Essence of Gluic

Avanda had led Thorik to the edge of the sinkhole’s rim before realizing how thin the ground was near the desert’s boundary. Below them, the ground tapered back underneath them and thickened as it approached the countless caves in the sinkhole’s walls.

  Thorik quietly absorbed the enormous size of the hole and city within it. Built in the center of the opening, which was easily over a mile across, the towers were out of reach from any attack. The cavern below the opening went back several miles in every direction and was comprised of homes and farms.

  “Amazing,” Avanda commented as Thorik approached from her side. “It reminds me of the hollow insides of a gigantic pumpkin, but instead of pumpkin guts, it has green vines clinging to the cavern walls and ceilings.”

  Thorik chuckled at her assessment. It was crude but mostly true.

  A long ramp could be seen under the far ledge, as it extended in a wide arc around the exterior of the city. Creatively engineered bamboo columns held the sturdy bamboo ramp as it worked its way up from the cavern floor in an enormous spiral underneath the Nums, preventing them from seeing where it finally hit the surface of the desert.

  “Hold my feet,” Avanda quickly dropped down on her stomach and leaned over the edge of the sinkhole.

  “Wait!” Thorik jumped for her legs to ensure she wouldn’t slide too far over.

  Grabbing the edge of the desert floor, Avanda stretched her neck down to see what was below them.

  She found that the desert was only a few feet thick at the very edge but increased in thickness the farther it was from the edge. “Thorik, lower me to my waist so I can see where the ramp leads to.”

  “I don’t think that would be safe.”

  “Come on, Thorik. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  “It was pushed aside by my responsibility to ensure your safety.”

  Pulling her head back up, she shot Thorik a look of disapproval. “I want to go lower.”

  Thorik’s instincts told him to stand his ground, but his ability to tell her ‘no’ seemed to have vanished. He suddenly felt fearful of losing her relationship if he didn’t do what she requested, a relationship that he had slowly been allowing into his heart.

  Avanda changed her expression from a pout to a smile and coyly batted her eyes at him. “Please? It will only be for a few seconds.” She didn’t have to wait long to determine if her game had worked.

  With a deep sigh, Thorik gave in and repositioned himself behind her to ensure she couldn’t fall. Sitting down, with his legs straddling hers, he gripped the ground with his boots and held her ankles with his hands. “I’ve got you. You should be able to lean over far enough to see the top of the ramp now.” He prayed that he would not have to use his left arm to pull her back up, for it hadn’t fully recovered yet from being broken at the Temple of Surod.

  Spinning around, she leaned over at her hips to see beneath them. Avanda allowed gravity to stretch her down as far as she could go. And there it was, the top of the ramp ended on a platform surrounded by two tall guard stations. These were the only military-looking structures in the entire city. They appeared to be designed to stop invaders.

  “I can see it!” Avanda began pushing herself back up. Unfortunately, the ground she pressed against gave way, sending a shower of sand to those below her in the city outskirts.

  “Time to come back up,” Thorik shouted as he clung to her ankles.

  Avanda grabbed a firmer hold and pushed herself upward. Again, the rocks and sand loosened up and fell away. “Thorik, you’re going to have to pull me up, I can’t get a solid grip.”

  Thorik repositioned his feet to pull her back up. “Try to push while I pull,” he instructed. “And…Push!”

  Thorik pulled as Avanda pushed, only to find she had loosened a large rock on which she had been laying. Her hands fell free along with the rock just as Thorik pulled her up to safety on the desert floor. He then let go of her ankles in order to grab his own arm in pain. The sudden jerk to save her had shot thousands of tiny painful spikes through his injured limb.

  But the safety was short lived, as the ground under her began to break away. The fallen rock had caused the ground under them to loosen, and it was all starting to crumble apart.

  Avanda screamed and swiveled around toward Thorik. However, she was too late as her body fell from the ledge.

  Reaching out, Thorik grabbed her wrist with both of his hands, causing her fall to snap to a halt. His legs were now spread out around the new opening, braced firmly on the desert floor that remained after the center section of ground had broken free. “Awww!” Thorik screamed as his left arm took the brunt of the jerk.

