Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (39 page)

“Such as me,” Layna repeated
thoughtfully.

After several days of asking around at
various spots around town, they had learned quite a lot of legends
regarding the hidden location, but most of it seemed to be
different versions of the same thing, and none specified a
location. Layna was slightly discouraged that the only real
information that they had gotten was that they shouldn't even try
to get in. Gryffon had been optimistic though, and seemed to think
that even if no one knew where the entrance was, they still may be
able to find clues by wandering the countryside. He reasoned that
if there were still followers going in and out, they would have to
leave some sign. The thought made Layna shiver, but she was growing
more and more nervously curious the closer they got to the historic
place. Especially since their visit to the castle had given them no
further clues aside from the mark having been on the door between
the King's chamber and the magical torture rooms. Maybe it was just
a protective rune and really had nothing to do with the Dark King.
Maybe.

“Psst,” said a voice from a dark alley, and
Layna jumped.

Gryffon turned towards it slowly. He craned
his head around to try and get a view into the shadows where the
voice had come from. “Who's there?” he asked warily.

“I overheard youse at the tavern the other
night,” the voice said, “I knows a way in.” A hand snaked out into
the light beckoning to them, revealing itself to be that of a young
child.

Layna glanced at Gryffon who gave her a shrug
before carefully following the boy into the alley, ready to turn
and run should it be a trap.

The little boy came into view as their eyes
adjusted to the dim light in the alley, and they saw that he was an
unfortunate fact of life in any city, and more so here in Dunlop
which had been in its prime hundreds of years ago. He was a street
child. His clothes were tattered and torn, and the tunic and boots
he wore were much too big for him. At least he looked well-covered
and well-nourished for living on the streets.

His eyes darted around as he moved, and he
walked in jerky motions, as if trying to evade pursuit though none
was chasing him. He reminded Layna of a mouse; moving from hiding
spot to hiding spot, searching for crumbs, ever watchful for the
hawk that might suddenly come plunging down from above. He led them
down to the end of the alley and looked around, glancing behind
them to make sure that they weren't followed. He slipped around
behind a gate. They followed and emerged in a small area between
two buildings. The nook had been turned into a shelter by piles of
crates, old clothing, and by the looks of it, anything else they
could find. A small fire was being tended in the back by an older
woman who scowled at them as they entered.

“Who are you?” she demanded rudely, looking
up from the fire which she had been huddled up against.

“They're with me,” said the boy. He brought
another blanket over to the woman, and laid it around her frail
form.

“I wasn't talking to you, boy,” she growled,
taking a swing at him and dislodging the blanket he had just
brought for her.

He dodged the blow deftly, and replaced the
blanket with a shrug before turning his attention back to them. “Me
mum's a bit ornery in this weather, it makes 'er bones ache.” The
woman grumbled something impolite and turned her back to them. She
hummed softly under her breath as she rocked back and forth in
front of the fire.

“So youse wanna get into the ruins, do you?”
the boy asked, his voice thick with an accent that Layna couldn't
place.

“Yes,” said Gryffon guardedly, and he waited
for the boy to go on.

“Well,” the boy said, “I can gets you at
least parts way.” He paused and gave them a grin, revealing
blackened teeth. “For a pretty penny, of course.”

“Nothing in life is free,” quipped Gryffon
and nodded to the boy, indicating that he understood that the
information would not come without a price.

The boy nodded happily back and went on, “I's
been around in them foothills since I were a little, and cans tell
you that without a knowin' which caves are which you could find
yourself in a tomb yourself, if you catch my meaning. Supposedly
there's another entrance that the Darkies use, but I ain't never
seen it. I can lead you to the main doors through the tunnel maze,
but then you're on your own. Ain't nobody in town here that'll take
even half as close as me.”

“Darkies?” Layna asked, and was given a long
stare before he explained.

“Darkies are the ones who still follow the
ways of the Dark King,” the boy said softly, as if afraid he'd be
overheard. “They's say that the followers are still servin’ his
spirit, and they've been seen in the woods in these parts. We don't
go out at night if we can help it here, it be dangerous alone in
the dark.”

