Dragon Witch ✔️

71 - Swallowed

"What do you mean we're going to die?" Kyton asked.

Treading water, I jerked my chin at the glowing cave we were in. "This is some kind of monster's trap or mouth or something. It's swallowed us, and we can't get out."

"Of course we can get out." He dove beneath the water. When he rose a second later, his expression was grim. "The opening's closed. I can't talk to Nissa. Can you and Eva...?"

Eva? I tried, just in case.

No response.

"No, I can't." Ugh, I was so hungry I couldn't even think straight. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" On second thought, why should I leave? It smelled so good in here, like a giant fairy stew pot. I moved toward Kyton.

He was looking around the cave, completely ignoring me. All I had to do was move a little closer, and I'd be within striking distance.

He glanced my way and jerked back. "Whoah, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." I cocked my head. Why had he looked back? I was so close. "Keep looking for a way out."

Rolling his eyes, he stole my dagger and cut the back of his forearm. The smell of fresh blood billowed off him.

"Drink enough to take the edge off. You need to concentrate on escaping."

"You're no fun." It wasn't any challenge if he gave me his blood. Still, I wasn't one to turn up my nose at a free meal when I was starving. I drank as much as I could before he took his hand back.

"You can have more when we get out." He shook his finger in my face. "No biting."

I followed his finger with my eyes. There was a drop of blood on the knuckle.

"Stop that." He dunked his hand in the water. "What's that?"

"What's what?" But then I heard it. A low rumbling, like when the cave's mouth had opened or shut. Rushing water battered my legs, making it hard to tread water. I dunked my head under the surface.

The cave's mouth was open, but when I tried to swim through it, the rushing water slammed me against the far wall. Coughing, I surfaced again. The ceiling looked closer than it had been before, only a couple feet above me. The water's surface rippled as it crept up the walls.

"It's going to drown us," I said, all thoughts of hunger forgotten.

Kyton gave me a guilty look. "I won't let you drown. We just have to find a way out of here." He dove, staying under for longer than would've been humanly possible.

At least, it felt that way. Time had a way of dragging when you were slowly being drowned. While Kyton was under, I moved to the hole at the back of the cave. It was just big enough to fit me if I didn't lift my head too far. Unfortunately, the hole was already underwater.

I should probably wait for Kyton to finish with whatever he was doing so he could check out the hole himself. But we didn't have enough time for waiting. There was only a little more than a foot between the water and the roof. I ducked into the hole. The fake lobster and its flower were stuck on the end of a coiled tentacle. The end of the tentacle disappeared down a sharp incline in the tunnel.

If we tried escaping down the back end, we might be digested alive. Or we might escape. I moved down the tunnel toward the fake lobster. It wiggled its claws realistically, and the tentacle lifted it into my path. I moved closer. The lobster didn't budge.

A foot closer, and the lobster flew at me. It flew right past me. Twisting around to follow its path, I saw it as it looped the tentacle around me, pinning my arms to my sides. It squeezed out what little breath I'd been holding. Before I could even try to fight, it slammed me against the wall. Pain sliced through my temple. Dots flashed across my vision. I took a breath before I could stop myself.