Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) Read online

  “Calm down Jem, it’s not thousands of people.” said Kelvin.” I don't know how many people exactly are in Thist, but they're all good.”

  Jem tried to consolidate the torches to bring some light on the matter; the torches flickered and then turned as bright as before for a brief moment allowing Jem and Kelvin to see vast detail. Up on a high ledge Kelvin saw a wide necked jar made of ornate glass, he jumped up and grabbed it. The torches returned to their pathetic dying flicker. Jem was silent for a long moment; his mind was working itself into a panic. Kelvin seemed unfazed for the time being like he had some understanding of these supernatural phenomena that happened one after the other.

  Jem’s mind reached a breaking point, “Aaahhhh! What is going on?” said Jem.

  Kelvin waited for the subsequent echoes to soften. “Jem!” he said in a calm but stern voice, “Calm down, it seems that there is purpose and balance at work here. I cannot explain much but I can feel things and there is nothing to worry about, if there is I will tell you.” He opened the jar, levelled it with his nose and sniffed, a putrid odour assaulted his nose and he gagged, coughed and took a moment to catch his breath.

  Jem had calmed down to an untrusting sulk, “What is it? What does it matter? I feel a little hopeless, I want to go home. We shouldn’t have gone on this stupid trip. I miss my people.”

  “Well.” choked Kelvin. “It smells like unwashed undergarments but I’m sure it's flammable, give me a dead torch.”

  Kelvin dipped the torch into the wide jar and brought forth a gooey substance. A touch from a flame gave a quick ‘woof’ sound and a bright light emanated from a small flame. Kelvin grinned and Jem mumbled, “Well that's some strange good luck if ever I've had any.”

  “What are you on about?” asked Thist. “What am I doing lying in pig’s filth?”

  “You're not lying in pig’s filth. It’s the smell of ancient torch oil, and you've been sleeping for about five minutes, it must be your head injury making you confused. What do you remember?”

  “I remember telling you twice to get the jar on the ledge up there next to the quiver of arrows.” said Thist rubbing his head.

  Jem shook his head and groaned. “This is getting far too weird, Kelvin, he was unconscious but he remembers.”

  Kelvin raised his light to the niche where he had found the jar and sure enough there was a quiver of arrows lying under a layer of old dust. Neither of the boys had a bow, so they opted to leave the quiver where they had found it.

  Kelvin put a hand on Jem’s shoulder, “Now listen here my friend, being stuck in this cave with the rain and everything is just giving us a bit of cabin fever. Let’s stay busy, we can explore a bit and then we can go back. Remember, after the rain, comes the sun. Let's move on, we can talk as we go. I get the feeling that this tunnel wants to go on forever and I'm sure there are other interesting things along the way that could help our supplies.”

  “What gives you that idea?” asked Jem as they started to move further down the tunnel.

  “Well that ledge was purpose cut.” said Kelvin. “I assume for stashing supplies for tunnel workers and there might be other stashes with interesting stuff.”

  Jem sighed. “Right, but this torch oil makes a bright flame, let’s save our torches and burn one at a time.”

  Thist’s mood improved as they walked, humming a soft tune that resonated well in the echoing cave and feeding back in harmony. “What’s with the quiver of arrows?” asked Thist. “I’m not sure if miners need weapons, surely we should have found a pick or an axe or a shovel on that ledge?”

  “That is an intriguing question.” said Kelvin. “I would imagine that you would store only things that you needed in such a place, like torch oil. But a quiver of arrows seems out of place.”

  The boys walked on, their footsteps sounded eerie on the echoing tunnel floor. Thist kept on humming his tune. Jem and Kelvin did not mind as the sound was pleasing. While they walked through the tunnel, Kelvin would raise and lower the torch as they scanned the walls, ceilings and floor. The floor was soft and easy to walk on as a layer of dust had settled on the floor and the dampness of the cave had caused it to accrete into crumbling clumps. They passed several small shelves along the way. The boys would stop at each one and inspect the shelf for treasures and thus the trip had turned into an exciting treasure hunt. Each shelf yielded nothing save for empty jars and the occasional dry torch, a single flint which they kept and more quivers of arrows which they left.

