"One of us must stay behind to carry on the hunt," said Shakespeare. "If a mortal threat should claim us both, the hunt would end and neither of our families take the prize."
Genghis sneered. "I hate it when you make a good point."
"But Master," said James. "You can't go alone, not if it's as dangerous as you say."
"Hah!" said Genghis. "The boy has a point, as well! I insist you take a partner!"
Shakespeare gestured toward James and shook his head. "I will not jeopardize my apprentice," he said. "Further, I know better than to leave you at the wheel without a better angel by your side."
Genghis roared with laughter. "I wish I could bottle that sense of humor and save it for a gloomy day!" he said. "What the hell makes you think I was talking about James?"
Shakespeare turned to look at James' twin across the table. As he watched, Thomas raised both hands, palms facing himself, backs toward Shakespeare. He tucked in the thumb and pinky of each hand and stuck the three middle fingers straight up.
"Read between the lines," said Thomas. "That's what just happened to your vacation plans."
*****
Chapter 20
"We're human sacrifices." Mavis kept her voice low. Stanza was in the next room, and the inn's walls were thin. "She had to bring us to a specific Druid temple for the dark magic to work."
"That would explain why she brought us here, even though there's no Lyonesse." Jonah's whispered voice was dead serious.
"I was joking!" Mavis socked him in the shoulder. "Just because vampires exist doesn't mean every horror movie plot in the world is true."
Or does it?
Mavis yawned. She and Jonah had been talking about Lyonesse and the warning from the old man on the ferry for a long time. She still had no love for Jonah. In fact, now that the surprise of his parents' deaths had worn off, Mavis' grudge against him and his family was back in full force.
But Mavis was still glad that Jonah had knocked on her door. Their alliance could be important to her survival, and secret midnight meetings like this helped reinforce it.
"I still say it's just a cash grab," said Mavis. "She'll run up as many billable hours and travel expenses as she can, so she can suck your parents' estate dry."
Jonah shrugged. "She sure didn't like me asking about the money she's spending."
"Nothing supernatural about that," said Mavis. "Then again, I guess she could be a serial killer with an England fixation. Nothing supernatural about that, either."
Jonah snorted. "You really know how to make me feel better, don't you?"
"It's as if we have a connection," said Mavis. "As if we're related or something."
They both laughed. Stanza could probably hear them, but that didn't bother Mavis.
Let her wonder what we're up to for a change.
Since arriving on the island of St. Mary's, Stanza had been no more forthcoming than usual. She'd only said a handful of words during dinner in the local pub, and she'd been hiding out in her room at the inn ever since.
Hasn't it occurred to her that we might have caught a clue about Lyonesse by now? Why not just bring us up to speed?
"Look," said Jonah. "We've been joking, but I'm sure Stanza's okay. She's saved both our lives already, right? Mine twice."
The crush rears its ugly head.
"Then what possible reason could she have for not telling us everything?" said Mavis.
"Maybe the less we know, the better," said Jonah. "Maybe, if we knew what we were heading for, we wouldn't go through with it."
"What could be worse than what we've already been through?" said Mavis...and then she instantly wished that she hadn't asked the question.
Better knock on wood. Wish I hadn't left my lucky charms back in church.
"What we've seen so far," said Jonah. "I didn't know things could be so crazy till I lived through it. Why couldn't there be worse on the way?"
"All right, look," said Mavis. "Whatever's going on here, we need to be careful. That's all I'm saying. Watch each other's backs."
"Just in case," said Jonah.
"Yeah," said Mavis. "Cousins are supposed to watch out for one another, right?"
Mavis watched as Jonah thought it over. Now that he'd lost his parents, he probably felt alone and in need of family. Maybe that was why he'd come to her door in the first place.
Come on, cousin. We need to work together.
"Right," said Jonah. "Can't hurt to keep an eye out for trouble."
Mavis smiled. "And our heads above water."
*****
Chapter 21
As the motorboat cut across the water, Jonah squinted into the early morning fog. The fog was so thick, the island sneaked up on him, its single green hump hunching out of the choppy sea.
"Lyonesse?" Jonah said over the buzzing of the engine.
Stanza sat in the stern of the boat, manning the engine and steering the rudder. "Samson," she said. "South Hill."
Stanza drove in close to the sandy shoreline, then switched off the engine and tipped it into the boat.
Getting up from her seat, she walked past Mavis to the bow and jumped into the water up to her thighs. She was wearing a wetsuit—all of them were—but Jonah knew she still had to be freezing.
"Give me a hand." Stanza looked right at Jonah.
With a sigh, Jonah crouched and stuck a foot over the side. The water shoe he wore cut the cold, but it wasn't watertight; he still got enough of a shock to force out a gasp.
Jonah's leg chilled as he lowered his foot deeper into the water. When he touched bottom, he swung the other foot out and down to join it.
Together, he and Stanza hauled the motorboat ashore. When the boat nosed onto the sand, Mavis hopped out, lightening the load. Jonah and Stanza dragged the boat all the way to the short grass at the top of the beach.
Then, Stanza started marching uphill. She didn't gesture for anyone to follow or stay behind, and she didn't say a word.
