by John Booth
It had been three days since the death of the Association. Riots on the streets ended as soon as they began because there was no one to fight. Association guards vanished like mist, though their abandoned uniforms were still being found. A professional knows when to fight and when to flee and the Association had hired only the very best.
Jalia got her revenge on Una and the woman was certainly still salving her punished buttocks. But it could have been much worse, Daniel reassured himself. It had been difficult to persuade Jalia to leave the city as they entered. But Daniel’s argument eventually prevailed. This time she played the grieving mother whose child had been stillborn.
They made their way to Caulder’s farm on foot and gave Gom’s grandchildren their farmers’ clothes to use to make a scarecrow. Jalia remained determined to see a gold mine before they headed south and they had ridden into the hills that bordered the lake in the north.
A trip by sailing boat would have been much faster, but their identities might have been discovered. With Jalia’s fame spreading like wildfire, particularly her theft of the Associations gold in Brinan it was safer to travel by land. They travelled light carrying only bedrolls and the rabbit kills Jalia had made on the trail.
“What do you think a goldmine looks like?” Jalia asked.
“I’ve heard of people panning for gold in the fast running streams of the Delbon Heights. They look for grains of gold washed from the hearts of the mountains using flat pans.”
Jalia laughed. “I don’t imagine that gold miners dig using pans, though if I turn out to be wrong I shall apologize profusely.”
“Mart said the mines are cut through solid granite. That seems equally unlikely to me.” Daniel urged Jet on as the track they were following became smoother and wider.
“I think we shall find out very soon.” Jalia pointed to where the track they followed joined another. The track ahead was heavily rutted in both directions, one way leading down towards the lake, the other winding into the foothills.
“I hope that word of the Association’s demise has reached these parts,” Daniel said as he stood in his stirrups and looked around warily.
“You worry too much,” Jalia replied, urging Swift up the track towards the mines.
A wooden sign proclaimed the land belonged to Silla Klint. Behind the sign three men in filthy clothes huddled around a fire and beyond them a dark hole disappeared into a rock face. The men looked up when they heard the horses and all three reached for their knives.
Daniel stopped Jet and lifted his hands showing empty palms.
“We are travelers and mean you no harm.”
The closest of the men stepped forward. “My name is Dirk. We own this mine now, what’s left of it. This place cost us wives and children and we’ll fight you to keep it.”
“Then I should take the sign down. Silla Klint has fled Telmar so no one is likely to dispute your claim.”
Jalia held out her catch of rabbits. “We’re happy to share our food in exchange for a look in your mine.”
“Nothing to see except a lot of tunnels and caverns empty of gold,” Dirk said contemptuously. He looked at his companions, who nodded. “This is Hadder and Trin. It’s been a long time since any of us have tasted rabbit.”
The men visibly relaxed after they ate. Their story came out in dribs and drabs during the mean. There had been over a hundred slaves in the mine when news arrived of the Association’s downfall. The guards abandoned their posts as the news spread and by the time the slaves started hunting for them, they were gone.
“We’d have killed them for sure. We’ve all lost friends and family in there.” Hadder nodded in the direction of the tunnel entrance.
“How did you know where to dig?” Jalia asked.
“We followed veins of gold, hoping they wouldn’t peter out,” Trin answered. “That tunnel winds in all directions into the heart of the mountain. Splitting where the vein split. All the veins are played out. There’s nothing left to follow.”
“Can’t you strike out in another direction?” Jalia asked to derisive laughter.
“It isn’t like cutting butter, girl. And you could dig for leagues and never find a vein,” Dirk replied.
“So why stay?” Daniel said.
Dirk spat into the flames. “Some of the veins weren’t scraped dry. We might dig out a few ounces. And we came here for gold. All of us abandoned our lives to come here. It would be a waste if we went back empty handed.”
Jalia pulled out a small empty looking purse and threw two small coins from it at Dirk. He caught them deftly and examined them in the firelight. They were pure gold.
“Me and my husband would like to look in your mine. Seems only fair that we pay.”
“It’s not the same as digging it out.”
“Who’s to know?” Jalia grinned and Dirk threw coins to Hadder and Trin.
“Make it three and you’ve got a deal.”
The men warned them to take off their swords before trying to traverse the mine as there would be many places where access would be difficult. They tied their swords to their saddles before following the men into the mine.
The mine was much bigger than they expected. The mountain was honeycombed with natural caves that the miners had broken in and out of. The men led them carrying candle lanterns and the light bounced off veins of quartz and speckles in the granite giving the walls a look similar to the night sky.
There were narrow tunnels where the miners had cut just enough of the rock to give them a way through. Jalia slid through these holes without thinking it while Daniel worried he would get stuck. However, since two of the miners were of stouter build than him, he was fairly confident he would get through.
They had travelled through the caves for over an hour when Dirk led them into a massive cave. The light from the lanterns was lost in the dark and they could see little of it. He led them towards its center where a massive stalagmite grew from the ground to touch a stalactite growing its way down from the top.
“I want to stay here awhile,” Daniel said and sat on a rock. He couldn’t say why he wanted to stay, but his need was overwhelming. This place called out to him.
