Page 2 of The Manticore's Fire

“The Sanna Desert?” she squawked, hastily rising to her feet. Oh no, no, she didn’t want to go there. There were venomous things in the desert, and she would fry in the sun. “I think you misunderstand?—"

“There is no misunderstanding here. You are here and you have the skills I need. And you need work, do you not?” he added, plucking the leather tube from the table. He tipped it, dropping the rolled advertisement into his hand. He partially unrolled it, read the first few words and snorted softly before tossing it onto the table where it spilled open in front of her. He gestured to it loftily. “Youarea monster hunter, and my people are in desperate need of your service.”

“But the desert,” she argued weakly, feeling as if a trap were closing around her that she hadn’t even realized that she’d spun for herself. As she was currently advertising her availability, she couldn’t refuse without disgracing the reputation of her family and ruining any prospective career for herself. Not without a good reason. “I have never been exposed to that sort of sun. I could burn, get heat-sickness, then there are the scorpions…”

Her voice faded as he chuckled and shook his head. “Nonsense, Tomas Sinclair is from the Sanna. As his daughter, you will adjust quickly enough. I will arrange your passage. I will be by to pick you up tomorrow—be ready. In the meantime, send whatever missives you need to your parents so that they are adequately informed of your imminent departure. Our boat leaves tomorrow at noon. Oh, and here is an incentive for your trouble. There will be more to come once the job is finished.”

The bag he dropped on the table was heavy enough with coins that its thud and the clank of metal within it halted any further protest on her lips. He whirled away with a flare of his cloak, but she barely noticed because her eyes widened further as she picked up and opened the pouch. It was more than they’d ever been offered for any job. She could take enough to see her through with supplies and food for months and still have enough to leave in the family coffers for when they returned. Surely, they couldn’t object to that. Especially if that was just a small amount of what was to come. They could be comfortably flush with gold even if her family returned empty handed.

She licked her lips, picturing the pride on their faces when she returned.

“Sure,” she whispered to the empty room. “I’ll do it.” Her head lifting, she gave him a curious look. “Who are you?”

“You may call me Zayman Bibal, the king’s trusted servant and your guide for the time being.”

Abby nodded mutely, half unable to believe what she had just agreed to. She was actually going to the Sanna desert. Gods help her. At least her excitement at finally being able to hunt was a nice pay off.

Chapter

Two

The trip by boat across the sea was an exercise in misery but it was nothing compared to the endless heat and sand when it came to traveling across the Sanna. Abby’s stomach lurched with every sway of her mount. She’d already privately wretched a multitude of times between embarking on the boat and their strike across the desert, but if Zayman Bibal had taken any notice of it, he had refrained from remarking upon it so long as she kept her complaints to herself.

Not that it improved her situation any. After seeing her supplied and seated uneasily on a bindwik feathered camel, she was sent off into the desert on her own with nothing more than a guide to help her get to her destination and abandon her forthwith. And that was exactly how she came to be standing outside a massive cave, with sand uncomfortably accumulating in places she didn’t even want to think about, as she considered her next step.

The trouble was that she had been left to hunt a manticore completely alone, and such a creature was not any ordinary beast or monster. Creatures of ancient desert fire, apparently manticores were terrifying man-eaters with the body of lion, the face and cunning of a man with which it lured human prey, anda scorpion’s sting which it would discharge at its prey in a foot long barb. And even if one managed to evade the first barb, it quickly grew another in its place. If she had known from the outset that was what sort of monster she was being sent out for—alone, she might add—she would have told him exactly what he could have done with his king’s offer.

She almost felt bad for Zayman that the task of informing her had been left to him except that he had purposefully waited to do so until after he had gathered the camels and was preparing to leave her there. Her choice had been clear without it even needing to be said—do the task for which she had been paid or find her way across the desert alone. He hadn’t said as much but the casual way he reassured her that he would return for her once she lit the flare and had the evidence of her kill prepared and displayed from a visible distance told her all that she needed to know.

Rat bastard. May the gods prepare a special place where the vermin of the underworld could feed upon his bowels.

Abby eyed the cave speculatively from where she crouched behind one of the jagged rocks near the mouth of the cave. Normally she would be making a rush for it, eager to get out of the blistering sun, but the murderous predator dwelling in it sort of put a snag in her plan. Even with a simple light spell, the monster would have the advantage of tight quarters and better eyesight. Unfortunately, she wasn’t any safer outside either if they were on equal ground. This wasn’t just some beast, which would be dangerous enough out in the open, but an intelligent and cunning predator. Which meant that she was putting herself within eating distance regardless. She also had to consider that, with evening quickly approaching, the manticore would emerge soon. At least her guide had been useful enough to inform her of the creature’s hunting habits before dumping her with nothingbut her supplies, a farewell, and a reassurance that he would return in a few days to collect her if she was still alive.

She pursed her lips as she rolled the weight of her javelin in her hand. When it came down to it, she had to decide whether she wanted to be on the menu trapped underground, or outside where she had a lot more maneuvering room. She snorted softly to herself and jabbed her javelin into the sand. That was obvious. While she could use the cave to her advantage as well, it was infinitely in her favor to wait outside the cave and attack it from a stronger position when it emerged. But then again it would just bevery badfor her if the manticore managed to actually get outside where it also had more room to attack.

