Stolen Songbird
Page 3
“Who made these?” I asked, my voice seeming loud after the long silence. I kept my tone quiet and non-confrontational. Luc got his back up easily at the best of times and I needed to keep him talking.
“Treasure hunters.” Luc tapped his knife against one of the strange symbols. “Each of the pathfinders has his own mark leading the way he deems fastest. Or safest, most like,” he amended.
An arrow next to a symbol carved into the stone pointed to the right, where a narrow, slot-like tunnel promised a tight squeeze, even for me. Half a dozen symbols had arrows pointing to the passage on the left, which seemed wide open and inviting by comparison. “Why not the other way?”
Luc shook his head and tapped two wavy lines scratched below the markings. “Means sluag been sighted down that path. Or their leavings, at least.”
“What’s a sluag?”
The uneasy expression on Luc’s face did not ease my fear. “Something big and something best to be avoided,” he said. “I asked the trolls about them. They said that if I ever got close enough to spot one, t’would be unlikely I’d live to tell the tale. Even they are afraid of sluag.” He pointed towards the right. “The tight spaces are safer.”
I shone the light down the left passageway, but the scant few feet of visibility gave me no comfort that there weren’t sluag or worse lurking beyond. My back against the wall, I reluctantly squeezed into the crack.
The crevice remained tight for a long time and progress was both slow and exhausting. When the passage finally opened up into a bigger space, I sank down on the damp rock with relief. Luc emerged soon after, his face as filthy and exhausted as I assumed mine to be.
“We need to keep moving,” he said, after taking a long swallow from his water skin then passing it to me. “The trolls are expecting us by nightfall.”
Needless to say, I didn’t find the reminder particularly motivating. “Who told you about these tunnels, anyway? Or would you have me believe you decided to crawl to the center of the earth one day to discover if you might pop out the other side?”
Luc sneered at me. “No one can tell anyone about this place – the trolls ensure that. If you make it all the way to Trollus, and if they decide you’re useful enough not to kill on the spot, they make you swear magic oaths binding you to secrecy. S’why I couldn’t tell you anything until we got under the rocks. The trolls, they’re big on oaths. Don’t take too kindly to those who break their word, so we best be moving right along.”
I sat rooted, refusing to move.
Luc tossed up his hands in exasperation. “Fine. I took to noticing that old Henri seemed to have unlimited coin to do his drinking in town, though he ain’t never worked an honest day in his life. So I followed him, thinking he had a stash buried in the forest somewhere. Turns out he’s been trading with the trolls all these years and no one the wiser.”
“Trading what?”
“Books, of all things.”
“And you? What did you give them?”
Luc shrugged. “Odds and sods. They pay a lot, but it’s a dangerous trip. When I heard they were looking for a girl with your description, I knew I’d hit pay dirt, and I was right. They let me name my price.”
Fury overtook my fear of punishment. He had sold me, sold my life away, all because he was too greedy to do honest work. Booted heels lashing out, I caught him in the knees and watched as he toppled over the edge of the rock and out of sight. Unfortunately, his grip on the rope did not slacken and I was dragged forward until my feet dangled over the edge.
“You just don’t give up, do you.” Luc sat about four feet below me in a pool of guck, and a rank stench rose up to assault my nostrils. He wasn’t alone.
“Looks like you have a friend,” I snapped, pointing at the skeleton lying on the floor next to Luc. “Shame you didn’t meet a similar fate.”
Luc looked down and grimaced. Then his curiosity got the better of him and he gave the body a closer examination. “Shine the lantern down this way, Cécile. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed him before.”
I obliged, but only because I had no other options. He’d just pull me over the edge if I didn’t obey. Judging from the bareness of the bones, the man had been dead for some time. My skin broke out into a fresh set of goose bumps. “What is that slime?”
“I don’t know – never seen it before.” He sounded nervous, and his trepidation caught hold of me like a plague.
“How many times have you been this way?” I asked, my mind turning to the real fear that we might be lost and he just didn’t know it.
