faster this time. The handle spun from Dakkar’s grip and bounced off the wall, whirling back and nearly clipping his temple as he reached to grab it.
The cage thumped the shaft at regular intervals now, slowly twisting out of shape and becoming more unstable. Dakkar stumbled across the metal box, knocking Mary to the floor as he tried to steady himself. He pushed the handle back into its place, jamming it down.
Sparks fountained from the brake behind the lever and the handle shook, numbing Dakkar’s arm. Slowly, the handle slid off the bar that held it. Dakkar desperately tried to push it back on, ignoring the friction heat that glowed from the metal. More sparks flew from the brakes, lighting up the shaft.
Mary threw herself towards Dakkar, and for a second he thought he was going to have to defend himself. Her hands pushed on the brake too, however, and gradually the cage began to slow even more.
Dakkar’s heart pounded. Steam boiled up around them. The whole shaft seemed to rattle. It had grown hot and stuffy.
The roof of the cage gave a deafening clang as it snagged on something that ripped it out.
Dakkar’s arms ached and his hands burned with holding the increasingly hot metal lever. Mary gasped next to him.
‘We must be near the bottom by now,’ she panted, sweat rolling down her brow.
Light glowed around the edge of the floor and the cage exploded in a scream of tortured metal. Dakkar’s feet hit hard ground. Pain speared up his legs, through his knees and up into his jaw. He tasted blood in his mouth and he stumbled forward, out through a roughly hewn doorway. Mary leapt after him, leaving a tangle of metal struts and bars blocking the shaft.
‘Well, there goes any hope of gettin’ back up to the surface!’ Mary said, slapping her hands at her sides.
But Dakkar didn’t reply. He stood, open-mouthed, staring at the scene before him.
He was gazing into dense, green jungle.
Chapter Eleven
The Underworld
‘It’s a . . .’ Dakkar pointed at the tall ferns and trees that filled his vision. Above him, clouds swirled and crackled with lightning. Insects buzzed through the air and creatures chirped and croaked from the undergrowth.
‘It’s a forest,’ Mary said, putting her hands on her hips. ‘And thanks to you we’re stuck here!’
‘Thanks to me?’ Dakkar said, raising his eyebrows.
‘If you hadn’t followed me and pulled the door open, I’d have been fine,’ Mary said, her cheeks blazing red. ‘But, no! You had to go and wreck the cage. Now we can’t get back up!’
She walked over to a rotten tree stump and pulled out a water bottle with a long strap, a knife, a satchel and then a short stubby rifle with a wide barrel. Dakkar stared once again.
‘What’s the blunderbuss for?’ he said, blinking.
‘In case we meet the owner of your precious claw!’ she replied, looking over his head and into the dense jungle. ‘Or one of his friends.’
A distant roar punctuated Mary’s sentence and made Dakkar swallow hard.
‘What is this place?’ Dakkar demanded.
‘We’re deep underground,’ Mary said. ‘I dunno how this forest got here but here it is. I found it by accident some time ago.’
‘But you didn’t build the ingenious descending cage?’ Dakkar said, frowning.
‘No.’ Mary sounded defensive, as if she could have if she’d wanted to. ‘I dunno who made that but I ain’t never seen anyone else down ’ere. Anyway, that’s all a bit after the fact now that you’ve destroyed the bloomin’ thing!’
They both turned to look at the entrance to the shaft. It was carved in a rock face that rose straight and sheer to the clouds. Dakkar thought he could see tiny black shapes flying high above them.
‘It wasn’t my fault,’ Dakkar muttered to himself. ‘Why did you run away from me?’
‘Well, you jumped on me, to begin with,’ Mary said, her cheeks reddening. ‘And when you showed me the claw, I thought maybe you knew about down here and I was in
The cage thumped the shaft at regular intervals now, slowly twisting out of shape and becoming more unstable. Dakkar stumbled across the metal box, knocking Mary to the floor as he tried to steady himself. He pushed the handle back into its place, jamming it down.
Sparks fountained from the brake behind the lever and the handle shook, numbing Dakkar’s arm. Slowly, the handle slid off the bar that held it. Dakkar desperately tried to push it back on, ignoring the friction heat that glowed from the metal. More sparks flew from the brakes, lighting up the shaft.
Mary threw herself towards Dakkar, and for a second he thought he was going to have to defend himself. Her hands pushed on the brake too, however, and gradually the cage began to slow even more.
Dakkar’s heart pounded. Steam boiled up around them. The whole shaft seemed to rattle. It had grown hot and stuffy.
The roof of the cage gave a deafening clang as it snagged on something that ripped it out.
Dakkar’s arms ached and his hands burned with holding the increasingly hot metal lever. Mary gasped next to him.
‘We must be near the bottom by now,’ she panted, sweat rolling down her brow.
Light glowed around the edge of the floor and the cage exploded in a scream of tortured metal. Dakkar’s feet hit hard ground. Pain speared up his legs, through his knees and up into his jaw. He tasted blood in his mouth and he stumbled forward, out through a roughly hewn doorway. Mary leapt after him, leaving a tangle of metal struts and bars blocking the shaft.
‘Well, there goes any hope of gettin’ back up to the surface!’ Mary said, slapping her hands at her sides.
But Dakkar didn’t reply. He stood, open-mouthed, staring at the scene before him.
He was gazing into dense, green jungle.
Chapter Eleven
The Underworld
‘It’s a . . .’ Dakkar pointed at the tall ferns and trees that filled his vision. Above him, clouds swirled and crackled with lightning. Insects buzzed through the air and creatures chirped and croaked from the undergrowth.
‘It’s a forest,’ Mary said, putting her hands on her hips. ‘And thanks to you we’re stuck here!’
‘Thanks to me?’ Dakkar said, raising his eyebrows.
‘If you hadn’t followed me and pulled the door open, I’d have been fine,’ Mary said, her cheeks blazing red. ‘But, no! You had to go and wreck the cage. Now we can’t get back up!’
She walked over to a rotten tree stump and pulled out a water bottle with a long strap, a knife, a satchel and then a short stubby rifle with a wide barrel. Dakkar stared once again.
‘What’s the blunderbuss for?’ he said, blinking.
‘In case we meet the owner of your precious claw!’ she replied, looking over his head and into the dense jungle. ‘Or one of his friends.’
A distant roar punctuated Mary’s sentence and made Dakkar swallow hard.
‘What is this place?’ Dakkar demanded.
‘We’re deep underground,’ Mary said. ‘I dunno how this forest got here but here it is. I found it by accident some time ago.’
‘But you didn’t build the ingenious descending cage?’ Dakkar said, frowning.
‘No.’ Mary sounded defensive, as if she could have if she’d wanted to. ‘I dunno who made that but I ain’t never seen anyone else down ’ere. Anyway, that’s all a bit after the fact now that you’ve destroyed the bloomin’ thing!’
They both turned to look at the entrance to the shaft. It was carved in a rock face that rose straight and sheer to the clouds. Dakkar thought he could see tiny black shapes flying high above them.
‘It wasn’t my fault,’ Dakkar muttered to himself. ‘Why did you run away from me?’
‘Well, you jumped on me, to begin with,’ Mary said, her cheeks reddening. ‘And when you showed me the claw, I thought maybe you knew about down here and I was in
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