Earthrumbler

Chapter Four: Below Sea Level

I curled into a tight ball, counting down each moment as if I would die the next. My heart pounded in my ears. The western hall, he’d spoken of it before. I’d pushed him far enough. I raked my fingers in my hair, digging my fingernails into my scalp.

Sleep came infrequently; my stomach knotted with every noise. I would wake at strange times to the din of a hammer against steel, or the screams of prisoners, long drawn yowls of pain. Other times, it’d be the jingle of chains or a sharp crack. When thirst finally pulled at me, I reached up and slipped the blindfold up to my forehead.

My eyes adjusted easily to the dim lighting in the cell, no windows, and only a slim section of bars for the doorway. There was a small pile of straw in the corner, a poor excuse for a bed. Next to the bars, lay the promised water and a chunk of bread. My hands cradled the bucket and lifted it to my mouth. It spilled over the sides while I slurped at it. A dusty texture proved it more stale than quenching. I forced it down my throat, only to hack at the lingering film on my tongue.

When I knocked the bread against the rim of the bucket, a loud tapping echoed through the room. I bit into it, more similar than biting into rock than crust; however, the brine and bits of slime within repulsed me more. Until blood beaded on my gums, I continued to gnaw at it. It sloshed in my stomach. Perhaps, I shouldn’t have eaten at all.

I crawled to the straw. The rustling drowned a fraction of the noises outside of my cell. The soft padding curled around me, warming my toes and easing my bones. The earthy scent of hay brought the memory of Dill beside me, just outside of Dunver. I imagined snuggling beside him. In that moment, it was the most comfortable that I’d ever been. With every ache relaxed, I drifted into sleep.

Dull, grey light surrounded me. Exhausted, I rolled over onto my side and pinched my eyelids together. “Please, leave me alone. Please,” I begged.

“Genevieve!” The urgency nearly made the voice unrecognizable. “Genevieve, we haven’t much time.” When I opened my eyes, the dim figure of Professor Jerref stood before me. “I hadn’t the resources for the usual glamour. Listen to me.” His image flickered. As he returned, he was transparent. “You’ve figured out what Poseidon wants, haven’t you?” His words jumbled together in his haste.

I nodded. “He’s trying to lure my mother down here.” I sat up and met his eyes, so full of worry, nothing playful. His face was so weathered that I barely recognized him.

“Do not let him succeed, Genevieve. You cannot break beneath him. Do you understand? Do not cry. Do not flinch. Do not even flicker with emotion. You’re stronger than this. I know you are.” He took a knee before me and gripped my shoulders.

I winced at how close he was to the stab. “I’m not sure I’ll make it that long.”

“He won’t kill you. He needs you. Try to find a way out of this. You’re a clever girl.” He touched the cut. “If I heal this, I’ll have expended too much energy to come back. If I don’t, it’ll get infected. The choice is yours.”

I looked back to my arm. Bloody flesh still hung from it. Worry didn’t encase me until I tried to move my fingers. They barely bent; I couldn’t form a complete fist. They prickled as if I’d slept on them. Blotches of red no longer stained where my hand was cold. I pressed it against my face; it was pure ice. “Please, heal it.”

He gave a stiff nod and ground a fistful of sand into it. My skin crawled over the mound and drank it into the gash. It rippled and bulged into a nasty purplish bump. “That’s pure dream dust. If anything odd hap—” His form faded. Echoing through the room, his rasp of a voice called, “Do not give in, Genevieve.”