“Good. We’ll linger here until the sun’s journey is over. Just get inside and Olifur will be able to pick up your scent. I’ll find you.”
Idril scanned the clouded sky. Dusk was approaching. He thought of Adalay’s spell, and what Olifur and Nimi had said of the birds. Ravens. The thought of birds brought to light a small fragment of recollection. It was a clouded memory of someplace else. In his mind’s eye, he could see a rooftop filled with them. His fingers were curled around those of a small child. The young boy’s eyes were turned up to Idril and filled with fear. Who is he? Was this a remembrance of Earth? Could it be something of his life before he was awakened as a creature of Green Isle?
The questions kept his mind busy. When the light of the sun was almost extinguished on the horizon, Adalay murmured the enchantment, concealing them against detection. At Nimi’s slight whistle, the signal to run, they all headed forward, to the gate.
Idril jumped across the road, missing the snow. He didn’t want his prints to give his actions away. In the back of his mind he envisioned the others doing the same and hoped they would be able to detect each other once inside. As he darted quickly under the watchful eyes of the black smudges on the tower, his eyes strained to see if there was any sign of alarm from the feathered creatures. Filled with relief when they didn’t move, he heaved a small sigh when he found a dark corner of shadow. The inkiness enveloped him into its safety. Here he would stay until the spell wore off. And then. Then he would find the interior of the towers and Uthal.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“There doesn’t seem to be a key hole,” Ned exclaimed.
Looking at the obstacle in front of him, the young boy expelled a loud breath in frustration. Since opening the large metal door down by the underground lake, he and Bijan had slowly climbed the enormous rounded tunnel through the island rock. Snaking upwards, they held the glowing elf stone carefully, allowing the soft red light to guide their footsteps as they sought an escape route. But now? Their progress had been hindered by another large metal door. It fit snuggly into the rock and there appeared no apparent way to open it.
“If the key isn’t the answer, then perhaps another mechanism opens it,” the white dragon said.
Ned nodded in agreement. “You’re probably right. But what kind of mechanism? This door is huge and I don’t see any indentation or handle. Nothin’.”
Bijan sniffed around the outer edges of the frame. He rose on his hind quarters and looked above the top of the rocks encasing the metal. Suddenly, he bellowed.
“What? What is it?” Ned cried.
“I scratched myself on a very large piece of metal up here. Something rather sharp.” He pointed to the top right side of the door frame as he held the end of his snout.
Ned backed up and held up the elf stone for the dragon to take. “Here. You’ll need this to see.”
Bijan gently took the glowing rock and moved it over the corner of the door frame. After a few moments, he gave it back to Ned. “Ah. There’s a staircase. And the pointy thing that caught my nose looks like a lever.”
“How do I get to the stairs?”
“The steps appear to be hidden behind these rocks.” He motioned to a group of boulders along the wall. “There’s the entrance. Behind that large one.”
Ned quickly bounded up the stone steps. They had been cut into a ledge running along the wall length. Someone had concealed them. If Bijan had not been as tall, they never would have found them. When he got to the top, he wedged himself into a crevice above the door frame. Here he was almost eye to eye with the dragon and could see him now, fully, for the first time. Bijan’s iridescent scales glimmered in the red light. It made Ned think of the mother of pearl that was on his shell collection back home. He imagined how Bijan must look in the sunlight, his scales sparkling as he soared high above the clouds. It was befitting for the protector of the Fomorians. Like an angel. He remembered the picture he had seen at church of one. Glowing. It stood above the other figures in the painting.
“What’s the matter, Ned Neely?” the dragon asked. “You have been staring at me for some time. Is there something wrong?”
“I was just wondering how you look in the sunlight.”
“Very bright.” The dragon chuckled. “But not so much down here. This dungeon prison has taken the luster from my scales. Have you figured out the mechanism yet?”
