Sea of the Dead

by Matthew Holmes

  Chapter 19: Scratching in the Dim

  After a while, they caught up with the others. There was a four-way intersection of the paths.

  “Bastian went down one of these tunnels,” Kai said, “I think it would be best if we rested here until he comes back.”

  “We don’t have time,” Reno said, kneeling down to touch the stone floor. “The floor could melt from beneath us at any time. See, it is warm to the touch! Not to mention the flares. I don’t want to be caught in the dark down here.”

  Kaitala was reluctant, but even she had to agree. They decided to take the path to the left.

  After walking for a short while, the group noticed a soft glow coming from one of the paths ahead.

  “Could that be the way out?” Tristan asked.

  “I don’t know what else it could be,” Michael said, and hurried on, tailed closely by his companions.

  They were shocked when they found the source of the glow, however. The group stopped in the center of a huge cavern littered with glowing blue stones.

  The stones were all the same size and shape. Ryan picked one up, feeling the smooth surface in his cupped hands. It was the size of a small melon.

  “It feels warm,” he said, “What are these?”

  “They look like they would be valuable,” Tristan said. “Perhaps this is a hidden treasure, buried by the Defre-Lanc. That would explain the labyrinth of paths.”

  “I have never seen stones like these before,” Kaitala said, somewhat unnerved.

  “They would be useful,” Reno said, “We could use them the see by if our flairs run out.”

  Michael was exploring the cavern, when he suddenly urged frantically, “Put that down Ryan!”

  “What’s wrong?” Ryan asked.

  “Just do as I say! Come see this, all of you.”

  Ryan set the stone on the ground and walked over to where Michael stared down into a crevice in the floor.

  Ryan gasped. Deep inside the crack in the earth was a faint blue glow. Michael picked up something from the edge of the pit.

  It looked the same as the blue stone, but it was a thin sliver. The blue was slightly faded from the surface, and it looked the same as the glow in the pit.

  “These aren’t stones,” Michael said. “They’re eggs.”

  “What kind of creature could lay so many eggs of this size at once?” Kaitala pondered.

  Just then, there was a faint scratching on the ground behind them. They turned, and her question was answered. The creature was long and low to the ground. Its body was like a serpent crossed with a worm, but that is when the recognizable features ended.

  The monster’s mouth was a narrow slit across the whole of its flat spade-like face. Thousands of razor teeth protruded from inside the mouth as far back as the eye could see. Its eyes were small and black, resting in the corner of its head. The creature had two nostrils right above the mouth, centered between the eyes. Where the corners of its mouth were, there were faint lines that rippled the whole way down the body, dividing it into two tones; deep purple on top and glowing blue on the bottom.

  Long insect-like legs were attached to the body two yards back from the head. Instead of feet, however, the creature had large hooked spades that gouged the rock. Lining its entire body were small human-like arms with sharp hardened claws. The worm-like creature used these to help propel itself through the narrow passages that it could dig with its mouth and front spades.

  The glowing blue skin flashed brightly, then extinguished, leaving the group disoriented. The creature half slithered, half crawled its way toward them.

  Regaining his bearings just in time, Michael dodged the gaping mouth that would have shredded him to pieces in seconds.

  “Run to the sides! We have to circle it!” he shouted and bolted to the right past the monster.

  They couldn’t afford to get trapped in the tunnels with the monster behind them. It would know the territory too well, and would corner them with ease. The only option was to wear it down in the cavern, where there was room to maneuver.

  The monster lifted the front of its hulking body high into the air and doubled over on itself, turning very sharply in pursuit of the prince.

  The creature reared to strike. Michael was still recovering for his previous evasion as the monster plunged for its target.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Reno said as he hefted his axe into the creature’s leg. There was a snap, and the limb buckled.

  The creature stumbled sideways and missed, but it quickly stood back up. It turned to face Reno and hissed.

  With a limp, it shuffled towards him. The blacksmith stood and waited for the monster to strike. Reno lifted his battle-axe to the sky and with a roar, caught the creature in the mouth. The corners of its mouth split, and it reared back with a piercing roar like nails on smooth slate.

  Glowing purple blood smeared the floor and splashed the walls. The creature stood, its jawless mouth hanging down.

  Then, miraculously and terrifyingly, the split flesh began to mend itself at an alarming rate. Threads wove the skin back together the same way that the enchanted amour worn by Malumous’s soldiers mended itself.

  Michael knew they had only angered it more. In moments it would fight again, and it would succeed in killing them if it was not killed quickly.

  “Reno, take out the front legs! Ryan, go for the sides; Kai, I am going to need your help!” Everyone did as they were ordered.

  Reno swung his axe into the joint of the creature’s legs. Without the support they gave, it slammed into the ground writhing. Ryan ran along the body, holding his sword in the soft flesh. Remains of various animals spilled onto the floor. Kaitala rushed to Michael’s side.

  “What are you going to do?” Kaitala asked.

  “We need to bring that stalactite down,” Michael said as he pointed to the ceiling.

  “Have you lost your mind? That could drop the entire sea on our heads!”

  “What’s worse? Dying because of this beast, or to die knowing that we tried?”

  “Fine,” she agreed.

  The same as before, she grabbed Michael’s hand. He focused on splitting the tooth of hardened minerals off of the roof of the cave with surgical precision.

  The needle-like spire plunged into the body of the monster and pinned it to the ground.

  There was a groan as the ceiling protested the sudden change, but it held.

  The creature thrashed violently, and Michael jumped onto its back. He straddled it like a horse, and then with a mighty roar, he cleaved off the head of the monster. The trashing stopped, but the body still convulsed slightly.

  The body deflated as its blood and animal remains poured out, leaving an empty husk. Kaitala rushed over and filled a flask with the glowing purple fluid. Ryan looked at her strangely, but she continued her task.

  “It could be useful in the future,” she said casually.

  Reno was inspecting the corpse, and the weapon that had pinned it. Steam was gently billowing out from under the flat hide.

  Ryan strutted over. “That was easy.”

  “It’s not over yet,” Reno said.