from Rashed's, so that he might have a brief span of privacy with her as she retired or when she arose. And she had agreed. Now, he hurried to her. With a bright flash, he appeared visibly in the center of her private underground chamber, frustrated that he lacked the ability to open the lid of her coffin.
"My dear," he said aloud. "You must wake up."
Edwan tried to push his consciousness back to when he'd been alive and could have at least tried to protect her. What would he have done? His thoughts had so long been trapped between the mortal and spirit world, he found it difficult to focus on anything more than the specific details of the moment at hand, let alone a time long gone.
"Teesha." He attempted using his thoughts this time, allowing his noncorporeal form to pass through the smooth lid of her coffin so that he could see her sleeping face. "Wake up."
Her eyes remained closed like a sweet child lost in sleep. Dusk was just beginning. She would awaken soon on her own, but he needed her to rise now.
Edwan drew back out of the chamber into the stone and packed-earth tunnels that Rashed had paid twelve men to dig before the warehouse was built. The job took nearly a year. The men were hired from out of town, and no one ever knew what became of them after they finished their task. The ghost tried desperately to remember any words floating about at that past time. Some areas needed wooden supports—he recalled those words—and the warrior designed a way for one of those places to cave in if intruders passed. Where was that place?
Rapid movement being one of the few gifts left to him, he concentrated upon his presence and vanished.
* * *
Leesil kept his equipment bag slung over one shoulder. He held a short torch out in front of him, but wanted his other hand completely free. Chap walked directly behind him, then Magiere, and Brenden brought up the rear, carrying the other torch. He warned both of them not to touch anything, even the walls, unless he told them it was safe.
It had been a long time since he had a reason to locate a sleeping target, and usually the job called for climbing up, not down. Keeping his attention on the task at hand, he moved slowly, examining the floor, walls, and ceiling carefully before stepping forward. He ignored Brenden's continued comments about the need for haste.
He also avoided speaking to or looking at Magiere, which wasn't difficult at this point. Their torches provided the only light source so far down and, after all, he was quite busy.
Chap growled softly, and his eyes grew brighter and even more transparent than usual.
"We're close," Magiere said. "I think."
None of them knew anything about Chap's abilities, but Leesil thought her comment made sense. He cast a glance over his shoulder at her and, in the scant light, something else caught his attention. With all the crawling about, her amulets had fallen out from inside her shirt and hung in plain sight about her neck. The topaz stone was glowing.
"Look," he said, pointing.
She glanced down and touched it in mild wonder. "It's not any warmer, just glowing."
Chap whined.
"Has it ever glowed before?" Leesil asked.
"When I fought that villager at the Vudrask River and…" She trailed off, and their eyes locked.
"Maybe you better leave it out," he said.
"We need to hurry," Brenden said in clear frustration.
The tunnel was small—barely large enough to stand in— and crudely dug. Leesil could see nothing except the walls, his feet, and a small distance ahead.
"How did they dig this tunnel under the warehouse?" Magiere asked.
"It's been a while, but I remember the construction seemed to take a long time," Brenden answered. "Perhaps the tunnel was created first and the warehouse built on top of it?"
That sounded plausible. Leesil saw overhead boards coming up.
"There are wooden supports here," he said. "Be careful passing through."
A small glint low to the floor caught his attention. He stopped, holding up a hand for the others to do the same, and crouched down for a closer look. A small wire ran across the tunnel a hand's breadth above the floor.
"Trip wire," he said. "If you look, you'll see it. Step carefully."
Such things were more of a nuisance to Leesil than an actual danger. His sharp gaze missed nothing, and he'd found his old ways coming back to him naturally, even after many years of