Under the Mountain Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Under the Mountain Boxed Set, #1

By Jeanette O'Hagan

Under the Mountain Boxed Set: Books 1-3

YA Epic Fantasy Adventure in the lost realm deep under the mountain.

Caught in a mountain blizzard, Zadeki, a young shapeshifter flies into the mountain side. Injured and alone, his only thought is to escape home to his kin.

Twins Delvina and Retza's greatest desire is to be accepted as prentices by their parents' old crew when they stumble across the stranger.

Little do they know that grave peril stalks the deep caverns.  Will the three youngwuns pull apart or work together to save the underground realm? And where will the journey take them?

Set in the World of Nardva, Under the Mountain Boxed Set includes the first three novellas of the 5 novella series: Heart of the Mountain, Blood Crystal & Stone of the Sea.

• Language: English
• Publisher: By the Light Books
• Release date: Mar 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9780648585947

Book preview

Under the Mountain

Boxed Set A

(Books 1-3 of a five-book series)

Jeanette O’Hagan

By the Light Books

Contents

Copyright

Book 1 - Heart of the Mountain

Book 2- Blood Crystal

Book 3 - Stone of the Sea

Author Note

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Copyright

Under the Mountain Boxed Set A – Books 1-3 (of 5 book series)

By Jeanette O’Hagan

Includes:

1. Heart of the Mountain: a short novella, first published 2016 © 2016 © 2020

2. Blood Crystal: a novella, first published 2017 © 2017 © 2020

3. Stone of the Sea: a novella, first published 2018 © 2018 © 2020

Cover design: Jeanette O’Hagan © 2016 © 2017 © 2018 © 2020

Typesetting and Layout: Jeanette O’Hagan

Copyright Boxed Set Jeanette O’Hagan © 2020

http://jeanetteohagan.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book and cover image may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

All events, characters and entities portrayed in the stories are fictional and any likeness to any persons living or dead, events and entities are entirely coincidental.

A catalogue record of this book is available at National Library of Australia

––––––––

ISBN-13: 978-0-6485859-4-7

Published through By the Light Books

By the Light Books

PO Box 2520, Brookside, Qld 4053

Email: [e-mail]

This ebook follows Australian style conventions for spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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Book 1 - Heart of the Mountain

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Heart of the Mountain

A short novella

Jeanette O’Hagan

Book 1 Under the Mountain series

By the Light Books

Dedication

This story is in memory of my brother Chris—much loved, missed and never forgotten.

An updraught caught Zadeki and flung him about like a spinning leaf. Clouds of snow blasted into his face, ruffling his feathers and blinding him. Another gust hit him side on, pushing him off balance. It had been a foolish decision to fly over the mountains. The clear blue sky of the early afternoon was a fading memory as he was caught up in a world of swirling snow and ice. If only he could find shelter, but even with his eagle-sharp eyes, he could see no more than a white fuzzy blur in every direction. Gathering his trembling muscles and spreading out his flight feathers, he fought against the might of the wind.

As the whiteout lessened for a few moments, a sharp angular peak loomed in front of him. His heart racing, he tilted his wings in a desperate attempt to turn. His flight pinions clipped a ledge. He lurched. His right side slammed into the icy rock, sending him spiralling down, ricocheting off the sheer cliff face. Pain screamed through him as fragile wing bones snapped. All control of his descent vanished. So much for showing the Kinleader he was old enough to be a pathfinder. His thoughts frayed and darkness took him.

#

Delvina clutched her brother’s thick felt jerkin. The air was strange in these outer tunnels, laden with the smell of strange resin and a bitter icy bite she was not used to. A gust ruffled her bangs, sending a shiver through her.

‘Are you sure we should do this, Retza? The outside is dangerous.’

‘Shush. It will be more dangerous if we’re caught.’

She lowered her voice. ‘Who would hear us? No one’s stupid enough to come out this far.’

As Retza rounded a corner, he pulled to such a sudden stop that she bumped into him.

‘What is it?’ she hissed.

