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Contents ( 50)
  1. CONTENTS
  2. PROLOGUE
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  18. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  20. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  21. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  22. CHAPTER TWENTY
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  32. CHAPTER THIRTY
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  42. CHAPTER FORTY
  43. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  47. EPILOGUE
  48. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  49. Also by Liz Flanagan:
  50. COPYRIGHT

The tunnels seemed very long and very narrow today, with the slender thread of knotted fishing lines trailing after them into the dark. Joe paused, and tried not to think about the huge expanse of rock and earth above them, which suddenly seemed to be pressing down and taking his air.

‘Tell me something,’ he said, when he could breathe and speak normally again. ‘Where did you grow up? What was it like?’ He wanted to hear her memories, so he didn’t drown in his own.

‘Lower town, Seawall Street,’ Winter called over her shoulder as she spooled out the line. ‘It was fine, for a while. Good neighbours. Us kids all played together. Dad was a carpenter. Mum’s a craftswoman. Leatherwork. She made this – look.’ Winter showed him her soft leather satchel. She told him next how her father got sick when she was small, and died soon after. ‘Don’t remember him much. Mum did her best for me, and she was so proud when Jin chose me.’ She talked on and on, more than Joe had ever heard.

He stayed quiet, listening as they went up and up through the unexplored tunnels. He felt like she was giving him some­thing very rare and very valuable, word by word, a thread for him to follow, like this fishing line.

It was the longest he’d walked since his fall. Joe’s legs started shuddering from the climb. Soon he was freezing cold and drenched in sweat. His head ached badly and his right shoulder was throbbing. ‘Can we stop?’ he panted finally.

‘What’s wrong?’ Winter peered down at him from the next step, raising her lantern so its golden circle of light fell full on his face.84

He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, teeth chattering. ‘I don’t know.’

‘There’s a cave up ahead.’ She looked worried. ‘Maybe we can rest there awhile.’

He started to trudge forwards again, following her. The tunnel widened, and there was a small circular chamber opening off it.

‘Joe, look!’ Winter sounded awestruck.

He peered in. There was a raised oval platform in the centre of the cave – like a table, but carved from the rock of the cave itself.

He went in: one step, two. Something was different in here. The air was charged. It felt warmer.

As soon as he entered, he felt better and his headache eased.

They put their lanterns on the floor and their light cast strange shadows that flickered on the walls as they approached the table.

‘Joe, you were right,’ Winter said. ‘They did leave some­thing down here.’ She moved to the side, so he could see.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The table had two large boxes on it.

85

CHAPTER TWELVE

There were two chests of carved wood side by side. Joe ran his fingers over the beautiful textures. The first chest had patterns of waves, fish and dragon heads, all woven together in a complex design. It was fastened with a dull brass clasp.