Chapter 8
Marc lifted an eyebrow at me. “What makes you think it was someone other than the people who live here?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the monument to someone’s ingenuity. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling it’s been standing here for a long time. A very long time.”
“You’re right,” he revealed as he sidled up close beside me and tilted his head back to survey the sight. “The tower was here even before the capital. That’s why the Admiralty wanted this place from the king. They saw the tower as a symbol of their power. It’s even on their crest.”
I couldn’t speak above a whisper. “Then nobody knows who built it?”
“Nobody.” He turned his attention to me, and there was concern in his eyes. “What made you ask that question?”
“I don’t know.” I swallowed hard, and some of the spell was broken. “Anyway, I suppose we couldn’t go inside tonight, could we?”
He tightened his grip on my hand. “Not this night. It’s almost over, and we need to avoid more of those Ironshores.”
I blinked at him as he skirted us around the southern part of the square. “Ironshores? You mean the men we met?”
“They’re part of the Ironshore Legion, the soldiers of the Admiralty who crawl on the land to do their bidding.”
I glanced over my shoulder. The dancing flames seemed to beckon to me.
“Rose?”
Marc’s voice startled me, and I whipped my head around to face him. “What was that?”
“I was saying your eyes look better when they’re staring at me,” he teased, but the corners of his lips were tense. “And we should move faster to beat the sun.”
“And I’m getting hot in here!” Ramaro snapped as the front of my bump was violently rustled. “Now get walking!”
Marc guided me back into the maze of streets, but the buildings were much different than what we’d seen before.
They were built of rough, large bricks and coarsely carved stone.
Huge timbers aided the support, and mingled together below steep gabled roofs of wooden tiles.
Foggy window panes revealed countless years since the creation of the glass.
Moss-covered paths led up to thick, heavy doors that had protected countless generations from prying eyes and sticky fingers.
“Your friend lives here?” I wondered as I gawked at the majestic homes.
“His family has lived in one of these places since it was built,” Marc revealed as he brushed a finger over his eye patch. “They’re masters at their craft.”
“What exactly is their craft?”
He stopped us in front of a particularly impressive structure and smiled down at me. “Curses.”
The color drained from my face. “Curses? How can they help with your eye patch?”
He looped his arm through mine and grinned. “Because the spell on my eye patch was a curse.”
My eyes widened. “It was a-”
“Let’s see if anyone’s home,” he interrupted as he pulled me up the worn stone path.
Many footsteps had dug a hollow into every stone, creating a bowl effect even to the stone step in front of the door. A knocker in the shape of a large tree hung from the portal, with a partial ring hanging from the tree to knock.
Marc grabbed the knocker and gave it a hard bang. The sound echoed through the large interior. We waited. And waited. And waited.
My belly stirred. “Is that old fool deaf now, or did he die on the rug?”
“He’s most likely to blow himself up,” Marc countered as he grabbed the knocker. He rang louder and harder than before.
And that’s when the stone slab beneath our feet split into two and fell into a hole beneath itself.
I performed the same falling trick and included a terrible scream, but Marc was more agile.
He jumped and landed his feet on either side of the gap, and grabbed both my hands as they flailed above my head.
I was left dangling most of the way in the deep drop. A quick look down told me nothing. The hole was completely black.
“What’s all the noise about?” Ramaro snapped as he popped his head out. His eyes widened as he beheld the drop below us. “What in all the seas is going on?”
Marc looked past us at the darkness, and a smile slipped onto his lips. “It looks like my old friend is having his fun. We should join in.”
My heart skipped a beat as I understood the gist of his words, and I furiously shook my head. “No. No no no-”
Marc flung me up and wrapped his arms around me. I was still suspended over the hole and hung face-to-face with him. “Ready?”
“Don’t you daaarreeee-”
Marc clapped his legs together, and we dropped into the darkness.
The wind whipped past us as he held me close, and it wasn’t long before his back struck a smooth, metallic surface.
We slid down through the darkness and soon shot out of the hole.
Our landing was soft courtesy of a mattress and pillows.
I whipped my head up and glared at him. “Don’t do that again!”
Ramaro popped his head out of my coat. “I second that!”
