by Dean Cadman
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cole was the first to wake, but the thundering pain inside his head almost made him wish that he hadn’t. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the shadows of the forest had already lengthened considerably. He struggled to his knees, and looked up at the small patch of sky above. From what he could tell, there was little more than an hour left until sunset. He knew they were in big trouble. Zedd was still unconscious, and the safety of the cave was an hour’s walk away. There was no way he would make it there in time if he tried to carry Zedd. He laughed out loud at the ridiculous thought of it. He could barely kneel at the moment, much less carry Zedd.
That wasn’t their only problem either. The dragon heart was still fully exposed, and they had no hope of clearing the area around it in time to create a circle of protection, even if Zedd had been awake to help him. He considered his options, and quickly decided that he didn’t like any of them very much. He knew that if he left Zedd behind, and set off now, he would most likely make it to the cave before dark. He thought about creating a circle of protection around Zedd before he left, but then realised it would probably not help either of them if he did. He would most likely not make it to the cave in time, and Zedd would die anyway. Once the sun went down, and the Netherworld creatures began to rise again, they would be drawn to the dragon heart like moths to a flame. Zedd would either freeze to death, or lose control of his metal defences and flee right into the waiting claws of the Netherworld creatures.
It took him precious seconds to struggle to his feet, and he was forced to steady himself against a tree trunk they had cut down earlier. He had already resigned himself to the fact that the dragon heart was all but lost, but he felt strangely guilty for even thinking about leaving Zedd there to die. He knew that Zedd wouldn’t have given it a second thought if the situation had been reversed, and he had been the one unconscious. Even so, he knew he couldn’t just walk away and leave him there to die.
The best he could do was to try and drag him a few hundred paces away from the dragon heart. Hopefully any nearby Netherworld creatures would be drawn directly to the dragon heart, and bypass Zedd’s unconscious body entirely. If there was enough magic contained within the dragon heart to feed the Netherworld creatures until dawn, Zedd might just make it. The problem was, if Zedd did survive, Cole knew he would probably want to kill him for leaving him behind. He decided that was something he would have to deal with, if and when it happened.
He walked unsteadily across the clearing to Zedd’s unconscious body. It took him a moment to gain the confidence to bend down and grab one of Zedd’s arms, but when he did, Zedd let out a low groan.
“Oh, thank the Gods! You’re awake,” Cole said, more relieved at not having to drag him anywhere, than actually seeing him awake.
“What happened?” Zedd croaked.
“It’s a long story, but we don’t have time for it right now. It will be dark in an hour. We must leave for the cave, now,” Cole said. Zedd tried to sit up, but instantly collapsed again holding his head.
“Give it a moment, the pain will subside a little,” Cole suggested, remembering just how bad it had hurt when he’d first regained consciousness. It was then that he noticed Zedd’s remaining undead-minion for the first time. Fortunately it had not made contact with the dragon heart like the others. If it had, Cole felt certain that neither him, nor Zedd would be alive right now. What did surprise him, however, was that Zedd had managed to maintain his connection with it while he had been unconscious. Then he realised that it probably wasn’t any different from being asleep.
Cole found himself staring at the remaining undead-minion, knowing that it was now useless to them. Zedd had killed all those people, and from the few he had been able to reanimate, this was the last one. Their mission to reopen The Great Rift had failed, and all those people had died for absolutely nothing. They couldn’t even take it with them to the cave when they left. It might be incredibly strong, but it certainly wasn’t fast enough to keep up with them. Not with the swift pace they would now need to set, to get back to the cave before dark. They would have no choice but to leave it behind.
‘It’s a shame we didn’t have more time to hide the dragon heart,’ Cole thought to himself absent-mindedly. Cole’s eyes went wide, as something suddenly occurred to him.
“We might still have a chance to save it,” Cole said excitedly, looking towards the dragon heart. Zedd was just staggering to his feet and gave him a strange look, as if he’d suddenly gone mad.
“Why would you want to save it? It’s no good to us any more,” Zedd replied. It took Cole a moment to realise what Zedd was talking about.
“No, I don’t mean your minion. I was talking about the dragon heart,” Cole said.
“We don’t have time you fool. We have to leave now, or we’ll never make it to the cave in time,” Zedd spat at him.
“We might not have time to save it, but your minion might. Think about it. The dragon heart has remained hidden here for countless centuries, and the only reason that makes any sense to me, is that it was buried for all that time. Maybe all we have to do is get your minion to bury it again.”
Zedd laughed loudly, but it held no humour. “I think the dragon heart has damaged your mind. How in the Seven Hells, can a single minion move as much dirt in an hour, as four did in a whole day?”
“I never said bury it under dirt. Take a look around you. There are hundreds of branches and logs on the ground from the trees we felled earlier. If we’re lucky, all we have to do is hide the dragon heart from view. Command your minion to cover over the crater with the branches and foliage, then climb inside the hole and wait until morning. If we’re lucky, we might get another chance, if not… well, we won’t be any worse off than we are right now,” Cole replied. Zedd considered his words carefully, and quickly came to conclusion that there was nothing to lose by trying, but potentially everything to gain if they succeeded—including their lives. He would just have to make sure that his minion didn’t get close enough to touch the dragon heart this time. He wasn’t sure if he, or his mind would survive another assault by the entity.
