From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [159]
Averella helped Peripaso tie the soft suede skins around everyone’s hands. She had never heard of creepers, but they were short strips of carved bone, smooth and flat on one side and jagged like teeth on the other. Thongs of leather cord were looped through holes on each end so they could be tied under the sole of a boot to give traction on a slippery surface.
“Why you have so many?” Gren asked.
“I get bored, and they tend to break. I got a whole bucket full back home.”
“Where is your home, sir?” Noam asked.
“You’re standin’ in it!” Peripaso laughed. “But I got a cave I spend most my time in, just north of Xulon. That’s where I keep my things.”
“Why aren’t we going to your cave?” Gren asked.
“My cave is no place for all you fine folk.”
Averella waved Gren over. “Give me your foot so I can tie this creeper on.”
Averella and Peripaso finished tying the creepers in silence. Then Peripaso put out the torch and led them back into the tunnel. Sure enough, in a very short time, Averella’s suede wrapped hands slipped over a patch of ice. Frustrated voices rose behind her.
“Dig your foot in before you step!” Peripaso yelled.
Where it had been difficult to hold onto the rope and climb before, it was nearly impossible now. Averella concentrated on her feet. She stomped one foot into place, straightened that leg, dug the next foot in, and stood. It was like climbing a slippery ladder.
The ice got thicker, and the air cooled around her until each breath chilled her lungs. Her cheeks burned, her nose watered, and her fingers and toes went numb. The tunnel leveled off some, and Averella was grateful for the reprieve. She moved to her hands and knees, giving her toes a break.
But Peripaso did not stop to rest. He usually did this whenever the incline leveled off, at least long enough so everyone could catch their breath.
Perhaps Jax had not messaged Sir Eagan yet. Jax, who was at the end of the line, always bloodvoiced Sir Eagan when he reached level ground. That way Peripaso would not stop to rest with anyone still on an incline.
“Sir Eagan?”
He panted and breathed out a “Yes, Averella?”
“Has Jax messaged yet?”
“He has.”
“Might Peripaso be persuaded to take a brief rest?”
Peripaso answered, “We’ll rest soon enough, Lady Vrell. Have patience a bit longer.”
Averella did not know if she could make it. Her arms and legs trembled with each step, weary from exercise and cold. She hummed a tune to occupy her mind. The song Achan had sung outside the gates of Shamayim.
As she pondered this, her head smacked Sir Eagan’s leg.
“Forgive me, Averella, but your wish is granted. Peripaso has stopped.”
Averella rolled to her side and tucked her fingertips between her knees, shivering.
“We have reached the summit of this tunnel,” Peripaso said. “I’m on the edge of a sharp decline. It’s very icy. We’ll slide down on our backsides, feet first. You’ll be tempted to put out your arms to grab hold of somethin’. Don’t. That’s a good way to lose a limb. Keep your arms over your chest. Hold your own hand if that’s what it takes to keep your arms in.”
Peripaso cleared his throat, and Averella could hear him shifting on the icy rock. “At the end of this first leg, you’ll fall into a pool of water. If I can keep it dry when I go in, my torch will be lit. Sir Eagan and I will pull you out of the water. We’ll gather there ’til we’re all accounted for, then take on the second tunnel. Understand? Madam Hoff?”
Gren’s voice wavered. “I-I think so, y-yes.”
“Good. It’s real important ever’one wait their turn. Once the person ahead of you goes down, count to twenty, slowly. Then go on down. Jax, will you come last and bring the rope down?”
Jax’s deep voice sounded closer then she expected. “I will.”
“‘Right, then.” Peripaso lowered his voice. “Lady Vrell? You wait longer before you go. Give Sir Eagan and me some time to light the torch and get into position. Can you count to one hundred?”
Averella scoffed and pushed herself back to her knees. “Of course