The Dragon Blade

by P D Atkerson

  Aroron opened his eyes and looked around.

  They found themselves inside a small round room, with gray worn walls. A pair of spiraling stairs made of old stone, went up and up to meet the darkness above their heads. Strangely, there were torches lighting part of the way.

  Moonlight came from the two-inch-wide and a foot-tall cuts in the walls for archers to use during a siege. Aroron could see the dazzling starry sky outside. He wondered if he'd ever see anything beyond the village he'd grown up in with his mother. The world looked so big, and he knew none of it. If he died here, he never would.

  Cobwebs hung like curtains from the roof, a coating of dust covering the tower floor. He looked down and could see his footprints in the dust, strangely there was also a pair of boot prints leading up the staircase and back down again. Someone had been there recently, but oddly enough those were the only prints. The place must have been abandoned for years and years. Probably from before King Munay's reign.

  Aroron moved to stand under the spiral stairs. The torches flickered and shadows of the short spikes running along the outer edge of the stairs, played against the walls.

  The top of the stairs turned into blackness and he couldn't see the end of it. They went up and up into the darkness. "What are we going to do here?" He asked, but Shon didn't answer.

  He turned towards Shon, just as Shon groaned and fell back against the wall. His eyes were pressed closed, and his face turned ashen, as he slid down the wall to the ground.

  Shon bit his bottom lip and placed a hand against his side. Blood spilled through his fingertips, and dripped down his arm, pooling at his feet.

  Aroron ran to his father and knelt next to him. "What happened?" He asked, as he pulled Shon's hand away and lifted the edge of his shirt, which was stained with blood.

  He grimaced. The cut was deep and went nearly all the way down his side. Aroron felt nauseous, as he watched the blood sliding out of the cut and down Shon's pants.

  "Kant got me just before we made it to the door." Shon said, through gritted teeth. "Is it bad?"

  Aroron could see the pain in Shon's eyes he quickly turned away, his face growing hot. What was he going to do? Shon needed help!

  "It's deep and you're losing a lot of blood." Aroron said, examining the cut. "We need to stop the flow of blood, and when we're far away from here, you need to find someone to stitch you up. But I think you're going to be okay." He said, standing. "I need to disinfect it." He pulled Shon's cloak off his back. "Sorry." He told Shon, as he pulled a knife out of his belt and started cutting a strip of fabric off the bottom of his cloak.

  Next, he took his shoulder bag off and reached in. Taking out a small glass bottle, he opened it and poured some of the gray liquid onto the cloth, then some into the cut.

  Shon grabbed the wall behind him, wincing as the liquid dripped into the cut and sizzled. Aroron helped Shon as he tied the cloth around his stomach, as tight as they could, without hurting Shon needlessly.

  When they were done Shon grimaced and stood up, closing his eyes for a second. He took in a deep breath.

  "I'm glad Helen taught you how to do that," Shon said, smiling. Aroron quickly looked away, deciding not to tell him it hadn't been Helen who taught him. Shon looked towards the spiral staircase. "We need to get up there, before Kant wakes up and breaks this door down on us! Help me to the top of the tower," He told Aroron. "There are supplies waiting for us, and another passage out of here. I hope."

  "This is a bad idea, you need help," Aroron said, standing. "And I think we should go to Uncle... Lord Tort. He'll help us, I know he will!"

  "No!" Shon snapped. "We're not going back, if I die, I die. But I don't want you getting hurt because of me," he said. "Please Aroron, let's just get out of here, before it's too late."

  Aroron sighed and nodded. "Put your arm around my shoulder. And I'm not asking." Shon looked at him and nodded.

  Slowly, they moved towards the stairs.

  Aroron gripped his father around his midsection and helped him up the first step, then they moved up five more steps as fast as they could. Shon grimaced and lowered his head, as he gripped Aroron's shoulder.

  They stopped and stood there for a minute.

  "I'm sorry," Shon whispered. "I didn't think it would take this much out of me." Aroron could see Shon was breathing harder than he should.

  Aroron shrugged. "It's okay, we'll keep going when you're ready."