Ned shook his head and set to work on the mechanical device. It was a long, dark, steel grey piece of piping. And very sharp at the end. Ned slipped his fingers over the grooves. As far as he could tell, it was hinged and could be moved back and forth. Pushing with all his might, he began to inch it forward. When he managed to get it past the midway mark, he could hear a small clank and then a large clink as the locks in the door began to give way. When the handle reached the other end, the door started to rise upwards, forcing Bijan backwards.
“I did it. We’re gonna get out of here.”
Hurrying down the stairs, he made it to his friend just as the metal panel settled into place on the roof of the cavern. Peering into the deep blackness beyond the threshold, he was startled to see two glowing yellow eyes staring back.
“Have Thyself found a way out?” The thing hissed and snarled. The yellow eyes squinted at him as it emerged from a pile of rocks.
Ned gasped in fear. It was a Brollachan. A similar nasty entity to the one that had placed the scars on his neck. Had the Black Warlock sent it down to check on the white dragon?
“Watch out, Brollachan, or I’ll bake you.” Bijan roared in fury. He stepped forward, protecting Ned.
Anticipating the move, the Brollachan darted sideways. “Can it save Thyself?” The blob of rock reached out with a claw and scratched one of the dragon’s legs. In a second, the Brollachan morphed into a creature with the same shimmering white scales as Bijan.
“Trickery! You vile thing.” The sound of Bijan’s voice shook the cavern, sending rocks cascading down on their heads. “You may think you have protection. But those scales won’t protect you from me. You wicked beast.”
“Have Myself a meal.” The Brollachan smiled with evil intent as stretched out its claws toward Ned. “Come to Myself.” It beckoned with a one of its claws. “Come and play.”
“Run, Ned! Run away from here. We’re at the bottom of Crag Cairn. I’ll take care of this thing. Go find your friends.”
Ned felt torn. “I don’t want to leave you. What if something bad happens?”
“Don’t worry about me. Save yourself.”
Before Ned could decide whether to stay or run, he heard a sickening laugh. The creature leaped on the dragon’s back and dug his claws into Bijan’s scales. He watched in horror as the Brollachan took one of its claws and raked it across the back of Bijan’s neck. Howling in joy, the beast delighted in its deed as the cuts beneath the scales began to ooze blood. Ned turned around, searching the ground for something to use to try to stop it. He felt anger as it sliced again into another part of Bijan’s torso. “Stop it!” he screamed at the thing. “Stop hurting my friend.”
Writhing in pain, Ned saw the dragon grabbing at the air behind his head. Bijan desperately tried to capture his tormentor as the Brollachan maliciously hacked away at the dragon’s back. What could he do? How could he stop the Brollachan? Ned found several hand-sized stones. He remembered how Thomas had taught him to pitch when they played baseball at school. Focusing on the head of the beast, he wound up and let the stone fly. It missed the Brollachan’s head by an inch. Determined to help his friend, he didn’t give up and grabbed another rock. This time, his aim connected with the side of the creature’s head. The force of the blow knocked it to the ground.
“Leave him alone. You want someone? Come get me.”
Angry, the creature shook its gleaming white head and bared its teeth at the boy. “Thyself is going to be sorry for hurting Myself.”
Ned watched as the beast got down on all fours and shifted into something like a canine with scales. It ho
wled loudly as it clawed at the cavern floor. Once it found traction, it raced toward Ned.
Ned didn’t wait any longer and took off in a sprint. He forced his tired legs to move faster as he heard panting behind him. He could also hear Bijan’s large body thundering through the cavern. With each step, Ned felt the vibration of the rocky floor as the dragon forced his way through the tunnel.
“Don’t stop running,” he heard Bijan yell.
His heart beat wildly as he heard the claws of the beast at his heels. Suddenly, a burning sensation swept across his back. He didn’t know what it was until he felt the warm wetness of his own blood. He felt the movement of air behind his head as the Brollachan’s talons grazed the back of his head.
