The Scholar, the Sphinx and the Shades of Nyx

by A. R. Cook

  He pressed his fingers onto the viola. He strummed one of the strings, and a velvety ping resounded from it.

  I can tell, with those fine fingers of yours, you’ll be an excellent musician …

  He pulled back his hand as if the viola had just given him an electric shock.

  Yofune peered into the nest at David’s findings. “Sphinxes have curious fascinations,” he said. “But we are wasting time. Come, Tanuki, you may play later. Now that I have the sphinx’s scent, we should be able to find her quickly.”

  The badger moaned in disappointment as he ambled out of the bowl and back onto the top of Yofune’s head. David again climbed up onto Yofune’s back, gripping the bow and quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. The dragon took a deep inhale of the nest, memorizing Acacia’s smell, and he was off again, whipping through the Curtain like a roaring wind off the sea.

  The fog dissipated gradually, but traces of it hung in the air as David noticed that they were flying through a dark, gurgling marshland. The trees loomed tall around them, creating a canopy above that blocked out the sky, making it hard to tell if it was daytime or night. The water around them was viscous with algae, and shaggy patches of peat popped up here and there in the mud. It was unsettlingly still, except for the occasional sounds of bullfrogs and night birds.

  “Yofune, this is not the right place,” David said. “This is not the island of the sirens.”

  The badger shushed David, bringing his paw to his lips. The dragon curled his neck around and spoke softly. “The Teumessian would not have been so foolish as to hold your sphinx’s family captive in a place that is so easily accessible to anyone on this side of the Curtain. Undoubtedly, the sirens summoned help to the island to rescue your friends. He has taken them to a hidden place, where he can mask the humans’ scent and leave no trail behind. Fortunately for us, it is a place that the sphinx must know about, for I smell her presence here. She cannot be far ahead of us.”

  Or this is a place that Nico has led her to, as a trap, David thought.

  Yofune landed on a damp mound of dirt, in which there was a large hole that led down into the earth. It was big enough that Yofune could enter, but there was no indication of how far down it went.

  “A foxhole,” Tanuki confirmed. “I mean, it would have to be a fox the size of the Umibozu, but I can tell that kind of digging work anywhere. Not as beautiful as a badger burrow.”

  Yofune sniffed down into the hole, but jerked his head back. A deep, deadly growl emitted from his throat.

  “What is it, Master?” Tanuki ventured to ask, gripping tightly to Yofune’s antler.

  “There is another scent down there, one I know well,” Yofune replied tensely. “This ‘monster’ that aids the Teumessian is a shunned member of the dragon clans.”

  David’s eyes widened. “Another dragon?”

  Yofune nodded solemnly. “The Sleepless Dragon of Colchis. He was once charged with protecting an ancient golden fleece, but then a human warrior used a potion on him that charmed him to sleep. The human stole the sacred fleece, and ever since the Sleepless Dragon has vowed never to be tricked again. He stole a charm that prevents him from ever sleeping. He feeds on the resentment and hatred in his heart. The rest of dragon society has exiled him. If the fox has put him in charge and he is staying on guard down there, he will be relentless. He will not be easily defeated again.”

  David thought back to the story of the Argonaut Jason and the Colchian Dragon, a myth he knew well. “But I thought Jason killed the dragon after he put it to sleep,” he said.

  Yofune huffed a laugh. “It sounds more heroic to say you slew a fearsome beast, rather than say you lulled it to sleep and then ran for your dear little life.”

  The young man sucked in his breath. The Sleepless Dragon must be the monster that Gullin was talking about. Gullin, one of the Master Huntsmen, rumored to be the greatest order of beast slayers on earth, had been overcome by this adversary. And Acacia was down there somewhere, ready to fight it to save her family. If it was true that the Sleepless Dragon could no longer be charmed to sleep, her hypnotic powers would be of no use. If Nico was also down there, who knew what other traps or tricks he might have lying in wait.

  David let out his breath, grasping his bow firmly in his hands. “We need to go down there. I’m ready if you are.”

