"No," insists Jiron. "I opened the door and it reached for me."

"Well, it's not here now," he says.

Jiron moves to the dirt and stone blocking the hallway and feels it to see if it's real. Finding that it is, he turns back to James with an odd look on his face.

James shrugs. "Could have been a trick of shadows," he reasons.

"Maybe," concedes Jiron.

Coming forward he pats him on the shoulder and says, "Come on. There's another hallway leading from the other door."

"Alright," says Jiron as he follows James back to the room and then over to the other door. But it had seemed so real! But it had seemed so real!

They enter the hallway and move down to the door James found before Jiron cried out. The hallway continues further on past the door and into darkness. With Jiron's recent experience in mind, they both make ready for battle as Jiron opens the door.

Swinging open the door slowly, they brace for attack but only find a hard packed dirt wall on the other side. Shutting the door, Jiron turns and leads the way further down the hallway.

"There's got to be another way to the surface somewhere," he mutters as he moves away from the door. James nods behind him in silent agreement.

Further down they come across another door on their right. Only attached by one of its hinges, it sits askew in the middle of the hallway. Dirt that has completely filled the room beyond the door has spilled through and practically obstructs the hallway. Climbing over the mound of dirt, they discover the rest of the hallway is all but destroyed. The floor above had collapsed.

"d.a.m.n!" exclaims James from his position on the mound of dirt behind Jiron.

Holding aloft the orb, Jiron inspects the obstruction for a possible way through. "We're in luck," he says pointing to the top of the obstruction. "The cave-in opened a way up to the floor above."

"Be careful," advises James as Jiron begins working his way up the pile of stone and dirt. He starts to follow when Jiron's foot dislodges a stone which falls and almost hits him in the head. Deciding to wait until he reaches the top, James holds his position.

When Jiron hollers down that he's made it, James begins climbing up. The unstable rubble makes climbing difficult, the rocks shift under him and twice he starts sliding back down when they give way. Taking it slow, he finally makes it to the top and finds that they are in another room.

Jiron reaches down a hand and helps him the last bit until he's standing in the room. The ceiling of the room has collapsed in two places, one of which has left an opening.

Broken stone lies strewn across the floor of the room. A single closed door appears to be the only way out other than the hole in the ceiling.

James considers the hole in the ceiling while Jiron moves to investigate the door. Holding his...o...b..high, he sees there's an open area beyond the hole in the ceiling. "If we can get up there it would bring us closer to the surface," he observes.

Jiron pauses at the door and turns to face him. Glancing from the floor to the ceiling he says, "That's a good twelve feet at least. How would we get up there?"

Shrugging, James replies, "Not sure."

Turning back to the door, Jiron pulls it open to find what used to be a stairway leading down. But the stairwell has long since collapsed and the way is no longer pa.s.sable. "This way is blocked," he says as he turns back to where James is trying to figure a way up to the hole.

"Maybe we should take a short break while we work on how to continue," suggests Jiron.

Glancing at him, James nods his head. "That might not be such a bad idea."

Moving over to one side where the rubble isn't nearly so thick, they clear a s.p.a.ce and sit down against the wall. Jiron removes two pieces of dried beef from his belt pouch and hands one to James.

"Thanks," he says. Taking the beef, he bites off a piece and gazes around the room. "You know, there're some good sized pieces of stone here," he states. "Might be possible to make a pile high enough for us to reach the edge of the opening."

Jiron nods at the idea. "Would be better than backtracking to find another route," he agrees. Then he asks, "How's your wrist?"

"Still hurts," replies James. "Don't worry, I'll still help build the pile." He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see Jiron looking at him.

"That's not what I was meaning," he says. "Just concerned is all."

"I know," James a.s.sures him.

They sit and rest until they've finished their dried beef and drank a small portion of their depleting water supply. "Ready?" Jiron asks. When James nods his head, they get up and begin to work on building a pile to reach the hole.

At first they work together on the larger chunks of stone to build the base. James' hand prevents them from using the largest pieces but he's at least able to a.s.sist Jiron in moving some of the medium sized ones.

Stone after stone, they move each to beneath the opening and the pile steadily rises. They even remove the door leading to the clogged stairwell and add it to the growing pile to add stability. When all but the small stones that would be of little use are gathered, Jiron climbs to the top and finds he is still four feet from the opening. The pile of stone isn't stable enough to allow him to jump that far even with the use of the door. The top stone upon which he stands continuously threatens to slip off the pile at any second.

"Maybe we can work some stones out of the wall where it's broken," suggests James.

"Good idea," replies Jiron as he works his way down from the pile.

