Cerana turned to Dramilath as the dragon let out a huge sigh. Although the massive creature could not see what they were doing from her chained position, Cerana wondered if she could sense what was happening. She carefully but firmly held the crystal and began to walk past the massive tail and body of the dragon. Dramilath twitched as she passed, her massive leathery scales almost shivering in the purple light. Her chains rattled as she tried to move, and as Cerana moved into her view, Dramilath’s huge, serpentine-like eye opened fully and bulged as her head trembled, the black slit of her pupil widening alarmingly. She made a hissing sound through the holes in her nose, and a deep growl grew from the back of her throat.
“This must be it - look at her!” Cerana yelled, realising she must get it away from the prone dragon. She ran with the crystal, all the way back to the now-empty cavity where it had come from. It was here that Dramilath did not seem to react to the stone.
“Now let’s destroy this fucking thing.” Cerana threw the glowing crystal against the face of the cavern wall as hard as she could. The stone merely bounced off the surface and ricocheted back at her, Cerana having to swerve to avoid being hit. It lay on the floor, glowing like a torch, without a mark on it from Cerana’s efforts. She stared at it in disbelief.
Cerana drew her dagger with her right hand, lifted the crystal and tossed it in the air. As it descended, she swung at it with all her might, catching it dead-centre. The steel snapped in half, part of the blade flying across the cavern. The stone crashed to the ground, totally unmarked. Cerana studied the broken weapon in her hand incredulously.
“Put it back in the hole,” Jana said, picking an arrow out of her quiver and nocking it to her bow. Sensing her idea, Cerana placed it back inside, the crystal magically hovering in mid-air. She stepped away as Jana aimed, loosed, and the arrow shattered as it found its target. Jana dropped her bow to her side, sighing in frustration. The crystal shone like a beacon.
Inspecting the hovering crystal, Cerana once again found that Jana’s arrow had not even scratched it. Pieces of broken arrowhead and shaft littered the bottom of the cavity, and the stone merely shimmered and slowly rotated, completely untouched.
“What do we do now?” Jana cried. “How are we going to save Esteri if the dragons can’t help us?” her anxiety was growing, and she began to sob.
“Maybe they can help us.” A thought had occurred to Cerana. “If Coviche was here now, how would she try to destroy this thing? Or any dragon, for that matter?”
“I don’t know, step on it?” Jana suggested, wiping tears from her eyes.
“No, they would use fire.”
“Fire?” Jana sobbed.
“Yes. Or maybe molten lava?”
Realisation dawned on Jana. “Do you think it will work?”
“I have no idea,” confessed Cerana. “The lava in the river melted metal like it was butter. This thing is different, but it’s worth a try. we’ve got no better ideas.”
Jana nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Cerana retrieved the crystal from the cavity and held it tightly. “Come, we’ll throw it in the river from the bridge. And if that doesn’t work, well….” She did not finish her sentence.
The sisters jogged past the enormous, inert dragon’s tail, heading for the only exit to the cavern. They had not gone far when Cerana suddenly came to a halt. “Ooh, wait. Hold this.” She passed Jana the crystal and jogged over to the nearest goblin corpse, took his shortsword that lay next to his body and slid it under the belt of her breeches. “That will replace the broken one,” she said, taking the crystal back from her sister. “Stay alert, Jana.”
They ran towards the exit, the surprisingly lightweight crystal not hampering Cerana’s pace. The sisters slowed as they neared the archway. “If anything comes through that door, shoot it,” Cerana ordered.
Jana took out an arrow and nodded.
They reached the exit unhindered, much to Cerana’s relief. Retracing their steps back towards the bridge where the sisters had first been reunited, they came upon the small opening that housed the guards on their approach, but this time it was empty. Cerana guessed that the goblins they had killed in the cavern were the ones they had sneaked past earlier, and she was thankful for avoiding another fight.
Eventually, they emerged in the opening where Jana had tended to Cerana’s wounds, with the passageway that led to the bridge and the door that only opened from the other side. Cerana stopped at the intersection, peered around the corner and darted towards the bridge, once happy the route was clear. Jana followed close behind.
To the end of the corridor they jogged, the increasing heat as they neared the lava causing them to fatigue quicker here than on the rest of their approach. They were a matter of just a few feet from the bridge when suddenly Cerana stopped in her tracks.
“Shit!” she cursed, Jana almost running straight into her, so abrupt was her halt. “Get back, now!”
“Why?” Jana asked.
“GO!” Cerana hissed.
Jana turned, and the sisters retreated up the corridor as a group of goblins emerged from the cave at the opposite end of the bridge. They ran back to the small cave with the closed door, hid against the corridor wall and caught their breath.
“What now?!” Jana asked, breathless.
“We can’t take them all, but I don’t think they saw us,” Cerana said. She suddenly remembered the body of the goblin they left on the bridge: she could not be sure, but she did not recall seeing the corpse just now. If it was still there – and the goblins hadn’t already noticed it – they would be upon them in a matter of seconds. “We must go, now!” She was taking no chances.
“Wait! Look!” Jana shrieked excitedly. “The door! It’s open - it was shut before!”
