Briar Rose (25 page)

When she’d just about given up hope, she found a flat section of stone built into the wall. She didn’t know why it was there, but it would give them a place to rest. She made her way
back to where Pat was weakly treading water. Reena grabbed on to his damaged shirt and tugged.

‘This way, dude,’ she said.

With effort, they beached themselves on the damp stone. There they lay, trying to regain their breath as the chilly air sent shivers down their spines.

‘Now what?’ Pat said as he rolled on his back. ‘How do we get out of here?’

‘I don’t know.’

As she waited for her vision to adjust to the dim surroundings, Reena remembered the skeleton key and frantically dug for it under her sodden clothes.

No key. No way home.

When her fingers closed round it, she sighed in profound relief. Unfortunately she had left the canvas bag full of herbs and roots on the surface, but maybe she’d find more somehow.

From what she could see, the well wasn’t like the ones at home, but had an elaborate set of stairs cut into the sides that wound all the way to the top. They were composed of smooth,
weathered stone, as if countless feet had trodden them over the years. The flat area they were lying on was probably where the locals knelt to fetch their water.

‘Hey, look. We got steps,’ she said, pointing. ‘We can get out of here once you’re ready.’

‘Good. Give me a minute,’ Pat said, but his voice sounded off.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘My arm hurts,’ he replied, which for a guy meant it was somewhere between a bump and a compound fracture.

Before she could follow up on that, a colourful face came close to hers, causing Reena to start in surprise. It was one of the fata, who had no notion of personal space. It twittered at her in a
high-pitched voice that was almost out of her hearing range.

‘I don’t understand what you’re saying,’ she said.

Then, suddenly, she did.

Come, now
, it said, beckoning with yellow hands.

‘No. We have to go help our friends.’

Gone
, it said, looking upward sadly.

‘The guards got them?’

A nod.

‘What’s it want? Can it get us out of here?’ Pat asked.

‘I don’t know.’

They both rose with some effort, all the aches registering now. With a groan, Pat stared up at the top of the well and shook his head in disbelief.

‘We fell that far? It must be two miles at least.’

A bit of an exaggeration, but she was good with it.

Instead of leading them up to the surface, one of the fata extended its arms towards the water and issued a single melodic tone. It reminded Reena of birdsong, but even richer, if that were
possible. Gradually the water level began to change, lowering some ten feet or so. As it receded, it exposed more stairs.

The creature beckoned to them and, though Reena wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, she followed along.

Pat didn’t budge. ‘No way. I’m not going any deeper into this thing.’

The fatas began to chitter in agitation and she caught their concern in the tangle of voices.

‘They say it is too dangerous to go up right now.’

Pat cradled his right arm to his chest, his face pale. ‘How do we know they’re not lying to us? How do we know we can trust them?’

Before Reena could argue, one of the fata marched over to him, waving a thin green finger at him. Once it had his attention, it pointed downward.

‘Nope. Not going. You can’t make me,’ he said defiantly.

A teal foot lashed out and caught Pat squarely on the knee. He yelped and as he reached down to check for damage the hand grabbed his uninjured arm and tugged him along. He tried to break free,
but got nowhere, skidding over the stones. ‘Hey, this thing is really strong.’

Reena grinned. ‘Then don’t be a jerk. We need to find out what’s going on and they might have some answers.’

One of the beings shyly took hold of her hand. Its skin was soft, like delicate silk, and a curious shade of pumpkin orange.

He does not trust us
, the fata said in her mind.

‘I don’t think he trusts anyone,’ Reena murmured back. ‘Will our friends be all right?’

Unknown.

With the fata as escorts, they wound their way further down into the well and eventually halted in front of a solid wall. Reena’s fata waved a hand in front of the stone and it melted
away, revealing a wooden door. Once they were through the portal, the wall sealed behind them. She heard the rush of water as the well refilled, putting the entrance beneath its chilly surface.

Clever.
There was no way the guards could get to them now.

The hallway in front of them was tunnelled out of rock and warmer than she’d expected. Since the fata didn’t strike her as miners, Reena wondered if someone else had built them.
Maybe they weren’t the only ones who lived underground.

Along either side of the hallway were exquisitely carved flowers attached to the walls, each petal providing a muted source of light. Though there was no breeze, they moved of their accord. When
Reena reached out to touch the closest flower, her fata swiftly pulled her back.

Only for us.

‘What happens if I touch one?’

You are no more.

Reena lowered her hand to her side. ‘Thank you.’ Unsure if Pat had heard that bit of news, she relayed it to him, and received a grunt of acknowledgement.

He must really be hurting.

Eventually they entered a large chamber, an open space filled with black earth and high humidity, like a botanical garden. The same flowers grew on the walls here, but higher up, beyond her
reach. Some of them were dark and shrivelled as if they were dead.

When they are gone, we are no more
, the fata said in her mind, its violet eyes peering up at her.

‘You eat them?’

A shake of the head.
We gain life from them. We are not meant to be under the earth. We are not of that kind.

‘Then why are you down here?’

The drazak hunts us. We are safer here. For now.

‘What is a drazak? Is the regent one of those?’

Yes. She is an earth dweller.

‘Why does she hate you guys?’

We are not of her kind.

Which wasn’t very helpful, but Reena let it pass for now. At least now she knew that the regent was something other than human.

They were led to a bower, one comprised of soft ferns and delicate flowers. Reena found herself wondering where those had come from. Did they grow down here?

As she gingerly took a seat, Pat held back.

‘What’s going on here?’ he asked, his jaw clenched. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and he was still clutching his arm.

