Mercury Mind (The Downfall Saga Book 1)

by Chris Mccready

  “Where do we go?” asked Ravyn.

  “I ... uh,” said Kort.

  They had all experienced earthquakes before, but never when they were in the middle of a forest. The decision was made for them, as the bank gave way beneath them and they splashed into the shallow creek, only to feel the ground give way beneath them. They fell through a mess of water, stones and mud, before landing on a hard, flat surface.

  “Is everybody okay?” asked Kort groggily.

  The fall had aggravated his sore ribs from when he’d collided with the Clachward’s foot. Donovan got to his hands and knees and vomited onto the floor in pain, each heave created a shooting pain in his side.

  “We’ve got to move,” said Donovan, wiping his mouth. “More could collapse on top of us.”

  The three of them dislodged themselves from the debris, and crawled away from the waterfall that used to be a creek above them. After taking a moment to collect themselves, Ravyn and Kort lit up the tunnel around them.

  “Why ... why is there a cave here?” asked Ravyn.

  “This is no cave,” said Kort, running his hand along a smooth limestone wall. “The walls are too flat to be natural. If it wasn’t for the water seeping in from above, the floor and ceiling would be too.”

  They found themselves in a large rectangular tunnel. Over time, the tree roots and water from above had penetrated the ceiling, causing small sections to collapse into piles on the floor. A few roots snaked their way down the walls and had started forcing their way into cracks on the floor. The engineering of the tunnel was excellent to have held up so well, but they had no idea who could have carved it out of the solid rock beneath the forest.

  They each sent their light the opposite way down the tunnel until they were only a pinprick of light in the distance.

  “In that case, why is there a tunnel here?” she asked.

  “Your guess is as good as ours,” said Kort.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” said Donovan. “There must be a reason why the Clachwards are in this area, and they need a place to take shelter during the day. This tunnel provides an awfully convenient solution.”

  “Think of the time it would take to do this, let alone the money involved,” she said.

  “Nothing compared to what is required to make all of those Clachwards, and who knows how many more could be down here.”

  “I’ll take your word on that,” said Ravyn. “The important thing is getting out of here. One of you try boosting me up.”

  Kort put his back against the wall under the collapsed ceiling. Donovan helped her climb onto his shoulders. Stretching as far as she could, she was still a few feet from the opening.

  “It’s no good,” she said. “Even if you boosted me over your head, I wouldn’t be able to reach, and there’s no way either of you would be able to follow.”

  “I think it’s time to call for help,” said Donovan.

  They carefully set Ravyn back onto the floor. She created a small red light in the palm of her hand. The red glow painting sinister silhouettes onto her face. She closed her eyes to concentrate and it grew in intensity until they couldn’t look directly at it. She let it rise slowly in the air until it towered over the trees.

  “Now we wait,” said Kort, lighting the area around them with a pale white orb.

  They didn’t have to wait long until the moonlight shining through the opening above was blocked by a dark shape.

  “Thank g—” said Kort.

  A small section of the ceiling collapsed around the opening and a Clachward fell into the tunnel. It made a large splash when it hit the puddle that was forming on the floor.

  Shocked by its sudden appearance, Kort lost his concentration and the tunnel fell back into darkness, the only light was from the pale moon high overhead, and then it too was blocked by a dark shape. The floor shook as the second shape fell into the opening a moment later.

  “Get your light back,” said Donovan, surprisingly calm despite their circumstances.

  Kort’s light flared back to life and they saw the two Clachwards climbing back to their feet. Kort shooed them back a couple of feet with his light until another fell into the tunnel in front of them. As the newest one got to its feet, it tried to move away from the light. Its large frame blocked the light from the two behind it and they began pushing it reluctantly forward towards the light.

  “I say we run for it,” said Kort.

  “No, we need to wait for help,” said Ravyn.

  Donovan wasted precious moments trying to make up his mind, and a fourth dropped from above.

