He traced his fingers along the map cut into the tree and noticed something at the bottom. It was a tiny arrow pointing straight down. What was that supposed to mean? Was something to the south of here, too? Or maybe… Logan looked down at the ground.
A ridge of stone was poking through the ground at the base of the trees, pointing in a two foot line toward the northwest. He bent down to run his hands along it, pausing for a second as the sudden motion made his toe throb and little black spots dance in front of his eyes again. This must have been what Logan stubbed his toe on. No wonder it hurt so much. Stone had to be harder than tree roots.
Following the line of stone, Logan walked a bit, staring at the ground. After the first ridge, the stone disappeared underground again, but it was only two or three steps before he saw it sticking out a bit again. This part was rounded and looked like it had lines carved on it, but Logan couldn’t make anything out. Getting excited now, he walked a bit farther. Sure enough, there was the stone poking out in a long straight line up ahead.
There might not have been an open trail through the trees, but there was clearly a trail buried in the ground. Logan’s heart pounded. He was going to find this place. He was going to get his answers.
With such a clear path to follow, Logan moved quickly. No trees grew over the stones, and no animals stirred nearby. The stone ridge came and went, disappearing under the earth for a ways only to reappear, sometimes as a plain peak and sometimes with odd, unrecognizable carvings. Logan followed it closely, even reaching out with hand or foot to touch it from time to time and reassure himself that he was on the right path.
As fast as he moved, though, the dark was falling faster. He had thought he had hours yet, but now shadows were gathering under the trees and the light was not so bright as it had been before. Logan reached out even more often for the stones at his feet. At least this was a path he could follow even in the dark.
The path had taken him uphill most of the way, so he wasn’t surprised when he stepped out into a clearing to see a short cliff rising up in front of him. He looked up. The sun was higher than he had figured, but even here the dim of nightfall had begun. He looked around for the hut. According to the map, it should have been right there. There was a tall clump of bushes over to the right that almost looked like they could have been planted on purpose. Logan turned his steps in that direction.
As he got closer he saw that he was right and also very wrong. The bushes probably were planted on purpose, since they covered the opening pretty perfectly, but this wasn’t a hut. It was a cave, maybe even a tunnel, carved back into the cliff. After the first couple of feet, it looked like it would be pitch black in there.
Logan got out the map again and examined it. Did he need to go into the cave or was this just a landmark that he could go around? The next mark on the map looked like stairs. Logan thought it would be stone steps on the mountainside, but then, he had thought this would be a cabin. Anyway, the stairs were definitely somewhere on the other side of this cliff.
Examining the cliff again, Logan couldn’t see any way to climb. It wasn’t very high, maybe thirty feet or so, but it was straight up, and Logan had never been very good at that rock climbing wall in gym class. He peered into the cave mouth again, picturing himself alone in there with just the tiny circle of his flashlight. That image made him close his eyes again and focus on breathing as the panic tried to choke him.
In the end, it was a little knob of rock that convinced him to go in. Sinking to the ground as he battled himself, he sat on something hard and realized that the ridge of stone hadn’t just led him to the cliff face, it had bent its course over to this cave and still ran along the ground right down into the dark. Logan’s breath came a little easier. He was definitely supposed to go in. The stones hadn’t led him astray yet. He looked at the map again. After the stairs there was a group of flowers with what looked like curls of wind around them. There was no way that was underground. This was probably just a short tunnel that would take him through the cliff and get him to the other side quicker.
He patted the slightly rounded stone anchored into the ground beside him and looked around at the increasing dark. It was going to be night soon. He would be walking in the dark no matter what. At least in the tunnel he would have a sure path in front of him. With sudden resolve, Logan stood up and gripped his flashlight again.
He walked to the cave mouth and stepped inside, determined not to think about the last time he had gone into a cave, last year when he had been hunting stolen books with his friends. That time, it had taken all of them to come out alive.
“This is different,” he said out loud, kicking the stone ridge which now stuck up a good six inches out of the ground and stayed visible as far as he could see along the floor of the cave. Giving himself no time to doubt, he strode forward, flashlight and eyes trained on the floor ahead of him and the clear path of stone.
As he had imagined, he had only gone about ten yards when the tunnel turned a slight corner, and Logan was left with only his own small light in the dark. He took a deep breath and kept moving. Inside, the stone ridge didn’t disappear under the ground at all. Logan tapped the side of his foot against the stone from time to time as he moved, just to reassure himself that he was on the right path. It kept going in one continuous line, only broken up by the occasional strange carving. Sometimes patterns caught his eye, but Logan didn’t stop to look more closely. He wanted to get through the tunnel as quickly as possible. The feeling that his whole world had narrowed down to one circle of light was stifling.
Then his flashlight started to dim.
At first, Logan hardly noticed it. He was focusing on moving quickly without stubbing his toe on anything again. It wasn’t until he realized that the stone path was getting harder to see that he looked at his flashlight. It was definitely not at full strength.
