Dark Mirror 2 - Dark Passage

by M. J. Putney

  * * *

  A day of rest and mental preparation left the Irregulars as ready as they could be, but the journey to Castle Bouchard was silent even with six people. Jack’s storm was moving in. Though he was holding back the full fury, heavy wind and rain had already arrived. Cynthia offered to keep the rain off them, but was told to save her magic since it might be needed later.

  There was something unreal about the fact that she was heading off to war. She, Lady Cynthia Stanton, the most beautiful debutante of the season she’d never had! Though she’d refused the trousers, she had traveled through the portal wearing a plain warm dress and her best pair of half boots for walking.

  She did wear the coat Jack had brought for her. Old and comfortably worn, it was broad of shoulder and fell past her hips. It also carried the irresistible scent and feel of Jack, not that she’d tell him that.

  As they walked, much of her attention was on the weather as she gradually gathered the wild lightning energy. She had her hands full with it, too. It was good she and Jack were both here, since controlling the storm and so much lightning would have been difficult for one person.

  They crested the hill opposite the escarpment and Cynthia, Jack, and Elspeth got their first view of the castle and the military camp. Cynthia’s pulse accelerated and she lost hold of a lightning bolt when she saw the great height and sheer cliff face. No wonder the castle was considered impregnable!

  If she and Jack hadn’t rescued Comte du Bouchard and learned of the tunnel, they could never have attempted this mission. She gave private thanks that she was a member of the laboratory team. She’d let Tory and Elspeth scale the castle heights from within.

  Allarde studied the scene with narrowed eyes. “I can use that tall elm to take down the fence near the church. There aren’t any trees near the laboratory, but I should be able to roll that motor vehicle through the fence.”

  “With luck, we’ll be at the cave with the Weisses in a couple of hours and back in Lackland by morning,” Nick said cheerfully, but Cynthia suspected he was less confident than he sounded.

  “Are we ready to go our separate ways?” Tory asked. “Allarde and I can communicate emotions well enough to synchronize the actions of our two groups.”

  “One last thing.” Jack stepped up to Cynthia, took hold of her upper arms, and gave her a kiss that should have made the rain steam.

  She clung to him, knees weak, heart hammering, and brain stunned. He was outrageous! But … but …

  Her arms slid around his neck as she dizzily kissed him back. The embrace under the mistletoe had startled her with its intensity, yet by comparison, that had been a mere breeze. This kiss was hurricane force, with wind and lightning and rain going sideways.

  She might have fallen when he ended the kiss if he hadn’t held her steady. She managed a strangled “What was that for?”

  “I didn’t want to head off into danger without giving you a proper kiss,” he explained.

  Cynthia slapped him hard on the check. “Don’t you dare talk about getting killed!” She glared at him, on the edge of tears. “You need to survive so I can torment you about your utter lack of manners.”

  He grinned, unabashed despite the mark of her hand on his cheek. “I’d like that.”

  The others had been watching in fascination. “Now that that has been taken care of,” Nick said, “shall we carry on with our mission?”

  Allarde said quietly, “Be careful, Tory.”

  “We will,” she replied in a steady voice.

  Cynthia realized that the two of them had been holding hands. So much more genteel than Jack. She smiled involuntarily. Though Jack was outrageous, he did keep her intrigued.

  The two groups split and headed in opposite directions. Nick and the other girls disappeared almost immediately in the rain and darkness. Allarde led the way toward the laboratory since he’d been here before.

  Cynthia had underestimated the difficulty of walking on rough ground in the dark and increasingly heavy rain. When she stumbled going down the hill, Jack caught her arm. “Hold my hand,” he said. “The ground is only going to get worse.”

  “I’m going to make an exception to my usual rule and actually do what you suggest,” she returned, trying to sound flippant. Heaven forbid he realize how much she welcomed the excuse to hold on to him.

