"writing a spell. the strongest ones need special wording. it'll take me a few minutes."

"then perhaps i have time to check out the other entrance you think barron used. i want to see if he was also coming here."

"sure. if i finish first. i'll wait for you."

when andreas returned, ari had already finished her spell and was leaning against a rocky formation in the chamber of ages.

he held out an extra flashlight and pickaxe. "i found these dropped inside the other entrance. someone had indeed been inside, and he wasn't alone. two scents and tracks going both directions. one of them returned a second time."

ari took the tools and set them on a ledge. "i'll take these to ryan when we leave. if barron's crew can identify them, we'll know he was one set of tracks, and then we can concentrate on figuring out who was with him."

"and why they were here. i still don't know what these intruders want. i have seen nothing that could be carried away, no treasure to sell. nor can i comprehend how anyone would know that spirit cave exists."

"spirit cave. is that what's down this tunnel?" she gently shook a small packet in her hand. "since i'm eager to see it, let's get rid of our ghost."

she handed her flashlight to andreas, opened the packet to pour a handful of multicolored crystals like bath salts into her palm, and gestured for him to walk with her into the tunnel.

the apparition appeared immediately, its incorporeal image barring their path. ari bowed her head to the four winds, closed her eyes, and began the words of the spell:

formed from air to guard this path, let me pass or feel my wrath;

return now to sun and light, leave this place without a fight;

goddess, hear and grant my plea; so mote it be.

when she had repeated the chant three times, she tossed the crystals. the barrier sparked and sizzled. the apparition dissolved into swirls, circling around and around into a tighter spiral. it made one last swoop, causing ari to duck, then vanished in a silent flash of light.

"nicely done." andreas's voice broke into that sense of isolation ari felt every time she did a complex spell. he took her hand in his. "now, let me show you the most fascinating mystery in the caverns."

chapter six

ari crouched to follow andreas through a small opening and halted immediately when the air sparked. they had breached an energy barrier, causing her witch magic to surge then settle to sing in harmony with an unknown source. the hum sent tingles up her arms, across her back, and down her legs. earth magic, formed by natural forces. she inched forward, dropped a couple of feet into a twenty-by-twenty-foot chamber on the other side, and swept her light over the rocky interior. despite the obvious magical power around her, her first look revealed nothing out of the ordinary. more open and less humid than the outer chamber behind them, this cave owed its formation more to upheaval than erosion. niches and crevices riddled the fractured surfaces, and rock debris, both large and small, littered the cave floor. the center of the room-empty as far as she could see-pulsed with energy.

"turn off your flashlight, arianna."

the moment the light went out, she gasped. ley lines. not one but two. running about six inches above the surface, the magical markers gleamed a greenish white, like glow sticks in the dark. "a vortex," she breathed. "and a powerful one. this is a ley tunnel."

even if she hadn't felt the power, the color alone designated a magical intersection strong enough to form a whirlpool of time and dimensions.

"by the goddess, andreas. do you know what you have here?"

such conjunctions were rare concentrations of power. it explained the energy barrier at the cave opening. power creating power. the vortex was hiding, protecting itself.

out of respect, she stepped over the glowing lines, careful to avoid even the slightest interference with the telluric connection. the earth currents, or ley lines, ran between earth's vortexes of power, uniting such places as stonehenge with the pyramids of egypt or the black hills with machu picchu.

"have you plotted where each of the lines goes?" she whispered. even that small sound seemed inappropriate in such a sacred place.

"only minimal work. one of them connects with mesa verde in colorado." andreas also kept his voice low and his eyes focused on the vortex as if compelled by its magic. "the other may point toward rome. they have not been fully charted."

she leaned forward to peer at his face. "do you realize the significance of having two lines meet like this?" since few people outside the practice of sorcery understood ley line magic, she went on to explain without waiting for an answer. "they form a vortex. a huge source of power and a gateway to other dimensions, other times. this one could be misused for good or evil and should be guarded 24/7. it could be a world changer." he frowned, and she said impatiently, "it's a big deal. things might try to come through from other places, other centuries, or even different dimensions. evil things-like demons or hellhounds."