***
He soared effortlessly through the early morning sky, his magnificent golden wings glistened in sunlight like a thousand jewels. He could smell the Queen’s scent on the cool morning air. Musky and powerful. Arousing and dangerous. The allure of her powerful scent tantalised him, dulling his otherwise keen senses to all else. There was only one thought occupying his mind; his Queen.
The early morning thermals caressed his wings with their invisible hands, lifting him effortlessly higher and higher into the early pale blue sky. He would need to conserve his energy if he intended to survive the Queen. She would either kill him, or mate with him. There would be nothing in-between.
He was getting closer now. Her arousing scent was thick in the air. He opened his huge powerful jaws and roared his lust to the world, and a wingbeat later came the reply. He had found his Queen. And she had found him.
The larger Queen dived through the clouds above him, talons held out ready to tear him to shreds on contact. He twisted his huge body, turning in mid-air to meet her talons with his own. She roared her fury at him, as they fell from the sky together. They spun wildly out of control towards the ground, locked together in a deadly embrace of talons. Her massive jaws lunged for his throat, but he skilfully thwarted her attack with his powerful tail.
She was almost twice his size, and tried to use that advantage against him. She twisted her huge muscular body in mid-air, trying desperately to force him underneath her as they spun wildly out of control towards the ground below. Neither willing to release their grip on the other first. If the Queen managed to force him underneath her, she would kill him. He would have no chance to turn his huge body in time before he hit the ground …
The memory faded, and was replaced by a familiar voice. A child-like voice. A pleading voice. A voice full of promises. It wasn’t threatening in any way, on
ly curious and lost. It invited him to join it, to become one with it, but he refused. It begged him, it pleaded with him, but he refused. It offered to share everything with him, but he still refused.
… talon to talon they spun violently through the air together. The mighty Queen bellowed as they fell, entwined in their deadly dance. Suddenly she flared her magnificent wings wide open, instantly snapping him underneath her before he could react. He struggled frantically to right himself, but the Queen’s grip and bulk was far too much for him. She roared her triumph to the world, folded her wings tight to her body, and plummeted with him towards the ground below. He knew he was beaten, and offered the Queen his throat, but she refused to end him that way. The Queen waited until they were at treetop height before releasing him. He tried to spin his body as she released him, but it was far too late for him.
He screamed as he hit the floor … Zedd sat bolt upright screaming.
“Are you alright?” asked a familiar voice from the darkness. It took him a moment to realise where he was, and who had spoken. The dying firelight was just enough to see the dark outline of Cole at the back of the cave. He felt his hand touching something hard and smooth by his side. He glanced down to see what it was, and was horrified to discover that it was the dragon heart shard. He ripped his hand away from it, as if it had just burned him, and his thoughts instantly became clearer.
Zedd stared warily at the shard, unable to understand how it was possible for him to have been holding it while he slept. He had left the shard inside a bag, tightly wrapped in a jacket, and well away from where he had bedded down for the night. But now here it was, right next to him, and just moments earlier he had been holding it in his hand. As he stared at it, he felt a strange overwhelming desire to pick it up again, but he resisted the urge with a shudder.
They had barely made it back to the cave in time the previous night. The sun had already begun to set, and the first Netherworld creatures had risen long before they had reached the safety of the cave. Neither of them had been in any fit state to walk, let alone run, but they’d had to all the same. By the time they finally reached the cave, both men were completely exhausted, and barely had enough energy to secure the door and light a fire.
Zedd had no idea what time it was. He glanced towards the cave entrance, and could just see a small amount of daylight creeping past one edge of the giant boulder blocking the doorway. He suddenly remembered his minion, and what it had attempted to do the night before. Quickly, he searched for the mental link to it, and was amazed to find that it was still active. He quested out to his minion, and found it was still lying inside the crater awaiting new instructions.
Could he even dare to hope that their plan had succeeded?
Instantly, he tapped into the senses of his minion, using its eyes as his own. It was dark inside the crater, but small glints of sunlight filtered through the dense foliage covering it. He commanded his minion to carefully begin removing the logs and branches covering the dragon heart, and a moment later he was flabbergasted to see it still untouched.
“I don’t believe it,” he said to himself, completely amazed that Cole’s plan had actually worked. Incredibly, they had gained another chance of succeeding in their mission, and avoiding Lord Zelroth’s inevitable retribution.
“Don’t believe what?” Cole asked from behind him.
“That your plan actually worked. The dragon heart is still there,” Zedd replied, still checking through the eyes of his minion, just in case he had somehow dreamt it all. Cole let out an audible sigh of relief at the good news. Even though he had been exhausted when they got back to the cave the previous night, he still hadn’t slept well. His thoughts had been occupied with all the possible scenarios, of both the success and failure of his plan.