  “We go,” said Donovan. Ravyn flashed him an angry glare which he tried to ignore. “If any come down the tunnel from the other way, then we’ll be trapped, and you’ll have to drop the signal in order to help hold them off. Look, I’m sorry. If I wasn’t the worst in our class I could actually help you too. Instead I’m just deadweight for you to protect.”

  “I know I haven’t said this out loud, but your—” started Kort. As soon as he turned his head to face Donovan, his light began to dim.

  “Your light,” said Donovan.

  “Right,” said Kort.

  “Ravyn, you’ll have to go first to light the way for us,” said Donovan. “Kort, you’ve got the rear.”

  “Thanks for noticing.”

  “What? It’s not the time for jokes.”

  “I’ll keep making jokes until my cold corpse is lowered into the ground.”

  “That could happen sooner than you’d like.”

  “All the more reason to get it out of my system.”

  “Boys!” said Ravyn. “Are we going or are you staying here to have a heartfelt moment.”

  “I just wish it was brighter so I could stare into his lovely violet eyes,” said Kort.

  The three of them retreated down the tunnel. They walked in a small pool of light, the rest swallowed by darkness. Their feet splashed in the occasional puddle on the floor, and they had to wind their way around long, pointed stalactites hanging from the ceiling, some of which hung down at head height. The air was stagnant and musty, and grew worse as they moved away from the opening.

  The tunnel ran straight for a long time before reaching a tee intersection.

  “Which way?” asked Ravyn.

  They’d put some distance between themselves and their pursuers as they’d hurried down the tunnel. Kort abandoned his spot at the back to check out one of the branches with his light, while Ravyn checked the other one.

  “Anything?” asked Donovan.

  “A few openings on either side, before it turns to the left,” said Ravyn.

  “This one runs straight,” said Kort.

  “Let’s take the one with more options,” said Ravyn.

  Kort retrieved his light and turned to follow Ravyn when Donovan noticed something on the wall.

  “Hey, what’s that?” asked Donovan.

  There was a symbol carved into the wall opposite the tunnel they’d come down. As Kort brought his light closer he got a better look at it. The carving was old, and the sharp edges had worn away, but Donovan was certain that it was the same symbol as the one on the necklace that he’d ripped off the man with Eamon over the winter break, a dagger wrapped in lightning.

  “I’ve seen it before, but I never figured out what it meant,” said Donovan.

  Fine limestone dust fell to the floor as Ravyn traced the symbol with her finger.

  “I’ve saw this in a book,” she said. “I was studying for Professor Cleary’s exam. There was a history book in the library. Well, it was closer to a poetry book about the myths surrounding the creation of the world. This was the symbol chosen by the Zerenists, but why would it be down here?”

  “They supposedly lived in the mountains for many years,” said Kort. “Maybe there are tunnels connected to Haven which no one knows about.”

  “That seems unlikely after all these years,” said Ravyn. “Almost as unlikely as you remembering something from his class.”
<
br />   “Hey, I studied ... once.”

  “Imagine if you did it regularly,” she said.

  Kort gave a slight shudder, but didn’t respond.

  “Come on,” said Donovan. “We need to keep some distance between us and the Clachwards in case we need to backtrack.”

  They paused at the first opening in the side of the tunnel. The opening was rectangular and they found the same worn carving in the wall nearby.

  “It goes on for a ways,” said Ravyn.

  “You check it out, but turn back after a couple of minutes,” said Donovan. “Kort, you check down the next opening. Both of you be careful.”

  “You want us to leave you alone in the dark with the Clachwards behind us?” she said. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “I’m no good exploring on my own. At least this way I can listen for them and call out if they get close. Now go.”

  Reluctantly Ravyn turned to head down the side tunnel. Upon entering, she picked up her pace and began jogging, her heavy steps echoing in the confines of the tunnel.

