Dragon Charmers: #1 Mountains of Fire

CHAPTER EIGHT - INTO THE DRAGON’S LAIR

  ‘Not yet,’ the prince said, holding out an arm to stop Logan rushing forward.

  ‘What are we waiting for?’ Alyxa asked, obviously as eager as Logan for this adventure to be over.

  ‘Nightfall.’

  ‘I guess that’s a good idea,’ Alyxa agreed reluctantly. ‘Dragons usually go to sleep when it’s dark, and we can use the darkness to hide our attack.’

  Logan barely heard a word that Alyxa was saying. He turned to face the sliver of sun that showed above the edge of the pass. Nightfall. He had never been outside in the dark, in fact he had never even been inside in the dark, except for the shed the other day. Suddenly his cloak was far too hot and he flicked it back over his shoulders like a cape, then sheathed the sword. He tried to ignore the quickly sinking sun, but his eyes were drawn to it even though the sight filled him with dread.

  ‘He’s not going to be any use to us,’ the prince said to Alyxa, as if Logan wasn’t even there. The prince sounded annoyed and impatient. ‘Look, his hand is already shaking. I’ll have to do it.’

  ‘He’ll be fine when the time comes,’ Alyxa assured the prince firmly. ‘Besides he’s the owner of the sword and only he can do it.’

  ‘But if he gives me the sword...’ the prince looked pleased with his sudden brilliant thought, ‘... I’d be the owner and it’s certainly a gift that is worthy of giving to a prince.’

  ‘It’s my sword,’ Logan snapped back, dragging his attention from the last rays of the sun. ‘It’s the only thing I have of my father’s and I will not give it away.’

  ‘It’s not the sort of thing a mere villager should own anyway. Your father probably stole it.’ The prince snorted. ‘I should have you arrested for even possessing it.’

  Anger flooded through Logan at the thought of the prince wanting his sword, so he didn’t even notice the final traces of light fade away. He drew the sword in a single flourishing movement and brought the tip of it to within an inch of the prince’s face.

  ‘Try to take it then,’ Logan challenged through gritted teeth, staring the prince right in the eye.

  ‘So you do have some fight in you after all,’ the prince replied calmly, stepping back from the sharp silver sword. ‘Just save it for slaying the dragon.’

  ‘Wow, look at the sword,’ Alyxa said in an awed voice.

  Logan fought back his anger and broke eye contact with the prince. The sword was glowing with a soft blue light that lit up an area several dozen paces all around them.

  ‘It must be reflecting the light of the moon,’ the prince suggested as he scanned the sky, then looked a little disturbed to see the moon was not yet up.

  ‘I’ve never seen the moon,’ Logan said, also looking up at the blackness above them. He felt safe inside the protective light from the sword.

  ‘Really?’ the prince looked surprised and a little dubious. ‘Never?’

  ‘Shouldn’t we get moving?’ Alyxa asked, changing the subject. She looked apologetically at Logan and pointed to the sword. ‘I don’t think you can walk in with that drawn or we might as well just shout as we go in.’

  ‘Actually that might be a good idea. Yelling will distract it while Logan kills it,’ Myles said, nodding thoughtfully.

  Logan felt his feeling of safety drain away as if someone had pulled the plug in a bath of water. He shivered as he slowly slid the sword into its sheath. The light faded slowly until it was completely gone, and Logan pulled his cloak around him for warmth — suddenly he felt freezing cold.

  ‘Come on,’ the prince ordered. ‘Let’s get this heart and find a way home.’

  Logan couldn’t see more than a hand span in front of his eyes, and he almost leapt out of his shoes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Images of attacking dragons made his mouth dry and his skin broke out in goosebumps.

  ‘I’ll guide you,’ Alyxa said, from right next to him. ‘You’re not used to seeing in the dark.’

  Logan nodded dumbly, ashamed that he had been scared. He could just make out the shape of his friend in the blackness that had swallowed the world. It seemed an age later that the prince called a halt to their stumbling progress. Logan was amazed at how much harder it was to negotiate the pass without the aid of the sunlight. He could make out a little more of the pass now as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see they were just next to the gaping blackness that could only be the entrance to the lair. It looked much bigger now that they were next to it. He took a deep breath, hoping the size of the entry didn’t relate to the size of the white dragon.

  ‘We’ll go in quietly, check that it’s asleep, and then Alyxa and I will distract it while Logan attacks,’ the prince whispered.

  It sounded so simple when the prince laid out the plan; Logan knew it wasn’t going to be anything like it.

  Suddenly Logan realised that it had become far easier to see than it had been a few minutes ago, and he turned to look at the sky. A stunning white globe hung on the horizon of the sky and Logan thought it was the most beautiful thing he had had ever seen.

  ‘That’s the moon,’ Alyxa said gently and pushed him towards the cave entrance. ‘You can look at it later.’

