“Looks like you have a plan,” I said.
Ashes unbuckled the leather strap around her neck. “The plan,” she continued, removing the strap and unzipping her tight, leather body suit down to her chest, “is to not get bitten.”
“I like it,” Rain added. “It’s a simple plan.”
Ashes smiled as though she was eager to run out on the field for her next soccer match. “I’ll take care of the grawl. You guys get past the trolls and reach Jade.”
“You just said that you’ll die if it bites you,” I reminded her.
“I did,” she said, tightening her boots. “I also said I am sworn to protect the people of the Shadow World. If it preserves the safety of my people, my life is expendable.”
Aerona placed her hand on my shoulder. “Aeron, there is no use arguing with her. She’s a soldier, and she will do whatever is necessary to protect her people. Besides, this is our only chance at getting out of her sight.”
I won’t lie; it hurt me to see Ashes taking such a huge risk, but as much as I hated to admit it, Aerona was right. When the time comes, Ashes would not hesitate to turn us over to Malance.
“I don’t wish her harm,” I whispered to Aerona.
“Me neither,” Aerona admitted, “but I do wish I would not end up in the very prison we are trying to prevent Atmoro from compromising.”
“We must move swiftly,” Ashes advised. “Once I lead the grawl away from the entrance, the trolls will be caught by surprise, making them easy targets for you.”
We carefully made our way to where Ember had seen the trolls and the grawl, stopping a couple hundred feet west of the cave. Several large, rust-colored boulders had been moved to expose the cave’s entrance. Two ugly trolls, armed with heavy broadswords, were guarding the cave’s entrance. One held onto a length of steel chain—the size typically used to pull logs out of forests—as a leash to control the grawl. Ember was right; the grawl’s copper color fur and wide, commanding stance resembled a saber-toothed tiger. The beast was at least four feet tall at the shoulders and twice as long. It must have weighed close to a five hundred pounds. Two large, ten-inch-long poison filled fangs protruded from the sides of its mouth. Its piercing eyes scanned the mountain below, searching for any signs of movement.
Ashes pointed to herself and then to her right. The rest of us nodded. We watched her maneuverer silently down into position below the cave’s entrance. Once she was satisfied that she had a clear escape route behind her, she intentionally stepped on a large, dead branch to attract the grawl’s attention.
The beast’s head snapped in the direction of the cracked branch, voicing a low rumble from its powerful chest, searching for whatever caused the noise. Ashes stepped into plain view, locking eyes with it. The troll on the other end of the leash stumbled forward, struggling to hold on; and after two more hard yanks, the troll released the chain. The grawl tore down the mountain with incredible speed straight for Ashes.
Ashes didn’t move a muscle.
“What’s she waiting for?” Aerona whispered.
I nudged her with my elbow, holding my finger to my lips; though, I wondered the same, since the grawl would be on Ashes in another three or four strides.
Only milliseconds before the grawl could reach her, Ashes took off like a jack rabbit. Her movements were a blur. She moved much faster without her jacket and weapons. The grawl moved as though it was fixed to rails, turning sharply to align itself right behind her. The two raced down the mountain side, weaving through a maze of cactus and bush.
Ashes must have sensed the grawl closing in. She leapt high into the air to clear a large boulder and twisted her body in midair to face the grawl, catching it off guard. She grabbed the grawl by its front legs, then yanked it to the ground, slamming them both down hard into a cloud of dust.
The trolls strained to see what the grawl was after. Ashes’s plan had worked—the trolls were distracted.
“Now!” I yelled to Rain.
Rain and I moved in on the trolls from the side. Rain dodged the first troll, crashing into the second one, knocking it backwards. The troll swung its long broadsword, but missed Rain completely. The sword crashed against an enormous boulder with a loud clang, spraying sparks. Rain struck the troll again, low in the legs, and knocked it back further towards the ledge.
The other troll turned its attention to me and raised its sword to attack. I narrowed my eyes and pulled in energy, then used my mind to lift a large red boulder into the air. The troll swung its sword at the hovering boulder, hitting it on the first try. The boulder cracked in half and crumbled to the ground.
