Torrent(93)

“Whatever you say,” Temi muttered. “Just don’t let me get sucked in there—I can’t swim like you do.”
“I know. We’ve got you.” Somewhat at odds with the words, I waved for Simon to let go of her shirt.
Temi dog-paddled out—she hadn’t been joking when she’d said she couldn’t swim well—and I wished I could take her spot. If she couldn’t make it to the stalactite or if the creature attacked while she was trying...
The dark head did swoop in, but she grabbed the sword with both hands and swept it toward that inky black face. The creature disappeared underwater, retreating, I hoped, though it might simply be planning to come in from another angle.
“Watch down by your feet,” I called.
Temi was too busy swimming and fighting to answer. Water was pouring in from the ceiling in three or four places now, and I worried the whole chamber would disappear beneath rubble soon. Temi was almost swept past the stalactite, and I thought we’d have to pull her back and try again, but she jabbed toward it with the sword. She might have been trying to hook it to keep herself from flowing past, but the tip sank into the stone.
“She better not get it stuck,” Simon said, his head rotating, searching for signs of the creature. It hadn’t resurfaced yet.
Temi used the sword to pull herself to the stalactite. Her head jerked downward, and she yanked the blade out and plunged it into the water beside her.
A barrage of bubbles rose to the surface around her.
“Hah, it does hold air in its lungs,” Simon said.
The attack must have convinced it to leave her for the moment, for Temi wrapped her legs around the stalactite and hewed at its base near the ceiling, like a lumberjack at some upside down tree. The stone reacted like wood, too, with shards being cleaved off.
“Amazing,” I said.
“It is a magic sword,” Simon said.#p#分页标题#e#
I didn’t care at that moment. I just wanted the tunnel blocked and to assure nothing would chase us as we tried to escape. Though I wasn’t sure the stalactite would do the job, if it didn’t fall just right...
“Try to angle it to collapse in this direction,” I called.
Busy hewing at the stone, Temi didn’t react. Maybe she didn’t hear.
Abruptly, she screamed in pain. She cursed and whipped the blade down, stabbing beneath her again.
I lunged forward, but there was nothing I could do to help. I had no idea what had happened to my bow, but it wouldn’t do any good anyway.
“Should we pull her back?” Simon asked.
“I don’t know. She’s close with the stalactite, and she’s still fighting it...”
A heartbeat later, Temi disappeared beneath the water. I didn’t know if she’d lunged down to attack or had been yanked under.
“I’m pulling her back,” Simon said.
I grabbed the rope to help him.
A crack rent the air, and the stalactite fell free, plunging straight downward. Piles of debris dropped with it, but the massive column tilted toward the alcoves and didn’t come anywhere near our entrance.
I cursed again and hauled on the rope. Stupid idea. What a waste of—
“She’s stuck.” Simon leaned back, pulling as hard as he could. “Or resisting. I can’t—” His foot slipped, and his head went under.
I grabbed him, catching his collar before he could be swept out of the tunnel. I wanted to help both of my friends, but it was all I could do to keep from being pulled out myself. I hauled on the rope, hoping that eyelet could hold all of our weights, and yanked on Simon.
He came up with a sputter. “I’m fine. Temi. Get her.”
We were farther up the tunnel now, with the water at my ribcage. I leaned back, preparing to yank hard, but this time the rope came back without resistance. My stomach sank. Had she cut herself free? Or had the monster swiped a claw across the rope?
I pulled faster. Water, or maybe tears, made my vision blurry.
By then, I was expecting a frayed rope end to come out of the water. I gasped with surprise and delight when Temi’s head popped up. She still had the sword too. Great splashes broke the water behind her. At first I thought it was the monster following her, but those were her kicks. No wonder there hadn’t been any tension on the rope—she’d been motoring like crazy back there.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said as soon as she had her feet beneath her.
“The monster?” I asked.
“I don’t know if it’s dead, but I hope so.” Temi flashed a grin, her teeth glinting with the reflection of the sword. “It got caught beneath the rocks, and I cut a lot of holes in it.”
“Nice,” Simon crooned.
We took long enough to untie our rope in case we needed it again, but that was it. We raced back through the chambers, all of which were filling with water, and headed for the tunnels the others had burrowed. My calf screamed with pain, thanks to the fresh holes punctured in it, but it supported my weight, and I didn’t let it slow me down.