  Shon nodded. "I'm ready to move now."

  Aroron looked at his father. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I don't want to push you." As if to prove he was ready, Shon took another step.

  Aroron tried to help his father as much as he could, but there wasn’t much he could do for him. He was still losing blood quickly and he couldn't help with that.

  After what seemed like hours, Aroron wondered if the darkness was making time move slower for them in there, he just wanted out of the tower! He began to wonder if, when they got to the top of the tower, they would be above the clouds. The tower went on and on.

  Aroron didn't know it, but as he was thinking through this, they reached the half way point to the top of the tower. Just as they did, Aroron heard a loud slamming sound coming from the bottom of the tower.

  Kant!

  His shoulders drooped and he fought the urge to just sit down and wait for Kant to come for them. He gripped Shon's arm. "I'm sorry you're in pain, but we have to get moving faster or Kant's going to catch us."

  Shon nodded and grabbed hold of Aroron's cloak. "Let's go," he whispered. "I'll be fine, as long as we get to the top in time."

  From there on, they took the steps as fast as they could, but it didn't help. It felt like they'd never make it to the top of the tower. Kant would find them.

  Little by little, the lights below them started to fade.

  Not much later, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed and reached their ears. Kant, and by the sound of it, someone else, had entered the tower.

  Aroron was about to give up any hope of reaching the top, when he saw a gray light growing ahead of them. Could they be reaching the top? He wondered. He saw ahead, the outline of a room, just as he tripped on one of the steps and fell, pulling his father down with him.

  Shon cried out in pain, as they slammed into the stone steps.

  "Father!" Aroron cried as he pushed himself up and moved over to Shon. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

  Shon moaned and Aroron knew they had to move. He grabbed under Shon's armpits and started to pull him up towards the top of the tower.

  Finally, they came to the top of the stairs, and into a room not much different than the one at the bottom of the tower.

  "Where do we go from here?" Aroron asked, as he slowly laid Shon down. Shon didn't say anything, he just looked up at the roof, as his eyes slid closed.

  Aroron followed Shon's line of sight. There's a trapdoor! But the handle looked a little too high for Aroron to reach. Who could ever use it with ease? Maybe a giant!

  Aroron helped Shon lean up against the wall, then moved to the center of the room where the trapdoor was. The only way he could get to it was by jumping.

  He took a deep breath and jumped, his fingers missed and all he caught was a hand full of air. He tried again, this time he was able to grab hold of the handle, yanking on it with all his weight. The trapdoor swung open and down towards him.

  A ladder unrolled and stopped in front of Aroron. It swung from side to side, he grabbed onto it, holding it still. "Hurry, you go first." he told Shon.

  Shon nodded, as he shoved himself off the wall and slowly moved over to the ladder and Aroron.

  Shon grabbed onto the ladder and slowly started to climb up sideways, so it didn't swing around as he brought his foot up to the next rung.

  Once at the top he waved to Aroron. "Hurry!" Shon called down to Aroron, as he knelt next to the edge of the trapdoor and watched him.

  Aroron quickly grabbed hold of the ladder and scurried up the side of it. He took it two rungs at a
time. In a matter of seconds, he was at the top.

  Aroron grabbed hold of the roof and pulled himself up, pulling the ladder back up inside.

  Leaning out over the hole, Aroron grabbed the trapdoor, and pulled it shut.

  He turned around and grabbed the knife from Shon's belt and shoved it into one the hinges of the trapdoor.

  "There, it should hold for a minute," Aroron said, as he jiggled it around.

  The knife didn't really move much, it would hold for a few minutes, but not much longer than that. Aroron stood and wiped his hands on his cloak, as he looked around at what surrounded him.

  They were in another round room, like the one at the bottom of the stairs, and the top. It was bare, with only the cuts in the walls and a small grated door to one side. The roof moved up and formed into a cone. The air was musty and Aroron saw mold growing on the wall.

  "Come on, this way," Shon said, pointing towards the gate.

  He was still holding his side and looked like he was going to be sick, but he said nothing to Aroron, and Aroron wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. He needed to know when he had to stop.

