Quest's End: The Broken Key #3 (37 page)

Bart gazed to the sky and judged there still to be two or three hours of light left. Here at the bottom of the canyon, it tended to get dark fast once the sun started going down. “Be nice if we could get past it before nightfall,” he said. “Then we could see about making our way out in the morning.”

Riyan nodded. “Then things get interesting,” he said.

From the front of the boat they heard Chad say, “Not too interesting.”

They grinned. “But interesting makes life fun,” replied Bart, egging him on.

“I wouldn’t mind a touch of boredom here and there on occasion,” stated Chad.

Bart laughed. “I’ll see what I can do,” he replied.

They steadily made their way southward and had soon passed from the lake. The river was now wider and seemed to flow deeper. It was peaceful on the river, almost as if there were no cares in world. Birds flew overhead adding to the restful mood, their cries at times disturbing the quiet of the canyon.

And so things remained calm for the next hour or so until once again, they began to hear the now unmistakable sound of rough water ahead. “Can we be there already?” asked Seth.

“Maybe,” replied Riyan.

Though what was making the sound continued to be out of sight, the sound coming from up ahead promised a less than relaxing experience. Chyfe and Soth rowed on as the roar gradually grew louder.

When they finally saw the rough water ahead, it didn’t look all that bad. Some time in the past the right side of the canyon had slid into the river. Now, boulders of varying sizes caused the water to ripple and crash as it made its way through the debris.

Bart, who was on rudder duty, began angling them toward the left side of the river, as far away from the worst of it as he could. “Just take it easy and we’ll be fine,” he said encouragingly. Then to the two rowers, he said, “Main thing for you two to worry about is keeping us pointed downriver.”

Chyfe nodded his head in reply.

The water began to grow rough as they neared the age old landslide. Waves and eddies caused their little boat to pitch and yaw. The two rowers worked hard to keep them in proper alignment with the flow of the river while Bart steered them around the more prominent obstacles.

They dipped into watery valleys only to be thrust back upward with jarring force. Smashing back down onto the water with jaw rattling force, they maneuvered their way through the obstacle course.

Then they were past and the river grew calm once again. They were just congratulating themselves on making it through when Chad, who was now at the prow, saw the beginnings of another stretch of whitewater approaching. Unlike what they had just passed through, this time there was mist clouding the air beyond it.

“Bart!” Chad hollered. When he had Bart’s attention, he directed it to what was coming ahead.

“That might be where the last river converges,” Bart said, when he saw the cloud of mist.

As they left behind the roar of the whitewater where the canyon wall had collapsed, they began to hear the roar of turbulent water ahead. Drawing closer to the mist enshrouding the river, Chad was straining his eyes to pierce its concealing mass. When they reached the point where the roar of the water ahead of them drowned out that which was behind, Chad saw the water drop out of sight.

“Another drop coming!” he hollered.

“How bad is it?” shouted Bart from the rear of the boat.

Chad strove to determine the severity of the drop but couldn’t see past where the water dropped from sight. As they drew nearer, fear came over him as he realized why he couldn’t. “Waterfall!” he cried out.

“What?” hollered Bart.

“Waterfall!” he replied, pointing ahead. “We’re heading for a waterfall!”

Seth, who sat next to Chad in the prow, indicated a stretch of land not far off on their right. “There!” shouted Seth. “Take us there.”

Soth and Chyfe began rowing for all they were worth for the safety of the shore.

“Come on brother!” Seth exclaimed, encouraging his brother to greater efforts.

As Chad watched the fast approaching lip of the drop-off, he could hear the oars of the two rowers striking the water over and over in rapid strokes. “Faster!” he yelled. Turning back to Soth and Chyfe he said, “You must row faster.”

“Going…as fast…as I…can,” replied Chyfe.

Returning his gaze to the fore, he saw the drop-off approaching at a fast pace. Faster in fact than the stretch of shore they were tying to get to. “We’re not going to make it!” he hollered.