There was no chance to respond before the cavern thundered with a strange roaring noise. BAROOOM! The echoes faded, replaced by the wet swish of something slithering in our direction. Something large.
Luc’s terrified eyes met mine and he whispered, “Run!”
CHAPTER 3
CéCILE
Terror may have given us wings, but the labyrinth of Forsaken Mountain kept us to a crawl. We wriggled across boulders, boots slipping on the loose rock and ears peeled for the tell-tale swish, swish of the sluag hunting at our heels. If it was fast enough to catch us, it was choosing not to. But whenever I thought we’d escaped, we’d round a corner and the swish, swish of slithering would accost our ears, forcing us to backtrack or take another way – almost as though it was toying with us. If not for the etched directions, we’d have certainly lost our way. Exhaustion was catching up with us, and when it did, so would the sluag.
Luc examined the markers, both of us panting and gasping for breath. We stood at the convergence of three tunnels. “This way,” he whispered. “Just a bit further and we’ll come to a narrow hole. You’ll have to get down and crawl, but once you’re through, we’ll be into Trollus. The sluag won’t be able to follow.”
BAROOOM!
I started in the direction he pointed, but Luc shoved me aside and went first. Reaching the tight bit, he fell to his stomach and squirmed his way in. His small pack caught on the edge, forcing him to back up, take it off, and shove it ahead of him.
Swish, swish, swish. BAROOOM! Triumph thundered in the creature’s voice as it drew closer.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” I whispered, and turned to look back the way we’d come.
Swish, swish, swish.
Only Luc’s feet stuck out of the tunnel now. I dropped to my knees, ready to dive in the second he made room.
Swish, swish, swish.
Luc’s heels disappeared. I glanced behind me one last time, the light of the lantern catching the monster rounding the corner. The sluag reared, white and glistening like a giant slug, and out of its mouth shot a long, whip-like tongue. The lantern smashed at my feet, guttering out. I screamed and scrambled into the hole.
I could see nothing – only hear Luc cursing ahead of me, and the swish of the sluag coming up from behind. I crawled faster, uncertain how far into the tunnel I had progressed or if my ankles still protruded enough for the monster to catch hold.
BAROOOM!
I screamed, and something smacked into the heel of my boot, the force driving me onto the back of Luc’s legs. “Hurry! It’s coming!”
BAROOOM!
We clawed our way forward, and the tunnel shuddered as the creature slammed into the rock. I shrieked, snot and tears coating my face as I shoved against Luc’s feet, trying to get through the tight hole. Even after he reached the other side and pulled me out of the tunnel, it took a long time for my panic to recede enough for me to think. I was not safe. Not only was I kidnapped, my kidnapper was too stupid to get us safely to those he intended to sell me to. It was all for nothing. I was going to die for nothing.
“I hate you,” I croaked. I swallowed hard and repeated myself. “I hate you.” The sentiment still wasn’t enough, so I howled the words. “I hate you, Luc!”
“Where’s the lamp?” His voice held no emotion, but I felt him pick up the end of the rope still attached to my ankle.
“At the end of the tunnel with the sluag – feel free to go get it.” Except the thought of the creature wolfing him down didn’t make me feel much better. I would be alone in the dark, with no sense of time or direction. The chances of finding my way out were nonexistent – I’d starve to death down here and no one would ever suspect what had happened.
Luc groaned. “Idiot! Now what are we supposed to do?”
I listened to the sound of him fumbling in his pack and looked around, if such a thing is possible in complete darkness.
Or perhaps not so complete after all.
In the distance, a silvery glow beckoned that could only be one thing: moonlight. And moonlight meant my escape.
“Drop the rope,” I whispered, my prayers somehow finding their way into my voice, hope giving them power that fear had not.
“What?”
“I said, drop the rope.”
Water dripped. Luc’s breathing grew still and even. A draft chilled my skin and the rope around my ankle grew slack.
But before I got the chance to run, the light was upon us. Someone else was in the tunnel.
“What the…” Luc started to say, and then with a grunt, he tackled me from behind.
