Rodrigo Zacara and the Mirror of Power

3. An Unexpected Place

The seconds passed yet Rodrigo still didn't feel anything. Perhaps they were still falling? That was impossible. Although the tower was incredibly tall, he knew that someone in freefall could drop dozens of metres in a few seconds. It took him a great effort to overcome the panic he was feeling and half open his eyes. The tower had disappeared and he quickly realised he was in the middle of a forest, his body buried in snow. Oliver was beside him, staring at him with eyes the size of saucers. With his body stiff from shock, Rodrigo heaved himself to a standing position and looked around him. Although the darkness that surrounded them was incredibly gloomy, he could see enough to be sure of one thing: the tower and the castle had disappeared.

'Where are we?' he asked.

'I have no idea,' Oliver replied, shaking the snow from his hair. 'What the hell happened?'

'I think we found the way out of the tower,' said Rodrigo. 'The problem is I have no idea where we are, nor how we're going to get back.'

'Well, maybe we should start walking,' Oliver said, resolutely standing up. 'We have to find the way back.'

'Walking where? We're in the dark in the middle of a forest. If we start walking with no real direction, we'll probably end up even more lost.'

'So we'll just have to wait here until the Mole comes looking for us, although he's going to be absolutely furious. I think we're in serious trouble this time.'

'That's not what worries me the most right now,' Rodrigo said.

'Did you hear that?' asked Oliver.

'Hear what?'

'Can't you hear a noise beneath the snow? It's as though something's moving under our feet.'

Rodrigo looked down just in time to see a small, black and pointed head appear in the snow.

'Look!' he said. 'The Mole has come to find us already!'

The two of them started laughing while the tiny animal stayed there, gazing at them carefully before it dived back into its hole a few seconds later.

'I fear that the Mole, or anyone else for that matter, is not going to find us here,' Rodrigo complained.

'If I could climb a tree...' Oliver muttered, raising his gaze. 'I could definitely see what direction the castle is in from up there.'

'I don't think the castle is near here.'

'Why do you think that?'

'Haven't you noticed the amount of snow around us? I don't think anywhere in the whole province gets as much snow as this. Not even the mountains.'

'Maybe it was snowing while we– Argh! What on earth? Get lost! Get out of here, you cursed rodent!'

'What's wrong?'

'Didn't you see it? It was a squirrel. It had climbed up onto my shoulder!'

'Really? A squirrel? We'll have to call for reinforcements,' Rodrigo teased.

'Very funny! Let's see one climb onto your shoulder in the dark and see if you're so brave.'

Suddenly, Rodrigo felt something touch his shoulder and he couldn't stop himself from jumping. Another squirrel, or perhaps the same one, had climbed up onto his shoulder. Oliver started laughing.

'What? Nothing to say now?' he mocked.

Rodrigo smiled but didn't say anything. Under normal circumstances he would have invented some excuse, such as the squirrel had tickled his neck, but they were lost in the middle of the night in a forest they didn't know. It wasn't the right time for jokes.