  Logan felt his fears fade away under the soft glow of the moon, and he took one last look before he stepped into the total darkness of the entrance to the dragon’s lair.

  The first thing to hit Logan was the stench. It was a mixture of the rotten sulphur smell from back at the dragon’s nest and stale smoke, along with a smell he couldn’t place. He had smelt it before, but couldn’t think where.

  ‘What’s that smell?’ Logan asked in a whisper that echoed all around the cave entrance.

  The prince punched him in the arm to shut him up, but Alyxa leaned close to his ear and whispered back.

  ‘Wild dragons breathe fire.’

  Logan suddenly remembered where he had smelt it before — when the red dragon had attacked the dragon farm. The red dragon’s breath had smelled like old coals. He tried to banish the sudden picture in his head of a fire-breathing dragon waiting a few paces ahead of them. The prince had said it would be sleeping, and Logan tried vainly to tell himself that there was nothing to fear.

  The tunnel twisted several times, and Logan was wondering if it actually led anywhere at all when they saw a light up ahead. It was a soft blue-white light that reminded Logan of his sword, but as they crept closer he saw there was a small crack in the roof and moonlight was beaming in with its almost colourless light.

  ‘We must be getting near,’ the prince said in a low voice. ‘Get ready to draw that sword.’

  Time seemed to slow down for Logan as he crept along behind the prince. The moonlight faded as they went around another bend, but was replaced by even more light further ahead. A rustling, clinking sound made them all freeze for a second and glance at each other. The dragon was definitely at home.

  Logan pulled back his cloak just far enough to put his right hand on the hilt of his sword. The sweat on his palm made the metal feel icy cold, and he wiped his hand against his trousers to dry it off. Thankfully the sword did not burst into light, so Logan assumed it had to be drawn from the sheath to do so.

  ‘This is it,’ Alyxa whispered as they stood motionless, listening for more noises. ‘It’s now or never.’

  ‘We’ll rush at it from here,’ the prince added. ‘We’ll go first to draw its attention.’

  The prince nodded at Alyxa, and they both took a deep breath and started running down the tunnel, not attempting to muffle their footsteps. The two decoys began to yell even before they reached the light ahead. They weren’t cries for help, they were battle cries — a blood-curdling noise that fired Logan up and unfroze his feet from the ground. He started running down the tunnel after them, but did not draw his sword.

  His own battle cry froze in his throat as a sudden memory of the old wizard sprung to mind. Give Silverhorn my best regards. This dragon they were about to attack was a friend of his master. How c
ould they kill it? What would Zared say?

  ‘Stop!’ Logan yelled as he thundered down the passage. He had to make them see that this was all wrong.

  Logan saw his friends had stopped just up ahead and they were no longer yelling. Had they heard him?

  ‘Wow!’ Logan stared at what had stopped his friends in their tracks. They were standing at the edge of a huge cavern which glowed with moonlight. The moonlight filtered through a dozen holes in the high roof and shone directly on a huge pile of gold and gems in the middle of the circular cavern.

  Beyond the nest of gold, for it was obviously a nest by the huge indentation in the middle, was a huge steaming pool. A mist of steam hung near the roof, glowing in the moonlight, and the heat was almost unbearable. Logan longed to take his cloak off but didn’t dare move as he scanned the cave for any sign of the dragon.

  ‘It’s empty,’ the prince said in a normal voice, which echoed flatly around the cavern and showed his obvious disappointment.

  ‘Where did it go?’ Alyxa asked as she looked up at the small circular holes in the roof. ‘It couldn’t fit through there, could it?’

  Logan took several steps into the cavern, and paused to look around again. He saw a large pile of bones stacked up against one wall and shuddered as he tried to work out if they were human-sized bones or not. Whatever hope he had had of the dragon being tiny had vanished at the sight of the bones. Anything that could catch prey that big had to be huge. He knew the village dragons ate rodents and sometimes a small sheep if it strayed from the herd, but nothing with bones this big.

  ‘Now what are we going to do?’ the prince snarled, swishing his sword around angrily.

  ‘I wasn’t going to kill it anyway,’ Logan said sadly, stepping into the moonlight to continue to look around. ‘We’re just going to have to find another spell.’

  As the moonlight hit Logan, a sudden shifting of gold and gems made them all jump. Several gems slid down the side of the nest and clattered to the stone floor.

  ‘What was that?’ Alyxa asked, coming up to join Logan.

  ‘Who knows,’ the prince said with a shrug, ‘but there’s no dragon in here. Take a look at this.’

  Logan and Alyxa walked across the cavern to see what the prince had found. There were many things that Logan wouldn’t have been surprised to find in a dragon’s lair, but this wasn’t one of them. The prince was standing at the entrance to a small alcove. Inside it was a collection of items that disturbed Logan. A long narrow bed, an old wooden table and dozens of shelves full of books were covered in a thick coating of dust and spiders’ webs.

  ‘Zared,’ Logan said suddenly. It all made sense. This room looked just like a wizard’s workroom and Zared had said he used to visit the white dragon.

