by E. D. Baker
What are dregs? Aislin wondered. She stayed far enough behind the trolls that she could still hear them, but they wouldn’t be able to see her. Although she wasn’t afraid to confront them when it was time, she wasn’t going to do it until she’d learned why they were in the mountain.
Aislin followed the arguing trolls as the rope led them farther down. They passed more than one turnoff that looked promising, but Aislin sensed that the tunnels led to deep pits or crevices with sharp rocks at the bottom. Finally reaching the end of the rope, she carried the coil to a deep crevice and tossed it over the edge.
The entrance to the next tunnel heading downward would have been easy to miss. It didn’t look like an opening; its walls perfectly matched those of the tunnel she was in. The smoke was thicker here, however, as if the trolls had paused to look around. She could sense the gap before she could see it. When she reached out with her hand, it went right through, so she closed her eyes and let her senses guide her.
The long tunnel led down in a gradual slope. Soon Aislin could hear the trolls’ voices echo, and she knew they’d reached a huge cavern. She sensed that there was a large volume of water there—more than she’d detected anywhere else in the mountain. The fairy light bobbed ahead of her as she walked, but before she got too close, she plucked it from the air and tucked it back in her bag, fearing it might betray her presence.
Moving in complete darkness, Aislin crept to the end of the tunnel and peeked into the cavern. The trolls were on the other side of a lake that filled most of the cavern floor; it looked as if they were heading to a tunnel directly opposite from where Aislin was standing. The light of the trolls’ torches reflected off the water, making it look as if another set of them were walking upside down in the lake. Stalactites hung from the ceiling; their wet surfaces glistened as an occasional drip fell into the water with a soft plunk. When the water stilled, it was so clear that Aislin could see the rocky bottom. Although she couldn’t tell the depth of the lake just by looking, her senses told her that it was more than twenty feet.
Something stirred in the lake, sending ripples that made the reflections shimmer and contort. Aislin peered deeper into the water. She froze when movement caught her gaze. It was a pale, eel-like creature, over four times as long as she was tall, circling around the lake.
The trolls began to shout at each other, causing Aislin to look up. “Squint go first,” cried Gringle. “Gringle not wanna.”
“Squint not wanna, too,” Squint replied.
“No look at Ploot!” shouted Ploot. “Ploot go last.”
One troll shoved another, who stumbled against the cavern wall, knocking off a chunk of calcite ribbon. Both were still shouting when suddenly a patch of the wall lit up. None of the trolls seemed to notice, though, and they soon shambled into the other tunnel, disappearing from sight.
When she was sure that the trolls were gone, Aislin tiptoed around the edge of the lake to the still-glowing patch on the wall. She was surprised to find cave slugs, each as thick around as her thumb, covering the surface. Some were lit up, while others were as dark as the wall itself. Aislin poked a glowing slug with her finger and it glowed even brighter. When she poked a dark one with her finger, it lit up with a flash, settling into a steady yellow glow.
Certain that she had discovered the spriggans’ light source, Aislin picked up the calcite that had fallen to the ground. She drew energy from the stone around her and made the calcite thin enough to be translucent while reshaping it into a ball big enough to hold a half dozen of the slugs. After making an opening on one side, she plucked some cave slugs from the wall and dropped them in. When she made the calcite reform over the opening, the ball gave off a warm glow.
Aislin wanted to study the slugs, but now wasn’t the time, so she took her fairy light out of her bag and tucked the calcite ball in its place. The fairy light had just begun to bob over her head when she heard a splash. Aislin turned and gasped. The eel-creature was hurling itself at the lake’s edge, its circular jaws gaping wide and its three rows of jagged teeth glinting in the glow of her light. The creature seemed to be able to see although it had no eyes.
Water sloshed over the stone floor as Aislin backed toward the next tunnel, her heart racing. Although she was terrified, she couldn’t help but wonder what had attracted the beast, which seemed to be tracking the movement of the fairy light. Even if it can see, it isn’t light that attracts it, she thought. It hadn’t reacted to the trolls’ torches or the cave slugs’ glow.
