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CHAPTER NINETEEN

THOSE KULASHKASstill alive and alert to the danger fled for the doorway Some made it to safety, but most were trapped beneath the pillars and roof, which caved in around the to rabbed asped

"There’s no other way out!" I screa me away froreen eyes darting fro debris

"We’re in fer it now!" Spits hollered, popping up beside us, eyes alight with crazy drunken glee "Face the heavenly stairs and cough up yer prayers!"

Harkat ignored the ex-pirate, dodged a chunk of heavyup and down on the spot I thought he’d lost his one through earlier Twigging to his plan, I bounced up and down beside hiile floorboards I didn’t kno deep the pit was beneath, or if we’d be safe in it, but we couldn’t fare any worse below than up here

"What in the devil’s naot no further, because at that point the floor gave way and the three of us plu wildly as we fell

We landed in a heap several metres beneath the temple, on a hard stone floor, Spits on top of Harkat and , I shoved Spits off - he’d been knocked out during the landing - and looked up I saw part of the roof give way far overhead and coed Spits off to one side, cursing at Harkat to follow There was a fierce, thunderous roar at our heels as we only just cleared the section of falling roof, which exploded upon contact with the floor and showered us with splinters and chips of stone

Coughing - the force of the impact had raised a thick cloud of dust - we pushed ahead blindly, dragging Spits between us, into darkness and e hoped was safety fro Temple of the Grotesque After several franticwith my hands, I said, "I think it’s a tunnel - but it drops sharply!"

"If it gets covered over - we’ll be trapped," Harkat said

There was a heavy bang overhead and the floorboards above us creaked ominously "We don’t have a choice!" I yelled, and crawled into the tunnel, bracing ainst the walls with my hands and feet Harkat shoved Spits after h to acco near the top of the tunnel a few seconds, listening to the sounds of the destruction I peered down the tunnel, but there was no light, and no way of telling how long it was Spits’s body weighed a ton andin with h "We have to slide!" I bellowed

"What if we can’t get - back up?" Harkat asked

"One crisis at a ti my body to shoot down the tunnel It was a short, fast ride The tunnel dropped sharply for radually levelled out I came to a stop several seconds later at the end of the tunnel, where I stretched out a foot, searching for the floor I hadn’t found it when the unconscious Spits barrelled into the back ofout into open space

I opened round before I could - the mouth of the tunnel was only a ot to my knees - and was promptly knocked flat when Spits toppled out on top of ain when Harkat shot out of the tunnel and bowledhimself off "Are you OK?"

"I feel like I’ve been run over by a stearoaned, then sat up and took deep breaths of thecrushed by - the te through the tunnel decreased and then ceased

"For whatever good it’ll be," I grunted I couldn’t see round cavern "If there’s no way out, we’ll face a slow,we’d been squashed by a falling pillar"

Beside ible There was the sound of hihts gone?"

"The lights, Spits?" I asked innocently

"I can’t see!" he gasped "It’s pitch black’"

"Really?" I said, eager to punish his up with the Kulashkas "Ican see fine How about you, Harkat?"

"Perfectly," Harkat ht"

"My eyes!" Spits howled "I’ him the truth He berated us with so him, but soon caluess alk," I answered, "and see where we end up We can’t go back, and there are walls to the left and right?" I could tell by the echoes of our voices "?so it’s straight ahead until a choice presents itself"

"I blaone prancing about in that bloody teh the fields noith all the fresh air in the world t’ breathe"