by Trudi Jaye
Nate held up his hands in protest. “The demon says this is the way to go, so we go this way. That’s all we can do.” He glanced at the rising waters around them. “Especially if he’s right about the rain forcing the waters up.”
Just then the water demon surged to the surface again, water rushing from its blue glowing face. “She has arrived, master. Send the next person through.” It looked like a strange watery boulder in the otherwise sensible flow of the stream.
Jena nodded. “My turn.” She stepped up to the gap, and took a deep breath. She wondered how it would be this time. It had felt so safe yesterday, being looked after by the water demon. She knew it was wrong, but a part of her wished she could let the water demon pull her into an embrace and take away her worries and fears.
Feathers ruffled on her stomach, and a sharp peck reminded her of who and what she was. There could be no safe and gentle harbor for her. She was carrying the Book of Spells in her head and the Guardian’s raven on her belly. Something tightened in her chest. She hoped they were going to survive this.
“Come, child of the Book,” murmured the demon. “Under the water. I will hold you.”
“Stay safe, Jena.”
She looked back at Nate’s familiar features. “You be careful too.” Taking another deep breath, she crawled into the murky water. It hit her with a blast of excruciating chill. The feeling rocked Jena, freezing her limbs. Then reality rushed back and she felt the pressure of the water pushing her forward, and the blue pulsing light around her urging her to move. She forced her arms and legs to crawl forward over the slippery rocks.
In the distance, she thought she saw a pinprick of light that was presumably the exit. It seemed too far. She would never be able to hold her breath for that long. The walls seemed to lean in, and the water was pushing down on her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and a panicked sob was building in her chest. The inky darkness was broken only by flashing images of Thornal in her head from the raven. Her hands scraped on a sharp rock and she swore.
Just when she felt she couldn’t stand it any longer, it got worse. The tunnel narrowed down, and the stream pushed forward even faster, building up the pressure on her body. The faint light ahead was the only reason she knew this was the right way.
Jena tried to look behind her, but couldn’t turn her head in the confined space. Her blood pounded in her veins, and she had to control the urge to cast some kind of spell that would blast a hole in the walls around her. She could do this. Bree, who had been terrified and couldn’t swim, had made it through. If her sister could do it, so could she.
Jena closed her eyes and pushed herself forward. Her head was reeling from the fear beating its way through her body, but she focused on moving forward and ignored everything else. She felt a soft pressure around her body and opened one eye. Blue glowed all around her. The demon’s presence soothed her more than it probably should have, but she wasn’t going to be picky in a situation like this.
One hand in front of the other, one knee then another, it seemed to go on forever. Water pushed at her body, propelling her toward the end of the tunnel. After what seemed like hours, she opened her eyes again, trying to gauge how much further, and to make sure she could still see the demon.
The water was too murky to see more than a short distance in front. But the blue glow still surrounded her, holding her together. She continued on, her chest starting to feel painful from lack of air. All she wanted to do was gasp in a breath. Something crawled over one of her hands, and she jerked back, flicking her hand frantically. She had to force herself to move forward again.
Then up ahead she saw the water lightening. She moved even faster, her hands and knees taking the brunt of her desire to be out of the dark water tunnel.
She pushed toward the light, her head spinning with the pressure of holding her breath. As stars started to erupt in her head, she burst through the surface of the water. The warm damp air was the sweetest she’d ever tasted.
Still gasping air into her body, Jena crawled up out of the streambed. On the rocks at the side of the stream, she could just make out Argus and Bree huddling close together. It was dark, the only light from glowworms twinkling in the cave roof over their heads.
They both stood and came forward, Bree offering her a hand. She pulled Jena tight into an embrace, her body shivering uncontrollably.
“You made it,” Bree said.
Jena tried to smile through the cold. “I’d not want to do it again if I had a choice.”
Bree laughed; a brittle sound that echoed around the cave. “No, me either.”
Splashes behind them heralded Nate’s head breaking the surface. Argus held out his hand and helped Nate drag himself out of the water.
“I’m glad that’s over,” gasped Nate, water dripping down his face. “I didn’t think I was going to make it at one point.” He wiped a hand down his front as if trying to get a crease out of the sodden material.
“What now?” asked Argus, looking around.
It was difficult to see inside the murky cave, but the stream they’d traveled along flowed across the cave they were now in and through a large cathedral entrance on the other side. The sound of rushing water in the distance indicated the stream was either widening or meeting up with another stretch of water.
“I’m not sure. Water demon, where do we go now?” Nate glanced around him, looking for the demon. “Water demon?”
Silence greeted the question.
The demon had disappeared.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Nate held out his hand, his mind whirling with possibilities. He did the first thing that occurred to him, and a fire demon appeared before him, lighting up the rocky cave with its bright glow, allowing them all to see the cave. Through the cathedral-domed entranceway on the far side of the cave, they could hear the sound of rushing water.
“What happened to the water demon?” Nate asked.
The fire demon flicked between orange and red flames. “It scuttled away while you were underwater. The creature is not very smart. Simply call it again; it must return,” the demon said dismissively.
