Feel the Burn (23 page)

‘Don’t look,’ he snapped in a harsh tone. I nodded, face against his chest while listening to Loushka’s infuriated roar, echoed by Tomiar.

‘Get Sito,’
Loushka’s voice flashed into my mind.
‘And stay back!’

‘Sito!’

Ignatius pulled back to glance at me then nodded and bent, hands laced together.

‘Step in,’ he ordered.

I placed my foot in his hands and leaned forward to grasp his shoulders. Our eyes met and he flashed a vicious grin.

‘Let’s see if this old man can get you high enough.’

At the same time he heaved I pushed off and reached, hands easily grabbing the top of the ledge. With a quick scramble and a yell from Ignatius when I let loose a shower of stones, I bolted back the way we’d come, calling to Kass and Sian in my mind.

Guys! We need Sito and the griff’s, you should see what Loushka and Tomiar are up against, it just killed a Nyjen!

I flashed them an image of what I’d glimpsed before fleeing this way—the huge dark body struggling to stay in the water while the two griffons fought to drag it out.

*~*~*

Chapter Sixteen

What is that?
Sian thought to Kassie while showing Sito the image. The knowledge that one of their team had been killed, horrified her. The dragon stopped in his tracks at the image.

‘Food?’

‘I don’t know,’
Sian thought, mind spinning at the sudden events.
‘Is it food?’

‘Show me again.’

She replayed the image of the bizarre kraken-like creature. Sito let loose a bellow of excitement making all those close leap back.

‘Sian!’ Daron yelled. ‘What’s happening?’

‘FOOD!’
Sito’s excited thought flashed through everyone’s mind then he charged. Sian clung tight to his leg.

‘Sito! Slow down, take it easy!’

‘Food! Food! Food!’

Wrapping her hands and energy around Sito’s foreleg, Sian pressed her head to the armor and hoped they’d get there in time.

Goblins, centaurs, and the shocked, angry looking Nyjens all pressed against the sides of the tunnel to avoid the dragon’s hasty exit. Daron coughed at the dust kicked up by the apparently ravenous dragon while finding out what had the Nyjens riled up. Rumal appeared a moment later, a hand pressed to his face in a bid to keep the dust out.

‘What’s going on?’ he croaked.

‘Something’s killed a Nyjen. Sito thinks its edible,’ Daron explained and then he nodded at the bewildered looking men around them. ‘Stay back until we’re ahead of you, the griffons want to back Sito up.’

‘And dinner would be great,’
Nesha thought.

‘For sure. But wait to show respect to the fallen first.’
Daron thought and he swung up into the saddle.

‘I hope Sian’s hanging on tight.’

Kassie provided the light while they raced down the tunnel, sending little dancing spheres of gold energy pinging off the walls ahead of them. Daron twisted back and saw that Kerak and Phroma jammed along the tunnel behind Nesha. From her seat on Kerak’s saddle, Kassie glowed as she sent more light spheres out.

‘Hold on,’
Nesha thought.
‘Almost there.’

Daron squeezed the saddle tight with his thighs while Nesha climbed and leaped but kept his hands as free as possible. Blobs of luminescent algae started to appear on the walls, floor, and ceiling, glowing an eerie blue.

‘Must be close,’
Daron thought to Nesha as they climbed a rise. The griffon stopped suddenly and Daron grabbed at the saddle with a hand.

‘Hell! Is that a dynahck?’

Loi focused her energy on the chamber, working at preventing a cave in while the griffons fought the freaky looking creature from the lake. She tried not to notice the body lying near the water.

When they first entered the cave no one had noticed anything until a centaur went to check the water quality. A massive tentacle had shot out, snatching the soldier around the middle. Everyone leapt into action, hacking at the sinewy limb and the water erupted when the creature objected to their efforts. Tomiar hadn’t hesitated, clamping down on a tentacle and tried to drag the shrieking creature out. It looked like a mutant octopus or squid with nine tentacles but five of them had heads with gummy blind eyes and toothy jaws that screamed and bit at all those within reach. Several of those fighting it had received nasty bites but there hadn’t been a chance to heal them yet. Tomiar darted around the nasty creature like a lioness attacking prey. The creature originally tried to hide back in the lake but the griffon wouldn’t let it, sloshing into the water, roaring at it and when that didn’t work she snapped at the tentacles. Then the creature erupted out the water again, trying to catch the wily griffon.

Now, with Loushka helping, they’d dragged the thing full out of the water but they couldn’t get close enough to kill it, the tentacles beating them back. The soldiers and allies in the cave took turns distracting the heads and dashing in to land a blow but the death of the Nyjen showed it to be a dangerous game. Loi’s energy reacted to her tension and crackled around the space of the cave as she wished she could help. Frantic shouting made her stomach plummet when she saw not one but two soldiers in the grips of tentacles. Men threw weapons and rocks from all sides, trying to get the thing to release the soldiers. The two soldiers fought against the tight grip that held them, the centaur swinging his axe around and into the tentacle, but the other man, a general guard soldier, was fast losing his battle. Loi whimpered, her fingers curling into claws and she desperately willed the others here. The man’s gestures grew weak when a strange rumble echoed from the tunnel. Loi twisted to look at Sabyn who stood protectively in front of her, his weapons ready and face grim.

Sito burst into the chamber and anyone who wasn’t already against the walls now flattened themselves out of the way. The dragon glowed blue and Loi spotted Sian clinging to his foreleg.

‘Sian!’ Loi yelped, pointing.