“Help!” I gasped, but I couldn’t draw breath beneath his bulk. Squeezing an elbow underneath me, I pushed up, gasped in a mouthful of air and screamed. Luc’s fist connected with the back of my head, driving my face into the rocky floor, but my voice echoed through the tunnel. Help… help… help…
I tried to turn over to fight, but Luc pummeled my skull, sending a wave of dizziness through me. Light flashed in my eyes, and abruptly his weight disappeared. With a muffled “Ooofff” and a groan of pain, Luc fell to the ground next to me. Every inch of me ached, but I didn’t think anything was broken. I could still run.
“I don’t believe this was part of the arrangement, Monsieur Luc.”
Rising to my knees, I gazed up at the man standing in front of us, his figure outlined by moonlight. “Help me,” I pleaded, tugging on the silken fabric of his cloak. “Please help me! He’s kidnapped me from my family and intends to sell me to the trolls.”
“Is that so?” His voice had the lyrical cadence of the court, although I was surprised to find a nobleman stooping to treasure hunting. I was in no position to judge, though. I’d take assistance where I could find it. I crawled on hands and knees, putting the man between Luc and me. Anyone had to be better than Luc.
My eyes fixed on the glowing lamp dancing behind his head. No, not a lamp – an orb that seemed to be floating through the air of its own accord. It swung round, hanging near my face, dazzling me with brightness but exuding only a little warmth.
“How badly are you injured, Mademoiselle de Troyes?”
I reached up to touch the light, then, thinking better of it, withdrew my hand. Only then did I realize he’d called me by name. I met his eyes. Or eye, rather. He stood peculiarly and kept his face turned to one side, revealing only his profile. He was perhaps my brother’s age, and particularly handsome. The light of the orb reflected in his silvery grey eye as though the glow came from within. I’d never met anyone in my life with eyes like his.
“I’m afraid you have the advantage, monsieur, for while you know my name, I don’t know yours.” My heart beat faster. Something was dreadfully amiss. Apprehension made my hackles rise like a dog’s as I eyed the man up and down. Who was he and what was he doing beneath the rubble of Forsaken Mountain?
“I should beg your pardon, mademoiselle, for failing to introduce myself. I am Marc de Biron, Comte de Courville.” His attention moved to Luc. “You were to bring her unharmed.”
“You’re lucky she’s still alive – we nearly got ate by that sluag,” Luc retorted.
“You’re lucky you didn’t bring half a dozen of them down upon you the way you two carried on. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could account your argument word for word in Trollus, you were so infernally loud!”
“No,” I whispered. “No, no, no.” Every instinct said to run, but which way? I had no light, and the sluag blocked the way we’d come from. But forward was where he’d come from and he was… Rising to my feet, I cowered against the wall. “You’re a… He’s a…”
“Aye, Cécile,” Luc said, finally taking notice of my yammering. “He’s a troll all right.”
“But you said they were monst…” The troll abruptly turned and faced me straight on, and the word died on my lips, replaced by a scream. Luc had been telling the truth.
CHAPTER 4
CéCILE
The two sides of his face, so flawless on their own, were like halves of a fractured sculpture put back together askew. The lack of symmetry was more than unsettling – it was shocking, gruesome even. One eye higher than the other. One ear lower than the other. A mouth marred by a permanently sardonic twist. I leapt back and into Luc, who clamped a filthy hand over my lips, silencing the scream.
“Not a wise idea,” he whispered in my ear before dropping his hand.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and repeated myself again because my mind didn’t seem able to come up with any more words. “I’m sorry.”
The silence stretched. When I raised my head, the light had retreated behind him, casting his face in shadows once more.
“Come,” he said. “They are expecting you.”
Abruptly, he turned, cloak flaring out as he strode down the tunnel. Then he hesitated, and to my dismay, extended his elbow. “Mademoiselle.”
I didn’t want to take his arm, because doing so meant agreeing to go with him. I stared back the way we came – towards the surface, where my father and our neighbors were frantically searching for me. But they’d never suspect where Luc had taken me. I’d have to rely on my own gumption to get free, but now was not the time – not when they expected an escape attempt.
