Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, Portal Guardians (33 page)

My cheek scraped along the sharp rock, but I didn't care.
 
At least I knew I was close to it and not falling back.
 
I slid my left foot along and then my right, following Spike.
 
We were one quarter of the way there, now.

"I don't know, actually," I said breathlessly, a little panicked still about falling even though the going had been fairly easy so far.
 
"He said they were trapped there to keep the wrong people from getting control over them or something, but I don't know.
 
When we were in the Overworld, he seemed to be riding around on that dragon without any problems.
 
I don't know if the tapestry needs to come down, get folded up, burned, cut ... whatever.
 
And I don't know how he ended up with it, either.
 
Maybe it's just there to communicate with them."

"Yeah, why him and not some other fae?" asked Spike.

His foot slipped, sending a bunch of small rocks cascading down the cliff.
 
I screamed, thinking for a second he was going to go too.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Spike, trying to reassure me, but his voice was too shaky for me to believe him.

"Just stop talking and focus on where you put your feet," I said, sounding more angry than I really was.
 
"We're halfway there."
 
I breathed in and out a few times before taking my next step, trying to calm my racing heart.

As I prepared to move my foot, the sound of a roar came from off in the distance.
 
My pulse, that I'd finally gotten some measure of control over, started going nuts again, my adrenaline coming out and making me shake like crazy.

"What was that?" asked Spike in a quiet voice.

"That was The Dark of Blackthorn," I said as quietly as I could and still be heard over the wind that was whipping around us.
 
"I'll never forget that sound as long as I live."

"Come on ... hurry up," urged Spike, now shuffling to the side in double-time.

I tried to keep up, but I was too afraid to take the huge steps that Spike was, my legs much shorter.
 
The distance between us increased until he was nearly to the opening, and I still had a quarter of the way to go.

The roar came again, only this time closer.
 
I looked off in the direction it was coming from but could see nothing but gray skies and mist.
 
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, I'm gonna get fried,
was all I could think as I shuffled left, left, and left again.
 
My whole body trembled with fright and nervous anticipation of the appearance of a beast I'd laughed in the face of while waving its tooth at it.
 
Stupid, stupid, stupid jerk.
 
Why did you do that?
 
Why did you have to taunt the dragon?

Spike's yell of distress nearly startled me off the cliff.
 
My hands that had started to let go in the shock of it immediately clamped back down as the feeling of momentary weightlessness hit me, my body going from leaning forward to almost tipping back.

"Fuck!"
I yelled, gripping onto the small rock bumps with my hands as tight as I could, hugging that cliff for all I was worth.
 
I turned my head to face Spike, scraping my nose in the process, but too afraid to back it up out of the way.

The sight that greeted my panicked eyes nearly made me swoon.
 
Spike was hanging onto the cliff with one hand and one foot, the other two limbs dangling out in the thin air with nothing to grab onto.
 
He swung out like a door, his attached foot and hand its hinges.
 
And off in the distance, on the opposite side of the cave's entrance, I could see a black speck in the sky.
 
The Dark!
 
He's here!
 
A huge plume of orange flames shot out from that black speck, confirming that it was a dragon on the way, and he was all fired-up.

I had another ten feet to go before I was near enough to Spike to help him.
 
His screams had turned to a combination of whimpering, laughter, and yelping.

"Just chill, Spike!
 
I'm on my way!
 
Just hang on!"

"Better hurry!
 
I'm losing my grip!" he grunted, his free hand grasping around when it swung towards the cliff, trying to find something to get hold of.
 
The wind was a problem, pushing him off of it.

Go, go, go, left, right, left, right.
 
Find something to grab.
 
There!
 
Got it!
 
Now go again!
 
Left, right, left!
 
I coached myself over the last few feet, closing the distance between us in record time, now more worried about keeping Spike from falling than falling myself.
 
As soon as I got to Spike's side, I pushed my hand into the middle of his back, trying to force his body up against the cliff face.

Slowly but surely he angled in, and with the leverage I was giving him, he was finally able to find and grab a piece of rock sticking out.
 
He rested his face on the side, looking away from me for a few seconds before building up the strength or courage to turn his head and face me.
 
He was as white as a sheet and sweat covered his forehead and temples.

"You saved my life, Jayne."

"Not yet I haven't.
 
The dragon is coming."

Spike's eyes bugged out.
 
"How close?" he whispered in a high voice.

"Too close.
 
Move your ass."

Spike took a deep breath and turned back in the direction of the cave.
 
He took a shaky step to the left, sliding his body across the rock not letting even a single wisp of air between him and the thing keeping him tied to the land of the living.

I followed as close behind him as possible, avoiding the spot that had sent him almost to his death, and the two of us finally made it to a place where he could climb up into the entrance and reach down to get me.

Another roar and explosion of fire split the air.

Spike looked over his shoulder briefly before turning back to me, grabbing me by the armpits, and lifting me clear of the edge.
 
I landed on his chest as he fell back.

I scrambled to get off of him, beginning my sprint into the entrance practically on my hands and knees.
 
My sword scraped across the ground until I was on my feet, leaving drag-marks through the fine dirt and rocks that littered the ground of the dragon's lair.

Spike got up onto his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me with him deeper into the entrance.
 
We had only seconds before The Dark would make his appearance, and we had to find a place to hide, somewhere where Spike wouldn't get his face fried off by a pissed off dragon.

