Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(18)




"Which might have swamped the canoe," Tanu said. "We could have lost all three."


"If we're not going to dig, we need to get going," Elise warned. "This trap cost us a lot of time."


"She has a point," Berrigan agreed, looking around as if he mistrusted the walls and ceiling. "This is a deadly place. The sooner we move on, the better."


Tanu hustled over to the canoe and retrieved the key. Peeling her wet pants away from the hard ice, Kendra arose and crossed the room with the others to the new passage. Her soaked clothes shifted and clung as she moved. Tiny bumps erupted on her skin.


The air in the passage felt warmer than the air in the icy room. Trask led the way, crossbow in one hand, sword in the other. The passage narrowed until they had to proceed once again in single file. Kendra clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.


The passage was rarely level, sloping up or down. After they had advanced for some distance, the corridor forked. Trask called a halt.


"This could be trouble," Elise said from the back.


"What do we do?" Trask asked.


"Experiment," Mara answered.


"Anybody have a sense of which turn to make?" Trask asked.


"Not yet," Mara said. She was studying the walls and peering down the corridors.


"Then I'll choose the right," Trask said, leading them forward. The passage wound until they reached a dead end. When they returned down the passage, they met with a second dead end. Doubling back, they paused at a wider area where the passage diverged in three directions.


"This is going to be bad," Elise moaned.


"A magically shifting maze full of branching passageways," Seth muttered. "Not exactly a time saver."


"We could get lost in here forever," Berrigan cautioned.


"I could scout ahead," Mara said. "I could run."


"If you found a way through, there might be no way to return to us," Trask warned.


"Then we should all run," Mara said. "Let me guide us. It may take some trial and error, but I can figure this out. I have a fairly good sense for where we are inside the Dreamstone.


As I get a feel for these tunnels, I believe I can lead us through."


"Any other ideas?" Trask asked.


"I could leave markers at the intersections," Elise offered.


Mara shook her head. "That might encourage our pursuers. I certainly won't forget any intersections. Trust me. Staying oriented is my biggest strength. I was born for this."


Nobody spoke for a moment. "You take the lead," Trask decided. He faced the others. "Holler if the pace gets too rough."


Mara started loping down the center passage. Kendra was glad they were jogging. The exertion helped drive away the chill. They reached a T, and Mara went left. Then they reached three dead ends in a row without turning before arriving at a small room where the corridor branched in five directions. Mara picked a corridor without pause.


Kendra was happy that all she had to do was follow. She could not imagine how Mara could keep her bearings through these twisting, cramped passageways. The sameness of the smooth walls and floors and ceiling made it almost impossible to distinguish one tortuous corridor from another. As time went on, they continued to reach dead ends and intersections. Every now and then Mara would call back that they were in a hall they had traveled before, or at an intersection they had previously visited. Most of the time, Kendra had no idea whether Mara was correct.


Eventually, despite how the pace of the jog had flagged somewhat, and even though she was used to regular exercise, Kendra found herself out of breath. She did not want to be the weak link who begged for a slowdown. But from the way the others were panting, she judged she was not the only person running out of gas.


It was Tanu who finally called for a walk. Nobody complained. Kendra's clothes were now damp from sweat as well as from water. They walked for several minutes before attempting another jog. They hurried back and forth between dead ends, reaching intersections now and again. Trask, Berrigan, and Elise added comments as they recognized features in the passages or positions of the intersections, always deferring to Mara.


At length, Trask called a break to eat. Kendra sat beside Seth, munching a partly squished sandwich, her back to the cool wall. She wondered how much faster they would move if they could hear their enemies coming.


"The scary thing in here," Seth said around a mouthful of food, "is that we could lose ground with a wrong turn and run right into the zombies."


"We must be ready for that," Trask said. "Let's hope Laura managed to slow them."


"Outside the sun is about to set," Mara noted.


"Then we'll have the wizard joining the chase," Berrigan reminded them.


"Do you think we're getting close?" Kendra asked Mara.


"Where the end may lie is hard to judge just yet," she replied. "We've eliminated several routes as dead ends or pointless loops. Time will tell."


"Time is what we lack," Elise grumbled.


"We'll press on as if our lives depended on it," Trask said, "because they do. And countless other lives as well."

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