by Amy Green
“Here,” Silas said, pointing at a grove of trees at one end of a canyon. “Welcome to Urad.”
What’s Urad? Does Urad mean sleep?
Jesse followed Silas toward the trees, then through them. Finally, they stopped in front of a patch of thick brambles and thorns. Silas stooped to crawl, but Jesse decided not to follow. I can sleep here just as well as…wherever Silas is going.
From behind him, Rae muttered some kind of threat, which Jesse’s tired mind didn’t understand. Then she shoved him into the brambles, which Jesse did understand. The shock of pain roused him enough to make him crawl after Silas.
The ground was hard, and his lame leg throbbed with the pressure. The briars seemed to go on forever. Then, Silas stopped and pulled aside a thick curtain of moss to reveal a dark hole in the side of the mountain.
But that’s not possible…is it? Maybe I’m already dreaming.
“We’re here,” Silas said, crawling into the cave.
Jesse would have smiled—he would have jumped up and down with joy—but that would have taken far too much energy. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jesse remembered he didn’t like small, dark caves that looked threatening, but he was too tired to care.
The cave was dark and cool inside. The rocks were hard, but that didn’t bother Jesse. He laid his pack down for a pillow and collapsed on the ground by the entrance. Rae and Silas were talking again. They can tell me in the morning was his last thought before he fell asleep.
When he next opened his eyes, the cave was glowing with golden light. He sat up and brushed away the moss from the cave entrance, looking outside. A few brave flecks of sunlight made their way through the thicket of thorns surrounding the cave. Early afternoon, Jesse guessed.
“A nice place to rest, isn’t it?” Silas asked. Jesse turned around to face him. He was leaning against the wall, a bit deeper into the cave where the light was dimmer and the shadows longer.
“Any place would have been a good place to rest,” Jesse said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
A slight smile twitched at the corner of Silas’ mouth. “Yes, I was afraid we were going to have to carry you the rest of the way.”
We. “Where’s Rae?”
“She insisted on going on a scouting foray,” Silas said. “I think she just wanted to get out of the cave. Like I told her, it’s hardly necessary. Even if Captain Demetri did manage to follow us, he is from District Four. This cave is secure, and, more importantly, obscure. Urad is little known outside of District Two.”
“This place has a name?”
Silas nodded. “There used to be a city here in these caverns that marked the start of the Deep Mines. But these far eastern mines were abandoned long ago.”
“A city underground?” That seemed strange to Jesse.
“Not underground,” Silas said. “Just inside the mountain. The Roarics felt safer here, surrounded by rock.”
The Roarics. Jesse had heard of them before, but he couldn’t remember where.
Jesse tried to stand and nearly hit his head on the ceiling of the cave. He settled for stooping, walking a little farther into the cave. Although the light was dim, the only things Jesse could see beside dirt and rocks were two large wooden pillars supporting the roof of the cavern. “I don’t see any evidence of a city.”
“It was deeper in. We would need to go through many tunnels and caverns to reach it, I’d wager. But even then, you wouldn’t find much to look at. Urad was destroyed.”
“Who destroyed it?”
“Patrol members.” Silas yawned loudly. He was clearly already bored with the subject. “Or, actually, more like a small army of Patrol, I’d guess.”
That wasn’t answer enough for Jesse. “But why? What happened?”
Silas shrugged. “Some kind of treason, I suppose. It happened years before I was born. Why does it matter?”
“I don’t know. It’s part of a story.”
“So?”
Jesse tried to think of a way to explain himself without sounding foolish. How do you tell someone who only thinks in terms of facts and strategies why it’s important to hear stories? Eventually, he gave up. “I just wanted to know.”
There was silence in the cave for a minute. “Who were the Roarics?” Jesse asked, almost timidly.
“A race of dwarves. Hardy and strong. They worked in this section of the mine years ago, before they were wiped out.” As always, Silas answered patiently, even though it was clear he didn’t care.
