Fire and Fate: Part 1 & 2 (Dragons of Galicia)

by Simone Pond

  Evelyn rose, promising the girls she’d return soon. She jogged out of the room and back into the tunnel, where she promptly ran right into Doran and Ciara. He had been carrying her over his shoulder and dropped her upon impact.

  “Evelyn!” he whispered, confused, as he got his footing and leaned Ciara’s limp body in a heap on the ground. “What in all of Galicia are you doing here? I thought we agreed that I would come after your friend and you would gather the others.”

  “She’s not my …” There was no time to argue semantics, and if she had put her life in this much danger for Ciara, perhaps they actually were friends … of some sort. “I came to destroy the nest,” she told Doran with her chin lifted in confidence.

  “That wasn’t our plan. And it’s entirely too risky.” He scanned her clothing. “In the name of all things holy, whatever are you wearing?”

  Ignoring his question, she continued, “There are other girls trapped in here. Younger ones inside some sort of cocoons. It’s awful. Just atrocious. We must rescue them.”

  Doran muttered something softly and rubbed his chin. “You cannot save everyone, my lady. But I trust you won’t let this one go.”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, let’s gather them up, shall we?”

  “No, no. We can’t simply gather them up. They’ll die. The queen is the only one who can free them from the cocoons without killing them. But I’m not quite sure how.”

  “You were on your way to destroy the nest and capture the queen—on your own?”

  Evelyn held up the spear of Gorias. “Of course not.”

  A touch of merriment curled his lips as if the challenge thrilled him to the core. Evelyn thought him handsome and mischievous, then quickly pushed the thought away. “Well, I’m coming with you, my lady. I happen to know how to capture the queen.”

  “You won’t receive any arguments from me. But we must hurry. The others are waiting by the river.” She peered over at Ciara. “We can leave her here for now.”

  Evelyn grabbed Doran’s hand and the two jetted down the tunnel toward the low, melodic hum exuding from the zeevils’ nest. They skidded to a halt—Evelyn’s bare feet scraping against the rocks and gravel—as they came upon a precipice. A vast cavern lay before them and at its center sat an enormous black mountain of dormant zeevils. The hum droned on and on in a mesmerizing sort of way that had Evelyn staring off in a daze.

  “Don’t let them get into your head!” Doran shook her shoulder. “Stay focused.”

  “I’m fine!”

  “So what is your plan?”

  “My plan?”

  “Surely you had a plan before you rushed into the belly of this cave to destroy the nest.” Doran eyed her carefully, then studied the large nest of zeevils.

  Evelyn felt like a horrible idiot for not having thought of at least one strategy. The girls trapped inside the cocoons had thrown her off and her emotions had gotten the best of her. But she couldn’t let the thief think her unworthy of her destiny.

  “The spear of Gorias is my plan, sir,” she said with a bold air.

  He stepped away from the edge and gave a slight bow. “By all means, have at it, my lady.”

  The not-too-subtle bite of sarcasm was not lost on Evelyn. She was familiar with the practice. What she wasn’t accustomed to was blushing in front of men. She tried looking away to hide what she knew were rose-colored cheeks and peered down at the nest. As if pleading with the spear for a revelation, she gripped it tighter.

  “Anything?” she whispered.

  Fortunately for Evelyn—with regards to saving face and her ass—the spear of Gorias warmed and lit up. The two became one––dragon slayer and weapon––communicating in some obscure manner which Evelyn still didn’t fully comprehend. Yet, something deep within her soul understood the instructions on a preternatural level. She knew just what to do.

  “Everything all right, my lady?”

  She knelt down by the edge of the cliff and directed her laser-sharp focus at the center of the nest of zeevils. If she could plunge the spear into the heart of their nest, the power from the weapon would surge outward, zapping the creatures with deadly electric currents. A chain reaction would ensue, taking out the vast majority of the zeevils. That was her plan. Or rather, the spear’s plan.

  “I’m going for the heart of the nest,” she said, hoisting the spear.

  Doran reached for her arm. “Not if you want to keep the queen intact.”