Bart glanced up and gauged their speed. Immediately, he knew Chad was right. “Straighten us out!” he shouted over the roar of the water. “We’re going over!” Using his oar vigorously, he worked with Soth and Chyfe as they struggled to straighten the boat out before reaching the drop-off.

“Hang on!” shouted Seth as the prow of the boat neared the drop-off.

Chad’s knuckles were gripping the edge of the boat so tightly they were practically digging into the wood. When at last he could see the water on the other side of the drop-off, his last hope of their making it through unscathed, died. For as far as he could see was churning water, massive swells, and tops of boulders jutting from the water. With a cry escaping his lips, the boat went over.

The other side of the drop-off was a steeply inclined slope. The first several yards, the water remained smooth as the boat picked up speed. Then it hit the first of the swells. Knocked to the side abruptly, the occupants hung on for dear life as water crashed over them.

“Row damn you!” cried out Bart to Soth and Chyfe. They had ceased their rowing to hang on as they went over the drop-off and the boat was beginning to turn sideways to the flow of the river. Dipping their oars once again back in the water, they struggled to straighten out.

“Kevik,” hollered Bart. Then the current suddenly grabbed hold and they were shot forward toward a boulder jutting six feet out of the water. “To the right!” he yelled to the rowers and they managed to avoid a deadly collision.

“Kevik!” Bart hollered again. “Goo us!”

His voice was drowned out by the roar of the water as he cast his spell. Shortly, each of them was securely attached to the boat.

The sudden appearance of the goo shocked Chyfe, but he was quick to realize the added stability gave him much needed leverage for rowing. Without the worry of being knocked from the boat, he could put his complete concentration on what he was doing.

From the prow Seth would shout, “Rock!” and those with oars fought to keep the boat from striking it.

Water began filling the boat from the continuous crashing of waves against them.

Wham! Crack!

The bottom of the boat struck an underwater rock and one of the boards gave way. “Kevik!” hollered Bart as he stared at the water rushing in. But then goo suddenly appeared to fill in the hole. It hadn’t covered the entire affected area completely and more water was seeping through.

“Rock!” came Seth’s warning and the rowers again worked to bypass an obstacle threatening to take out their boat. Rowing hard, they swung around the left side of the boulder only to find themselves at the top of another drop-off.

The boat fell almost vertically for ten feet before striking the water again. The impact was fierce and Chyfe lost his grip on his oar. Flying out of his hands, the oar was soon lost to the river.

“Bart!” Chyfe yelled as he twisted around. He didn’t need any words, his empty hands said everything.

Bart gave him the oar he’d been using for a rudder. They had to have two working in tandem in the middle or they would never remain pointed downstream.

Still riding massive swells that threatened to capsize them, their boat followed the river as it made its way around a bend. That’s when they saw the waterfall appear on their left.

Easily a hundred feet wide and fifty feet high, there was an incredible amount of water pouring down. This had to be the other river they had been expecting. The river they were upon flowed directly beneath the cascading mass as the two rivers merged. Easily half the surface of their river was being engulfed by the falling water. The other half was a churning nightmare.

“Oh my god!” exclaimed Riyan when he saw it. There was nowhere for them to go but straight toward it.

“This must be the Wrath of Hennon!” shouted Kevik.

Now impotent without his oar, Bart could only watch as the river pulled them ever closer. In the middle of the boat, Chyfe and Soth worked to keep them pointed in the right direction. “To the right,” he shouted to the rowers. “Keep us out of the falling water!”

Chyfe nodded. He and Soth struggled to keep them straight and away from the worst of the swells, while at the same time edging their boat further to the right.

“Faster!” shouted Bart as their progress to the right wasn’t moving along quick enough. “If that water hits us we’re dead!”

Soth and Chyfe rowed as if their lives depended on it, which it most likely did. As they rushed headlong toward the cascading water, so too did the boat work its way slowly to the right.

Bart shouted encouragement to them but it was lost in the now deafening roar of the falls. So intense was the sound that it felt as if it was reverberating through to their core.