  As Kort headed down the next branch, Donovan found himself plunged into darkness, alone. He forced himself to take a couple of deep breaths and get his fear back under control. Crouching down near the edge of the tunnel, he pressed his left ear against the cold tunnel floor. As his heart stopped racing, he began to make out a series of sounds that were slowly growing louder. It sounded like a distant avalanche of rocks repeatedly bouncing off each other, thudding down the slope with every impact. He had no way to judge how far away they were, but as each vibration reached his ear, he wished that Kort or Ravyn would come running back, yelling that they had found a way out, but he had no such luck.

  Ravyn made her way back first and reported that a few small square rooms opened off the tunnel, but the tunnel itself dead ended.

  The two of them quietly stalked their way to the opening which Kort had headed down, and could see his light in the distance, slowly growing brighter. Donovan cupped his hand over his ear to help warm it up from resting on the cold floor while they waited for Kort.

  “No luck,” he said, and they continued down the main branch.

  After many tense minutes of travel, Donovan thought he saw something ahead.

  “Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or is there a faint light near the top of the tunnel?” he asked.

  Ravyn extinguished her light, and they could now all see a faint pool of light. Throwing caution to the wind, they raced down the tunnel and found another section which had caved in. Fallen rocks formed a mound a couple of feet high. Pale moonlight flowed in through a narrow slit near the ceiling.

  “I think I can fit through the opening,” said Ravyn.

  “It looks awfully tight,” said Kort.

  “Let’s get Ravyn through and she can help the rest of us,” said Donovan.

  They boosted her up, and after a few tense moments of shallow breaths and frantic wriggling, she was through.

  “What’s up there?” asked Kort.

  “Trees, bushes, dirt. You know, the usual.”

  Donovan drew the machete from its sheath, and passed it through the opening, handle first.

  “See if you can widen the opening,” he said.

  Donovan and Kort took a couple steps away to avoid getting hit by falling debris. Kort sent his light down the tunnel, and they saw the Clachwards about a hundred yards away. The tunnel was so full of them that even when the first one attempted to recoil from the light, the momentum of the horde kept pushing it along.

  “Can you hurry it up?” asked Kort. “We’ve got company.”

  “After a few more seconds of muffled groans, Ravyn answered, “That’s as good as it’s going to get.”

  “You’re going first,” said Donovan.

  “No way am I leaving you down here with them,” said Kort.

  “You’re a lot thicker than me,” said Donovan. “If you get stuck, I want to be able to shove your ample backside through.”

  “Fine, but you better be right behind me.”

  Donovan braced himself against the wall, and cupped his hands together to boost Kort up. Kort grabbed the edges of the opening and managed to pull his head through before his chest got stuck.

  “A little help,” came his muffled cry.

  With Donovan shoving, Ravyn pulling on his arms and Kort trying not to breathe, they managed to move him a few inches.

  Donovan could hear the Clachwards closing in, but kept quiet and focused on getting Kort through the opening. With a herculean shove that cut clothing and flesh alike, Kort was through.

  “Give me your hand,” said Kort, but he was too late.

  A pair of rocky arms wrapped around his chest, and lifted him off the ground as if he weighed nothing at all.

  “Go!” he yelled. “Get to the clearing.”

  “Donovan!” screamed Ravyn, shoving her head through the opening.

  Seeing Donovan in the Clachwards clutches, she lost control and her magic flared. A ball of light, the size of Donovan’s head, shot into the Clachward that was holding him. After a moment, it crumbled into dust and he was free.

  Donovan scrambled down the dark tunnel, while Ravyn withdrew her head from the opening.

  “Get the professors,” came his echoing scream through the opening.

  Ravyn collapsed from exhaustion and lay still on the ground.

  Kort tried to get his bearings as the first ball of light burst in the sky above them, signaling the start of a Downfall.