Rain soared past my face, crashing on his back into the mountain next to the cave’s entrance. Loose rocks dropped from above, burying him. The trolls were much faster and stronger than the other trolls I had ever seen, but they were no match for my mind. I exhaled slowly, settling my heartrate, working my way into one of the troll’s minds. With my hands gripping the hilt of an invisible sword, I raised my arms up high, compelling the troll to mimic my movement. The troll’s mind was a dark place, but it was easy to manipulate. I swung my arms down diagonally to my side, making the troll follow. Blood spilled onto the rocks as the long sword sliced deep into the other troll’s arm. It released a high-pitched screech from the pain. I raised my arms again, lifting the troll’s arms and sword high into the air. The wounded troll, in an effort to defend itself, rammed the tip of its sword straight into the torso of the troll I was controlling. I slammed my arms down to the ground, burying the sword into the other’s shoulder. They both shrieked out in pain. The two trolls began fighting between themselves, pushing themselves back and over the cliff’s edge together.
I helped Rain out from the pile of fallen rocks. His face was bloodied, and his left arm suffered a compound fracture; a sharp piece of bone stuck out through a gaping wound. He pressed his palm on the end of the broken bone, then screaming in pain, he shoved it back into his arm. I almost passed out from just the thought of his agony.
Ember ran toward Rain as he collapsed to his knees.
“NO!” I yelled, grabbing Ember, holding her back. “He’s in his own world right now! It’s too dangerous!”
Rain’s deadly fangs dripped with saliva like a wild beast. His face cringed as he repositioned his broken bone before using his uninjured arm to set the broken arm straight. The energy Rain gained from the hikers’ blood flowed through his veins, energizing him like a dose of adrenaline. I turned Ember’s head away as he let out another fierce cry.
When I turned back around, I was not expecting to see Rain on his feet. His eyes were shut, and he was breathing heavily, but the wound on his arm was nothing more than a thin red line on his skin. His eyes snapped open, and his breathing steadied. He ran the back of his hand over his lips to wipe the blood from under his nose.
Ember ran toward Rain, wrapping her arms around him.
Rain embraced Ember. “Ashes?” he asked.
“I don’t see her,” I said, scanning the terrain below us for any signs of Ashes or the grawl. “We can’t wait. She’s on her own.”
The sunrays didn’t penetrate past the first turn inside the cave. A tiny blue flame floating over Aerona’s palm lit our way along the tunnel. It was shockingly cold beneath the mountain, probably a drop of twenty degrees. The tunnel appeared to have been dug out by hand long ago. The walls narrowed to a point where we had to walk in a single file. Rain led the way with Aerona and her tiny light right behind him.
“How will we know when we cross over?” Rain asked. “What if this goes on for… wait, I see a light ahead.”
We all froze.
“Is there movement?’ I whispered. “Can you hear voices?”
“No and no,” Rain answered. “It’s a blue haze, similar to Aerona’s light.”
Aerona curled her palm, extinguishing the tiny flame, and we moved forward cautiously.
A minute later, around the final curve, the tunnel ended at an opening. One by one, we stepped o
ut and onto a ledge, a mirror image of the one we had just entered from. The sky was velvet black and almost nonexistent. It was dark and empty. The blue glowing light was shining up from below the ledge.
I knew at once what was emitting the soft, blue light—sapphire trees.
We had crossed over to the Shadow World.
FORTY-TWO
I felt a wave of anxiety pass through Aerona; her heart was racing like a scared rabbit being chased by a hungry fox. Aerona knew the risks of us being in the Shadow World as well as what would happen if we were apprehended. I’m sure she felt my own hesitation about stepping back into our forgotten lives.
“I thought the elves built a backdoor to the prison?” Aerona asked. “All we did was cross over to the Shadow World.”
I stepped closer to the ledge. “The Shadow Council must have opened this unprotected transport tunnel to allow the elves to come and go as they built the secret entrance to the Forgotten Shadow City. We need to make our way to the prison, quickly.”
