Page 32 of Prince of Shadow and Ash
Chapter 11
REGULUS REINED IN SIEGERat the crest of a hill covered in tall grass. A wide valley that deepened and narrowed into a ravine stretched out ahead of them. Beyond, the spur of the Pelandian Mountains known as the Barren Range rose behind a blue-gray haze. Oaks, maples, and juniper bushes grew scattered near the valley entrance, and the mouths of caves yawned dark in the ravine walls. A strong breeze tugged on his cloak and carried the scent of apple trees. The gust moved across the cave mouths, creating a faint sound somewhere between a whistle and a soft cry.
The famous Singing Caves.
He clicked his tongue and Sieger started forward again at a gentle trot. At the entrance to the valley, he tied Sieger to a low branch of a young maple, tight enough the horse wouldn’t wander off, but loose enough if something came at Sieger and he tried to run, he could pull free. He removed his cloak and hung it over another branch. A cloak was a liability in battle, and anyone who happened by would assume the owner was nearby and likely leave Sieger alone. Before setting out, he double-checked his gear and supplies. He had the massive black sword from the sorcerer, a hunting knife across his lower back, and a dagger and water horn on his right hip. Blackened iron covered the front of a kite-shaped shield, its wooden back wrapped in hardened leather. He slung a bag of miscellaneous supplies over his shoulder and started out.
Regulus chewed on dried venison as he walked, savoring the salty, smoky flavor. Only the rustle of grass, leaves, and the sighing of wind in the caves reached his ears. He hadn’t seen a living thing since before the last hill. He peered into each cave as he passed, listening and watching the shadows. Nothing moved in the valley or the caves. The valley deepened, the hills on either side rising the closer he got to the Barren Mountains. Gradually, the ravine narrowed. The sides became more uneven, with more caves and craggy spurs of rock. More places for things to hide.
At last, he spied the white elm with golden leaves. It grew so close to the mouth of the cave the trunk had melded with the stone. The branches spread over the entrance, deepening the shadows within. The mouth of the cave stretched over twice as tall as Regulus, and nearly as wide.Okay. The dragon’s no bigger than the entrance, right? Big, but not as big as I feared.The golden leaves of the white elm rustled in the breeze while the caves moaned and whistled. Wind snuck between his helm and the back of his breastplate, chilling his neck. His instincts told him not to enter that cave. He ate a last bite of venison, pulled a torch from his bag, and lit it. He held it at arm’s length and peered into the darkness filling the cave. With a deep breath to steady his nerves, he headed in.
As his eyes adjusted to the gloom of the cave and the torchlight, Regulus scanned the shadows. He kept his right hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. Breezes swirled past, occasionally whistling in the caves. His footsteps echoed, every clank of his armor magnified as the sound bounced. After a while, he heard the trickle of water. Rivulets ran down the sides of the cave. The cave widened and curved as he progressed, making it difficult to see into the dark shadows. All sunlight had long since disappeared. The air grew dank, heavy, and stale as the wind stopped. A rotten and burnt smell became more apparent. After walking for around half an hour, he heard a new sound. Like the sighing, whistling wind, but different.
Several minutes later, the cave forked. To his right, the roof of the cave sloped down, and the cave narrowed. To his left, the cave widened. The noise, which sounded uncomfortably like breathing, came from the left.
Why are you hesitating? You know the dragon’s to the left.He took a deep breath.Well, yes, that’s why I’m hesitating. I’ve never faced an actual dragon before.
He stretched as much as his armor and the shield strapped to his left arm would allow and double-checked his weapons. “Here goes,” he said aloud. His voice sounded hollow in his helm. Head held high and every muscle straining with nervous energy, he strode into the left passage.
After a couple minutes, he had no doubt the sound was breathing. He passed a pile of bones. A deer, maybe. More unsettling was what looked like massive troll bones. A slight, warm, fetid breeze rushed toward him in time with the breathing. The stench worsened, and the cool dampness of the cave transitioned into warm humidity. Sweat rolled down his forehead under his helm. He rounded yet another curve.Where is that infernal—
Dragon.
The beast slept on a mound of gold, silver, jewels, and bones, curled into a ball like a gargantuan cat. It looked like an oversized lizard, covered in dull scales the color of dried sage. The dragon’s head, longer than Regulus’ height, rested on a front foot the size of Regulus’ torso and legs, with five claws the length of his forearm. Dull black horns curled back from the crown of its head. Its nostrils flared as it breathed out, its breath sulfuric and hot. The tip of its tail, shaped like a barbed arrow as wide as Regulus’ chest, twitched in front of its snout. It had no wings, just four legs like oak trees.
Regulus swallowed and looked around for the relic in the dim light. His torch sputtered in the dragon’s breath, making the shadows in the cave flicker. As quietly as possible, he walked around the dragon. He saw nothing that looked like the drawing in the pile under the dragon, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Hopefully the sorcerer was right, and it was somewhere else in the cave.
