Yay! New chapter! Woohoo! And THANK YOU for all my reviews and my reviewees, specifically: Redmountain, The Dark Lady, Emily of Yarmouthport, QueenoftheRogue, Princess Sanidaylene, Merritt, and Kaye!! And I can't believe I have 65 reviews! Woohoo! Maybe my life has purpose after all . . . or maybe not. And I apologize that it took me so long to get this up. Finals were coming up and we got a dog and . . . well . . . I sort of forgot. But who cares, because it's up now. And since Neal's horse is apparently nameless, I'm christening it Topaz. Think it's stupid? Tell me THE REAL NAME!
The Mines at Cajei
Kel and Neal finished their ride without any major occurrences. They returned to The Wandering Ram, and killed time in their room until they had to leave for the mine, because, as Neal said, "I don't think they'd be all that happy to find out we are now in possession of a phoenix." Byrn, still sleeping on Kel's shoulder, woke up and whistled indignantly and Neal quickly amended, "Or rather, that a phoenix is now in possession of us." Byrn piped self-righteously and fluffed her wings. Neal grinned.
The two knights wandered out of the inn two and a half hours before nightfall and made their way to the stables. They moved in shadows, as inconspicuously as possible, since they would look suspicious sneaking out after they told Ahim they had no need to see the mines. Saddling Peachblossom and Topaz took them longer than usual since they were trying to be quiet. They mounted up and took the East Gate at a slow walk, Byrn clutching Peachblossom's mane. Peachblossom, used to hangers-on because of Kel's sparrow friends, paid her no attention, only blowing at her once when she first landed. Fifteen minutes walk from the front gate, they began to trot the horses, hoping to get to Cajei Mine as quickly as possible.
An hour and a half later, the two knights reined in their mounts. Before them loomed a surprisingly small hole in the ground, next to a sign stating simply, Cajei Mine.
"I guess this is it," said Kel.
"Yeah," Neal agreed.
They dismounted and told the horses to stay put. As everyone in Tortall knew by now, Daine the Wildmage's presence in the capital led to smarter animals, and Neal and Kel knew their mounts understood them. Kel looked at the phoenix.
"Are you going to stay, or are you coming with us?" she asked.
Byrn fluted a tune and took to the air, gently drifting above their heads.
"I guess that means yes," said Neal.
They walked to the entrance, the last rays of the sun lighting only about twenty yards into the passage before them. Suddenly Neal swore. Kel looked at him questioningly.
"Did you bring a lantern? Or anything that provides light?" he asked angrily, although Kel could tell that the anger was directed more at himself. She shook her head, then froze as she realized what this meant. Byrn hovered, slowly flapping her wings to stay aloft.
"Oh, no!" Kel wailed softly. "We can't see where we're going, and there's no way in a thousand years that I'm going down there without a light. Who knows what could be down there?"
They stood, silently fuming and trying to think of something to do. Suddenly Kel said, "Neal! Your Gift! Couldn't you make a light for us?"
Neal was shaking his head before she was done asking. "No, no, no, and no. Making light is one of the most draining things to be done with the Gift, and I don't want to be drained if we meet something down there. Plus, what would happen if I misjudged my Gift, and we were left without a light, but when we were already deep underground? I'm not doing it."
Kel held up her hands, eyebrows raised. "Okay, okay, you don't have to jump all over me! I'm sorry I asked!" She paused. "Then there's nothing for it," she continued dejectedly. "We have to do it a different night." Neal nodded glumly.
They turned around and began walking away, when Byrn swooped over their heads and into the cave. They whirled around, and Kel opened her mouth to call Byrn back, but the phoenix had other plans. She moved forward slightly until they could barely see her in the twilight gloom. She began to trill an eerily beautiful whistling tune that made both Kel and Neal's hair stand on end. Suddenly the song stopped, and as the two knights watched, Byrn began to glow. She shone with a steady yellowish luminescence that lit up the surrounding area for at least 15 yards in each direction.
They stood stunned.
"Well," Kel said finally. "I guess that solves that."
"Just what else can you do, little one?" asked Neal in tones of wonder.
Byrn whistled impatiently.
"I think she wants us to hurry up," Kel told Neal, poking him.
Side by side, they strode into the mine.
Don't worry, I broke up this gigantic chapter into two smaller ones, so the next chapter will be up later today! In the meantime, review! And don't forget to look at my other two stories. (They're fluffy, but it's good fluff.) And someone (I don't remember who) asked me for my email, so if you want to email me, it's cooliechicka@cookiemonster.com. So go read the next chapter!