Cross Keys

by Ally Shields

  The rock’s ping seemed to echo her words.

  Rhyden glanced out into the tunnel again. “Even if you’re right, and there’s only four of them, we still need Captain Brunic. We can’t handle them, any workers we find at the mine, and the crates of firearms. We need help.”

  “The rifleman is probably guarding the entrance, but maybe there’s another way out,” Kam suggested. “This tunnel must go somewhere.”

  Seth stood, leaving the space beside her cold and empty. He stepped into the main tunnel, shining his light down the untried path. “We can’t wander around inside the hills forever, but let’s go on for another mile. If we don’t find anything, then we turn back.”

  Quickly agreeing to any plan of action, they got on their way. Kam took the lead this time, followed by Ganby, with Rhyden and Seth guarding the rear. They didn’t have to go far. Within less than a quarter mile, the path angled sharply upward and they emerged into a wooded area.

  “Anyone know where we are?” Kam turned in a circle, searching for a landmark, something besides more trees.

  Rhyden and Seth shook their heads, but Ganby surprised them.

  “I do. I used to play here with friends.” He pointed toward a slight opening in the trees. “If you cut through there, you’ll be back in town in thirty minutes or less.”

  “That’s back here in an hour. Less since we’d return on horseback,” Seth mused.

  “Shouldn’t some of us stay here and keep watch?” Rhyden asked.

  “I don’t like the idea of separating again. That proved to be risky, and we’re stronger together,” Seth said.

  “I could go. I don’t know how to fight anyway.”

  They stared at Ganby.

  “Honest. You can trust me.” He frowned at their doubtful expressions. “Like you said, I won’t be safe until these men are in jail. I’ll go straight to Captain Brunic.” He turned to Kam again. “You saved my life. I want to help.”

  She studied his eager face. “I think he means it.”

  Seth stepped toward the young man. “So help me, if you screw up and take off…”

  “I won’t.” Ganby flinched but stood his ground. “Where would I go? You know my name, my family. I can do this.”

  Seth scowled but nodded. “Rhyden, are you OK with this?”

  “Whatever you think as long as I don’t have to go. I want to make sure these guys don’t get away.”

  Five minutes later, after more instructions from Seth and Kam on finding Captain Brunic and what to tell him, they watched Ganby disappear into the forest. They were taking a risk that he’d run and hide, but Kam was fairly confident he was a decent guy who’d gotten caught up in making easy money.

  * * *

  Kam crept forward in the dark, Seth and Rhyden on either side of her as they felt their way along the walls. They’d made quick progress in returning through the tunnels and had almost reached the main fork when they heard the voices. They’d turned off their flashlights and were now inching forward.

  Kam reached the fork, put a hand on the clammy wall, and peered around the corner. Two men sat less than fifteen feet away, a lantern between them, lighting up the entire area. Nothing like making themselves targets.

  She turned and held up a finger on each hand. Seth and Rhyden notched their arrows and leaped into the tunnel, killing the sentries with heart shots before either one uttered a sound. While Kam kept watch, they dragged the bodies out of sight in the side tunnel. She was surprised how matter-of-fact they all were about the deaths. Reality might settle in later, but for now they were intent on their objective and what they needed to do to accomplish it.

  As soon as the signs of their attack were scuffed away, they proceeded in the direction of the uranium mine. Rhyden hung back to watch for anyone that might approach from the outside entrance. The other three men could be anywhere.

  Kam lost track of time. It couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes, but it seemed longer when every nerve was tense, her ears straining for the slightest sound.

  The first warning was Rhyden’s loud whisper. “Someone’s behind us.”

  Kam whipped her head around, looking for potential hiding places. This portion of the tunnel was smooth, no side passages, no crevices. “Looks like the only hope is forward. Let’s go.”

  They took off at a steady lope. Rhyden kept looking over his shoulder, watching for their pursuers. Seth and Kam concentrated on the way ahead. She heard the sound of metal striking rock, then indistinct voices. The mine was just ahead.

  They slowed and came to a halt. There was nowhere to get off the path.