The thick door with the metal studs was indeed ajar. They had to get to the lava, but knowing not where this newfound route would take them, Cerana was reluctant to use it. Yet the only other passage took them back to Dramilath’s prison. It was senseless to retrace their steps all the way back to the cavern.
Cerana had to make a decision, and quickly. The goblins would be upon them soon, yet the critical factor was which direction they chose once they arrived at the small cave they stood in now. They would have to either go through the now-open door, or back up the passageway towards the cavern. It was impossible to tell which way they were heading.
There was a noise from the corridor leading towards the bridge. Shouting and banging. The goblins were almost upon them.
“C? What do we do?” Jana looked terrified as she sought her elder sister’s orders.
Cerana said a silent prayer and made the decision. “The door, go!”
Jana did not hesitate, rushing towards the heavy door. She pulled it open enough for them to enter and peeked inside for dangers before turning to Cerana. “It’s clear,” she advised.
Cerana ran forwards and through the doorway, into another dimly lit corridor that swept to the right. Jana followed quickly behind, pulling the door shut with an iron ring located on their side of the door.
The sisters turned together as they heard a clicking sound from the door as it closed, followed by a mechanical grating and another, louder, click, click, click.
This side of the door was fully plated with dark metal, adorned with several large metal studs. Jana tried to twist the iron ring, but it would not budge. She pushed against the metal, but it was shut tight.
The sisters looked at each other in horror as they realised the door had locked itself. The only option they had now was to follow this new corridor, wherever that may take them.
CHAPTER 51 – Nemesis
The new passageway was dimly lit, although the purple light from the glowing crystal provided them with a good enough source of light to survey their surroundings. Cerana was inspecting the door they had just come through, listening for the goblins. Surely they must be almost upon the previous chamber by now, had they not passed it already.
She strained her ear
s at the door to pick up any sounds, but could hear nothing. Whether that was from the thickness of the heavy, metal-plated door, or simply because the goblins had moved on, she could not tell. She tried again to budge the metal ring but to no avail. The sisters even tried in unison to push the door outwards with their shoulders. When this plan also failed, Cerana resigned herself to being forced to take the corridor.
She knew from their earlier visit to the small chamber that the door only opened from this side. Her plan was to hope the goblins would not even attempt the door, but instead make their way up towards the cavern where Dramilath was held. Once they had passed, she could sneak out and destroy the crystal in the lava without further hindrance – but now the door was firmly locked, this plan was now out of the question.
“Looks like we have no choice but to follow this path,” Cerana said, forcing a smile to Jana in an attempt to cheer her up. Jana was distraught to think that she had scuppered Cerana’s plan, but at least Cerana had managed to appease her slightly by making her see that she had not actually told her of the plan. Therefore, no blame could be pointed.
Cerana helped her up from the floor where Jana had been squatting glumly, retrieved the glowing crystal and walked up the corridor, leaving the door behind them. “Be ready for anything,” Cerana advised, suddenly aware of how oppressively hot it was getting as they followed their path.
They had not followed the passageway long before it swept abruptly to their left, and a yellowy-orange glow could be seen on the walls beyond the turn. Cerana wiped the sweat from her brow using the back of her arm, so hot had it become. Jana’s dark hair had plastered itself to her brow, and she dripped with sweat as she tightly held her bow, arrow nocked and at the ready.
They remained silent as they cautiously approached the turning, Cerana leading the way. She stopped as the corridor curved, craning her neck to see around the bend. She was soon to realise just why it was getting hotter as they approached, and hope instantly lifted in her chest.
The sisters were presented with another sizeable cavernous room. Not as high and long as the cavern where Dramilath was held, yet equally as wide. The intense heat radiated from a massive pool of lava, some two hundred feet across. The searing magma bubbled, spat and popped all around the pool; the orange, red and yellow coloured substance illuminating the massive cave with a warm glow. To their right, a vast wall of solid rock ran down the length of the cave. A network of pathways spread through the lava like veins, to all corners of the cave. All the paths lead to other caves, openings and ledges.
Several of the pathways led down through the molten mass to a plinth of rock on the opposite side of the cave, protruding some ten feet above the surface. On top of the plinth stood a small, robed figure who faced away from them as they surveyed the cave. The figure twirled his hands around in front of him as if massaging a large invisible ball, seemingly unaware of their presence.
Not wanting to draw attention to their entrance, Cerana cautiously stepped out of the corridor into the sweltering heat of the cave. The path opened out in front of them before the myriad pathways snaked their way through the lava. They would not have to walk far to be within distance to throw the crystal into the bubbling mass that was only a foot or so below the level of the path. But to get close enough, they would be out in the open with no cover to protect them. Cerana decided to run.
She set off but as soon as she did, the small figure turned towards them as if he had sensed her intention.
“Nooooo!” was the shrill cry, but Cerana estimated she had already made it far enough. She threw the crystal the remaining ten or twelve feet to the edge of the ledge, aiming for the lava just below. It sailed over the edge, the sisters watching intently as they waited for it to splash into the bubbling substance. But just as it was about to submerge, the small figure on the plinth raised a thin arm towards the falling stone, fully extended his fingers, and a magical bubble encased the crystal. The spell caused it to bob on top of the searing lava before floating harmlessly away from the path.
