by Justin Swapp
“Does Gnat obey all of Master’s rules?”
The creature nodded. “All of them.”
“One of Master’s rules is to stay in the cave, and Gnat didn’t stay in the cave today, did he?” The creature suddenly closed his eyes, seemingly knowing what was coming next. “And because Gnat left the cave, we have this problem today, don’t we?
He was very still, and said nothing.
“What would happen if we told our fellow human, your master, that the Gnarligut named Gnat had left the cave today, and because of this we came to cause the master problems and to distract him from his busy schedule? Would that make master happy?”
Gnat shook his head slowly, almost unwillingly.
“And what if we told Mirella, the lady we were with just before she visited your master; what if we told her that you were hiding the skull that she helped us hunt?” Marcus thought this was a bit of a stretch, but he caught the connection.
“Not the lady,” Gnat said, his eyes suddenly widening. His arm rose to shield his frightened face. “Not the Master’s Master.”
“Then take us to our things,” Anabell said, standing up and taking a step away from Gnat, “and be quick about it.”
For a moment the creature just laid on the ground, still shielding his face, almost as if he hadn’t realized that he was free to move around. Then he lowered his arm, and looked at the strangers that surrounded him.
“Now?” Gnat asked.
“Yes,” Ellie said, exasperated.
The creature stood up, slowly, and rubbed his back, then walked slowly back around the corner where he had come from towards the room in which Nicodemus spoke to Mirella.
“Where is it?” Anabell asked impatiently.
The only passageway that Marcus could see was the bright cutout in the wall where the drones walked in with handfuls of crystal to deposit into the vault. The passageway was small, and could really only fit a Gnarligut.
But Gnat turned to the shadows, where he had hidden during his master’s conversation. Marcus looked, and noticed that the whole wall was black, like one big shadow was cast over the whole wall.
“There,” Gnat said, pointing a bony finger.
Marcus removed his brim again and the room took on a faint blue glow. The shadow, however, remained, as if the light had no effect on it.
“Why is that wall still dark?” Ellie asked, walking over to the wall with her arm outstretched. She felt the space, and then jerked her arm back quickly.
“I could feel the shadow,” Ellie said. “It was cold, and… I could just feel it.”
“Ah, yes,” Gnat said. “You can’t see. One moment.”
He turned to the line of Gnarliguts droning behind them on their way to the deposit hole, and plucked a large crystal shard from one of the worker’s arms. Then, turning back to the wall, he closed his eyes and muttered something Marcus couldn’t understand—something old, and foreign.
The wall began to shake for a moment, but it made no noise. Then, as if all at once, the shadow moved. It seemed to lift from off the wall like steam rising from a pot. It floated toward the shard that Gnat extended at the wall and was promptly absorbed, filling the once bright crystal with darkness.
“There,” Gnat said, smacking his lips together.
“What was that?” Ellie asked, rubbing her fingers together as if she had oil on them.
“Shadow magic,” Gnat said. “The first line of defenses against intruders and thieves. It conceals and deters well in the darkness of the cave.”
Marcus looked at the wall that had been spelled. A moment earlier it bore the thickest darkness he had ever seen, and now he saw an open passageway framed by a beautiful golden arch. Marcus thought this ornate architecture looked very much out of place in the old, musty cave. Then he noticed a faint glow coming from beyond the arch, deep inside the passageway.
“This way,” Gnat said. He walked up to the wall next to the arch and placed the dark crystal shard in what looked like a torch holder before moving on into the passageway.
The group followed Gnat past the archway and deeper into the cave. Lining the walls were fiery torches that reflected in the crystal shards that had been collected from the mine and placed in the crates and carts that seemed to be everywhere. The passageway opened up into a large, bright room not only full of the precious Uribrim the mine was known for, but of treasures of every kind. The crystals were stored toward the front of the room, where they could be easily accessed for transport, and the treasure was against the far wall at the back of the room. There were piles of gold, jewels, and unique statues and strange artifacts.
