by J. R. Rain
“A fisherman tried his luck,” said the beast. “He was consumed quickly, of course, for he had not expected me to rise up from the depths. But his blasted hook has haunted me for eons.”
“Perhaps the fisherman had the last laugh after all,” snapped Jewel again. Oh, but I would hate to get on her wrong side!
Still, I saw an opportunity here.
“Do you know these catacombs well?” I asked.
“Know them well? I have been swimming them for countless centuries.”
“And so you know the way out?”
“Of course, foolish man.”
“Then I propose this: I will remove the hook from your cheek, since you have no hands. In turn you will guide us out safely and not eat us.”
It shook its massive head. “No deal. I am hungry. I have lived long enough with this great pain, I can live longer still.”
Jewel stepped forward. “We are but one meal, consumed quickly and forgotten. Your pain is eternal. Think on this, serpent.”
“I’m not a serpent, I’m a lion.”
I did not bother to argue semantics with the creature, but I saw that Jewel’s words had hit home. It must have run a tongue over the inside of the hook, that part which projected into its mouth. The lionserpent winced.
“How do you not know I will renege on our deal and eat you anyway?”
“I cannot know this,” I said. “I have only your word.”
“The word of a lion is sacred,” it said.
“And what about the word of a serpent?” challenged Jewel.
“I am no serpent,” it roared, clearly agitated. And when it was done roaring and contorting its face, it went back to whimpering like a kitten.
“You have a deal,” it said. “If you remove the blasted hook from my face, I will escort you to the portal to your own land.”
“And not eat us,” I clarified. “No consuming us and then defecating us at the portal.”
“There will be no consuming of any sort. Just please, for the love of all that which is holy, remove the blasted hook.”
And so I did. With hands it was quite easy. I sucked in some air, perhaps even drawing the oxygen from the surrounding water itself, and diffused enough to grab hold of the hook. The great creature opened its great jaws and I reached inside warily and removed the heavy hook, which was as big as my arm.
When finished, the creature roared loudly and swam happily in tight circles and told us to get on. We each took in great lungfuls of air, diffused, and soon found ourselves riding high on its scaly back. Not a serpent my arse.
The creature swam powerfully through the tunnels. It also swam near the boundary, breaking the surface often, allowing us to breathe, for in our present state we were soaked to the bone and in desperate need of air.
It swam quickly, scattering flying fish before it, and soon we were in a section of the catacombs I had not seen before. It raced along, narrowly missing smooth rock walls. Jewel held on behind me, and we both rode low. Myself, I held on to the creature’s thick mane.
Soon a great bridge appeared in the submerged tunnel, a ghostly shadow that spanned a depth so deep that I could not see the bottom. The lionserpent shot over this open space, and plunged back into another tunnel system, and when the creature broke the surface again, it stopped. We were in a small cavern.
“Continue along this tunnel, and you will find yourself in your own world,” it said, and I could still hear the joy in its voice. To be free of pain was truly a gift, even at the price of a meal or two.
We climbed off and stood at the water’s edge. The lionserpent regarded us, his magnificent head breaking the surface. From this position, it very much did look like a lion. Already, the wound in its cheek seemed to be healing.
“Thank you,” I said. “For not eating us.”
“Do not thank me yet, mortals. A great ogre guards the portal between worlds. And he’s not as nice as me.”
And with that, the lionserpent flicked its tail and disappeared.
Aladdin Relighted
The Aladdin Trilogy #1
by J.R. Rain and Piers Anthony
is available at:
Amazon Kindle
About the Author:
J.R. Rain is an ex-private investigator who now writes full-time in the Pacific Northwest. He lives in a small house on a small island with his small dog, Sadie, who has more energy than Robin Williams. Please visit him at www.jrrain.com.
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