by Aaron Ehasz
Ezran smiled. It wasn’t one creature—it was two.
“Come with me,” Ellis said from atop Ava’s back. “I’ll help you find the healer.” She yanked on Ava’s collar and the wolf bounded up the rocks.
So … what, exactly, are we doing here?” Soren asked Claudia.
She had hopped on her horse back at the Banther Lodge and taken off without a single word. Now they were miles away at the base of a steep cliff. This was a place her mother had taken her so many years ago to show her something beautiful. A few years after that, her father had brought her here to show her something practical.
Claudia was on her hands and knees, gathering something from the base of the cliff wall. Soren waited, arms crossed, feeling out of place.
Claudia stood up. “I just need one more thing for the tracking spell. Then we can find the princes and complete our mission.” She walked away from Soren, tracing her hand along the edge of the mountain.
“Special rocks? Magic twig?” Soren asked. Her silence was beyond irritating. Soren recognized that Claudia’s magic was useful, but he found ingredient-hunting for spells extremely tedious.
“Ah, here it is!” she finally said. Claudia slipped through an opening on the side of the cliff and beckoned for Soren to follow. “This way.”
Soren sprinted after his sister but came to a grinding halt when he saw the size of the opening. “You’re kidding, right?” he said. The crevice was barely large enough for any human adult, let alone one wearing armor. He groaned as he contorted his body to squeeze through the tiny opening. “If only … I weren’t … so muscular,” he said, barely managing to pass through.
Claudia led the way through the damp, narrow cave, her palm glowing with magic light. She glided easily around the rocky twists and turns of the passage while Soren bumped off one side of the cave to the other, his armor clanging.
“This is why I hate magic,” Soren said. “It always involves something really creepy.” He ran his hand along the wall to steady himself but stopped when he touched something sticky. A black, gooey substance covered his palm. When he tried to wipe off the tar-like sludge on a different rock he ended up getting cobwebs stuck to his hand. “This is so gross.”
But Claudia wasn’t paying any attention to Soren. She was fully absorbed in her task, flicking the light into all the cave’s crevices.
“Where is it … ?” she muttered to herself. Claudia was beginning to feel frustrated. It was the first time she had come here without guidance. And both her parents had known their way around so well, they could literally find the secret place in the dark. “Wait! I know how to find it.” She closed her hand, snuffing out the light.
“Ack. Claudia, what are you doing?” Soren asked. “I can’t see a thing.”
“Shh …” Claudia said.
“Oh, can you see better if I’m quiet?” Soren asked.
Claudia gave Soren a sisterly smack on the shoulder. “Give it a moment. Let your eyes adjust.”
Soren decided to humor his sister and stood quietly. After an uncomfortable minute in pitch darkness, he saw a subtle glow up ahead of them.
“Look. There it is,” Claudia whispered. She began walking toward the light.
Soren followed Claudia around a corner and without warning, the oppressive cavern walls gave way into a spacious, sparkling grotto.
Soren gasped. Lush trees filled the deep underground space. A stream ran over the tangled roots and mossy stones beneath them. And there were twinkling, floating things flitting around the air, each casting a soft white glow. Soren had never seen anything like it.
“These are called wisps,” Claudia said, pulling a jar out of her bag. “Still think magic is creepy and gross?”
Soren was too awestruck to respond.
Claudia captured a few of the magical wisps as if she were catching fireflies on a summer night. Then she closed the jar and held it up to Soren.
“All right, so what else do we need for this spell?” Soren asked.
“Nothing. We’re all set,” Claudia said.
“Really? Great,” Soren said. That hadn’t been so bad after all.
“We just have to climb to the top of the tallest mountain in Katolis,” Claudia said with a smile.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Soren responded, excited for the challenge.
“It’s a fun spell,” Claudia said.
Rayla walked alongside the giant wolf and small girl, feeling skeptical about the addition to the group. She was used to being the most informed member and didn’t appreciate being led up a cursed mountain by a small child.
“So, hi there,” Rayla said, trying her best to keep her tone friendly. She waved her hand at the girl. “And, who are you, exactly?”
