Witching Time (The Wild Hunt #14) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,56

seen it, and we’d go from there.

We reached the slope past the pumpkin patch that led up to a mesa overlooking the farm, about twenty feet high.

“That’s a good vantage point,” I said, nodding up at the top of the slope.

“I suppose, but…there’s something odd about this hill.” Kipa looked around. He pointed to a large flat boulder. “That’s the last place I saw the arrow. It was pointing at the slope.”

I frowned. Kipa and I headed for the steep hill. The mound was about thirty yards long, and extraordinarily symmetrical.

“You’re right. Come on, walk around this with me,” I said.

As we circled the mesa, it became obvious that it wasn’t a natural formation. Once we came full circle, I was gazing at the face of the hillock when the moon broke through the clouds and a beam shot down on the dirt face. All of a sudden, I saw a glint—something sparkling about seven feet up the cliff.

“What’s that?” I pointed to the shimmer.

Kipa frowned. “I don’t know, let me look.” He motioned for one of his men to boost him up. He examined the surface and a moment later there was a loud click.

A doorway opened at the base of the hill.

“I think we just found Aida,” I whispered.

Chapter Twelve

We moved into the chamber. Kipa went first, followed by two of the guards. I came after that, and behind me, the other guards. There was a silent hush as we entered the chamber. We were barely inside when light flooded the room.

I blinked, jumping as the glare bombarded my eyes.

Kipa drew his dagger and his men immediately went into battle stance, drawing their own blades as well. They fanned out so that I was in the center, protected on all sides. After a moment, Kipa grunted, “Stand down,” and the men relaxed into a guarded but casual stance.

I drew a slow breath, peeking between the SuVahta.

We appeared to be in an actual room, not a cavern. “I have a feeling they created the hill to cover this up,” I said.

“I think you’re right. It seems that we’ve found the temple to Reyas,” Kipa said. He stepped aside so I could join him.

The room was about twelve feet tall, which meant there was some eight feet of dirt overhead. I looked around the rest of the room. A statue against the back wall reminded me of a cross between Dionysus and a scarecrow. It was disconcerting, creepy even, and I tried to shake the feeling that it was watching us. A long, low bench rested in front of it, and on the bench were the remains of a massive pillar candle, a hand sickle with a bone hilt, what looked like an offering bowl, and flowers so dusty and dried that they looked like they’d disintegrate if I so much as touched them with the tip of my finger.

“Altar table,” I whispered. “And yes, that has to be a statue of Reyas.”

Kipa glanced around. “I don’t think we’re going to find any traps in here. They went to great lengths to hide this place. Be cautious, but go ahead and start looking around.”

“How is this room lit?” I asked.

Kipa frowned, heading over to a panel on the wall. He examined it. “Motion sensor, I think. When we entered, it triggered the sensor and the light came on. This is probably wired into one of the outbuildings through underground cables.”

I began to search the room. There were cobwebs and spiderwebs everywhere, but as Kipa had said, it didn’t look like anything was boobytrapped. A bookcase sat against one side of the long, narrow room, and there were built-in counters, while a sink and a stove flanked another wall. The other end of the room contained a sofa, a rocking chair, a coffee table, and a rug. The room was probably forty feet long by ten feet wide and made me think of a trailer, though the walls were made of concrete. I examined the bookcase. The shelves were filled with books on magic and gardening, herbs and spell craft.

“I wonder if this started out as a bunker—but then, back in the 1970s and 1980s, tensions between countries had defused a lot. Nope, I think they built this temple for Reyas but wanted it kept under wraps. I wonder why.” I paused, pulling out a copy of an alchemical journal that looked familiar. “Hmm, this book was banned by the magical guilds over twenty years ago. It deals with death magic,