“Two weeks and it’s gone,” Diana said. “Before then it depends on the air, moisture, other scents. But down here, there are insects, bat shit, and the perfume. It’s easy to pick out the one I want. Elaine’s scent is here, too, but it’s too faint to be really useful.”
“I found something,” Remy said from the darkness. Fiona removed her phone and turned it toward his voice, the phone’s torch moving over Remy. “Yeah, blind me, that’s a good idea.”
Fiona moved the light slightly but didn’t apologize. “Better?” she asked, her tone hard.
“Sorry,” Remy said to Fiona, seemingly remembering why she was there. “But you guys need to see this.”
“So, you do notice when you piss people off?” Mordred asked as he followed Remy through a large crack in the cavern and down what appeared to be steps.
“Elaine made this,” Remy said. “Or had someone else with earth magic do it. These steps aren’t a natural formation. And neither is this.”
Remy was pointing toward a small stone hut at the far end of another large cavern. There was no door or windows on the small stone building, but it was obvious what it had been created to be: a place to hide, or hide something important.
Water trickled down the walls, and stalactites had formed throughout the cavern, bisecting the entire place. Some of the stalactites were so long that anyone over six feet high would have to duck down to get under them, making it difficult to get to the hut on the other side.
“I think they had some help, too,” Morgan said as she joined them.
Fiona walked over to the stalactites and was about to touch one when she stopped herself. “They’re sharp—I can tell even from a distance. These aren’t made by nature.”
“So, how do we get past them?” Diana asked.
“I’ll go,” Remy said, and dropped to all fours, darting under the stalactites and into the hut.
Remy emerged several seconds later—although to Mordred it felt much longer—with a small metal box in his mouth. He made the trip back over to the group and dropped the box on the ground.
“Any chance that Elaine booby-trapped this?” Morgan asked.
Everyone stared at the small gray box. It was six inches long, and five wide, with a small handle on top. It was three inches deep, so whatever was inside wasn’t large, but a booby trap didn’t need to take up much space.
“Let’s take it outside and open it,” Diana asked.
There was a crunching sound, and Morgan flashed her phone’s light toward it and discovered Remy chewing on something.
“Food,” Remy said. “I’m part fox, remember? Foxes eat pretty much anything you give them, and bugs are a good source of protein.” He bent down and picked up a dark beetle, popping it in his mouth.
“I need to leave now,” Morgan said, and took the lead as the group left the cavern.
It didn’t take long to get everyone up out of the cave, with Morgan using her earth magic to create a set of stairs that allowed the group to just climb out with ease.
“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Fiona snapped when back outside.
“I didn’t know what was below,” Morgan said. “Can’t start moving things around when I can’t see what I’m moving.”
“You could have moved those stalactites, though,” Remy pointed out.
“You didn’t give me a chance to do anything.” Morgan turned to Fiona. “Look, I get that you miss your husband. That you’re worried. But if you’re going to keep snapping at people, you can go back to Tommy and wait.”
Fiona took a step forward. “You’re welcome to try and make me.”
“I can’t believe I’m the one saying this,” Remy started. “But grow the fuck up, both of you. Fiona, you’re pissing off everyone with your attitude. I know you’re scared, but we are trying to help, and you’re being a—”
“Bitch,” Morgan finished.
“And you’re not helping,” Mordred said. “Fiona, if you can’t deal with this, you really should go back home.”
“I can’t,” Fiona almost whispered. “I can’t just sit there and do nothing. I’m sorry for snapping.”
Diana picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. “I don’t see anything dangerous.” She grew one nail until it was long enough to pry the lid off the box. There was a moment of concern followed by curiosity when the box didn’t explode or start spewing noxious gas.
“We’re not dead, right?” Remy asked. “I feel okay.”
“All of those bugs probably saved you,” Morgan said.
“So, what’s in the box?” Mordred asked.
“There’s a USB stick, a folded piece of paper, and a second piece of paper with a map on it. I think it was printed off.” Diana removed the contents, dropping the box on the dirt. She passed the folded paper to Morgan, the map to Nabu, and held the flash drive in her hands, turning it over as if looking for something special about it.
“Is there a computer on the helicopter?” Morgan asked.
“Let’s go find out.”
“What does the paper say?” Mordred asked as Morgan read it.
“I love you, little nephew,” Morgan told him.
“So we know this is Elaine’s,” Mordred said. “She called me that on occasion. She thought it was funny.”
Mordred took the note and carefully folded it up before placing it in his pocket. “So, what about this map?”
Nabu passed it to him. “I have no idea what it is.”
Mordred recognized it instantly. “It’s a satellite image of a small town that doesn’t exist.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t exist?” Morgan asked. “There are houses, and there’s a car—it’s red. There’s a black X on part of it, though. I don’t get that bit. Are we meant to go there?”
“The town doesn’t officially exist,” Mordred clarified. “It’s on no official maps and has no official name. It’s to the east of St. Petersburg, north of Sviritsa. It’s called the Hamlet. Not named after Shakespeare, before anyone asks.”
“It’s Avalon-run?” Diana asked.
Mordred nodded. “That X is where a hundred years ago I tore off a man’s arm, killed his best friend, and burned his home to the ground. When the ashes were cold, I salted the earth. I mean that literally.”
“So, we need to go to this small village?” Fiona asked.
Mordred shook his head. “No. When I last spoke to her, she mentioned that the man I almost killed now lives in Moscow. I thought it weird at the time. I wondered what possible connection he could have to the prophecy, but she told me to leave it alone until she confirmed things. Looks like he’s where we need to go.”
“And Moscow is where my husband went missing,” Fiona said.
“Yeah, looks like we’re going to get even colder,” Mordred said with a sigh. “And this might get a lot messier.”
CHAPTER 10
Mordred