The woman was starting to fuss. Her humming
was replaced with curses and the boy hurried to continue, looking
at her with trepidation.

“Meet me by the big oak behind the smith's
tomorrow at sunrise. I'll show the way.” He shooed them out,
calling behind them, “And don't forget to bring me a little
somethin’.”

The next morning they awoke in darkness, and
prepared themselves for the trek to the caves and the possibilities
of answers that lay within them. Gryffon handed her a dagger and
she fastened it to her belt solemnly. They found their way to the
kitchen and left money with the innkeeper, telling him that they
were going to be camping out of town for a bit so they wanted to
pay up their bill.

Layna stifled a yawn as they made their way
to the smith's, and she shifted the weight of her pack to a more
comfortable position. They found the oak that the boy must have
been referring to, and settled in underneath it to wait for their
guide. Layna had just closed her eyes and was hoping for a little
cat-nap when the boy appeared, seemingly out of thin air beside
them.

She jerked awake and he grinned sheepishly at
her. “Mornin'” he greeted them. “You brought somethin' for me?”

Gryffon nodded, and held out his hand with a
few coins in it. The boy looked at it and narrowed his eyes and
Gryffon added another.

The boy reached out and took the coins with a
satisfied nod and set off without a look behind him. Gryffon and
Layna hurried to follow.

The hike to the caves was long, but not
overly difficult. The winter's snow was already melted, making
walking easier. Layna grew more nervous with every step, fear
growing inside her of the danger that awaited them. It was easy to
fall into Gryffon's easy-going attitude that everything would go
alright when the plan was in the distant future, but now that they
were headed into danger, she wasn't sure that she had quite as much
confidence in their abilities as Gryffon did.
Why would we be
able to succeed where so many others have failed? And not only
failed, but paid for their failure with their lives.
She tried
to break this train of thought by focusing instead on winding the
power around her like a cocoon, trying to create a sort of barrier
between her and anything that might try and hurt her.

Just as Layna's feet were beginning to ache,
the boy leading them stopped and pointed to a small cave entrance
up above them. “I'll lead youse in as far as I've gone,” he told
them, “but after that you’re on your own.”

“How do you know it's the right cave if you
haven't gone all the way in?” Layna asked.

“You'll see.” was the only answer she got. He
scurried up the sharp incline of rocks ahead of them, and
disappeared into the cave. Gryffon followed behind, and turned to
give Layna a hand. She took it, and heaved herself up as well. They
squeezed into the dark opening behind the boy and found, to Layna's
surprise, that inside was a somewhat large cavern.

The boy was holding something glowing and
Layna looked curiously at it.

“Glow worms.” He held them up for her to see.
“Someone magicked ‘em to stay inside these globes to light the way.
Pretty good talent to last this long, huh?” He turned, and the
light followed his movement, casting eerie shadows along the cavern
walls.

A bat was startled by their entrance, and it
detached from the ceiling, fluttering off into the darkness. “Watch
your step here,” the boy said pointing to where a portion of the
floor seemed to be indented in an oddly circular shape. “I think
it's already been triggered, but youse can never be too
careful.”

“Why do you think it's been triggered?” Layna
asked and the boy pointed once more. Layna's vision followed where
he pointed, and she sucked in her breath. As his hand swung around
to show her, the light followed to illuminate a section of cave
that had previously been in the dark. The scene it revealed was
grisly: A skeleton was pinned to the opposite wall, held in place
by a hundred daggers that had been buried inches deep into the rock
wall.

“Whoa,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” the boy said, “I wouldn't wants to be
wrong. There’s all sorts of things likes that so I’d stick
close.”

Layna decided that perhaps she wouldn't ask
any more questions.

The boy led them around several other
booby-traps. He pointed out the triggers and another skeleton, this
one crushed under a huge stone. “I think some of them were
triggered by magic,” the boy said, “I couldn't find any other way
they would have been, so hopefully any other magic ones have worn
off by now.” He didn't seem overly confident about this statement,
and Layna glanced at the globe of glow worms, still shining
brightly.

