Arkadium Rising
Page 30
Stones came crashing in above them as the Anaki tore down the walls and flooded inside.
"They're in!" Dawn cried out.
"What now?" Kylie asked.
"I see light!" Leah grabbed Jason's arm and pointed him farther to his right. There was a light, but it was dim; such a meager beacon to shepherd all the hopes for their survival.
"That's it," Adam said. "She's right."
"Everyone, head toward the light. It's the tunnel!" Jason said. Dawn, Kylie and RJ huddled together as they hurried past him. When Leah stood by his side, he said, "You too, Leah."
"Not going to happen." She folded her arms and stood at his side.
Linda passed in front of him, her eyes cheerful as she made her way toward the tunnel light.
Delaney carried the other torch as Marcus manhandled Adam/Evan, who seemed reluctant to leave.
Jason and Leah brought up the rear. She ran by his side. "Snap your fingers, Jason."
He smiled and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. They weren't whisked away to a better place. They were still in the deplorable murk beneath the Arkadium temple to the Tree of Life. And when they reached the dim light, they realized why it was so dim. The tunnel existed, but it was flooded.
"The water is too high!" Jason yelled and almost broke out into laughter. "You idiots set nature free, or whatever the hell you call it, and now the water level is too damn high."
A couple of the steps into the tunnel were visible, but the tunnel was submerged completely. The faintest light at the end of the floodwater shone like a halo just out of reach.
No sooner had they reached the light than the ceiling started collapsing, sending huge blocks of cut sandstone and plumes of dirt down into the secret chamber near the stairwell.
"What is that?" Marcus shook Adam/Evan by the arm as they rushed by with their torch. Delaney kept looking over her shoulder, making sure the Anaki hadn't yet reached the stairwell.
"I don't know!" he replied.
"The Anaki tore down the wall to get into the temple," RJ said. "It probably caused a cascading failure of the walls and floors above."
"It's coming down. All of it. It's coming down!" Dawn cried. She wrapped her arms around her brother and Kylie.
More stone from the temple came tumbling down, revealing more light from above. The stones fell like dominoes, one after another, closing in on where they stood.
Marcus turned on Adam/Evan and stabbed him low in the gut. He pulled the blade high, until he split him wide. "If I'm going to die, I'm going to die as Adam."
Adam/Evan fell over in the puddle of his own insides.
A large stone collapsed, separating Delaney from Marcus.
"Marcus!" she screamed, but he didn't seem to notice. His only focus was on Jason.
"We have to go, brother."
"What are you talking about?"
Anaki warriors fell among the falling stones, and their bodies littered the floor of the secret chamber like scattered debris. Some of them started to move. Some of them gained their feet. Some of them got their bearing and then sought their targets. They grabbed whatever they could fashion into weapons. Shards of rock, spear-like branches torn from the Tree itself.
Jason lost sight of Dawn, RJ, and Kylie. It looked like Linda had been struck by something; she was sprawled over on her stomach and she wasn't moving.
"We need to get out of here!" Marcus said. He pushed Jason toward the flooded tunnel.
"We can't!" Jason pressed back against Marcus, but he wasn't strong enough. Even at full strength it would be a futile fight. His feet skidded along the chamber floor.
"Wait, just wait a minute!" Leah said, and Marcus actually listened to her.
A handful of Anaki, mostly battered and bloodied but still game to continue their fight, closed in on them.
"We have no choice. Either come with us, or stay behind. I don't care either way, but me and my brother are getting out of here!"
Marcus grabbed Jason by the shirt collar, and the rest of the ceiling came crashing in.
Chapter 32
Half the air escaped Jason's lungs, exploding in a burst of air bubbles from his mouth. The bubbles floated away, higher, higher still, popping somewhere above him. Somewhere in the light above.
The water was cold, too cold for summer. He watched the halo in the floodwater above him get bigger, brighter, and as his lungs began to burn, his vision began to fade.
He felt hands on him, pulling him, dragging him from the violent river flow. His head sloshed around, but he could no longer focus and no longer cared to. He tasted blood in his mouth. He gagged, spat it out, but it came flooding back in, threatening to seep down his throat to drown him. He sputtered, spat.
"Always remember, brother." Marcus's voice reached him through his pain-laced fog. "In the end, there is a beginning…"
About the Author
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Glen Krisch's novels include The Nightmare Within, Where Darkness Dwells, Nothing Lasting, and Arkadium Rising (Brother's Keeper Book One). Besides writing and reading, he enjoys spending time with his wife, romance author Sarah Krisch, his three boys, simple living, and ultra-running.
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