It Could Be Worse (3rd Season)
Episode 16: Breath of Fire
By Sulia Serafine
[A Protector of the Small fanfic set in an alternate universe; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me. Any other copyrighted things that don't belong to me in here in fact belong to other very businesslike people. Could you believe that? I guess that's why I'm broke.
E-mail me at silverwlng@aol.com okay? And you know the drill: titles or subjects of emails are fanfiction.net, s.serafine, or icbw.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm still accepting people into the mailing list. That means you'll be told when the next episode is posted, as well as other tidbits of information about the series whenever I put them online. ALSO: Every now and then, as a pledge, I'll send everyone bonus material, such as drawings of ICBW characters and little random facts about ICBW.
Rating of this episode: PG-13 for adventuring, the usual tiny amount of cursing, and more surprise than our characters would like…
~~
They had more luck when Shinkokami navigated. Joren had the slightest suspicion that she had been through these caverns before, but she kept insisting that she had never traveled that far away from the City. He didn't believe her, but there was nothing to be done about it. Still, her sense of direction was admirable. The four dragon-seekers found more and more tunnels and entryways that seemed to be manmade. It was a definite sign that they were getting closer and closer to the Lake… or else walking into a trap.
Neal meanwhile lapsed into his object-of-affection watching that aroused the annoyance of everyone else present. He knew that there was much more to dwell upon (saving the City of Enishijirou, for one), but he couldn't help it. The more Shinkokami ignored him, the more hopelessly smitten he felt. Eventually, he tore his gaze away from Shinkokami long enough to form another more relevant train of thought. He turned to Joren. "Exactly how do we go about taking control of a dragon?"
"Ask the red monkey clinging to your back," Joren replied.
Cleon's face flushed red. "I don't know anything. The prophecy didn't have details. They just expected me to do it."
"Less talking, more searching. And have caution! There may be traps," Shinkokami warned gravely, her darting eyes showing that her attention was barely on them. Neal blushed and turned away.
They traveled silently after that. The tunnels began to fan out until they were in chambers as wide as fifteen or twenty feet. They stopped when they spotted something out of the ordinary. So far, they had seen bare faces of rock. How the tunnels curved and branched off had been the only indication of any human presence. Now, on the wall to their left, a carved outline of a fire spread across five cubic feet.
Joren was the first to approach it. He took off one glove and touched his hand to a groove in the rock. He jerked his hand away quickly.
"It's hot. The whole thing is burning hot."
"I can feel it from here," Shinkokami added. She went closer anyway and held her hands out to the carving without actually touching it. She unsheathed her dagger and stabbed the point into the shallow grooves. Dirt and dust fell away. "I think this goes far deeper. Perhaps it is a giant plug to a passageway."
The men dismounted from the wolves and drew their own blades and points. They began to thoroughly clear the grooves from all the dirt. Shinkokami was right. The grooves went deeper, almost making it seem as if the fire was a puzzle piece that could not be rotated or shifted, merely pushed into place. The stone gave off waves of heat, but no one dared to shed a single garment. They all knew that they needed the barrier of cloth as protection. Even the wolves shied away into the shadows for coolness.
Joren examined their work. "We should try pushing this through."
"And burn our hands off, sure," Cleon rolled his eyes.
The blond glared at him. He studied the wall, then the ground they stood upon. Finally, he laid a hand on Neal's shoulder. "I'll brace against you and push with my feet. You two do the same."
So Neal put his arms under Joren's armpits as if he were about to put a headlock on his partner. As Joren put both his feet against the wall, bending his knees, Neal angled himself and dug the heels of his boots into the dirt. Shinkokami and Cleon copied them, though Cleon was very reluctant to get that close to the wild girl. His cheeks were pink the entire time he had contact with her, trying to look away as she shoved with her raised legs.
