With a final bellow of Stonesong, Darkmount pulled the ceiling down upon Charlie. The light of her Will grew brighter, but as the weight of rock piled up around her it flickered and finally died beneath the onslaught of stone.
When the rockfall finally ceased, Darkmount gave Charlie’s burial mound a nod. Whether it was a nod of satisfaction or a nod of respect from one opponent to another it was impossible to tell. Checking that the urn was still secure in his robe he strode across the cavern, raised his glowing fists and carved an exit tunnel into the deeps.
24
Lightning
Without Darkmount by his side, Nibbler was slowly being overwhelmed. He could no longer successfully hold back all that rose up against him. The Stomen and the Shades knew it too. They slowly began to pace forward as step by step they pushed Nibbler backwards.
The Hatchling’s chest heaved, his throat was ragged from spitting so much flame and his talons felt blunt from endlessly scraping them against armour and weapons. Eyes rolling and muscles shaking, he took one more step backwards then stopped.
He could not give up. He couldn’t. Charlie was depending on him.
Grabbing hold of his courage, he dug deeper than ever before. He felt the gases inside him churn, then boil with the need to be ejected. Gritting his teeth, he reached even deeper. He was determined to show these Stomen and Shades what it meant to face a Winged One. He would show them what it meant to face a fire-breathing creature.
The pressure built internally as his lung and chest muscles heaved with effort, but he wasn’t ready to release his wrath. Clenching and tensing, he summoned up more and more fire within his belly and just when he thought he might explode with the effort of it he opened his mouth and ejected a crackling fork of lightning.
The spike of electricity shot down the tunnel, burning a blue line in everyone’s retinas and exploding against all it touched. Stomen and Shades were flung against the tunnel walls, behemoths had their hands blown off and Stonesingers were sent tumbling through the air. One of the more fortunate Stomen who had only been grazed by the attack stumbled to his feet with wide eyes.
Nibbler stared back with a look of surprise that mirrored the dazed soldier’s.
Slowly he raised a paw to touch the end of his mouth to check that everything was still intact.
It was.
What was more, he felt remarkably good, as though spitting lightning and not flame was perfectly natural for a Winged One.
‘How did I …’ he began before falling silent.
He could shoot electricity out of his mouth! Nibbler couldn’t believe it. Unable to help it and regardless of how serious the circumstances were, he burst into a big toothy smile. A grin so big that his dimples almost grew dimples of their own.
‘Ha!’ he roared. ‘Haaaa!’
Digging deep he tensed once more, and opening his mouth he spat out another jet of lightning.
There was a whimper from one of the Stomen and a shriek from one of the Shades. The smell of scorched flesh filled the air and the gloom of the subterranean chamber was filled with the faint glow of static aftershock.
There was a hubbub of mixed voices and commands from the end of the tunnel as the Stoman garrison, having fallen back in disarray, hastily tried to recompose itself. Nibbler, not one to miss an opportunity, opened his mouth wide and hurled yet another lightning bolt in their direction, intending to scatter them even further. However, in his eagerness he had miscalculated and his aim was off. His shot burst against the arch of the wall, causing a small landslide of rock.
Nibbler blinked in astonishment at the power of his new-found ability. He blinked again as his mind kicked into gear. If he could tear down part of the tunnel he could block the way, giving Charlie all the time she needed to complete her task. Time in which he could go to the Gate and be there for her should she need his help.
Without wasting another second, Nibbler began to lay about him in earnest. He sent lightning strike after lightning strike into the tunnel ceiling. Great slabs of rock began to break free and with a terrific crash a portion of the tunnel collapsed, blocking the way.
Chuckling to himself as he heard the muffled complaints of the distant soldiers, he turned and sprinted for the cavern.
Jensen and Kelko stood on the grasslands while Sic Boy lounged on top of the wagon.
‘How are we going ta do dis?’ asked Kelko. ‘Two goals, two different directions.’
Jensen abruptly laughed. ‘We both want ta go and save the little Hippotomi, don’t we?’
The two Tremen shared a rueful smile.