An entire race wiped out, a city destroyed, and he doesn’t even know why? Jesse could hardly understand. It was frustrating, the lack of value those in District Two put on stories.
Jesse sat down by the entrance. Although the cave seemed safe enough, he preferred the sunlight to the dark shadows. This was not what he had planned on back in the woods outside of Mir. Well, we made it home, for a few moments at least.
To be honest, Jesse was tired of traveling, tired of running from the king’s men, tired of saying good-bye to the people he loved, not sure if they would ever meet again.
Jesse thought of Kayne’s strange parting words, “God be with you.” Not strange, for some in Amarias, perhaps, although few cared much about religion these days. But Jesse and his family had always been self-sufficient, and Kayne even more so.
Kayne had always looked after Jesse, especially after his parents disappeared. He had been the only one in Mir who hadn’t believed they abandoned him. Though gruff and hardened by life, Kayne was a good man. “That’s my religion,” he said. “Doing the right thing without a god to make me do it.”
So why would Kayne refer to a God he didn’t believe in? It had to be because of Parvel. Parvel was a firm believer in God, one of those who called themselves Christians, and had stayed with Kayne for nearly two weeks. Naturally, Kayne would pick up some of his phrases.
But he can’t actually believe in that nonsense, can he? Jesse just couldn’t understand the idea of worshiping an invisible God. Maybe some divine figure created the world, but a personal, invisible God who protects humans? That’s too much for me.
Jesse heard the sound of someone crashing through the brambles outside the cave, interrupting his thoughts.
“It’s probably Rae,” Silas whispered, backing deeper into the cave. “But, just in case….”
Jesse followed, and they both crouched behind a boulder in the darker part of the cave. “Silas!” Rae’s voice called. The tone of her voice gave Jesse a sick feeling. There must be trouble.
They peered out from behind the rock to see Rae tumble into the cave, out of breath. “Silas, Jesse, where are you?”
“Here,” Silas called, stepping from behind the rock. He hit his head on the roof of the cavern, and Jesse had to stop himself from laughing.
Rae’s words took all thoughts of laughter away. “They’re here,” Rae said, panting. “They’re here, and they know about the cave. I was above them, on the cliffs, and I heard them talking….” She paused to catch her breath. “Somehow, they found our trail. I don’t understand it. But they will find us here.”
Silas nodded, and Jesse could practically see his mind moving behind his gray eyes. “How far away are they?”
“Only a few minutes behind. I ran here as fast as I could.”
“We can’t keep running from them,” Silas said grimly. “They must have a tracking expert with them. And if they know about the cave….”
“You said there are tunnels here,” Jesse interrupted. “In the dark, they would have a hard time following us.”
“That’s true,” Silas said, nodding.
Jesse almost wished Silas hadn’t agreed. He had never liked the dark. Especially if there’s anything else living in these tunnels. He had heard stories of cave creatures with white, blind eyes that would attack based on scent alone.
Silas dropped to his kn
ees and ripped open his supply pack. “We’ll have to proceed slowly so we don’t fall into any pits.” He held up the flint triumphantly. “This will help.”
“And what do you suggest we light?” Jesse pointed out. He noticed Silas’ eyes on his staff, and he jerked it back, clutching it protectively. “I’d let you set my head on fire first!”
“Let’s have it, then.”
Jesse wasn’t entirely sure Silas was joking. Thankfully, Rae provided an alternative. She hurried into the darkness, feeling along the cave wall. “Here!”
Rejoining them, she presented Silas with a stick of wood fitted into an iron holder. “Your torch, sir,” she said, giving him a mock bow.
“How did you find this?” Jesse asked. He fingered the metal holder. Its surface was tarnished from years of disuse, but he could still see the rough design of a boar’s head formed by the iron.
“I woke up early and explored the cave while you and Silas were still sleeping,” Rae said, shrugging.
Of course she did. Jesse was sure Rae never ran out of energy. He was surprised she slept at all.
