Ergon shook her. “Sis! We need to get out of here.”
“Lyra,” Tharius said, kneeling beside her, “I’ll carry your brother.” He looked up at Dothea and Trissa. “Take Lyra and go on ahead. Find help. Me and Ergon will be right behind you.”
The screams echoing through the corridors were terrifying, but not nearly as much as the bestial growls that came with them.
“It’s coming through here,” Aric said aiming at one of three corridors in front of them.
The others agreed with anxious nods. They ran as fast as they could. Another set of screams and roars made Aric jolt with fright. He tripped on a patch of ice and would have fallen to the floor if Clea hadn’t caught him.
“Are you alright?” Clea asked.
Aric froze in her arms. “Ye‒… yes, of course,” he mumbled. “Thank you.”
“Down there,” Leth yelled. He was standing next to a stairwell. “The screams are coming from down there.”
At the bottom of the stairs, they found another narrow corridor. The screams got louder and louder until the corridor gave way to a massive opening. Inside was a crowd of statues, but they could see people moving between them. And not just people.
“It’s Irenya,” Clea said. “And Orisius and….”
“What are those things?!” Leth asked.
The only answer he received was the sound of Athan’s prayer flask lighting up, followed by the usual mumbling.
“We’ve got to help them,” Clea urged.
The blade from Leth’s sword rung out as he unsheathed it. Nahir mirrored him and drew out his knife, then looked at its tiny blade and snorted. “I don’t think this is going to do,” he said, sheathing the knife. He moved to one of the stone warriors and stole a massive battle-axe. It had to weigh as much as Nahir himself. The Cyrinian looked pleased. “Let’s go.”
Leth nodded and the two of them charged towards the creatures. Taking an arrow from her quiver, Clea looked at Athan and Aric.
“The two of you are unarmed,” she said. “Best if you stay here.”
Before Aric could reply she was off.
She must think I’m a useless coward.
“We have to do something,” Aric told Athan.
The former acolyte opened his eyes and faced him pitifully.
“I’m doing the only thing I know….”
Shifting his weight frantically, Aric looked at the others and saw Ashur throwing a stone at one of the creatures. The beast was knocked down to the floor but jumped back up with cat-like reflexes.
“You really think that will help?” Aric asked, indicating the prayer flask with his chin. There was no malice in the question. He truly wanted to know.
“No,” Athan replied. “I don’t.”
Aric bit his lower lip as he saw Clea firing two arrows at one of the monsters. The creature merely stumbled back a little.
“Screw it,” Aric said, then dashed away towards her.
Clea fired another arrow. This time, she hit the beast right between his eyes. It barely even flinched.
Aric saw her reaching for another arrow. The monster was an arm’s length away from her. She fumbled around her quiver, gasping.
“Goddess!” she screamed.
Bam! Aric elbowed the monster, knocking it to the ground. He rolled to the side, trying to give himself enough room to stand back up. He knew the creature would slice him open if it got close enough. Except it didn’t. Instead, the monster scrambled back, hissing before it ran away.
“I think…” Clea said, astonished. “I think you scared it….”
“I did?”
That didn’t seem very likely. At the sound of a curse, Aric looked over his shoulder and saw Leth slashing one of the creatures’ torso open.
“Why won’t they die?” Leth yelled.
“Because they are already dead!” Nahir replied, swinging his axe.
If it had worked once, why wouldn’t it work twice? Aric gritted his teeth and charged. Leth heard him howling as he approached and barely had the time to dodge and let him by.
Bam!
Once again, he crashed elbow-first against the creature, hurling it to the floor. And once again, as soon as it caught a glimpse of Aric it fled as quickly as it could.
Leth was rendered speechless. “What the‒”
“AVA’S MERCY SAVE US ALL!” Athan screamed from the back. It was hard to tell if he was yelling or crying. The former acolyte must have been inspired by Aric’s success because he was charging with all his might. Ava’s fire leading the way as he held his prayer flask firmly in his hands.
