CHAPTER 31

 

“WELL, IT’S GOOD TO KNOW we’re getting close,” Rerun said after Ariandre’s voice disappeared.

“I could have done without that ‘grave danger’ part, though,” Doc added.

“What, did you think we were following this tunnel down to a picnic in a park?” Sneak teased lightheartedly.

Doc shoved him playfully on the shoulder. “Shut up, you.”

Leah felt buoyed by the cheerful spirits of her friends. She was glad they were all here with her, and were taking this so well. She lifted her chin toward Dolph.

“What are we going to do with him?” she asked no one in particular.

“I can maintain the shield for awhile if we leave him,” Leesa said, “but eventually distance will end the spell and he’ll be free.”

The gnome watched them with interest, but just like they could no longer hear his spellbinding voice, he could not hear theirs. He could tell they were talking about him, though.

“I don’t like the idea of having him loose somewhere behind us,” Kai said. “I think we should bring him along.”

“I agree,” Colonel Gallway said. “I’d like to be able to keep an eye on him. Is everyone ready?”

They all nodded.

“Okay, then. Let’s go.” He waved at Dolph to begin walking, but the gnome just stood there with his arms folded across his chest and a stubborn look on his bearded face.

“It doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to come with us,” Radar said.

“We don’t need to give him a choice,” Leesa said. She turned to Plush. “You got this, Plush?”

Plush smiled. “You bet.”

She fastened her gaze upon Dolph. His eyes widened in surprise as she used her telekinesis to lift him a few inches off the ground. “He’ll go where I push him, whether he wants to or not.”

“Great,” Leesa said. “If you start to grow tired, let me know and I’ll take over for awhile.” She looked at Rave and Kai. “Well, what are you two waiting for? We’re good to go. Lead on.”

Rave grinned. “Yes, ma’am. As you wish.”

They headed off down the tunnel in single file, moving even more carefully and silently now that they knew danger was near.

They hadn’t gone far when they saw a soft orange glow reflecting off the wall of the lava tube a short distance ahead of them, the first light of any kind other than their own they had seen since entering the tunnel. Rave signaled the company to a halt.

“Let me go check it out,” he whispered.

Leesa got ready to follow him, but he caught her eye and shook his head no.

She sighed. He was right, of course. He could travel far more quietly than she could, and much faster too, if necessary.

“Be careful,” she mouthed silently.

Rave nodded, then headed soundlessly off down the tunnel, quickly disappearing around a bend in the passage. Leesa readied herself for action, just in case he came racing back with something dangerous on his heels.

Rave was gone little more than a minute. When he returned, his pace was unhurried, so Leesa relaxed.

“All clear,” he told the company. “Things are about to become much different, though.”

He said no more, leaving Leesa and the rest to wonder what he meant. She supposed they would find out soon enough.

Once again, the party moved off through the cave, all monotony gone now as they waited for the change Rave had promised. The tunnel grew steadily brighter as they drew nearer to the hidden source of orange light. The air began to grow warmer as well. Soon, the soft glow illuminated the passage enough to make any extra light unnecessary, so Leesa and Lights extinguished their magical orbs.

The change Rave had promised was sudden and dramatic. They rounded a curve in the lava tube and the tunnel abruptly ended. Rave stopped them before anyone could step out of the tube. Hot air wafted against their faces as his comrades stared past him, trying to take in the enormous cavern that opened up in front of them. So accustomed had they grown to the close quarters of the tunnel that it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the size of the space.

“My fire makes it impossible for me to judge how hot it might be out there,” Rave said. “We need to make sure it’s safe before any of you leave the tunnel. I’ll take Leesa out to check—she can resist some degree of heat and fire if necessary.”

Kai edged everyone back a few steps. “Go ahead,” he said.

Rave took Leesa’s hand as they stepped out of the lava tube onto a narrow ledge. A blast of hot air immediately washed against her skin. Reflexively, she began to cast the spell that would shield her from the heat, but she stopped herself. She needed to find out if the heat would be bearable for her companions.