Silas lit the torch, and the resulting glow made Jesse feel slightly safer. “Come on,” Silas said, holding the torch in front of him as he made his way into the shadows of the cave.
Rae bit her lip, for once not following immediately behind him. “And you’re sure the ghosts of the Roarics are just a local superstition?”
“What?” Jesse blurted.
Rae glanced at Jesse. “Silas didn’t tell you?”
“No,” Jesse said, glaring at Silas in the dark. “He failed to mention ghosts.”
Silas shrugged. “I’ve heard that people from District One are superstitious, and I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Oh, because I’m far less worried now that we’re running from a Patrol of armed guards into a dark pit haunted by ghosts,” Jesse shot back.
“See. I knew you’d be upset.”
“Well, I’ll be upset if Captain Demetri and his men shoot arrows through us while we stand here talking,” Rae snapped. Clearly, she’d rather risk ghosts than stay still, doing nothing. “Come on.”
Although Silas led the way with the torch, Rae and Jesse had an easier time scrambling through the passageways, since both were nearly a head shorter than their leader. I never thought I would be grateful to be short, Jesse thought, as Silas bumped his head on a low outcropping for the third time.
Jesse had a hard time getting a good look at the cave, since he was forced to walk with a slight stoop, but there were signs that the tunnels had clearly once been home to a civilized people group. Here and there a torch was lashed to the wall, and the stone nearby was darkened from soot. Jesse spotted a threshing floor for wheat, and a broken piece of pottery. Once, he saw something like a well, but Silas wouldn’t let him stop to examine it.
“We may need water if we run out of supplies,” Jesse pointed out.
“We have plenty in the packs,” Silas reminded him. “Now keep walking and stop talking.”
Jesse did stop talking, but for a different reason. The packs. He felt his back, just to make sure. The pack of supplies was not there. Jesse could see the pack in his mind, almost as if he were actually looking at it. It was laying beside the mouth of the cave. That will be the first thing Captain Demetri sees when he and his men reach the cave.
Ahead of him, Silas had stopped. I have to tell him. But how? Jesse could hardly picture Silas’ reaction, but he was sure he would be furious. And Rae, she’ll be even more angry. Oh, why? Why did it have to be me?
Feeling like some ancient curse had turned his feet into the same stone that formed the cave walls, Jesse joined Silas and Rae. “Silas….”
“Shh,” he hissed, not looking back at him. Jesse glanced up to see that he and Rae were staring at something in the tunnel in front of them.
A light was glowing dimly from behind a large rock formation that nearly blocked the path.
“Maybe one of the Roarics forgot to blow out his torch,” Jesse said, half-jokingly. But the light flickered strangely, almost like it really was another torch. Ghosts don’t exist…do they?
“I’ll look,” Rae volunteered, her hand lightly brushing against the hilt of her sword. “Maybe there’s a hole that lets in light from the surface.”
“No,” Silas warned, drawing his bow. In his hurry, he hit his head on the ceiling for the fourth time. “Wait for us!” But Rae had already stepped forward, darting behind the rock.
In the next second, her scream echoed in the cave.
“Rae!” Silas and Jesse shouted together, taking the few steps to the formation in running leaps.
“Don’t move,” a strange, deep voice commanded.
Jesse froze. Captain Demetri?
But the person who stepped from behind the rocks—a torch in one hand and a spear, which he held to Rae’s throat, in the other—looked nothing like the Patrol captain. He was a dwarf, one who barely came to Rae’s shoulders, and he had a long, dark beard and fierce eyes. His clothes seemed to be nothing more than a collection of rags, wrapped around him and tied with a length of rope.
If he is a ghost, he doesn’t look like I imagined one would. The Roaric did look fierce and very annoyed by their presence, none of which was good for Rae, who seemed to be trying not to breathe.
“Please, take your spear away,” Silas said, slowly and calmly. He had also stopped at the Roaric’s command. “We mean you no harm.”