  Yofune made a nod of agreement, then turned and started down into the darkness of the foxhole.

  Tanuki gulped, and meekly said in the dark, “I don’t suppose we could go back to that nice bed with the silk cushions? I’d rather die there than down in this hole …”

  Chapter Nine

  Darkness congested every inch of the tunnel as Yofune descended deeper and deeper underground. The surrounding blackness mattered little to the sea dragon, whose blindness only made his other senses more acute. Tanuki could see well enough in the dark, although he whispered to David that there was not much to see other than dirt and a few twisted roots in the tunnel walls. David felt suspended in the darkness, and this made their descent feel as if it was killing hour after hour, although he knew in reality that perhaps twenty minutes or so had passed.

  A faint glow flickered down below them, a warm ripple that teased them to come closer. David poured all of his focus onto that light, both grateful for a reprieve from the darkness and anxious about what the light would reveal.

  What awaited them at the end of the tunnel caught them by surprise.

  Before them was a grand Victorian mansion, nearly a castle in stature, abundant in steeples and gables and lit with hundreds of ornate oil lamps all around its perimeter. It was a majestic marvel of architecture buried like the greatest treasure underground. In front of this luxurious abode, a battle was ensuing, between a ferocious flying sphinx and a gigantic dark-green reptile ten times her size.

  The dragon was bloated and arthritic with age, a mere shadow of the sleek scaled guardian depicted in the old paintings. While it was much slower than the sphinx that darted with ease around its head, the colossal beast was immovable. He had planted himself directly at the entrance to the mansion, his backside blocking the front doors, which were the only entryway. His ragged wings created gusts of wind to drive away his opponent. He snapped his great jaws and belched forth fire, which the sphinx dodged as she fought back with claw and tooth. She inhaled deeply and released her serenity-inducing breath, but the dragon retaliated with his own breath, a thick noxious fume of smoke and sulfur. Acacia hacked and coughed as the poisonous smell clouded her face. The distraction was enough for the dragon to smack her out of the air with a brutal swat of his hand.

  “Acacia!” David hollered. He readied an iron arrow in his bow to shoot.

  “Put your weapon away,” Yofune ordered. “It will do no good. The strongest of metals cannot penetrate his scales, which is how he has survived all these years.”

  The Sleepless Dragon finally noticed this new group of trespassers. He placed one of his great claws on the prone sphinx’s back, pinning her down. He flashed his stalagmite-sharp fangs at them, and roared a deadly threat.

  “Enough of this foolishness,” Yofune roared back at his draconic brethren. “The sphinx is not your enemy. You are holding innocent lives hostage at the behest of a scoundrel. Do not shame yourself further with this ridiculousness.”

  The Sleepless Dragon scowled at Yofune Nushi. “I remember you,” he sneered. “You are the one who was blinded by a human girl. I have no fear of you.” He twisted his claw into Acacia’s skin, not hard enough to pierce it but enough to cause pain. She winced, trying to free herself from his grasp.

  Yofune reared up onto his back legs. “I don’t need my sight to deal with you. I will ask one last time for you to leave, and retain what little dignity you may have left.”

  “Spare me your nonsense,” the Sleepless Dragon retorted. “I have been charged to guard this place and let no one through. I can redeem myself after my failure all those centuries ago. I will not be deprived of the chance to re
claim my honor, Blind One, not even by you.”

  One of Yofune’s scaly eyebrows rose up. “What exactly do you owe the Teumessian, that you agreed to this scheme?”

  The bloated old dragon snorted in contempt. “I do not owe my grand-nephew anything. I have more love for him than my grand-niece. She is against me like the rest. Only Nico understands my plight.”

  David wiped a hand over his face. This Sleepless Dragon was Acacia and Nico’s grand-uncle? Was everyone on this side of the Curtain related?

  “Dismount,” Yofune hissed in a low voice to David and Tanuki. The two readily complied as Yofune lowered his head to the ground. “I will get him away from the door. You and the sphinx will only have a few seconds to get past him. Be sure you are ready.”

