***
The following morning, dawn came without preamble. Without any vegetation, trees, or the like, there weren’t any creatures or insects to generate the typical morning cacophony he had become accustomed to. Whether it was sheer exhaustion or the lack of noise to wake him, Steve slept in longer than he probably should have.
Snoring loudly, Steve’s back sent constant jolts of pain up and down his spine. The intensity of the pain finally penetrated his awareness and brought him agonizingly back to full consciousness. Stiffly, he rose to a sitting position. Looking around in bewilderment, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings, Steve had to give himself a full five minutes before the memories of the previous night came back to him.
Wincing with pain, he stood, rubbing his aching temples. His headache from the previous night was still with him, and now, thanks to his hours of sleeping on solid rock, his back wasn’t too pleased with him, either. Groaning softly, he finally took stock of his location. He was standing on an open expanse of rock along a steep wall, with a small path continuing upwards. The path also bordered the mountain’s edge, with the drop off plunging straight down for over two hundred feet.
Bewildered, Steve looked around. There were mountains surrounding him on all sides, and far below, a small valley. Stepping out onto the path he looked both down and then up the path. It was barely wide enough for a horse-drawn cart. Where had they been taking him? He sure as hell didn’t want to keep going that way. Best to head the opposite direction. Maybe there was a branch in the path that would take him back to where he came from.
Steve paused. Did he really know which direction that was if he found another path to take? He shook his head. Nope. Not a clue. Maybe he could light a signal fire, or shoot off several jets of fire into the sky. Nope, bad idea. If he did that, then not only could he alert his friends, but it would also alert any undesirables in the area.
Steve thought back to last night. If memory served, while he was restrained in the cart he did recall a gentle, downwards pull, so if he wanted to head in the opposite direction that meant uphill, right? He sighed. Of course. Uphill. Should have known. Trudging slowly up the path, he reached the sharp bend which had been the downfall of his captors. Steve leaned over the edge and looked down. Should he feel bad? Absolutely not.
“Too bad, so sad, guys. Serves your asses right.”
Did the horse and cart go over the edge, too? Man alive, he hoped not. Having grown up in southwestern Idaho with horses on his family’s farm, he had a certain fondness for the four-legged animals, and wouldn’t wish a horse any type of harm, no matter what its temperament was.
Following the bend in the path, he picked up the pace as much as he was able. He asked himself yet again if he really know where the hell he was going. Somewhere out in the open. Some place away from heights. He didn’t really have a problem with heights, but falling from them? That he could do without.
By midday he was feeling better. His headache had dulled to a muted throb, but now his stomach was protesting angrily for being ignored. After several hours of walking he had finally reached the path’s summit. He had to admit, it made for one hell of a view. It didn’t do anything to dispel his uneasiness, however. Unfamiliar terrain spread out all about him, and directly ahead? The path, unfortunately, terminated at the beginning of a large, open mesa that was covered with tall grass that rose to his waist. Which way was north, anyway? He glanced up. Judging by his shadow he guessed it was just after noon, and that the sun was heading to his left, which meant north was straight through the grass.
As he walked, the nagging fear of being lost refused to go away. Was he making things worse by trying to figure out which way to go? Maybe he should stop and stay in one place, in case someone was looking for him.
A gentle breeze began to blow, causing the grass he was wading through to sway gently to the left. He had just started noticing the hypnotizing effect of the gently rocking grass when the wind started to pick up. What’s going on? In just a matter of moments, the gentle breeze had rapidly increased to a gale force wind and was blowing so hard that the grass was blown flat against the ground. The wind was buffeting him so hard that he could barely stand. What now? Was a tornado heading this way?
Suddenly he was wrenched to the ground and darkness enveloped him. What the hell? Who put out the lights? The howling wind had also disappeared. The air became stuffy. Had he stumbled into a hole? Gingerly he felt around him. Solid, pebbled walls met his touch. The ground continued to tremble beneath his feet. He blindly explored in all directions. More pebbled walls, not only surrounding him, but also encompassing him from above and below as well. Nudging the textured wall one final time, Steve sighed loudly. Maybe it was a -
“Would ye kindly stop doing that?”
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.
“Who’s there? And doing what?”
“Stop moving about, human. That tickles.”
A small chink of light appeared. Then bits of light appeared all around him as the walls about him separated. Steve gasped aloud. His “cage” was in fact a basket two hands made when they were cupped together. However, these were some massive hands! Not only that, he was soaring through the air! They were moving at such a tremendous rate of speed that the air was actually whistling through the huge fingers.
Holy crap, he thought excitedly, I’ve been snatched by a dragon! What is Kahvel doing? Wait. That hadn’t sounded like the dragon he knew. Besides, wasn’t Kahvel a gold dragon? This skin is green. Uh, oh. Looking up, he could see the heavily scaled belly of an enormous emerald-green dragon.
“I just want you to know that I probably taste really bad.”
“Not if cooked properly,” the dragon disagreed. “Be at ease. I have no intentions of eating ye.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“To Kahvel.”
Steve held his breath. “Are you friends with Kahvel?”
“Am I friend to Kahvel? Aye, ye might say that. I am his mate.”
Steve plopped back down onto the massive palm in shock. A female dragon!
“So you’re taking me to Kahvel, then? Has he been looking for me?”
“Aye, along with the rest of yer companions. Kahvel checked on them just after sunrise, and that’s when he learned of yer disappearance. He enlisted my help. I just happened to find ye first.”
“What’s your name? Mine is Steve. Steve Miller.”
“I am Pryllan.”
The Prophecy Page 29