A pale yellow glow came from the end of the tunnel—different from the dancing smoky red of flame or the focused cool blue of the glimmer lights. It illuminated Retza’s snub nose and glistened in his wide eyes, his pupils contracting to slits against the sudden glare.

‘Sunlight?’ Her voice caught in her throat.

Retza grunted. ‘Maybe. Come on, we can’t give up now.’

They shuffled along the tunnel as the circle of light ahead of them brightened.  Delvina shaded her eyes, her mouth dry. Why had they thought this was a good idea?

#

A freezing wind blasted Retza’s face as he poked it out of the entrance. He gripped the tunnel walls and squinted at the white blur outside. Delvina pressed up behind him, her grasp on his jerkin almost choking him, her breath warm on his ear. He took a deep breath. He was glad his twin sister was with him though he wasn’t going to admit it to her.

A flurry of white flakes swirled in front of his nose. Putting out a hand he caught one. It melted away to a tiny tear drop in his calloused palm. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out mounds of the soft white substance smothering the world outside. The open space of the Cauldron went up, and up, higher than even the Grand Cavern. Above the sharp rim, grey streamers raced against a black sky studded with pinpricks of light like ribbons of glow worms on a cave roof. A shudder ran through him. The outside was even stranger than he had imagined.

A swathe of the grey stuff thinned, revealing a round burnished disk of bright golden light.

He pointed. ‘The sun.’

Delvina cleared her throat. ‘It’s not bright enough to be the sun. And look there’s another one.’ She pointed to another disk, further down in the chaotic expanse above their heads. It winked back at them; silvery, almost as bright, and misshapen, like a mushroom with an edge shaved off. ‘I think they are both moons.’

‘Yes, two moons ... that’s what I meant to say. So, where’s the sun?’ He scanned the sky.

‘Maybe it’s night.’ His twin’s voice quivered on the last word.

He swallowed against the lump in his throat. If this was night, then what would the day be like? ‘We’d better stop wasting time.’ His voice was harsher than he had intended.

They pushed out into the open, wading through soft mounds that slumped to the side and muffled the sound of their footsteps. Sweeping aside the piles with his hands, he rummaged around, picking up and discarding rocks, spindly sticks and other debris. Soon his clothes were soaked, his fingers aching and numb. His sister’s pale face had a bluish tinge around her lips and her chin was shuddering.

A sullen dread settled inside him. It was supposed to be such a simple challenge—sneak outside and find something unusual to give to the Greenstone South Crew. If it was good enough, perhaps he and Delvina would be accepted as prentices. But it could take hours to find anything under this thick blanket of fluffy wetness.

He thrust his frozen hands under his armpits and ground his teeth. ‘This is useless.’

Delvina didn’t respond. She was poking a stick behind a spur of rock jutting out from the sheer cliffs that enclosed the Cauldron. Her long ash blonde plait fell like a thick rope down her back, a pale streak against the matted brown of her jerkin. If they didn’t find something their quest would have failed, but if they stayed out here much longer they would freeze to death.

His sister squealed and jumped back.

‘What is it?’ He pressed through the path her body had cleared.

‘It moved.’

She pointed at a heap of white and dark grey fronds that blended into the white stuff and the grey of the rock behind. He leaned forward. The delicate fronds were like feathers of the small cave birds, only larger. Some of them were stuck together with a dark red substance. She poked it with the stick again. 

The mound shifted, a large wing-like object fluttering. He breathed in sharply. Feathers, wings and, now that he thought about it, he could see the hooked beak with sharp tip and closed eyes. Its other wing was bent at a strange angle.

‘It’s a bird.’ His twin sister clucked her tongue. ‘And it’s hurt.’

‘It’s so big.’ The swifts and swallows that nested in the upper caverns and sometimes became trapped in those beneath were a mere mouthful. This bird was almost as big as they were. Excitement bubbled up in his chest.

‘We can take it back.’

Delvina’s speckled face split into a grin. ‘Yes, it’s injured. We can help it.’

He thumped her shoulder. ‘Silly. It’s our trophy—for the challenge.’

She shook her head. ‘It wouldn’t survive long in the caverns. We should tend it and release it when its wing is healed.’

