I'D ALWAYS WANTED to explore the Bowhole. It had been a fascinating place in my mind – a mysterious realm of light and paths to places that weren't Wormwood Creek. And even though it was much less beautiful than my fantasies had made it out to be, it still ought to have been amazing.
It wasn't.
The Bowhole itself wasn't the problem, of course. Dim and slightly creepy it may have been, but that ordinarily would have just made me more eager to explore. Round every corner and down every staircase were new things. There were monsters, too, kinds I'd never seen before. No, the only problem was that my mind was somewhere completely else.
What in the world had Serena meant by that conversation?
"I've had three hundred years to know what it feels like when something like that's taken away" – something like what? There isn't anything, unless you count a grudging friendship – if you can even call this a friendship! Wasn't it too precarious, too strange, too easily messed up to be anything really important?
I sighed inaudibly and shoved my hands into my pockets. This was giving me a headache.
We were all pretty quiet – the Bowhole seemed to have that effect. Nick had snagged a torch off the wall of the room we'd landed in and lit it, so the area around us was lit up, but everything else was dim. I was trying to stay in the circle of flickering light, which made it really hard to stay a distance away from Erik. I just couldn't make myself walk too close to him right then. Not after what Serena had said.
The place was practically a maze. Finally, though, down several flights of stairs and across a long, rickety bridge which scared the living daylights out of me every time it shook, we came to what seemed to be the final cave. Most of it was taken up by a huge dais, upon which was the statue of a big, dragon-like monster that seemed to be armed for battle.
I put a hesitant foot on the dais and then jumped out of my skin when a solemn voice boomed through the air: "I am the keeper of the path of light!"
Nick, Erik, Cristine and I stumbled back into a little knot. I couldn't tell exactly where the voice was coming from – it was like everywhere and nowhere all at once.
"He who wishes to unlock the Wyrmward…must demonstrate his worth!"
And then the statue started to move.
"You've got to be kiddin' me," I muttered. "We have to fight a bloody statue?"
We all pulled out our weapons.
"Ga-ga-ga-gaaaaaaaaah!" roared the voice. It was growing louder, closer.
The statue leapt into the air, making all of us jump. "Gah!" cried the voice, and I realised it was coming from the statue.
"Drrrong!" It slammed back onto the dais.
The stone started to crack, piercing light shining out like there was a little sun inside; then it broke off completely, revealing a live version of the statue, identical down to the last dent in its shield.
"Go!"
Erik took that as a command and raced in, arms outstretched to attack. He was wearing the dragon claws.
The used-to-be-statue raised its shield almost faster than I could see, blocking Erik's strike. Erik was thrown off balance and stumbled back.
I steadied him and then raced forwards myself. "Let's see what you've got!" I yelled, feinting right and then going left, driving my sword towards the monster's blue hide with all the strength I could muster.
In an instant, it had dodged, and I was left with my momentum propelling me all the way across the dais. I overbalanced and managed to fall flat on my face.
Cristine lunged forwards then, but the monster knocked her aside with its shield. Nick hurried over to her, putting a hand over the shoulder the monster had hit. A soft glow emanated from his hand briefly, and then they got up and moved back towards Erik.
And it kept going like that. The monster was impossibly quick – none of us could even touch him. I could tell that the others were starting to get discouraged, but I was just annoyed. This stupid monster was supposed to guard the path of light, not keep us from warning the Hero of the Heavens when there was danger approaching! Maybe I wasn't a proper Wormwood Creeker – Almighty, I hoped I wasn't! – but I was one nonetheless, and the whole purpose of that little blight of a village was to protect Upover and Greygnarl. I wasn't leaving this bloody sanctuary without finding out how to get to the path of light all the stories had talked about!
"We have to get out of here," Nick yelled finally, sounding exhausted. "This guy's too fast – we can't beat him!"
His face was ashen. I realised then that he'd been doing nothing but casting spells to heal us this whole battle – he must have been all but dead on his feet.
I clenched my teeth, warring between wanting to make sure Nick didn't kill himself trying to keep us alive and my stubborn desire to make the monster tell us how to get to the path of light. Then I got an idea.
"You guys leave!" I called. "I'll take care of this."