Glancing up at the glaring sun, she estimated that she had a few hours at best. According to said guide, the creature emerged in the early hours of the evening and could be seen prowling in the desert at any time until near midday. She would have to make camp close to the mouth of the cave and remain on watch so that she would be able to quickly strike. She would get only one shot. When he emerged, he would be aware of her presence long before he even came out of the cave and on the attack.

She scratched her ear and blew several strands of dark, curly hair out of her face as she squinted at the entrance. On the other hand, when it came right down to it, there really wasn’t much to lose by simply just going in. She might even be lucky enough to catch the creature off-guard and asleep.

Decided, she yanked her javelin free and thumped the butt of it on the sand as she stood. Drawing her cloak around her she edged her way toward the mouth of the cave. She paused for only a moment as she listened for any signs of the creature before taking her first cautious step inside the dark interior. Her breath immediately escaped her in a sharp exhalation as the sudden bite of cool air coming from the cavern’s depths. It was startling but a relief after being out in the blistering sun all day.

Drawing a brass scarab from her pocket, she whispered the spell of the rising light that had been one of the first spells she’d learned in her youth. The brass insect began to glow with just enough light that she could see the walls of the cave and the downward sloping floor. The light didn’t penetrate far but it was serviceable for a hunter. Smiling grimly, she descended into the cavern, noting the way the walls grew narrower with her every step. At some points she had to stop and shimmy sideways through passages or drop to slide along her belly on the cold, damp, stone floor. She didn’t have to go far before she began to encounter the stalagmites and stalactites that began to dot some of the larger caverns the system opened into.

Abby paused as the channel opened to a new cavern that contained a large, green pool of water that extended from the banks ahead of her. Stalagmites jutted like dozens of teeth from the cold water, the moisture on them shimmering in the light of her spell. Abby pursed her lips as she inwardly whistled in appreciation. The cave system was far deeper and more impressive than she initially thought it to be.

Stepping to the edge of the pool, she glanced down and noted the steep and abrupt drop of the cavern floor beneath its clear surface. Wading across definitely wasn’t an option. That left the stalagmites. She squinted across the surface of the water at them. They were strange in that their peaks were not tapered but worn into a smooth, flat surface. Each was wide enough that they appeared to form an odd bridge with their wide flared edges just above the water that disappeared in the darkness. Each stalagmite edge seemed to be wide enough to easily hold a person… or a monster. Gods, she hated trusting the unknown.

Whispering a levitation command to the brass scarab, she opened her hand as it sprouted shimmering wings and fluttered roughly a foot away from her. It was a shame that she didn’t have any equally convenient way to deal with her javelin. Sheddingher cloak, she ignored the way her skin prickled at the sudden shock of direct exposure to the cold air and slid her javelin home into the leather slots attached to the harness. The temperature and humidity within the cavern were miserable but the cloak was a small sacrifice to keep her weapon at hand while keeping her hands free as she carried it across the water.

She gave an experimental bounce and was satisfied that, though her tits jiggled far too much for her liking, her javelin remained secured. With a nod of satisfaction, she tightened the bracers around her gloves as she stepped toward the nearest stalagmite. It was close enough to the embankment that she was able to hop onto easily. The progressing stalagmites proved to be a little more difficult. She was forced to take leaps, often fueled with the forward momentum of her previous jump to clear the distance between some of the larger and more imposing stones. Sweat quickly began to slick her skin and gathered in the most inconvenient places as she made her way across. It was finally with one last perilous leap to an embankment heavily shrouded with darkness that her feet landed on the firm cavern floor once more, sending tiny stones scattering.

Brushing back the dark coil of hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face, she didn’t hesitate to strike off immediately for the yawning darkness ahead. The scarab zipped in front of her as she walked, always keeping within a couple feet radius as she made her way down the long, dark tunnel to whatever lay within. In contrast to the coolness of the rest of the cave, she began to become aware of a noticeable heat emanating from below and her heart sped up in reaction to it.

“And there in the darkness, Abby Sinclair steps into the mouth of the beast’s den. The monstrous manticore awaits in the unnatural heat fueled by the flames of its infernal breath,” she whispered. “A creature of such appetite that it has been the ruinof towns; and it might be the ruin of our heroine, our monster hunter, yet.”

A snort echoed up the tunnel and for a moment she froze, her eyes widening. The scarab hovered, however, seemingly undisturbed. Abby frowned and pulled her javelin free as the shadows seemed to move and retreat further inside. Keeping her breathing light, she remained frozen in place for several minutes as she listened for any signs of movement… or anything at all. When no other sounds immediately came, she started forward again, albeit at a more cautious pace as she delved deeper.

The further she went the more, ever following the elusive shadows in an effort to claim her victory, the more the cavern heated until it possessed a balminess that was equal to the night air outside the cave system but minus the threat of the sun’s boiling intensity during the day once it rose into the sky. It was no wonder that the manticore preferred to sleep away the days down there and hunt at night. But where was it? She had been so certain that it was nearly within her grasp. Her brow furrowed… was that light up ahead? She squinted, blinded by the unexpected brightness of the illumination.

---