Chapter 6 #2
Listening as the dogs continued to discuss the odds of us getting out of the Hoopingarner House alive and also getting tacos anywhere in the near future, I led our merry band of explorers down the darkest, dankest tunnel I’d ever seen.
The silence, aside from the dogs’ mental whispers, was deafening.
The air was heavy. Something ancient and powerful had been there, and might still be.
Following the passage as it curved to the right, a spark of recognition shot up my spine.
It was weird and kind of heady, and the weird thing was that there was no fear– Not from me or from the spark.
It was familiar in the most unfamiliar way, and for some strange reason, the word home flashed in the forefront of my mind.
“Did you see that?” I asked Aideen.
But she was quiet. Very quiet. Too quiet.
“Aideen?”
Still nothing. So, I tried again.
“Aideen?”
Finally, she spoke. But something was off. The boisterous, loud, and always-right-in-her-own-mind Dragon Queen with whom I shared my soul was speaking so softly that I could barely hear her… And we share a brain.
“I've been here before.”
Stopping so quickly that I got three Wolfhound noses in my back, Zelda’s hand on my shoulder, and Chewy walking between my legs as if they were his very own tunnel.
Then the peanut gallery commented.
“Traffic jam,” Chewy sing-songed.
Maeve grumbled, “What the hell, Martha?”
“Everything okay?” Theresa whispered.
But I was too busy talking to Aideen to answer. “You've been here before?”
“Not me.” She sounded so haunted. “Someone before me.”
Waiting for more, I gave up when Zelda whispered, “The gang’s gettin’ restless. What did Aideen say?”
“A whole bunch of nothing,” I tried to fib.
“Yeah, right.” Clearing her throat, she added, “I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it slide for now.”
“Thank you.”
Continuing our exploration of the tunnel, I felt a breeze a split-second before I saw light. Hurrying forward, I led the way into a massive chamber that had to be twice the size of the foundation of Hoopingarner House.
Scanning the surroundings, I was instantly enthralled. Every wall was covered in carvings, both words and pictures. They were ancient. There was no doubt about it. And I just had to see if I could decipher any of it.
Across the room in a heartbeat, I could not believe my eyes. Moreover, I couldn’t believe the depth and power of the emotions pouring from the stone carvings. There was so much joy and love, along with sacrifice in the name of duty and loyalty.
Elaborate depictions of coronations, weddings, births, and burials were so intricate that it felt as if I were there. Then came images of everyday life. Queens gave their all for their people. Mothers held and protected their babies and children.
As the mural progressed, the artist had realistically drawn female Warriors carrying swords, women crying as they held the dead and dying, and…
Further still, there was one newer carving. It was so fresh that small splinters of wood and piles of dust and pebbles littered the ground below. Someone had been digging at the stone with a stick, and although the image was incomplete, there was no denying the resemblance.
From the pink sneakers to the dark curls to the lavender eyes, it was me. Someone had cut away an exact copy of yours truly, and that wasn’t all.
My hand was outstretched toward a fallen man. Rushing to the image, I instantly recognized Kai. There suddenly wasn’t enough air in the chamber.
Zelda gasped beside me.
Maeve inhaled sharply.
Chewy sniffed, “Nope.”
“That is definitely you,” Arthur agreed, leaning into my side and putting his nose in my hand to comfort me.
“Oh, for sure.” Otis got into the conversation. “It’s you, Mom. They got the butt right.”
“OTIS!” I snapped. “You cannot talk about my butt. That is not…”
“Hey! I think there’s someone over there,” Theresa yelled from somewhere behind me.
Spinning so quickly that I was glad Arthur was still at my side to keep me upright, I continued the motion and took off in the direction of Theresa’s outstretched finger.
It was Kai. I would have recognized those boots anywhere. Goddess knew I had tripped over them enough times.
Sliding to a stop at his side, I dropped to my knees. My poor Mate was unconscious. He was bleeding.
But he was breathing. He was alive. Pulling his head into my lap, I brushed the gorgeous, red curls from his forehead while Maeve examined his injuries.
“He has a concussion,” she explained. “At least, I am ninety-five percent sure. That gash on the back of his head is bad.” She paused, then added, “Might even be a skull fracture."
“MAYBE? MIGHT BE?” I shrieked.
“I said probably,” my sister snapped. “We are in a cave, after all.”
“Yeah, and you’re a…”
“Hey y’all,” Zelda yelled. “Look at this.” Pointing at the wall perpendicular to where I was sitting, she wrinkled her nose and added, “This shit is cryptic as all get out. You have to see it, Martha.”
Letting Maeve take over where I had been holding Kai’s head, I got to my feet and over to my bestie. And dammit all, if she wasn’t right.
The words were seriously creepy. Worse yet, they had been recently carved and painted over with fresh blood.
Stepping closer because I had to be sure, I read the four lines aloud: “She cannot see the final wall. Do not let her finish the coronation. The last Queen loved, too. Don’t fail us.”
“What the…?”
“Martha?”
Kai’s voice was music to my ears. Rushing to him, I was on my knees and raining kisses all over his face. Placing one on his lips, I pulled back just as he looked up at me and smiled.
Touching my cheek, he murmured, “You shouldn't have come.”
“Excuse me?” I challenged. “Who else was coming to save you?”
But he didn’t answer my question. Instead, he mumbled, “Barney was right.”
“Oh, absolutely not.” I was pissed. I had been worried. I had been scared out of my mind that he was hurt, and the first thing he said to me was something about that blasted Wyvern. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Martha...” He was pleading.
“Nope.” I was adamant. “No way, Buddy Boy. You do not get to get kidnapped, disappear for twelve hours, scare me half to death, and then wake up agreeing with the escaped convict.”
“Martha...” The boy was a broken record.
“No. Way.” I shook my head.
“There was a coronation,” He mumbled.
“Nope, I am not listening.”
Apparently, neither was he.
“And...” Kai continued.
“I said, no, Kai."
And still he continued. “It involved you.”
“NO. KAI.”
“Actually...” Aideen interrupted.
“You shut up, too!”