He rubbed his icy hands together, excitement mounting. ‘Yeah, but it’s dying anyway and look how big it is. Plenty of meat and feathers. Have you any idea how many crystals that’s worth. The Crew will have to induct us.’

Her brow furrowed. ‘I guess.’

‘Here, help me catch it.’ He shouldered out of his jerkin. They each took a corner, spread it out like a net and walked towards their prey.

An eye, black as coal, snapped open and stared back at him.

He paused. ‘Perhaps we should brain it first.’

Crouching, he picked up a large rock lying in the cleared area in front of the spur.

In a flurry of movement, the bird catapulted backwards, banging into the cliff behind. Its wings pumped downwards or at least one did, while the other thrashed uselessly. It gave a long keening whistle.

It stretched upwards, its outline blurring and dissolving until a tall, skinny figure stood half cantered against the rock wall.

#

‘Don’t kill me.’

Zadeki’s heart was just about jumping out of his chest, his limbs still tingling. He gritted his teeth against the screaming throb where bone ends had torn flesh in the sudden, almost instinctive transformation. His right arm dangled at his side.

The white swathed landscape and the two pale faces seemed to pitch and roll as though floating on the ocean. He sucked in a huge lungful of frigid air, triggering a deep shuddering through his body. He was cold to the core and a deep weariness settled over him, yet fire seared along his right side. Not good to change shape under such conditions but what else could he do? He was sure he’d heard the words ‘eat it’ and ‘brain it’.

Slowly, the world came into focus. Two round faces, with gaping mouths and a soft scattering of speckles across their snub noses, stared at him. Their great round eyes looked as colourless as water in the subdued moonshine. They barely came up to his armpit. The gruffer one had a fuzz on his chin and upper lip while the other had suggestive shapes beneath the baggy clothing of her shabby jerkin, tunic and breeches. Both were sturdily built. Young ones like himself, on the cusp of adulthood.

The one with the fuzz recovered from his shock first. He ran a pink tongue over his blue-tinged lips, and then his face split into a toothy leer. ‘Can we help you, above-grounder?

Zadeki snorted. ‘Into the pot. I can do without that sort of help, earthbiter.’

‘Did you just change from a bird to a ... well, whatever you are?’ The other one, with the long plait of pale hair asked. The girl’s eyes were even wider than her companion’s, her voice soft with wonder.

Despite the occasional flurry of snow, the blizzard was gone. Trouble was he couldn’t afford to change shape while injured even if he had the energy to do it—and even if he could fly with one arm broken. But surely he could climb out of here, as long as he didn’t freeze first. He scanned the high cliff face that curved around like pincers. The exit out of the valley must be on the other side, though he could see no break in the rim.

‘Yes. Can you show me how to get out of here?’

‘There is no way out of the Cauldron,’ the girl said. ‘Besides, you need help.’ She pointed at his damaged arm.

He narrowed his eyes. ‘You might eat me.’

Her face split into a smile. ‘We don’t eat people.’

The boy snarled. ‘Just leave him, Delvina. We’re wasting time.’

‘We can’t leave him to die here.’

He shrugged ‘He’s not of the People. Who knows, maybe this white stuff is what he lives on.’

Zakeki snorted. ‘Who lives on snow?’ The girl was right, he couldn’t survive out here, not without shapeshifting. Yet would he be any safer in the caverns? He doubted it.

The young male looked mutinous. ‘How would we get him past the watchers?’

Delvina thrust out her chin. ‘The same way we did. Come on Retza. Otherwise we have nothing to prove to the Crew that we came here, and the outsider needs our help.’

‘This is not the same as tending an injured bat or keeping a cave cricket.’ But the one called Retza cast aside the rock he held in his hand. ‘You better keep up, stranger. If the watchers come after us, you’re on your own.’

A smile trembled on the girl’s lips. ‘Don’t mind my brother. He has a heart of gold, really.’ Taking Zadeki’s hand, she pulled him towards the dark opening of a cave some hundred paces away. He followed, clenching his teeth against the pain shooting through him with each step and every breath. What other choice did he have?

