by C C Sommerly
As my lungs felt close to bursting and I couldn’t fight off taking a breath, the water dragon breached the surface. I sucked in air and fought off the shivers that threatened to dislodge me from the fin.
“Hang on.”
And we were under the water once more. Swimming was exhausting, but this took on a whole new level of exhaustion. Holding on to the fin as we raced under the water got harder and harder.
The next time we breached the surface, I took in air and my arms gave out. I dropped to the water below.
The bone man made rapid chittering. Whatever he said didn’t work. The water dragon opened its mouth and swallowed me whole.
9
I slid down its throat and was pushed through its body by muscle spasms. I slowly worked my way through the creature’s body. I landed in what must be its stomach. I was knocked flat as the water dragon started moving again, I was knocked around and fluid threatened to overwhelm me as waves were churned up within the beast. Death by dragon. Never in my life did I ever imagine a dragon doing me in.
The dragon dove down so fast that I was thrown against it and then blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was moving again. Then, I was expelled from the water dragon on a tide of fish-filled vomit. It spat me on the ground and I laid there stunned. It roared and headed back to the water. Meanwhile, I just laid there on the ground – shocked to be alive. On the ground around me were partially dissolved fish, seaweed, a fishing pole and a boot.
Never again, water dragon’s had to be Satan’s spawn. I never wanted anything to do with Miss Huntington ever again. Lochlan could have her case. This went above and beyond being a difficult case.
“I will carry you.”
I couldn’t find the strength or will to refuse. He gathered me into his arms and held me like a lover. His boney arms were surprisingly strong. But he was warm and I was so chilled. My body had long ago stopped shivering. I was probably suffering from hypothermia.
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere I never expected to see again and a place you’ll wish you never saw.”
“Can we get out of this?”
“If Hades wills it.”
“Are we in The Underworld then?”
“Not quite.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“That’s the only answer I can give you.”
We evaded the Mernin. With the protection of the water dragon, they didn’t go near us. It was the first bit of luck that I’d had all day. Well aside from not being digested by the dragon.
There was nothing and even the plants were few and far in between. The landscape was stark and barren. Dead trees fought their way up from the earth. A smattering of patchy grass dotted the landscape. Heavy, swirling clouds threatened us. There were very few signs of life in this desolate realm.
“What dangers can I expect from the land here?”
“Orcs, Mernin, and Reapers, but it’s not usually the season for Hobgoblins.”
Oh goodie, all sorts of monsters that ate humans. I wanted him to keep talking. It distracted me from this uncomfortable situation and kept the fear from flooding me.
“How do you know so much about this place?”
“This is where I came from.”
“I thought bone men were made.”
He didn’t answer.
“Who the hell are the Huntington’s?”
“My employers.”
That’s not what I meant and he knew it. We needed out of here fast. If one of the many monsters here didn’t kill us, then the smell would. It smelt like decay.
Much like the water, the land was expansive and empty and menacing.
“How are we getting out of here and is it much further?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t been here in a long time. Much has changed.”
“But we can get out, right?”
My magic rattled again. It would be so easy to get out of here. A stubborn part of me still refused. I didn’t go through everything up to this point to let it out.
“We need to head to the city. If there’s any way out, it will be there.”
He continued to carry me as I built up my strength. I felt grateful, but humiliated that I couldn’t walk on my own.
“We are defenseless like this. If you’re carrying me, you can’t fight and I can’t fight.”
“There is a way to fix that, but it’s abhorrent to some.”
It couldn’t be that bad, could it?
“What is it?”
“You have to drink my blood.”
I flinched. He was right. It wasn’t something I could do. The situation needed to be dire to even consider it.
“Only as a last resort.”
“You are braver than most. Most supernaturals and creatures avoid prolonged contact with my kind. This is the longest anyone has been in my company.”
God, that was sad. I don’t even know how to respond to that. I’m a loner, but the loneliness of his life took was something completely different.
We descended into a valley lined with skinny, spikey trees and a sickeningly sweet odor.
“Don’t touch or taste anything.”
“Cause, I always look for a good tree to gnaw on. I think I can contain myself.”
“They are venomous. You’ll die a painful death in minutes and there is no cure.”
“Then, why are we going in there?”
“It’s the fastest way and safest way. No one comes through here, at least, they didn’t when I lived here.”
We entered a narrow opening in the trees. There was barely enough room for us to fit side by side. I tucked my legs closer into the bone man. He looked down at me in surprise, but neither of us said anything.
We made slow progress. In some areas, he walked at normal speed, but others, the trees were so close that the slightest wobble in his step and we’d touch the poison trees.
Not once did he seemed winded or fatigued.
When my curiosity couldn’t be contained any longer I finally asked him about it. “Why don’t you seem tired?”.
“Because I don’t get tired.”
“Like ever?”
“Yes, like ever.”
We both slipped back into silence. I may have dosed because when I opened my eyes again, the light was nearly gone.
“Are we almost out?”
