As Ward Volkan sprints down the cobblestone road, Ward Thorn follows just behind him. I rush after them but Ward Amon slows me till we’re jogging along.
“Careful, I don’t want you wearying yourself to death,” Ward Amon says. “You will be of no help to anyone, then.”
By the time we reach the commotion, there are people everywhere around rocks piled along the side of the mountain. I make out metal carts and picks nearby and spot people, mostly men, with dust on their hands and knees. Miners, I guess, having escaped the collapsed mine.
Ward Thorn and Ward Volkan are amongst the people, hurrying to pull rocks off and helping people out of the rubble. I spot a number of injured folks and hurry to one man with a nasty gash on his side. Ward Amon splits off to help Ward Thorn and Ward Volkan.
“Lie down,” I say to the man.
“There’s still so many people in there!” the man says.
I look back. The three Wards are hurrying to lift boulders and set them aside, while citizens of Adytol work around them to carry much smaller rocks away. Slowly, people are pulled out of the debris, some of them badly injured, but so far all appear to be alive. Vitegadium and Tikokaftos, who weren’t far, arrive in short order, carefully landing in the street, their wings beating up a bit of dust and dirt.
“Oh no!” Vitegadium says. The dragons hurry forward and using their noses to push boulders to the side.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get these off,” Tikokaftos says.
Turning back, I pick up a towel nearby, shake it loose of dirt, and shred it. Kneeling beside the man, I wrap the towel around his waist, tying it tight. As my hands work, I peer over and see someone with a wound on their head, bleeding through his fingers.
“Stay still,” I say. “I need to help others.”
“Th-thank you,” the man says.
Nodding, I hurry over to the other injured man. His head wound looks bad, and I spend a little more time bandaging his head and guide a couple of people around me to maneuver him carefully to the side. I spot two people trying to lift an injured miner up that has his hand on his neck, and I rush over.
“Wait, wait!” I drop to my knees beside him. I run my hangs along his spine carefully, and feel all sorts of bones and ligaments out of joint. How he’s still able to move his foot that taps on a rock, I’m not sure, but I beckon the people around him back. “Do not move him. He’s in danger of being paralyzed. Head Nurse Jaye will have to look at his neck.” I find a piece of wood and very carefully set this against his neck and wrap it around, trying to stabilize his head.
Feeling the pressure on my heart lessen, I look up to see the glistening white scales of Astralux as she comes flying over an edge of the mountain. She circles once and then lands skillfully amongst the people, even arching her wings to not draw up quite so much dust. “I heard the commotion,” she says. “Mine collapsed?”
“Yes.” Tikokaftos noses a boulder away. “And there’s still people trapped inside!”
Astralux glances at me but we both look away quickly. I resume working on the splint. Just as I finish, I sneak a peek over to see Astralux using her nose to burrow a little bit and lift boulders before carefully setting them to the side along the mountain’s wall.
“Careful!” a miner shouts.
There’s a rumble from the mine and people scatter as rocks shift, a couple more tumbling down. Astralux uses her shoulder to knock aside a rock, keeping it from hitting a couple of civilians. I feel the slightest pain in my shoulder—the rocks must have hit her hard.
“That mine is still unstable,” Ward Thorn says.
“What else is news?” Ward Volkan snaps.
“Is that everyone?” Ward Amon asks what I gather is the head miner.
The older man peers around, taking in the injured folk around. “Call out if yer here!
Voices start shouting, some of the miners giving their names, while some of the civilians, tending to the injured, note who they are working on. I don’t know the name of the man whose arm I’m trying to set, and I beckon Ward Thorn over, as the man is a little dazed. “Do you know who this is?”
Ward Thorn peers down. “I think this is one of the Smiths. Can’t remember his first name.” He looks up at the head miner. “Hey Kamen! I think we’ve got a Smith over here.”
“That’s Dustin then.” Kamen nods and looks around. “We’re still missing Henry.”
People call out to one another, trying to find a “Henry,” but no one answers. Ward Thorn shares a look with Vitegadium and then hurries to the rock. He leans his head toward it, frowning. Listening, I realize.
“Henry!” Ward Thorn shouts through the rocks.
“Oh, Ariadna help us, we’ve lost Henry,” someone whispers.
“Hold on.” Ward Thorn remains very still, listening intently. “I hear someone calling. Henry!” he shouts.
Ward Volkan comes over, listening. “I hear him too!”
“Then what are we waiting for?!” Tikokaftos starts to nose aside several boulders. But the entire wall of rocks beings to tumble and slide everywhere again, and people are forced to flee farther back.
“Stop, it’s too unstable!” Ward Thorn shouts. “We could crush him.”
Ward Amon looks over the rocks with a critical gaze. A frown slowly begins to form on his face and he glances at the other two Wards. He whispers to them, and I catch the words “…not able to save him.”
“But, but we can’t….” Ward Volkan trails off, staring at the rocks.
“Wait,” Ward Thorn says. “There’s a small opening here.” He starts to crawl in, much to my worry. But then he stops, shaking his head. “I’m just a little too big.”
