Tin Thoughts (The Downfall Saga Book 2) Page 28

  Donovan pondered what he should do next. The competition was important, and he wanted to win it for his friends, but he wasn’t sure if they could possibly get to the manticores in time with two teams already ahead of him. If he followed the clues on the map, and found whatever his father was looking for, then maybe he could trade it for answers about his past. He hated to be selfish, but sometimes it was the only way to get what you want.

  Donovan began to slowly search the rock wall for any signs of a path. He sidestepped along it, searching for anything out of place. He finally found what he was looking for.

  A narrow step had been carved into the stone. The edges were too straight for it to be natural.

  Donovan bent down and found a second step at knee level. Looking upwards he could make out several steps above his head. The steps were narrow, and unevenly spaced. The wall was nearly vertical, so the stairway more closely resembled a ladder.

  “Come over here,” he called.

  He waited until Brighid and Finian had crowded around behind him before continuing.

  “This is our way up. Someone carved these here, so they must lead somewhere.”

  “Must they?” asked Brighid.

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  Donovan started to climb, not waiting for a response. He moved one limb at a time, making sure that the other three were secure. He stared straight ahead at the stone in front of his face, and relied on his sense of touch to find the next step. When he’d climbed nearly twenty feet, he reached upwards and couldn’t feel another step. Clinging to the rock face, he examined his surroundings.

  There was a narrow ledge to his right, barely more than a groove carved into the rock. He thought that if he could get his boots into the groove, he could shuffle his way along his length. He spotted a small recess in the rocks above his head, about the right size to fit his hand.

  He stretched upwards and blindly stuck his hand into the dark hole. He made sure that he had a solid grip, before swinging his right leg off of the narrow step, and slid it into the groove. He took several deep breaths to slow his beating heart. He switched hands on the first handhold, before reaching out with his right hand to find the next one. Once he had a solid grip on the next handhold, he swung his left leg into the groove.

  He waited there as Brighid slowly climbed up from below. With a few words of encouragement, and a helping hand, he helped her up beside him. He started shuffling his way along the rock face, as she waited to help Finian.

  He pressed himself tight against the rocks as he passed behind the waterfall, and continued into the thick mists. Bereft of his sight once more, he operated by feel alone, until his hand felt the edge of an opening beside him. He swung himself inside and found that a tunnel had been carved into the rocks.

  He helped Brighid into the tunnel and let her squeeze past him while he waited for Finian. Once the three of them were inside, Brighid summoned a ball of light and started down the tunnel.

  The ceiling was low, and they had to crouch as they followed it. The tunnel changed directions several times, but there weren’t any branches leading off of it.

  “Where do you think this goes?” asked Brighid, looking around nervously.

  “Your guess is as good as mine, but it had to be built for a reason,” said Donovan.

  “Just hurry up,” said Finian. “It won’t matter where it goes if we take too long.”

  The tunnel ended when it reached a vertical shaft. The shaft was roughly circular, three feet across, with a wide sheet of water pouring down the opposite side. They couldn’t hear the water splashing into anything down below.

  “That’s deep,” said Brighid.

  Donovan stuck his head into the shaft and looked upwards. High above there was a small point of light where the water was coming in. With nothing to use as a reference, it could have been fifty feet above them or five hundred.

  “That light up there is our way out of the dark tunnel,” said Brighid, a smile on her face.

  “Could one of you humor me and slowly lower a light down the shaft?” asked Donovan.

  “Why?” asked Finian.

  Donovan hesitated, trying to think of an excuse to tell them, but he couldn’t think of any. He hadn’t wanted to scare anyone on the team, so he hadn’t told them about what he’d overheard while searching for the amruth nest. He decided that now was the time to tell them the truth.

  “I overheard some people talking about something hidden on this island when I was on my own searching for the bird nest. From their description, I think that we may be getting close to it.”

  The two of them stared at him, their interest clearly peaked.

  “How could you have possibly—” started Finian.

  “Did they say what was hidden?” asked Brighid.

  “No, but it sounded important to them.”

  “We should help them find it,” said Finian.

  “They will be most pleased,” said Brighid.

  Donovan looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out what had just transpired.

  “I’ll do it,” offered Finian.

  He intensified the brightness of his light, and slowly lowered it down the center of the shaft.

  Donovan reached out a hand to shield his eyes from most of its light, and watched as it descended.

  “There,” said Donovan, pointing at the wall behind the waterfall. “There’s a recess behind the water.”

  “Yes there is,” said a happy Finian, who was practically jumping for joy in the small tunnel.

  “How do we get down there?” asked Brighid.

  “Remind me to always carry rope with me in the future,” said Donovan. “Without rope, we’ll have to try climbing down, unless you want to head back outside and find some vines.”

  “No,” said Finian. “That’ll take too long.”

  “We need to get this done before someone notices that we missing and starts looking for us,” said Brighid.

  “They’ll never find us in here,” said Donovan.

  “But they might if we went back outside to gather vines.”

