CHAPTER#101

Mike blinked. It was dark again, or he had actually gone blind this time. He tried to snap his fingers, but he had something lodged in between them.

"Ratu?" He asked. A little ball of fire burst into existence in front of him, slowly expanding to light the room. They were inside the ice cavern, and Mike was holding the silver tongs in his hands. They had melted almost to his fingers. Surveying the room, there was no trace of the box or the dangerous artifact within it.

"Did... did we win?"

"Yes." Ratu lay on the other side of the chamber, her body limp against the wall. "We escaped. You grabbed the artifact and held it into the candle's flame, and it was consumed, blasting us apart."

"I don't remember any of that," he said.

"And you might not. Even through the goggles, viewing a part of an Ancient One is dangerous." Ratu closed her eyes. "We have been unconscious for some time. The tunnel has collapsed. I think I hear the others coming for us, but they will have to follow the path we made."

"Are we going to run out of air?" Mike asked. He hugged himself with his arms.

"No. I can feel a cool breeze through here." Ratu sighed. "But I am afraid that we will freeze."

Mike nodded, his teeth beginning to chatter. "Can't you make us some fire?"

"I am exhausted," she explained. "This ball above us is all I can manage."

Why was she so exhausted, wondered Mike. "Is it because of the fight with Baba?"

"No. It's because I'm a snake." Ratu smiled weakly. "I am cold blooded. We have been here so long that my temperature has dropped, and we are surrounded by millions of pounds of ice." She waved her hand, the ball of fire drifting toward Mike. "It isn't enough to keep me warm, but it might help you last until the others come. It will keep burning for a while."

"That's ridiculous." Mike stood, his legs wobbling weakly beneath him. "I did not just rescue you from Baba Yaga to have you die of hypothermia."

"There's nothing you can do."

"There are three things I learned as a Boy Scout that will always stick with me." Mike wobbled across the cold chamber. "The first is to spread out your arms and legs in case of quicksand. The second is to cut away from yourself when using a pocket knife." He sat down next to Ratu, wrapping an arm around her. "The third is that you can beat hypothermia with skin-to-skin contact."

"It's not that simple. We can share body heat, but I don't generate my own. Your body isn't warm enough for both of us."

"It's worth trying." Mike pulled his shirt off over his head. Ratu smiled weakly.

"I didn't think you had those in the real world too," she said, looking at his scars.

"Some wounds are spiritual and physical." Mike pulled his pants off. "I think we can use our clothes like blankets to keep warm."

"You certainly aren't shy." She fiddled with the ties on her clothes. "You don't find it odd to be undressed like this in front of me?"

"Please. I've known you since we were kids." This elicited a laugh from Ratu. "Here, let me help you."

"It's so cold..." Ratu's lips were blue in the fire's light, her fingers going limp. Mike opened up the front of her kimono, revealing that she wore nothing underneath. The scales of her body were dark, the pattern shifting constantly across her stomach and breasts.

"How big is this thing?" Mike asked, unfolding the kimono further. It was easily the size of a king size bed sheet, and it kept getting bigger.

"It's magic," she said. "It becomes part of me when I'm a snake, so stretches to..."

"Ratu?" Mike shook her, then slapped her cheek, her crown falling off her head. "Wake up! Shit..." He laid a portion of the kimono out, folding it onto itself several times to keep them both off the ice. Grabbing the naga by her arms, he pulled her into the middle of the folded cloth, then pulled everything in, layering the fabric all around them. Her eyes fluttered constantly, Mike rubbing her arms and sides quickly to warm up her skin. "C'mon, stay awake. I can hear the others, they're getting close!"

Ratu smirked, her eyes closed. "That's a lie."

Mike swallowed the lump in his throat. "Now why would you say that?"

"Because I was lying to you when I told you the same thing." She sighed. "You feel so warm against me."

"I'm a hot blooded American, that's me." Her skin was freezing. Mike pulled her against his chest, her rigid nipples brushing across his skin. "You don't think they're coming?"

"I don't know." She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Mmm... so warm."

"I'm glad you think I'm warm." His teeth chattered as he spoke. "You should wrap your legs around mine, maximize contact."

"Or I could do this." He felt her legs shift beneath him, melding together and wrapping around him like a giant rope. Her body elongated, pressing against his thighs and all the way down to his feet. She drained the heat from his legs, making Mike think of a cold bath. He pulled the kimono in tighter, hoping to lock in even more heat. As it was, only his face and the top of her head were exposed. The little fireball hovered over them, casting a soft glow on the walls of ice around them.

"Is that b-better?"

"Much."

"G-good." Mike squeezed her. "B-but we should k-keep talking."

"What about?"

"A-anything. We c-can't fall as-sleep. Gotta k-keep busy."

"Tell me more about the house. And the others." Ratu's voice was quiet. Mike rubbed her arms vigorously, and told her all about how he had come to the house. He would stop frequently, and she would ask him questions. Neither of them spoke for very long, making sure that the other hadn't dozed off. The ball of fire above them slowly diminished for a while, but eventually stabilized. Mike's limbs finally warmed up a bit, and Ratu responded by coiling around him even tighter.