Water fell in steady drips from the seam of coal above Corvan's head, rapping on his helmet and sparkling in the bright glow of his acetylene lamp. It felt good to be back in the dark passages of the mine and for once he was alone, although he kept expecting to see the face of the Rakash leader appear at any time. When something moved behind him, his heart leapt into his throat and he jumped to the wall, his pickax ready to strike.

"Whoa, easy son." A huge hand reached out of the shadows to grip the head of Corvan's pickax. "It's just me." The wide, gentle face of Jake Olson appeared in the light of the headlamp strapped to Corvan's hard hat. "Sorry I’m late getting here,” the man said. “My lamp's gone out again. Was wondering if you could fix it for me."

Jake held out an acetylene lamp in his coal-blackened hand. "You're the only one I can trust with these things now that everyone's using the 'lectric ones."

Corvan nodded and took the lamp from Jake's hand. His dad had also refused an electric lamp. He told Corvan an acetylene one could do many more things like marking tunnels with its soot or keeping you warm in an emergency.

Turning the knob, he held Jake's lamp up to his ear but couldn't hear the hiss of escaping gas. Likely the drip tube was clogged. All it took was a small piece of grit to stop the water from flowing. He had to admit that acetylene was more finicky than a battery and a switch.

"I'm sorry about your dad, boy." Jake patted his shoulder so hard, Corvan almost dropped the lamp. "It's too bad he never got to see what he did for us by finding this new seam of coal above the waterline." Pulling a pouch of tobacco from his pocket he stuffed another wad up under his lip. "Your father saved our jobs by exploring these old shafts." A squirt of brown juice splashed on the wall. "We'll always remember him for that."

Corvan nodded, keeping his head bent over Jake’s lamp. There was no way he could he tell this rugged man that he believed his father was still not only still alive but being held captive by cave-dwelling blind men who navigated in the dark like wingless albino bats. The crew boss would send him to the special hospital up north and they would strap him to a bed for the rest of his life.

"You did your best, son. You showed our men the way back to that river to look for your dad before the rest of the shaft caved in. That was brave of you and I'm glad they gave you your dad's job. It's the least they could do to help support your mom."

Corvan twisted the knurled knob on top of the lamp back and forth. The reason no-one could have rescued his father before the shaft collapsed was because the Rakash leader had already taken him. The signs of the struggle were plain as day: the hard hat and lamp lying on the ground, his father's tools strewn across the mine floor, long, thin footprints in the dust. After the collapse he had gone back to that spot many times, but there was no way of getting past the tons of rocks to get to the former water tunnel that could lead him back to the Cor to rescue his father. Now his only hope was to get into the labyrinth by tunneling under the castle rocks.

"I hear you're staying in the worker barracks this weekend while your mom is gone." Jake gently punched Corvan's shoulder. "Guess she doesn't want to leave you alone with your new girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Corvan muttered. "She's just. . ."

"It's okay,” Jake said with a laugh. “Don't git all worked up. You're best to keep 'em at bay for a while. They'll catch you soon enough, and then it's game over. You'll be workin' night and day just to keep the family fed."

"That's not going to happen to me,” Corvan said. “I've got other things to do." He tried the lamp again, but the gas still wasn't escaping. He hated it when mechanical things refused to cooperate. Pulling the lid off the water chamber, he dumped the liquid out. "Where did you get this water?"

Jake chuckled uncomfortably. "Well, I forgot to fill up at the shack, so I used some water coming off a support timber. Looked pretty clean to me."

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Corvan shook his head and blew on the filler tube. Clogged—just as he suspected. Feeling under his hard hat, Corvan drew out the fine piece of wire and cleaned out the tube.

"Guess it weren't as clean as I thought," Jake said, ­­crouching down. "Kinda funny that it's now three generations of your family that have helped me with my lamp. Your grandpappy was a whiz with 'em too."

Corvan glanced from the lamp at Jake's brown-stained grin. "You knew my grandfather?"