Together they pushed at the fire block until the flame-shaped rock began to move. After a couple more attempts, the fire rock fell backwards with a large crash. It had been in a wall two feet thick. Underneath the block had been a loose mixture of gravel and dirt on a declining slope, having made it easier for them to move such a humongous rock. A cloud of dust arose, obscuring their vision. When it cleared, they backed away instinctively. The heat was suddenly unbearable. Neal found himself shielding his face and looking away.
"Please tell me that is not a pool of lava!" he exclaimed.
"It's red and orange Jell-O," Joren answered dryly.
Cleon groaned, ducking his head behind the white wolf's massive body in the shadows. "I wish! Remember, I'm the one who has to call the dragon from the pit of Hell!"
The new chamber was a large place filled with jagged rocks. These rocks framed the Olympic sized pool of lava, which seemed to bubble and swirl about at its leisure, its source not visible to them, but hidden deep under. Wisps of smoke drifted upwards to the high but smooth ceiling. Any rocks that had been above had dropped or eventually melted off by the extreme temperatures. The smoke caused the stone there to be utterly black.
Another smooth surface was untouched behind the pool of lava. It spanned a circular space about thirty feet in diameter. The way the light reflected off its surface, it almost appeared to be an altar of obsidian.
"We can't go inside. It's just too hot!" Cleon protested. "Maybe we could just go back and say that the dragon burnt itself to a crisp in that lava."
Shinkokami slowly raised her hand to the top of the new doorway. "It may be wise to cover our bodies as much as we can before we enter. The heat is still endurable for a few steps, but we must keep to the walls of the cave. Any closer and it would be too dangerous."
"I still have my goggles," Neal volunteered, eager to please her.
Joren snatched them away before Neal could offer them to Shinkokami. He threw them at Cleon, who winced when he caught them. Joren had quite a throwing arm. "You should wear them," the former operative sneered. "You're the king."
The redheaded traded a murderous look with him. The last thing he wanted to do was lead them into that overgrown oven. The sweat was already soaking into his innermost layers. He couldn't imagine entering the same place as the lava pool. It was sheer insanity!
He studied the entire cave, even glancing up and down the wide tunnel they had traversed. He found nothing to his liking and sighed.
Suddenly, a cool breeze blew against the back of his neck. He shivered in spite of himself.
"There is an easier way," a feminine voice whispered. It was almost childlike in its pitch, a voice made to giggle and gasp in delight. Cleon closed his eyes and felt his body trembling again. He swallowed reflexively and blinked.
"Did you guys hear that?" he asked breathlessly.
Neal frowned. "No. Hear what?"
"A girl. She… some girl just said that there was an easier way!" He looked to Shinkokami, the only female among them. She glared at him disdainfully. Obviously, it wasn't her.
"Maybe we should go further down the tunnel," he suggested nervously. He didn't want to enter through the fire block doorway. Even if they didn't find another entrance, it would be a good delay. Cleon lifted his lantern high and led them forward. He would rather leave the prophecy in its dust rather than fulfill it, but he had very little choice.
It was unnerving, to say the least. Cleon thought back to the moment he saw his best friend lying with blood all over his front. Faleron was depending on him to perform this prophecy so that they could obtain the antidote. It never occurred to him that Maggur was bluffing. Even if the poison wasn't real, Faleron was still at the mercy of the doctors attending him. Cleon couldn't forget that.
He couldn't even trust Maggur to keep his word after the dragon had been retrieved. The only task the prophecy had said Cleon was to do was tame the dragon and lead a war. Directly following that, the chamberlain could very well order all the Mithrans in the Black City to be executed.
Nausea spread through his lower abdomen.
"You okay?" Neal asked. His brow furrowed with concern.
"Yeah. Fine. You see anything?"
"Not a thing," Neal replied sadly.
Joren walked ahead. "Keep moving then."
Neal and Shinkokami followed, but Cleon was frozen to the spot. He ignored the sound of his friends' departing footsteps and instead concentrated on the wall opposite of the fire shaped hole. He stared at it unwaveringly.
