Page 118 of The Spider Queen
“Yeah, of course I know where it is—the Cliffs of Moher. As for theactuallocation? That’s all you.”
“What? I’m supposed to close my eyes and use my ‘spidey’ sense to find the staircase?” I shook my head. “Wow. That term suddenly has a new meaning for me.”
“Be quiet.”
“Hey, you can’t—”
“Poppy, be quiet. If you’re quiet, you’ll hear things. Shhhh…”
I glared at him but closed my mouth. I heard nothing, but felt a beat low in my belly. It throbbed and grew, and soon I tugged against the rope that kept me tethered to Hunter. We set off at a quick pace, inching toward the edge of the cliffs. There was no protective railing, and the wind was picking up. But it didn’t matter because I knew where we had to go.
I came to a halt about a quarter of a mile away from the car. A cluster of gray boulders jutted out of the land. Closing my eyes, I leaned into the air, feeling the ocean spray on my face. I shivered, but not from fear or cold. I felt…ready.
“What is it?” Hunter asked, finally breaking the silence. I pointed to the gray rocks. “See that group of huge stones over there? The staircase is under them. In the earth.”
“Under—”
“The rocks, yeah.”
“But I—I thought the staircase would be, I don’t know, chiseled through the cliffs. We’d still be outside.”
I shook my head. “We have to move those rocks.”
He looked down at me, mouth slack, eyes wide. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“Those aren’t rocks, they’rebouldersand how the hell do you expect us to move them? We’re human.”
“I’m aware, Hunter,” I drawled. “Just follow me.”
“I don’t have a choice. We’re tethered together.”
“We don’t really have time for sarcasm. Hurry up.”
Fighting the wind, we leaned into it and pressed forward. We got to the crop of rocks, which looked like they were in a man-made formation. Not like a standing stone circle, but more of a haphazard triangle. We paused for a moment and then I stepped forward, into the configuration.
The moment we strode into the center of the formation the wind died, and I no longer felt like I was going to be pulled over the cliffs.
“You can untether us now,” I told him.
“Poppy, I don’t think—”
“I’m sure. Trust me.”
He inhaled a breath and then nodded with reluctance.
When I was free, I moved around to each stone, pressing my hand to them. I expected them to be cool and wet from the Irish rain, but they were dry and…warm.
“Give me your knife,” I said.
Without hesitation, Hunter handed his blade to me. I clasped it in my right hand, turned my left palm up, and dragged the metal across my skin. Pain and blood welled. The sound of Hunter’s protest died on his lips as I placed my bloody palm to one of the stones. It gave a shudder from within and then was still. I went to the next stone and did the same, placing my palm to it. With each successive stone the earth beneath them rumbled and trembled with a great force.The land groaned where we stood and split open like the rift after a massive earthquake, and then all was silent.
“Whoa,” Hunter breathed.
“Yeah,” I agreed, in awe of what had just occurred.
“We need to wrap your hand,” he said, taking a step toward me.
