by Alice Wilde
“That must be it,” Li says. “Heaven’s Gate.”
“There he is!” I point at the trail where a pale-haired man is clambering up it.
“We’d better get a move on,” Roan sighs.
I don’t know how we’ll ever catch up to Ero at this point, the trail has become too steep and dangerous for either Roan or Li to carry me safely. Li is now climbing ahead while Roan takes up the rear, keeping an eye on me as we climb ever upward. We’re more often than not moving on all fours as the path continues to narrow ever more precariously.
The air is thinner and I’m having a hard time catching my breath, and I can tell Roan is worried although he’s trying his best not to show it. A blast of cold, misty cloud swirls over us and we crawl to a standstill as the fog makes it impossible to see. A shiver runs through me, the unpleasant dampness of the mist seeping into my clothes.
“Are you okay, lass?”
“Just a bit damp, nothing I can’t handle,” I answer as brightly as possible.
Roan chuckles softly from somewhere behind me, the fog suddenly so thick I can barely see my hands still clinging to the side of the mountain. I frown, looking around me in confusion.
“Is it just me,” Roan starts, “but did the fog suddenly get warm?”
He’s right, I’d only just noticed it as well. Whatever is obscuring our view is no ordinary cloud, even the air smells different…not entirely unlike the scent of a fire on a stormy winter’s night. My eyes start to burn as the fog intensifies and we all start to cough, choking on the irritating plumes.
“Press yourselves as close to the mountainside as possible, and cover your nose and mouth,” Li shouts. I do as he says, tucking my body as flat as possible against the stone, shutting my eyes and pulling my sleeve over my hand as I shield my nose and mouth from the burning sensation. The chill that was previously in the air disappears and it doesn’t take long for me to start sweating from the change in temperature.
I burry my face into the crook of my arm in an effort to protect my skin from the strange fog. Several minutes later, I shiver once again and peek over my arm to find the air once again clearing.
“Let’s go,” Li says as soon as we can see each other again, and we scramble to get as far up the mountain as possible while we still can. We are forced to take cover several more times over the next hour, the air warmer and more irritating with each wave.
“We can’t be far from the top now,” Roan coughs as we start moving once again, the latest waterfall of fog particularly abrasive, the skin on my cheeks and tops of my hands pink and itchy.
“We’re not,” Li rasps, “it’s just up ahead.”
“Do you see Ero?” I ask, my tongue sticking to my dry lips as I try and fail to wet them, my throat parched and stinging.
“No.”
I just hope he hasn’t done anything foolhardy in the mindset he’s in, but even I know better than to put my faith in that wish.
“Please, Ero,” I say under my breath, “please, wait for us.”
We press on and soon pull ourselves up onto the plateau that leads into the opening in the mountain. I roll over onto my back and close my eyes, panting and more than a little exhausted.
“Here,” Li says, crouching down beside me. He’s holding a waterskin out to me, and I take it eagerly, gulping down large mouthfuls of the sweet liquid.
“Slow down, lass,” Roan cautions, laying a hand on my own and causing me to flinch, my skin sore to the touch.
“It’s not you,” I say quickly, worried he’ll mistake my reaction.
“I know, we’re all a little worse for wear at the moment.”
He’s right, both he and Li have strips of pink skin across their faces, not unlike my hands but theirs are slightly blistered as well. I hand the waterskin to Roan who takes a few sips before tossing it over to Li. I stand as soon as I feel able and look around in search of Ero, but he’s not within sight.
“Come on,” I urge Li and Roan, taking a few steps toward the huge mountain archway.
“You’re allowed to rest for a while if you need to,” Roan says.
“I won’t be able to rest until we find Ero.”
Roan sighs but gets to his feet, and the three of us gradually make our way over to the stony entrance. Trees and bushes are growing on either side of the plateau, almost funneling us toward the giant archway the closer we get.
“Finally!” Ero say, stepping out in front of us, my heart jumping into my throat.
“What the hell?” Roan gasps.
“I’ve been waiting ages for you to get up here, come on.”
I’m not sure what surprises me more, the fact that he waited for us or his sudden appearance. I’m just glad he didn’t scare me enough to send me tumbling to my death.
“Ero?”
“Shh, follow me,” Ero whispers.
He leads us up into the archway, his footsteps measured and quiet as he looks around cautiously.
“What are you doing?” Roan asks.
“Damn it,” Ero growls, motioning for us to speed up. “Over here, quick!”
We hurry after him as he pushes us into a narrow crevice in one side of the wall just as a thick wave of fog billows out, flooding the archway and pouring down the side of the mountain.
“Don’t look at it,” Ero barks, turning his back to the opening in the wall and doing his best to block as much of the vapor from us as possible. The heat is intense and reeks of char and death. After a few minutes, the haze dissipates. “It’s coming from the dragon.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“I found him.”
We all look at Ero in wide-eyed surprise, but he just shrugs his shoulders like it’s nothing. “You were taking too long.”
“Maybe we wouldn’t have taken so long if you had stuck around to help,” Roan grumbles.
“We’re here now,” I say, “that’s all that matters.”
“So, are you going to show him to us?” Li asks.
