Fablehaven: The Complete Series (110 page)

Obstacles

Dougan squatted beside Neil. “How’s your leg?”

Brow crinkled, Neil probed his knee. “I think I tore a tendon. I won’t be walking normally anytime soon.”

“Who injured you?” Kendra asked.

“I did,” Neil said ruefully. “This was an old man’s injury, earned by running too far too fast over ground that was too firm.”

“Call it a hero’s injury,” Warren said. “You should have seen him bowl over some of the creatures who had me pinned.”

“You can use my spear as a crutch,” Gavin offered.

“We all stand a better chance of surviving if the spear stays in your hands,” Neil said.

Gavin handed Neil the spear. “When trouble arrives, pass it back to me.”

“If it would be better for the mission, I could stay behind with Neil,” Kendra offered.

Warren shook his head. “If we could have left you safe up top, fine. In here, our best hope for survival is to stick together.”

“Tammy mentioned a hulking beast covered by so many knives that they looked like feathers,” Dougan said. He shone his flashlight around the vast chamber, showing the mouths of three different caves. “The beast should be down that passageway, the widest one. She said it prowled along behind to prey on stragglers.”

“Speaking of Tammy,” Kendra said, “can we do this without her? Wasn’t her job to get us past the traps?”

Dougan stood and stretched. “Losing her was a tragedy, and a serious blow to the mission, but she shared enough information that we won’t be wandering blind, at least not until after the dragon.” He swiveled his flashlight to illuminate the narrowest exit from the chamber. “For example, that tunnel gets gradually steeper until it falls away to unfathomable depths. We want the medium-sized cave.”

“W-w-w-we should get moving,” Gavin suggested.

Warren stepped off the circular platform that had lowered them into the room, tapping with the broken end of his spear to test the ground. The others followed. Dougan tried to assist Neil, but the Navajo man quietly refused any aid, preferring to limp forward leaning heavily on the spear. Though Neil uttered no complaint, the set of his jaw and the tightness around his eyes made the pain he was suffering evident.

Warren held a flashlight, as did Dougan. Gavin, bringing up the rear, retained Kendra’s light. Gavin shone his light on a glistening stone formation against one wall shaped like a melting pipe organ. The mouth of the medium-sized passage was guarded by tall stalagmites, tapered stone projections the color of caramel reaching for the stalactites above.

After weaving through the stalagmites, they descended into the steep, winding passageway. Tiny, soda-straw stalactites hung in fragile clusters. The contorted walls were a burnt yellow. Some portions of the descent were so steep that Neil sat down and scooted forward. Kendra crouched, grabbing knobs of stone with her free hand, clutching the staff with the rattles in the other, trying to keep it quiet.

From up ahead, Kendra heard the sound of water flowing. The steady rushing grew louder until they found their way blocked by a chasm with a swift, deep stream at the bottom. The only way to get across was by hopping along the tops of a staggered collection of rough stone columns, none of them quite the same height.

Warren shone his flashlight on the three broadest, most inviting columns. “Tammy warned that these three are traps, rigged to collapse if you step on them. As you can see, there are enough other columns to take alternate routes around the three biggest.”

Warren uncoiled a length of rope, handed one end to Dougan, and set off across the columns, bounding from one to the next without any significant pauses or missteps. Despite his confidence, Kendra felt tense inside until he stood safely on the far side of the chasm.

“Fasten the rope to Kendra’s harness,” Warren called.

Dougan knelt and secured the rope to her metal buckles and carabiners. “You saw how he did it?”

Kendra nodded.

“Don’t think about the drop,” Gavin suggested, returning her flashlight. “I’ll hold your rain stick.” She handed him the coyote man’s staff.

Kendra moved to the edge of the chasm. The flat top of the first column was a short step away. She tried to imagine she was stepping onto a rock in a shallow stream, and strode forward. The next column was more rounded, and she would have to jump in order to reach it, but there was easily room for both feet on it. If it weren’t for the gloomy void beneath, the leap would not have been intimidating, but she could not make herself move.