#

Zadeki had to stoop as he followed the two Darane (for surely they were the ancient mountain dwellers) trundling ahead of him. A line of blue, glittering lights ran along the walls. The floor was mostly smooth and had a consistent downwards incline taking him deeper into the heart of the mountain. The biting wind did not reach far into the passageway and soon the shudders that racked his body lessened into an occasional shiver.

After a while, the tunnel opened into another higher one. Delvina grabbed his left arm and whispered in his ear. ‘Don’t step on the plate. It triggers an alarm.’ She pointed to a square of dull metal set in the floor where the tunnels joined. ‘And if you see a watcher, run.’

‘Why? What will they do to us?’

Retza’s hiss echoed off the walls. ‘Us? There is no us. The outer passages are out of bounds, and transgressors are killed on sight.’

‘Then what were you doing outside?’

‘Stop your yakking and jump.’ The fellow then leaped over the plate, disappearing around the corner. Delvina followed.

Zadeki swallowed hard. Normally, the jump would be simple but in his present condition even walking was hard. Maker help him, what was he getting himself into? A calmness flooded him.  Follow. Holding his injured arm against his chest, he leapt over the plate, teetering on the other side until Delvina grabbed him.

She pulled him along the path with a surprising strength. The roof of this tunnel was higher than the last, allowing him to walk without stooping. The Darane led him through a maze of passages and down long spiralling stairs. At last the tunnels opened up into more cavernous hallways. At first one or two, then large groups of the sturdy under-mountain people streamed around them. Most of the men had braided beards while the woman wore their pale hair in long plaits. Dressed in drab, serviceable clothes and carrying tools or bearing large baskets, the people kept their lamp-like eyes to the ground.

The Darane lass looked over her shoulder and hissed. ‘Hunch over. Don’t draw attention to yourself.’

How could he not? He had never been more out of place in his life. But he hunched as best he could, gasping at the knife-like stabs in his chest.  Eventually, they entered a huge cavern with a roof high as the giant forest trees. Large stone spikes clung to the rock ceiling and down the middle of the chamber came the chuckling flow of a river that ran in a deep channel below. Built into the walls were open counters piled with tools, clothing or food and between them, doors to more secluded rooms.

Zadeki stumbled as the lights flickered. Both Retza and Delvina stopped walking, tipping back their heads to look at the big lamps attached to the wall and pillars. Even as he blinked, the cavern was plunged into blackness.

‘Not again,’ Retza muttered.

Zadeki’s heart fluttered against his chest. He swallowed a scream. It was hard enough coping with the enclosed space and weight of rock above his head without darkness so deep he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. His breathing quickened. Slowly, he could make out small points of light above him. They couldn’t be stars, surely? ‘What are they?’

‘Glow worms,’ the girl said, her voice pitched higher than normal. ‘The glimmer lights normally hide them.’

With a whump, the lights flooded back on again. A murmur of relief ran through the Darane, like a wind through tree branches of the forest canopy. They continued their hurried movements, some bumping and shoving as they flowed around Zadeki and the two Darane youngsters. If only he were with his kin now, instead of deep in the bowels of the mountains. He might die down here and they would never know what happened. Never had he been so alone.

Delvina tugged at him. ‘Come on, above-grounder, the Greenstone South’s crib is further down the Great Causeway.’

Some lengths later, they turned into a corridor and hammered on a rusted metal door.

#

Retza’s hand shook as he pounded on the door. He jumped back a pace as it shot open with a clang. Secondwun Putarn stuck his head out and squinted at them.

‘Whatcha want, youngwuns?’

Retza licked his lips. ‘Secondwun, we...’ Fear clenched his belly. They would only get one chance at this. The gangly stranger was unusual, but would he be enough to impress Lead Hand Havilah?

The Secondwun snorted and began to close the door. Delvina jumped past him and stuck her boot into the doorway.

‘We bring a trophy. We have a right to present it to your Lead Hand.’

The man stroked his plaited beard, then stepped back. ‘Come in.’