  “Yes, sir,” David whispered back. Tanuki gulped.

  The Sleepless Dragon lowered his head, glaring at David and Tanuki. “So tiny and frail,” he snarled. “I would rather not crush you, but I will have no choice if you come any closer.”

  “It is not with them that you should concern yourself,” Yofune growled. With terrifying speed, he launched himself at the Sleepless Dragon.

  In a blur of blue and green, the two dragons were locked in a battle that shook the entire cavern, threatening to bring the whole underground lair crumbling down. Yofune tossed the Sleepless Dragon to the side, freeing Acacia from his clutches. The Japanese sea dragon coiled around his opponent like a python, digging his fangs into the monster’s snout. The Sleepless Dragon howled, madly spitting fire like the Gates of Hell, pushing against Yofune’s coils with titanic strength.

  David and Tanuki rushed over to Acacia, helping her up onto her feet. “We have to go inside now, while we have the chance,” David said.

  The sphinx nodded.

  Before they could get to the doors of the mansion, a massive green tail slammed down in front of them. Had they been half a second faster, the tail would have crushed them.

  The Sleepless Dragon untwisted Yofune from his body and slammed him against the ground, causing an earth-quaking rumble. He snapped his head around to look at David and his friends with fiery, mad eyes. “No one is getting past me this time!” He inhaled to breathe a fiery blaze at them, but an intense blast of icy water smacked him in the face.

  David let out a heavy exhale of relief. He should have figured that Yofune had water breath.

  The force of the water blast forced the Sleepless Dragon to twist away and lose sight of his prey. Yofune continued his water attack as the three jumped over the tail, dashed up the steps of the mansion, across the porch and to the doors …

  To find them locked.

  “Maldito!” David hissed, pulling and shoving with all his might against the doors.

  “Ahem, allow me,” Tanuki said, patting David on the leg. The badger inflated to the size and musculature of a gorilla. With one mighty swing of his arm, he smashed the doors clean open. They all ran inside and down into the mysterious, dark hallway.

  Once they were out of sight of the front door, the three carefully made their way through the halls of the mansion. Acacia sniffed around each corner, claws at the ready for whatever may jump out at them. Tanuki fussed that his paw hurt from knocking open the doors.

  “You know, you could have turned into a key to open the doors,” David remarked.

  “But where’s the fun in that?” the badger replied, rubbing his paw. “I hope Master will be okay out there against that big meanie. Ow, ow, ow …”

  David noticed how the tremors from the dragons’ battle had ceased. He hoped that it was a good sign, and that Yofune had won. He noticed Acacia was giving him a concerned look. It was because he was holding onto one of her wings. He hadn’t realized he had grabbed it. He quickly let it go.

  “Are you all right?” he asked. “Did he hurt you badly?”

  Acacia shook her head. She continued down the hallway, determination in every step.

  They came to a pair of finely carved marble doors, white and speckled with black. David warily pushed at the doors’ handles, and the doors opened with ease. Acacia grabbed him by the shoulder, pushing him back as she inspected the entryway, sniffing and clawing carefully at the doorframe. A low growl rolled from her throat, a warning to any enemies that may be lurking behind the doors.

  David could understand her uneasiness. An open door was a sure sign of a trap. “Do you smell or sense anything?” he asked.

  Acacia crinkled her nose and snarled. Her claws flexed, and she swished her tail from side to side.

  “Nico has been here?” David surmised.

  She nodded.

  “Do you think he’s in there now?”

  She shook her head.

  David knew they shouldn’t take any chances. “Tanuki, can you make yourself very small, and sneak around a bit?” he asked. “To make sure there aren’t any traps.”

  The badger crossed his arms, sighing. “Of course, send the badger in to be the bait. ‘Tanuki, could you stick your paw in this bear trap, and see if it works?’ Honestly, I have to do everything around here.”

  Tanuki turned himself into a small cloud and wafted into the ballroom. He gently breezed past wall paintings, traced along the floor, and floated up to the large crystal chandelier. After a minute of inspection, he returned to the group and resumed his badger shape.

