JOEL LANDED ON A cold rock in darkness. Pulling his senses back together he commed to all the others to let them know what he had done to pass through the door at the end of the tunnel.

Molson came through the door first. When Carter stumbled through the doorway, his cheeks were hollow and his face was pale. Joel felt for him. As Ben crawled through into the darkness on his hands and knees, he disturbed some stones.

All four of them listened as the stones rolled, bounced and then fell, leaving tiny echoes behind them. They all listened, but they never heard the pebbles reach a floor. Joel and Ben felt on the ground for some small rocks. Joel tipped one, rolling it straight in front of him.

It puttered and clopped, like it picked up speed on a short, steep slope. Then it bounced.

Then silence.

The light was so faint Joel could hardly see where the other three stood. Carter said, “Has anyone got a spell for light?”

Ben picked up two rocks and banged them together. Carter laughed and he shouted, “Man, why not start evolution all over?” A small tumble of stones accompanied the echo of his voice.

Molson’s voice was low and hard. “Careful with the noise you’re making.” Carter glared at him. Molson said, “You could start a rockfall.”

Joel said, “Maybe we do have a spell for light. Check your inventories.” And, “Did everyone get a secret?” they all nodded. He opened his.

The treasure is precious and rare. For no man to own and for all to adore.

Ben read his out. It was the same. Carter nodded, so was his.

Above them about twenty feet ahead, a green flame danced. At first the light seemed to show that they were on the rocky shore of a wide lake with small islands. As their eyes adjusted, they saw that the lake was merely an abyss and the islands were just rocks, hanging in the cold, dark space.

The green flame had a shape, like a sprite with big, red, almond shaped eyes. Joel clearly saw a pair of stubby arms and a crown of green flame. On the far side of the chasm, on a steep rocky ledge like the one they stood on, a stone rolled aside to reveal an opening in the rock wall.

“We just have to jump from rock to rock to get across,” Carter said. “How hard can it be. Right?”

Molson swept his open hand. “After you.”

Carter leered as he jumped to the nearest rock, then to another. As he looked for a path across, the sprite threw a bolt of green lightning. It split the rock Carter stood on. He was just able to make a leap to another rock, but it was ten feet lower down. Immediately he jumped sideways to land where he could reach another rock.

Carter jumped from rock to rock, until he was almost at the far side. He had only one jump to make. The sprite seemed to grin as it blasted his only way forward into dust.

“He’ll have to come back to go forward,” Ben said.

And Molson added, “If we wait while he does that, there won’t be a way across.”

Ben jumped. He had seen a route. Joel followed him. Molson took a wider path.

Joel commed, Put on your cam displays. Seeing another route could save any one of us. We all need all the help we can get here.

All three cam views tacked in miniature around Joel’s visor display.

Joel wondered if the demon would be able to attack all four of them at once. The rock under his feet split and he was barely able to get a hand-hold on a stone beneath him. He pulled himself up fast and ninja-sprang sideways to another perch, then up, then across.

Molson timed his jumps perfectly, but his path was wide and that made him slow.

Ben was erratic and panicky. Every stepping stone he landed on got blasted immediately. He was working hard but not progressing far forward.

Carter meanwhile was still working his way sideways. No farther from the other side, but not much closer, either.

Seeing all the islands near their destination getting blown apart, Joel looked hard at the rock face ahead. He saw an opening, a single cave, lower down and there were a dozen ways to get there. Thinking it was worth a chance, he wanted to com to the others, but he could never risk being still long enough. As he made the jump nearest to the entrance, he called out.

Then he jumped. Hoping. He got a foot hold. He was steady. The demon wasn’t shooting green lightning at him. Now he just had to hope there was a route from the cave mouth to their destination. Whatever that was.

Quickly he commed, I’ll let you know if this works. As he looked back, he saw all three of the others were making their way down already. Not even Carter or Molson rated their chances of beating the fire-sprite to make the crossing.

Peering into dripping the cave, Joel saw light glimmering far down the rough tunnel.

