“I know. You were afraid. You don’t have to apologize.” I paused. “Where are we?”
“You don’t recognize this place?” he asked with a snort. “This isn’t the first time you’ve been here. This is how I got us into the city after our exploit with the furies on the road. This passage leads down into a rat’s nest of tunnels. One of the passages leads out to a grove near the road. One of them leads to the skin’s training grounds. One of them leads to the Abbey. One of them leads to an underground pass through the mountains to Courtshire. There are others, but I don’t know where they all go.”
“Where are we going?”
“Courtshire. This is the way I brought Cedric and Mediera. The fat man sent a guide with us who met us in the tunnels. He only showed me a glimpse of where they were going, in case I needed to take over, but I can find my way. You know, I would have fled with them if the fat man hadn’t been pulling my strings. Finally, I can go. I sincerely appreciate that you broke his hold on me. I would not have liked to have died with the other skins today. It didn’t look like a pleasant way to go.”
“I wish Gorman were with us,” I whispered. “I should have saved him too.”
“He didn’t want to be saved.” Fynn paused. “Ani, why didn’t you bury them? I saw what you did last time. You could have wiped out every fury on the field. Why didn’t you?”
My eyes fluttered open. “I feared I would lose control and end up killing Gorman and the other skins if I went too far. Though I tried to help, it didn’t seem to do much good. By the time I realized that the skins were lost, it was too late. The furies were already climbing over the wall.”
“Oh.”
I closed my eyes again. “Let me sleep for a little, okay?”
“As you like. I think we’re safe here. At least, for a little while.”
As Fynn twisted a dial on the lamp, inky darkness enveloped us.
The sound of scratching woke us. It was still dark as pitch. Reaching for the lamp with my mind, I forced the wick to flicker to life. Once the passage was lit, I jumped to my feet. Fynn was already standing. We stared at each other with wide eyes. Neither of us said a word as we slowly backed away from the stone wall, hoping that whatever was scratching wouldn’t figure out how to open the secret door.
Fynn led the way down the passage, which got rockier as it gradually descended into the earth. The sides of the passage gleamed with uncut stones. There was a fortune in gems embedded in these walls. If I had time, I would have bought tools so I might try to chip them out. But, as it were, I could only dream about it. Soon we came to an intersection that branched off in four directions. Fynn selected a route, and we moved forwards. For what felt like hours, we walked. Dozens of twists and turns and forks confused the path. I hoped Fynn was making the right choices. If I had been alone, I would have gotten horribly lost down here. After a time, the light from the lamp touched trickles of water running down the rock face of the side of the passage.
“Water,” I tried to say, realizing my throat was parched.
I put my dry lips to the wet stone and drank until I was sated. Fynn joined me. He must have been just as thirsty.
“I’m sorry,” Fynn said after he had finished drinking. “We should have brought food and water with us. Cedric and Lady Mediera had packs of provisions. There just wasn’t time…”
“It’s not your fault. I’m just grateful we escaped.”
“There should be food once we reach the mining carts,” he promised.
I considered asking what he meant but felt too tired to force the words out.
We continued walking until the passage opened into a vast space. A mess of glowworms covered the ceiling. The long silk threads descending from their bodies shined a fluorescent blue, providing lines of illumination. In front of us were four mining carts lined up on tracks, which extended into the distances spanning a deep crevice. I looked down, not able to see a bottom. The fissure seemed to extend infinitely into boundless depths.
Fynn opened the door to one of the mining carts, which squeaked on rusty hinges. I looked at the rails more carefully. They appeared as if they might fold under the weight of the cart and drop us into the endless black pit.
“Please tell me we aren’t going to ride over that.”
“It’s the only way across,” Fynn said.
I gripped the edge of the cart and looked down over the cliff’s edge again. I groaned. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have a choice. Turning back isn’t an option.”
While I followed him into the cart, it wobbled. Once it settled, I collapsed into the hard cold metal seat. After Fynn yanked the door closed, he sat on the metal seat opposing me. He reached under the seat and pulled out a bulky sack. Inside were four waterskins and enough dried food to last for weeks. After he pulled out food and drink for himself, he handed me the bag. I extracted some biscuits and dried fruit and devoured it quickly, barely registering the taste of it on my tongue. I washed down the food with a swig from the waterskin and handed the bag back to Fynn. Once he was done eating, he stuffed the bag along with the lantern under his seat.
Although the cart was set on wheels, I wasn’t sure exactly how we would manage to make the cart move. Fynn reached down the side of the cart and wound up the crank. The cart slowly inched forward until we hit the part of the tracks that extended over the edge of the cliff. As the slope of the tracks started to decline, the cart picked up momentum. We rolled faster and faster, and my knuckles turned white as my grip on the cart tightened. Air whipped by my face. It felt like we could be flung out of the cart at any moment. My stomach started to churn. I wanted to vomit, but I feared moving my head over the edge of the cart as it sped along. So I hunkered down and closed my eyes. Eventually, this would have to end.