  “Seems safe to me,” he reported.

  David readied an arrow in his bow, and he stepped into the room. Acacia walked side by side with David, her smirk hinting that she was intrigued by the boy’s warrior-like attentiveness. They crossed the ballroom floor, their reflections visible in the polished surface.

  They made it all the way across the room to another pair of doors on the other side. These doors were made of the same speckled marble. Acacia sniffed at the doors, and instantly grew excited. She scratched and shoved at the doors with all of her might, growing increasingly frenzied. She threw her body against them, trying to knock them down.

  “What is it?” David asked, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her from hurting herself. “Do you smell your family? Are they on the other side?”

  Acacia nodded vigorously.

  “Stand aside, puny ones,” Tanuki stated, apparently having gotten over his sore paw. “Let the most divine being in Kyoto handle this.” He bulked up again to his gorilla size. He readied his shoulders, and at full force he barreled into the marble doors. This time, however, his strength had no effect. He hit his head hard against the marble. He staggered back, blinking, and fell over onto the floor. He instantly shrank back down to normal size.

  Acacia picked up the woozy badger in her arms, tenderly rubbing his head. He looked up at her, remarking, “Hey lady, did you see the cart that hit me? That guy owes me fifty yen …”

  David looked over the doors. There were no keyholes, no latches, no handles, and no hinges to take apart. Only solid marble. There was something engraved into the stone, a wheel of runic letters encircled by a wreath of tiny-leafed vines. He recognized the Celtic runes from a book of Druidism that his aunt, a rare book collector, had bought for him in Madrid. His mother had banned the “godless, unholy scribble” from the house, so David had not had the chance to understand the meanings of runes.

  “There are some runes written here,” he told Acacia. “But I can’t understand them.”

  Acacia came over and looked at the inscription. She pondered, getting the same look of concentration on her face as when she was in the riddle contest with Nico. After a minute, she spoke a long string of words, in what sounded like a mixture of Latin and another language—David thought it sounded Gaelic. Despite the protection that the Latin language should have provided to subdue the Shade inside of her, she cringed in gut-searing pain. The seal of vines shimmered green, and the doors slowly opened in response to her voice.

  David grimaced. Of course Nico had set a barrier that forced Acacia to speak. The runes must be a magical seal that by speaking a counter spell would open the doors. It was a trick that was
designed to hurt Acacia. He prayed her family was on the other side and that would be the end of it.

  But when they walked through the doors, they found themselves standing in an identical ballroom to the one they had just left.

  Acacia called out in a howl, pausing to see if anyone would reply. There was no sound. She moved frantically around the room, trying to pick up the scent of her beloved gypsies. Her sense of smell led to another pair of marble doors at the other side of the room. Once again, there were no handles or keyholes or hinges. Acacia, in frustration, rammed against the doors and scratched furiously into the stone.

  David and Tanuki glanced at one another, just as puzzled as the sphinx. They both cast their gaze around the room, looking for signs of how this trick had been done. When David looked behind them, he saw that the doors they had come through were closed shut, as if they had never been opened. David went back to try and push open the doors. They were frozen solid.

  “That’s not good,” Tanuki commented bluntly.

  David remembered a few of the Latin words that Acacia had used to open the doors. He tried, with the best pronunciation he could, to repeat the counter-spell so the doors might open again.

  Nothing.

  “We’re stuck,” he confirmed, resting his head against the marble.

  Acacia was hissing at them, beckoning for them to come over to her. As the two approached, they saw that another set of Celtic runes had been carved into the doors. David put a hand on Acacia’s arm and spoke in a low voice. “Acacia, I bet I can figure out how to speak the spell to open this door. I understand some Latin, and I read a book about runes once. Maybe I should give it a try, so the Shade doesn’t hurt you—”

  Acacia whipped her head around to glare at him. There was anger in her eyes, and she shook her head. He did not know if this was out of pride, or because she did not trust him to speak the spell correctly. Maybe it was mentioning the Shade of Nyx that put her on edge. She didn’t want to be weak.