I stumbled along the rocky landscape. A cloud of soot rose with every step and stuck to my legs. It was starting to get dark, and Zoran still hadn’t come back for me. The man was insane, but the alternative of staying in the ravine overnight seemed much worse.

A shrill echoed off the walls and rattled my ears. Covering my head, I dropped to the ground and looked to the sky. A giant shadow passed over, and more were coming. I crawled through the ash to a large rock with an overhang near a lake of lava. Hiding beneath it, I peeked out and saw the creatures had kept on going.

Dragons—they had to be the most terrifying creatures I had ever met. But, then again, I didn’t know what else lurked in the depth of the ravine.

I tried to wipe off my legs but only succeeded in smearing black up my arms. This whole thing was pointless. I was naked and covered in filth. This situation was just frustrating. I had no idea what I should do to get out of there.

Climbing to my feet, I wandered over to a cave. A lava river ran through the middle of it and connected to the lake. The cave appeared empty, but I still couldn’t be sure. The lava had looked harmless enough until that snake had tried to eat me.

I sat down on a rock and took deep breaths. Even though I kept blowing up anything that attacked me, I couldn’t live here. I had to find a way out of this fire pit. There were too many things trying to eat me lurking around.

Something shifted in the darkness. My head snapped in its direction. It sounded like little legs scurrying across the walls. The lava lit up parts of the tunnel, but most sections were lost to the shadows. The snakes had taught me this lesson already, and I was getting out of there. Whatever was hiding inside, I did not want to meet it.

I stepped outside and heard a dragon’s high-pitched call. It pounded in my ears. I sunk to the ground and crawled to the cave wall. Bringing my legs to my chest, I covered my ears.

A small dragon dove into the lake. It emerged, flinging lava through the air with one of those serpents in its mouth. The snake had its fangs buried in the dragon’s snout. The beast flipped its prey into the air, caught it by the head, and slurped it down.

The sight made my heart pound. This fire power was new to me. I didn’t know whether it would be enough to kill a dragon if one decided to swallow me. Was it even possible to blow up a dragon? It just dove into lava!

The creeping noise grew louder. Spinning around, I searched the darkness, but saw nothing. The choices were either the cave monsters or a dragon. I honestly just wanted Zoran to come. I’d happily go with him now.

The ground shook as a large dragon landed at the edge of the lake. It dipped its head into the magma and lapped up the molten rock, before throwing back its head and releasing a stream of fire. It shook the ash from its scales and turned to me.

“Curse the gods.” My chest tightened with fear.

A green liquid dripped from the dragon’s fangs. It sizzled when it hit the ground. I inched back inside the cave. The size of the beast had been the deciding element. I’d take my chances with the cave urchins.

I slowly stood and backed into the cave. The moment I turned to run, black slime smacked me in the face. It burned my skin and sealed my eyes shut. I staggered blindly, trying to wipe it off. My foot caught on something, and I was slammed onto my stomach. I gagged on the cloud of soot and felt my face began to heat up. The black tar melted away and dripped onto the ground.

Sitting up, I saw a black creature scurry down the wall. The beetle held its ground on a rock nearby. It snapped its pincers together. They were big enough to cut off a grown man’s head.

Scooting backward, I felt my arm slip into the lava flow. The beetle’s stinger started to vibrate and glow red. The sound of bugs grew louder over my head. I looked at the ceiling to see a hole in the roof with beetles pouring out.

“Holy shit.” I had fallen into hell and couldn’t even die to escape it.

I tried to stand, but a wad of tar landed on my foot, sticking it to the ground. More followed, and all I could do was protect my face. My body was quickly being covered. The weight and pressure were becoming unbearable as my body was smashed into a tight ball.

It hurt. My chest was being crushed.

The tar started to heat up, but I didn’t think it was because of me. Something shot inside my cocoon and grabbed my neck. Air rushed into my lung as the endless heat spread through my body. My head emerged from the tar, and I opened my eyes to see Zoran staring at me like I was the most pathetic creature alive. The tar was still caked to my legs as he shoved me to the side and sent a wave of black flames throughout the cave. The beetles clambered over each other to get back into the nest.

I laid there on the ground, gasping for air. “Where have you been?”

Zoran zapped a beetle that was larger than my entire torso. It flipped through the air, before landing on its back.

“I think I made it clear I’m a busy man.” He grabbed one of the bug’s legs and tossed it into the mouth of an emerald green dragon.

The beast bit down hard, sending black tar flying everywhere. Some landed on Zoran’s coat.

“Uther,” he growled.

The dragon ignored him and stabbed another beetle with its claw before eating it.

“What are those things?” I tried to scrape the tar off my legs.

Zoran placed his boot in the center of my chest and slammed me to the ground. I choked as the air was forced from my lungs. The heat soon entered my body and melted the rest of the tar away.

“Red-Tipped Tar Beetles,” he stated, grinding his boot into my skin. “And you, my stupid little sparrow, were nearly carried off into their nest.” He shook his head at me. “Do you know how difficult it would have been to get you out? It’s a giant maze carved into the mountainside. Not to mention you probably blow up all the tunnels to get to you.” The god walked away, rubbing his forehead. “Why did I get stuck with such a stupid creature...”

“I didn’t know.” I slowly stood on shaky legs. “No one told me anything about this place.”

“Well, most people die. It’s not exactly a popular travel route,” he replied, taking off his coat. “Cover up your…” He looked me up and down with a smirk. “Your problem.”

Glaring at him, I quickly put it on and wrapped it around me. “It’s your fault.”

“Oh, everything is my fault now.” He walked to his dragon and ran the back of his hand along its scales. “I did tell you to come, and you made the choice not to.” Zoran scratched the beast’s chin.

The dragon’s glowing red eyes landed on me.

“No, Uther, you can’t eat him,” he said with a hint of amusement. “This one has a habit of self-destructing.”

Uther huffed out a blast of hot air that nearly knocked me over.

“This is your pet?” I inched behind Zoran.

Uther’s eyes continued to follow me.

“Comments like that will end with you walking home.” He leaned against Uther. “A dragon can never be a pet.” He flicked off a glob of black tar from the beast’s scales. “They have pride issues. The younger one I have to beat into submission, but Uther here is simply a companion. It’s not like life is that difficult when you work for a god.”

The dragon lowered its head, and Zoran climbed onto it. He sat down where its neck joined with its shoulders and held out his hand.

“I won’t be coming back this time, so think wisely before you storm off. Tar beetles and a couple lava serpents are mild compared to some of the creatures that live within this ravine.”

He didn’t have to say another word. I grabbed his hand and let him help me up. I sat behind him and hesitantly held onto the back of his shirt.

“Do you want to try flying again?” He glanced over his shoulder at me.

I clenched my jaw and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“See? Was that difficult?” he scoffed. “Your pride was bruised only slightly.”

Zoran flicked his wrist, and a red chain materialized like a harness around the dragon’s snout. It cooled to a dull black. Uther rose up and spread his wings. I clung to Zoran as the animal began to lift into the air with every beat of his wings.

The dragon let out his call. I closed my eyes while the others answered it. Uther led the flock back down the ravine. I forced open my eyes to see the world rush past. I was on the back of a dragon, flying through the depths of hell. I never thought a seemingly normal day could end so badly.