And he blinks at me rapidly. Surely I’ve told him before. But then maybe I haven’t.
“I do, boy,” I say. “I love you very much, and I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
Then, before I can change my mind, I stride towards the cave entrance, beckoning Fox to follow me and using my magic to light our way. We’re a few steps into the tunnel when the Professor takes my hand in his. I expect that usual icy cold to spike through my hand and up my arm. But once again his skin doesn’t feel as cold as it once did.
“Where do you think this tunnel is going to come out, Professor?” I ask him.
“Hopefully somewhere down in the dungeons near my room, maybe under the Great Hall.” He grimaces. “Hopefully not anywhere near Sterling’s office.”
“You know of him, then?”
“Yes.” He sniffs. “You could say we have history.”
“I don’t even know who he is.”
“One of the Empress’s most trusted allies.”
“Yeah, I don’t like the sound of him then,” I say. “What’s the history?”
The Professor doesn’t answer me, so I jab him in the ribs with my finger. “No more secrets, Fox. What history?”
He grimaces. “He was the one who sentenced me to death after all the,” he hesitates, “murdering.”
“Bastard,” I mutter.
“I killed people for their blood. It’s what I deserved. But still, I don’t like the guy.”
“Why?”
“He always gave me the creeps.”
“Exactly,” I say. “He’s really creepy. But Bardin changed his mind. About the death penalty, I mean.”
“No, he never changed his mind. He wanted me dead. I don’t really think it had anything to do with the murdering, personally. I think he just took a dislike to me.”
“Because you’re infinitely more handsome and charming than he is, Professor.”
The Professor scoffs. “I don’t know about that, but it was the Empress who changed her mind, overruled him. I suppose, thinking about it now, it wasn’t that surprising. She already had Bardin doing her dirty work. I assume she thought I would be another useful asset. He argued against Bardin, tried to persuade the Empress that I should die. She was unconvinced.”
“So Sterling and Bardin are enemies.”
“You could say that,” Fox mutters. “Usually I’d say my enemy’s enemy is my friend, but in this case, I think I’ll make an exception.”
Sterling seemed no better than Bardin. In fact, I suspect he could be worse. I just hope my friends Fly and Clare are both okay – that they’ve stayed under the radar and haven’t attracted any of his wrath. I can’t help feeling that is optimistic though. People know that they’re my friends, and I am now a traitor. It’s perfectly possible that people like Sterling will use my friends to get to me. It puts them in danger. I pick up my pace. I need to find them. I need to find them quickly.
We pass the tunnel that had led into the grotto, and we keep walking. The tunnel becomes lower and narrower. Fox is forced to duck his head, crouching over me as we continue walking.
“How far do you think this will take us?” I say. “How long will it take?”
“Like I told you,” Fox says, “it’s magical.”
“If it’s magic,” I say, “is there something we need to do to activate it, to make it to take us where we want to go?”
“No,” he says. “It’s all built in. It knows where we want to go, and it will take us there.”
As the temperature of the tunnel drops, as we seem to dive deeper into the earth, I’m not so convinced about that. Finally, when I’m wondering if we’re just going to become lost under the mountains of the Highlands, the tunnel begins to incline upwards, the temperature rises again, and then we notice scratchings on the walls. I pause, bringing my light right up to examine them. They’re symbols and pictures, completely meaningless to me.
“What are they?” I ask.
