Awakening of Fire

by Holly Hook

  And taking it felt wrong on another level. I wasn't sure why.

  Then my hand hit something promising.

  "Sven? They like power tools!" I pulled out a new gas-powered chain saw.

  "No!" he shouted with a grimace.

  I pulled on the handle, but nothing happened. No fuel. I tossed it down on the rest of the stuff and continued to search. I dug through a second pile of treasure, which included a cloth bag of crisp bills and even a box of rolled pennies. Dragons had modernized, then.

  "What about this?" I asked, holding up a saw.

  Sven nodded. "That's less terrifying. Hurry. I don't know how long it will take her to gather the den."

  I thought of how big this network must be to hold over one dragon. It also got me sawing at Sven's chains—all three of them—that held him to the brazier. First, I tried to saw where the chains wrapped around the stone, but the brazier was curved inward, preventing my saw blade from cutting the chains. Instead, I kept hitting the stone. "I'm going to have to cut right above your arm," I warned.

  "Do it."

  He struggled to control his terrified breaths as I went to work. At least the chains that held him were crappy hardware store ones, thin and meant to keep a dog in a yard. But they could hold a human, even a buff one such as Sven.

  "Hurry," he begged. His beautiful blue eyes were full of terror.

  "Hold on." I continued to saw at the chains right above his left arm. Then I did something even more terrifying than charging into a dragon's lair.

  I held his other hand.

  Giving him a reassuring squeeze, I continued to work with one hand. A thin line appeared on the first chain. I cut through and my blade reached the second. The last two were close to his skin, so to get more control, I drew my body to his. We pressed together, hearts racing, as I sawed away at the chains constricting his arm. Our pulses matched. Furious heat filled my body as my skin tingled. I was rubbing up against the hot new guy, the amazing, Swedish dragon slayer guy. I could feel every perfect muscle through my tank top, every peak and valley. The chamber expanded, and I took a breath, trying to stave off the dizziness.

  "Ouch!"

  I had cut through the second chain and into his skin.

  "Sorry," I said as a rivulet of blood ran down Sven's arm. "This might cut you a little. I'm trying my best. One more."

  Sven smiled. "That's why they invented bandages."

  I let go of his hand and held his shoulder instead. It was more to steady myself, because the last chain still wrapped around the brazier, holding him tight. I sawed towards myself, which I knew was wrong, but it forced me to be more careful and not take his arm off.

  The final chain fell away, and all three of them fell to the cave floor.

  I pulled Sven off the brazier. He fell into me, and the two of us stumbled back and onto another pile of gold coins. Some of them toppled. The dragons would know someone had been here. I tossed the saw back onto another pile and grabbed Sven's bleeding arm, squeezing his bicep. "Up," I said.

  He nodded at me. "Felicia, you're amazing. I knew you'd follow me."

  Sven had asked me to come down here, knowing there were fire-breathing monsters.

  A burst of anger rose as the thought struck, but I shoved it back. I got up, letting go of his arm. "We've got to get back to the school," I said, turning in a circle. Maybe I'd yell at him later. Maybe not. No one wanted to die. If it were me chained up, I'd want someone to saw me out, too.

  "Which way?"

  Sven spun, looking.

  I spotted the pile of coins I'd kicked running in, but there wasn't one, but five exits leading to other passages in that general direction. This wasn't just a cave. It was a whole subterranean network that might expand under the county.

  "Um..." I started.

  Somewhere on the far end of the chamber, claws tapped stone.

  Another wing snapped.

  A snort.

  A growl.

  The dragons were returning.

  Chapter Eight

  Sven looked at me as if I should know the layout of this cave system. I shrugged. There was no way I wanted to raise his hopes.

  Another wing flapped. The brazier flames a few rows away from us danced and a large, winged shadow fell on the far wall of the cavern.

  That was enough. I grabbed Sven's arm and pulled him to the opening in the center of my vision. We darted inside and I didn't look back.