The water level within the boat was now becoming dangerously high. Everyone but the rowers began using their hands to bail. It seemed that for every bit they removed, even more would pour in as the next swell rolled over them.

Rowers rowed and bailers bailed as they approached the base of the falls. The churning mass of water threatened to suck them beneath the cascading water. It was all Soth and Chyfe could do to keep them out of it.

In and out, out and in, went the oars until their arms screamed with pain. But they refused to give into it, for to give in was death. The river rushed along at the base of the falls, the current aiding them in escaping a watery death. Then before they knew it, they were past, but not out of the woods yet. Ahead lay a last series of cascades and drops before it was over.

“A little further and we’re home free!” shouted Riyan.

Sucked along by the current, their boat raced into a whitewater hell.

Wham!

Their boat was struck by a swell causing it to lurch to the side. Then it felt like they were airborne as they went over a drop-off.

Wham! Crack!

Hitting the water with a jarring impact, another of the boards cracked. “Come on,” Bart said to the boat. “Hold together a little longer.”

“Rock ahead!” yelled Seth.

“To the right!” shouted Riyan. But the current was too strong and they were taken to the left.

Wham!

They slammed into the rock and the front of their boat splintered away. Then the current took them over another drop-off.

Wham!

The boat struck another rock and this time it completely disintegrated. Kevik tried to dispel the goo holding them to the boat but the impact knocked the wind from him. Before he could get himself under control again, the section of boat to which he was attached began dragging him under.

Panic threatened to take his reason from him but he somehow managed to get it under control. Speaking the words beneath the water, he dispelled the goo. As soon as the goo disappeared, he ceased being dragged under and began kicking for the surface. In the churning water it was hard for him to know which way was up. Before he could reach the surface, the current slammed him into a rock.

The sudden impact startled him and he lost his grip on his staff. He hadn’t even realized he still held it until it left his fingers. Now with both hands free, he gripped the rock and worked his way to the surface. Despite the pulling current threatening to drag him back into its icy grip, he managed to cling to the rock and broke free to fresh air.

Coughing and gagging, he looked around but couldn’t see or hear anyone else. “Riyan!” he cried out. “Bart!” But the only sound he could hear was the roar of the water. Keeping a firm grip on its irregular surface, he hung on for dear life as he tried to regain some of his strength.

After a short time, his pulse quieted down and he was able to think rationally once again. The chattering of his teeth and the numbness of his limbs told him he couldn’t afford to remain in the freezing water any longer. He tried to maneuver so he could see around the rock to the rest of the river, but his frozen fingers lost their grip and the current sucked him away.

He fought the current, somehow managing to keep his head above water. Time and again swells smashed into him and drove him under only to again regain the surface a moment later.

Then an approaching shadow caught his eye, it was a fallen tree lying jammed between two rocks just above the waterline. As he neared, he reached out and snagged one of its limbs. Coming to a stop, he fought the current as it tried to dislodge his grip and drag him further downriver.

The cold water was leeching the strength from him quickly. Gasping against the bite of the cold, he looked around at his predicament. Still a third of the way from shore, it was going to be a tough swim to reach it.

“Riyan!” he hollered. Then after a short pause to hear a reply, he called, “Bart!” When no answer was forthcoming, he realized he was on his own. Glancing upriver from whence they came, he saw the waterfall and the turbulent waters where it plunged into the river. It was a miracle he still lived.

The thought that perhaps he was the only one to have made it attempted to push its way into his mind but he quickly squelched it. He wasn’t going to allow himself to ruminate about such things until he found proof to back it up.

He took only a few moments to steel himself against the struggle that was to come, then with a deep breath, he let go of the branch. Immediately, the water dragged him away.

Kicking and splashing, he worked frantically to get to the shore. Never having had much experience with water, his efforts were only slowly bringing him closer. Foot by foot, he worked his way ever closer to the shore as the water continued to take him further down the canyon.

“Kevik!”

Hearing his name being called, he looked up and saw Riyan and Bart running along the water’s edge on the west bank. Riyan was staring at him and waving his arms as he again cried out, “Kevik!”