Arcane Rising: The Darkland Druids - Book One, R Nicole [suggested reading TXT] 📗

huffed. “What you did yesterday was exactly that…” he trailed off, and Rory never trailed off.

“But?”

“But it doesn’t change what you were becoming,” he murmured, glancing at some Druids who were gathered on the other side of Salle.

That didn’t sound good. I picked at my fingernails, scraping gunk from underneath them—a nervous habit.

“You and Delilah were alone for a long time.” He looked at me like he was expecting me to tell him my assessment of her story.

“It’s a lot,” I told him. “My mother might still be alive, but I doubt it. The Chimera likely murdered her decades ago. If anyone could tell me what I’m becoming, it’d be her.” I sighed. “Dad never talked about her. Ever. I always assumed she died and it was too painful for him to speak about. I resented it, but I also respected his loss. I never knew her, so I had a detachment to it, I guess.”

“She might still be alive,” he said.

“In another world where the door is guarded by the Irish Witches. Dad was the only one who knew the way.”

“A technicality.” He looked me over. “You’re going to need a coat,” he said out of nowhere.

“A coat? Where are we going?”

He wouldn’t say as we went back to my room. I snatched up my leather jacket and tartan scarf, my curiosity spiking. We couldn’t be going outside—the Elders had forbidden it.

Rory led me thorough the Warren, past familiar rooms and angry faces, before ushering me into a new section of the tunnel. There weren’t any people here, and the doors that were open revealed boxes and crates stacked behind them. I wondered if this was supposed to be the Druid’s version of storage lockers.

Finally, he swept his hand over a rune carved into the wall and a portal flared to life. He didn’t hesitate to walk through it, so I followed him without question.

On the other side, I found myself standing in another kind of stone room. The turquoise and obsidian walls of the Warren were gone, and in their place were large grey blocks.

“This used to be part of the Old Town,” Rory told me. “A forgotten stairway leading into old tunnels leading towards Castle Hill. The rock was too difficult to dig far, so it was abandoned pretty quickly. It was intended to be a secret escape route from the castle in the Middle Ages, but when it was rediscovered it ended up becoming storage for body snatchers.”

“Body snatchers?”

“Edinburgh was well known for its College of Surgeons and selling cadavers in backdoor deals was big business. A little stone room is a great place to hide stolen bodies waiting to be transported. It’s like a miniature refrigerator.”

I shivered. “Stolen bodies?”

“Oh, aye. People used to stake out cemeteries for funerals so they could dig up fresh bodies. It even escalated to the point where people were being murdered.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “The price of medical advancement, huh?”

He turned and pushed open an old wooden door. “We’ve hidden it with illusions, so it’s a little piece of forgotten history. Edinburgh is full of it though, so the historians won’t miss this little old-timey meat locker.”

My stomach rolled and I let out a humph of disgust.

“This is our way to the surface,” Rory said.

I peered through the door and glowered at the spiral staircase beyond. It was narrow—only wide enough for one person to squeeze inside—and rose steeply upwards. The three steps I could see were stone and the centres were so worn, they were shiny and dipped in the middles. An old rope was woven into iron loops and disappeared up into the gloom.

“It’s eighty-nine steps to the surface,” Rory said. “Think you can make it?”

“We’re going into the city? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Are you questioning your neach-gleidhidh?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.

Somehow I knew this trip wasn’t sanctioned, especially after that stunt I’d pulled, but Rory was right. He was my neach-gleidhidh and I wouldn’t be the only one getting into trouble if we were caught. By now, I was well aware that Rory loved to break the rules.

“All right,” I said. “Lead the way.”

I climbed the stairs behind him, the enclosed space and the upward spiral making me dizzy. By the time we reached the top, I regretted letting him take me out the back way.

Rory opened a trapdoor and cold air blasted into the confined space. Once he was out, he held out his hand to help me up the last few steps into another confined space above.

As I caught my breath, I looked around and was stunned to realise we stood behind a mausoleum like the ones I’d seen on my fateful trip to Greyfriars. In fact, I was pretty sure that’s where we were.

The sky was almost fully dark, which meant it was late afternoon in the Scottish winter.

“So, this is why you and Jaimie were here the night I was attacked,” I murmured. “You were simply passing through.”

“The Thursday before last,” Rory stated, counting the days on his fingers. “Fourteen days.”

I turned and stared at him. “Is that all?”

He winked. “Time feels all messed up when you’re living in a magical crystal cave.”

I breathed deeply, equal parts thrilled and terrified to be outside again. This was where I first encountered the Chimera, after all.

“Why are we here?” I glanced at Rory. “Isn’t this reckless? What if the Chimera are watching the kirkyard?”

“Someone I know is going to hide us behind one hell of an illusion.” He looked at me pointedly.

“You want me to try another illusion out here?” I cried. “Weren’t you there the last time?”

“You know how to do it, Elspeth,” he told me. “Just don’t be so heavy-handed, okay?”

Heavy-handed? Wasn’t that what he was doing right now? I muttered under my breath and rolled my shoulders back and stretched my neck. I thought I was being careful.

“Fine,” I said. “Just be on standby, okay?”

I closed my eyes and let