  Shon leaned back against the wall and pulled on a lever to the right of the gate. He let go of the lever and the gate began to rattle up into the roof of the tower.

  They quickly moved through the gate, before it even opened all the way, they ducked under and stepped out.

  Once outside the tower walls, Shon clutched his side with both hands and moved over to what looked like a cloak, piled on the ground next to the wall of the tower roof, soaked in rain water. Shon knelt next to the cloak.

  "What are you doing?" Aroron asked. Don't we need to get going? They didn't have time to dig through a pile of old clothing! He hadn't thought of why it was up there, on a tower no one ever went to. He looked over his father's shoulder, at the pile of clothing. Shon pulled the cloak back and tossed it aside, underneath was a long white wood box.

  Shon picked the box up, turned around and handed it to Aroron, as he stood. For a minute the pain was gone from his eyes.

  "Here, this is for you," Shon said, smiling as he held it out toward Aroron.

  Aroron hesitated, for some reason his hands were shaking.

  Something inside of him was yelling not to take the box, but he had no idea why. He took a deep breath and accepted the box from his father.

  It was made of some strange white wood and glowed lightly in the Moonlight. Aroron had never seen anything like it before.

  He squinted and looked closer at the box. It had white gold engravings along the outer edge and in the center of the lid, was engraved a heart with dragon wings sprouting out of it.

  The crest of Strangeheart. The once royal family of Karlay.

  With a glance at his father, Aroron gently lifted the lid off the box. What he saw lying inside took his breath away.

  Snugly wrapped in a deep-blue velvet cloth, was the most beautiful sword and scabbard Aroron had ever seen in his life, and he'd seen more than his share growing up in the Dark Castle.

  The scabbard was made of polished silver, with blue gems embedded in white gold hearts. Around the hearts were engraved strange shapes. Maybe they were writing. "Is this writing on the scabbard?" Aroron asked.

  "Yes," Shon said. "But it's old Karlien, no one knows it anymore."

  Aroron nodded. He carefully lifted the sword out of the box and stood up, sliding the sword out of its scabbard. As he did so, the metal rang out, like it had when Kant had drawn his sword. Somehow it sounded different, sweeter in a way.

  Aroron held the sword up into the air as moonlight shone down on him. The sword was made of a metal Aroron had never seen before.

  It looked like white gold but had a rainbow-like tint to it. Depending on what angle he held it, the sword's blade took on a different color. Sometimes pink, sometimes green and every other color Aroron could name, and some he couldn't.

  When he held it, two dragon's wings wrapped together around his hand.

  Strangely, it fit Aroron's hand perfectly, as if it were made for him. Metal wings were wrapped around his fist as added protection. The polished metal glimmered, even in the dim light of the moon. Aroron's heart started to pound. It wasn't because he was scared, far from it. For some reason, as he held the sword, he was excited!

  As he held the sword up to the moon, Aroron could make out what looked like lightning, frosted onto both sides of the blade.

  "Where did you get it?" Aroron asked, glancing towards his father. He knew even a king couldn't afford a sword like this. He almost hoped his father wouldn't tell him, he wasn't sure he would like the answer.

  The sword was one of a kind, and it was his!

  His father sighed and closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip. For a minute, he didn't say anything.

  "It's a long story," he whispered. "One I'd rather tell far, far away from here. Where I can explain everything to you." He looked down at Aroron and smiled. "Come over here," he said, waving Aroron to him, as he looked out over the wall to what lay below.

  Aroron took one last look down at the sword. His sword! He slid it back into the scabbard and gently into the box, closing the lid. He held the box under his arm as he stood next to Shon, who stood bent over the wall, looking below him.

  "What are you looking at?" Aroron asked. He could see the reflection of the castle and the moon in the water. As he looked, he realized they hadn't really gone up very high in the tower, the water was only two hundred feet below them.

  "Do you see how this part of the tower isn't rounded off like the rest of them, but has a sharp corner to it?" Shon asked. Aroron looked around the corner and nodded. "That's where the passage lies."

  Aroron's eyes grew wide and he looked up at his father, again. "But how are we supposed to get down there?" he asked.

