He also avoided speaking to or looking at Magiere, which wasn't difficult at this point. Their torches provided the only light source so far down and, after all, he was quite busy.

Chap growled softly, and his eyes grew brighter and even more transparent than usual.

"We're close," Magiere said. "I think."

None of them knew anything about Chap's abilities, but Leesil thought her comment made sense. He cast a glance over his shoulder at her and, in the scant light, something else caught his attention. With all the crawling about, her amulets had fallen out from inside her shirt and hung in plain sight about her neck. The topaz stone was glowing.

"Look," he said, pointing.

She glanced down and touched it in mild wonder. "It's not any warmer, just glowing."

Chap whined.

"Has it ever glowed before?" Leesil asked.

"When I fought that villager at the Vudrask River and…" She trailed off, and their eyes locked.

"Maybe you better leave it out," he said.

"We need to hurry," Brenden said in clear frustration.

The tunnel was small-barely large enough to stand in-and crudely dug. Leesil could see nothing except the walls, his feet, and a small distance ahead.

"How did they dig this tunnel under the warehouse?" Magiere asked.

"It's been a while, but I remember the construction seemed to take a long time," Brenden answered. "Perhaps the tunnel was created first and the warehouse built on top of it?"

That sounded plausible. Leesil saw overhead boards coming up.

"There are wooden supports here," he said. "Be careful passing through."

A small glint low to the floor caught his attention. He stopped, holding up a hand for the others to do the same, and crouched down for a closer look. A small wire ran across the tunnel a hand's breadth above the floor.

"Trip wire," he said. "If you look, you'll see it. Step carefully."

Such things were more of a nuisance to Leesil than an actual danger. His sharp gaze missed nothing, and he'd found his old ways coming back to him naturally, even after many years of trying to forget them. He turned to make sure Chap didn't trip the wire, when a glowing light appeared before him.

Colors solidified in the space of a heartbeat.

Leesil was face-to-face with a beheaded man standing close enough to touch him. The dead man's partially severed head lay at an angle on one shoulder with the stump of his open, bleeding throat exposed. His torso turned sharply, swinging his head in toward Leesil's face as the lips curled into a snarl.

Leesil lurched away from the terrifying sight. But he remembered the trip wire.

His first step was high enough to clear the wire, but his footing slipped as it came down. His trailing foot's heel snagged the wire as he stumbled backward. He instinctively covered his head with his arms."

Two boards pulled loose from above, one of them striking him flatsided as it fell. The roof above him exploded as roots and churning earth gained a life of their own. He tried to see if Magiere was far enough back to escape being buried, but he didn't have time. The pattering dirt and stone falling on him suddenly became a great weight. He was slammed downward, striking the ground with crushing force.

Magiere saw Leesil turn in her direction, then stumble backward down the tunnel, an expression of horror on his face, as if he'd seen something terrible. Almost instantly an avalanche of wood, rock, and sandy soil poured from the tunnel ceiling.

"Leesil!" she screamed, thrusting a hand out to grab him, but Brenden snatched her waist from behind to pull her back.

"No, don't!" he shouted. "It's too late."

A cloud of dust enveloped them both, momentarily blinding Magiere.

As rapidly as it had started, the cave-in stopped. Heavy dust still rolled around them in the air, but Magiere could see Chap's tail and haunches and hear him whining. She wiped grime from her eyes with the back of her hand and saw the dog was already digging frantically.

"Get the dog back and take my torch," Brenden ordered.

There was not enough room in the small tunnel for two people to take action. Brenden was potentially the strongest. Magiere grabbed Chap's haunches and pulled hard and fast.

"Get back, Chap!"

Chap snarled at her viciously, either from her roughness or being stopped in his own desperate labor. Holding the dog, she took the torch from Brenden, who pushed past and began jerking and throwing boards to either side as best he could.

And then, Magiere could do nothing but stand and watch.

She hated having no control. At times, she had cursed the responsibilities that she often placed upon herself. But standing in the tunnel, watching Brenden wildly dig for Leesil, she realized that helpless spectators were worse off than those taking action. Spectators had time to think.

What if Leesil died? What good would fighting for a home and a business be if she had no one to share plans and daily events with? Leesil was the only person with whom she'd ever been able to spend immeasurable amounts of time. What did that say about her? What if he died?

She fought the urge to drop the torch, push Brenden aside and start digging herself. Instead, she held Chap back, not sure if the quiver she felt was in her own body or the vibration of the growling whine coming from the dog. With her other hand, she tried to hold the torch out to the side, giving Brenden light and allowing her to see what was happening.

The tunnel was not completely closed. Debris and earth only blocked it about halfway up. The problem was that Brenden had nowhere to throw the debris he removed. His red-tinged face glistened with exertion, but he never slowed his pace.

"Can you see him?" Magiere asked.

"No, I'm not… wait, a foot!"

"Pull! Pull him out."

She stepped back quickly, dragging Chap with her. Brenden pulled hard, almost backing into her, and a small cloud of dust rose up around them. The dust and her own fear made it seem as if Brenden had created the half-elf from nothing and pulled him into existence.

Now it was her turn. Pressing her back to the wall, she slipped around Brenden and handed him the torch so that she could kneel beside Leesil, putting her ear to his chest, then his mouth.

"He's not breathing."

Lying there, Leesil looked thinner than ever. His whole body was a single color of earth except where blood from a cut or scrape on face or hand darkened the grime clinging to him. Once, she'd seen her Aunt Bieja save a child, who had fallen into the well, by blowing air into the child's mouth.

Turning her head away from the dust, Magiere took in a deep breath. She pinched Leesil's narrow nose closed with two fingers, sealed his mouth with her own, and breathed out. His chest rose once and then fell still again.

"What are you doing?" Brenden shouted, grabbing her shoulder.

She swung back and struck his arm off of her and repeated her act again. And again. Desperation would not allow her to stop. The fifth time she made his chest rise, he coughed back into her mouth.

Magiere pulled quickly away, watching his face. "Leesil?"

He lay there motionless. Then he coughed again, dust rising out of his mouth, followed by an audible gasp as he sucked in air. She slumped over him, and relief washed through her.

"Here," Brenden said, and held out a water skin he pulled from his belt. "Try to wash out his throat, and then we'll see if any bones are broken."

Before Magiere could take the water skin, Leesil reached out and grabbed it himself. He took a mouthful, rolled to his side, and spit the water out. Then he tried to sit up.

"I'm all right," he said hoarsely. He blinked at the dirt still in his eyes. "Where's the ghost? Is it gone?"

"What ghost?" Magiere asked. Then she ordered him, "Be still." Using her fingers, she quickly probed his hands, arms, and legs. "I don't think he's injured."