Moon Princess (11 page)

‘If you can find your way back to her, we should go right now,' Sienna said determinedly. ‘We've got to get them out of there.'

‘You're right,' said Zou, looking thoughtful. ‘You should set out now. It'll be daybreak in a few hours.'

‘Aren't you coming with us?' asked Sienna.

Zou shook his head. ‘I'd only slow you down. I'll meet you at the temple for the Moon
Festival. Feng, take the statue with you, just in case. Rufus, I think you should stay with me. If anything happens, you'll be able to find your way back to Sienna and lead me to them.'

‘I don't want to go without Rufus,' protested Sienna. She'd only just been reunited with him, after all!

‘The doctor's right,' said Rufus, nuzzling her leg. ‘Everything points to something big happening at the temple during the Moon Festival. You need to go with Minka and Feng to find your mother, and you've got to hurry. If you get into difficulties, I can come and find you.'

Sienna picked him up and hugged him tightly.

Zou led the small party downstairs. Opening a small iron door right next to the front door, he pulled out two rusty old bicycles. One of them was a delivery bike with a small basket between the front wheel and the handlebars.

‘There you go,' said Zou with satisfaction. ‘You should get there quickly on these.'

Sienna wheeled out the bike with the basket. Minka jumped inside with a huge leap, and the little dragon followed, keeping a safe distance from Minka, who hissed at him suspiciously.

Feng sat down on the saddle of the other bike. His feet barely touched the floor. Sienna hugged and kissed Rufus goodbye. She wanted to hug Zou, but instead held her hand out shyly.

The doctor gripped it firmly in his. ‘Now it's up to you,' he said. ‘You and Feng are strong, and you have two strong friends with you. Whatever happens, don't give up. And never stop having faith.'

Sienna swung herself on to her bike, and wobbled along behind Feng.

13 Meikuang – The Mine

D
espite the cool night air, riding the bike was hot work, and Sienna soon abandoned her disguise. She pushed the headscarf back from her face and hair, which clung to her skin in thick strands, and hitched up the long skirt, which kept getting caught in the pedals.

They'd been travelling for what felt like hours and were exhausted, the lights of their bikes throwing dizzy shapes across the road, but the prospect of finding their loved ones drove them
on. Minka sat in the basket, showing them the way, while the little dragon slept.

They had left the city a long time ago, and the broad plains slowly gave way to a hilly landscape.

Suddenly Feng stopped. Sienna rode up to him.

‘Have we gone the wrong way?' she asked Feng. Then she realized he was looking at a pale blue streak of sky on the horizon. Dawn. The day of the Moon Festival was breaking!

‘To the left,' hissed Minka.

There was a small road among the trees, which the children followed as the sun rose steadily. Sienna was struck by how fresh the air felt. The city felt a million miles away – the roads no longer tarmac but packed dirt, the signs few and far between. She hadn't breathed woodland air since she had left England.

All of a sudden, the forest opened out. A collection of ramshackle buildings huddled in the clearing, a tall cylindrical tower at the centre. The windows of the buildings had been broken, and ivy was growing through the gaps. A dirty white van was parked outside.

‘I remember this place,' Feng said, lingering in
the cover of the trees. ‘Gege worked here a while ago. But it's been closed for years.'

Suddenly a tall man emerged from a door at the side of a small building.

‘That's one of the guards,' hissed Minka. ‘Take cover.' Feng and Sienna ducked behind a bush at the edge of the clearing, but the stranger was staring at the screen of his phone. After a few moments, he slipped the phone into his pocket and – muttering under his breath – climbed into the van. After a few moments, the engine sputtered to life and the guard drove away.

They waited until the noise of the engine had sunk into the distance. Sienna was glad the guard had left, but still worried about the task ahead. ‘How are we going to find them?' she said, standing up. ‘The mine is sure to have lots of tunnels and caves! They could be anywhere.'

‘I can sense your mother,' said Minka. ‘We'll find our way.' And the white cat padded to the low building the guard had left.

Sienna took a deep breath and glanced at Feng. He nodded grimly. ‘Come on,' he said. The little dragon let out a miniature roar of determination.

Together the four friends crossed the sandy ground towards the entrance to the mine. The door was secured with a padlock. Sienna tugged as hard as she could but the lock held fast. ‘There must be another way inside,' she said, frustrated.

‘Wait here,' said Feng. He disappeared briefly and returned with a small piece of wire in his hand. He worked it inside the lock and had opened the door within a few seconds.

‘Where did you learn to do that?' asked Sienna, wide-eyed. Feng just shrugged and pushed the heavy door open. They were in a dark, cramped hall.

Sienna and Feng spotted a tap and drank thirstily before walking across the hall. They found themselves standing in front of a latticed cage.

‘That's the lift that runs down to the mine,' said Feng.

Minka nodded. ‘They must have taken your mother and Gege down there in it.'

Sienna suddenly felt scared. She turned to Feng. ‘If anything happens to one of us, the other one has to carry on the search for mum and Gege, right? Then we take them to the temple to
meet Zou and find out what's going on. Agreed?'

He nodded and the two friends hugged. Then they turned to the lift.

Beside it stood a number of torches. ‘Let's take a few of those with us,' said Feng. They took a torch each and got into the lift. Feng closed the door and pressed a button. The cage squeaked and creaked, and then, with a huge jolt, the lift was hurtling downwards.

