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Beyond that wall was a veritable wave of the summoned dead, a second barrier, as if we were within a fortress under siege. They encircled the faery-wrought barrier, bodies between Chester and our magical cage. It wasn’t a guarantee of safety, but it was better than nothing.
We were caged inside, and he was left glaring at us.
“You all choose your death,” Chester announced. “Even if you can outwait me here, do you think I won’t find you? Destroy you?”
“Maybe.” I looked down at the heart that was acting a bit like a dowsing rod, hopefully leading us somewhere other than fresh water. “But we choose not to give youthis. I sort of figure that if you want it, Idon’twant you to have it.”
Chester stood on the other side of a wall of corpses. As he started ranting about “women and their uppity self-important disobedient” something or other, he began steadily dismembering and tossing our army of the dead into the surf.
I winced.
The reassembled dead felt no pain, and maybe it would burn through his temper. At the least, we had two layers of protection. That bought us time. I still hated Chester even more for his excessive violence.
“Plan?” Iggy prompted.
“There.” I pointed. The tiny red droplets were practically flying toward one particular stone slab now, soaking into earth. I felt each one zing through me.
Beatrice removed the stone I’d indicated, and we all entered some sort of labyrinth under the ground. I had no idea if this used to be above ground or if there were tunnels from archeologists—or if this was Chester’s doing.
Eli began to bless the stone that was now over our heads as he’d blessed the site, asking the sea and earth to protect it.
“Can we head toward the car park?” I asked. “Follow these to there and escape?”
“No.” Beatrice pulled the stone over our heads, sealing us in darkness.
I felt panic. Suffocating in the dank air wasn’tworsethan death by Chester’s hand, but I wasn’t keen on it either. “Then what are we to do? Stay here in the dark and—”
“You need to relax, Hexen.” Iggy pulled out a surprisingly modern handheld light. “Let there be light.”
I could still feel the dead above us, and I could feel the threat approaching, but more than anything I felt the heart beating in my hand. It was panicking, more so than I was—and that was saying something.
We took several steps into the darkness, and there at my feet was the owner of the heart. I couldn’t tell youhowI knew with certainly that it was her heart, but I felt the heart racing faster and faster.
I crouched down.
The dead woman’s blouse, top, whatever it was called, was reddened with blood, although after however many years she’s been in the earth it looked more like a rust color.
“The weapon,” Beatrice said from over my shoulder. “A woman. He’s afraid of a woman.”
Iggy shoved forward, knocking me aside with a surprising roughness.
“Gunnora,” Iggy whispered the name in obvious shock. He reached down and brushed the woman’s hair back from where the loose tendrils fell on her cheeks. “Nora.”
“Who is Gunnora?” Eli asked, giving voice to the question I hadn’t managed yet to ask.
“His wife.” Beatrice shook her head.
“Iggy’s?” I asked, feeling like the reason for our trip had just become muddled. “I’m glad he found his wife’s grave but how does that help—”
“Chester’s wife,” Iggy corrected as he swept the woman into his arms and kissed her cheek gently. “She’s in stasis. Once we restore her heart—”
His words were lost under a small avalanche. Earth and rocks fell on us, as overhead Chester roared. Maybe he knew we’d found her, or maybe he simply was frustrated that we weren’t as easy to catch as he’d expected.
“Hexen,” Iggy barked. “Tunnel.”
Beatrice gave him a raised brows look. “Pardon?”
But he spoke a hex I’d not heard before, and Beatrice nodded. “I see,” she whispered. “It is our best chance.”
