Reyr the Gold (Dragonwall Series # 2)

Chapter 27 - The Vodar

"Lord Glover's?" Saffra glanced between them. "And you did not get caught?"

"Ha! He was snoring way too loud to hear me." Claire did an impression that sounded more like a congested pig.

They all started laughing until Saffra's worry was forgotten. "Well, it was a close call; I am glad you weren't discovered." She turned from Claire to Desaree and asked, "Have you been inside too?"

"No!" Desaree crossed her arms in feigned frustration. "I wanted Claire to show me, but she said we had to wait for you."

Saffra smiled gleefully and glanced back at the entryway. "I can hardly believe it," she whispered, more to herself than the others. "The entire time I have lived here...I never knew."

Saffra's wedding plans were forgotten. The mere fact that a network of secret passages could lay disguised within the Great Keep consumed her with curiosity. How many passages were there? Did her living quarters have a secret door too?

Claire broke the silence by asking, "Do you think anyone else knows about this?"

Saffra turned to her. "If they do, they have kept the secret well."

"Des said the same thing." Claire's eyes danced. "I suppose that's why they're secret. But, enough talk! Shall we?" She held forth a lamp, illuminating the blackened doorway before plunging herself into the darkness. Saffra and Desaree exchanged a final glance before following.

The stairway was narrow, forcing them to go one before the other. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves in a small chamber with three different hallways leading away into darkness. "I think we need more light," Saffra said, examining the little room. "Dagar," she muttered, holding her hand forward. A silvery orb appeared, lighting the room more brilliantly than the lamp. She released it to follow in their wake.

The room was rather plain, and seemingly forgotten in time, evidenced by the thick layer of dust on the ground. Saffra thought of all the critters that might live in a place like this and shuddered. A little squeak caught her attention, faint like a mouse's. Perhaps she had imagined it. Still, she glanced about the shadowy corners looking for a pair of eyes. What was this place?

A musky scent permeated the air. Saffra inhaled deeply, as if trying to glean answers through smell alone.

Before long, Claire explained that she had taken the middle hallway option, which had led her on an adventure. "If you follow it long enough, you'll find yourself in a maze of passages. That's when I got lost."

"You did not think to follow your own footsteps?" Desaree asked. Saffra grinned, amused as Claire's eyes widened then narrowed. Clearly, she had not thought of it. "It is okay," Desaree said all too quickly. "I probably would not have thought to either. My excitement would have been too much." Then she added, "Perhaps we should take one of the other hallways?"

In the end they decided to take the hallway on the right. They stuck to their path, following its twists and turns. Sometimes there was a stairwell up or down. Some of the stairwells spiraled while others were straight. A few went down so far that they dared not take them all the way.

As they progressed, they spoke in whispers. It felt like the right thing to do in such a place. Sometimes the lack of noise created a suffocating silence that pressed in on them. Other times, they heard voices on the opposite side of the walls. One could hear entire conversations in this way.

"What is that light?!" Desaree cried, bringing their little group to a stop. By this time, they had wandered for at least an hour.

"I see it too," Saffra said.