Rounding a corner, Ned’s flight came to an instant halt as he collided with something hard yet soft, falling backwards. He tumbled into the body of the pursuing Brollachan, causing the thing to trip. They both somersaulted a few feet backwards into the dark tunnel. Ned got tangled up with the creature. Not wanting to see his own end, he covered his head with his arms as he settled at the base of the rock wall. In an instant, he could feel the massive body of Bijan stand over him. The gurgling of the pursuing monster indicated how the dragon dealt with it. After several moments, Ned took a small peek from under his arms.
“Ned? Ned, is that you?” He heard a familiar voice. “Oh, my God! It’s you. It’s really you, isn’t it?” It was the voice of his brother. It was Thomas.
Forcing strength to his extremities, Ned stood up just in time to feel the arms of his big brother wrap around him. Hot tears of joy filled his eyes. Thomas had found him.
“What the heck, little brother? How didja get here? What happened? Gee whiz. I was afraid I’d never see ya again.”
“My gosh. You wouldn’t believe it, if I told you,” Ned exclaimed. His heart pounded, but this time not in fear. Standing back from Thomas, he looked at the group encircling him.
“Ned, I can’t believe it. We thought we’d lost you and all. I’m so happy to see you.” Miranda’s arms encircled him. She held onto to him for a moment.
“This is, most certainly, the best thing we’ve had happened in a while, my friends.”
“What did I run into?” Ned rubbed his head.
“That would have been me,” DaGon replied. “We heard a loud commotion and decided to check it out.”
“How didja get here?” Thomas asked. “You fell into a large hole down by the shore. I saw it. It was pretty deep.”
“I know. But that’s how I found Bijan.” He pointed up to the white dragon.
“Such a relief,” Keltrain said. “You don’t know how troubling your disappearance was to us.”
“We were so worried, you know,” Miranda interjected. “We didn’t know if you were…were…”
“Dead? Nah. I wasn’t dead. I got a bit beat up on the way down. Fell to this lake place.”
“It’s good to have you back with us,” Lug said. “And you’ve found a powerful ally.”
“My dears. Such a beautiful reunion.” Lily fluttered around the group. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
“I be knowin’ the boy wasn’t too lost,” Lamfada said with a small wink at Ned. “Felt it in me bones. Good to see ya, laddie.”
Everyone spoke at the same time, overwhelming Ned. He tried to answer most of the questions and told them about seeing Matt in the forest. How Matt tricked him into falling down the hole. He felt excited when he told them that the silver key the Morrigana gave him released Bijan.
“This answers many questions.” Keltrain turned to the white dragon. “We wondered what happened to you so long ago. Prince Finley would never believe the stories that kept surfacing of how you had abandoned the Fomorian people. It’s good to bring some closure to that myth and legend. I’m happy to see you again, my friend.”
“Stories spread by that witch, I’m sure. I would never abandon my post as protector. As king of dragons, it would have been nothing short of treason.”
“What I can’t understand is how you saw Matt.” Sonya perched herself on one of the large boulders behind the group. “If he was knocked overboard on the ship, did he drown? Or was he somehow saved? It doesn’t make sense to me.”
“We didn’t find any trace of him,” Keltrain remarked. “But it doesn’t mean that he died. Especially since Miranda said she could sense his presence here on the island.”
“Bijan said he was tricked by a Bodach. It took the likeness of Prince Finley. I think that’s what I saw. It was that Bodach. That one who took Matt’s likeness when we left your garden. Come to think of it, he wasn’t wearing the white wool cloak ya gave us. It was that brown one. The one the fairy queen let us have.”
“Aye. The boy is right. Those Bodaches never do anything on their own unless it be for payment. All of us could have been a little naïve when we heard that thing’s story. Listenin’ to darkness and givin’ it the benefit of the doubt.”
“Bijan and I were trying to find a way to Crag Cairn to warn you about it. It could trick ya into thinkin’ that it’s Matt. Then everybody would be trapped or somethin’.”
“I have to say that for once I’m glad we listened to Sonya.” DaGon glared at the feline.
“True. If we hadn’t, we would have been going a different way.” The wizard nodded. “She and Lily made the right decision for us.”