“Yes.”
A short time later, the trees opened up into a dirt clearing. In the distance, smoke billowed out from the buildings. We were finally at the city.
“I think I can walk.”
“I don’t mind. You are not a burden.”
“Well, I’d feel better knowing that we could both fight if we need to.”
He gently set me down. I’m proud to say that I only wobbled slightly on my still tired and burning legs. After this, I swear, I’ll exercise more, I promised myself. My stamina sucked.
The bone man looked at me and whatever he saw was enough to make him draw his weapon. He held a scimitar.
I felt the ground move under me.
“Do not move. No matter what happens, stay still.”
Something was digging itself out of the dirt. A segmented feeler or leg – I couldn’t tell which freed itself from the soil. Another part followed. The creature pulled itself out. It looked like a cross between a centipede with its long body and a stag beetle with its large pinchers. I remember hearing that those beetles needed the large pincher jaws to fight.
It had to be ten feet long and half as wide. It charged me and the bone man. It was a bright red, with streaks of yellow down its back and rings of yellow around its legs. It reared up on its back legs and shrieked. I put my hand over my ears to block out the painful sound. My hands came away with blood on them.
The bone man was mouthing words. I couldn’t hear what the bone man was saying. I pointed to my ears and shook my head no. He made a swiping motion with his sword and then bent over. Okay, so his gesture meant that either this thing was going to gut us or I needed to go for its stom
ach. Got it.
The bone man charged the creature. He slashed down and the creature swiped out with whip-like antennas. The bone man easily jumped over them. I crept up behind the creature. It whipped around and slashed at me. I rolled and jumped as its antennas came at me. Tough little beastie. If things like this were normal, it was no wonder bone men were so deadly. This would toughen up anyone.
The creature’s tail swiped towards me. I jumped over it, but landed unsteady. My balance was off.
The bone man was viciously slashing at the creature, leaving me to deal with the tail end. I had an idea. A crazy idea, but what did I have to lose.
I moved back and then ran full speed at the creature, jumping on its back. I plunged my sword in between two armored plates. The beast screamed. It bucked and writhed under me — doing its best to knock me off. With its attention directed at me, the bone man was poised to strike. I held on tight to its armored exterior. The greenish-yellow blood oozed out from under my sword, making my grip loosen.
“Any time now.”
I couldn’t make out his response. My ears were ringing. I put my weight against the sword hilt and it sunk in a couple more inches. The creature rested up, nearing bending in half to get to me. I dangled in the air, desperately clenching my sword. It shuddered beneath me, screamed and dropped to the ground.
I was knocked to the ground. The creature rolled on top of me, pinning me to the ground. My lungs fought for every breath and my body felt flattened.
The bone man was manically slashing through the creature. I could feel each of the sword hits vibrate through the creature’s body.
“I’ve got you,” said the bone man, or at least I think that’s what he said.
He reached through the carcass and pulled me out. I spat out the creature’s body fluids and blood. My stomach turned. It tasted as unappetizing as I’d imagined the greenish-yellow goo to be.
As the bone man pulled me to my feet, I saw dust kicked up from a large party in the distance. It looks like a patrol or scouting party. Lovely.
I tapped his arm until he looked behind us.
There was no question what he said this time, so I ran like my life depending on it, because the bone man looked worried for the first time. Anything that could worry him, worried me.
Covered in the sludge, it weighed down my clothes and made each step slip. Whatever was behind us was gaining. I could feel the pounding horse hooves. I’m sure there was noise too, but I couldn’t tell.
My balance was off from my damaged ears, making me wobble.
“What was that thing?”
I looked at his mouth, so I could lip read his answer.
“It was a Chitin Beetle.”
I couldn’t believe what he said. This place was a collection for every scary creature from your childhood memories. A Chitin Beetle wasn’t one of mine, but after this, it may be.
Now that I wasn’t fighting and my adrenaline was flagging, the pain in my ears was more noticeable. I could still feel blood trickling out of them. If we made it out in time, my first stop needed to be to a healer.
The outer buildings of the city were still hundreds of feet away. We weren’t going to make it. The bone man stopped atop a ridge and pulled me next to him. He had out his weapon. I pulled mine out. Now that our pursuers were closer, I could make out what they were. A dozen orcs on horseback raced towards us.
This wouldn’t end well. The bone man nudged me and made a drinking motion. I shook my head no. There had to be another way. We knew what affects drinking his blood would have. And the idea of drinking blood was abhorrent as he said. He repeated the gesture. I declined. He looked sad, but took a defensive stance with his scimitar. I did the same with my sword. His expression implied that he didn’t think we’d make it out of this alive.
The orcs gave the bone man competition in the scary looks department. They were tall humanoid creatures with cone-like heads and wide, sturdy and well-muscled bodies. They were completely hairless and had an underbite that made them look all the more fierce.
Their horses were literally bones that gleamed white and fire blazed from their eyes. The Orcs surrounded us with weapons raised, radiating menace. This can’t be how things end.
