The Three Feathers - The Magnificent Journey of Joshua Aylong (23 page)

The dragon stood up. His wings unfolded in dark red leather like crimson. His fangs glistened in the dim light. His eyes were deep green like faceted emeralds. His dark blue scales moved like tiny waves when he let out a scream that filled the cave from one end to the other. Most of the spiders had climbed up the large pillars or fled deeper into the cave. The dragon breathed in. Joshua saw it and he knew instantly what was about to happen. He hoped it wouldn’t reach him or the others. Then a liquid flame shot out of his mouth. It climbed up one of the pillars, incinerating everything in its path. The web the Pegasus was held in previously, burned up in seconds. The heat the flames generated was almost intolerable. Then it stopped. The smoldering air was filled with the smell of the carcasses of the spiders.

Joshua saw Krieg getting up and shaking himself. He saw Grey pulling what was left of the hyena into the crater. He saw Alda climbing out of the water and moving toward Wind. Now that the immediate danger seemed to be over, everyone’s concern was for her. Joshua slowly walked over to them. His body hurt badly but he realized that the fear had left him. The image and presence of the lioness had obliterated it completely. He could still hear the cries of the vulture from far above them and he knew she wasn’t finished yet but he also knew that they would have a few minutes of respite before she recovered. His fear of her was gone. She had lost all power over him.

They stood around Wind’s body: Alda, humming a melody that sounded very much like a lullaby, her long neck extending outward and her head only a few feet away from Wind’s; Grey, still shaking but slowly gaining back his posture; Krieg whose face was close to Wind’s, nudged her gently with his nose. Her wounds had begun to heal. The water had washed away the infection and with it the deathly grip of the vulture on her body. Then she opened her eyes. They met Krieg’s. For a moment she just looked at him.

“No limits,” she whispered in her thoughts and even though it was meant for Krieg, they all heard it.

“No limits,” Krieg thought back. And Joshua could feel the effect of Wind’s thought warming the horse from the inside, easing his pain. His relief was visible. He seemed to relax suddenly as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She was alive.

“How do you feel?” The wolf asked.

“I’m fine. I think. I can’t remember most of what happened. Only bits and pieces.” A shudder went through her at the memory of it. “How did you get here, Alda?” She asked.

“That, my dear, is a long story,” Alda replied. “Let’s just say, there are channels under the mountain that I had not explored before. This was one of them.”

“But how did you find us?” Joshua asked.

“You mean, how did I find you? I didn’t. Not directly. But I was… summoned. Summoned by the guardian of the mountain. The lioness herself summoned me. When she was released, I just followed her to you.”

“You did not come too soon,” Grey replied.

“I wish I would have been here earlier,” Alda remarked. “Wind, I thought you dead and for that I am truly sorry.”

“Alda, please. I do not know how to ever repay you,” Wind answered.

“Neither of us does,” Krieg added.

“There is no payment between friends,” Alda’s thoughts were accompanied by a different melody that seemed to come from all directions. And for a few seconds they stood quietly, listening to it. The beam of light illuminated them softly. Joshua looked from one to the other. He saw Grey’s unwavering loyalty, Krieg’s courage in the face of certain death, Wind’s lightness and wisdom and Alda’s joy spilling out of her with every note she sang. He realized at that moment that their circle of friendship was the greatest comfort he had ever experienced.

“You don’t have much time.” The dragon sat half in the shadows. His thoughts were like amber glowing in their minds. “Eternal life is within her grasp. She will not stop until she has taken it and made it her own. You must reach the cave of dreams far up below the ceiling. I will help you open its gate of ice but we must hurry.”

“It is so nice to see you, Dragon-Of-The-Stone,” Alda looked at the silhouette of the massive dragon in the shadows.

“And you as well,” he answered. “My dreams were lightened whenever they touched yours.”

“Do you all know each other down here?” Joshua asked.

The wolf smiled.

“We have been here for a while, my dear,” Alda answered. “Over the last thousand years we have made some friends.” A light and happy song accompanied her thoughts.

