The Hammer - Cor Series Book I

A shadow fell across Corvan’s closed eyes. Something sharp brushed his cheek. He rolled away, and pain shot up his elbow before his arm went numb. The lizard had scratched him with his poisonous claw!

Tsarek stood over him with his head cocked to one side. “I am so sorry to have to wake you, Kalian, sir, but it is time for us to go.”

Corvan moved his arm tentatively. The numbness ebbed away, though his elbow ached fiercely. He had hit his funny bone on the rock.

A faint tremor ran through the cavern walls.

“The first portal is about to open,” Tsarek said, jumping towards the entrance into his cave. “I let you sleep too long. We will need to sort through your pack between the chambers of the labyrinth.”

Corvan sat up and rubbed his sore elbow.

The lizard gestured over his shoulder to a small bundle tied to the end of a few long sticks. “I did not have enough room, so while you slept, I added a few of my belongings to your pack. I hope that is all right.”

Corvan got to his feet and hefted the pack. It was much heavier. “What did you put in here, rocks?”

Tsarek grinned. “Just one,” he said, pointing to the musical crystals.

Corvan looked around. All that remained of the largest crystal was a broken stump.

“If it is too much for you, I can try to carry it in my bundle,” Tsarek said, shaking the slender sticks balanced on his shoulder.

Corvan shook his head as he pulled on the pack. “It’s okay. When we go through my stuff later, we’ll decide what we really need.”

“Thank you, sir. I have grown attached to my music. I believe it will keep our spirits up during the long walk to the lower levels, especially if we get lost.”

Another tremor went through the rock.

“The first door is opening.” Tsarek tugged on Corvan’s sleeve. “I am not sure how long we will have to get through.” The lizard hurried from the room with Corvan stumbling along at his heels.

Tsarek was quickly lost to sight in the dark tunnel. “Wait for me! I can’t see anything. Where are you?”

“Right in front of you, sir. No time to stop. Follow my voice; the entry is not far. Watch out for the stones on the floor.”

Watch? In complete darkness? Most likely the lizard could see in the dark.

The lizard cried out in pain. “There is a big stone in the middle of the path. Please be careful.”

Nope, the lizard couldn’t see in the dark either. Corvan shuffled his feet along to avoid stubbing his toes or twisting his ankle.

An abrupt shift in air pressure caused Corvan’s ears to pop. A moist breeze blew past that was heavy with the sulfuric odor of burning matches.

“It’s just ahead, sir, and still open. The other entries all open at the same time, so the air from the Cor pushes toward the surface.” The lizard was fumbling with his bundle of sticks and presently a brilliant glow fluttered in the breeze.

They were standing at the end of a roughly hewn tunnel. The source of the sour wind was before them: a hole in the wall about a foot off the ground and three feet in diameter. The rock around the edges rippled like melted blue glass. Wisps of smoke trailed from its edges. Corvan stepped closer and looked through, but there was only a black void on the other side.

“Do not touch it, sir. We must wait until it is fully formed, or it will close quickly and cut whatever is partway through to pieces.” The lizard shuddered. “It is not a pretty sight.”

“Will Kate know not to touch them?”

“She will be moving forward, sir, as the black band calls her on. The next portal in the next cavern of the labyrinth will be formed by the time she gets there. See, now this one is ready.”

Corvan noticed that the blue glass had turned a creamy tan color, and the smoke was gone.

The lizard leaped up through the hole. His head popped back through. “You can touch the side now.” His claws clicked on the glossy surface as he jumped back through the hole to Corvan’s side. “It will be easier if you throw your pack in first. I will stay here and hold the light for you.”

Corvan tossed the heavy pack to the other side of the hole, put one foot over the threshold, and stood straddling the gap in the wall. He gingerly touched the surface. It pulsed warmly against his fingers. Blue light rippled out from around each fingertip.

Tsarek shouted and shoved him through the hole to land in a heap on the other side. The opening snapped shut. Its light vanished as if someone had switched off the lights. The smell of burning matches infused the still air.

Corvan heard the lizard grunt. “Sir, I need your help, please. You will find more fire sticks attached to my bundle on the floor. The one in my claws is no longer useful.”

Fumbling around the floor, Corvan located the sticks. He untied them and then exposed the capped end on one. White light flared to reveal Tsarek hanging from the end of a stick that stuck straight out of a solid cave wall. He looked so funny with his short, thick legs dangling in midair that Corvan had to choke back a laugh. “Was the portal supposed to close that fast?”

