Earth Born (The Earth Born Cycle Book 1)

by N. E. Conneely

  She swept the flashlight across the remainder of the corridor. As far as what her eyes could see, there was nothing to worry about. Even the remains of the snake creature she’d killed were gone. The problem was she didn’t know if that was good or bad. What she did know was that they needed to keep moving. There wasn’t enough room for Branstan to cross the pit until she cleared the rest of the hall.

  A few steps forward and she felt the vibrations in the air ahead of her. She stopped and reached out with all of her senses. There was a web of magic across the path, anchored into the rock on every side, guaranteeing that it would catch whoever tried to cross. She crafted a probe, a delicate tendril of magic, and extended it out from herself. If she could get a feel for the spell, she might be able to defuse it.

  The probe touched the spell, and she could sense the web and the underlying spell that would electrocute anyone unlucky enough to walk through it. She felt the next spell at the same time it latched on to her probe and yanked her forward. Before she could disconnect herself from the spell, she was in the web.

  Blue lights gathered around her. Between one breath and the next, they were flowing into her, hotter than anything she’d ever felt before. Every nerve lit on fire, her hand clenched around the hilt of her sword, and her chest froze midbreath. She could hear Cord and Branstan shouting for her, but it didn’t matter. The spell had her.

  Then it shifted and started spreading away from her. She forced her chest to move, sucking in one desperate breath. If the spell reached Branstan and Cord, it could kill them. Even though her skin felt as though it were beginning to melt off her, she pulled the power toward her, yanking at it as it had yanked at her. She didn’t have the capacity to store all this magic, but there was something else she could do with it.

  Shasta focused on the unyielding ground under her feet and pushed the power toward the earth. It blocked her, as it had every time she’d tried to communicate with it. Clenching her jaw, she pushed harder. The earth would yield to her. It would take this power. She shoved the magic down while she pulled more into herself. The earth blocked her again, and the magic thrashed inside her, pushing at her mind, fighting to break free.

  She bundled up as much of the power as she could and hurled it at the earth under her. The ball of magic slowed, and for a moment she thought it would get hurled back at her, incinerating her where she stood. Then whatever barrier had blocked her from connecting to the earth fell away and the earth absorbed the power. She frantically shoveled more of the magic, and the power flowed easily, pulling the web of electricity out of the corridor and into the ground where it belonged. Then the spell and the electricity it had created were gone. She stood there on shaky legs, sucking in breath after breath.

  Cord grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. “Shasta! Shasta, look at me. How badly are you hurt?”

  She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus. “I’m fine.”

  Cord gaped at her. “That spell could’ve killed Branstan! You’re not hurt?”

  For the first time she could feel the cave stretching out around her, each little nook and cranny, to where it ended not far from where she’d found Matilda. In the cavern where she’d found the vats of blood, there was a smear of energy that made her skin crawl. The rest of the cave, while still somewhat tainted by the blood energy, was far less abrasive to her senses than she had expected. Even the room that was the most tainted had a muted feel to its energy.

  “Can you feel the earth again?”

  Cord looked over her head. “It may be her cognitive function.” He pried the sword from her hand, set it on the ground, and started patting his way down her arms and then her legs.

  “If that were the case, I’d expect to see more visible injuries. It was quite a lot of electricity,” Branstan rumbled.

  “Designed to kill anything in this area.” Cord focused on her. “Shasta, I need you to talk to me.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I have been. You’re not listening. I’m fine. I used the energy to get past the block that was keeping me from sensing the earth. I’m assuming you haven’t been able to communicate with this area either. So did I remove the block for me or for both of us?”

  Cord tipped his head back, looked up at the ceiling, and muttered something soft enough that Shasta couldn’t hear him. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “You realize I thought you were dead. I thought we were all going to die.”

  “Then we’re even. ’Cause that’s how I felt when I saw you jump off Silas,” Shasta snapped. It would be so much easier to be focused and logical about this conversation if her nerves would stop tingling. She grabbed her sword off the ground. “I’m not an elf, I’m not a dragon, and I’m not a witch. Some witches can’t simply store that much power. Like them, I’m limited in the amount of magic I can hold. Some elves could’ve simply channeled it into the earth, but I was blocked. I drew the magic into myself while I forced the block open. Because I’m one of only two known half elf, half witches and I have a mix of both abilities, I was able to do that. Can we focus now? Can you feel the earth?”

  “Yes, I can feel the earth now.” Cord forced the words through clenched teeth.

  “Good.” Shasta bared her own teeth in a semblance of a smile. “Then do you notice what I don’t feel?”

  Cord sucked in a deep breath, slowly letting it out. “It’s like the edge has been taken off the blood magic. Your mom always said it fades quickly, but we were here yesterday and I could taste it in the air. Today it feels like a humming light bulb, something irritating but hardly noticeable.”

  “Do you mean the monster has escaped?” Branstan grumbled.

  Knowing he wouldn’t like her answer, Shasta turned to face the dragon. “I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think we’re going to find Matilda’s abductor. At least not today.”

  Smoke crept out of Branstan’s nostrils. “Then we should not waste time. If he is here, we hunt him down and kill him. If not, we search for answers and then hunt him down and kill him.”