  Not only for help in walking, though that was much appreciated. She also needed him to bolster her fraying nerves. From the top of the hill, she had seen the barbed-wire fence, the massive motor vehicles. Men with rifles patrolled the compound. She should have stuck to her original plan and stayed safe at home.

  But she had wanted to be with Jack, who made so many things seem possible.

  Since they were holding hands, she felt him marshalling his magic to bring the storm in at exactly the right time. As they neared the compound, he said under the sound of approaching thunder, “Do you have enough lightning, Cynthia?”

  “As much as I can handle. I need to use it before I lose control.”

  They reached the place of concealment near the fence. As spotlights hunted back and forth, turning the perimeter from night to day, Allarde said, “The laboratory is that long, light-colored building.”

  “That will be easy,” Jack remarked. “Where is the generator shed?”

  “On the other side of the compound. Can you see it, Cynthia? There’s a tall pole running up above.”

  She followed the direction of Allarde’s pointing hand. “That small gray building? That shouldn’t be much of a problem. Is it time?”

  “The other team has farther to walk and they aren’t in position yet,” Allarde said. “Another few minutes.”

  Cynthia asked, “Can you and Tory read each other’s thoughts?”

  “Not thoughts, but we can sense each other’s emotions,” Allarde explained. “When Tory and the others are in place, she’ll send a feeling of readiness. Completion.”

  “Amazing.” Cynthia wondered what it would be like to have that connection with J … with a male. “Are you two back together? You seem to be.”

  Allarde gave her a freezing look that made it clear the subject was not open for discussion. Turning his gaze back to the compound, he said, “They’re almost in place. Loose your winds, Jack!”

  Like Cynthia, Jack had been working hard to control the storm so it would worsen at exactly the right time. Now she felt his exhilaration as he slammed together the powerful winds he’d been holding separate.

  Within moments, hurricane-strength winds roared between the escarpment and the hill behind them. Cynthia was almost knocked from her feet and a tree crashed behind them with no help from Allarde.

  Allarde was too busy concentrating to notice. A vehicle that had been parked on the other side of the fence flipped over with a crash and continued rolling with the sounds of crunching metal until it smashed both fences flat. He turned left, his concentration palpable. A huge tree crashed with a boom audible over the storm.

  “Now, Cynthia!” Jack’s grip numbed her hand.

  She gazed at the roof of the generator shed. Coordinating lightning wasn’t easy, but she almost had it. Almost …

  Blinding white light illuminated the sky as an annihilating bolt slashed downward. The shed exploded and sparks blazed halfway up the escarpment. Every light in the camp vanished, plunging the compound into suffocating darkness. Yes! She felt exultant. A pity the camp was too wet to burn.

  “Now!” Allarde ordered. “We need to cross the gap in the fence and get inside the laboratory while they’re still shouting and running into each other.”

  Allarde focused a barely visible mage light at the ground in front of him and sprinted toward the flattened fence. Jack and Cynthia followed a little more slowly over the sodden ground, still holding hands.

  She was glad she’d decided to go to the laboratory with her companions rather than stay alone outside. Underneath her excitement she was tired—herding lightning was hard work—but everything was falling into place jus
t as they’d planned. Now she understood how sharing danger strengthened bonds between comrades.

  They jumped over the barbed wire flattened by the weight of the truck, crossed the ground between fences and leaped over that as well. It took less than two minutes to reach the entrance to the laboratory. Shouts and curses came from the direction of the generator shed, but there didn’t seem to be any Germans near the laboratory.

  Allarde opened the door so smoothly that she barely saw how he unlocked it. Then they were inside dripping on the tiled floor and listening hard. There were no sounds of life in the building.

  When Allarde judged they were safe, he strengthened the mage light a little and headed down the corridor. Double doors, more corridor, a turn before he stopped in front of a door. Once more he unlocked it and motioned Cynthia and Jack inside.

  When the door was closed behind them, he brightened the light. “Dr. Weiss, we’ve returned,” he said quietly. “Are you ready to escape?”

