“Un,” Tim said.
The wood elf chattered something in his language and walked forward before anybody could stop him. He poked the form on the ground with the butt of his spear. The dragon snorted, a small stream of flame streamed from his open mouth. The group jumped in surprise as the sleeping dragon rolled to his back, sighed, and went quiet again.
The wood elf poked at it a couple more times, but the dragon didn’t move beyond his slow intake and exhale of breath.
“Asleep?” Zookie asked. He sniffed before turning back to the group. “I smell magic. Let’s keep going.” He hopped over the green dragon.
The group slipped around the sleeping dragon. Lena giggled as he let out a large snort and puff of flame.
The passageway sloped upwards as they walked. They passed many crossroads but chose to keep going straight. The rumble of another much larger dragon rolled down one of intersecting halls. Its snores rattled the walls. The lightstones vibrating in their sockets.
“This is weird,” Zookie said, looking down a tunnel. “It’s hard to put dragons to sleep. We’re immune to most magic.”
“They’re not immune to sounding like an avalanche,” LT muttered.
“Shhh,” The wood elf hissed. When the others hushed, the little being jabbered something.
“What?” Lena asked
“Shhh,” he hissed again. He pointed down a side passage and cupped a tiny hand behind his ear.
Zookie listened a moment. “There’s someone down there. Come on,” he said, slinking forward a few steps.
“Let’s go toward the unknown sounds,” LT said under his breath. “You’re just full of great ideas.
Still, they all followed Zookie. They crept down the hall, trying to stay in the shadows between the lightstones. As they moved further along the passage, the noises developed into voices. One, high and thin, sounded full of confidence. The other was barely more than a bunch of rocks clacking together.
Zookie pulled his wings as close to him as possible and kept his tail from scraping the ground. The group eased to a turn in the hall as quietly as the assortment could, given their size and number. Zookie and LT peeked around the corner to find two figures standing under a lightstone. One was a particularly large gargoyle. The wings tucked against its back were massive and its head was as big as a small boulder.
The other was tall and stood like a human. Zookie couldn’t make out any details because it wore a long, black cloak with a hood shrouding its head. All he could tell was the figure was tall and thin.
“I bet we could rush them,” Zookie growled, flexing his claws. A bit of smoke drifting from his nose as he stared angrily at the two figures.
LT struck his paw on the dragon’s snout and pushed Zookie back away from the corner. “We are not rushing anything,” LT hissed. “Did you see the size of that thing? It could crush your head like a grape.”
“Tim could crush it like a grape,” Zookie said, glaring at LT. The smoke coming from his nose thickening from wisps to small poufy clouds.
Lena stepped forward and stuck two fingers in Zookie’s nostrils trying to plug the smoke. “For once, I agree with the tiger. We need to get out of here before—”
“Why, hello.”
Lena screamed and turned to find the tall figure in a cloak standing at the corner. The massive stone creature stood behind him.
“It’s a great honor to finally meet my guides.” His voice was low and smooth. “I suppose I owe you a debt of gratitude for showing me the way to Dragon Cave Mountain.”
Chapter 24
Zookie and LT backed away as the figure stepped near them. Zookie knew he shouldn’t be scared of it. He had to outweigh the intruder at least three times over, but something gave the dragon pause and it wasn’t the giant gargoyle flanking it.
Evil and malice flowed from the intruder. It was thicker than the air and so strong that it threatened to take Zookie’s breath away.
“We didn’t guide anyone, anywhere,” Zookie growled. He readied himself to pounce to take down the hooded figure. He’d do the same to the gargoyle if he had to.
“Didn’t you?” the figure said with a laugh. He stepped between the group, ignoring Zookie’s aggressive stance. The cloaked figure towered over Woody as he leaned down and plucked the hat from the elf’s head. He ripped open the seam and pulled out a thin sliver of metal like a too-thin blade. It hummed and glowed at his touch.
