The moonlit area was suddenly illuminated with stark magical light, and the sound of crackling static scorching the unsuspecting water wyrm’s mouth sent chills through Vanx’s bones.
As fast as it had grabbed the hawk, the lake dragon opened its mouth, or rather, its mouth was forced back open by Anitha’s powerful magic. The little elven spell caster wasn’t done, either. She was already letting loose a hot, sizzling pulse, which streaked at the lake dragon’s middle section, from her outstretched hand.
When it connected with the surprised amphibian, the creature emitted a roar that held as much pain as it did anger, but it was loud enough to hurt Vanx’s ears nonetheless.
The lake dragon turned to gaze at them then. It paused long enough to get a good look, and then it dove.
The great hawk wasn’t out of danger just yet, however. The power of the wyrm’s jaws had broken a wing, and the stunned bird spun around, once twice, and then, as the magical light faded, it spun around again and crashed into the trees a few hundred paces from where they stood.
“Do you think it is gone?” Vanx asked.
“I think it is in so much pain that it won’t try us again this night,” Moonsy said nodding. “Good work.” She patted Anitha on the shoulder and urged them all into a sprint.
Vanx took the Glaive of Gladiolus up into the tree and stuck the bird with it. The hawk was terrified at first, but it relished the feel of the magic. It stretched its wings, and Vanx heard the frail bones popping back into place. He thought he could hear them knitting together. Then the bird started flapping madly to pull itself free from the branch that had impaled its body.
Vanx stabbed the bird with glaive again, and when it tried to fly away this time, the limb came loose in a wet sounding slurp. Vanx half-climbed, half-jumped down from the tree.
He saw the hawk land near the elves, and Vanx followed them up the slope away from the water’s edge to where the other hawk was hiding.
“That was too close,” Moonsy said.
“Yup,” Vanx nodded. “I thought we lost the bird.”
“We may have,” Anitha said, matter of factly. “It is still riding the rush of fear, and all that magic, but after those sensations subside, the healed wing may not support a rider.”
“Then we better get back to the others quickly.” Moonsy indicated she and Anitha would be riding the previously wounded hawk.
Vanx mounted the other one and, a moment later, they were above the trees, save the tip-top of the Heart Tree’s upper limbs.
The sun had already started to pinken the distant horizon. After the battle with the tree-coons and the lake dragon, Vanx knew there would be no sleeping. He had to rest his eyes though, and his mind, while he could.
He wasn’t that tired, but he was anxious. He was also curious about what Gallarael had found on the other side of the magical barrier.
Chapter
Fifteen
In her father’s barn,
she took my coins again.
But oh what Molly gave me,
I’ll remember ‘till my end.
– Parydon Cobbles
As they flew, Vanx closed his eyes and sought a state of reverie, hoping the short rest would be enough to keep him sharp through the coming day. He never found true slumber, but he did allow his orbs to vanquish the bright splotches Anitha’s magic had bright burned into them.
When they landed, all the light showed him just how many carrion critters were having a feast. Small red eyed, animals and insects, eight-legged, four-legged, and two, fled the brightness of the illumination spells.
It seemed like he had just shut his lids. He didn’t complain, for here came Poops, braving the birds, who instinctually stirred fear deep inside him. The dog was waggling from side to side, like a four-legged fish trying to swim through the air. Vanx slid from the great hawk and greeted his friend from a squatted position.
“Ya, find it?” Chelda asked.
“We did,” Moonsy answered with a forced smile. “Nearly lost one of the hawks to a water wyrm, though.”
“There is a dragon here?” Gallarael asked. Even after the light spells were extinguished, Vanx could see her nervousness.
Vanx remembered seeing her crushed in the maw of a terrible wyrm of sorts. Her thickened shapeshifter skin had saved her from the sharp puncturing teeth, but not from the compression of that bastard’s bite. It didn’t kill her, but had killed their child.
He left Poops to give her a reassuring hug.