“What is that idiot doing?!” Leth asked.
Athan crashed against a monster that Ashur was barely keeping at bay with a lance and the two of them fell to the ground, wrapping around each other. Suddenly, flames erupted around Athan and the creature. The former acolyte jumped up, screaming and twirling as flames ate through his jacket. Hastily, he shucked the jacket off, throwing it away. Fire was enveloping the monster as well, except it didn’t have a jacket to undress. It shrieked and howled hideously, hurtling from one side to the other as the flames consumed it.
“Fire!” Aric screamed. “They’re vulnerable to fire!”
Their scaled skins cracked and shred beneath the flames until there was nothing left of those bone chilling things.
“Goddess damned beasts…” Ashur spat as the last of the four monsters shrieked and squirmed.
“Put the torch out, Ashur,” Aric said. “We should save the fuel until we’re out of here.”
“You put it out,” Ashur replied, tossing the torch.
Aric caught it midair and swallowed a curse.
“Here,” Clea said, taking her leather vest off. “Use this.” The tunic she wore underneath the vest was bloodied.
“Are you alright?” Aric asked, wrapping the flames with the vest, carefully so not to burn himself.
Clea looked down at the blood stains. “These aren’t mine, don’t worry.”
She smiled at Aric, and butterflies woke up inside his belly.
“Athan,” he called, jerking his stare away from Clea. “How much fuel do we have?”
The former acolyte looked at his prayer flask. “A few more drops,” he replied. “We’ll have to make them count.”
“Understood,” Aric said with a nod.
Then, echoes of what sounded like a stampeding herd thundered from one of the many corridors feeding the hall.
“Oh no…” Irenya groaned with dread. “How many more of those things can there be?”
“It’s not the creatures,” Nahir told her. “It’s Trissa and the others. Listen.”
Everyone became quiet, trying to decipher the noise. Was that screaming?
“I think they’re crying for help,” Clea said.
“I think so too,” Aric agreed. “They’re trying to find us. Come on.”
The group followed the sound and Athan placed his prayer flask at the ready. Tiny Glowstone crystals lit the way across the tight tunnel as if they were inside a punctured box, and the echoing voices became clearer and clearer. A girl was crying for help. Actually, more than one girl. At least two of them.
With the torch at the ready, Aric guided them towards the screams. They took several turns and climbed a steep staircase.
Clea was the first to see them. “There!” she said.
“Quick! Help!” Dothea screamed.
The three girls were pushing a door, trying to close it, but several blue arms and legs were sticking out, keeping it from slamming shut. Trissa turned around, trying to gain more purchase on the ground, and blood dripping from her arm smeared the door.
Nahir, Orisius, and Clea rushed towards them, helping them hold the door.
“Athan,” Aric called, “quick, give me light.”
With trembling hands, Athan flicked his prayer flask open. He nearly dropped the red vial.
There was a pound on the door so powerful it made everyone pushing it jump.
“Qu
ick!” Aric urged.
Steadying his own arm, Athan ignited the torch and fire quickly engulfed it.
“Ok, everyone,” Aric called. “At my signal, get behind me.”
The three girls hesitated, exchanging worried glances, but Nahir and Leth reassured them with a nod, and they decided to obey.
“Now!” Aric yelled
The group jumped away from the door and the creatures burst through like a growling flood. Everyone ran behind Aric except for Nahir and Leth, who took positions at his side. The creatures charged and Aric torched the first one. All it took was a simple kiss from the flames and they instantly spread across their blue bodies.
Strangely, none of the monsters tried to attack Aric, going for Leth and Nahir instead. It made the fight even easier, Nahir’s axe and Leth’s sword funneling all five remaining creatures towards Aric.
The last of the monsters was still hissing within the blaze when Lyra grabbed Aric’s collar.
“You have to hurry,” Lyra said, sobbing. “Ergon’s hurt.”
“Tharius stayed with him and we came for help,” Dothea added.
Aric cursed. “Take us there!” he said. “Athan, the fuel. Stay close to me.”