“Treasure hunters.” Luc tapped his knife against one of the strange symbols. “Each of the pathfinders has his own mark leading the way he deems fastest. Or safest, most like,” he amended.
An arrow next to a symbol carved into the stone pointed to the right, where a narrow, slot-like tunnel promised a tight squeeze, even for me. Half a dozen symbols had arrows pointing to the passage on the left, which seemed wide open and inviting by comparison. “Why not the other way?”
Luc shook his head and tapped two wavy lines scratched below the markings. “Means sluag been sighted down that path. Or their leavings, at least.”
“What’s a sluag?”
The uneasy expression on Luc’s face did not ease my fear. “Something big and something best to be avoided,” he said. “I asked the trolls about them. They said that if I ever got close enough to spot one, t’would be unlikely I’d live to tell the tale. Even they are afraid of sluag.” He pointed towards the right. “The tight spaces are safer.”
I shone the light down the left passageway, but the scant few feet of visibility gave me no comfort that there weren’t sluag or worse lurking beyond. My back against the wall, I reluctantly squeezed into the crack.
The crevice remained tight for a long time and progress was both slow and exhausting. When the passage finally opened up into a bigger space, I sank down on the damp rock with relief. Luc emerged soon after, his face as filthy and exhausted as I assumed mine to be.
“We need to keep moving,” he said, after taking a long swallow from his water skin then passing it to me. “The trolls are expecting us by nightfall.”
Needless to say, I didn’t find the reminder particularly motivating. “Who told you about these tunnels, anyway? Or would you have me believe you decided to crawl to the center of the earth one day to discover if you might pop out the other side?”
Luc sneered at me. “No one can tell anyone about this place – the trolls ensure that. If you make it all the way to Trollus, and if they decide you’re useful enough not to kill on the spot, they make you swear magic oaths binding you to secrecy. S’why I couldn’t tell you anything until we got under the rocks. The trolls, they’re big on oaths. Don’t take too kindly to those who break their word, so we best be moving right along.”
I sat rooted, refusing to move.
Luc tossed up his hands in exasperation. “Fine. I took to noticing that old Henri seemed to have unlimited coin to do his drinking in town, though he ain’t never worked an honest day in his life. So I followed him, thinking he had a stash buried in the forest somewhere. Turns out he’s been trading with the trolls all these years and no one the wiser.”
“Trading what?”
“Books, of all things.”
“And you? What did you give them?”
Luc shrugged. “Odds and sods. They pay a lot, but it’s a dangerous trip. When I heard they were looking for a girl with your description, I knew I’d hit pay dirt, and I was right. They let me name my price.”
Fury overtook my fear of punishment. He had sold me, sold my life away, all because he was too greedy to do honest work. Booted heels lashing out, I caught him in the knees and watched as he toppled over the edge of the rock and out of sight. Unfortunately, his grip on the rope did not slacken and I was dragged forward until my feet dangled over the edge.
“You just don’t give up, do you.” Luc sat about four feet below me in a pool of guck, and a rank stench rose up to assault my nostrils. He wasn’t alone.
“Looks like you have a friend,” I snapped, pointing at the skeleton lying on the floor next to Luc. “Shame you didn’t meet a similar fate.”
Luc looked down and grimaced. Then his curiosity got the better of him and he gave the body a closer examination. “Shine the lantern down this way, Cécile. I can’t believe I’ve never noticed him before.”
I obliged, but only because I had no other options. He’d just pull me over the edge if I didn’t obey. Judging from the bareness of the bones, the man had been dead for some time. My skin broke out into a fresh set of goose bumps. “What is that slime?”
“I don’t know – never seen it before.” He sounded nervous, and his trepidation caught hold of me like a plague.
“How many times have you been this way?” I asked, my mind turning to the real fear that we might be lost and he just didn’t know it.
There was no chance to respond before the cavern thundered with a strange roaring noise. BAROOOM! The echoes faded, replaced by the wet swish of something slithering in our direction. Something large.