  “Trapped.” Seth’s voice was terse. “So be it.” He grabbed his bow.

  “Hey, there they are!” A man shouted from directly behind them. An arrow hit Kam in the chest, and she doubled over, gasping at the pain. Seth grabbed her, pulling her forward with him, and they stumbled toward a dimly lit bend in the path. Seth held her against his chest, repeating her name. She couldn’t draw in enough air to answer.

  There was a pain-filled cry behind them.

  “Go, go, go. There’s at least two more back there.” Rhyden leaped into view, urging them forward. “I only winged one.”

  Kam tried to move her feet, stumbling but gulping in deep breaths. Seth nearly lifted her off her feet, continuing to drag her along. Thanks to the titanite, the arrow had knocked the breath out of her, maybe broken a rib or two, but she’d recover. “I’m OK,” she managed to gasp as they rounded the corner.

  Seth released her and whipped his crossbow off his shoulder, pointing it at a group of miners standing open-mouthed staring at them. Kam stumbled, recovered, backed up against the wall, pulling out her own bow. The sharp pain in her chest was receding.

  “Who in Hades are you?” A burly man stepped forward, brandishing a pickaxe. His words seemed to break through the miners’ shock, and they surged forward wielding shovels and axes. Seth disabled two of them with arrows to arms and legs, Kam got another, but they were in an open hand-to-hand melee with the miners, when two men charged in from the tunnel. Rhyden tripped one and kicked the other as they entered the room.

  Sheer numbers weren’t on their side, but the majority of the miners were poorly armed and in compromised physical shape. With their combat skills and knives, Kam and her companions repelled most of their attackers. Still reacting a fraction slower than she should, Kam was struck from behind, knocked to the floor, and kicked by heavy boots before she rolled out of range and regained her feet. Unsure who her attacker had been, she delivered a few kicks of her own to the nearest enemy combatant. The ninja-style moves gave her good stopping power despite her smaller size. She was just getting into rhythm when Seth ended the fight.

  “Enough! The next man that moves will be the first to die.” Seth’s voice roared across the mine, bouncing off the walls. He stood on top of a mining cart, feet braced, bow stretched taunt. Blood ran down the side of his face. “Back off. Over there. Now!” He motioned his bow toward the side of the room.

  Kam back out of the way, reclaiming her own bow and standing beside the cart. Rhyden climbed off the man he had pinned to the floor and joined them. Still swearing and grumbling, the miners moved to the side. The only men who didn’t join the others were the newcomers, who’d been armed with bows and knives. Rhyden and Seth had taken them down first; both were seriously wounded.

  Seth jumped down from the cart. “Who’s in charge?”

  “Me. Who are you?” The burly man sat on the floor clutching his right arm. Blood from a deep wound dripped on the floor. Two of the miners helped him to his feet. “What’s this all about?”

  “Spare us the innocent act. I’m in no mood for it. We’re here on behalf of the king.” The authority in Seth’s voice had an instant dampening effect. The grumbling ceased.

  Kam studied the workers. All males, no humans—they must have died from uranium poisoning. Most were old, gray. Their skin was pasty. A combination of uranium exposure and weeks or months living
without sunlight.

  Her eyes flicked to the excavation behind them, seeking the mineral that had caused so much trouble. But the rocky surface seemed perfectly ordinary. She had no idea what uranium looked like, but she didn’t want to stay here long.

  The scent of unwashed bodies hung in the air, drawing her attention back to the miners. Their blackened clothes hung like rags. Hair long, scraggly, a look of mistreated animals. One of the men actually snarled and licked his lips when she looked at him. How long had they been in isolation?

  Seth was talking again. “Look at you. Underfed, sickened by the poisons in this mine. Who did this to you? Give us the keyholder’s name.”

  “Not bloody likely.” The burly man was recovering his bluster now that someone had wrapped his arm in rags. “To be squealing on our betters would be forfeiting our lives, such as they are. Our families would suffer.”

  “Do you realize what constant exposure to uranium does to you?” Seth asked bluntly.

