Dark Mirror 2 - Dark Passage (23 page)

Tory groaned. “I’ll need to go home to guide him through the mirror. I’m not looking forward to that.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Allarde cautioned. “First we need to find if there’s a tunnel up to the castle. We can do that by sending a message so Jack can get the information we need from Comte du Bouchard.”

“
If
we can get a message to Jack, and he can get one back to us,” Nick said pessimistically. “It could take days.”

“Maybe, but surely the Irregulars are keeping a close eye out for messages,” Allarde said. “It’s worth trying this to spare the strain on Tory.” He gave her one of those unsettlingly intimate smiles that made her bones feel like melting.

Looking away, she said, “Assuming a tunnel leads up the castle, we’ll have to stage two rescue missions at the same time. Who do we need besides Jack?”

“If Jack joins us, we’ll have two teams of two,” Nick said. “I need to go to the castle to find the Weiss family.”

“Maybe you can go to the castle and I can go to the laboratory since Dr. Weiss will recognize me,” Allarde said. “Tory and Jack can stay outside the compound. No sense in them risking themselves unnecessarily.”

“Nick needs someone to unlock doors,” Tory said. “Plus, I may be needed to speak French to the Weisses.”

Allarde said reluctantly, “I suppose you’re right. Maybe Jack can stay outside in case he needs to do more with the weather.”

“Jack won’t want to stay in safety and work weather again,” Nick said. “He can go with you and work weather on the run.”

“Of course, all of this is tentative,” Tory pointed out. “If there’s no tunnel to the castle, we may have to accept that rescue is impossible.”

Nick’s jaw set. “Never.”

“Has anyone ever said you’re pigheaded?” Tory asked pleasantly.

Nick relaxed into a grin. “Many have. Most often, my mother.”

“Who, as we all know, is a remarkably intelligent woman,” Allarde said with a lurking smile as he got to his feet. “Let’s take this one step at a time. First I’ll check the mirror to see if there has been a response to our message. If so, we’ll know that communication has been established.”

“I’ll go with you.” Tory also stood, needing to stretch her aching muscles. “If a rock arrived when we were out, I wouldn’t have felt it.”

“If we send another message, ask for food,” Nick said as he rose. “Another foraging trip might not be so successful.”

They headed toward the mirror single file. Tory wrinkled her nose when they hit the repulsion spells designed to send casual cave explorers in a different direction, but they weren’t too bad since she knew what they were.

A paper-wrapped stone awaited them when they reached the widened area of the cave where the mirror energy simmered just out of sight. She scooped it up and read the terse sentences. “Jack says they’re glad we’re alive, and he’s ready to come after us if we don’t send another message within two days.”

Allarde scanned the paper, then handed it to Nick. “I’ll write a note asking for tunnel information and food supplies. Now that the connection has been established, we should hear back fairly quickly.”

After Nick read the note, Allarde printed their message on the back of Jack’s note. Tory tossed it through the mirror and wished that she were the one going home instead of this piece of rock.

CHAPTER 25

As Cynthia and Elspeth entered the corridor that held Merlin’s mirror, they discovered that Jack had arrived there first, and he’d found a message stone. He looked up from the paper with a grin.

“They’re safe, they’ve located Dr. Weiss, and they want information from Comte du Bouchard on any tunnels into the castle.” He glanced back down. “They also want food since they’re living in a cave and have to be careful about going out.”

“Jack, shall we take a trip through time once we have the castle information and supplies?” Elspeth asked.

“My thoughts exactly,” Jack said. “I’ve already had the count map the tunnels. I can be back here in two hours with the map and supplies so we can leave.”

The matter-of-fact words jolted Cynthia. Jack was going to travel through the mirror to heaven only knew where or when? “All they want now is information. If they can’t use the tunnels, they’ll have to come back, so there’s no point in making a blind jump that could take you somewhere unexpected.” And be really uncomfortable in the process. And dangerous! “Tory is the one with mirror talent and experience.”

“It’s not a blind jump.” Elspeth’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the invisible portal. “I’m reasonably sure I can get us there, Jack. I’ll go back to my room and get anything that might be useful and meet you back here in two hours.”

“Are you two
mad
?” Cynthia exclaimed. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait and find out if another mirror passage is even necessary?”