  Did I see—

  And hear—

  And nearly run into—

  "Keep going," Sven said. "We have to get to the surface. Dragons don't like to reveal themselves. They won't attack up there."

  My thoughts turned to Principal Adler. I cast her away. Darkness swallowed the two of us as we made our way uphill and back into the Swiss cheese network of tunnels. At least dragons were too big to fit in these. But how did they get in and out of the caves unless there was a huge, obvious entrance somewhere?

  "No," I said. "I'll turn around and go back in there."

  "Don't," Sven warned. He was serious.

  "I wasn't planning on it," I said. "That was sarcasm. I want out of here just as much as you do."

  I couldn't see his facial expression in the dark. We left the fiery glow behind and I walked with my hand out, feeling for any wall in front of us. At last, I bumped into one. Sven breathed on my ear. His body heat mixed with mine. We must stand close to each other. It was just about pitch black here.

  "I can't see a thing," Sven said. The guy was good at making observations. Or maybe he was just terrified for his life and not thinking. If those dragons caught us, what was that bumper sticker about not meddling in their affairs?

  By freeing Sven, I might end up chained to a brazier, too, to await my horrible death.

  "I don't know which way the school is," I said. "I've got a flashlight, but I don't want to turn it on until we put distance between us and those monsters."

  "Good plan," Sven said. "Felicia. Thanks. I wasn't sure if you'd come after me." He wrapped his arm around me, fingers tickling my arm at first as he grasped around, trying to determine that he wouldn't do anything inappropriate by mistake. It was a side hug. Sven was a gentleman.

  I let him pull me to his strong chest for a second. It was enough to make me dizzy all over again.

  "Escape," I said. A faint draft blew against my skin. "I don't remember which way it is to the school. What do you know about this place?" It was obvious Sven had dragon knowledge. A Slayer must know about lairs. Right? He was the first one I'd met. Until now, I didn't think dragon hunters still existed.

  Or dragons. Scientists said they all died out half a millennium ago. Well, the breeding population. A few might remain. Slayers got too sick of them terrorizing villages and cities.

  "That might be a good idea," Sven said, collecting himself.

  And then Principal Adler's voice echoed up the cave at us.

  "...was here...Slayer trick. I'll look. ...can't let him warn..."

  She was down there with the dragons. My sweet principal was working with them.

  One creature snorted in agreement. Or was it anger? Another wing flapped. I guessed there was over one dragon down there.

  "Go," I said.

  Sven took my arm as we scrambled to the left. The passage sloped downward again. Tingles shot up my skin. "Tell no one you freed me. You could get in serious trouble."

  I had already figured that out.

  We continued and Adler continued to speak, but the increasing distance and the cave muffled her words. I determined it was safe to turn on the flashlight which upped our survival chances by a bunch. It illuminated the gray stone of the cave. We stood in a smooth tunnel that looked as if an underground river had carved it out over the space of millions of years. Sven's head almost brushed the ceiling.

  “Wow,” I said. “I had no idea this was under my town the whole time.”

  Sven said nothing at first. Then he nodded. “There's a lot of things most Normals miss.”
r />   “You're Normal, right?” I asked.

  “All Slayers are human,” Sven said.

  “Good.” I sighed in relief. I'd had enough weirdness for the day. I wouldn't even process these events for weeks.

  He maintained his grip on my hand. Sven intertwined his fingers with mine, feeling them, pausing over my fingernails, and sending heat and electricity up my arm. “We will need each other's help to get out of here. The dragons must have ways in and out.”

  My thoughts turned to the brazier and the way I put out the grease fire yesterday morning. “If there wasn't an exit," I said, “then there wouldn't be enough oxygen coming down here to light those brazier fires.”

  “Exactly,” he said.

  The cave sloped upward again. The draft got stronger until we passed another intersection. Then it died off again.

  “Stop,” I said. “The draft must come from outside, or from a river that leads to outside.”

  “Good point,” he said. “Do you study geology by any chance?”