Luc’s terrified eyes met mine and he whispered, “Run!”
CHAPTER 3
CéCILE
Terror may have given us wings, but the labyrinth of Forsaken Mountain kept us to a crawl. We wriggled across boulders, boots slipping on the loose rock and ears peeled for the tell-tale swish, swish of the sluag hunting at our heels. If it was fast enough to catch us, it was choosing not to. But whenever I thought we’d escaped, we’d round a corner and the swish, swish of slithering would accost our ears, forcing us to backtrack or take another way – almost as though it was toying with us. If not for the etched directions, we’d have certainly lost our way. Exhaustion was catching up with us, and when it did, so would the sluag.
Luc examined the markers, both of us panting and gasping for breath. We stood at the convergence of three tunnels. “This way,” he whispered. “Just a bit further and we’ll come to a narrow hole. You’ll have to get down and crawl, but once you’re through, we’ll be into Trollus. The sluag won’t be able to follow.”
BAROOOM!
I started in the direction he pointed, but Luc shoved me aside and went first. Reaching the tight bit, he fell to his stomach and squirmed his way in. His small pack caught on the edge, forcing him to back up, take it off, and shove it ahead of him.
Swish, swish, swish. BAROOOM! Triumph thundered in the creature’s voice as it drew closer.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” I whispered, and turned to look back the way we’d come.
Swish, swish, swish.
Only Luc’s feet stuck out of the tunnel now. I dropped to my knees, ready to dive in the second he made room.
Swish, swish, swish.
Luc’s heels disappeared. I glanced behind me one last time, the light of the lantern catching the monster rounding the corner. The sluag reared, white and glistening like a giant slug, and out of its mouth shot a long, whip-like tongue. The lantern smashed at my feet, guttering out. I screamed and scrambled into the hole.
I could see nothing – only hear Luc cursing ahead of me, and the swish of the sluag coming up from behind. I crawled faster, uncertain how far into the tunnel I had progressed or if my ankles still protruded enough for the monster to catch hold.
BAROOOM!
I screamed, and something smacked into the heel of my boot, the force driving me onto the back of Luc’s legs. “Hurry! It’s coming!”
BAROOOM!
We clawed our way forward, and the tunnel shuddered as the creature slammed into the rock. I shrieked, snot and tears coating my face as I shoved against Luc’s feet, trying to get through the tight hole. Even after he reached the other side and pulled me out of the tunnel, it took a long time for my panic to recede enough for me to think. I was not safe. Not only was I kidnapped, my kidnapper was too stupid to get us safely to those he intended to sell me to. It was all for nothing. I was going to die for nothing.
“I hate you,” I croaked. I swallowed hard and repeated myself. “I hate you.” The sentiment still wasn’t enough, so I howled the words. “I hate you, Luc!”
“Where’s the lamp?” His voice held no emotion, but I felt him pick up the end of the rope still attached to my ankle.
“At the end of the tunnel with the sluag – feel free to go get it.” Except the thought of the creature wolfing him down didn’t make me feel much better. I would be alone in the dark, with no sense of time or direction. The chances of finding my way out were nonexistent – I’d starve to death down here and no one would ever suspect what had happened.
Luc groaned. “Idiot! Now what are we supposed to do?”
I listened to the sound of him fumbling in his pack and looked around, if such a thing is possible in complete darkness.
Or perhaps not so complete after all.
In the distance, a silvery glow beckoned that could only be one thing: moonlight. And moonlight meant my escape.
“Drop the rope,” I whispered, my prayers somehow finding their way into my voice, hope giving them power that fear had not.
“What?”
“I said, drop the rope.”
Water dripped. Luc’s breathing grew still and even. A draft chilled my skin and the rope around my ankle grew slack.
But before I got the chance to run, the light was upon us. Someone else was in the tunnel.
“What the…” Luc started to say, and then with a grunt, he tackled me from behind.