“Me? I’m Ellis,” the girl said in her chipper voice. “And this is Ava. She’s a wolf.” Ellis patted Ava and smiled at Rayla.
“Wolf? You don’t say,” Rayla replied. “I thought she might be a bird.”
Ava wasn’t sure if the elf was serious, so she gave her a huge sloppy kiss on the side of her face. That ought to prove she was a wolf.
Rayla cringed.
A few yards ahead of them, Callum turned around. “Oh, I should have introduced you guys.” He had avoided introductions thus far because he wasn’t sure if Ellis’s unbridled enthusiasm would mix well with Rayla’s dry sarcasm, and it seemed he was right. But he’d put it off long enough. “Ellis, this is Rayla,” Callum said. “We originally met because, well …” Callum scratched his head. There really was no delicate way to phrase the exceptional beginnings of their relationship with Rayla. So he spoke quickly, with as much cheerfulness as he could. “She broke into our castle on a mission to kill Ezran.”
Rayla looked at Ellis with a sheepish smile and shrugged.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Ezran added. “We’re past all that now.” He waved his hand as if to brush off this old news. Ellis took the cue.
“People meet in so many interesting ways,” she squeaked.
Rayla still wasn’t sure she trusted this Ellis, but she appreciated a human who didn’t seem to mind elves. “Well, now that we’ve completed the introductions, how do we find this healer?” she asked.
“Truth is, I never found her—she found us,” Ellis said. “We were hiding in a big, twisty, hollow tree, up near the rim.” Ellis pointed to the peak.
“Then we need to get to that tree,” Callum said. “Even if it takes all night.”
“Wait a second,” Rayla said, holding up her hands. “That’s all we have to go on? A weird tree where this miracle worker showed up two years ago?”
“It’s our only chance,” Callum said. “Got a better idea?”
“As a matter of fact—” Rayla began. But she had nothing. “No.”
Ava pranced by Callum and Rayla. “Now that we’ve settled that,” Ellis called out, “I’ll get us to that tree, the healer will find us there, and she’ll save the egg.”
“And maybe she can help your hand,” Ezran said to Rayla.
“Don’t worry about my hand,” Rayla said, cradling her useless limb. “The egg is all that matters now.”
And so, one foot in front of another, as the afternoon wore on, they climbed the Cursed Caldera. They jumped over ledges, climbed rickety fallen trees, and walked single file along narrow ridges, all sharing the weight of the heavy dragon egg. The hours passed quickly as they navigated the many obstacles, and by the time they reached a clearing halfway up the mountain, the day was ending. Ellis and Ava rode out onto a jutting edge. The sun was low, and the sky was on fire with a blazing sunset.
“It’s so beautiful. It’s like the sky is painted with honey,” Ellis said with a sigh.
“Wow,” Ezran said, taking in the pinkish-orange twilight sky.
“Too bad it also means the nightmares are about to begin,” Ellis said.
“What do you mean, ‘the nightmares’?” Rayla asked.
“Oh, you know,” Ellis said in a cheery voice, “enormous
monsters and indescribable terrors, stuff like that.”
“ ‘Stuff like that,’ ” Callum echoed. Ellis had mentioned the monsters before, but he’d sort of forgotten about them, what with all the climbing and egg-carrying and such.
“Yeah! And the higher we go, the worse it will get,” Ellis assured them.
“All right—well, let’s go!” Rayla said, pumping a fist with mock enthusiasm.
“No, no wait,” Callum said. “We’re going to need a plan.” He wasn’t about to have a repeat of the river monster incident.
“How can you plan for indescribable terrors?” Ezran wanted to know. “I feel like you need to be able to describe them first.”
“I can try to help with that,” Ellis said. “I would call the terrors horrifying, bloodcurdling, and creepy. But creepy in a super extreme way that feels like it’s lighting your soul on fire,” she added.
“I think that helps,” Ezran said, though his expression said otherwise. Bait didn’t look convinced either.
