"You heard Leon. It's too risky."
Zyra had finally learned the name of the guy who helped her out in the woods.
She had yet to find a way to return the favor before he called it to her detriment.
Zyra hated loose ends and being in other people's debt, it felt like a burden.
"Let me come with you," entreated Nyla.
"I know you mean well but I think we should stick to the plan. Remember we all agreed that whoever lost would check out the mine. I lost, so fair is fair and the sooner you guys stop trying to hold me back. The quicker I can be in and out in a jiffy."
"Zyra, just be careful," said Verity.
At times she could be calm and the voice of reason.
It too explained how Verity managed to survive so long, especially after the horror they had all witnessed.
The others made no move to stop her, giving her a wide berth and she could picture them standing there watching her with bated breath as she entered the mine alone.
Fuegolians said that the natives on this island were a primitive lot.
They believed the stones produced by the volcanos held sacred beings.
That the mine housed their protector. No one knew what that meant.
While the rest of the earth had advanced with technology these islanders held fiercely to their beliefs.
They killed any stranger who had the misfortune to set foot on their islands, no questions asked.
The Fuegolians were the only scourge to have ever bested them and as much as it grieved them they also admired their conqueror's fighting spirit.
The recruits were repeatedly warned not to leave the wolfbeast camp.
Anyone who sneaked out or tried to escape would be at a disadvantage.
They were on an island, surrounded by shark-infested waters.
The only thing they were sure of was that there would be numerous ways to die without the protection that the camp offered.
Even though they managed to live on the island in harmony with the natives on one side and the Fuegolians on the other.
That warm welcome for Fuegolians did not extend to strangers and the Islanders had continued their time-honored tradition of killing first and asking questions later.
How had she come to end up traipsing up a rocky mountainside of an active volcano in pursuit of a precious gem?
Several hours earlier, Rolf informed them that private rooms were limited.
His superiors believed in equality so those that could not get a private room would have to share a communal space.
Sounded fair enough until he explained that both men and women would shower together and sleep in the same room together.
Out of the fifty-five, only three women were left from the original group.
She didn't mind sharing a room with strangers but the looks she was getting from the men made her want to claim one of those private rooms for herself.
Zyra wouldn't mind willingly sharing the room with the other women.
Even though they had never spoken before that day when she told them of her plan to get a private room.
The relief and gratefulness that she saw in their eyes gave her motivation.
That very day a kindred bond formed between the women and she learned their names.
Nyla looked proud and carried herself like a Nubian queen.
She had her hair in neat black sister locks that inched past her shoulders.
She ran fast and was good at tracking and hunting.
When it came to anything nature-related she was a treasure trove of information.
Verity was small and lithe. B
efore she was recruited into the wolfbeast army she had come from a family with a long line of professional dancers in their history.
Her parents loved the performing arts and ran a theater.
She was their only girl and the apple of their eye. Verity reminded Zyra of a blue-eyed, blond ice princess and she could be as haughty as she was graceful.
The mission was simple: they would break into groups of no less than three and no more than seven members.
They had until sunset to return with as many gemstones as they could find. T
he rarer and more valuable the stone the better chance of claiming the prize of a room for their own.
The mine shaft got darker the further she drifted downwards from the exit.
She just kept walking and looking to see if she could find anything of interest. It was foolish to hope just like fool's gold was to this mission.
It was getting so dark she could barely see anything and she would have walked right into the nothingness of a black hole.
Had a hand not pulled her by the waist back from the edge of the hole.
His body heat enveloped her and it felt like the more she got closer to him the hotter he got.
"I am Carnelian. What is your name mortal?"
"It's Zyra."
"What are you doing in this mine, did you not see the sign to keep out?"
"I saw it but I thought it was worth the risk."
"I don't have to tell you how stupid you sound but this is private property. You are lucky I did not kill you on sight. I'm thinking of your stupidity, I shouldn't have saved you but let you break your fool's neck from falling to death."
"I'm thankful that you saved my life but I didn't know I was trespassing. Maybe you should have the sign replaced, it's old and worn out. We have only just arrived and were given our first mission, to retrieve a gem from this area. We were told nothing about boundaries or private property."
"Foolish one. Did you ask?"
"No, it hadn't occurred to me to do so."
"You are young and naive but also honest. A rare trait to find these days."
"I'm glad you approve. Can you let me go now?"
"Normally, you would be a tasty appetizer but I've already had dinner. Tell you what, I will do more than just let you go. I'll help you with your mission."
"Not to sound ungrateful but you don't know me. Why are you willing to help a stranger? What is in it for you?"
"You amuse me and with time you'll make a delightful plaything. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
Crap. She already owed one man a favor and here was another male trying to play mind games with her. Games she wasn't well equipped to play. Time was running out and neither she nor her teammates had found a decent gem yet.
Just specks she doubted that they could even use to make decent costume jewelry. This task wasn't as easy as Rolf made it seem and they didn't have the time or equipment to dig deeper for better gems.
What choice did she have but to play by his rules? At least for now. Rules were meant to be broken.
"Fine, I'll agree to your terms."
"Very well, what did you say you were looking for?"
She never said but she would play along. "To complete this task I need to return with a gem that can outdo the competition."
"Okay, I think I can help you with that. Give me a few minutes."
He transformed before her very eyes and like once before the ground trembled beneath her feet and the disturbance caused topsoil from the mine ceiling to fall.
She trembled with fear that the ceiling would cave in but thankfully it didn't.
It just stirred up dust that made her cough. When she stopped coughing he was gone.
Were all Fuegolians as huge as him when they transformed.
He was a majestic beast with fiery red locks that screamed what would happen if you got too close to his fiery heat.
You would suffer the same fate as Icarus.
He had wax wings and flew too close to the sun.
She felt like a bigger fool than Icarus but like the first time around her options were limited and she had no choice in the matter.
Five minutes, her foot, it felt like he had been gone an eternity.
She was relieved when he returned and it looked like he was carrying something in his mouth.
He shook his mane like a lion and sent ashes and dust flying everywhere.
She was completely covered from head to toe in the stuff.
Zyra felt that no one would hesitate to believe she dug that rock out herself if they judged her by her looks.
He beckoned to her and he stretched out his paw like he wanted her to mirror his movements which she did.
He then put his right paw on the ground and lowered his head to drop what he had in his mouth onto the palm of her outstretched hand.
It was an orange crystal no bigger than the size of an egg.
It might not be the biggest rock out there but surely it had value since it reminded her of a sunset. She felt confident that they had just landed the prize of a room while holding it.
The girls were relieved to see Zyra return safely from the mine and the trio rushed to camp to quickly present it to Rolf.
Before another team could get wind of their glorious find and have someone try to steal it or take it from them by brute force.
Everyone confirmed that she went in and came from the mine alone.
Leon himself had gone in before and swore that the mine had been empty.
He didn't linger because of how unstable the area was, the last thing he wanted was to be trapped in an abandoned mine shaft.
Why then was Rolf so angry?
She was pretty sure that he had implied that she cheated somehow.
He had no proof so he would have to just deal with it.
Somehow, she knew that he would be watching her every move more closely from now on.