Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I took a sip from my cup and lowered it to peer at Ben. The only problem was, Ben wasn't there, anymore. Actually, the whole room had disappeared except for my chair and the end table.

Smooth flagstones lay underneath me and the dark paneled wood walls were now huge cut boulders stacked perfectly one on top of the other. The walls curved upward into a gentle dome above my head and created a fifty-foot-wide tunnel. Large torch holders hung from the walls, though their occupants had long ago rotted to nothing, and the floor was hewn from smoothed marble.

Niches covered the walls at neat intervals and were occupied by skeletons in elegant raiment. Though time and rot had taken their toll, I could still see the gold inlaid hems and frilled cuffs. Beautiful jewelry adorned necklaces that hung over their cleave bones, and many sported rings attached to their fingers only through wire tied to their cuffs.

I knew this place.

I set the glass down on the end table and stood. My legs shook a little, but I gathered my courage and walked toward the familiar wide doorway at the end of the tunnel. The entrance led us into a large room, and on either side hung tapestries torn and faded by time, but still bearing the emblems of great eagles, bears, and even dragons.

A throne stood at the end of the room and a soft red glow came from the seat. A tall skeleton sat upon the imperial seat, clothed in the tattered remains of purple garb with a simple cloak thrown over his shoulders. He held a scepter in one hand and there was a ring upon a finger on his left.

The Lord of the Catacombs.

The lump in my throat returned as I edged my way toward the royal seat. He sat in a slightly reclining position as I'd seen him before but the dead royalty now had a companion at his side.

The familiar, if not slightly rotting, face of Thomas Fox stood on one side of the throne. His smile soothed my frayed nerves. "It's good to see you again, Miss Lucas."

The lord's empty sockets filled with a bright red light and the skeleton stirred. Those two glowing orbs fell on me as he rose from his slumber. The jaws moved and his deep, resonating voice floated out of his fleshless face. "Do not be alarmed. I have summoned you here for a purpose."

"How did you summon me here?" I wondered as I swept my eyes over the dusty room. "The last thing I remember was sitting in Ben's study."

"You are here, and yet you are not."

My face drooped as I returned my attention to the skeleton. "Come again?"

"This is a sort of dream," Fox spoke up, but he was silenced by a look of warning from his lord.

"So why did you, um, summon me here?" I wondered.

The lord's shining eyes dropped to the canister still attached to my arm. "You have yet to master the magic contained in the Prima Staff."

I folded my arms over my chest and shrugged. "Sorry. I was a little busy trying not to become a sacrifice to a snake god."

A sharp look in his eyes quelled my sassiness. He sat up straighter and his shape cast a long shadow across the floor that covered me in darkness. "The Prima Staff chose you above all others. You must master its powers if you are to become who you are meant to be."

I blinked at him. "Who I'm meant to be?"

"Fate takes you into the Werewald. You will seek the Ealdan who resides under the canopy of those ancient woods and learn how to control your magic and that of the staff."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Are you sure this isn't a dream? I mean, seeking out some special person in the Werewald who might help me learn how to control my powers? It sounds a little too much like a strange dream."

The lord held up his left hand and the ring on his finger glistened in the flickering light."As proof of my command, I give you this."

The skeleton's eyes flickered to his compatriot, and Fox stepped up to him and removed the ring. My old friend hurried down from the platform over to me where he stood in front of me. His eyes twinkled as he lifted my left hand where my betrothal ring shone.

"A thousand blessings upon you and yours, Miss Lucas," he whispered as he took up my right hand and slipped the ring onto my finger closest to the pinky. For a moment I thought it was too big, but the ring shrank before my very eyes and fit perfectly. Fox clasped my hand between both of his and offered me an amused smile. "We shall not say farewell again, but ‘see you soon.'"

He stepped back closer to the platform as the skeleton leaned toward me. "This gift is more than proof of my command. It will protect you in the darkest parts of the world. Now seek out the Ealdan and discover your potential."

I turned my hand over that held the ring and studied the simple silver band. A single hexagonal stone was set into the clasp. The gem was of such a deep red that I was reminded of the color of freshly spilled blood. "I'll give it a try, but I'd like to know who this ‘Ealdan' person is."

"Ealdan?"

I looked up and found myself staring into the curious face of Ben. Gone was the dusty catacombs and back was his warm study with the crackling fire. I clasped my drink in my right hand as I had before that strange hallucination had occurred.

My mouth fell open and I whipped my head left and right. "What? How? Where?"

"Our conversation, by means of the door, and my study," Ben answered as he studied my face. "But for a moment there I had the distinct feeling the answers to those questions were different for you."

I fell back against the chair and blinked at the fire. "I. . .I just had the strangest experience in my life."

"That's quite something to say considering what we've been through," he teased.

My face fell as I thought over the dream. "I swore I was in the catacombs in front of that dead lord. You know, the big skeleton."

Ben's eyes flickered down and good humor was replaced with a grim curiosity. "What's that on your hand?"

I lifted my right hand and beheld the blood-red gem set in the silver fitting. My mouth dropped open, as did my right hand, and my glass fell to the floor where it shattered. I leapt to my feet, neglecting the broken cup, and stumbled forward a few steps.

"This. . .this isn't possible!" I insisted as I grasped my right hand. I turned to see Ben standing in front of his chair watching me with worried eyes. "It was a dream, wasn't it? You didn't see me go anywhere, did you?"

Ben strode up to me and clasped both my hands in his. He caught my eyes in his gentle gaze and some of my panic melted away. "Tell me everything that happened."

I took a big, shuddered breath and recounted what had happened. By the time I'd finished, Ben's grim gaze hadn't improved. He grasped my right hand in his hold and studied the ring on my finger.

"How is it even possible for me to dream and get this ring on my finger?" I asked him.

"Magic is a curious thing," he mused as he lifted his eyes to my face. "It can do the impossible. If the wielder is strong enough."

I snorted. "I think we've already established the Lord of the Catacombs is no pushover."

"And you're sure he said the name was Ealdan?" he asked me as he brushed a finger over the gemstone.

"That's what I heard," I replied as I watched him wiggle the ring from side to side. "What are you doing?"

"I'm curious to see what would happen if I tried to take it off you," Ben explained.

"Well, go ahead. I won't stop you."

"It isn't you I'm worried about."

A little color drained from my face. "What do you mean?"

Ben pinched the ring between his finger and thumb, and tugged. I winced when the ring didn't even budge. He pulled again and again was met with no success. "As I thought," he mused as he released me and folded his arms over his chest before he cupped his chin in one hand. "There's a powerful magic holding the ring to you."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Don't you cancel out magic?"

He nodded. "That's my specialty, but this magic is powerful. As powerful as the Prima Staff. My simple dragon curse can't undo such magic."

My face drooped as a slight hint of panic touched the corners of my mind. "Well, surely I can take it off," I mused as I wrapped my other hand around the ring and tugged. It didn't flinch. My panic ticked up a notch and I pulled harder. It still didn't move.

Ben set a hand over mine and I looked up to find a gentle smile. "I don't think it's going to come off until you find this Ealdan."

My shoulders slumped and I hung my head. "So much for a nice vacation. . ."