"So tell me something. Why didn't you catch Tom yourself? Why haven't you eaten him yet?"
Smoky's eyes sparkled, scintillating and brilliant. "I didn't fancy a bout of indigestion," was all he said.
As we passed by him, I could feel his hot breath warming the air. Actually, compared to the rain it was pleasant, and part of me wanted to stand there for a moment to dry off from the downpour, but then I thought the better of it. After all, a dragon giving you a pet name like Witchling only spelled trouble. The smell of charcoal and meat was so thick around him, though, that I shuddered and hurried past.
Morio followed close behind, his hand on my shoulder. As we came to the entrance of the cave, I forced myself to walk sedately. No use in exciting the dragon into a mistake that we'd regret. Once inside, however, I slumped against the wall, shivering.
"That was one encounter I never expected to have. Nor do I fancy a repeat. Okay, where the hell is Tom? Let's find him and get out of here." I shook my head and looked around.
The walls of the cave glistened. Phosphorescence, perhaps? Faerie fire? I closed my eyes and reached out, searching for any sign of life. There—a flicker, just a mind's touch, down the tunnel and to the right.
"Someone's in here, that's for certain," I said, not exactly keen on the idea of tramping through the dark. I didn't like caves. I preferred the open sky or at least a house where I knew I wouldn't be falling down any mine shafts or tripping over rocks or getting squashed by rockslides.
Morio glanced at me. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you?"
Shrugging, I stared at the floor. "Kind of. And I've got vertigo, and I'm squeamish when it comes to babies' diapers. I'm just a mess, aren't I?" I let out a sigh and reluctantly leaned against the wall of the cavern. "Actually, I'm not claustrophobic in the truest sense of the word, but my magic comes from the moon and stars. I don't like being trapped under the earth. I never went to visit the dwarven city back in Otherworld because most of it's buried in the mountain. My father took Delilah and Menolly, but I couldn't face it."
"Did your mother go?" Morio asked.
"No, she didn't want to go either, so I stayed with her, and we went on a weeklong shopping spree in Aladril, the city of Seers by the ocean." We'd come away with some pretty good deals, too, although Father had choked when he saw the bills come in. But he paid them without a word. He never denied Mother anything she might want.
"I'd like to visit Otherworld someday," Morio said, looking around the cave. "Here, help me find a stick or twig, and I can illuminate it."
"With fox fire?" I squinted, looking around. There, a branch that must have been about a foot long. I handed it to him, and within seconds he had enchanted it so that we could almost see the entire chamber. The sparkling ball of light on the end of the bough was brighter than candlelight but didn't shed quite as much light as a kerosene lantern.
"Fox fire is a common term for it, though not totally accurate," Morio said. "In Japan, we call it kitsune-bi. Here, let me lead the way."
He brushed past me, and the scent of his sweat set me off again. I fought the desire to reach out and touch him. Great, what would I do when Trillian returned? If Trillian returned, I thought somberly. If he even lived. That thought snapped my mind out of the sheets like a bucket of ice water.
"You'd like Otherworld, I think." I swung in behind him and cautiously picked my way along the corridor. The cave was damp and chilly. The moisture in the air had condensed along the walls, and I could see patches of slime mold clinging to the rock in some places, along with bloated white fungi and a lot of creepy crawlies.
The bugs didn't bother me—I was used to them from childhood—but the mold made me nervous. Back home in Otherworld, it took on a life of its own with a rudimentary consciousness and could be dangerous to the unwary traveler. Even though it was different here, I couldn't help but shrink away from the walls when we passed by.
"What's it like?" Morio asked.
"Otherworld? It's open and vast. The Court and Crown holds sway over Y'Elestrial, the home city of the Sidhe, but there are so many other cities and lands. The cities are lovely, for the most part, but the villages are another matter. Most are dirt poor, and the people live hand to mouth."
"Is there one governing council for Otherworld?"
