Zach Brenner's Arc

Chapter 11 of 86

The passage sloped north into black stone. Zach kept the sword low and let Lyra lead. She was the small elf the mage guild had sent to guide them, the only one who could feel living bodies through the walls. Her blue orb had saved them once already. Now it hung dark on her belt. "It's not glowing," Zach said. Lyra unhooked the orb and turned it in her fingers. The light inside had shrunk to a weak spark. "One use drains it," she said. "It needs time under the sky, or a mage's spell, to fill again. Down here it has neither." She looked up at him. "The next patrol, we can't hide. Not like that." Raven crouched by the wall, her cat ears turning. "Footsteps come on a round," she whispered. "I've been counting. We have maybe a minute before another passes." Zach searched for cover. The passage was bare. Then he saw it. High above, the ceiling stone had worn thin. A dark hole gaped through, wide enough for a body. It opened into some space beyond the guards' path. "There," he said. "We go up. They walk right under and never look." Lyra frowned at the height. "That's ten feet." "I'll boost you." Zach sheathed the sword and laced his hands together. "You first. Then Raven. Grab the edge and pull yourselves through." Lyra stepped into his hands. He heaved. She caught the broken rim of the hole and scrambled up, boots kicking, robe dragging, until she rolled out of sight. Her face reappeared above. "Raven," Zach said. Raven set her foot in his hands. He threw her higher. She was quick and strong, and she caught the ledge one-handed. Lyra seized her arm and hauled. Raven vanished up into the dark. Then Zach heard the footsteps. Boots on stone, close, quickening. Torchlight brightened the wall behind him. He had no one to boost him now. He backed up two steps, ran, and jumped. His fingers hit the worn edge and slipped on grit. He clawed for a hold. Below, the light rounded the bend. Raven caught his right wrist. Lyra grabbed his left. They pulled, teeth clenched, dragging him up inch by inch. His boots scraped the wall. He kicked, hauled, and dropped over the rim into the hollow above just as the guard passed beneath. The three of them lay flat and still. Below, the torch moved on. Boots faded. The round continued its circle, blind to the empty passage. Zach breathed hard and looked at the two women who had caught him. "The orb's spent," he said. "From now on we climb, we crawl, we go where guards don't walk." Lyra tucked the dead orb away. "Then we'd better find a faster path," she said. "This crawlspace runs somewhere. And it runs north." Zach faced the dark ahead. The easy way to hide was gone. Only the hard way was left.