65

Energized

Sitting tied back-to-back, Deilune spoke quietly to Linda, "Beilla and Abzeig were busy last night."

She nodded, her eyes surveying the scene as well. At the base of Mount Breima's "hands" the slope lay littered with blasted rocks. Farther up, she made out a vague opening in the rocks. "Dale, is that a cave up there?"

He followed her gaze up past where Beilla and Abzeig were emptying items from their backpacks. "Call me Fred Flintstone if it's not."

She frowned. "Dale, this is serious! Maybe deadly serious."

"Yes, but my heart tells me it'll be okay."

"But, isn't that what Beilla wants? Your heart. The Kareima."

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"He definitely wants the Kareima, but something else is going on, or he wouldn't have dragged us all the way to the top of Mount Breima. He needs us for something. It may be dangerous. It might even be deadly, but right now he still needs us."

He drew her close. "Besides, don't you feel something?" He put her hand over his heart, or what used to be his heart. “Do you feel it, Linda? There's an energy here. I feel stronger than before. I can see it in you, too. Your color is better. Your limp is almost gone."

"I know what you mean, but I thought it was just fear and adrenaline. Do you think the Kareima is causing it?"

"I think the Kareima knows it’s near home."

"What?"

"Mount Breima is where Hawk brought the Kareima to le Breima in his hour of need. These great stone spires are le Breima's hands."

"Then what is Beilla planning? What is that cave up there?"

"That, my beautifully undead wife, is Beilla's way of taking us into the heart of the mountain. I believe he thinks the Astreima is there. And I'm beginning to think he may be right."

"Why?"

In answer, Deilune nodded towards Beilla who carried a powerful flashlight in his hand. Yet its bright beam seemed unnecessary. Because a more brilliant red-orange light radiated from his chest. The flame of the Fareima, the Firestone, which hung around Beilla’s neck, fiercely lit his broad, determined face and all the darkness of the cave before him.