Reaching the tunnel mouth, Aislin glanced at the fairy light. With a wave of her hand, she sent it floating out over the water. The creature leapt straight up, nearly catching the light in its mouth.
“It must be attracted to magic,” Aislin murmured.
She paused to listen as one of the trolls shouted, “Stop shoving!” from inside the tunnel.
Aislin gestured to call the fairy light back to her and let it lead the way as she followed the trolls once again.
Chapter 3
The fairy light zigged and zagged to avoid protruding rocks as it headed down the descending tunnel. Aislin had used her senses to learn what lay ahead, so she expected to see small pools of warm water steaming in the cool air of a large cavern. Before she reached the end of the tunnel, she could feel heat radiating from whatever lay ahead, but she wasn’t expecting the blast of heat that assailed her as she reached the entrance. Small pools pocked the cavern floor, and the water that filled them wasn’t just warm—it was boiling. Already perspiring, she knew that she couldn’t stay there for long.
Looking around, she saw that the trolls stood only yards away, clustered around a mound of strange-looking rocks. Reaching out with her mind, Aislin realized that they weren’t rocks, but something organic. Noticing the trolls had their backs turned to her, she slipped from the tunnel and silently made her way around the perimeter of the cavern. Approaching another grouping of the objects, she crept close enough to examine one. It was as long as her arm and a dull green color, covered with pale brown bumps.
Aislin gasped. These were dragon eggs, and there were dozens of them rimming the pools of water.
One of the trolls bent down to pick up an egg. After sniffing it, he gave it a good, hard shake. “Dreg hatch soon,” the troll announced. Aislin recognized Squint by his voice. “Be extra tasty.”
“Yum!” Ploot exclaimed, picking up an egg. “Eat lots!”
“Not lots,” said Gringle. “Save for her. Here, put in bag.” He handed bags to the other two trolls and stuffed an egg in his own.
Aislin was horrified. Not only were the trolls trespassing, but they were going to steal precious dragon eggs. It sounded as if they intended to eat some of these “dregs” and give the rest to a mysterious “her.”
Drawing power from the stone, Aislin summoned her most commanding voice. “Put those down!”
Most kinds of magic didn’t work on trolls, so Aislin didn’t really expect them to obey, but at least they stopped what they were doing and gaped at her. She stepped forward to confront them and was opening her mouth to speak again when the far wall of the cave seemed to move.
Wiping the sweat from her eyes, Aislin peered at the wall, trying to see what was moving. It blended in with the wall so well that it was almost impossible but, could it be …? And then it moved again and she could suddenly see quite clearly. It was a dragon! Steam puffed from its enormous nostrils as it raised its head and lunged at the trolls. The trolls hadn’t noticed the dragon at first, but when they saw the startled expression on Aislin’s face, they all turned around.
“Dragon!” Squint bellowed as the dragon’s jaws closed around him. There was a loud crunch, cutting off the sound of the troll’s rage.
The other trolls screamed and dropped the bags on the ground. They were running toward the tunnel entrance when the dragon roared and blew out the torches, plunging the cavern into darkness. Aislin stood her ground, not sure what to do as the dragon stalked after the trolls, blocking her escap
e.
Although she couldn’t see the dragon, she could hear its talons scrape the rock floor and its scales rasp against the walls. The trolls were still screaming as they ran up the tunnel. Luckily for them, it was too narrow for the dragon to enter. Taking a deep breath, the giant lizard shoved its head into the hole and roared again. The trolls’ screaming grew louder for a moment, then faded as they kept running.
The dragon turned to face Aislin. When it hissed and lunged in her direction, she darted to the side, easily avoiding the rocks. As she hurried around the next bubbling pool, Aislin could hear its jaws snap shut right where she had been standing.
“Hold still, egg thief,” the dragon said in a husky, but decidedly female, voice. “You can’t escape me. I’ll make your death quick if you stop running.”
