“There!” Danika hissed as she pointed across the lava pool. Finned backs rose and fell in slumber. Snouts, tails, claws and scales wound together in a heap.
“There are more over here.” Bron gestured toward the back wall. He turned back to his army. “Leave them be.”
A hulking shadow stirred deep within the back of the cave. Bron raised his hand to halt the troops. He gestured for a torch. One of the soldiers ran back into the tunnel. He emerged with one of the torches they’d left behind. The last embers simmered, casting a dim light. The soldier handed Bron the torch, then filed back into line a little too eagerly.
Bron stepped forward, holding the torch in front of him. A massive, scaly mound of flesh rose to the ceiling thirty feet above their heads. A tail, wider than Bron was tall, coiled around the body. Tucked above the tail’s end lay a snout as large as the princess’ royal carriage with teeth like swords jutting haphazardly in crooked directions.
“What are you waiting for? I’ll cut the beast’s throat.” Danika raised her sword.
Bron grabbed her arm, holding her still. “She’s no use to us dead. We must draw her into the crevice and throw her body into the lava core.”
“We’re so close. We can end it now.” Her face glowed in the reddish light, her flushed cheeks slick with sweat.
“No. If we leave this place as is, another She-Beast will rise. ’Tis only a matter of time before they breed enough fry to overtake our land. We would only delay the inevitable.” He leaned down and whispered so only she could hear. “Your father once told me to purge the evil at the source or else you treat the symptom and not the disease.” Bron placed a hand on her shoulder. “The wyverns’ reign must end now with the destruction of the vile mountain, and I mean to end their reign myself.”
Danika stilled with the mention of her father. She glanced hungrily at the She-Beast then pulled her gaze away and nodded. “My father’s wisdom speaks even now. How will we draw her to the crevice? We could no more move the mountain itself.”
Bron turned to Valorian. “Can you convince the She-Beast to move with song?”
Valorian finished his phrase, letting the note taper beautifully into the echoes. “I can. But my song will awaken both the She-Beast and the hatchlings. Controlling only her actions may be beyond my abilities.” Movement stirred from the sleeping fry, and he picked up the song where he’d left off.
“’Tis why I’m here.” Bron signaled to the army, proud to finally be of service amongst all this minstrel glory. They spread in a semicircle around Danika and Valorian and raised their swords. “Protect the minstrel and the princess. Hold your ground.”
He raised his sword to the She-Beast and nodded to Valorian. “Make it so.”
Valorian’s song changed from a lulling drone to a twisting melody, each note pricking his consciousness as if the notes didn’t quite belong. Bron’s legs twitched. He shifted on his feet but every position was uncomfortable.
The blasted music. It affected him, too.
He shook his head to rid the melody from his thoughts and stood his ground.
Movement stirred around them as the fry awoke. They opened their eyes and stretched lazily by the lava pool. One by one, they eyed the soldiers. Some of the soldiers took a step back. Bron heard one whisper, “They think good ol’ ma has brought them more meat.”
Bron steeled his voice. “You’re soldiers of Ebonvale. Hold your ground.”
One of the hatchlings hissed and lunged at the front line, extending its claws. A soldier blocked the hatchling’s attack with his shield, while another stuck his sword in its back. The hatchling squealed, and everyone except for Bron covered their ears.
The other hatchlings lunged in mass horde at the soldiers, but Bron kept his position. In the dim glow of the reddish light, the She-Beast opened her eyes.
She raised her head slowly as if taking in the scene. Her lips stretched back from her jaw, exposing the full set of her jagged teeth. She hissed, and the air gusted into Bron’s face, searing his cheeks.
Bron glanced at the crevice, noting the distance from him to the edge. He turned his gaze back on the beast and brandished his sword. “Come meet your doom.”
Fast as lightning, the beast extended its neck and snapped its jaws. Bron ducked, as the snout closed over his head, and then again as the beast pounced again to his right. The beast’s nostrils fumed as it opened its jaws wide. Its stomach pulsed as it fanned the fire inside its gut. Bron stepped backward toward the crevice and brought down his visor, preparing for the flames.
