Download Sleeping Beauty - Harper Voyager Books

The darkness of the cave mouth was less profound than that of thenight outside. A light burned at the back of it. Hakon and I edgedin deeper, axe and sword gripped in frozen hands.The light still blinked and now we saw that it sat beneath thelegend ‘Bunker 17’ and above a rectangular doorway set into theback of the cavern.‘A Builder light.’ The cold circle of illumination had no hint offlame about it.Hakon made a slow rotation, checking the shadowed margins. Iglanced back at the falling snow, lit by the glow of the Builders’ light.White legions racing silent across the cave mouth. I wondered at theghosts we’d seen. Spirits of those who failed to do correctly that lastthing anyone ever has to, and die properly, or something older still... the minds of long-dead Builders trapped within their machineryand projected in some game of puppetry and shadow. I’d met bothkinds before and had thought these ones to be true ghosts, but nowmy suspicions grew.‘We should stay here,’ I said, turning and stepping away from thedoorway.As I did so a wave of warm air followed me, thick with the scentof roasting meat. I turned back to face the corridor leading awayinto the hill. ‘It’s a trap. And not a subtle one.’‘In the north we take what we need.’ Hakon lifted his axe, alreadyswallowing as the juices ran in his mouth.My stomach rumbled. With a shrug I followed him in. ‘We dothat in the south too.’Lights went on ahead of us down the length of the corridor. Maybeone in seven of the white glass discs on the ceiling still worked but