She stared upward, expecting maybe to see a piece of sky through the open crater of the volcano, but all she saw was a rock ceiling far above them. She guessed they must be in some kind of side chamber, not the main crater.

Looking down, the source of the stifling heat was obvious. Several hundred feet below them, a huge pool of fiery lava pulsed and bubbled. Still, while the heat was definitely uncomfortable, she didn’t think it was dangerous.

“You’re right,” she said to Rave. “It is pretty hot out here. But it’s really not much worse than a very hot summer day back home. I think we’ll be all right.” She began to turn away, but Rave held onto her hand and stopped her.

“You haven’t seen the worst yet,” he said. He extended his arm and pointed off to the right.

Leesa drew in a sharp breath when she saw what he meant. Fifty yards or so away the ledge ended. The only way forward would be to cross a narrow natural rock bridge that spanned the cavern.

She smiled grimly. “That looks like it’s gonna be fun.” She studied the bridge more closely. “I can levitate to keep from falling, but the others are going to have to be awful careful. I don’t see that we have much choice, though. There’s no other way around.”

“I can carry people across without fear of falling,” Rave replied. “I think that might be safest.”

“I think you’re probably right. Let’s go tell everyone the good news, such as it is.”

They turned back into the tunnel. Their companions were all waiting just a few steps inside, staring out into what little they could see of the huge chamber from back there.

“It’s pretty hot out there,” Leesa told them, “but not unbearable. The bigger challenge is a natural bridge we’re going to have to cross. It’s pretty narrow. Rave and I think it’s best if he carries you across one at a time.”

Fiona flitted over and twittered in Rave’s ear. Her red glow grew brighter as she did so.

Rave laughed. “She wants to know if that includes her,” he explained to the others. “She said she’d love to hitch a ride with me.”

His companions chuckled, including Leesa.

“You and I can fly across on our own,” she said when she stopped laughing. “We don’t want to overwork the poor guy.”

Fiona uttered the brisk chirp Leesa had come to think of as a faerie swear word. Her glow flashed brighter a few times, so Leesa knew Fiona was laughing.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sneak grumbled. “It will be good to get out of this blasted tunnel.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Sneak,” Leesa replied. “You haven’t seen what’s waiting for you out there.”

When they exited the tunnel, most of the company looked down over the side of the ledge to view the bubbling lava far below. They didn’t look long, though. Not only was the heat greater without the ledge to shield their faces, but the molten lava was a reminder of the grisly fate that awaited them if something went wrong.

They weren’t all that much happier when they turned their gazes to the nearly two hundred foot long bridge they needed to cross. More than four feet thick in most places, it appeared sturdy enough, but it seemed awfully narrow to provide a safe crossing. At the far end they spotted the dark entrances to three more lava tubes. How they would choose which one to follow they didn’t know—but before they decided that, they first had to get across to the other side.

Their misgivings heightened as they drew nearer to the foot of the bridge. From here, they could see that the rock span was never more than twelve inches wide, and in some stretches it narrowed to less than six inches. Crossing those parts would be like walking on a balance beam—a balance beam suspended above a pool of boiling lava. One slip, one false step, would mean certain death. Even Leesa, who had seen Rave perform countless miraculous physical feats, felt a twinge of anxiety about his plan to carry their comrades across.

“Are you sure you can do this, Rave?” Radar asked as she stared out across the perilous span. She linked her arm around Jordy’s. “I’m pretty light, but my boyfriend here is pretty darn heavy.”

Rave grinned. “Not to me he isn’t. Trust me, it won’t be a problem.”

“It looks safe enough,” Kai said. “Raj and I can cross this on our own. I’ll go first with Fiona…to make sure everything is okay over there, then Leesa can join us. Rave, bring Leah first. The rest of you can decide on whatever order you want.”

“Okay,” Leesa agreed. “I’ll wait for your signal before I come across.”