“It was a lake dragon, love” he said softly. “It won’t stray too far from its domain.”
“And Anitha blistered its mouth raw.” Moonsy was clearly proud of the other elf. “Her wards protected the great hawk when the lake dragonb tried to eat it.”
“I’m ready to go to the other side and see what is waiting,” Chelda said, indicating her backpack was loaded and she was waiting. “Gal said there was a door over there.”
“A door?” Vanx looked at Gallarael. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I would have, but you were intent on getting the map before proceeding.” Gallarael put her hands on her hips and smirked. “You said that once you had it, you might be able to see more than you can with your eyes.”
He had said that.
Vanx pulled the scroll case from his belt and popped off the oiled leather cap. “It was floating in the rocks at the edge of the lake,” he said as he unrolled the parchment. “I can’t believe it’s still dry.”
Vanx looked at the old wizard’s map for a moment. “Where is Papri’s map?” he asked.
He glanced around at the gray-blue, cloud-filled morning, and decided he needed help to see. “Moonsy, can you give me a little bit of light, please.”
Before she could cast her spell, he turned and gave her a serious look. “A little light, general,” he grinned. “Like a candle, not like a bonfire.”
Moonsy nodded and a small orb of illumination appeared. She sent it to hover over Vanx’s head with a subtle gesture of her hand. Vanx avoided looking at the orb. Instead, he concentrated on the maps, or more precisely the differences he saw in them.
“Look at that,” Chelda said from over his shoulder. “The crazy one marked the magic wall things, too.”
“Moonsy, what is this word?” Vanx asked. “Anitha, you’re the eldest here, have you any idea what this language is? What this word means?”
“It’s probably the name of the map maker, Vanx.”
“Nah, nah,” he shook his head. “That old wizard drew this, I’m sure of it. I don’t think that is his mark at all. But I am starting to think he may have had something to do with creating this place.”
“This is a natural island, Vanx,” Moonsy said. “He may have made it invisible, but he didn’t create it.”
“Maybe the trickster did?” Vanx wondered aloud.
“Who is the trickster?” Chelda asked.
“The old man mentioned him. He was the father of my race, maybe?” Vanx shrugged. “But he made a simple old cave look like it was an ancient dwarven complex. The pitfalls were ridiculous.”
“The place you had to piss in a hole to get out of?” Chelda blurted out a laugh. “I thought you made that up? You can tell the story as we hike, man.” Chelda’s impatience was showing. “The day has begun, and we are still dallying and guessing. What we want is below us, and behind closed doors we haven’t even seen yet.”
“You’re right, Chel.” Vanx put away the map. He hadn’t noticed anything that would help them. Only the word on the bottom of the parchment stood out. He looked and saw that all of their gear was stowed. They were all ready to follow Gallarael to the other side and were waiting on him.
The smell of the dead tree-coons was strong, especially to Poops’s nose, and flies covered most of them like an undulating carpet. There were several bright blue-fleshed sea dactyls feasting on the ripe corpses. There were other birds, too, but they gave the ancient dactyls all the space they wanted. Vanx even saw a few of the small red
marked spiders dragging pieces of meat into the woods.
Poops barked at something that braved their immediate proximity and, not for the first time, Vanx wished he’d brought a bow along. He was hungry and the rations he’d had in his belt pack had gotten wet sloshing through the lake.
“Here.” Chelda must have seen him tossing soggy pieces of sea biscuit and jerked venison out as they went along. The piece of meat she gave him wasn’t jerked or even cooked. She gave him a curious look when he looked from the thick morsel to her face and back.
Chelda had a little blood on her lips.
“Is this meat from those things we killed?” Vanx asked. “Unfired?”
“Yah.” Chelda grinned as she took a bite and had to pull the meat away hard to tear it from the rest.
Vanx shook his head, but took a bite anyway. It was pretty good, but tough. After tearing a second chunk off with his teeth, he gave the rest to Poops, who sniffed it three times before chugging it down, half chewed.
