Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(24)

On the plane ride over, Aidan and I had discussed the possibility. Because of Norway’s steep terrain, helicopter was the best way to scout for the site. But since landing a helicopter on a mountain wasn’t always possible, we’d planned on a mid-air descent. Aidan had offered to jump out of the plane first and turn into a griffon so that I could jump onto his back. While it sounded totally badass, and I’d almost taken him up on it, it also sounded way to intimate. No way was I riding on his back.

So we were going the old-fashioned way.

Neilson hovered the helicopter over the trees about forty feet from the ground. Once it was stable—relatively—she shouted, “Whenever you’re ready!”

Aidan and I glanced at each other and nodded, then turned to our separate doors on either side of the chopper. I pulled mine open and braced myself against the wind that whipped at my hair. My eyes watered. With my heart in my throat, I looked down.

Forty feet. Not so bad.

Enough to splat, but that was unlikely. At least, that’s what I had to tell myself. I grabbed the hook and cable near the door and latched it to the harness I was wearing.

“Ready?” Aidan shouted against the wind.

I met his gaze. “Yeah!”

“Watch out for the trolls!” Neilson added.

Of course there would be trolls.

We both crouched at our door. With one last look at his ridiculously handsome face—I was weak, what could I say?—I lowered myself out of the helicopter. My weight on the rope made the gears kick in and it slowly lowered me to the ground. The wind buffeted me. Hell of a ride.

When my feet touched down, I unhooked my harness. Aidan did the same. We stood in the middle of a sparse forest, the narrow-trunked pine enveloping us. With a wave, Neilson took off. We’d call her when we needed to get back out.

“You good?” Aidan asked.

“Better than.” I closed my eyes and focused on the tugging sensation at my middle. “We’re close.”

“Good,” Aidan said. “Because something is coming our way.”

My ears perked up. There was a rumbling in the forest, as if something huge were running at us. I hadn’t noticed it because I’d assumed it was the noise of the chopper flying away. Wrong.

I met Aidan’s gaze. “Trolls.”

Neilson hadn’t been joking. Some parts of Norway had a bit of a troll problem. They were huge. Fifteen feet tall on average and weighed about two thousand pounds. I’d never actually seen one, but I knew they liked to hang out around ancient sites.

“Follow me.” I set off through the forest, dodging tree trunks and jumping rocks. We were so close I could feel it. I assumed it was an ancient ruin of some kind, so we just had to get inside. If it was too small for the trolls to enter, they likely wouldn’t destroy it. They had too much respect for the ancient sites.

Getting out would be a problem, but we’d deal with that when the time came.

Water sounded in the distance, which increased the likelihood someone had once built something here.

“We’re close!” I shouted at Aidan, who ran at my side.

Suddenly, the trees thinned. Nothingness loomed before me. I skidded to a halt and looked down. A waterfall poured into a crystal pool about twenty feet below. The water sparkled, blue and inviting, surrounded by boulders and ferns. It looked deep enough to jump into.

“Oh no,” I breathed.

“Where is it?” Aidan asked.

The thunder of the trolls chasing us grew louder.

“In there!” I pointed to the pool.

“What do you mean?”

I freaking hated this part. That water was going to be icy. “It’s the entrance.”

“So we jump?”

I liked that Aidan took it in stride. I personally wanted to bitch and moan for a little longer. Swimming in my boots sucks, but there was no way I’d leave them behind.

But I ran out of time. A roar ripped through the forest, and I looked back to see two trolls burst from the trees. They were well over fifteen feet tall and looked like they were made of stone. As if the mountain had come alive and spit them out. They each carried an enormous club.

“Jump!” I threw myself off the cliff, my stomach threatening to leap out of my mouth. Wind whipped by as I plummeted. I crashed into icy cold water.

Pain.

It was so cold my muscles froze up, and a pounding headache speared through my head. I kicked for the surface.

When I burst through, Aidan was beside me, his dark hair plastered to his head.

“Where to now?” he asked.

“Below. Swim down and look for a hole in the rock, probably. Then swim along until we get inside.” Inside what, I wasn’t sure. But I’d been in three tombs like this before, and I hoped this would be the same. My job didn’t involve a whole lot of certainty.

The trolls above roared and I flinched. I treaded water and glanced up. They leaned over the cliff, glowering at us. Their roar made the leaves on the trees tremble.

“We can—”

The trolls leapt, crashing to the ground beside the pool. They’d jumped! I knew they couldn’t swim—rock sinks, after all—but they had long enough arms that they could grab us.

“Now!” I sucked in a breath and dove, the icy water enveloping me. It was beautiful and blue as I swam down, kicking as hard as I could. A dark patch in the rock caught my eye, and I swam for it, praying the tunnel wasn’t too long.