Woody hung his head, shame coloring his cheeks.
“A magical tracker,” Zookie growled. “How did it get there?”
The man laughed, his voice echoing down the halls. “Why our squirrely friend would do quite anything for a handful of nuts.” He shifted, his hands poking out of the long sleeves. His fingers were unnaturally long. His skin had a bluish tint and stretched tightly over his bones and tendons. “Now, what to do with our little guides to show my appreciation?”
“How about I just torch you?” he snorted. Smoke poured from his nose.
Dark eyes hidden in the shadows of the hood flashed momentarily when he spoke, his voice was low and cold. “Oh, really, Little Dragon? I just took down your entire nest. Do you really think there’s anything you could do to me? I am your master now. I will discover the secrets of Dragon Cave Mountain and use them to take over all of the lands!”
Zookie lost it. He charged the figure roaring, “You will never be my master!”
The monster-sized gargoyle stepped in front of the dragon with surprising speed and swatted Zookie aside. The figure laughed though there was no humor in it. Other gargoyles appeared out of passageways and surrounded the group.
The figure’s hand disappeared into his cloak, then came back out holding a rock. With the stone nestled in his palm, he slapped his hands together while saying a word in an odd language. In a smooth movement, he popped the stone into his mouth and swallowed. A moment later he belched and blew out with an unnatural wind. When it hit the group, Lena yawned a huge gaping yawn.
“Gross,” she said before falling over to the ground.
Tim staggered against the wall.
“What—” LT said, but was cut off by a yawn of his own.
Zookie tried to stand but stumbled on unsteady paws before falling back to the ground…asleep.
***
“Zookie?” a voice said, full of question and fear.
Some liquid dropped on the floor. It landed on the stone with tiny plops loud enough to echo in the empty chamber.
“Zookie, wake up!” the voice said with more urgency.
The sounds of chain scraping across the floor drowned out the plopping liquid.
Zookie blinked his eyes open to darkness. He lifted his head and blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. “Hello?” he asked the darkness.
“Zookie,” Lena’s voice said from somewhere else.
“Tim is waking up! We need to get out of here before he does.”
“What are you talking about?” LT said sleepily from somewhere else.
“He hates enclosed places!”
“Well, then,” Zookie snorted to the darkness. “What’s going to happen when he wakes up?”
“He’s going to freak out!” Lena said. “He might hurt himself.”
They were all chained in different cells somewhere under Dragon Cave Mountain. The place was dimly lit by the magic stones embedded in the wall. Unlike the rest of the mount, these were placed further apart. It made the whole dungeon dark and creepy.
Zookie started pulling at his chains. He snapped his jaws around a chain on his left front paw, biting and pulling.
“It’s no use.” LT’s voice again. “We’re doomed.”
“No, we’re not!” Zookie grunted.
“Are you going to break these chains made for dragons much larger than you?”
“I’m not going to do nothing!”
LT grumbled something Zookie couldn’t make out. He ignored the tiger and struggled against the chains. He had to get out! He had to. His mom d
epended on it. His whole nest did!
The more he pulled on the chains, the tighter they seemed to close on his leg. Still, he pulled. He pulled and pulled until all his energy left in a rush. One moment, he was full of anger and determination. The next, he felt only defeat. He slumped to the floor.
“This wasn’t how I imagined going out,” LT said, breaking the silence in the dungeon. When nobody replied, he went on. “I guess I never thought about what would be the end of me.”
“This isn’t the end,” Zookie muttered, but there wasn’t much conviction behind the words.
“Sure feels like it to me.”
“Then you give up too easy,” Zookie snapped, a bit of the fire returning. He shifted. The chains rattled and the spark went out again.
“What’s so special down here anyways?” LT asked. “What secrets was that guy talking about?”
“Dragons hold many mysteries other creatures are unable to comprehend.”
“Yeah? Who made that decision?”
“The Elder Dragons from many generations past.”