Air rushed around him as the flames engulfed his body, traveling over Garish’s armor. Bron held his breath, waiting for the surge to end. At some point the beast had to breathe again. The victor would be the one who could hold the longest breath. The She-Beast expelled her air to propel the fire, whereas Bron held air in his lungs and rationed it bit by bit. The flames died, and Bron took in a deep breath of dry, hot air. He raised his visor. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
The She-Beast hissed and uncoiled her tail. Bron jumped to his stomach as the tail knocked several soldiers to the ground. They fell on their backs and hatchlings swarmed over them. Danika rushed to their aid, slicing the fry with her sword.
The giant wyvern’s tail separated Bron from the rest of his men, which was exactly what he wanted. He had to keep her attention and lure her to the crevice without her attacking any more of his men. He sliced the air with his sword. “Come on, you foul beast, you hellbound fiend.”
The giant wyvern squirmed forward from her alcove. A clawed foot hit the lava rock, shaking the ground so hard Bron used his sword to keep his balance. She studied him, tilting her head back and forth as a boy might study an ant crossing his path. Penetrating wrath emanated from her dark eyes.
Danika’s voice echoed over Valorian’s song. “There are too many of them. We can’t hold out much longer.”
Bron needed to lure the mighty beast to the crevice. He sprinted forward and zigzagged as her jaws snapped. The reek of the beast sickened him as he drew close and sliced his sword. The blade cut a gash in the scales just above her clawed paw. Greenish liquid sprayed across his armor, sizzling like acid.
The wyvern pounced and Bron fell back. Each step she took rattled his helmet and his teeth. He scrambled onto his feet and raced toward the crevice. In the distance he heard Danika shout in horror. “Nooo!”
He knew what he had to do. Time suddenly stretched before him, each second like a lifetime. He thought of his pa working in the field and his ma baking pumpkin bread. He could almost taste the spice on his tongue. He saw Hule wearing the armor they’d made from old pots and the loving look on Artemus’ face before he died. So many people that mattered to him.
Lastly, as he raised his sword, he remembered back to the first day he spotted Danika, watching the trials from the stands, her golden hair glowing like a natural crown.
The wyvern leaped toward him and Bron stabbed his sword into its gut, slicing open the belly of combustible gases. The mass of the beast fell into the crevice, the forward momentum tugging him with the beast before he could let go of the hilt.
“Helena and Horred, take me home.”
Bron closed his eyes as he fell, hearing the shrieks of the She-Beast as she fell with him. He hit a hard surface, knocking the air from his lungs. He expected to be dead, melted by lava. He moved his limbs, hearing shouts from his army as they fought for their lives. Bron opened his eyes.
He lay on his back on a small plateau, ten feet from the edge of the crevice. Hope soared in his chest then fell once again as he realized he had no rope. The lava rock was slick with no handholds. He had no way to reach his men. Valorian’s voice broke into a croak above. The minstrel couldn’t hold on much longer.
A crack like thunder rattled Bron’s bones. He gazed into the lava pit hundreds of feet below. The lava boiled with the She-Beast’s spilled entrails. The mountain shuddered around them and the crevice cracked open wider. Stalactites fell fr
om the cavern ceiling, splashing up lava as they landed below. A satisfying sense of resolution came over Bron. He’d achieved what he’d come to do. The mountain would blow.
“Bron! Thank the gods you’re still alive.” Danika’s head appeared over the rim. “Let me find you some rope.”
His heart melted. He hadn’t thought he’d ever see her again. “You don’t have time, Princess. Get Valorian and the soldiers out.” Behind them, Valorian’s voice cracked and died. A muffled sound came from his direction, as if something had knocked the air from his lungs. “Princess, help!”
Bron collapsed to his knees on the plateau. Below him, the lava rose inch by inch, fueled by the She-Beast’s combustion. “Princess, you must save Valorian. You must choose.”
Her head disappeared over the ridge.
Good. She’d made the right decision. He was proud of her, but that didn’t hide the emptiness in his heart. Bron breathed deeply and closed his eyes.
