Page 56 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

Bruce frowned. “Wait. I made a mistake. This word, it doesn’t mean ground. It means river. Nae just the mountains the river will sway. But what does that have to do with the O’on?”

“We’re on the banks of River Carron,” Elspeth pointed out. “But what did-” She stopped speaking suddenly. Her back was to the door, and she faced the back wall. Her eyes widened, and she stood very still. “What was that line about the eye?”

“Truth is a circle and the eye sees all,” Bruce said.

“Does that nae look like an eye, Bruce?” she asked, pointing to the back wall.

The setting sun shone directly through the door, casting a solid square block of golden light, but that wasn’t what she was looking at. A small light in the shape of an almond eye beamed left to the center of the door directly above the plinth. Elspeth looked up and saw the sunlight streaming through the small square window.

“The failing sun,” she said, pointing. “The all-seeing eye.”

The lines of frustration disappeared from his forehead, and he rushed to the plinth to observe it more closely. Elspeth joined him. Bruce pried at the corners, but it did not budge. “Are we supposed to break through the wall?” Bruce wondered out loud.

“There’s naught but river behind.”

“The waters will sway,” Bruce murmured. “Elspeth, I cannae understand it-”

“Shh!” Elspeth placed a finger on Bruce’s lips. “Do ye hear that?” She could hear the rushing of water. The river was beyond the wall, but this sounded closer. She placed her ear on the plinth. “It’s coming from here.”

Bruce imitated her, and they both stared at each other, listening to the sound of water. Bruce stood up and motioned for her to step away. Picking up the shovel he struck it on the plinth. Dust and chinks of stone flew up. Bruce kept going until with a guttural cry he hit the rock at such an angle that it cracked open.

Dank, musty air puffed up and filled their nostrils. Elspeth sneezed. Bruce removed the top of the plinth. Earthen steps descended into a steep shaft. Elspeth stared. What was this? The trepidation from earlier came back to her. The shaft looked like a passage to the underworld. Fear clutched her heart.

“Bruce?”

But Bruce was already wrapping a scrap of cloth around the shovel handle and using two stones to set it alight. Then he climbed down. Elspeth had no choice. Trembling, she followed him on unsteady legs. The steps were made of packed earth but was so old that parts of it crumbled underneath them. If it’s so hard to climb down, how impossible will it be to climb back up? The dreadful thought only served to frighten her more.

Elspeth looked up at the sunlight, wondering if she would ever see it again. Why was she so afraid?

Bruce was waiting for her at the bottom. He held her by the waist and held her steady. “There’s a passage,” he said. “It goes under the river, I think.”

“Will it nae collapse?” Elspeth asked, her voice squeakier than she would have liked.

“It has nae in so long, I doubt it will now.” Bruce said. He pushed his foot into the ground. “It’s dry. The river has nae seeped in this low. We must be very deep under the ground.”

That information did not ease her mind. They followed the passage, holding on to each other. The darkness had fingers that reached out and tried to pluck at her skirts. She despised the place and wanted to plead with Bruce to turn back, but he was intent on going forward.

The passage suddenly ended; a small niche carved into the dead end. Within it was a rolled-up bundle caked with age-old mud that had dried. Elspeth saw Bruce’s hand tremble as he reached out and took hold of it.

As if it had been waiting for his hand, the bundle unfurled at Bruce’s touch. The contents spilled out, something brilliant caught the firelight, fracturing light in the dark cavern.

Bruce fell to his knees. Elspeth grasped his shoulder.

The crown was a little dusty, yet the jewels incrusted within caught the light and expelled it back. But the sword and the scepter, gifts of the Pope, were another matter entirely. They set the dreary place alight. The metal shone with a mesmerizing luster, and the jewels at the hilt, and the orb set in the scepter sparkled with an internal fire all their own.

Terror engulfed her, a horror she could not explain. Bruce was elated. She could see tears running down his cheek as he picked the Honors up and cradled them like they were a child.

And with a jolt Elspeth realized why she was afraid. The Honors had been hidden deep under the earth for so many years. Why? Because they brought death and misery to those that decided to wield them. They were a blessing, indeed, but at what cost? She wasn’t afraid of the dank cavern; she was afraid for Bruce’s future and what hardships it would hold.