Young Flame

I stumble away from the hole, moving toward the space with no thermal presence. Talons are not very comfortable to walk on, and I struggle to move without staggering. Thankfully, none of the mermineae have noticed my presence yet. I can only be thankful that they don’t have a fire to light their way. It’s understandable down in the cavern below, but if they had a source of light up here, then Grímr’s shadow would stand out.

Grímr points his head in the direction we need to go, but even without his input, the higher number of mermineae that way would be enough of an indicator. The slender creatures are far less wary than they were down below. They all move around together and talk without restraint.

Despite the increased number of mermineae, I feel much better walking around knowing that they aren’t all that alert. There mustn’t be too much danger in this cavern for them to be this lax.

I follow along the congregation of mermineae, keeping them at the edge of my sense range while I weave through individuals that lay unmoving at the peripheral. It takes a while, but I know I’ve found the exit as soon as the number of mermineae exponentially increases. The point they surround is far out of the range of my sense, but there’s no doubt in my mind that is where the mermineae are coming from.

That’s where I am going to leave from. Where I’m finally going to be free.

Thankfully, even my psyche knot knows that just rushing forward right now will achieve nothing. I need to get a better idea of the layout to think of a way past them.

I feel Grímr tightening around my chest, either from distress or an intentional warning. Whatever he wants, I ignore it. I push closer to the mermineae than I’ve dared before, coming within metres of the nearest. The hum of chatter through the cavern is more than enough to cover any sound I make as I crawl forward. Several mermineae hide along the low ceiling, but they are easier to avoid than the ones on the ground.

I wonder how they’re able to cling to the smooth surface of the rock without digging their claws in. They aren’t digging their claws in, right? It’d be horrible if all of them can easily pierce the ranked stone that even the strongest attacks of my team hadn’t been able to do much more than scratch.

Without being able to see for myself, I have no way of knowing. My thermal sense is good, but nowhere near detailed enough to see the individual claws or fingers. The cold stone is completely invisible.

When the tunnel above finally reaches my sense, Grímr is squeezing tightly around my neck. Amongst the many hundreds of heat sources ahead of me, there are some moving through a spot where there should be stone. I quickly lose track of them, the stone between us preventing me from feeling the heat, but it is enough to know I’ve found my target.

I can feel Grímr digging his claws into my shoulder and only barely holding himself short of snapping at me. It’s obvious I’m too close to the surrounding mermineae for his comfort. I do feel anxious myself, but I’m so close to getting out. Just a hundred metres forward and I’ll be on my way out.

To Grímr’s displeasure, I press on. There has to be some way to pass. Something to give me a method to get through them.

Right now, the only options we have are to sneak by without their notice… which will be near impossible, or attack them head on and break our way through… which is just as impossible. I could also get a stronger body for Grímr and use him as a distraction to get through alone.

My psyche sneaks in that last option, but the likelihood of it working is so low that it doesn’t even argue when I refuse it.

As I look over the dense crowd of the mermineae, I feel a grin coming over my face. I have it. There is a way I can get through with little… well, maybe a lot of risk, but it’s guaranteed to work.

I finally relent to Grímr’s silent protests and make my way out of the pack of mermineae. Really, we are lucky to not have been noticed. Their eyesight mustn’t be all too good if they don’t realise they can’t see parts of the tunnel they could before.

Well, I’m not about to question what goes my way.

First, I need to find another hole to the cavern below. I could use the one I entered through, but the less mermineae around, the better. Choosing a random direction, I move away from my exit. In a short while, I’ll be back.

Once we are a respectable distance away from the mermineae, Grímr hisses in my ear. “What were you thinking, Solvei? Do you want us to be caught?”

I did get a bit overwhelmed in the moment; I admit. The exit attracting me like a glow-bug to explosive jelly. Never should I have got as close as I did to the swarming mermineae. “I’m sorry, but I got an idea. I know how to get us out.”

Grímr perks at that, his anger all but forgotten. “Really? How?”

I avoid looking at the lizard on my shoulder. There is no chance he will like what I have planned.

❖❖❖

I couldn’t find another hole to the cavern below, so I settle on returning to the one we entered through. Travelling the hundreds of metres along the ceiling is hard, but eventually I reach my goal. I can’t feel the heat of the mermineae through the stone above me, but I should be close enough for what I have in mind.

Grímr didn’t like my idea. Actually, he vehemently refused to let me go through with it at first. But with my freedom in sight, I wasn’t willing to let this go. When I moved to do it by myself, he finally relented.

“It would be safer if you wait a distance away until I’m done,” I say as I adjust my grip on the stalactites I hang from. I’ll be able to handle a few hits, but if Grímr gets unlucky, he’ll be dead in one.

“No. This plan is already far too dangerous. I’m not leaving you in more danger than absolutely necessary.”

There aren’t any mermineae crawling on the ceiling this far from the wall, so it’s not like I’ll be spotted. My glowing hands and feet might give me away to the monstrosities, but considering my plan, it’s a small risk to take. Grímr would have been safer keeping his distance, but refuses to leave me visible when I do what I’m about to do.

Well, there’s no point holding off for longer than necessary. The constricting pressure of Grímr’s body mirrors my nerves. The quicker I do this, the sooner we’ll be out in the sunlight once more.

I focus on my target a hundred metres ahead of me, right below where the tunnel leading upwards should be. It takes almost all my focus to ignite the tiniest fire from this distance. I would have no trouble creating it next to me and then sending it away, but there is no point risking myself.