  Another shift of gold and gems made them all spin around again, but there was nothing to see but a few falling gems, as before.

  Who are you? A booming voice filled the cavern. Logan spun around in a circle but could not find the source of the voice.

  ‘We should get out of here,’ Alyxa suggested in a tense whisper. ‘If it’s as big as it sounds, you’ll never kill it with your little sword.’

  A laugh, that sounded like rocks falling from the ceiling, echoed around them and they forgot all thoughts of running. Even if they got out of the cave, their blue had flown off.

  You came to kill me? the voice asked. This time, it sounded amused.

  ‘We were trying to cast a spell and needed an ingredient,’ Logan stammered, hoping to avoid telling exactly what they had come for.

  You look familiar, boy. The voice seemed closer this time, and they looked around frantically for its owner. Where did you get that cloak and sword? Did you steal them?

  ‘No I did not!’ Logan retorted and glared at where he thought the voice was coming from. ‘They belonged to my father.’

  In the silence that followed, they stared at each other nervously, wondering if the owner of the voice had gone. Then Logan noticed that the nest of gems wasn’t so empty any more. An immense dragon lay on the edge of it, leaning down towards them. It wasn’t white, though; it seemed more of a golden, sparkly colour instead. It blended into the nest so well that they hadn’t even seen it.

  ‘We’re in the wrong cave. This isn’t a white dragon,’ the prince muttered, looking annoyed.

  ‘Shhh...’ Alyxa jabbed him in the ribs.

  You carry a sword of peace and claim its heritage? the dragon asked in a quieter voice. And you know of Zared?

  ‘He is my master,’ Logan replied politely, regretting his outburst as he tried hard not to take a step back from the huge golden head that leaned down closer to him.

  So you’re an apprentice? The dragon appeared bothered by this, and his huge golden eye ridges folded down almost covering his sparkling eyes. A breath of fire licked around the dragon’s nostrils and it seemed to be getting angry. Then you must be lying about the cloak and sword.

  ‘The old wizard said they were Logan’s,’ Alyxa said, bravely stepping forward in Logan’s defence. More flames licked out and the huge head leaned closer. ‘Mind you he’s not well and he’s a bit forgetful now. Perhaps he was mistaken.’

  Zared is ill? The dragon’s manner changed abruptly. The flames vanished and its snout leaned so close Logan could feel its breath on his face. What ails him?

  ‘I don’t know,’ Logan said sadly. ‘His memory seems to come and go. Often he seems fine, and then he suddenly has no idea where he is.’

  It was a hard time for us all back then. He suffered more than most and he blames himself for everything that happened. I hold no grudges. He did what he had to do. The dragon nodded solemnly, seeming to understand from Logan’s short explanation. When the mind cannot cope, it tends to shut down for a while.

  ‘What did he do?’ Logan asked, not at all sure what the dragon was talking about.

  The dragon’s eyes narrowed slightly, and it replied with a tone that said the subject was not one it wished to discuss. He is your master — ask him when you get back to your mountain city.

  ‘What mountain city?’ Alyxa asked and looked at the others to see if they knew what the dragon was talking about. ‘We live far to the south in the valleys.’

  The wizard has left the city? The dragon looked doubtful and its eyes narrowed even more with suspicion. I did wonder how you came to be here. Nobody ever leaves the mountain city of Radolk Falls.

  ‘Perhaps it’s another wizard by the same name?’ Prince Myles suggested, sounding irritated by a conversation that was wasting more of their time. ‘He’s lived in my valley since I was young.’

  There is only one Zared, the dragon snapped back. Who else lives with the wizard?

  ‘Nobody,’ Logan answered. The dragon looked disappointed and its body seemed to sag a little.

  And you are definitely his apprentice? the dragon queried again. Logan nodded and the dragon shook its head sadly. The child must have died when he fell. I was not used to carrying small children. It was a long way to fall and I realised too late that he had fallen. There was no time to stop. At least the red dragons won’t find him now.

  ‘We have to go,’ the prince muttered to the others, ‘We’re wasting time here.’

  Where do you mean to go? the dragon asked, turning to the prince and climbing slowly down off the nest. Its huge wings unfurled and then folded back. Your transport flew off some time ago. Just how did you manage to get a red dragon to carry you in the first place?

  ‘It was my own blue dragon, not a red one. We seek the heart of a white dragon,’ the prince replied in a bored tone. ‘We have no business here.’

  You want a white dragon heart? the golden dragon asked, seeming amused again. With a snap, its wings were fully unfurled and the dragon lifted into the air.

  All three humans took a step backwards but, instead of attacking, the dragon flew into the middle of the nest. As the moonlight struck the dragon, it shimmered into a brilliant white. A short horn on its head gleamed silver,
and the only thing left golden were the gleaming eyes which glared at the prince with a challenge.

  You want my heart — come and take it.