Retza met his sister’s gaze. This was it. He grabbed the above-grounder and pulled him inside.  A number of crew members, toolwuns mostly, were sitting at the fixed tables and chairs on one end of the crib room. Some played table games—cards, knuckle bones or counters—some were chatting or mending worn garments. They looked up for a moment before returning to their activities. Behind them, a grey felt curtain was pulled across the dormitory area where other members of the crew would be sleeping.  The crib hadn’t changed much since he’d last seen it, just before their parents were killed. Retza swallowed against the tightness in his throat.

Putarn disappeared into the entrance to the ward room on the other side of the long rectangular room.

Retza turned to Delvina and attempted a smile. She nodded once, her face tight with fear. The above-grounder was clutching his arm to his side and shivering. Dried blood clotted in his pitch-black hair and his right temple. His dark eyes flitted about the room. Then, with a soft sigh, he slid down the wall and rested his head in the crook of his left elbow. It was clear that the fellow was in a bad way.  Without asking, Delvina stomped across the room where hot gruel bubbled in the big pot on the hob. She ladled it into a tin mug, before stumping back and giving it to the above-grounder.

Retza scuffed the wall with his worn-out boots. It was just like Delvina to get attached. She had a soft heart for anything in trouble, but they could not afford such sentimentality. Ever since their parents’ deaths a few years back they’d been on their own. They needed to pass this challenge. The lives of the crewless were short and brutal.

His sister crossed to the pot again and returned with two steaming mugs. The faint aroma of mushrooms wafted towards him and his stomach rumbled.  Grunting his thanks, he blew across the surface of the brew and sipped.

It was a while before Putarn emerged, followed by his mother, Lead Hand Havilah, and the old Scrybe. The Hand ran strong fingers through her grey-streaked hair before pulling up an ancient wooden chair. Her pale amethyst gaze flicked towards them, but showed no recognition. Retza let out a long breath. He and Delvina had been just littlewuns that last time they’d come to the crib but he had hoped she’d remember them. He looked down at the stone floor, polished smooth from generations of feet. Would all their efforts be for nothing?

Scrybe Barekia shuffled over to a recessed shelf carved into the wall, lifted out the huge records book and placed it on a stand. She opened it out and smoothed down the precious pages with two wrinkled hands.

The Hand leaned forward. ‘Who have we here, Secondwun?’

Putarn cleared his throat. ‘Let the candidates step forward and state their names.’

‘Retza, son of Toolwuns Zalell and Holima, formerly of your crew, Lead Hand. And this is my twin sister, Delvina.’

The Lead Hand’s eyelids flickered.  ‘Yes, yes, Zalell and Holima.’

‘Why aren’t the toolwuns here to sponsor their offspring?’ Putarn growled.

‘They were killed in ... the cave-in.’ The Scrybe ran her blunt finger down a list of names. She looked up, her eyes gentle. ‘These are indeed their offspring. They have the right to try as prentices with our Crew.’

Havilah sucked in a breath and spread her hands out on her knees. ‘Present your trophy, applicants.’

Thirdwun Nebam called from the tables. ‘What weevilly booty have you found, runts?’ The other toolwuns erupted into catcalls and whistles.

The Secondwun sniggered at his brother’s joke before remembering his duties. ‘Quiet, you lot.’ He turned to the twins. ‘Come on, the Lead Hand hasn’t all day.’

Retza licked his lips.  ‘We went outside to the Cauldron. And there was white stuff ...’ He took a deep breath.

‘I think it was snow,’ Delvina said. ‘Snow all over.’

Retza nodded. ‘And an injured bird.’ All eyes were on them now. ‘But he changed into ...’

‘... to him.’

Both twins pointed to the above-grounder sitting on the floor, watching them.

A collective sigh swept through the room.

‘A bird would be more useful.’ The Hand sat back in the chair.

Gripping his belt with both hands, Retza held his breath. Please by whatever powers that be, let the trophy be accepted. A feeling of unease niggled at his thoughts. Their trophy looked too fragile to work hard as a drudge and only the Overseer kept mascots. What else could they do with him?

Putarn poked the above-grounder. ‘Not much meat on his bones.’