“This is a collector’s dream,” Marcus said, astonished at what he saw. “Where did you get all this stuff, Gnat?”
But before he could answer, Anabell interjected. “Where’s the skull?” she asked, staying focused.
Gnat searched the room with his eyes for a moment, and then finally pointed at a large display case across the room.
“There,” he said, “but—”
As soon as she identified the shelf that held the skull, Anabell ran straight for it. Marcus and Ellie hesitated for a moment, but then quickly followed. Anabell weaved in and out of the crates and other storage items until there was nothing to stand between her and the elusive prize.
Then, she tripped.
Confused, Marcus put his arms out and skid to a halt just in time to see the middle of the room move. Ellie slammed into him, knocking him slightly off balance. Where the supply of crystals ended and the treasure began, there arose a shadowy form, as if someone had lifted a thick, dark jump rope just as Anabell crossed the threshold.
Marcus watched a long, dark form strip away from the ground, and then rise up from behind the great gobs of treasure. It made no sound itself, but clanged and jingled against the treasure it disrupted. Finally, a large portion of it peeled away from the far wall of the cave. The torchlight blinked, then moved. Not the torches themselves, but their fire.
It was as if the flames picked themselves up and floated away from the wall in a ball of shadow and turned to face the intruders. Marcus heard the low sound of deep breathing.
“Humans?” a deep, throaty voice asked. It sounded dry and painful, like it hadn’t spoken in a very long time.
Marcus gaped as he saw the shadows twist and turn, whipping a long, shadow-like tail that must have been what knocked Anabell over. The beast shifted its large body, blocking the path between them and the treasure, and extended its long neck toward them, taking in another deep breath.
Anabell rolled over on her back and stared up at the creature. When she saw what it was, she scrambled backward and got on her feet, corralling the children behind her.
She turned and scowled at Gnat. “You tricked us, and lead us into a trap.”
“No,” Gnat said. “I—”
“Oh,” the giant lizard-like silhouette said as it stretched out lazily over its treasure and tapped its phantom claws, “why haven’t I eaten you yet?” It chuckled deeply to itself.
“Please,” Anabell pleaded desperately, “spare us, great creature. We are merely on a mercy mission to—”
“Great creature?” the shadow asked, recoiling in surprise. “You’ve never beheld a shadow dragon?” The creature looked down at Gnat in disbelief, and then sighed. “I don’t get out nearly enough anymore. And don’t talk to me of mercy. This land has shown me very little of that.”
“We have come for something of ours that the Gnarligut stole from us and claimed for his own,” Anabell said.
“Treasure hunters?” the dragon asked, sounding serious. “I hate treasure hunters. They don’t even taste good.”
“No,” Marcus added. “We only want what is rightfully ours, nothing of yours.”
“Treasure rightfully belongs to the possessor,” the shadow dragon said. “Where is this treasure of yours?”
“On the shelf,” Marcus said, pointing behind the dragon. “Just there.”
“That is
my shelf,” the shadow dragon said, “therefore there is nothing there of yours.” Apparently satisfied, the dragon flopped down on the ground, and lay on its side. It picked at its shady teeth with ghostly claws. “Now, what should we have for dinner tonight?”
It was obvious this creature was enjoying their company, or just hadn’t had any interaction for a very long time. Gnarliguts couldn’t be much in the way of company, or provide more than a snack. Either way, Marcus had had enough of it. They didn’t have time for the creature’s cat and mouse game.
He reached for his pocket to fish for his brim. He didn’t know what he would do with it, or if it would even have an effect on the shadow dragon, but he had to try. Apparently Anabell anticipated his response, because she reached back and grabbed his wrist before he could get to it.
Suddenly the shadow dragon’s head shot up, apparently aware of something threatening in his midst. It opened its mouth and shot large mists of shadow out of it, as if it were breathing black flames.
