Page 1 of The Last Syphon

CHAPTER ONE

“Ruuuuuunnnnnn!” Inara screamed at the top of her lungs, a stream of blazing hot dragon fire right on her ass as she sprinted through the dark cavern.

She threw her hand back, tossing up a protective shield behind her, and the heat instantly disappeared. Her best friend and partner in crime, Felix, bolted up to her side, his hands overflowing with treasure. The rucksack on his back was filled with more of the same.

Gold chalices. Gold plates. Emerald and silver jewellery. Each piece was more expensive than the last and worth enough to get rid of all of their problems.

“I told you this was a bad idea!” he yelled over the mighty roar of one of the dragons.

In retrospect, he was probably right. Sneaking into a dragon den was just asking for trouble. But the countless piles of treasure begging to be taken had seemed worth the risk to Inara. The score was simply too tantalising to pass up. There was enough gold in that cave to keep them fed for the whole year.

Possibly longer.

Dragons hoarded not only gold, but also jewels, crystals—anything shiny, really. And most of it would fetch a high price the next time traders came to town.

“What do you want? A bloody medallion? Get back!” Another stream of dragon fire came hurtling towards them head-on. Magic rushed to Inara’s fingertips, hot and potent. She flung her palm up, and a bright, beaming force field shimmered into view. The dragon fire clashed against it with a mighty boom.

“Inara! Behind us!”

Her other arm shot up without conscious thought, another shield blinking into existence just in time to stop the torrent of flames coming from the opposite side.

“Feel free to step in anytime,” she growled, sinking more power into her shields.

Felix, crouched at her feet, gave her an outraged look. “What the Fates do you expect me to do? My power is kind of useless in this situation.”

Okay. He kind of had a point. Inara knew that. With his full build and broad shoulders, one would think Felix had one of the most powerful abilities in all three kingdoms, but it was quite the opposite. He had the ability to sing anyone and anything to sleep. The problem was that he needed about thirty seconds for the notes to take hold in their brain and for the drowsiness to take effect.

That wouldn’t work here.

With a grunt of exertion, Inara pushed her shields outwards, creating more space. “There’s an entrance into another cavern over there to the left. Run to it.”

“Are you insane?” he hissed, brown eyes sparkling with indecision. “We have no idea what’s in there! What if it’s another dragon?”

“Then one is better than two! Move your ass!”

“Argh! Fatesdamned it!” Felix picked himself up, hands still clasping the treasure to his chest, and sprinted for the opening.

The flames to Inara’s left dissipated. She kept her right hand up, blocking the raging dragon fire still bearing down on her from the other side, and then raised her free hand, calling on more of the magic that lived deep within her. A shield encircled a huge chunk of the fire and broke it away, trapping it within. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it soaring back to its maker, dropping the shield just before impact.

It smashed into the dragon, and the creature bellowed out a pain-filled cry.

Inara bolted, not looking back. The adjacent cavern was another large space overflowing with treasure. Magical luminaries cascaded along the walls, casting an orange-yellow glow around the space, providing just enough light for her to see.

Hide. Hide. I need to⁠—

“Inara!” Felix hiss-whispered from her left. His head popped up from behind a large boulder and shot right back down again, out of sight.

There was no time to think, only move.

She ran, taking cover behind it.

“Oh, we’re so dead,” he cried under his breath, his voice trembling. “We’re dead. We’re dead. We’re⁠—”

Inara slapped a palm over Felix’s mouth, silencing his next words, which she knew would be the same bullshit he was already spouting. There was a beat of silence. Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline flooding her system. Snarling and growling echoed around them a moment later. Inara waited, stretching her ears to try to hear what was going on, where the dragons were. But she heard nothing else.

The creatures stayed on the outskirts of the cavern, never taking another step.

Felix looked at Inara, his eyes wide with terror. She removed her hand and whispered, “Peek over and have a look.”