Sarah Morgan Summer Collection

Her voice bounced and echoed off the walls and then there was nothing except an eerie silence, punctuated by the sound of water trickling and dripping in the darkness around them.

‘This could be a wild-goose chase,’ Kyla said, as they picked and slithered their way further down into the tunnel. ‘He could be sitting at home and—’

‘Be quiet.’ Ethan put a hand on her arm. ‘I heard something.’

Kyla froze. And then she heard something, too.

‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know. But it wasn’t wind and it wasn’t dripping water so it’s worth investigating. How far is the gate that covers the entrance of the dungeons?’

‘I can’t remember. It’s years since I came down here, but I don’t think it can be far now.’ Kyla flashed the torch and nodded. ‘There. Can you see?’

‘Yes. But the gate’s shut. It hasn’t been opened. Hold the torch while I check.’

Kyla shone both torches onto the gate and Ethan ran his fingers over the rusted bars. ‘There’s no way he could have got through here.’

‘No, but he could have got through there.’ Kyla shone the torch to the side and Ethan turned, his eyes on the crack in the wall.

‘It’s not wide enough.’

‘Yes, it is,’ Kyla said wearily, and he lifted an eyebrow.

‘Are you seriously telling me that you once wriggled through that gap?’

‘I was twelve at the time,’ she muttered. ‘I’ve eaten thousands of Evanna’s dinners since then.’

And then they both heard the noise at the same time. And this time it was recognisable.

‘Fraser?’ Kyla yelled his name and moved closer to the gate. ‘Fraser, is that you? Are you down there?’

‘I’m stuck.’ His voice was thin and reedy and Kyla felt her heart turn over.

‘All right. Don’t panic, Fraser. You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get you out.’ She almost laughed as she listened to herself. How? That was the question that flew into her mind. How were they going to get him out? There was a storm brewing, Fraser was trapped underground in an unstable place and no one else knew where they were.

‘We need to—we need to—’ For once her ingenuity failed her and she looked helplessly at Ethan. ‘I don’t know what on earth we need. There’s a drop, Ethan. He must have fallen in. I mean, there are no stairs or anything. Just a drop and then a small cramped room. It’s a bit like being at the bottom of a well. How are we going to get him out of there?’

‘A stage at a time.’ Ethan was calm. ‘First we find a way to get in. Then we find a way to get him out. But we’re going to need help. I’m going to go back up to the top and call Nick. We need a team of people up here and some rope. And we need to call the people who run this place to see if there’s an official way through this gate.’ His quiet confidence gave her courage.

‘Yes, of course you’re right. Nick will arrange everything if you just call him. I’ll stay here and see if I can work anything out.’

‘I’ll be back in a minute.’

‘Kyla?’ Fraser’s voice came from far below her, weak and shaky. ‘Are you still there?’

‘I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere. You’ve chosen a good place to shelter, Fraser, on such a stormy night.’

‘It’s very dark down here.’ She heard the quiver in his voice and her heart twisted with sympathy for him. He must be so scared. For a moment she contemplated dropping the torch down to him but then she realised that the fall would probably just break it and then they’d both be in the dark.

‘How did you get down there, Fraser?’ She slid a hand across the gate, shuddering when she encountered the softness of a spider’s web. She didn’t mind the storm or the dark but she hated spiders.

‘I opened the gate. I only meant to look. And then I fell. I don’t remember anything after that.’

He’d knocked himself out. ‘Do you hurt anywhere, Fraser?’

‘My head. I think it’s bleeding but I dropped my torch when I fell and it broke. I’ve been lying here. I didn’t think anyone would ever find me.’

Kyla closed her eyes for a moment, hardly able to bear thinking about just how frightened he must have felt. ‘Well, we have found you, and we’ll be getting you out in just a moment.’ She glanced back up the tunnel and saw the reassuring flicker of Ethan’s torch. He was on his way back. And then she suddenly realised what the child had said. ‘You opened the gate? Fraser? Did you say that you opened the gate? How? It’s locked.’

‘But it opens on the other side. The hinges are rusted.’

‘They’re on their way.’ Ethan stopped next to her and watched while she ran her hands over the gate. ‘What are you doing?’

‘He didn’t go through the gap in the rock. He went through the gate. The gate opens, Ethan.’ She tugged and pulled and the whole structure came towards her. ‘Ugh. Spiders. I hate spiders.’

‘Kyla?’ Fraser’s voice came from below them. ‘I feel funny.’

‘In what way funny?’ With Ethan’s help, Kyla opened the gate far enough for an adult to pass through. ‘Talk to me, Fraser.’

There was a long silence and for a hideous moment she thought he’d lost consciousness. Then his voice came again, this time much weaker. ‘Sort of swimmy-headed. And sick. Just not well. I wish I’d never come here now. I want Mum.’ The childlike plea for protection went straight to Kyla’s heart but before she could act, Ethan moved her bodily and handed her his torch.

‘Hold on, Fraser.’ His voice was deep and reassuring. ‘I’m coming down to you.’

‘You can’t do that.’ Kyla caught his arm but he shrugged her off.

‘I have to. We don’t know what his injuries are. He’s afraid and on his own. Someone needs to be down there with him.’

‘You can’t just jump, Ethan. It’s too far. You’ll break something.’

‘I’m not jumping.’ He removed his coat. ‘There are enough handholds in this place to climb down.’

‘Are you kidding?’ She eyed him with incredulity. ‘The wall is completely smooth.’

‘No, it isn’t. Stay there for a moment and then hand me the torch when I say so. Fraser?’ He raised his voice and wriggled his body through the gap in the gate. ‘I’m coming down to you. Just hang on.’

There was no answer, only the hollow plop of water, and suddenly Kyla felt sick herself. She ought to stop Ethan doing something so rash but she knew now that Fraser’s life could be at stake. Why wasn’t he answering? Was he unconscious?

Ethan gave a grunt as he anchored himself and held out a hand. ‘Hand me the torch.’

‘But you won’t have any hands to hold on, and—’

‘The torch, Kyla!’

‘All right.’ She bit back the impulse the tell him to be careful. They were all way past the point of being careful.

He took the torch in his mouth and started to descend with a smooth agility that astonished her.

And then she remembered the way he ran in the mornings. He may have been brought up in a city, but there was no doubting his physical fitness. Still, physical fitness was one thing. Climbing down a wall into a long abandoned dungeon was quite another.