The Codex Lacrimae: The Book of Tears

Chapter 5: Rushing Water, Wintry Wood, and the Return of Cerys

The torrent of water buffeted him, and he barely remembered to submerge his head before the rapids bore him through the dark opening at the base of the wall and into the crawlways beyond. The tube descended abruptly, and he hoped that the rush of water would keep him moving through the tight channel.

While twisting to and fro in the surging and rolling current that threatened to bash him against the sides of the narrow space, Andvari's earlier warning came to mind.

If all is lost, Codex Wielder, dive into the right-hand river—it leads directly to Franang Falls. Hold your breath, because its an underground chute for almost a minute, with no air and just the rapids.

Within seconds, he could move his arms freely again, and he no longer felt the claustrophobia-inducing mountain walls above, below, and on his sides. There were still no pockets of air, though, and the hatchet's golden light revealed an underground limestone world whose multicolored stone curtains, gigantic mushrooms, and stalagmites mirrored the formations of the caverns he'd just escaped.

Straining to keep holding his breath in the roiling water, the knight held the small tool in front of him, hoping that it would collide with any obstruction before his head or body did. As he rode out the fast-moving current, he also prayed that Clarinda had kept her wits and acted similarly; and, if they both didn't drown, hopefully a deathly plunge over a cliff-side waterfall didn't await them at journey's end.

The swirling, corkscrewing current expelled Aurelius from the mountain in a spewing surge of whitewater. He sucked in a lungful of air, and splashed into the center of a boulder-lined pool, coughing and sputtering. He rolled in the shallows, and felt an instant of relief, catching one more breath, before his momentum carried him off the edge and down into a greater river.

He bobbed through turbulent foam and gasped loudly when he surfaced into air colder than the Underjordisk Elv. Steam issued from his mouth. Gratis tibi, Domini, he prayed, grateful to be alive.

Thank not your Lord, Hospitaller, the Codex Lacrimae replied. He will not answer you.

Aurelius shook his head, and while treading water and drifting with the current, looked around to see where he was. He saw with a shiver that the river was hastening toward a mist-covered lake a half league distant. A full moon shone in a cloudless sky, illuminating his surroundings, although much of the landscape remained in deep shadow. A snow-covered forest fringed the banks. Deepest winter blanketed this land, but it seemed to be a true winter and not the kind of twisted and frozen hellscape he'd experienced in Niflheim.

The knight swam to the shore closest to him. He slogged through the shallows and stumbled into the trees. The air felt somewhat warmer under the piney roof. He walked as fast as his stiffening legs could carry him, but glanced back at the falls, unable to repress a wild grin, elated that he'd forestalled another killing strike by Hela and her Wilde Jagd. His joy at living warmed him and momentarily surpassed the freezing cold pressing against him.

You are proud, Hospitaller, deservedly so.The Codex Lacrimae's voice was quieter than during the battle, but still clear in his mind. You outfought all your enemies in that cave, better than Taliesin ever could in his prime.

Aurelius shook his head, trying to dismiss the voice whose assessment he disagreed with. Not pride, Codex. I'm simply glad to be alive. If I survived, Clarinda also could have done the same thing!

He allowed for no other possibility. The girl was proving to be one of the hardiest people whom he'd ever met, and the idea crossed his mind that she would've been perfectly at home either training at the monastery with Devrone, or even with the apprentices at the Krak.