Millicent snuck a glance behind her. The lion had lost his smile; his lips now curved in a grimace of fury as one of the duke’s monsters caught up to him and reached out to snag his golden tail. She turned back around and concentrated on her footing. She had come this way only once before, when exploring the tunnels leading out of the city. The black wizards had excavated beyond the city, using their magic to dig deeper into the earth, to create odd caverns of mystery, like the glowing forest. Millicent had taken to exploring the Underground at a young age, an escape from her life of misery and poverty.
Her knowledge had proven useful over the years, but never more so than now.
Millicent blessed her cat’s balance and agility, for they reached the other side of the chasm with nary a slip to frighten Nell. She studied the crystal bridge, gave it an exploratory shove with her furry shoulder. No, it had lain too long in its place, becoming a part of the crystal floor. She did not have a chance of moving it, of plunging it into the chasm, despite her formidable were-strength.
“They’ll probably kill each other off, anyway,” said Nell, guessing her intent. “Nobody will be left to follow us—and good riddance to ’em.”
Millicent huffed and entered the third tunnel on her right. For her part, she did not think the duke’s men stood a chance against the baronets, monsters or no. She knew the Master’s spies would follow her, and she could think of only one place where they would not be welcome. Where she might stand a chance of evading them.
The underground city.
The denizens of the deep did not like intruders. Most of the wizards who controlled the city lived above, and used their underground homes only to practice the dark arts—and their even darker inclinations—in secret. They cloaked the entrances and shrouded the existence of the Underground in myth and mystery. They would not care about the purpose of a group of intruders. They would kill them before words could be spoken.
Millicent twitched her whiskers in a grim smile and entered the tunnel, her sight quickly adjusting to the darkness. This tunnel was the shortest path to the city, but she would have to be careful when they reached the larger cavern. The heat and treacherous footing would make it difficult, but she knew the way, and any shape-shifters who followed her did not. Nell rocked on her back, a small snap accompanying the movement, and suddenly a gentle light lit their way. The old woman had taken some branches from the glowing forest.
Millicent padded into the crystal cavern, taking shallow breaths of the hot air. The reflected glow of Nell’s meager light bounced off the thousands of crystals and dazzled Millicent’s sight for a moment. She slowly wound her way around blocks of crystal, crystal shaped into round spheres, crystal dripping from the walls like a frozen waterfall. Enormous beams of the stuff crisscrossed her path, stood like soaring columns in a palace, formed shapes of stars and pointy flowers.
Nell muttered something, but Millicent ignored her, concentrating on the path, for shards of the crystal layered the smooth walkway, waiting to cut the pads of her paws with one unwary step. She did not look up until they reached the second chamber, and this time she shared Nell’s huff of wonder.
Some wizard must have been as enchanted with the crystal formations as Millicent, and had used his magic to shape it into soaring statues that defied the size of the chamber. The white crystal formed the layers of a lady’s gown, the wings of a dragon, the curly beard of a gnome… even the crystal armor of a valiant knight. Millicent’s beast gave a low mew of anguish, and she fought the urge to turn back around. Nell was right. Gareth was immortal, and would surely appear from the relic once again whole and unharmed. But she found it difficult to banish the doubt and worry, and the thought that he might actually be dead made her feel as if a heavy weight pressed on her chest, making it even more difficult to breathe.
As they walked farther, the fanciful shapes began to change to something darker, as if matching her mood. Color had been added to the stone. Red demons loomed over the path, their forked tongues dripping stalactites overhead. A green ogre battled a black Cyclops with claws of silver and fangs of livid yellow.
“Do ye think one wizard made all of these, Millie?”
Millicent grunted. If that was the case, it was a sad reflection on the wizard’s growth to manhood, as the statues slowly became ugly and depicted ever more violent scenes.
They passed a deformed unicorn impaling a fang-toothed harpy.
Nell swayed. “It’s hot, gel. It’s hard to catch me breath.”
Millicent turned and glanced at her friend, nodding her head to show she understood, trying to show encouragement in her eyes. Her beast lacked the vocal chords of human speech, which oddly enough, frustrated her only occasionally.
Far down the cavern, a stalactite fell, a ringing note accompanying the shattering of crystal. Millicent glanced upward at the thousands of sharp cones dangling right above their heads, and picked up her pace. Were some of the crystals so delicate that the vibrations of Nell’s voice made them shatter?
A growl of fury echoed through the cavern from behind them.
Perhaps not only just Nell’s voice had caused the crystals to shatter.
“They’ve found us, Millie.”
Another ringing note sounded in the distance.
“I think… I think the ruckus they’s making are causing the cones to fall…”
They reached the exit of the cave just as the growls grew into howls of triumph. The predators had found Millicent’s scent. More crystals fell from the ceiling, this time closer to the trail.
“Idiots,” snapped Nell.
Millicent curled her lips, opened her great maw, and screamed in defiance as loudly as she could. The answering howls made the very walls of the cave shiver, and started an avalanche of falling crystal. She spun and left the cave entrance, taking the smallest tunnel to her left, Nell chortling softly above her. Millicent soon smelled the rank odor of the city, and used her nose to guide her the rest of the way home.
The radiance of the fairylights illuminating the cavern did not soften the makeshift buildings, or hide the muddy streets and filthy rivulets of water that swept away the worst of the refuse. Millicent took the back alleys, which somehow managed to number more than the actual streets would account for. Most of the buildings were made of stone mined from the tunnels, a mossy slime growing rampant on the lower portion. Roofs were often added only to discourage theft, since they were not subject to the weather.
Millicent had spent several months aboveground learning to be a lady. It’d rained once while she had been walking the avenue, and she’d stood stock still in amazement and wonder, her tutor scolding her for standing like a dolt and getting her borrowed clothing soaking wet. But she had ignored the tirade, for, oh, it had been such a glorious sensation. Almost as marvelous as the feel of full sunshine on her cheeks.
When they reached the tavern, Nell slid off her back, and Millicent shifted to human. She saw two of the duke’s men lurking in the shadows, and knew they would bring reinforcements soon. She would have to manage a fast explanation to Bran. Millicent shoved open the door to the pub, the smell of ale and unwashed bodies hitting her like a wet blanket.
Nell hurriedly spoke from behind her. “The duke’s minions were watchin’ the pub.”
“I know.” Millicent smoothed her petticoat and corset cover. She might have passed for a streetwalker above, but down here she looked positively elegant. “Those baronets—the lions and tigers and wolves that are following us—are spies for the Master of the Hall of Mages. And they want the relic just as much as the duke.”
“Ahh. And they are from above. They wouldn’t dare enter the city.”