has to carry on the search for mum and Gege, right? Then we take them to the temple tomeet Zou and find out whatâs going on. Agreed?â
He nodded and the two friends hugged. Then they turned to the lift.
Beside it stood a number of torches. âLetâs take a few of those with us,â said Feng. They took a torch each and got into the lift. Feng closed the door and pressed a button. The cage squeaked and creaked, and then, with a huge jolt, the lift was hurtling downwards.
It seemed to Sienna that the journey went on for ever. It was pitch black when they finally stopped and got out. She switched on her torch, illuminating a small room. There were two tunnels leading into darkness.
âAlong here,â said Minka, and the little white cat led them into the tunnel to the right. There was no discernible end, and the further they travelled, the narrower it got. Sienna could only just walk upright, and she had the feeling that the huge weight of stone and earth above could collapse on her head at any time.
Suddenly a mountain of black rubble loomed in front of them, reaching up to the ceiling.
âTheyâre nearby, beyond this rockfall,â said Minka, swishing her tail in frustration. âWeâllhave to try a different route.â
But Sienna, desperate to reach her mother and knowing she was so close, fell to her knees and began to dig with her bare hands. âWeâre nearly there,â she said. âWe canât stop now.â
Feng joined her, scraping away at the coarse, rocky earth.
The friends dug and dug, until their hands started to bleed. Meanwhile, Minka and Xiaolong tried to find another way through, Minka sniffing and pawing at the walls, the little dragon shooting sparks as he flew in circles overhead.
âShine your light this way!â called Minka after some time. âIâve found something.â
Sienna straightened up and aimed her torch at the cat. The beam fell on a small opening in the tunnel wall. âWe might be able to crawl through there â perhaps itâd get us past the fallen stones,â Sienna said, and quickly disappeared on all fours into the opening.
Feng had no choice but to follow her.
But the tunnel grew narrower and narrower â¦
âWe have to turn back, or weâll get stuck,â said Feng.
âWait! I think itâs opening up.â Sienna pushedherself onwards as the tunnel widened. âCome on,â she said to Feng.
âIâm not sure about this!â called Minka from behind. Her voice sounded very far away. The two invisible friends had lingered further down the tunnel. âI have a bad feeling. Please come back, Sienna! We will find another way, I promise.â
Sienna knelt down on the floor to catch her breath. She couldnât give up, with Mum so near! As she rested, her mind swimming, she noticed something odd about the tunnel walls. Although dirty, glimpses of white shone here and there under the beam of her torch. She reached out and scratched away the earth nearby with her fingernail â a small moon-like crescent revealed the stone of the tunnel beneath, sparkling white and slightly damp to the touch.
Pure white: just like the statue. Just like the dust on Sunâs hands. Just like moonlight.
But before Sienna could finish the thought, the tunnel began to shake and they heard a squeaking noise. âWhatâs that?â she asked.
âSounds like the lift,â Feng replied. Small clumps of earth began to fall from the ceiling onto their heads. âWe have to go back!â he yelled.
But it was too late! Stone and gravel fell down from the ceiling and crumbled from the walls. Sienna and Feng huddled together and held their hands over their heads as more earth also hammered from the ceiling behind them.
The whole thing was over within seconds.
âMinka? Xiaolong?â cried Sienna.
Silence. A wall of rubble separated the children from the invisible
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