Chapter 20: Desperate
All went dead quiet, and then there was a low rumble. The ground beneath them began to tremble. Thin cracks spread out from where the stalactite protruded from the ground.
Seconds later the cracks were glowing red hot. Running was not an option; the cracks spread out like a spider web across the floor of the cavern, giving way to the molten rock below. The same from the shock of the fallen pillar.
“Great!” Tristan groaned. “We have slain the beast, but we’ll die in a lake of fire!”
The floor began to crumble away. The carcass of the slain creature ignited, and thick fumes billowed off.
“So this is how it ends,” Reno said softly, “It would seem we are destined to die by fire, young prince.”
Michael’s mind flashed to the fire in Jenoth, and Malumous’s words. Looks like you’re going to die in a fire after all. “No. I choose my own destiny, and it isn’t time to die!” He grabbed Kaitala by the hand without her consent and cast magic upon the ceiling. A round slab of stone fell to the floor, breaking another large segment of the stone beneath their feet. Water spilled down through the opening.
“You fool!” Kaitala shouted. Her eyes flashed angrily.
“We have a way out now, don’t judge my decisions!”
“We will drown!” she said frantically. “It isn’t my time to die! My tasks are not complete!”
“Everybody gather around us, we will survive this, I swear it!” Michael said.
The water filled the cavern slowly. It was hot; unbearably so. Michael wondered if he was wrong—if they would boil alive down in this cave.
The water was up to their chests now and had cooled slightly, though it was still boiling in places.
“I hope everyone can swim!” Michael said as the water became too deep for them to touch bottom.
As the sea filled the cavern, it became treacherous. The cold water spilling down from the sea sank to the bottom as the heated water from the bottom rose, creating a powerful undertow. The group was forced to cling to the sharp cavern walls to avoid being sucked down and dashed against the red hot stone.
As the cavern filled more and more, the water reached the stalactites that hung from the ceiling. Using them as hand holds, Michael and the others worked their way to the hole where the water was pouring in. He scraped his arms and legs several times.
“We have to wait until the cavern is full before we can swim out!” Michael shouted above the rushing water.
The water inched up, and soon they had their faces pressed against the stone ceiling. They took in their last breath before the water covered their heads. The pressure was immense.
Michael pushed the others up through the hole before he went. Several of the creature’s eggs were floating up through the hole, lighting a path to the surface.
Off in the distance, Michael saw a dim disk. It was the sun.
We’ll never make it! He thought as his lungs began to ache.
In desperation, he reached deep within himself. He cried out for something, anything, to save him and his friends.
Then everything went black, and he felt his body surge upwards.
Sea of the Dead Page 20
