Chapter Seventeen
"What in the name of the goddess of magic and steam is this place?" Vincent rode into the camp, where he'd been assured that his husband would be. But all he could see was a collection of rickety huts, a fire pit and a trail leading to some caves tucked up around the corner, on the opposite side from where he rode in.
"Your message from Crown Prince Onyx expressly stated that this was not the sort of environment you'd enjoy," Morgan warned in a low voice. "Your husband is here for work, not socializing or partying, but genuine work that could benefit the people he was raised to feel responsible for."
"That's all very well and good, but if he's supposedly here working, then where is he?" Swinging his leg over his horse, Vincent dismounted, letting his reins drop to the ground. His horse was well trained and wouldn't wander. "You there," he pointed to two of his guards, "find water for the horses, while you two, he indicated the other two guards, "fan out and find out where…"
"Crown Prince Vincent? Crown Prince Vincent?"
Looking up, Vincent's eyes widened. Stumbling down the trail was his husband's man, John. But gone was the prissy man who walked as if he had a broom handle up his behind, always soberly and yet immaculately dressed. Now, as the man hurried toward him, Vincent could see his clothes were covered in dust and grime, and his shirt was torn.
"Forgive my appearance, your highness." John bowed low. "I have no idea why you're here, but it's a godsend that you've arrived when you did. I need your guards. I need them to come with me now."
There was no denying the urgency in John's words. "What's happened?" Vincent waved at his guards to follow them as he followed John back up the short hill. "Is someone injured? Have you been attacked?" That wouldn't be unheard of in such a remote area.
But John was shaking his head. "It's Crown Prince Consort Orion. He was in the caves, waiting for Ryan to come back with some ramps. They were checking out a crystal seam, you see. The earth moved. I know you won't believe me, but the earth moved, and the cave the prince was in collapsed. We're digging frantically, but we need more hands. I heard voices, so I had to come…"
"By the goddess." Vincent started to run, and as he rounded the corner, he could see the cave entrance proper. Urgent voices were coming from one side, and he moved automatically in that direction. Passing through a number of caves that were littered with debris, it didn't take long before the scale of the problem was clear. More rock walls, and where an entrance would likely be to another cave was nothing but a mass of rocks and rubble.
"Are you Ryan? Was anyone else in there?" Vincent grabbed the biggest man by the shoulder, forcing him to stop.
"No one else. Just the prince." Vincent was shocked to see tears in the man's eyes. "We've been calling out. John thought he heard a groan. But there's just so much rock to move."
"Guards, take over from these men, they need a break," Vincent ordered. "Dig as if your lives depend on it. Morgan, see to it these workers have water and break out some rations from the cart. Ryan, think man. Is there another way in. Someway with less rock between this cave and the one my husband is in." If he dies this will all be my fault.
Ryan was thinking, he didn't just say no, which was a blessing because Vincent was thinking he was going to have to call in heavy machinery to move the rock mess he could see. And they didn't have time for that. Not when Vincent's future was lying under the rubble.
"The cave," Ryan huffed, wiping a streak of sweat from his brow. "It had a pointed roof – really unusual in the caves around here. But I'm sure… I'm sure…." Suddenly he broke into a run out of the cave and back toward the entrance.
"Keep digging," Vincent yelled as he ran after Ryan. Instead of heading back down to where the huts were, Ryan ran around the cave and started to climb up the rocky outcrop the entrance was in.
"I thought I saw light," Ryan said as he climbed, hands and feet moving quickly. "At the very top of the cave, there was light."
"Like a crack you mean? One that came from outside?" Vincent wasn't as agile, but he could move when he had to.
"Yes, your highness. And that means…" Ryan was standing on a short outcrop. "When the hill moved…yes…yes…" He ran over to where there appeared to be an indent in the land. On his knees, Ryan started tugging at the grass, pulling out clumps by hand.
"Wouldn't this be faster with a shovel?" But Vincent was on his knees as well, pulling at the clods of soil. He could see where there was a definite crack in the land and there was a hole. It was only small, but it was definitely a hole.
"You wouldn't know, prancing around at your parties and laughing with the rich folk who wouldn't understand a day's work if it bit them," Ryan said bitterly. "I owe that man down there my life. All of us here do. What Prince Orion and Crown Prince Onyx are trying to do, trying to create employment opportunities, giving their people hope… I owe him everything."
"My apologies." Vincent kept digging, ignoring how cruddy the dirt felt under his fingernails. "I just merely felt that with the proper equipment this would be faster."
"There are four shovels in this camp, and they're all being used." Reaching into his pocket, Ryan pulled out a huge knife and started plunging into dirt that wasn't as loose. "The princes pay our salaries from their own allowances because the treasury is too busy trying to stop the king from gambling away any money the country has left. Everyone knows about it, but no one can say anything about it, because if they do, they get banished, as you found out for yourself."
Gossip spreads fast. Vincent stopped for a moment, stripping off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves before he started scooping out the dirt Ryan was dislodging.
"He's a good man, your husband," Ryan said grimly, his face red with the strain. "You can have me hang for speaking out of turn if that's your wish, but Prince Orion is one of the best people I've ever met. He treats us all as equals. Rolls up his sleeves and works with us side by side. This mine could be operational in six months, if the seam is a true one."
"But is it though?" Vincent didn't want to pour water on the poor man's parade, but everyone knew Marinkaw was the only country in the known world where the crystals needed to store and use magic could be mined.
"Look for yourself." Ryan sat back, revealing the wider hole that had been made.
Leaning on his hands, Vincent peered down the dark hole. For a moment all he could see was darkness. But then, as his eyes adjusted he could see a glow coming from the wall. "The movement in the mountain revealed the crystals," he said in a hushed voice, but then reality slapped him around the head, and he looked farther down ignoring the tempting gleam of the crystals.
"There," he pointed down the hole which was totally stupid because two people couldn't look down at the small opening at the same time. "I can see a leg. My husband is down there. I need a rope and a horse. A long rope. If you don't have one get my man, Morgan, to give you one from the cart we brought with us."
"What's the rope for?" But Ryan was already on his feet.
"I'm going to dig out this hole a bit wider while you go and get the things I need. Then you're going to hold that horse, we'll attach the rope to it, and you're going to lower me down that hole so I can collect my husband, and you can pull us both out again. Right?"
"He could be badly hurt."
"We won't know that until we get him out, now move it." Vincent bent over, hauling at the dirt, his hands stinging as they caught on small roots and stones. A thousand recriminations rang through his head.
If only I'd been the man Orion could confide in.
If only I hadn't acted like a complete ass.
If only I'd taken the time to get to know the man who inspired such devotion in others.
If only… If only… If only… Vincent kept digging.