Nate closed his eyes, and looked along his connect to the water demon. He pulled the truant creature to him.
It rose up out of the water, straining and stretching as if trying to use the water to avoid surfacing. “Yes, master?” it said reluctantly.
“Do not attempt to leave again. You will stay with us until I say you may go.”
“Yes, master.” The demon nodded its head, water cascading down its body and into the stream. Its blue glow dimmed.
“Where is the boat you spoke of?”
“This way, master. It is where the stream meets the river.”
Nate looked over the four of them. They were still drenched from the water they’d just crawled through. “Fire demon, is there anything you can do to dry us off?” he asked.
“As you wish, master,” it said.
A sudden hot draft swept over each of them. Nate let out a sigh of relief as the hot air seeped into his body and warmed him from the inside out. Moments later, his clothes were dry and his skin was warm again.
“How did I not know you could do that before now?” asked Nate, thinking of all the cold nights he’d spent traveling with Argus.
“You didn’t ask, master.”
Nate sighed. That was the trouble with demons. They weren’t really on your side. “You may go now, fire demon,” he said and almost before the words left his mouth, the creature disappeared.
“So where to now?” asked Argus.
Nate shrugged. “We go to the boat and down the river. Water demon, show us the way.”
The water demon led them across the cave and into another domed enclosure, this one even bigger than the last one. There was a river churning briskly over the rocks, and a small wooden boat bounced in the waves. Nate looked warily at the fast-flowing river, wondering, again, how much he trusted the water demon. The creature seemed fickle at best. But they h
ad made it this far, and it wasn’t as if they had much of an option for turning back.
“Are you sure this is safe for us to travel on, demon?” he asked. He stood next to where the small boat was tethered to a nearby rock.
“Yes, master.”
“How does this boat come to be here?” asked Argus.
“It was left here by one that I called. He no longer needs it.”
A chill went along Nate’s skin. He had a dangerous creature reluctantly tied to him. He needed to be wary at all times.
Nate crouched down and held the boat while Jena and Bree climbed on board. Argus passed their travel bags in and then positioned himself in the middle of the boat, next to Bree.
Nate untied the rope and leaped in to the front of the boat. “Hold on tight. This will probably be rough,” he said.
The water demon slid under the water, and they sped off down the river, water splashing into the boat from all sides. Nate felt the demon’s wild power pulling the boat down the river in its rush to get to them to their destination. The boat felt like a piece of flotsam on the open water, with no control of where it was going. Nate clung to the edge, his knuckles white, trying to stay in the boat. The creature took them too close to an overhanging rock face, and Nate only just managed to duck in time to avoid being knocked out of the boat. “Duck,” he yelled desperately to the others, then looked back to make sure they were okay.
Everyone was clinging on tight, their faces white with fear. Nate ground his teeth. He’d had enough of the demon playing with them. “Demon! Calm our speed or I will curse you to spend the rest of your days in the Edges,” Nate yelled over the rushing of the water. Their pace slowed immediately.
Nate sat back in his seat and held on to the front of the boat. He kept his eyes fixed on the river ahead, determined to make sure the demon didn’t try any further tricks to unseat him.
The river, helped by the demon, carried them through the caves alongside the volcanoes. It became hot, the air thick and damp. Often the blue glow from the water demon under them was the only light.
Nate decided it was better not to see too much of their surroundings and didn’t offer to light their way. He’d seen the inside of enough volcanoes to know that they might be better off in the dark. As long as they were in the water, they would be protected from the worst of the heat. He hoped.
He glanced back to the others. Argus and Bree sat together, Argus holding Bree close. From the back, Jena watched the sides of the river, as if trying to spot creatures just outside of their sight. No one talked. The only sound was the rushing water, echoing around the wider caverns on either side of the river.
Eventually the boat slowed. “We are almost there, master.” The water demon sounded petulant. Perhaps disappointed they’d survived their river trip. This water demon was more like a child; wild and unpredictable, rather than dark and dangerous like the fire demons. Nate decided he preferred dealing with fire than water.
They turned a corner in the river and the rushing water flowed through another entranceway. On the other side was the murky expanse of an underground lake, steam and bubbles visible in the distance. High domed ceilings with rock formations hung down, and glowworms twinkled in the darkness. Their glow was reflected in the water, and it was like looking at two night skies, glowing back at each other. A long shape broke the surface of the lake ahead of them and then dived back under, disturbing the perfection of the smooth surface.
The water demon drew the boat up to a sandy beach by the lakeside. “The water is warm here, but you will be able to climb out over this side,” it said.
“Is there anything in the water we should be wary of?” asked Nate. “Anything that can walk on land?”
The water demon paused. “They will leave you alone if you are with me.”
Nate climbed out, splashing in the warm water. “I’ll pull the boat to shore.”
“Wait for me. I’m too heavy to pull,” said Argus, leaping out the side. Jena and Bree stayed in the boat and waited as they pulled it up onto the sandy shore of the internal lake.
They all sank to the ground near the boat. Nate let out a sigh. “I never want to do that again,” he said.
