The chamber thundered with the sound of gunfire. Dane hit the ground turned off his flashlight, and returned fire, as did the others in his party. The mist, moving lights, and confusion made him feel as if he were in a madhouse. Bullets ricocheted all around, adding to the danger. More men poured into the chamber, and Dane knew they were outgunned.
“Maddock! The dragon’s over here!” Angel shouted from behind him.
“This way!” he called, keeping low as he ran toward her voice. “Let’s get out of here.”
Avery was nearby, and vanished into the tunnel along with Angel. Dane looked around for the rest of his group, but they had all killed their lights. He could tell by the occasional gunshot from the cavern’s perimeter, however, they were scattered all around and cut off from him.
“Just go!” Tam shouted. “We’ll catch up with you.”
“No way.” Dane dropped to the ground as someone fired off a shot in his direction.
“Maddock, you get out of here or I’ll shoot you myself!” Bones’ voice came through the fog. “Finish it!”
Indecision kept Dane frozen in place long enough to realize the sounds of gunfire on the perimeter were growing fainter. His friends were retreating into the side passages, drawing the attackers away from him. Cursing and blessing them in the same breath, he turned and dashed down the passageway.
Tamsin stumbled through the darkness. Her face was bloody and her body bruised from tripping over unseen obstacles and banging into walls. Her men had abandoned her the moment the fighting started and the Dominion operatives didn’t seem to care who they killed. They had surprised the Sisterhood’s forces and started shooting. They were supposed to have made contact with her and joined forces. How had it gone so wrong?
She grimaced at the question. It had gone wrong because she had placed her trust in Heilig Herrschaft, the most sinister sect of the Dominion and had been betrayed. Now she and her Sisters were paying the price. Morgan had lost all her men except Locke and Jacob. Rhiannon’s force had fared better, taking up defensive positions and holding the attacking force at bay, though who knew how long they could keep it up? If Tamsin’s own men had stood their ground, they might have turned the tide, but the cowards had shown their true colors and now she was alone.
As she reeled forward, she sensed that the space around her had opened up. She had lost her flashlight when the fighting started, and was now, for all practical purposes, blind. She slowed her pace and felt all around her. She was definitely in a large chamber of some kind. She felt around for a wall to guide her and stepped out into open space.
She fell, screaming and grabbing for a handhold. Her fingernails tore as she clutched at rough stone, still falling. And then she hit the ground hard. For one irrational moment, she thought she had fallen to her death. Then she laughed. Feeling around, she realized she’d landed on a ledge. Of course, she didn’t know how she was going to get out of this predicament, but at least she was alive. If only she could call for help, but there was no way her phone would get a signal so far underground.
Her phone!
She cursed herself in three languages as she dug her phone from her pocket and turned it on, using its faint glow to light the space around her. She saw immediately that she had not fallen far, and the rocky face above her was ripe for climbing. Relief flooded through her, renewing her energy.
She had raised her head and shoulders over the top of ledge when she heard a faint sound coming toward her. It wasn’t exactly footsteps, but more of a scraping sound. She froze, hoping it would pass her by, but it came right toward her and, as it approached, she knew what it was.
Mordred.
She knew she should climb back down and wait for the dragon to go away, but fear kept her frozen in place, and she was trembling so hard she was afraid she would lose her grip and, this time, miss the ledge. Mordred had always terrified her, but this was far beyond any fear she had ever felt.
Far down the passageway behind Mordred, she saw a flicker of light. Someone was coming. She tried to cry out, but managed only a whimper. As the light grew stronger, she could finally see the dragon. Its snout was inches from her face.
She shook her head, furtively praying that the beast would go away, but it hissed, and opened its mouth wide.
She found her voice in time to manage a shrill scream that cut off when razor sharp teeth closed around her throat.
Chapter 36
“Oh my God,” Angel whispered as they emerged into a vast cavern. Like one from which they’d just come, tunnels branched out from it on all sides, but that was where the similarities ended. Its walls were sprinkled with crystals that twinkled like tiny stars, the source of their light not readily apparent. In the center of the room, a pit, twenty feet across, plunged down into the earth. Deep in its depths, a vortex swirled, sending up wisps of steam.
All around them, carvings depicted events from King Arthur’s life, but they weren’t exactly what he’d expected. One showed Arthur climbing out of a deep pool, clutching his three weapons— no lady in a lake to be seen. Another image showed him standing before a glowing man. At least, he thought it was a man, but there was something different about him. He looked… alien.
“Bones would love that one,” Angel said.
“Do you see what’s written below it?” Avery’s voice was filled with wonder. “Merlin.”
Not for the first time in the past few days, Dane felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of their discoveries. His mind was abuzz, wondering if what they saw here connected with other, similar finds he and Bones had made in the past.
“Do you want to see him?” Avery’s voice drew him from his thoughts. “Arthur,” she whispered, as if they were attending a viewing in a funeral home. “Come on.”
Two stone footpaths formed a cross above the chasm, supporting a central platform. Upon it, a casket of blue-tinted crystal lay on a bier in the center. As they drew closer, Avery gasped.
“He looks like he just died yesterday.”
Indeed, Arthur’s had to be the most remarkably well-preserved corpse he had ever seen. He was a handsome man of early middle years. His wavy brown hair and thick beard were streaked with silver. He wasn’t as tall or broad of shoulder as Dane had imagined, but had probably been a big man for his day. He had been put to rest in simple garments— no armor or chain mail like Dane had always imagined. His expression in death was serene, as if he were enjoying a pleasant dream.
“What is he holding?” Angel asked, pointing to a simple, stone bowl Arthur held upon his chest. It was carved of chalky white stone, but sparkled throughout with the same substance found on his weapons. It was deeper than an ordinary bowl, and three holes, evenly spaced, were bored just below the rim.
“I think it’s the Holy Grail.” Avery’s face was as pale as the stone from which the bowl was carved.
“Doesn’t look like a chalice to me,” Angel said.
Dane considered what he knew about Grail lore.
“There are a lot of different ideas about the Grail. Some said it was a chalice, a bowl, even a dish. One legend said it was a stone that fell from the heavens, and later fell into the hands of the Templars.”
“Lapis Exillis,” Avery whispered. “Though some people call it Lapis Elixir.”
“The Philosopher’s Stone,” Dane finished. “I see how it could be both. It’s a bowl that could be used to catch blood, but it also looks like a chalky stone someone could scrape a bit off of and use it for an elixir.”