"Worked with him for a bit at the IPC mine before he . . . before the mine shut down. Pretty good worker for such an old guy. Wouldn't listen though. I told him to stay away from the deep places. There was ghosts—white creatures with long arms and no eyes."

Corvan squinted at the older man. Was Jake talking about the Rakash?

"Don't look at me like that, boy. It sounds crazy but I saw 'em myself." He shivered and rubbed a hand over his forehead, adding another streak of coal dust to his face. "I tried to tell people and they said I was going crazy, but I knowed different. Saw one come out of that hole. All white and thin with a horrible face." Jake stared down the dark tunnel as if he was seeing the ghost approaching.

Corvan shook his head. If the Rakash had come to the surface in the past, then that must be what his grandfather referred to in the letter Corvan found in the oak chest. "Did it see you?"

Jake shook his head and lowered his voice. "That ghosts didn't have no eyes. Must have been burned in an explosion when it died. Just stood a-listening and then, poof, it disappeared." He glanced over his shoulder and back at Corvan. "I'm only telling you this cause you're his kin, and he was the only one that believed me. Nobody else knows, and you've got to swear to never tell another living soul."

Corvan nodded.

Jake swallowed and moved closer. "It was me and your grandpa that blew that tunnel closed at the IPC mine. Your grandpa said it was the only way to keep a whole army of them ghosts from coming up and killing us all."

Corvan stared at Jake. An entire army of Rakash? Was that even possible? He had only seen four. And why would they want to come up to the surface anyway? The sun would most likely kill them.

Jake grabbed Corvan's shoulder. "We never meant to hurt anyone. Those men down there were still drunk from the night before and should never have been in the mine. That weren't my fault. Honest, boy."

Corvan nodded and Jake relaxed. It was no wonder Jake was so serious all the time.

"The only reason I stay working down here is to feed the family,” Jake said quietly. “Every day I think I'll see one of them white faces around the next corner." Jake gave a halfhearted grin. “Just letting my imagination run on me again, I guess." He patted Corvan’s shoulder. "Thanks for not making me feel stupid. It's good to finally tell someone what really happened so at least somebody knows I'm not goin' nuts."

"You're not crazy.” Corvan said. “There's lots of things down here people on the surface don't know about." Jake stared at him and Corvan bent back over the lamp. "Do you know what happened to my grandpa?"

"It was his idea. Said I had to seal him inside the mine to fight the ghosts. Promised me he knew a secret way out of the mine, and I would see him again, but . . ." Jake lifted his hands helplessly.

Corvan nodded. "I'm sure he knew what he was doing. It's not your fault."

A lone tear slid down Jake's face. He wiped it away with the back of his sleeve, his voice hoarse. "Thanks, son. That means a lot to me."

Corvan fought the lump in his own throat as he refilled the water tank from his canteen and the screwed the top back on the lamp. His grandfather died trying to stop the Rakash from getting to the surface, but he had failed. And now they had taken his father. He rolled the striker on Jake's lamp and soon its light was added to the glow of his own. Jake strapped the lamp back on his hard hat.

"Thanks, Corvan." He lowered his voice and looked over his shoulder, the path of his lantern cutting a bright swath through the dust. "Here, I got you them sticks of dynamite you was talking about." He drew an oilskin-wrapped package out from under his jacket. "You be careful with this stuff. If you get hurt, I'll be in big trouble. The fuse isn’t very long, so make sure you're well out of the way and behind something solid."

Corvan reached eagerly for the packet and Jake pulled it back towards himself. "This better not be for blowing up someone's outhouse as a trick-or-treat prank."

Corvan shook his head. "It's for that rock in my backyard."

Jake choked back a laugh. "You'd need a truckload of dynamite to blow up that thing." Digging into his coat, he brought out another packet. "These ones have longer fuses so maybe you should use them first to make sure you're far enough away. And if you get caught, I don't know nothin'." He passed the packets over, grinned at Corvan and walked off down the shaft.

There were two sticks inside each packet. He would definitely start with only one. Even then the blast might blow back into the cellar and make a huge mess.

One thing for certain, he had to make sure no one was home when he tried it out.