Chapter Two

 

Declan pulled on the heavy packs with his gear and stepped outside of the transport craft. Using his comm, he enabled the cloaking on the ship and turned to look at the incredible view of the Kedarnath Mountain in the distance and the temple to the Hindu Lord Shiva at the bottom.

Though it was dark and cold, Declan had decided to go ahead and begin his search, unwilling to wait until morning. His energy vibrated through him with such urgency and nervousness, Declan knew he’d never get to sleep anyway and decided to take a cursory look around.

Knowing that the flowers wouldn’t be near the traditional mountain paths used by climbers or religious pilgrims, he plotted a course to the less traveled areas of the mountain. Declan knew it was the hardest to access and had made sure to pack his climbing gear.

He may be uniquely invigorated by the strange energy coursing through him, but Declan wasn’t dumb enough to try a climb in the middle of the night on an unknown mountain. He convinced himself he was just going to get a look around then build a camp or head back to the ship until morning.

He’d only been walking for a few minutes before Declan realized that he felt like he was being led somewhere by his energy. He stopped mid-stride and looked around the area, sending his power out in a wide path. When it returned, he was struck by the riotous emotions weaved within the strands of his energy.

“What the hell?” Declan whispered as he looked around for the source of the powerful emotions.

He allowed the strange energy to pull him toward a massive crevice near the east side of the mountain and knelt at the edge, trying to see into the deep darkness below. Declan was shocked at the intensity of the emotions pouring from the black depths and the way they immediately intertwined with his energy.

Declan moved back from the edge, knowing that even with his enhanced vision he couldn’t see anything in the yawning crevice. He needed a break from the overwhelming emotions roaring through his energy, and he moved back until they lessened enough for him to think more clearly.

Going down to one knee, Declan stared at the edge as his mind raced with ideas on what and who he might be sensing in the depths of the mountain.

“It can’t be a hidden pyramid. The Xaratia would have welcomed us by now,” Declan’s beast, Gavidar stated.

“Yeah, but what the hell else has that kind of power?” Declan wondered aloud.

“Tread carefully, my friend. The threads of death are just as strong as those of hope, love, and fear,” Gavidar warned.

Declan didn’t need the warning, there was no ignoring the strength of death pulsing through the strange energy below. It throbbed with a purpose he’d never felt before and wondered how it was so effortlessly merging with and shadowing his own.

“Can you stop it from sifting us?” Declan asked his beast.

“I can do nothing against it. It’s more powerful than I’ve ever encountered. Except with Tristan. We should leave. Now,” Gavidar warned, a thread of fear escaping as he spoke in Declan’s mind.

Declan shook off his beast’s excessive concern. There was nothing in the energy surrounding them that frightened him even if the traces of death were prevalent in it. He felt no threat from the energy that bobbed and weaved with his own in a playful way that almost made him smile.

Shrugging off Gavidar’s hiss of warning, Declan took a few more steps towards the edge. He immediately felt the physical pull of the energy coming from the ravine and stumbled back from the intensity.

He chuckled at his own sudden fear, shaking his head at the thoughts that had run through his mind of being pulled into the darkness to his death. Lured by the enticing and playful energy dancing with his own.

Are there sirens in the Hindu religion, he wondered with a shake of his head at his own paranoia.

“Do you really want to find out by taking a header into a crevice you can’t even see into?” Gavidar snapped in his mind.

Declan was surprised by the fear he felt from his beast, and he turned back towards the ship, keeping his pace as normal as possible. Hiking a mountain had never been so hard as the foreign energy lashed around his legs making every step more difficult to take.

He was beginning to worry if they’d make it when he saw the giant rock he’d hidden the ship behind. Pulling out his comm, Declan disabled the cloak and growled at the power of the energy dragging him down like a ton of weight.

By the time he reached the open hatch, Declan was forced to crawl the remaining few feet to the door and flopped inside.