  Dangling below him, Avanda gazing hundreds of feet down toward the city. The only thing preventing her from certain death was Thorik’s grip. “Help!” She reached up with her free hand to grab Thorik’s arm and kicked wildly.

  Residents of the city were starting to notice the commotion above. The rocks had fallen into a garden, outside the islands and city towers, and Avanda’s high-pitched screams could be heard below.

  Adrenaline raced through his body as Thorik dug his heals into the desert on both sides of her, as he leaned backward, pulling her up slightly.

  Avanda desperately reached out in an attempt to pull herself up. Her hand scratched and clawed at anything she could reach as she continued to thrash about and scream.

  “Stop kicking!” Thorik struggled with her movements, as he himself was fighting his own pain. Her violent behavior was causing him to lose his grip as she jostled about.

  Unfortunately, she was beyond reason. Her only thought was to grab anything to prevent her from falling.

  And as Thorik had warned, her kicking about caused her to slip out from his grip. It was a moment of horror for him as he felt each of her fingers slide away from his own fingers. The moment was devastating. He wished it away, hoping it didn’t really happen. And yet it had.

  Free of his grasp, Avanda’s other hand grabbed onto Thorik’s belt, nearly pulling it down below his waist. Fortunately his legs had been spread out to span the gaping hole, where she still hung within.

  Thorik instantly grabbed her wrist with one hand and used his other to help pull himself away from the ledge. Pressing with his heels and pulling with his free hand, he slowly moved himself to safety while dragging Avanda out of danger. Again, pain shot through his previously injured arm as he used it without caution to save her.

  Once they were a few yards from the opening, she released his belt and he released her wrist.

  “I knew this would happen!” Thorik’s agitated voice was shallow as he gathered his breath and clutched his arm in pain.

  “You did not!” Avanda replied, struggling with her own breathing. Her emotions were still running very high even though she was on safe ground. His agitated words caused her to reply in the same tone.

  “Yes, I did! I shouldn’t have let you talk me into it.” Thorik was upset about the situation more than at her. In fact, he was furious at himself more than anything for doing something so foolish. He knew better.

  Avanda had crawled slightly farther away from the sinkhole before picking her head up enough to question Thorik, who was now resting next to her. “I talked you into it?”

  “Why do I let women affect me so,” he scolded himself, for he knew better than to attempt such a foolhardy act, especially with a bad arm. He had stood up to dragons, the undead, and other various beasts, but he struggled to stand up to those who he loved, always afraid of losing them in an argument. Nursing his arm, he continued, “I need to learn to stand my ground.”

  “Stand your ground? All I did was ask for your help. You could have said no if you felt it wasn’t safe.”

  “I couldn’t. Once you gave me that look and that smile...”

  “You put my life in danger because I smiled at you?”

  “No, you didn’t let me finish.” The adrenaline from the event was fueling both sides of the conversation.

  “I don’t have to. I
love you, Thorik Dain, and you love me whether you’re willing to admit it or not. I expect you to protect me from anything that can harm me, even if it’s from myself.”

  Thorik blinked with confusion. “I tried to stop you!”

  “Not very hard. I can’t believe you allowed me to risk my life when you knew I shouldn’t.”

  “Hey, this isn’t my fault,” he fought back. “You’re the one that felt the need to lean over the ledge in the first place.”

  “Fine! This is all my fault.” She abruptly rolled onto her side with her back to him.

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “You were very clear. It isn’t your fault. Those are your exact words. Therefore, it is mine.”

  Thorik bit his lip in frustration. “Avanda…”

  “No, I will never coax you with my smile again. I don’t want to be accused of causing you any more pain. I’ll continue to learn enough magic so that I don’t need your help, or anyone else’s for that matter.”

  Thorik sighed and rolled on his side, facing away from Avanda. “I don’t need this. This is why I can’t have a relationship right now.”

  “What relationship?” Her words were cold and to the point. She had just severed any relationship that had been started.

  “What happened to ‘our love’?” he fired back at her.

  “I’m questioning the same thing.”