Logan’s heart sank. He shook the flashlight, but it had no effect. Why hadn’t he thought to check the batteries before he left? He had to be the most colossally stupid person on earth. So stupid that he was standing here staring at his light instead of moving.
Logan hurried on. If he could get to the end of the tunnel before the light died completely at least there should be some moonlight outside to help. In his hurry, he kicked the stone ridge as it curved slightly around a bend in the passage. His already bruised toe screamed at him, but he didn’t stop. The stones reminded him that he had a path he could follow by feel, which was reassuring, but it didn’t change the fact that he had no desire to be in the tunnel without any light.
The flashlight faded slowly, but it was a race that Logan couldn’t win. Eventually, the glow was barely enough to illuminate his own hand when he held it up to the end of the flashlight. He was still holding it there against his palm when it died completely.
Gritting his teeth, Logan tested the ridge of stone between his feet and set off into the dark. The going was much slower now, of course, but at least Logan knew he wasn’t lost. The stones occasionally bumping the sides of his feet were his anchor to reality.
He had no idea how much time passed before he began to feel the breeze. It seemed like hours. When the cool brush touched his face, Logan’s heart raced. He must be getting near the end of the tunnel. He couldn’t see any light yet, but that breeze was coming from somewhere. He picked up his pace a little in spite of the total dark.
After a few minutes, Logan felt the breeze even stronger and a few steps later the feel of the air around him changed. It was fresher and more open. He must be very close. He squinted into the dark ahead. The sun must be completely down now. He wondered how much the trees would block out the moonlight. Surely there would at least be a little glow.
Logan had walked a few steps more before he realized that the ground had changed, too. It was softer and springier. Gingerly, he knelt down. The ridge of stone was still there between his feet, but just a few inches to each side he felt grass. Grass. His heart stopped. He felt the breeze on his cheeks, coming
from his right now and not just from up ahead. For the first time he listened. And heard crickets chirping.
He wasn’t in the tunnel any more. He was outside.
Slowly, afraid of what he would find, Logan raised his hand in front of his eyes. He couldn’t see it. Refusing to acknowledge what this meant, he felt in his pack for the flashlight. Maybe after a rest the batteries had a bit of light left. He held it up and clicked it on. Nothing. He couldn’t see anything at all. It rushed over him in a wave of horror that left him gasping for breath.
It wasn’t just dark. Logan was blind.
14
Harmless Enough
By the time they found the intertwined trees, the moon had risen high enough to peek down into the clearing. Dominic allowed himself one last thought about how stupid it was to be doing this at night and then he pushed it away for good. When you were doing what you had to do there was no point in worrying about the way you wished things were. They had come this far, and that was only because they worked well together. They would just have to rely on that as they kept going.
Adam had brought his compass, but it was Eve who had surprised them with a little black box she clipped onto her belt loop. A pedometer, she had explained, so they could tell exactly how far they were going. Using the two tools together, they had been able to keep track of exactly where they were on the map. It had taken a little backtracking and a lot of math quickly calculated in Dominic’s head, but they were here, at the first landmark, and already figuring where they needed to go next.
As Alex and Dominic leaned over the map and did the math, Eve shined her light around the little clearing and Adam circled the twin trees, running his hands up and down over their trunks. Out of the corner of his eye, Dominic saw him stop and lean in close to examine something.
“You guys, come see this,” Adam called.
They all hurried over, Eve yelping as stepped on something in the dark. She hopped on one foot dramatically for a second, but Dominic ignored her theatrics and studied the spot where Adam was shining his flashlight. A rough version of the map from the book had been carved into this tree.
Dom had just noticed the little arrow at the bottom and was looking down when he saw that Eve was kneeling there, her hand resting on a little ridge of stone and a look of intense pain on her face. Instinctively, Dominic reached out for her arm.
As soon as he touched her, the wave of cold swept up his arm and his whole body felt a darkness that made something hot and stinging rise up in the back of his throat. All this passed over him in the two seconds it took to knock Eve’s hand away from that little crest of stone. They both sat there trembling for a moment, looking into each other’s stunned eyes while Adam and Alex stood next to them and, oblivious to what was happening, discussed the meaning of the map on the tree.
Then Eve turned away and threw up on the ground.
Instantly, Alex was by her side. “Eve! Are you okay?”
Eve had her eyes closed. Dominic could see that she was shaking. For once she appeared to be incapable of speaking. Alex’s face showed her worry.
“It’s this thing in the ground,” Dominic answered for her. When Alex turned toward it and reached out her hand, he grabbed her arm. “You don’t want to touch it. It’s just like that bird thing we saw buried by the Gylf forest. There’s something…evil…about it.”
Alex just crouched there, one arm around Eve, looking at him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“How can you tell it’s evil?” Adam’s voice was right next to him.
“I just can.”
Adam reached toward the stone ridge but didn’t quite touch it. He leaned close as if trying to see what was wrong, shining his light from all angles. His hand moved a bit closer. Dominic didn’t try to stop him. Adam couldn’t help himself, but he would see in a minute.
“Don’t!” croaked Eve. “It will see you.”