Technically, the sorcerer had told him to kill the dragonif necessaryand take the relic. If he could skip the fighting the dragon part, he would do so. True, the dragon couldn’t kill him. But it could burn him, cut him, scar him. Dying was still painful. The feeling of death without the release of dying was a hellish experience, one he tried to avoid.
He proceeded cautiously, holding up his torch to illuminate as much of the cave as possible. The dragon’s breath vibrated the floor. Behind the dragon, near the back of the cave, a white stone caught the torchlight. The square pedestal stood about as tall as Regulus’ waist. A faded, repulsive gray-brown rotting pillow rested on top. Cradled on the pillow lay an object made of thick gold wire twisted into the shape of a hollow egg and coated in dust.
The relic was about half a foot long and slightly narrower, with a short rod in the hollow center that looked like a mount for something that was missing. He picked it up and shook off some of the dust, but with the humidity of the room, most of it stuck. He shrugged and deposited it in his bag, then froze.
The rhythm of the dragon’s breathing had changed.Clink. Clink.Metallic rustling and clattering echoed in the cave. Regulus pressed his eyes closed.You couldn’t stay asleep, could you?He adjusted his grip on his shield, set the torch down on the pillow, which caught fire, and drew his sword. A low growl reverberated around the room and resonated in his chest. He turned, praying dragons didn’t really breathe fire.
The dragon, now towering over him, its red serpentine eyes flashing, snarled. Its mouth glowed orange. Regulus yanked his shield up, hiding as much of his body behind it as possible. Fire pummeled the shield. The heat was terrible, the roar of the flames loud, the force of the blast startling. He leaned into the shield, pushing hard against the rock floor to brace himself. Without his enhanced strength, he wouldn’t have withstood the onslaught. The stream of fire ended, and Regulus blinked sweat out of his eyes.
The dragon roared, the sound deafening in the cave. Regulus straightened and ran forward, keeping the shield between him and the dragon. He swung at the dragon’s neck. The blade met scales with an echoing clang as a shock ran up his arm. He yanked the sword down, leaving only a scratch. Regulus gulped.This is not good.The dragon snarled again, baring sharp, yellowed teeth.
Regulus blocked a swipe of its huge front foot with his shield, but the force knocked him sideways. Its claws dragged against the front of the shield with a piercing grating noise. The weight pulled his arm down. He dropped his sword, drew his dagger, and reached over the shield, stabbing into the dragon’s foot right between two black-clawed toes. The blade slipped between scales and Regulus pushed it in to its hilt. The dragon roared. It yanked its foot back, tearing the dagger out of Regulus’ hand. As the dragon howled, Regulus spotted a small, lighter area unprotected by thick scales at the top of its neck, under its chin. He snatched the sword back up and lunged toward the dragon’s neck, breathing hard.
The dragon recovered, and Regulus narrowly dodged another swipe of its foot. But now the dragon had tucked down its head, and rows of pointed teeth were between him and his target. He spun to the side, trying to disorient the creature. The dragon dove, and he ducked. Teeth as big as his hands clamped onto the shield. Frantic, he pulled his arm out of the shield. His gauntlet caught on the first strap.Too tight!His heart raced as he fought against the dragon’s pull and the strap.
He had barely freed his arm when the dragon forced its jaws closed. The shield bent, the metal making a piercing grinding sound as wood splinters flew everywhere. The dragon spit the shield away, flames curling around the crushed metal and remaining fragments of wood. Regulus scrambled back.Focus.He had found a potential striking point. He just needed to get close enough. Curse the sorcerer’s showy armor. What he needed was maneuverability, not a dramatic appearance.
Something slammed into his stomach, throwing him back against the cave wall. His sword fell from his hand with a clatter. Whatever had hit him tore through his armor with a metallic rending that tormented his ears. Regulus screamed as pain flared. He grabbed for whatever had lodged itself in his torso and found the barbed arrowhead tip of the dragon’s tail buried in his abdomen. His blood flowed between dark scales. He choked as blood forced its way up his throat. He couldn’t. Breathe.
His chest tightened and his neck stiffened as he attempted to cough up the blood gagging him, but the dragon’s tail had destroyed his abdominal muscles. The dragon yanked its tail away, and Regulus collapsed to his knees. Pain turned the world white. His own rumbling pulse filled his ears.
He could breathe again. Pulling and pinching added to his already immeasurable pain as dark magic coursed through his body. He rolled onto his side, screaming, unable to even think about the dragon. He felt the gash mending back together; like millions of white-hot needles stitching him together from the inside out with thread laced with poison ivy. He looked up and saw the dragon’s wide-open mouth careening toward him.