If Zedd was honest, he hadn’t really expected Cole’s plan to work, and as such, he hadn’t given much thought to what they would do next if it did. It was almost half a mile to the site of The Great Rift from the dragon heart, and now they had no way of getting it there. Originally, Zedd had planned to construct a wooden platform for the dragon heart, and have his undead-minions carry each corner of it. Lord Zelroth had already forewarned them that they would die if they physically touched the dragon heart, or attempted to use magic on it. And Zedd had found out the hard way that his undead-minions couldn’t physically touch it either. So just how they were going to move it now with a single minion, he had no idea. He winced at the thought of travelling back through The Dark Forest to find more minions in the outlying villages. He knew they would probably stand as much chance of surviving that trip, as they would avoiding Lord Zelroth if they failed: none whatsoever.
“So what’s the plan for today?” Cole asked jovially.
“I have no idea,” Zedd replied. “Maybe if we bury it again, Lord Zelroth will just send someone else to open The Great Rift. Who knows, if they’re successful, he might even forget about us, eventually—although I doubt it.”
“Why would we do that?” Cole asked slightly confused. Zedd turned to look at him in the dim light of the dying fire.
“Because we have no way to move it now,” he replied slowly, as if he was speaking to a dullard.
“Actually, I think we do. I spent most of the night awake, thinking about it. It won’t be quick, and it won’t be easy. But I think with a little planning we can still complete our mission,” Cole replied smugly. Zedd spoke the words of a simple incantation, and the giant boulder blocking the doorway slid to the side, flooding the cave entrance with sunlight and fresh morning air. He turned back to face Cole in the new light, and waited patiently for an explanation.
“I doubt that you’re going to like this much, especially the part that involves us, but here goes. First of all, I think that you’ll agree that we’ve been incredibly lucky to get another chance at this. And also that it will very likely be our last. If we fail again, it’s over. And so are we,” Cole said. Zedd nodded, but remained silent for him to continue. “Then you must also agree that we need to take as few risks as possible whilst we move the dragon heart?” Again Zedd nodded.
“Okay, here’s what I suggest we do. First of all, we need to have your undead-minion clear a path directly to where we need to take the dragon heart. That means all of the trees, bushes and rocks too. We can scout for the easiest route before we start, but the ground must resemble a smooth road when we’re done. We then prepare as many logs as we can to use as rollers under the dragon heart, using the trees we’ve already felled. Next, we clear an area of ground every several hundred paces or so, and create a circle of protection in each. But we need to choose those spots very carefully. We should look for the driest spots, where the tree canopy is at its thickest. That way, if it does rain, it shouldn’t damage the lines of our magic circles. We can’t afford to take any more chances, and this way we can plan ahead where to leave the dragon heart each night. But before we can do any of that, we need to first clear the area around the crater, and make a circle of protection for tonight.”
“You’re right, I don’t like it. Have you any idea how long all of that would take?” Zedd said.
“I don’t know, maybe a week, maybe less. But there’s one thing that I do know. It will be far less time than what we would spend looking over our shoulders if we failed,” Cole replied confidently. Zedd couldn’t deny what he said to be true. He knew that Lord Zelroth would stop at nothing to find them if they failed to reopen The Great Rift. And when he did… he shuddered at the thought.
“You said that some part of your plan involved ’us’?” Zedd asked, ignoring his previous statement completely.
“Yes, and I know you’re not going to like it, but I think it’s the only way the plan will work. As you know, we have no way of lifting the dragon heart out of the crater. We can’t touch it, the minion can’t touch it, and we can’t lift it using magic either. So, the only way that I can think of to get it out of there, is to use the same log-rollers that we’ll use for the rest of the moving process
. That means digging a slope into the crater. A very long and gradual slope. If it’s too steep, it will be impossible to roll the dragon heart out of it. We can, of course, dig most of the slope at our own leisure. But once we get anywhere near the circle of protection around the crater, we will have to stop. If we don’t, we’ll run the risk of inadvertently breaking its lines if the earth around it gives way.
“Now, here comes the potential problem, and the ’us’ part. When we continue digging the slope the following day, the circle of protection will be broken. Which means not only will we have to finish digging the slope that day, we will also have to remove the dragon heart from the crater, and get it safely to the next circle of protection. Now, I doubt very much that your minion could dig that amount of earth by itself in a single day, so we will have to help it dig. If we don’t, and the dragon heart is exposed come nightfall… well, I’m sure you see my point.”
Unfortunately Zedd did see his point, and no matter how distasteful the thought of lifting a pick, or using a shovel was to him, it was still better than the alternative.
The following day was very uneventful compared to the previous one. The minion worked tirelessly to clear the area around the crater, whilst Zedd and Cole went to scout out the best path towards the dragon heart’s final destination. They marked out their intended route, as well as the locations where they would later create their magic circles. Once the minion had finished clearing the area around the crater, Zedd began to create a circle of protection to hide the dragon heart.
Cole decided to leave him to it, and instead went to collect berries and mushrooms to bolster their food supplies. He intended to replenish their water supply the following day, while Zedd and his minion continued to clear their chosen route for the dragon heart. If he was lucky, he would catch a fish or two while he was there, and if not, he knew that the banks of any river was usually an easy place to collect other edibles. They were back at the cave with plenty of time remaining before sunset that evening, and settled into what would soon become their routine for the next few days.