The former acolyte nodded, his milky white hands wrapping around the prayer flask as if it were the most precious of jewels.
With Lyra in the lead, they ran across several passageways until she stopped, gasping. Aric felt a shiver. They had just entered another tunnel and there was blood smeared across the walls and floor tiles. At the other end of the corridor pieces of wood dangled from the hinges of what had once been a door, but there was no one in sight.
No one dared to say anything for a while until Clea pushed through the crowd and stepped into the middle of the mess of splinters and blood. She circled, trying to decipher the leftovers from the fight, and Aric joined her, the flame on his torch dancing nervously.
“The blood trails that way,” Clea said, indicating the shattered door. “I think they have been taken.”
Lyra bawled and her eyes welled once again.
“They’re probably dead by now,” Ashur said.
“Shut up, you idiot,” Leth snapped.
If Ashur was going to retort something he changed his mind under the stares of the rest of the group.
It was Clea who broke the silence. “We can try to follow the blood trail…” she ventured.
“We don’t have to,” Trissa said. “I think I know where they are.” About a dozen puzzled looks turned to her. “When we were attacked… we had found a huge cache of Glowstone. I think the creatures were protecting it.”
Aric looked down at his own chest. “Maybe that’s why they don’t attack me,” he said. “Because I’m wearing Glowstone.”
“So, they think you’re one of them or something?” Leth said.
“Maybe…” Aric said. “Trissa, do you remember where you found the crystals?”
“Yes. Follow me.”
Trissa dashed away. She turned a corner and climbed a wide staircase, checking over her shoulder to see if the others were keeping up. She didn’t seem to care that there were patches of ice everywhere. Aric almost asked her to slow down, but quickly changed his mind when he checked the weakening flame on his torch. Then he heard a squeak from behind, followed by the sound of shattering glass.
Aric stopped, turned around, and saw a livid Athan, laying on the ground, staring at the remains of his prayer flask. What little liquid it contained was now spilled across the frozen steps of the staircase.
“I’m… I’m so sorry,” Athan mumbled.
“Crap…” Leth said.
Everyone quickly turned to Aric. The torch still burned in his hand, even if faintly.
“I think we’d better hurry,” he said.
This time, Trissa didn’t even reply. Didn’t even make sure the group was following her, she simply darted around a corner, curls of black hair bouncing on her head. Then, she stopped right next to a door’s threshold, doing a silent shush sign. The Company lined behind her, backs against the wall, and she gestured Aric to peek around the door.
It wasn’t a room, it was a cave. Except, unlike any other cave, this one was blindingly bright. Massive Glowstone crystals pierced its ground and ceiling like pillars. There were so many of them it was impossible to count.
A cache of Glowstone, Trissa had said. More like a mountain of it. There were enough of those crystals in there to build a palace. The most unsettling part was how the blue pillars felt like they were humming, even though Aric couldn’t really hear anything. Between them dozens of the scaled creatures walked around like restless ants, doing nothing except admiring the mighty structures. Twisting his head, Aric searched the cave for Tharius and Ergon.
“I see them!” he whisper-screamed.
The two boys were laying on the ground, looking to be unconscious. A dark pool of blood spread beneath them.
“Aric,” Trissa whispered. She pointed at his torch.
The flames were dying out. Only a few of patches of the torch’s cloth still burned.
“I’m going in,” Aric said.
Leth, Nahir, and Clea moved into position behind him. Aric stopped them with a gesture.
“No. There are too many of those things in there. I’ll be fine. You saw how they always back away from me.”
Leth glanced at the shiny Dragon scale and Glowstone armor on his chest and gritted his teeth. “Just keep the torch in hand, alright?”
Aric nodded. “Stay here,” he said, then swung and stepped into the cave.
The creatures noticed him immediately and a hundred fierce, unsettling eyes fell on him. Aric’s entire body demanded that he flee. His stomach turned, his spine shivered, and the torch in his hand trembled like a branch in a storm. A gust of wind swept around him, the cold cutting his cheeks, and Aric took a slow step forward. Still, he almost slipped on the ice covered rock.
