The Ghost by Greyson, Maeve (best motivational books to read .txt) 📕

torch couldn’t reach it. “Praise God Almighty.” She held the torch higher and stretched her cramped muscles. Eerie formations dripped down into the light, looking like the pale knobby fingers of the dead. “Is the cache close?” While she appreciated the spaciousness of this part of the caves, the place had an unholiness about it. “Magnus?”

“Aye, love. Just a bit farther once we cross this chamber.” Magnus turned toward her and guided the light from the torch to the right. “But first, look yon.” With a smiling nod, he walked them closer. “Behold, the dragon.”

Her breath caught at the awesomeness before her. Its mouth open and lips curled back in an eternal growl, the beast looked as though it had frozen mid-leap through the cave wall. Moving closer, the intricate detailing on the carved stone embellished with faded dyes amazed her. How could an ancient people have accomplished such an elaborate work of art this deep inside the caves? “Who did this?” she whispered.

“No one knows.” Magnus stayed within the arc of the light, staring up at the creation. “We just appreciate it for the wonder that it is. It protects the back entrance to Tor Ruadh.”

“It truly is a wonder.”

Stones bounced and slid off in the distance, echoing from somewhere in another passage.

Brenna lifted the torch and stared in that direction, but only darkness waited past the glow of the flame. “Does that happen often?” She prayed it didn’t. Her poor nerves were raw enough without that torture.

Magnus’s furrowed brow paired with a longer than usual silence did little to dispel her fears.

“What?”

He motioned her forward. “Come. We’ll rest when we reach the cache. It isna all that much farther.”

When he ignored her questions, it meant there was cause for worry. “Who else might be in here?” she asked, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Her stubbornness kicked in, keeping her in place just beneath the dragon’s open maw. She wasn’t moving until he gave her an answer.

“I’m sure ’tis nothing.” Magnus motioned her forward. “Come.”

“If ye are so certain it is nothing, why are ye watching the shadows as though they’re hiding demons?”

“I am sure it’s as simple as a scurrying rat or some such animal.” Resettling the bundle on his shoulder, he tilted his head to the left. “Come. We must go in that direction. See the path off to the right that’s marked with the symbol chiseled above it? That leads to the cache.”

His changing the subject was his polite way of refusing to answer. She had already learned that she might as well move on whenever he did that. His stubbornness matched hers. Her torch sputtered, its light getting weaker. “Should we light a fresh one? I dinna wish to lose our fire.”

“Aye.” Magnus touched a fresh torch to the flame, squinting as the blessed brightness flared to life. “Can ye manage them both and the bundle across yer shoulder?”

“I can manage anything I need to manage.” He had no idea all she had endured, and if she had her way about it, he would never know. The dear man felt guilty enough as it was. There was no need to add any weight to his burdens. “To the cache, aye?”

The longer they hiked through the dark stone maze, the sharper her other senses became. Every scent, the slightest sound of a shifting pebble. She picked up on each of them. Whether Magnus admitted it or not, they were not alone, and it wasn’t an animal. Nay, it was a more fearsome beast. It was a person.

“Are there any weapons stored in the cache?” she asked as they hiked up an incline so slippery, they had to lean against the walls to keep from losing their footing. Struggling along, she concentrated on keeping the new torch held high. She returned the spent torch to the bucket to be used for firewood later. God help her, she hated the darkness. “Are there any weapons?” she repeated louder.

“Aye, love. Swords and daggers. Maybe some lead shot.” He paused as they reached a particularly tight squeeze between two shelves of stone. “Might even be a long rifle or mayhap a pistol or two, but they rust so easy, I’m doubting it. I’m none too sure about gunpowder either. It wouldna do well in this dampness.” As they sidled their way along a narrow shelf bordering a dark abyss, he continued, “Why do ye ask?”

She came to a halt, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “Someone is in here besides us, and it’s nay a rat or a bat, but a two-legged vermin of the most dangerous kind.”

Magnus stared at her, the frustration in his eyes betraying his temptation to lie.

“Dinna lie to me. Ye know as well as I that it’s the truth. Someone watches us.”

He blew out a heavy breath. “From the sound of the scurrying, I’d bet my best dagger it’s Cadha.” Staring down into the abyss, his jaw tightened. “She has to be following our torchlight. I’ve seen no sign of light anywhere else.”

“I have. A lantern, maybe. Or candle stub.” At first, she had thought her mind played tricks on her, but now she knew better. “But tell me how Cadha knows about the caves? Does the clan not guard their secret?” If the cave system of Tor Ruadh was common knowledge, how could they think themselves safe from the British here?

“Many know of the caves,” he hastened to explain as they continued their trek. “But only a select few know of the safe rooms and locations of all the caches. The maze of tunnels is treacherous.”

“All the caches?”

“Aye. Supplies are stored in several places throughout the system.” The ledge they traversed widened, once again becoming solid cave floor where they could walk abreast rather than single file. “Ye never know where ye might need to take refuge within the caves. It depends on where ye enter the mountain and if the enemy is giving chase.”

Brenna quickened her pace, determined to reach