chapter 23
Isn’t it the sweetest mockery to mock our enemies?
—SOPHOCLES
“Wouldn’t a smaller group be better then?” Ciara asked, really wondering now what was driving the warrior’s decisions. “We would be less likely to be discovered.”
“And protecting you would be more risky,” Eirik said, sounding entirely unimpressed by the prospect.
“Surely you jest.” She was getting tired of him acting like he wasn’t enough to protect her. He was her mate and he was dragon, protector of an entire race. “If we are discovered, no force could stand against your fire. Had my brother and Luag been with a force ten times their size, you would have disintegrated them.”
Entire trees had gone up in flame.
Her mate’s expression closed and he turned toward the water. “The others will be here shortly.”
“That is much faster than he and Mairi made the crossing over.”
“There are four able-bodied soldiers to row this time.”
“Four?” she asked in confusion and wondered if that was going to be her state from now on.
She’d mated a confusing man who shared only what he thought necessary, which apparently was not a great deal.
“The Balmoral sent his second to get a report on the MacLeod soldiers from Niall.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t known Drustan was making the crossing, but then Ciara hadn’t known any of the others were coming. “I think I’ll go sit over there.” She waved vaguely at the fallen log outside the cave where her clan kept supplies. “It’s clear my input is not needed here.”
Eirik frowned, but he didn’t gainsay her.
She crossed the beach with leaden feet. Ciara had always fought the idea of taking a mate because the prospect of losing him and/or any children they might be able to produce terrified her. She’d never once considered the possibility that she might have a mate and yet not have him because his heart was not engaged.
You are upset, Eirik said through their mindspeak. Though he was faced away, his focus on the boat pulling closer to shore with every row of the oars.
I am fine.
You are sad.
Stop reading my emotions.
His shoulders tensed, but he didn’t turn around. I cannot help it.
Well, stop commenting on them at least.
Do you regret our mating?
Did she? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, does it? We’re mated and according to the kelle, until we were the Faolchú Chridhe wasn’t going to be found.
When you are chosen as the protector of your people, your life ceases to be your own. There was a certain amount of bleak acceptance in his tone.
He ought to know. Eirik’s life had been all about sacrifice for his people.
Did you mate me for the good of our people? she asked him, not entirely sure she wanted an answer, but unable to stop the question.
The silence in her mind was all the answer she needed.
His, Not entirely, came too late and was far too little.
She swallowed back her emotions and forced herself to feel nothing. She’d done it before; she could do it now.
What are you doing? He’d spun to face her, his expression dark with worry.
Nothing, she said in a monotone across their link.
Do not lie to me.
You said I couldn’t. You would always be able to tell.
I can.
I am tired.
You were fine on the flight over. Joyful in fact.
I like to fly with your dragon.
I have never enjoyed flight as much as when you ride on my dragon.
That was something, she supposed. Your raven wants to fly with me.
You remember our dream.
Yes.
Good.
Why was it good? She’d believed his beasts’ desire to share their natures with her meant he would want to share his heart. Clearly, she had been wrong.
Will we always share dreams now? she asked him.
Only when we want to.
So, I can kick you out of my dreams?
You could, yes.
How?
You create a barrier against me with your mind, but why would you want to?
Like this? she asked, drawing on her connection to her Chrechte nature to build a barrier in her mind.
Suddenly he was standing in front of her, amber gaze shooting fire and six feet, five inches of vibrating fury. “Do not ever do that again.”
“Why?”
“Our mindspeak is not only a way for us to grow closer in our mating, but it helps me to keep you safe.”
Her head started to ache badly and she let the barrier crumble. Suddenly his voice was in her head again, but it wasn’t his human voice. It was his dragon and he was crooning the way he did when trying to comfort her.
Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She’d been weak enough. Her people’s future depended on her being strong, on finding the Faolchú Chridhe.
She could deal with the pain in her heart later. She wasn’t even sure her own thoughts made sense, that her hurt wasn’t of her own making. So much had changed too quickly and she had a mate she had always told herself she did not want.
But knew now she would be miserable without.
He’d pulled her into his arms and was caressing her, the soft comforting sounds continuing until she relaxed against him, the headache gone as quickly as it had come. “I am sorry. I won’t do that again.”
“Thank you.”
They traveled by horse, except her father’s Faol soldiers. Everett and his brother traveled in their wolf form, scouting ahead of the riders. It took three days to reach the MacLeod border from the sea.
