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rapids turned into a water chute, the cavesurfer picking up unimaginable speed, the torchcells struggling just to stay alive.
    â€œLean left!” Grimwarden shouted.
    Kat and the others clung to the sides and pitched their weight as the cavesurfer banked to port, making a wide, sweeping turn in the channel. Just ahead, the river careened up the side of the tunnel, where it had formed a glossy finish on the stone wall. Grimwarden’s cave-surfer shot high along the wall, fishtailing slightly before pitching back into the center of the chute as the turn straightened out. It was then they all heard a long cry from the cavesurfer right behind them.
    â€œWooohooo! ” Jett screamed. “Oh, BABY!” This was better than any dirt bike track he had ever ridden! He was dying to grab the helm himself and try some crazy trick, but he remembered he didn’t really know the directions. That and he would have to contend with Brynn, an Elf it seemed best not to trifle with.

    After more than four hours of navigating the relentless rapids, the entire flotilla of Elves finally came upon calmer waters. The current was still there, ever-present and irresistible, but the waterscape leveled out to a smooth sheet of black. Grimwarden, Brynn, Anna, Regis, and a few other surfer pilots navigated their crafts closer together in the wide and much more peaceful area.
    â€œIncredible!” Jett roared. He slapped a high five across the water with Tommy.
    â€œI wish Autumn had been here with us,” said Johnny.
    â€œShe already went,” said Grimwarden gently.
    Johnny brightened at the thought. “She probably loved every minute. Whenever we went to amusement parks, Autumn was always first in line at all the rides that make people barf.”
    â€œUhm, speakin’ of barf . . . ,” Jimmy said, pointing.
    â€œI don’t feel so well.”
    They all turned. It was Kiri Lee, and even in the orange torchlight she looked a bit green.
    â€œI think she’s gonna toss her—”
    Grimwarden glared at Jimmy. Then he leaned forward and handed a thin orange strip to Kiri Lee. “Nibble on this,” he said. “It’s a shoot from a hilthis mint sapling. It will calm your stomach.” He paused a moment, seeing the uncertainty in the young lord’s eyes. Then he said, “I use them myself.”
    Kiri Lee took a tentative bite. “Mmmm, that’s not bad. I like it.” She took another bite. “Wow . . . I think it’s helping.”
    â€œGood, good,” Grimwarden said tenderly. Then he faced the whole group. “You’ll each need to brace yourselves for this last section. Daladge Falls can be a bit . . . troublesome.”
    â€œI thought what we went through earlier was the falls,” said Tommy.
    â€œThat little slide?” said Grimwarden. “Nay. Daladge Falls lay ahead.”
    â€œIs it dangerous?” asked Kiri Lee, looking green again.
    â€œIt need not be,” said Grimwarden. “So long as we stay to the left when we go over, and so long as we all remain in our cavesurfers . . . we should be fine.”
    â€œWhat if we don’t?” asked Jett.
    Grimwarden worked the tiller to keep their craft moving left in the channel. He exchanged glances with Brynn and Goldarrow. “I will speak plainly to you, young lords. Your pilots are all water-savvy, and the surfers tested and true. But in the unlikely event that you should fall out of the craft, you would perish.”
    â€œWhy stay to the left?” asked Kat.
    â€œThere is a pocket in the water,” Grimwarden replied. “At the bottom of the falls, near the right-hand wall . . . a whirling pool that will take a craft to the bottom . . . in an instant.”

3

Daladge Falls
    CAVESURFERS SPREAD across the surface of the underground river like fireflies on the side of a jar. The narrow passage to Daladge Falls had been peaceful enough. But as it widened, the Elves heard