Page 140 of Silver in the Bone

“The night comes,” he said.

The cabinet swung away from the wall at his words, scraping over the well-worn stones. The hole hidden beneath it was just wide enough for us to take to its ladder one at a time.

I went first, carefully making the steep climb down. Bedivere followed after ensuring the cabinet was pulled back into place.

With the benefit of his lantern, the underpath revealed itself in all its refined beauty. Unlike the other tunnels, this one was a marvel of arched ceilings and stone columns, the walls painted with wildlife and creatures both familiar and new.

“What is this place?” I asked, trailing after him. A few sprites slept in the alcoves at the top of each pillar, their glow brightening and dimming with each breath in and out.

“This was once the fairy path, used by the Fair Folk shy of humans but eager to trade with the tower,” Bedivere said. “It leads all the way to the sacred grove.”

I felt a twinge of victory at having been proven right. There was at least one way to leave the tower and pass under the Children gathered around the moat.

“Why wasn’t this one sealed?” I asked.

“It is protected by wards born of ancient magic that have yet to fail.” Bedivere turned, holding his lantern higher. “But more vitally, this is the last hope of Avalon. Should the tower fall to ruin, it is the path we will take to the barges, and the mortal world beyond.”

He tore through the thick lace of spiderwebs ahead, clucking his tongue in dismay when they clung to him like a second, filigree skin.

“Do you ever miss it?” I asked.

Bedivere looked back again.

“The mortal world,” I said.

He was silent for a long while, his shuffling steps the only sound between us. “I can scarcely remember it well enough to desire it.”

“What about King Arthur?” I asked, unable to help myself. “What was he like?”

The knight made a gruff noise at the back of his throat. “As righteous a man as they come, but vainglorious. Always seeking more than he was due at the expense of what he was given.”

I blinked.

Bedivere slowed. “He was a king of good humor and skill, deserving of memory beyond death.”

It wasn’t exactly the sort of praise I would have expected from someone who had agreed to watch over a man for a thousand years, but maybe a few centuries of isolation and monotony could sour even the sweetest milk.

“You’ve been stuck watching the guy sleep for a thousand-odd years—you’re allowed a few gripes,” I told him. Then, sensing an opportunity, I added, “I don’t suppose you could give me some directions on where to find whatever’s left of Camelot—”

“We must be quiet now,” he said with a slight edge. “We are not so far beneath the ground that the creatures cannot hear us.”

For once, I did as I was told.

We walked for what felt like a small eternity. Rather than a growing light, the end of the tunnel revealed itself with another ladder. This time, the knight was the first to climb, unlocking a heavy iron chain that barred the hidden door.

“Wait here a moment,” he told me, lifting the hatch and climbing out. My pulse throbbed inside my skull as my fear finally caught up to me.

A moment later, he leaned over the opening and motioned for me to follow. I climbed quickly, trying to keep the contents of my bag from rattling, and emerged into a small fissure between several towering rocks. The mist hung in a morose curtain across the expanse of rotting trees that lay just beyond the entrance.

“I shall ask once more—are you certain of this?” Bedivere said, his voice hushed.

I swallowed hard, nodding. The mist was undisturbed by any movement. The way was clear. For now.

“Where am I going?” I asked him.

“Good lass,” he said, briefly clasping a hand on my shoulder. “Run straight across the grove from where we stand, and you’ll find a deer path between two oaks. Follow that way for a league, until you reach the river, then head east until you find the lake. The burial mound is at the center of it, its entrance hidden on the northern face. I marked the grave with a pale stone.”

I nodded. The chill in the air gripped me, squeezing my chest until it was hard to draw a deep, steadying breath.

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