Jalia snorted in disgust. “There’s nothing to see. I want to explore.”
“There’s a vein we worked a few caves on from here. We think it may have a little gold left in it,” Trin offered.
“Let’s go there then. Come on Daniel.”
“Jalia, you go on with the men. I want to stay here.”
Jalia stomped on the cave floor, which did nothing except to hurt her foot.
“Leave Daniel a lantern and we’ll go on,” she said petulantly.
Dirk put his lantern on the floor besides Daniel’s feet. “Don’t leave until we come back. It’s easy to get lost.” Daniel nodded in agreement; his normally infallible sense of direction had failed him after the first ten minutes underground.
Jalia leaned over Daniel and he felt her press her ring into his hand. “You can use it to get a good look round when we’re gone,” she whispered in his ear.
Daniel waited until the lantern light from the others disappeared. He put the ring on his index finger where it fitted perfectly. Instead of using it to light the cavern he blew out the candle, leaving him in darkness.
He felt as if something was about to happen. There was a taste in the air like a thunderstorm. Then he saw light at the edges of his vision. A jagged line of yellow light flowed across the roof of the cave and spread out like a fork of lightning. Other lines started from high up on the walls and within a minute the cave was lit in a golden glow as the lines joined up to form a random spiders-web of light.
‘You have come.’
The voice was in his head but he knew he didn’t imagine it.
“Who are you?”
‘It does not matter. Listen.’
Daniel stood expectantly and it seemed a long time before the voice spoke again.
‘There are three forms of magic. The magic of the
spirit; your dagger, the ring and that within you are of this kind. Blood magic, that burns slow and consumes. It burns strongly in your family, but you will have to face its wrath before you can use it. The magic of soul exudes from below and feeds the others. It flows through the earth. To save the world you will need to use all three.’
The veins slowly dimmed until Daniel was once again in silence. He didn’t understand why this had happened, but he knew it would be pointless to ask further questions. He had been told all he was going to be told.
Daniel lit the lantern and was considering using the ring when he heard a cry from the direction the others had gone. He walked across the cavern floor as quickly as the lantern light would allow, running when he saw the slumped form of a man ahead.
Daniel turned the man over and saw it was Dirk. He was bleeding from a wound in his shoulder. He woke as Daniel stared at him.
Dirk gripped his arm fiercely.
“They have taken your woman.” Having said his piece he slumped back onto the cave floor.
22.Slain
Dirk led the group through a tunnel to a cave running with water. The surfaces of the cave were smooth and uneven and Jalia struggled to stay on her feet. Large numbers of stalagmites rose from the floor and many were joined to the ceiling creating columns that made it difficult to see very far.
“The gold vein is on the far side” Dirk said.
Trin grunted. “Hard to work here. That’s why we think we might find more. The miners had reason to say it was played out.”
Hadder turned as if to say something. In the candle light it was difficult to see what he was holding on his chest, but he fell like a tree cut in the forest. Jalia sensed trouble and stepped back to put a stalagmite column at her back as her hand reached for the knife at her belt. She backed into something softer than stone though the knife that pressed against her throat was solid enough.
Someone moved in the shadows and Trin fell as a crossbow bolt hit him in the throat. Jalia stood still and raised her arms slowly. With the slippery surface beneath her feet she could end up with a slit throat by accident. An arm wrapped around her chest and crushed her chest, but at least it held her steady.
The shadowy figure stepped out of the darkness with a dagger in his hand. Dirk waved his knife at the man but it was clear to Jalia he was hopelessly outclassed. She hoped he would have the sense to run.
He did. Dirk backed out of the cavern, heading back the way they had come. The man stalking him slipped and fell. Dirk saw his chance and bolted for the tunnel. He turned at the entrance to the tunnel for one last glance and shuddered as the man of the floor’s dagger hit him high on the shoulder. Dirk pulled the dagger out, looking at it stupidly as blood pulsed from his wound. He dropped it and disappeared into the tunnel.
“I’ll get the bastard.”
“Leave him, Mac. He won’t last long with that wound. You’ve killed him for sure,” said the man holding Jalia. She could have freed herself in an instant on firm footing, but as it was she was forced to bide her time. “Help me with this one. She knows something of fighting.”
“It’s a girl, Gran. Can’t you handle a girl?”
“Shut up and check her for weapons.” Mac’s rough hands went over Jalia’s body, lingering longer than was necessary between her thighs and over her legs. He took the knife from her belt and found the one hidden in her boot.
“You could be right,” Mac mused, “These are balanced blades.”
“She didn’t panic when I grabbed her. Tie her hands and tie them tight.”
Jalia offered no resistance as her hands were tied in front of her. She tensed the muscles in her wrists so the rope would have some slack when she relaxed. But Mac tied her so tight all that would do is allow her hands some circulation.
Gran pushed her to the ground as soon as her hands were secure.
“I hope you know the way out of this mine,” he said.
Jalia stared at him blankly for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. Mac kicked at her but she saw it coming and rode the blow, robbing it of any strength. It also left her some distance from the men.
“You idiots just killed the only men who knew the way out. You have to be Association guards.”
