“I’m not sure,” Ivan replied. “But I would bet he is not too far down there. Once we are in the secure area, your ability to sense or locate him will diminish the deeper into the cellblock we go. I would expect that since we have entered this building your powers have already diminished, yet you have not noticed.”
Anders tried to feel for Zahara but couldn’t quite reach her; he only felt her with his emotions. “You’re right. They are reduced. Is this what it’s like for you?” Anders asked, wondering about Ivan’s decreased powers and how that must feel since the death of his dragon.
Ivan nodded. “Here we are,” he said as they reached the back corner of the room.
Anders looked around; he saw only the back wall at his side and floor beneath his feet. “Is this some invisible portal?” he asked still searching for a doorway or hatch in the floor.
“Sort of,” Ivan said. He held a hand up feeling the well-worn bark walls until his fingers hit upon the crack he was seeking. Following it down, he reached to where the wall met the floor and knocked on it three times. Each knock sounded more hollow than the one previous. A section of the floor popped open slightly and Anders swore he thought he heard the floor exhale softly as it did so. Ivan reached his hand under the slab that protruded from the floor and lifted a hatch door, exposing a stone staircase descending under the building.
Ivan took the first step down into the darkness when Anders said, “Wait.”
Ivan looked up at him curiously, “What? You are not scared of the dark, are you?”
Anders shook his head furiously, “No, it’s not that.”
“What then?”
“How will the magical prison cell that’s holding Nadir know to release him into our custody?” he asked.
“That’s a good question,” Ivan said as he continued to descend into the hole in the floor.
Anders half expected more to follow, but Ivan disappeared beneath the floor. Shrugging, Anders followed his mentor, assuming he had a plan to get Nadir out of prison. As the light from the room above faded, the hatch door that they entered through closed with a loud ‘BANG’ making Anders jump slightly. He stood motionless on the stone staircase.
“Ivan?” he said, his voice echoing into the darkness.
He expected Ivan’s response to come from a distance since he’d entered with haste before him, but it didn’t. Instead, Ivan’s reply came from almost right next to his face.
“One moment, Anders. Bear with me,” he said. Anders could hear Ivan fiddling around with something.
Just as Anders was about to ask him what he was doing, a spark emanated from his fingertip. That single spark ran in a line straight up, sharply turning to the left, then coming to rest behind a round object dimly lit by the blue spark that had protruded from Ivan’s finger. A half breath later blue flames burst forth from basins built along the walls. Anders watched as the fire spread from bowl to bowl, first lighting the small room in which they stood and then running down several long corridors leading off the room in five different directions.
Anders whirled as he gawked at the enormity of the chamber they’d entered. “Is this the first level?” he asked.
Ivan nodded, “We’ll start here. It’s probably best if we don’t split up. You might get lost. Each corridor twists and turns the farther down you go.”
“How are we supposed to find Nadir in this maze?” Anders asked, daunted by the cavern.
“Can you sense his presence?” Ivan asked.
Anders tried to feel for someone or something that might be out there, but as hard as he tried, he could only feel cold darkness. It chilled his head the farther he extended his reach. “Ah,” he winced, clutching his head.
“You must try harder,” Ivan said firmly. “He should be here on the first floor.”
“It hurts, but I’ll keep trying,” Anders said.
He continued reaching out with his thoughts several more times until the icy chill of emptiness consumed his mind, numbing his brain to the point of tingling.
“Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth,” Ivan said.
“What?” Anders winced and continued to squeeze his head.
“When the chill comes, try sticking your tongue to the roof of your mouth.”
Anders looked at Ivan like he was crazy, but Ivan said, “Trust me. It works.”
Once more Anders let his mind extend into the chilled empty underground of the elf prison. As the cold crept into Anders’ brain, he raised his tongue to the roof of his mouth, not expecting anything to change. To his surprise, however, the chill grip on his mind began to slip away. The heat from his tongue spread from the top of the inside of his mouth up into his brain. He reached further until suddenly he felt the faint hint of life. The chill began to come back, harder now than ever before. Anders pushed harder with his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shot out to the glow of life. The pain of the cold was too much to bear and he broke his connection, shouting in pain as he did so.
“Did you find him?” Ivan asked catching Anders before he could fall to the floor.
“Ahhh,” Anders groaned through clenched teeth. He gathered himself and gained some control over his mind again. “Yes,” he said half gasping and out of breath. “I’ve located him.”
Ivan laughed, “Aha! That’s my boy!” he shouted, shaking Anders by the shoulders.
Anders rattled like a rag doll in Ivan’s hands. Ivan realized his overexcitement and restrained himself from roughing Anders up any further.
“Are you alright Anders?” he asked.
Anders felt his strength returning, slowly bringing warmth to his blood and pulsing through his veins. He took a deep breath, steadying himself with his feet squarely on the stone floor. Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I’m alright.”
“Take your time, then we’ll go after Nadir,” Ivan said. “Where did you sense him?”
Anders took a moment to recall down which of the five corridors he’d sensed Nadir’s presence. As he identified the hallway, they heard a brutish bellow come from within one of the corridors. Anders’ eyes bulged and Ivan jumped as he turned to face the source of the noise.
“What was that?” Anders asked, worry melting the rest of the chill from his face.
“I’m not sure what kind of creatures they keep down here, but everything is locked up behind impenetrable bars,” Ivan said, attempting to reassure them.
They heard the bellowing once more, this time, though, it sounded closer.
