Glory Alley and the Star Riders (The Glory Alley Series) (7 page)

She
sprinted over the wide
,
empty
,
floor
sliding to a stop in front of it.
Tiptoes strained as she licked her lips and reached out
for the most beautiful rock ever. Trembling, Glory’s fingertips made contact
.
A warm pulse came from the stone. She tried to recoil, but too late
!
It exploded into millions of stars of every color.

Blown back ten
feet
, t
iny s
tars penetrated her skin like bullets, sizzling as they quickly faded
. She glanced upward. The
rock s
at
on its stalagmite pedestal as if nothing had happened.

But something had happened
—
was
happening.

Light burst within, sending fire through her veins. She grabbed at her chest, eyes squeezed shut as some unnamed part inside burned.
Behold, the lowly are raised
, a woman’s voice sang from somewhere far away.
And the empty are filled.
Rejoice.
The words became a lullaby, lifting her higher and higher, into outer space.
Behold. The lowly are raised. And the empty are filled.
A blue and brown planet surrounded with wisps of white clouds circled a yellow star. A gray planet surrounded by red rings whizzed past followed by a huge green world orbited by a dozen moons
.

“Elboni!”
the unseen woman suddenly shouted.

The word bounced off the walls of the cavern, growing louder and louder, until Glory covered her ears. Reeling, she tried to stand, but staggered and fell.

Knees held to chest, she rocked back and forth,
squeezing tears out of the corners of her eyes.
Great discomfort gradually turned into pleasant warmth. It spread outward from beneath her heart and into limbs. Basking in waves of tranquility, she wanted the feeling to never end, but it was over all too soon, leaving Glory feeling emptier than ever.

“W
hoa
.” Hands went to helmet. “
Am I dead?
” She slid it off and felt around her skull checking for bumps, cracks, blood or any sort of damage. Everything felt in place, but she considered the possibility that she was lying unconscious somewhere dreaming all of this. “Maybe
I have the
Cold Crazies
and I’m hallucinating
,
”
she moaned.

Her eyes locked on the rock. It sure seemed real. Glory gazed at the rock with hunger and knew she must have it. Fierce emotions muddled her thoughts, but she fought to gain control.
A good s
pelunker
knew to
stay calm and continually assess the situation.

The miner’s hat had stayed in place during the explosion. The flashlight
had rolled
twenty feet away. Glory was grateful to see
that
it
was
still working. A sixth sense nagged, warning
her
not to linger, so on hands and knees she scurried to the flashlight and tucked it under an armpit determined to take this
tremendous discovery
with her. One problem though. A rock that size
wo
uld be difficult to lift,
yet alone lug it all the way home.

Glory stood by the curly stalagmite holding the prize staring
in awe, bracing
for another show of fireworks
. Slowly, carefully, she winced
as
fingertips
touched
its
smooth surface.

This time nothing happened
.

Hopes drooped, but at least this meant she could take the rock without fear of another explosion. She hefted it from its base. Contrary to appearance, the stone was light in weight, no heavier than a jug of milk.

Glory dropped it into the backpack
with
less extraordinary specimens. Then she
heard that sniffing sound again. This time it was
followed by a low growl.

Spinning
around
, she aimed her light this way and that, until it landed on a slab of white rock. The rock appeared to be breathing.

Glory’s heart jumped to her throat.

The slab turned her way. Red eyes the size of dinner plates glowed back at her.

Glory froze as a
giant head came into the flashlight’s beam.
It had a huge doggish muzzle, pointed black ears, and a white hide like scorched rock. It stood eight foot tall at the shoulder. Brown, thorn-like protrusions speckled its body. Fangs that looked like railroad spikes dripped with saliva.

Everything went
numb at
the sight of the beast’s blazing glare. It stared at her with teeth bared. A guttural growl filled the cavern. All she could do was stare back with mouth agape.

The creature leapt, shattering a lacy awning of mineral icicles. Glory dove forward, ducking beneath its outstretched paws. The devil-dog landed on the ground behind her and turned to snap at the back of her neck
.