Callum closed his eyes—he just needed a minute to think. They had defeated the river monster with teamwork; maybe they could do the same here. Think, Callum, think, he told himself. Rayla’s got her blades. I have two spells—well, one and a half. Ellis has Ava. Ezran has—
“I think I’ve got something,” he said, opening his eyes. He held up his hand to stop anyone from interrupting, then announced his plan with a flourish.
“Flash! Woof! Whoosh! Slish-slash,” he said.
Ellis stared at Callum. What he’d said was nonsense, but he seemed very excited about it.
She shouted, “Awesome!” and gave Callum a thumbs-up. But then she leaned over to Rayla and whispered, “Um, is he okay?”
“I think he’s finally cracked under the pressure,” Rayla said.
“No, I haven’t cracked,” Callum said. “That’s the name of the plan. Ezran, you have the first job. You hold Bait in the air so he can flash and blind whatever monster we encounter. That’s ‘Flash.’ ”
“Wait,” Ezran said. “But then I’m not really doing anything, I’m just kind of holding up Bait?”
“You’re support. Every team needs a great support,” Callum said. Nothing would interfere with his plan. “Ellis, you’re next. Ava will bark, and you’ll ride around in circles, barking to confuse the monster. That’s ‘Woof.’ ”
“What do you think, Ava?” Ellis asked, giggling. “Do you think you can run around and bark a lot?”
Ava let out a series of happy barks.
“She’s ready,” Ellis declared.
“Then it’s my turn,” Callum said. “I’ll use my wind-breath spell for ‘Whoosh.’ ” He held up the primal stone and mimed casting a spell.
“You’re going to use magic?” Ellis said, so excited she stood up on Ava’s back.
“Oh, it’s just a simple rune,” Callum said. “Just this thing I picked up. No big deal.”
“Yeah, he’s going to blow on the monster,” Rayla said. She wriggled her fingers in the air. “He’ll ruffle its fur real good.”
“Well, it’s either that or the half of the lightning spell I know,” Callum said, taking offense. “Specifically, the half that doesn’t shoot lightning out of my fingertips.”
“That monster won’t know what hit it,” Ezran said to Callum, then gave him a pat on the back, like Callum often did to him. “Oh wait, it will know what hit it. It’ll be wind.”
Callum frowned, but there were bigger things to worry about than his little brother teasing him.
“Anyway,” he said, “Rayla, you’re last—you’re the finisher. You’ll take the blinded, distracted, windblown monster down with your blades—‘Slish-slash.’ ” Callum swiped his arms in the air for effect.
“My hand is in pretty bad shape,” Rayla said, waving her purple hand at Callum. “I’m only going to be able to use one blade.”
“Okay, no problem. We’ll revise.” Callum said. “You’re just ‘Slash.’ ” He cut through the air with one of his arms.
“No way, that won’t work,” Rayla said, holding up her healthy hand. “The good one is my ‘Slish’ hand.”
“Really?” Callum asked.
“No, not really, dummy.” Sometimes, Rayla could barely believe the denseness she had to put up with. She was completing a monumental eye roll when she brightened with a novel idea. “Wait, Callum. You are a dummy, but you’re not a fool,” she said.
“Am I supposed to feel flattered by that comment?” Callum asked.
“You said Claudia called you a fool when you interrupted her lightning spell,” Rayla said. “But I’ll bet she was actually saying ‘FUL-minis.’ It’s the Draconic word for lightning.”
“So, if ‘Fulminis’ is the trigger word,” Callum began.
“Then you know the spell for lightning!” Ezran finished.
Callum picked up his primal stone with confidence. “Revised plan, team,” he said. “Flash! Woof! ZAP! Slash!”
He envisioned everyone putting their hands in the middle and chanting the plan together, but they all just turned and continued up the mountain.
All right, Callum thought. Your loss. Then he began the trek, the plan becoming his mantra with each step.
Flash-woof-zap-slash.
Flash-woof-zap-slash.
Back in Katolis, Viren carried a golden tray full of Xadian delicacies down to the dungeon. He had previously tried in vain to persuade his elven captive to eat and drink. But no amount of coaxing or threats had convinced the elf to break his fast.