Sabyn muttered something then pushed off, sprinting across the chamber while Sito snarled at the creature. The tentacles dropped the two soldiers and Sito drew up to full height, the armor plating bristling when he snarled again and readied to attack. Loi frantically thickened her shield against his strength. It went dark all of a sudden when Sabyn snatched Sian from her perch on Sito’s leg and Loi could see only a vague outline of the dragon as he lunged. Men shouted and Loi mentally crossed her fingers, hoping they’d extracted the two from beneath it. She heard a thud when Sabyn and Sian hit the wall beside her and a flurry of gold dancing lights burst into the chamber as Nesha, Kerak, and Phroma hurtled in. Kassie executed a hasty exit off Kerak, racing to where Cat and Ignatius huddled on the other side.

Daron hung on tight and let loose a yell when Sito grabbed the dynahck by its torso, where the tentacles couldn’t reach, right behind the gnashing circular jaws. All those who’d followed the griffons hung back out of the way, but armed and ready if necessary. The thrashing tentacles grabbed at everything, trying to get loose from the dragon’s snarling jaws and Daron urged Nesha forward. The griffon sprang at one of the headed tentacles but it reacted far quicker than either of them expected. It lurched back from the griffon’s attack then launched forward and wrapped around Nesha’s middle, pinning Daron in the saddle. The blind eyes appeared useless but its other senses weren’t. Nesha’s armor prevented the jaws from getting a hold on the griffon but Daron, his legs crushed beneath the creature’s constricting grip, wasn’t in a great position. Nesha roared and shook, clawing at the writhing length but Daron had its full attention. The head, dominated by long jaws, seemed to float on the long neck only meters from his face. The toothy jaw mouthed the air before him and the rheumy eyes appeared to stare straight at him. Slowly and calmly Daron slid a hand down his leg while keeping his other arm ready. Like all the men in the guard he kept a long dagger sheathed to his calf. Unfortunately his hand hit the slimy cold coil and the creature reacted in an instant, lunging for Daron’s head, its fanged jaws wide.

‘Shit!’ Daron threw his arm up and the jaws snapped shut around it. Only the chainmail stood between the ragged teeth and his flesh. He shoved at the slippery coil with his free hand and forced his arm harder into the working jaws, jamming them. Squeezing his fingers beneath the clammy tentacle over his legs, the thick skin rasping against the mail that covered his hand, he felt the reassuringly solid pommel of the dagger. In a quick move he wrenched it free and slammed the blade through the head gnawing his arm. The dynahck screamed, struggling in Sito’s jaws and Daron shoved the limp tentacle off. Backing off, Nesha and the other griffons gave Sito room. The dragon dragged the shrieking creature fully out of the lake and shook it hard. Blood and muck splattered all those in the cavern and Sito’s loud growls filled their ears. The dragon threw the dying creature to the ground and pounced on it when it protested with a wheeze of a shriek, shaking it again and again till this time it lay limp and dead when he dropped it.

‘Wow,’ said Kassie from beside Ignatius and me, breaking the silence. I nodded then grimaced and wiped the splattered blood from my face.

‘Ewww.’

No one moved at first, the silence feeling shockingly loud after all the commotion and I couldn’t help looking at the body of the Nyjen, lying against a wall. Then the other Nyjens moved to the body and everyone else politely ignored them while we moved through to the next chamber at Loi’s suggestion. Sito and the griffons stayed behind to dine on the creature’s remains and I felt Sian’s energy ring out when she healed Daron’s arm. Reminded of that, I joined Leseach on her rounds to see who else needed healing. The men around me still appeared tense and when Ignatius appeared at my side I softly asked, ‘Is there still a threat?’

The soldiers and allies all cast suspicious looks into the alcoves and entrances while we walked to the next cave.

‘If a dynahck can survive in that lake then other creatures live here too,’ Ignatius explained while keeping a hold of my elbow as we walked. ‘Dynahcks can go a long time without food, but not that long.’

I resisted a shudder at that thought and flared both hands brighter while ignoring Ignatius.

‘Afraid of the dark, little girl,’ he teased.

‘Shudup.’

Seeing so little evidence of life and then finding that monster did creep me out and I peered at the alcoves, half imagining shapes in the dark. The patches of glowing vegetation added to the eerie feeling, casting a ghoulish light over those passing by. I slipped on the wet rocks as we stepped into the cave. Ignatius made a grab at me but missed and we crashed down together.

‘Ouch!’

‘Sorry!’

My hip took the brunt of the fall but the chainmail absorbed most the impact and I lay squashed beneath Ignatius who pushed up, apologizing. I couldn’t help giggling when he helped me to my feet and I spotted the dirt smeared down his nose, forehead and cheekbones.

‘Face plant huh? Need a walking stick, old man?’

I laughed at the narrowed look he shot me while brushing himself off and I reached out to brush it off his face but only succeeded in making it worse.

‘Oops.’

Ignatius scowled at the Princess when she doubled in laughter. He tried to wipe the muck off his face but the mud didn’t want to budge and Gredel, who headed with Rashid to the previous cave, grinned at him.

‘You’ll have better luck washing it off,’ Gredel suggested and indicated the water behind him. Catherine darted off to where the other girls stood gathered at the waters edge, while Ignatius hollered after her, ‘You be careful!’

‘Will do, old man,’ she called back.

Gredel gave him a curious look and Ignatius shrugged then asked, ‘Are you going to the Nyjens?’

Rashid nodded. ‘Yes, they intend to dispose of the body out there so we will join the In’yath and provide an appropriate offering. Make sure to tell the girls not to talk about it.’

Ignatius nodded and walked after Catherine.