“You are already insane, Kitfox.” I laughed when he beamed and completely agreed.
It was shortly after that that the two of us snuck away to my room. We spent the rest of the night lost in the throes of passion. Neither of us was looking forward to the marrow, when we would be forced to face the bitter cold once again.
◆◆◆
I sighed and reluctantly passed over the threshold of the doorway. The biting cold of early morning quickly seeped through my multiple layers of clothing and I shivered. I wriggled my nose, trying to overcome the dry and frozen feeling that instantly overtook it.
The door slammed behind me. It was Thera. She said nothing as she adjusted her coat hood around Visler. I glanced at Shazza and Kitfox; they were ready to head out. I led the way down the main road, marveling at how loudly our footsteps crunched as we forged tracks through the pristine snow.
It felt like half the day had slipped by before the town of Cosín disappeared from sight. I brought my team to a stop in a relatively shallow portion of snow. I peeled a glove off and blew on it before digging into my coat. I found the Dragon’s Eye Amulet and jostled it free of its confines of clothing. I looked at Kitfox as I put my glove back on.
“You sure, Xy?”
“We’ll never know unless you try.”
Kitfox slowly nodded. He removed his glove as he stepped closer to me. Ignoring Shazza’s and Thera’s inquiries about what was going on, he gently touched the jewel marking the Atoka’s essence within the Amulet. He threw his hand forward and called for the dragon.
Nothing happened.
“Damn. I was hoping it would work for you.”
Kitfox shrugged and put his glove back on. “I’m not surprised it didn’t.” I could tell he was putting up a front. His amber eyes betrayed such disappointment that I wanted to hug him in comfort.
“Would one of you two please explain what that was all about?” Shazza crossed her arms. I clicked my tongue and turned away to release Atoka and Wildfire from the Amulet. With the two dragons there to help explain everything, Shazza and Thera were let in on the secret.
“Let me get this straight,” the Dákun Daju scoffed, “The two of you slept together.”
We both blushed and nodded.
“And now he can hear the dragons while they’re in the Amulet?”
Kitfox nodded.
“But he can’t summon them?”
I shook my head.
“Nice try, Kitfox.” Thera clapped him on the arm as she strode up to Wildfire. He quirked an eyebrow at me. I shrugged at his silent question; only Thera knew what she was thinking at that moment.
Shazza took off after Thera, mumbling something I didn’t catch. Kitfox apparently heard it and glared daggers at the Dákun Daju’s retreating back. With a low growl, he led me to Atoka and boosted me into the saddle. As he jumped up and situated himself behind me, I asked him what Shazza said to make him so mad.
“She thinks that I’m trying to steal your right as Dragon Keeper.” He replied as he wrapped his arms around me.
I frowned. “You and I both know that that is not what is going on here.”
“Do not fret over the words of the Dákun Daju, Xyleena and Kitfox.” Said Atoka. “We must be on our way if we hope to get anywhere closer to Nexxa before nightfall.”
I sighed. “You’re right. We’ll have to talk to her about it later.” After checking to see if my teammates were all strapped into the saddles, I gave the command to fly. Wildfire and Atoka spread their wings and took a few bounding steps over the snow. They leapt into the air in tandem and were airborne. After reaching a safe altitude, they banked slightly left and flew off to the northwest; towards Nexxa.
◆◆◆
Twice the suns set and thrice they rose again. Finally, the intersecting rivers Kitfox had spoke of nearly three weeks ago came into view. We had almost over flown them when Shazza pointed out a discolored speck in the perpetual white. I couldn’t find the spot she had pointed out, so I let her direct the dragons where to land.
As the dragons back-winged to land, great clouds of snow were sent airborne. The tempest of ice and snow had cleared away a vast area, revealing a black dragon statue. I quickly realized that the statue was, in fact, the ‘speck’ Shazza had seen from the air. As I dismounted from Atoka’s saddle, I thanked her. She merely shrugged.