  8

  A slow panic crept up Evelyn’s throat like a noose ready to cinch tight. “Not if I want to keep the queen intact?”

  “The queen is protected at the center of the nest. You said you needed her in order to save the girls. If you aim for the core, you’ll likely kill the queen, thus dashing your chances of freeing the girls.”

  Evelyn looked at the spear, waiting for a fresh solution to this problem. But it was clear she would have to figure out an alternative plan on her own. Or she could sacrifice the girls in order to destroy the nest of zeevils.

  “Not much of a choice, is it?” she muttered.

  “No hero’s choice typically is, my lady.”

  She closed her eyes and considered their options. Pressure rose in Evelyn’s chest like a volcano preparing to erupt. She had spent her years as a goat-herding cheese-maker … So why in Galicia’s name had she convinced herself she could pull off something of this scale? But as she stood on the precipice, she recalled those young girls trapped inside the cocoons. They were innocent victims that would never know life if she were to turn her back now.

  “I will lure them through the tunnels while you capture the queen,” said Evelyn. “After all, you boasted you knew just how to do that.”

  Doran stood observing her, stroking his unruly curls away from his face. “Are you sure, my lady?”

  “Have I any other choice?” she asked.

  “If you want to save the girls, I suppose not.”

  “Very well, then. I’ll make my way over to that side of the cavern, get their attention, and start running for dear life. You must get to the queen. Kill any zeevils protecting her. We’ll meet back where you left Ciara. Got it?”

  He nodded with a slight smile, one Evelyn took as admiration. Then she carefully scooted along the edge of the cliff with her back against the rocks, making sure not to lose her footing as she made a slow approach to the opposite side of the cavern. Pebbles skittered out from under her feet as she dragged them along the edge. She gripped her spear as perspiration dripped down her forehead, stinging her eyes, and forced herself to get her panting under control so as not to call attention to herself. Only a few more yards until she reached the tunnel, but they seemed to stretch out for miles.

  On the other side of the cavern, Doran watched attentively, the stress building up in his clenched face. Evelyn wished he wouldn’t look at her like that—as though he were holding his breath. She was fully capable of managing the task. Wasn’t she? Just then, a rock slipped out from under her foot and rolled over the edge, hitting the cavern walls the entire way down in a raucous clamor. Doran ducked back into his tunnel and Evelyn—with still a few more yards to go—lunged toward the opening of hers. She dived belly first into the darkness. Her limbs scraped along the gritty cave floor, rocks and pebbles grinding into her skin. It took a few moments for the fiery darts of pain to stop shooting through her palms and knees. The spear of Gorias lay a few feet away, glowing with its white-blue gleam. A warning signal.

  She jumped up, brushing off the grit and doing her best to ignore the bloody cuts on her knees and elbows. If she had stirred the nest, she needed to make haste and draw their attention and lure them into the tunnel. The spear rose up of its own free will and made a beeline toward Evelyn. She quickly dodged out of the way to avoid being impaled. But it whipped around and came at her again. Had the weapon turned against her? Had something happened when she dropped it? She dived out of the way again, but the spear boomeranged in her direction. The only way to g
o was deeper into the tunnel, but she couldn’t leave her post—not before she got the zeevils’ attention.

  “What are you doing?” she asked the spear as it swished around toward her.

  She lost her footing and tripped backwards, landing on her rear end with the spear of Gorias zipping directly at her. Such a pathetically ironic moment—dying at the hand of her own spear. The tip of the blade glowed icy white as it shot forward. She kept her eyes open to face her death; it was the last dignified thing she could do under the circumstances.

  “Very well,” she said.

  The spear came to an abrupt halt just before her right hand. She blinked a few times to make sure she understood.

  “Are you saying all you wanted was to join me?”

  The spear inched closer and made its way into her palm, where she laced her fingers in a tight grip around the crystal shaft. She laughed with relief.

  “I thought you had turned against me, my friend. My apologies. I really must read my father’s journal to better understand all your capabilities.”