"Are you mad?" Cristine asked, her voice rising an octave. "You'll be killed!" She had her arms pressing down on a cut in her midsection.
I shook my head. "I'll be fine, but we can't all stay here. Nick's dead on his feet, and you need to get that cut taken care of. I can take care of this idiot on my own!"
Nick opened his mouth to protest, too, but Erik shook his head. "I think she is right," he called, and grunted as he dodged a blow from the blue monster's shield. "Let us go!"
I nodded my thanks and drew the monster's attention while Nick, Erik, and Cristine slipped off the dais and towards the doorway. "Now it's just you and me," I muttered under my breath. And then louder: "Stand and fight, why don't you, you bloody rascal? Or are you scared of a little girl who's all alone?"
A strange look passed over the monster's face, and something flickered inside of me that I knew wasn't mine. Approval? But a half-second later, it had vanished.
I scowled, annoyed that it had slipped away, and struck out at the monster with all my might. My sword made contact this time, and my eyes went wide.
As soon as my sword hit, the monster froze. The glow enveloped it again, and by the time it had cleared enough that I could see, the monster had turned back to stone.
The solemn voice boomed through the air again. "You have demonstrated your worth," it said. There was a strong note of approval in the tone. "I shall reveal to you the path of light, that you may venture forth into the realm of the mighty Greygnarl, Hero of the Heavens."
I squinted through yet another flash of light (why was it always light? My corneas were going to die on me soon) to see the statue vanish like it had never even been. The light vanished with it. I blinked, praying my eyes were still working properly.
Apparently, they were, because I could still see the room. In the back of the dais was something I hadn't noticed before: a plinth with a golden bow and a single arrow lying on top.
"Yikes!" came Stella's voice from behind. "No one said there'd be a flapping great goon to get past." She sounded disgruntled. I couldn't figure out why – it wasn't like she'd had to fight it. "Well, all's well that ends in a well, I suppose. He's a goner now."
The others joined me up on the dais – they hadn't even had time to get out the door before the monster had returned to statue form.
"What d'you think that bow-and-arrow thing is up there on the pillar?" Stella asked. "Something to do with opening this path of light or whatever?"
"A wyrmlight bow," I murmured. I stepped forward. There was a little plaque on the plinth.
The path of light in this arrow is sealed,
Cradled here 'til a chosen one be revealed.
Let fly this bolt o'er the Wyrmward wide,
As the way unfolds, boldly onward stride.
The bow was comfortably warm to the touch, like it had been laying in the sun instead of a dim cave a hundred metres below the surface of the earth. A thrill ran through me when I picked it up. It was incredibly lightweight, like it was made of pure light.
I smiled. "Upover, here we come."
By noon, we were at Wormwood Canyon, staring out towards the other side. "Are you sure the bow will fire that far?" Nick asked.
I shrugged. "Only one way to find out, I s'pose," I said. "Who's going to shoot it?"
Cristine giggled. "I thought it'd be obvious it should be you," she said. "You're the one who beat the monster."
"Oh." I went warm. "I… If that's what works…"
Erik snorted.
I rolled my eyes at him and moved to stand on the slab of stone marking the place where the bridge across the canyon had once stood. A dragon's head was carved in it. I fitted the arrow to the string and drew the bow in a swift motion, pulling the centre of the string back to my ear.
I sighted along the arrow, adjusting my aim.
"Fire the light unto the sky and let it lead you."
And I relaxed, letting the arrow fly and the bow drop. The arrow soared across the canyon in a wide, bright arc, leaving a trail of light behind it. The light draped itself across the canyon from the stone on our side to the grass on the other, wide enough that all four of us could have walked across shoulder to shoulder without any trouble.
"Well, would you look at that!" Stella exclaimed. "I can make light of anything, and you can make anything out of light! What a pair!"
I sighed.
"Oi!"
"Oh no," Cristine said. "I think the villagers found us…"
"Uh-oh. Looks like you've got company," Stella agreed, and popped back into her little-ball-of-light form. I scowled.
We turned to face whoever was coming. I folded my arms.
Four villagers approached – Wallace, Doffish, the man who ran the armour shop, and the innkeeper's husband.