“Well, we found the statue.” Thera said happily. She put her hand over her eyes to block out the suns as she surveyed the perpetual white of the land around us. “Now the question is: where is Nexxa’s nest?”
“It can’t be too far from the statue.” Kitfox started towards the black dragon. He stopped short as the ground beneath him cracked and rumbled.
“We’re on recently frozen rivers, remember?” Shazza hissed. “One wrong step could send us all plummeting through the ice.”
“That is easily remedied.” Boasted Atoka. I smiled at the Dragon of Eternal Winter over my shoulder.
“Do it.”
She nodded and punctured the ice with an ivory claw. Her eyes flashed as she lowered her head to the hole and blew. I could hear the river beneath us rumble and groan as it froze. Some of the ice erupted through the surface near where we stood, but the entire river remained solid. Kitfox took a few trial steps closer to the black statue. When nothing happened, he gave the okay and we all moved to join him.
“Are you able to sense Nexxa yet, Xy?” Thera asked. I watched for a moment while she studied the statue before closing my eyes. I found the three remaining tugs which led to the dragons and focused on the closest one. I frowned and opened my eyes.
“Straight down from where I’m standing.” My teammates gawked at me in disbelief. “I’m serious. Nexxa is about a kilometer directly below.”
“And just how do we get down there?” Grumbled Shazza.
Thera whistled to get our attention. She pointed to the black dragon. “Is it just me, or does this statue look different from the other ones?”
Kitfox walked slowly around the statue, scrutinizing over every inch of the marble. As he joined Thera on the left side of statue, he sighed and stepped back.
“I don’t see any—” He paused, squinting. He quickly moved in for a closer look at the dragon’s tail. “Oh.”
“What is it?” Shazza and I asked in unison as we joined them.
“It looks like a lever.” As she spoke, Thera reached out and gave the tail a good tug.
The tip shifted and locked into position with a loud click. A rumble sounded from beneath our feet, growing ever louder; ever closer. We drew our weapons in a flash, ready for anything. The statue slowly moved aside, revealing a marble slab as black as the statue itself. After the statue was clear, the slab fell away. Hot, putrid air exploded to the surface.
I gagged at the stench and moved further away, less I lose my breakfast in front of everyone.
“Good Gods, what is that stench?!” Cried Thera as she desperately tried to quiet Visler’s upset careening.
“If I had to guess, I’d say it was the smell of a thousand rotting corpses.” Kitfox said through the handful of snow he held to his nose. “It stinks worse than the Tomb of the Lost.”
I groaned. “If this place has any of that undead-spawning, green fog, Nexxa can stay down there!”
My teammates wholeheartedly agreed.
Atoka and Wildfire looked at each other in concern, then at me. Wildfire was the first to speak her mind. “You can’t leave our sister down there, Xyleena.”
“Remember, you need all twelve of us dragons to reach your full power or the Shadow Keeper will win.”
“I swear you dragons take things way too seriously sometimes.” I muttered.
“Well, since we’re forced into this stink hole, I suggest we get it over with as quickly as possible.” Shazza knocked two arrows and stepped towards the passageway. She resisted the urge to gag and groaned in disgust as she descended into the darkness.
Thera took one last deep breath of fresh air before f
ollowing Shazza. Kitfox and I waited together as Atoka and Wildfire faded into their elements and reentered the Eye. I summoned a light orb and took the first steps into the rancid darkness beneath the ice.
◆◆◆
I really wished I hadn’t come here. By the light of my orb, I could see it all too clearly. The floor and walls were all crafted of black marble. It seemed to stretch on for an eternity into the dark.
The entire place was coated in slime and gore. It made walking through the corridor a hazardous and smelly task. Half-decayed corpses of creatures I could no longer recognize were strewn everywhere. The air was so thick and putrid I could barely breathe.
Yet I pushed on, managing to somehow keep up with Shazza’s determined pace. The further we pushed into the darkness, the more I remembered. These unknown creatures were once small trolls. They had been spawned from magic to serve as sentries in case the crypt was accidently discovered. What could have slaughtered all of them?
