Sember (Forestfolk, Book 2)

Chapter 22a

After one last look at Jastin, I picked up a torch and headed back to where I'd last seen Vill.

Surrounded by darkness and shadows cast by the weak torchlight, it was difficult to find anything. My latest trick was now my most useful tool. With my entire body engulfed in flames, the large cavern lit up. As the light chased the shadows away, I finally saw the smear of blood along one wall.

As I got closer, I discovered this wall had been covering a hidden passageway. I followed it, maintaining flames from head to toe. A human torch. The path veered right, and then I found myself in another cavern, smaller this time.

The first thing I noticed was the pile of rags and furs in one corner. Was this where Vill slept? Scattered around the room were signs of habitation. A bowl half-full of water. A few empty packs discarded in one corner. Small bones.

A filthy rag doll caught my attention. It sat on the makeshift bed, propped against the wall. I'd seen the children in Foresthome do the same, posing their dolls on pillows and talking to them. I had also done this when I was little. Unwanted sympathy slithered its way into my heart as I pictured this lonesome creature, existing here by himself.

I shook it free and continued my search.

I found another entryway on the far side of the room. This passageway snaked to the left, becoming rockier the farther I went. It gradually widened, one wall becoming shorter and shorter until it suddenly disappeared over a ledge.

I peered over the edge. Though my flames lit this new room, the ledge gave way to a fathomless abyss below. I made sure to steer clear of that rift as I continued to explore.

Where did this cave end? Vill could be anywhere! Maybe I should head back. Jastin might wake up and wonder where I went.

If he was still alive, that is. My heart constricted at the thought.

A sudden and forceful hiss caught me by surprise—again—and I flew sideways toward the ledge. Concentration diverted, my full-body blaze fizzled during the fall. I pushed myself up, reignited my torch and hands, and swiveled my head around to find the source of the blast. That's when he crawled out from behind a boulder, face smeared with blood from wiping his nose.

I tossed my lit torch to one side, hoping it would at least stay lit if he attacked me again.

"Fire monster should have gone away." His shrill voice held an ominous tone that chilled me. Despite the cuts and thin bones protruding from his frail body, his demeanor scared me. Squared shoulders, head forward, primal look in his eye.

He advanced a step, and I instinctively scrambled backward, still on the ground. My hand scraped against a rocky edge and then slipped into thin air. A quick glance behind me confirmed it. The huge chasm. One more gust and I would be pitched into its black depths.

He grinned at the fear in my eyes. He had me right where he wanted me.

"Vill, wait!" I had no idea what I was going to tell him. That we could be friends? I would have laughed at the thought if I hadn't been perched on the edge of a death pit.

"Peh! Wait?" A sneer twisted his face. "For you to kill Vill?"

His lungs began to fill. His chest slowly rose as he sucked in that long breath.

The breath he intended to end me with.

I didn't have much time.

I formed a burning hot pellet in my hand. The same as I'd been practicing just a few days before.

His chest puffed out like a bullfrog's, slowly reaching its pinnacle.

Before he could release the gale, I flung my fiery pellet.

My breath halted as I watched the bright little ball streak across the distance. If I missed, a second chance wasn't likely.

The burning marble lit up an arc between us.

And sailed past his head, taking his ear with it.

No. I missed!

He squealed and blew an erratic breath. I scrambled against it, making a valiant effort to stand, but it wasn't enough. I slid backward on the gravelly floor, and my legs pitched over the edge.

My eyes widened as my feet kicked the air, dragging the rest of me with them. I flung my arms out in a desperate attempt to halt my descent. Fingernails dug into the dirt, leaving a trail of claw marks as I slid back, then down.

No, no, no! This can't be how I die.

Dirt and pebbles slid with me, until my fingers managed to grip the rocky ledge. A quick glance down into the dark abyss sent my heart slamming against my ribs. Falling would mean certain death.

Death has a way of cramping one's style. Let's hope she pulls through! A vote before you finish the chapter?