  Shasta turned to Cord. “You heard the dragon. Let’s move.”

  His eyes darted between Branstan and Shasta before resting on her. “Are you sure you are uninjured?”

  “My nerves are a little tingly and my skin sensitive, but I’m fine.” She glared at him until he turned and marched forward. She let him get a few feet ahead in case he needed space to retreat and then followed. Truth be told, her skin ached as if she’d been scalded from head to toe. However, she was already less sensitive than she had been a few minutes before, and she rather doubted that it mattered what she was doing while she waited for these particular symptoms to abate.

  Branstan grunted, and she glanced behind her. He was carefully picking his way across the pit, his tail held high so it couldn’t scrape on any of the sharp points. When he was safely across, she followed Cord into the chamber where she’d previously seen a combination of living quarters and lab. Her eyes were drawn to the table, but this time there was no plate and no half-eaten burger. Judging solely by the density of things on the tables, about half the equipment was missing. There were still bits of glassware here and there, including one towering cylinder half-filled with a brownish-red fluid.

  Cord stood and surveyed the area as Shasta walked past him. The bed was still there, but the sheets and pillows were gone. Her eyes drifted down to the lower part of the cave. There were no dots of light marking a path, only the creatures glowing blue from their home on the ceiling.

  “Do we go through what’s here first or examine the rest and look at this on our way out?” Cord asked.

  “Back to front,” Shasta answered.

  From the end of the tunnel, Branstan nodded.

  Cord gestured to the path. “Then by all means, let us continue.”

  Cord hurried to the path, and Shasta let him take the lead. She glanced over at Branstan, who tipped his head toward the path. If he wanted to be at the back of the group, that was fine with her.

/>   Even without the lanterns that had been along the path, the flashlights illuminated more than enough for them to easily make their way down. Cord went right past the room that felt tainted, apparently holding to the idea that they would work from back to front. Shasta detoured through the area where Matilda had been held. The only things left were holes in the rocks. Even the chains and collar parts were gone. She rejoined the group as they continued past two more sites with similar holes. They agreed that they’d been prepared for the holding of dragons, but there wasn’t any evidence to suggest they’d been used. Though, considering how little had been left behind from Matilda’s captivity, that wasn’t conclusive.

  They passed through a fissure, small for the cave though plenty large enough for Branstan, and into the final chamber. There was a cluster of columns in the back of the cave that were stalactites and stalagmites that had merged, but that was the only interesting formation. The rest of the room was empty. Anything that had been there was now gone. Unlike other parts of the cave, there wasn’t even sand or dirt to hold footprints. It was bare rock. That left only two places for them to search, so they headed back to the cavern where blood magic had soaked into the ground.

  It didn’t take them long to get back to the fork in the path. Shasta stopped trying to feel what was ahead of them. Most of the cave was willing to interact with her, but that chamber was rather aloof. She could tell blood magic had been worked in there, but that was the extent of the useful information.

  She opened her eyes to see Cord watching her. He adjusted his grip on his sword. “Could you get any information about that part of the cave?”

  “Nothing more than what I’ve already said.” She turned to the dragon. “Can you sense anything?”

  Branstan slowly inhaled. “It smells of dragons and death.”

  Shasta pursed her lips. That wasn’t the most helpful of answers. Unfortunately, there was only one way they could learn more. She vanished her sword, rubbed her hand on her pants to dry them, and then resummoned her sword.

  She looked at the two men. “Are you ready?”

  They nodded.

  Shasta started forward. Cord quickly fell in beside her, leaving Branstan at the back. She wasn’t particularly happy about Branstan’s position, but she doubted there was anyone left. After all, they would’ve had ample opportunity to attack before now. A magical trap was more likely, so she kept her shields cracked. Hopefully that would allow her to sense any spells waiting for them.

  As they walked forward, a smell tickled her nose. It wasn’t decay but something similar. She couldn’t identify it, and she didn’t remember it being here before.

  Cord’s shadow wobbled.

  Shasta looked over. “Are you okay?”

  He muttered as he righted himself. “The ground’s uneven, and the earth is unwilling to aid my steps.”

  She nodded. A wave of that unidentifiable stench washed over her, and the air pushed against her oversensitive skin. She jerked around, bringing her sword up. Jaws snapped shut just short of connecting with the edge of her blade. She ducked and darted to the side, catching a glimpse of fangs.

  Cord darted forward, slashing at the creature and driving it back. It lurched forward again, but he held his sword between its mouth and himself. She should be in there, helping him fight, but all she could do was stare. It was the same snake creature, or she thought it was. It didn’t look like any resurrected thing she’d ever seen. It wasn’t a ghoul, not in the traditional sense anyway. They were humanoid, and this thing was still snake. Not to mention that rather than the day’s worth of decay it should have, there was nothing left but bone and sinew. As best as she could figure, it was an animated skeleton.

  It snapped at Cord again, a single drop of liquid dripping from the tip of one of its fangs. Well, it was still venomous, which under other circumstances might’ve been the bad news, but in this case she was more upset about it being reanimated. It should’ve been nothing more than a rotting pile on the ground.