  “Alright. I’m the best climber, so I’ll go first. Wait until I’m out of the shaft before following. That is, if either of you are coming.”

  “We’re coming,” said Brighid.

  “And I’m going first,” said Finian.

  Finian turned around, and lowered himself into the shaft until he was hanging from his hands on the edge of the tunnel.

  “There are no footholds,” he said. “How am I supposed to climb down?”

  “You’re going to have to brace yourself against sides.”

  Donovan had Brighid take a few steps back into the tunnel, before demonstrating how to support himself with his legs against one wall of the tunnel and his back against the other.

  He reached down and helped pull Finian back into the tunnel.

  “You still want to go first?”

  He nodded, and carefully eased himself back inside. He supported himself with his hands against opposite sides of the shaft, until he could get his legs into position. He awkwardly began inching his way downwards.

  “I suppose that you’ll want to go next?” asked Donovan.

  She gave him a smile which was all the answer he needed.

  “Can you leave a light in the tunnel for when I follow you down?”

  “Of course. We’re on the same team, right?”

  Finian managed to get himself into the opening behind the falling water without mishap.

  “There’s a tunnel back here,” he called. “I’m going to see where it goes.”

  He and his light disappeared from view.

  Brighid swung herself into the shaft. Donovan helped to support her until she got her legs into position, and started her slow slide down to the opening.

  She left her light in the shaft when she disappeared behind the sheet of water, and Donovan wasted no time following after them. He was halfway down to the opening when he started th
inking about how deep the shaft must be, and how one little slip on the wet walls would be disastrous. He was grateful when Brighid reached through the sheet of water and helped him inside.

  “Come on,” she said. “Finian found something.”

  They hurried along another tunnel. Finian stood at the entrance where it opened into a large room, his large frame blocking them from seeing much of anything behind him.

  “We found it,” he said, hugging Brighid. “They will give us anything we ask for.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Completely.”

  He let go of Brighid and the three of them stepped into the room.

  Chapter 30

  The room was large, the ceiling was nearly eight feet off the ground. The walls and ceiling were as black as night, and polished to a mirror finish. Gold panels covered the walls, with patterns cut out of them to show off the black wall behind them. Dull grey stone tiles were pieced together to cover the entire floor in a series of concentric rings. An obsidian dais lay in the center of the room. A pure white stone arm sat in its center, carved with realistic precision. It stood on five spread fingers and rose off the floor until the elbow where it was cut off. There was an earthy smell in the air, yet the floor was spotless without any sign of dust or debris.

  “They will be so pleased that we found it,” said Finian.

  “Found what?” asked Donovan.

  Finian pointed towards the center of the room.

  Donovan studied the carved arm, his eyes slowly swept upwards until they came to the flat top where the elbow would normally be. A handle protruded from the top of the arm.

  “What is it?”

  “We’ll know in a minute,” said Finian, starting across the room.

  “Wait!” said Donovan. “If it’s so valuable, then there could be traps protecting it.”

  “There weren’t any where you found the pendant last year,” said Brighid. “Where is it by the way?”

  “At Haven. Wait, how did you hear about the pendant?”

  “Your friends told me. It doesn’t matter, let’s go get it.”

  Brighid and Finian took a couple of steps towards the center of the room.

  “There were guards.”

  “There are no Clachwards here,” said Finian. “There’s nowhere for them to hide.”

  Donovan turned around and saw that an archway was carved around the opening to the room. Glyphs, including the dagger wrapped in lightning used by the Zerenists, were carved into the archway.

  “There could be something other than Clachwards. I’m only suggesting that we should be cautious.”

  “A few minutes couldn’t hurt,” said Brighid.

  Donovan slowly walked around the perimeter of the room, carefully checking each spot before he set down his boot, heel then toe.

  The images carved into the gold panels were diverse, and Donovan didn’t recognize most of them. There were sea serpents and other monsters, the outlines of people and even geographical features. He was sure that one panel depicted the tall escarpment with the steep, narrow valley cut into it, called the Cleft. He saw a map of the world, only it included many small islands surrounding the main continents which were not shown on any map that he’d seen.

  “We’re wasting time,” said Finian.

  He strode towards the dais. He was taking his third step when his foot disappeared into the floor. He let out a shocked yell, but managed to grab the edge of the floor as he fell.

  Brighid rushed over, and helped pull him out of whatever he had fallen into.

  “Maybe we should be more careful,” said Finian.

  “Can’t you just lift it out with your magic?” asked Donovan.

  “Can you?” asked Finian.

  “You should know that we won’t learn how to do that for a couple of years,” said Brighid.

  “Actually, I didn’t. I’ve been focusing my studies in different areas.”

  “Right, right,” she said. “Your gift is so weak that you can’t even summon a light. What would you do if someone attacked you?”

  “I’d find a way to survive.”

  They stood there, staring at the dais and the floor leading to it.