Something was calling to him. Someone. The mysterious voice of the phantom girl whispered in his ear again. He couldn't make out the words, but he surrendered to her anyway. It was like stepping through a waterfall. He tilted his head upwards, already feeling as if he was cleaner than he had been in days. Cleon closed his eyes and stepped forward, his arms outstretched. Just like a waterfall, he imagined. Everything was cool and refreshing.
"There is an easier way."
"Show me," he answered silently. Cleon suddenly felt dizzy, as if he had spun around in circles. With his eyes still closed, he ran forward, trying to find the owner of the voice.
"An easier… easier way."
"Take me there!"
"Come with me then."
It was like plunging headfirst into an icy river.
Not long after, his friends noticed his absence when they realized that the lantern's light was not following them. Joren turned and scowled. "Kennan! Keep up!"
Neal also jogged back the few steps to where they had stood. He slid to a stop on the loose gravel and dirt. The lantern was set on the ground, the flame inside flickering. Nervously, he glanced around him. Neal even peered carefully into the lava chamber nearby. Their redheaded companion was nowhere to be found. His heart leapt in his chest, filled with fear.
"C-cleon?" he stuttered.
The tone of Neal's voice alarmed the other two right away. Joren shoved past him and scanned the area as well. Shinkokami kept her weapons within reach as she too studied possible dangers.
Eventually, Joren stopped in front of the wall that Cleon had been so intently focusing upon. He tentatively touched it with his fingertips. Instead of feeling a solid barrier, he felt the wall move. It almost rippled like a pond, but then it stretched as if it were an elastic covering stretched taut over a rocky frame.
As he pressed his hand harder, he found more resistance. The surface was still stretching, surprising the three comrades. Joren weighed his options. He had no idea what was on the other side of this barrier. Scientific explanation seemed useless in this region, considering everything they had seen since arriving there. Nothing logical could explain this sight. They had seen so many forms of magic that it seemed very likely that magic was responsible for the strange rock wall.
Leaning in even more, his fingers broke through the barrier. The rest of his arm quickly followed, almost as if being swallowed up by a large toothless monster. He was buried in until his shoulder, then part of his chest…
"I think we found Kennan," Joren muttered, trying to ignore the chilly pinpricks he felt in his limbs. Whatever it was, it was as cold as the snow outside. "Grab onto me!"
Neal and Shinkokami both latched onto his arm before the rest of him disappeared into the wall. It was like seeing him disappear into a quicksand trap. As unnerved as they were, they held onto him. And soon, they were swallowed as well. It happened all very fast. One second, they were standing in the wide chamber feeling the heat from the lava pool. The next, they were yanked into the frigid unknown.
It felt as if they were passing through a bubble. It was a pleasant sensation. A cool wave crashed over them. And as quickly as it came, it was gone, leaving them colder than before. It was like stepping out of a pool and shivering when the wind blew across the skin. In fact, they were slightly wet. All their clothes were damp and moisture stuck to their skin. They stood in a new cave now, almost a mirror of the place they had been in seconds before. The only exception was the lack of an entry leading to the lava filled cave.
And it was very dark.
Joren struck a match on the heel of his boot and held it up. "You couldn't grab the lantern?"
They lit an oiled rag and wrapped it around the sturdy metal sheath of one of Shinkokami's daggers. It served well as a light source, though not as well as the lantern they had left behind. This caused the three to walk closer together than they had before. There was no telling what could be denizen to those parts.
Neal detached his quarterstaff from the leather strap on his back and held it before him, hoping to ward off any potential attackers. He didn't believe that Cleon would just wander off on his own. The sharpshooter had been taken by force. And whatever had kidnapped him certainly wouldn't be allowed to do the same thing to them.
