10. Down
Iheld my breath, searching the darkness before me. Nothing but jagged, glistening stone stretched ahead. The cold air tasted of salt and mold.
Tagger didn't even make a sound as he leaned out a little farther, his gaze flicking over the passage. Then he stopped.
Soft scratches on the stone drew closer. A cat-sized cave rat darted into the light from the left tunnel. It stared at us, its bald snout twitching.
Well, that was manageable. Especially if it was just one.
Wait.
Tagger hadn't moved. He was staring at a point beyond the rat. A point far deeper in the darkness.
The rat scuttled across the passage.
A massive blue claw slammed out and speared it. The poor creature barely squeaked before it was dragged into the darkness.
I fell back, eyes wide. Tagger moved with me. My knuckles whitened as I clutched the crowbar tighter.
What was that?
A grinding series of clicks followed. Then a heavy thud thud.
The ground vibrated. Six pairs of small eyes glittered in the light, moving independently. As it entered the ring of light, the eyes clustered together.
I blinked, struggling to process what it was.
It was…a crab?
The twelve-eyed crab stood more than eight feet in height as it crept along the passage, its spear-like legs striking the floor. As its eyes wobbled on stalks, its mandibles worked in rapid succession. The left claw was massive, similar to a fiddler crab's but with enormous spikes at the back and base. The right claw, though smaller, had numerous spines alone the back of the claw. It moved toward us sideways.
Salt's bane.
How did you fight a giant crab?
Tagger jutted his chest out and barked.
"Stay back, baby," I said, nudging him with my leg.
The otter growled at the crab. His fur puffed up and his tail went razor straight. Hackles bristled along the back of his neck.
My muscles tightened as we continued to retreat. I had to think fast.
The rocky walls and uneven ground of the cave tunnel offered little advantage. A few loose stones littered the path, and numerous stalactites and stalagmites protruded. Some were sharp like spears, but how could I use them? Was there anywhere we could hide? A boulder I could pry loose maybe? No—even if I found one, we were moving downhill now. It'd just crush us. Damn it!
The crab stalked toward us. It waved its larger claw in a fat, lazy circle. The pinchers clicked shut, sounding like heavy pruning shears.
I continued backing up, nudging Tagger along. The otter kept grumbling and barking and hissing, but he didn't seem inclined to leave me.
If I hadn't seen how fast that crab had speared and devoured the cave rat, I might have made the mistake of thinking it was slow. Right now, it was just curious.
I stooped, slipped the orb into the same hand as the hand with the crowbar, and picked up a rock. I then chucked it so that it struck the wall behind the crab.
The loud clatter and tumble caught the crab's attention. Its antennae twitched and swayed in never-ending circles.
Please go. Please.
It scuttled into the darkness.
Claws scraped, and rocks clattered as it moved back deeper into the cave.
Then silence.
My stomach soured, nerves tightening.
Tagger chirped again, softer this time. He remained alert.
Swallowing hard, I turned in a circle, glancing around for any trace of the crab. The weak, shimmering light of the pale-blue orb revealed nothing but shining stone and cracked rocks. Shadows pressed in all around, but behind me the passage narrowed until it was barely wide enough for two people to pass through side by side.
I clicked my tongue at Tagger, forgetting for a moment that he wasn't one of the hunting otters. But he glanced up at me and responded as if he recognized the command to fall back.
Smart boy.
There had to be another way to the surface.
My instincts warned me that the crab was likely to come after us again. We hadn't seen the last of it.
The walls of the passage narrowed and bulged, forming a strange reverse bottle shape at the top. But the crab would have a tight fit getting through to me.
Then I remembered. There had been another branching passage farther back. A little narrower with a lower ceiling.
My ears strained.
Something loud clattered and collapsed like a shifting pile of rocks. I jumped back, almost losing my grip on the crowbar.
Was there a rock slide?
Tagger raced behind me.
Dust puffed into the circle of light, chalky and unpleasant. I fanned it away as I moved back. No rocks appeared before them though. The deafening roar soon ended with a few clattering notes.
"What was that?" I murmured, staring into the darkness. Was it possible that the crab had been crushed?
I swallowed hard.
No.
No, that would be too easy.
My nerves tightened.
It was still watching us, wasn't it?
Tagger tilted his head back, then sent out a loud, trilling shriek.
I sprang back toward him, half expecting him to be pierced. But the spearing blow struck where I had just been—from above.
My eyes widened.
The massive crab was on the ceiling!
How had it gotten up there?
It released its hold.
I scrambled back, dropping the sock and dragging Tagger with me as the crab dropped down, landing with a heavy thud. Its multitude of eyes swung towards us, claws snapping menacingly.
The uneven tunnel offered little room to maneuver.
Stalactites hung like daggers above and rock formations jutted out to form precious protection. The crowbar hung heavy. I swung it around and dodged behind a rock formation as the crab slashed at me with the sharper of its claws. The metal struck the claw, sending painful vibrations through me as the crab darted back. It shook its whole body in rage, making its carapace clatter. Then it lunged.
Dropping back, I ducked under a column of stone.
The crab crashed against it. Dust and silt rained down with the horrifying crunch.
I brought the crowbar around and cracked it over the crab's legs. The crab swatted and attacked, not even losing its balance when I broke one of the smaller legs.
Everything became a blur of falling dust and jabbing claws as I fought and tried to keep Tagger and me from getting killed. The pale-blue orb slipped out of my hand and rolled into one of the crevices. I tried to grab the second out of my pocket.
It popped out of my hand.
