“You cannot change the stars, my lady. Men such as I will live and die, our names never to be remembered. But yours may well live forever. Keep that thought with you always, even when things appear their blackest. Listen to the wind, child. Does it not speak to you?”
Stacy nodded fearfully. Outside Aleya was howling and screaming in a way she had never known. There was a message upon Aleya’s breath, she knew, although she was not yet certain she could understand it. “Aleya always speaks to me, Alryc. I’ve known it since I was a child. I know her better than the wolves, better than any Dweller.”
“And the whale, Salome? She spoke with you, also?”
Again Stacy nodded. “Yes, once. The day we first sighted land. She said she had brought me to safety.”
The astronomer smiled a knowing smile. Stacy realized he was keeping other thoughts hidden from her, but she dared not ask why because the answer might only frighten her more. She remembered a dream she had often had these past weeks. In the dream she saw two open roads. One would lead to glory and fame, the other to mystery and danger. One road was as bright as Balaka, the other as black as the pits of Hel. The right road was for her to choose. And Aleya sang: “Khalea, Khalea, let me be your guide. Let me find for you the way; let me take you to the crown. For so long I have waited; for the birth of the Empire Princess.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The shaft of the passageway slanted downward at a sharp angle; flames from the torches sent shadows leaping across the walls. Cicero growled at the sight of the winding tunnel, putting his head low and sniffing at the dank, musty air. Stacy peered back over her shoulder, past her companions, to the mouth of the cave. Trevor was sleeping more peacefully now. The young soldier staying behind with him sat close by his side, placing small pieces of kindling onto the smoldering fire. She turned back toward the tunnel, and with both wolves at her side, and Alryc right behind, she led them single file down into the dark.
After a few minutes the tunnel grew wider. At either side stood strange rock formations, pillar like, rising from the earth. Stony, icicle-shaped stalactites hung down from above as if ready to fall upon them like great swords. Moss spread beneath their feet, weed and slime clung to the walls.
The dripping became louder; the tunnel twisted upward. As they walked, their feet disturbed thick layers of dust. Stacy stumbled among bits of crumbling stone. Suddenly there was a glimmer of daylight. Looking up, shading her eyes from the brightness, she saw a small fissure amid the jumbled rock of the ceiling, allowing strong streams of light to pour down across the tunnel.
Cicero cautiously moved ahead, past the fissure. He stopped abruptly and snarled. Stacy signaled for the others to wait and followed his sound cautiously.
“What is it, Cicero?” she whispered, her canine eyes darting to and fro.
“The tunnel, Khalea. Look. It opens into two passages. One winds up, the other down, deeper into the earth.”
The girl listened intently. Dripping water sounds were coming from the downward passage. “We’ll take that one,” she said authoritatively.
As the others reached them, she led the way to the shaft on the left and once again they began a sharp descent. Here the earth became hard; sharp stones dug through their boots, slashing through the leather. Torchlight flickered, and small lizards dashed into the grim recesses of the wall.
After a while, the tunnel flattened and became wide again. It opened quite suddenly into a vast cavern of pillars and scattered boulders. In the middle there was a dark pool of water with what seemed to be a small stream feeding it as it wound down from somewhere above.
Stacy and Alryc knelt beside it and put the water to their mouths. “It’s fresh,” said the astronomer. “There must be a constant supply coming down from above.”
Stacy agreed. They all rested for a while after they drank their fill. The water was cold and good, pure and fresh. As the others relaxed, rubbing at blistered feet and stretching aching muscles, Stacy used the time to explore a little bit deeper. Using a torch borrowed from one of the soldiers, she moved from the cavern into the twisting shaft that began across the water. It was long and deep and would take a long time to fully explore. But its steady downward slant convinced her that it might eventually lead them to the base of the mountain, perhaps to some hidden exit. And if there were one, they could go down the mountain without having to make the treacherous descent in snow. She ran back and brought Alryc to see. The astronomer concurred, much to her relief. “Shall we continue, then?” he asked.
