Yet, if the spirit had spoken true, she carried their child. She would have to tell him eventually, but now was not the time and this was not the place. She would do so on the surface of the earth, with the summer breeze blowing her hair, under a hundred stars in the ordinary night sky. Not here, where the light surely was not natural, and where magic might either destroy or heal her depending on who wielded it.
She would tell him, that is, if he did not leave her first. Once he found the amulet, he would be free. The choice would be up to him.
"Like the sunrise? Aye, so it is." Egann's tone was preoccupied. "I sense the working of something more than the mere lifting of the darkness. We will proceed with caution and remember, no matter what you see on this journey, do not let go of my hand." His fingers tightened on hers for emphasis.
As they walked, the hollow sound of their footsteps seemed to echo. Again the cry from below sounded, fainter this time, though with equal urgency and fear.
"From what nature of beast does that sound come?"
"I know not," Egann spoke softly, a warning implicit in his low voice. "But the cause of such a noise cannot bode well for its maker."
"Think you that it is Hearne?"
He shrugged and did not answer.
"I do not smell smoke," she said, nervously sniffing the air. "Nor do I hear the sound of a large gathering, as there was before in that other place under the earth."
"Listen." Halting, he motioned her to silence.
Snuffling sounds came from below them.
"Weeping?" she whispered.
He frowned. "Or laughter."
Together they listened. Deirdre wondered if Egann felt as hesitant as she to continue.
"We must find the amulet."
"True."
Expelling his breath in a harsh sound, Egann cupped her chin with his free hand. "I know not why Fiallan insisted that you must be with me in this journey." His magnificent eyes glowed. "But know this, little Shadow Dancer, I would not willingly take you into such danger."
This time she could not prevent her emotions from showing. Not with him so close, looking at her in such a way. Hand trembling, she reached up and brushed a lock of his golden hair from his brow.
"I know," she told him. "But there is no other place that I would rather be than here, with you."
His reaction was swift. He lowered his head and kissed her, fiercely, with a possessive violence that shook her all the way to her soul.
When he let her go, holding only on to her hand, she swayed, unable to take her gaze from his face.
"I will protect you, Deirdre." He spoke his vow in a harsh voice.
"This I know." Striving to lighten the mood, she summoned a wavering smile. "And because I believe in you, I have little fear." This was not a falsehood, for truly she did not fear for her own safety. She worried for Egann, and what this Hearne might do if he had found a way to unleash the amulet's power.
But she said none of these things. Instead, she swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and deliberately tore herself away from Egann's intent gaze, focusing on the deep cleft in his chin.
"Shall we go?"
After a moment's hesitation, he inclined his head slightly. "I am ready."
Together they rounded the next corner. Now that they could actually see the sharp slope of the stone path, Deirdre found the unrelenting downward spiral slightly less intimidating than traversing it in total darkness.
As they continued on, the turns came closer together, sharper and more abrupt.
"We near the end," Egann said.
Indeed, after several final, dizzying turns the path ended, leaving them standing on a large, flat stone floor in a room with only three visible sides. There had to be a fourth wall, yet they could not see it in the shadows ahead.
"An huge cavern." Egann ran his free hand over the uneven surface of the rock wall as they went past. "`Twould take a lot of magic to bring forth so much light."
"There are no torches," Deirdre mused. "Yet we can see as if there were a hundred lit candles. From what source comes the light?"
His reply was brief and to the point. "Magic. `Twould seem this place makes its own rules. "
They continued forward, yet Egann's steps slowed. Though she understood his hesitation, she wondered at the reason for it.
"Know you something of what lays ahead?"
He shot her a grim look, and what she saw in his expression made her catch her breath. There was a lethal readiness in his dark gaze, the intent ferocity of a warrior, and for the first time she understood how some could come to fear him.
He was after all, a Prince of Rune. And, were he to admit and accept it, the true King of the Fae.
"Whatever awaits us – Hearne or something else - cannot be good," he warned. "And if I must fight, then I cannot keep my hold upon your hand."
"I understand." Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, she wished Fiallan would put in an appearance. There were many question she wished to ask the wise man, and there was one she knew she must ask Egann now.
"What of your magic?"
"What of it?"
Matter-of-factly she reminded him of his own words spoken earlier. "You have told me that your magic deserts you while under the earth, yet this place seems full of enchantment and spells."
His face was full of strength and an assurance that instantly buoyed her spirits. "I have no doubt that the amulet will assist me. You have heard the talisman welcome me with great joy. I do not believe that Hearne will not be able to keep it from coming to my aid when I call."
