Celtic Mist: The Calm Before the Storm (Battle Raven Series) Page 12

  “There is no change, my Lady. The ward on his cross is strong. Kedryn is alive and well.“

  “Thank you.”

  “I would do anything for a lovely woman.“ Eion said and winked at her. “Tell me what else you have been up to.”

  She gave him a weary smile. “After not finding anything else useful about La Fail. I looked up other items that were fabled to be brought with the stone. The Claíomh Solais, the Spear of Lugh and Dagda’s Cauldron and nothing came up.”

  Lara walked over to a chair and sat down heavily. “I decided to take a break and grabbed a random scroll off of the shelf. Halfway through there was a story about Fianna Fáil and the castle of the Morrigan.”

  “Ah yes, the fabled castle. Many have looked. I even researched it myself when I was younger to no avail.”

  “I have a feeling in my gut about the castle. I can find it.”

  “If that is what makes you happy. I believe none would object. What connection does the castle of the Morrigan have with your realm?” Eion released her hand and rubbed his chin.

  “The Fianna in my realm are warriors of Ireland or "the soldiers of destiny". Some claim they are descended from Queen Medb. The Queen claimed to be descended from the Morrigan. Medb was also connected to Tara.”

  Eion stood up. “You look exhausted. Go and get some rest and after I would suggest you talk to Aodhan about helping you research Fianna Fail. That way you two can spend more time together. I believe that Orla may like some help with her roses too. Do not worry about Kedryn. He is his mother’s son and will return safely. They all will.”

  Lara lifted her head and smiled. “You always know the right things to say.”

  Eion smirked at her and bowed. “Well I do my best.”

  Chapter 24

  After Niall’s head was bandaged they examined the rubble that covered the path.

  “Figures.” Lawler said as he wiped a bead of sweat off of his chin.

  Kedryn pulled his shirt away from his chest that was wet with sweat. “So much for sticking to the path.”

  “Can you feel that?’ Niall asked

  “The heat? It’s coming from the path Cadmon told us not to take.” Kedryn said as he pulled his hood back and felt moist hair against his neck where it had been frozen.

  “Going forward is not an option. We either take the left path and possibly freeze or take the right and sweat to death.” Lawler said.

  Niall stepped around some rubble and looked down the tunnel with an eerie reddish glow. “You two already have seen the crystal cave. Lets check out the other and then make the decision.”

  Kedryn studied the blocked off path before him. “I believe this is the fork in the road Cadmon spoke about.”

  “Think we should get some rest?” Niall asked.

  Lawler let out a sigh. “If we have to go through again what we just did I’m thinking yes.”

  “I will keep first watch.” Kedryn said as he set his pack down and climbed up on a boulder.

  Niall and Lawler nodded and took their blankets out and rolled into them. When Kedryn felt his eyelids droop he woke Lawler. After he woke Kedryn passed out some jerky and bread. They all ate quietly and packed everything up ready for the next part of their journey. They looked down the only path left.

  “I say if it gets too much we head back and try to clear the rubble.“ Lawler said eyeing the piled up boulders. “That may take a lot more time than we have.”

  Kedryn set down his pack and removed his coat, hat and took the

  gloves he had given to Lawler. Niall and Lawler rolled up their overcoats and they headed down the path. Waves of heat blew over them as they moved to the mouth of the cave and Kedryn removed his shirt.

  “Good idea.” Niall said as he did the same.

  Lawler removed his shirt. “No need to get dehydrated right away.”

  “Great minds think alike.” Kedryn said as he stepped into the cavern.

  The cavern was filled with crimson and rose colored columns. Crystal formations dripped into pools of bubbling water that steamed adding to the oppressive heat.

  “Hurry and do not step into the pools. This whole cave is a deathtrap.” Kedryn said as he quickened his pace.

  “By the God’s this place is pure torture. I feel like my skin will melt off.” Niall said as he jumped over a small puddle.

  Kedryn side stepped around a pool of water where a bubble broke spraying him. He jumped to the side and quickly wiped the scalding liquid off of his side. “Keep focus on the path and lets get through this cave quick.”