Doffish scowled when he saw us. "What're you doin' here?" he asked. "We just saw a whoppin' great flash back in the village." Then he looked past us, and his eyes went wide. "What the –?"
He hurried to the path. "Well I'll be stuffed! A bridge…made of light!?"
"Wow!" Wallace cried. "Did you do this, Tammy?"
I nodded silently.
Doffish was staring out at the bridge like he couldn't believe his eyes. "'The wrymward will open with the light of the statue's sanctuary, and the way to Upover will appear at last'… So this is what all that means? The old sayin' isn't just a load of yabber after all? Strewth!"
"Exactly!" Wallace said. "And now Tammy and her friends are off to give that black dragon the what-for!" He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hmm…" Doffish shifted awkwardly. I looked down, my arms still folded. Doffish wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable. Nor was he the only one who wanted to get away as quickly as possible.
Finally, he asked, "You weren't lyin' about bein' attacked by that dragon, were you, Tammy?"
I swallowed. "Of course not," I said, not looking up.
The discomfort in the air intensified. Just go away, I prayed. Don't say anything else. Let us leave…
"Looks like we owe you an apology," Doffish said. He stumbled over his words. "We've just been so caught up in hatin' outsiders after what happened all them years ago…"
"I know," I said shortly. "Trust me, I know."
I was still looking determinedly at my boots, so I didn't notice until it was too late that Doffish had walked over to me. By the time I realised what had happened, he had enveloped me in a stiff, slightly awkward hug. I went rigid. What the hell?
"Sorry for bein' such ungrateful drogoes," Doffish whispered. He sounded choked up, and I bit my tongue. No. No way was I going to cry because of him. I'd done it too many times already…
"You should be," I said. My voice was choppy from the tears I'd decided I wasn't going to cry. But I didn't pull away. I couldn't.
"Tammy, please…"
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying vainly to keep everything inside. "Ten years, one month, and sixteen days," I whispered. "It was the worst part of my life, Doffish."
"I know," he said. "And I wish I could take it back."
"So do I." My voice broke. Oh, bloody hell…
Abruptly, I freed my arms from Doffish's hug and threw them around him. "I'm sorry," I choked out. "I can't… I can't… I have to go, I can't stay here!" I shoved back, whirled round, and sprinted across the bridge.
I didn't stop until I was far away from everyone on the other side.
Against his initial impulse, Erik did not run across the bridge after Tammy. He remained with the others until they had said an awkward farewell to Tammy's father and cousin, and did not hurry ahead as he, Nick, and Cristine finally crossed the bridge towards Upover.
It took some time before they were able to find Tammy, by which point her eyes looked rather red but she seemed otherwise all right. She did not say a word about anything that had occurred on the other side of the chasm. "Come on," she said in a tone that discourage any other topic. "I can see the Magmaroo. It shouldn't be too far now."
"Tammy, are you…are you sure we'll find Greygnarl?" Cristine asked. "I mean, it's been three hundred years. By all rights, he ought to be long dead."
Tammy shrugged. "I don't know for sure whether or not we'll find him," she admitted. "But Hootingham-Gore talked about him… I figure he's still there, one way or another. Even if it's just his ghost. And besides, it's all of Upover we need to warn, not just the one who's proven he can take care of himself. Whether we find Greygnarl or not, we'll be doin' some good by going up there." She shoved her hands in her pocket and said nothing else.
Despite what Tammy had said, it was rather far to the Magmaroo. Nick and Cristine fell to talking, but neither Erik nor Tammy said more than one or two words for the rest of the journey.
It was an uphill battle to keep his mind off of the thought of the traitor Aquila. Erik knew that brooding upon his betrayal would do nothing. It would not change the fact of it. It would not allow Erik to fasten his fingers into the traitor's neck and –
He clenched his jaw and tried to banish the thought before it could take root. It was impossible. Aquila could not be killed, not by Erik – he was powerless to stand against a senior Celestrian. Though the thought of that made his blood boil just as strongly as did the thought of the traitor.
Erik's thoughts whirled round and round upon the subject until finally they reached the foot of a tall, steep staircase leading up the side of the Magmaroo. If he craned his head back, he could see the edges of roofs poking out over the sides of a platform far above.
