Giant's Daughter by Jennifer Allis Provost

Author:Jennifer Allis Provost
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bellatrix Press
Published: 2021-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Anya

THE FURTHER WE WENT into the crypt, the stranger things became.

For one, the caskets and other bundles of bones that were so abundant near the entrance to this underworld had dwindled down to almost nothing. It made me wonder if those remains had once been parishioners of the ruined church above, rather than sacrifices to Crom. Perhaps their graves had needed to be moved, or perhaps they couldn’t be interred close to their time of death for one reason or another, and their bones had been forgotten. There were many reasons to leave a body unburied.

However, I could think of no rational explanation for the passage through which we now walked. The dressed stone and columns of the crypt were gone, and the water had long since dried out, revealing a shining black tile floor. It was a welcome reprieve to not have to slog through the standing muck, but soon after the water’s departure the walls and ceiling went from masonry to packed earth, and then to the interior of a cave. Throughout it all the tile floor remained, along with the eerie green glow.

“Why would someone tile a cave floor,” I said.

“To make it level,” Da suggested, but he didn’t sound convinced. If the Bodach thought the state of things in the cave was odd, that meant they were odd, indeed.

“We are walking to the center of the earth,” Maelgwyn said. “We are entering Crom’s lair.”

“You’re certain that’s where we’re headed?” Da asked. Maelgwyn’s head swiveled on his neck like and owl’s, his eyes that were so like mine reflecting the green light toward Da. Gods below, I hoped my eyes never did that. Perhaps I’d invest in a pair of dark glasses, just in case.

“Yes,” Maelgwyn said. “I am certain.”

I pulled one of the charm off my bracelet and cracked it open, and felt the protection spell settle around us. It wasn’t the most powerful way to keep us safe from whatever we may encounter, but it was all I had to work with.

“Don’t waste your magic,” Da growled. “It’s not wise to waste what we cannot replenish.”

“Is any of this wise?” I countered. “What if this Crom doesn’t care to be disturbed?”

“I imagine he doesn’t,” Da began. “A being who chooses to reside in such a place as this dank hole doesn’t do it in order to receive a great and many visitors.”

“I must look for my children,” Maelgwyn said. “We press on.”

I peeked at Da. He didn’t look pleased about pressing onward, but nor did he argue.

“Maelgwyn,” I began. “How did you lose your children?” He stopped moving and turned toward me, his face twisted in fury, and I glimpsed the terrifying visage of the Unseelie King of legend. “I only wish to understand what happened, so we have a better chance at finding them,” I added.

Maelgwyn’s scowl faded and his shoulders relaxed, followed by my own. Good. I hadn’t wanted to feel the full brunt of the Unseelie wrath whilst trapped in an underground crypt, or anywhere else for that matter.

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