“Danny, it’s Lady Shawna. Can you hear me? I know that you must be very frightened. We’re going to get to you. If you could talk to me, it would help. Are you there?”
She heard a whimpering again and then a soft, “Aye!”
“I’m going to reach you…”
“Y’cannot,” the little boy said.
“Why?”
“A—rock fell. A big rock.”
“We’re going to move the rock.”
She heard the whimpering again. The soft cry of a child, a little boy. But then she heard words with soft resolve. “Don’t come. You’ll get caught, too.”
“Daniel, I’m not leaving you in there.”
She wasn’t going to leave him. But there was suddenly a firm tug on her ankles, and she heard her great-uncle’s angry voice. “Shawna, get out of there. I care not if you’re the lady. I’ll wrench you out over my knee if you do not choose to obey me before the whole of this place falls! The walls must be shored up, you know nothing of mining?—”
“I know this child will smother if we don’t get him out!”
Her own words died away. She gritted her teeth and pulled hard against the rocks in the shaft floor, dragging her ankles out of his reach.
She heard Gawain swear vociferously.
Then, as the sound of his voice faded, she went still, because the little boy was talking. To someone else.
“Aye!”
To her amazement, she heard childish laughter and again another, “Aye!”
“Danny?” she whispered.
“I’ll ride the beastie!” she heard.
“No, no, Danny, listen to me.”
“Can y’not hear the water?”
“Danny!” she cried with alarm. She heard his laughter again, fading away. Then it did seem that she heard a lap of water against rock.
“Danny!” she cried. “Danny!”
No answer. The boy was gone. He had been deluded in the darkness. He had gone mad from lack of oxygen. He had crawled farther into the shaft, he had fallen into some kind of an underground waterway, and he was…
“No, no, oh god, no!” she cried. Then she gasped. Someone had come behind her.
“Leave me!” she cried, fighting the hold upon her. “Danny!” she cried again. “Danny?”
Still no answer. Nothing. Nothing at all.
She was firmly tugged upon. Still, she fought to free herself. To no avail. Someone had a solid hold of her ankles, and she was being dragged from the shaft.
“Danny! Answer me!”
But there was no answer, and time was against her. Seconds passed, minutes.
“Danny, Danny, Danny, please.”