“Yes,” Ero says, “but I should warn you that he’s sleeping. All this…smoke, it’s just from him breathing. I can only imagine what he can do when he’s awake.”
“I guess we’re about to find out,” I say.
“Lass,” Roan ventures, “perhaps you should stay here. In case something happens.”
“Roan has a point, Little Bird.”
“No. I’ve already come this far,” I say, pushing past them and out of the crevice in the wall. “It’s time to wake a dragon.”
Twelve
Annalise
Ero steps into place beside me as we trek further into the mountaintop archway known as Heaven’s Gate. It doesn’t take much effort to know we’re going in the right direction as the scent of dragon’s breath grows more pungent, saturating the surrounding area and turning my stomach. Ero veers off just as we pass through the far side of the massive arch to walk along a rocky trail that skirts the far side of the mountain.
The pathway is barely wide enough for a normal person to walk side by side, let alone my men. There’s a sheer, unscalable wall of stone to one side and a precipice to the other, one wrong move and it’ll be the last thing any of us do.
“There has to be an easier way,” Li says stopping short of the walkway.
“Depends on what you mean by easier,” Ero says. “There’s a small cave entrance that leads down to the caverns—”
“That sounds like a much better way,” Roan interjects.
“Yeah, if you’re willing to risk asphyxiation by concentrated dragon’s breath.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Roan says.
“Oh, yeah?” Ero turns back to face us, his toes gliding over the edge of the precipice and making my heart skip a beat. He peels back his sleeve, the fabric making a nauseating wet, ripping sound, to reveal a huge patch of burnt and blistered skin. “Barely managed to block my face in time. Now, are you coming or not?”
Ero takes a few steps backward along the narrow path and my knees go weak at t
he sight of him. I let out a soft whimper as the strain of the day finally takes its toll and I collapse.
This is it.
When I come to, I’m looking up into Ero’s pallid face as he brushes strands of hair from my face.
“Damn it, princess,” he says the moment I stir in his arms. “Never do that again.”
“Where are we?” I look around to see we’re still sitting just a few paces from the treacherous trail.
“Saint’s alive,” Roan sighs, “you nearly gave us all a heart attack.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Only a few minutes, Little Bird,” Li says, uncorking the waterskin and pressing it to my lips. “I wondered when more things like this would start happening.”
“You expected this?” I ask.
“Well, not this exactly,” Li says with a small smile, “but signs of your pregnancy affecting your body.”
“It’s just been a long day,” I say hastily, not wanting to think or talk about my so-called pregnancy.
Li raises an eyebrow and grabs my wrist in his slender fingers as he watches my face intently, but then his brow furrows and he drops my hand. “We should get going before we have to stay the night up here.”
“Wait,” I say after I have a second to collect my thoughts, but Li has already side-stepped onto the ridge and is making his way forward.
“What was that all about?” Roan mutters to himself, and I’m wondering the same thing as he helps me out of Ero’s arms and to my feet. I’m still a bit shaky. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here, lass?”
“Yes,” I reply, even though I’m not sure at all anymore.
“Take my hand,” Ero says.
“And mine.” Roan offers.
“I can’t take both of your hands.”
“Why not?” Ero asks.
“It…it wouldn’t be safe.”
“Just trust us,” Roan says, his hand still extended toward me.
I take a deep breath and then grasp both of their hands and we side-step together onto the ledge. It’s immediately apparent to me that they’re right. As we gradually make our way around the mountainside, I feel as though I’m pinned against the rock on either side in a way that makes it absolutely impossible for me to fall. I still have to force myself not to focus on the forest lying far, far below the edge of the cliff, but we make steady progress.
“You can let go now,” Ero says, and I open my eyes, not knowing when I closed them in the first place. I glance around to find we’re now standing on a much wider ledge, but it’s still barely large enough to fit all four of us. “There’s a crack in the wall over here.”
Ero pushes Li aside and I grimace as he walks to the end of the ledge.
“How did you find this?” Li asks, seemingly unperturbed about being pushed around on the edge of a deadly cliff.
“You’ll see,” Ero says, starting to wedge himself into the nook. “It’s not much further, I suggest you keep your voices down.”
Li nods and Roan rolls his eyes. Ero disappears inside, Li slides in next, and I move to follow when Roan pulls me back.
“Lass,” he says in a soft voice, “whatever happens next, I just want you to know that I love you.”
“I know you do,” I say with a nervous laugh which immediately dies away at the seriousness of his expression. “I love you, too.”
Roan watches my face, his own full of concern and…melancholy? I open my mouth to say something, but Roan presses a finger to my lips and then leans down and kisses me softly. A cool breeze rustles against us and I’m suddenly made aware of Roan’s scent as if I’m experiencing it for the first time. He smells warm and sweet, both calming and nostalgic like a perfect, summer’s evening from one’s childhood. I barely have time to drink it in before he pulls away from me and guides me toward the break in the rocks.
“After you,” Roan urges, pushing me gently into the crevice. The last thing I see before I turn to face the darkness and am greeted with a blast of warm air is a soft, sad smile lingering on his face…and it makes me wonder.
