Shifting Stars by Gary Stringer (best fiction books of all time txt) 📗

the object of her secret language – but she gave him the gist of what they said. In concert with her photos of Ulvarius’ drawings, they agreed on a place to start, although they still weren’t sure which side of the lake they were supposed to be on. Decision made, Jett felt they ought to share at least some of their plan with whoever was in charge of the local community.

That person turned out to be a lady called Solana, who the locals acknowledged as Community Leader. It was an unofficial post. Unlike somewhere like Gaggleswick, New Quernhow wasn’t yet large enough to have a local government. She was simply the first resident here, having been involved in the original petition to form this settlement. As such, she knew all the right contacts if there were any issues the residents wished to address.

Cat and Jett explained, in broad terms, that they were in possession of certain documents that suggested there might be something buried underneath New Quernhow that predated even Ulvarius’ reign of terror. The area they were intending to begin excavation was well away from any buildings in the fledgeling town, but as a courtesy, they felt they ought to ask permission before starting work.

“What exactly do you hope to find?” Solana asked.

Jett opened his mouth, but seeing Cat shake her head, slightly, he let her jump in with, “I’m sorry, but we’d prefer to keep that to ourselves for now, if you don’t mind.”

If she was right and there was such a repository here, the place would have to be protected and secured. The last thing she wanted was for a crowd to burst into the place and potentially destroy what they found. Besides, knowledge could be dangerous.

Accepting her wish to keep the details confidential, Solana agreed, “Well, whatever it is, I wish you luck. It would certainly be nice if this place could be known for something other than a three-hundred-year-old massacre. And the least said about the so-called hauntings, the better.”

“Hauntings?” Jett wondered.

Solara explained about the rumours that had begun to circulate, but Cat wasn’t worried.

“There are plenty of undead around where I live,” she said. “They don’t bother me anymore.”

“Besides,” Jett put in, “the rumours are probably just that: rumours, and we all know how ridiculous they can be, eh, Cat?” he added with a wink.

Cat gave him a playful shove for his trouble.

*****

Returning to their chosen site, Cat began to use her earthshaper magic to gently tease the ground apart. At the same time, Jett gathered some local stones and placed them in a large ring around the area, which Cat grew into walls to keep people and animals out. Returning her focus to the ground, she took her time, peeling back a layer at a time, not wanting to destroy any vital clues that Jett’s expert eye might spot.

After a few hours, the daylight began to fade, and they decided to leave their work for the night. The village didn’t have any lodging houses, but Solara managed to find a couple of local families who were willing to take them in.

The painstaking process of digging continued for five days until at last, Jett shouted, “Stop! I think I see something!”

Crouching down, he moved some more soil aside with his bare hands so he could feel what he thought his eyes had seen: stone. It wasn’t just compressed earth, but a stone slab, and given the way it curved, there was no question – it was the roof of an artificially constructed tunnel heading directly towards the lake.

“Of course!” Cat cried. “That’s why he did it! That’s why Ulvarius killed all those people in that particular way and formed the Lake of Tears in that spot.”

Jett caught on saying. “You think, the repository is—”

“—right under the lake!”

In his journal, which Cat conceded was hardly unequivocal evidence, Ulvarius had been quite clear that he had found the lost repository he was looking for. Of course, he could have been lying, but if so, since it was his own private journal, he would only have been lying to himself. Again, the idea that the tyrant might have been self-delusional was far from unreasonable, but if he was going to lie to himself about finding it, why admit that he had been unable to get inside?

“You’re right,” Jett said, “it makes sense. An artificial lake with no runoff would naturally accumulate all kinds of silt and soil and debris to cover anything that might lay beneath.”

Cat nodded. She also knew that, according to reports from periods of drought when the water level was lower, the lake was filled with the skeletal remains of Ulvarius’ victims.

“Not exactly the kind of place that makes you think, ‘Let’s go skinny dipping,’ is it?” Cat remarked.

Chapter 22

“Now,” Jett said, “a responsible archaeologist would excavate this entire site to try and find the original entrance.”

“We could do that,” Catriona agreed, nodding. “Then again, I do have stoneshaper magic.”

“So, you could carefully part the stone and we could levitate down into the tunnel through the roof.”

Cat made a rude noise. “Levitate? So undignified. I’ll use my Windy Steps, thank you. But your point still stands.”

“Well, what are you waiting for,” her wizard friend asked with a cheeky grin, “a responsible archaeologist?”

“Don’t know any, I’m afraid,” Cat grinned back.

“Me, neither.”

Catriona did as he had suggested and a moment later, they were inside the ancient tunnel.

“Make yourself useful,” she said, “and make us some light.”

He did as she asked, illuminating their surroundings just enough for them to see where they were putting their feet, while keeping the area beyond in shadow. If they found what they were looking for, the contents could be sensitive to light, and he didn’t want to risk causing damage. On the other hand, if they couldn’t see properly, they could do even more damage by blundering into things or stepping on something delicate.

In keeping with Catriona’s theory, they followed the tunnel, slowly and carefully in the direction of the