He sighed. “One problem at a time, your Highness. One problem at a time.” He gestured towards the gap.
“Princesses, first.”
CHAPTER 11
Between choking on dust, comforting a distressed member of royalty, and contemplating death at the hands of an enraged Dragon, Arlon had remained rather preoccupied as they navigated through the accidental tunnel. It was nearly ten minutes of nerve-wracking “Hurry up.” Then almost twenty more of frustrating “Wait.”
One by one, their other three desperate friends had reached the opening, then picked their way carefully from rubble to more rubble, before eventually taking new shelter inside the wide doorway of a large structure about forty yards out.
As they waited and waited, Arlon’s troubled thoughts turned to his mother. He couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty for putting her through a second round of anguish and grief.
I’m so sorry, he whispered to her soft face in his mind’s eye. But this time, there was no other way. I will make it all up to you when this is all over.
“I promise,” he mumbled, still lost in thought.
“What did you say?” Mae’Lee whispered back over her cramped shoulder.
“Oh, uh, can you see Hort?” he replied, struggling to see anything at all past her. “What’s going on up there?”
There was a long pause.
“He’s…about…halfway…I guess. I don’t know. He’s taking it slow. A lot slower than Paymer did.”
“Can you see the others?”
“Uh, no. They’re too low.”
A sudden roar, crisp and clear, made Arlon’s blood run cold.
The Dragon! It’s close.
Poor Hort.
May the Zho protect you, my friend.
Mae’Lee jerked back, almost kicking Arlon in the face. “Hort…he, uh, he just dove underneath a big block,” she reported with trembling voice. “Oh, my! I just saw the shadow of the beast pass by. This is dreadful! Just dreadful!”
Another chilling roar. A bit farther away.
“Just stay out of sight,” Arlon encouraged. “You can slide back some more if you need to.”
She did (even before he had finished speaking). A tense minute passed as they both strained to detect any hint of the Dragon’s presence. Arlon could both hear and feel his own pounding heartbeat.
“It’s quiet out there again,” Mae’Lee mumbled.
“What’s going on with Hort?”
“He’s…up. Up on one knee. Looking around. Now he’s looking towards the others I guess.” Pause. “He’s…standing. He’s up. He’s leaning down…and sliding his back along a fallen column. I can only see his head and his shoulders now. He’s stopped. He’s…moving again. And now…I…I can’t see him anymore. He’s too low. What do we do?”
“Do you hear anything?”
Pause. “No. Nothing.”
“Move slowly, very slowly,” he said. “Scoot towards the opening and keep an eye out. Take it slow. There’s no hurry.”
“Okay…I’m….moving.”
He tapped lightly on her foot. “I’m right here with you,” his comforting voice assured. “You’re not alone. Take it slow. That’s it.”
Arlon couldn’t help but blink several times. The sunlight pouring in through the end of the dusty tunnel had grown quite intense. Mae’Lee stopped sliding and Arlon squinted.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. I’m at the….opening.”
“Okay,” he grunted. “Can, uh, can you move to the left? I might be able to fit alongside you.”
“Okay, but I still can’t see the others.”
“That’s alright. Just scoot over some more…that’s it. Good. Okay, I think I can fit now.”
The Princess rolled over onto her left side as Arlon struggled to inch forward on his filthy elbows. His sweaty face was finally even with hers.
Okay, good, he thought. No sign of the Dragon.
“What now?” she asked.
“Well…I’m gonna stand up,” he whispered, scooting forward. “And look around. And when it’s safe, you can stand up.” He rose to one knee and stared up and all around. Several times. “We will move out together.”
“Can you see the others?”
Like a flower rising to meet the sun, Arlon unfolded higher and higher. “Hold on. Okay…and…yes. Yes. There they are. I see them.”
She grabbed his ankle. “What are they doing? Are they alright?”