“It’s necessary,” Elspeth said grimly. “I’ve known that ever since Nick came back. Time is of the essence and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“We’ll be all right, Cynthia.” Jack smiled cheerfully. “Probably. I agree with Elspeth, we’re needed, and waiting is making me twitch. You don’t have to go. Covering up the absences at the abbey is important, too.”

The thought of him going off to war without her made her pulse spike. The idiot needed her, even if he didn’t realize it. He’d get himself killed, or he’d fall in love with Elspeth as they shared excitement and danger.

She wasn’t sure which fate was worse.

“If you think I’m going to let you go jumping into this particular fire without me, you’re even madder than I realized,” she snapped. “I’m going with you. Besides weather work, I’ve been practicing my illusion magic and I’ve learned a few useful tricks.”

Her companions looked interested. “What have you learned?” Elspeth asked.

Cynthia closed her eyes and concentrated on the illusions she wanted to create. Then she laid one hand on Elspeth’s arm and the other on Jack’s.
Jack’s strong, warm arm that felt so good when he’d held her …

Mentally slapping herself, she created her illusions, then dropped her hand. Jack and Elspeth both gasped. “What do you see?” Cynthia asked.

“Nick,” Elspeth said. “I see Nick.”

“And I see Tory.” Jack sounded like Nick. He studied his hands. “I see myself as I am, but Elspeth looks just like Tory. Amazing, Cynthia! A very useful skill for an undercover mission into occupied territory.”

“Illusion magic might help us, but going through the mirror almost killed you before,” Elspeth said, frowning. “I was able to revive you then, but what if I couldn’t this time? I’ll have to burn a great deal of magic to get us through the mirror. I might not have healing power available at the other end.”

Wishing she didn’t have to explain this, Cynthia said, “I’ve been holding illusion magic on myself for so many years that it’s automatic.” She snapped her fingers and the illusions vanished, including the one she held on herself. “When Tory realized that, she guessed that if I wasn’t using illusion power when going through the mirror, the passage might not be as hard on me.”

“Perhaps, but we won’t know until you try, and I don’t want to take that risk,” Elspeth said firmly. “I’m a healer. I do not want to kill a friend.”

Elspeth thought of her as a friend? Cynthia found that cheering. “You said yourself that this mission is necessary. Isn’t that worth some risk?”

“It’s not me I’m risking, but you, which is quite another matter,” the other girl said acerbically.

“I think you’ll be all right.” Jack took Cynthia’s hand in his. “You’ll be between Elspeth and me. We’ll get you through safely.”

His warm, confident smile lifted Cynthia’s spirits even more. “Two hours then.” And she hoped to heaven she was doing the right thing.

*   *   *

Tory jolted from sleep into full wakefulness. “The mirror! Something large has come through!”

Nick, who had also been drowsing, became alert. “Food?” he said hopefully.

“Let’s find out.” Allarde had been standing in the cave entrance admiring the afternoon sunlight on the brilliant autumn foliage, but he turned and joined them as they headed into the cave.

Tory led the way, her pace quickening as she neared the mirror. The disturbance she’d felt in the energy seemed too great for a rock or even a bag of food.

She wasn’t surprised to burst into the mirror chamber and see her friends sprawled on the floor. “Elspeth! Jack!” But then she blinked in shock to see her roommate. “Cynthia? Are you all right?”

Cynthia pushed herself up blearily. For an instant, the scar on her cheek was visible. Then her image shifted and her face was flawless again. She muttered, “It looks like your theory about my mirror travel was correct.”

Jack and Elspeth were also sitting up and taking stock. Jack carried a sizable knapsack while both girls had smaller ones. Nick stepped up and offered Jack a hand. “I’m even more interested in the tunnel information than the food, cousin.”

Jack laughed as he got to his feet with Nick’s help, hanging on until his balance steadied. “I have both.”

Allarde knelt so he wasn’t towering over Cynthia and Elspeth. “You did well with the mirror magic.”

Elspeth made a face. “Sending the messages back and forth created a sort of trail of breadcrumbs that I followed here. It burned a lot of magic, though. I’m not going to be good for much until I’ve had some rest.”