The Roaric’s eyes darted to the bow Silas held at the ready. Silas, understanding his meaning, dropped his weapon.
“Jesse,” Silas said, never looking away from Rae and the Roaric, “put down your sword.”
“Oh.” Since he had never used it, Jesse often forgot he carried a sword at all. He pulled it clumsily from his sheath and let it clatter to the ground.
“You,” the Roaric said, nodding at Jesse. “Take her sword.”
“You mean Rae’s?” Jesse asked. He immediately felt foolish. What other “hers” are there in this cave? He practically had to pry Rae’s fingers away from the hilt to get at it—her hands were frozen like the expression of fear on her face.
“Who are you?” Jesse asked, still not convinced the Roaric in front of him, for that must be what he is, was not a ghost.
“My name is Bern, of the hunter clan,” he replied tersely. “And you are my prisoners. You will follow me.”
He yanked Rae forward, still holding his spear close to her.
“Where are we going?” Jesse ventured. Silas glared at him, clearly not wanting him to irritate their captor.
Bern looked at him in disbelief, as if it should be obvious. “To New Urad, of course.”
Chapter 4
Tunnels cut through the dark stone of the cave like a maze. It reminded Jesse, strangely, of the lair of a giant worm, burrowing deep into the ground. We would have been able to lose Captain Demetri and the Patrol easily down here, he thought.
As he watched Bern the Roaric march Rae forward at the end of his spear, Jesse decided it was better to be in his hands than in the captain’s. Maybe he’ll let us go when he discovers we were only taking shelter in the cave.
As they stooped through another fork in the tunnel, Jesse asked, “Where do all these tunnels lead?”
Bern did not look back at him. “Many places. Wine-presses. Grain storage. Wells. Blacksmiths. Weavers. Most of them abandoned now.”
“But so many tunnels?”
“All of the Deep Mines are like this,” Bern said. “That is what I have heard. I have never traveled from this cave.”
Although his words were clipped and gruff, he seemed perfectly willing to talk to his captives. Almost as if he hasn’t had anyone to talk to for a while.
The thought had occurred to Jesse that Bern might be the lone survivor of the massacre Silas had talked about, or perha
ps one of a few. The Patrol couldn’t have killed everyone, not with so many places to run.
Again, he wondered what the Roarics had done to deserve such a harsh punishment. “Some kind of treason,” Silas had said. That explanation did not predict good things for them. If the Roarics rebelled against the king, how will they treat members of the Youth Guard, the king’s special fighting force?
The more they walked, the more convinced Jesse was that Bern wouldn’t need to hold Rae hostage. We would never be able to find our way back anyway.
After they passed an archway carved with strange symbols, Jesse notice a kind of path, marked with glowing stones. He stooped to look at one of them. Gray stone with white flecks. “Silas,” he said, excitedly, “this is the same rock your Rebellion stone was made of!”
Silas just pulled him up. “Come on,” he hissed. “He’ll think you’re trying to run away!”
“I just wanted to….”
“Rae could be hurt because of your foolish dawdling!” Silas shoved him forward, making Jesse scrape his head on the rock.
“What are these stones?” Jesse asked, hoping Bern would know the answer.
This time, Bern stopped and glanced back at Jesse. “You Above-grounders ask many questions.”
“Not all of us,” Silas said dryly.
“We in New Urad rarely ask questions,” Bern said. Jesse didn't think Bern was being critical; he was simply stating a fact.
“We used to mine these stones for the king before the Fall,” he continued. “In New Urad, they are the only light at all.”
Jesse frowned. Imagine living life in a stone prison, with only glowing rocks for light.
He knew he would hate it. It was hard enough for him to walk in the near-darkness of the cave, and he had only been there for one day. The problem is not being able to see where I’m going, Jesse decided. I don’t like stepping out into the dark.
All of a sudden, Rae gasped, and Jesse jerked his head up. But Bern hadn’t brought the spear closer to her. She had merely stepped through another archway, this one twice as large as the first.