  The lean, dark man on the narrow cot awakened immediately and swung his feet to the floor. He’d been sleeping in wrinkled trousers and shirt and socks, Cynthia noted. “Have you freed my wife and children?” he asked urgently in French-accented English. He frowned. “Where is the other boy, the one who made all the promises?”

  “Nick is even now leading a team to the castle to rescue your wife and children,” Allarde replied. “His ability to find people was needed there, which is why I’ve come here with two other friends.”

  “It is truly possible to free them from that place?” the scientist said with narrowed eyes. “You aren’t merely saying that to placate me so I’ll come with you?”

  “We located an ancient tunnel that runs up through the rock from the base of the escarpment to the castle cellar,” Allarde explained. “Nick and the others will be rescuing your family within minutes. Now it’s time for us to go.”

  Dr. Weiss shoved his feet into shoes that had been tucked under his cot. After dragging on his coat and hat, he slung an improvised knapsack over his shoulders. “I’m ready. But I have one more plea to make.” His dark gaze moved from one face to another. “There are others imprisoned in this building who also need to be rescued.”

  Cynthia’s stomach clenched. Just like that, their neat plan had splintered out of control.

  CHAPTER 29

  Nick was taut as strung wire when Tory led the way down to the field opposite the church. Even Elspeth, usually the calm, still center of any group of Irregulars, was tense.

  Having been raised in the country, Tory was pained to see the ripe stalks of wheat being flattened by the fierce rain. France would be a hungry country come winter.

  When they were in position, Elspeth removed her shapeless hat and shook water from it. Like Tory, she’d braided her hair to keep it out of the way, and the braids were now saturated. “Weather mages are wonderful for covering our nefarious activities, but the results do make secret missions uncomfortable.”

  Tory chuckled. “I suppose we should be grateful snow wasn’t required.”

  She scanned the area around the church, which seemed deserted. No sign of a patroller. The elm tree Allarde had tentatively selected to flatten the fence looked like the best choice for what they needed. “Are you both ready?”

  After they murmured agreement, she said, “I’ll let Allarde know it’s time.”

  She concentrated on sending him a sense of preparedness. This was one time the connection between them was useful rather than a source of worry.

  The rainstorm transformed into a violent tempest. She kept her attention on the tree. Since they were pooling their talents, her concentration should help him bring the tree down in the right place.

  As the spotlight swung in their direction, the sky exploded with eye-searing white light. They all ducked instinctively as thunder rattled their bones.

  Cynthia’s lightning triggered an explosion as the generator shed disintegrated. All the lights in the compound vanished, leaving blackness and pouring rain and screaming winds.

  Tory heard a metallic rumble and crunch to her right and guessed that Allarde had rolled a large motor vehicle to take out the fence near the laboratory. She felt him gather his power again. When he was ready, they channeled their combined magic into the towering elm in front of her.

  The tree made an eerie groaning sound as its roots were wrenched from the earth. It toppled straight at Tory, smashing into the ground with shattering branches and fence-flattening force.

  She sent a silent apology to the tree, destroyed for the purposes of humans who lived only short years in comparison. But it was needful. “Time to go!”

  With a tiny mage light in hand, she raced for the fence, Elspeth and Nick behind her. A long swath of fencing was down, but the wire was still barbed. She scanned the fallen section and saw that on the left side of the downed tree, the strands had snapped and were curling up. That left a narrow passage where she could walk without the risk of stepping on barbs.

  As Nick moved through, he ordered, “Wait!” Bending, he pulled the broken wires back to create a wider path.

  When he was finished, he straightened and Tory resumed her run to the buttress. Memory of having been caught by the patroller before made her skin crawl as she darted toward the church and the concealed tunnel.

  By the time Elspeth and Nick caught up with her, she had the hidden door open. It moved much more easily this time. “Careful,” she said softly as they passed her. “There are steps going down.”

  Elspeth entered without hesitation, followed by Nick. After Tory closed the door, she demonstrated how to open the door from this side. Then she led the way downward. “Watch your step. The footing can be treacherous.”

