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Reluctantly, I let go of Hollis when we landed, and she scooted forward slightly, putting as much space as she could between us. We had not had enough time to fashion a saddle that would hold three people and fit on the back of a dragon, so we had been sitting directly on the scales of Aepein’s back, and my thighs screamed at me as I tried to move to slide down her side.
Groaning, my feet finally met the soft sand of the beach, and I stretched my arms above my head. We had left home nearly six hours ago, and with no stops during the flight, my body felt as though it had been thoroughly destroyed. My muscles were stiff, and my back ached, and by the way Hollis and Tarian were moving, I could tell they felt the same.
Aepein’s legs gave out from under her, and with a deceptively soft thud, she fell to her belly on the sand, her breaths coming fast and short. Hollis ran her hand up the side of her neck, moving towards her head as she muttered small encouragements and praises. Aepein just blinked at her, but the slow swishing of her tail seemed to be enough of an answer for Hollis.
Tarian came up to my side, his hair windswept and his eyes red from the force of the wind.
“Can you see the tunnel entrance?” He asked, his voice hoarse, and he cleared his throat a few times.
I narrowed my eyes as I scanned the dark horizon. We had not wanted to alert anyone to our arrival, so when Alexandre had offered to enchant some lanterns for us so we could see, we had refused, but as I stood squinting at the black-on-black cliff faces, I wished we had taken him up on the offer.
I shook my head at Tarian, and he huffed out a sigh.
“Why don’t I go look for it?” I offered, looking at my best friend and trying to ignore the stab of guilt in my stomach, “You stay here and rest. It’s been a long day.”
Tarian hesitated, eyeing me warily, but eventually he nodded. I waited until he had moved to sit beside Hollis and Aepein on the sand, his hands instantly finding the dragon’s snout and stroking it gently and headed off towards the dark cliffs that surrounded us.
The sand gave way to long grass, the blades swaying in the wind and brushing against my knees. I blew my cheeks out in a sigh, and as I reached the black cliff faces, I reached out one of my hands, running it along the sharp rocks. I was not sure where to even start looking for the entrance, since Tarian’s informants had not been overly specific, so feeling my way along the cliff seemed likemy best option.
It took nearly two hours, and as I took a break to lean against a fallen log, my legs screaming with overuse, a flicker of orange caught my attention. Pushing myself off the log, I stumbled forwards. The flickering grew larger, and after turning the last corner, I let out a strangled laugh.
In front of me stood an opening to a cave, the walls lit by a single lit torch. I wondered in the back of my brain how it managed to stay lit, with the ever changing seaside weather, but the thought disappeared as quickly as it arrived, and I turned on the spot and began to head back towards where Hollis and Tarian waited.
~~~
“If I never see the inside of a tunnel again, it will be a blessing.”
Hollis’s grumbled complaint made me roll my eyes. It had been three days since we entered the tunnels underneath Fire, and it was the most uncomfortable experience of my life so far.
They were barely big enough to fit Aepein, her head bumping the roof every time she tried to lift it when standing, which meant she had been walking with her chin on the ground and her wings curled into herself tightly. She had been growing increasingly frustrated, huffing out plumes of smoke whenever she could.
Tarian and Hollis were at each other’s throats worse than I had ever seen them. I had seen them fight, of course, but the consistency of their snipping while in these tunnels had made me seriously consider offering one of them up for Aepein’s dinner.
Every so often, there was a break in the tunnel roof, the sun or moon beaming through and letting us know the outside world still existed while we trudged our way towards the city center. It could not be far now, the scouts said it would only take a few days. Granted, they did not have a hulking dragon with them, but a few days, nonetheless.
I paused to push my sweaty hair off my face, my eyes landing on another one of those openings in the roof. From here, I could only see the greyish blue of the early evening sky, but I could hear the commotion of the city. Horses’ hooves on stone streets, and drunks leering as they passed by the working girls, wolf whistles and cursed responses.
Holding out a hand to signal for Hollis and Tarian to stop, I pointed to the view above us. They paused for a second, listening intently before Tarian’s face broke out into a grin, and Hollis clapped her hands excitedly.
“We move fast from here, okay?” I said quietly just in case anyone above us had enhanced hearing. I had heard that magic was still widely used within Fire, but I did not know to what extent.
The twins nodded their heads, and Aepein huffed anotherbreath at us. She had to be starving — she had demolished over half of the food we had brought for her when we landed on the beach, and we had had to ration the rest of it in the tunnels. I let Hollis past me first, and then fell back behind Tarian, so I was walking right in front of the great beast.
“I’ll get you a whole farm load of goats as soon as we get to the center, okay?” I threw over my shoulder at her, and she nudged me with her nose, a short breath coming from her nose as she did so. I laughed, reaching a hand behind me, and patting her gently.
For something so menacing looking, she reminded me of a spoiled puppy.
The noise of Zalas city center grew louder and louder the closer we got to the epicenter of the tunnels. The roof started to rise, and the walls started to widen, giving us all space to move more freely. I sighed in relief as I caught sight of lit streetlights through the next opening in the roof.
Suddenly, the floor of tunnel we had been walking along dropped downwards, sending Tarian falling out of sight. Hollis shrieked, and I had to slap a hand over her mouth quickly, so no one above us heard her. We stood, our hearts pounding, until we heard Tarian laughing from somewhere beyond us.
I stepped forward, edging closer to the sudden drop, and peered over the side. About ten feet down, the tunnels opened into a chasm. One side was lined with campingcots, and in the middle stood a large fire pit, lined with rocks and with a pot hanging on a metal tripod above it. I gawked at the sight in front of me, and grabbing Hollis’s hand, jumped off the small ledge.
Hollis wrapped her arms around my stomach as we made the short fall, her face shocked at the suddenness of my actions. She glared at me as our feet hit the ground, pulling away from me sharply and huffing. Her eyes widened as she pushed her hair off her face and took in our surroundings for the first time. Behind us, the ground shook slightly as Aepein stepped down into the chasm, a happy yelp leaving her as she stretched out her wings and shook her head freely.
Tarian was already moving around the area, inspecting every nook and cranny he could find. Hollis made her way to the cots, still loaded with blankets and pillows, and stretched out on one, an almost sensual moan leaving her as she did so. I looked away from her quickly, distracting myself by taking in the rest of the space.
On the far wall was a metal ladder, leading up into the roof above. The ceiling hosted a shockingly large chandelier, the candles, again, already lit. The exit was covered with what I could only imagine was a street-hole cover, and I nodded to myself. That would have to be how whoever came down here made their entrance.
