Read Elements (Tear of God Book 1) for Free Online Page A

scout’s cave before slamming a fist into the rock, bringing their drop to an abrupt end that didn’t agree with Mink’s gonads. The discomfort was aggravated each time his mom drove a fist or foot into the cliff face for a makeshift hold.
    “Dad says to take it easy before you shake him off the cliff,” he lied.
    Nyam did make smoother progress, but by then they were only a few feet above the cave opening. She swung into the tunnel. Mink held the glow crystal aloft and the light filled an impressive amount of the tunnel’s length. His mom rushed to the edge of the light and stopped so fast that Mink struggled to keep his grasp on the crystal.
    “Try to keep the light out of my eyes, please,” Nyam said. “I need to see.”
    “Give me little warning on the stop-and-go and I’ll still have arms to hold it.”
    “See any other tunnels yet? Still a straight shot?”
    Mink lifted the crystal high over his head. “I think it’s straight. I didn’t exactly—“ Mink got cut off by Nyam zipping to the edge of the light once more. He looked back to the pinhole-sized opening of the cave. It resembled a lone star in a sea of night. Holding the crystal directly above, he searched for any paths they might have missed.
    “Much better. Keep it just like that,” Nyam said. “I can see a bit further. That, or my eyes are adjusting, finally.”
    Before Mink could respond, they sprinted twice the distance they had already gone. There was a time when he loved his mom’s sprinting, but unfamiliar territory and dim light were such killjoys. She veered a few times and then slowed to a gradual stop.
    “Better stop? More comfortable?”
    “Yes. Thanks.” Mink looked forward with raised crystal. “I think I see a few tunnels ahead.”
    “Me, too. That’s why I stopped. Any idea which way?”
    “Hold on.” Mink checked in with his dad. “Hey, Dad? Can you hear me?”
    “Yes. Go ahead.” Juré’s voice sounded so clear that Mink looked over his shoulder.
    “We’re at the first junction, I think. Any memory?”
    “He explored three tunnels there. The one on the right should lead to the stone.”
    The right tunnel felt like the way. “We agree to go right.”
    No sooner had Mink spoke than Nyam shot down the right tunnel. The floor sloped downward at a sharp angle and, judging by the jostling Mink felt, Nyam hadn’t expected that. Once the floor leveled out again, she slowed to a stop.
    “That was close, wasn’t it?” she said, catching her breath.
    “Mom. Just don’t tell me these things.”
    “Fair enough. Sorry. So, looks like this is just an open cavern. See a way out?”
    Mink scanned the walls for a crack, shadow, or any indication of a continued path. No obvious tunnels in sight, Mink worried that the way forward would be narrow and he would wind up scraped over several yards of sandstone.
    “Just don’t take off until I can confirm anything. It might be too narrow. But the direction to the crystal should be about twenty degrees to the left.”
    “What about that crevice right there?” Nyam pointed to a sliver of black running up the far wall about thirty degrees from center.
    “Maybe. Lemme just check—”
    Nyam reached the crevice in question with three very quick strides. It was wider than it looked from across the room. Wider than the two of them shoulder to shoulder and several yards tall, the crevice bent off to the left, not the right as Mink had hoped.
    “I’ll wait,” Nyam said.
    Mink thought to his dad, “We’re in a very large room with no obvious exits. We found a crack that seems to be the only way forward. Any idea? From what I recall, we need to go right, but this goes left.” No response followed. “Dad? You awake?”
    “Sorry, buddy,” Juré finally said. “I was just going through his memories for more information. Concerning your crack… snicker, snicker. Follow that until you go down to an underground lake, hug the bank around to the right and count five tunnels, take