The Last de Burgh. Deborah Simmons

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      ‘Yet if they still monitor the tunnels, we should keep quiet. Some of these places can produce echoes or amplify sound to warn those ahead.’

      Emery fell silent then, and Nicholas knew a sense of loss. There was something soothing about the boy’s speech, as though he were wise beyond his years. Or maybe Nicholas had just grown weary of his squire’s company. Guy’s constant fussing made him seem more like a nursery maid than a squire, and his harping to return home grew wearisome.

      Frowning at the thought, Nicholas continued on, watching his steps even as he peered into the darkness ahead and studied the surrounding walls. It was slow going. Eventually, he began to wonder if the tunnel even led to Temple Roode. Perhaps they had passed some hidden niche that would have taken them to the preceptory or were caught in an endless loop, a vast maze below ground.

      But then the light glinted upon something in front of them. Stretching out one arm, Nicholas gestured for Emery to stay behind while he inched forwards, keeping his body as close to the side of the tunnel as possible. Their path had remained level for some time, so they were probably well below any buildings above. Yet the narrow passage opened on to a wider space ahead, making Nicholas proceed with caution.

      For long moments, he stood waiting and listening. When he heard nothing, he lifted the lantern closer to the opening. The light seemed to be swallowed up by the greater darkness, then it glittered upon shadowy surfaces. At first Nicholas thought they had stumbled upon a cavern of some sort, but it was not like any he had ever seen. Curious, he took a step and held the lantern higher, only to realise he was not looking at the exposed rock and ore of a catacomb, but something created by man.

      Nicholas heard Emery’s low intake of breath as the boy reached his side, and he could only marvel, as well. Whether originally an existing cave or something dug from the earth, the place in which they found themselves had been well worked by the Templars. In fact, it seemed that every inch of the surrounding walls was covered with carvings even more strange than those in the church: circles, swords, crosses, outlines of figures, arcane symbols and depictions of scenes, some of them holy, some wholly unrecognisable.

      The carvings reached as far as the eye could see, or at least as far as could be illuminated. Stretching upwards to plunge into blackness, they must have taken years, perhaps decades or more, to complete. For long moments Nicholas simply stood staring, but when Emery would have stepped forwards, he stopped the boy with a gesture.

      He had been looking up, rather than down, and Nicholas bent low to examine the ground before entering the chamber. Although it looked sturdy, he kept to the perimeter as he made his way inside, Emery at his heels. At first, he thought the surrounding walls formed a circle, much like the Templar church, but when he reached the halfway point, he realised he was standing within an octagon.

      ‘What is this place?’ Emery whispered.

      Nicholas glanced towards a dark niche that might serve as an altar. ‘Perhaps it is used for worship.’

      ‘Surely not by the Templars,’ Emery protested, sounding as unsure as Guy about the order.

      Nicholas shrugged, for he knew little of what went on in religious houses. Still, he suspected few harboured hidden rooms, especially an underground cavern like this one. ‘Mayhap it has been here for centuries and the Templars simply turned it to their own needs.’

      Although Emery looked sceptical, Nicholas wasn’t concerned with the purpose of the place, only where it might lead. But a cursory glance revealed no exit, and he wondered whether they had walked all this way only to view a curious site, perhaps long forgotten. Were they below the preceptory or somewhere else, maybe even in a passage connecting two churches, one above and another below?

      Wary of spending too much time in the tunnel, Nicholas gave the lantern to Emery, while he searched more carefully. He looked for the kind of stone they had found in the church, a carving of a Green Man, mouth wide open, as though in some sort of agony.

      As he moved onwards, Emery followed, providing the light for his inspections. Although the boy could not be faulted, Nicholas felt distracted, for he was all too aware of his companion’s nearness. He even had an unnerving urge to turn towards the boy, which he promptly quelled.

      What the devil ailed him? The answer that came only unnerved him more. Was it growing warm in here? Had the air become close? With a grunt, Nicholas forced himself to focus. All he had to do now was find the opening. But what if it lay above them? Without a ladder or rope, they could not hope to scale these walls. And the entrance might be unrecognisable, perhaps something he had already passed.

      And as if he wasn’t grappling with enough, his light dipped, casting wild shadows upon the very area he was trying to examine. With a low oath, Nicholas turned to rebuke the boy, but the reprimand died on his lips. Emery had gone pale and wide-eyed, as though staring at some unseen horror.

      ‘What is it?’ Nicholas whispered.

      Emery raised a hand to point in the direction of other carvings, most notably one of a Templar over five feet in height. ‘I thought …’ the boy began, only to trail off, as though unable to continue.

      ‘What?’

      ‘I thought I saw something,’ Emery whispered, haltingly. ‘A pair of eyes watching us.’

      Motioning the boy to silence, Nicholas put a hand to the hilt of his sword. Anything might be waiting in the blackness that lay outside their small circle of light. Bats were common enough in caves, but other, less friendly creatures might have wandered into the tunnel—or be kept there by the Templars to guard their secrets.

      Nicholas rose slowly to his feet, though he saw nothing stirring and heard no scurrying or snarling. He turned to scan the rest of the chamber, but Emery stopped him with a gesture.

      ‘No, they were there,’ the boy insisted, pointing at the carving of the Templar. ‘Its eyes … looked like … human eyes.’

      Nicholas would have dismissed such a claim, but Emery did not seem given to whimsy, and the strangeness of their surroundings made anything seem possible. The boy had not declared that the stone came to life, just that it had human eyes, and he considered the answer to such a puzzle.

      Approaching cautiously, Nicholas motioned for Emery to hold the lantern for closer inspection. One of the largest of the carvings, the Templar resembled those that graced the tombs of such knights, except the figure was standing upright, his huge sword in front of him, pointing downwards.

      Moving closer, Nicholas reached towards the dark recesses of its features, touching a finger to the sightless orbs. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find the sockets empty, but the surface was as solid and cold as any statue. Perhaps Emery had been fooled by a trick of the light. Still, Nicholas ran his hand over the figure’s outline, attempting to move it as he had the stone in the church. It did not budge.

      Reaching the bottom, he sat back on his haunches, eyeing the sword that pointed towards the earth at his feet. It was no different than any other of the outcroppings, yet its size and position made it more realistic than the others, as though it stood guard over something. Nicholas slid his fingers into the crevice below, and this time, he felt something give.

      Tugging at the sword, Nicholas pulled the entire piece outwards and wondered if he had finally found the entrance to the preceptory. But Emery’s gasp of alarm made him step back. Had he opened some kind of crypt, or was something very much alive hidden inside? He could only hope that Emery’s brother was not entombed within.

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