Tommy Graves's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

Morning came gray and colder than before. Tommy woke with his fingers numb inside his sleeves. Lumina lay curled beside him, her glow dimmed to a weak flicker. Frost coated the treehouse walls. He touched her shoulder and she barely stirred. The cold was winning. One more night like the last would freeze them both in their sleep. "We can't stay here," Tommy said. His breath came out white. "There's no fire. No way to make one that lasts." He looked at the broken window where the spider had climbed. "And it knows where we are." Lumina sat up slowly. "I saw a mountain once, before I found this place. Full of caves." She pointed a tentacle toward the far hills. "Big enough to block the wind." Tommy pulled the diamond sword onto his back and helped her down the tree. The frost trail from the wounded spider still cut across the ground, leading the other way. Good. They walked toward the mountain instead. It rose ahead of them, a wall of purple crystal veined with thorny black trees. Caves opened in its face like dark mouths. Amethyst Hollow Peak, Lumina called it. Along the path Tommy gathered fallen branches, snapping them to length and tying them with a strip torn from his hoodie. His arms shook from the weight, but a stack of dry wood meant a fire that would burn. A growl stopped him cold. A black dog stepped from behind a thorn tree. Its eyes glowed purple. Its teeth were too big for its jaw, white and sharp. Lumina shrank behind Tommy. He gripped the sword, but his hands were full of firewood and he couldn't lift it fast enough. The dog lowered its head. Then it whined. It limped closer, and Tommy saw the frost matted in its fur, the ribs pushing through its side. It was starving. It was cold, same as them. Tommy set down the wood. Slowly, he pulled the last strip of dried meat from his pocket and held it out. "Here," he whispered. "It's okay." The dog sniffed his hand. Then it ate, gentle for such big teeth. Its tail moved once. Lumina laughed, a small sound she hadn't made before. The dog pressed its warm body against Tommy's leg, and for the first time in days he felt heat. They climbed into the nearest cave together. The dog led, nose low, choosing a dry hollow deep enough to block the wind. Tommy stacked his firewood and struck sparks with his knife against a stone until the kindling caught. Flame bloomed. Light and warmth filled the cave. Lumina held her tentacles to the fire. The dog curled between them, guarding the entrance, ears up. Tommy leaned back against the crystal wall. Warm at last. Safe, for now. But the fire cast their shadows huge on the cave walls, and somewhere deeper in the mountain, something else had seen the light.