In the dungeon, the elven assassin was just as Viren had left him. His body dangled from the stone wall where his wrists had been locked with iron chains, his muscular shoulders straining at the weight. He kept his head down and his blue eyes closed in some sort of perpetual meditation. Viren stood over him, casting a shadow across the elf’s body.
“Enough brooding, elf. My patience wears thin,” Viren said. He knelt and set down the tray. The assassin opened his eyes but turned his face away when he saw the food.
“You know, if you don’t eat, you’ll die,” Viren said.
“I am already dead,” the elf replied.
“You don’t look dead,” Viren said. He allowed a false look of confusion to spread over his face. “Though I will say that hand has seen better days.” He pointed to the assassin’s left arm, which was still bound by the white ribbon. The hand was almost black.
“I went out of my way to acquire some rare Xadian fruits,” Viren said. He plucked a lumpy, magenta, pear-shaped fruit from the tray and held it up to admire it. “They’re remarkable. So strange and exotic. And these Xadian oranges—no seeds.” Viren cut a slice of the orange and popped it in his mouth. “Incredible,” he said. He held a slice out toward the elf, who didn’t budge. “No? I understand the whole ‘honor in not eating’ thing, but at least drink something.” Viren lifted a glass pitcher and poured red liquid into a matching goblet. “Don’t worry, it’s just berry juice,” he said.
The elf glowered.
Viren sighed. He had little patience for these flowery games. He stood up and took a sip of the juice. “I’ll cut to the chase,” he said. “I have a simple proposition. I want you to look at an object and tell me what it does. If you tell me the truth, I will unchain you, and you can walk out of here. What I’m asking is painless and easy.”
The assassin’s only response was to close his eyes. Viren waited a few moments, then spoke sharply. “Decide, elf. You can be free, or you can sit here and die.”
“I told you,” the elf said. “I am already dead.”
“Ah yes, wait a second, I think I have heard about this,” Viren said as he collected the tray and walked toward the door. “It’s a Moonshadow elf thing, right? A philosophy of accepting you are already dead, so you will not fear death.” Viren smiled. “What a beautiful challenge you’ve given me. I must come up with something you will fear … more than death.”
He slammed the dungeon door on his way out, leaving Runaan in the dark to
guess what it was that could be worse than death.
The sun had set completely on the Cursed Caldera, and the sky was growing darker by the minute. Up high, the flora was scarce and the trees barren, and the forest floor had given way to a dusty, dried mud. Mist and clouds obscured the path, but Bait glowed softly in Ezran’s arms, illuminating the way.
Callum walked cautiously, prepared for the nightmares Ellis had warned them of, but so far all was calm.
“Well, it’s dark,” he said. “But I think the scariest thing I’ve heard so far is this angry cricket.” He bent over a rock to look at the chirping insect. “And he doesn’t even sound that angry, more like mildly annoyed.”
“Yeah … are you sure this is the Cursed Caldera?” Ezran asked. “Or did we accidentally go wandering up Humdrum Hill?” Everyone laughed nervously at Ezran’s joke.
“Maybe we took a wrong turn and wound up on Sleepy Slope,” Rayla said.
“I’ll have to check my map,” Callum said, eager to join in, “but I’m pretty sure I recognize the unmistakable topography of …” He paused, building anticipation for his punch line. “Mount Monotonous!”
Callum waited for his joke to hit, but the only response he got was the chirp of the irritated cricket. He made a mental note to work on his delivery.
“Moving on,” Ellis said. “It is a little odd that nothing bad has happened yet.” She looked up as the clouds over the moon started to clear. “Maybe we’re just luck— Ahhh! There’s a huge scary monster!” She pointed right behind Callum.
“Ahhhhh!” Callum screamed.
“But don’t worry, it’s dead,” Ellis said.
“Then why did you say it like that?” Callum asked. His heart was all the way up in his throat.
“Say it like what?” Ellis asked in her upbeat squeal.
Callum shook his head. Somehow no matter what Ellis said, she always sounded excited.
Ava trotted over to the swampy bog area where the monster was, and the group followed. As the mist cleared and the full light of the moon shone down, they could see a massive creature sprawled across their path, flat and lifeless.