“The stupidity of youth,” Simon said.
“You go first.” I handed the grip to him. I glanced at his shoulders—he’d managed to retain his backpack. I had the food and water in mine, as if we needed the latter right now. He had most of our hiking gear. “Get that rope out when you get up there.”
“Better than a whip, eh?”
I kept my mouth shut and didn’t tell him how I intended to use it. Since he’d been struggling to keep his head above water, I doubted he’d heard my conversation with Eleriss.
Simon took a breath and left the alcove. He managed to keep his feet beneath him for the first couple of steps, but the current tugged them off the ground again. Water was still gushing through the roof, spraying everywhere. I wondered if the creature was up there somewhere watching. I also wondered how we were going to get out of the caves. I doubted anyone had moved that boulder yet.
“Worry about that later,” I muttered. If we could get back to that big chamber with the lake, we’d at least have some time to figure things out. Even with hundreds of gallons of water pouring in, it ought to take a while for it to fill the cave system completely.
“Delia?” Temi called. “Your turn.”
I leaned around the column. The end of the whip floated a couple of feet away. I took a step, reaching for it, and my heel slipped. I lunged back, flinging both arms about the column before the current could drag me away.
And here I’d thought those years on swim team would have prepared me for something like this. Amazing how few deadly currents your standard twenty-five-yard New Mexico pool had.
“Are you all right?” Simon called.
“Not really,” I responded, but I made a second more careful grab for the whip. Delaying wouldn’t improve the situation.
This time I caught the popper. As Simon had done, I pulled myself up the thong, hand over hand. The water tore at my legs, but I managed to keep my feet on the ground. Debris I could only guess at batted past my shins. A log or something else hard clunked at my knee. I winced. Maybe it’d be better to let my legs float free behind me after all.
I reached the others and Simon gripped my arms, pulling me into their alcove. The water was waist-high there as well—not much better than the situation I’d left.#p#分页标题#e#
“What next?” Temi asked.
We had to find a way to the mouth of the tunnel. It was hard to tell how deep the water was over there, and there was nobody waiting to catch the end of the whip and reel us in.
“Stalactite first.” I pointed at a second one, this more slender than the one Simon had dangled from and much closer to the entrance. “Then we’ll try to push off and reach the tunnel.”
“Try,” Simon said. “Yay.”
“You’re welcome to do more than try.” I waved for them to stand aside so I could attempt an actual whip crack. I didn’t have the space I needed, but I’d have to make do. The popper wouldn’t wrap itself around the tip of the stalactite without a good snap.
It took a couple of tries, but on the third, the leather wrapped around the stone without falling free. I pulled myself across before I could think better of it. We were above the spot where the deluge continued to pour through the ceiling, so the current didn’t tug at my legs as ferociously. I made it across and was able to stand on two feet, my back braced against the stalactite. I unraveled the whip and tossed the end toward the others. They pulled themselves to the same spot, and we were able to wade to the tunnel mouth from there, though the water and the sloping flooring still made the crossing treacherous.
Inside the tunnel, we paused to catch our breaths. For the moment, the water only reached our knees, though it would continue to rise.
Simon collapsed against the wall, his eyes drooping shut. “Thank, God.” He patted the side of his pack. “What did you want the rope for?”
Temi shook her head and spoke before I could voice my plan. “You’re not going back in there.”
“Back in there?” Simon’s eyes sprang open. “Why would you?”
“Someone has to try for the sword. If it’s as important as they say...” I shrugged. “I’m the logical choice.” Unfortunately. I was beginning to wish I’d taken up badminton as a kid.
“For what?” Simon asked. “Suicide? Let it go, Del. We can come back for it later. After we figure out how we’re going to get out of here.”
“Later it might be buried beneath a thousand tons of rock and water.”
“Then we’ll get dive suits. The Dirt Viper is waterproof, you know.”
I snorted. “Yeah, and what if the monster gets to it? That’s all its been trying to do all along, isn’t it? It must know that sword is the only thing that can threaten it.”