The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild-Palmer (best short novels of all time .TXT) 📕

“Yes,” said Cecilia, approaching the door in a sort of trance.

“Excellent. Now, as you leave your room, turn left and walk straight along the corridor. You will pass two doors one each side. When you get to the end of the passage, climb the staircase directly in front of you. Call on me when you get to the top and I will meet you there, outside Hexagon Hall. Is that clear?”

Cecilia had already begun the journey. “Thank you, Doltha, I’ll find my way.”

“Call me if you need me,” Doltha replied.

Cecilia walked along the passage, passing the doors Doltha had mentioned, and took the stairs to a landing where a window looked out into the Deep. There was no glass as such, just a bubble made of the silvery substance she had found herself stuck in. Cecilia climbed the rest of the stairs where she waited for Doltha to come out. She stood in a small atrium covered in moss and gemstones and hand-painted tiles that seemed to depict the history of the tunnels, the dwellers and the Divers.

Doltha popped her head around a small wooden door and met her in the middle of the small space.

“Did you call? I didn’t hear you.”

“I just needed a moment to prepare to meet everyone,” said Cecilia, just shy of a whisper.

“Everyone is very excited to meet you,” Doltha said.

Cecilia’s nervousness felt like it had transformed into hundreds of creepy-crawlies inside her and they were making her hands tremble. “It’s OK, they don’t bite,” said Doltha as she turned to lead the way. Cecilia noticed that when Doltha smiled her eyes made two dark crescents.

Doltha took Cecilia’s hand in hers and pushed open the door to the Hexagon Hall.

“Awesome” was the only word to describe the six-sided room that looked very much like a chapel. The roof was painted with an elaborate frieze that resembled a bright star with lots of other scenes of the dwellers connected to it. There were four more members of the Diving Council sitting around a large limestone hexagonal slab, which had a separate gemstone plinth located a few feet away from it. The members of the Diving Council were all smiling at Cecilia, and one of them rose to his feet and thrust his hand in Cecilia’s direction eagerly.

“Hi, Cecilia, pleased to meet you. I’m Owen.” Owen was a seal-face with big shiny eyes right out of a cartoon; he was only a pup.

Cecilia sat down in an unoccupied seat next to Doltha. “Hi,” she whispered back.

Cecilia noticed that the elemental sphere—her marble—was stationed at the centre of the table on a mossy cushion. The cushion was glowing with tiny blue flecks all around it, and she felt a twinge of excitement surge through her upon seeing it again. It was amazing how quickly her marble had taken on a whole new status! It meant so much more than she could have ever imagined. It was something really special to the dwellers and their society.

Gaia stood up and raised all of her tentacles in the air to signify that the meeting was officially beginning. When there was silence Gaia held up a glassy spear with a crystal handgrip. Each of the members of the council followed suit until all the spears were held in the air. With a swift flick up and down, Gaia’s spear lit up bright blue. Each of the members of the council took it in turns to hold up their spears and copied the action until the room turned blue.

“We’re ready to proceed in delivering the plan we have devised,” said a cat-face, letting out a gentle purr as she spoke.

“That’s Jestyna,” Doltha whispered into Cecilia’s brain. Jestyna was sleek and black and she looked pretty strong. Cecilia suspected she could pose quite a threat to the Corvus Community.

“There are two essential aims of the mission,” Jestyna continued. “To release Mr Sparks back into the lake, and to reinstall the elemental sphere.”

Jestyna sat down, and a rather handsome wolf-face chap took over.

“Our main concerns are the safety of Mr Sparks when he is in transition to the lake and if there will be enough water to hold him when he arrives.”

“Do we have a plan if this were not the case?” asked Gaia with a very serious expression on her face.

“Not exactly,” said the wolf-face, sitting back down.

“Thank you, Adriene. Are there any suggestions for how we can secure enough water for Mr Sparks if he is returned safely to the lake?”

Cecilia feebly raised her hand.

“Yes, Cecilia, please stand. What are your thoughts?” Gaia asked.

“It’s a long shot but could we not request that the dwellers lend their tears one last time while we return the elemental sphere to its rightful place?” She quickly sat back down when she had finished and Doltha patted her proudly on the back.

There was some mumbling and conferring among the council before Gaia spoke again.

“It is not a bad idea; it would take some rallying around. But we shan’t rule it out.”

“What if we transferred him to the Deep?” suggested Owen.

“No, that won’t work,” said the final member of the council left to speak. He had been standing in the shadows behind Owen and now Cecilia could see why: he was a shark-face and although he didn’t come across as scary, he looked very fierce.

“Don’t be alarmed by Rory,” Doltha whispered to Cecilia. “He’s a great guy; very, very smart and extremely fast!”

“Mr Sparks needs to be returned to the lake. Who knows what the Deep would do to him. He could be lost for eternity!” said Rory.

“Oh dear,” said Cecilia, hardly making a sound.

“Plus, we don’t know how damaged he will be. Jacques d’Or has used Mr Sparks as a pure source of light in and of himself by hooking up his thousands of tentacles to silicon tubes that span the entire network of tunnels for a very long time now.” Rory started to circle the hexagonal table as he spoke.

“For those members of our party who