“If you’re too big, I won’t fit,” Ward Volkan mutters.
I glance down at my petite frame. Then I hurriedly finish bandaging the miner’s foot I’m working on, instructing the people around him to keep his foot elevated. Standing, I make my way over to the Wards.
“I’m sorry.” Ward Amon puts his hand on Kamen’s shoulder. “We’ll keep trying, but we don’t know where Henry is. And there’s a good chance…well. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, Henry.” Kamen looks over the mine’s entrance. “It’s all my fault. We’d heard rumbling, but—”
“—What’s the layout of the mines?” I ask. I don’t like to interrupt people, but there probably isn’t much time for Henry. “Is there just one hall?”
“One hall for a bit, but then it opens into a larger room, and then we were starting another path off to the west,” Kamen says.
“Where was Henry?” I ask. I look over the miners nearby. “Where was he at?”
“He was working in the new path to the west,” a miner pipes up, one of the few women of the crew. She’s sitting on the ground, tears streaming down her face. “He was pro’ly running way behind us to get out.”
I nod once and go over to the opening Ward Thorn had noticed. It is small and tight. But as I kneel, peering inside, I realize I could squeeze between these rocks.
“Astralux,” I say. Her name on my lips is odd, since a part of me is still mad at her for using me. But now isn’t the time for our arguments. I look up at the white dragon, who has already come close to me. “Can you breathe in-between the rocks?”
Astralux nods and lowers her head. She opens her mouth and breaths through, and I make out that enough large rocks have fallen that there are many gaps.
Standing, I find a loose rope piled nearby and tie this around my waist. I hold the other hand to Ward Thorn. “I’m going in.”
“Estelle!” Astralux exclaims.
“I can fit,” I say. “Once I figure out where Henry is, maybe I can guide you to us.”
Ward Thorn’s dark green eyes stare at me. He shares a look with Ward Volkan, who gapes at me. “You’re, you’re serious,” Tikokaftos says.
I shove the rope’s end into Ward Thorn’s hand. “If I tug three times quickly pull me back, but go slow, because I’ll probably have to crawl back along the rocks.”
Ward Thorn finally grabs the rope, closing his mouth and giving a nod. “I will.”
Ward Amon grabs my arm. “Estelle, you can’t go in there!” he says. “There’s no point in you going and dying too!”
I look from Ward Amon to the rock slide. My ears can hear just the faintest shout. Then I look up at Astralux, her dark blue eyes locked onto me.
The white dragon heaves a sigh. “Close your eyes.”
I shut my eyes just as Astralux opens her mouth. I feel a rush of wind pass me, and hear quite a few people gasp. I peek an eye open to see that Astralux has bathed me in her light breath, and I’m literally glowing.
“I didn’t know you could do that Astralux!” Vitegadium says.
“I didn’t either,” Astralux says, a bit sheepishly. “I don’t think it will last long, though.”
“Thank you.” I put my hand on her neck just once, suddenly sad to leave her. Then I turn and wriggle in-between the rocks. It’s a tight squeeze, and only a few rocks in I worry that I won’t be able to go any farther. But then I spot another opening to the side and scurry through.
“Estelle?” Ward Thorn calls. “How is it going so far?”
“Good,” I say. It’s slow but steady, and I start to find a pattern weaving my way. I bump my head on a rock and dimly hear Astralux growl. “Sorry,” I call back.
Ward Volkan’s loud laugh filters through the rocks. “It’s Astralux, she deserves a little for everything she put Tristin through.”
I smile as I hear chuckles from the Wards. The light around me begins to fade, but with my improved eyesight I find that it’s not too dark just yet. I make it a little farther, scraping my elbows and knees on a couple of sharp rocks, and then pause, listening. “Henry?” I call.
“Help!” a voice wheezes, so faint, from somewhere ahead.
I realize I should have brought medical supplies as I continue crawling through the dusty darkness. What if I get there and Henry’s bleeding too much to even rescue? What if I get there and Henry needs a splint to keep him from being paralyzed? What if he’s already paralyzed?
Frowning, I shake my head at myself. Mom said once that worrying about what could be kept you from focusing on what was present. And right now, my goal was to find Henry.
I can just hear the Wards shout through the rocks when I realize that the sound echoes a little more. I peer up between the rocks and discover that I’ve reached the cavern Kamen had been talking about.
“Henry!” I call.
“Here!” a voice says from a pile of rocks. “Is, is that a woman?”
“I’m coming to you,” I say. Sliding over a large boulder, I carefully land on a pile of rocks on the other side, almost able to stand up. And then I freeze, seeing a hand sticking out from rocks not half a meter from where my feet landed. “Henry?”
“Here,” the voice says again, this time from underneath me. I finally spot an eye looking up at me from between three large rocks, half this man’s face visible. “Oh, praise Ariadna!” Henry wheezes.
Oh Ariadna, help me to save this man that’s already buried in a crumbling mine, without getting buried with him!
Tamara Rivers 
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