Page 44 of Tattered Huntress
Gordon spread his arms wide and twisted his hands in unnatural directions. His fingertips glowed green and I felt power buzz from his body. The water churned beneath our feet and I felt the ground tremble. There was a loud gurgle, followed by the distant crunching of rock. Then Gordon gasped, dropped his head and intoned, ‘The passageway is clear.’
A brief thrill of adrenaline ran through me. We were really doing this. Despite my clawing claustrophobia, I couldn’t wait to see what was on the other side.
Humphrey glanced at Eleanor. ‘Are you ready?’
Her voice was quiet but firm. ‘Yes.’
A moment later, they jumped into the pool and the black water covered their heads. Every one of us stared down, waiting to see if they would re-emerge – except Gordon. Instead, he reached into his pocket, drew out a long artist’s paintbrush andknelt down to sketch a small rune in the dirt of the cave floor. While we watched the water, he watched the rune. After several tense moments, he released a long breath and stood up. ‘They have made it safely to the other side,’ he declared.
Yahtzee. I felt a wash of relief.
Hugo and his Primes moved to the water’s edge. ‘Don’t worry, guys,’ Hugo murmured to his team. ‘This won’t last long.’ He slipped in, followed by Becky then the other five team members.
After that, we went in in quick succession; nobody wanted to be left too far behind. When it was my turn to step forward, half of me was screaming to turn around and run away while the other half was yelling at me to get on with the adventure. Obviously, there was no question which half I listened to.
I walked to the edge of the pool and my toes curled over its rocky lip. I gazed into the depths, unable to see anything other than a greenish glow from the right-hand side; presumably that was where I was heading. I glanced at Gordon. He gave me a brisk nod, his earlier shyness abandoned now that the action was underway. I held my breath then I jumped in.
I’d been expecting the cold, but the icy water was still a shock and it made my sinking body shudder and jerk. I twisted around until I was head down then kicked my legs as hard as I could to descend towards the green light. At least, I thought grimly, there were no fish flitting past me to worry about, though pressure was building in my ears as I dived deeper and my bones were already chilled.
The green glow was emanating from the old rune, which had a narrow opening next to it. I grabbed an outcrop of jagged black rock to haul my body closer then swam hard through the dark passageway. After only four or five metres, I emerged into a larger cavern which was lit by a flaming torch at thewater’s edge.
I silently thanked whichever team had taken the time to make this part easier for the rest of us. My head broke the surface of the water and looked around. The twins, who had entered the water just before me, were already out and pulling on dry clothes.
Only one other person was visible and, inexplicably, it was Hugo. He was standing framed by the craggy mouth of a tunnel on the far side of the water. He stared at me, his brooding face mostly obscured by the flickering shadows. Then he nodded, turned on his heel and disappeared from view.
Chapter
Seventeen
Ididn’t waste time wondering why Hugo had lingered in the first cavern; with four teams ahead of me and three close behind, I couldn’t afford to hang around.
I pulled myself out of the chilly water, shaking away the icy drops like a dog, and yanked open the waterproof bag. The brownies flew out immediately.
‘Did we make it?’ Otis asked. ‘Are we here?’
‘Yep,’ I said, with a satisfied smack of my lips. ‘We are here.’
I rubbed myself down with a small towel, put on a pair of loose trousers, T-shirt and socks, and squeezed my feet into my shoes. My body was still damp and my clothes stuck to me, and with the humid air inside the cavern I doubted I’d dry off any time soon. But the mild discomfort didn’t compare to the thrill of finding the next key part.
‘There’s only one path,’ Hester said. ‘And it’s pitch black. Can you use magic now to light the way?’
I inhaled deeply; the air was musty but that was to be expected. I felt a faint breeze blowing towards us, so there must be some narrow cavities that allowed fresh air to leak in. It was safe.
‘I can risk a small fire spell now that I can see what’s here,’ I told her. ‘There’s breathable air, so fire magic won’t have enough of a negative effect to cause problems. Don’t worry. As long as I keep it to a minimum, it should be alright. I’ll adjust the magic as we move if I need to.’
‘No cane toads?’ Otis asked anxiously.
‘No cane toads,’ I reassured him.
There was a splash behind me and I glanced around to see Boonder’s head appear from the water. The twins had already disappeared. ‘Come on,’ I told the brownies. ‘Let’s vamoose.’
I moved quickly. While Boonder swam to the edge and extricated himself from the water, I focused. It wasn’t easy to conjure up fire without appropriate kindling; it had taken me many months of practice when I was younger because it involved pulling delicately on the correct molecules in the air. By the time I reached the start of the tunnel, though, a tiny ball of flame was bobbing in front of me, doing more than enough to light the passage ahead without consuming too much oxygen.
I heard the distant voices of the other teams in front of me, and the trickle of water as it ran gently down the cave walls. This was it. Nobody had walked this path since the mid-eighteenth century; this was what everyone imagined real treasure hunting was like. This was whatI’dimagined it was like.
‘My word,’ Hester said. ‘This is thrilling.’
Otis was less impressed. ‘It’s terrifying.’