‘All right, let’s just cut ta the chase,’ said Kelko. ‘We both know it’s gonna take brains ta find our girl and brains is something that ya have in spades. So ya go and find the little lass and I’ll go and warn the Jade Circle that Bane’s First Army is headed to Sylvaris. Deal?’
Jensen shook Kelko’s hand. ‘Deal.’
‘Good,’ said Kelko. ‘Seeing that all I’ve got ta do is head in a straight line while ya’ll probably have ta show a little muscle, Sic Boy should go with ya.’
Jensen struggled to hide his astonishment. ‘Are ya sure?’
‘Of course. It’s a bad world out there now and as cunning as ya might be yer don’t have anything like my manly muscle.’ Kelko paused to slap his stomach. ‘So it only makes sense that I lend ya a little canine ferocity.’
Jensen eyed the poor horse that was harnessed to the wagon then eyed Kelko’s rounded figure. ‘Are ya sure ya’ll be all right on that? Horse riding was never yer thing.’
Kelko grimaced at the idea of riding day and night and more on a horse. He could already feel his bum wincing in protest. ‘A Treman’s gotta do wot a Treman’s gotta do.’
Jensen helped Kelko unhitch the horse. Throwing a blanket and what padding they could find across the animal’s back, they constructed a crude saddle. Then there was nothing left to do but say goodbye.
‘Boss,’ began Kelko, suddenly touched by what this parting could mean. Bellania’s future appeared very uncertain while war was a cloud that hovered over the not-so-distant horizon. ‘I …’
‘Enough with that!’ protested Jensen. ‘Things will work out for the best, ya’ll see. Just make sure Sylvaris is still standing when I bring Charlie back!’
Slapping Kelko on the back, Jensen helped his friend heave himself on to the horse. Once Kelko was secure, Jensen leaped aboard Sic Boy’s broad back.
With a final wave and a hearty grin that hid doubts about the future, the two friends parted ways. Kelko headed east to warn his beloved city, as Jensen headed south-west to see if he could pick up the trail of Charlie Keeper.
25
The Darkness
She couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t hear anything and for a moment Charlie thought she was dead.
It was only when she hesitantly stretched out her hands and encountered the rough surface of rock that she realized where she was.
Buried alive.
A cruel crunching pain stabbed through her leg, raced up her spine and slammed into her brain. Biting back a shuddering gasp, she hesitantly pushed her hand down her thigh, past her knee and, scared of what she might find, slowly investigated further. She stopped when she felt something hard and jagged poking out from beneath her trouser leg.
‘My leg …’ she whispered, realizing just how badly broken it was. She grimaced as another wave of pain swept through her. Laying her head back down, she tried to relax in the hope that the pain would ease.
But the pain didn’t ebb and neither could she relax.
‘Darkmount.’ She snapped, unable to constrain the sudden explosion of rage. ‘My pendant!’ she added a moment later as her memory caught up with her. Her rage grew as it dawned upon her just how horribly lost she was: buried alive and the pendant torn from her grasp. How on earth was she ever going to save her parents now?
The rage melted away to be replaced by bitter despair. A sob escaped her lips. Then another and another.
Charlie
hated the sound of her own crying, she hated the evidence of her weakness and, most of all, she hated the idea of lying here in the dark with nothing but the warmth of her tears to keep her company. But she couldn’t stop. The thought of her parents being forever lost to her was simply too overpowering and before she knew it she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Never had Charlie been so miserable. Never had she felt so lost, or so helpless, or isolated.
Images of all her past betrayers and spiteful opponents came to mind: Mr Crow, Lady Narcissa, Bane, the Delightful Brothers, the Shades and Wyrms, the Alavisian Watchmen, the Daemon Kindred, Lallinda and Edge Darkmount. All the punishment, cruelty, petty words, deceits, betrayals and terror that she had suffered at their hands flashed through her mind.
Slowly, as Charlie continued to sob for what had been and what was lost, she began to change. A darkness born back in Lady Narcissa’s tower and partially unleashed in the Arena of Sylvaris began to unfold and unravel. It crept up, out of her heart and slowly, slowly began to sink its fingers deeper into Charlie’s being. And there, in the pit beneath the Stubborn Citadel, buried beneath the weight of stone and misery, a new spirit of darkness was born into the realm of Bellania.
