The Echolone Mine (23 page)

“There are
others?”

“Do you want a
full list?” There was an irritated lilt to his tone.

“I believe
you, but I would like to know how you found out. The why I can
fathom all by myself.” In Torrullin’s tone there was a sliver of
taunting.

“My bloodhound
nose,” Elianas said. “My point is, we have time, but not long.”

Torrullin
muttered, “This could have waited till morning.”

Elianas
shrugged. “By morning Caballa will be in full flight, and Tristan,
Declan and Quilla will delay our departure with too many
questions.”

Silence. Then,
“You want to go now, when we are able to go alone.”

“Yes.”

Torrullin lay
back on the platform with a groan and covered his face. “Gods, I
cannot think straight at the moment.”

“Don’t think.
What does instinct tell you?”

Torrullin
laughed behind his hands. “Not to go anywhere alone with you.”

“I guess we
wait until morning.”

Torrullin’s
hands dropped away and he stared up at the star-filled sky. A
longer silence ensued. Night sounds punctuated it like question
marks.

“Elianas.”

The dark man
flopped back also. “I know that tone.”

“We need a
buffer. Lowen was meant to do so and upon your instigation. I
fought it, but now I cannot imagine what will happen if we spend an
extended period together without a shield in some form.”

“You can
imagine it.”

A laugh. “Yes.
You know what I mean.”

“We spent ten
days together recently. Nothing happened.”

“Since then
tensions have risen.”

“True.”

“I would
prefer that Caballa stay here,” Torrullin said.

“Lowen would
be better?”

“God, no.”

Elianas
laughed.

“I am thinking
Declan.”

Elianas
groaned. “Why not Quilla while you are at it?”

“He sees too
much.”

“And the Siric
doesn’t? Gods, Torrullin, he is the smartest of the lot.”

That was true.
“Who would you suggest?”

“Nobody.”

“Not going to
happen. Choose someone.”

“Teighlar,”
Elianas said after a moment.

“What … no. He
definitely sees too much.”

“Belun,
then.”

Torrullin
laughed. “Belun would be at your throat within a minute. He gets
very protective.”

Elianas was
silent again and then he sat up. “Saska.”

Torrullin
jerked upright. “Saska? Why?”

“She is the
one person we both respect and the one woman we would not want to
hurt with the games we play. She is clever, thinks on her feet and
has rare courage. Torrullin, she needs purpose the way we need
it.”

Torrullin hung
his head, weighing the options. “Saska and Declan.”

“Agreed.”

“Goddess,
Lowen will be furious when she hears.”

“Do you
care?”

“I care - what
kind of question is that? Gods, I wish you had left me to the
drink,” Torrullin muttered. He rose. “You get Saska and I will
speak to Declan.”

“Fine.”
Elianas rose also.

“You are like
a petulant child sometimes,” Torrullin snapped.

“And you are
like an overbearing father,” Elianas muttered.
And blind.
“I
shall see you on the hill at sunrise.”

He
vanished.

An hour later
Torrullin had explained it to Declan … and Tristan and Quilla.

Caballa sat
frowning next to Tristan, fuming, actually.

They were in
one of the guest cottages and no one was in the vicinity. Sounds of
the on-going celebration were muted.

Caballa said,
“I hate that you want to cut me out, and if I can’t go Saska is a
good choice, but, damn it, Torrullin, if you hurt her again, I
swear I’ll unman you.”

He inclined
his head.

Declan
murmured, “Count me in.”

Tristan leaned
forward. “Explain again how the Void has balanced us, how it isn’t
a good thing.”

They spoke
intently, all of them, for the remaining hours of darkness.

Mine site

The hilltop lit
quickly as the sun rose, although the surrounding valleys remained
in darkness.

Tristan,
Caballa and Quilla came, and so did Allith and Petin. Carlin had
returned to Cèlaver.

As they waited
for Saska and Elianas, and Torrullin wondered what exactly Elianas
needed to say to convince her, they studied the site of the cave-in
lower down.

It looked
terrible, but plans were underway to replant shrubs and neaten the
edges. Perhaps it would remain a dam, and perhaps the water would
drain away.

“The door was
pretty hidden,” Allith remarked as she swapped the scarred view for
a prettier one. “Had this mining not begun, it wouldn’t have been
discovered. It’s kind of a blessing in disguise.”

“It was
erected a long time ago,” Caballa said. “There probably wasn’t a
hill then.”

“It has
magic,” Quilla said. “Hidden or not, it would have called to Dragon
and Sword soon enough.”

“Amazing,”
Allith said.

“You get used
to it,” Torrullin grinned.

Then Elianas
was there, with Saska, and that smile fixed to his face. Saska was
dressed for hiking, pack and all.

She squinted
up at him. “Seems you can’t get rid of me.” She paused and then
said more seriously, “Thanks. I need this.”

He inclined
his head, wanting to shout at her to run away, run away now, while
it was still safe to do so. He flicked his glance to Elianas
instead. “Ready?”

“Whenever you
are.” Elianas was particularly expressionless.

Parting
greetings were brief. A hug for Caballa, a remark for Quilla, a
clasp with Tristan, a word for Petin, and thus Max Dalrish … and
Allith drew him aside when he got to her.

“Your wife,
Torrullin?”

“Ex-wife.”

“If you say
so. She’s beautiful, and vulnerable. Be careful.”

He hugged
Allith to him. “I should be taking you along.”

“Ah, no, that
brave I’ll never be. Go well, and may we meet again.”

“My regards to
your father.”

Elianas had
spoken greeting and Saska achieved both greeting and farewell in
one breath.

They were
ready.

Torrullin
lifted a fist and brought it down. A hole appeared in the grass. He
lifted again and beat down harder. The hole depressed inward.

