Page 11 of Beneath the Flames
The black spots crowding my vision from whatever strange archway Gold-Eyes pushed me through were slow to recede, but one thing was obvious even without clear sight.This place was dark.A strange starless sky loomed overhead, two moons hanging side by side providing just enough light to make out my surroundings.
Two moons?That’s not right.Nerves prickled across my bare arms.
In the dim light, there were a handful of dead-looking treesthat surrounded me and the outline of tall mountains on the horizon.Snow soaked through my farm boots, numbing my toes.A strange, faint sulfur scent filled the air, and I fought the urge to plug my nose.Absolute silence pressed in on me like a heavy, smothering blanket.There were no birds chirping or insects buzzing or dogs barking in the distance.
My breath clouded in the cold air and my boots, which were riddled with holes, sank into the snow, doing nothing to stave off the cold.I flinched as warm fingers wrapped around my upper arm, and I automatically leaned away when I found those gold-ringed eyes so close to mine.
Though his eyes narrowed as he glared at me, his grip wasn’t what I expected.It was firm but not painful like my father’s.
What didhehave to be angry about?Iwas the one kidnapped and brought to a strange place.As upset as he appeared to be, I was a little surprised he hadn’t tried to hurt me.
My kidnapper threw a dark look my way, glancing at his fingers before loosening his grip the tiniest amount.
“Where are we?”I breathed, my voice shaking from the cold.I wanted to cross my arms around myself to keep in a little bit of warmth, but with the way he held me it was impossible.
Instead of responding, he guided me away from the now-empty arch.My heart sank when the silver ripples disappeared, and I could no longer see the basement on the other side of it.He yanked me to a stop on the edge of a cliff, and the breath escaped my lungs at the sight of the surrounding landscape.
As I stared and stared, I couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing.
Mountains lined the horizon as far as I could see, though as my eyes continued to adjust to the darkness, I realized they weren’t snow-capped mountains at all.
They were volcanoes.
Red lava flowed in lazy rivers down the sides, painting the landscape in a sheen of red.The cliff we were situated on was spared from the fire engulfing the mountainside.Despite the fact that lava surrounded us, it did nothing to warm the air.There was no heat.Only cold.Even stranger was that the snow on the ground wasn’t melting from the heat of the lava.
Wait…Minnesota doesn’t have volcanoes, let alone mountains...
My attention snapped back to the two moons hanging in the sky, to the starless black abyss.
A terrible, sinking feeling drove my stomach into the ground.
“Where are we?”I asked again, a little louder this time.I couldn’t tear my eyes from the scene in front of me.I was a long, long way from home.
Silence stretched, squeezing my lungs tighter and tighter with each passing second.Then that deep voice rumbled beside me, and goosebumps prickled over my skin.
“Welcome to Eroth—the Land of Flames and Sorrow.”
***
“Take me back,” I pleaded.
Gold-Eyes only shook his head and kept walking.
“Please.”I tried to soften my voice since I doubted there was much preventing him from killing me if I pushed him too far.Gesturing vaguely at the volcanoes, I continued.“You just kidnapped me and brought me to this”—I searched for whatever he had called this place—“Broth place where I’m seconds away from freezing to death”—I waved at my lack of winter clothing—“and you’re ignoring me?”
“Eroth,” he replied.
“What?”
“This place is called Eroth.Not Broth.”
I blew out a frustrated breath, crossing my arms again in a small attempt to warm myself up.
“How did we even get here?”I asked, looking around at the strange, unfamiliar landscape again.
“An ancient portal,” he said, then added quietly, “One of the last ones I still have access to.”
A portal?Golden light that could kill?Just what was this place?