A flash lit up the area. Both of us were knocked down and all the orcs went flying. My mouth dropped open in shock. Lochlan stood before us. He was glowing with fae magic and was even more beautiful than before.
He was saying something, but I couldn’t hear. I gestured to my ears. He frowned and stepped closer. His nose wrinkled. Yeah, I bet I stink. You tangle with a chitin beetle and see how good you smell.
He pulled out an amulet from his pocket. He said something and laid it on my forehead. He spoke the spell and a warmth spread through me. I could feel the pain in my ears go away and the aches in my body ease.
“Better?”
“How are you here?”
“I put a tracker on you at the bar,” said Lochlan.
“How dare you.”
“It saved your life and it’s what we do with partners. We keep visibility of each other.”
“I never agreed to be your partner.”
“Can we delay the lover’s quarrel? I’d like to get out of here,” said the bone man.
He was right, arguing wasn’t getting us out of here. And, Lochlan did save us. I should be grateful and not interrogate the man. Instincts and habits were hard to go against.
“Hold on to me, both of you.”
Without further prompting, we did just that and Lochlan threw down the transport charm.
We landed in a large room filled with people.
“I brought you to the safest place I know,” said Lochlan.
One of people ripped off his shirt and transformed into a weretiger, growling at us.
Yeah, looks safe to me.
“Easy, Terrence,” said Lochlan.
“You brought a bone man and a strange woman to our headquarters!”
I could feel the magic in the room rising. They might not like me, but the looks of fear, anger and hostility they were leveling at Frank promised harm.
I stepped in front of him.
“You will not hurt him. He’s saved my life twice and I owe him a life debt.”
Several of them drew in hard breaths, but most just looked shocked.
“Easy, everyone stand down. There will be no fighting. Marty needs a healer. That spell was temporary,” said Lochlan.
“I won’t go to a healer until I know Frank is given safe passage. He works for the Huntington’s. That’s where he needs to return to.”
“We don’t take orders from you,” said Terrence.
“No, but you do from me,” said Lochlan.
“According to 18th statue of the Safe Passage Law, I can offer safe haven to our team members. And, Marty is my partner for the time being.”
“Easy boys, I’ll take him,” said an exotic and beautiful woman, with silted cat eyes and gorgeous caramel colored skin. Her hair was wound up on her head in intricate braids.
I ran over to Frank and grabbed his hands.
“Thank you. I will find a way to repay you.”
“You would indebt yourself to a creature like me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, can we take him away and get her to a healer, so we can all get back to work,” said Terrence.
Frank went off with the stunning woman and Lochlan dragged me through the building.
“I cannot believe you managed to land yourself in the Nether Realm.”
“It wasn’t exactly by choice. The Huntington’s have their house spelled. Anyone who shouldn’t be on their own, roaming the house is dealt with.”
“Where did you go that you shouldn’t have?”
“The closet.”
“How did you … actually, never mind. I’m not sure I want to know.”
“You might change your mind about that.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time. We keep a healer, Selenda, on retainer. She�
��ll fix you up in no time.”
He could have offered to take me to the devil and I’d have gladly gone. The pain was returning and I was getting black spots in my vision. I don’t know how long we were in the Nether Realm. With everything Frank and I went through, we must have been gone quite awhile.
“No complaints? You must be feeling poorly. I didn’t think you had a docile bone in your body.”
“You shouldn’t assume that you know me.”
I expected Lochlan to take me to a back room at his Agency. He grabbed my arm, threw down a transport charm, and we were gone. We appeared in a wooded glen. The cottage in front of me was the perfect rendition of an idyllic scene of tranquilly, complete with lazy curls of smoke rising from the chimney. I stumbled and Lochlan steadied me.
We walked towards the cottage. A striking red-headed woman that looked close to my age opened the door. She ran out and threw her arms around Lochlan and kissed his cheek.
“Been too long since you visited me, scamp.”
Lochlan had a sheepish grin and the faintest blush on his cheeks. There was more going on with these two than I knew. But with my pain increasing each passing minute, I didn’t care to figure it out. There’d be time for that later.
The woman looked past Lochlan at me.
“I see you’ve brought me work.”
“Selenda, I found her in the Nether Realm. She’s in a bad way. I patched her up with a healing, but its affects will wear off soon.”
“They already are.”
“Well, no need to dilly dally,” the healer said.
She ushered us into her house. It was lit by light streaming in through the large, front window. Herbs, flowers, and plants hung from the ceiling — some drying and others already dried out. A crackling fire was cooking something in a cauldron.
“Bring her to the bedroom.”
“I can stand.”
“You won’t be able to once we are done.” To Lochlan, she said, “Lay her in the bed.”
We went into the bedroom and before Lochlan could tuck me in like an invalid, I settled down on the bed.
“Can you get my pestle and mortar. Oh, and gather the red-flowered plants out in the garden. Don’t be stingy, get an arm full.”