The stranger stood shakily to his feet, his left hand gripping the wall. ‘My name is Zadeki. I’m sure I can help you somehow in exchange for showing me the way out of here.’

Lead Hand Havilah gave a low guttural laugh. ‘The Old Overseer closed the gates nigh on two hundred years ago.  Since then no one has come in or out.’

As she spoke, the glimmer lights in the low ceiling flickered. A murmur ran through the room. The Lead Hand’s eyes remained fixed on the above-grounder. Then as if in response to the flickering, a heavy hammering resounded on the metal door. Havilah broke her gaze and flicked her fingers towards the door. Putarn rushed to open it. A messenger pushed inside.

‘Lead Hand of the Greenstone South Crew?’

Standing up, Havilah smoothed down her robes. ‘Yes?’

He thrust a message cylinder at her. She unlocked it with the key around her neck, and scanned the copper foil pages. Handing it to the Scrybe, she stood up.

‘Secondwun, come with me.’

Retza grabbed her sleeve. ‘What about us?’

The Thirdwun grunted. ‘Shall I have these hopefuls thrown out?’

Havilah turned, squinting through narrowed eyes. ‘No. Any youngwuns brave or maybe stupid enough to dare the Cauldron deserve a chance to prove themselves. We could do with some after losing the last ones. Scrybe Barekia, assign these youngwuns a bunk and kit each, and see they are fed. Make sure the above-grounder is cared for.’

Retza whooped. He grabbed Delvina’s arms and spun her around. They’d done it. They’d found a berth in the Crew.

The Lead Hand snorted. ‘You’re on probation as trywuns, mind you. And wait until you get your duty roster. You might not be hooting so loudly then.’

She and Secondwun Putarn strode out into the dim corridor, the door clanging shut behind them.

Probation? Trywuns, not real prentices yet? Retza let out a long breath. At least they had half a foot in the door.

#

Hot and cold chills raced through Zadeki. The heat of the thin gruel the girl had given him earlier had at least calmed the shivers racking his body. It was warm in this room too, almost stuffy. Delvina and Retza, visible through gaps of the felt curtain, stood beside their assigned bunks. Their ash blond heads touched as they sorted through their kits. The other Darane had turned back to their drinks and pushed bits of card and round counters about on the stone tables; no longer, it seemed interested in him. Close by, the old woman pored over the time-stained book, her thin lips pursed. For the moment, no one seemed to be paying him any attention. What did the earthbiters mean to do with him? Surely, they wouldn’t eat him? He pulled his mantle more tightly around his shoulders and rested his head against the cool stone wall. Swirls of snow flashed beneath his closed eyelids as he drifted on a sea of pain.

He jumped and winced as a gravelly voice sounded in his ear.

‘You’re one of Doryn’s Kin, aren’t you?’ The wrinkled face and gapped tooth smile of the one they called Barekia leered at him. ‘An Adelphi?’

‘Yes, earth mother.’ He looked at her warily, flinching back as she leaned forward to finger his hair and stroke his skin. She gently touched the abrasions on his forehead.

‘What happened to you?’

‘I flew into a mountain side.’

She chuckled. ‘Not a good idea.’

He lifted his chin. ‘There was a blizzard.’

‘No doubt.’ She turned and called. ‘Trywun Delvina, bring some warm water. Retza, get me some rods, clean cloth and stagmoss from the top shelf of the recess.’

Delvina jumped up and ladled steaming water from the pot on the hob into a stone basin. Retza, a scowl on his pallid face, was slower to move.

The old woman turned back to Zadeki, her voice pitched for his ears only. ‘I was present, though only a youngwun, when the current Overseer’s father ordered the front gates to be sealed up.’

Zadeki shuffled, trying to find a more comfortable position for his throbbing arm. ‘My baba and matu speak of it. My kin could not fathom the reasons why your people broke contact. We feared you had perished.’

‘The Dark Ones commanded it. You best beware, young shapeshifter. You are out of your depth here.’

‘Don’t I know it?’ He grimaced. What did she mean Dark Ones? Were they the Shadow Eaters of Light or some other malevolent beings? But that wasn’t his worry. He just needed to get out