  "By climbing," Shon said, a twinkle in his eyes.

  Aroron swallowed and looked back down at the water. If they lost their grip climbing down, they'd fall into the freezing cold water below.

  "Why did they put it there?" Aroron asked. "Won't we die if we fall?" he asked. He knew how to swim but falling this far wasn't going to be fun.

  Shon shrugged, and looked back down at the corner. "I have no idea why they put it there, maybe to keep it hidden, even from people looking for it," he said. "But no, we wouldn't die if we fell, we'd be very cold and wet, and probably wouldn't feel good for a while. But we wouldn't be dead." As he was saying this Shon swayed and stepped back.

  Aroron grabbed his arm and helped him stand still again. "Are you okay?" Aroron asked Shon.

  "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, pulling his arm away. "You're not going to be able to climb down carrying a box under your arm. Take the sword and scabbard out and tie it around your waist. Give me the box," Shon said, holding out his hand.

  Aroron did as he was told.

  Taking the sword and scabbard out, he tied it around his waist. He handed the box to Shon, wondering what Shon was going to do with it. He couldn't carry it either.

  Shon took the box from Aroron's hand and to Aroron's horror and complete shock, Shon dropped it off the tower's edge! Aroron moved to the edge faster than anyone would have thought possible, but it was too late. He had to watch as the box, with the beautiful design and strange wood, hit the water below. It floated on the water for a second and disappeared below.

  He turned towards Shon. "Why’d...?!" Aroron started, but he stopped himself short. Shon wasn't standing there anymore.

  Aroron glanced around and saw Shon leaning against the wall next to the tower gate. He looked at Aroron, his eyes were sad, and pained. "You have to go without me, Aroron. I'll just slow you down, I can't climb down the tower wall, even if the pain went away," he said, taking in a deep breath. "But I can hold Kant and the rest of them off long enough so you can get away." Shon closed his eyes, his face pale from the pain.

  Aroron shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I don't think so." He took a step towards Shon. "I'm not going to leave you here, not
after all of this!" Aroron pulled Shon back onto his feet and back towards the wall. "If you don't go, I won't go."

  "No, Aroron," Shon said, pulling away from him, looking at the floor as he spoke. "You have to go without me! There's no way I can make it down the wall. You have to save yourself, I will not watch you die because of me!" Shon said, looking up, his face hard and his eyes sad.

  "I'm not leaving without you, father!" Aroron said, standing up tall, his head held high, "and you can't make me."

  "Aroron...there are things you don't know," Shon said, biting his bottom lip. He quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.

  Aroron squinted at his father, fighting, as pain entered his heart. He wasn't sure what his father was talking about, and something in him told him he didn't want to. "What are you saying?"

  Shon glanced around and settled on looking at the ground in front of him. "There's not time to talk about it!" He fought within himself, he quickly pulled something out of his pocket and shoved it into Aroron's hand. He looked up at Aroron and their eyes locked. "This is all I can tell you," he whispered. "But I want you to know this Aroron, the secrets surrounding you, are deeper and darker than you could ever imagine. Everything you think you know, is all a lie." Shon took a step back from him. "One day you'll find out the truth, I just hope when you do, you'll forgive me for my part in it," Shon whispered, as he let go of Aroron's hand and took another step back. "Now go!" he yelled, as he grabbed the lever to the right of the doorway and yanked down on it with all of his weight.

  "No!" Aroron screamed, as he lunged for the gate, but it was too late, the gate had already closed, as he fell to his knees in front of it. "Open this gate!" Aroron said, pounding his fist against it. "Open it!" he screamed, fighting back tears.

  Shon shook his head. Loud pounding on the trapdoor started. Kant was near! Shon reached through the bars and placed his hand onto Aroron's. His eyes wet with tears.

  "Get out of here, Aroron," Shon said, drawing his sword. "Go!" he screamed. "You must go!"

  Aroron stumbled away from the gate, tears blurring his vision. He blinked them back and looked down at his hand. Shon had given him a letter and a necklace, a three-inch sword hanging from it, next to it a small red diamond heart.