“Help!” I gasped, but I couldn’t draw breath beneath his bulk. Squeezing an elbow underneath me, I pushed up, gasped in a mouthful of air and screamed. Luc’s fist connected with the back of my head, driving my face into the rocky floor, but my voice echoed through the tunnel. Help… help… help…
I tried to turn over to fight, but Luc pummeled my skull, sending a wave of dizziness through me. Light flashed in my eyes, and abruptly his weight disappeared. With a muffled “Ooofff” and a groan of pain, Luc fell to the ground next to me. Every inch of me ached, but I didn’t think anything was broken. I could still run.
“I don’t believe this was part of the arrangement, Monsieur Luc.”
Rising to my knees, I gazed up at the man standing in front of us, his figure outlined by moonlight. “Help me,” I pleaded, tugging on the silken fabric of his cloak. “Please help me! He’s kidnapped me from my family and intends to sell me to the trolls.”
“Is that so?” His voice had the lyrical cadence of the court, although I was surprised to find a nobleman stooping to treasure hunting. I was in no position to judge, though. I’d take assistance where I could find it. I crawled on hands and knees, putting the man between Luc and me. Anyone had to be better than Luc.
My eyes fixed on the glowing lamp dancing behind his head. No, not a lamp – an orb that seemed to be floating through the air of its own accord. It swung round, hanging near my face, dazzling me with brightness but exuding only a little warmth.
“How badly are you injured, Mademoiselle de Troyes?”
I reached up to touch the light, then, thinking better of it, withdrew my hand. Only then did I realize he’d called me by name. I met his eyes. Or eye, rather. He stood peculiarly and kept his face turned to one side, revealing only his profile. He was perhaps my brother’s age, and particularly handsome. The light of the orb reflected in his silvery grey eye as though the glow came from within. I’d never met anyone in my life with eyes like his.
“I’m afraid you have the advantage, monsieur, for while you know my name, I don’t know yours.” My heart beat faster. Something was dreadfully amiss. Apprehension made my hackles rise like a dog’s as I eyed the man up and down. Who was he and what was he doing beneath the rubble of Forsaken Mountain?
“I should beg your pardon, mademoiselle, for failing to introduce myself. I am Marc de Biron, Comte de Courville.” His attention moved to Luc. “You were to bring her unharmed.”
“You’re lucky she’s still alive – we nearly got ate by that sluag,” Luc retorted.
“You’re lucky you didn’t bring half a dozen of them down upon you the way you two carried on. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could account your argument word for word in Trollus, you were so infernally loud!”
“No,” I whispered. “No, no, no.” Every instinct said to run, but which way? I had no light, and the sluag blocked the way we’d come from. But forward was where he’d come from and he was… Rising to my feet, I cowered against the wall. “You’re a… He’s a…”
“Aye, Cécile,” Luc said, finally taking notice of my yammering. “He’s a troll all right.”
“But you said they were monst…” The troll abruptly turned and faced me straight on, and the word died on my lips, replaced by a scream. Luc had been telling the truth.
CHAPTER 4
CéCILE
The two sides of his face, so flawless on their own, were like halves of a fractured sculpture put back together askew. The lack of symmetry was more than unsettling – it was shocking, gruesome even. One eye higher than the other. One ear lower than the other. A mouth marred by a permanently sardonic twist. I leapt back and into Luc, who clamped a filthy hand over my lips, silencing the scream.
“Not a wise idea,” he whispered in my ear before dropping his hand.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and repeated myself again because my mind didn’t seem able to come up with any more words. “I’m sorry.”
The silence stretched. When I raised my head, the light had retreated behind him, casting his face in shadows once more.
“Come,” he said. “They are expecting you.”
Abruptly, he turned, cloak flaring out as he strode down the tunnel. Then he hesitated, and to my dismay, extended his elbow. “Mademoiselle.”
I didn’t want to take his arm, because doing so meant agreeing to go with him. I stared back the way we came – towards the surface, where my father and our neighbors were frantically searching for me. But they’d never suspect where Luc had taken me. I’d have to rely on my own gumption to get free, but now was not the time – not when they expected an escape attempt.
