back down against the wall, on his side in case he vomited. 'I'll get the others,' he whispered.
But as he started to walk off, Shavi grabbed his leg and hissed, 'Under the drawbridge.' He wiped away the blood with the back of his hand, but his eyes were already rolling up. Church left him there with an uncontrollable sense of impending doom.
'You reckon we're on a wild goose chase too?' Veitch caught up with Laura on top of the highest tower, where she leaned on the battlements staring out to sea.
Her ever-present sunglasses made it impossible to read her eyes, but there was the hint of an ironic smile. 'That, and other cliches.'
'We haven't had much of a chance to talk-'
'That's because you're a murderer and everybody hates you.'
Despite himself, Veitch felt his welcoming smile wash away. 'That's a sharp tongue,' he said coldly.
'I like it. I can get olives out of a jar without a fork.'
Veitch shook his head, unsure. 'You ever say anything that isn't smart?'
'Do you ever say anything that is?'
The smile remained; Veitch couldn't tell if it was playful or mocking, but his insecurities made him fear the worst. 'If you don't want to-'
'Stop being so sensitive. You shot some poor bastard. Deal with it and move on. Make amends, ignore it, just don't wallow in a big, slimy pool of guilt.' She turned back to the sea, raising her face slightly to feel the sun.
Her words gave him some comfort, but he still couldn't begin to work her out; she made him feel stupid, uncomfortable, but he couldn't deny being attracted from the first time he had heard her display her savage wit. He leaned on the masonry next to her, fumbling for the right words. 'How do you feel about giving up your life to join this nightmare expedition?'
'It's something to do.'
'What about your friends? Your folks?'
'Friends are those who're around you at the time. My parents died in a car crash.'
'Boyfriend?'
She inclined her face slightly towards him, her smile now sly. Veitch felt his cheeks colour. 'Was that your idea of subtle?'
'Dunno what you mean.' He shifted uncomfortably.
'You've got a pretty face and a good bod, but you're not my type, coniprende? No offence and all, but I think we ought to nip this in the bud before the conversation gets clogged up with all those stupid manoeuvrings.'
Veitch looked away, unsure what to say.
'Don't get all hurt-'
'I'm not hurt.' He felt a sudden surge of irritation at that supercilious smile.
'If you're looking for a girlie, there's always Gallagher, although you could get a bad case of frostbite. Or,' she chuckled mischievously, 'Shavi.'
Veitch eyed her suspiciously. 'He's a queen?'
'131, actually.' His face obviously gave away his prejudices, because her smile drained away. 'You never know,' she said icily, 'it might do you the world ofgood.'
Before he could reply, she spotted Church walking across the green and hailed him. Veitch saw an obvious enthusiasm in her face that revealed exactly how she felt about their unelected leader; it was the first honest emotion he had seen in her, and after his rejection it made him feel cold inside. As he followed her down the steps to meet the others, his anger was already forming into an impacted lump in his chest.
Church took the others back to where Shavi lay, explaining what had happened as they ran. The bloodflow from his nose had stemmed, but he was still dazed, rambling. Ruth knelt beside him and checked his pulse.
'We should get him to a hospital.' The concern was evident on her face. 'He could have had a brain seizure. This is what happens when you mess with drugs.'
'I don't think it was the mushrooms.' Church still couldn't shake the memory of what had happened. 'It began after he had some kind of apocalyptic vision.'
'Did he tell you anything important?' Tom said anxiously.
'Come on,' Ruth protested. 'Shavi needs help!'
'I can do something for him,' Tom snapped. 'Leave him with me while you continue with the search. Now, did he tell you anything important?'
Church tried to remain calm. 'Something about them … the Fomorii, I suppose … being everywhere. About bodies in the streets and some city burning.' With a shiver, Church had a sudden flash of his own premonition in the Watchtower; he hadn't made the connection before. 'And he said they're bringing back Balor.'
Tom blanched.
Ruth saw the expressions on both their faces. 'What does that mean?'
'We can talk about it later,' Church said. 'Finding the spearhead is more pressing. Shavi also said to look under the drawbridge. That makes sense-the first three artefacts were under Avebury, under Tintagel and under Glastonbury Tor.'
He left Tom behind to care for Shavi and led Laura, Ruth and Veitch out of the castle gates. His first thought had been to leave the crate with Tom to free up their hands, but after Shavi's premonition he decided to keep the objects of power as close to him as possible. Through the gatehouse they skidded down the grassy bank into the dry moat and walked under the drawbridge. At first nothing caught their eye, but after Church had run his hands over the turf on the castle side, he discovered an odd, raised shape. It seemed to be a protruding lump of masonry, but he scrabbled the grass off with his fingernails and discovered it was in the shape of a spearhead.
After checking they weren't being watched, Church pushed, pulled and twisted the rock in a blind attempt to open it. Eventually something seemed to work, although he wasn't sure what, and there was a burst of blue sparks. An opening grew in the grassy bank, leading under the castle. As they slipped in quickly, they felt the same odd sensation of entering a bubble as they had on Caldey. The moment they were all in, the opening closed silently behind them, leaving them in the oppressive darkness of a tomb.
Church took out the Wayfinder, which gave them enough light to see they were in a tunnel in what appeared to be the bedrock. The walls were wet and shimmering, and the floor sloped slightly downwards.
'If these artefacts were hidden millennia ago, are you telling me it's pure coincidence that structures have been erected over the top of them?' Ruth's whisper was almost reverential, yet it echoed like the tide along the tunnel.
'You've felt their power,' Church replied. 'Who knows what subtle influences they exert? Maybe they drew the builders.'
The tunnel opened out into a stone chamber about the size of the one they had discovered under Tintagel.
'If you see any holes in the wall, don't put your hands in them,' Veitch deadpanned.
'There are holes,' Church noted, spraying the light across the chamber. 'Or niches, to be more precise.'
The four openings were of different sizes in a horizontal line on the far wall. Veitch was the first to them, and he investigated cautiously, withdrawing his hand repeatedly in case something shut down on it.
'There's an indentation at the bottom of each one,' he said. 'This one's round.' He moved on. 'Another round one.' The next. 'Long and thin. And this one, not so long and not so thin.'
They mulled over the information briefly, but Ruth was the first with the answer. 'They're for each of the talismans,' she said excitedly. 'It's impossible to solve this one unless you've already got through all the other ones.'
'Big wows. Aren't you smart?' Laura said sarcastically. 'So if we're also supposed to learn something from each of these puzzles, tell me what we've picked up from Caldey and here. Apart from never look a severed head in the eye.'
Church ignored her; he was already unloading the talismans from the packing crate. With Veitch's help, he dropped the stone and the cauldron into the first two holes; they fit perfectly. The sword went into the fourth. The inden tation in the third hole showed the full shape of the spear, including the head. Church carefully positioned the handle of the spear and the moment it lowered into place, the space for the head opened and a blue light flooded up. A second later the actual head rose into place.
'We've done it!' Church said triumphantly.
