As quickly as a striking snake, Sabit moved to shield Allamu from the rain of stone with the only defense at hand. With a mighty lunge, she grabbed the boar pole and hurled it—boar and all—across the mouth of the pit. It diverted smaller pieces of rubble from their deadly course. A massive chunk of boulder fell hard, smashing the pole—the force of the impact causing the debris to spin. Jamming in the mouth of the pit, the boulder kept other large rocks from plummeting into the pit.
Leaping out of the way of the collapsing rubble, Sabit tried to make her way to the pit. Each time, a new fall of stones drove her back. By the time the rockfall tapered off and the dust settled, there was only a pile of rubble where the pit mouth had once stood.
Sabit attempted to clear the debris, tossing aside stones with fervor. Several of the fallen rocks were larger than Sabit herself. She could not move them.
“Sabit! Wensa!” came Allamu’s cry from below. His voice was small and distorted by strange echoes.
“Allamu! Are you hurt?” Sabit called.
“Both of us are unhurt,” replied Melcior. “Batuul’s wrath has blocked this passage to the surface. Deeper, the passage is clear. We two will proceed to see His Honor in the sacred chamber. Go to the farther entrance to the caves and ensure it is clear for our return. I will bring your friend to you after His Honor has seen him.”
“No!” shouted Wensa, emerging from beneath a rocky overhang. She strode up to Sabit and thrust her finger at the crouching warrior woman. “Allamu came to this evil place to save you, and it has trapped him in a hole in the ground. If there is another way down there, you will show me the way and I will bring him back out to the sun and the sea.”
Lifting her fallen spear, Sabit stood up. Wensa had drawn herself up to her full height, which was nearly two heads shorter than the spear woman. Even as Sabit glowered down at her, Wensa’s mask of determination did not falter.
Sabit tightened her grip on her spear and spoke, “We will bring him out together.”
—–
Wayfarings of Sabit: Isle of the Wicked is copyright (c) 2016 by Michael S. Miller. All rights reserved. New chapters post every weekday. You can support this and other stories on Patreon: https://patreon.com/michaelsmiller