“We shall have more time later on, but I suggest we get our friends to where they need to go,” the dragon added.

“Your wisdom has not suffered over the years,” Alda added.

“My wisdom maybe, but my memory betrays me,” the dragon thought back. “When I first fell asleep this cave was filled with light. When I awoke the only source of it was this small beam here.”

“It will come to you. I am still missing many of my memories – good and bad ones.” The turtle waved her head from one side to the other as if trying to bring them back that way somehow.

Joshua thought of something. At least he tried to. It escaped him each time he began to get closer to it. He still had trouble focusing but he knew he was missing something.

“The spiders will wait for us,” Grey stated a mere fact.

“Yes. They will,” the dragon answered. “That’s why we have to be in the air when we get to them. We are almost at the end of the cave. There is a chimney at the furthest wall. We have to fly up in it to reach the entrance to the cave of dreams. I can open it for you once we are there.”

“We can’t all fly,” Krieg added.

Joshua’s thoughts kept going in circles. He was searching his mind for whatever it was he was missing.

“We don’t have to,” the dragon answered. “The red one can sit on Wind’s back and it would be an honor for me to carry the great Grey of the Ice Forest to his destination.”

“What about you?” Wind asked, looking at Alda.

“Our ways must part. For now,” the turtle answered. “But not for long. We shall see each other again.”

“I hope so. It is still my heart’s desire to stand on the ancient ground of my childhood once again,” Wind replied.

“So it shall be,” the turtle answered.

Joshua’s neck feathers stood up when the missing piece in the puzzle suddenly came to him.

“RUN!” He screamed in his thoughts.

Then all hell broke loose.

23.
D
RAGON’S
F
LIGHT

Joshua realized in a split second what the missing piece of information was. When the vulture stood over him and he was pinned to the floor, he saw the smallest movement far above her head. He had lost the thought at that moment, but he now remembered.

Suddenly there were patterns of light on the floor of the cave. Moving patterns. First, the light was sporadic. After a few seconds it covered more and more of the floor. They all looked up. It was as if death itself descended upon them from above. The spiders had let go of the massive web that was spun across a large part of the ceiling. They had been waiting in silence this whole time, blocking the light. When they fell on them, Joshua knew immediately that their purpose had now changed. They no longer came to escort them to the vulture. The spiders were now commanded to kill them, but leave him alive.

The dragon shot out a flame that instantly vaporized the first hundred in the air.

“We must take flight!” The dragon’s thoughts reached them at the same time as the first spiders hit the ground. “Grey, come to me!” He thought to the wolf who didn’t hesitate and jumped on the dragon’s back.

“What about you!” Wind thought to the turtle.

“They can’t harm me. But you must go, my dear. And take the red one with you,” the turtle’s thoughts were deafening, her music a cacophonic symphony of shrieking sounds.

“Come, Joshua!” Wind thought to him. He realized that she was still weak. Her first steps were uncertain and before he could reach her she was covered in spiders. Several of them landed next to him also. At that moment the vulture descended with a chilling scream.

“I will take care of her,” Krieg’s thought trailed off as he rose into the air and toward the vulture.

Joshua watched Wind fight the spiders but he knew it would only be a matter of moments before she would be paralyzed. He closed his eyes.

“Come to me,” he thought. “I summon you.”

And she came. Fast like a shadow, all fluidity and grace, the lioness came to him once more. From the depths of his being, she rose up and he stepped aside and let her take him. His rooster crow had the power and the fierceness of the lioness in it. When he flew toward the Pegasus the spiders fled. He landed on her back.

“Take me to the air, Wind!” He thought and the strength of the lioness swept over him and took the Pegasus as well. And she lifted off the ground and she flew, her wings carrying them up into the air. Joshua now saw the sea of spiders below. There were thousands upon thousands of them. The few that had escorted them through the cave were only a fraction of their total number. The vulture had, in fact, created an army.

Joshua saw the dragon lift off. Grey was crouched down on his back. The cave was now immersed in light that reached far and deep into it. Joshua saw Alda gliding back into the water. He felt the sting of her departure for a moment.