“Uh, Hort made it…Hort is looking to the right. My right. Paymer…the other way. To the left. Trilyra is…staring at me. She is waving. She is waving us on.” He knelt down and hooked her upper arm with his left hand. “Come on, Princess. Let’s go. I’m right here with you.”
With his help, she was on her shaky feet in a matter of seconds.
“Tell me we’re going to be alright,” she demanded softly.
“Oh, more than alright,” he replied with all the smile he could muster. “Before you know it, we’re gonna be walking the Firebridge to Alaithia. Just imagine that. I bet you’ll be the first princess to ever do that.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“But what about the Dragon?” she asked. “What if he follows us there?”
Arlon grinned and patted her arm. “Not a chance,” he replied with confidence. “Dragons can’t stand the cold for very long. And Alaithia is up in the mountains. Way up. Dragons can’t live there.”
“Really?”
“Didn’t your parents teach you anything?”
She squinted and looked around nervously. “What does that mean?”
“Well,” he began. “My mother taught me a little rhyme. ‘Snowy cold lacing mountains white, forbids the terrible Dragon’s flight.’”
“That’s…lovely,” she quipped. “But I don’t think that a cute little rhyme will stop a Dragon.”
He kept his voice down. “But the cold will. Trust me. Now, come on.”
Trilyra’s initial scouting report was absolutely accurate. Three massive columns had collapsed onto the broad, circular steps and shattered into dozens of irregular segments. Arlon imagined that it must’ve looked like the crumbling backbones of a long-dead, giant serpent if viewed from high above.
He kept a snug grip on her left hand while he escorted Mae’Lee from hiding place to vine-encrusted hiding place. At each stop he quickly glanced over at the other three, trusting their eyes to guide the precise timing and movements of his own feet.
Almost there, he thought, his pulse quickening. Almost there.
Trilyra and the others suddenly motioned for them to drop down, before scurrying out of sight themselves. Arlon instantly dragged Mae’Lee down to the ground and shoved her under the column. Three seconds later, the terrifying shadow of the Seventh Dread Guardian drifted past. Arlon couldn’t see it, but he heard the Dragon land somewhere nearby. He faced the Princess and brought a slow finger up to his mouth. She nodded.
And trembled.
As did he.
The oppressive silence was unbearable. It didn’t last long.
“Necklaccccce,” the Dragon’s deep and serpentine voice boomed into Arlon’s mind. Mae’Lee’s body twitched and Arlon reacted quickly to prevent her from screaming.
“Yesssss….necklaccce.” The creature hesitated in dramatic fashion before continuing its fearful and deliberate intimidation. “Flesh and bone by fire will consume away, but the necklace…the necklaccce…will remainnn.”
Arlon shuddered.
Is the Dragon getting closer?
It sounds like it’s getting closer.
WHOOSH. WHOOSH.
What’s that? Dragon wings.
WHOOSH.
He’s flying.
The muffled, powerful flapping continued, but there was little doubt that it was growing fainter by the moment.
He’s leaving.
Arlon relaxed and released a long-overdue sigh. He’s leaving. Thank the Zho. After raising up onto his rig
ht elbow, the grateful Soterian rolled to the side and glanced towards the others.
Trilyra and Paymer were both just beginning to peek out from behind the distant doorway. They scanned the area in every direction. A very timid Hort snuck out a few moments later.
“Trilyra just gave me the signal,” Arlon whispered not much louder than a soft breeze. He crawled to his knees. “Let’s stay low and move slow. Keep in the shadows.”
She barely nodded.
It took several minutes of tense stop and go, but the exhausted pair finally arrived at their goal.
“Whoa,” Paymer whispered, pulling them in quietly. “I thought we were Dragon toast. That was too close!”
Trilyra ushered them away from the entrance. Everyone huddled. “No offense, Paymer,” she said, “but there’s still plenty of time for us to be crispy Dragon toast. This little adventure out of town is far from over.” Trilyra looked back. “It took us the better part of an hour to go fifty or sixty yards. At this rate, we won’t get out of town until I’m old enough to be a grandmother!”
