“Much stolen? I have an account and locked box there, but the bank hasn’t contacted me as yet?—”
“Which means,” Mathi said, “that yours is safe. They’ve already contacted the owners of the twenty involved.”
“Only twenty? That sounds targeted,” Lugh noted.
“It was. Thankfully, we do have a means of finding him?—”
“One that involves finding a convergence of two rivers, a ruined castle accessed by stepping stones over one of those rivers, and a dark tunnel whose entrance is hidden in a stone wall.” Mathi’s voice was dry. “Simple, really.”
Lugh laughed. “Have you googled it? It’s usually pretty good at pinning down that sort of thing.”
“We have,” I said. “There’s a short list.”
“Of twenty,” Mathi added. “We haven’t the time to physically search each and every one.”
“Then don’t,” Darby said. “Use Google Earth.”
I blinked. “I never thought about using that.”
“I’m not just here for my good looks and healing ability, you know. Hang on while I get my laptop.”
While she rose and headed into the bedroom, Mathi dragged out his phone and brought up the search list he’d saved.
“Right,” she said, sitting back down beside Lugh. “Hit me with the first address.”
Mathi did so, and after a few minutes she turned the computer around so I could see the castle. I shook my head, and she said, “Next.”
That continued on for the next twenty minutes. It wasn’t until we’d hit the nineteenth option that I recognized the castle I’d seen in my dream. “That’s it. That’s the one.”
“And naturally it’s one of the farthest away,” Mathi noted. “Given we’ll be heading underground, I’ll contact Cynwrig and ask him to recommend a guide.”
“Wise, given we have no idea what condition those tunnels will be in.” I studiously avoided Darby’s gaze when I said that and was totally surprised she resisted the urge to mention the fact I could ask him myself. “We’ll also need a blow-up boat of some kind. The lake that surrounds the altar seems to have life in it.”
“Which is never a good thing when it comes to godly artifacts,” Lugh said. “I’ll come with you and bring Jack and Jill with me, just in case.”
Jack—made of cold iron—and Jill—silver with an iron core—were the rather incongruous names he’d given the hefty, foot-long metal stakes he’d had made to deal with the wide range of hellish ghouls that often hung around ancient relic sites.
“Good idea,” Darby said. “I’ll stay above ground and provide the medical assistance that will invariably be needed, given said nasties in the water.”
Lugh glanced at her. “That isn’t necess?—”
“It is, and I will be taking no protective nonsense from you, Lugh Aodhán. I have the next two days off, and I’ve not been to that part of Wales.”
“You could be sitting in the car for ages,” he tried again. “I really don’t think?—”
“There will be no car sitting, either, because that would be far too obvious to anyone who might be keeping an eye on the place. I’ll check out the ruin and then wander over to the cake and coffee shop that’s not even five minutes away.”
He grumbled something I couldn’t quite catch, but Darby smiled and patted his leg. “Yes, you are indeed lucky to have two stubborn women in your life, and no, we will not be discussing it later.”
“That being settled,” Mathi said, a smile twitching his lips, “shall we aim for Monday? It gives us time to procure everything we need.”
Lugh nodded. “I’ll drive, given I’ve all the necessary caving gear in?—”
“It’ll be quicker and easier if I arrange the use of a private plane?—”
“Which will be the Dhar-Val private company jet, because he can charge the costs back to the council for a wee profit,” I cut in.
“There is no ‘wee’ about it,” he said. “It’s not like they’re offering me a retainer for my services, so inflated expenditure claims are to be expected.”
