Jayne Castle [Jayne Ann Krentz] (26 page)

Kalena's firegel lamp faded and winked out. The thick darkness reached out to engulf her.

Fear swept through her. She dropped the lamp, whirled, and ran back toward the lights of the pool

room. But the tunnel darkness seemed to be pursuing her. The last of the lamps that had lit the exit tunnel

died just as she reached the pool room.

Kalena swung around, one hand raised instinctively as if she could ward off the blackness that roiled in

the tunnel. She stared in horror at the ominous darkness that was encroaching into the pool cavern. All

the passageways were filled with thick shadows. It was as if a black mist was making its way through all

the corridors, seeking to fill the main chamber. A lamp or two on the cavern wall faded. The shadows

crept farther into the room.

Kalena grabbed another lamp off the stony wall and forced herself to start toward the tunnel. She must

not become disoriented and forget which tunnel was the exit. She thought she might be able to use the

lamps along the walls of the tunnel to guide herself out, even though they were now dark. Only the exit

tunnel had been strung with lamps, and the lampholders had been hung at about shoulder height. If she

crept through the darkness finding one lamp after another by touch, she should be reasonably protected

from taking a wrong turn somewhere in the tunnel.

She would not take more than three paces unless her groping fingers could find the reassuring presence

of a firegel holder, Kalena decided as she advanced once again toward the tunnel opening.

It took a tremendous amount of willpower to walk forward into the thick darkness. Already the lamp

she held was fading. It wouldn't last more than another few steps. Only the knowledge that she couldn't

stay behind to be trapped in the pool cavern as all light gradually faded kept Kalena going. Her lamp

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grew dimmer as she edged toward the tunnel wall and put her hand on the first of the darkened lamps.

Her fingers had barely touched the metal holder when the lamp she was holding in front of her glowed

briefly and died. Darkness flowed over her.

Kalena screamed. She knew now that her imagination had not been playing tricks on her. This was no

natural darkness. It was a tangible thing that writhed around her, seeking to trap her in its coils. She could

not go any farther into the tunnel. She was notfacing mere shadow, but a total absence of light. Kalena

knew beyond any doubt that this was a sample of the darkness that filled the void at the farthest, darkest

end of the Spectrum. There was no promise of dawn beyond these palpable depths. If she stepped into

them she would be swallowed up forever.

Tendrils of the thick darkness coiled around her. She could feel an absolute cold touching her arm and

she jerked back in an attempt to avoid it. The darkened lamp she had been holding fell to the rocky floor,

the clanging sound jarring her senses.

The pools! She had to get back to the pools. The bubbling waters in the main cave were said to be

under the influence of the Light Key. They were her only hope against this darkness.

Whirling, Kalena stumbled back toward the pool cavern. She could barely make out the light that still

ringed the bubbling waters, but any light, no matter how dim, was a fierce beacon compared to the

endless, swirling blackness that threatened her in the tunnel. Quickly, she groped her way toward the faint

glow.

Kalena felt another tendril of fathomless cold touching her leg just as she reached the main cavern. It

pulled at her as if it would stop her from reaching the relative safety of the pools. She tripped and

sprawled painfully on the hard stone floor of the main cave. Terrified of being yanked back into the

darkness by the writhing tendril, she rolled frantically onto her stomach, lurched to her feet and reached

the edge of the nearest pool. When she looked back, she saw no sign of any curling tendril of chilled

darkness, but the shadows seemed to have crept farther into the main room. Two more lamps along the

walls went out.

Kalena edged closer to the water in the pool behind her. Shaking, she knelt and dipped her hand into the

hot liquid. As soon as her fingers touched the water she knew she was right. These pools were her only

protection from the cold darkness that was radiating toward her down the tunnels. She didn't understand

how she could be so certain, but she wasn't about to ask questions.

She got to her feet, took yet another lamp from the wall, and threaded her way between the assortment

of small and large pools until she was at the central and largest of the springs. She couldonly hope that the

smaller pools circling it would act as a barrier against the darkness that approached. Her last resort

would be to get into the deepest pool and immerse herself in the protection of the water. She didn't want

to think about what she would do if even that failed, but a part of her knew she would choose to drown

in this clean, warm water before she would surrender to the cold blackness.

Kalena crouched beside her chosen pool, her hand on the lamp, and battled the fear that threatened to

swamp her. One by one, the remaining firegel lamps flickered and died. Within moments she could see

no farther than the short distance illuminated by the lamp she held. Absolute silence filled the cavern along

with the absolute darkness. Only the tiny ring of light around Kalena remained. She waited.

She had no idea how long the wait lasted. Time ceased to have any meaning within the circle of the

black mists. But during the endless wait, the impact of fear began to fade. Perhaps maintaining a constant

state of anxiety for a long period of time was physically impossible, Kalena decided wretchedly. She only

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knew that anger and another emotion were driving out the burst of terror that had threatened to overtake

her consciousness. She couldn't name the second emotion, but it was a strengthening feeling. Kalena

clung to it.

Half expecting the lamp under her hand to die as had all the others, Kalena was mildly astonished that it

continued to burn steadily in the face of the overwhelming darkness. The large pool bubbled strongly

behind her as Kalena crouched with her back to it. She didn't understand what was happening, but she

knew she had been right to seek the shelter of the central spring.

More time passed and Kalena waited. Crouching beside the lamp, she huddled in on herself and

endured.

