Chapter 27 #5
Thane acts first, releasing my hand as he thrusts out his palm, fire flaring to life. Jarek and Garrick follow, flames roaring forward—twisting arcs of heat slamming into the creature’s skin.
The passage erupts in flickering light, casting monstrous shadows along the walls.
For a moment, it seems to work. The beast shudders, recoiling slightly, its teeth snapping in irritation. Smoke curls around its body where the fire lands.
Then it surges forward again.
Jarek snarls, throwing another blast of fire, this time aiming for its mouth. The flames slam into the cavernous maw, the firelight reflecting off row upon row of jagged, spiraling teeth.
The creature recoils again, screeching, its voice a high-pitched, rattling wail that reverberates through the tunnel.
Garrick thrusts both hands forward. A column of flame races down the passage. It collides with the beast’s hide, warping the air with heat.
The creature twists violently, body slamming against the walls. Chunks of dirt and loose stone rain from above.
For a breath, I think we have it. But then it plows forward—through fire, through heat. It shrieks, blistering, its skin flaking like charred stone.
Without hesitating, Thane throws another blast straight at its open maw. The fire rushes forward and vanishes down its throat.
The impact is immediate. The beast convulses, its entire body lurching backward as flames explode from deep inside it. It screeches—a sound so shrill, so deafening that I clap my hands over my ears as my pulse thunders in my skull.
The flames sear through the inside of its mouth, I can see the heat ripples through the tunnel walls as it writhes.
It clamps its maw shut. The firelight dims. Smoke billows from its mouth, seeping through its teeth, curling from the cracks in its ridged body. It moves forward again. Slower this time, like it’s wounded—but still coming.
Thane lifts his hand—ready to strike—
But Valen’s voice cuts through the firelight and chaos. Sharp. Commanding.
“Stop! Stop—NOW!”
Thane jerks his head toward him, fire still crackling in his palm. “We have to—”
“No! Listen to me!” Valen snaps. “We’re in an enclosed tunnel! Fire will eat the oxygen before it kills that thing! Unless you all want to suffocate, put it out—NOW!”
Jarek and Garrick exchange tense glances, their flames still burning, but Valen steps forward, his voice edged with urgency.
“The air is already thinning. You feel it, don’t you?”
And I do. I hadn’t noticed at first, too focused on the fight. But now—my breaths are coming shorter, shallower. The flames flickering around us are pulling from the same air we need to breathe.
Garrick curses, flicking his fingers. His flames vanish instantly.
Jarek hesitates. His fire lingers—embers flickering in his palm. But he sees it too: the light dimming, struggling for fuel. With a frustrated growl, he extinguishes it.
The tunnel plunges into near-darkness. The only light comes from the five small fire orbs still hovering around us.
The worm creature’s teeth click together, the last remnants of smoke curling from its scorched mouth. It surges forward again, its nightmare maw opening wide.
Thane draws his sword, the steel catching the flickering firelight.
The others follow—but it’s useless. The creature fills the entire passageway.
Its body grinds against both walls, pressing into the earthen ceiling, cutting off any space to maneuver.
There’s no way to get around it, no way to reach anything vulnerable.
And in front of us, a mouthful of teeth. A circular maw, gnashing and clicking, filled with rows upon rows of jagged, uneven fangs, spiraling endlessly inward.
There’s nowhere to strike. No exposed throat. No soft underbelly. No weak point we can reach. Just teeth . . . everywhere.
Rian steps forward. Water ripples into his palms. He shapes it—jagged spears—then sends them flying into the monster’s gaping maw.
The first strike lands. Then another. The water spears slams into the creature, forcing it to hesitate, its massive body twisting unnaturally, its jagged teeth clicking together in agitation.
But Rian doesn’t stop. He swipes his hands—water surges forward, slamming into the beast’s ridged hide. It stumbles, shrieking. The tunnel rattles with its cry.
Rian presses forward. Another flick of his wrist—a torrent of water hammers into the side of the worm demon, aiming for the weakened, charred sections of its flesh where the fire had burned through. The impact sends a shudder through the creature’s enormous body, its movements slower now, unsteady.
“It’s working!” Lyra shouts.
Rian doesn’t hesitate, lifting both hands. More water gathers, swirling violently, shaping into something larger, heavier—then the tunnel groans. A low, deep rumbling vibrates through the ground beneath us.
I feel it before I hear it. The earth is shifting. The walls tremble, small bits of dirt raining from the ceiling. A few loose stones drop to the floor, rolling against my boots.
Rian doesn’t notice at first—he’s too focused on his next attack.
Valen’s voice cuts through the space like a blade. “Rian, stop!”
Rian turns sharply, confusion flickering in his expression. “What? I almost—”
Valen snaps. “You’re destabilizing the tunnel!”
A chunk of earth cracks loose from the ceiling, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Rian curses, instantly cutting off his magics. The remaining water sloshes to the ground, soaking into the dirt—gone, like it was never there.
But it’s too late.
Another deep, ominous groan rolls through the walls, and the packed earth around us quivers, unsettled.
I step forward instinctively, pushing my hands outward, reaching for the earth. My magics flare—deep, ancient, steady. I try to hold the tunnel together. Reinforce the walls. Keep the ceiling from falling.
But there’s too much. We’re too far underground. The weight of the land above us presses down, heavy, endless. I can’t hold it.
The ground shudders violently again.
Thane turns to me. “Amara?!”
I grit my teeth, trying to force my power deeper, to extend it further, but it’s too much. The weight of the earth is winning. I suck in a sharp breath, pulling my magics back. If I push too hard, I might trigger a collapse myself.
The tunnel shudders again. The vibrations roll through the tunnel as the creature grinds forward, its ridged body filling every inch of space.
Garrick doesn’t hesitate, voice grim as he raises his sword. “There’s no way to fight this worm demon—no way to get around its front.”
Lyra, her daggers already in hand, throws one. The blade spins through the firelit air and lodges deep in the creature’s maw, wedged between two jagged, spiraling teeth.
For a single breath, there is no reaction. Then, the monster screeches. A horrible, bone-rattling shriek, a sound that isn’t a roar or a growl but something worse—something that doesn’t belong in the world above.
Lyra takes a sharp step back, eyes wide as the worm-like beast thrashes against the tunnel walls. “Shit!”
The dagger’s still lodged between its fangs. The tunnel quakes with each thrash.
Then, before anyone can react, the worm strikes out, its ridged body slamming into Lyra with brutal force. She’s hurled backward, crashing against the stone wall with a sickening crack. Her head snaps back, slamming into stone. She crumples to the floor.
“Lyra!” I scream, reaching for her—but an arm yanks me back before I can move.
Thane. His grip locks around my waist, pulling me back just as the worm demon thrashes again, its movements still uncontrolled, still furious from the dagger lodged in its mouth.
I struggle. “Let me go! She’s—”
“You can’t help her if you’re dead.” Thane’s voice is sharp, steady—but I can feel the tension in his grip.
Garrick doesn’t hesitate. He ducks low, moving with the practiced speed of a warrior, his sword back in its scabbard in a flash.
The worm demon rears up, slamming its ridged body against the ceiling. Garrick dives beneath it, reaching for Lyra’s limp form. In a single, powerful motion, he scoops her up and throws her over his shoulder.
“Move!” he bellows.
Thane releases me, grabbing my wrist instead as we turn and run.