Then, on his display,

HEALTH BONUS +++

A BOOK OF SIGNS

The signs were symbols, next to what seemed to be Japanese or Chinese script characters. Next to each was a drawing. They seemed to be mostly animals. He noticed one that looked like the symbol on the floor by the Buddha’s shrine where they first stepped into this netherworld.

When Carter, Molson and Ben reached the ledge, he led them into the cave.

A monk stood and blocked their path. He wore a reddish brown robe with a large hood. His hands were clasped in front of his chest, his head was bowed, and his face was in shadow. He stood still until they all stood still in front of him.

Joel clasped his hands in the same way as the monk and bowed. The monk sprang back and raised a hand with a finger pointed. Without looking up he drew four vertical lines, parallel in the air in front of him. As he drew, green fire burned the lines in the air. He drew five lines horizontally across them to make a grid.

He bowed to Joel and stepped back.

Joel had an idea. He looked in the book of signs. By the sign for the dragon and the drawing was a script character. The character was complicated and he wasn’t sure of his skills in calligraphy, but he attempted to make the character. He drew with his finger in the air, over the grid.

As he drew, his marks blazed with white flames over the green grid. When he was finished, the monk bowed low. Then he looked up. He had no face. He bowed again. Another eight monks stepped out of the shadows to join him.

They all took out their swords. Joel felt more than saw Carter reaching for a weapon. Urgently, Joel put back his hand to say, Don’t. Miraculously, Carter took the hint and relaxed.

The eight monks with their swords raised formed two lines along the cave wall. The first monk led Joel. Ben, Carter and Molson followed.

The monk led them into a tall chamber. Arched and almost gothic in shape, the space was constructed or grown, Joel couldn’t tell which, but all from the trunks and roots of trees. Dim, flickering, ghoslty light was waved and thrown from fat candles that burned long, green flames.

At the back of the chamber on a raised stone platform, the old man with the white wisps of hair was putting on a green robe with wide sleeves and elaborate embroidery. Joel and the others were quiet as they came in.

Behind the group, the monks filed in. A stone door slid shut to seal them in.

The old man put on a wide hat like a shallow cone then stood in the center of the platform. He pressed his hands together like he was in prayer and he bowed forward. Joel couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen them come in. It could only mean that he didn’t care.

Joel realized that wasn’t it either. As the old man straightened up, Joel saw him look out at where they stood. He expected them.

~~

The old man’s voice was as dry and as cracked as his papery skin. He addressed the four candidates. “Many have come,” his head shook, “Many, many have tried to take our precious treasure.” Behind him, light slowly revealed a carved green column.

“If that was jade,” Ben whispered, “Then it would be worth a fortune. And not a small fortune. A big one.”

The column seemed to burn. To twist and to glow like a flame. Carter said “Is it the shape as it rotates, or is it actually moving?”

“Is it stone or a flame?” Ben asked. Nobody replied.

The old man closed his eyes as he intoned, “Our life’s work here has been for centuries to worship and to protect our jade fire. It is our duty, and our honor.”

The eight monks formed a circle around the group.

The old man’s arms spread wide. “We are her protectors and our lives belong to her.”

“This doesn’t look good,” Carter said. “We all lift our swords. We have our daggers, too, that we can cross-draw. We take two monks each.”

“Good as far as it goes,” Ben said, “But I think the fact that they’re already dead is going to be an issue here.”

“And we will guard the goddess with our body, and our mind, and our spirit.”

The monks raised their swords in front of their bowed hoods.

“Don’t make the first move,” Joel said, quickly. “And don’t try to kill them.” He added, “Use the ninja skills and take their swords if you can. That’s all.”

All at once, the monks’ swords cut the air to point down. The group were surrounded by blades. Joel reached to grab at the sword handle of the nearest monk. Holding on, he jumped in a mid-air cartwheel. Keeping hold as he leaped over the monk, he held tight to the sword handle from behind. He forced the sword down. Then, pulling the monk back by his arms, Joel rolled backward to the ground. The monk wheeled over him and Joel had his sword.

Quickly he stood. He and the monk bowed to one another.

The monk’s robe drifted, fluttering, empty to the floor.

On the platform, the green sculpture was definitely moving with a life of its own. To Joel it seemd to be taking on a female human form that he recognized.