The sisters watched, open-mouthed and dumbstruck. Jana reacted quickest, nocking an arrow and firing it off towards the floating sphere. But instead of bursting, the bubble flickered with energy and the arrow bounced into the lava, dissolving instantly. The crystal remained safely inside, unharmed.
“Nice try, my friends,” the figure, who Cerana now realised to be another goblin, said mockingly. From the opposite side of the cavern, scores of goblins emerged from the caves and crevices, armed with bows, swords and axes. Behind them, a crashing sound rang through the corridor from which they had entered. They got through the door, Cerana thought. She felt sick. Now there was nowhere for them to go. Their last hope of rallying the help of the dragons was floating away in the lake of lava, far from their reach. With the dragonstone still intact, they were alone in the volcano, with no chance of outside help.
The goblins lined up in long rows along the outer edges of the cavern, in a semi-circular formation. Some took a few steps onto the paths but soon stopped and kept their distance, as if awaiting orders. The sisters stood together as defiantly as they could muster, although both knew that their quest was now as good as over. Cerana watched the robed goblin bend down to retrieve a wooden staff, a bright red orb glowing at its tip as he raised it in the air.
“Now tell me,” he said. “Who are you?”
The sisters remained silent.
“Speak!” he cried. “Or I shall kill you where you stand. What brings you to Moriallaj?”
“You are Moriallaj?” Cerana replied with more than a hint of disbelief.
“Not what you were expecting, hmm? Yes, I am he.”
Cerana was certainly not expecting the dangerous mage to be a goblin. “Where is my sister, you bastard?” she demanded.
Moriallaj cackled with laughter. “Sister? Well, well. That I did not expect, either. We have been looking for you - it seems you have saved us the trouble. Not that it matters now, anyway. I have no need for any of you now that I have perfected the antidote.”
Cerana was horrified. “What are you planning to do?”
“Well, rule the realm, of course!” Moriallaj said. “What did you think I was going to do? I did not go to all this trouble for the good of my health, you know.”
“You infected my sister,” Cerana accused the mage, anger boiling inside her.
“It was nothing personal,” Moriallaj replied calmly. “Someone had to get it first. It was only a matter of time. Unfortunately for you, it seems that was your pretty sister.”
“How?” Cerana demanded. “How did she get it and not us?”
“All humans are vastly different,” the mage explained. “What afflicts one does not necessarily affect another. You all have different immune systems; it was just a case of finding one subject that reacted to my disease. Then we could run tests on the subject and adapt our formula to attack other immune systems. I am pleased to say that your sister was a big help with this. We used her to perfect the disease, so now everyone can enjoy it!”
“You’re insane!” Cerana yelled.
“Maybe so,” Moriallaj said. “But soon I will rule this realm. The time of the goblins has come. Too long have we lived in the shadow of dragons and humans. Isn’t it ironic, that my rule will come courtesy of the very beings that saw our race as vermin, as nothing more than animals. It was I who captured the mighty dragon, me! It was I who manufactured the disease, used the dragon dust straight from its source. I adapted it so it would not kill your pitiful race immediately. I extracted the cure from the gland of the beast and adapted it once more to combat the new strain. Me. And now I will infect this whole, miserable realm, and you will be the vermin who will give me anything I want, or I will wipe out your race entirely!” Moriallaj’s bright yellow eyes glowed with malice. Cerana and Jana stared at the mage with disbelief.
“You’ll never get away with this,” Cerana said softly, fighting back tears.
“Ha!” Moriallaj scoffed. “It�
�s too late for your bravery, girl. Too late for any of you. As soon as I blow this volcano, the pathogen will spread through the air into every city, town and village in this realm. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. Least of all you.” He pointed a thin, green finger towards the defeated sisters.
Cerana’s tears turned to anger, rage boiling inside her like the lava all around them. She drew her dagger and sword, standing defiantly. She walked along the narrow pathway towards the plinth as confidently as she could, even though inside she was resigned to her fate. Jana followed close behind, not quite so confidently.
When they reached a large, flat island of rock in the lava lake, Cerana stopped. Goblins littered the ledges to her left, the mage on his plinth straight ahead, fifty feet away. She knew she had no chance, but was determined not to go down silently. She would not go down without a fight, not after getting this far. Not after everything she had gone through. “Is my sister still alive?” she asked through gritted teeth. “Answer me that much, at least.”
“Yes. Yes, she is. Pretty little thing, isn’t she?” the mage sniggered.
“Show me. Prove it,” Cerana demanded, despite being in no position to barter.
To her surprise, Moriallaj obliged.
“Very well,” he said. “It matters not.” Moriallaj turned away from them towards the far end of the cavern. He raised his thin arms - palms upwards - and they began to quiver as he closed his eyes and spoke silently. The sisters watched with amazement as a bright glow appeared from a small alcove in the cavern opposite the mage. From within the cavity, a figure emerged in mid-air, feet first. As it came more into view, Cerana could see the figure was human, totally naked and rod-straight as if laying on an invisible table.
The Kiss From a Dragon Page 28