Mercifully, after what felt like the forever, the cart started to slow down. I opened my eyes to find that we were still sitting on the track in the middle of empty space. Gems glittered on the top of the cavern lit by the glowworms and their threads of blue light. Nothing else existed in our world besides the tracks, which seemed to be floating in the open air with no support. I closed my eyes again, wishing I were somewhere else.
“I think we have to wind it up again,” Fynn said.
“You think?” I snorted. “You mean you don’t know?”
“Well, I didn’t get this far the first time. I have no idea what happens now. The guide the fat man sent did this part with Cedric and Mediera.”
I gulped before vomiting over the side of the cart. There was no telltale splash of vomit hitting a solid surface. There was just the swish of it falling, followed by silence.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Just wind it up okay,” I said and then closed my eyes again, wanting this experience to end.
The cart inched along before picking up pace and careening forward. I curled up tighter, trying to disappear into myself. After what must have been hours, the cart screeched to a halt as it rolled onto a rock cliff. We were safely on solid ground this time. I clamored over the edge of the cart and fell to my hands and knees. I shook so hard that I feared I wouldn’t be able to stand.
Fynn stepped out of the cart, placed a hand on my back, and patted me gently. The shaking started to subside, and I took a deep breath. “We should probably start moving,” I said.
“Wait,” Fynn replied, before stepping back in the cart. He pulled the bag of food out from under the seat and started eating again. “Do you want something to eat?” he offered.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
He nodded. “Suit yourself.” After he slung the bag over his shoulder, he pulled the lantern out from underneath the seat and tied its handle to his belt.
We were standing on a compact dirt precipice, facing a wall. I was glad that Fynn had not forgotten the lantern. Once we were outside this section of the cavern, there was no guarantee that glowworms would be available to light
our way.
At the edge of the wall, a narrow rope ladder with wooden handles extended upwards. I couldn’t see where it ended. It just went up and up.
“Do you think you can manage climbing?” Fynn asked.
I shrugged. “We’ll find out, I suppose.”
“Maybe you should go first,” Fynn suggested. “It might be safer if I take up the rear.”
I gripped one of the wooden handles of the ladder above my head and then put my foot on one of the lower handles. As I started climbing higher and higher, I noticed that the height didn’t bother me. There was something comforting knowing that I had control over the process.
The rope ladder eventually arced over the side of the ledge. After Fynn and I climbed over, we took quick stock of our new environment. We were on yet another precipice. The rope ladder was tied to a metal stake that was embedded in the rocky surface of the ground. Beyond the ledge, we faced three tunnels that led in various directions. I looked at them and then at Fynn.
He shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. I told you that I’ve never been this far.”
“I suppose we’ll just pick one.”
We chose the tunnel in the center. The light of the glowworms dimmed as we descended into the passage, and we were once again dependent on the lantern’s flame to light our way. I took the lead, and as we walked, the height of the tunnel started to reduce, until we were half crawling. I considered suggesting that we turn back, but I would have had to turn my head to tell Fynn, who was crawling behind me. Eventually, the tunnel widened, and we could stand again. However, a large boulder blocked our path.
Fynn and I pushed the rock, but it wouldn’t budge. So I tried to use my internal magic, but I was better at moving small things. I nicked my finger with my knife, gripped the necklace, and tried again to force it to move. The rock glided forward revealing a slim opening, just wide enough for Fynn and I to slip through. A long hallway, with walls and a floor made of hard-packed dirt, confronted us.
“This couldn’t have been the way Mediera and Cedric went,” I said. “They could never have gotten past that rock.”
“Maybe they picked one of the other routes,” Fynn said with a shrug.
“Do you think we should go back and try another way?” I asked
“I don’t know. Perhaps we should just walk for a bit. If we don’t find a way out, we can turn back.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I didn’t have a better idea. So we walked down the hall until we encountered a door. I touched the cold brass knob. It wouldn’t budge as I tried to turn it. Without thinking, I sent a few threads of energy out of my hand and into the locking mechanism. The lock clicked as I shifted the tiny internal device. I pushed the door open, revealing a cellar filled with barrels. I sniffed. Wine. Good wine. There were no other doors in the cellar, but there was a wooden hatch above our heads.
I looked sideways a Fynn.
“It could be worse.” He shrugged and then pushed open the hatch and pulled himself up. I followed him. A barrel-shaped man stood behind a bar wiping it down with a rag in a room filled with empty tables and chairs.
“Who the shyte are you?” the man asked. “And what do you think you’re doing in my tavern?”
CHAPTER 12
IN AN UNSPOKEN threat, the man pulled a baton from underneath the bar and laid it on the counter.
“I knew we should have chosen one of the other tunnels,” Fynn whispered.
The only reasonable explanation for our presence was the truth or at least a muddled version of it.
“There’s a passage in your storeroom,” I said.
“Aye. But the door’s locked.”
“We unlocked it,” I said.
“I have the only key.” He fingered the handle of the baton.
“We picked the lock,” I answered.
“So you’re thieves then?”
“No,” Fynn said. “We’re not thieves. I dislike the accusation.”
“What are you doing here?”