They all turned to her. Even with the dim light, Dominic could see that she was totally white. Alex handed her a water bottle, and Eve took a long drink. That seemed to steady her.
“Don’t ask me to explain it,” she said. “It could see me. And it hated me. Hated all of us. I’ve never felt anything like that.” She shuddered. “We need to stay away from it.”
Adam shined his light along the ridge, moving it from where it started by the tangled trees along to where it disappeared into the ground. To his credit, he was keeping his distance now. He walked a couple of steps toward the forest, still shining his light along the ground.
“It comes back up over here,” he said. “It keeps going in a straight line through the trees.” He walked back toward them. “I hate to say this, but I think it goes along the same path we have to.”
“So there’s no getting away from it,” said Alex.
“I don’t know,” said Adam. “It doesn’t look like it.”
Dominic looked at the map carved on the tree and at the arrow pointing down. He walked along the ridge as Adam had done. “Yeah,” he said when he came back. “I think this thing IS the path.”
Eve had closed her eyes again. Alex gave her a worried look.
“Just because we have to go that way doesn’t mean we have to touch it, though, right?” said Alex.
Dominic nodded. “No touching.”
Adam was already gathering up their things.
“Are you going to be okay, Eve?” asked Alex.
Eve looked up. Her face was still pale, but she looked determined. “If Logan was here, he’s in more danger than we thought.” She stood up, handed the water bottle back to Alex. “We should probably hurry.”
• • • • •
At the mouth of the cave, they all hesitated. The line of rock led straight inside. The opening of the cave was clearly marked on the map. There was no question that this was the way they were supposed to go, but still they hesitated. Their last trip into a cave had involved two near-death experiences.
“It’s probably just a tunnel,” said Adam, more to himself than to anyone else. “We’ll probably be through it in no time.”
Eve suddenly snorted and tossed her head. “He did this by himself,” she said. She grabbed Alex’s arm, and the two girls shared a smile as they walked into the cave together. Following behind them, Dominic thought how strange girls could be.
The inside of the tunnel was not as bad as it had seemed. The ground was smooth, even though it slanted continually upward. The four flashlights together made a brighter light in this closed space than they had outside. They all walked close to the walls, staying as far as possible from the ridge of stone running along the middle of the tunnel floor. As they went along, that ridge became a bit higher, rising out of the ground until it was knee height. It was now easy to see the carvings along it, all eyes and hands and wings and claws mashed together. Dominic tried not to look at it too much. The feeling that someone was watching them only got worse.
Then the tunnel made a sharp turn and they were out in the moonlight again.
They were in a canyon. The mountainside behind them was not a sheer face, but it was steep enough that climbing would have been difficult. The ridge of stone in the ground was sinking lower again but could still be seen running up the grass toward a second cliff face that was only a shadow up ahead. A few trees grew nearby but not enough to shut out the bright moon which was high over their heads now.
They all stopped, looking around to get their bearings. Adam got the maps out again, and Alex and Eve began shining their lights all around. It seemed pretty clear to Dominic that following the ridge straight on was their best option, but he knew his friends well enough to wait until they had checked everything out. It was enough for now to breathe the fresh air and feel the freedom of being outside again. For the first time, it was starting to seem possible that they would pull this off.
Then Eve gave a little yell and dropped to her knees. Instantly the other three were by her side.
“What happened?”
“What’s
wrong?”
“Are you hurt?”
Eve sat back and held something up to where Alex’s light was shining on her face. It was Logan’s flashlight.
“So we were right,” said Adam. “He definitely came this way.”
“I don’t think there was any question about that,” said Alex.
“But now we have proof,” said Adam. “That’s a good thing.”
“A good thing?” Eve squeaked. “Why would he leave his flashlight behind? It’s dark. It would be nearly impossible to walk without his flashlight. Why would he drop it here? It still works perfectly.” She flicked it on and off and on again to prove her point.
“Maybe he just dropped it and couldn’t find it again,” said Adam.
Eve looked at him disdainfully. “And if you dropped your flashlight, wouldn’t you look for it until you found it? No matter what? Would you walk on into the dark alone without it?”
“Not if I could help it,” Adam admitted.
They were all silent as what he had said sunk in.
“So maybe he couldn’t help it,” Eve whispered at last, clicking Logan’s flashlight off.
“You think someone…or some thing…,” Adam started.
“We don’t know what happened,” said Dominic, standing up again. “We can’t know until we find him. We should get moving.”
“Yeah, but which way?” asked Eve.
“Straight on.” Dominic pointed in the direction the line of stone was running.
Adam nodded, looking at his compass. “That’s going northwest, and the next landmark, looks like stairs, is sort of in that direction. The next one after that, these windy flower things, are more to the west, but we can deal with that when we get past the stairs, I guess.”
“Let’s go then,” said Eve, shouldering her pack.
Before anyone could move, though, there was a weird animal scream just off to their right. Four flashlights immediately swung in that direction.
The Broken Circle (The Book of Sight 2) Page 17
