Destined for Doon (28 page)

“So who’s our guide?” Kenna asked as she slipped the tunic over her head, the fabric muffling her words. “And please don’t say the Crypt Keeper.”

Tales from the Crypt
DVDs, chocolate-covered Oreos, and my rainbow mani-pedi kit had been sleepover staples throughout middle school. Ironically, our guide wasn’t too far off from the corpse-like Crypt Keeper puppet. “It’s Gideon.”

I placed the clothes in the dresser, closed the drawer, and turned to see Kenna frozen with one leg in her pants. “The maniac who accused us of witchcraft, murdered his own men, and tried to frame me for it? That Gideon?” Like a music box wound too tight, her voice grew higher and faster with every word.

“Gideon was under Addie’s spell, Ken. He didn’t know what he was doing.” I sank into an overstuffed chair and massaged my throbbing temples. Just thinking about what Addie’s spell did to the poor man had nausea rolling through my gut. “Have you seen him since you’ve been back?”

Kenna shook her head and pulled her leggings the rest of the way on.

“He looks horrible. Like a cancer patient or something.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. “He’s so remorseful, he’s constantly trying to help me. To prove that he’s not evil.”

“Hey, are you okay?”

I squinted to find my friend leaning over me, her brow furrowed.

“Just tired, I think.”

A knock echoed through the chamber.

“Coffee!” Kenna sang and rushed out of the room, looping her hair into a loose ponytail as she ran.

With a groan, I hoisted myself out of the chair and followed her into the sitting room. Caffeine sounded like heaven.

Kenna threw open the door to reveal princes bearing coffee and muffins. Damp-haired and smelling like soap, Jamie and Duncan filed into the room and set the breakfast items on a nearby table.

Kenna turned and shot me a scowl as she smoothed her hair. I shrugged. I didn’t know the brothers were coming up here; they must have hijacked the maid bringing our breakfast.

Jamie stuffed half of a blueberry confection into his mouth and then said, “We’re meetin’ Gideon at the catacomb entrance in half an hour.” The sight of my handsome prince dropping his veil of perfection never failed to warm my heart.

I hadn’t told Jamie we were specifically searching for an axe blessed by God and tested in righteous battle. It was a tiny lie of omission, but if I told him, he’d want to see the source of my information. And I couldn’t chance him being implicated for treason alongside me if the kingdom found out I’d traversed the forbidden ground to the witches’ cottage.

“We’d best be going. We’ve a lot of ground to cover,” Duncan said as he paused to examine the clock on the mantle. It was the first time he’d stopped moving since he’d entered the room.

Kenna stared at his back, her lips sloping into a frown.

The defeated set of her shoulders made me want to lock her and Duncan in a very small closet until they admitted their feelings to each other. For a brief moment, I considered it. There were a few dungeon cells I was familiar with that would work nicely . . . Or perhaps the hunting lodge . . . But knowing that stubborn pair, forcing them wouldn’t do a bit of good.

Abandoning my daydreams, I took Kenna’s arm and steered her toward the table. “We’ll leave
after
our coffee.”

“Ewww . . . Why does it smell like Neptune’s butt crack down here?” Kenna asked as we filed out of the staircase into a circular area with tunnels branching off in several directions. She yanked up the neckline of her tunic to cover her nose.

She was right. It smelled like a large fish had beached itself and died. Not a fan of seafood, the stench made me want to gag.

“Ye’ll get used to it,” Gideon commented as he cleared cobwebs from the mouth of a passageway with the broom he’d brought.

Jamie set one of his torches in a bracket at the bottom of the staircase. “’Tis rumored that these catacombs connect to a sea cave at the edge o’ Doon. Duncan and I lost many hours searchin’ for it when we were lads.”

“That we did.” Duncan, bringing up the rear, was the last to enter the room. “My brother must really love you, Veronica.”

I met the younger prince’s gaze. The torch he carried illuminated half of his puckish smirk, leaving the other side in deep shadow. “Why’s that?”

“Duncan . . .” Jamie warned, and as he turned I noticed his normally fluid movements were as jerky as a string-animated puppet.