Despite the fact this part of the journey had been on their own, or friendly lands, it had been quiet among their group.
Ciara knew Lais missed Mairi. Leaving his new mate had to have been extremely hard on both of them. But Boisin had encouraged Lais to go, saying Mairi would get further along in the beginning of her training if he was not there.
Vegar was a silent man who could easily be mistaken for a Viking warlord. Artair was not his friendly self, either, having told Ciara that he’d opted to leave Balmoral Island rather than continue pining after a love that would never be.
She’d been shocked to discover her father planned to take Artair into training and was sending one of his own soldiers in exchange to the Balmoral. Less so when she found out that Artair was one of Boisin’s grandsons and would be teaching the old stories to the Sinclair Chrechte.
Eirik spoke to her over their mating link, but not often as his keen dragon focus was on potential threats around them. Mairi had told them that her father’s soldiers did not limit their patrols to his lands. Knowing how large his force of wolf soldiers was, no one had evinced surprise at that knowledge.
Though the grim attitude prevailing among the warriors made it clear they saw the MacLeod as a serious threat to the other clans in the Highlands. On the border with the Lowlands, he had a closer relationship with Scotland’s king as well. Declaring war on him could come with consequences to the country that no one wanted. ’Twas a quandary indeed.
And Ciara chewed on it for hours as they rode. She’d slept in the dragon’s arms both nights, but he had not entered her dreams on either occasion.
She was not sure why, but this time was smart enough not to ask since she could not be sure she would like the answer.
They waited to cross the border until night. Niall had told them what he had learned from the former MacLeod soldiers in regard to border guards and patrols. There were far more than even her father indulged in.
Using that knowledge, they rode onto MacLeod lands during the first watch, when the patrols were supposed to be changing.
From the border, Ciara and Eirik had agreed on a route based on the landmarks named by the kelle and Mairi’s knowledge of her father’s holding. The seer had been certain she knew both the dell and the river the kelle had spoken of, saying some still called it Kyle Kirksonas, though her father had done his best to rename landmarks in homage to himself. Once they reached it, it would simply be a matter of finding the right rock.
Mairi had made her suggestions on where she thought the wall that was not a wall might be, but cautioned against letting down their guard. Mairi had agreed with the soldiers caught in Sinclair forest that the patrols were likely to be heavy, particularly as far into the holding as they would have to go in order to reach the glen.
Nevertheless, they found the glen without incident and as soon as they rode into the narrow valley with high walls, Ciara knew this was indeed the place. She could feel the Faolchú Chridhe calling to her more strongly than ever, but the sense of Chrechte magic was there as well.
Old and unused, it still resonated off the rocks and from the river as it burbled through the peaceful surround.
They made camp in a brak, the hollow in the rocky hillside protecting them from detection on three sides. Eirik assigned each of the warriors to their tasks and then turned to her.
It is time, he said with mindspeak.
She nodded.
Take your dirk into your hand.
To protect myself?
To let the little stones call to the larger and help you determine which direction to search.
I could just take the sword.
He shook his head with a hard jerk in the negative. It is too risky. You might have another vision.
And it might lead us straight there.
And it might knock you out again. No.
She didn’t argue further. He had a good point, but more importantly, she could sense his worry and she did not want to add to it. Could he be that concerned for her and not care?
Regardless, he took too much on himself and perhaps she could share his burdens if not his heart. She pulled her dirk from the leather sheath under her belt. As her fingers curled round the handle, she felt a faint heat. Though nothing like what holding the sword caused, the sensation was still familiar.
She closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel the pull of the Faolchú Chridhe, but still not what direction it came from. Though she could sense that it was very close and the cavern it rested in flashed behind her eyelids.
Eirik’s arms came around her and she let herself relax back against him, concentrating entirely on the call of the sacred stone.
It was as if a veil was lifted and she could feel the pull to her left and forward.
She opened her eyes and pointed. That way, she said through their mate connection.
Moss covered the stone side of the steep brae that Ciara led them to. Erik called all but the Sinclair Faol who patrolled the area in their wolf form and Vegar who patrolled the sky to help scrape the moss away in search of the symbol the kelle had told Ciara about.
The sun had moved across the sky and they had identified more than forty symbols carved in the stone hillside when Artair raised his fist to indicate he’d found another.
Your kelle could have mentioned the whole bloody ben is covered in ancient symbols, Eirik said to Ciara through their mate-link.