Some of the creatures snarled, but none of them moved. Swallowing through a dry throat, Aric walked towards his friends.
“What are these things?” he whispered to himself.
A small semi-circle was forming around him, but no creature got less than a couple paces away from him.
“Tharius,” Aric called, kneeling beside him. “Tharius!”
With a twitch that shook his entire body, Tharius woke up, his blue eyes popping. The boy grabbed Aric’s arm and squeezed.
“Aric?”
“Yes. Are you hurt? Can you walk?”
Tharius’s head spun around, panic writhing his mouth. “Wh‒… why aren’t they attacking?”
Aric pushed him down. “Don’t get up. Stay still.” He looked at the torch in his other hand. It would go out at any moment. If those things attacked…. “Can you walk?”
“I think so….”
“What about Ergon?”
Tharius looked at the other boy lying next to him “I… couldn’t help him,” he said. His eyes welled.
“What?!” Aric dove and pushed an ear against Ergon’s chest. A sigh of relief left his lungs. “He’s still alive!”
That last sentence was a bit too loud. Around him, a small army of scaly monsters roared.
“I don’t understand,” Tharius said. “Why aren’t they attacking you?”
“Because I’m wearing Glowstone,” Aric replied, tapping a finger on his cuirass. He stood back up, looked at the torch, and saw a last flicker of flame licking the charred ball of cloth. “Or at least, I hope that’s why.”
He threw the torch away and faced the circle of beasts. Then took a step forward. Each one of them took a step back.
“Be still,” Aric said over his shoulder. “Don’t get up.”
One foot after the other, Aric neared one of the gigantic Glowstone pillars. Smaller crystals branched from the main one, some as wide and long as a log, others as short and thin as a kitchen knife. He tried grabbing one of them.
“Ouch!”
The crystal stung like an ice burn coursing throu
gh his veins and Aric was forced to let it go. The monsters didn’t like it and snarled again. One of them even took a step forward. Otherwise, the semi-circle kept its distance.
“Yeah, yeah be quiet…” Aric told them. “You’re even uglier when you open your mouths.” He turned back to the crystals, ripped a patch off his sleeve, and then wrapped it around one of them. This time, he felt nothing except the jagged surface of the Glowstone. He yanked hard and the crystal cracked away from the main structure. “Tharius,” he called.
The other boy lifted his head slightly.
“Let’s make an experiment,” Aric said. “Catch.” Hoping his aim had improved since the bow and arrow training a couple of days before, he sent the crystal circling through the air. Tharius caught it midflight. Aric felt rather pleased with himself.
The beasts rushed towards Tharius like a pack of famished dogs. Yelping, he rolled away from them and jumped up, holding the Glowstone crystal like a dagger. The creatures froze, hissing. Were they afraid of it? They didn’t look afraid….
“Fire take me…” Tharius said.
“No,” Aric replied, exhaling louder than ever in his life. “Fire take them. Literally. You should have seen it.”
As soon as they stepped into the hallway where Ashur and the others had found the exit door, the Glowstone shards lit up as if blue fires had suddenly ignited within them. And not just the pile of crystals they were carrying, every tiny shard incrusted on the walls of the tunnel burst to life, covering the group with a blue halo. As a response, the stone slabs in the ceiling cracked and a thin curtain of sand fell through the opening, immediately followed by a flood of sunlight.
There was a collective gasp of relief.
“How is this even possible?” Leth asked, staring at the slowly parting stone blocks.
“No one cares, rich kid,” Ashur told him. “We’re out.”
Leth rolled his eyes.
“Has to be a spell stored inside the crystals,” Aric said. He adjusted Ergon’s weight over his shoulder with a tug.
“So who stored the spell?” Leth insisted, taking a look at one of the crystals he was carrying. That one alone was the size of his sword.
The Dragon Hunter and the Mage Page 16