Ember sat down gently against the rock wall, curling her arms around her knees. “I’m not supposed to be here,” she sobbed. “I can feel it.”
I knelt down next to Ember. “Ember, what do you mean you can feel it?”
“I feel nothing,” she said, her voice melancholic, “and that’s the problem. In the Light World, I felt alive… wonderful energy. But here…” Ember stopped. A tear rolled down her cheek. She turned her face away. “I feel nothing. I feel dead.”
I reached out and placed my hand on Ember’s arm. She flinched. I didn’t know what to do or say. I had never met anyone from the Light World who had crossed over to the Shadow World.
Aerona knelt down next to us. “It’s OK,” she said softly. “You are very much alive. It’s the lack of the sun’s energy that you are feeling… or rather not feeling.”
Ember looked up into the darkness where the sun would have been in the Light World.
“When I first jumped to the Light World,” Aerona explained, “I felt the same way—as if an enormous weight had been placed on my shoulders. My mind was full of energy, and I was scared it was about to explode at any moment. The energy of the sun from your world is very powerful.”
Ember’s eyes filled with tears. “Are we dead?” she asked. “Did we have to die to cross over?”
“No,” Aerona replied calmly, “you’re not dead. That’s just a myth told to people from your world to keep them from being curious of the Shadow World.”
“But I am,” Rain added, standing at the ledge’s edge. “Or, at least, I was dead in the Light World. I can feel a new kind of energy, and my blood-thirst is gone.”
“You’re home, Rain,’ I said. “This is where you belong. You don’t have a thirst for blood because the sun is no longer draining your energy. Your strength will grow considerably here.”
Rain looked over at the forest of beautiful sapphire trees; their blue leaves lit the valley as though the trees were a soft, glowing carpet. The valley below the ledge was alive with color. A small kaleidoscope of cobalt butterflies flew past us, gently flapping their bright blue wings. The Shadow World’s lack of sunlight allowed the natural beauty of many species to flourish.
I went back to check Ember’s condition. “We need to move quickly,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “If you don’t feel comfortable, now is the time to go back.”
Ember’s arms were still wrapped tightly around her legs. “I’m OK,” she said, lifting her head up before standing. “Let’s get Jade and Kasiah, and go home.”
“How do we find Atmoro?” Rain asked, peering down over the ledge.
“Atmoro won’t waste any time,” I said. “He’ll head straight for the Forgotten Shadow City. According to the elf scrolls that Jess had found, they built a secondary gate at the base of the east mountain near Arcadia.”
“Arcadia?” Ember asked. She was now back in the game.
“The small town of Arcadia guards the entrance to the Forgotten Shadow City,” Aerona explained. “Arcadia is the mirror image of Sedona in your world.”
“That would be twenty miles from here,” Ember exclaimed. “How do we get there?”
I nodded to my sister. “Aerona will handle our travel arrangements.”
A smile spread across Aerona’s face as she moved to the very edge of the ledge. Tilting her head back and gracefully spread her arms far out to her sides. She closed her eyes and opened her mind, stretching her hands wide with her palms up.
“What are you doing?” Rain asked, taking a step toward Aerona. “Aerona, you’re too close to the edge. You’re going to fall!”
“She’s making a phone call,” I said. “If I were you, I’d stand back.”
“A phone call?” Ember asked, confused. “Who’s she calling all the way out here and without a phone?”
Before I could explain, Aerona bent down, then leapt off the ledge down into the darkness with her arms spread far apart and her legs pressed tightly together. It was as if she was making a picture-perfect Olympic dive into an invisible pool far below.
Rain’s reflexes kicked in, but he was too late. “Aerona!” he screamed, racing to the edge only to see her disappear into the darkness.
Ember grabbed my arm. “What has she done?” she cried.
I pulled Ember back toward the rock wall. “Rain, you might want to—”
A rush of air erupted from below the ledge, knocking Rain off his feet and onto his back in a cloud of dust. An enormous, black dragon soared straight up past the ledge; its impressive twenty-foot wingspan created strong gusts with each motion. The burning tip of the dragon’s long tail snapped like a whip as it vanished into the black sky.
