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“Fuck,” swore Jari. “If we make him think we’re up high, maybe we can sneak back down and out, or-”
The floor and walls quaked so hard as Mammon hit them again, Aurelius was sure the whole thing was about to come down on top of them.
Chapter Eighteen
Jari dropped his sword, grabbed Aurelius, and pushed him down to the floor before wrapping his arms around the shaking Prince. To his shame, he was trembling too. He hadn’t expected to find a room and a cave with a fucking dragon who could turn into something like a man.
Chips of stone hit his shoulder as he tried to protect Aurelius, although if the tunnel caved in, they’d both be crushed.
Jari had once seen what was called a box maze, and people would put their pet rat or mouse inside so it could scurry through. Usually, there was a piece of cheese or something for the critter to find and eat. That’s what he felt like, except no tasty treat waited for him, and the being outside would slaughter them both.
“It’s me he really wants,” muttered Aurelius. “I’ll go up and see if there’s a gap. I’ll wave through it or do something to distract him. You can run down and try to get out.”
“No!”
“Someone has to tell the others, and maybe you can get away.”
“He won’t forget me!”
They were probably all fucked. If that dragon could fly, no ship could outsail it.
“Jari, please…I don’t want you to die.”
“He’s not going to fall for that, and even if he did, I’m not leaving you to that thing.” Like he’d ever abandon Aurelius to be used like a toy and discarded once Mammon grew tired of him.
A few more chips fell, and everything settled. The silence was almost deafening, and Jari pictured the dragon listening, guessing where they were, and waiting with his cat-like eyes scanning the area.
“Wait a second,” Jari whispered.
Nothing happened, and maybe Mammon couldn’t hear if they whispered. It was hard to tell if he’d been able to hear their footsteps or if he’d guessed where they were.
He found his sword by him, and they started up the slope again. It grew much steeper, and Jari’s thighs burned as he held Aurelius’s arm to keep him from slipping. They came to another room with a rectangular gap in the wall. The open ceiling was much closer, but freedom was so far away. A little stone bridge led across to the other side of the cave. More tunnels likely awaited there.
“Wait,” Jari whispered.
When he dared to peek out, Mammon had his eye close to some of the holes below as if he thought they’d gone back down. If he flew straight up, he wouldn’t hit the stone bridge that crossed the cavern.
How big was this damn lair? He didn’t like the look of the bridge, but crossing might be better. Maybe there was some way out on the other side, and they could make it back into that little room that acted as an antechamber to the main cave.
Jari nudged the Prince out first and gripped the back of his shirt to keep him steady. The bridge was about four feet across, and he tried not to think of the drop on either side. Neither would survive that.
Why couldn’t Jari have been a winged fairy? He’d fly Aurelius straight outside.
Gripping his sword, he kept his hold on Aurelius’s shirt as they crept across, and he tried fooling himself into thinking the bridge wasn’t actually that long. Aurelius remained steady, and halfway across, something in the stone below Jari's boots suddenly cracked. His heart sped up as he swore he felt a shift. Aurelius froze as Mammon swung his head around, looked up, and opened his mouth in the parody of a smile.
The stone bridge shuddered, likely weak after who knew how long and compromised from the dragon’s banging. Jari’s footing shifted as a crack appeared followed by another. He shoved Aurelius ahead.
“Go! Go!”
Aurelius stumbled from the force and ran. A chunk fell away, Jari’s solid footing vanished, and he barely managed to turn and grab the edge. His fingers scraped on the stone as the broken portion hurtled down.
“Jari!”
Aurelius had gotten across, and Jari would be stuck on the opposite side. Unless he couldn’t get up. The only other way was down, and Mammon stomped closer with a growl that sounded rather chucklish. Jari tried to keep a grip on the sword, and his other hand slipped as he struggled to get a leg up.
Treasure clanked and tinkled as the dragon breathed out smoke. “You’re dangling just like the fruit in the Garden. How tempting.”
Jari lost his grip.
