Page 98 of Memory of Ashes

“He still wants the chrysonium?” she asked.

“Most of our people have been without powers for centuries. Some feel as though they’ve been robbed of what is rightfully theirs. If I’m right and that’s their plan, then they’ll be close to the mine by the time the scout returns. Tharos, go and slow them down, follow them, buy us some time to ready the army to march to the mine. If we can get there before them, then we can stop them.”

They readied the army and waited for the scout’s return. If he confirmed Casyl’s suspicions that Salkin had left to seize the chrysonium, they could depart immediately.

It would have been a good plan. They could have reached the mine and travelled back to the rift with it before anyone knew.

“Are there guards at the mine?” Amelia asked Casyl as they anxiously awaited the scouts’ return.

“Yes, but they’re our men. They wouldn’t question a general like Salkin. They would assume he’d been sent on orders.”

“What will you do to them?” she asked him. Casyl was as imposing as he was dangerous. He dwarfed even the tallest of fae, his muscles rippling, but it was his power that most people feared, and now that his father was gone, he had more power. If they’d defied him, they must have been desperate.

“I don’t know. We’re already fighting too many battles for us to start fighting each other.”

The scout returned with news that the human prisoners were alone, with no escort. He’d followed the tracks of the escorting army and found them heading south-east. He was going to join them until he’d seen Tharos, who’d ordered him to report back as quickly as possible.

Within minutes, the army was ready to leave. They took only the cavalry, allowing them to travel faster.

As they approached the mine, they could see no sign of Salkin and his men. The escorting force comprised one hundred warriors. They would have been visible or left obvious tracks if they’d arrived before them.

“Where are the guards?” Casyl asked, dismounting.

She followed him into the mine cautiously, and the ground began to tremble beneath her feet, reminding her that she’d nearly died there twice. She looked to Casyl to see if he was thinking the same thing and found his eyes on her.

“Are you alright?” he asked. The rippling blue of his irises echoed the mineral veins, pulsing with light.

What was making the crystal glow like that?

She nodded. As long as they weren’t in there too long. The memories and the darkness exacerbated her claustrophobia.

Their path was lit by chrysonium sconces once used to guide the workers. Elthar and Eleandor observed them as they made their way down the tunnels.

The deeper they went, the more bodies they encountered.

Miners who’d been left to die now joined the skeletal remains that were scattered throughout the tunnels.

She covered her mouth with her arm. The stench of decay tinged the air.

They came to one of the large cave chambers where the chrysonium’s iridescent blue streaks glistened in the rock.

Elthar drifted over to the wall and placed his fingers against it, tracing the blue streaks as they glowed brighter. He was transfixed.

“Elthar,” Casyl called to him. He didn’t reply.

Casyl stilled, staring at Elthar.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“It’s the Lifesource,” a voice from behind her said. Eleandor had walked over to them. “Like calls to like,” Eleandor called more loudly. This time Elthar turned towards him. “Look.” He pointed towards the piles of skeletal remains in the cave.

“I hadn’t even noticed them,” Elthar said. “The Lifesource… it called to me. Who were they?”

“They’re ancient remains,” Amelia said.

Their eyes followed her every move as she rummaged through the pile of skeletons to find a horned skull.

A strangled noise escaped Elthar’s mouth.