Glory darted through a grove of stalagmite trees and ran toward the fissure she had entered by, sliding into the narrow opening just before the beast overtook her.

Too big to enter the crack, the hellish hound clawed madly at the entrance. Panting heavily, Glory doused the light under her jacket. The world was pitch black
. Everything
fell quiet.

Had the beast given-up? Sweat dripped down
her
face and back.
The idea of f
lipping on the flashlight,
exposing her whereabouts, seemed suicidal, but
navigating the caves without
light would be equally deadly.

Glory switched it on, and glanced upward just in time to see a thick glob of drool coming right at her face
.
Splat, it oozed down her cheek
.

T
he creature had climbed to the top of the shelf and planned to tear her out of the crevice.
Glory let out a strangled whimper. The creature
snarled and pushed its head down through the rock. The thick sinews in the beast’s neck flexed as it strained to reach her.

She
flattened herself on h
er
back to avoid being chomped.
Glory
hugged her bag and prayed like crazy. Every muscle rigid, she expected to be ripped to shreds. When it didn’t happen, she opened one eye to see that the beast’s head was too big to fully penetrate the crack. Finally, it ran off, barking like a hundred hounds before a foxhunt.

There might be other ways out of the caverns, but Glory only knew of the one at the top of the mesa.
Uh-oh,
her insides twisted in alarm,
what if it sniffs out my trail
?
She gathered her footing and slithered out of the crack as fast as
s
he could.

It was a race to the entrance at the top of the hill. Glory’s legs pumped, heart pounded
, adrenaline surged like a firestorm through her veins.
After sliding down an unexpected dip in the cave's floor, she stopped. Head jerking, she bounced the beam of the flashlight from wall to wall.
Exit, where’s my exit?
E
yes fell upon the freshly painted arrows marking the way to the top.

Energy renewed, she
sprinted over rocks
. A wide jump, one that always frightened her even on good days, was coming up.

For a second she
considered dropping the beautiful black stone to lighten the load, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She tipped her backpack, letting everything fall out, then hastily returned only the essentials—flashlight, water, and her newest acquisition.
Zipping the
backpack
on
ce
again
,
s
he pressed its weight against her stomach
to keep it from bouncing
as she ran.

The barking got closer.

The urge to huddle into a cowering ball of jelly threatened to overwhelm her. Pull yourself together, don’t give into the fear. Fight it.

The caves echoed with barking.

Run. Her legs felt like soggy mush.
Run.

Here comes the jump!
She sprang with all her might. Never had she cleared it with so much room to spare, but when her feet hit the ground on the other side
,
her
flashlight dim
m
ed.
No! S
he nearly cried
at the thought of being entombed in total darkness with the devil dog in pursuit
, but tears were for wimps.
Flashlight, d
on’t fail me now
!
She smacked the plastic casing and the light dimmed further.

Growls seemed to
come from everywhere. Glory had descended into the caves enough times to know that the hard walls deceived the senses. The beast could be a mile away or only a few feet. What was a giant monster dog doing at
the bottom of a dark cave anyway
?
Up ahead a patch of bright yellow on the putty-colored wall came into view. Sunlight
!
Anticipation pushed her legs faster. Almost to the top, I can do this, not much further.

Thunderous barking erupted from behind. She dared to steal a glance and
saw a mass of white muscle and fangs closing the gap between them.
Yikes!
She lost balance, tumbled across the rocky floor, and veered to the left. The creature tried to halt, but skidded past until its front paws caught on a crack in the floor. It somersaulted out of control toward the cave’s opening, stopping just outside the entrance.

When the rays of the sun hit its body, the creature’s hide burned away like paper touched to a flame, creating a spreading black ring over its haunches.
With an ear-piercing yelp
,
it scrambled back into the cave, thrashed about,
and
crash
ed
from wall to wall in a blind fit. Boulders and chunks of rock fell
,
filling the cavern with dust. Glory curled
into a
ball
to
shield
her
head and face.