“Place a hand on the rope,” Warren called to her. “Remember, if you fall, I’m here to pull you up.”

Kendra compressed her lips. If she fell, she would swing to the far side of the chasm and smash into the wall, probably striking columns along the way. But holding the rope did provide an illusion of security. Admonishing herself to think like Seth, which to her meant not to think at all, she leaped to the next column, wobbled, and righted herself.

Jump after jump, step after step, she made her way around two of the three biggest columns. Near the far side of the chasm, to get around the final inviting, traitorous column, she would have to use columns so small that each would support only one foot at a time.

“Do these all in a row, Kendra,” Warren advised. “Five quick steps, just one brief game of hopscotch. You’re almost to me. If you fall, no big deal.”

Kendra planned her steps. Warren was right, if she fell now, the swing to the far wall of the chasm was no longer as threatening. Mustering her courage one last time, she leaped, leaped, leaped, leaped, leaped, and stumbled off-balance into Warren’s outstretched arms.

Dougan, Neil, and Gavin cheered from the far side of the chasm. Warren untied Kendra, fastened the climbing rope to his large flashlight, and flung it across the gulf to Dougan, who caught it.

“Neil doesn’t want to try crossing the columns on one foot,” Dougan called. “He thinks a deliberate swing across the chasm is best, which means I had better cross next to help you anchor him.”

“All right,” Warren replied.

“I think I can carry him,” Gavin interjected. Nobody responded. “It wouldn’t be too different from one of the training exercises my dad used to make me do. I’m stronger than I look.”

“Either way, I had better come across to help belay you,” Dougan said, tying the rope to himself.

“How did Javier get back across with his injured legs?” Kendra wondered.

“Tammy carried him,” Warren said. “Javier had a potion that reduced his weight.”

“For that matter, how did they get out at all?” Kendra continued. “I thought these vaults were designed to keep people from going back unless they claimed the treasure.”

Warren nodded, watching Dougan as he started across. “That was my understanding as well. Tammy and Javier felt like the dragon meant certain death, so they risked backtracking, and the gamble paid off.”

Although his movements were not graceful, Dougan traversed the chasm without mishap. Warren threw the flashlight with the rope attached to Gavin, who caught it with one hand and began affixing the rope to Neil.

“Are you sure Neil won’t be too heavy?” Dougan shouted.

Gavin stooped and hoisted Neil over one shoulder. Without responding, he stepped onto the first column, and then hopped to the second. Besides Neil on his shoulder, Gavin held the staff, which rattled every time he jumped. Kendra felt her insides clench with each small leap, and then lurch violently when he swayed awkwardly while perched on a small, rounded knob. Gavin hesitated where Kendra had last paused, studying the five consecutive jumps that would complete the crossing. Shifting Neil slightly, Gavin sprang from column to column, tumbling to his knees when he reached the far ledge.

“Well done!” Dougan enthused, slapping Gavin on the back. “I may never again underestimate the strength of youth.”

“It w-w-w-was harder than I expected,” Gavin panted. “At least we made it.”

Warren helped Neil off Gavin’s shoulder. He coiled up the rope, then led the way deeper into the cave, which continued to descend, although not as steeply as previously. Gavin used his flashlight beam to point out sparkling patches of calcite on the moist cave walls. He also spotlighted colorful ripples that looked like bacon. Kendra could practically taste stone with each breath she drew. The air was uncomfortably cool. She wished her clothes would dry.

The passage grew narrower until they all had to turn sideways to proceed. Then suddenly it widened into a spacious cavern. Warren halted and motioned for the others to do likewise.

“Chokepods?” Dougan asked.

“You won’t believe how many,” Warren said. “Come forward slowly. Don’t fully emerge from the cover of the passageway.”

