From Darkness Won - Jill Williamson [162]
Averella turned to Gren. “Help me untie my armor. You can hold the back half over you to keep the water off as you go down.”
“Thank you.” Gren and Averella worked at the points until the armor separated. Bran did the same with his armor and gave the backplate to Noam.
“Let us not tarry then.” Peripaso took the furs from Jax and Sir Rigil. He laid the first one out, fur side up, then spread the other on top. “All of you line up against the wall. Sir Rigil, you go last this time and make sure everyone comes down. And everyone, wait for Sir Eagan’s word before you slide.”
When everyone had lined up along the wall, Peripaso picked up the torch and smothered it with his bundle.
Darkness clamped upon them once more.
When Averella’s turn came again, she resituated her pack in front and gripped the breastplate over it. She shivered and scooted toward the edge, not as frightened this time, though she would still rather be elsewhere. When Sir Eagan messaged her, she merely said, “I am going, Gren. See you at the bottom.”
She pushed off and lay back, clutching the front section of the breastplate over herself and her pack. She flew down the chute. Her heart, lungs, and stomach ran wild again. The mysterious organ lodged itself back at the base of her throat. But after a few twists and turns, she calmed. In summer, such an experience might be fun. If she could see.
A spray of icy water hit her face. She gasped and twisted her head to the side, pulling the breastplate higher. The next time she passed under water, it drummed against the bronze armor. A small victory.
This tunnel ran longer than the previous one. She suddenly realized there was no more ice beneath her. She was moving slower, washing along on a few inches of cold water.
The floor gave way in the same moment as fists of water pounded on her breastplate and face. She screamed this time, for she could see nothing as she fell. Just as she wondered if this fall might not end, she splashed into water. It seemed every bit as cold as before. A hand grabbed at her shoulder and missed. She kicked and held tight to the breastplate, not wanting to lose it. Her head burst through the water’s surface.
“There she is!” Sir Eagan yelled.
Jax’s voice came from behind. “How’d she get over there?”
Averella twisted around in the water. A burning torch had been driven into the dirt on the shore. It lit the surrounding cove like a yellow moon and reflected off the water like flakes of gold. Thick trees and a mossy ledge edged both sides of the plunge pool. The Mowtsa River cut a line through the forest, heading south. Overhead, the waterfall splashed from at least three levels high. The sparkling cascade stole her breath.
“How beautiful!”
Jax swam toward her, a shadowy form on the glistening water. When he reached her, he took the breastplate and pitched it onto the shore. He grabbed her arm.
“Oh, I can swim fine, Jax. Go wait for Gren.”
“Fine. But do not tarry, Vrell.”
Averella slowly made her way to the shore. The water did not stab like the water in the frozen cavern had. She felt as if it were thawing her very bones. Was that another trick of the water?
A scream rang out. Averella looked up in time to see Gren shoot out of the middle of the waterfall. The other half of Averella’s breastplate went spinning off to the side. Averella swam after it. Thankfully it floated a moment like the hull of a boat before being pulled under by its weight and the water pouring into it. She marked its shiny surface reflecting the torchlight as it sank below the water. She dove after it, then swam to shore.
She used some low tree branches to heave herself onto the mossy bank. The air gripped her wet body, but felt warmer than expected. Her soggy boots squished as she walked over the spongy moss. She fetched the front of her breastplate and propped them both against a birch tree, pausing to marvel that the tree that was not slimy and black yet.
How long until Darkness changed it?
Gren slogged up to her. “I’m so glad that’s over.”
“It was not so bad, looking back.