Catrina gasped at the thought.
Arne took his wife’s hand. “I felt the ground shake,” he said. “There was something about Edan and his blood.”
Ailith continued, “John and I went in because John carried his sapphire sword, a weapon more powerful than the usual Highlander blade. There were many steps leading down into a land totally strange to us, with purple trees and silver roots. The oddest part was that after we followed the path, we came to an area with various cages on either side. Warriors were held in translucent green cages, and the bairns in clear ones. I found Milo after seeing a couple of lasses I didn’t know, but I didn’t know how to open the cages. I tried with the first girl’s cage, running my hand over the entire crystal structure, looking for any seam or latch. There was naught. There were no edges, latches, keys, or anything unusual. I tried everything. I threw a rock at it, tried to carry it to the stairs, I punched it but to no avail.” She rubbed her raw knuckles. “But then I spoke to him, and the cage kind of melted away. Milo spoke to me right away, saying he wanted his father and mother.”
Edan let out a deep sigh. “Ailith ran up and down the line of cages,” he said, “but she didn’t see Heilyn.”
Ailith shook her head. “And I didn’t get to search them all. The first warrior’s cage opened, and he attacked John as soon as we stepped off the staircase. John fought him long enough for me to study the cages. But when John knocked that warrior down, it seemed to unlock another. Once I had Milo in my hands, I turned around to see five cages unlocking at once, and there were so many more down the line. John couldn’t fight a score of warriors alone, so we decided it was safest to leave and return with more warriors of our own. I held Milo tight and ran up the staircase.”
Milo came out of a hut and ran to Ailith, jumping onto her lap and sticking his thumb in his mouth. He popped it out long enough to say, “Ail.”
Dyna leaned toward Milo and whispered, “Did you see Heilyn?”
He nodded, then popped his thumb out again. “Heilyn over dare,” he mumbled.
Dyna squeezed Edan’s hand. “We have to go back on the morrow,” she said. “But first, we’re going to try to figure out how Ailith got Milo out. If we can do that, she can set many of them free. We’re sending more warriors down the staircase this time too. Gruin doesn’t need to know about that.”
Ailith reached for Edan’s hand. “We’ll find her, Edan. I’ll not leave until I do.”
His hand was cold under hers, and for a long moment he didn’t move. Then his fingers closed around hers, not a squeeze, just a hold.
He didn’t look at her. Seeing her come out without Heilyn was not even a knife in his gut. It ripped his insides out and left them on the ground. A small part of him wanted to be angry at her for finding Milo but not his own daughter. Couldn’t she haverun to the end first and worked backward? Could she have yelled Heilyn’s name and sensed his sweet lass with her seer abilities?
“There were so many cages, more than I could see, and just as many warriors trapped within them.”
He held himself perfectly still, as though any movement would cause him to shatter. Unable to meet anyone’s eyes, he looked down at his trembling hands. All the hope drained from his body. Something sharp buried deep in his heart, cracking it in two.
He couldn’t imagine anything worse. His sweet daughter was not there.
Arne asked Dyna, “You’ve dealt with the underworld before?”
“Nay,” Dyna answered.
Ailith started. “Oh, I just recalled something,” she said. “As soon as we stepped inside and the door closed, Gruin said, ‘Welcome to Dark Hollow.’ That’s the name of his world.”
“The Dark Hollow?” Arne repeated.
“Nay,” Milo shook his head.
Edan kissed the top of his nephew’s head, then moved into his cottage, empty inside.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ailith
They returned to their cottage, speaking little along the way. Dyna, riding between them, broke the silence. “Edan, I know you feel betrayed, but Ailith searched for your daughter first. She looked as far as she dared and found Milo near the beginning of the line of cages.”
“How could you know that?” Edan asked, confusion clouding his face. Ailith knew how hard this was for him, but it was excruciatingly painful for her as well. He couldn’t possibly know what had gone through her mind just before she found Milo.
Her thoughts had spiraled back to that awful cellar where she’d once been held captive. Memories of cold stone, the scuttling of bugs and tiny feet around her, the disgusting water and hard bread crusts she’d been forced to chew. And the man himself, her very own neighbor, a disgusting man who had kept her locked like a criminal. It had only ended when her sire flew inside, taking the man by the throat and nearly killing him.
What would have happened if her father hadn’t found her? She shuddered at the thought of the repercussions.
Dyna continued, “Because I saw her, Edan. I’m a seer, though you still don’t believe me. I saw her running down the path looking for a wee lass who wasn’t there. She fought, she threw a stone at the cage, she tried to lift it. She did her best, and you need to accept that. Lia warned us it might take two or three trips inside to gain all the bairns back. Just because we didn’t find her doesn’t mean we are giving up.” They neared their cottage, and Dyna rode ahead. “I’m leaving you two to work this out before you return to our cottage.”
Ailith couldn’t disagree.
She waited, patting her horse, who sensed the stable was near. Edan turned his horse to face her. “Forgive me, Ailith. I know you tried your best, and I’m insensitive, but all I could think of was my lassie when you returned with Milo. I wish you’d had both of them, but I know it’s not your fault.”