~~
Cleon opened his eyes and found himself staring into two orbs of chocolate brown. He gasped and stumbled backwards, wondering how on earth he had gotten there. His body was soaked with cold water, but he couldn't see any bodies of water around. Eventually, he looked to the girl in front of him as if she were the answer to all his questions.
The girl before him was petite, about Faleron's size. Her long black hair was combed into a simple thick braid that trailed to the small of her back. Her kimono was dark blue, trimmed with white and silver. The slant of her eyes made it clear that she was of Eastern Yamani descent, though the stare that she gave Cleon was much bolder than any look that an eastern woman had ever given him.
They were standing in a small dome shaped chamber with no apparent exits. The place was about ten feet in diameter, and a small fire was crackling in the center. Cleon walked around the flames, trying to get closer to the girl. He approached slowly because he was hoping not to scare her. She seemed perturbed anyhow.
"Who are you? Where are we?" he asked. He was surprised to hear his voice sound so small and insignificant. Perhaps the walls of the chamber absorbed noise.
Apparently they did, because he could barely hear the girl when she next spoke to him.
"I am Chisakami," the girl replied, bowing her head slightly. "You are above the Calling Place, in my chambers."
Cleon glanced around them. The cave was devoid of any furnishing—no beds, chairs, tables. There wasn't even a chimney for the smoke to be let out. He wondered why they hadn't suffocated yet. Then again, he couldn't remember entering the place. Perhaps there was a secret passageway that only she could see.
"Why have you taken me here? What's the Calling Place?"
She appeared disappointed. "You should know. We have been waiting for you for so long."
"We?" he squeaked. His eyes darted around them though he kept his head still. "Define we."
"Nataku and I. Who else?" Chisakami chirped. She pressed her hands together as if in prayer and turned toward the fire. The dancing flames reflected in her eyes. "It has been so long since she has seen the light of day. I have been her eyes and ears. Otherwise, I would have died when they abandoned me here." A shadow seemed to pass over her face. "Useless, they called me. Not the right one. Well, we'll soon see about that."
Before he could move, she rushed to his side and clasped his hands between hers pleadingly. "Now that you are here, you can fully wake Nataku and release us from this prison! It is our ultimate destiny to destroy the bloodline that imprisoned Nataku in the first place."
If there was a god of cruel practical jokes, Cleon was sure that this god was rolling around on his cloud with laughter. He loosened her grip from his hands and rubbed his palms on his thighs. He thought he had heard enough from Maggur and the Black City. Obviously, one could never have enough insanity on one's plate.
He wondered if Maggur had secretly made him ingest hallucinogens. According to certain hints that Chisakami was giving him, Cleon was fairly convinced that she was the maiden that had been about to be sacrificed all those years ago. Except, she didn't die in the caves. In fact, she had become linked to a sleeping dragon and granted immortality.
I hate irony, he thought.
"Right! Okay, so. I wake up your buddy Nataku? We go back to my city and destroy it?"
The dragon mistress pouted. "Why should we destroy the Black City? It was one of the ancient Kings of Enishijirou who imprisoned Nataku!"
"Weren't you kidnapped from that kingdom by the Black City?" Cleon asked, trying to piece together the story fragments he had heard. "Yeah! The head priests of the Black City kidnapped you from Enishijirou, but you weren't the sacrifice they had been looking for—so they left you for dead." He licked his lips hopefully. "Don't you want to attack my city, then?"
Chisakami giggled. "Of course not! Why would I destroy the city of my savior?"
And with that, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her face against his chest. Cleon gulped, eyes wide. He held his arms out at a ninety-degree angle, trying very hard to make as little contact as possible with the strange girl who was embracing him. He tremulously tried to step back from her, but she only moved with him.
Think: you have a girlfriend. Kalasin. Kalasin is wonderful. Kalasin, Kalasin, Kalasin—
"Oh damn it all! Just throw me to the dragon and let me burn!" Cleon cried, shoving her away and pressing himself nervously against the cave wall. He panted as if he were having a panic attack. He very well could have been having one, the way he was determined to become one with the rock face which he leant upon.
