Page 111 of The Other Side

Feeling behind him, he traced the wall down until his fingers touched the floor. Solid. Safe. Slowly he eased onto his knees. Pain ripped through his ribs. He didn’t move until the dizziness had passed, then began crawling, one hand glued to the wall while the other swept cautiously ahead.

Stone. Another careful shuffle. Still stone.

His fingers closed around a rock about the size of a tennis ball. He lobbed it ahead and his ribs protested. It struck rock almost immediately. Good. Another stone. Harder this time. He heard it strike twice, then there was silence. Keeping low, he edged forward until his outstretched hand touched another wall.

The chamber wasn’t large. Four or five metres across? But he’d not gone all the way round. There was a drop at one end. Then he heard it again. That faint sigh. Air. He automatically closed his eyes before giving a humourless laugh. Not much point in closing his eyes. The sound came and went in gentle pulses, as though wind were slipping through a crack high above.

Could he climb up? He stood carefully, palms against the limestone, reaching higher and higher, fighting against the pain in his chest. The wall rose beyond his fingertips. Smooth. Wet. Unclimbable. He slid back down and cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Help!”

The cry ricocheted around the chamber before dissolving into silence. No answer. He kept edging along the wall. He wasn’t at the bottom of the shaft. The splash had proved that. Which meant there might be a passage. Somewhere.

So stay here… Or keep moving. There wasn’t really a choice.

There was probably enough water dripping down to keep him alive for a while. But he had no food. Rescue wasn’t coming.

He had to find a way out on his own.

Chapter Eighteen

Osian emerged into the twilight of Faeryland. The air was thick and sweet, smelling of crushed pine and damp earth. So familiar and he wished it was comforting, but a cold sweat prickled his neck. His nerves were already frayed. He set off towards home, bracing himself for the inevitable. Normally, Belem would intercept him within minutes of him crossing the threshold between worlds. But this time, he hadn’t. No cool, mocking voice had greeted him. Good, because he didn’t want to surrender the flowers.

Except the silence made him increasingly nervous. On every other occasion, Belem had been there like a shadow, so why not now? Was it because Osian had returned early? Or was it because Belem considered their deal done? He wished that was true, but feared it wasn’t.

The sound of weeping reached him before he even saw the chimney of his home. His chest tightened and he ran. He left the flowers outside, then threw open the door to a room heavy with grief. His father sat with his arms wrapped tightly around his mother, whose shoulders shook with desperate sobs. Caelen and Fin stood nearby, their faces pale and rigid.

Leaf was missing. Oh gods.

“Osian!” His mother broke from his father’s embrace, lunging forward to pull him into a fierce, trembling hug.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Osian asked, his eyes darting between his family.

“Belem has imprisoned Leaf,” His father’s voice was flat with suppressed rage.

Osian’s heart clenched. “On what grounds?”

“Because he didn’t return with you,” Caelen said.

Guilt warred with fury in Osian’s chest. “How much did Leaf tell you about his visit to The Other Side?”

“Nothing,” his father shook his head. “He was taken the moment he crossed back. It was only when I sent to the castle to ask why that I discovered Leaf had been taken by Belem’s guards because he hadn’t brought you with him. That’s all we know.”

So, Osian told them. He laid out the truth, omitting only the darkest details of what Belem had demanded of him, though the grim look on his father’s face told him they understood the gravity of the price Osian had paid to cross to the Other Side.

“I was blood-bound to keep silent,” Osian said. “When I tried to say anything, I was prevented from doing so. That I can now speak without pain means the deal is over. I hope. I have a bag full of items Belem demanded. I can claim I was delayed waiting for the deliveries, and that’s why Leaf and I were separated. It’s true. I brought over perishable goods. It gives me a perfectly mundane reason to go to the court right now.”

His father looked at him quietly. “This blood-bond you have with Belem… If it’s not over, there might be a loophole, a way out, if we could uncover the exact wording of the original magic.”

“Do you want me to slip away to the treehouse and look for the bond you made with Drum?” Fin asked, leaning in.

Osian looked at them. “Did any of you know about that before I told you?”

They all shook their heads.

“I think it’s better left unfound for the moment. The knife is safer where it is,” Caelen said quietly. “If Belem’s guards search the house and find a blood-binding relic, we might be compelled by law to hand it over.”

Osian let out a long, heavy sigh. “I’m going to speak to Belem. If he won’t listen to reason, I’ll ask to speak to the Queen.”