They soon entered a small bore-worm hole. The almost perfectly formed circular tube was just big around enough that Chelda didn’t have to stoop to go in.
Ten paces later, they could all see a circle of light in the distance.
“There.” Gallarael seemed excited. “A short sprint to the right will take us to the alcove I saw.”
Chapter
Sixteen
We’re off to go a questing,
a questing we will go.
What we find and who’ll survive,
we’ll find out when we know.
– A Tavern Song
Just before she exited the borehole, Gallarael dropped low and shushed them. “Something is out there,” she whispered. “Maybe we should wait until it leaves.”
“Maybe I could go bash its skull.” Chelda’s voice wasn’t restrained at all.
“Shhh,” Vanx heard Moonsy try to quiet her lover.
A few moments passed.
“It’s all right,” Gallarael looked back. “Whatever it was, Chel’s voice startled it away.”
“You didn’t see it?” Vanx asked.
“No,” she looked back at Vanx and met his eyes. “Sensed more like. It was big enough to make the lower branches shake, though. Maybe it left some tracks.”
“I’d rather avoid these things around here than investigate them,” said Anitha, glancing at her general defiantly, as if voicing her opinion might be out of line.
“Yup. I agree,” Vanx said before Moonsy could react. “Lead us to the doorway you told Chelda about. I want to see it for myself.”
“If it ain’t locked, it’s a trap,” Chelda said.
“This whole place seems like an elaborate trap,” Moonsy agreed.
“Yup,” added Vanx. “But we’re not getting caught in it.”
“You don’t sound as sure as you think you do,” Gallarael told him.
“Go.” Chelda urged Gallarael out of the opening. “Let’s get on with it.”
“Let’s.” Vanx let all the women exit before him, and then followed Poops, who darted up to the font of the single file procession. Vanx let his senses meld with the dogs, and the world took on a whole other level of definition. He could detect the heat of things as he took them in, and he could sharpen his vision a bit, but the brilliant scentscape that opened up was what always astounded him the most.
He could smell the acrid insects, and the sweet nectar of some honeysuckle that grew in a sizable cluster not-so-far away. There was a snake flicking its tongue on a high branch, and a small finch showing anger with a shrill, three-note warning whistle. Vanx could smell the women ahead of him and distinguish each one’s individual scent. He could also smell himself, and decided that he should have bathed in the lake, or at least splashed water on his pits.
He was ripe.
Vanx could smell the slippery scent of a lizard lazing in a ray of sunlight a few trees away, and he could feel, as well as smell, the vibrations of fear coming from more than one hunkering little hopper. The flowers and the different vegetation were distinguishable as well. He almost laughed when he had a thought.
If he failed at adventuring, he could always make a fancy pocketful of coins seeking out herbs with Poops’s keen snout.
He laughed at himself again, for he had Pyra’s hoard, and a pair of leviathan to protect it. By the hells, if he added one more ship he would officially have a fleet. If he weren’t committed to the Goddess, he’d be fishing somewhere this very moment.
Follow your heart, she always told him.
His heart told him to finish what he started, and then enjoy all that came his way, when it was done, but he was a bard. He’d sang many a song about one who waited to follow their heart, and then missed the ship, so-to-speak. He would do the bidding of the one who had allowed him this life, but he would be quick about it. Or so he hoped.
Vanx was lead to the corner of the building. It wasn’t that large, he decided, and it wasn’t square as poor Papri had drawn it. It was long and fairly narrow, and from one vantage, when they’d gone uphill to avoid a fallen tree, he saw that is was flat, or maybe canted so slightly as to be imperceptible to the eye.
They were about half way from the corner to the centered alcove, along the longer side, when Vanx stopped them.
“Anitha, can you levitate straight up from here and tell me what the top of this place really looks like?”
“I can,” she nodded and prepared to do so.