“Danika Rubystone, I will love you forever.”
Peace settled over him. His time had come.
Chapter 32
Resurrection
The remnants of the army huddled by the tunnel’s mouth with their back to each other to hold back the swarm of hatchlings. How many were there? They kept coming in an endless tide. Two heaps of their bodies piled on either side of her. Their acid blood had burned her sword down to a stick.
“Go!” Danika shouted over the rumbling. “I command you! Regroup by the boats.” They’d fulfilled their oath to Ebonvale. The cavern teetered on the verge of collapse. To ask them to stay would be madness.
She searched the chaos for Valorian.
The minstrel stood with his sword up, surrounded by hatchlings.
Maybe she’d spoken too soon.
No. There was no way for the army to reach him without thinning out the ranks. If she ordered them back, she’d kill them all.
She shouted to Valorian. “Hold on! I’m coming.” If only she could split herself in two. Scrambling over cracked stalactites, she searched the debris for her travel bag.
The bag rested on a cracked eggshell. The hatchlings had dragged it and torn open the leather. The contents lay scattered. They’d eaten all her food rations.
Danika sprinted to the bag and dug inside. She clasped her hands around a length of rope. Thank Helena and Horred she’d stuffed it into her bag. Hoping the rope was long enough, she ran back to the crevice where the lava rose.
Bron knelt with his eyes closed. Had the same warrior who’d slayed the She-Beast, the Necromancer King, and carried all of the metal up from the shadows of Darkenbite given up?
Danika tied the end of the rope around a ridge and dropped the other end down to Bron. The rope landed on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes, staring at her as if she’d grown wyvern wings.
“Take the rope, you lug.”
“What are you doing? You don’t have time to save us both.”
Danika glanced over at Valorian. The hatchlings had him pushed up against the far wall behind the whale skeleton. He swiped at them, but he wasn’t as good a swordsman as Bron, and there were too many even for her to hold back.
“I choose you. I cannot live without you. If you don’t take this cursed rope, I’ll die here with you.”
That did it. Bron clutched the rope and started to climb. Another quake rattled the cavern. The sound rumbled in her ears as chunks of the ceiling fell around her. Danika only had enough time to block her head with her arms and hope the falling rocks didn’t hurt too much.
At least they had succeeded. Ebonvale would go on.
The quake subsided. Danika coughed as a dust cloud wafted around her. The rope twisted down into the crevice, unmoving.
Had Bron let go?
She dared not look over the rim.
The rope twitched, and Bron’s strong hand came up. Relief weakened her knees as she rushed to grab a hold of him. A distant rumble promised more cave-ins.
“Hurry!” Danika pulled with all her strength until Bron cleared the lava pit. “We don’t have much time.”
“Where’s Valorian?” Bron’s chest heaved.
Valorian! Danika scanned the debris. Chunks of rock from floor to ceiling covered the place where the minstrel had stood.
Tears stung her eyes and she shook her head, pointing to the cave-in.
“No.” Bron rushed to his feet. “Don’t tell me he’s in there.”
“’Tis the last place I saw him.”
Bron rushed over and began throwing chucks of rock. Behind them the lava had overflowed the rim of the crevice, and hot magma oozed toward their feet.
“Go!” Bron picked up another chunk and threw it before the lava to stall the flow. “I’ll follow.”
“You cannot stay here!” Danika tugged on his arm. “We have to leave now.”
“I cannot leave him after he saved my life this very same way.”
“Then we die together, the three of us. Right here. Right now.”
As if to reiterate her sentiment, another quake rattled the cavern. Bron held Danika close as more debris fell on top of the pile. Behind them, the lava swelled, filling the cavern floor. The heat became unbearable, cooking their skin from the inside of the armor out.
“I’m the Princess, and I command you to come with me. If you stay, you abandon your sworn oath to protect me.”
“Helena’s Goblet!” Bron’s face cracked into a scowl. He threw them both toward the tunnel. “Run!”