  “I read a lot. It helps with the boredom of living here.”

  Sven managed a quiet laugh. “Boredom?”

  “I didn't know there were dragons moving in under my feet.”

  “Did you see the piles of treasure? It looks like they've been here for a while. My family's been tracking them for generations. I didn't think I'd be the one to find their lair. I have to get out.”

  “And tell them where the dragons are?” I asked. Now that I could see Sven, I could imagine him wearing some of that ancient metal armor found down in the treasure piles. And wielding a sword and shield. It would be just like those scenes out of Beowulf. He looked like he had trained for the part. I could eyeball him all day.

  “That's what I'm supposed to do, yes.” His accent returned full force.

  “Then you need to get out of here faster,” I said, facing the right corridor. I went silent and listened for Principal Adler. She'd know the tunnels better than we would. I wondered how she'd navigated them without a source of light. That was something I'd ask Sven once I made sure the two of us weren't lunch.

  He said nothing to that. We ran down the right tunnel, running against the draft. I smelled water, more than the moisture in the rest of the cave. The flashlight didn't reveal much in front of us, but occasional squeaking met our ears. Bats. Where else would they hide? But it raised hope. They must have an exit not too far from here.

  “I don't know if I can come back to school,” Sven said. “Your principal wants me gone."

  “But everyone saw how she was acting,” I said. “Maybe she'll get fired?” My stomach turned. Until today, I'd seen Adler as a family friend and a great neighbor to everyone around her. An energetic middle-aged woman who maintained amazing health. But was she even Normal? “Can't expulsions get turned over? Doesn't that have to go through the school board?”

  “Well, yes. She said that because she doesn't want students asking questions. And Felicia, do not tell her you know me at all.”

  “What have I gotten into?”

  Sven rubbed his fingers over the pads of mine, right over the sensitive areas. I held in a sharp breath as I kept walking. He held me with intensity in his eyes. “More than you know,” he said.

  I shifted. “I figured that out that part. What is going on?”

  We continued into the draft. The moisture smell filled everything. And then the sound of trickling water followed. There was an underwater river up ahead, and I prayed Principal Adler wouldn't think to come this way. Even though I walked and biked a lot, my legs ached from all the exertion. Sven stayed quiet as we walked as if he wasn't sure how to begin.

  “My family is part of the Wiglaf Society,” Sven said. “We're trained dragon Slayers. We've existed for over a thousand years.”

  Something about the name sounded familiar. “As in the Beowulf character?” I asked. He was the only guy to help slay the dragon towards the end of the poem.

  “Well, yes. He was a real man. Our society. We're his descendants.”

  “It's no wonder you read that scene with such passion.” My face heated even though I was already holding hands with this amazingly hot guy. I knew he was just holding my hand to keep us together, but the way he kept rubbing my fingers sent an electric current up my whole arm.

  “The dragon was real, from the days when they were still common,” he said. “It unleashed its fury on an entire kingdom because one slave stole a piece of treasure.”

  “And so was Beowulf?” I remembered Mrs. Cornea talking about how scholars weren't sure where the poem came from, or even the exact date the anonymous author wrote it.

  “Yes.”

  “Get out,” I said.

  “That's what I'm trying to do.” He nodded to the tunnel ahead.

  I laughed, trying to keep it quiet. At least he had a sense of humor once he collected himself.

  The tunnel opened, and the tricking water sound seemed to come from all directions. The floor sloped downward, and I followed it with my flashlight. A narrow stream of water sparkled and reflected light.

  “A river. This is great,” Sven said. “It might go to the Water Company.”

  My jaw dropped. I wasn't sure how he knew that with being the new guy and all. But I'd save that for later. “You know, I think you're right. Where else would they draw it?” The Treasure Water Company worked just outside Olivia for years, on the opposite side of town as the olive farm, but I'd never given it a lot of thought. Half the town worked there, including Larissa's well-off parents. If we got there and banged on some pipes, we might get rescued. Or better yet, the river would surface outside the facility. Sure, we'd get in massive trouble but at least we'd get out alive.

