Legends from The Warlock's Chair - Book One - Ravengaard

Chapter Twenty-one - Trapped

JESSICA COUGHED AND SPLUTTERED IN THE DARKNESS. The thick dust clogged her nostrils, and she tried not to breathe too deeply. Holt had seized her arm and pulled her to safety, just as a large section of the cave roof had collapsed above her.

'Lucky I spotted this passageway, eh child, or we would be resting beneath that,' he said solemnly. 

'Thank you,' Jessica replied uneasily, rubbing her stinging eyes desperately trying to clear the gritty dust out of them. 'But what happened to the rest? Where are my brother and sister?'

Holt tried not to look worried, 'Do not fret child, I am certain that they are unharmed on the other side of this,' he said, pointing to the large pile of rocks that had blocked the main passageway. 'All we need to do is find a way around it.'

'Here, stop rubbing, you will make it worse,' he said, getting her to cup her hands. He poured a little water into them and got her to wash her face. 'Better?' he asked.

Jessica nodded.

The lantern Holt had been carrying, lay on the ground where it had fallen when they had dived into the passage. It gave off a dim light, enough to show that they appeared to be in a narrow side passage of the main cave. But any hopes of finding their way back into the main cavern were suddenly dashed by an ominous rumbling from above. More slabs of rock tumbled down,  forcing them deeper into the passageway and cutting off their way out.

Holt surveyed the latest fall, shaking his head and tutting. 'There is no way through that lot girl. Not unless you can magic away a ton of rock.'   

He retrieved the lantern and examined it. The strange light flickered and grew fainter.

'Whatever makes this work is not going to last much longer.'

'I've still got my torch,' Jessica pointed out, reaching into her backpack. She pulled it out and flicked the switch, hoping the fall had not broken it as well. Light flooded the cave. Through the settling dust, they could see a narrow roughly hewn passageway leading off into the darkness.

The Gnome pointed along the tunnel. 'Well, I guess we go this way. Switch off your...' he motioned towards her torch. 'Save it for when this runs out.' 

'It's a torch,' she said flicking it off.

'I know that,' he called back, marching off down the passage.

They continued on, grateful that they were both of small stature. Anyone a little bigger than they would have struggled to squeeze through the narrow confines of the passageway. The little tunnel twisted and turned ahead of them, its floor gently sloping away into the darkness. Then the lantern flickered and died.

Jessica switched on her torch. 'I don't know how long this will last,' she told the Gnome.

'Worry not child; I will soon have us out of here,' he bragged.

They walked on, the air gradually getting warmer as they descended.

She drank the last of her water and hoped they would soon be reunited with the others. She prayed Holt was right, and that Danielle and George had not been hurt, or worse, back there in the explosions.

The tunnel carried on monotonously, getting steeper and narrower. The heat grew more stifling the deeper they went. She did not know how long they had been walking, but she did know that the light from her torch was gradually growing weaker. Not long afterwards, it too went out. She switched it on and off a couple of times and whacked it with her hand like she had seen dad doing, but nothing happened.