It wasn’t long before Willis found what they were looking for. A triangular shape formed by carvings that exactly matched the three weapons.
“So what do we do now?” Avery asked.
“I think the weapons are the key.” Dane drew Excalibur and pressed it into the carved outline. As if some magnetic force were pulling it, it clicked into place and light danced in the stone haft. Next, he set Carnwennan, then Rhongomnyiad. For a moment, the three blades burned like a blue sun and, when the light winked out, they found themselves staring at an open doorway. The weapons no longer glowed, but hung in the stone doorway. Gingerly, Dane touched Excalibur. When it didn’t zap him into oblivion, he removed it and the other weapons, and they moved on.
The passageway opened onto a sheer cliff. Dane shone his light down into the yawing abyss, to the rock-strewn bottom a hundred feet down.
“Did I mention I don’t like heights?” Avery asked, moving back from the edge.
“It’s not the height that scares me,” Angel said. “It’s falling from heights.”
“Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to make the bad jokes,” Bones protested.
Dane shone his light up ahead. Two stone bridges spanned the gap, each only wide enough for one person to cross at a time. He consulted their list of clues.
“The hand of God will carry you across. That’s got to be the bridge on the right. In Biblical times, the left hand was unclean.”
“You’d better be sure,” Tam said. “That’s a long way to fall.”
“One way to find out.” Bones turned and strode out onto the bridge. He reached the center, stopped, and turned back. “Seems pretty solid, and I’m heavier than any of you, so I think we’re good.” He hopped up and down to illustrate his point and, with a crack, a chunk of the bridge rail broke off and fell down into the abyss. “Sorry.”
“Holy crap, Bones.” Dane shook his head. “I still think this is the only way to cross. Anyone who wants to hang back, that’s fine.” They all shook their heads in unison. “All right. One at a time. Heaviest first.” Tam, Angel, and Avery all exchanged appraising looks. “Fine. Willis first, then the ladies in any order you like.” He watched with bated breath as, one by one, his companions crossed over, and then he followed. On the other side, they followed a steep passageway and disappeared down into the darkness.
“I’ve lost the signal.” Locke pocketed his tracking device. “They must have gone underground.”
Tamsin looked at her Sisters. Rhiannon, flanked by her men, was her usual, calm, detached self. The ocean breeze whipped her red hair about like a fiery halo. She didn’t meet Tamsin’s eye, but stared at Morgan, waiting.
Morgan’s implacable stare had been replaced by a manic gleam once they arrived at their destination. She didn’t bat an eye at Locke’s news.
“It is of no matter. Mordred will track her.”
Mordred was Morgan’s prized pet. Bottle green with a bronze chest and red streaked frill and wings, he was the the most successful product of her genetics experiments. At sixteen feet long and standing nearly four feet at the shoulder, he was the largest of Morgan’s children, as she called them. He was also vicious, but that was not what bothered Tamsin about the beast. Mordred was intelligent… too intelligent. He was well-trained, responding to Morgan’s every command, much like a loyal dog, but one look in his eyes suggested there was a limit to his restraint. She only hoped she was not there when he finally broke free of his mistress’s control.
Morgan took a scrap of bloody blue carpet from her pocket and held it out in front of Mordred. The dragon flicked its forked tongue several times, even licking it it once, then looked up at her, indicating his readiness.
Tamsin shivered at the sight.
“Hunt.”
At Morgan’s single word, the dragon dropped his head close to the ground and began flicking his tongue in earnest. Back and forth he went until he hit on something. He stopped, turned his head to look at Morgan, and hissed.
“He has the trail,” Morgan said. “Come.” She moved to walk alongside her pet, while her men kept a safe distance behind. Rhiannon and her men followed.
Tamsin hesitated, stealing a glance at the horizon, before following. She had kept her word to the Dominion, secretly apprising them of the Sisters’ departure and notifying them as soon as she knew their destination. Now she waited for them to fulfill their end of the bargain. They had assured her they had resources embedded in England, ready to move at her call. If they did not arrive soon, all would be lost.
Mordred led them to a passageway at the eastern end of the island amongst the rocky crags. He paused only long enough to make sure the others were coming, then disappeared into the hole. Only one person could climb down at a time, so Tamsin again held back, hoping for some sign of her new allies. Finally, as she was about to descend, she caught sight of a light in the distance, growing larger as it approached. A helicopter! They had not abandoned her after all. Smiling, she began the descent toward her destiny.
“Maddock, can you hear me? Tam! Come in!” Corey cursed and pounded the console. All of his attempts to reach Maddock had been unsuccessful. Wherever Dane and the others had gone, they were well out of radio contact.
“I didn’t get a good look,” Matt said, dropping a pair of binoculars in a chair, “but I think it was Morgan and her men. I caught sight of them at the top of a ridge.”
“How many?” Corey asked. They were anchored in a sheltered cove, well out of sight, but still he worried about being discovered before Maddock and the others returned.
“A lot. Close to twenty.” Matt drummed his fingers on his pistol grip and worked his jaw. “I thought about following them, but it would take me forever to climb up there. They’d be gone.”
Just then, they heard the drone of an engine. Matt hurried out of the cabin, returning minutes later, his face ashen.
“That was an AS532 Cougar.”
“One more time, in English,” Corey said.
“A German transport helicopter. It just dropped a dozen armed men up on the slope.”
Shots rang out in the distance.
“I hope that wasn’t Greg.”
“I’m going to find out. You keep trying to reach Maddock, and be ready to get the hell out of here at the drop of a hat.”
“Matt! You can’t do that! You’ll be killed!”
But Matt was gone. Corey punched the console again and returned to the radio. It was all he could do.
Chapter 35
They entered a cavern honeycombed with side passages, large and small. The floor was cracked and wisps of steam rose all around.
“I don’t like this.” Tam looked down at the ground, as if expecting it to give way at any moment.
They shone their lights all around, the beams slicing through the mist and revealing carvings of mythical creatures above the various passageways. The room was a veritable menagerie: a griffin to the left, a manticore to right, and various others all around. All of them looked fierce… and hungry.
“How about we move along?” Bones asked, looking nervously around.
“The directions say we’re supposed to feed ourselves to the dragon,” Dane said. “Look around for it, and watch your step.”
They scattered and, moment later, gunfire and shouting erupted from the passageway by which they’d entered. Everyone looked around in alarm, those who were armed drawing their weapons.
“Find the dragon and let’s move!” Dane shouted, moving as quickly as he dared across the precarious ground and shining his light above every passage.
No sooner had he spoken than a group of armed men burst into the cavern. Though the mist limited visibility, the ambient glow of a dozen flashlights playing off damp stone was sufficient to see the gleam of weapons in their hands. The newcomers froze for an instant at the sight of a cavern full of people, then opened fire.