“What the fuck?” Declan whispered as the energy disappeared the moment the transport door slid shut behind him.

He lay on the floor for a moment to catch his breath as his mind raced with what could be within the crevice in the mountain. Rolling to his knees, Declan stood and headed to the kitchen as he pulled out his comm.

Typically he would have contacted one of his brothers to help him figure out what was going on, but Declan wasn’t even sure how to ask or what to ask for.

“There has to be something about this mountain. A myth or legend not associated with the flower I’m looking for. Something else exists here,” Declan whispered to himself.

He grabbed a cup of coffee and began a search on his comm for anything unusual about the mountain that Dante hadn’t told him. By the time the sun was rising, Declan was more confused than when he started and convinced he’d imagined the strange energy that had pulled at him.

With a tired sigh, Declan put his comm in his pocket and headed toward the door to the transport. He picked up the packs he’d left there the night before and pulled them over his shoulders as he stifled a yawn.

“Let’s try this again,” Declan muttered as he hit the button on the door and walked into the early morning light.

The biting cold hit him first, and Declan braced himself against the chill as he looked around the mountain and waited for the pull of energy to assault him. After several minutes of nothing, he chuckled at his own idiocy and headed back towards the crevice he’d discovered the night before.

It didn’t take long before Declan could feel a strange energy tentatively reach out to him and he stopped to look around the mountain. Declan was expecting to see someone, but the barren, higher elevation where he’d landed the transport enabled him to see pretty far, and he was definitely alone.

He sent his own energy out in a subtle wave and was stunned at the fear that ran through him when it came back. The strange strands intertwining with his, pulsed with apprehension and Declan felt an urgency to find where it was coming from.

He took off at a comfortable jog across the mountain to where he’d seen the crevice the night before and felt the energy increase in strength the closer he got to the gap in the mountain.

Declan slowed his pace, unsure where exactly the crevice was and unwilling to run right into it. He was pretty surprised at how the new energy shook with a warning before he reached it, preventing him from accidentally stumbling into the darkness below.

“What are you?” Declan whispered as he knelt at the edge and stared into the inky blackness below.

“Who is a better question,” Gavidar interjected, interrupting Declan’s thoughts.

“You think someone fell down there?” Declan asked aloud, wondering if it was possible.

“I think whatever is down there was intentionally put there. We should leave this alone,” Gavidar argued.

“Is anyone down there?” Declan shouted into the vast chasm.

Not even an echo broke the silence around him, and Declan shook his head at his own stupidity.

Of course, no one could survive a fall into something like that. There’s no telling how deep it goes down, he thought.

“Is anyone there?” Declan couldn’t stop himself from trying one more time even though he felt like an idiot for doing it.

He stood and shook off the energy that pulled at him more gently than it had the night before.

I don’t have time for this, Declan thought as he walked away.

He didn’t get far before the fear and terror he could feel in the energy drove him back to the hole in the mountain. Declan sighed as he pulled off one of his packs and grabbed his climbing gear.

“You can’t be serious! There will be no flower growing in there, and you have no idea how deep it goes!” Gavidar argued, his voice shaking with concern.

“Something is in there, and we’re meant to find it. I have to know where the energy is coming from and what it is. It could lead us to the flower we’re looking for,” Declan muttered as he tied his ropes and readied for the climb down.

Hope and fear skittered down his spine the moment he pulled himself over the edge and hung from the rope. Declan wasn’t sure if it was his or the energy that danced with his own but he was determined to find out.

He rappelled down about 20 feet before Declan stopped his descent and grabbed a light stick he’d put in his mouth before leaving the surface. Declan shook it and let it drop from his hand. He whistled at how far it went before he could see it glowing on a rocky floor beneath him.

Something was nagging at the back of his mind, but Declan pushed it aside as he estimated the length of his rope versus how far it was to the ground below. Figuring he had a few feet to spare, Declan began to rappel down again.