"No!" I ducked in time to avoid the claw again. The pinchers almost seized me, nicking the edge of my skirt instead. I dropped to the ground.
Tagger continued to shriek and click. He darted in between the crab's legs.
I leaped up, grabbed one of the fallen orbs, and seized Tagger by the scuff of his neck. I ripped him out from under the crab right before the crab slammed its body down.
Turning, I bolted down the nearest of the branching paths.
The tunnel twisted and turned, the pale glow from the orb barely illuminating the uneven floor ahead. The relentless scraping and punching against the stone quickened, pursuing me.
Rounding a sharp bend, I slid to a halt. The passage ended abruptly, the rough stone wall blocking any escape.
The blood pounded in my ears. I hugged Tagger tight as I desperately searched for some alternative. Anything.
The cavern walls reverberated with the crab's thunderous charge. My heart hammered faster as the crab's over-sweet stench wafted around the corner.
I set Tagger down. "You're going to have to run," I said grimly. "Don't try to fight." I clicked and snapped my fingers to give him the command. "Do you understand me? Stay away from the crab!"
Tagger bristled, chirping at me sharply.
I pressed my lips into a tight line and shoved the orb back into my pocket. The light became muted, barely enough to see. There were a few rock formations but none high enough to provide full protection. The crab filled the passage. Its eyes glowed, catching the dull light. Its antennae swept in circles.
I dove forward, sliding down to avoid its claw. The stone cracked and cut my legs as I slid. Chitin cracked and splintered beneath the crowbar. The crab scuttled back, striking at me again. The pincher caught the crowbar and yanked it out of my hand.
Gritting my teeth, I spun around just in time to see the spiked claw swinging toward me. Before I could do more than twist to the right behind a series of stalagmites, the crab struck me in the side.
A sickening crack reached my ears along with dull knowledge: I wasn't going to survive this.
Jagged pain cut through me, slicing into my ribcage and blossoming over my side.
All the wind was crushed from my lungs.
I collapsed in a miserable heap.
If the rock formation hadn't taken as much of the force as it did, I would have been dead instantly.
The world spun around me slowly.
The crab loomed over me, the spiked claw lifting.
Tagger screeched. He darted at the crab's legs, nipping and ducking.
My fingers twitched. I tried to feel for the crowbar.
For something.
Anything.
My lungs ached. Stone scraped beneath my fingernails.
Another wave of dizziness swept over me, the pain intensifying.
Nausea roiled within me. I closed my eyes. "Run, Tagger…" I tried to click my tongue at him in case he knew that signal as well.
Tagger jumped onto my chest.
"Ah!" I lost my breath.
Tagger snarled, fluffing up his fur and raising his hackles. He let loose a piercing series of screeches as if cursing the crab and all its spawn.
That high-pitched shriek turned into a roar.
I blinked, trying to lift my head.
What?
"Get away from her!"
A blur of black, green, and yellow leapt over me, the voice booming and echoing off the cavern walls.
Corvin.
He crouched over me and Tagger, snarling at the giant crab. Somehow he seemed even larger now.
The crab swung its claw down again.
Corvin lunged up.
My eyelids dropped.
Heavy rocks crashed. Something snapped.
I struggled to look up again. He'd become an eel, massive and striped, with vicious jaws. And he was fighting on land? The crab caught him with one claw.
He seized the claw and twisted his head to the side. The claw snapped off with a sickening crack.
My eyelids slid shut again. Heavy cracks and blows followed. Tagger's rageful shrieks pierced the air, but they wavered in and out of my consciousness.
The pain in my side grew worse.
My legs. I couldn't move my legs.
Panic rose within me as I struggled for awareness.
Heat spread along my left side, wet and smelling sickly sweet and metallic.
I was going to bleed out soon. But what difference did that make if my legs or back were broken?
Another roar echoed through the passage. Something fell with a sickening crunch.
A hand suddenly grabbed at my face, claws scraping against my cheek. "Don't let go, Mena. Come on. Open your eyes."
I struggled to comply. His face blurred before coming into focus. My lungs weren't filling well.
"Oh…" His face paled more. He lowered my head to the cave floor. "Just—just breathe. It's going to be all right."
Tagger hopped up on the crab's corpse and started striking it with a rock.
"Get down from there," Corvin scolded, glaring at Tagger. "You can eat your fill later. Mena's hurt."
Tagger chucked the rock at Corvin but scurried down. He scrambled up onto my chest again.
Oh! It hurt just as much the second time.
I gasped, all the breath rushing out of my lungs. What little breath had been in them to begin with.
"No." Corvin sighed in frustration, covering his face with his hand. "Don't sit on her! Where did you learn to comfort people?"
Tagger shook his head and trilled again. He then started rubbing his face against mine. He patted my cheek with his withered paw.
Corvin shook his head again. "What was I thinking?" he muttered. He picked Tagger up and set him down. Then he handed him the pale-blue orb. "Hold this."
My eyelids slid shut again, the heaviness intensifying.
"Hey, don't go to sleep," he said sharply. "I'm furious with you." He lifted my arm from the wound and then swore, his words a garbled mess.
Everything was fading. The cold had moved up over me, far stronger than any pain. A faint cutting sensation and pressure registered in my side. He had put his hand on me again, though stopping the bleeding wouldn't accomplish anything.
A vague panic flared through me as my hearing faded.
This wasn't how I wanted to die.
Down here.
In a cave.
Never seeing Mama again.
But soon I'd see Erryn.
Maybe.
Tears leaked down my cheeks as the cold darkness swallowed me.