Cub ran along the valley floor, following Dragon’s huge stomping footprints as fast as they could. But the ground was uneven and potholed, and they had to pick their way between them. It was afternoon before Fillan, peering ahead, pointed and shouted, “Look!”
In front of them was a scrap of dark grey. Cub pulled to a halt and Coll and the others climbed down.
“Be careful,” said Coll, holding Fillan’s hand tight. The ground was riddled with holes and the sound of rushing water came from far below.
They reached the dark grey shape and Rieka picked it up. It was Brann’s cloak. “Would she leave this?” she asked.
“No,” said Fillan. “She—”
Coll turned. Fillan was staring at the side of one of the bigger holes. The edge of it was fresh, as if it had just opened up, and there was a track gouged into the earth. It was the mark a boot might leave, if it had slipped suddenly…
Coll leaned carefully over the hole and peered down. It seemed to go a very long way. He turned back to Rieka and Fillan. Fillan looked hopeful. Rieka’s face was twisted into an unhappy, helpless expression. Coll looked at Fillan again.
“We’ll need rope,” he said.
They tied one end of the rope to Cub, and threw the other down the hole. Rieka rooted through boxes on board Cub and came back with a clip, and she and Coll made an abseil harness. She gave him a torch on a strap round his head and checked the knots. Then Coll checked them again.
“Are you sure about this?” asked Rieka, peering down into the hole.
“No,” said Coll. He shrugged and looked around. “Cub will be vulnerable with only the two of you. If anyone comes, you run, OK? Don’t worry about us. We’ll find our own way out.”
Fillan looked worried, but Rieka nodded. “All right.”
“All right,” echoed Coll. He swallowed.
“Watch your arm,” said Rieka.
Coll nodded. Then, before he could change his mind, he stepped off the edge of the hole and into space.
Slowly he lowered himself into the dark. The head lamp was weak and it wobbled and shook as he descended. He peered up and saw the little white circle of light above him, and Rieka and Fillan’s heads.
Down he went into the dark. Down, down. He saw an ancient tree root reaching out of the side, torn and ripped. Had Brann landed on this? Had it broken her fall? Down. The circle of light above became a dot, and now there was something below, a grey shimmer that became the ground, which was covered in gravel. There was no sign of Brann. He sank further, until at last his feet touched the ground.
He looked around. He was in a long narrow cave, and the sides were dark and rough, covered in lumpy stone. The floor was dry, but he could hear rushing water somewhere close. Perhaps from the Steel River pipe, working down through the ground?
His torch picked up a small dark mark on the stone. It was a drop of blood. He nodded, trying to control a wave of panic, and scanned the ground. He saw another drop a metre away.
So, perhaps an animal. But perhaps it was Brann – and if it was Brann, she was hurt but moving.
Coll unfastened his harness and tugged twice on the rope to let them know he’d landed, and then he followed the blood. It led him slightly upwards, through a gap and into another cave. Lying on the ground was Brann.
“Brann!” Coll shouted, running towards her. She lay without moving. Her face was white. He placed a hand against her cheek and it was freezing. “Brann!”
She didn’t react. He shook her and called again. And now, finally, she twitched.
Coll sagged in relief. “Brann, wake up!” he shouted.
Her face twisted into a scowl as she opened her eyes. When she saw him, she snarled.
“Go away.”
She tried to roll away from him, but then yelped in pain and sat up holding her wrist. The hand was bent at a horrible unnatural angle.
“Brann, please,” said Coll.
She glared at him. “I hate you.”
Coll ducked his head. He didn’t want to meet her gaze, but he forced himself to face her. “I’m sorry,” he said. He thought of his excuses – his anger, her taunting, the situation. None of it mattered. “It was my fault, not yours. I’m so sorry.”
“Why are you even here?” she hissed. “You left us.”
Coll nodded again. “It was Fillan,” he said. “He made me see that we’re … crew. I hadn’t realised, but he’s right. You’re my crew. I’m your crew.” He shrugged. “We’re crew.”
She glowered at him and then looked away. Her eyes were watering, perhaps in the glare of the torchlight.
“My wrist is broken,” she said.
“We’ve got a rope,” said Coll. “We can pull you up. Come on.”
He reached under her armpits and heaved her to her feet. She was weak, and it seemed like she would fall over again, but she stayed upright. She whimpered as her hand moved.
“This way,” he said, leading her back to the first cave. The sound of rushing water was suddenly much louder, and he realised it was running down the walls. The cave was filling up, and the end of the rope now lay in the middle of a pool of water half a metre deep.
Coll stepped into the water, and gasped as its icy cold clamped round his ankles like a vice. But he forced himself to wade forward and reached the end of the rope. Brann wouldn’t be able to climb it with her broken wrist, so he tied the end into a loop. As he pulled it tight, he saw a small movement under the surface of the pool. A strange shape, like a rock, opening up—
“COLL!” screamed Brann, and Coll jerked back just as something snapped at him. He staggered away in astonishment and almost collided with Brann. She was staring into the water near his feet and he saw another movement. Without thinking he stepped forward and kicked as hard as he could. Something flew through the air in a spray of water and smacked against the wall with a CLACK! As it fell, he saw it clearly. The flattened round shape, the line of a mouth, the teeth…