Paymer rolled his eyes. “As entertaining as that would be to think about, I want to know what was all that talk back there about a necklace?”
“Necklace?” Trilyra repeated, obviously confused. “What’re you talking about?”
“It’s a long story,” Arlon replied.
Her face lit up. “Oh…is this something that the Dragon spoke about?”
“Yeah.”
She peered around the group. “Did all of you hear it?”
They nodded.
“But not always,” Arlon added. “Like on the Day of the Offering, I couldn’t hear what the Dragon said to the other Dunamai.”
She squinted. “Really? That’s interesting.”
“And when the Dragon warned you through Arlon,” Mae’Lee said. “I just heard a roar.”
Paymer shook his head. “Yep. That’s all that I heard, too. But listen, when you do understand him, it’s really freaky. It kind of echoes on and on, almost like more than one voice. Freaky.”
Trilyra folded her arms. “So, you guys can hear his thoughts, so to speak. But, can the Dragon hear your thoughts?”
Arlon raised his eyebrows. “I think today pretty well answered that important question. I mean…if he could, we would probably not be having this conversation right now. We would be little black smears on the steps back there. Just ashes and smoke.”
Trilyra paused and stepped back. “Maybe…but then again, maybe not. Maybe…he is purposely letting us get away. Perhaps he needs us—or you all—to survive. To do something for him.”
Paymer pointed at her. “That is an interesting idea. If you think about it…he could’ve easily killed us all on the Day of the Offering.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Mae’Lee protested quietly. “To think for one second that that creature can hear my thoughts…well, that is just dreadful.”
“Sometimes the truth ain’t pretty, Princess,” Trilyra replied.
Hort squinted. “So, what are we gonna do now?”
“Should we wait until nighttime to sneak away?” Mae’Lee asked. “You know, maybe the Dragon can’t see as well in the dark.”
“Then again,” Paymer retorted, “maybe all four of the Dragon’s eyes are like cat’s eyes. Maybe they can see just as well at night as in the day.”
Trilyra shook her head and raised her right hand. “At this point, we have to assume that the Dragon can do just about everything…which means we need to put as much distance between us and that monster as fast as possible. I’m not hanging around this cursed town any longer than I have to.”
Hort was trembling and looked like he was on the verge of vomiting. “But what about the Therion?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll take my chances with them versus the Dragon anytime, anywhere. I know for a fact that my arrows can dispense with those forest devils. But Telos is a different kind of devil. He seems….invincible.”
Arlon nodded. “I agree.”
She snuck back towards the opening and scanned the skies.
“Let’s head for the walls.”
CHAPTER 12
Three hours.
Three hours that had felt more like three years.
It had been nothing short of a quiet, exhausting scramble. Every sudden sound and every shifting shadow in the deserted city had kept everyone on continuous edge. Communication had been reduced to a simple series of swift, silent hand signals. As the troubling day wore on, it was as if no one could remember how to use their mouth to speak, or their lips to smile.
But then something loomed above the weathered rooftops that brought some sense of joy. Or maybe just relief.
The wall, Arlon sighed. We’ve finally made it to the city wall.
But his shallow delight evaporated quickly. The sudden memories of wild Therion raiding parties on horseback killed his rising mood. Behind was a murderous Dragon, ahead…not much better.
They piled up near the end of a narrow alley and scanned the area.
“There’s not much cover,” Trilyra whispered with a touch of disgust in her voice. “I think we should dash for the biggest gap in the wall. Together.” She pointed. “That one over there.”
“We’ll probably be exposed for about fifteen seconds,” Paymer observed. “Maybe more. There’s a lot of rubble.”
Arlon looked overhead. “It’s a risk we’ll have to take. And I agree, we need to stay together.”
“Anybody hear anything?” Trilyra asked.
Silence.
“Anybody see anything?”
More silence.
She inched forward. “Alright. Single file. We race to the wall and then stop beneath it.” Trilyra paused, rocking back and forth slowly. “Now.”
