Free The Ark of Dun Ruah, Book 1 by Maria Burke

hunting him down. They were closing in fast.
    â€˜There he is,’ he heard an eagle cry. There was no escape. Desperately, he plunged deeper into the undergrowth. Then the ground gave way. He fell.
    â€˜Wooooaaaaa …’
    Down, down, down. Simon fell through a deep, dark hole in the ground. On and on he went until he realised that his body was touching the sides of a steep shaft. Careering downwards at top speed, his heart raced. The sides of the shaft were smooth and he sped onwards deep into the earth. Then he landed with a heavy thump on what felt like a soft bed of leaves. He sat for a moment in total darkness wondering if he was dead or alive. A gentle breeze cooled his face and the faint sound of trickling water stirred him to life. Simon reached inside his jacket and rooted around for one of his many boxes of matches. He fished out a long, narrow match and struck it. To his relief it flared into a bright beam of light. He looked around and gasped.
    â€˜It’s a labyrinth of caves!’
    Simon stared in amazement at the glistening walls that surrounded him. He could see little waterfalls cascading down one end of the cave while the gnarled roots of old trees twisted around the other walls in interwoven patterns. The waterfalls flowed into a pond, which joined a stream and disappeared into an enormous white marbled archway leading on to other caverns beyond. Simon got to his feet and started following the stream. He went through the arch and on into a lofty chamber of sheer white marble, keeping to a narrow ledge just above the water level. Many other caves and passages branched off this one.
    â€˜If I stay beside the stream,’ Simon reasoned, ‘it will lead me towards the sea, where I can try to find help.’
    The stream gradually grew wider and the ledge he trod on became narrower. He was afraid that the ledge would become too narrow to balance on and that he would have to turn away from the watercourse.
    Suddenly, he came upon a boat. It was sitting on a tiny ledge that appeared just below the ledge he walked on. The boat was old, with the paint falling off but it looked intact. Simon jumped down to the lower ledge and hauled the little boat into the water, testing it for any sign of leaks. It had no oars and there were none to be found anywhere around it. But it looked dry and solid. He stepped into the boat and let it drift down the stream.
    As the boat moved forward the stream broadened into a river. Other streams fed it from adjoining channels and it began to pick up speed. In the distance he became aware of a gurgling sound and a loud swishing of water. The boat moved swiftly as a current began to gather. Before he could think of a way to steer it to safety the boat was in the centre of the rushing current.
    â€˜It’s out of control,’ Simon gasped. ‘I’ve got to hang on to this boat or I’m done for. And I’ll do it if it takes every ounce of strength I’ve got left!’
    The boat rushed on down a long, narrow tunnel and through more caves. The roar of water was almost deafening as it plunged through a huge circular cave. To his horror, Simon saw that the boat was skirting around the edge of a whirlpool.
    â€˜Help, someone help me!’ Simon shouted over the noise of the rushing water.
    He was swirling around the whirlpool faster now and getting dangerously close to the centre. He knew that when he hit the eye of the whirlpool the boat would be pulled under with the strength of the current. Simon realised he was now in serious trouble. The boat was falling apart. Bits of painted wood flew everywhere.
    Simon felt his legs being pulled down as the water sucked him under. He was dragged underwater with the torrential current until he felt himself being flung to the bottom of the pool. He had a terrible urge to breathe but he held on, dying for air and hoping that he would be released from the great surge of water. Just when he thought he