  They reached a long bubbling stream with a fallen tree forming a natural bridge over it.

  “I am the heaviest and will go first.” Lawler said and stepped onto a root before anyone could say anything.

  “Be careful.” Kedryn said as he watched Lawler carefully make his way to the other side.

  Reddish green vegetation grew over the tree making it hard to navigate. Niall slipped and fell stopping short of the edge with his leg bumping against a ridge. Kedryn grabbed his arm and Niall slowly stood. Kedryn’s movements felt sluggish as he reached the edge of the land bridge.

  Niall took his shirt and soaked up the sweat that was running down his neck and

  chest. “This mission is not going as planned. Do you really think we will succeed?”

  “This has to be a trap. Cadmon is a Firbolg dog. If you would not

  have listened to him we would not be here.” Lawler said as he clenched his fists and turned to Kedryn.

  “I made a promise. One I intend to keep.” Kedryn looked at Lawler’s clenched fists and readied himself to dodge an attack.

  “Promises can be broken.” Niall said.

  “Shut it Niall. If you would not have been messing around the cave-in would not have happened.” Lawler said.

  Niall lunged at Lawler and Lawler barely avoided the punch. Kedryn stepped in-between them. It took all his strength to push them both away from each other.

  “Enough! Let’s just make it out of here first. Try and keep a clear head. The heat is messing with our brains.” Kedryn said as he wiped the sweat dripping down into his eyes.

  “Fine.” Lawler said as he ran his fingers through his hair and shook the sweat off. He turned to the other side of the cave.

  “We are almost there.” Kedryn said as he noticed movement was growing harder and his head was beginning to feel muddled. It was like they were wading through sand. He looked up from the ground and a lake of what appeared to be clear spring water came into view.

  “Just a little drink.” Niall said and veered off to the pool.

  Lawler started to follow Niall. Their movements were so slow they looked like sweating zombies. Kedryn quickly set down his pack and pulled out the bottled water.

  “Come back. I have water.” Kedryn yelled and was relieved when they both turned to look at him. As quickly as his legs would take him he reached Lawler before he was about to fall into the pool. Kedryn pulled him back and grabbed Niall by the arm. He set a bottled water in their hands.

  “Drink slowly.” Kedryn said as he led them away from the pool. They both did as he said and out of curiosity he threw a lid at the pool and it instantly melted.

  “I see the other side.” Kedryn said as he shook his arms out feeling the sweat flying off. He grabbed his pack and led them to the back of the cave.

  A cool breeze blew across them giving them strength and motivation to hurry towards the darkness.

  “I don’t know which I would rather be. Frozen or dying from heat.” Lawler said.

  “You both were about melted to death. That pool was not as cool as it looked.” Kedryn said. He pulled out another bottled water and took a long drink.

  Lawler went to screw the lid back onto his bottle and noticed it was missing. He seemed to remember Kedryn throwing something at the pool and it disappearing. As the fog cleared from his head he realized that the lid to the bottle was what Kedryn threw in. It had melted just as soon as it hit the
pool.

  “I do not know how you kept a clear head. Niall and I would not be alive if you had not.” Lawler said as he wiped the sweat off of his chin.

  Kedryn shrugged. “Egyptian summers I guess. Kind of got used to heat but it was nothing like that.” His hand went to one of the pockets in his cargo pants.

  “If I knew what those were. I suppose.” Lawler said.

  “Or maybe.” Kedryn pulled out a crystal that was still cool to the touch. “This may have had something to do with it.”

  Handing the crystal to Lawler he saw the instant relief on his face. Lawler handed it to Niall.

  “Interesting.” Niall said as he handed the crystal back to Kedryn. “We should keep going.”

  “Right. Lets hope this leads to where we are supposed to go.” Kedryn said and stood up.

  Kedryn looked down the tunnel and reached for his torch. He realized that none of them had theirs. “I suppose it’s time to get out the lamps.”

