Mercury Mind (The Downfall Saga Book 1) (33 page)

“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.”

“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.

C
addaric 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?”

“Well, there are a few ways,” said Thurl slowly. “They could break it into pieces ... or they could lift it with pulleys, maybe a lever.”

“Good,” said Caddaric. “Which should we use here?”

“We don’t have a pulley or two. Chopping the tree would take time and couldn’t be good for the leg.”

“Then you and Brutus are in charge of finding a suitable lever,” said Caddaric, handing a machete to Thurl.

Bodhi and Caddaric found a large rock to use as a fulcrum, and rolled it back to the tree, while Clyde kept Tam distracted.

Once they had the lever setup, Brutus, Thurl, Bodhi and Caddaric took up positions beside it.

“Once we get it up, Clyde, you pull Tam out from under the tree. This will hurt, but you need to get him out. Okay, on three. One ... Two ... Three.”

The four of them pushed down on the sapling they were using as a lever. Tam let out a cry of pain and fell unconscious as Clyde pulled him out.

“Put it down.”

They all let out the breath that they were holding and dropped the tree back onto the ground.

“Legs don’t bend like that,” said Thurl.

“No they don’t,” said Caddaric. “We’re going to need a splint for his leg, and something to carry him on.”

Caddaric did his best to mesh the bones in his leg together before tying a splint tightly around his leg. They cut the lever in half, and tied a few saplings between the poles to use as a stretcher. Brutus and Thurl each grabbed an end, and easily hoisted Tam into the air. Caddaric walked beside Tam to make sure he didn’t fall off the stretcher, while Clyde lead the way back to the clearing.

They were nearly back at the clearing when a bright ball of light burst into a flower in the sky above them.

“Oh, no,” said Caddaric. “Not a Downfall.”

“What’s so bad ab—” said Clyde, but he trailed off as Caddaric raced ahead to the clearing.

The clearing was in chaos. The Clachwards were in a frenzy. Groups of them were ripping trees out of the ground and tossing them at random. A flash of lightning lit the clearing, and he saw a Clachward pick up a student on the far side of the clearing and toss her twenty feet away. She lay still in a crumpled heap on the grass.

The students were in various states of fright. Some cowered on the ground, hoping the Clachwards would leave them alone. A few stood in the center of the clearing, lighting the wood stacked in piles in a circle around them. One held a bright red light in the air over the clearing. Most were fleeing into the woods.

“Hey!” bellowed Caddaric. “Listen up! We planned for this and I expect for you to do your jobs.”