Kai turned and began trotting across the bridge, holding his bow at the ready with an arrow fitted to the string as he ran. Fiona flew beside him, keeping just behind his shoulder so she wouldn’t distract him. His bare feet gripped the stone easily, and he never slowed until he reached the far side. He disappeared into one of the tunnels for a few moments, checking to make sure there were no hidden dangers. Fiona vanished into a second tube, and then the two of them checked out the final passage together. When they emerged from the third cavern, Kai waved to Leesa to come join them.

“Go ahead,” Rave said as he scooped Leah up into his arms. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Leesa felt a touch of jealously as Rave picked Leah up. Riding cradled in his arms was one of her favorite things—maybe she should have taken a ride herself instead of volunteering to use her magic to cross. She shoved the thought away. Rave had enough to do. Besides, she knew she could ask him for a ride any time and he would gladly oblige.

She cast her levitation spell and then focused her telekinesis on the rock wall on the far side of the chamber. The wall wouldn’t move, of course, so her magic pulled her toward it instead.

As soon as she cleared the edge of the ledge, she began to drift rapidly upward, like a balloon accidently released by a young child. She realized her mistake instantly—she had failed to account for the waves of hot air rising up from the boiling lava so far below. Without panicking, she quickly adjusted her levitation spell and the strength of her telekinesis to bring herself back to the level of the bridge. Rave was already three-quarters of the way across, running easily despite having Leah cradled in his arms. He was so focused on his footing that he didn’t notice Leesa’s brief predicament, for which she was grateful. The last thing she wanted to do was distract him in any way from his perilous task.

She landed on the far side a few seconds after Rave deposited Leah onto her feet. The ledge here was at least twice as wide as where they had just come from, giving them a bit more protection from the heat.

“One down, ten to go,” Rave said cheerfully. He gave Leesa a quick kiss on the cheek before pivoting and racing back across the bridge.

“This side seems to be as empty as the other,” Kai told Leesa and Leah. He nodded toward the trio of lava tubes behind them. “At least as far into those things as we checked, anyhow.”

They watched Rave ferry Radar across, running as easily as if the bridge were ten feet wide.

“That was pretty fun,” Radar said as Rave set her down beside Leah. “Any chance I can have a repeat?”

Rave grinned, but he didn’t reply. Intent on his task, he turned and headed back across to the other side.

“Be careful with my boyfriend,” Radar called after him. She turned to Leesa. “You are one lucky girl,” she said, smiling widely.

Leesa returned Radar’s smile. “Don’t I know it.”

Rave appeared tireless as he carried the members of the party across the bridge. He had a bit of trouble getting a good grip on Dolph because of the shield Leesa had wrapped the gnome in, but he managed to figure it out. To no one’s surprise, when Rave brought Doc across, Raj ran along behind them.

Rave was carrying Lights, with only Sneak and Sergeant Moss still to go, when disaster struck.

Without any warning, a huge slab of rock undoubtedly loosened by an earlier quake broke loose from the cavern’s ceiling and plummeted downward, striking the bridge just behind Rave with the force of a small bomb. The entire center portion of the span broke away, taking Rave and Lights with it.

Rave reacted instantly, trying to leap to safety, but even his supernatural physical abilities were useless. The crumbled rock beneath his feet was free falling, providing little leverage when he pushed against it with his legs to propel himself upward and forward. His aborted leap fell far short of his mark, and with Lights still in his arms, he tumbled helplessly downward. Neither he nor Lights uttered a sound as they plunged to their doom.

Caught by total surprise, a few critical seconds passed before Leesa could react. By the time she activated her telekinesis, it was too late. Rave and Lights were too far away—at that distance, their combined weight and the momentum of their fall were too much for her magic to overcome. She managed to slow their descent just a bit, but that was all.

The members of the company gasped in horror as Rave and Lights splashed into the molten lava below and vanished beneath the surface. Plush’s scream echoed through the cavern.