The Flame of Destiny

Samira and Spark crawled back through the endless tunnels that twisted under the black city. They crawled past bubbling pools, evaded fuming holes and navigated cobwebs that were thick as tree roots. They didn’t dare go up to street level but somehow had no problem finding the way back. It’s as if all tunnels lead to the temple, thought Samira, an insight that didn’t exactly cheer her up. What could it mean?

Through a small crack in the ceiling they saw the serpent gate and knew they were passing underneath the archway back into the dark temple.

She froze when a loud raw voice echoed in the cave. “Finally,” said the rasping voice, “I’ve been waiting here for hours.”

She let out a silent sigh of relief, the voice wasn’t directed at her and the man hadn’t seen her crawling through the tunnels. She peered carefully through the opening and vaguely discerned a large and plump figure standing guard under the serpent gate.

“Where’s everyone?” asked another man. The high-pitched voice sounded squeaky and meek. In the Underdeep there never was any doubt who was in charge.

“Didn’t you hear?” the first voice snarled. “All temple guards are looking for that slave girl. They want to burn her tonight.”

Samira stifled a scream.

The second guard came into view for a moment, he was short and stocky like a bull. “All of them? Nobody’s guarding the temple?”

“No. But that’s your problem now. I’m going home. I’m going to eat and then go to sleep. You’re on your own!”

“This doesn’t make any sense. The High Priest should’ve asked the city guards to go look for her. We need to protect the temple.”

“He won’t ask the regent for help,” grumbled the tall guard, “That’s too humiliating for him, then everyone suddenly knows how he’s been fooled by a child.”

Samira smiled briefly.

“I mean,” the guard continued, “first that botched execution and then the escape. That hasn’t happened in a hundred years! I’m sure the regent will find it very amusing and will think it’s a perfect reason to replace the High Priest with his rat of a son before Yashnargh returns.”

“What’s so important about that girl? She’ll be eaten by Gulla before she gets far.”

The bigger guard pulled the other one aside and whispered, “Don’t you understand? No one escapes from the Dark Cult. It’s a terrible precedent. She should’ve been tamed and broken a long time ago, like the rest of her family. She succeeded where the strongest men failed. This should be impossible and it can’t happen again.”

Samira’s stomach seemed to turn to stone when she understood the meaning of the words. Father, mother, Jaro - what have they done to you? Will you ever get out of here?

“But how did she do it?”

“Come on, use your brains!” hissed the fat guard, “a little girl? She received help, of course. That’s what troubles our master most.”

“Help, from who?” asked the stocky guard, “who cares about those wretched slaves?”

“It must be someone from the surface.”

“What!?”

“Shhhh, lower your voice,” hissed the big man and looked anxiously around, “the city guards are not supposed to find out remember. Who else do you think would care to help a newcomer?”

“Be serious, the surface dwellers are too scared to venture down here.”

The fat guard continued in a whisper, “I can’t be sure, but I heard the fire cult is getting stronger. A new grandmaster has risen and has sworn to destroy us. They say he’s training new pupils.”

“But doesn’t our friend in the white city have everything under control? The mad fire-cult followers were exterminated many years ago.”

Samira pricked her ears. Who was this ‘friend’ in Ligeia, and more importantly who was the mysterious ‘grandmaster’ that should have helped her?

“He’s not our friend, just addicted to our gold, don’t you forget. Sure, he has killed some fire dabblers but never got to the grandmaster. He only chased him away, like he’s afraid of a real confrontation.”

“We should find other allies. There only needs to be one pupil and all our efforts can be for nothing, think of the prophecy.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” the man snarled back. “Yashnargh knows the danger. That’s why he went north looking for friends.”

“We’ve got plenty of gold to bribe more surface dwellers.”

“That won’t do. We need strong reliable allies.”

“You’re a strategist now, advising Yashnargh and the High Priest?”

“Oh shut up, I’m just using my ears and eyes.” The fat guard shuffled impatiently, “come on, we’ve talked enough. Good night”

“Hey wait, how can I guard the temple on my own?”

“You sound like a frightened Gulla,” mocked the large guard, “no one will escape, the cells are all locked and you can skip the feeding if you’re too scared.”

“What if someone wants to come in to steal our treasures?”

Samira crawled a little closer to the crack and listened carefully.

“Are you insane? That has not happened in three hundred years. Nobody wants to come in here. Besides, you only have to monitor this one entrance.”

“What about the fire tunnels underneath?”

Fire tunnels, what is that supposed to mean thought Samira.

“Even the rats are not so stupid as to use the tunnels,” said the big guard, “if you’re too scared, you can flush them. The pressure is reaching peak and it looks like we’ll not have a new sacrifice tonight anyway.”

“Good, I’ll do that. Can you stay here until I open the lava gates?”

“Just handle it,” the other man said impatiently, “I’m out of here.”