It seemed to Sienna that the journey went on for ever. It was pitch black when they finally stopped and got out. She switched on her torch, illuminating a small room. There were two tunnels leading into darkness.

‘Along here,' said Minka, and the little white cat led them into the tunnel to the right. There was no discernible end, and the further they travelled, the narrower it got. Sienna could only just walk upright, and she had the feeling that the huge weight of stone and earth above could collapse on her head at any time.

Suddenly a mountain of black rubble loomed in front of them, reaching up to the ceiling.

‘They're nearby, beyond this rockfall,' said Minka, swishing her tail in frustration. ‘We'll
have to try a different route.'

But Sienna, desperate to reach her mother and knowing she was so close, fell to her knees and began to dig with her bare hands. ‘We're nearly there,' she said. ‘We can't stop now.'

Feng joined her, scraping away at the coarse, rocky earth.

The friends dug and dug, until their hands started to bleed. Meanwhile, Minka and Xiaolong tried to find another way through, Minka sniffing and pawing at the walls, the little dragon shooting sparks as he flew in circles overhead.

‘Shine your light this way!' called Minka after some time. ‘I've found something.'

Sienna straightened up and aimed her torch at the cat. The beam fell on a small opening in the tunnel wall. ‘We might be able to crawl through there – perhaps it'd get us past the fallen stones,' Sienna said, and quickly disappeared on all fours into the opening.

Feng had no choice but to follow her.

But the tunnel grew narrower and narrower …

‘We have to turn back, or we'll get stuck,' said Feng.

‘Wait! I think it's opening up.' Sienna pushed
herself onwards as the tunnel widened. ‘Come on,' she said to Feng.

‘I'm not sure about this!' called Minka from behind. Her voice sounded very far away. The two invisible friends had lingered further down the tunnel. ‘I have a bad feeling. Please come back, Sienna! We will find another way, I promise.'

Sienna knelt down on the floor to catch her breath. She couldn't give up, with Mum so near! As she rested, her mind swimming, she noticed something odd about the tunnel walls. Although dirty, glimpses of white shone here and there under the beam of her torch. She reached out and scratched away the earth nearby with her fingernail – a small moon-like crescent revealed the stone of the tunnel beneath, sparkling white and slightly damp to the touch.

Pure white: just like the statue. Just like the dust on Sun's hands. Just like moonlight.

But before Sienna could finish the thought, the tunnel began to shake and they heard a squeaking noise. ‘What's that?' she asked.

‘Sounds like the lift,' Feng replied. Small clumps of earth began to fall from the ceiling on
to their heads. ‘We have to go back!' he yelled.

But it was too late! Stone and gravel fell down from the ceiling and crumbled from the walls. Sienna and Feng huddled together and held their hands over their heads as more earth also hammered from the ceiling behind them.

The whole thing was over within seconds.

‘Minka? Xiaolong?' cried Sienna.

Silence. A wall of rubble separated the children from the invisible friends.

Feng glanced at her anxiously. ‘What is it? What's wrong now?'

‘We're alone,' Sienna said simply, her voice hollow. She flicked the switch of her torch but it was dead, broken in the impact. They were alone in the dark and, worst of all, they were separated from Minka and Xiaolong. Now they had no way of knowing how to reach her mum and Gege
or
how to get out of the old mine.

Trying to swallow her feelings of panic, Sienna felt her way along the passage in the other direction, only to find it blocked in front of them too. ‘We're trapped!' she said. She tried to think, her heart pounding in her ears. There was nobody to help them, and they were deep in
a mine, a rockfall at either end of the tunnel. Although … what if … ?

A vague plan started to form in Sienna's mind. Would it work?
Could
it work … ? Turning to Feng, she started to speak. ‘We are in real danger,' she said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. ‘We only have one chance to get out of here. You have to call Xiaolong: make him use his flames to blast through the rockfall and get to us.'

‘But he's so small!' Feng sounded doubtful.

‘He's getting stronger each day. You have to believe in him. I know he has the power to do this. I can see him, but I can't summon him. Only
you
can do that.'

Feng hesitated. Then he gave a small nod and closed his eyes. After a few moments of silence, Feng opened his eyes. ‘It's not working!' he cried in frustration.

‘You can do it, Feng! Believe in him.' Sienna closed her eyes too and pictured the little dragon breathing a huge fireball, blasting through the rubble. She realized that it was getting harder to breathe: the air was running out!

Suddenly they heard a faint noise. It sounded
like roaring. ‘I can hear that,' murmured Feng. ‘But what is it?'

There was another roar and then a cloud of black dust fell over the children. ‘Oh no, not another collapse,' whispered Sienna.

Then there was a flash of light and fresh air filled the small space where Feng and Sienna crouched. More soot fell. When it cleared, Sienna opened her eyes and saw that the rockfall had been destroyed, clearing space for them to make their way back down the tunnel. And there was Xiaolong, hovering in front of Feng. He seemed bigger, and
much
stronger.

To Sienna's amazement and delight, Feng reached out his hand and stroked the little dragon. ‘I can see you!' whispered Feng, touching Xiaolong's snout tenderly. ‘My friend, my little dragon.'

A noise from above caused Sienna to look up. As she did, she saw a large rock coming loose from the ceiling. ‘Look out!' she shouted at Feng – but it was too late. She felt a sharp pain in her head and felt warmth spatter against her cheek.

Then there was nothing but darkness.