“And some food.” Jack shrugged out of his knapsack and opened it, removing a lumpy packet from his knapsack. He poured a pile of brightly colored balls into his other hand. “Marzipan sweets,” he explained. “My mother thought these would be good for helping recovery from a mirror passage.” He offered them to Elspeth and Cynthia. “Take several. Nick doesn’t get any until the three of us are recovered.”

“I’ll behave,” Nick promised. “But I do hope some are left over.”

After the new arrivals had consumed enough to regain some energy, Jack gave the remaining half dozen pieces of marzipan to Tory and Allarde and Nick. They were delicious, and a nice change from bread and cheese.

Twitching from proximity to the mirror, Tory said, “If everyone can walk, let’s move toward the front of the cave. It’s more restful there.”

Elspeth made a face as she stood with Allarde’s help. “Guiding us through the mirror has made me more sensitive to the energy, so I’ll be glad to move away.”

Jack offered Cynthia a hand. “You came through better than on your other passages, but you still look a bit gray.”

“You are so flattering,” she grumbled. “At least I’m breathing.”

She wavered when she stood and Jack put an arm around her for support. Tory blinked as subtle energy shimmered over the two of them. There was definitely something going on there. Though slowly, given the way Cynthia broke away after a few moments of leaning into him.

Allarde and Nick scooped up the backpacks and carried them forward until they reached the front section of the cave they’d dubbed the drawing room. Once there, Nick almost jumped on Jack. “The map?”

Jack pulled a folded paper from inside his coat and handed it over. “There’s a long tunnel up through the rock to the castle and several shorter ones under the castle only, but since I haven’t seen the terrain, I don’t know if they’ll suit your purposes.”

Nick opened the paper. “Allarde, take a look with me while we try to match this to the landscape.” Allarde joined him and created a bright mage light over the paper while the two of them studied the drawing.

As Jack unpacked more food, he asked, “What’s happened so far?”

Tory gave a brief summary of the compound and their visit to the laboratory. She ended with, “You can see why we hope there’s a secret way into the castle.”

Cynthia shivered as she listened. “I do hope this is worth the risks.”

“I don’t know if Nick’s dream will come true, but I’m absolutely sure that this drug will change the world. I’m glad we’re working to save lives rather than taking them,” Elspeth said pensively. “I would have been less comfortable if he was working on some evil new weapon, even if the Allies need that.”

Tory felt the same. “What does the map show?”

“The main tunnel just might work,” Nick said, his voice hopeful. “Assuming that it’s still open and isn’t situated in the middle of the military camp. Allarde and I will have to scout it to see.”

“I’ll go with you. I want to study the site, too.” Tory said. Seeing the expressions on the newcomers, she added, “You three should get some rest. Once we know more about the tunnel, we can make plans.”

Jack smiled ruefully. “Much as I’d like to go, I’m not sure I could walk there and back in my present state. I’ll stay here and guard the womenfolk.” Ignoring Cynthia’s withering glare, he added, “I’m guessing that a night raid would be aided by some weather work to cover up what you’re doing. With Cynthia and me both here, we should be able to conjure up any kind of storm you want.”

“We’re counting on it,” Allarde said. “As soon as it gets dark, we’ll be off to see if we can find the tunnel entrance.”

“Which should give us enough time to eat,” Nick said with a grin. “What else do you have in there, cousin?”

CHAPTER 26

Lying on her stomach between the two boys, Tory studied the square towered church of Notre Dame du Lac. The ancient structure was tucked between the lake and the escarpment at the west end of the village. Perhaps in deference to the church’s age and beauty, the handsome old trees surrounding it hadn’t been cut down.

The road to the castle ran a couple of hundred yards or so behind the churchyard, and the barbed-wire fence was about the same distance in front. The vicious fence skirting the lakeshore was an ugly reminder that this was a war zone. There were no signs of life around the church. With all the villagers removed from their homes, it must be closed now.

She and her companions had followed a narrow lane through a wheat field and now lay on the edge, where they had a clear view of the church. The ripe golden stalks should have been harvested by now, but farms would be short of labor if most of the men had been sent to Nazi labor camps.

What had become of the villagers who had been driven from these homes when the soldiers took over? Tory guessed they had moved in with nearby friends and relatives and were living in cramped misery.