Rain was back on his feet instantly. “What the hell was that?” he shouted, searching the sky for whatever had just knocked him off his feet.
The dragon reappeared from the darkness above, landing hard on its powerful hind legs in front of Rain. Its front legs slammed down, blowing up a large cloud of dust. The beast tucked its massive wings in, then curled its tail around to extinguish the flaming tip.
Rain shifted his position to his fighting stance, flashing his deadly, white fangs.
In a burst of light, Ember transformed into her tiny fairy form.
I tried to stay as still as possible. “Be calm,” I whispered to Rain and Ember. “She can sense your fear.”
“That’s because we are terrified,” Ember said, landing on my shoulder. “How do you know it’s a she?”
The dragon lowered its head and stepped towards us, shaking the ledge with every step. An intricate pattern of glistening, black scales—stronger than any steel armor—covered the dragon from head to tail. The scales smoldered bright scarlet along the edges, and as the dragon’s heart slowed to conserve energy, the scarlet edges began to transition to a darker maroon. Stopping in front of me, the dragon’s three-foot wide head was now only inches away from my own. It exhaled a warm breath through its nostrils, blinking its baseball-sized, stone-grey eyes slowly. I reached out and touched the center of the dragon’s snout. The intricate pattern of scales felt unexpectedly cool.
“It’s been a long time, Jasmine,” I said, gently massaging my hand up and down between her nostrils.
Aerona leapt down from Jasmine’s back, landing gracefully beside her old dragon friend. She held out a handful of small green berries for Jasmine. A long tongue shot out from Jasmine’s mouth, exposing her rows of long, dagger-like teeth. The small treat vanished in a second, but the energy from the berries would satisfy Jasmine for hours.
“I have missed you, my friend,” Aerona said, rubbing Jasmine’s long neck.
Jasmine snorted and blinked her eyes twice at Aerona.
I recalled when my father brought Jasmine home for Aerona’s tenth birthday. At that time, Jasmine could fit in Aerona’s palm. She flapped her tiny wings, trying to take flight as she looked up at Aerona for the first time. Attempting to burn Aerona’s hand, a small puff of fire shot out of Jasmine’s mout
h. Aerona returned fire with a tiny flame from the tip of her finger, and from that day on, they were inseparable.
“We don’t have time for a proper reunion,” I said to Aerona and Jasmine. “We need to move quickly.”
Aerona whispered reassurances to Jasmine as we climbed on her back.
For the first time since I met Rain, he looked scared.
“You’re not afraid of heights, are you?” I asked Rain.
He didn’t respond.
Aerona jumped up and sat in the old, leather saddle with metal buckles strapped around Jasmine. The saddle was made of a thin piece of padded leather wrapped with beautiful, braided, leather ties.
Aerona turned to Rain. “Feel free to cry,” she joked and broke out in a laugh.
“Just fly the plane,” he snapped.
“Jasmine!” Aerona shouted.
The edges of Jasmine’s armored scales brightened, and like a rocket, she launched herself into the black sky. Aerona used her mind to communicate with Jasmine, swooping to the left, then diving down low to the sapphire trees before gliding just above the forest. Several small goblins darted behind the trees to hide from the dragon. We circled a small emerald field of maize ready for harvest, then blasted over a short mountain full of colorful vegetation in full bloom. Aerona and Jasmine avoided areas where homes were illuminated with nodules; we hoped not to be seen or reported. I had nearly forgotten the Shadow World’s beautiful landscape. In spite of my reluctance, it was good to be home.
Several minutes later, using the thrust of her powerful wings to slow her descent, Jasmine landed softly in a small clearing outside Arcadia, surrounded by towering, thick sapphire trees.
“Welcome to Arcadia,” I said, climbing down from Jasmine’s back. “We should be less than a mile south from the secret back door to the Forgotten Shadow City.”
As everyone else climbed down, Aerona rubbed Jasmine’s head, thanking her for her help. Once we were all clear, Jasmine launched back into the sky, vanishing into the darkness.
The Blood of a Stone Page 33