“I’m not an egg thief!” Aislin protested, hurrying out of the way when the dragon’s head whipped toward her. She sidestepped a stalagmite to narrowly avoid the beast’s next lunge. Sensing that a grouping of the formations lay ahead, she crept behind them, then drew power from the rock to join the stalagmites on the floor of the cave with the stalactites hanging overhead. The columns that took shape in front of her were still thickening when the dragon took a deep breath and exhaled flame in her general direction. Aislin drew back, but the columns blocked the flame from reaching her.
“I am not an egg thief,” Aislin repeated from behind her wall of rock. “I am pedrasi and would never hurt your eggs.”
The dragon hissed. Its talons clicked against the stone as it came closer. “Pedrasi have not visited this mountain for many years. How do I know that you speak the truth?”
Aislin wondered if the dragon had missed seeing her create the columns. Perhaps it had been too dark and a clearer demonstration would help. Taking out the fairy light, she let it loose. Peering around the column, she made yet another form directly in front of the dragon. The giant lizard whuffed, its eyes growing wide in wonder.
“Who but pedrasi can make rock grow?” Aislin asked. “I was not here to help the trolls; I followed them to see why they had trespassed in a mountain that the pedrasi have long claimed.”
“Are you saying that only pedrasi are welcomed here?” asked the dragon, its voice edged with anger.
“Not at all,” Aislin protested as she stepped out from behind the column. “Pedrasi do not profess to own the mountains; we are their guardians. As such, we protect them from those who would do them harm. We understand that others have long sheltered in our mountains, and they have every right to do so. Dragons are welcome here, but thieving trolls are not. Trolls are vandals who destroy what they touch.”
The dragon sat back on her haunches and nodded. “I have heard about pedrasi, although I have never met any until today. I am young for my kind, and this is my first clutch of eggs.”
“All these eggs are yours?” Aislin asked, astonished at their number as she looked around.
The dragon snorted. “No, of course not! Only three are mine. It is my turn to watch over all the eggs my flock laid this year. Soon another dragon will come to take my place and I will leave to hunt. Perhaps I will hunt trolls this time.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” said Aislin. “And I really should follow the two trolls that just ran out of here to make sure they leave and don’t come back.”
“How can you prevent them from returning?” asked the dragon. “Do you intend to kill them?”
Aislin shuddered and shook her head. “I have my ways, but killing is not one of them. After they leave, I’ll close off the entrance that the trolls used. It will take them a long time to find another way in. I know there are many, including the one that I sense is big enough for dragons. I will make sure that that entrance stays open. It should be safer for you and your eggs now. When he hears trolls have been coming here, I’m sure my grandfather will want to set up patrols to keep them away.”
“Thank you, pedrasi girl,” said the dragon. “I am Singea of the blue dragon line. What is your name so that I may tell my kin about what you have done?”
“I am Aislin of the pedrasi and fairy lines,” she replied. “And you are very welcome. Before I go, I need to heal the smoke damage on the walls. The trolls were careless with their torches and I need to fix what I can.”
The dragon looked contrite when she said, “I am sorry if I added to the damage. I was just so angry when I saw those monsters touching the eggs.”
“I understand,” Aislin told her. “It would be enough to make any mother angry.”
Chapter 4
The tunnel leading back to the lake was fairly straight, with only a few bends near the end. The trolls had made it all the way through even without a torch to light their path, but Aislin doubted they could have made it to the other side of the lake in the absolute dark. She reached the end of the tunnel sooner than she’d expected. When she looked for the trolls, they were only a third of the way around the lake, feeling their way by running their hands along the cavern wall and grumbling as they went.
“Squint dumb. Not run like us,” said Ploot. His voice rang out in the silence of the cavern.
“What that?” Gringle asked, pointing at the fairy light floating in front of Aislin.
The trolls stared at Aislin and her light. In a second, they were running toward her, slipping and sliding on the wet floor. “Girl got light! Ploot want!” cried Ploot.
“Eat girl!” cried Gringle.
“Get girl and light!” shouted Ploot.