  They lit the lamps and Lawler got out the rope just in case. Kedryn looked at his shirt and decided against it until all of the sweat evaporated off of him. The tunnel began to narrow and there was nothing but the sound of dripping water, footsteps and heavy breathing. A few minutes later the path widened up and a misting of water blew across them as the sound of roaring water grew louder the closer they got. At the mouth of the cave a waterfall fell in front of them. It fell with such force they could not walk through it. Niall found a path around the waterfall and they all took pleasure in feeling the spray of water.

  Niall ran his fingers through his hair. “Whooooh.”

  A large stalagmite forest appeared with deep crimson and emerald trees spread out through the cave. A river flowed from the waterfall to a ring of trees that a misty light shown through. Colors of yellow, brown, and amber reflected off of the walls. Kedryn blew out his lamp and pulled out the map.

  Niall looked at the waterfall that seemed to go up into the heavens. “I bet you my sword that is the waterfall that cuts into the mountain before the Firbolg castle.”

  “I wouldn’t take that bet.” Lawler said.

  “This has to be the forest cave. Lets walk around the edge and see if we can tell which way to go.”

  They did not have to walk far. The first tunnel they looked down there was a wall of rocks at the end where they would have entered the cave.

  “At least we know which way not to go.” Lawler said.

  As they walked through the cavern silver spirals protruded from the ceiling dripping into small pools of water. Kedryn stopped for a second to look at the water. Little green lime colored what looked like snowballs floated in the water. He was hoping to find clear water to re-fill their water skins. The ring of trees rose before them and they stepped through to a large crystal clear lake. Lawler pulled out his water skin and leaned over to fill it.

  “Wait. It looks safe but those other pools of water before it didn’t.” Kedryn said.

  “And how do you suppose we are going to check it? Stick a finger in it?” Lawler asked.

  Kedryn held his hand slightly above the water not sensing any intense heat. He stuck his finger in the water and it felt cool to the touch.

  “Still here.” Kedryn said as he examined his finger and stuck it in his mouth.

  “With all of the minerals around here we better filter the water.” Kedryn said as he dug through his frame pack. He smiled thinking of his mother and how she was always prepared for those you never know situations. He found the LifePack emergency filter and examined it. They only used it once so it should be good for a while. He took each of their water skins and the bottles filling them up.

  “Your realm if full of handy items.” Niall said.

  “You have no idea.” Kedryn said and let out a laugh and stood.

  “It’s done. There is an opening up there and I don’t think there is any dry wood around here. We will have to use the lanterns again.” Lawler said.

  Kedryn started to think of his mother again as he walked and looked around the cave. He wished he had inherited her artistic ability. He was not sure he could even begin to describe all of the spiraling forest and lime green snowball ponds. At the edge of the cave there were huge mushroom like rocks that had a velvety coat of red, purple and emerald on their surface and beds of tinted crystals.

  The exit to the cave grew near and they quickened their pace not knowing how much time had been wasted because of the cave in. The hiss of their lanterns echoed into the murky blackness and after a few steps in a

  wall of stone appeared before them.

  Lawler took the map from Kedryn’s hand. “It looks to be the end. On the map the distance looks shorter than expected. It is very deceiving.” he glanced around the cave.

  “It’s not like he had time to make it accurate. Remember what Cadmon said about the footholds?” Kedryn said as he slowly made his way to the wall in front of them. He ran his hand along the wall and felt an indentation with a slight curve and tugged to test its strength. He slid his hand up and felt another. He ran his hands along either side and found others not directly across but diagonal.

  Niall brought his lamp up to where Kedryn’s hands were. “Very clever. You would not see them if you did not know they were there. The curve in the cut of the rock is natural illusion.”

  “Now the question is. Do we move ahead or rest?” Lawler said.

  Niall nodded as they all looked at each other intent to move on. “I think we don’t even have to bring it up.”

  “Time to start climbing.” Kedryn said as he carefully placed a foot and hand in the slots and started to move up. “Could one of you stand by the wall just in case I slip. According to Cadmon it’s only as high as . . .” A thump sounded as Kedryn smacked his head on the ceiling.