She just started walking.
Jonah and Mavis looked at each other and smirked. Jonah bowed, extending an arm toward Mavis.
"After you," he said.
"Might as well." Mavis walked past him and followed Stanza. "Nothing much else to do on this island."
By the time the three of them had reached the top of the hill, the fog was starting to burn off. The full island became visible, suffused by a hazy white glow.
"Not much in the way of tourist attractions," said Mavis.
"You'd be surprised," said Stanza.
As Jonah looked around, he saw nothing but grass, weeds, and rocks. The word "desolate" came to mind.
Then again, the New Mexico desert was pretty desolate, and look what we found there.
Thinking of what might be under the island's surface, Jonah walked to a pile of big stone slabs. Up close, he thought the slabs looked too regular to have been shaped by the elements.
There were three of them, each roughly six feet long by three feet wide. They were stacked together against a knoll, leaving a triangular opening on one side.
Looks man-made to me.
A few yards away, Mavis was looking over another pile of slabs with a similar opening. "What are these? Secret passages?"
"Ancient tombs," said Stanza.
"Tombs leading to secret passages?" said Mavis.
"No," said Stanza. "Just tombs."
Mavis spread her arms wide. "Don't tell me this is all we came for."
"North Hill," said Stanza, pointing into the distance.
Jonah looked where she pointed, and a second green hump coalesced from the thinning fog. The second hill was connected to the first by a low-lying, rocky sling of land.
"Is what we're looking for on North Hill?" said Mavis.
Stanza shook her head. "Look." She turned in a slow circle, finger pointing out to sea. "All that water out there used to be dry land."
Jonah followed the circle she traced. The lifting haze resolved itself into rolling waves and far-off, solid mounds.
&
nbsp; "These little islands were all part of one big island," said Stanza. "Some say it was called Lyonesse."
"And that's where we're going?" Jonah pointed down at the waves around the island. "Underwater?"
"You know we don't have scuba gear, right?" said Mavis.
"You won't need it," said Stanza.
"Then what's with the wetsuits?" said Jonah.
"You'll see," said Stanza.
"So we need wetsuits but no scuba gear?" said Mavis. "I don't get it."
"You will," said Stanza. "Lyonesse is special."
With that, she turned and started down the hill on the opposite side of the island from where they'd arrived.
Jonah and Mavis shared a look, then fell in step behind Stanza.
"What do you mean by 'special'?" said Jonah.
"It sits halfway between this world and the next," said Stanza. "Only part of it's here."
"Which part?" said Mavis.
"The door." Stanza worked her way around some rocks at the bottom of the hill. "And even that's mostly closed. Except on a day like today."
"Why?" said Mavis. "What's so special about today?"
Stanza didn't answer. Instead, she continued to pick through the rocks.
On this side of the island, instead of a sandy strip of beach, a tumble of rocks and weeds ran straight to the water's edge. The lowest rocks were dark with moisture, clearly showing where the tide had fallen away.
Stanza moved slowly, squinting down at the rocks around her. Jonah followed suit, though he had no idea what exactly he was hunting.
As they looked, the tide fell lower, opening up more rocks to search.
"If you told us what you're looking for, we could help find it," Jonah said finally.
"Thanks," said Stanza, "but you couldn't. It takes a special knack."
"Why not tell us what it is, anyway?" said Mavis.
"I already told you," said Stanza. "I'm looking for the door. You can only find it on days like today, when the tides are the lowest of the year."
Jonah stared at a pyramid of stones that looked like they hadn't been piled up by accident. "How low does the tide go, exactly?"
Stanza kept moving. "At its lowest point, the sunken land will be exposed. You'll be able to walk between islands."
"Wow." Jonah stared out at the water, trying to imagine it draining away to reveal dry land. "How long will it stay that way?"
"Not long," said Stanza, and then she stopped. "There you are," she said to something on the sloped ground in front of her.
Jonah and Mavis hurried over to see for themselves. When they got there, they saw a gray stone slab, crusted with barnacles and slathered with slick kelp.
The slab was about eight feet long and four feet wide, and Jonah didn't think it looked hand-cut. It was too crooked and irregular, with broken edges and a lumpy, pitted surface.
Once Stanza set to work clearing away the kelp, however, Jonah saw that the slab also had an inscription. He couldn't read it, but it was clearly carved by human hands.
"Let me guess," said Mavis, crouching and running a finger over the carved symbols. "It says, 'door,' right? Or 'enter?'"
"Wrong," said Stanza. "Now give me your hand."
Mavis frowned and pulled her hand away from the inscription. "What for?"
Like a striking snake, Stanza grabbed Mavis' wrist and snapped it back over the inscription. Before Mavis could wrench away again, Stanza had whipped out a switchblade and stroked the point across the tips of Mavis' index and middle fingers.
"Hey!" Mavis tried to break free, but Stanza wouldn't let go. "You cut me!"
Jonah floundered, unsure what to do next. He'd just watched Stanza slice open Mavis' fingers—but he couldn't quite make up his mind to jump in and try to restrain Stanza. For one thing, he had a crush on her.