In moments, I amplify the flame over the ceiling. It burns a bright yellow and lights up everything around as it spreads over the stalactites. I’m unable to even char the rock, but that’s not my intention. My flames light up the massive cavern below like a miniature sun.

It doesn’t take long for the screeching to start. I grip tight against the ceiling and double check that the flame is far enough from me. An arachnid monstrosity’s bulky body scuttles along the ceiling with far too much speed to seem natural.

It slams its front legs through the rock. The impact quakes through my hands and before I can tighten my grip, my fingers slip out. Dangling from my legs, I don’t relent on my flames. I keep them burning around the arachnid until it is joined by a second. The tapping of its legs across stone and the tearing through rock threatens to loosen the grip of my legs as well.

A chorus of high-pitched shouts of terror reaches my ears. The arachnids have found the mermineae. From the light of my flames, I can see the pedipalps of the arachnids grasping at the slender creatures before swallowing them whole. My flames spread into the cavern above, but each of the mermineae are already fleeing at an incredible speed.

I feel around with my flame and realise I missed the tunnel by a rather extensive distance. The flames along the ceiling slide into their new position where I want the monstrosities to dig. One follows my flames, but the other continues tearing through the rock as it chases after the screaming rodents within.

This works far better than I expected. If I keep going, I should be able to lead the arachnids to dig right through to the tunnel above and clear any opposition we’ll face.

It works, but their screams reverberate through me. Somehow, their voices seem louder than the immense quakes of these near Titan existences.

No. I’m so close to freedom. They are in my way, so I need to remove them. If they don’t run away, they will have nothing but the might of these arachnids to deal with. But… I still hope they choose to run away.

With one arachnid tearing into the tunnel above similar to how it would chase me down into the fungi tube below, I finally decide to pull back on my flames. But in the last moment before my flames go out completely, a glint from below catches my attention.

My eyes widen and I immediately grasp tighter on the stalactites. A tremor stronger than anything the arachnids have caused rocks the world. Even putting an impulse of strength into my grip, the shaking of the earth nearly tears me right off.

The giant centipede has slammed into the ceiling. Without my flames, I can’t see how much damage it unleashes, but the sound of screaming mermineae quickly dies out. In their place, the arachnids screech at the new rival to their hunt and launch themselves at it.

I hear a crunch as an arachnid is caught in the jaws of the centipede. It shrieks in pain as the second arachnid slams into the centipede from its other side, knocking it loose from the ceiling. A few seconds pass before the slam of the three monstrosities hitting the ground reaches me.

The sounds of their brawl rumbles through the cavern. Grímr’s claws dig into my shoulder again, but I don’t complain. I need to get out now.

If I wait to be certain that those giants won’t come back up, then I’m just asking the mermineae to block my way. I need to use their confusion and terror to escape while I can.

I clamber along upside down until I come across a new entry to the cavern above and pull myself up. It is only once I’m on solid ground do I realise a problem I didn’t think of until now; the ceiling above me doesn’t have stalactites for me to climb across. I have no way to get up to the tunnel above now that the ground is destroyed.

The stone under my feet shakes from an impact below. I put my hand on the ground to steady myself while the earth settles. There’s no time to worry about whether I’ll be seen or not. I need to act now.

I settle to change into my falcon form for the first time in months. I will my body to morph as fast as possible. Surprisingly, the flames of my form are more willing than ever to do as I want. It’s still not as fast as I want, but it’s far better than before.

“Keep your darkness as thick as possible,” I tell Grímr.

As my body size shrinks, I notice Grímr weighing me down far more than before. There is less of me to grasp onto, so I feel him grasping at places that restrict my movement.

“Don’t grab my wings,” I say, and he quickly obliges.

It takes five minutes to change. Far too long with the constant tremors from the brawl going on below. When I’m finally done, I’m only as big as Grímr, which isn’t great as I need to lift double my body weight. I give an experimental flap of my wings and find that while it’s a struggle, I can lift us off the ground.

Before I can throw myself into the air and fly through the tunnel, an explosion of rock pelts me. Stone shrapnel tears through me from the side and I feel the plane of stone under my talons drop away. I spread my wings wide, hoping that the monstrosities throwing each other across the cavern can’t see my flame through Grímr’s darkness.

I beat hard, fighting against our combined weight to drag us to the freedom I’ve longed for. The screech of the arachnids behind me feels so close. Just like the other times, the only sound coming from the centipede is the devastating impacts as it smashes against the arachnids or the stone of the cavern.

Grímr has kept my view clear of darkness, but the angle I have to see is only enough to keep the tunnel above in my sight. The colossal fight is all but invisible. I can only hope the same is true in for me. The flames from my head light the way and I dart forward with as much speed as I can gather.

I move past the cratered remains of the tunnel just as another quake shakes the earth and air around me. No mermineae block my path to the wide tunnel above. I break out into the large tunnel of black rock. Despite my mindless state the last time I was up here, I recognise this as the tunnel under the Titan’s path.

I’m so close now.

Another tremor loosens the dark rock and I’m almost hit by a chunk that falls in front of my face. I can see movement in the distance. Most likely, the mermineae that ran away are waiting for the monstrosities below to stop their brawl before they approach again.

I turn to the side that looks like there are less of them and fly forward. It’ll be hard to sneak by them, so I’ll just have to fly past and find an exit before they realise what’s going on.

The open air calls me.