“Oh, no reason,” Duncan answered, but the glint of his eye told me I was about to find out. Abruptly, he poked his head down a passage, and let out a quick shout.

Jamie jolted and stumbled back, almost dropping his torch.

Grinning like a funhouse clown, Duncan’s laughter reverberated around the room.

Kenna chuckled, but as soon as she realized she was sharing a joke with the younger prince, the smile dropped from her face and she began fiddling with the strings at the neckline of her tunic.

Jamie cursed under his breath. Tiny beads of sweat dotted
his forehead, and he was a whole shade paler than when we’d started down the stairs.

So my big, strong prince wasn’t fearless after all. Ignoring his idiotic brother, I moved to Jamie’s side.

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a rueful smile. “I hate this place.”

Lacing my fingers through his, I bumped my shoulder against his bicep. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

“Let’s get moving.” Gideon finished clearing the passage and retrieved his torch. The flames highlighted the tumorous growths on his skin and the cavernous hollows beneath his cheeks. My eyes jerked away from his ugliness as he continued. ’Tis purported there are hundreds o’ miles o’ tunnels, so we’ll tour a small quadrant this morn’ where I know some artifacts to be stashed.”

I set my teeth and forced myself to meet his gaze, ashamed by my superficial revulsion. The witch was to blame, not this broken man who’d spent his life in service to the kingdom. “Thank you, Gideon. Please lead on.”

His shoulders straightened with importance and he bobbed his head. “Aye, Yer Majesty. This way, please.”

Hand in hand, Jamie and I followed Gideon into a darkness so deep it seemed to swallow our guide’s light, cloaking him in shadow if we didn’t stay right on his tail. The caverns carried an odd, almost reverent silence. The absence of sound, broken only by the echo of our footsteps, seemed intrusive. And unwelcome.

We reached a divide, and after a brief hesitation Gideon turned to the right. The tightness of the tunnel made it impossible to walk side by side. Jamie released my hand and gestured for me to precede him. But when I glanced back, I caught a furtive movement as he tucked something into his pocket. I
turned fully and my lantern reflected on a white dash against the damp wall.

Not wanting to lose sight of Gideon, I kept walking, but asked, “What was that?”

“His security blanket.” Duncan chuckled from behind us.

“Chalk,” Jamie answered, his voice close and tight.

Relief mixed with admiration as I realized Jamie was marking our path. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Gideon. This was just his way of keeping us all safe — even his dork of a brother.

“Jamie’s been terrified of ol’ Sawney Bean since we were boys,” Duncan goaded.

Gideon took another turn, seemingly oblivious to the brother’s bickering.

I heard the quick strike of the chalk as Jamie retorted, “Aye, and I’m goin’ to fight him off with a wee piece o’ chalk.”

“Who’s Sawney Bean?” Kenna asked.

“Sawney Bean captures humans and eats them alive.” Duncan paused and then in a melodramatic tone whispered, “. . . one slow piece at a time. ’Tis rumored that between Sawney and his cannibal descendants, they’ve consumed thousands of Scotsmen. ’Tis why Jamie is afraid of the dark. Right, big brother?”

“Shut up.” Jamie’s reply held an iron edge as he marked another turn in the passage.

Despite Duncan’s teasing, it was clear something had Jamie freaked — and it wasn’t the Scottish Boogie Man. Was it the catacombs themselves or something more? Countless twists and turns later, I forgot all about Jamie’s anxieties and began to battle my own. I was so disoriented, I felt like Alice following the white rabbit. Each tunnel took us deeper into the labyrinth until I knew even strategic chalk marks wouldn’t help me find my way out.

We took a jog to the right, and the tunnel narrowed so much that the guys had to stoop to fit. Suddenly I became conscious of every breath. The very real fear that we could run out of oxygen dashed to the forefront of my thoughts. I was on the verge of hyperventilating when the tunnel opened up again. I rushed to follow Gideon into a large round chamber and sucked in a deep breath, relieved to note the air tasted cleaner here — or at least less like low tide on a hot day.