She shook her head. "You are a strange king, but that does not matter." She brushed herself off and gestured toward the far wall of the chamber. "Let us go down to the Calling Place. There you will wake my other half and I shall set eyes upon her at last."
"Oh! Good for you." He attempted desperately to smile. "I feel so blessed to be given the honor of waking an overgrown lizard bent on revenge and mass destruction!"
Chisakami stared at him, then smiled weakly as if humoring an ill made joke that she did not understand. She turned and approached the far wall, disappearing into it as if it were a wall of mist rather than of rock. Cleon cursed quietly to himself and followed.
A wave of heat attacked him. He stumbled backward and threw up his arms in front of his face. If he had been soaked before, the heat would make short work of drying him. Squinting in the fiery red glow, he tried to see Chisakami, who seemed unaffected by the drastic rise in temperature. In fact, she seemed quite comfortable.
They stood on the altar of obsidian that he had spied before in the lava chamber. Chisakami knelt down and placed her hands flat on the stone. She waited for him to do the same.
"How can you endure this? It's too hot!" Cleon asked as he knelt down and reluctantly copied her position. He could already feel the sweat beading across his brow. His eyes hurt, but he had dropped Neal's goggles back in the small dome-shaped chamber that they had just come from.
The maiden smiled a little and lowered her head. "You become accustomed to it. Do not fret, King. Nataku would not let you burn. You may call her now."
"And how exactly do I do that?"
She lifted her head. "You mean you do not know?"
"It must have been that class I slept through at the Academy. So sorry."
"S-slept through?"
Cleon rolled his eyes. "Just messing with you. Seriously, though! I don't know the first thing about calling a dragon. Do you?"
"Well," she began. "When I first came here, I prayed for someone to save me. And I did like so." She lowered her upper body to the altar floor so that her forehead pressed against the glassy black rock. Cleon hesitantly imitated her, though he felt like a clown with his butt sticking up in the air.
"What then?" he queried, his voice muffled by the baggy front of his jacket.
"Then I begged the gods to find me worthy. That was when I heard Nataku's voice and she accepted me as her guide to the living world."
The sharpshooter sighed and screwed his eyes shut. He cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke in a clear voice that he hoped resembled some famous orator—preferably one who lived a long life. "Oh Great and Powerful Gods! May you find me and, er, my supplication worthy to grant me the privilege of waking this here… lizard—no! Dragon, Nataku. Um, I would be eternally grateful and uh, I promise not to destroy the rainforest!" He paused. "Or any other landscape of nature for that matter! I have only the best of intentions! Really, I do! I recycle my plastic and glass and that entire sort! So, thanks in advance if you do happen to find me the right man for the job! Cheers!"
They sat up and looked at each other. Or rather, Chisakami fixed Cleon with the most perplexed stare that he had ever received in his life. The redhead shrugged.
"I told you I knew nothing of proper dragon calling. I added the last part just for Fal, though. Seemed like the kind of thing he would say." He whistled low in his throat. Gazing over her shoulder, he inspected the humongous lava pool in the middle of the cave.
Something large was rising from it. He could already begin to see a bulge that had not been there before. The thought of his crazy prayer having been answered made Cleon want to become some sort of evangelist for the Ministry of Dragons, but he knew that he could never think of doing such a thing ever again. Instead, he sat fixed to the spot while observing the waking dragon rise from its fiery sleeping place.
Chisakami stood and turned. She pulled him up to his feet and pushed him toward the edge of the altar. Cleon winced again as he felt the heat lash out at him. But surprisingly, it started to fade. He could see the hot air rising from the hot rocks around him, but it wasn't touching him. It was as if a protecting bubble of cool air that could not be penetrated had surrounded him. His eyes didn't even hurt anymore.
