Lorraine kept retreating, inch by inch, her palms scraping against the rough stone as her breath hitched in shallow bursts. Every movement she made was careful, deliberate, as if the very air might shatter if she breathed too loudly. Her hand brushed against the uneven rock wall, cold and damp beneath her fingertips, and she exhaled shakily in relief. A wall. Finally.
Then… a sound.
A low, rumbling exhale filled the cavern, deep enough that it seemed to come from the bones of the mountain itself. The ground trembled beneath her, and a pulse of warmth swept over her face. She froze. The rumble grew louder, rolling into a guttural groan that made the air vibrate in her lungs.
And then… it yawned.
The cavern bloomed in sudden, living firelight. From the darkness, two streams of flame unfurled like ribbons, one from each side of a massive jaw that opened wider than any creature she had ever seen. The glow spilled over the stone walls, painting everything in molten gold and crimson.