Nibbler raced into the cavern and skidded to a halt as he saw the overwhelming panorama of destruction. Stalagmites and stalactites were cracked or hanging at unnatural angles or simply missing with nothing more than a ruined stub to show that they had ever existed. Rubble lay strewn across the floor, rock dust hung in the air and what he assumed to be the Gate hung limply against the far wall, one corner completely folded over like the bent cover of a book.
Frantically he looked around for a sign of Charlie and, finding no clues to her whereabouts, he shut his eyes and let his nose guide him. It led him to a large pile of shattered stone.
‘Charlie! Charlie, are you in there?’
Getting no response and fearing the worst, he began to claw the fallen rock aside. When he came across larger pieces too big to shift with a paw or shoulder he would grasp the offending obstacle with his front legs then use his rear legs in tandem with the beating of his wings to generate enough torque.
Slowly but surely he began to dismantle the rockfall.
‘Charlie!’ he called again. ‘Charlie, can you hear me?’
There was a moment of silence before the halting reply came: ‘Yes … Nibbler … here …’
The faint whisper was greatly reassuring; just knowing that Charlie was alive brought a rush of elation to the young Hatchling, but it was tempered by fear of what he might find. She sounded hurt. Terribly hurt.
Grasping a final boulder he tore it aside, pausing when he saw what lay beneath his excavation.
A pit of black flames waved and licked at the air, emitting a dark energy that chilled him to the bone. Nibbler licked his lips, unsure what to make of the phenomenon.
‘Charlie?’ he asked.
The dark flames subsided then were extinguished to reveal Charlie’s figure hunched into a tight ball. Nibbler blinked in astonishment. The unusual flames had been black – purest black – and it was only at the moment when they had disappeared that he saw any trace of the Keeper’s normal golden Will.
Aware that his friend was in a dire way, he pushed his doubts aside and rushed forward.
‘Charlie! Charlie! Are you OK?’
‘… Nibbler?’ Her voice was weak and scratchy.
‘I’m here, Charlie. I’ve got you.’ Reaching out, he stroked her face. ‘Can you move?’
Charlie opened her eyes, ‘He broke my leg …’
Nibbler almost bit his tongue as he looked down to see the mangled state of her shin. ‘Who did?’ he asked. ‘A daemon?’
‘No. Darkmount,’ gasped Charlie, ‘… and he took the pendant.’
Nibbler growled before he could stop himself as a thousand furious thoughts blazed inside his head. Swallowing, he resisted the sudden urge to slash at the rocks. His friend needed him, perhaps more than ever before. He had to get her to safety.
The faint sound of Stonesong from the tunnel that led back to the citadel prompted an even stronger sense of urgency. The Stoman soldiers had renewed their attack and surely it wouldn’t take them long to get past Nibbler’s barrier.
‘Can you stand? Wait, no of course you can’t.’ Bending his knees, Nibbler shuffled as close to Charlie as possible. ‘Put your arms round my neck.’
When he felt Charlie’s hands grip him he stood and tried to move forward. Charlie screamed in agony as her ruined leg scraped along the ground. Nibbler immediately stopped.
The sound of Stonesong grew louder. The scrape of boulders being pushed aside and the clink of armour echoed into the cavern. The soldiers were coming.
‘Which way did Darkmount go?’
He followed Charlie’s wobbly finger to the discreet tunnel half-hidden in the shadows at the far side of the cave.
‘Charlie, I’m sorry, we’ve got no choice. You have to hold on. You have to.’
Once again Charlie screamed as her leg was knocked from side to side, but Nibbler gritted his teeth and, ignoring the terrible sound, continued to drag her forward. As they inched towards the tunnel, Charlie’s cries turned into bubbled moans of agony.
‘I’m so sorry, Charlie. I’m sorry, so sorry.’ Nibbler repeated the litany over and over as guilt plucked his conscience. But he simply couldn’t afford to leave her behind. If he allowed her to be captured by the Stoman soldiers worse things would happen to her, of that he was certain.
