Page 71 of Brody

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“It’s a mine?” I asked as I looked around.

“Yeah,” Deputy Hillard said as he ran his hands over parts of the wall that still bore rough tool marks. “There seems to be veins of both silver and gold here. A significant portion of it has already been mined out, but there is still a ton left. It could even stretch all the way through the mountain.”

Without knowing where the tunnels of the mine led, we didn’t dare venture too far and mostly stayed close to the main cavern where most of the tunnels branched out from. About two stories tall, it was an impressive size. It had obviously taken many workers to construct, but there was something familiar about the overall design. When trapped in a narrow tunnel with only a flashlight to see by, I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that Iwas able to get a good look at so much of the design at once, I recognized the style.

“Poppy Milford designed the mine. She probably even had a hand in building it herself.”

The mine was in good condition, but still old. There was loose rubble over the floor, and areas where the ground had clearly been disturbed. Magnus nearly tripped over his own feet as he attempted to look at the ceiling and watch the floor at the same time. His interests lay in the living things that could be grown from the earth, not in the raw materials that could be harvested from under the soil, so he only gave the mine a cursory glance. However, at the mention of Poppy Milford’s name, his interest was piqued, and he turned to me with a new spark in his eye.

“How can you tell? I’m sure the sisters were involved since these tunnels connect to their own mausoleum, but how can you tell that they actually built it?”

I ran a hand over one of the nearby support structures, taking note of the way the materials had been manipulated and the overall grace of the design.

“Any builder with enough experience will develop a style. For example, anyone with a keen eye for construction will be able to tell that I built both of our houses, based on the way that I choose to put things together. The mine, the tunnels, the vault, everything down here was built by the same person.”

Magnus looked around again, as if he expected to see evidence of what I was talking about, but unsurprisingly there was no more recognition in his eyes than there had been before.

“Okay? But how do you know it was Poppy Milford? Just because the vault had more Poppies on it than other flowers? Someone could have just designed it for her.”

“Perhaps, but the same person also created Rose’s locket, and those archways you found leading to the mausoleum from the old mill. It was all made by the same hand.” I tapped a spot on one of the support structures, where metal had been welded together in a circular pattern that resembled a flower. “Besides, this craftsman likes to sign their work. There’re poppy flowers hidden all over the place if you know where to look.”

“It doesn’t matter who built it,” Creed interrupted us. “More importantly, this mine explains how these sisters had so much influence in the town and formed their own cult in the first place. The resources here would have been worth a fortune, and money talks. They couldn’t easily have bought people’s favor.”

Having Creed back after months of being apart was so odd, yet so comfortable at the same time. It was like suddenly having an arm reattached that I didn’t know was missing in the first place. He easily slipped right back into his position as the third member of our trio, and for a moment, I almost felt like I was back on the frontlines.

In order to see down in the mine, several large spotlights had been set up. They cast strange shadows in every direction and accentuated the harsh look on Deputy Hillard’s face when he approached us.

“TheMothers of the Mountaindidn’t have to buy anyone. Their abilities allowed them to find this mine when the town needed finances after the fire. The profits saved this town.”

Creed kept himself partially concealed in the shadows so his expression was hidden, but I could tell from his posture that he wasn’t amused.

“So, you’re saying that the Milford sisters… what? Were able to magically locate the mine when they needed it?”

Since he couldn’t see Creed’s expression, and didn’t know how to read the other man’s body language, Deputy Hillard made the mistake of thinking Creed’s question was genuine.

“Exactly,” he said, looking happy that he was believed. “That’s why they are called theMothers of the Mountain. Because they were brought here to take care of the land.”

I pulled Creed away before he could argue further, shuffling him toward Magnus, where the two of us could, hopefully, keep him in check. I’d missed Creed, but I’d almost forgotten how stubborn he could be, and he didn’t need to get into hot water with the local authorities the first day he arrived in town.

“You don’t seriously believe what he’s saying,” Creed whispered to me as I dragged him to the other side of the mine.

“Of course not. But there’s no point in arguing about it.”

“Although…” Magnus leaned closer to make sure his words were only for us. Even Trent and Ellis, who were inspecting another part of the mine a few steps away, wouldn’t be able to hear him. “It is strange. How were the Milford sisters able to find such a mineable area that no one else knew about?”

Creed crossed his arms, staring down at the floor with a harsh glare. “Maybe they could read the land and knew there were resources in this area, and that’s why they came to this town. Ormaybe they just got lucky. Whatever the real answer, we’re never gonna know, but it certainly wasn’t magic.”

“Speaking of unknown answers,” I nudged Creed’s shoulder. “You still haven’t told us how you ended up here in the first place. Last we’d heard, you’d been captured, but possibly rescued. We haven’t been able to get a straight answer out of anyone concerning you, so you’d better give us an explanation.”

Creed looked away before he answered, a clear sign that I wasn’t going to like what he said.

“I ended up getting captured because of the incompetence of my superiors, but luckily, I was rescued after only a short time. The military then let me retire early as compensation, although it’s really just a bribe so that I won’t sue them for their negligence. That was fine with me, plus I have POW status now, so I accepted the deal.”

Magnus and I stared at each other for a moment. Based on the look in his eye, I could tell we were thinking the same thing.

“Creed,” I said hesitantly. “Did you arrange your own capture so that you could manipulate the military into letting you retire a few months early.”

The expression on Creed’s face never changed as he returned our pointed stares. But something indecipherable shifted behind his eyes. “Legally, I’m required to say no.”