At the back of the large entrance cavern the cave split in two directions, one left and one right.

"Which one?" I whisper-yelled, coming to a skidding halt.

"I don't know.
 
You pick."
 
Spike was breathing heavily, his grip on my hand cutting off my circulation.
 
I didn't mind, though.
 
I liked the strong reminder that he was by my side and I was still alive enough to feel pain.

I lifted my nose and inhaled in both directions.
 
"This one," I said, pointing to the left.
 
"Less sulfur."

Spike nodded and took off running again, dragging me with him.
 
I almost tripped several times, but he always spun around in time to catch me and set me back straight before I bit the dust.
 
By the time I heard the roar of the dragon and a blast of heat at our back, we were well away from the entrance.
 
We kept going, the eerie light inside this cave much like the one in the Overworld
 
- only this one had a red cast and not an amber one.

We slowed down as we got deeper inside, moving to the walls instead of jogging down the center.
 
We dropped our speed down to a walk for a few minutes and then just stopped, both of us tucking ourselves into a large crevice where we tried to catch our breath outside the view of anyone who might be coming down the tunnel in front of or behind us.

Spike reached over and petted my hair, stroking my head for a little while before pulling me into a huge hug.
 
He wrapped both arms around me and just held me like that for a long time.
 
I allowed myself to melt into him a little, now that we'd escaped what felt like the worst of the danger, and had found, at least temporarily, a safe place to hide.

He stroked my back as he whispered in my neck.
 
"We made it.
 
You and me together."

"Yeah.
 
We did," I whispered back, letting his words warm my heart.

"I want it to always be like this."
 
His warm breath touched my face, intimate, smelling sweetly of Spike. "You and me.
 
Facing whatever we need to face.
 
Doing what we need to do.
 
Helping each other.
 
Saving each other if necessary."

I thought about what I was going to say just before the words came out of my mouth, and realized as I heard them that they represented as true a feeling as I'd ever had.
 
"I want that too, Spike.
 
With you.
 
Exactly like you said."

He leaned down and kissed my neck.
 
"Why does you facing danger and kicking ass make me want to get you naked?"

I smiled, giggling a little as quietly as I could.
 
"I have no idea.
 
You're an adrenaline junky maybe?"
 
The idea of him wanting to get me naked made me feel funny in a good way - almost like I could fly, just like that big nasty dragon that was just down the hall from us.

The thoughts of The Dark were like a cold shower.
 
I pulled back from Spike, leaning in and up on tiptoes to kiss him quickly on the mouth so he wouldn't think I was rejecting him.
 
"Come on.
 
We have to get going."

Spike increased his grip on me.
 
"What's the plan?"

"We need to find the others, make the deal with the dragon - not the black one but the red one - and then we need to get the hell out of here without running into Leck or any of his friends."

Spike nodded and gave me one more super-hug before letting me go, taking my clammy hand in his warm one.
 
He stepped out of our hiding spot, following the direction of the tunnel, getting deeper and deeper into the bowels of the dragon's lair.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

WE WALKED FOR WHAT SEEMED like hours, occasionally hiding in one of the many crevices or behind piles of rocks to avoid the small bands of orcs and other various demons that roamed the tunnel of the dragon lair.
 
Small branching tunnels led off left and right, but we stayed to the main one, afraid we'd get lost going any other direction.
 
Eventually, noises led us to what was probably some sort of dining hall or meeting room.
 
The sounds of a large gathering and the clattering of chairs or possibly metal plates echoed out into the tunnel.

We stepped into a nearby crack in the wall and put together our plan.

"I'm going to scout ahead and then come back and tell you what I see," said Spike.
 
"You wait here."

"How come you're doing the scouting?
 
Maybe I should be the scout."

"Can you bite an orc if it grabs you?"

"Probably.
 
But will I ... that's the question."

"Right.
 
Well, I will.
 
I'll rip its throat out if I have to."

"I have a sword, though."

"Good.
 
Keep it handy.
 
You may have to come rescue me."

I sighed at his complete lack of logic.
 
"Fine.
 
Whatever.
 
Don't get caught or eaten, or I'll never forgive you."

"I'll do my best."
 
He leaned down to kiss me, lingering a little longer than necessary and warming me to my toes in the process.
 
And then he was gone.

I had a few minutes to contemplate the ridiculousness of falling in love and snogging, as Tim liked to call it, in a dragon's cave in the Underworld.
 
I was nothing if not consistent with my complete lack of appropriateness during most occasions.
 
Spike returned before I could start regretting any of the kisses we'd shared.

"What'd you see?" I asked, anxious about the dangers we might face.

"It's a big room, filled with cages."

"Cages?
 
Like ... what for?
 
Like a jail?
 
A zoo?
 
What?"

"Maybe a little bit of both," said Spike, mysteriously.

"Seriously?
 
Come on.
 
Who's in the cages?"

"I couldn't see all of them. There are lots.
 
Come on," he said, tugging my sleeve before leaving the safety of our hiding spot.

I caught up to walk next to him.
 
"Are there any guards?" I whispered.

Spike held his finger up to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.
 
I frowned, frustrated with his complete lack of scouting skills.
 
Robin of the Green had told me at a minimum a scout should come back with locations of entrances and exits, estimates of firepower, and positions of threats and guards.
 
I knew I should have gone to look.
 
Stupid cube-eyes.