James takes out his belt knife and walks over to the wall. Large chunks of stone are imbedded within the dirt. Using his knife, he begins working the stones out from the wall. When they are loose enough, Jiron takes them to the pile.

This process takes well over an hour before Jiron once again climbs the pile in an attempt to reach the hole in the ceiling. Once on the top, he stretches to touch the edge of the opening. His fingers are only six inches away this time. The rocks upon which he stands continue to shift and rock in a most unstable manner. Deciding to risk it, he jumps.

His hands grab the edge of the opening as the rock pile beneath him disintegrates. The force of his jump dislodges the carefully arranged pile of rocks causing half of it to slide and spill across the room's floor.

James holds his breath as he watches him hanging there in the hole. Adjusting his grip, Jiron starts to pull himself up until his feet disappear over the edge. "I made it!" he hollers back down.

"Thank goodness," breathes James with relief.

A few seconds later, the rope Jiron keeps coiled around his middle drops down through the opening. At the end of the rope he has made a loop. "Here," he says. "Put your foot in the loop and I'll pull you up."

"Okay," replies James and then climbs the pile of stone to reach the rope. Once at the top, he takes the rope in his good hand and sets his foot in the loop. "Pull it up," he hollers when he's ready.

The rope begins to be slowly drawn upward until the slack has been taken up. Then he holds onto the rope tightly as Jiron gradually pulls him up off the disheveled rock pile and toward the hole. He can hear Jiron's grunts each time he pulls him a little bit further. When his head pa.s.ses through the opening, he takes his good hand and pulls his upper body over the lip.

Jiron lets go of the rope and grabs him under the shoulders. In one strong tug, he pulls him completely over the lip and onto the next level. James cries out as the rough edge sc.r.a.pes along his chest as he's being dragged out of the opening.

Rolling on his back, James uses his uninjured hand to pull up the front of his shirt. The two orbs left in the room below wink out as another springs to life next to him. Looking at his chest, he finds three long sc.r.a.pes several inches in length. Two are simply red, the third is beginning to well blood.

"Sorry about that," apologizes Jiron.

James glances at him as he lowers his shirt. "They're not bad, just stings a little," he a.s.sures him.

"That's good." He takes the rope and unties the loop he made for James' foot before coiling it once again around his waist.

The light from the orb reveals they are in another hallway, the hole they climbed out from divides it in half. They can either continue down the side they are on or try to cross over the hole some way to go the other.

James sits up and takes his...o...b..in his hand. He notices Jiron looking at him with his hand out. Suddenly, another springs to life in Jiron's hand.

"Thanks," he says. "Just stay there and rest a moment if you need to, I'll head down here and see where this leads."

"Alright," replies James from where he remains sitting with his back propped up against the wall. "Can't be too far from the surface now."

Jiron nods in agreement. "If we find a way out, let's hope the mages have left," he says. "Can you sense them?"

James concentrates for a moment then shakes his head. "Either they are far away or aren't doing anything magical."

"Good. If you can't sense them, then they shouldn't be able to sense you either." Holding up the orb, he nods to it.

James just shrugs his shoulders.

"Be back in a second," Jiron says as he proceeds down the hallway. Twenty feet from where he left James the right side of the hallway is blocked by dirt that spilled in through a window in the wall. He only pauses to examine the window for a moment then is about to move on when he feels a barely perceptible breeze.

Standing still, he works to ascertain from which direction the waft of air originated. He comes to realize it's coming from the top left corner of the window. Holding aloft his...o...b.. he inspects it closer and discovers a small opening in the dirt through which the air is moving.

After a quick glance back to where James sits with his...o...b..on the floor next to him, he reaches up and pushes on the dirt surrounding the opening. It doesn't take much pressure before the dirt begins falling away. He works at it until he has made an opening two feet in diameter.

Holding the orb behind him, he climbs higher on the mound of dirt and looks through. There's a definite s.p.a.ce on the other side of the window. When he dislodges more of the dirt, he can hear it fall down the other side. Excited, he hurries back to James.

James sees him running back toward him and gets to his feet. "What?" he asks.

Indicating back down the hallway with a nod of his head, he says, "Found a window that may lead somewhere. There's a slight draft pa.s.sing through from the other side."

"A draft?" asks James in excitement.

"That's right," affirms Jiron.

"Let's go check it out," says James and then follows Jiron back to the mound of dirt and the window.

"See if you can widen it further," he suggests when he sees the opening Jiron had made.

Stepping up to the window, Jiron takes a rock from the mound of dirt on the floor and begins striking the dirt packed in the window. Each strike dislodges more of the dirt. He keeps hammering at it until the left half of the window has been completely cleared.

"Toss the orb through and see what's back there," James says.