Marcus and the others dove for the ground in different directions, not knowing what would come of the dragon’s attack.
Rolling over, Marcus looked around. He couldn’t see anything at all. The shadowy mist was too thick.
“Are you in such a hurry to be done living?” the shadow dragon asked as it shifted to a defensive stance. “I may be too old for this, but I will not be attacked in my own home.”
“I meant no harm,” Marcus said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out his brim. “I just wanted to be able to see a little better around here.”
He held up his brim and got to his feet. The blue light of his magic pierced the shadows of the cave and sent the dragon’s mist reeling. This dark mist was apparently different than the mist guarding the entrance to this cave.
“I know that magic,” the shadow dragon said suspiciously, taking a step back and looking down at its torso. “It’s cold.” It took in a deep breath through its nose. “Not like blood magic or shadow magic.”
“That’s what I say to him,” Gnat said.
For a brief moment, as the blue light touched the dragon, the shadows that made up its body seemed to disappear while in contact with the light, revealing beautiful colors of orange and red on strong, shimmering scales.
Marcus paused, not sure of what he saw. “All we want is our things,” Marcus said, taking a cautious step forward. The dragon retreated a step, seemingly confused.
“We don’t want your treasure,” Marcus said, “we only want the arrow, and the phoenix skull.”
The dragon stopped outright and stood a little taller. “Phoenix?” said the shadow creature quietly. “They yet live?” Marcus noted a sort of reverence in its voice.
“There is a whole forest of them directly above us,” Ellie said. “That is where we spent our arrow, and got the skull.”
“You dare kill a Phoenix?” the shadow dragon asked, suddenly enraged. “It is forbidden since the beginning of time.”
Marcus jumped back and lifted the magical sphere as the dragon stepped forward. He thought for sure he was a dead man. They had said the wrong thing, and now they would pay for it with their lives.
But the dragon stopped, wincing as the light from Marcus’s brim reached its face. Marcus looked again, astounded at what he saw. It wasn’t frightening fangs or fiery red eyes that captivated him. No, it was the familiarity of the face, which amazed Marcus. Behind the dragon’s golden, armor-like face rested beautiful fiery plumage, gradients of oranges and reds, gold and copper.
“You’re beautiful,” Ellie said with a pure sense of awe and sincerity.
This comment seemed to catch the dragon by surprise, and suddenly his voice didn’t seem as fierce as it had been.
“I was,” the shadow dragon said, “before an evil human cursed me over a misunderstanding. Now, I am a mere shadow of my former self. There was a day when me and my kind roamed freely in the skies.” He spoke with a true sense of nostalgia.
“And if we can return you to your former self,” Anabell asked, “would you let us have our things and depart in peace?”
“What are you, nuts?” Marcus whispered. “How can we do that? You can’t even heal your husband, and now you claim to be able to give a shadow back its former shape?”
Anabell closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Ellie punched Marcus in the shoulder, and shook her head. “Your mouth…”
“What foolishness do you speak of, human?” the shadow dragon asked. “Am I to believe that you wield such great magic; that all you ask for in return is an arrow, and a skull?” The dragon snorted and looked around the cave. “There are piles of riches here, and you would have none of it?”
“As I said before, we are on a mercy mission,” Anabell said, “and we are in a hurry.”
“This is old magic that binds me, human,” the shadow dragon said, “and I am to understand that you can undo it?”
“Not me,” Anabell said, “but him.” She pointed to Marcus, who suddenly felt very awkward.
“The infant?” the shadow dragon asked.
“Hey, I’m no baby,” Marcus said. Then, he turned to Anabell. “Are you crazy? I can’t do that.”
“Drain the dragon,” she said, as if there was nothing more to it than that.”
“If he can do it,” Ellie said, addressing the shadow dragon, “do we have a pact?”
“He cannot do it,” said the dragon, “and this is now a waste of time.”
“Then why does his magic reveal your true form?” Anabell asked. “Besides, you have nothing but time to waste as a shadow.”