Stacy nodded. “We might as well. Call the others.” Then Cicero and Snorri, eyes glowing, moved out into the dark and were soon well ahead, out of sight.
Stacy led the band forward. Suddenly the air began to heat. After a short while, they were forced to slow down, discard their jackets. Strange, thought Stacy, she had expected the depths of the cave to be warm, sheltered as it was from the outside world, but not like this. It was a lulling warmth like a fire, making them drowsy.
“Can’t we rest a while?” asked Melinda with a yawn.
Stacy shook her head violently. “Absolutely not! We’ve got to keep going —” A distant sound sent them whirling.
The Ranger girl’s mouth hung open. “Stacy! Listen!”
Stacy froze in her place; so did everyone else. A low sound came again, dull and far away — but strangely familiar.
“Fara above!” cried Stacy. She recognized the sound — and it sent chills down her spine. Things!
She glanced back in the direction of the pool. A shadow passed beneath the dim light of Alryc’s torch.
“They’re behind us!” cried Robin, tightening her fingers around her bow.
The grunts grew louder. Fiercer. Descending down the shaft came a pack of hairy creatures, half-baboon, half-man. Alyrc pushed his torch at arm’s length, toward them. For the first time they stood face to face with the dreaded things.
They were large creatures, although smaller than men, long-limbed with sharp razor-like claws at the end of long bony fingers. Their faces were muzzled, more or less ape-like, but the small eyes showed a measure of cunning and intelligence. Fangs projected from the lips of gaping mouths. In their hands they wielded sticks and clubs and sharp sword-like pieces of rock. Then they began to advance.
They shrieked warcries and abruptly leaped down the passage with savage swiftness. Stacy whirled, plunging her dagger into the gut of the foul-smelling lead attacker. The creature moaned and tore madly at her with his claws. She dodged deftly to the side, drew out the bloody blade and plunged it again and again into the furry cap of light-colored hair at the back of its neck. The animal staggered, then slumped down in a heap at her feet.
Twang!
Melinda’s bow sang brightly. The arrow smacked cleanly between the eyes of another dreaded thing. Its companions pushed it aside and came charging, heaving clubs and rock swords. The soldiers met the blows with their blades. Metal clashed on rock, sparks flew. Alryc pushed his torch against the fur of another. Its coat ablaze, the thing ran shrieking down the passage, a living ball of flame, howling in torment.
Again Melinda let loose an arrow. Yet another thing crumpled at her feet, groping about darkly as the girl drew her dagger and slit its throat. The grunting and wailing became terrible. The band moved back and huddled closely together as the creatures began to regroup and charge again.
“We’ve got to get out of here!” cried Alryc frantically.
But to where? Stacy peered over her shoulder. The passage seemed blacker and more frightening than ever before. But then she smiled. From out of that dimness came the racing wolves. From their advance position they had heard the fray and were now bounding back to help. Cicero leaped high and brought down another attacker. The thing screamed in abject terror as the wolf’s weight slammed it across hard ground. Other things stumbled over it, waving rock swords, and charged again in strength. Stacy gasped at the sight. There seemed to be no end to their numbers!
A scream from behind. Sh
e spun to see one of the soldiers fail, a thing climbing over his back. Again she plunged the silver dagger. Snorri crouched, then leaped high. Another thing fell back dazed. Fangs sunk ever deeper. The creature moaned and doubled over. As it did, Alryc’s sword severed its head from its massive shoulders and sent it rolling down the passageway.
“Into the depths, Khalea!” snarled Cicero, dark blood dripping from his fangs. “We can’t hold our ground much longer!”
The band pressed themselves ever deeper into the passage. The things grouped to follow. Stacy and Cicero covered the others as they fled. At their feet lay no less than a dozen fallen fiends. Wolf cries filled the air, above the frantic wails of the enemy. With each moment Cicero and the girl gained in courage, even as the things began to cower. Stacy fought like a true huntress, Cicero like the wild mountain wolf he was. Slowly the creatures fell back to lick their wounds. Then Stacy and Cicero turned and fled down the passage, to where the others crouched in wait.