"Upover," Tammy whispered. "We're here…"
It was ten minutes' exertion to clamber up the stairs. Each one rose nearly to Erik's knee and would scarcely be deep enough to accommodate a grown man's foot. It was much more of a climb than a walk, and it was impossible for Erik to get the thought of falling out of his head. It was an enormous relief when they finally reached the top.
"And we still aren't at the top part of the village," Cristine sighed. "Look, there's another layer up there."
She was right.
"It could be worse, I guess," Nick said fairly. "Upover could be a city. We'd never find Greygnarl there."
A couple of villagers were looking at the four newcomers oddly. Erik sighed. "Let us ask after him," he said, setting off in the direction of the inn. "It ought not to be difficult."
Their questions eventually led them to the second level, to a house near the cave leading inside of the Magmaroo. It was, according to the woman who'd pointed them up there, the home of Upover's mayor.
"G'day," said the portly man who opened the door. He seemed quite surprised to see four youths at his door. "I'm the mayor of Upover. What brings you all the way up here to the mountains?"
"We're looking for Greygnarl, sir," Nick said. "We need his help to chase down a big black dragon."
The mayor blinked. "Don't be daft!" he said. "The only big black dragon was Barbarus, and Greygnarl saw to him three hundred years back."
"Yeah, that's the thing," Tammy said, smiling humourlessly. "Seems that Barbarus isn't as gone as we all thought."
The mayor stared at her. Finally, after mouthing silently for a moment, he came out with, "I don't reckon you'd come all this way just to tell fibs, so I guess there must be something in it… Okay, why don't you head up the Magmaroo and see old Greygnarl. Let's see what he has to say about it. I reckon you're on a wild goose chase, but we can hardly let you trek all the way up here and then turn you away, eh?" He chuckled nervously. Tammy's Barbarus comment seemed to have rattled him. "Greygnarl lives all the way up at the summit of the Magmaroo. There's a cave outside me house here that leads all the way up there. You'll have to go through there."
"Thank you," Cristine said, but before they could leave, another voice came from inside the house.
"So you're off to see old Greygnarl, are ya?" it asked.
The mayor turned and all of them looked in to see an old woman smiling out at them. "Well, I ain't seen him for yonks, so say g'day from me, and tell him I'm doin' just fine since he left me in charge down here, okay?"
They were halfway through nodding when she exclaimed, "Ahh, what am I thinkin'? I can't have yez doin' me dirty work for me just 'cos I'm gettin' on a bit. I'll trek up there meself."
Apparently, though, she didn't feel like doing so at the moment, for Erik, Nick, Tammy, and Cristine were able to leave the house unaccompanied.
Stella popped out then. "I've been thinking…" she said.
Tammy rolled her eyes. "Almighty help us all."
Erik snorted. Cristine giggled. Nick did a very poor job of hiding a smile. Stella glared at them all.
"This Greygnarl we're supposed to go and meet…" she said pointedly. "He was around three hundred years ago, right?" So how come he's still alive? You don't think he's some kind of zombie, do you…? Eeeurgh! I hate rotten, stinking zombies…"
The five of them looked at one another nervously. "I guess there's only one way to find out," Tammy said.
So they set out for the top of the volcano.
Almost...there...*pants loudly* Jeez, I don't think I'm ever going to see the end of this story! There's just so much that needs to be said and done...
I think my teachers from last year told my teachers this year about the fact that I'll sit in class and write if I have my laptop open - there's got to be a reason why so many of them don't like us having our computers out in class! It stinks, too. I wrote the entire first draft (and edited several other drafts) of Peace in Paradise just during last school year. Even if they don't want laptops in class, it'd be nice if they'd give us just a little less to do after school so I could work on my own stuff. There's Song of the Souls, college stuff, job stuff (just ideas, of course; I can't join the rat race just yet!), original stories that need working on, and lots of marketing and publishing research for Peace in Paradise. Not to mention maybe revising it a couple more times... I'm sure I'll find something that could use tinkering next time I read it through!
Okay, enough of my kvetching. May all the bodies of the heavens watch over you!