The others crept forward until they all had a view of the congested cavern. Thousands of bulbs floated in the air. Mottled with shades of cinnamon, brown, and black, they were mostly spherical, though the tops looked a bit pinched. Their texture was fibrous, like cornhusks. The smallest were the size of softballs, the largest more like beach balls. All remained in constant motion, drifting lazily until they floated close together, in which case they gently repelled one another.

“What are they?” Kendra asked.

“If you touch them, they burst, releasing a highly toxic gas,” Dougan explained. “The gas can get into your system through respiration or even just contact with your skin. You’ll die almost instantly, and the toxin will gradually liquefy you. Eventually your remains will vaporize into fumes that can be absorbed by other chokepods.”

“If one of us touches even a small chokepod, everyone in the cavern will perish, and it will be unsafe to enter for hours,” Warren said.

Kendra tried to imagine weaving across the room. The chokepods floated from a foot or two above the floor to up near the ceiling, never quite brushing up against the walls. There was space between them, but not much, and the constant drifting meant that gaps big enough to accommodate a person were constantly opening and closing.

“Where are we trying to go?” Kendra asked.

“There are several false passageways around the perimeter of the room,” Dougan said. “But the true way forward is through a hole in the center.”

Kendra saw a raised area in the center of the cavern. Surrounded by rocks, the hole was not visible. It was a good hiding place for the passage, especially since the chokepods were most densely gathered in the middle of the room.

“Tammy explained that the key is to stay low,” Warren related. “The chokepods never strike the ground, nor the ceiling, nor the walls, nor the stalagmites, nor the stalactites, nor each other. She said the chokepods rarely dip low enough to touch a person lying flat on the floor of the cavern. So we’ll squirm forward, staying near stalagmites wherever possible.”

“Can you manage this, Neil?” Dougan asked.

Neil nodded stoically.

“I’ll try first,” Warren said. “You all back away into the corridor. I’ll cry out a warning if I brush up against a chokepod and pollute the cavern. If I do, fall back to the chasm and wait. Otherwise, I’ll call out once I’m safely in the hole.”

The others retreated deeper into the narrow passageway, fending off the darkness with two flashlights. “You’ll go next, Kendra,” Dougan informed her.

“Shouldn’t Gavin go next?” Kendra suggested. “If all else fails, he and Warren could go on ahead and retrieve the artifact. Then you, Dougan, so you can help them, then me and Neil.”

“Makes sense,” Neil agreed.

“Except I’m the biggest, and therefore most likely to touch a chokepod even lying prone,” Dougan said. “Gavin next, then Kendra, then me, then Neil.”

They waited in silence. From behind, Kendra heard a distant roar, faint as the last rebound of an echo. “Did you hear that?” Kendra whispered to Gavin.

“Yeah,” he whispered back, squeezing her hand consolingly.

Even in a dark cave surrounded by the likelihood of death, Kendra could not help wondering if maybe there were romantic overtones to the gesture. She left her hand in his, enjoying the contact, thinking of the contrast between his stuttering speech and the confidence with which he had protected her on the mesa.

“I’m clear,” Warren finally hollered.

“Guess I’m up,” Gavin said. “I’ll take the staff, Kendra. And the spear, Neil—it might trip you up in there. S-see you guys on the other side.” Handing Kendra her flashlight, he raised his voice. “Warren, can you light the way for me?”

“Sure,” Warren replied.

He slipped out of sight down the passageway. It seemed much less time had elapsed than Warren had taken before Gavin called out, “Kendra’s turn!”

Mouth dry, palms wet, Kendra crept forward. Where the passageway ended, she stared into the cavern, watching chokepods dreamily rise and fall and drift laterally in every possible combination. She could see Warren’s head in the center of the room. He held a flashlight.

“Kendra,” Warren said, “I’ll be your spotter. Just squirm on your belly and follow the beam of my flashlight. Let me tell you how to move. I have the advantage of being able to see your whole body all at once, along with all of the chokepods near you. It worked well with Gavin.”