“One more,”
Elianas said, peering in.

A fist raised,
came down. The hole deepened.

Torrullin
peered in and nodded. “Yes, enough. Get in.”

The four
climbed in, vanishing to waist level.

Allith and
Petin stared.

“Torrullin,”
Quilla murmured, closing in. “For pity’s sake, not two thousand
years this time.”

Torrullin
grinned, sketched a salute, and then the four fell away as if an
elevator bore them away. A moment after, the hole in the hilltop
sealed.

Quilla stayed
where he was, uneasy.

“Gods, will
they be all right?” Tristan demanded.

It was too
late for second thoughts. Quilla swallowed and turned a serene
countenance in that direction. “He is Elixir. Have no fear.”

Caballa was
white-faced. “I have a bad feeling.”

Allith,
feeling peculiar herself, took the Valleur woman’s arm. “Sunrise or
not, I think we could use a drink.”

As the
acceleration began, Torrullin and Elianas joined hands overhead,
free hands pushing outward.

A space formed
about the four, and Saska and Declan ducked beneath those raised
hands, understanding it was the safe zone. Light vanished as the
rock closed in upon itself and they fell fast in darkness. It was
hot and cloying, and it felt as if they fell forever.

They tumbled
into a dark pit where the air was stale and warm. They were in the
mine.

Torrullin
lobbed a globe up and then stood breathing deeply. Elianas did the
same and he grinned at Torrullin. “I think that was our fastest
descent yet.”

“This one was
not that deep, thank the gods.” Torrullin stretched and flexed his
fingers. “More cramp, however.”

“You are out
of shape.” Elianas pointed up, using that finger to move the globe
forward. A moment later the door was revealed. “Right on
target.”

“You were the
only one who got lost,” Torrullin muttered and strode closer.

Saska and
Declan glanced at each other and followed.

It was old,
beaten steel. There was no rust, a property of the metal, but time
had settled an ancient patina over a once shiny door. The glyphs
protruded, which was a remarkable feat.

Declan ran his
fingers over the pictograms, reading softly.

“You read
Avior,” Elianas said, surprised.

“The Siric
annihilated them; learning about them was the least we could
do.”

Torrullin
snorted. “You knew. You had Quilla talk me into coming here.”

Declan
shrugged. “Dragon and Sword, Torrullin.”

“Bloody hell,
Declan, you could have saved us a lot of trouble.”

“Why? I know
you thrive on a challenge.”

“He’s got you
there,” Elianas laughed. “And we saved Echolone in the
process.”

“Huge heroes,
yes. Gods, the air is foul. Let us get beyond.”

Torrullin took
up position before the door, put one hand on the Dragon symbol, the
other in the recess to the left and braced. Elianas took up
position immediately behind him, one hand to the Sword symbol, the
other resting over Torrullin’s in the recess. He, too, braced.

Together they
pushed, leaning more to the left.

A mighty
groaning in the rock sounded and dust shook loose from the ceiling.
The door creaked, shifted, groaned, moved and then abruptly swung
on a pivot to come to rest at a right angle to its original
position.

Torrullin and
Elianas tumbled through into darkness.

“Come!”
Torrullin called. “Ten seconds is all we have!”

Saska hurtled
in, her heart somersaulting, and Declan ambled through more slowly,
saying, “You two seem to know much about Avior’s magical
doors.”

“We know them,
yes. Hurry up,” Elianas snapped.

Declan was in.
The door swung closed and darkness was encompassing.

The door had
vanished.

The way out
lay elsewhere.

Chapter 19

Shadow and
shade, a dominating and pervasive presence

Titania
Dictionary

Echolone

Still Pond
Rock

Q
uilla and Tristan ferried Allith
and Petin back to the village, along with Caballa.

As promised,
Allith poured stiff drinks.

Petin
swallowed his and excused himself.

“Where to
now?” Allith asked as they sat around her kitchen table.

“Home to
Valaris,” Caballa said. “With many rugs.”

“We head back
to the Dome,” Quilla replied. He glanced at Caballa, noticing how
tired she was. “Or I am. Tristan here is taking a day off.”

Caballa’s face
lit like a yuletide tree and Tristan, about to remonstrate, smiled
as he changed his mind. “I think I deserve a day off, yes.”

Allith smiled.
The two were obviously in love. She said, “You look like your
grandfather, Tristan.”

“Both
advantage and disadvantage in that, trust me.”

“How old is
Torrullin?”

“Very
old.”

Allith was
confused. “A number?”

Quilla sighed.
“There is no number. Torrullin is ancient the way rock is
ancient.”

Allith lost
her ability to speak.

Caballa
murmured, “And Elianas is right up there with him. I wish those two
had never met.”

Tristan asked,
“It got worse?”

“Far
worse.”

Quilla sighed.
“Nemesis and Destroyer. Let us hope they find the light beyond that
door.”

“They must
find the shadows,” Allith said, her voice hoarse.

“My dear, they
are the shadows, and right now both need light to shade darker
corners.”

“Quilla is
finding spooks … Caballa? Caballa!” Tristan jumped up as she
toppled backward, eyes rolling back, showing only white.

“They are
beyond,” Quilla whispered.

Shivering,
Allith asked, “How do you know?”

“A vision. A
mite of unbalance has been gifted.”

Caballa
moaned, opened her eyes and found she was in Tristan’s arms. She
stared at him, speechless.

“Caballa, what
is it?” he asked, short of breath.

Lowen erupted
out of thin air. She searched for and found Caballa. “You, too?”
Caballa nodded mutely and then Lowen stamped her foot. “We
should’ve gone with them!”

Caballa
struggled upright, giving Tristan an apologetic look. “Then they
would get no help. Thank the gods we are on this side. They are in
trouble.”