Samira heard heavy footsteps walk away.

“Hey, wait!” cried the smaller guard, but there was no answer. He cursed and walked into the temple, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.

[Picture Samira]

Only when the voices had gone did Samira dare to move again.

“What do they mean flushing the fire tunnels?” squeaked Spark. “What are lava gates?”

“It means we’ll have to be very quick!” said Samira and she crawled deeper into the temple.

“Wait!” shouted Spark, “come back, this is too dangerous.”

Samira didn’t listen. She crawled as quickly as she could on all fours, ignoring the pain to her knees and hands. The amulet felt warm on her chest and helped her to focus her thoughts on Fingo.

The tunnels just underneath the temple were wider and easier to traverse than earlier. There were no more slimy walls, bubbling mud pools or thick cobwebs to deal with. Everything was smooth and dry, devoid of life.

But this only provided short relief and their hope dwindled when they went deeper into a maze of turns and intersections. It was impossible to keep a straight line and after a while they lost any sense of direction. To make matters worse, some corridors were blocked by sturdy steel grilles or metal plates that just wouldn’t open. There were no passageways to the surface, just some vents that provide pale light and cold air.

“Where are those prison cells?” asked Samira desperately.

Spark shrugged her tiny shoulders.

From the distance came a menacing reply. A howling sound, as if the air was sucked away.

“What’s that noise,” asked Samira.

It started as the roar of thunder in a distant valley but rapidly became louder. Hot air came their way.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Spark whined.

“I know! But there’s no exit.”

Samira crawled forwards, following the warm breeze. Drops of sweat ran down her arms.

The air carried more than just heat. It started as a faint pungent odor that made them cough and sneeze. Soon they were completely enveloped by smelly fumes. Breathing became harder Samira felt like she was drowning. She leaned against the wall to rest. Her chest moved up and down as fast as a racehorse but still she couldn’t get enough air.

“Stay here,” cried Spark, “I’ll look for the exit.” She fluttered away without waiting for an answer.

“Please stay with me,” Samira whispered weakly. She slowly crawled on. The horrible vapors had penetrated her lungs and she coughed uncontrollably. She felt her throat burn, every step was more exhausting than the last.

She heard a low rumble, as if a herd of horses was galloping towards her. Wheezing and puffing, she crept on until she could no longer move. She crawled into a corner and pulled up her legs. In a weak whisper, she muttered, “Spark, Fingo, where are you? Father, Mother, I am sorry, I should have listened.”

Then she closed her eyes and drifted into the dream she had seen so many times already. But it was more vivid than ever, as if she was really there. She stared into a fire, not a repugnant fire with sulfuric fumes, but clean and bright. She basked comfortably in the familiar heat of the eternal fire in the cave on Mount Kazbek. She felt has happy as she had ever been. But where was Diokles? She had only ever been there with him. There was someone else, she felt love and warmth. Mother? The vague figure didn’t look like Ophelia. She had long black hair and a smile as warm as the fire itself. Please mother, stay, she wanted to shout but all she could do was cry like an infant.

“Wake up!” squeaked Spark in her ear. “Come on! I found an exit. It’s just around the corner. But you have to hurry!”

Samira heard the rumbling sound loud and clear now.

The dream had left her more confused than she had ever been. But somehow it also gave her hope. She got up and with her last strength crawled onwards. She felt dizzy and saw everything blurred. Is it the vapor or is it in my head?

“Now just open the hatch above,” said Spark when they turned the corner and approached an opening in the ceiling.

The rumbling grew louder.

“I can’t,” said Samira. She pushed with all her might but could not move the heavy steel lid. She sank back to the floor. “We need a lever or something, but there’s nothing here,” she muttered, “we’re trapped.”

“Come on,” Spark encouraged her, “don’t talk about ‘traps’. You must try it. Give it everything you have. “

A warm breeze blew at her dress. She could already see a light glow around the corner. It is coming.

The girl pushed again. The hatch didn’t even move half an inch. She heaved and sighed from the effort.

“Don’t give up!” shouted Spark, “think of Fingo, think of your brother.”

As the red-hot molten rock rounded the corner, it was accompanied by a soft light. Fingo’s amulet caught the tiny rays and flickered in bright colors. It throbbed hotly on her chest. A heat that spread over her body and gave her new hope. She thought about the dream and that gave her even more strength.

I have to try again, Samira thought, one more time. With all the power she could muster, she pushed the heavy lid with her slender, exhausted body.

She managed to lift it and slowly, inch by inch, slide it to the side.

“Crawl through!” Spark squeaked. “Go on! It’s wide enough.”

She managed to squeeze through and collapsed in exhaustion.

An instant later, the scorching lava stream engulfed the tunnel below, the swirling, searing hot liquid vaporized everything in its path that wasn’t made of stone or tempered steel.