Suddenly Kimble appeared from behind an outcropping, as if erupting out of the stone itself. Startled, Aislin froze, but Kimble darted forward to pluck the fairy light from the air. “You want the light, you can have it!” the spriggan girl shouted to the trolls, tossing the light at the troll closest to the water’s edge. “Here, catch!”
Ploot snatched the light from the air and held it out so his friend couldn’t grab it from him. When the troll glanced at Aislin and the spriggan, his ugly face twisted into something hideous. “Now eat you both!” he growled.
The trolls had taken only a few more steps when the eel-creature suddenly leapt out of the water and clamped its jaws around Ploot. The cave went dark as the troll and the fairy light disappeared down the beast’s gullet, though Aislin could see a faint glow descend into its belly. With an enormous splash, the creature dove to the bottom of the lake. The remaining troll bellowed in fear and stumbled against the walls, wailing as he fought to find his way out of the cavern.
“Do fairy lights ever go out?” Kimble asked Aislin as they peered into the water, watching the glow inside the beast move from one side of the lake to the other.
Aislin shook her head. “It would if I told it to, but other than that, I don’t think so.”
“Good!” said Kimble. “Then we’ll always be able to locate Old Grumpy, and he won’t be able to sneak up on us again. What happened to the other troll?”
“A dragon ate it,” Aislin told her.
“I didn’t think you’d killed it,” Kimble replied. “Pedrasi aren’t known for being vicious.”
Aislin opened the sack she was carrying, took out the calcite light, and shook it. The cave slugs squirmed inside and the ball lit, giving off a soft yellow glow. When Aislin looked again, the troll had disappeared up the other tunnel. Glancing at the creature in the lake one last time, she said, “I’m glad the fairy light will be useful down there, because I wasn’t about to go after it.”
She turned to look at Kimble. “I thought spriggans never came to this level.”
“We don’t, unless a pedrasi princess is in danger,” Kimble replied.
“Thank you, although I could have handled it myself,” said Aislin.
Kimble laughed. “I’m sure you’re right, but my way took care of the troll for good. Spriggans don’t have anything against trolls unless they come inside our mountain. Now that troll will never bother anyone again.”
“I need to see what happened to the other troll,” Aislin told her.
&n
bsp; “My friends are up there. They’ll take care of it,” said Kimble.
Aislin frowned and said, “That’s what worries me.”
When Aislin and Kimble reached the top of the tunnel, Gringle was nowhere in sight, but the spriggans were waiting with their lamps lit. They looked nervous as they peered down into the tunnel behind Aislin. “Only one troll came up,” Jinxie told her. “Where are the others?”
“They won’t be coming up,” said Kimble. “They met with unfortunate accidents. When the troll came out of the tunnel, where did he go?”
“Into the maze,” Jinxie said. When a horrible wailing sound came from that direction, he added, “He’s probably lost already.”
“He’ll wander around in there forever!” Borry announced, sounding gleeful. “My old pappy told tales of the people who came poking around in the mountain and got good and lost. You can still see their bones in that maze.”
“I can’t believe my ancestors would allow that to happen!” Aislin exclaimed, horrified.
Smax shrugged. “The pedrasi were gone by then, so they weren’t here to stop it.”
“Well, I am,” said Aislin. “I don’t intend to let that poor creature ‘wander around in there forever.’ ” Closing her eyes, she searched for the quickest way out for the troll.
“What is she doing?” Jinxie whispered.
“Maybe she’s in a trance. Do you think she can hear us?” asked Smax.
“I can hear you just fine,” Aislin told them with her eyes still closed. “Please be quiet and don’t move. I have to concentrate and I don’t want to crush you by accident.”
Aislin’s hair began to crackle as she drew more and more power from the rock. She had moved rock this way before, but not on such a large scale. Unsure that she could even do what she had planned, she knew that she’d need a lot more power if she was even going to attempt it. If it worked, it would be the quickest way she could think of to get the troll out of the mountain unharmed. A frightened troll would be more valuable than an injured one; an injured troll would be back with friends seeking revenge, while a frightened troll might be enough to keep others away from the mountain.