Perhaps she thought I knew. From the way the walls of the cavern in my vision were decorated, I think our ancestors were more artistic with their dwellings and meeting places than we are.
He didn’t think the kelle had even thought about it. He and Ciara reached Artair at the same time. The symbol he had uncovered was subtly different than the ones they’d seen thus far, all of which had been duplicated at least once.
It looked like the symbol associated by the Chrechte with long life, but with an additional marking that indicated transformation. Perhaps to their ancient forefathers, those symbols together meant healing.
Just like at least half of the other symbols, there was a small indentation in the center. But instead of being circular as the others had been, this one was oval.
Ciara lifted the thumb-sized emerald Eirik had pried from the hilt of the Faol king’s sword and placed it in the indentation.
“The fit is perfect,” she whispered in awe.
Is it? he asked in her head, not wanting even a whisper to carry to any MacLeod patrols.
She nodded, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip. But it’s not doing anything, she said with some despondency, following his lead and using their mindspeak.
He reached around her and added his strength to hers, pressing the emerald into the indentation. Suddenly the sound of stone scraping against stone groaned from inside the hillside. Then the stone wall in front of them slid backward to reveal a narrow opening.
“It’s the cave,” Ciara whispered excitedly. She grinned at Artair. “You’ve found it.”
He smiled but shook his head, no words issuing forth. He was a well-trained soldier and knew that voices carried in the forest. Though it was unlikely if there were any Faol in the area, that they would not have heard the sound the stone had made sliding away from the opening.
Eirik called the others to him with the royal mind link and ordered them to protect the cave’s opening along with Artair.
Eirik would accompany Ciara inside.
The passage was narrow and dark, his big body barely fitting at some points, but they pressed forward, their only light a torch he carried. Ciara led the way and though it was against his protective instincts, there was no better alternative. If he led, her back would be unprotected if an enemy made it past the guards at the opening.
Eirik had to hope that the ancient cave held fewer dangers for her than what could well lay behind. Besides, the stubborn and impetuous woman had given him no choice. She had rushed into the cave ahead of him and there was no room in the narrow passage for him to change their positions.
“Do not rush,” he cautioned her.
“The kelle said nothing about traps in the caves.”
“Which means exactly nothing.”
“It was the place of healing for the Faol, why would it be trapped?” she asked.
“Why hide the entrance?”
“I do not know. Perhaps it was also considered a refuge. Our ancestors lived very differently than we do.”
He had to agree with that. He had no idea how that hidden door could have been managed by cave dwellers when none would know how to create it today.
The passageway began to widen until Eirik could move in front of Ciara.
“What are you doing?”
“Leading the way, as is my responsibility.”
She grumbled something that sounded very much like, “Arrogant dragon.”
He smiled. Life with her would never be predictable. He was accustomed to those who knew of his status as prince being impressed by it and even more respect garnered by his dragon.
Ciara treated him like…well, like her mate. And he found he enjoyed the novelty of her lack of awe.
He had not liked the sadness that had overcome her when they first arrived back on the mainland and he still did not know what caused it. Perhaps she continued to be bothered by the fact her father and mother had been unable to attend their wedding.
Eirik would make sure that all who were important to either of them were in attendance at their Chrechte mating ceremony with Anya-Gra.
His torch flickered and he knew they were near a significant change in the cave; the still air would not have caused the flame to dance otherwise. A few feet later, the passage opened into a huge cavern, bigger than anything he had ever seen underground. Large enough for an entire clan to gather, much less a single pack of the Faol.
This was a meeting place from the days when the Chrechte were as united as any nomadic people who traveled in small family groupings could be.
“The walls do not glow,” Ciara said with concern. “And it is too big.”
“Your kelle said she took the stone to a hidden cavern far beneath the earth. This one is in the hillside.”
Ciara nodded, looking around and no doubt seeing what he did. The space was huge, but not altogether empty.
There was a dais in the center with standing torches at its four corners. It was covered in a hide tanned and bleached to near white, the center decorated with a pattern that matched the healing symbol they had found outside. There were stone benches around the cavern, some grouped together, others alone and even a few tables that held pots and jars similar to the ones he had seen in Lais’s room.
“This is where they performed their healing,” Eirik said with conviction.
“I think you are right, but it was also a place of meeting, I think.”
The idea the cave had been a refuge for the Chrechte seemed more likely now. “It is likely you are right.”