Right away it became obvious that Paymer had been far too optimistic in his estimation. The haphazard jungle of broken stone, tree roots, and muddy potholes snarled their frantic efforts. Arlon took up the trailing position and did his best to keep an eye on Mae’Lee, but the distinct impression that they were being watched haunted him.
Something’s wrong, he thought. We’re in trouble.
Nearly an exhausting minute later, the group reached the shattered wall and paused as each tried to catch their breath. Arlon leaned against a large stone block and studied the area outside the walls.
“It’s just like before,” he said, pointing. “A wide, grassy thicket, then a forest.”
“And in the forest, the Therion,” Hort mourned.
“And in the city…” Trilyra paused with absolute fear building in her eyes. “…the Dragon!” She clambered towards the wide open field and nearly tripped over a fallen block. “Run! Everybody run!”
Arlon stole a quick glance back over his shoulder and saw the source of her fear. Terras Telos was high above the city, but flying at an angle directly towards them. And accelerating. The beast roared and the echo of its living fury resounded across the dead city.
Arlon bolted into action and snagged Mae’Lee’s arm in the process. Moments later the entire group was scattered at various intervals across the uneven, grassy expanse in a clumsy sprint. Another series of deafening roars sent shivers up Arlon’s spine.
The Dragon is close!
We’re dead!
He couldn’t resist looking back just as the massive form of the creature thrust out its wings to drastically break its incredible forward motion. The Dragon landed on top of the crumbling wall with a heavy, punishing blow, creating an explosion of dirt and debris that streaked through the air like dusty arrows.
“We’re going to die!” Mae’Lee screamed.
“Just keep running!” Arlon urged, glancing back.
And that’s when it came.
From his lofty perch, the infuriated Dragon rained volley after volley of liquid fire down upon his prey. The dry grasslands directly behind them erupted into a blazing wall of bright fire and dark smoke. A panicked Arlon rushed up behind the Princess and shielded her as best he c
ould.
“We’re almost there, Mae’Lee,” he yelled. “Run faster!”
The heated assault grew so intense that Arlon was convinced the back of his shirt and pants were on fire (or at the very least, smoldering). Powerful gusts of hot air brushed past them, carrying with it thick, swirling clouds of choking smoke. Mae’Lee twisted her head around and stared behind them.
“Don’t look back!” Arlon hollered. “Just run!” A bright, moving flash above them caught his terrified attention. He angled his stinging eyes upward.
Oh, no! It’s Dragon fire!
They lunged beneath the sheltering canopy of the ancient forest just as the blazing jet of molten fire coated and incinerated the leaves and branches far overhead. Crackling, red hot lava streamed along the massive tree trunks on every side, as smoking clumps of black ashes rained upon them in a fearful bombardment. A heavy bundle of glowing embers slammed down onto Mae’Lee’s head before bouncing to the ground. A second later, Arlon was horrified to see a small flame break out along the back of her long, black hair.
Princess!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Arlon flung his desperate hands out to quench the tiny fire when a fiery blob dripped onto the top of his own exposed forearm. He managed to extinguish Mae’Lee’s hair but not before his skin was terribly scalded. The searing pain brought a flood of tears to his eyes before he could even blink. Arlon desperately wanted to scream, but he didn’t want to alarm anyone or slow the group’s progress.
Trilyra darted and dodged along the uneven mess of roots and rocks as they scrambled deeper into the woods. “Follow me!” she yelled.
With a haunting wail, over and over and over again, the Dragon roared in frustration as its huge form circled just above the treetops. Arlon bit his bottom lip in an effort to push through his misery. He glanced up. It seemed as if the entire sky was ablaze under the Dragon’s fiery assault.
“That cursed monster’s trying to burn down the whole forest,” Trilyra called back.
SHHRAAACKKK….THOOM!
An enormous flaming branch tumbled and crashed right in front of her. “He’s gonna kill every tree just to get to us!”
The Dragon Wrath: Book Two of the Arlon Prophecies Page 6