  Thist had inspected the edges of each shelf, and found that each shelf had a numeral carved on the side of it. The boys had squinted at the strange markings that they found on the shelves but could not decipher any clear meaning or intent. After about an hour’s walk they came across a fork in the tunnel. “What now Kelvin?” asked Jem.

  “Well, I don't know. It seems that these people, whoever they were, were certainly prepared, you know, leaving torches and oil and flint all over the place. Maybe there are markings at the entrances.”

  “Don’t forget the arrows, what was with the arrows?” asked Thist, while rubbing his left temple. “Why don’t you just check the map?”

  Jem, who was scouting the threshold spun around. “What? You know we don’t have a map.”

  “Hey!” exclaimed Thist. “I know I’ve got some issues but I have eyes. Look for yourselves.” He pointed at some glyphs on the cave wall.

  Jem and Kelvin looked to where Thist was pointing. There they saw an engraved map on the wall between the two tunnels, almost too obvious to notice. The map revealed a labyrinth, extending through the ground with multiple entrances. There were different symbols along the way, all ancient and meaningless to all who didn’t understand the obsolete text.

  “You know it’s interesting?” said Kelvin. “Thist seems to notice things in the dark very well and Jem seems to notice things better in the day light, I thought Jem would notice this kind of thing first.”

  The three studied the engravings for a long time before Kelvin suggested that the symbol that was never repeated indicated their current position. “If we're here and we want to end up in Fineburg, then we must follow this route. We exit here and if this drawing has a correct scale then we could cover a large bit of ground using the tunnels, supplies permitting.”

  “How much is ‘a large bit.’?” enquired Jem.

  “Well the next leg on the journey was to take a mountain pass that we had just started on when the rain forced us into the cave. The mountain pass is a long journey through steep and wending paths. It would have taken at least four days on foot. We would not have covered much straight distance but we would cross the mountains. This tunnel system seems to go under that.”

  “Speaking of supplies… ” said Jem, “...our water situation is looking poor.”

  “Look!” said Thist holding one finger pressed to his right temple. “These symbols all mean something. This one is fire, that’s where we picked up the flint. This one I’m sure means water and there are a few still on the way, these are entrances and these other seven, I don't know.”

  The symbols that Thist had pointed to were next to parts of the tunnel that looked like rooms. Near the centre was a large room with several glyphs next to it and there were parts of the tunnel that were blocked. The meanings of these blockages were difficult to understand as it implied that something needed to be kept in and not out.

  “Well!” said Kelvin squinting at the glyphs on the wall. “If I might suggest, let’s get to some of these points and figure out what is there and come back here with the information, then we can figure out what all the symbols mean. Let’s head for the closest one that looks like water first.

  “Are you suggesting that we split up?” asked Jem.

  “No.” said Kelvin. “Never, we just see what is there and then we will know what the glyphs mean.”

  “Good!” said Thist. “Let’s leave a mark of some kind to note where we have been and the way we have come, all agree?”

  The
other two mouthed their agreements softly. The echoing in the cave had become annoying and the boys had taken up whispering as the sound still carried but didn’t echo as much.

  “You know?” said Jem. “We could just go to the entrance of the cave and get a lot of rain water, if water is a problem.”

  “Where is the fun in that?” said Kelvin.

  As they walked in the torch light they started to hear dripping sounds. First, the odd drip of large drops onto stone and in the distance, the longwinded echoing of drops striking still water, “doy-oy -oy, doy-oy-oy, doy-oy-oy.”

  “Eerie sound.” said Thist.

  Several voices in his head all started to chime at once, “Not the water, don't put us in the water! Don't leave us in the water, deep water, lost water.”