Reaching the tunnel, he gently deposited Charlie several metres in then hastened back to do his best to disguise their escape route.
Hearing the soldiers and glimpsing the dark flicker of approaching Shades, he set to work slashing and burning at the tunnel mouth until it collapsed in a pile of rubble, leaving the two of them in darkness. Nibbler wasn’t sure how his makeshift handiwork looked from within the cavern, but he hoped it was enough to disguise the tunnel at least long enough for them to make good their escape.
Blowing a small jet of flame to illuminate the way, he trotted over to Charlie. She had passed out and no matter how much he tried he couldn’t wake her. Quickly he tore part of her shirt into strips so he could bind her arms together. Wriggling his neck between her wrists, he did his best to ensure the bulk of her weight rested across his back. Struggling upright, he lurched forward and heaved Charlie along.
For what seemed like an endless, horrifying stretch of time Nibbler followed Darkmount’s path until it eased its way out from the depths of the ground, to reveal an exit silhouetted against the blue of a dawning sky. Nibbler poked his head round the corner and, seeing no sign of Darkmount or any other potential threat, dragged his friend into the light.
Spreading his wings to capture the oncoming wind, he took flight with his precious cargo strapped perilously to his back.
With both the Western Mountains and the Slumbering Hills behind him the Stoman boy headed down into the low country. Walking through crooked canyons and past rocky outcroppings he made his way through the harsh landscape.
Yet as hard and as unforgiving as the stony countryside was it still felt like home. It was scenery that he was familiar with and his village, even further south, was only two days’ walk away. Tired but happy, the boy felt as though his trip had been a success. He had sold his rock fruit and crystal flowers for a surprisingly high amount. With the war going on and Bane demanding that more and more soldiers join his armies, the merchants, normally serpent-tongued and oily-fingered, had been only too happy to pay twice the normal rate for his wares. His rock sisters and brothers would be happy and perhaps for once he might be able to put a smile on his father’s brooding face.
A shadow flashed overhead. It narrowly avoided slamming into a rock spire, but in its efforts to right itself careered into the canyon’s wall in a shower of dust and pebbles before bouncing off and losing altitude. Lower and lower the thing flew, its trajectory wobbly and ungraceful.
The boy flin
ched, fearing it was another Wyrm or even another pack of those wild, evil-sounding crows. But once his heart had stopped hammering and he actually managed to open his eyes, he realized that the odd shape was in fact a Winged One – with someone hanging hazardously off its back.
The boy watched open-mouthed as the odd pair barely made it over the far wall before disappearing. Without thinking he shrugged the pannier off his back and rushed down the canyon, towards where he assumed the Winged One and its passenger had landed.
26
A New Arrival
Nibbler waited for the cramp to subside before attempting to close his wings. His shoulders ached and he was sure that his skin was bleeding where the fabric binding Charlie’s wrists together had cut into his flesh.
Wearily he snaked his head from between Charlie’s hands, then used his teeth to gently cut her free. Shaking loose the dust that clung to his head after his brush with the local landscape, he tried to stand on unstable legs and investigate Charlie’s injury. But his muscles gave way and he collapsed in a further explosion of dust. Too tired and too weak to move, he dragged himself closer to his friend.
Shutting his eyes, he breathed deeply in an attempt to recover his strength.
When he opened them he found, to his surprise, a young Stoman standing in front of him.
‘Back off!’ he growled, and tried once again to struggle to his feet. Failing to regain his footing, he bared his teeth and hissed out a warning jet of flame.
The Stoman hastily retreated, but didn’t disappear. Instead he stood out of harm’s reach and stared with curiosity at both Nibbler and Charlie. The Stoman, although somewhere in his teen years, was to Nibbler’s mind still a potential threat. His long lean frame was wrapped in tight muscle and even though he didn’t carry any obvious weapon Nibbler wasn’t about to let down his guard.
‘Back off, I said!’ Summoning all his strength the Hatchling pulled himself upright and staggered forward.
Keeper of the Realms: The Dark Army (Book 2) Page 13