“What now?” asked a pale and drawn Melinda who rested with her crossbow between her legs. The exhausted group sat scattered about gloomily, except for Alryc who was busy dressing a deep wound that a soldier had sustained. He gave little consideration to the needle-thin cuts crisscrossed over his own body. Stacy glanced about pensively and said, “We can’t go back the way we came, that’s certain. We’ll have to keep moving and hope this tunnel will finally take us down the mountain.”
“But what about Trevor?” asked a shaking Robin. “Shouldn’t we try to get back for him?”
Ruefully, Stacy shook her head. “We can’t go back. We’d never make it. But he’ll be safe at the cave. I don’t think the things will look for him. They’re too concerned about us. We’re the enemy now, and they’ll be back to deal with us.”
“Then we’d better not tarry,” said Alryc glumly. “Those things won’t be licking their wounds for long.”
Off again they went, farther into the bowels of the mountain, alert for the return of the fiends. Gradually the tunnel became hotter. Stacy touched the walls. Warm as an oven, she realized with trepidation. Neither she nor any of the others had any explanation for this phenomenon. At length the tunnel once again straightened, then opened into what could only be described as a vast underground canyon. On either side loomed huge bluffs and pillars of tinted purple-red granite beneath a high ceiling. At the end of the canyon, high above a crooked archway, there was a distant shaft, and from the shaft came a gleam of light, pale and fine as a needle. It was then, and only then, that they began to realize they had long ago passed the ground level of the mountain. They were now beneath it, far underground, and with still no sign of a hidden exit that would bring them back into the open.
It was there, exhausted and hungry, that they rested beside a shallow stream and ate the last of their meager provisions. It was a glum meal. Meanwhile, Cicero and Snorri used the time to scout the tunnel ahead again.
“Very strange, Khalea,” snorted the mountain wolf when he came back. “Ahead are more tunnels, all leading deeper into other great shafts.”
Stacy raised her brows. “What do you make of it?”
“I think the shafts lead into other mountains. Very odd, Khalea. The walls are sheer, smooth as stones in the sea.”
“Perhaps we’d better have a look,” she said, becoming increasingly curious about this forbidding world.
She and Alryc followed the wolf through the maze of tunnels. At the end of the first they stood and gaped in the light of Alryc’s torch. Before them stood no less than four concave shafts, all running at slight downward angles; all, as the wolf had said, smooth as marble. Stacy went to examine the first. Alryc stood peering from behind, and when the girl glanced at him, he whispered, “These tunnels were made by men, it seems to me.”
The girl’s eyes widened at this astounding statement. “Man-made? Are you sure, Alryc? Maybe the walls are smooth like this because they’ve had no contact with the elements for thousands of years.”
The astronomer ran his fingers gently along the closest wall. Then he bent down and touched the floor. Dust gave way, exposing what appeared to be a pattern in the surface. Dim colors, badly faded, criss-crossed from one side to the next, a pattern that could have been a mosaic of some kind chiseled into the stone.
“Alryc,” said Stacy with puzzlement, “is it possible that men might still dwell down here? Under the mountains?”
The astronomer shrugged and looked hard down the dark tunnel. “Perhaps, my lady. Men may have been forced down here at one time because of hostile elements above.”
“Like things?”
He nodded darkly. “Or even white wolves. Who can say? But these tunnels have been unused for years. See how thick the dust is.”
“They must lead somewhere,” said Stacy. “There’s got to be a way out, wherever it takes us. We’ll get some sleep, then start afresh in a few hours. Meanwhile let’s get back to the others. I don’t like leaving them alone.”
The astronomer nodded and smiled. Stacy, despite her own doubts about herself, had assumed her new role quite easily.
*
A few hours later, rested, they set out again. The air became more stuffy and dank. They moved more swiftly now, since the floor was firm. From time to time Stacy marveled at the intensity of the colors that marked the strange passage. Even though long centuries had probably passed since the tunnels were last used, the walls still glittered and shone. Spiders and small mice abounded, especially as the dim light at the end of the tunnel began to grow larger. What at first had been little more than a pinprick of light soon gave way to a dazzling swell of almost blinding color. They came to a bright-crimson open corridor, with a ceiling so far above their heads it made them dizzy to look up. The walls were smooth, the broken tile floor now covered with dust. At the far end of the corridor stood an archway, man-made, and behind it, what appeared to be a sheet of solid rock from floor to ceiling.
