The Seeker - Isobelle Carmody [71]
“I … found some drainpipes that go under the maze,” I said at last, lamely.
Suspicion hardened in his face. “I will have to report you,” he said coldly. “But there is the storm. I’ll lock you in until someone comes from the house.”
He put me into a small room and locked the door behind him. I decided I would stay until the storm abated and Domick slept, then I would open the lock and find my way to the silo. In the meantime, there was a sacking bed in one corner. I climbed onto it gratefully, and not even my fear and despair at all that had happened could keep me awake.
24
I SLEPT MORE deeply than I’d intended, but it was a healing sleep. When I woke, I felt rested and alert, and I lay still, enjoying a feeling of well-being and warmth. Outside I could hear the whirling roar of the wind. The storm had worsened, and though it prevented me from leaving, it might also mean I was safe for the moment.
I heard a knock at the hut’s main door and sat up, terrified it was Ariel. Had I slept too long? Perhaps the soup Domick had given me had been laced with sleep potion.
“Who is it?” Domick asked from the other room.
“It’s me. Roland,” said another voice. I did not know the name. I heard Domick unlatch the door.
“Is Louis here?” asked the newcomer. I crawled out of the bed, crossed quietly to the door, and listened.
“He hasn’t come yet,” said Domick. “Where is Rushton?”
“He didn’t turn up, though I near froze my eyebrows off waiting,” said Roland, sounding aggrieved. “Alad says there is some sort of search going on at the house. Guess who has run away now?”
“Elspeth Gordie,” Domick said. My heart began to thump wildly. There was a surprised silence.
“How could you know that?” Roland demanded.
“Because she’s here,” said Domick. “I was out getting wood when I saw her stumbling about like a blind ewe. I locked her in there. She says she came through the drains under the maze, but I don’t know how she could know about them.”
“She could not have come that way,” said Roland. “Alad said Ariel’s beasts are out, all around the house.”
“From the look of her knees, it is true just the same,” said Domick. “You might take a look at them when she wakes. They could use healing.”
“We have other concerns,” said Roland impatiently. “I want to know what we are to do about the Druid’s man. He was supposed to meet with Rushton, but he turns up dead. How are we going to explain that?”
“Rushton will have to tell Henry Druid the truth,” said Domick. “The man got himself caught. The question is, did he mention Rushton?”
Roland gave a grunt. “Fortunately, we won’t have to explain anything to the Druid until spring, for tonight’s snowfall will certainly close off the pass.”
“I wish Louis were here,” Domick said.
“That old nutter,” Roland snapped.
“Well, he was the first to help Rushton,” Domick said defensively. “And I know he has spent some time with her.” I imagined him gesturing toward my door.
There was another silence.
I debated what to do. It sounded like these two and Louis Larkin were allies of Rushton. But where did the Druid fit in? Was Rushton working for him? He had told me that he had no interest in digging up the past, but Alexi had indicated the Druid was after the same thing he was.
“We ought to look for Rushton,” Roland said.
“He said to wait and do nothing,” Domick said.
“If Rushton’s in trouble, I’m not going to sit back and do nothing.”
“We don’t even know if he is in trouble,” Domick insisted.
A log in the fire cracked loudly, and I heard the sound of boots outside. There was a knock, and the outer door opened.
“Louis!” Domick sounded relieved.
“Where’s Rushton?” Roland asked swiftly.
“They’ve taken him prisoner,” Louis said in an angry growl. “Alexi and Vega and that demon’s whelp, Ariel. They think he helped Elspeth Gordie to escape.”
My heart plummeted. Impulsively, I unlocked the door.
For a moment, all was still, like a wax display. Louis, warmly clad with