I shook my head. "No. Each city-state is self-contained. However, the inhabitants of Y'Elestrial are the ones who have the most interaction with humans, and we're the ones who control the portals. Otherworld also has a vast network of wild woods and dark lands that house odd species of Fae. They seldom have much to do with the Sidhe. Or anybody else for that matter."
Once again I wished I was home, not trekking through an Earthside cavern in search of a mysterious man running from demons. A change in career seemed like just the ticket at this point, but I knew I wouldn't do it. My father wasn't a quitter, and he'd raised his daughters with the same sense of loyalty.
Morio said nothing, and I wondered if he could read my thoughts.
"There, ahead about ten yards, a T in the passage. Do we go left or right?" He motioned toward the end of the corridor.
"Stop for a moment, and I'll rind out." Hesitantly, I leaned against the wall, taking care to avoid a patch of white fungi. I closed my eyes and reached out, trying to touch the spark I'd felt earlier. There, behind the cavern wall? No, it was only a scurrying, a couple of rats looking for lunch. To the right I sensed the movement of some specter—a ghost or spirit that was passing through. Probably the remains of one of Smoky's lunches, I thought.
As I cast around, I began to sense a slow, steady pulsing of magic. Heavy magic, to the left. Ancient magic, so strong that it almost floored me. Earth magic, deep and resonant, emanating from the very core of the world. And yet a top note played over it, sparkling with stars and the movement of the wind through the trees. And connected to this force in a way I didn't understand beat the heart of a man. He, too, felt old—far older than me. Tom Lane. It had to be him.
"This way," I said, mesmerized. As we hurried down the passage, I told Morio what I'd felt.
"If it's Tom you're sensing, then I'll bet the other energy belongs to the spirit seal. Didn't the history say that the seals were given to the Elemental Lords? That each Elemental Lord received one, and they all lost them over the eons? Deep earth energy could indicate this was the seal given to Robyn, the Prince of Oaks."
Of course! Robyn, who ruled the forests of Earth, who walked between worlds, dancing in the woodlands. "That makes a lot sense."
The Prince of Oaks spent more time with humans over the years than almost any other Elemental. He loved mortals, he cared for them, and the destruction of the jungles and forests wounded his heart. I'd met him once, long ago, when he came to pay homage to the Court and Crown.
Morio's foxfire led him around the bend, but he held up a hand as I followed. "Wait for a moment. I sense an illusion nearby. Let me feel this out."
I hung back as he tentatively moved forward, one slow step at a time, testing the ground before him before putting his weight down. Suddenly, he teetered and almost lost balance. I jumped forward and grabbed him by the elbow, holding him steady.
"What happened?" I couldn't see anything that might have thrown him off balance.
"There's a pit just ahead of us in the center of the passageway. It's been covered over with an illusion so we can't see it, but it's there, and probably deep enough to break our necks. Give me a moment, and I'll do what I can to dispel the mirage." He handed me the light and mumbled a low chant that seemed to go on and on. After a moment, the ground began to shimmer, and I could see the vague outline of an abyss. Then the illusion broke, and the pit was there, easily visible.
"Hell, that looks nasty," I whispered.
Morio took the branch back and cautiously held it toward the mouth of the hole. He peeked over the edge. "It is nasty. Watch your step."
I edged over to him, wary. As I inched forward enough to see over the edge, a long, dark shaft opened up into a pit that was a good hundred feet deep, if not more. From the bottom, the sound of rushing water burbled up. An underground stream of some sort. The fall would be deadly.
"Oh joy. So this is a sure sign that we aren't welcome, but I can't sense Tom down there. I don't think he fell in." The pit took up a good two-thirds of the corridor; it would be slippery footing to skirt it. The very thought of tiptoeing around the edge gave me the heebie-jeebies.
Morio examined the edges of the chasm. "I wonder if he's the one who created it. Could he know the demons are after him and be trying to hide from them? The dragon didn't seem all that concerned about him, and there's no way the wyrm can fit in this hallway. But a demon…"
"A demon could. But Tom is human. How could he create an illusion like this? Most of the humans who work with magic only have rudimentary skills. There are a few adepts, but very few." I stared at the pit, trying to figure out what was going on. "Could the illusion be a permanent fixture? Maybe Tom already knew about it?"
