Necromancer by Cormier Shawn P

Author:Cormier, Shawn P.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pine View Press
Published: 2008-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIV

The World Outside

"Keep your head down!" Kale shouted over the din of the river.

Ilien hunkered down as far as he could. Globe hovered in the bow beside Kale, illuminating the boy's fear-stretched features. The boat around them radiated a faint red light, the same red light that imbued the book, and Ilien hoped that Gallund's spell would protect it as the river crashed over them. Battered and bruised, he sheltered the book under his arms and closed his eyes, hoping the wild ride would end soon. Spell or no spell, the boat couldn't take much more damage.

The river thundered through the darkness, heaving through the mountain's veins as it coursed between its rock-lined channels. The boat plummeted downward, careening off the rocks. Kale cried out in fear. Then suddenly the roar of the river quieted. The water calmed and the boat sailed smoothly along as they floated out into a wide pool surrounded by rough-hewn walls of stone. At the far end, daylight streamed in through a wide opening where the river exited, sluggish and lazy. A high stone ceiling stretched overhead.

"We made it," said Ilien. "Kale. We made it."

Kale sat up and stared at the mouth of the cave and the golden beams of sunlight pouring in. He knuckled the water from his eyes. "It's beautiful."

Ilien stared, too. It seemed an eternity since he had last seen the sun, or blue sky. Its crystal glass rays filled him with sudden, overwhelming happiness. But the feeling fled as quickly as it came. Windy was somewhere back in the Desecration. Rose, too. They would never get back to them now because there was no returning the way they had come. Rose lay wounded in the stonehall, slowly dying. Windy was lost and alone, or worse. A growing sense of sadness grew in Ilien, and he hung his head.

The book still glowed faintly red, even in the sunlit cave. No harm had come to it, but not so the boat. Despite the magical spell that protected it, water seeped in through a long crack in the bottom and sloshed about their feet. Kale pushed them toward shore using his Breach as a pole.

Up ahead, the river issued from the cave and meandered between banks of tall grass. They caught a glimpse of bright blue sky, and the green, growing scent of trees. Kale looked at Ilien with a gleam in his crooked eyes. His swollen lips parted in a fleshy smile, revealing his cat-like teeth as he leaned on the Breach, pushing the boat faster.

A warm breeze gusted into the cave, blowing back Ilien's long, unkempt hair. A tingle ran up his spine as he breathed deep the clean, living air. It spread to his arms and prickled his scalp, relieving the growing dread in his chest. The quiet of the cave receded, replaced by the hiss of the wind through tall grass. The sound tickled his ears, and he smiled until his cheeks hurt. The buzz of insects, a noise he had often taken for granted, sounded musical.

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