  “At least we’re out of the rain here,” Nick said philosophically. “How long a hike do we have?”

  “I’m not sure,” Tory replied. “But think how high the castle is.”

  Nick shuddered dramatically. “I hope Mrs. Weiss and the children are in good condition for the hike out!”

  “They might not be,” Elspeth said. “Which is why I thought I should come.”

  Tory hoped her friend’s healing skills wouldn’t be required. But Elspeth, like most magelings, has some intuition about future events. If she felt her talents would be needed, she was very likely right.

  Mostly they climbed in silence, though once Nick said, “Is it my imagination, or is the ceiling of this tunnel leaking?”

  They stopped, taking the opportunity to catch their breath. Drops of moisture were coalescing on the pale stone above, then falling. “Definitely leaky,” Tory said. “They just don’t make tunnels the way they used to.”

  “This escarpment is made out of limestone, which is porous, if I remember my science classes correctly. Water like that created the natural cave that was the beginning of this tunnel.” Nick turned sideways to edge through a particularly narrow section. “I hope none of the Weisses are claustrophobic.”

  “What is claustrophobic?” Elspeth asked.

  “Someone who is terrified of tight spaces,” Nick explained. “I’m not fond of them myself, so I’m not enjoying this tunnel. If I were a true claustrophobe, I would have sent the two of you in without me.”

  “And I’d have dragged you along because we need your finder skill,” Tory said with a glint of amusement. “Time to get moving again. Allarde and the others probably already have Dr. Weiss safely away.”

  It was a relief to finally reach the landing outside the door that led into the castle cellars. Tory leaned against the wall, panting. Her companions were in no better shape.

  “I tell myself it will be easier going down,” Elspeth said as she gulped down air.

  “Heroism is a lot of work,” Tory remarked. “Nick, are the Weisses nearby?”

  He closed his eyes and concentrated. “They’re very close. On this level, I think.”

  “Good. The less we have to move about the castle, the better chance we have to get out without being noticed,” Tory said.
“Let’s hope any Germans quartered here will have returned to sleep after the fireworks below.”

  Nick pulled a handgun from a holster under his coat. Tory hadn’t even known it was there.

  “This is my father’s service revolver,” he explained as he checked it. “A Webley Mark IV thirty-eight caliber. I can fire six bullets in a row without having to stop and reload after every shot like the pistols in your time.”

  Tory stared at the lethally efficient weapon. “I’m not sure if I find that reassuring or terrifying.”

  “Both,” Elspeth said succinctly. “I hope you don’t have to use it.”

  “So do I. But since we may run into armed men, I feel better for being prepared.” He lowered the revolver at his side, relaxed but ready. “I’m glad I decided to bring it through the mirror with me. Intuition, I suppose. Any special tricks to this door, Tory?”

  “Push this lever, but first lights off. The door opens to a storage room and it’s probably empty, but we can’t count on that.”

  After the mage lights were all doused, she opened the door, keeping it just slightly ajar while she listened. Darkness and silence on the other side. Opening the door wider, she lit another mage light and slipped through, followed by the others.

  In a voice less than a whisper, Nick said, “Elspeth, I’m the finder and Tory unlocks doors, but I think you should stay here. Our reserve if something goes wrong.”

  “I can just see myself rescuing you from a platoon of Nazis,” she said dryly. “But you’re right. There’s no need for me to go with you. I’m here if healing is needed.”

  Mentally girding herself, Tory dimmed her light and adjusted it so it pointed only downward. She had been skulking around so much lately that she’d become really good at calibrating lights that were the next thing to nonexistent.

  They reached the door to the corridor. “Lead on, Nicholas,” she said softly.

  He stepped into the corridor, Tory right behind him. Quiet and confident, he led the way along one corridor, through a door that Tory unlocked, down another passage. She guessed they were traversing the full width of the castle. The cellars were shabby, but in regular use for storage. And if Nick was right, for prisoners.