It wasn’t long before he cursed at the 16-foot drop he was going to have to make to reach the bottom of the crevice. Declan wasn’t concerned about being injured, he’d been through more significant jumps, but not knowing how he was going to get back to the rope and up to the surface bothered him.

Although a pretty tall guy, Declan didn’t think he’d be able to jump the 16 feet to catch the dangling rope even if the climb back up would be easy. He looked back up at the sunlight that barely entered through the unusually shaped crevice and felt the apprehension in the energy that surrounded him like a warm blanket.

Declan looked back down and saw the different rock formations beneath him and grinned at the answer he was looking for. He used his hands to climb down the rope until it was gone then quickly glanced beneath him before he let go.

He was more than a little happy when his feet landed solidly on a rock directly below the rope. Declan pulled out a light stone and held it up, turning in a circle to view the area near the line. He sighed in relief when he realized he’d been right and could use the rocks to propel himself upward to the rope.

Confident that he could get back out and wouldn’t have to call his brothers to save his ass, Declan turned to the rest of the area. Even with the highly illuminating qualities of the light stone, he could barely see twenty feet in front of him.

It’s like the darkness is sucking the life out of the light, Declan thought then shook off his creepy thoughts.

He quickly climbed down the rest of the rocks to what he figured was the floor and followed what appeared to be a carved out tunnel or hallway. Declan had gone another 20 feet before he sucked in a breath at the drawings that were painted on the walls.

This is definitely Hindu, Declan thought, having seen the same style of paintings when he looked up the information on the area and Kedarnath Temple. But how the hell did someone get down here and back out?

He was convinced there had to be another entrance to this underground lair and felt compelled to continue further down the tunnel. The drawings became more colorful and elaborate the longer Declan went, and the light stone was either grower dimmer or the darkness was genuinely eating the light because it became more difficult to see in front of him.

Just when he was beginning to wonder if he was going to get lost in the depths of the mountain, Declan swore he saw a flicker of something in the distance ahead. Keeping his eyes trained in front of him, Declan placed a hand on the wall and used it to guide him forward in the increasingly darkening tunnel.

“Pay attention to the walls!” Gavidar hissed in his mind.

Declan stopped short and turned to the walls to see what his beast was talking about. He was surprised to see what appeared to be a beautiful woman engaged in battle with a group of hideous creatures.

“It looks like one of those stories in the books we saw the other night. The , I think,” Declan replied, again moving forward in the tunnel.

He didn’t want to admit that the scenes on the walls were speaking to him. Declan could feel the energy vibrating through him as his hand skimmed across the wall as he went. It only compelled him to go further and find out the source of the strange feelings that caused goosebumps to spring up on his arms.

“Are you paying attention at all? The woman dies in battle with these creatures every single night, only to be brought back to life in the morning,” Gavidar whispered in horror.

Declan ignored his beast, having already felt the story in his energy while the pictures seemed to come to life around him. The scenes were acted out in dramatic detail but only in his peripheral vision. The images stopped moving the moment he turned to look at the drawings on either side of him or if he took his hand off the wall.

The energy relayed all of the same riotous emotions he’d felt the evening before, but this time he understood what it meant. He’d come to the crevice during the woman’s nightly battle with the creatures, and instead of coming to help her, he’d run away.

I’m not running anywhere this time, Declan promised himself and the energy that was rapidly intertwining with his own.

Declan knew it sounded crazy to think that some poor woman was cursed to die in battle every night only to be resurrected in the morning. But he couldn’t deny the energy that permeated the place and the truth of the story coming to life on either side of him as he continued down the tunnel.

“We should leave. None of this feels right. I don’t think we’re meant to be here. I don’t think anyone is meant to be here,” Gavidar hissed at him.

Declan was ignoring his beast as more battle scenes played out around him while the energy provided the emotions that went with the story being shown. He was surprised at the fierceness and skill displayed by the female warrior and captivated by her beauty as she fought the hideous horde that didn’t stop coming at her.