The dragon paused, apparently not sure how to respond.
“Gnat?” the shadow dragon said. The small creature just shrugged its shoulders.
“Very well, then,” the shadow dragon said, “but if you are wrong, there will be no more talk.”
Anabell nudged Marcus, and he swallowed hard. He hated being put on the spot. All of the other times he had performed the drain, he had felt compelled to do so. The urge was there, and it just kind of happened. He hadn’t felt anything for the dragon, so he wasn’t sure how he would initiate it.
Then the dragon spoke again. “You have another?”
Marcus wasn’t sure what he was referring to until he turned to look at his sister. She removed the brim she had taken from Faustino. She closed her eyes. The blue wisps in her sphere were alive with activity. Marcus closed his eyes too, hoping something would happen.
He envisioned the dragon as he saw it exposed by the blue magic, an ancestor to the Phoenix, no longer trapped, no longer hidden in the shadows. He could feel magic coursing through him, and he channeled it through the brim. He was giving the dragon magic. But then he felt something dark and unexpected.
He opened his eyes to see that all the magic he had collected in his brim was gone. His sister’s was gone too. But they were not just empty. It was worse than that. They were draining the shadow magic from the Dragon, and he could feel the darkness running through his arm. He would probably have quit right there because of the despair he began to feel, but he saw something that kept him going. He saw the golden dragon as it was, and as it should be, elegant and majestic, a flaming torch in a dark, dank cave.
Then it was over.
The ferocious beast cocked its neck, its fiery eyes aglow, and then it sang. It was the most beautiful thing Marcus had ever heard. The song was similar to what they had heard in the forest, but older, and happier somehow. The effect of the song brightened their spirits and cleared their minds. Marcus could feel the shadow leave his body, being driven down his arm and back into the brim.
“Wow,” Marcus said. It was all he could think to say.
“Gnat,” the dragon said, its voice more docile now somehow, “please return to these people their rightful property.”
Gnat nodded, and ran past the dragon to the shelf, where he pulled down the skull and the arrow and returned them to Anabell.
Anabell sighed, a tear streaming down
her face. Marcus knew she was thinking of Caleb. “Thank you so much,” she said.
“No,” the glorious dragon said, “thank you. I am forever in your debt. Now I may finally join my family for the eternity. If I may ever serve you in any—”
“Well,” Anabell cut in, “we do need to get to someone quickly, or…” She couldn’t continue.
“You have but to think of the place,” the dragon said, “and I will get you there.”
While it was hard not to think of everything that had transpired that day, Marcus forced his thoughts to Caleb, and what he must be going through. He imagined the hospital, the security checkpoints, and then the common room where he always found Caleb.
Marcus’s attention was jolted back to the present when he saw the magnificent dragon bow before them, flames lifting up from its eyes. Then it looked up, and for an instant they seemed to be engulfed in fire.
That was the last thing Marcus saw.
23
Their Uncle, Caleb
Marcus felt sick and disoriented even when the whirling flames around him slowed to a stop and then finally disappeared in a puff of swirling smoke. Whether it was the motion, or a side effect of this unfamiliar magic, he didn’t know, but he buckled over, sure he was about to embarrass himself by vomiting everywhere. By the way Ellie hugged her stomach, he could tell she felt the same way.
“Where are we?” Marcus managed. By the sterile smell in the air, he assumed they were at the hospital, but he didn’t recognize the small room they had appeared in. Scattered papers covered the nearby desk. Files and folders appeared to be trying to crawl out of the nearby cabinets as well. They were surrounded by paperwork and an overall mess.
“We’re in the warden’s office,” Anabell said, stepping away from them and opening the office door a crack. Apparently she had been unaffected by the mode of transportation.
“What are you doing?” Marcus asked.
Anabell paused. “Nothing,” she sighed to herself.
“What do you mean, nothing?” Marcus asked, “You—”