  A whistle came from the cavern, echoing through the tunnel. Doran! She leapt to her feet and darted to the opening. Below, the nest of zeevils had begun to wake up, the spiral unraveling in a perfect line formation. Doran stood pressed against the wall of the other tunnel and gave Evelyn a brief nod as if to say, get on with it. Yes, it was time to do just that.

  “Good afternoon!” she yelled out to the zeal of zeevils. “I was looking for a friend of mine, but I believe I’m lost.”

  The hum of slumber morphed into the buzz of flight and the insect creatures began to zip around the perimeter of the cavern toward Evelyn. She immediately turned and fled into the tunnel with the spear directing the path by way of gravitational pull. Just as she’d hoped, the zeevils followed her into the passageway, the buzz roaring behind her like a tsunami. Though she had a head start, they were fast and she needed to find clever ways to slow them down, like winding down other passageways. Without communicating aloud, the spear automatically jerked sharply to the right, bringing Evelyn down a new tunnel. This, of course, slowed down the train of zeevils trailing her. They did this a few more times and the ploy worked, but she didn’t know how much longer she could run circles through the labyrinth. She hoped Doran had captured the queen by this point; she now needed to come up with a way to destroy the hundreds of oversized flying beetles pursuing her.

  A water source inside these caves would be most helpful …

  The spear directed her up an incline that twisted in concentric circles. The zeevils continued, their buzzing growing more agitated as the hunt persisted. She finally came to an opening and rushed out of the tunnel and onto the edge of a peninsula inside another large cavern. Another tunnel opening yawned across the way, but getting to it would be impossible—for between she and it lay a vast pool of bubbling lava.

  “Is this some sort of joke?” Evelyn choked out, looking at the spear.

  The buzz roared louder and louder. Soon the zeevils would be upon her.

  “I’m not jumping into molten lava,” she said.

  Then the spear began to do something Evelyn had not yet experienced in the short amount of time she had been in its company.

  9

  The spear of Gorias burst into a blaze of light and lifted Evelyn off the ground. She clasped it with both hands as it began to pull her into the air above the seething pool of lava. Heat rose up and nearly scorched her skin, but the spear levitated higher. She dangled from the apparatus—not a pleasant sight in her torn bloomers, her body flopping around in a gangly motion—but after some grunting and maneuvering she was able to find her center and glide evenly with the spear.

  From the tunnel, the zeevils shot into the cavern, buzzing into a circular formation that resembled a tornado. The spear rose higher up, and Evelyn clung to it for dear life. The leader of the zeevil swarm headed toward her with the zeal trailing behind. Their buzz echoed loudly off the rocks of the cavern walls and Evelyn’s ears rang from the tumult. Panic raced through her as the annoying creatures buzzed upward in her direction. The spear began to pick up momentum and Evelyn almost lost her grip.

  Since plummeting to her death in a hot bed of lava wasn’t how she wanted to die, she used what remaining strength she had to hoist one of her legs around the spear to better secure herself. Within seconds she was whipping around the inside of the cavern like a whirlpool, each loop picking up more speed. The walls blurred as she zoomed by like lightning. The zeevils trailed behind in a mad fury, but the spear was faster. Evelyn felt heat rising from below and worried the lava would erupt up through the cyclone of zeevils and take her out. Large bubbles percolated and hot droplets of magma spurted upward. And just when she couldn’t take the heat another second, the spear broke out of the formation and shot up through the middle of the spiral. Evelyn closed her eyes.

  I’m going to die in a pool of lava …

  Instead of falling into the molten froth, a cold blast of dank air kissed Evelyn’s cheeks. She opened her eyes to find herself zipping through a dark tunnel. The spear slowed and steadied itself, depositing Evelyn onto the ground. She sat staring toward the far end of the tunnel, where the orange lava gushed upward through the cavern, incinerating the entire swarm of zeevils into black spume. Their screeches echoed throughout the caves as the eruption shook the underbelly of the mountain.

  “They’re gone,” she whispered, relieved to be alive and not moving at the speed of light or being chased by grotesque multi-eyed, razor-toothed insects. “We destroyed the zeevils.”