“What made you come in here,” Gryffon asked
him curiously, and the boy shrugged.

“Same as the rest; hoping to find something
worthwhile,” he paused to look back at them with a roguish grin, “I
just happen to be smarter than they are, and I let them go in and
get it. Then I comes in to take it off them once they don't need it
anymore, see?”

“How nice,” Gryffon commented dryly. The boy
didn't seem to take notice of the sarcasm.

They came to a doorway, the man-made object
looking out of place in the natural cave. It was elaborately carved
wood, polished to the point of gleaming and strange symbols were
carved into it. Her breath caught in her throat as she caught a
glimpse of the symbol matching the mark on her neck. A glance in
his direction told her that Gryffon saw it too, and he raised his
eyebrows at her but said nothing.

The boy walked up to the door and laid a hand
on several of the symbols. The door swung open with a squeak, a
great ball of dust billowing out as the air around it was
disturbed. Layna waved a hand in front of her face and coughed.

“Don't touch anything,” ordered the boy, and
he entered through the doorway. Gryffon and Layna were close
behind.

Walking through the doorway was like entering
a whole other world. The path became illuminated with their
movement, and suddenly the cave became an actual hallway rather
than the rock corridor they had previously been following. There
were more of the strange symbols along the walls. Every now and
then, there was a hollowed out section of wall where an ornament;
be it a golden goblet, a crown, or in one case what looked like
some sort of animal's talon, displayed in a glass case. Gryffon
moved closer to the talon to inspect it, but heeded the boy's
warning and did not touch it.

“Tempting, isn't it?” the boy asked. He
sighed, gazing longingly at one of the gold pieces. “Must be a
fortune in here, but no one's ever been able to get them off the
pedestals without dying so I'm not abouts to try.”

“No, I wouldn't think so,” Layna agreed. They
started forward, moving through the treasure more quickly, the
appeal suddenly diminished for Layna knowing that these too were
traps. For all they knew they could really only be illusion.

Curious at the thought, Layna reached for the
power and touched one of them lightly with a magic tendril of
energy. A huge crash sounded and she jumped backwards, tumbling
into Gryffon, who caught her and then swung around to face whatever
had caused the noise.

Part of the ceiling seemed to break off and
crash to the ground all around the pedestal where Layna had sent
her tendril of energy. With her second sight, being still open to
the power, Layna saw that it was indeed illusion, as was the entire
hall, and she shuddered at the danger that was apparent through the
magic vision. She quickly cut off the flow of power and brushed
herself off. “Well, I guess that answers the question about whether
or not the magic triggers are still in place.”

“I don't know what you did,” said the boy,
wide-eyed, “but don't do it again.”

“No,” Layna said, “for sure.”

The boy had stopped walking, and now turned
on his heel and headed back towards the entrance. “This is as far
as I go,” he yelled back over his shoulder, and Layna and Gryffon
were left to go on alone. Layna took a deep breath and moved ahead
again, trying not to look at the wonders that surrounded them.

They came to a veil draped across the
hallway, and Gryffon cautiously pushed it aside and stepped
through. Layna followed a pace behind, and was hit by a sudden
aroma that was both sweet and spicy.

She took a deep breath as the smell washed
over her and she looked at Gryffon with longing. Gryffon, however,
was entranced by a sight along the edge of the hallway. Like the
first stretch of hall, this one too had side rooms. Only this time
they were filled with scantily clad women who were beckoning to
Gryffon. His eyes seemed to be bulging out of his head and he
watched eagerly as one of the women danced around, bouncing her
ample charms seductively.

Layna's offense at Gryffon's obvious interest
in the girl overtook her desire to embrace him, and she regained
control of her thought processes. Thinking of the treasure in the
section before, Layna focused again on the girls, this time with
her magic sight – though taking care not to actually touch any of
them with the power in order to avoid triggering any more
traps.