Highland Island (Book 6)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

At the end of the short passage was the staircase which spiralled down into the very base rock on which the Keep was built. Gilbarta always said it was as if the very air was being pulled from the space as she travelled down this stairway. It was why she had refused after the two times she had ever descended into the depths. It gave her the chills for days afterwards, yet Isla could not see any major difference afterwards. She may not like it, she did not want to know what went on down here, and she knew parts but not everything and would have liked to have kept it that way. Now it seemed she was destined to find out, one way or another.

Picking up the bottom torch, knowing that the passage way this far down was kept dimly lit in case of an escapee. She hefted the tray further up her side, gripping it tightly, as she leaned up on tip toe to release the torch from its bracket. The stretch pulling on her back, a twinge making her cringe from the washing she had completed earlier. The metallic scrape of the bottom of the torch on the stone echoed through the darkened passage way. The curve of the stone reflecting the light back at her. It was as if she were alone, submerged beneath a Keep which contained her family and friends. Here she was unaided and unaccompanied by everyone. That was before she put her betrayal into the mix.

Turning sideways so the tray was the first into the tunnel, it was not wide enough for her to hold the tray and torch and walk fully forward. The slight angle she walked at meant that she had to count her steps as the passage curved around the bottom of the staircase. Eventually it straightened out for a few steps before a heavy metal studded door blocked her way. Placing the torch in the low bracket, the metal once more scraping on stone, she made three raps on the door. The hollow sound echoed around her. The darkness trying to press in on the flames, light and dark fighting with one another, just as the battle for courage inside Isla. She had no idea how she could look at her Uncle and still plan to complete the acts she did.

The door cracked open, this time a slight creak echoed down the passageway, but nothing like the imagination could supply. Just a little more light filtered into the passage, as the large shadowed figure entered the crack of the doorway. The scowl on his face, lit by the torch light beside her, the flickering flame just highlighting the shadowed crags of his face. His prominent brow and large nose led to a scary visage, if one did not know the man beneath.

"Good eve to ye Murray. Is my Uncle Artair around? I have the provisions he asked for." She turned slightly, let the covered tray fall into the dim light. Her voice sounded normal to her ear, even as the thudding of her heartbeat increased, unable to contain itself just within her chest.

Murray grasped the edge of the door, his large hand easily pulling the heavy door inward. "Aye, Isla, he is. Stay within and I will get him for ye." He turned and trudged away as she took the few steps past the doorway and into the small chamber beyond. The room was well lit from the torches lit between each door. The cells held solid doors, only a small window above her height to let any light beyond. The six doors were solid enough, but what lay beyond them was not of her ken. It was not something she ever want to know either, yet here she was about to do something which could help her intimately see what was on the other side.

Murray opened the smaller door opposite the one she entered through, just as she reached the table which took up the centre of the room. He disappeared inside, and she could hear nothing on the other side before it closed blocking her out. She slide the tray onto the rough and scratched wooden table top. The dice and small counters being pushed to the side by the edge of the tray. Whipping the cloth from the top, she started to unload her tray from the burden. The small dishes showcasing Cook's best, which caused Isla to smile. Cook may terrify the majority of the clan, but it seemed even she was scared of someone. There was always someone scarier out there.