Naked Empire

"I don't either," he told her. "But I've been through and out the other side. I made it through and back. You'll be fine. Just follow me and you won't have a problem."

Her voice drifted up to him from the darkness. "I want to go back."

Richard couldn't let her go back. The ledges, where they were exposed to the races, were too dangerous.

"Here," Kahlan told her, "you come ahead of me. Take hold of Richard's ankle and you'll be out before the rest of us."

"I'll see that Betty watches you go through and follows," Tom offered.

That seemed to break the impasse. Jennsen moved up to the ledge and handed her pack up. Richard, lying on his stomach in the low slit of the shelf, took her hand to help her up.

When she saw in the light how low and tight it was, that Richard had to lie on his stomach, she started to tremble. When Richard helped pull her up, and her face came up close to him, he could see her tears in the dim light.

Her wide blue eyes took in the way ahead, how low it was.

Please, Richard, I'm afraid. I don't want to go in under there."

He nodded. "I know, but it's not far. I won't let you stay in here.

I'll see that you get out." He cupped a hand to the side of her face. "I promise."

"How do I know you'll keep your promise?"

Richard smiled. "Wizards always keep their promises."

"You said you don't know much about being a wizard."

"But I know how to keep promises."

She at last agreed and let him help her the rest of the way up. When he pulled her all the way up onto the shelf of the mountainside, and she actually felt how the roof of rock didn't allow her any room to get up and that she had to lie flat just to fit, and worse, that the roof of rock was only scant inches above her back, she started to shiver with terror.

"I know how you feel," he told her. "I do, Jennsen. I hate this, too, but we have no choice. It's not dangerous if you just follow me through the place where there's room. Just follow me and we'll be out before you know it."

"What if it comes down and crushes us? Or what if it comes down just enough to pin us so we can't move or breathe?"

"It won't," he insisted. "It's been here for ages. It isn't going to come down. It's not."

She nodded but he didn't know if she really heard him. She began to whimper as he turned himself around so he could lead her out.

"Take my ankle," he called back to her. "Here, push your pack up to me and I'll take care of it for you. Then you'll only have to worry about holding on to my ankle and following behind."

"What if it gets too tight and I can't breathe? Richard, what if I can't breathe?"

Richard kept his voice calm and confident. "I'm bigger than you, so if I fit, you will."

She only nodded as she shivered. He extended his hand back and had to tell her again to pass her pack forward before she did as he instructed.

Once he had her pack, he tied the straps to his and pushed them both on ahead. She seized his ankle as if it were the only thing keeping her from falling into the arms of the Keeper of the underworld.

He didn't complain, though, about how hard she held him; he knew her fear.

Richard pushed the packs out ahead and started inching his way forward.

He tried not to think about the rough ceiling of rock only a hand-width above his back. He knew it would become ftarrower before they got out. The shelf of rock sloped upward to the right slightly, into the dark. The light was to the left, and down.

It looked like the easiest way out was to go straight toward the opening. It wasn't far. They had to go, instead, up into the darkness and around the narrowing of the cleft in order to get around to a place where they could fit through. Forcing himself to go up, into the dark where it felt tighter and more closed in, rather than toward the light of the opening, felt wrong, but he had already scouted the route and he knew that his feelings were wrong about this.

As he moved deeper into the darkness, going around the impassable area in the center of the chamber, he reached the spot where the rock above lowered. Advancing in farther, it came down until it pressed against his back. He knew it wasn't far, not more than a dozen feet, but, without being able to take a full breath, the cramped passage was daunting.

Richard pushed the packs ahead as he wriggled and wormed his way along.

He had to push with the toes of his boots and, with his fingers finding any purchase available, pull his chest through, force himself to make headway into the dark, away from the light.

Jennsen's fingers had an iron grip on his ankle. That was fine with Richard, because he could then help pull her through with him. He wanted to be able to help pull her through when she reached the spot that would compress her chest.

And then she suddenly let go of his ankle.

CHAPTER 33

Off behind him, Richard could hear Jennsen scrambling away. "Jennsen?

What's going on? What are you doing?" She was crying out, whining in terror, as she bolted toward the light at the opening.