Morio shook his head. "Illusions wear off. The pit is probably an ancient sinkhole, but the illusion couldn't have been here longer than a few hours. Come on, let's get a move on. If Tom thinks demons are close, then they probably are, and the last thing we need is an underground duel to the death."
"I don't like those words," I muttered.
"What words?"
"To the death. There's such a ring of finality about them, and I don't have Delilah or Menolly here. Speaking of, I wonder how Delilah's doing. I just hope she managed to avoid Smoky out there."
"She probably went back to the house to check on Chase once she saw what was happening. She's a smart girl. Don't write her off as too naive."
I shrugged. "Smart, yes. Wise? Not so much. Okay, so how do we get me around the pit?"
Morio laughed, then lightly tripped around the edges, showing no sign of unsteadiness. Once he reached the other side, he set the light on the ground and braced his back against the wall, his left hand outstretched toward me.
"Face the wall and take my hand. Then inch across. I'm strong, I'll be able to hold you if you fall."
"Right, just like I can fit in a size two dress." But with no other choice, I pressed my face against the stone wall and began a shuffling side step along the lip of the pit. Morio grasped my fingers, giving me enough sense of balance that I was able to scoot the rest of the way across without incident. I was not looking forward to the return trip.
When we were on solid ground again, Morio picked up the light, and we slowly progressed along the corridor. Morio tested each step before putting his weight down. Where there was one trap, there might be more.
We'd traveled another thirty yards when the passage branched again, this time with our path leading straight ahead, and a fork to the right. The fork would take us deeper into the mountain. Again, I reached out. This time, the energy was stronger and to the right.
"Take the fork," I told Morio.
We had barely turned onto the branch in the road when Morio stopped. "Look—straight ahead. See the light? That's no illusion." Sure enough, a faint glimmer of light filtered through a crack in the solid rock. We hurried along to the end of the passage, which stopped short. A dead end. End of the line.
"There has to be a hidden door," he said, running his hands over the crack. "But I don't sense an illusion. At least not any I'm familiar with."
I stood back, thinking. If there wasn't a door on the end of the passage, had we missed one coming down the hall? I began to hunt around, listening closely. At first, all I could hear was a gentle susurration as the air currents shifted, but then I began to hear breathing—slow and rhythmic.
I spread my hands against the rock, and sure enough, a thin stream of air flowed over my hand. The rough granite was cool against my skin as I squinted, trying to see the edges of the door. Sure enough, there it was—faint but still visible in the dim light. The door was roughly six feet tall by three feet wide. The question was, how to open it?
I motioned to Morio. As I traced the outline, he held up the foxfire light, and we inspected the rock for any sense of indentation or latch.
Near the ground, we found a handhold. I swallowed hard and reached into the dark opening. My fingers met a cold lever and—damn! I snatched them out and held them up to the light. Faint red blisters were beginning to form along the pads of my fingertips. Iron welts. The metal burn hurt like a son of a bitch, but I managed to keep my mouth shut. Morio gestured for me to stand back.
He reached down. I heard a faint click, and the door began to swing out, the stone block swiveling on its hinges.
We jumped out of the way, and the minute it was open, we squeezed through to the other side.
I gasped. The chamber into which we had stumbled was huge. Stalagmites and stalactites formed a forest of columns throughout the cavern, but most of the chamber was open and glistening. Limestone waterfalls cascaded in frozen brilliance down the walls, and a rim stone pool sat off to one side, pearls of calcite creating a glistening stone bubble bath around the edges of the mineral tub. A faint illumination emanated from the walls.
"We aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto," I muttered, glancing back at the door. Sure enough, a sparkling barrier confirmed that we'd entered a different realm. This part of the cave wouldn't be found on any map or surveyor's guide. We'd crossed through a natural portal into… where? Could we be in Otherworld? Or was this someplace entirely different?