“That sounds like a practiced answer to me,” LT said. “How many teachers told you that exact line?”
“What does it matter?” Zookie growled. “They were right. This mountain holds so many secrets that would corrupt lesser forms! That man in the black cloak has some power and look what he does with it!”
“Lesser forms?” Lena asked. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” Zookie grumbled, lowering his head to the hard floor.
“Why don’t you tell her, Little Dragon?” LT said. “Tell all of us ‘lesser forms’ about how great you dragons are.”
“Shut up, LT.”
“Or what? Are you going to keep telling us about how inferior we are to you until we start to believe it?” LT growled.
Zookie blinked in surprise. He’d never heard the tiger’s voice so strong.
“We followed you here to help you,” LT said when Zookie didn’t respond. “We risked our necks for you and what do we get? Insulted, that’s what. And for what? For what?”
“My mom!” Zookie snapped, heat rising in him again.
“What about her?” Lena asked.
“She’s out there! Captured by humans like you. I’m going to get out of here, find my dad and make you tell us where she is!” He stood and yanked on the chains.
“I don’t know where your mom is, Zookie.”
Lena’s voice, so small and fragile, froze the dragon in place. “You have to know. You have to.” The desperation in his voice surprised Zookie.
“I don’t,” she replied. “I’m sorry.”
“But, that man out there…” Zookie said, realization creeping in. His doubleheart went cold.
“What about him?” LT asked.
“He’s the one who took my mom,” Zookie said. “I didn’t recognize it at first, but I remember that evil. I felt it before when my mom was captured.”
“All right,” LT said, “but what are we going to do about it? We’re still chained down here.”
“I’m sorry, Lena,” Zookie said. “I dragged you into this mess because…because I don’t know. I was desperate, I guess.”
Tim groaned.
“Later, Zookie. We need to get out of here.” Panic lined Lena’s voice. “Where’s Woody?”
“That little rat on two legs was probably in on it,” LT grumbled from his cell.
“No, he wasn’t!” Lena yelled. Her voice echoed around the stone walls. “He was helping us.”
“He was pretending to anyways,” LT glowered.
Lena didn’t reply.
Zookie ignored them and started pulling on the chain again. It groaned but held under the pressure. His chest started to heat up and smoke started to billow from his nose and jaws.
“Those chains were made by dragons, for dragons,” Lena said standing outside the bars of Zookie’s cell. “You’re going to break your leg before you break them.” She held up a magic rod that acted like a key from the cell doors.
The little wood elf stood beside her, puffed up with pride.
“Built for dragons,” she said, “means they don’t work so good for cat-sized elves.”
Chapter 25
The chains fell off Zookie’s legs and he sighed with relief. All the struggling had started to rub his scales. Still, he didn’t allow himself to relax. He kept an eye on the wood elf.
“Okay,” he said, smoke slipping from his nose in thin wisps. “Let’s go beat Rock Face up.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lena said as she unlocked LT’s door.
“The little dragon is full of amazing ideas,” the tiger snarled from his cell. “Let’s go charging after the guy with magic and a hundred gargoyles. Brilliant!”
Tim already stood in the hall, his face still red from waking up in the dungeon.
“Or,” Zookie said, ignoring LT, “we could find my dad and get as many of the dragons we can and clear out the mountain.”
“Great,” LT said. “Where are the dragons? You’re the only overgrown lizard I’ve seen awake since we made it into this mountain. They’re not down here,” he added as Lena released him from his chains.
“Woody can have a look around,” Lena said then turning to Woody. “If he finds any of them awake, he can tell them to come here.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Zookie said.
“He’s already proven he’s not really working with that man in black,” she protested.
Zookie was about to argue further, but there was a loud blast from above. It shook the ground they stood on.
“What was that?” Lena asked as a shower of dust rained down on them.
“Maybe the other dragons are waking up?” Zookie said, staring at the ceiling. “We need to go find them.”
