Shardfall, The Shardheld Saga, #1

CHAPTER 2 - OLD GARN'S TUNNEL (Part 1)

Muus jumped after him. The hole was deeper than he had expected. A smooth tunnel of ice, which carried them diagonally down through the dark. Someone screamed and he wasn't sure if it was Kjelle, or himself. After an endless time came a sharp left turn and then they plunged into nothingness. It was not deep, where they fell, six feet at most, and they ended up in a painful heap of arms and legs on a rocky surface.

'Muus.'

'Get your fingers out of my face, you cack-handed clod,' cried Muus and his voice echoed in the cave: lod... lod... lod...

'I can't see.' Kjelle almost screamed. 'We're dead.'

'Shut up.' Muus kicked in Kjelle's direction. He felt his foot make contact and the wailing broke off. 'Be still and let me think.' He stood up and tried to orient himself. The darkness was oppressive in its intensity. Around him was the mountain. All that rock over his head, how could such a tunnel exist without collapsing? He heard something shifting somewhere and his heart began to pound.

Beside him, Kjelle's sob broke the tension. The Holderling's fear stank of sweat. 'Where is Sun?'

'Huh?' Muus looked in the direction of Kjelle's voice, but in the absolute dark not even a silhouette was visible.

'In the Long Night, she hides in the earth,' said the young lord absently. 'But where then is her light?'

Muus sniffed. 'The earth is large. She could be anywhere.' He thought a moment. 'Besides, that chariot of hers wouldn't fit into this tunnel. The svartalves will have built a beautiful hall for it somewhere.'

There was silence.

'Muus, Godsdammer. You give light.' Kjelle's voice was high and breathless, as if he was only just skirting hysteria.

Yet he was right. Muus saw a faint blue glow grow around him. The stone on his chest felt warm, as warm as when he had picked it up on the pasture. He opened the pouch around his neck and squinted against the blue glow that radiated out. 'It's not me. It is the stone. '

'What!' Kjelle's voice echoed against the walls. 'Have you brought that damned thing? Thor! That stone is the cause of everything. Throw it away.'

'Nonsense,' said Muus. 'You didn't have to touch it. The stone is mine. When I hold it, nothing happens.'

'It's dangerous.'

'And it lights our way, so we can see where we're walking. Well, shall we go or is there something you must do here?'

Kjelle brought his head close to that of Muus. In the stone's light, his face contorted with rage. He waved white-knuckled fists under Muus' nose. 'You ... you ...'

The young slave braced himself, but it wasn't necessary. Kjelle's facial muscles slacked, the fire in his eyes died and his shoulders slumped. He gave a dull nod. 'We go.'

With a slight shiver, Muus walked on. The tunnel walls around them were smooth and dripping with moisture. The blue glow of the stone reflected in drops and puddles, so they seemed to move along the bottom of a river. Stone teeth grew up and down and everywhere was the sound of water.

'Why?' said Kjelle after a long silence. His voice was flat, emotionless.

Muus did not have to ask what he meant. 'What do you think? Because you're the stupid son of a drunken duck, perhaps?'

Kjelle stopped and peered sideways at Muus. 'How could I know that a small stone like that would cause an avalanche?'

Muus blew his nose in his fingers. 'You couldn't. You should've kept your greedy paws to yourself.' He muttered a curse when a cold trickle landed between his eyes. 'You Nords always want to have everything. Stinking thieves you are, every one of you.' He thought of the round huts of his village. Murderers and abductors of children. A choking sound made him look aside. Kjelle's face, deadly blue in the light of the stone, was twisted with fear and anger battling in him for dominance.