  “Whoa!” said Thist a little too loud, the echoes returning over and over, switching to a whisper now, “The voices don’t like the water. They call it the lost water.”

  “Quiet.” said Jem. “Be quiet and listen.”

  The trio stopped, listened and for a moment. The air was not so stuffy and dank, it had cooled down somewhat and the air seemed fresh and still, no draft or breeze. The trickle of running water like a small brook gurgling over pebbles could be heard behind the sound of the incessant drops now a much louder, “Doy-oy-oy, doy-oy-oy”

  “Step carefully.” whispered Jem. Watch where you go, if there is deep water then there could be a sudden drop off to it.”

  They looked around.

  “Light another torch” said Kelvin

  Jem held a second torch to the first. As it flared up the shadows changed, giving them all a sudden sense of vertigo.

  “We’re on a small ledge!” exclaimed Jem “Stand still. Concentrate on your balance.”

  Kelvin was nauseated by the vertigo and spewed up the last bits in his stomach.

  “Keep it out of the water.” Thist shouted. “We want to drink that.”

  “Don’t shout.” whispered Jem. “The echoing makes us dizzy.”

  The edge that they stood on was just wide enough for one man. The water that they had been hearing was a long way down and with the second torch changing the shadows, it was clear that it was deep water. The cave had widened to a vast antechamber, with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The water below looked deep blue and there was no way to climb back up if you fell in.

  “It would help if you could make your eyes glow again.” said Jem. “I’m still spooked by that.”

  “What are you blabbering about?” asked Thist

  Kelvin tried to clear his mouth by coughing and spitting. “He doesn’t know.” said Kelvin.

  “Of course.” said Jem. “You don’t know.”

  Thist sighed, “Can we get off this dangerous ledge, get some water and then you can all explain to me exactly what it is that I don't know.”

  “Good idea.” said Kelvin. “Can we light another torch, just for safety?”

  They shuffled against the wall testing every step before they committed their weight. After what seemed a long time they had circled all the way around where they found a narrow tunnel leading on deeper into the mountain.

  “We should name this place.” said Jem.

  Kelvin looked back at the large antechamber with astonishment, “I can’t believe how nearly we met our doom. I’m calling it ‘The Cave of Doom’.”

  “How about ‘The Big Dripper’?” suggested Jem.

  “It’s ‘The Caddel of Voices’,” whispered Thist.

  “Isn’t that the truth?” said Kelvin, still in shock, “I hate heights, let’s get out of here and keep an extra torch lit.”

  As they exited the large antechamber, Thist, who was bringing up the rear turned his head back just for fun and screamed as loud as he could at the water to see what the echo would do. The legendary scream of Thist blew ripples into the water below, bounced off the walls knocking off the stalactites which cascaded into the water below in an avalanche of splintering rock. The sound shook the ground and blew the three friends deeper into the cave passage.

  Kelvin and Jem had been thrown forward in the tunnel, grazing their knees, hands and elbows. Thist had been blown onto his back and knocked his head in exactly the same place as before. The dust that had settled on the walls and floor was lofted, causing a choking pall, like thick smoke which stung their eyes, burned their throats and made them sneeze. All the torches were snuffed and the three boys lay on the ground, coughing, sneezing and bleeding in the dark.

  Jem sat up and called to the other two. “Kelvin, Thist,” he croaked.

  Kelvin was on his hands and knees, spitting blood. “Thist is an idiot. For what stupid reason did he have to set off his sonic bomb? Thist? Thist!”

  Thist was dazed and held his head. He was filled with regret and could not speak. He just gritted his teeth and sobbed.

  A deep rumbling sounded from far inside the caves, like the striking of boulders falling on granite. Echoes thereof sounded through the air and were also felt through the stone floor.

  “What was that?” said Jem as he relit the torches.

  “Quiet!” said Kelvin. “Just listen.”

