This is now the 23rd chapter of “Of Wind and Wings”.  See the table of contents here.

“You seem awfully distracted this evening.”

Ed jolted himself back to the present and smiled.

“You have a good day with The Grubb, then?” Liza asked.

“Yes.  We went up into the mountains this afternoon.  It was lovely.”

Ed’s mind drifted back to the mountains, to the little lake with its pure, clear waters reflecting the high peaks.  He had sat beneath a tree just enjoying the peace and quiet while The Grubb studied a leaf.  Ed decided that this would forever be the place he would go in his mind when he needed to relax, his happy place.

Thinking of The Grubb, Ed remembered a question he had for Liza.

“Are there caves around here?”

“What?  Caves?”

“Yes.  A cavern system.  If not, perhaps mines or tunnels or something?”

Liza shook her head. “There are some shallow caves here and abouts, but nothing I would consider a ‘cavern system’.  There wasn’t any mining and no tunnels.  No.”

“What of Richard Barrow’s cave?”

“If such a place existed, it was most likely little more than a shelter from the storm, not a deep cavern.  Why this interest in caves all of sudden?  Have a strong urge to go spelunking?”

“No, it was something The Grubb said.  I asked if what he calls ‘The Others’ lived in the mountains.  He said they might visit, but they lived other places.  He said they didn’t live where we could see them.  He said they lived beneath.  When I asked ‘beneath what’, he shrugged and said ‘beneath’ again. So I was wondering if they were supposed to live in caves or what.”

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