Nexxa?
Nexxa may be the second-most violent-natured out of the twelve of us, said Symbilla, but I doubt she would do something this terrible.
Wait, don’t tell me, Kitfox interjected, Abaddon is the most violent?
Vortex chuckled. You would be right on that count, Kitfox.
Good to know that little bit of info in advance. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m supposed to keep him in line if he’s a Shadow Dragon.
You’ll figure it out, Love. Kitfox winked at me.
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I resisted the urge to throw up as I stepped over a dismembered head. Gods, I wish I knew what happened down here!
Do you have any memories of this place besides the existence of the trolls?
I tried to remember more about the place, but nothing seemed to surface. I sighed in frustration. Nothing.
Keep trying. Symbilla’s gentle voice soothed me a little. It’ll come back to you.
I thanked her and continued along the corridor after Shazza and Thera.
“Ugh!” Thera covered her mouth and turned away. I dared to lift the orb a little higher to see what caused her reaction. A grotesque and twisted corpse blocked the path ahead, its guts spilling across the marble. “Of all the places, why did you have to hide a dragon here, Xy?”
I flicked my wrist and sent the corpse flying with a spell. “It wasn’t like this before.”
“I wonder if Dimitri did something to it.” Kitfox shuddered at the sound of the corpse smashing into something in the distance.
“Not likely.” Shazza said as she drew to a stop at the brink of a much larger room. “Dimitri wouldn’t have bothered coming down here since the runes he was always after are on the statue way above us.”
Kitfox snapped his fingers. “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”
“So, what caused all this?”
Shazza shrugged. “Ask the Dragon Keeper.” With that, she took another step towards the room.
A ghost of a memory suddenly flashed in my mind. I screamed and yanked her back with a spell. “Don’t!”
Shazza whirled around, furious. “What has gotten into you?”
Thera put herself between me and the enraged Dákun Daju. “Is it Nexxa?”
“No. Not her.” I raised my hand to point at the shadows. On the opposite side of the room, six red eyes gleamed in the blackness. “Her!”
My teammates instantly geared up for a battle, but it would only be in vain. We didn’t stand a chance; not against that thing. The creature that lurked in the shadows was a blood thirsty monster. It killed mercilessly and without hesitation. Nothing could defeat it; not even hordes of trolls.
Thera summoned a light orb and tossed it into the room before I could stop her. The beast hissed angrily as the orb rolled closer to her, scattering the shadows enough to reveal her true form. A tawny, feline face, framed by a thick mane of white stared straight ahead. Another head sprouted from her shoulder. This one resembled a shaggy goat with long, sharp horns. A third head was suspended in the air above the other two. This one was an enormous black-scaled snake, and its body became the creature’s tail.
The lion head snarled as the beast stood to her full height, revealing front paws armed with huge claws and hindquarters which mirrored those of a goat’s. She was much larger than any of us, but nowhere near as big as a dragon.
“Wha- What is that thing?!” Thera took an involuntary step back out of fear. Visler chirped meekly and buried himself even further into the hood of her coat.
“A chimera.” I said softly. “She is the true guardian of this place. The trolls were supposed to be the first line of defense in case of a break-in, but she killed them all.”
“We are so screwed.”
Kitfox didn’t know how right he actually was.
The snake head lingered overhead, tasting the air as the beast strode towards the light orb. Once it was within range, the snake struck so fast I couldn’t follow. It sank its needle-like fangs into the orb and lifted it off the ground. It unhinged its jaws and swallowed the orb whole. Darkness flooded the room.
“What do we do, Xy?” Shazza hissed.
“Someone will have to distract the chimera long enough for Nexxa to be released.”
“How about summoning a dragon?”
I quickly estimated the size of the room. “None of them would fit.”
“Okay then,” Thera sighed, “seeing as how you and Kitfox are the immortals among us, I vote you two keep the cursed thing busy.”
“Gee! Thanks, Thera.” Growled Kitfox.