Am I the only one foolish enough not to think this could very well be the end?
The fissure is tight and I have no idea how any of my men are squeezing through it when the walls finally release me and I stumble into Li who catches me and sets me on my feet. Roan joins us a moment later and I see now how Ero found the way out. The cavern is nearly as big as the Great Hall back home, but so dimly lit any inkling of daylight, even from a hole little more than a pinprick in the rock, gleams like a little sun. The air is stiflingly hot, but not stagnant as it streams out through the crack in the wall.
There’s just enough light to see by, and Ero motions for us to follow him. We sneak through the cave, until Ero stops behind a set of stalagmites more than twice his size. He peers around the edge of one and then flattens himself back against it.
Ero makes several strange motions with his hand and it takes us all a few minutes to realize he’s trying to mime that the dragon is near, and it isn’t until Li mouths the question that he straightens up in embarrassment and nods. I creep over to where Ero is standing and grab hold of his shirt as I lean carefully around the edge of the pillar to look.
I can hardly believe my eyes, there, lying not more than ten cart lengths away, is a colossal, white dragon. Ero’s hand closes on my wrist just as I lose my grip and almost topple over from sheer astonishment, and he pulls me back against his chest.
Roan gives me a questioning look, but all I can do is open and close my mouth a few times in response. Roan and Li move to take a look and then pull back, their faces just as stunned as mine.
“What are we going to do now?” Roan whispers.
This is as far as any of us seem to have gotten in terms of planning, even Li looks dumbfounded. I wriggle out of Ero’s embrace and peer around the edge of the stalagmite once again, attempting to familiarize myself with our surroundings as well as the mythical creature. The cave tunnel that Ero had mentioned before is off to the right, not far from the dragon’s snout. To the left of us the cavern winds out of sight. My eyes dart back to the dragon and then I blink in disbelief as I pull myself back to Ero.
“The dragon is caged.”
“What?” all three of them ask in unison.
“He’s caged,” I repeat. “I didn’t notice at first, but I doubt anyone would notice right away, not after the shock of seeing a living, breathing dragon.”
Ero gives me a questioning look and then bends around the stalagmite to look for himself. “She’s right.”
“Wait, this is a good thing,” Li whispers, “as long as we don’t get within reach of him—”
“Or his fiery breath,” Roan chimes in.
“—Or his fiery breath,” Li continues, “we might actually stand a chance to talk to him.”
“How are we supposed to talk to a dragon?” Ero asks. “Not all magical creatures can speak.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I say, stepping out and walking toward the dragon before they have a chance to stop me.
“Come back,” Li beckons as loudly as he dares.
“Damn it!”
“Lass!”
I look over my shoulder at them, raising a hand in an effort to silence them, but it’s just enough time for my boot to catch on something and the next second the cavern is filled with clattering. I stop dead in my tracks, my eyes squeezed shut, nose crinkled and my heart pounding in my chest. Peeking through my lashes I see gold coins scattered all over the floor. Ever so slowly, I lift my eyes to look toward the dragon, but he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Get back here now,” Roan roars.
I turn back toward cover just as Roan, Ero and Li step out from behind the stalagmite. Time almost comes to a standstill as I watch their eyes widen and horror fill their faces. I take one step toward them before they disappear from view…
And all I see is fire.
Thirteen
Ero
We’re blasted
back, crashing to the stone floor behind the stalagmite just as dragon fire engulfs Annalise from behind. I cough, choking as the cavern is filled with foul, black smoke. I try to open my eyes but am forced to cover my head with my arms against the ground to wait for the fumes to disperse.
Roan and Li are coughing somewhere close by, struggling to breathe and get to their feet. Pressing a hand over my nose and mouth I gradually drag myself across the ground toward where I’d last seen Annalise. I force my eyes open, they instantly start to burn and tears stream down my face as I press forward.
My heart stops, and I momentarily forget every ounce of my own physical pain as my eyes settle on what remains of a charred body lying in the middle of the floor where Annalise once stood.
I can’t think.
I can’t feel.
I can’t see.
Every sensation, emotion, desire, memory torn from me in the blink of an eye. I scramble to my feet, but end up barely making it to her body on all fours.
My hand trembles, tears blurring what little vision I have left as I reach out to pull Annalise’s blacked body into my arms. Roan and Li fall to their knees on either side of me. I squeeze my eyes tight, forcing salty water to spill out and clearing my vision to temporarily see once again. Roan and Li rub their sleeves across their eyes, seemingly having just as hard a time as I am keeping them open, but I can’t tell if it’s from the soot-filled air…or tears.
“Lass,” Roan cries, his voice shattering to pieces.
“Little Bird?”
I don’t say a word… I can’t say a word. My mind blank and my body numb. Little by little my eyes drop down to the body in my arms, and then my blood begins to boil, filling the hollow in my chest. I’m seething, far angrier than I’ve ever been in all the time that I’ve existed.
“Don’t worry, princess,” I growl, tears stinging my cheeks and dripping off the tip of my nose. “I’m going to make that fucking dragon pay… We all are. Right?”
“Of course,” Li says, placing a hand tenderly on Annalise’s shoulder.