  It was now time to get back to the girls and free them from those loathsome cocoons. The spear led her back through the tunnel to where Doran waited with the queen zeevil bound in a myriad of ropes. The foul stench that issued from the gelatinous beast as she shifted and writhed knocked Evelyn back a few feet. The queen’s evil glare shot at her like a hail storm from her thousands of shiny eyes. She knew what Evelyn had done.

  Ciara was barely conscious and sat wilted on the ground where Doran had stationed her. Evelyn was grateful the girl was too exhausted to speak; she already had enough to manage.

  “Is it finished?” Doran asked, grinning with admiration.

  “Indeed.”

  The queen zeevil squealed and hissed as she struggled to break free of the ropes. It was no use. Doran had done an expert job at securing the beast. He dragged the writhing bundle across the cave and placed her before the rows of hanging cocoons. Though the girls were barely alive, Evelyn detected flashes of hope gleaming from their gaunt faces. Seeing this was worth almost boiling to death in a pool of lava.

  “Are you ready to free them, my lady?” asked Doran.

  Evelyn turned to meet his gaze. “Do you know how?”

  He shrugged. “My skills tapped out at capturing the queen.”

  They stared at the rows of cocoons, then at the queen zeevil. Her thousands of black, glossy eyes shined back and she made a gurgling crackle that might’ve been amusement.

  Evelyn approached the queen, aiming the spear of Gorias. “Release them.”

  The queen let out a shrill cry that filled the cave. It got Ciara’s attention. Scuffed and filthy, Ciara rose from where she’d been resting and muddled her way over to Evelyn and Doran.

  Evelyn sucked in a long breath and stayed calm, promising not to react to any of Ciara’s slanderous remarks. She focused on the queen and continued addressing the insolent creature. “Your army has been destroyed, queen. There’s nothing more. You might as well free the girls.”

  The queen released another ear-piercing, disorienting shriek that cut straight to the bone. This enraged Evelyn. She hoisted the spear and was ready to plunge it directly into the queen’s multitude of eyes.

  “I’m Evelyn of Gorias, dragon slayer, and I will be the last thing you see, you wretched beast!”

  Ciara reached for Evelyn’s wrist and with the little strength she had, she pushed down her hand. “Don’t …”

  Evelyn shot a g
lare at Ciara. “What are you doing? She’ll deafen the whole lot of us.”

  “If you kill her … you can’t free them,” she wheezed.

  “Do you know how to use her to free them?” Evelyn asked.

  Ciara nodded slightly, then reached out for Evelyn’s shoulder to hang on to. Doran helped bring Ciara back over to the wall and set her down.

  “Her venom,” muttered Ciara.

  “What about her venom?” Evelyn shook Ciara, but it was no use, the girl had passed out. What on earth had the zeevils done to zap the piss and vigor out of the fiery shrew?

  “Well, that’s unfortunate,” said Doran.

  Evelyn paced the cave, glaring at the queen zeevil. How was she supposed to withdraw the venom? And how in Galicia was she supposed to use it to free the girls from the cocoons? One wrong move could kill all of them—and possibly her. She held up the spear and waited for it to bestow the answer. But none came.

  “At this rate, we’ll never reach Verubri Castle.”

  “It’s your choice, my lady. We can depart now. The women have been freed from the enslavement camps and there is no more threat of the zeevils tracking them down. We can slay the queen and be on our way … But I can see your heart desires otherwise.”

  She stood in front of the cocoons, staring at the young and innocent faces. They deserved so much more life. So much more than dying inside a cave under the Vindius Mountains. She gripped the spear and lunged at the queen zeevil, stabbing the tip into the beast’s side. The queen wailed in agony. She glared at Evelyn with her thousands of eyes and reared back her head.

  “What are you doing, my lady?!” Doran shouted.

  Evelyn took another stab at the queen, riling her up so much that the zeevil began screeching and undulating. Evelyn ran behind the queen and poked at her with the spear, then jabbed at her from the front. The clamor grew louder and more potent. Doran covered his ears to save himself from potential hearing loss. Evelyn kept going at the vicious creature, antagonizing her until finally the queen opened her wide mouth, displaying rows and rows of sharp teeth dripping with an opalescent liquid. It was working!