Night Seeker

out in concentric circles as if something had jarred it from below. And then the water began to surge out, a ringed tidal wave splashing toward us out of the shallow crater in which it lay. I panicked-that much water could drown us, but as we stood there, facing the oncoming surge, something inside whispered to be calm, to wait.

“Get behind us!” I barked the order to the others, and Chatter, Grieve, and Kaylin crowded in without argument.

As the surge foamed out of the bowl and toward us, racing white steeds leading the wall of water, I sucked in a deep breath. Rhia did the same. We steeled ourselves, closing our eyes, but the expected impact didn’t come. Instead, it was as if we were standing on boulders in the center of a rushing river.

I opened my eyes, cautiously, to see the waves swirling around us, splashing us as they rolled by. But Rhiannon and I-and the men behind us-stayed dry as the waters parted around us.

It felt like we were in some surreal revenge-of-naturemovie. The surge seemed to continue for hours, but it must have only been a few minutes, and then the path cleared.

I glanced behind us to see the water rolling through the opening through which we’d come. The Black Annis’s body was gone, swept up in the flow.

“Look.” Rhiannon’s hushed voice focused my attention again and I turned back to the crater that had been the pool of water. There, in the center, a pillar had thrust itself up from the ground. Formed of what looked like skulls, the bones were interlaced with amethyst and quartz, peridot and garnets. A grisly tower, with a door in the center that was gold on top, silver on the bottom, with two keyholes.

A tremor started in my legs and worked its way up to my heart. This was it. This was the beginning of the last leg of our journey. We were nearing Lainule’s heartstone. I glanced over at Rhia and she nodded. We stepped forward, into the crater, and crossed the sloping bottom toward the tower.

Grieve, Chatter, and Kaylin silently followed behind us. They did not question or try to interfere. Once we reached the tower, we could measure its true height. It was thrusting out of the ground like some gigantic stalagmite, a good twenty feet high. And from here we could see that the skulls were intermingled with leg and arm bones, woven together in a tapestry.

The bones were purest white, shimmering with both their own light and the light of the gems. I wanted to reach out, to caress one of the skulls near me, but when my hand neared it, a low hiss made me withdraw. A golden green snake wove its way out of the eye socket, staring at me as it coiled, waiting. I nodded to it. There were guardians still, and we’d have to walk softly from here on out.

I turned to Rhia. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “Yes. I think…we have to do this at the same time.”

And so we stepped up to the door, inserted our keys, and on the count of three, we turned them, and the tumblers clicked into place.

Chapter 12

The door slowly swung open, the keys staying within the locks. The archway was rounded, and the floor within was tiled just like the passage through which we’d first come-the stones shimmering from some dark and brilliant internal light.

I looked at the others, then stepped through. As I passed the entryway, a hush descended, and once again the pressure of ancient magic fell on our shoulders.

Grieve slipped up to my side and motioned for me to stop. “Let Kaylin take the lead. I sense he is needed here.”

I nodded, pressing back against the wall to allow Kaylin to slip by. We were working as a single entity now, trusting each other’s instincts. Kaylin stopped beside me, touching my cheek.

“You and Rhiannon…life will never be the same,” he said, then faced front. We fell in behind him, single file-me, then Rhia, Grieve, and lastly, Chatter brought up the rear.

The passage was short, opening into a room. But in front of the room, a lone maiden sat. I would have called her a girl, but she was dressed in a flowing gown and her hair rippled with gold, spilling down her shoulders. She looked as fragile as a butterfly caught in a strong wind. At first I thought she was a spirit-and maybe I was right, but there was no way in hell any of us were going to touch her to find out. The power surrounding her was so strong it shoved us back, like a giant hand separating her from us.

She was playing a stringed instrument that looked like a miniature harp. I listened, trying to catch the music, but the moment she strummed the strings, the wind caught up the sounds and tore them from earshot.

Who is she?

Ulean danced by, whispering as she passed. She is the Maiden of Knowledge. The Daughter of the Air.

Is she one of the Wilding Fae?

No, she is far more than that. She is…she simply is. This is but one of her avatars. Ulean softly rested on my shoulders, her susurration tickling my ears. You must answer her questions to pass. If not, she will rip you to shreds.

Answer her questions? What kind of questions?

I do not know. Whatever she chooses to ask.

I bit my lip. What the hell was I going to do now? I knew-as sure as I knew my own name-that there was no way to defeat this being. The Maiden of Knowledge was beyond fighting. I had the feeling that if I reached out to touch her, my fingers would slide through. But if she chose to go on the offense, her attacks would be all too physical.

How do I-

Do not ask me more. You must figure this one out by yourself, Cicely. It is forbidden for me to help you in this.

I sighed. Ulean would never deny me if it was possible for her to help, so I knew she was speaking the truth. I looked at the others and shook my head, then stepped forward. The Maiden of Knowledge looked up at me, her luminous eyes glittering in the dim light of the passage. I wondered how long she’d been sitting here. How long had she been keeping watch? Did she ever speak to anyone? Did anyone ever come to visit her? And would she ever be free?

Feeling unaccountably sad-her existence seemed so lonely-I moved forward to the point where the energy field stopped me. I cleared my throat. She watched me, unblinking, a soft light washing over her face.

What should I say? What should I do? And then a thought crept into my mind. She was waiting for me to speak. Perhaps, being the Maiden of Knowledge, she was here to give aid and advice.

“We come seeking passage. Will you help us?” My voice seemed out of place, and even though I was speaking softly, it echoed through the chamber as if I were shouting. I winced at its coarseness. Normally I didn’t notice my voice, but here, in this place, it sounded rough and harsh.

The Maiden of Knowledge paused, then she strummed her harp, and this time her voice came crashing through the air, so beautiful it made me want to weep and fall to my knees.

“What is it that you seek? Why do you wish me to grant you free passage?” Her words thundered through the air, and I realized that if the wind hadn’t caught up her singing, it might have deafened us with its force.

I stammered, taken back by the power of her presence. Suddenly frightened, and feeling like a bull in a china shop, I struggled for an answer that would suit her. “I am looking to help Lainule-the Queen of Rivers and Rushes. She is in danger. I come with her permission.”

“Why should I believe you?” Her gaze was now fastened on mine and I felt like she was probing my mind, turning me inside out, shaking out my innermost thoughts to examine them. She rifled through me, stripping away layers of an onion, searching. The feeling was heady and terrifying and intrusive.

I shook my head. “Because I am telling the truth. Because…I promised Lainule I would help her if at all possible.” That was the best I could think of-it was simple and it was the truth.

“What will you do if I refuse you?”

I stared at her, wanting to say we’d strike her down, but I knew that was a pipe dream. Or that we’d find another way in, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen and would be mere bluster. Finally I shrugged, feeling