“What is it Vanx?” Moonsy asked. He looked up to see three women, each with nearly the same hand-on-their-hip look, as if he was keeping them from a gala, or a festival dance.
“From the ridge, we just saw the corner, is all. The top is lower than the trees.” He shrugged. “When we went up to avoid that fallen trunk, I thought I saw that part of it was darker than the rest.”
Birds? Poops sent the cautionary suggestion to Vanx through their familiar link.
“Watch out for birds, Anitha,” Vanx said quickly as the small elf rose.
“You have to be kidding,” Anitha said, shaking her head.
She didn’t have to go very high to start excitedly describing something. “It’s a dragon.”
“What?” Chelda asked. Vanx noticed her heavy war hammer was already in her hand.
“Not a real dragon, but a long snaking dragon shape, done in darker stone than the rest. It has its wings pulled back, save for a darker, rectangular border.”
“I wonder if there are more dragons here,” Gallarael said. “This island could host several of them.”
“Another Castovanti,” Chelda barked out in a laugh.
Vanx laughed, too. Not at Chelda’s remark, but the way Moonsy looked up at her with a wide opened mouth.
Then a roar sounded, causing Vanx to drop into a ready position. The sun was shaded from overhead for so long that he thought his heart might burst out of his chest.
“To the alcove,” Vanx yelled, and started running. He nearly ran into Moonsy, who was standing there with tears streaming down her elfish face. His heart clenched in his chest as he realized Anitha had just been snatched from where she was hovering, by a dragon. A dragon who most likely used this building’s top as a lazing stone.
Chapter
Seventeen
There are many ways to skin a cat,
the fun is choosing which.
But it’s no cat I want to kill.
I want to skin a witch.
– The Weary Wizard
Vanx forced Moonsy to go ahead of him and, when he entered the alcove, he looked out and saw that the dragon was only half as big as Pyra had been, which was still pretty large as far as dragons go. It was the color of a coral sea, or maybe a light, turquoise stone. And it was circling back around.
Looking at what was outside the small cube of space they were huddled in, Vanx saw that there was plenty of room for the wyrm to fly by and blast them with whatever sort of breath a coral blue dragon might produce. Vanx had no idea such a beautiful creature existed. There w
as no dragon lore he knew of that catalogued a wyrm of such a color. When it banked, he saw a coppery colored pattern ran down its spine. He could imagine it still along a seashore looking like a tumble of stones at the water’s edge. There was no way he could guess what it could do.
“They are locked,” Chelda said loudly.
“Let me see,” Moonsy stepped up. At first she looked like she was in shock over losing Anitha so abruptly. She shook it off, and went about studying the handle and latch on the heavy banded wood filling the arch.
Poops barked, sending a shock of warning and fear down Vanx’s spine. He turned again to see that the dragon was coming at them now. His heart was hammering, and he was almost certain they were about to die, but something compelled him.
Everything suddenly made sense.
“By the Lanch and Lecher, he’s gone mad,” Chelda said when Vanx started out toward the dragon.
“There’s no keyhole, Vanxy.” Moonsy sounded frantic. “There isn’t a keyhole!” She yelled it this time, probably thinking he didn’t hear. He’d remembered what the old wizard had said about dragons, and he hoped beyond all hope that he was right, assuming that he now understood what the word written in the corner of that map was.
“Havoktalla!” Vanx yelled at the approaching wyrm. “We mean you no harm. Havoktalla!” He repeated the dragon’s name a second time.
“The door opened, Vanx!” Moonsy squealed.
“Come on Vanx,” Gallarael yelled. “The door opened.”
“Hurry,” Chelda echoed their plea.
Vanx didn’t understand.
Poops blasted through his brain with painfully dire barks.
Vanx shook off his delusion and fear overtook him. He turned and started to run back toward them. He took two steps but his legs turned to water when he sensed the dragon about to snatch him from the ground.
The Tome of Arbor (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 9) Page 6