Stunned, she tilted her head. "Truly you think it will be so simple?"
"Simple?" Flashing her a confident smile, he gave an eloquent shrug. "Mayhap. I will not know until I try."
Egann saw from her expression that she wanted to believe him. Disbelief and hope warred with each other, but in the end he knew that she would have no choice but to accept his words and wish for the best.
As did he
.
In truth he had no idea whether the amulet would respond to his summons. After all, what right did he truly have to it? None, since he had declined to take the throne.
At this point, his desires were simple. He wanted to recover the amulet, return it to Fiallan, and find the spell to remove Deirdre's curse as he had promised.
Another cry, so sharp that it lasted but an instant, came from the shadows of the other side of the cavern. The awful pitch and terror of the sound could not have issued from a human throat, for such a cry could only mean one thing. Death.
Immediately, he started forward. Deirdre kept pace with him, her steps sure and unafraid.
Together they moved into the darker part of the cave.
The earth began to shake. From far behind them, there came a loud roar. The awful sound of rocks shifting, falling, closing forever the way they had come. The air filled with dust and momentarily the light snuffed out. He saw black then, like the blink of an eye, it became bright again.
With one final shudder, the earth's movement ceased.
Deirdre stood poised for flight.
"The rockslide was back near the entrance," Egann said, keeping his voice calm. Not for one second did he wish to betray to her the utter finality he had heard in that sound; if they did not find another passage out, they would be trapped here forever under the earth.
She glanced around wildly, a fine gray powder coating her black hair. Egann could not help himself, he reached out and lightly brushed it from her with his hand.
"We are in no immediate danger."
Still silent, she nodded. The absolute trust he saw in her pewter eyes humbled him.
"Come on." Fingers intertwined, he led her forward.
Only silence greeted them as the reached the third and final wall. Silence and nothing else. The cavern appeared to be empty.
"This can't be all there is," Deirdre whispered as they came to a halt. "How could it end here, like this, with no other path?"
"Nay." Though he knew not what kind of enchantment had been worked upon this place, he had no doubt some secret opening existed somewhere in the rock walls. Otherwise, their entire journey had been in vain. This he refused to believe.
"Help me," he asked, releasing her hand momentarily to began exploring the bumpy stone surface of the wall.
Soon enough his supposition proved true. He found a hollowed groove at eye level about ten paces farther along the darkened wall. Here the stone, where ordinarily rough as sand, had been carved smooth, like a polished gem. Symbols of some archaic language had been carved here also, and Egann ran his fingers along the raised outlines, pressing hard.
As he did, the wall began to move. With a loud groaning and grating sound, the huge stone structure slowly slid to one side, creating an opening. Tendrils of mist, dancing in a breeze that did not exist, drifted through, enveloping them in a fog-like haze.
"Here," he called to Deirdre, turning to reach for her hand before he led them into the darkness.
"Where are you?" He heard her voice but could not see her. The mist had grown thick and soupy, the cold dampness blurring his eyes and chilling his skin.
Without thinking he waved his hands in a quick spell, meaning to clear the haze. When nothing happened, not even a brief tingling in his fingertips, he cursed his fickle magic and strode into the very heart of the miasma.
"I cannot see you," she said.
Morthar take this, her voice came from a distance, as though she had gone on ahead of him. "Where are you?"
"Slowly I move forward." She sounded calm; this was good.
"I will come to you," he said. He moved in a wide circle, knowing she was near – after all, there was nowhere else she could go in the cavern, except through the new opening his explorations had created.
His heart caught, then began to pound. Surely she hadn't--
"Egann?" Fainter now, her cry seemed to come from a greater distance.
Still the fog swirled around him, blurring his vision. Then, with a loud groan, the opening in the wall began to slide closed.
His heart stuttered, then began to pound. Was Deirdre in the cavern on this side? Or had she already entered the doorway in the wall?
"Do not move," he ordered, pushing away a brief flash of panic. He knew not what perils awaited through the opening in the stone, but he did not want Deirdre to face them alone.
This side? Or the other? From the sound of her voice… Praying he was right, he plunged through the narrow opening. An instant later it grated closed behind him.
The cloying mist began to disperse.
"Deirdre?"
"I am here."
As the haze cleared, he saw her. Slender and still, she stood with her hands clasped together, waiting.
"I knew you would find me," she said, her welcoming smile trembling around the edges.
Crossing to her, he pulled her into his arms, letting the soft warmness of her reassure him, not wanting her to know that for a moment, he had doubted his own ability to find her, to keep her safe.