“It hasn’t in the past, but I believe that Kate found the next door very quickly. There is no other way to explain it.” The lizard shrugged, bobbing on the end of the stick like a jackfish on a willow pole. “Could you help me down, sir?”

“It’s not far. Just let go.”

“I would, sir, but when I get frightened my claws lock up on me.” Tsarek ducked his head and dropped his gaze to the ground. “You will need to rub the spines on my back for me to relax enough to let go.”

Corvan stepped closer. “These little spikes?” He ran his hand up the lizard’s prickly spine.

“The other way, please. That only makes me more tense.”

Corvan ran his hand downward as if petting a cat.

“Ah, that’s much better.” Tsarek dropped from the pole, and the stick twanged in the still air. Muttering a stiff “thank you, sir,” the lizard scurried over to his belongings and bundled them back together.

“Will the next door be nearby?”

“Not always. The portals move each time they open and close. That is why we will need your hammer to guide us from here. It will be many hours until the next shifting. Let us find a comfortable spot to sort through your belongings.”

Corvan hoisted his pack and grabbed the stick in the wall. “I suppose we should break this off in case we need it later.” He pulled down and the stick shuddered in his hand. A dull boom thumped through the walls of the cavern.

“Oh, my, so fortunate it did not break on this side,” Tsarek exclaimed. “To break a fire stick is to release all its energy at one time. Very dangerous. It is fortunate that the Cor shield is unbreakable.”

Corvan stepped away from the stick. “Sorry. I didn’t know.”

“No harm done, sir. Though good for us that we are not deep enough for buraks. A vibration in their area would have them eating us before we could call out for help. One bite and you die even faster than my claws!”

Corvan didn’t recall the lizard mentioning man-eating creatures lurking below. He peered over his shoulder into the blackness. Were buraks the monster from his recurring nightmare? A shiver ran through his body. Was it a burak he would have to escape from in the labyrinth?

“Not to worry, sir. The buraks cannot enter the labyrinth. They are much farther down. Let’s move along the tunnel in case that fire stick breaks on this side. Sometimes, when they get as old as these, they can shatter on their own. Very messy if you happen to be holding one.”

Corvan thrust the fire stick at Tsarek. Tsarek’s short legs churned as he moved off, and Corvan followed closely. Were Tsarek wrong about the buraks, he didn’t want to meet one alone in the dark.

The tunnel opened into a cavernous room with a low ceiling. The sound of water echoed in the far corner, and Corvan’s parched throat reminded him he’d had nothing to drink since leaving his home.

Tsarek ran to the pool and crouched down to lap at the water like a scaly dog. The pool was a good twenty yards across to where the water tumbling in from a fissure in the wall. No water ran out of the pool, so the drain had to be somewhere below the surface.

Corvan stretched out on the ground and drank. The water was cool and refreshing but tasted somewhat of fish. He glanced to one side. Tsarek had waded into the pool beside him and was washing his scales. “Do you mind, Tsarek? I was still drinking.”

“No problem, sir,” Tsarek chirped in response. “You do not bother me. Please continue.”

Corvan shook his head and got to his feet. He waded in until the water was below his knees, stooped over, and splashed water onto his dirty face. He should have taken off his running shoes first. They would take a long time to dry in the damp air.

The water was cool, but Tsarek didn’t seem to mind. His energetic splashes were sending ripples dancing across the pool in all directions. The small waves bounced off the rock wall on the far side and crisscrossed on their way back like many thin snakes swimming just below the surface. The ripples moved toward Tsarek and then suddenly changed direction to undulate directly toward Corvan.

He pointed at them. “Hey, Tsarek, why are the ripples—”

He was yanked underwater by his legs. Corvan grabbed at a thin rope wrapped around his ankles, but even more ropes whipped around to bind his arms and legs together. Panic raged through him as he was dragged like a hogtied calf deep into the dark water.

A bright light bubbled past, and he caught a glimpse of a fire stick in Tsarek’s claws. The water foamed angrily around him, and his ears thundered in pain as the light faded to a narrow point.

The ropes pulled him down even faster, and his lungs screamed for air. He had to breathe. His head throbbed. Sparks swam before his eyes. He tried to hang on, but before he could stop himself, his lips parted. Water swept into his lungs.

A peaceful calm unexpectedly settled over him. His body relaxed, and his arms drifted limply past his face. A bright light approached, and in that moment he knew he was about to die and Kate would be forever lost in tunnels of the Cor.