“I want to look at everything, but there is no time.”
“There isn’t. Our enemies could discover our presence at any moment.” But he regretted not being able to allow Lais to come inside and examine things.
Then he reconsidered. If Eirik and Ciara were going to go farther into the earth, it would be a good idea to have a guard in the cavern.
He recalled Vegar from his post in the sky to flying closer to the cave entrance so he could help if MacLeod Chrechte showed up. And then, Eirik instructed Lais to come inside to the healing cavern.
The passage is long and narrow, he told his friend in Lais’s mind.
I do not like small spaces.
You and half the Éan, but the cavern is huge and you will find it very interesting. Just do not get so interested you forget to pay attention for encroaching soldiers.
Lais agreed and Eirik made his way to the dais in the center of the room. The cavern was too vast for them to see the difference between another passage opening and shadow with the light of only one torch.
The standing torches lit, drawing on some kind of oil…he had heard of the Roman’s having lamps like this, but the Chrechte’s cave-dwelling ancestors? ’Twas amazing.
Ciara was walking along the walls, clearly looking for another opening out of the cavern. They found three.
The first led to a smaller chamber that had obviously been used to store food and other supplies. The second opening led to a series of smaller caves, some of which ended in additional caverns no bigger than most bedchambers that may well have been used by the kelle for sleeping and privacy. Other passages simply ended and the lack of any carving on the walls of these led Eirik to believe they were used rarely if ever by the ancient kelle.
The third passage was more of the same and by the time they’d finished exploring it, Vegar informed Eirik that dusk had arrived. Ciara and Eirik returned to the cavern and shared roasted meat with Lais for latemeal.
“There must be another passage off of this cavern,” Ciara said, her voice strained with fatigue and disappointment.
Eirik tugged her around until she leaned against him. “We will find the Faolchú Chridhe, faolán. You must trust in yourself and your connection to the stone.”
“I can feel it, beneath us here, but I’ve no idea how to reach it,” she said dispiritedly. “I’m tired and I feel this itch between my shoulder blades telling me that MacLeod’s soldiers are near.”
“I’m feeling the same itch,” he admitted.
Lais ate intermittently between examining jars from one of the tables. “More like you are sending your sense of impending trouble to Ciara through your mating bond.”
“If that’s the case, you can keep your worries to yourself. I’ve enough of my own,” his sweet little mate said rather sourly.
He smiled at her bad temper and reminded her, “Being a mate means sharing your burdens.”
“I do not want the burden of dragon senses,” she huffed and then sighed, looking lost. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
He started rubbing her shoulders and neck, kneading the tension from her. “It will be well, mo gra.”
“What did you just call me?” she asked in a soft voice, laced with an emotion he wasn’t sure of.
It almost sounded like hope, but what had she to hope for? She was his. He was hers. Their mating had been blessed by God himself.
Rather than discuss things that had been set in stone since the moment he caught her in the air after her fall from the tower roof, he mused, “We may have missed something in one of the other passages.”
“No.” She rubbed her head against his chest. “We were very careful in our search.”
“We were just as careful searching out openings in the walls.”
Lais said, “Perhaps the way to the hidden cavern is down, not out.”
“Of course it is down, I told you I could feel the sacred stone under us…” Ciara’s voice trailed off. “Oh, I take your meaning, Lais. You think there actually is some kind of opening in the floor.”
“The floor of this cavern is smoother than slate prepared by a mason,” Eirik observed.
Ciara asked, “But how is that possible?”
Lais shrugged. “I know not, but if our ancestors could fashion an entrance like the one to these caves, and floors so clearly made by man, though seeming of solid stone, they could make a hidden doorway in the floor. I say we move the covering on the dais.”
“It’s so old…it will disintegrate in our hands.” Ciara’s tone made it clear the idea bothered her.
Lais frowned apologetically. “I’ve searched the rest of the floor and cannot see any place that could open like the entrance to the cave outside.”
Eirik was not surprised the eagle had spent his time searching for the secret passageway, despite his great interest in the cavern itself. The eagle was an honorable Chrechte that knew how to put the good of the many above his own interests and desires.
’Twas one of the reasons Eirik considered him brother more than friend.
Ciara sighed. “I suppose there’s no hope for it, but we will be careful. This is a sacred place.”
“We will treat the cavern and everything in it with the respect it deserves.” Eirik hugged her close, trying to impart his sincerity and matching concern through his touch.
“Thank you.”