Alryc gently ran his hands up and down the sides, then said, “I think this might be some kind of secret door. But see how firmly it’s constructed. We’ll never be able to push it open, I fear.”
“Perhaps we won’t have to,” replied the girl. She ran her own hands over it. “There must be a hidden spring, something that will unlatch —”
Just as she spoke there was a dull moan. Her finger had pressed against a well-hidden recess. As the rock slid slowly to the side, they were met with a sudden gust of cold air. Stacy threw her jacket over her shoulders and peered inside. There were alarming noises within, and she stepped back.
“Things?” asked Alryc, fondling his weapon nervously.
The girl shook her head. “I don’t think so. Listen.”
From far away came a series of soft, ethereal sounds. Alryc looked perplexed. Melinda strained her ears to listen and then said, “It sounds like bells. Little bells.”
“It’s black as Hel inside there,” said Robin uneasily.
“But maybe it offers a way out,” replied Stacy. “Alryc, give me your torch.” The astronomer reluctantly handed it to her, and the girl boldly stepped inside. A strong gust of air blew out the fire. Shivering from the cold, she came back out puzzled and worried.
“It’s like a blizzard in there,” she said. “And the winds —” She held up the blown-out torch. The soldier relit it with his own.
“It must be a draft wind,” said Alryc, “sweeping down from the mountaintops.”
Stacy sighed with worry. If they were to continue, it would have to be in the dark, the almost total darkness that she had just experienced.
“Perhaps we should go back and choose another tunnel,” said Alryc.
“No. There’s something to be found at the end of this cavern, I’m sure. You hear those bells, don’t you? Cicero, go first. Snorri and I will lead the others.”
And as she expected, within seconds the other torches had blown out. The wind whooshed down from above. They pulled their collars tightly about them and formed a single line. It took long min
utes until Stacy’s eyes adjusted to the dark. Then she saw new massive walls looming on either side of their path. The tinkling of bells grew louder all around them. Stacy peered up, straining to determine from where the sound was coming. But the blowing winds and echoes made it impossible.
Suddenly there came another sound: the low grunt of things!
From all around the grunts and wails intensified. Stacy realized they were trapped. And where could they possibly run? “Keep moving!” she cried, sensing the terror of her sightless companions. The things stood back, lurking in the dark shadows, small eyes glowing. But they had yet to make a move to fight.
The things began to circle, pressing forward. Alryc made a frantic effort to light his torch. The flints struck brightly for an instant, revealing the ugly faces of the creatures. Stacy wielded her dagger menacingly in their direction. They grunted among themselves and snarled but still they seemed reluctant to attack. Stacy couldn’t understand why. Her group was outnumbered, caught in total darkness in a place they neither knew nor understood. It was a perfect trap. Why did the things linger? What were they waiting for?
An alarming note sounded; one of the creatures darted directly into Stacy’s path, emitting squeals and barks that sounded uncannily canine. Frightened, Stacy thrust her knife. The thing dodged and ran off to the shadows. Another noise — one from above. Stacy whirled as a huge net abruptly descended, entangling them all. Stacy squirmed and wheeled about, caught in its knotted folds. The cord was rough and thick; she worked her dagger with a frenzy. Around her, Robin and Melinda fell to the floor, entangled and screaming for help. Cicero growled and fought to free himself, but the more he twisted and turned the tighter the grip of the net became. They were snared — like beasts!
Screams of things filled the night as other forms, dark, swarthy, literally seemed to leap from hidden walls. Alryc stumbled and grappled with the net as the twine wound around his throat. The things were now running all about, leaping and climbing all over the net, but they seemed unconcerned about Stacy and her companions, concerned only with fleeing the net as fast as possible.
Lady of the Haven (Empire Princess Book 1) Page 24