The bulge had become the size of an elephant now. Cleon attempted to lean back and get away from the edge of the obsidian plateau, but the immortal girl held him there with a strength that surprised him. He definitely wouldn't be asking her for an arm wrestling match anytime soon.
Lava dripped off the sides of the emerging head. His knees knocked against each other at the rate that they were shaking. He could scarcely believe that the creature that was emerging before him had a head the size of a Volkswagen. Distantly, he could hear a low moaning sound. And then he recognized it as his own voice, calling out in paralyzed fear.
A body was now visible. Wings were wrapped around the torso, followed by powerful legs that could have easily knocked over a building or two. A long tail whipped out of the pool, sending lava in all directions and melting the rock as it did so. Cleon involuntarily jumped and fiercely hugged the girl behind him for protection.
The pointed, triangular head shook the lava off until none remained. What was left was a head covered with large armor like scales. One scale, Cleon assumed, could have done well to make an indestructible chest plate. They appeared black in color, but on closer inspection, he saw that they were dark green. And the scales glittered, too, as if diamond dust had been mixed in with the soot that covered the waking beast. Four black horns adorned the top of the head where the scales flared into a sort of crest. It reminded Cleon of plumage that a fancy bird would have on its crown. Except this was no bird.
Two menacing claws braced against the edge of the lava pool as the dragon got out. The long wings, each individually having a span nearly half as long as the cave, spread out and stretched until the dragon was content. Finally, the whole truck sized body was out, the long barb-spiked tail flicking about lazily as the dragon approached the obsidian altar with a hungry look in its yellow slit eyes.
The dragon turned toward the maiden first, as if they were having a conversation in which only they could hear and participate. Finally, Chisakami loosened Cleon's panicked embrace and touched his cheek comfortingly.
"Nataku thanks you for waking her at long last. She revels in your triumph and wishes to serve you by carrying out the remainder of the prophecy."
But all he could think was, I can't believe that my half-assed speech actually worked.
With that, the dragon lowered her head and pressed toward Cleon. He let out a small 'oof' as he was gently head butted, now lying on top of the hard narrow snout. Large plate-sized eyes stared at him with an almost infinite calmness.
"Hello," he murmured, just as wide-eyed. His throat was dry and he couldn't think of what else to say. "My name is Cleon. And… you must be Nataku. Nice to meet you."
A rumbling sensation went throughout his entire body. It took him a while to realize that the dragon was making a sound in response. He skittishly slid off the dragon's snout and brushed off the soot and ash.
"She is pleased to meet you as well," Chisakami told him, beaming happily.
All of a sudden, the dragon raised her head and turned it toward the opening in the cave which Cleon and his companions had pushed open earlier. The dragon let out a piercing shriek that would have burst his eardrums had he not the sense to back away and press his hands to his head in time. Then the huge reptilian beast moved toward the tiny opening and sniffed. When she snorted, bursts of flame larger than the ones produced by Cleon's crude flamethrower flashed from her nostrils.
"What's going on?" he yelled over the din that the dragon was making, still wailing and shrieking louder than a whole flock of banshees.
"She senses other intruders!" Chisakami screamed back.
Cleon shook his head. "Well, tell her that they're just my friends! They're okay!"
Chisakami glared at him. She paused to communicate with her bonded partner. "Nataku says that two of them are harmless. They are like you. But one of them is of the Blood! One of them is of the same royal blood that flows through the King of Enishijirou, and she must die!"
When he realized that she was referring to Shinkokami, he groaned and shook his head. Before he could shout back that they had to obey his orders and not attack the wolf-princess, the dragon had leapt up from the floor of the cave. The wings beat hard, causing a rush of air to blow against the two humans on the altar and knock them over. While they were still trying to recover from the gale-force winds that had been created, the dragon disappeared through the cave ceiling, much like Cleon and Chisakami had phased through the rock walls.