  “Don’t matter. Our families will be cared for,” one miner volunteered. Others nodded.

  Seth let his bow arm fall to his side. “Does your family know the price you’re paying?”

  The burly leader shrugged. “They think we were lost in a mine collapse months ago, but their debts are being paid. They have food and clothes.”

  Maybe. Kam doubted if the keyholder was especially benevolent, although Ganby said he’d been paid well. She looked toward the tunnel. Where was Ganby? Had he run off after all? If reinforcements didn’t show, they’ve have to get these men back to town on their own and come back to search for the guns. Luckily the crew was relatively small and in poor health. They shouldn’t be hard to control.

  She looked around. Was the crew too small? “Is there a second shift of workers?” she asked. “Maybe sleeping somewhere?” A couple of the men looked at one another, and another made a furtive glance toward a passage on the left.

  Kam drew her sword and started in that direction.

  “Wait.” The crew boss took a step toward her, and Rhyden barred his path. “There’s six more lads. They’re asleep and unarmed. There’s no need to hurt them.”

  “Then come with me, and we’ll wake them.”

  He nodded and turned toward the passage.

  “We’ve got more company.” The urgency in Seth’s voice stopped her. “The tunnel. Someone’s coming.”

  Kam and Rhyden raced across the room. Kam stopped just short of the corner and listened, hoping she’d hear Captain Brunic or Ganby. All she heard were the soft sounds of multiple footsteps.

  “Here’s hoping its Brunic,” she whispered. She brought up her flashlight, still off, but held it eye level. She stepped around the corner and hit the on switch, hoping to temporarily blind the newcomers. They hesitated, throwing up their hands to protect their eyes, then surged forward.

  “Captain, it’s me! Kam.” She’d glimpsed Brunic’s face but backpedaled as fast as she could to avoid being trampled.

  “Stand down!” Brunic yelled. “We’ve found our people.” A dozen men crowded up behind him and flashlights came on.

  Ganby pushed forward from the back. “I told you I’d bring them.” He beamed at her.

  “You sure did.” She gave him a thumbs up and stood aside so the guards could enter the mine. She nodded at Brunic. “About time you showed up.”

  “Can’t you stay out of trouble?” he shot back. He pretended to frown, but she saw his relief at finding Kam and her companions still alive.

  Brunic’s forces quickly took charge of the prisoners, including the six sleeping in a nearby cave. With everyone helping, including Ganby, they searched the storage areas nearby, where mining equipment, broken axes, damaged crates, and frayed ropes had been discarded, but found no evidence of the crates of firearms.

  Ganby finished moving a pile of debris to get into a back storage area and wiped his hands on his pants as he rejoined Kam. “Nothing there either. You might never find those crates. There are hundreds of tunnels.” He nudged her. “What happened to the miners? I’m almost sure that’s my second cousin over there, except he looks…old. He’s younger than I am.”

  “They’ve been mining uranium. Do you know what that does to our bodies?”

  He shook his head, and she explained.

  Ganby’s face grew long with sadness. “So he’s going to die of old age…and soon? If he knew they’d done that to him, maybe he’d help us. Can I talk to him?”

  “You can try.”

  That proved to be one of the smartest decisions Kam had made all day. Within minutes, they had two of the major answers they needed. Ganby’s cousin had seen Petros visit the uranium mine, establishing the crossbreed’s involvement, and the cousin had also helped move the uranium. He knew where the portal was.

  “Can he lead us there?” Brunic asked.

  Ganby shrugged. “I don’t know why not.”

  “Ask him.” Kam was re-energized by the prospect. “The gun crates have to be somewhere between here and there.” Which would cut their search area from hundreds of tunnels to dozens or less.

  Ganby’s cousin agreed. Part of Brunic’s men escorted the prisoners back to town, and the rest of them began a new search, following Keenan to the location of the former portal—where the portal symbol had been erased—and spreading out from there.

  An hour later Kam and Brunic stood side by side in the opening to an eight by ten room containing twelve large, wooden crates filled with handguns and a partially dismantled semi-automatic rifle.

