Page 63 of Wilds of Wonder
“And that’s when the shark found me,” the bone collector was saying.
Oops. He’d been talking this entire time. Answering a question I asked.
We came to a stand in front of the dark cave.
“Did you know that shark teeth have poison on their tips? One bite is enough for the poison to make its way to your heart and stop it. Unless you find the antidote first.”
“So where did you find the antidote?” I asked as we ventured inside, the sun blocked out by the cave walls and ceiling.
“Why do you assume I got bit?” He stopped, turning to me.
I crossed my arms. “I thought that was the point of your story.”
He leaned closer, the movement exhilarating, his face so close to mine that I could see the small freckle beneath his left eye. “The point of my story was that I got the treasure chest from the Losotros shipwreck.”
A famous shipwreck. The Losotros were a clan from the Old World who exclusively lived on their massive ships, but a calamity at sea caused their entire fleet to be wrecked, all of them wiped out from a single natural disaster. All the Losotros’s ships had been destroyed except that last one, which was nearly impossible to get to because of the location: right by a vortex in the sea where the water constantly moved, anyone who came too close at risk of being sucked in and drowning.
The bastard did it.
I envied him in moments like these. The fact that he could travel to the edges of the continent, to access places like that while I was limited to Fyriad and Valoris, made me burn with jealousy.
“Well done, bone collector.” I whirled and moved farther into the cave, which split into three different paths.
He pointed to the left. “I’m going this way.”
I nodded to the right. “You’ll be seeing me again as I’m running away with The Book of Yaraho.”
His back was to me as he stalked in the opposite direction, yelling over his shoulder, “You always have been too arrogant for your own good.”
I rolled my eyes, continuing on my chosen pathway through the cave. I reached into the pocket of my pants and pulled out a match, which I struck and lit, illuminating the narrow space. Hopefully I’d chosen the right way. I didn’t like being in these enclosed spaces where it would be so easy to get stuck, buried alive, caved in. Many things could go awry. Again, I wondered what in the bloody frost I’d been thinking when I suggested this.
The fire burned brightly on the match, giving me just enough light that I could see in front of me, watching the ground to make sure there were no sudden drops or ridges. Skitters and patters echoed around me, and I wondered what creatures dwelled in this place. I knew of some: snakes, fire lizards, desert rats. But other texts I’d read in my research alluded to more ancient creatures that lurked in these caves across Gilraeth.
Hopefully they’d died along with everyone else in the Old World.
Still, that familiar thrill threaded through my veins at the challenge, the excitement of it all, propelling me forward as the path wound down, getting so steep I had to sit on my bottom and scoot until I could go no farther, the rock dropping off in a sharp decline. Hopefully this path didn’t go too far underground. I didn’t even want to think about the climb back up. I dropped my match and watched as the fire fell through the air, so far the light disappeared.
I really couldn’t be late for dinner. In the past, I’d planned these little escapades when my husband would be out of town, when I had plenty of time. This was different. Stupid of me. I’d been so eager for something new I hadn’t thought about all the risks. Yet the thought of finding that book kept me going. Except I’d just dropped my match and had no light to see in front of me. My legs hung over the rock, and I bit my cheek, wondering if I should just start climbing down and see what happened.
As if the universe heard my thoughts, fire erupted in the air. Flames dotted the air, floating lights decorating the space before me. I sat on the edge of a jutting ledge, and my eyes widened as I realized what I was seeing: a huge cavern. Round and bottomless. Cave openings dotted the upper parts, circling all around, and jagged ledges protruded from the caves.
Even with all the light illuminating the vast space, I couldn’t see the ground below. But I didn’t need to. A tall rock rose up in the center, and there on the rock lay the book.
It was said to have been written by Spirit Fire himself. A tome full of his mandates. It could tell us so much about the Seven Spirits. I blinked a few times, the flames that hung in the air seeming to move.
“Of course you’re already here.” The bone collector appeared in the opening of one of the caves on the opposite side of the cavern.
“Well, I won’t be here for long.” I pointed to the column of stone where the book sat, noticing a series of smaller columns leading to it. I could easily hop from each one. This was already going in my favor. “Just going to grab the book and be on my way.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy, little rabbit.”
He pointed to the flames, a few of them floating closer. Enough that I could see they had eyes... and sharp teeth. Not flames at all. Fire sprites. They filled the space, and they didn’t look happy.
I’d heard about the sprites that lived in the mountains and caves of Gilraeth. The winged creatures were the size of my hand but could ignite on a moment’s notice, incinerating their victims. I’d also heard they had the ability to steal someone’s magic, to absorb it into themselves, though I didn’t know if that particular rumor was true. Either way, I had no desire to find out.
I racked my brain as a few sprites bared their black pointy teeth. This didn’t bode well. Sprites were created by Spirit Fire, answered to him alone, and once he disappeared, they retreated, supposedly waiting for his return before reemerging into society. In the meantime, they guarded his treasures, any artifacts connected to him, fiercely protective. Which was why no one had gone after that book.
I held out my hands. “Please, I’m just here for the book.”
