Finding Kai by David A. Willson

Author:David A. Willson [Willson, David A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Seeker Press
Published: 2019-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

21

Old Places

Anne found the port in the wall and busied herself with the sharp engraver, chipping at the mortar that she had used to fill it so long ago.

“Is that a defect in the wall?” Gabriel asked. The odd gap between two of the stone blocks showed what appeared to be a measurement error by the builder who constructed the wall.

“I put it here on purpose. Hold the torch closer,” Anne said. “I’ve only got one good eye.”

“I don’t want to get it too close to the tapestry,” Gabriel said. “It’s wool. Would burn fast and I don’t think we pinned it up high enough.”

“Who cares? It’s done its job. If you light up that old rug, maybe I’d be able to see what I’m doing!”

His sharp intake of air made it clear that Anne had horrified him. He doesn’t see the big picture, but how could he? “That should be enough,” she said, then blew the gap free of dust.

“What now?”

“Just watch.”

She reached into her pocket and retrieved one of the vials of blue liquid she’d carried from Eastway, then removed the stopper and poured it into the wall defect. She tapped the edge of the vial on the stone, using every drop, then replaced the stopper and dropped the vial back into her pocket.

“Nothing’s happening,” he said after a moment.

“Just wait. Takes a while to drip down into the rune.”

“Rune? What rune?”

She didn’t answer, instead holding up one finger and cocking her head, moving an ear close to the wall. “Here it comes.”

A rushing sound of water from behind the wall began, then grew louder.

“It still works. Ha! I worried for a moment.”

Rock vibrated and Gabriel stepped back, a terrified look on his face. Then the mortar around more than a dozen stones burst from the seams as a huge section of the wall receded, revealing a dark passageway. Anne clapped her hands together.

She took two steps, then turned to see Gabriel standing still, awestruck.

“You coming? If not, you better gimme that torch.”

The dark passageway led at a slight downward angle, taking them deep into the mountain behind the monastery several hundred paces. Light runes could be seen high on the walls, but there was no life in them. This place died many years before.

“Move faster, boy. Nothing in here to bite you.”

The tunnel opened into a large cavern, a dried-up hollow to the right where a lagoon once was, the torchlight inadequate to reveal the ceiling or the far walls.

“This place used to be full of life. People living. Teaching. Learning.” She pointed to the lagoon. “I learned to swim over there.”

“Amazing,” Gabriel said. “Right under the monastery. Nobody knew. All this time.”

“I pulled the wool over your eyes, eh?”

The joke elicited a loud cackle from Gabriel. Excellent. That should push his fear back.

They walked across a wide, flat area, passing stone tables, benches and fire pits until they reached the entrance to some far rooms.

“This one,” she said, veering to the left, waving Gabriel to follow.

They

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