She pushed against the floor, sitting upright. Her muscles told her in no uncertain terms she had been idle for far too long. If Taggart was still alive by the time she found him, she might wring his neck herself.
“William!” Her voice came out as a croaking rasp, shattering the stillness and seeming loud even to her. “William, wake up!” How in the world could he sleep at a time like this? It sounded as though he was hibernating for the winter.
She massaged her legs and arms, willing her muscles to loosen up. “William! Wake up!” Merciful heavens, if shouting didn’t work, she’s crawl over there and beat him. “William!”
“I have been awake. Guarding you. Remember?” He released a creaking yawn, then made a loud, wet smacking with his lips. “Is Taggart back yet?” Debris scraped and rattled. The youngling must be moving. He peeled a fart into the darkness.
“William!”
“Sorry.” More rattling and thumping about. “Ye didna say, Mother. Is Taggart back?”
“No. Not yet.” She forced herself to ignore the dread gnawing at her, telling her that something was dead wrong. “Can you make a flame yet? Even a small one so we can have some light?”
“I can try.” The lad didn’t sound too confident as he continued scuffling about. He whooshed in a great rumbling breath, then blew it out with a mighty growl. Nothing happened. The velvety darkness remained like a dense, eternal blanket. “Dammit.”
“It’s all right.” She reached out, found his side, and have him a reassuring pat. “One of these days, your flame will come. It’s just not ready yet. Give it time.”
“It isna just that,” the lad said quietly. He shuffled closer, pressing against her. “The glowing stone Gearlach gave me doesna work anymore.”
Arms outstretched, she stood, found a wall, then edged toward where she thought the door might be. “Well, once things settle down, he can give you another.”
“Ye dinna understand.” The young one’s voice cracked as though his emotions got the better of him. “If the magic is gone from Gearlach’s stone, it means he is dead.”
She bowed her head and closed her eyes, praying William was wrong. “Could be because the stone got damaged in a blast. We must not give up hope. Not ever.”
“The stones canna be damaged, Mother. It is a tenet Taggart drilled into my head.”
Hannah lifted a shaking hand to her mouth and stifled a sob.Sweet, bumbling Gearlach gone. What else had happened in the three days of her incapacitation? She dreaded finding out. All she knew for certain was she had to be strong for William. “Forgive me for doubting you, William. I guess it’s because I didn’t want it to be true.”
“I nay want it to be true either.” William’s sniff echoed across the room. “Gearlach always played the fool. . . .” The young one coughed and sniffed again. “But he was my friend.”
She sagged against the rough gemstone walls, grief cutting into her heart as sharply as the raw crystals cutting into her back. She forced the rising hysteria back into its tiny box at the back of her mind. Now was not the time. She had to find Taggart. He still lived and would know what they needed to do. She refused to think otherwise.
After a deep breath and a hard swallow, she took out her dagger. Somehow, holding it ready made her feel better. “I know you’re hurting. I am too. But we have to grieve for Gearlach later. We’re going to find our way out of this place and join the others.”
“But Taggart said to wait until one of them came for us.”
“I refuse to wait any longer. Now, you can either come with me or sit here alone where you can’t even see the end of your snout. Which is it?” She knew what he would choose. He feared the darkness and being alone more than anything else.
“Which way should we go? I dinna remember how we came in. We been here too long.”
She bit her tongue to keep from shouting, reminding herself he was very young and afraid. It had been three days since he carried her into the shelter and he had probably curled up and gone to sleep as soon as he dropped her into the pile of pillows.
“This is a shelter. Do you remember seeing anything in this room we could use to find our way out? Do you remember seeing tables with lanterns or anything else before the lights failed? Candles with Draecna flints nearby? Anything?” Someday, when all this was settled, she and Taggart would have a long talk about that catatonic spell. He had closed her eyes after paralyzing her, rendering herpowerless to notice anything about their surroundings while light remained. She had faded in and out of consciousness and vaguely remembered the sounds of bombing, but that was all.
She heard William shuffling about. He sounded like an oversized rat; his rear claws scratching on the slate floor. The scratching changed to a thump when he must have reached a carpeted area. A crash sounded, then a louder clunk and screech as William collided with a solid piece of wood furniture.
“I found the table, Mother.”
Hannah clapped for him. “Good job!” She just hoped he hadn’t cleared it of its contents.
She heard him pawing the top of the table; his claws clattering as he tapped the surface of wood. “Careful, William. If you knock anything off into the floor, you might never find it in this darkness.”
A warm, yellow glow illuminated the darkness as William struck the shutter on a Draecna lantern. “Look what I found.” He tapped the cone-shaped top of the crystal cylinder while giving her a toothy grin.
The light eased the tension in her chest. She rewarded him with two thumbs up. The darkness had fed the demons of her mind and the brightly burning lantern helped keep the terrors at bay. “Excellent job, William. Now let’s get out of this hole and find the others.”
They brokethrough the rubble blocking the passage and shoved into the main hall. With a rumbling grunt, William heaved aside a collapsed column then held her back while he waited to see if the passage was safe.