“See. Things work out,” the cat replied. “And I’m not such a bad one after all.”
“Do ya know where we are, then?” Ned asked the wizard.
“We’re at the bottom of Uthal’s fortress. Around the dungeon area. Finding the right corridor is going to be the one obstacle to getting into the main castle. If this Bodach is there? We’ll have to do away with it.”
“It makes me angry that this thing would still continue to pretend to be him and all,” Miranda fumed. “Specially to harm us.”
“Now you have me to help,” Bijan said. “I’d like to take out my own revenge on that demon for what he did to the Fomorians.”
“While we’ve grown stronger as a group, there are some things to consider,” DaGon said. “With your help, Bijan, our quest can be successful. But for you to try to destroy Uthal? You won’t succeed.” The small dragon motioned with a slight nod. “It can only be Miranda. That’s the prophecy and its legend. That’s the power of the sword. It’s destiny. Hers. It’s been this way since we first started. It must be her and the Sword of Balorn. Only then can the warlock be truly defeated.”
“Ah. The sword of my king. Yes. Now I understand.”
“It still doesn’t mean we don’t need ya and all,” Miranda stated quickly. “There’s always strength in numbers. Everyone plays a part.”
Ned could still see that even though she tried to smile, the light in her eyes had dimmed. He wished he had the right words to make it better for her.
“We should figure out how we will make the next move. Don’t you agree?” Lug said to Keltrain. “Especially before we reach the top of Crag Cairn.”
“Yes. Yes. Lug’s right. We need to formulize a plan.”
“That’s probably the smartest thing you’ve said since I woke up, wizard.” Sonya arched her back. “It’s like you though. Running head first into something you don’t even understand.”
Keltrain ignored the cat. “Let’s talk through it as we walk. It will give me time to find the memory of these corridors.”
Ned watched as the others started back up the corridor. His heart felt gladness, yet it also became apprehensive. It was time to head into the last phase of their quest.
“It feels good to have ya back. Gee, I don’t know what I woulda told Mom,” Thomas said to him.
Ned smiled as Thomas hugged him again. “You coulda just said that you were sick of my whining. Like ya always say to her.”
Thomas playfully hit him in the arm. “Yeah. But then I wouldn’t have anyone to pick on. Come on. Let’s go.”
Ned nodded. He remembered the feeling he had when he stood
up to the Brollachan. It would be what he held onto as they made their stand against Uthal. He looked at the pile of yellow mess that was once the creature and this time, he didn’t look away in fear.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
If he could, Urcias would say a spell to stop time. The sun waned in the sky, it’s protective light slowly dimming. Darkness had begun to fall, much too early for his comfort. When it faded entirely, he felt their time would be severed. They hadn’t reached their destination yet. If they didn’t catch up to the group in front of them, all may be lost. And no matter how hard they tried, Uthal could still win. This was something he vowed he wouldn’t let happen.
They all pushed themselves at a dangerous speed. Especially since the mountainous path they traveled now was extremely treacherous. But the signs they found gave them hope that the Sword Bearer was still alive. Who that child was remained hidden, though. One thing was certain. It wasn’t the boy Matt.
With the approaching sunset, the urgency to find the wizard, DaGon and the rest of those who journeyed with them grew. He didn’t want to give the command to light their torches unless necessary. The fire would let the winter witch’s sentries know of their position and they had to remain hidden if they were to survive the night.
Earlier Rufus had noticed an assortment of small and large footprints about half way up the mountain. One of which was that of the small dragon. The discovery spurred their spirits. Even more so when they came upon a small cave that had evidence of a fresh fire from the night before. This gave Urcias indication that they were on the right trail.
Glancing over his shoulder, the captain made sure Christos was still behind Matt. The young boy hadn’t said much as they traveled upwards. To him, it was the oddest thing. He could also tell by the boy’s body language that the closer they got to the top of the cliffs, the more agitated he became.
“Captain? Can we take a breather?” Thyssen asked. The soldier took a deep breath and stopped on the narrow trail.
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