“This be the King’s Cave.” Gideon began to light torches around the room. Tunnels snaked off in every direction, but they were wider and taller than the one we’d come through. “’Tis where Robert the Bruce hid from his English enemies.”

I exchanged a pointed glance with Kenna, and then turned back to our guide. “Where do all these passages lead?”

“Unlike the way we came in, these are antechambers. Each one is a dead end and, like this room, many contain historical items o’ interest.”

Walking the perimeter of the main chamber, I passed a full suit of armor, a set of archaic wooden tools, and other seemingly random items. In less than two minutes, I could see what we were searching for wasn’t there. But a plan began to form in my mind.

Maybe I couldn’t lock Kenna and Duncan in a closet together, but perhaps I could give them a bit of alone time. I addressed the group. “I suggest we split up in teams of two. We can each take a chamber. Jamie and I will start on the far left. Kenna and Duncan, you guys start on the right. Give a shout if you find anything interesting.” I turned to see Gideon clearing the webs from the entrance I’d chosen.

“Gideon, do you mind exploring on your own?”

“Not at all, Yer Majesty.”

I thanked him, took Jamie’s hand, and we stepped into the darkness.

We followed the subtle curve of the hallway, our shadows lengthening ahead of us, and after a moment Jamie broke the silence. “I hate these caves. ’Tis too easy to get lost down here.” He swiped at a low-hanging cobweb with the torch. “Duncan was right. But not about Sawney Bean. When I was a lad, I was afraid of the dark.”

His steps slowed. I matched his pace and kept quiet, not daring to interrupt his rare moment of vulnerability.

“It was irrational, but I worried tha’ if I couldna see what was tying me to the earth, I might float right off of it.”

After a brief pause, Jamie went on in a soft tone. “My ma let me keep a candle burnin’ in my room until I fell asleep ever’ night.” His fingers twitched in mine, his next words low. “But then my da found out.”

He let out a heavy sigh and my breath caught at the shame etched on his face.

“My father was a firm believer that one should face their fears head on, so one evening he took me on a hunting trip deep into the forest, and when night fell, he left me there.”

Not sure I understood correctly, I demanded, “He left you in the forest at night? By yourself?”

“Aye.”

“How old were you?”

“Eleven and one half.”

My heart thudded in my chest. “What did you do?”

“At first, I waited. Da left to gather fire wood, and even though I could no longer hear him rustlin’ around, I figured he’d return shortly. But as the night deepened, something he’d said earlier came back to haunt me. He’d told me that as the future ruler o’ Doon, even when I felt afraid, I dinna have the luxury of giving in to that fear. I had to learn to press on despite it.”

We stopped by a stone bench and I faced my prince. The torch light cast the strong lines of his face in deep shadow, highlighting a furrow over his left brow. He looked anxious, like a part of him was still that scared little boy. I took the torch from his grasp, set it in a nearby wall bracket, and then tugged him down on the bench beside me.

“What happened then?” I prompted and took both his hands in mine.

He glanced away, his throat convulsing as he swallowed. “I slumped against a tree, hugged my knees to my chest, and cried like a babe. I’m no’ sure how long I sat there rocking back and forth, listenin’ to the animals scurry around me. But when I realized Da wasna comin’ back, I wiped my tears and got up. At first I walked aimlessly, but then I found the first notch we’d made on a tree and everything he’d taught me about markin’ my trail and followin’ the clues in the sky clicked into place.”

Jamie paused and stared down at our linked fingers before continuing. “ ’Twas nearly dawn when I found my way back to the castle. My da was waitin’ for me at the gate. He said he knew I could do it. But he couldna hide the relief in his eyes.” Jamie lifted his head and a corner of his mouth curled in an ironic smirk. “I no longer fear the dark.”

I met his steady gaze and whispered, “What do you fear?”

He hesitated, the line of his jaw tensing before his dark eyes blazed into mine. “Not being the man my father believed I could be.”

I realized then, an assumption I’d made that long-ago day we’d first arrived in Doon had been dead wrong — I’d seen how the king interacted with both his sons and presumed he favored Duncan. But it hadn’t been derision I’d seen when he looked at his eldest son. It had been expectation.