  Seth looked down at the rifle parts. “According to Crain, there were only two rifles. The keyholder has one. We’re lucky he didn’t trust anyone else.”

  After checking and counting the contents of each crate, Brunic left his men to reseal the crates for transport. He’d brought extra horses, and everyone else, including Ganby and his cousin, headed out of the mines.

  The group still vibrated with tension. Seth gave Kam a tight nod when she caught his eye. The night wasn’t over yet. They still had to arrest the keyholder, find his rifle…and her Glock. Her lips curled in a grim smile as she leaped onto the horse. She could hardly wait.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  By the time they rode up to the palace stables, Kam’s nearness to Ganby’s cousin for so long had her thinking about a bath and change of clothes. Still, she didn’t want to miss the confrontation with Petros, and she had to squeeze in a brief conversation with Seth. Those moments in the tunnel, when either of them could have died, had changed…well, everything. But first things first.

  She dismounted and handed the reins to the stable boy. “Captain, I’d like to be in on the arrest.”

  “You certainly earned it. You all did.” He looked her up and down. “You’ll do, but those two…” He pointed to Seth and Rhyden just handing over their mounts. “They need to at least wipe the blood off. I’d like to keep this arrest as quiet as possible.”

  She surveyed her companions in the stable lights and saw what Brunic meant. The blood from Seth’s head wound was smeared over the side of his face. Rhyden’s pants were ripped in the outer thigh, exposing an oozing wound. His injury was by far the worst, but it was Seth’s face she had an urge to kiss and make it all go away.

  She deliberately turned to Rhyden. “You need more than a new pair of pants.”

  “Yeah, I know. I think I’ll pass on the arrest. I’m going to stop in the infirmary and then home. Enough adventure for today.” He winked at her. “Pleasure serving under you, Lieutenant.”

  She ignored the innuendo. “Thanks, Rhyden. You’d make a good King’s Guard. Think about it.”

  He grinned and waved as he limped out the door.

  “So what about you?” Brunic asked Seth.

  “Oh, I’m definitely in. I’ll stop at Grandfather’s, clean off the blood, and then I’ll be ready.” He looked at Kam. “Why don’t you come with me? I’d like you to meet the old gentleman.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Seth, I—”

 
“Go with him,” Brunic urged. “Harad can’t do anything too scandalous in five minutes. We’ll join you before you hardly have time to get acquainted.”

  Kam stared at her captain. He had a funny look in his eye and a smile tugged at his mouth. By the gods. He knew or thought he knew about her and Seth. She felt her cheeks warm and looked away. How had he guessed? And why did he seem to be pushing them together? He disliked all Lormarcs.

  Other than planting her feet and being rude about it, she couldn’t think of a good way to get out of this, so she finally shrugged, pretending indifference. “If we make it quick.” She turned and walked out the door.

  Seth caught her in the hallway. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I thought we were still friends. Is something wrong?”

  Nothing at all, except she wasn’t sure she could be just his friend. Or that she even wanted to try. But that wasn’t what she said. “Your grandfather doesn’t want to meet me. Our families haven’t exactly been friendly.”

  “Is that all?” He sounded relieved. “Then it’s time that changed.”

  They’d almost reached the palace gates. Kam stopped. “Why did you say it like that? That it’s time?”

  He cocked his head. “I had intended to wait until I wasn’t covered with blood. But I should have known you wouldn’t make it easy.” He took both her hands. “My family needs to know you the way I do. I can’t give up on us, Kam. Not yet. I don’t think you can either. I see it in your eyes. Sometimes I hear it in your voice. We didn’t leave it all behind in the City.”

  She spoke past the lump in her throat. “I know that, but it was different in New Orleans. We were just two anonymous people in a big city. Free to do whatever we wanted. Now there are so many others that complicate it.”

  “Nothing changes how I felt when you were shot. For a moment I thought…”

  “I know. When I saw the blood on your face…” She raised her hand toward his cheek, and he pulled her into the shadows of the gate.

  “Believe in us, Kam.” He lowered his head slowly, seeking her lips, yet giving her plenty of time to draw back.