  “It sounds like the caves are collapsing.” said Jem.

  Thist held his head with one hand for a moment and then inspected his hand to see if it was bloody. It wasn’t. “The voices in my head have gone silent.” said Thist.

  “Good for you.” said Kelvin. “Maybe you won’t be so distracted now.”

  “If that sound is a cave in, then we might want to pick up the pace and get out of here.” said Jem.

  “What if it’s not a cave in?” asked Thist.

  Jem raised his eyebrows at the notion of what could possibly make such thundering sounds so deep in an old mineshaft, that wasn’t the sound of falling rock.

  “If that isn’t a cave in,” said Jem, “then I really want to get out of here. Let’s go.”

  The trio settled down in a rhythm, check where you are, check where you are going and check that Thist isn’t doing something stupid. Repeat. The tunnels didn’t split again so navigation was easy. Every few hundred steps they would light a new torch and every thousand they would find a cache of torches or oil. They decided not to take them all and left some, as they might have to carry too many or they may have to go back. Either way it made sense.

  12

  The hagget was in the cave. It had successfully lured the boys in for its purpose. They had no idea what was really happening. The hagget adjusted its stance. It was in the cave with them but its eyesight was poor and the light was insufficient. It was difficult for the hagget not to reveal itself and still be so close. The younger one had just screamed like the time he had killed the bear. But this time it happened too close to himself and he wished that he could curse him. The hagget held its composure. The potion that it took had transformed it from frail to able bodied. It was shielded from danger but the blast had caused it to fall and graze its hands and knees.

  The frustration built up. It wanted to scream and shout and curse and beat its hands on the floor and cry, but that would solve nothing and reveal its position. ‘No’ thought the hagget as the torch lights had failed. ‘Stay the course, there can be no failures.’

  The boys had left their home town to travel to Fineburg, but the hagget was leading them on a different path to do its bidding.

  13

  The going was tough and it was clear from the stalactites that occasionally blocked their path; that nobody had walked down that passage in centuries. Kelvin looked at one of the stalactites. “What strangeness, a stalactite like this one probably took a thousand years to grow to this size and it is right in the path where a person or thing would walk.”

  Jem scraped past the stalactite. “That means that everything we find in these forsaken tunnels were forgotten and lost a thousand years ago.”

  “Most probably,” said Thist. “I say this place is at least a thousand years abandoned.”

  They had filled up all thei
r water bottles at the second antechamber as well as drinking their fill. The water was cold and sweet. They stopped twice to rest and have a light snack of mushroom preserve. Kelvin still had some berries that they had picked before they had entered the cave, which were great for energy and Thist made them a light drink of hum water. They only rested a few minutes before pressing on. Without the sunlight and shadows to indicate what time it was, there was no telling how long they had been walking. It had felt like they had walked for a full day but with the cool temperatures and lack of exhausting sun, they had managed to keep plodding underground for a day and a night. The trio were tired but wanted to make good time, so they kept on going and encouraging each other.

  Kelvin stopped, he had been trying to be brave but he was desperate to rest. Thist kept on walking. When the two boys stopped he just kept walking and collided with the wall and collapsed in a heap.

  Too tired to do anything, Kelvin just put his head in his one hand and uttered to himself. “Oh Thist, what matter of stupidity befalls you now?”

  Thist’s mouth moved, sounds came out that were not his, “We, us, we, the way is…”

  It trailed off.

  Jem saw the humour and seized the moment, “Good thing he wasn’t carrying a torch otherwise he would have lit himself.”

  “We need rest.” said Kelvin, as he lay down.

  Jem did the same, and Thist was already curled up into a ball, fast asleep.

  Jem extinguished his torch and Kelvin did the same.

  Darkness.

  14

  Jem woke up and felt himself, first his face then his chest, then his arms. He was freezing, it was cold and dark. He ran his hands along his legs then the back of his neck.