  “You ok?” Niall asked.

  “I’ll have a nice bump. Hold my legs I’m going to try and find the levers and push the slab up.”

  When Kedryn felt his legs being steadied he let go of the hand hold and reached up. Running his fingers along the cold wet ceiling he found the edges of the trap door. There were two latches. One on each side. Quickly and as quietly as he could he flipped each latch free.

  “Boost me up if you can.” Kedryn said and felt his whole body lifted and he had to lean forward and find a grip or his head would have been smashed against the ceiling again. He took in a slow breath and firmly placed his back against the stone. Feeling the wet of the stone soak his back he looked down at Niall and Lawler who looked up at him. The lamp light gave both of them an eerie glow.

  “Brace yourselves I am going to push up and I don’t know how heavy it is.”

  Niall blew out his lantern “We should probably have no light.”

  “Right” Lawler said as he blew his out.

  “Ready?” Kedryn asked as he felt his stomach knot up. Who knows what lay beyond in the shadows of the secret passageway above.

  “Ready.” Niall and Lawler both said as they readied for him to push on the slab above.

  Kedryn pushed up and the slab moved easier than he thought. Cautiously he looked into the inky blackness of the passageway and held his breath as he listened. There was the echo of muffled talking that seemed to be outside. He pushed the slab and it scraped on the ground and stopped and when Kedryn was certain nothing was in the tunnel he pushed himself up and crouched against the wall.

  An arm hit his leg and Kedryn nearly jumped when Niall appeared. “Everything seems to be quiet.”

  “It does.” Kedryn said as he stood and walked over to where he saw pin points of light illuminating the passage. He heard the scraping of stone and turned to see Lawler moved the trap door back into place. He slapped his hands to get the dirt off and the sound reverberated through the passage. They all stood silent as heavy footsteps walked up to the wall and were suddenly silenced.

  “The sooner we get this done the better.” Kedryn whispered.

  “Agreed. Where is this phoenix? We will have to risk some light.” Lawle
r said as he studied the wall where the light was coming through.

  Kedryn reached into his pocket and pulled out the rock he had pick up. Immediately it began to emanate a yellowish glow. A large phoenix appeared. Why the symbol of the Phoenix was on the wall? He would have to look into that sometime. Kedryn pushed on the rock and the secret door opened a crack. He looked through it and saw Cadmon standing in front of a door with a man lying at his feet.

  “No time to waste. This one heard you moving inside the wall. I had to silence him.” Cadmon said as he anxiously looked around.

  Lawler narrowed his eyes at Cadmon. “Faolan believed your story?”

  “Yes. He was a bit cautious but it seems Damon saw me as a prisoner before he attacked. Lady Paili convinced him to let me resume my old position.”

  “Good.” Niall said.

  “It took you longer than expected. I was growing anxious.” Cadmon said as they drug the bodies aside.

  Kedryn clasped his forearm. “A story for when we are out of here. Let’s just say we can not go back the way we came.”

  “Then that means a different route is needed.” Cadmon said looking down the hallway.

  “Unfortunately yes.” Kedryn said.

  “Let’s get her and get out of this God forsaken place.” Lawler said.

  “Agreed. Cadmon, you and Lawler see to another escape route. I want to head out as soon as we free Kiara.”

  Lawler gave Cadmon a dark look. “Why me?”

  “No time for disagreements. Go Now!” Kedryn said.

  Cadmon looked at Kedryn and then to Lawler. “We have to move.”

  “Fine.” Lawler said as he drew his sword.

  Kedryn grabbed Lawler’s arm and looked him in the eye. “No unfortunate accidents.”

  Lawler gave him an innocent look. “Understood.”

  Kedryn hoped he had made the right decision as he drew his claymore. Lawler’s hatred of the Firbolg was the reason why he choose Niall to come with him because he didn’t want to risk the seer. Lawler may go into a rage if there were many Firbolg in her chambers and he could make a mistake.