They followed the strewn torches as the tunnel shifted. The lava flowed behind them, surging forward with each new explosion. Exhaustion brought Danika to her knees. Her throat burned, her lips split, leaking blood down her chin, and her skin felt like a layer had been removed. Valorian was dead by her hand because she’d chosen Bron. The horror of the mountain’s onslaught overwhelmed her.
“I cannot make it.”
“You have to make it.” Bron hauled her up. “You are the sole reason why I’m not back in that cave, searching for Valorian. On your feet, soldier.”
She stumbled forward, half blind by the smoke, coughing and wheezing. If it wasn’t for Bron’s steady hand on her back, she’d lose herself in the chaos.
Daylight shone at the end of the tunnel, bright and pure, unlike the reddish hell they’d left behind. With escape so close, Danika found a last fountain of energy and broke into a sprint. The tunnel caved in behind them, leaving only enough room for lava to seep through.
They reached the plateau and Danika gulped in the fresher air. The barren lava rock was no meadow, yet the sulfur-to-oxygen ratio was much lower than inside. Magma dripped from the plateau around them, creating red streaks down the lava rock. Large chunks of flaming rock spewed across the smoky sky. Dead wyverns lay in heaps around them, the lava melting their remains.
Bron scanned the terrain. “Where is my army?”
“I commanded them to leave and regroup by the boats.” Danika searched the lava rock for any sign of silver armor. “There!” She pointed to the far ridge where helmets peeked from the lava rock like silver spoons. “They escape as we speak.”
Bron glanced back at the opening as it filled with black smoke. He froze as if an invisible cord had snagged him and wouldn’t let him go.
Danika put both arms on his shoulders and shook him. “Valorian is dead, Bron. You are not going back for him. I need you with me.”
Bron blinked as if waking from a dream, then bent to find the rope he’d tied to hoist them up was still there. “Grab a hold of me!”
The mountain rumbled beneath them as Danika held on to Bron. Using his upper body strength, he lowered them down the rocky ledge. Lava flowed around them in red, orange and yellow streaks. Danika searched for any dry spot to land. “Over there. I see a clear path to the far ridge.”
Bron kicked against the rock and they dangled past a lava river to the other side.
“The rope will not reach. We’ll have to jump.” Bron maneuvered them closer to the clear area.
&
nbsp; Danika steeled herself. If she could confront the She-Beast, she could jump over steaming lava. “I’m ready.”
Bron released the rope and they tumbled onto the rock. Danika skidded when she landed, rolling toward the lava. She flailed her arms and the skin on her fingers tore as she tried to grab a handhold. The molten red-orange came up quickly, burning her face from inches away. Bron reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “That was close.”
Danika breathed with relief. She sat up and scanned his body. His leg bent at a strange angle, making her heart stop. “Are you hurt?”
He unbent the leg, testing the muscles. “No. Are you?”
“Not yet.” Danika scanned the area around them. The lava rose quickly, blocking so many ways to escape. “We have to keep running.”
“I know.” Bron pulled himself up, looking wearier than a plow horse at the end of harvest season.
They leaped over streams of lava, working their way to the far ridge where the army had gone. The muscles in her legs screamed and ash covered the inside of her mouth until she could taste nothing except smoke and blood. Her lungs burned with each breath. She’d lost her sheepskin somewhere in the heart of the volcano, and Bron had nothing besides his sword.
“Just a little ways farther.” Bron must have seen her faltering. “Then we can slow down.”
Slow down? Danika wanted to lie down, curl up and forget the dreadful memory of Valorian’s voice calling to her to help. This time she’d slighted him to the death.
“Princess? Can you make it?”
“Aye.” She trudged ahead. The strength in Bron’s features carried her on. If she couldn’t force her body on for Ebonvale alone, then she’d do it for him.
They reached the ridge and disappeared into the crevice between the lava rocks, working their way to the other side of the island. The atmosphere rumbled with the volcano’s wrath and gray smoke covered the sky. Ash fell like snow around them, and their boots left imprints on the ground along the way.
Minstrel's Serenade Page 23