“Why, baby? Who would curse you this way? What could you have done to deserve this?” Declan whispered.

He stopped and turned to look at the drawing that didn’t seem to do justice to the woman’s beauty and grace. His fingers gently traced the delicate features of her face before the energy compelled him to continue down the tunnel.

This time, he placed his hands on both sides and watched the battle culminate in the woman becoming overwhelmed by the horde, their little cuts and slashes finally wearing down the warrior until she fell.

Declan stopped and clenched his fists as the largest creature stood above the still struggling warrior and buried his sword in her chest before twisting the blade. His breath caught in his throat as he closed his eyes and saw her die.

“No more,” Declan growled in anger and fear for the brave woman who’d stood her ground defiantly to the end.

“We cannot interfere! This is not our fight!” Gavidar snapped in his mind.

Declan growled and began to run, keeping his hands against the wall so he could fast forward the story being told to him. He saw the warrior’s dead body kicked and beaten before the horde disappeared back into the shadows.

Come morning, as the sun began to peek over the horizon, a spark of white light struck the warrior. Moments later, a wisp of darkness hit her, and the woman sat up and patted herself down to check her injuries.

Declan seemed to follow her down the tunnel as she pulled herself to her feet and stumbled forward, one hand clutching her chest where the sword had ripped through her delicate skin only hours earlier.

“Do not!” Gavidar warned as Declan ran forward and entered a brightly lit, circular chamber.

Declan looked around in disbelief at the battlefield he’d just witnessed in his mind. He was immediately drawn to the red that appeared to be stained in the rock in the floor and felt sick to his stomach at the proof of the warrior’s nightly sacrifice.

He turned to look at the massive chamber and was stunned that the walls appeared to be lit by some internal source that he couldn’t see. Four tunnels spanned out from the center room, one he’d come down to get here, one he knew the daemons came from in story and the other two were used by the warrior.

Declan took one more look at the tunnels and began running through the one he’d seen the woman disappear down in his visions. He ignored the drawings on the wall, intent only on finding the injured warrior he believed was still there.

The tunnel opened up, and Declan had to stop himself from careening headlong into a deep, clear pool in a well-lit chamber. He looked around the small room and was more disappointed than he cared to admit when he found it empty.

“Fool! She can’t be alive! It’s myth and legend!” Gavidar boomed in his mind.

Declan wasn’t fooled by his beast’s bravado, he’d felt the thread of fear in Gavidar as he ran down the tunnel and knew his beast had also expected to see the woman appear.

“At one time, everything not understood was considered myth and legend. I’m convinced of nothing yet,” Declan muttered as he retraced his steps back to the battlefield chamber and took the other tunnel.

He walked this one more sedately, no longer expecting to see the beautiful warrior around any corner. The riotous emotions that had plagued him since finding the crevice were gone, and only residual threads of energy still danced with his own.

Declan kept his hands off the walls this time, needing a break from the waves of emotions that had plagued him since he’d first found the crevice. He didn’t even bother to look at the intricate drawings this time, not wanting to see any more stories until he could find the woman. Or at least where she was buried.

He didn’t want to admit that he felt stupid now thinking that the woman may not only be alive but somehow trapped down here and in need of his help. Declan knew the drawings, and even this cave were tens of thousands of years old, and it was impossible to believe the warrior could still be alive.

No matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise, Declan couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d felt her. Her emotions and her spirit. Not only the night before, when he assumed the woman had been in the midst of battle but on the way back here this morning. A part of him was glad that it wasn’t real, but another part of him couldn’t stop wondering what had happened to the exceptional female warrior and if she had ever found peace.

“Look out!” Gavidar roared in Declan’s head.

Declan was so wrapped in his own thoughts he didn’t see the tunnel opening up in front of him or the end of the long staff that expertly knocked his legs out from under him. He felt the crack of the weapon on the back of his head seconds before he lost consciousness.