The Golden Deer

Chapter 16

The deep, eerie rumble of the earth tearing apart dragged Robbie from deepest darkness and sent him staggering to his feet. Bright sunlight burned his eyes and his head pounded with such ferocity that he feared he might be sick. He stared around him, utterly bewildered.

He was standing on an outcropping of rock, gazing down at the forest below. Above him a jagged peak trembled, sending rocks and pebbles cascading down to the trees below; little warnings of something much more terrible to come.

The boy, Sean, was easing to his feet, one hand clutching his head. The sheer rock face beyond him was punctured by the black mouth of a cave, like the gaping maw of giant, ready to swallow them whole. Clouds of dust were emanating from within as the ground shook below them.

Robbie glanced around and saw no signs of Evy or Francis. He glanced back at the terrifying hole in the mountain and realized with a lurch of fear, that Evy must be inside.

Stones were pouring down like hail and the cave was so hazy he could scarcely see in front of his face.

"Evy!" His voice was drowned out by the groan of the mountain. A jagged rock bounced off his forearm, drawing blood. Another ricocheted off his already aching head. He moved forward.

He could not get a sense of the space, how was he ever to find her in here? A few more tentative steps, the light was dimming, the cave mouth would be soon be sealed off. He inched along.

And stepped on something soft.

He reached out blindly through the murky air to feel an thin arm, the arm of a girl, not a bandit. He hooked a hand under her arm, reached across her to grab the other and dragged her out as quickly as he could.

He reached the sunlight just as the ceiling of the cave finally gave way.

She was coated in dirt, her black hair dusted gray. Her eyes were shut, skin sickly white under the shining sun. Heart pounding, Robbie bent low over her, pressing his ear to her chest until, with a flood of relief, he felt her breathe. He sat up with a gasp of relief.

"She's alive?" Sean croaked kneeling beside him.

"She's alive," Robbie confirmed.

"She did it," Sean whispered in wonder, staring down at Evy.

Robbie followed his gaze to where her left hand was clasped, white-knuckled, around the severed head of a golden deer.

"Of course she did," Robbie said proudly.

The mountain had stopped shaking, perhaps all it had wanted was to be rid of the cursed deer. Robbie examined the head curiously. Even with its golden eyes wide it looked more like part of a gold statue than a once-living creature. The place where it had been severed was smooth, showing no sinew, no blood but when he touched it he felt the soft hide, the velvet antlers.

He tried to take it from her but, even unconscious, her fingers would not be budged. Afraid he might break something Robbie left it alone. She had scratches on her face and arms, though he could not be certain which came from the cave and which from their flight through the woods. Her head bore no lumps but her left arm was twisted at an odd angle, as though broken or torn from its socket.

"Should we carry her down?" Sean asked at length. Robbie peered over the cliff edge, frowning. "I don't think we can."

Afraid to further injure Robbie dispatched Sean to find their horses and bring back water. Only the smallest part of him worried that Sean might not return. But he was not going to leave him to guard Evy alone.

He sat beside her for nearly an hour, occasionally checking her breathing and trying to find a way to shield her face from the blazing sun. He was beginning to grow nervous when her eyelids fluttered and she let out a weak moan.