At least no one followed them.
After passing between a narrow wall, the tunnel dipped sharply, and water flowed at their feet. Soon, they were wading in ankle-deep water, and Clare had tied her dress up around her waist.
She’d taken the lead, and Griffin kept his eyes on her shapely legs and cute butt since she alsohad to bend over. She cut quite a figure, sparkly in white and glittering as he waved the flashlight back and forth.
“Damn.” Clare came to a sudden halt.
Griffin stumbled and bumped into her from behind. “What is it?”
“They walled it off.” She pounded her fists on what appeared to be a freshly laid brick wall.
“Who? The nuns? I thought only the children knew about thefairy mound,” Griffin said.
She spread herself against the brick wall. “Maybe this is an illusion. It makes us think we can’t go through it, but if we melt into it, we’ll pop out the other side.”
Was she insane? Or acting out something from one of her books?
“Are you saying this is a portal of some sort?”
She gave a loud sigh and heaved her shoulders. “Of course, inthe presence of unbelievers, no magic works.”
“This is obviously a kind of magic that wards off intruders,” he answered, not sure what she was getting at. He pointed the beam of the flashlight at a set of inscriptions. “Runes. Do you know what they mean?”
She bent down and peered at the markings. Several seconds transpired, but she remained silent. Instead, she knocked and tappedon the bricks until she came to one that sounded different.
“Ah, ha,” she said, pulling the brick from its position. “There’s a key in here, which means there’s a door. I wonder what they’re hiding in here.”
“I hope they haven’t found my Heart of Brigid,” he grumbled.
“I doubt it. I have a secret pocket only I know about.” Hugging the wall, she slid her way along the passage.
After several minutes of trekking through twisty, tight passageways, Griffin lost all sense of direction with all of the turns they made.
“How do we know we haven’t gone in circles?” he asked.
“You’re a real joy to have on an adventure.”
He could feel her rolling her eyes, but what did he care? As long as he got his precious Heart of Brigid.
“After we get outof here, I’m treating you to a vacation,” he said to show he was still in the game. “Then we’ll see who’s more adventurous.”
“Ever been sky-diving? How about base-jumping?”
“Baby stuff. I bet you’ve never climbed a glacier or fought a cave bear. How about facing down a horde of dirty, smelly Norsemen?”
“You’re lying.”
“Not at all. Try time travel. It beats real life.”
“Whatever.” She continued to feel the walls until they came to a metal gate. “This is also new. It’s only been a few days since I was last here.”
“That worries me,” he said as she fit in the key and unlocked the gate.
“Not me,” she said. “I wasn’t followed.”
“As far as you know.”
“Pessimist,” she shot back.