  Donovan bent down and studied the spot where Finian had fallen. He stuck his hand through the tile, but felt nothing when he did so. The tile looked a little hazy, and he could almost make out his hand through it. It reminded him of Professor Nikka’s illusions, except it was much more difficult for him to see through.

  “I wish I had a ten foot pole,” said Donovan.

  “Not the most practical thing to carry around, but it would come in handy here,” said Brighid.

  Donovan felt around until he found the edge of the solid floor. He reached out with his hand, but couldn’t feel anything solid as far as he could reach. He drew his sword and felt around with it until he felt it clink against something solid nearly six feet away from where he crouched. He probed around with his sword and found that the solid area covered a single tile, barely a foot wide.

  “I’ll go first,” said Donovan.

  He sheathed his sword, removed his cloak, and tossed it onto the ground.

  “Not so fast,” said Finian. “We can’t risk you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Finian prepared himself for his jump and didn’t answer. He leapt towards the spot which Donovan had felt with his sword. His right foot barely caught the closest edge. He waved his arms in the air, trying to regain his balance, before starting to fall backwards.

  Donovan reached out as far as he dared, and caught Finian under his arms.

  Finian’s weight nearly pulled the two of them over the edge, but Brighid grabbed Donovan around the waist and pulled backwards. They managed to heave Finian back onto solid ground, where he lay panting.

  “Can I try now?

  Finian nodded, but didn’t look up.

  Donovan took a moment to slow his breathing. His eyes locked onto the solid tile. He wasn’t sure if any of the other tiles beyond it were also solid, and he wasn’t going to take any chances.

  He leapt.

  His feet landed squarely on the tile, which was barely wide enough to accommodate both of them. He waved his arms out to the side until he regained his balance.

  He felt around the ground with his foot. The tile that he was standing on was the only solid one in range of his foot. He drew his sword and crouched down. Swinging his sword from side to side, like a blind man with a cane, he found another solid spot to his left.

  “Can you mark this tile for the way back?” he asked.

  “I’ll leave a light over it,” said Brighid, summoning a second light which she placed by his feet.

  He jumped to the second tile.

  He made his way across the room, one precise jump at a time, until he found himself stranded on a tile. It was too far to leap directly to the dais, which he hoped was solid, but he couldn’t feel any other solid spots with his sword.

  He spent a few minutes carefully studying the tiles in front of him. He could pick out many which were illusions, but couldn’t find any real ones.

  “Hurry up,” said Finian. “We can’t keep these lights shining all day.”

  “If you have any useful ideas, let me hear them. Otherwise, be quiet.”

  Donovan carefully turned himself around and studied the small lights hovering by the floor. He couldn’t discern any pattern to them, except that they went from side to side, but never directly towards the dais.

  “Here goes nothing,” he said, turning back to the dais.

  He leapt ahead and to the right. This time he dove horizontally, with his arms spread out to the side, hoping that some part of his body would make contact with something solid.

  He involuntarily pushed down with his arms to brace himself on the floor, but they sunk right through it. Something hard hit him in the chest, right over his heart where the Blood Magic symbol was carved.

  The impact bounced him to the side
, and he felt himself falling.

  He wrapped his left arm around a pillar, and managed to pull the rest of his body close. He wrapped his legs around it to halt his fall.

  He found himself in a dark place. He looked down and saw a red glow far below him.

  It was too dark to make out much of his surroundings, so he started to shimmy up the pillar.

  When he emerge on top, he draped his stomach overtop of the pillar, and rested.

  “He’s alive!” yelled Finian.

  “That’s not possible,” said Brighid.

  It was time to get this over with. Donovan got his feet back underneath himself and leapt onto the dais.

  The stone arm was more detailed than he’d realized. He studied the veins and tendons which stuck out from the muscular arm, awed by the craftsmanship.

  He studied the hilt sticking out of the arm. It had a white pommel and grip, which reminded him on bone. A small symbol of Zeren was etched into opposite sides of the pommel. It had a straight black cross-guard which rested on top of the arm.

  He reached out and gripped it with his hand. It felt warm, almost as if it was alive.

  He drew it forth and held it in front of his face.

  The blade was pure white, made of a metal which he didn’t recognize. It had a double-edged blade which narrowed into a dangerous looking point.

  “Hurry up,” snapped Finian. “We can’t keep all of these lights shining forever.”

  Just then, Donovan felt a gentle rumble in the room, deep below his feet. It began to rapidly grow in intensity.

  He tucked the dagger into his belt, and leapt onto the first tile. He jumped from tile to tile, hurrying as fast as he could, but the rumbling kept growing and threatened to knock him into the abyss.

  He was two tiles away from the edge of the room, when he heard a series of sharp cracking noises from below. The tile he was standing on began to tilt and fall forward. He bent his knees and waited as long as he dared, as it fell towards the edge of the room, before leaping as hard as he could.

  His chest hit the edge of the opening, and he felt himself slipping backwards. He scrambled to find a handhold, but couldn’t get a grip on the smooth floor. He started to fall into the pit below when Finian’s strong arm reached out and caught his.