Memori: Tower Shadow Sword - Volume 3

Chapter 20: Zenis Part 1

A hole appeared in the ceiling of a ground floor hallway and from it a ladder descended. Ves and Jerod quickly dropped from it and looked around, searching the darkness for the presence of any spectres.

"We did it," Jerod breathed. "We made it to the ground floor."

"We're not out yet," Ves told him. "Come on. This way."

Ves led him down the hallway of the left wing to the room opposite the kitchens where the entrance into the secret tunnel leading to Meyr Woods was hidden. Jerod closed the door behind him as Ves dashed across the room, grabbed a chair from the table, and dragged it to the mantelpiece. He climbed on top of the chair and pounded the face of the painting above the mantelpiece three times. A clicking sound was heard from behind the painting, the floor below the fireplace shifted, and the stairway into the tunnel was revealed.

"Hell yeah," Jerod said.

"Go on, then," Ves told him.

"Right."

Jerod ducked under the fireplace and disappeared into the tunnel. Ves jumped down from the chair and was just about to follow him when a bright light suddenly flooded the room from the windows. Ves slowly walked toward the window and looked out to the sky where the light was coming from. Falling rapidly and fiercely from the clouds and illuminating the whole night sky was a massive ball of blue flames, much larger than the ones Ves had seen fall on the Grounds of Wendsil.

"Ves?" Jerod called.

"Run!" Ves yelled, slipping under the fireplace and leaping down the stairs.

He hit the switch on the wall that hid the tunnel entrance and followed Jerod.

"Where are you?" Jerod called.

"Right behind you! Just keep running!" Ves shouted.

The whole tunnel begun to tremble violently and rubble started falling from the ceiling but they kept running. When they were halfway through, there was a great and terrible crash above the ground. The ceiling in the distance between them suddenly caved in.

"Ves!" Jerod yelled.

Ves stumbled back as more of the tunnel caved in before him.

"Ves!" Jerod yelled again from behind the rubble.

"Don't stop! Keep going!" Ves yelled back to him.

"I have to help you—!"

"—There's nothing you can do... just keep going. I'm – turning back to find another way out. I – I think I know where to go!"

"No! Don't go back there!"

"You don't have time! Get to the forest before this whole tunnel falls in!"

"Don't go back there, Ves!"

Ves turned on his heel and ran back to the Tower as the rest of tunnel's ceiling caved in behind him.