Lionel returned through the parade but his mind was already off-planet. He planned a brief hunt with Aura and then onward. They hadn’t hunted much on the way back to The Dump and Aura had cleaned out Rover’s food storage. He would replenish it but he could already feel the grumblings of her hunger. Lionel pushed the feeling aside, she’d be eating soon after all there was always a monster infestation in the tunnels if you knew where to find it. The guild frequently posted clearance jobs but teams usually waited until the money pot was enticing enough to venture into the tunnel’s depths. He didn’t have such a luxury.

  He dropped down the ladder onto the lowest level. Greeted only by the sound of hydraulic machines and crushing metal in the distance. He’d deliberately docked near a vent so instead of returning to Rover directly he unscrewed the cover blocking access and shimmied down the narrow entrance into the tunnel system below.

  This wasn’t even the bad part. The outer tunnels were mostly cooling vents so other than short blasts of air carrying the tell-tale smell of rust and copper, it was smooth-sailing. He reached Rover’s location and started unscrewing the panel from the inside. He removed his bag and cloak, it would only slow him down and signalled Aura with a thought.

  Before long he felt her presence beside him even though she remained camouflaged. He pushed against her and felt a huff of annoyance as she reappeared.

  He reached to touch her snout. “Like you could hide from me.”

  He laughed at her return push that knocked him sideways as he grappled to catch himself and stop from sliding down. She was strong, even in the last week she had grown and with that came an insatiable hunger.

  “It’s not the nicest location. There won’t be space to stretch out in the inner tunnels, but the stirges are generally weak so we’ll be safe.”

  That’s what he intended to hunt. They were a cross between a bat and a mosquito, well if a bat was also on growth hormones. They had leathery wings and hooked claws ready to latch onto their prey. And would descend in packs using their needle-like mantibles to pierce through weak armour and drain their victims of blood.

  “I am excited to hunt beside you,” Aura said racing off down the left fork of the tunnel.

  “Wrong way!” He called. She spun to return, childlike in her excitement and darted off down the right tunnel leaving him racing to catch up.

  Aura wove through the tunnels ahead, sometimes with only her tail visible as he ran after her.

  For now, it was wide enough to stretch his arms to either side but it would narrow the deeper they travelled. Rats the size of house cats scurried by squeaking. Aura started to glide in places but eventually had to land as her wings became too large.

  “Eww!” Lionel kicked trying to stop one clawing at his pants.

  Aura paused to snap at a few.

  “These creatures are mostly bones.” She said, her teeth crunching.

  “That’s not what we’re hunting but feel free to eat them.”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Whether the scent of dragon or their dwindling numbers, the rats seemed smart enough to give Aura a wide berth. He started tiptoeing to avoid any other unwanted hitchhikers.

  Aura had stopped ahead as the tunnels branched out like arteries from a heart. Lionel took the lead, bending his head low, it would be easy to become lost here if he didn’t know the way.

  “Damn it!” He said. “It’s too dark.” He’d left his light in his bag. He cursed his stupidity.

  Aura’s scales began to shift, her body beginning to glow with stars and crescent moons, emitting just enough light to illuminate the area. Sludge ran under his heavy boot, a thick run-off from the purification sections of the Scavenge Hub and the putrid smell increased as the brown sludge stagnated.

  “Almost there.”

  “This is unpleasant.” Aura shook her wing that had dipped into the mess beneath them.

  Lionel could hear their destination ahead. They entered into a wider vent, hydraulic shredders devouring metal on either side.

  “Be careful.” He shouted, “We should see the stirges soon.”

  No sooner had the sentence left his mouth than he felt a sharp piece to his exposed neck. He yelled and his hands flew up to yank the creature off him. The serrated mandible pulled free with a skritching sound and a trickle of blood soaked into his shirt collar. He threw it to the floor stamping on its head in disgust. A slight light-headed mess washed over him and he just managed to keep his feet from slipping by grabbing the wall. He looked up. A mass of bodies crawled over one another like a writhing intestine; it was not a good sign that the infestation had spread this far.

  The scent of blood triggered them and chittering squeaks filled the chamber. Then they began to dive. Aura snapped them out of the sky either crushing them in her mouth, or dragging them down to the floor to impale them.

  Lionel swung his sword, cutting their fragile bodies out of the sky. Blood splattered and he backed towards a corner to prevent them from swarming. Those he couldn’t stab he pulled their bodies launching them into the hydraulic machines as their bodies were crushed with a sickening crunch, and a spray of cloying blood.

  Even though his arms ached, he noticed his movements were smoother than usual, each hit landing precisely where he intended. Aura showed no signs of tiring as she gobbled each beast as if it were a mere game.

  “They don’t taste the best, too stringy.” She ate a few more from the ground.

  He grimaced, relieved he would never have to find out.

  His feet skidded on the slick floor, as he approached her. He stood in the centre of the room when he heard them: a second wave. He adjusted the grip on his blade.

  Stirges erupted from the tunnels ahead, a dense cloud dimming Aura’s light. Several swarmed her but struggled to find purchase on her scales. Instead, she turned her head, snapping and biting at any part she could reach. They swarmed Lionel sensing he was the weaker prey. His sword flashed, cutting at wings, severing hooked claws but their sheer numbers overwhelmed him.

  The crushing weight of their bodies was enough to make him stagger. He switched to his dagger, stabbing at any exposed flesh he could reach as he fought against wave after wave of dizziness.

  Aura leapt towards him.

  “Hold still,” she ordered. Her wings impaled stirges as she moved.

  It felt incredibly counterintuitive during a fight to stop, he felt nauseous as they drained his blood, sucking and tearing at his skin.

  Aura breathed, her chest giving a vibrating rumble as sparks jumped from her mouth, arcing through the stirges like lightning. Their bodies fell dead or with deafening shrieks as their wings smoked and burnt. The bright flash of sparks had scared the others and they retreated to the darkest tunnels.

  “That was incredible!” His voice wavered and he slid down the wall into the sludge to lean his head back.

  He sensed her disappointment. Was it in him? He'd intended to defend her but while fighting beside a dragon he felt more like a hapless sidekick than an equal partner.

  “I was hoping for fire.” She admitted.

  He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, instead he withdrew his first aid kit from an inside pocket. He wiped away what blood he could, although he wasn’t certain it made much difference, and sprayed the larger wounds watching them seal up. He repeated this process.

  Aura looked at him, perhaps sensing his guilt, “You will grow too, I will eat and you will fight.”

  He laughed. “Eating sounds much more enjoyable.”

  She bit the head off a bat, spitting the needle back to the floor. “It is.”

  While he rested, he let her finish eating, he must have fallen asleep as she was soon nudging him to leave.

  He felt better than he expected but as they retreated together through the tunnels he winced at the state of himself. Thankfully he could retrieve his clock and retreat to Rover with the promise of a long warm shower.

  The pipes ahead rattled.

  “Someone’s coming.”

  Aura’s scales darkened and she ducked down a tunnel, her eyes fixed on Lionel’s back as he palmed his dagger ready to face whoever was coming.