Marc’s smile didn’t falter as he studied our surroundings. “We may not have another chance. Look.”
My ‘baby’ and I followed his gaze, and my heart nearly stopped.
We sat in the middle of a large cage that was suspended thirty feet in the air.
A huge cavern surrounded us, and stalactites were almost close enough to touch.
A hard floor lay below us, with a half dozen lit torches providing enough light to glimpse the rough landing were our cage to fall.
I jerked away from the drop, and the cage swung slightly from side to side.
Ramaro flicked his tongue out. “Has that old fool gone mad?”
“I’m quite sane except when it comes to uncouth boys slamming the knocker at odd hours of the night.”
Footsteps accompanied the voice. I gingerly leaned over and noticed a set of winding stairs that followed the curved stone wall to our left.
A man older than fifty strolled down them, one hand pressed against the stone.
His graying hair was so short as to be almost completely shaved off, and he wore a tweed-looking suit with worn, pointed shoes.
The light from the torches reflected off his large, round glasses, blocking my ability to see his eyes.
A crooked smile lay on his lips as he stopped halfway down the stairs and looked up. His eyebrows shot up, and he took a hurried step to the edge of the stairs. “You’re not children!”
Ramaro snorted. “That might be closer to the truth than you think if you’re talking about the captain.”
Marc gave the man a lazy salute. “And a good morning to you, Eldric. I see you’re well.”
Eldric readjusted his glasses and sniffed the air with his large nose. “And you’re still a fool. What are you doing up there?”
Marc stretched his arms out on either side of him and swept his eyes over our cage. “Just admiring your latest trap. Simple, but effective.”
“If you’re a simpleton. . .” Ramaro muttered.
Our host’s gaze settled on me. He removed his glasses and blinked at me. “Is that a woman?”
Marc chuckled. “In the soft flesh. Allow me to introduce Miss Rose Larkin.”
Eldric bowed his head. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Larkin.”
I shifted and winced when the cage bars bit into my butt. “Nice to meet you, too, but could we do this on the ground?”
Eldric sighed and replaced his glasses before he proceeded down the stairs. “Wait a moment while I get you down.”
He reached the bottom and slammed the bottom of his fisted hand against the wall. One of the stones sank inward, and the sound of grinding gears came from behind the barrier. The cage groaned and began a slow descent to the ground.
“Still using those old machines?” Marc mused as we neared the floor.
Eldric clasped his hands behind his back and strolled over to us. “Magic can’t be outdone by a perfectly good pair of cogs.” The cage settled on the floor, and he used a key to unlock the door. He opened the bars and offered me a hand. “My apologies for the rough welcome, miss.”
I accepted his hand, and he helped me out. “Please, call me Rose.”
Eldric dropped his gaze to my stomach, and his eyes lit up. “And my apologies to the child. When is it due?”
Ramaro popped his head out. “Right now!”
Eldric’s face drooped, and he turned his nose up. “So you’ve come, as well.”
“And I’m starting to wish I hadn’t,” Ramaro mused as he jumped out of the pouch and onto the rough floor. He flicked his tongue at our surroundings. “You’ve cleaned up the place.”
Our host scoffed. “Not I. That’s Gisele’s doing.”
“Who’s that?” I asked him.
“My maid,” he revealed as he clasped his hands behind his back. “She’s new and eager, and I just can’t keep her out of anything.”
“Even your lab?” Marc wondered as he climbed out of the cage to stand beside me.
Eldric’s face drooped. “There are limits to what I can tolerate, Marc. On that topic, what were you doing on my front step at this hour banging on my door?”
“Can’t I see an old friend?”
“Not at five in the morning.” He paused and leaned toward Marc. “What’s happened to your eye patch? It’s crooked?”
Marc covered his left eye with one hand. “And about ready to fall off. Jaeger used his hand to dispel your work.”
Eldric wrinkled his nose. “That fiend would destroy a work of art. I suppose you’ve come to have it patched up.”
“If you could.”
Eldric nodded at me. “And what’s her business here? Another of your tagalongs?”
“A young woman eager to see the world,” Marc told him as he smiled at me. “I thought I’d show her your impressive lab.”
Eldric sighed and turned toward the stairs. “Follow me then, and don’t touch anything.”