stopped. Sure the person would enter the cave any second and chase me away, I scooted so the fire was between the opening and me. It was so dark all I saw were the rocks outlining the entrance. The darkness beyond it swallowed the light. It had magic written all over it. Dark masses without shape or form often meant bad news in the magical world, so I wasn’t too thrilled to see this one.
    When the humming resumed, it came from deep inside the darkness, and it was faint. I began to relax. I even sat down on the ground and turned away from the dark entrance to warm my back. But the fear of what might crawl from the lightless void kept me glancing over my shoulder every few seconds. The fact that the thing had lit a fire and let me use it might be a good sign, though.
    The singing continued, but the sound remained faint. When my back was completely toasty, I faced the fire and took a thorough inventory of the rest of the cave.
    There were no signs that someone lived in it. No clothes, cooking pots, or food. Even though large chunks of wood fed the fire, the flames didn’t appear to consume them. It was magical.
    “Thanks for letting me warm myself,” I called out, and the singing stopped. “Now I need to go home and get help for someone who desperately needs it.” I was probably crazy for thinking this person would give a damn. “Could you tell me how to get out of here?”
    Silence.
    “Please. He is going to starve or freeze to death if I don’t help him.” The singer started again. It wasn’t coming closer, which meant no help was coming from her. Great. “That’s okay. I guess you’ve done enough for me.”
    Refusing to give up, I closed my eyes and went back to trying to astral project. There was a difference this time. I couldn’t put a finger on it.
    Then I heard, “She’s coming around.”
    It was Hayden.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 4. IMMORTALS
     
    CELESTE
    I lifted my eyelids, but everything was out of focus. It was like seeing through foggy glasses. The faces grew clearer until I was staring at Hayden and Tammy. I started to sit up.
    “Not so fast, dear.” Tammy firmly