‘You’re hurting, aren’t you?’ she said. He gave a nod. Reena patted the ferns next to her. ‘Park it, dude.’

He did as she asked, his frown deeper now.

‘Let me see it. I took first aid, so maybe I can help,’ she said.

With great effort Pat gradually moved the arm away from his chest, still steadying it. She carefully stripped off his torn shirt and wasn’t surprised to find his chest was sculpted with
classic six-pack abs. She hadn’t expected any different from someone like Pat: image was everything to him.

‘You work out, don’t you?’ she asked, trying to find some common ground.

‘Yeah, why?’

The trick was to keep him talking so he wouldn’t notice the pain as much.

‘How much can you bench press?’

‘Two twenty.’

‘Not bad.’ She did a cursory examination. ‘Well, cheer up: no bones are sticking out. That’s a good sign.’

‘You’re not funny.’

‘Wasn’t trying be,’ she retorted. Feeling along length of the arm she knew she’d found something when he flinched.

‘Stop that – it hurts!’

‘Wow, you’re a weenie,’ she said. When he gaped at her, she shook her head. ‘Just kidding. I know it hurts like a bitch.’

‘How would you know that?’ he challenged.

‘I was in a car accident and broke my arm in two places. Luckily they gave me the really good drugs or I would have screamed myself hoarse.’

Pat let out a lengthy breath. ‘Wish I had some of those now.’

Which told her this was hurting like a bitch.

Reena examined the area more closely and found the skin was darkening – evidence of bleeding underneath the skin. It was a pretty good bet he’d snapped a bone during the tumble into
the well.

‘Looks like it’s toast,’ she said. ‘Sorry. We can make a splint and—’

The light touch of a fata made her turn.

We will help.

‘I’m not sure about this,’ Pat began. Apparently he’d finally begun to hear the creatures’ thoughts as well.

‘Let’s see what they can do for you. Briar trusts them – we should do the same.’

A huff was his only response.

The fata moved closer, looked up in Pat’s face and then nodded to itself.

You do not believe in us. You do not trust your eyes.

‘You’re right,’ Pat said, then frowned. ‘This is a bunch of crap, like one of Briar’s fairy tales.’

Tales have a purpose. They teach. They give joy. They warn.

‘Just do whatever you’re going to do and get it over with.’

The fata, a female as far as Reena could tell, carefully laid her dainty azure hand on Pat’s arm and began to sing. A shimmering melody filled with half- and quarter-notes came forth, like
the marriage of a harp and a flute. The other fata picked up the song and soon Pat’s eyes began to blink. He yawned, loudly, and Reena gently laid him back on the bower as he fell asleep. The
song trailed off and ended on one long note.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘At least he won’t feel the pain now.’

Sleep. It is best for all. We will tell you when it is safe to leave.

That did sound good. There wasn’t much they could do for Briar or Joshua. When they woke, if Pat was feeling better, they’d try to find their friends and go home.

Reena curled up in the bower, inhaling the relaxing scent of the leaves. Her aches began to disappear one by one, and she wondered if the same was happening to the guy next to her. Her worries
wouldn’t disappear as easily. What would happen to them if Briar died inside the curse? Would the three of them wake up in their beds? Or would her death destroy them all?

A nervous twitch rolled through her muscles, as if she was being watched. Opening her eyes, she thought she saw something grey in the shadows of the cavern above. Then it was gone.

Reena drifted off to sleep, lulled by the conversation of the fata around them. On the edge of her mind was the suspicion that her trust was misplaced.

As they were marched out of the rear of the castle, Joshua kept shooting glances at Briar. The blood had dried on her cheek, but her eyes told him she was still frightened. He
wanted to take her hand, even though they were both bound, but he dared not. The curse might pass back to him, and all those years of distrust and hostility between their families would finally
come to fruition.

But what if the curse did revert to him? If Briar were free, maybe she’d wake up in Bliss, all safe and sound. Then Reena could get the rest of them home.

And on his sixteenth birthday . . .

I’ll be dead.
That was the one flaw in his plan.

‘Better uses for a wench than the pit,’ one of the guards muttered.

‘You saw her magic. You touch her and you know how it’ll end,’ another said.

‘It’d be fun for a while,’ the man jested.

The leader kept them moving along until they reached an open stretch of ground near the rear wall of the fortress. Unlocking a metal gate they entered an area that supported no plant life, not
even a weed. Its only feature was a gaping hole.

The pit.

As they walked closer, Joshua did a quick survey: he calculated about thirty feet from the edge of the pit to the wall behind them, where a lone man stood guard. Was he there all the time, or
did he walk along the wall at regular intervals?

When Joshua was inches away from the hole, his boot sent a small cloud of soil over the edge. He peered downward, figuring there’d be a tiger or a bear prowling around at the bottom.
Instead there was a pile of dirty rags, but nothing else.

A crude rope ladder was dropped over the edge, shaking loose some of the shale. After Joshua’s bonds were cut, the poke of a sword in his back encouraged him to make the journey deep into
the earth.

He didn’t dare leave Briar alone with these guys. ‘Ladies first,’ he said.

‘Go on, lad,’ the leering guard replied. ‘She’ll be down soon enough.’

Briar’s eyes widened as if she’d suddenly realized there was more danger here than just the pit. When she stepped towards the ladder, the man grabbed her arm. ‘No reason to
hurry. I’ll keep you company.’

‘She goes first,’ Joshua repeated. ‘Or someone is going to get hurt.’

That only earned him laughter, but to his relief the senior guard interceded. He sliced Briar’s bonds and pointed. ‘In with you, girl. Make it quick.’

She descended with considerable haste, which set the guards laughing.