“She’s right.” I said. They all gawked at me in disbelief. “Kitfox and I will distract it. Shazza, you find the key to freeing Nexxa. It should be on the wall behind where the chimera was resting. Thera, you back us all up.”
Kitfox freed his blade rings from his belt while I flared my war fans. We looked at each other and nodded. I called for a light orb. It exploded into existence near the ceiling, enraging all three heads of the chimera.
With the beast momentarily distracted, Kitfox and I burst into the room. Thera was right behind us, coating us in multiple protective spells. Shazza lingered in the doorway, waiting the opportunity to race to the opposite side of the room.
The snake head was the first to realize the light had been a trick. It opened its jaws a stream of venom shot out. Kitfox narrowly avoided getting hit by the jet as he sprinted up to the chimera’s hindquarters. In a flash of steel, he lopped off the entire tail. The dead limb wriggled helplessly on the ground.
The lion and goat heads roared in a mix of anger and pain and reeled around to catch Kitfox in a fiery blast of breath. The flame was deflected by one of Thera’s spells and Kitfox flipped away unharmed. Stealing a move from my doppelganger, I hurled my tessen at the lion head. The blades sunk deep into her eye and threw her head back in an enraged roar. Kitfox and I raced up to the head while its throat was exposed and sliced clean through the flesh with our blades.
The lion head fell limp against the creature’s body and now only the goat head remained. Kitfox and I were about to finish it when Thera called us off. As we ducked away from flailing limbs and sweeping horns, we asked what was wrong.
Thera pointed at the snake head. “It’s playing you for fools!”
My gaze fell on the snake and I gasped in realization. It was still wriggling on the ground making a sickening squishy sound. Strange lumps were starting to grow from the spot where its head was removed from the rest of the beast. I had forgotten that the chimera could rapidly regenerate lost limbs or even a complete body as needed. If Nexxa wasn’t released soon, we would be up against two chimeras instead of one.
“Shazza better hurry.”
◆◆◆
Shazza had sprinted across the room the moment the chimera’s attention was completely focused on Kitfox and Xyleena. She crept along the wall, sticking to the shadows as much as possible, searching for some way to free Nexxa. Several minutes of frantically searching had awarded her with nary a sign of the dragon.
She began to wonder if Xy had been mistaken.
She swore at the sound of the chimera’s enraged roar and spared a moment’s glance at the beast. Now, two heads had been rendered useless. She couldn’t help wondering why, if it was apparently so easy to defeat, Xy made such a big deal out of the chimera.
Then she glimpsed the snake head. A feeling of dread overcame her as the dismembered thing wriggled on the ground as if it were planning something. Shazza muttered a curse unto the beast and returned her focus to finding the key to unlocking Nexxa.
She crept along the wall a little further and finally found what she had sought. Nesting in the wall in a four by three grid were eleven tiles, each depicting a portion of a whole image. There was a blank space with which to move the other eleven around.
“A sliding puzzle.” Shazza muttered to herself. She backed up a step to study the images on the tiles. After a minute, she smirked and began to move the pieces around.
◆◆◆
I launched several spells at the chimera, knocking her off balance just enough to keep her from smashing Kitfox with her hooves. The Fox Demon quickly rolled out of the way, only to come face-to-face with the snake head. He yelped in surprise and jerked away before the snake could clamp its jaws over his head.
I heard Thera recharge our defensive spells and took a second to look for Shazza. I couldn’t find her anywhere. I hurled another spell at the chimera and darted away as she brought her front paws smashing down.
“Look out!” Kitfox tackled me to the ground just in time. The chimera’s regenerated snake head crashed into the ground exactly where I had been standing just seconds ago. Kitfox breathed a sigh in relief. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” We both got to our feet before the chimera struck again. “Have you seen Shazza at all?”
“No.”
“Where is she?!”
“We have bigger things to worry about.” Kitfox pointed at the original snake head as we ran around the chimera. It now had four legs and was quickly growing in size. Soon, it would be as large and formidable as the creature that spawned it.
Culmination Page 21