Page 145 of The Last Kingdom

Following the paved path that led past the grotto.

Fenn motioned ahead. “Shall we?”

* * *

LUKE CARRIED BOTH AN AUTOMATIC RIFLE AND A SIDEARM. TONIand Derrick were likewise double armed. Dorner? She seemed content with one pistol, and he wondered if she knew how to use it. Crashing through that gate had generated plenty of noise to disturb this gigantic bowl of quiet. They were advancing down a paved path that led deeper into the forested grounds. On their left a building appeared, marked by a sign as the Moorish Kiosk. Lights burned near it, illuminating what looked like a miniature mosque, complete with a gilded dome. Snow clung to the evergreens all around like frosting. They kept moving, flanked out on the path. Luke led the way on the right, Toni behind him. Koger and Dorner on the left.

Something caught his sharp eyes ahead.

Forms emerging through the darkness.

He raised a clenched fist and signaled stop.

* * *

DERRICK WAS ANNOYED THAT TRINITY HAD INSISTED ON ACTIVELYparticipating. That was foolishness, but she outranked him. She’d been pleased when he’d told her about Rife’s and Knight’s sudden demise. Not a moment’s concern for two dead Scythe. That woman was all business. But she beat the hell out of the paper pushers he routinely dealt with, all fond of nitpicking and finding problems that didn’t exist.

He noticed something ahead. Blackness moving. Luke had seen it, too, and signaled stop. He reached back with his left hand and halted Trinity. They all stood rigid. The forms ahead were not moving either.

He didn’t like the feel of things.

Not at all.

* * *

LUKE SCOURED THE DARKNESS WITH HIS GAZE, FOCUSING OFF TO ONEside, while concentrating on his peripheral vision. It somehow helped to bring things in the dark into clearer perspective.

Especially movement.

He’d learned the trick long ago while hunting deer.

“Somebody’s there,” Toni whispered in his ear.

She’d apparently seen it too. “Yep.”

“They’re standing. Watching. Maybe thirty yards away.”

Then he caught new movement.

Down.

To their knees.

He motioned a warning to Koger, then swept his left arm back, taking them both off the path.

Just as gunfire erupted.

Chapter 81

COTTON STEPPED THROUGH THE DOORWAY INTO THE VENUS GROTTO.The inside was warm. Too warm, actually. And they all removed their coats and gloves.

The corridor beyond was adorned with huge stalactites dropping from the ceiling. Rock surrounded him on all sides. He touched the wall and realized none of it was real. All faux. Created in the nineteenth century to satisfy the peculiar whims of Ludwig II. He’d read about this fantastical place, though he’d never visited.

The two armed men stood behind him, just out of reach, Ming and the duke ahead. Fenn disappeared around a corner. They followed. Suddenly, the place came alive with bright light, revealing a vaulted space about thirty feet high, more ceiling stalactites achieved through an artful use of canvas, cement, and paint. Every grotto needed a lake and this one was no exception. It filled most of the space beneath the vault. Most surreal was the gilded shell-shaped boat, glittering with crystals, complete with a shell-shaped throne. It no longer floated on the water, but instead rested on a metal pedestal that projected just above the surface. He recalled reading that Ludwig loved to be rowed across the lake by a servant while colored lights played across the ceiling, especially in a particular shade of deep blue that had been tough to create. Another machine had even produced waves on the lake. Sometimes live opera had been sung from the stage.

Fenn stood twenty feet away, his arms outstretched. “Ludwig’s dream world.”

That it was.