“You think she went after Suri?”
“That’s why we came out here, isn’t it?” Raithe started to follow the Fhrey.
“But what if she didn’t? What if she did go to the rol?”
“Then she’s safe, and we can go look for her with Suri as our guide, right?”
Malcolm looked less convinced but nodded and followed Raithe into the trees.
—
The water felt as cold as it had the last time.
In the dark, Persephone was worried that she wouldn’t know which way to swim, but breaching the surface, she kicked toward the sound of the waterfall behind her. Swimming as fast as she could, it didn’t take long to reach the edge of the pool. Just when she thought she’d made it to safety, Konniger splashed down.
The chieftain was smarter, or more determined, than Char and his pack of wolves.
She dragged herself up on the ledge. Her skirt clung to her legs and water drizzled a trail as she moved toward the crack behind the falls. Konniger was swimming toward her, and she fought against a panicked urge to run. She knew all too well the dangers of running on slippery stone.
Konniger reached the ledge.
How is he so fast?
He didn’t know where he was going, yet he still closed the ground between them.
No moonlight fell behind the falls and none penetrated the inky crevice. She felt with ice-cold fingers along the smooth stone, searching. Her hands became her eyes, and with outstretched arms, she made her way down the corridor.
The door will open if you press the diamond shape in the design at the top. On the outside there’s no design, just a little rock sticking out a bit. You have to feel around to find it…
Persephone had both hands on the left wall, sliding all over. She hammered frantically on any imperfection that stuck out.
“You in here, Persephone?” The sound of Konniger’s voice nearly made her scream.
She tried to be quiet, tried to hide in the dark, but she couldn’t stop breathing.
“I can hear you,” he said. “I can hear your heart pounding. It is pounding, isn’t it, Seph? You don’t mind if I call you Seph, do you? I noticed the Dureyan called you that. Are the two of you lovers? We made up that story about you and him, but maybe we weren’t wrong after all. He’s dead now. So is the other one.”
Where is it? Where is it?
Persephone was sliding her hands everywhere, skidding across the surface.
Where are you, you culling rock!
“There’s no way out of here, is there, Seph? You might as well give up. I’ll make it quick. It’s not personal. Honestly, I respect you. I wasn’t lying earlier in the lodge. You’re sharp as an ax. That’s just the problem. I knew you didn’t buy the story about a bear killing Reglan. I could see you moving all your men into place. It was only a matter of time before you ordered my death. You just waited a little too long, that’s all. Given a few more hours, I’d have been the one hiding in the dark, trying to get away from Raithe, Nyphron, or maybe that ugly goblin thing. If the situations were reversed, I’m sure you’d kill me quick, right? No sense dragging this out. I swear to Elan and Eton that I’ll cut your throat clean and quick. I feel I owe that to Reglan, you know?”
Shivering in the dark, she could hear Konniger, feet sliding on stone as he inched in. He was so close that she heard the water dripping off his clothes. When her toe touched the end of the corridor, she felt her heart sink. She was at the end in every way a person could be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Beneath the Falls
That night there was more than one killer in the forest, the next day a lot more ghosts.
—THE BOOK OF BRIN
Maeve hadn’t moved.
Suri held Minna as she looked at the rumpled pile of cloth that had been the old woman, her white hair sprayed out in a fan. Suri spotted the finger of a hand, palm up, and a leg’s pale skin sticking out from under her dress. She needed to check on her but was afraid to, afraid to let go of Minna, afraid to see what the bear had done. In truth, Suri was just afraid. Her hands were trembling where they clutched Minna’s fur. The last time she’d been this scared was after finding Tura facedown in the garden. This time was worse. Suri hadn’t simply arrived home to a woman who looked as if she’d picked a stupid place to sleep.
Suri felt safe holding Minna, or as safe as she could feel. Nothing was as reassuring as hugging a wolf, but she had to check on Maeve. She might still be alive, not that it would matter. Better if she was dead. Suri couldn’t do much for her if she wasn’t.
“Wait here,” she told the wolf as she rose on uncertain legs.
Suri staggered toward Maeve. Along the way, she picked up Tura’s staff, which helped. Then she knelt beside the old woman. All that white hair obscured her face. Reaching out, Suri brushed it back.
Maeve opened her eyes.
Suri jerked her hand back. “I thought you were dead!”
The old woman managed a smile, not just with her lips but with her eyes. Looking up at Suri, she beamed.
“I’m so sorry,” Suri said. “It didn’t work. I don’t know why. I did it right—I know I did. Tura said I was good at such things, and I am…usually. I’ve always been able to stop the goulgans from getting in the mushrooms. My wards worked even better than hers.”
Maeve struggled to raise a hand. She only got it a few inches off the ground, where it hovered, shaking. Suri reached out and took hold of it.
“It’s all right. It’s all right,” Maeve whispered in a thread-thin voice. “It did work.”
Suri didn’t understand. “It did?”
Looking around the cave, she searched for Maeve’s daughter. She expected to see a naked baby or maybe a young girl, but only Minna was there. Having never exorcised an evil spirit, Suri had no idea what to expect, what to look for. It was possible she’d missed the moment when Maeve’s daughter freed herself. A lot was happening, after all. Maybe the fire did it. That made a lot of sense. The fire could have distracted the demon and forced the girl’s soul out the way the salt should have. The fire’s brightness would have made it impossible for Suri to notice the transformation.
But then where is the child?
Suri looked around the cave once more and found nothing.
“I don’t see her,” Suri said. “Are you sure it worked?”
Suri felt Maeve’s quivering fingers squeezing hers. “I can see her. She’s safe and…and she is beautiful…she is so…”
Maeve’s fingers stopped quivering. The sight went out of her eyes, but the smile, that giant grin, remained.
—
Persephone could hear Konniger breathing. He was panting.
With nowhere to go, she bent her knees, lowering herself and crouching down. She cowered into a ball, trying to become as small as possible. A child’s plan, and as feeble as it was, this one hope was all she had.
Maybe he’ll reach out, touch the end of the crack, and think I got away. He might doubt whether I came in here at all.
She didn’t even dare to pray, not out loud. In her head, she begged Mari to save her, to hide her, to—
“It’s really narrow in here, isn’t it? How did you find this place?”