  Then there was that smell. It was stronger now, wafting through the air as the creature moved. Formaldehyde. The last time she’d smelled that had been in a biology class where there were preserved creatures for the students to study. And, for some strange reason, that particular teacher was against the use of magic.

  Shasta leaped forward, her sword slicing the creature’s neck. It cut through the sinew, but the bone stayed together. Instead of hurting the creature, the attack angered it. It turned toward her, weaving to and fro as it looked for an opening. It darted forward, but her sword was there, slicing its neck again. It retreated. Shasta had little more than a scratch in the bones to show for her effort.

  “Move!” Branstan bellowed.

  Shasta sliced out once, and again on the reverse stroke, driving it back. She dove to the side of the hall, making herself as small as possible. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cord doing the same thing on the other side of the corridor.

  A stream of fire billowed through the space she’d occupied only a moment before. It hit the creature squarely, soaking it from snout to tail. The snake recoiled and started to turn as if it would slither deeper into the cave. Branstan advanced, focusing the flames, and it stopped midmotion.

  The sinew burned away, filling the corridor with heavy smoke that burned her throat and lungs. Even without the connective tissue, the snake stayed upright. Shasta sat there, wishing she had some idea what to do if dragon fire didn’t kill this thing. Then the jawbone fell to the floor and shattered. After that, bone after bone tumbled to the floor and splintered. The bones broke into thousands of blackened pieces, scattering themselves along the floor. The rock under Branstan’s fire began to glow a soft cherry red.

  The acrid smoke burned her eyes, and tears started streaming down her face. It was working. Branstan was killing the snake, and this time it was going to stay dead.

  The floor exploded in a shower of molten fragments, hurling shards of red-hot rock in every direction. Shasta did the one thing her father had told her never to do and dismissed her sword as she threw her hands in the air to guard her face. The soft splat-hiss of the fragments hitting the cold rock filled the air around her. This was going to hurt.

  Chapter Thirteen

  She had to do something. Rock that hot could burn through bone, and none of them had the ability to heal that type of damage. Air, hard and cold, form a sphere.

  The spell formed around her instantly, but that wasn’t enough. Around each of us. She forced the spell out from herself, making sure it covered Branstan’s front half and Cord. Magic drained out of her, then held steady. For long moments she hid behind her arms as fiery shards of rock pelted the ground around her. She felt the walls of air and magic around the three of them wobble as the molten rubble smacked into the flimsy protection.

  Long seconds later, she stopped hearing the rocks thumping into the ground and cooling. Shasta slowly lowered her arms. The air in front of her was hazy and wavering. Thank you. The spell weakened, and Shasta pulled the residual magic back into her. As the spells dissipated, the haze faded away and Shasta picked up her flashlight.

  All around her were lumps of rock, some of them silvery and others still slightly pink with heat. She turned the flashlight to the last spot she’d seen the snake creature. There wasn’t so much as a sliver of bone, but there was a jagged mound of still-glowing rock around a crater. At least the creature was dead. Now she hoped Cord and Branstan had survived without serious injury.

  Shasta angled the light back to the wall where she’d last seen Cord. She was sure the light was in the right spot, but all she could see were piles of rocks. “Cord?”

  “Shasta?” Cord wheezed. The top of his head rose above the pile of rubble around him.

  “I’m fine. Are you hurt?” He didn’t sound like he was in much pain, but she could see a thick layer of dust covering his hair.

  “I have a few welts where rocks hit me, but I’ll be fine. The stuff around me is too warm to climb ove
r.” Cord shifted around enough that she could see his face. There was a deep scratch on his right cheek, but it didn’t look to be a burn. Otherwise, he looked rather well, considering.

  Deep, unsteady breaths reached her ears. She shifted the flashlight around until it landed on buff scales. Branstan’s head was hanging low, and he was sitting on his rump, his tail curled around his feet much like a cat. Several of the scales on his nose and chest were darkened.

  “Branstan?” Shasta asked. “Are you all right?”

  “I… I have felt better.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I would rather not breathe fire again anytime soon.”

  “Will you be able to continue through the cave?” Shasta hated herself for asking the next question, but it was necessary. “Will you be able to fly us home?”

  The dragon panted. “I believe so, but then I will need to rest.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere yet. My rocks are still too hot to climb across.” Cord’s light trailed over the corridor ahead of them. “Thank you for killing that thing.”

  Branstan simply sighed and lowered himself to the ground.

  While she didn’t mind letting Branstan rest, Shasta didn’t want to spend too much time simply sitting among formerly molten chunks of rock. They needed to finish checking out the cave and get home. The earth reached out to her, and she happily accepted the connection.

  Need?

  Requests usually had to be simple, or the earth would get confused. She sent it an image of heat leaving the rocks. Too hot.

  With that the earth withdrew. Shasta hoped it understood and would be able to pull the heat deep within itself so that they could continue.

  “Did you talk to the earth?” Cord asked.

  “Yes, but I’m not sure if it will help us.” Shasta aimed her light at Cord.

  His brow furrowed. “I think we’re in luck. It’s asking me to tell it when the rocks are the right temperature.”