For another thing, I don't think I can take her.
"Let go of me!" said Mavis.
As Mavis squawked and thrashed around, Stanza squeezed blood out of her fingers in fat, scarlet drops.
Drops that fell into the inscribed symbols on the slab.
When Stanza finally released the hand, Mavis scrambled away from her. "What did you do that for?"
"We needed a key," said Stanza.
Just as she said it, the whole slab turned bright red. The surface suddenly melted smooth, gleaming with a metallic finish under the morning haze.
"It's open." Stanza lowered a finger to the slab, tracing a nail over its surface. Then, she dipped the nail into the slab.
Jonah gaped as Stanza's finger sank into the slab to the second knuckle. She twirled her finger through the liquefied substance, stirring circles that grew and rippled outward.
That used to be solid rock.
"I wonder if anyone's home," said Stanza.
"What about my fingers?" said Mavis.
Mavis looked at Jonah, and he felt like he should say something. "That was messed up, Stanza. Maybe you should apologize."
"We're in a hurry," said Stanza.
"Can't you at least say something to her?" said Jonah.
Stanza turned to Mavis. "Hold your breath."
"What?" said Mavis.
Suddenly, Stanza grabbed Mavis and threw her into the crimson slab. Before Jonah could react, Mavis had plunged headfirst into the shimmering liquid and disappeared.
Stanza turned to Jonah and reached out a hand. "You're next."
*****
Chapter 22
The red liquid was cool and thicker than it had looked from above. Instead of diving straight through it like a rock through water, Mavis slid through it more like a berry through a smoothie.
The liquid layer was also deeper than Mavis had expected. It was many times deeper than the thickness of the slab—more like a dozen feet deep than a dozen inches.
Good thing I took that breath.
Just as Mavis felt her breath running out, she coasted free of the crimson liquid. The second she emerged in an open space, she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air.
Or something.
It wasn't like the air back home, that was for sure. She fell faster through it than she had through the red liquid...but nowhere near as fast as she would through just plain air. It was more like a parachute jump through something thicker than air but thinner than water. Something that smelled sweet and bitter like roses and grapefruit.
Something that sparkled and fizzed around her, glowing with golden light.
Whatever it is, at least I can breathe it.
Mavis bumped to a stop on spongy ground and rolled onto her side. Even the dirt was strange here—pink and powdery and full of glitter. The little clouds of it puffed up by her landing swirled like sand in seawater before settling back down.
If I'm not underwater, where am I?
When Mavis rolled over and looked around, she saw that she was near the middle of a huge cavern. At the moment, she was also alone.
The cavern walls were cut from some kind of smooth, black rock, studded with spiral seashells that burned with slow, green flames. The ceiling was more of the same black rock, except for the rippling red portal directly overhead.
What's that?
A few yards away, in what looked like the exact middle of the cavern, stood an altar of silver. As soon as Mavis spotted it, she got to her feet and headed straight for it.
She waded through the fizzing, sparkling atmosphere, slowed from her usual pace through everyday air. Her long, red hair drifted around her head, crimped streamers flowing like tendrils of seaweed underwater.
This is one weird place.
When she reached the altar, she ran her fingertips—the ones Stanza hadn't cut—over the smooth, silver surface. Surprisingly, what looked like metal had give to it like rubber or firm flesh. The altar radiated heat...and she pulled away when she felt it start to throb.
Along the front of its silver base, the altar bore an inscription. Unlike the angular, alien characters Mavis had seen on top of the slab, this inscription was etc
hed in familiar, readable letters.
Cruor Pro Arthur.
It was Latin, which Mavis had studied in seminary. She could translate the words...though that made the inscription no less cryptic:
Blood for Arthur.
"Now what?" said Mavis. Her voice sounded strange in the alien atmosphere—deeper and distorted.
"Where is everyone?" This time, she hollered up at the crimson portal. "I better not be the only one here!"
"Don't worry," said a voice from across the cavern—a male voice. "You're not alone."
When Mavis looked in the direction of the voice, she saw something swimming toward her.
It had a long, sinuous body with a tail like a fish, gleaming with deep blue scales. It also had the head, arms, and torso of a person, glowing pale blue with jet black eyes and hair.
Like a merman from Hell.
As the thing drew closer, it smiled. "Welcome to Lyonesse," it said, its voice rippling through the cavern. When it smiled, Mavis saw the sharp, white fangs jutting over its lower lip.
Correction. A vampire merman from Hell.
*****
Chapter 23
The vampire swam slow circles around Mavis, scattering the sparkling atmosphere with graceful flicks of its tail. Mavis was sure the circles were closing in on her, and she wondered how long it would be until they tightened all the way.
Thanks a lot, Stanza.
For the first time, it occurred to her that Stanza might have sent her here to get rid of her. Mavis and Jonah had been growing closer, threatening Stanza's hold on him.
Now I'm out of the way.
"What's your name?" said the vampire.
"Tiffany." Mavis was careful to keep turning in circles, never leaving her back to the creature. "What's yours?"
"Call me Rapiarre." The vampire bowed at the waist as he circled her. "Want me to show you around?"
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