Jacob eyed the smoke oozing from
the cleft in the mountain. It curled and coiled, swirling light and dark as it
escaped the hidden depths. It had haunted his dreams for the past thirty years.
He looked down the length of his body with chagrin. His chest and belly were
thicker than they had been then. He’d have more of a challenge getting through
the narrow walls of the smoky passage.
Reason deemed this a fool’s
errand, yet he had to try. If there were any chance he could save his family,
his kingdom, he would do anything within his power. Even face the demons he had
escaped once before.
“That looks fun,” Samuel nodded
toward the rocky wall before them as he settled down beside Jacob. He handed
his cousin a hunk of bread and cheese and a bottle of mead, stolen with a laugh
from Cook before they rode out this morning. Samuel was the laughing one. The
golden boy. The heir. They had adventured together since they were young. Since
before Jacob had faced this particular adventure alone. Samuel had gone with his parents on a
tour of the land; and in a fit of pique, Jacob ran away, straight to hell.
And now he would return on
purpose, and hope against hope that he could escape again. “You can’t go with
me,” he said without looking at Samuel.
“Don’t be an idiot. Of course I
am,” Samuel said without heat. It was an old argument, and he always won.
Jacob said nothing further as he
watched the smoke rise up, clearing along the ground outside the opening.
Without warning, he swung up the handle of his sword and struck Samuel across
the brow. Samuel fell backward without a sound. Jacob knelt and covered him
with a blanket. “I’m sorry, cousin. Not this time.”
He approached the passage warily,
listening for any sound of movement within. He remembered the smoke came in
waves, and as it rose up, for a little while the narrow passage would be clear
enough to breathe. Until it filled again with the noxious fumes.
He’d have to worry about that if
he survived long enough to try to escape.
TBC perhaps
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Dogs in house:
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Houdini
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Time writing:
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20 minutes
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June word
count:
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15,560
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