“Stay with me,” the lioness commanded. And he did. He directed Wind toward the dragon. Dragon-Of-The-Stone greeted the lioness and for a moment Joshua felt a deep reverence coming from the dragon toward him.

“You did it, Joshua!” Grey thought to him.

“Not quite yet,” Joshua answered. “We have to find Krieg. He cannot fight the vulture alone.”

“Do not be concerned.” The thoughts of the lioness filled his mind, brimming with strength and beauty. “Krieg is a powerful warrior. He will do what needs to be done. They are too far away and out of our reach.”

“You must trust him, Joshua.” Wind’s thoughts came to him. “He has gone beyond his limitations and he must find the courage to believe this within himself.

Joshua thought about Krieg and he suddenly knew that he needed to do this on his own. “May the lioness lend you strength and walk beside you, my friend,” he thought, hoping that his thoughts would reach him.

“I am with everyone who lets me abide in their hearts, red rooster of the Great Lake,” the lioness answered and Joshua felt that she spoke for all beings that thought themselves small and puny and weak, reminding them of their strength and power and ability.

“We fly for the cave of dreams,” Joshua thought. No. He commanded it. And the others followed.

* * *

They flew high above the sea of spiders and Joshua saw the magnificent beauty of the cave for the first time. The pillars weren’t black. From up here they were a dark, earthy color that only appeared to be black from below. In the distance he saw what looked like a massive half-round chimney extending from the ground all the way up until it disappeared into the stone.

“The entrance to the chimney is close to the ground. We have to be careful. Let me go first.” The dragon flew before them and began to descend. “It might be tight.”

The closer they came the harder it seemed for Joshua to make out where the entrance to the chimney was. All he could see down there were spiders. They had made a barrier, closing off the entrance. As the ground came nearer, it looked more and more impenetrable.

“Brace yourself!” With only a hundred yards to go, Joshua saw the dragon breathe in and release a burst of fire engulfing the wall of spiders and instantly dispersing them. They broke away from the web they built across the entrance. The flames burned it up immediately. The four of them made it through the newly exposed opening and flew into the chimney.

“Stay away from the walls!” The dragon warned them.

Joshua wasn’t sure of the reasoning behind the dragon’s warning at first. Then he saw why. As they ascended inside the vast chimney the spiders crawled up inside the wall surrounding them. They held their speed. At least so far. He didn’t know how long they would have to fly upward in order to reach the opening. He hoped it wouldn’t be long.

It was an eerie flight. The sound of the dragon’s and the Pegasus’ wings was juxtaposed against the spiders’ crawling feet, all of it echoing through the funnel like chimney. The higher they flew, the narrower the walls of the chimney became. At one point Joshua looked down. Far below them he saw the floor of the chimney blackened from the spider’s bodies. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he decided to look up instead.

And there it was. Still high up, but visible nonetheless, Joshua saw the entrance to the cave, or what must have been the entrance at some point. Now there was a wall of ice.

“I will go first,” the dragon answered Joshua’s question before he could ask it. “I have one shot before I need to regenerate.”

Joshua saw the powerful talons of the dragon above him. His pale blue scales shimmered in the light.

“This is it!” The dragon breathed in and stopped his upward motion, hovering before the door of ice that seemed impenetrable. Then fire shot out of his mouth, enveloping the entrance completely. At first, Joshua thought they had possibly confused the ice with stone because nothing seemed to happen. Then large pieces began to break loose and suddenly the ice changed into water. It flowed down the wall of the chimney, covering the spiders and releasing them instantly. The dragon’s fire stopped. Wind landed on the ledge and without hesitation ran through the opening. The dragon hovered for a moment longer, then landed as well. Grey jumped off and followed Wind inside.

Joshua had hoped that the water would stop the spiders from coming through but he saw them already pouring into the opening. They climbed over each other, pushing each other down and into the water. The vulture demanded they not consider the bodies of their brethren and they had no choice but to follow. “Kill the Dragon. Kill the Pegasus and the wolf. Leave the rooster to me.” That was her command. And they followed it blindly.