“We need to get to the west wing,” I said.

“Nora is still up there.”

“And Lila,” Daniel added.

“We get Lila first,” I said.

“Nora knows how to hide.”

I crawled into the narrow opening of the coal chute.

The stone was rough, scraping against my shoulders.

The air inside was thick with decades of coal dust.

I could hear Marcus and Caleb ahead of me, their boots scraping on the metal lining.

Behind me, Daniel entered the chute, pulling the heavy iron grate closed.

We crawled in absolute darkness.

The only sound was our breathing and the distant rumble of the storm outside.

A crack of thunder shook the ground above us.

“We are under the carriage house,” Marcus whispered from the front.

“The hatch is clear.”

“Any sign of their patrols?” I asked.

“Not yet,” Marcus said.

“But there are tire tracks in the mud outside.”

“They brought vehicles,” I said.

“They are preparing to move something.”

“Or someone,” Daniel said from behind me.

We reached the end of the chute.

Marcus pushed the wooden hatch open.