Gran made a growling sound while Mac kicked angrily at a stalagmite.
Daniel felt a pressure building behind his eyes. His fingers tingled and he remembered the last time he had felt like this. He touched Dirk’s wound and saw a flash of light leap between his fingers and Dirk’s flesh. The pressure disappeared and he felt weary. If he was channeling Fairie healing magic it was hard work.
Dirk moaned and opened his eyes.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Daniel asked.
Dirk grabbed at his arm and squeezed it. “Don’t leave me to die in the dark.”
Daniel held the lantern close to Dirk’s wound.
“It seems you are going to live.” Daniel tore a strip of cloth from Dirk’s shirt and tied it across what little remained of the wound.
Dirk decided to accept the miracle rather than question it. Alive was alive.
“We were ambushed in the Cave of a Thousand Falls. They killed Trin and Hadder, but I managed to get away.”
“And Jalia?” Daniel tried hard to make his voice sound normal.
“One of them held a knife to her throat but she was alive when I fled.”
“How many?”
Dirk thought, it had all been very confusing. “I saw two, but there could be more. Two of her guards, though I’ve never seen them before.”
“Her?”
“Silla Klint.” Dirk spat in disgust.
Daniel paused for thought. “They must have got left behind when the others fled. They’re probably lost, new to the mines. Jalia’s likely laughing at them right now.”
Dirk frowned as he tried to follow Daniel’s logic. “Laughing?”
“Well, their only captive doesn’t know the way out either.”
“You don’t know how to get out of here?” Mac asked. He turned to Gran with clenched fists. “You idiot, you were supposed to grab their leader.”
“She was in front and I couldn’t tell she was a woman until I’d got her.”
Jalia thought quickly. If she could get them angry enough she might be able to take them, but with her hands tied so tightly the odds were very much in their favor. If only there was something she could use to cut the rope.
“How long have you been down here anyway?” she asked while she looked around for inspiration.
“Long enough to be out of food,” Mac snarled. “Be careful we don’t eat you.”
“She must know part of the way back.”
Jalia stared at the two foot high stalagmite in front of her. It was in the shape of a narrow cone almost like a spear. But despite coming to a point, she knew the end would be blunt. It wouldn’t cut through anything. She grinned wickedly as an idea grew.
“What is she doing this far down the mine?” Mac asked. “She’s not a miner and they aren’t carrying tools.”
“We paid the miners to show us round.” Jalia knew she’d made a mistake before she finished the sentence.
Mac stabbed the air in her general direction with her own knife. Jalia felt righteous anger welling inside her and curbed it as best she could.
“Who’s We?”
“My travelling companion, Daniel. The one you stabbed.” Jalia paused to let her words sink in. “These two were Trin and Hadder before you killed them. They were the miners.”
Mac took a step towards Jalia and Gran moved to stand in front of her. “Killing the girl won’t help and she can show us the first part of the way.”
“Mac can’t be your leader as he’s too stupid.”
As Jalia hoped, Mac snarled and came for her. Gran grappled with him, trying to hold him back. Now for the tricky bit, she thought.
Jalia had been positioning her legs so she could leap up. The trouble was the wet stone was so slippery there was a significant proba
bility she would slide instead of rising. She sprang at Gran’s back.
Her luck almost failed her as one leg slid out sideways. But she got just enough height to get her arms over Gran’s head before her feet went out from under her pulling Gran down with her.
As they fell she used her weight to drag him back a couple of feet, bringing him down onto the stalagmite. Gran screamed, his arms flailed and knocked over the miners lanterns, plunging the cavern into darkness.
Jalia lifted her tied hands off Gran and dropped low to the floor. She tried to stop breathing, though her lungs were crying for air. She slid backwards, putting distance between where she had last seen Mac.
Gran’s screams grew louder. She had hoped the stalagmite would pierce his back, but that wouldn’t explain his screaming. Whatever she’d done, he was out of the fight.
She heard Mac’s ragged breathing, but with the noise from Gran it was impossible to work out how close he might be. The sound of a knife slicing above her head told her he was closer than she imagined.
“I know you’re in here and there’s no escape,” Mac snarled. Jalia felt the edge of his boot as he moved. Another inch and it would have crushed her fingers. It was enough information to act. She grabbed his leg and twisted it.
Mac fell heavily. Jalia didn’t know whether he was still able to fight, but she knew she had to follow through. She pulled herself along his leg and put out a hand seeking the arm with the knife. Mac moaned and struggled. He had banged his head falling and was dazed. Jalia thanked her luck as she twisted his wrist and brought the knife in his hand down into his chest. She felt his body go limp.
Gran had stopped screaming and the cave was silent except for her ragged breathing.
Jalia sat up. She found the hilt of her knife and pulled it out of him. She wiped it clumsily on his body, as she couldn’t see a thing. Once it was safely in her belt she began to sing.
Daniel looked at Dirk and made an assessment.
“Can you take me to where they caught Jalia?”
Dirk looked doubtful and put a hand to his wound. “I can get you to the tunnel that leads to it, I think. But I would be more hindrance than help as I am now.”