“The earth from here to there is solid, but, as I said, I cannot vouch for what awaits once we enter.”
“Given it’s likely that what awaits in the cavern isn’t likely to be friendly, I’d better take the lead from here.”
He briefly hesitated, suggesting that he, like Mathi, had been ordered to take care of me. Which was both heartwarming and annoying. I liked—loved?—Cynwrig, despite the short nature of our relationship, but I was also more than capable of looking after myself.
I drew a knife, more to feel the weight in my hand than any sense of immediate danger, and walked on, the light from the headlamp dancing across the walls, catching the quartz, making those rivers gleam and shimmer.
But the closer we got to the lake, the more those luminous rivers took on a bloody hue, and the greater the sense of danger became.
And yet, the knives and the Eye remained mute. Whatever I was sensing, it was a physical threat more than a magical one.
Up ahead, gleaming with an unearthly glow in the headlamp’s bright beam, were what looked to be two Corinthian columns supporting a highly decorated lintel—or architrave, to give it its proper name. And amongst the leaves and trees carved into what I presumed was quartz, were ellul—eel-like beings with a human face and razor-sharp teeth.
Which was, no doubt, a warning of what lay waiting for us inside the cavern.
My knuckles were almost white with the force of my grip on the knife. It was tempting, so damn tempting, to simply turn around and look for another means of finding the pectoral, but time was of the essence. Not only for both of my current searches, but for me overall. I couldn’t let fear waste precious seconds searching for other options when there was a perfectly good one on the table.
I forced my feet on, my gaze on the darkness beyond the gateway—a darkness that didn’t lift despite the strength of the beam and my growing closeness.
And that could mean only one thing—some sort of barrier lay between the two columns.
So why weren’t the knives reacting?
Did it mean the barrier, whatever it was, posed no threat to me? Most likely. But if that were the case, then the next question had to be—would it pose a problem for everyone else? Given the way these things generally worked, I was guessing the answer would be a definite yes.
I stopped a few feet away. This close, the barrier was very evident—a thick black slab that stretched from one column to the other. No air stirred through it, and no sound crept past it.
But the ellul were waiting for me. I was sure of that, if nothing else.
I shivered and again had to fight the urge to turn around and get the hell out of here.
Bodhrán stopped beside me, his hands on his hips and his expression puzzled. “Whatever that wall is, it isn’t natural.”
“No, but I don’t think it’s magic, either. Or at least, not human magic.”
“Which makes sense, given it’s a godly cavern.” Mathi stopped behind me. “Will your knives slip through it?”
“They should, given we haven’t yet met a substance or magic that they couldn’t.” Even so, I raised my knife and pressed it forward. It slid into the thick darkness without effort or reaction. I hesitated, then stepped forward and pressed my arm into it. Again, no reaction, though the air beyond the slab of black crawled across my skin with a thick heaviness. Trepidation stirred anew. I quickly withdrew my arm and then the blade, and glanced at Bodhrán. “You want to give it a try?”
He reached out with his right hand, but before he could actually touch it, the wall rippled, and a thin stream of black whipped out and snapped at his fingers.
“Well,” Lugh said, stopping just behind Bodhrán. “I’m guess that means the rest of us aren’t getting in.”
“Perhaps whatever shields this entrance simply didn’t like me,” Bodhrán commented.
“Unlikely, but?—”
Mathi stepped past Bodhrán and reached out. Another whip appeared, snapping with ghostly teeth at his fingers. He barely jerked them back in time.
“I guess that means Iamgoing in alone.” I glanced at Lugh. “You’d better show me how to inflate a raft.”
He swung off his pack and began untying the rafts. “You may have to do this solo, but you will be roped to me, and you willnotundo said rope, no matter what happens. Clear?”
“Clear,” I said mildly. “Though it’s not like I untied the last time we found ourselves in this sort of situation.”
“Cutting is the same as untying, Beth, and ellul are not Annwfyn. They don’t have limbs or claws for a start.”
“No, but they’ve got big fucking teeth and a taste for human flesh. I can tell you now, if it’s a choice between slicing the rope and letting those bastards get me, I’m slicing.”