He scrambled to his feet and waited for his fiercely beating heart to slow down. "Oh… oh dude… This is so not good…"
~~
Neal grabbed Joren's shoulder tightly. "Did you hear that?"
"Loud screaming as if some poor animal was in its death throes? Yeah, I heard that," Joren replied, nonplussed. "Shinkokami, do you know what that is?"
She tensed, gripping her dagger handle in her hand tightly. "The dragon is awake."
"You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding," Neal begged. He received an annoyed look from both his comrades. Joren shook his partner's hand off his shoulder and moved forward, holding the makeshift torch high over his head.
"Assuming that the dragon truly is awake, then I'm sure Cleon is in that direction. Luckily, I possess the good natured faith to trust that Cleon can take care of his foolish self so we will head in the other direction for our general safety," he explained in a monotone voice.
Neal raised one eyebrow inquisitively. "Is that so? You have faith in Cleon?"
"No. Actually, I lied." He paused. "I'm sorry, did you want to face a dragon head on?"
"No!"
"Then let's keep moving."
The two men set off at a fast walking pace, but it was Shinkokami running past them that inspired them with the desire to flee as well. The wild princess chest was heaving. The way her legs moved, both men were sure that she was much more alarmed by the dragon than they were. It was a definite change from the cold attitude that they were familiar to seeing.
"Shinko!" Neal called. "Slow down, girl! You're running like the Boogeyman is after you!"
"It is, you imbecile!" she shouted. "I am the first it shall hunt! I am of the royal family and that creature is fated to kill me and the rest of my line!"
Oh. That explains it, Neal thought. All three were now running as fast as they could through the tunnels. Joren wondered how Shinkokami could see since he was the one with the light, but she managed to do fine without it. The two men were the ones who almost ran into an overhang of rock.
They followed her through a small hole to the side. They would have missed it entirely if they hadn't slowed down. As soon as they were through, they began sliding down a long face of rock. Joren dropped the makeshift torch and tried to stay upright. Neal cursed loudly as he fell flat on his back. Joren gave him a hand up.
"Why didn't we stay with the wolves? I felt much safer with them around," he complained. He brushed off the dirt that stuck to the wet clothes on his back.
Another inhuman scream echoed around them. The three companions exchanged wary looks. Shinkokami picked up the torch and held it up. They were now in a large cave that had numerous stalactites dripping water into small blue glowing pools around them. Neal leaned against a stalagmite and struck the ground with his quarterstaff in frustration.
"Where do we go now? It doesn't look like there's a way out of here."
"There may be another enchanted wall," Joren answered. "Let's start looking."
Before they could even move, stalactites began to fall from the ceiling. The ground that they stood upon began to shake as if there was an earthquake. Joren grabbed both of his companions by the back of their clothes and yanked them out of the way of harm. He squinted through the darkness to see that the ceiling of the cave was starting to take on a watery appearance, like the rock that they had passed through a while back.
Shinkokami, still holding the torch, began to run up the slope of rock that they had slid down upon. Her rough soled soles allowed her to get halfway up before something large and black had descended from the quivering ceiling. A large barbed tail caught the wild girl across the backside and sent her sprawling off the ledge and harshly onto the ground.
Neal frantically rushed out from their hiding place and went to her side. The ground had ceased to shake, but now the cave was filled with a new presence. Joren quietly crept over to the torch and held it up to get a good look at whatever had cut Shinkokami down.
He pressed himself against the nearest stalagmite as a plume of fire shot out into the space above him. He could feel the hairs on his face singe from being so close. He immediately put his arms over his head and ducked down as far as he could.
When he opened his eyes, he was face to face with the largest creature he had ever seen.
The dragon snorted at him, blowing unbearably hot air into this face. Joren turned away and tried to peer into the darkness. He could barely make out the figures of Neal and Shinkokami. His partner was crouched over the fallen girl, who was breathing shallowly. A dark pool on the ground beside her indicated that she had bled profusely from the slash on her back, given to her by the dragon's tail.
