“We need to keep moving,” he said, after taking a long swallow from his water skin then passing it to me. “The trolls are expecting us by nightfall.”
Needless to say, I didn’t find the reminder particularly motivating. “Who told you about these tunnels, anyway? Or would you have me believe you decided to crawl to the center of the earth one day to discover if you might pop out the other side?”
Luc sneered at me. “No one can tell anyone about this place – the trolls ensure that. If you make it all the way to Trollus, and if they decide you’re useful enough not to kill on the spot, they make you swear magic oaths binding you to secrecy. S’why I couldn’t tell you anything until we got under the rocks. The trolls, they’re big on oaths. Don’t take too kindly to those who break their word, so we best be moving right along.”
I sat rooted, refusing to move.
Luc tossed up his hands in exasperation. “Fine. I took to noticing that old Henri seemed to have unlimited coin to do his drinking in town, though he ain’t never worked an honest day in his life. So I followed him, thinking he had a stash buried in the forest somewhere. Turns out he’s been trading with the trolls all these years and no one the wiser.”
“Trading what?”
“Books, of all things.”
“And you? What did you give them?”
Luc shrugged. “Odds and sods. They pay a lot, but it’s a dangerous trip. When I heard they were looking for a girl with your description, I knew I’d hit pay dirt, and I was right. They let me name my price.”
Fury overtook my fear of punishment. He had sold me, sold my life away, all because he was too greedy to do honest work. Booted heels lashing out, I caught him in the knees and watched as he toppled over the edge of the rock and out of sight. Unfortunately, his grip on the rope did not slacken and I was dragged forward until my feet dangled over the edge.
“You just don’t give up, do you.” Luc sat about four feet below me in a pool of guck, and a rank stench rose up to assault my nostrils. He wasn’t alone.
“Looks like you have a friend,” I snapped, pointing at the skeleton lying on the floor next to Luc. “Shame you didn’t meet a similar fate.”
Luc looked down and grimaced. Then his curiosity got the better of him and he gave the body a closer examination. “Shine the lantern down this way, Cécile. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed him before.”
I obliged, but only because I had no other options. He’d just pull me over the edge if I didn’t obey. Judging from the bareness of the bones, the man had been dead for some time. My skin broke out into a fresh set of goose bumps. “What is that slime?”
“I don’t know – never seen it before.” He sounded nervous, and his trepidation caught hold of me like a plague.
“How many times have you been this way?” I asked, my mind turning to the real fear that we might be lost and he just didn’t know it.
There was no chance to respond before the cavern thundered with a strange roaring noise. BAROOOM! The echoes faded, replaced by the wet swish of something slithering in our direction. Something large.
Luc’s terrified eyes met mine and he whispered, “Run!”
CHAPTER 3
CéCILE
Terror may have given us wings, but the labyrinth of Forsaken Mountain kept us to a crawl. We wriggled across boulders, boots slipping on the loose rock and ears peeled for the tell-tale swish, swish of the sluag hunting at our heels. If it was fast enough to catch us, it was choosing not to. But whenever I thought we’d escaped, we’d round a corner and the swish, swish of slithering would accost our ears, forcing us to backtrack or take another way – almost as though it was toying with us. If not for the etched directions, we’d have certainly lost our way. Exhaustion was catching up with us, and when it did, so would the sluag.
Luc examined the markers, both of us panting and gasping for breath. We stood at the convergence of three tunnels. “This way,” he whispered. “Just a bit further and we’ll come to a narrow hole. You’ll have to get down and crawl, but once you’re through, we’ll be into Trollus. The sluag won’t be able to follow.”
BAROOOM!
I started in the direction he pointed, but Luc shoved me aside and went first. Reaching the tight bit, he fell to his stomach and squirmed his way in. His small pack caught on the edge, forcing him to back up, take it off, and shove it ahead of him.
Swish, swish, swish. BAROOOM! Triumph thundered in the creature’s voice as it drew closer.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” I whispered, and turned to look back the way we’d come.
Swish, swish, swish.
Only Luc’s feet stuck out of the tunnel now. I dropped to my knees, ready to dive in the second he made room.
Swish, swish, swish.