Danielle Jensen - Stolen Songbird

“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!”

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.

Luc’s heels disappeared. I glanced behind me one last time, the light of the lantern catching the monster rounding the corner. The sluag reared, white and glistening like a giant slug, and out of its mouth shot a long, whip-like tongue. The lantern smashed at my feet, guttering out. I screamed and scrambled into the hole.

I could see nothing – only hear Luc cursing ahead of me, and the swish of the sluag coming up from behind. I crawled faster, uncertain how far into the tunnel I had progressed or if my ankles still protruded enough for the monster to catch hold.

BAROOOM!

I screamed, and something smacked into the heel of my boot, the force driving me onto the back of Luc’s legs. “Hurry! It’s coming!”

BAROOOM!

We clawed our way forward, and the tunnel shuddered as the creature slammed into the rock. I shrieked, snot and tears coating my face as I shoved against Luc’s feet, trying to get through the tight hole. Even after he reached the other side and pulled me out of the tunnel, it took a long time for my panic to recede enough for me to think. I was not safe. Not only was I kidnapped, my kidnapper was too stupid to get us safely to those he intended to sell me to. It was all for nothing. I was going to die for nothing.

“I hate you,” I croaked. I swallowed hard and repeated myself. “I hate you.” The sentiment still wasn’t enough, so I howled the words. “I hate you, Luc!”

“Where’s the lamp?” His voice held no emotion, but I felt him pick up the end of the rope still attached to my ankle.

“At the end of the tunnel with the sluag – feel free to go get it.” Except the thought of the creature wolfing him down didn’t make me feel much better. I would be alone in the dark, with no sense of time or direction. The chances of finding my way out were nonexistent – I’d starve to death down here and no one would ever suspect what had happened.

Luc groaned. “Idiot! Now what are we supposed to do?”

I listened to the sound of him fumbling in his pack and looked around, if such a thing is possible in complete darkness.

Or perhaps not so complete after all.

In the distance, a silvery glow beckoned that could only be one thing: moonlight. And moonlight meant my escape.

“Drop the rope,” I whispered, my prayers somehow finding their way into my voice, hope giving them power that fear had not.

“What?”

“I said, drop the rope.”

Water dripped. Luc’s breathing grew still and even. A draft chilled my skin and the rope around my ankle grew slack.

But before I got the chance to run, the light was upon us. Someone else was in the tunnel.

“What the…” Luc started to say, and then with a grunt, he tackled me from behind.

“Help!” I gasped, but I couldn’t draw breath beneath his bulk. Squeezing an elbow underneath me, I pushed up, gasped in a mouthful of air and screamed. Luc’s fist connected with the back of my head, driving my face into the rocky floor, but my voice echoed through the tunnel. Help… help… help…

I tried to turn over to fight, but Luc pummeled my skull, sending a wave of dizziness through me. Light flashed in my eyes, and abruptly his weight disappeared. With a muffled “Ooofff” and a groan of pain, Luc fell to the ground next to me. Every inch of me ached, but I didn’t think anything was broken. I could still run.

“I don’t believe this was part of the arrangement, Monsieur Luc.”

Rising to my knees, I gazed up at the man standing in front of us, his figure outlined by moonlight. “Help me,” I pleaded, tugging on the silken fabric of his cloak. “Please help me! He’s kidnapped me from my family and intends to sell me to the trolls.”

“Is that so?” His voice had the lyrical cadence of the court, although I was surprised to find a nobleman stooping to treasure hunting. I was in no position to judge, though. I’d take assistance where I could find it. I crawled on hands and knees, putting the man between Luc and me. Anyone had to be better than Luc.

My eyes fixed on the glowing lamp dancing behind his head. No, not a lamp – an orb that seemed to be floating through the air of its own accord. It swung round, hanging near my face, dazzling me with brightness but exuding only a little warmth.

“How badly are you injured, Mademoiselle de Troyes?”

I reached up to touch the light, then, thinking better of it, withdrew my hand. Only then did I realize he’d called me by name. I met his eyes. Or eye, rather. He stood peculiarly and kept his face turned to one side, revealing only his profile. He was perhaps my brother’s age, and particularly handsome. The light of the orb reflected in his silvery grey eye as though the glow came from within. I’d never met anyone in my life with eyes like his.