A Battle of Blood and Stone (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 4)

“Sounds a little wishy-washy to me,” he points out.

“No matter,” I say with a wave of my hand, not wanting to engage in evasive sparring with him.

I turn slightly to look at Zaid, who is peering around the boulder to watch Pyke. I ignore Boral, and I can sense he doesn’t like I ended the conversation as he shuffles in place as if agitated.

Finally, he confirms the information I’ve wanted to hear since I learned from which direction the lava flowed. “You can follow the river to the Underworld. But the veil is on the other side of the river, and you’d need a bridge to cross it.”

I turn back to look at him, unable to hide my excitement. “That I’m sure I can do.”

Because if we defeat Micah and kill him, and I can get back into this realm using the relic, which is now set to the rip that Boral is holding, and I can cross the river with a magical bridge, then I could rip the veil there to sneak into the Underworld and rescue Zora.

Boral studies me as if he’s trying to penetrate my inner thoughts. “You and Carrick are very close,” he muses.

“So you pointed out,” I reply, not deigning to elaborate and moving a little to the right of the boulder to see if I can make out Carrick and Lucien moving across the rocky ledges or Titus sneaking among the boulders. It’s too dark for me to see details.

“Carrick would take you to the Underworld to rescue Zora,” Boral says confidently. “So why all the questions about trying to sneak in a back way?”

I pivot and turn back to Boral, taking a few steps toward him. “It’s my backup plan. In case something happens to him today.”

Understanding dawns on Boral’s face, and his voice is somber when he says, “Then I’d like to offer my services to help you sneak in if something happens to Carrick.”

“Why?” I ask, not suspiciously, but genuinely interested to know why he’d ever want to go back to the hell he’d escaped from.

“Because helping you might help bridge the relationship with my son,” he replies simply.

This doesn’t surprise me. It’s been Boral’s motivation to help us from the start. Maddox and Carrick are skeptical, and Zaid is downright disbelieving of it.

But not me.

I believe him.

“You know,” Boral says, dropping his voice as he gives a quick glance at Zaid. “I don’t hate Carrick.”

Now, this does shock me, and my chin jerks inward. Boral has shown nothing but disdain for Carrick and vice versa. I know it’s rooted in jealousy that Zaid is more loyal to Carrick now than he ever was to Boral in the centuries they were causing havoc together in this world.

Boral sees the shock on my face, then nods in understanding. “It’s true I don’t like Carrick, but I don’t hate him. He saved my son from torture.”

“Oh,” I whisper, understanding that would be something to be grateful about if Boral genuinely loves his son like he claims and as I tend to believe.

“The thought of Zaid pinned to that tree, not able to die and in pain, to punish himself for the sins I led him to…” His voice gets a little choked up, but he coughs to clear it. “Well, let’s just say I could never repay Carrick for helping him.”

I smile, but it’s sad. “I don’t think Zaid will ever forgive you.”

To my surprise, Boral chuckles. “That’s a very mortal thing to say. I have an eternity to work on him.”

I can’t help but laugh because he has a point.

“Pyke has reached the area of the cave entrance,” Zaid says over his shoulder.

That shocks me out of my conversation with Boral, and I hurry to Zaid’s side to look around the boulder.

Way in the distance, I can see the figure of Charmeine walking slowly for a few paces before turning around and pacing back the same distance. My gaze moves to the mountain, but it’s too dark to see the entrance from here. I move further around the boulder, looking up the mountain and scanning the other boulders. I can’t see Carrick, Lucien, or Titus, but I didn’t really expect to.

My gaze shifts back to Pyke, who plays the role of a forlorn, lost woman walking a beach to perfection.

How long before Micah notices her?

A rumble forms in the distance, and the ground shakes slightly under my feet. My head snaps Zaid’s way. “An earthquake.”

He shakes his head, brow furrowed into deep lines of worry. “Micah.”

CHAPTER 17

Carrick

Carrick watched Pyke slowly walk back and forth along the beach. He and Lucien clung to a narrow ledge that sat just above the cave entrance, waiting for Micah to come out.

Ready to get this over with, Carrick’s energy hummed within him. The collection and safekeeping of the Blood Stone would end all of this, and Finley would be safe.