“We escaped from Barriershire,” I said. “The passage connected to your cellar leads through the mountain.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Liar,” he said.
I elbowed Fynn in the side. There had to be some way we could prove ourselves.
Fynn pulled two shiny gold coins from the purse he had been hiding behind his shirt and set them on the counter. “Say that again.”
“Shyte. That’s good coin. You sure you didn’t steal it?”
“We’re telling the truth,” Fynn said. “By the honor of the sisters of mercy. We are from Barriershire.”
“You both do look like you’re covered with a weeks worth of grime. And maybe I have heard rumors that there was a tunnel down there.”
He touched one of the gold coins. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was considering how easy it would be to dispatch us and take the coins for himself.
“We have connections in the city. Important connections who are aware that we were coming through the passage,” I said. I could almost hear Jacarda whispering strategy to me. She would know how to play this situation.
“Is that so?” the man asked, withdrawing his hand from the coins.
I nodded, making certain not to flinch.
“Humph.” His eyes were still on the coins. “For two gold coins, you can get my best room upstairs for the night. It’s much too late for you to make your way through the city now. This isn’t the safest part of town.”
I snorted. “For two gold coins, you’ll provide us a room for a week and meals and baths,” I said. My old bartering skills were rusty but apparently not altogether gone.
“We need some new clothes too,” Fynn said as he fingered his rumpled, dirt stained jacket that no longer resembled a military uniform.
“I can have a tailor brought in tomorrow,” the man said, offering a toothy grin as he swept the coins away. It was a hefty price to pay. But worth it, I decided. I didn’t think I could bear much more traveling. I desperately needed to collapse into a warm bed.
“The kitchen is closed, but I can wake up my wife, and she’ll fix you something to eat. The baths will have to wait until tomorrow, though. I won’t be able to get hot water until midday.”
The man took us to a spacious suite on the floor above the tavern. There were two joining rooms, and I fell asleep on the bed in my room well before the tavern owner’s wife arrived with the food.
I woke to the sound of splashing water. When I opened my eyes, I was confronted by light flooding the room, and I could see a young girl pouring water into a tub.
“Good day, madam,” the girl greeted me. “Your bath is almost ready.” She placed the bucket she was holding on the floor and emptied a second into the tub. I got up and peered in. The bath was indeed quite full.
“Do you have hot water that runs to the tavern?” I asked.
She nodded. “We do. There’s a hot spring that was rerouted to Rockside. We’ve got more hot water than we can use. Do you need help undressing?”
I shook my head, not wanting to reveal the military uniform I still wore. No doubt the tavern owner had spoken of the state he found Fynn and I in last night, but there seemed no need for me to create a situation that would easily allow the girl to ask questions.
Once the girl left the room, I pulled the sheet away, undressed, and lowered myself into the tub. It felt nice to be immersed in warm water. I noticed the water was slowly turning brown as I rinsed the dirt off of myself.
While I scrubbed, the door between my room and Fynn’s opened and Fynn stepped in. He had one towel wrapped around his waist and another wrapped around his head.
“Fynn, I’m bathing. This is inappropriate.”
“Please.” He rolled his eyes. “We’ve been traveling together for over a week. I’ve seen everything there is to see.”
“Fynn!”
“We may as well wait for the tailor together. I’m not putting my clothes back on. There’s really no point. Hopefully, the tavern owner will burn
them.”
I sighed. “At least turn your back while I step out of the tub.”
After he turned, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around myself. I looked into the tub. The water had indeed turned a dull brown. “I’m not really clean yet,” I said to Fynn.
“I had the same problem. One bath was not nearly enough to scrub away the grime. I’m going to look for a public bath house whenever I get a chance to explore the city.”
“Did we make it all the way to Courtshire then? I never asked last night.”
“Not quite. You should look out the window,” Fynn suggested.
I pushed aside the thick muslin curtains, revealing a large pane of glass. A sprawling city wrapped around a large sparkling aquamarine lake spread out before me. On the far end of the lake, I could make out a large castle, which I imagined must be Courtshire’s Great House. There was no wall containing the city, and I wondered how they would defend themselves if they came under attack. I frowned. We must be very high up to have such a wide view of the city. But Fynn had said that we weren’t even in the city yet.
“Where are we?” I asked him.
“The tavern is built into the side of the mountain. As are several other proprietorships in Rockside.”
“Rockside?”
“We’re just outside the city limits. Rockside used to service the miners before this side of the mountain was mined clean of black rock. Now it’s just a collection of small residences and a few taverns. A number of the city’s minor merchants live here but have their shops inside the city markets.”
“How do you know so much? Have you been here before?”
“No, no. This is the first time I’ve traveled outside of Barriershire.” He smiled. “Although you fell asleep early last night, I stayed awake long enough to chat a bit with Gertie, Patrick’s wife.”
“Patrick?” I asked.
“The tavern owner,” Fynn answered. “They’ve lived in Rockside all their lives. Although they knew about the fury attacks on Barriershire, they were under the impression that it was a minor nuisance. Interesting, don’t you think?”
Anais and the Broken War (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 5) Page 9