They passed the better part of the day this way, the trapped druids silently telling Galdus and Deirdre their stories right in front of the guards who stayed to mock them — and to keep an eye on Deirdre, whom they knew would still have powers, having only recently left the natural world to step down into this hard man-made stone one.

On into the night the guards stayed. And halfway into the next day. And then finally, at long last, the guards were called away.

The man who conveyed their summons came very close to the door of the room.

Maaike was closest to him, so she stood up and made a pretense of appealing to this guard for their release while really all he was doing was touching the man's finger so that she could hear the man's surface thoughts. Which she relayed to the rest of them, of course.

“That druidess Deirdre’s traveling companion was foolish tae specify a day and half till he would leave. He seems rather fond o her, sae this is assuredly the time when her powers run out."

The guard remembered a scene in a large reception hall within this underground castle, festooned with tapestries and animal skins and furnished with six large chairs where the lairds held court for all the people in this settlement and in a much smaller version of Port Patrick. The messenger remembered Talorac in this Hall, smiling, surrounded by people he hoped to make allies. The man didn't know whether this alliance would come into being. He was ambivalent on it, himself, thinking on the one hand the Gaels should let the Picts wear themselves out taking the brunt of the Roman attacks, while on the other hand getting involved now might indeed put an end to the Roman threat.…

"Soon, Talorac will break his peace with these people and come tae yer rescue," said Bahar.

"Aye," said Kael. "Now is the time tae make yer move, as soon as these men move past where they sense us and before they reach the room where Talorac happily anticipates his alliance."

Impatient to be getting on with it and swelled with pride that they were addressing her, Deirdre moved toward the door.

But Galdus stopped her, as she half expected him to.

"They have the right o it. Wait till the guards move out of their puny hearing range. Wait, lass."

So Deirdre waited. And waited. And waited, all while her heart beat erratically in fear of them seizing Talorac and…

"We will not let it come tae that," Galdus and half the other druids said in her mind at the same time.

"Verra well," said Galdus at long last. "Let me talk with the door."

Deirdre took Galdus off her belt and out of his scabbard, exposing the cold jagged metal of the dagger with its animal curlicue grooves in patterns similar to the woad decorations that still covered her body. Gingerly lest lightning fly out — which had happened before — she reached out and placed him against the solid oak door of their small stone underground cell that made the eight of them — nine if you included Galdus — crowd against each other. Which was nice in a way, because it was cold in here.

"Pretty oak," Galdus cooed to the door, “the iron lock and hinges that hold ye tae this stone, they cause ye great pain. I can feel it. I will release ye from them, but ye must help me. Slough off some o yer moisture, just a bit, and I wull make them rust away from ye. Och, given enough time they will rust away on their own, aye. Howsoever, this will take sae much time. Centuries must pass before ye gain yer freedom from them in the natural course o things. I can ease yer pain this day..."

His comments reminded Deirdre of Talorac’s brooch keys.

"He has withheld the best versions from ye.”

Galdus had waited until now to tell her, severely irritating her.

"Dinna Fash,” he said to only her. “I could na tell ye sooner o his deception, lest ye become overly annoyed with him and leave him behind. I desire for his alliance with the Gaels tae succeed, and so I kept it from ye long enough tae arrive here. Now I perceive ye hae formed yer own connection with the young lad, aye?"

"Nay!" Deirdre yelled at Galdus in her mind, but as soon as she did so, she knew it was a lie, and this infuriated her all the more.

Galdus chuckled even as he continued to appeal to the door to release its moisture.

"So ye dinna care about getting into that secret room?" Deirdre asked Galdus out loud in a huff.

Galdus chastised her for this lapse in judgment immediately. "Hush, lass."

All nine of them listened for any sign that the guards had heard and would be coming back. Deirdre thought she heard them pause for a moment, and her heart raced. But then some distant chuckles made their way down the long stone halls, and the guards moved away again joking among themselves.

"Let them dream o getting intae a secret room doon here, for all the good it will do them."

"Aye, I almost feel sorry for them."

"I dae as well, almost."

This was followed by more laughter as the guards continued to move away, until even Galdus’s heightened hearing could no longer get the sound, and Deirdre knew the guards were away and would bother her no more.

Through Galdus, she felt the door come off its hinges and lock, and she stepped forward while Galdus held the door so all could exit, then back so Galdus could set the door down inside the cell.

“Aye, they likely wull burn ye now, but that will quickly be over, unlike the pain o the hard cold metal…”

With the sigh of wood resting against stone, the door resigned itself to its fate. It had been promised release from pain, and it would get early decay. For this betrayal by omission of detail, Deirdre felt a tinge of guilt on behalf of Galdus, who never felt any. But done was done.

"O course I want tae get intae the room with the puzzle stone door," Galdus whispered into all their minds even as he had Deirdre hold him to the freed door so he could hide it. "But I can make the copies Talorac gave ye work, lass. Never fear when I am near."

She saw for the first time how much of a hold her best friend had over her, letting him keep secrets without her resenting it.

But his presence was comforting.