“Fine, but a normal torch only.”
Brandt struck the flint. Working in complete darkness, it took him more tries than usual, but eventually the torch caught.
As soon as it did, the darkness no longer pressed against him. He took his first deep breath in what felt like ages and rolled his shoulders back.
Ana wasted no time. As soon as the fire burned, Brandt imagined she had started a timer in her head. He followed her, studying their prison with an eye for escape.
Their initial examination was thorough, but revealed nothing promising.
Brandt swore. “How can this cave not have a second exit?”
If a bandit used this place to hide, they would have had a second way out. No criminal ever voluntarily cornered themselves.
Ana, of course, had an answer. Already she was thinking ahead of him.
“Maybe it does, but it’s sealed with stone.”
Brandt mentally kicked himself. Of course. If their target was strong enough to seal an entire passage, he was confident enough to seal up his other routes to prevent the accidental discovery of his cave. “If that’s true, though, he would want to leave it thin, right?” He was disappointed by the lack of courage in his voice.
Ana shrugged.
Brandt forced himself to hope. The conclusion made sense. If the man had left an escape, he would want to make it as accessible as possible. “Let’s look again.”
Their second search was slower. They ran their hands up and down the rock, searching for any clue, any trace of the other exit. Brandt’s first torch began sputtering, so he lit the second and extinguished what was left of the first. Once the second burned down, the darkness would return, likely forever.
Brandt didn’t think about that. They would find their way out. There had to be a second exit.
“Brandt.”
He turned. Ana was farther along the wall, her hands running up and down a section nearly opposite of the passage that had brought them in. He walked over to her.
She pointed at the stone and Brandt ran his hands along it.
There.
Like on the cliffs outside, a slightly raised edge, as straight as a ruler. His heart skipped a beat as he traced the outline of the disturbance.
The second exit was small. Ana would fit easily enough, but it would be a tight squeeze for him.
But how thick was the covering stone?
Brandt took the hilt of one of his daggers and rapped it against the wall. It sounded like solid rock to him.
He wouldn’t despair. There had to be a way for them to open this second passage.
Brandt’s second torch flickered. They didn’t have long. “Any ideas?”
Ana shook her head.
Brandt kicked at the stone a few times, earning a bruised heel for his efforts.
They sat back, staring at the rock. Ana pulled out her small waterskin and took a sip. She handed it over to Brandt. He was about to drink when he had an idea, inspired by the skin. “We could crack it.”
Ana looked skeptical. “How?”
“I’ll heat it rapidly, then you cool it.”
Ana considered the proposal. “Is there enough heat?”
It was Brandt’s turn to shrug. “We still have the fire. I would pull all that I can.”
Ana considered for a moment. “We won’t have more than a chance, maybe two. If it fails, we’re out of options.”
“True, but I can’t think of anything else.”
Ana thought for a while. Then she nodded. “Let’s try.”
They went to work. The majority of the task fell on Brandt. Pulling the heat necessary to crack the stone would require almost everything available. He lit the stave of the first torch with the flames from the second. He placed the burning stave near the hidden passage.
He gave Ana one last look. “I’ll give you a signal when I’m ready.”
She nodded.
Brandt turned back to the wall. He closed his eyes and listened for the song of the fire. He reached out with his will as far as he could.
Then he pulled.
He caught the heat from the burning stave, some heat from their bodies, and the heat from the air. Goosebumps formed on his skin as the cave air froze around them. He kept pulling, collecting as much as he dared.
The stave burned out, all the heat stolen from it. Their last torch flickered.
When he had pulled as much as he deemed safe, he pushed the heat into the stone, forcing it in like an oversized blanket into a small box. As he pushed, the heat tried to escape, to diffuse throughout the mountain. Brandt grimaced as he held it tight within the rock that sealed the escape. He nodded at Ana.
While he had collected heat, she had gathered water.
She pushed the water at the stone, the liquid turning into steam on contact.
Brandt lost his focus when he heard the stone crack. He opened his eyes.
The torch flickered wildly, barely holding on to its remaining flame. In the dim torchlight, Brandt saw deep gouges in the stone.
But no light.
Ana leaned in closer. After a moment, she sat back. “It worked, but not enough. The wall is thicker than I hoped.”
She left their other fears unspoken. They were only guessing the altered stone was a passage. If it wasn’t, they were wasting their efforts. Brandt picked at the gouges with the tip of his dagger, but the stone resisted the blade.
“I want to try again,” Brandt said.
“The effort alone might kill us. I can probably collect enough water, but what about heat?”
“I can do it.”
Ana sighed. She didn’t believe him, but she would follow him. “All or nothing, right?”
“Always.”
“If you freeze me to death, I will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“That’s fair.”
They collected themselves. Brandt closed his eyes and felt around the cave. He had gathered everything