  Chapter 25

  Caddaric continued to find tasks to keep everyone occupied. The Clachwards were quite docile as students herded them away from the center of the clearing with orbs of light. They’d collected enough fire wood to keep the fires burning for several hours. Most of the students sat in front of the pile and used their magic to heat the wood and removed most of the water so it would burn easier when needed.

  Each new student was directed to him so he could add them to the attendance sheet he was keeping in his head, and assign them tasks. Most of the students had found their way back to the clearing. Clyde and his other friends hadn’t returned, nor Kort, Ravyn and Donovan. He worried that they were in trouble, but unless someone sent up a signal, they would never find them in the forest.

  He thought he heard a faint scream in the distance. “Keep it down,” he said. “I thought I heard something.”

  Absolute silence spread through the clearing, only interrupted by the occasional gust of wind and the footfalls of the Clachwards. He couldn’t keep a smile from forming on his face, most of the professors couldn’t get the level of obedience that was just displayed.

  He heard the noise again, and this time was sure that it was a person. Clyde ran into the clearing, screaming his head off like he’d been stabbed. The Clachwards became agitated and tried to head over to him, but the other students kept them back.

  He continued to scream until Caddaric slapped him hard across the face, as he struggled to keep a neutral expression on his own face.

  “What was that for?” said Clyde.

  “For getting the Clachwards worked up,” said Caddaric.

  Clyde took a look around the clearing for the first time, and jumped when he saw all of the Clachwards near the edge of the clearing.

  “Now what’s your problem?” asked Caddaric.

  “Quake ... tree ... Tam,” said Clyde, on the verge of panicking again.

  “We felt the quake as well. It was one of the biggest I’ve experienced. So a tree fell on top of Tam?”

  It took Clyde a moment to process the question before he started nodding vigorously.

  “Is he just pinned under a tree, or is he injured?”

  “Leg’s bad, but he’s okay.”

  “Did you use a red light to alert a professor?”

  He shook his head.

  Caddaric paused for a moment. Despite their duplicity, he couldn’t leave Tam trapped under a tree. He was tempted to send a couple of other students with Clyde, but
they were barely keeping their fear in check as it was. He was afraid that they’d lose it if they were sent out into the woods on their own.

  Everyone had been content to follow his instructions, and he was afraid that if something happened while he was gone, they’d panic and forget the plan. The oddest thought struck him, and he wished that Donovan or Ravyn were here. Either would provide him an option which would make this an easy decision.

  Caddaric put his arm around Clyde’s shoulders and they headed towards the woods together. He looked up before leaving the clearing and saw a dark bank of clouds closing in. A gust of wind struck them, bringing with it the scent of rain. A red light appeared in the eastern sky. There were only three people unaccounted for, but he could only help one group at a time. He silently wished them good luck before entering the woods with Clyde.

  “Let’s try to get back before the storm.”

  Clyde was surprisingly adept at navigating his way through the woods. They only had to stop once as he searched for clues of where they had to go.

  They crested a hill and saw Tam on his back, right leg pinned under a tree. Brutus, Thurl and Bodhi were clustered around him, watching the dark forest.

  “I’m pleasantly surprised to see you all still here,” said Caddaric.

  “What does that mean?” asked Thurl.

  “That most of the students freaked out when they saw a Clachward, and I’m glad to see that you stayed to protect your friend.”

  “Clachwards. Where?”

  “They were all over the clearing,” said Clyde.

  “Are you telling me that you haven’t bumped into a single one?” They all shook their heads. “You must be the luckiest students at Haven.”

  Caddaric bent down and felt Tam’s sweaty forehead.

  “You’re burning up,” said Caddaric. “How are you feeling?”

  “Cold. I can’t feel my leg.”

  “That’s to be expected,” said Caddaric reassuringly. “You’ll be fine once we get the tree off of you.

  “We tried to lift the tree, but it’s too heavy,” said Clyde.

  “Thurl, your father’s a miner,” said Caddaric. “How would he lift a heavy rock?”