"i do not doubt you. only wondering why i had not heard this before."

she returned to the opening where they'd entered, using her flashlight to examine the walls. she noticed tool marks from forced entry, worn smooth by time, but still noticeable. "who opened the chamber? how long have you known about it?"

andreas held up his hands. "not my fault. this happened long before any of daron's people arrived. perhaps zylla can tell you. she lived in the caverns before a vampire court was established in riverdale."

hmm. the vampire wise woman again. a definite priority. ari returned her gaze to the ley lines. what would a human treasure hunter want with a ley tunnel? he wouldn't have the innate power to use its magic. for travel or anything else. and who put the ghost spell in the path? why all the sudden interest in this magical spot? why now? ari's imagination created all kinds of disturbing answers. from unauthorized time travel-with the devastating potential to rewrite history and thereby change the present and future-to an end-of-the-world invasion by demon hordes. the possibilities were terrifying.

"i need to report this to the magic council and put it under council protection."

"no. you will not reveal its existence."

she spun to look at him. "you can't mean that."

"i not only mean it, but as the prince of riverdale, i forbid you to reveal its presence." he drew his brows into unyielding lines. "you are standing in vampire territory. the secret is ours. you would not have learned of the magical chamber if i had not brought you here." he smoothed his features. "we will protect its secrets."

"like you've done so far? how many have already found it, andreas? barron and the spellmaker, at least. it's not a secret anymore."

"it can be again. now that you have told me the extent of its power, our court will guard it from misuse. the treasure hunter is already dead. whoever conjured the ghost spell must have done so to prevent knowledge of the cave from spreading. we will find and insure his silence. as for spirit cave itself, the entrances will be sealed and a permanent guard station established in the chamber of ages." his black eyes glittered. "this is our territory. you have no jurisdiction beyond crimes committed here. no authority to reveal our secrets. i will not argue with you, arianna. spirit cave is ours to protect."

she glared at him but was more startled than angry. she'd never seen andreas so intractable. even at his most arrogant, he was always approachable. you didn't become a prince of the vampires unless you were capable of strong command, but he'd never refused to listen to her side. was there a more sinister reason he was so uncompromising?

"did vampires kill jase barron?"

"no. i would have told you." he narrowed his eyes to slits in the dim side-glow of her flashlight. "but if we had known he might reveal our secret, ways to silence him would have been considered."

ari drew a sharp breath. "is that meant to be a threat against me?"

"what?" andreas blinked in apparent confusion. "no. never. mio dio, arianna. surely you do not think i would harm you." he grabbed her arms, his black gaze demanding. "do you?"

"no, i guess not, but you're not being very reasonable about this."

"we protect our own. that includes our territory. i promise you we will take appropriate actions to protect the vortex." he moved one hand to her chin. "before we leave here, i need your promise."

"i can't keep secrets from the magic council." ari pulled away. "you have no right to ask me to. would you expect this of anyone else? or is it because i slept with you?"

andreas went still.

aw, hell. what had she done? she shouldn't have brought this down to a personal level. yet it felt as if he was asking her to choose between him and her job. she hadn't expected that. now, she didn't know how to get them out of this hole.

"forget i said that," she mumbled. when the silence continued to grow, she stepped away from him and began to circle the room, looking behind boulders, down crevices.

"what are you doing?" he finally asked.

"looking for an indian artifact. that's what barron's lawyers said he was after. as a human, he wouldn't be able to see or feel the ley lines, so maybe he didn't even know they were here. i wonder which treasure the ghost conjurer was protecting." she threw andreas a suspicious glance. "do you know where the artifact is? is that another secret you're keeping?"

andreas leaned against the chamber entrance. "i already told you i was not aware of anything valuable."

"yeah, but you neglected to mention the ley lines too."

she continued to inspect the room. andreas watched as she crouched to stick her hand in a small opening. when she peeked up at him, his arms were crossed over his chest. not a good sign. standing at the chamber opening, he effectively blocked the exit.