“Woah, you need to slow your roll, Little Lizard,” LT said. “If the dragons are waking up then we should just stay right here and let them take care of things.” He lay down where he stood, crossed his paws and lay his chin on them.
“I am not going to just stand here,” Zookie snapped. “I’ll go myself if you all want to stay here.” He turned and stomped down the tunnel.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” LT growled. He showed no signs of moving from the spot.
Zookie glanced back. The rest of the group stood in the dungeon stuck between the dragon and tiger. Uncertainty plainly written on the various faces.
“Come on,” Zookie growled. “If I find my dad, we’ll get rid of Cloak Face”
“That’s a big ‘if,’ Little Dragon.” LT Stood and stalked toward Zookie. “What are we supposed to do? We’re all just a bunch of young’uns. Except maybe him.” He glanced at Tim. “Who knows how old he is. You ever think about more than just yourself? What if Lena gets hurt? She’s just a little girl.”
“I can take care of myself,” Lena muttered without much conviction.
“Since when did you care about us?” Zookie snapped “I’ll go myself if I have to.”
LT’s yellow eyes narrowed. “I’m here, ain’t I? I could have left your scaly hide a long time ago, but I let you blindly lead me here. Maybe you should plug that smoke coming out of your nose holes, stop being a hot head, and think for once in your life.”
Zookie stared down LT. The tiger was right, of course. He knew it would be a mistake to run out blindly without a plan. He dropped his eyes. He sat down, his tail hitting the ground with a thud. “Now what?”
LT’s look of anger shifted to one of confusion. “How am I supposed to know?” He lay back down laying his furry chin on his crossed paws.
Lena rolled her eyes.
“Un,” Tim said.
“Tim’s right,” Lena said with a nod. “We need to figure out why Mr. Creepy is here. What would he want here?” she asked Zookie.
“He did say something about a secret in the mountain,” Zookie said. “Maybe we should find it first. Whatever it is.”
Everybody turned to look at Zookie.<
br />
“Where do we start?” Lena asked “This is your home. Do you know?”
“Um…” Zookie glanced at the group. “There’s a room full of enchanted stuff. Maybe something in there is the thing he wants.”
“Sounds like a place to start,” LT said. “Do you know where that is?”
“It’s not like I have been here before,” Zookie said. “I’m too young for anybody to tell me anything. I have a basic idea of where it is, though.”
They all gathered around the young dragon with determined looks on their faces.
“Lead the way,” Lena said brightly.
Zookie hesitated. He wasn’t sure he could continue to put them in danger. They had already risked so much for him. Plus, he still wasn’t sure about the wood elf. Sure, he had helped them escape the cells, but what if it was just part of the ruse? What if he led Woody, along with the human, right to the thing they were after?
He stared into Woody’s eyes. There was something deep in them. Determination. A need to redeem himself for being part of leading the human to the mountain. Zookie knew he should be wary, but he didn’t feel the he shouldn’t trust the wood elf.
He made the snap decision to trust Woody. Deep in his doubleheart, he knew it was the right thing to do. Nodding at the others, he turned and took off down the tunnel. He took the sharp turns and curving paths with reckless abandon.
After several minutes of charging down the tunnels, they made a final turn. The hallways opened up into a long cavern that glittered with gold and jewels.
“Wow,” Lena breathed.
“That’s a lot of shiny,” LT agreed.
“Un,” Tim said.
Lena stepped forward and reached toward a pile of gemstones.
“Don’t touch anything!” Zookie warned. “My dad will know.”
“But, there’s so much,” Lena said.
“Trust me, he’ll know.” Zookie pointed a paw towards an opening on the other side of the treasure room. “There. That’s where the enchanted stuff is.”
Chapter 26
The group eased towards the other side of the treasure room. Zookie had to keep hissing at Lena to keep her hands to herself. Her eyes glittered along with all the treasure.
Dragon Cave Mountain Page 10