Eons seemed to have passed-when she first became aware of a faint lightening in the oppressive

darkness surrounding her. At first Kalena refused to believe anything had changed. She would not allow

hope to spin false fantasies in her numbed mind. And then she saw the faint flare of light in the depths of

the enveloping darkness. Slowly, she got to her feet, holding tightly to the lamp. "Kalena!"

Ridge's voice, distant but urgent, sounded from the depths of the exit tunnel. Kalena was so stricken with

relief that he called out twice more before she was able to respond.

"Ridge, I'm here in the main room! Be careful, the place is filled with pools."

In another few moments, he emerged from the tunnel. "In the names of the Stones, woman, what have

you been doing in here?" The firegel lamp he carried glowed at full power, just as though the darkness

through which he had come was a perfectly normal sort of darkness. The lamplight illuminated his

features in a golden glare that seemed to emphasize all the harsh planes and angles of his face.

The truth was that even as he emerged from the darkness, Ridge appeared to be at home in it. He

carried the lamp casually, as if he had no fear of it going out. Walking out of the tunnel, he spotted

Kalena standing beside her pool, the lamp burning at her feet. He came to a halt.

Kalena stared at him for a moment. He appeared fierce and grim and dangerous. To her desperate gaze,

he also looked absolutely wonderful. She ran toward him, skirting the frothing pools, aware that the

darkness no longer seemed so thick or fear-some.

"Ridge," she breathed as she threw herself into his arms, "I knew you would come for me. I knew it."

Now she realized it had been Ridge she had waited for in the endless darkness. Without even forming

the thought consciously, she had known he would save her from the endless night.

TEN

Ridge had suffered a gamut of emotions in the short time since he had discovered Kalena had not

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returned from the underground spa. A few of them, the ones that bordered on panic, were completely

new to him.

For the second night in a row, he found himself wondering if she had simply fled. But even as the thought

entered his mind, he didn't believe it. He knew Kalena too well now. If she decided to leave, she would

announce her intentions in a loud, clear voice—
a very
loud, clear voice. She would not sneak off in the

middle of the night. That certainty gave way to a strong dose of annoyance over the fact that she hadn't

displayed more common sense. She had stayed out much too late. This was a strange village and she had

no business loitering with strangers until all hours.

Women. Put a bunch of them together and they lost all sense of time and propriety.

But after the annoyance, Ridge suddenly found himself suffering from a nagging sense of uncertainty. It

had evolved quickly into genuine urgency which, in turn, soon bordered on the savage edge of fear. No

one knew where Kalena was. He had forced the innkeeper's wife to summon some of her friends. They

remembered Kalena having been in the pool cave, but only when Ridge talked to a rounded little blonde

named Tana did he realize that Kalena might have gotten lost in the huge caverns.

"She was still there when I left," Tana admitted. She was nervous in the presence of this stranger whose

temper was clearly on a very short leash. "I think she might have been the last to leave."

"If she left at all," Ridge had snapped, glaring at Tana's wary-eyed husband as he sought someone to

blame for the situation.

"She couldn't have gotten lost," Tana assured him quickly. "The cave is well lighted and so is the exit

passage. Perhaps she's fallen asleep in the warm waters or lost track of time."

"I'll get you a lamp if you want to take a look for yourself," Tana's husband had volunteered, anxious to

placate the grim-faced stranger.

A few minutes later, Ridge had been on his way alone to the cavern entrance. As soon as he stepped

inside he had realized that the lamps meant to light the passage weren't functioning. Not one of them. The

thought of Kalena trapped somewhere in the vast darkness had sent another jolt of fear through Ridge.

Following the string of non-glowing firegel lamps to the main pool cavern had been easy. Using his own

lamp as a guide, he made his way quickly through the passage. As soon as he rounded the last bend in

the tunnel, he had seen the faint flare of Kalena's lamp. The sight of her crouched in the small pool of light

had enraged him anew. He wanted to lash out at someone or something for having left his woman in such

a frightening situation. He knew his own sense of guilt was riding him hard. He should never have allowed

her to go to the cavern alone.

When Kalena answered his call and raced toward him, Ridge had trouble finding words for a few

minutes. He set his lamp down at his feet and crushed her to him.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through for the past hour?" he muttered into her hair.

"It couldn't have been anything compared to what I've been through. Ridge, it was the most horrifying

experience. The lamps kept going out and all the while this cold, endless darkness was snaking down the

tunnels into the pool room. I've never seen anything like that in my life."

"It's all right," he said thickly, stroking her back in an effort to reassure himself as much as her. "It's all

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right. It's all over now. Let's get out of here."

"Yes," she agreed wholeheartedly. "Let's do that, by all means." Her eyes widened as she pulled back to

look at him. "But I wonder why your lamp is still functioning. None of the ones in the tunnel worked, and

when I tried taking one from this room into the tunnel, it went out, too."

Ridge glanced around the darkened cavern as he reached down to retrieve his lamp. "I don't understand

either. There must have been something faulty in the last batch of firegel put into the lamps. But this one

works fine. Let's get moving."

"I think it was more than a bad firegel mixture," Kalena murmured as she took the hand he extended and

moved quickly beside him out of the cavern. "The shadows weren't normal. I could feel it, Ridge. When I

looked into this tunnel earlier it was like looking into the farthest, darkest end of the Spectrum."

"You've had a terrifying experience," he said gently. "Being trapped in this place would loose anyone's

imagination. But it's all right now"

She fell silent beside him, and Ridge knew she didn't appreciate being told that she had been a victim of