“I always thought I might like boats,” said Jena. “I was wrong.”
Bree had curled herself into Argus’s side, but she laughed a little at Jena’s comment. “I knew I wasn’t going to like it... And I was right.”
They sat in silence for a while. Nate stared at the lake, the beautiful twinkling lights, and the reflection in the water. It seemed a place of perfection and harmony. He wondered what would happen, if they just stayed here for a while. Would Lothar find them? Surely, half consumed by the Ember Volcanoes as they were, they might be safe.
“What happens now?” asked Jena.
Nate shook himself. There was no such thing as hiding away. Lothar would always find him; he’d shown that already. “I think we eat and then rest,” he said. He pulled himself to his feet, and brushed off the sand. He pulled his travel bag out of the boat, and handed around the travel rations. Argus just glared at him when he offered the rock-hard treat, but Jena and Bree took one gratefully.
Instead of sitting back down, Nate walked along the small beach line, taking slow bites of his food. The sand soon turned into rocks under his feet. He kept going and was soon climbing up a rocky incline. In the distance, he saw a tiny light that might be a cave entrance. They were almost at their destination, so close he could taste it. He kept climbing, hands and feet in just the right position, until the tiny spot of light became a large cave entrance. Nate climbed up and over the rocky incline, and stood looking out at the world beyond.
Blinking at the bright light, Nate gazed around, trying to get a sense of where they were. Behind him, the Ember volcanoes smoldered, now on their other side.
In the rocky landscape in front of him, a flame burned up out of a crevice in the ground. It was abnormally bright, the reds and oranges of the fire sending heat along Nate’s veins. He recognised the fire at once. It was a Flame Echo, joined to the Royal Flames.
What was it doing hidden out here?
“Hello, Nate,” said a voice.
Nate jumped, quickly scanning the area for the speaker. His gaze eventually landed back on the Flames. There was an outline of a face in the flickering light.
He took a step forward then stopped. He didn’t want to be too close to whatever this was.
“Who are you?” he asked, although he had a pretty good idea.
“I am your cousin, Lothar. The next King of Ignisia.” He paused. “And you, my boy, are nothing if not predictable.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
“Where did Nate go?” asked Jena, squinting along the beach where he’d disappeared. “Should we be concerned about him?”
“Nate can take care of himself,” said Argus. “At least for a little while.”
Argus was sitting next to Bree, making sure she was okay. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be falling asleep on Argus’s shoulder.
Jena shifted sand between her fingers for a few more moments, but she couldn’t stop the feeling that Nate was in trouble. “I’m going to find him,” she said abruptly, shaking the sand from between her fingers. “If we’re not back in fifteen minutes, come looking for us.”
Argus nodded absently, his attention on Bree.
Jena shook her head and strode up the beach. If that’s what love did to a perfectly reasonable person, they could have it. She climbed over the rocks and up to the cave entrance when she saw it, sure this must be the way Nate had come.
As she was emerging from the darkness of the cave into the light, she was blinded momentarily by the bright sunlight outside. She heard the voices first, before being able to see who was talking.
“What makes you so sure I’m your cousin?” Nate was saying. “It’s all a little too convenient.”
“Believe me, your appearance in the Royal Flames is anything but convenient,” said a cultured voice.
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“How did you find us in the Flames? We have protection,” Nate said.
“I recognised Remus’s servant. It was a simple matter to assume the shrinking mage was meddling in this. Another predictable creature.”
“Why are you so focused on me? I’m nothing to you.”
“Because unfortunately, the Royal Flames don’t lie. And if I am to return Ignisia to its former glory, I must be on the throne.”
Nate shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to kill people to rule.”
Jena’s eyes had adjusted to the light, and she saw Nate directly in front of her, a natural flame in front of him. She couldn’t see the second speaker anywhere.
“You’re too young to remember Ignisia any other way than it is now,” he was saying. “But once upon a time, before King Harad came to power, our land was a bright and glorious place. The lands were bountiful and we didn’t rely on the lava salt scrounged from the volcanoes for our living. You know all about that, don’t you, Nate? How many of your friends died around you while you lived on?”
“It doesn’t give you the right to attack innocent people.”
Jena stepped up beside Nate and glanced at his face to see who he was addressing. There was no one around, except for the flames burning bright. She looked more closely, and realized it was a natural Flame Echo, one that had developed out of the volcanic ground. There was a face in the flames, a man not much older than they were. There was only one person it could be.
Lothar.
“Sometimes bad things have to happen in order to set things straight. I’ll admit I didn’t realize I would have to take your life, Nate, and I deeply regret the necessity. But it is for the greater good, for the people of this land. I have the ability to turn this nation around again, to make her plentiful again. To make our people happy.”
Jena stepped closer to the Flames. “Like the people of the village we passed by who were being plagued by a Murghah? Is that the kind of happy you mean?”
The face turned to look at her. “Ah, the servant girl who killed my Hashishin. I should have known that Thornal would have no ordinary servant working for him. He was the Guardian after all.”