Free Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 4) by Linda Mooney

11
    Beneath
     
     
                As they stared at where Fullgrath had disappeared beneath the metal surface, Kleesod launched himself off the rock platform. He belly-flopped onto the flooring, arms and legs spread-eagle, and landed with a hard thump. For several long seconds they waited for him to vanish, but he remained unmoving.
                “Why didn’t he drop?” Kelen asked.
                Mellori crouched, tilting his head to examine the surface. “Not sure, but I think his weight is too evenly distributed. Jules?” He look over at the ex-navigator. “You were recording, weren’t you?”
                “Yeah.”
                “Let me see the footage of Fullgrath going down.”
    “Hold on.” Jules made a few adjustments and turned the tablet around. The screen replayed the incident one frame at a time.
    “Hold it! There!” The engineer stared at the image, then looked over where Kleesod remained immobile. Kelen started to ask what he’d noticed, when the man rushed to the rim of the platform. Bending over, Mellori pushed on the edge of the metal. He applied more pressure until the section tilted, then shone his tube light into the recess.
    “Just as I thought. This floor is the roof of an underground cavern. It looks like a three to four meter drop.” He checked the Seneecian who hadn’t moved. “Shift your weight and it should allow you to slide down. Keep your knees soft when you land on your feet. It shouldn’t be a hard fall. Stay where you land. We’ll join you shortly.”
    Kleesod nodded. As he leaned to his left, the plating underneath his abdomen began to angle downward. He slid off, and the floor reset itself.
    Mellori pointed where the Seneecian disappeared. “Our turn. Let’s go.”
    “I will go next to catch you,” Massapa volunteered. Sitting on the edge, he pushed on the floor until it opened and silently dropped from sight.
    “Kelen, you go next,” Kyber instructed. “Tell him Dox will follow so he can catch him.”
    “Okay.”
    Falling forward was like taking a plunge into the unknown. Her heart leaped into her throat as she launched herself off the platform. She saw the trap door-like opening rise in front of her face, but instead of being swallowed in darkness, a pair of strong hands caught her mid-thigh and lowered her to the ground.
    Kelen gasped at the sight of the person who’d caught her. “Fullgrath!” Throwing her arms around the man, she gave him a big hug.
    The man chuckled and moved her to the side. “Stay close.”
    “Dox is next,” she hurried to inform them.
    Kleesod braced himself. A moment later, the young man slid into view. The Seneecian deftly caught him, then set him on the ground next to Kelen. One at a time, each person joined the group. Tojun remained above to drop their bundles of supplies, coming down when he finished.
    While everyone relocated to the lower section, Kelen studied this new area. The exact stone columns, the interlocking maze-like passageways, the translucent walls of the blocky compartments scattered within—all definitely appeared to be manmade.
    Kyber came up behind her. “It looks like a small city.”
    She started. He was right. That’s the word she’d been looking for. A city, with streets and buildings. Except the roof of every building and the sky above the streets was the same slab of metal plates rising above them.
    “Who lives here?” Jules softly asked.
    “Is it deserted?” Kyber added.
    Mellori moved ahead of them and stopped in front of one of the columns which helped support the metal ceiling. Kelen saw him run his hand up and down the stone obelisk, then unexpectedly stop. The engineer glanced at Kyber.
    “You need to check this out.”
    Curious, she walked over with Kyber to see what Mellori was pointing to. Kyber bent down to stare at the stone pillar, when Massapa let out a low growl of warning. Kelen glanced up to see the other Seneecians in a