Jim Hines - The Snow Queen's shadow

One of the goblins spat. “Magic. Is your friend trying to expose us?”

Had Snow been here, she would have made an indecent quip about exposing herself. Talia swallowed, pushing the thought aside. Gerta’s light was already fading down another tunnel, going deeper into the earth. Talia carefully stepped out of the frost-edged area which had been frozen by Gerta’s magic. “Where does that passage lead?”

“To one of the older areas of the mine. It flooded years ago. Great fishing, but it can be a dangerous place if you’re not careful. Even for your witch friend.”

“Sorceress,” Talia muttered, limping after Gerta. This was another square-cut passage, with log beams supporting the planked walls and ceiling. Dust and mold obscured old carvings in the wood. Warnings, or simply the accumulated scrawls of old miners and fairies?

Thankfully, Gerta had slowed as well. Snow had never trained as hard physically as she did mentally. It looked as though that was another thing she and Gerta shared.

“We’ll find another way,” Talia shouted. “I’m not going to let either one of you die.”

“Please don’t lie to me, Talia.” Gerta’s voice echoed strangely, and the sound of her footsteps had changed. Moments later, Talia discovered why.

The tunnel emerged at the top of an enormous cave, easily as large as the palace courtyard back home. The air smelled of steam and sulfur, and a lake filled the lower portion of the cave. A wooden walkway was built into the side of the rock, descending back and forth toward a stone bridge on the far side where the lake narrowed, connecting to another cavern through a ragged gap in the wall. The lake’s surface was perfectly still, like black glass.

Talia tugged off her boots. Not even Snow White was strong enough to freeze the entire lake. This was a higher drop than the last, but the water should break her fall. Assuming it was deep enough.

Gerta was halfway to the bridge. Talia gripped the railing in both hands and took deep breaths, filling her lungs. Her elbow was throbbing, and hip and thigh complained as well. As Gerta’s light bobbed lower, Talia climbed onto the rail and leaped.

She hit toes-first, keeping her knees bent and arms spread to absorb the impact as she plunged into the water, but she needn’t have worried. She couldn’t see how deep the lake was, but her feet never touched bottom.

It was hotter than she expected, uncomfortably so, and tasted of salt. She kicked to the surface and wiped her face, slicking back her hair. Gerta had hesitated on the stairs. “You can’t keep running,” Talia shouted.

Talia wasn’t the strongest swimmer, but Queen Beatrice had insisted she learn. She kicked toward the bridge, swimming on one side to favor her injured arm and leg. Gerta was close, but Talia should reach the bridge first. Gerta could try to flee back up the tunnels, but it would mean running uphill. Even from here, Talia could see that she was sweating and out of breath.

If she was truly a part of Snow, she wouldn’t give up easily. Talia watched Gerta the best she could, ready to duck beneath the water at the first hint of spellcasting.

Something splattered against the back of her head, hard enough to knock her face into the water. Talia stopped, kicking to keep herself afloat while she touched her head with one hand. Whatever it was, it had the consistency of hot syrup. It had sprayed the lake around her as well, judging from the rings spreading through the water. “I don’t know what kind of spell that was, but it’s disgusting!”

Gerta hurried toward the bridge. “Talia, get down!”

Talia dove, trusting the terror in Gerta’s shout. Moments later, the water over her head exploded in orange flames.

Talia kicked deeper to escape the searing heat. The surface was already boiling from the fire. She swam as far as she could, waiting until the fire stopped and her lungs forced her to the surface. Steam rose from the water, and each breath hurt her throat and chest. She took one more quick gulp of air, then ducked beneath the water again.

This time, she managed to make it to the bridge. She pulled herself past one of the stone support pillars, keeping her eyes and nose above the surface and doing the best she could to control her breathing.

Another burst of flame illuminated the dragon on the far shore. This one was far larger than either of the “tame” dragons she had seen higher up. The dragon slipped into the water with hardly a ripple. The faint glow from its mouth vanished with a hissing sound.

“Where’s a knight when you need one?” Historically, knights had never done well against dragons, no matter what the bards said. But at least Talia could have gotten away while the dragon was busy baking the knight in his armor. She grabbed the pillar and lunged higher, reaching for the edge of the bridge.

“Look out!”

Talia twisted to see the dragon swimming closer, head raised from the water, orange glow clearly visible. With a curse, she dropped beneath the water and pulled herself between the pillars. She yanked her knife from her sleeve. When the flames died, she surfaced and flung the knife at the dragon’s mouth. It bounced off the scaly snout.

“Brilliant,” snapped Gerta as she reached the bridge. “Are you trying to make the dragon angry? Maybe next we can go find a griffon so you can pull its tail.”

“Shut up, unless you want it to go after you.” Talia bobbed beneath the surface, dodging another gout of flame. The pillars supporting the bridge were built too close together for the dragon to follow. The water was clear enough to see the dragon swimming from side to side, moving as easily as a fish. The small legs kicked in a way that reminded her of a dog, but the dragon also used its wings and tail for speed. There was no way she could outswim this creature.

She pulled herself through to the far side of the bridge, then swore. In the second cavern, she could see another orange glow moving through the water toward her, no doubt attracted by the commotion.

The first dragon’s head snaked between the pillars. Talia twisted, and sharp teeth caught her sleeve. She braced herself as the dragon yanked back, slamming her against the stone hard enough to make her vision flash. The collar of her shirt cut off her breath like a garrote, and then the sleeve ripped away.

“If I help you, you have to let me go,” Gerta said.

“If you help me, you’ll get yourself killed.” Her face and neck stung as if singed by the desert sun. She used the beams to pull herself toward the far shore. The dragons kept pace with ease. “I’ll lead them away from you. Wait until they follow, then get out of here.”

Slow footsteps stopped directly over Talia’s head. “Promise me.”

Talia reversed direction, dodging another lunge. She ducked beneath the water to avoid a rush of flame. When she surfaced, steam hid the dragons from view. She squinted, trying to protect her eyes from the heat. “Fine, I promise.”

She pulled herself to one side as both dragons snapped at the sound of her voice.

“You’re lying.”

“Of course I’m lying!” The second dragon slipped its head between the columns. Talia punched it on the eyelid, bloodying her knuckles. She needed a plan, but the dragons wouldn’t ease up long enough for her to think. All she could do was react. “You know what the demon has done. I can’t-”

She swore and ducked again. When she surfaced, she spied another fire approaching from the shore, and her chest tightened. If the fire was any indication, this dragon was bigger than any Talia had seen so far, and it was approaching quickly. “Get out of here, Gerta.”

“Shut up.” Gerta’s voice was resonant.

The first dragon raised its head, spouting a halfhearted tower of fire that quickly sputtered out. The one on shore answered in kind.