Glancing down at the razor sharp claws beneath the dragon's immense body, Joren was sure that he had no wish to see what else it could do.
The dragon turned away from the blond and raised its head toward the ceiling. It was just in time to catch two falling humans on its long neck. He recognized one of them right away.
"Kennan!" he shouted. The dragon jerked toward him sharply, sending him a menacing look, rows of sharp teeth bared just for him.
Cleon felt relieved to see that at least Joren was in one piece. He ignored the dragon's foul mood and leaned closer. "Stone! You're okay! Where's Neal? And the princess?"
Chisakami looked coldly at Joren, then turned her gaze to where the other two were. "She has a fatal wound. Justly deserved."
"No!" Neal cried out. He carefully lifted Shinkokami's head into his lap and brushed her hair away from her face.
Cleon was crestfallen. "Oh, gods… I'm so sorry. I was too late."
The wolf princess' eyes opened slowly. They were hazy and unfocused. She had a hard time seeing in the dark, harder now that her vision was starting to go. However, she managed to look up at the two people seated on the dragon's neck. A flicker of recognition flashed in her eyes. Shinkokami gasped.
"Chisakami… sister…" she croaked. Neal tried to calm her and tell her to save her strength, but it was too late. Her eyes fluttered closed and she exhaled for the last time.
He was very quiet after that. Despite the fact that he had only known her for a little while, he had still felt quite attached to her, if not in love with her. She had saved his life once, twice if he counted tumbling down the mountainside. She had been a dutiful member of the royal family and a dedicated sentry of the mountains. How could she deserve this? Shinkokami hadn't been the one to imprison the dragon. All she had only done what was asked of her. No more, no less.
That particular train of thought caused him to look up at the other Yamani woman in the cave. Her last words had hinted that Shinkokami had known her. He scowled and glared at the remaining girl. Instinctively, he held Shinkokami's body closer as if he still needed to protect her.
Chisakami turned her head away in disdain and petted the dragon's large neck. Meanwhile, Cleon and Joren both stayed to the side as onlookers. The redhead didn't know what else to do but be ready to stop the dragon should it decide to attack again. And the blond knew no comforting words to offer Neal except that things could always have been worse.
Joren let out a deep breath. He folded his arms across his chest. "Right. Cleon, take your dragon back to the Black City. We'll follow."
"I'm not following," Neal mumbled. He caressed Shinkokami's cheek and looked up. Tears were glistening in his eyes. "You go ahead, Stone. I'll catch up."
Joren nodded. He motioned for Cleon to leave. "You heard him. Let's get out of here, Kennan." He hesitated and crouched down by Neal's side. "I'll send your wolf down here to help you out."
"Help me?"
"You want to bury her, don't you?" Joren whispered. He looked away, trying not to remember just how well he could relate to Neal's situation. He stifled any urge to grimace and took a deep breath. He'd had no idea that it would be this painful to actually be sympathetic. Joren didn't plan on doing it again anytime soon. "I know what it's like. It's okay. Catch up later." With that, he stood and began walking toward the rocky slope again. The dragon was more docile now that it saw that its immediate threat was eliminated. Now they would travel to the Black City for more information about the City of Enishijirou. And the war would commence.
Neal could have cared less. He watched them depart as quickly as they had come, leaving death and destruction behind them.
~~
Author's notes:
8/4/03 Hey everyone! I know, the episode is still short—but I've been busy. And I'm out of whack with certain things, so I'm sure this isn't one of my better episodes. Just the same, I hope you enjoyed it, and next time… maybe I'll be in the mood to write. Anyway, next episode returns us to the presence of Kel and all her troubles back inside the castle! Perhaps something interesting will happen while she's there by herself…
Until then, thanks for reading! Remember: emails and reviews are put on a shelf to be cherished always!
P.S. Why oh WHY does school have to start on THURSDAY???