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“Surely they’d have said something if it couldn’t be.”
“No, because that wasn’t part of my question. One needs to be very specific, I learned.”
“While they do have a well-deserved rep for being petty and manipulative, I’m thinking that’s not what is happening here. It’s more likely a case of me not having the right bloodline: i.e., of direct godly descent.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why would they have created a barrier only I could raise? Not even the old gods could foretell the future that far in advance.”
“Not you specifically, but definitely a godling whose existence was no accident,” he said. “Think about it—your conception was unlikely to have been a mere whim. Nothing the old gods ever did was ever without intention, even if that intention was chaos. You use the knives in a manner Mom never did. You are the first Aodhán in a very long time to blood bond the Triune and use it as designed. Andthathappened not long after the Claws gained attention and a major hoard went missing. Intent, Bethany. That means you should be able to open this barrier.”
I drew in a deep breath, momentarily forgetting the foulness, and coughed so badly my head spun. Lugh handed me some water, and I gulped it down to ease the fire in my throat.
“Remind me never to do that again,” I croaked.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he said blandly.
I swiped at his arm, then, before I could think too much about it, raised a hand and splayed my fingers against the invisible barrier. I’d expected it to be cool and slick, much like the black walls around us, but instead it was warm. Unnaturally so.
For an instant, nothing happened. Then the tips of my fingers sank into the wall, followed quickly by the rest of my hand. The air stirred, gently sweeping away the dark barrier away, revealing our tunnel. One that reflected our lights so brightly, we were once again surrounded by stars.
“It appears I was right,” Lugh said, with just a touch of smugness.
“And as a reward, you get to lead the way once more.”
I grandly waved a hand, and he bowed and did so. But we’d only gone a dozen or so feet when the passage opened out onto a wide flat platform that jutted out over an enormous cave. There were no stalactites here, no moisture, no bats. The twin beams of light from the headlamps had starlight dancing all around us but couldn’t penetrate the deeper darkness below.
Lugh pointed his flashlight down... and spotlighted a set of bellows so big it surely had been used by giants. The forge was similarly massive, the wall so high that had I been on ground level, I wouldn’t have been able to see over it. There were various hammers and tongs on the rock shelf behind the forge, once again all overly large. I couldn’t see the hammer I’d been shown in the library, but I had no doubt it would be here somewhere.
“Did giants ever actually exist?” I asked. “Because no human could have used this.”
“Maybe the answer lies in the name—the forge of the gods.”
I snorted. “When have the gods ever done the dirty work themselves?”
“Good point.”
“Then here’s another—there’s no way known we’ll be able to get this thing going.”
“I’m thinking that if you were advised to destroy the Claws here, there’s going to be a simple means of starting the thing.”
“I’m hoping said means is magical, because we’re not getting coal down here very easily.”
“No.” He swept the light along the walls closest to us and then headed right, following a narrow path that wound down to the cavern’s floor. The forge looked even larger, the bellow arms thicker than my waist. The forge itself was made of stone the same shiny black as the walls and floors. I pressed a hand against it; it was glass smooth and surprisingly warm.
Lugh continued on, looking almost dwarven compared to the size of the forge. “There’re steps over this side. Human-sized ones.”
“Considerate of them,” I said, heading around.
He was already halfway up. I scrambled after him. The steps were relatively narrow and steep, but the rim of the forge was a good two feet wide.
I stopped beside him and stared down. Deep in the heart of the vast forge was a faint orange glow.
“It awaits,” Lugh said softly.
“Yes.” I shoved my hands into my pockets. “It’s some pretty powerful fuel they’re using if heat still lingers after eons of disuse.”
“Old gods’ magic is some powerful shit, let me tell you. There’s a lever over there—” He waved a hand toward the edge opposite. “Shall we go see what it does?”
“Do you really think that wise right now?”