He moves to the opening and tosses the orb through. The light from the orb as it sails through shows a large open area, easily thirty feet across. As the orb strikes the far side, it begins to fall. It falls at least a hundred feet before splashing into a pool of water at the bottom.

Jiron turns from the window. "It's pretty big," he tells James. "The sides are just dirt. At the bottom lies a pool of water."

"Water?" asks James. When Jiron nods affirmative, he adds, "The water may have eroded the dirt from the bottom up." He takes his water bottle and gives it a shake. Hardly any left.

"We could use some of that water," states Jiron.

"Can we make it down?" he asks.

"I'll see," he says. "Need another orb." When one appears in his hand he again moves to the opening. Tossing it through, he watches the sides of the hole as the orb falls. A little over halfway down directly below the window is a two foot dirt ledge jutting out from the side of the wall. The hollow area grows dark again when the orb hits the water and sinks beneath its surface.

James cancels the orb as soon as he sees Jiron turn back from the window. "Well?" he asks.

"There's a narrow ledge below the window," he explains. "My rope will reach it but I'm not sure how well it will support our weight."

"Let me see." Moving to the window, he creates another orb and tosses it through. When it pa.s.ses the ledge, he sees what Jiron is talking about. Though not very wide, it doesn't look as if it will support their weight.

He's about ready to move away from the window when the breeze which originally caught Jiron's attention wafts through and ruffles his hair. Air movement can only mean a way out.

"I think we should chance it," he says as he turns back from the window. "That breeze has to mean there is an opening to the surface somewhere." He sets the orb on the mound of dirt while he gets ready to climb through.

"I agree," replies Jiron. "We could wander around down here for days and not find another way." He uncoils the rope from around his waist and says, "I'll lower you down first." When James nods, he ties the loop at the end of the rope for his foot. Setting the rope on the dirt mound for a moment, he helps James through the opening.

Once his feet are dangling on the other side, he works the rope through and hooks it around James' right foot. Bracing himself, he gives James a nod and holds the rope tightly while James works his way the rest of the way through the opening. He lets out slack very slowly until he hears 'I'm set', then begins lowering steadily.

James holds the rope tightly in his good hand with the other arm wrapped around it for support. As he is lowered into the darkness an orb springs to life and settles on his shoulder. He keeps an eye out for the ledge. When he sees it coming up beneath him, he hollers, "Almost there!" From above he hears Jiron holler back, "Let me know when you reach it."

"Right!" he shouts. Looking down, he watches as the ledge gradually approaches. When he is but inches from it he hollers up to Jiron to halt. Moving carefully, he places the foot not in the rope's loop upon the ledge and tests it for stability. When the ledge proves secure, he places more of his weight upon it, never once letting go the rope.

Finally standing with his entire weight resting upon the ledge, he hollers up to Jiron, "It's holding!"

"Good," comes the reply. Then the rope is quickly drawn back up.

Back at the window, Jiron takes out one of his knives. After untying the loop, he ties the end securely around the base of the knife's hilt. He then places the knife crosswise across the corner of the window and wedges it there. While maintaining tension on the rope tied to the knife to keep it in place, he tosses the rest of the rope through the window and down to James.

Jiron!

James' scream comes to him from below. He looks through the window just as a ma.s.sive flash explodes on the other side and blinds him. Holding his eyes, he shouts, "James! What's happening?"

Another inarticulate yell comes from James followed by a splash. "James!" he yells through the window. From below come two explosions and James's voice calling his name.

Crumph!

Another explosion and then he hears James again calling his name, this time sounding like he's further away.

When his eyes finally clear enough to see, he looks through the window but only sees blackness on the other side. Taking his...o...b.. he holds it high as he leans out to look below, but the ledge is empty and there's no sign of James.

"James!"

Chapter Twenty Four.

He stands on the ledge as Jiron pulls the rope up. Shifting his feet, he edges over to make room for when he comes down. Once Jiron makes it down to the ledge they'll work the rest of their way down to the bottom.

Above his head, the glow from Jiron's...o...b..shines through the window and he can see his silhouette as he makes ready to descend. Then Jiron's hand emerges from the window holding the rope then lets it fall.

James reaches out and catches the rope to steady it during Jiron's descent. Pulling the rope tight, he holds it while he waits for Jiron to pa.s.s through the window. Just then from below, he catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking down, his eyes widen in amazement as a gigantic serpentine head atop a long neck rises out of the water below.

The scaly head rises quickly, its red eyes fixed squarely upon him. Frozen with fear, he watches as it draws ever closer. Suddenly, its mouth opens revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth. Giving out a roar, the head strikes at James where he's standing exposed upon the wall.