  I hoped Sven was right about dragons not wanting to attack on the surface. But I doubted that. Dragons had done that in the past. It didn't match up. Even kids in elementary school learned about how they used to terrorize people.

  “Which way?” Sven asked.

  “We have two choices,” I said.

  He let go of my hand and stepped towards the water. “If we see a dragon, we jump into the water. It's the best bet for survival.”

  “Um...” I said. The last thing I wanted to admit to a virtual knight was that I had no clue how to swim. Nobody had pools in Olivia except Larissa's parents, and I'd overheard her saying they didn't fill it this year due to the water prices.

  Sven was facing the river. He put his gaze back on me. I couldn't read it. “This area is big enough for one to shift into full form.”

  “Shift?” I asked. “You mean, like werewolves?”

  He walked to the right without another glance at me. “Yes. Dragons can appear human until it's too late.”

  I shuddered and tried not to let my disappointment show. Sven wasn't into me after all and had just held my hand to prevent us from getting separated in the dark.

  But even though I now knew the dragons could fit through the smaller tunnels if they wanted, my mind kept going back to the way Sven rubbed his fingers over mine.

  He let the words hang as we walked down the shore of the river which was no joke since the ground here sloped downward. The rock on the floor was a different color than the walls, lighter almost, and smoother. The river had once been higher, but now it was reduced to a narrow trickle of its past. It was no wonder my parents' water bill kept rising. But as we continued, it went from a lazy flow to a frenzied rush. Light danced on the walls of the cave which narrowed until we had to walk with our shoes in the cold water. Sven and I walked in silence for twenty minutes, putting our hands on the wall to balance ourselves.

  I wanted to ask him more about dragons and the Wiglaf Society, but I couldn't break the ice. He kept his back to me since we had to go single file now. That made it hard.

  Or maybe it was everything else on my mind.

  Something was bothering me.

  A lot of somethings.

  And it had to do with Principal Adler, Olivia, the creep at the mall, and maybe even mysel
f.

  I picked up my pace, eager to get out of the cave and away from the terrifying thought storm starting in my head. Even walking down the tunnel with Sven wasn't helping. I tried to distract myself by checking him out since I was holding the flashlight even though did little good.

  “I see something ahead,” he said. “Turn that off.”

  I clicked. Darkness fell, but then my eyes adjusted as the water continued to flow over my ankles.

  “I see it,” I said.

  Up ahead, diffuse light reflected off the water and made waves on the walls. It had to be daylight for sure. It lacked the telltale orange glow. We'd emerge in no time.

  And then what?

  Sven would go alert his Slayer family about the horrors under Olivia. They'd go in, do their job, and then that would be that. Olivia would return to its normal state and I'd go on plotting how to get the heck out.

  But what about Principal Adler?

  What if she got hurt or died?

  And what about Sven?

  “Sven, please say you won't die in battle,” I said once we got moving again.

  He faced me, expression softening. “I don't know. I've trained, but I've never fought a dragon before." He looked away, but not before I caught a flash of fear.

  “You look close to manhood if you ask me,” I said.

  Horror washed over me. Why couldn't I stop flirting in the middle of dragon territory? It was as if Sven magnetically pulled the words out of my mouth. Even though he was Normal, he had a power all his own.

  I thought of the guy who looked like him at the mall—a possible Wiglaf Sociey dude. Someone giving off smoke when they died wasn't Normal. It wasn't as if Sven had medical tests to show me to prove it. Maybe Slayers had magic, and I needed to keep the Mage theory going. Why couldn't they be both?

  Or maybe he was just hot. That theory had plenty of ground.

  “I have half a year before I turn eighteen,” he said. “I have until I'm twenty-one to prove my manhood."

  “I'm seventeen myself.” Then I splashed him on the thigh when I stumbled and caught my balance. Talk about pouring cold water on the conversation. “Sorry!”