Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,17

Dawn came and went in a glorious blaze of color, and it wasn’t until we neared Launceston that the wind truly picked up and the rain began to fall again.

We regained human form in a rather scruffy-looking parking area in the grounds of an even scruffier-looking car rental place.

“I arranged for the use of a smallish all-wheel drive,” she said, striding toward the small collection of transportable office units and sheds, one of which had Office emblazoned across the front. “I figured it would be safer on the off chance we have to go off-road.”

I tucked my knives under my coat and followed. I wasn’t seeing anything resembling a small SUV in the immediate area, just a ton of cars and trucks.

Mo took the steps two at a time and pressed the buzzer. There was no immediate response, but the internal lights were on, so someone was obviously around. Mo tried again; this time, an internal door slammed, then footsteps echoed.

“Sorry,” a rather red-faced man in his mid-fifties said. “I was giving the SUV a final once-over. I take it you’re Mo De Montfort?”

When she nodded, he opened the door and ushered us inside. The interior space was the opposite of the rather grungy outside—modern, clean, and tidy. Once he’d gone through the details and we’d signed the paperwork, we headed outside to check the SUV for dents, scratches, and whatnot and then hit the road. I pulled my knives out and retrieved the ring. It pulsed warmly against my finger, but there was nothing to suggest it was in any way directional. Not yet anyway.

“There might not be,” Mo commented when I mentioned it. “Not until we get closer. You want to open the sandwiches? I’m feeling a mite peckish.”

I handed her one and munched on the other. The storm that had been threatening for most of the morning finally unleashed as we entered the hamlet of Bolventor, forcing Mo to slow to a crawl lest she miss the turnoff for Dozmary Pool.

As we crested the first hill of the old road, the left edge of the ruby at the heart of the coronation ring began to glow. A few seconds later, the road swept around to the left.

The ring was indicating direction.

We continued on. A triangular sign eventually appeared to indicate a small side road to the right, and the light within the ruby’s heart indicated we needed to follow it.

Mo swung onto the narrow sidetrack and then slowed even further. The wipers weren’t doing a whole lot to clear the force of the storm right now, and visibility was poor. I was not looking forward to stepping out into it, though if the sword was in the lake itself, the storm would be the least of my problems.

We crawled past a series of barely visible buildings and continued on, following what had become little more than a single farm lane. The ring’s glow intensified to the point where the whole stone shone. We were obviously getting close.

The lane ended at a lovely old farmhouse and, opposite it, barely visible in the gloom, was the dark and choppy water of a lake.

“I gather that’s Dozmary Pool?”

Mo nodded. “It’s a singularly depressing-looking place for a good part of the year. I never really understood what Vivienne saw in it; many in medieval times had considered it to be bottomless, but in truth it is little deeper than a couple of meters.”

“Is it connected to any of the larger lakes in the area?”

“I believe the marshy western edge feeds into Colliford Lake, though Vivienne doesn’t need a direct above-ground connection to move from lake to lake. There are plenty of underground watercourses she can use. Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

I shoved my phone into the glove compartment, changed my shoes for my wellies, then pulled the hood over my head and climbed out. The wind hit with the force of a hammer, driving me back a step or two before I caught my balance.

“Fuck,” I shouted to the black blur that was Mo. “Can’t we sit in the car until the storm is over?”

“The storm is the best cover we could have,” she shouted back. “Even if someone is watching the lake, they’re not going to see anything in this.”

I couldn’t see anything in this. Nothing beyond the pulsing red glow of the ring, at any rate.

I swore again and headed across to the rough old path that led down to the lake. The ground on either side of us rose,