Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon) (30 page)

She squared her shoulders, breathing deeply the forest air before heading into the hot, dry desert. The stinging wind threw salty sand in her face as if forbidding her passage. She spun around. “Are you ready, my sisters?”

Rose’el grimaced. “Ready.”

Bending down, Laura picked at the large footprint of the creature with a twig. She could have curled up in the impression. Her blade sifted the dirt and sand. She held up her sword, flipped it in the air, and raised it level in both hands. Her eyes scanned the blade.

“What are you doing?” Caritha asked.

“I was thinking that the creature, especially being so large, must leave skin samples wherever it steps.” She pointed into the desert. “The wind will obscure the creature’s tracks, but I think I can tune my sword to detect the residue in the sand so that we won’t lose the trail.”

It sounded logical enough, so Caritha voiced her approval. Then she led her sisters into the desert. The creature’s tracks followed a straight line, leading to the south, though at a decidedly western vector.

That night they set up their tent and tried to sleep. Their canvas walls protested, and the finer sand sifted through the seams. When Caritha at last dozed off, her slumber was restless.

In her dreams she saw herself and her sisters standing on the strange shore of an inlet, surrounded by mountains of ice. Clouds overshadowed the sky, and the air was frigid. Beyond the inlet lay a deep blue sea stretching to the horizon.

The sandy ground trembled, and a long-necked creature rose before them. She gaze up and quailed, for the creature’s size dwarfed any dragon. He smashed his fore-flippers together and addressed them in a voice that rang around them. “You have fought worthy of a Water Skeel.” The creature lowered its neck so that it was only ten feet above their heads. Needle-like teeth filled its enormous mouth. “But you are no match for me!”

Caritha felt exhausted. She tried to summon her powers but found only hints of strength. Her reservoirs had been depleted. She looked to her sisters for help, but their faces froze in terror. The creature pulled back his head, and a geyser of water issued from his nostrils. It slammed into her chest, drove the oxygen from her lungs, and threw her against a large boulder on the shore. She felt as if every bone in her body was bending and every organ had been bruised.

On either side, her sisters were trying to rise from beneath the deluge of water. She raised her sword. “Join with me, my sisters!” Their blades met, and a wall of energy surged against the water, turning it away before it could do further harm.

The creature laughed and bore down upon them. His gargantuan body slammed into the beach and his flippers smote them. “Your puny powers cannot compare to the might I wield!” He dug his flippers into the inlet and plucked, as it were, large cubes of ice from the water. These he chucked effortlessly in the sisters’ direction. Caritha felt a stabbing pain as the cubes neared, and the magic within her was stifled and confined. Her body temperature dropped—she was freezing though she remained alive!

Suddenly she sat bolt upright in the tent. Sweat had soaked her clothes, and her breathing was irregular. Laura woke up with a scream, and the others started from their sleep. They looked at one another, then at Caritha.

“I was dreaming … a nightmare of ice and an enormous white monster.” Rose’el breathed fast.

The others glanced at her, then at Caritha. As they chattered about the dream, sharing the same details she knew, she realized that her dream had also been theirs. But how could this happen? Had they received a warning of some kind? Or was it a mere coincidence?

She raised her hand, silencing her sisters’ chatter. “We are the daughters of the dragon. We do not fear fate, and we will not let doubt cloud our way. If this was a shadow of something to come, then we will face it as we face everything else—with vigilance and determination.”

Evela swallowed hard, then forced a smile. “You are right, Caritha. We must not let this overshadow the task at hand.”

Everyone else lay back down. Their eyes, however, remained open. Caritha lay down too, forbidding the fear to get a hold on her heart. She felt inside her pocket for the ring. In this mindset she closed her eyes, letting her body rest for the day ahead.

The following morning the desert wind fanned them like a hot breath and drove them to continue their journey with haste. As the day progressed, the wind grew in intensity. Small whirlwinds wavered between dunes, throwing clouds of sand in all directions.

Shielding her face with her arm, Caritha spread her legs to steady herself. “We need to find shelter.”

Laura laughed sardonically. “Oh, sure. As soon as you see a tree or a house, just let me know.”

Visibility decreased with alarming swiftness. Though Caritha knew Yimshi was shining, she found it difficult to see more than a few feet in any direction because clouds of sand wound through the air. She was about to call a halt when her foot caught on a buried stone and she tumbled forward. Cringing, she waited to hit her head on some unseen protrusion. Instead she felt herself falling farther, as if the ground before her had given way. When she landed it was rather softer than she’d expected.

She rolled to the side just as Laura, Evela, Rose’el, and Levena all fell in behind her. She looked around at the subterranean cavern. About ten feet above her head the desert sand swirled over the hole through which they’d fallen.

“Oh this is much better.” Rose’el punched the ground with her fist. “Now how are we going to find that creature? Its tracks will certainly be buried by the time this storm stops.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to follow the tracks,” Evela said. The others looked puzzled. “Desert inhabitants tend to travel the most direct route possible in order to conserve water and strength. If we continue in the direction we know it took, we should eventually stumble upon its destination.”

Laura lowered her eyes. “You’re right, and we don’t really have another choice because I tested my sword earlier today, and it won’t find the creature’s footprints.”

The storm abated a few hours later, and the sisters looked for a way to get out of their hole. Above them the ceiling was a mixture of sand, dirt, and stone.

“Why don’t we just blow up the ceiling of this chamber?” Rose’el asked. “If we take out one corner, the material above should be enough to raise the floor so that we can climb out.”

The sisters touched their sword blades together. A blue flame ignited between the tips, then shot upward and struck the stone ceiling. The hole through which they had fallen widened. The stones shattered, then fell in a heap tall enough for them to climb up to the desert floor.

Over the desert an unearthly calm reigned. Not even the slightest breeze troubled the sand, and the sunlight fell oppressively on their skin. “Come on.” Caritha walked a few hundred feet more. The ground gave way, and she fell into another subterranean cavern, her sisters following after.

“I don’t know about the rest of you.” Rose’el clambered back up and grabbed Caritha’s arm. “But I think we should take greater care where we are stepping.”

“Agreed.” Caritha took off her shoe and held it upside down, draining it of sand.

The others clambered up behind her. She set out again, this time stabbing the ground ahead with her blade before proceeding. It was a good thing she did, for she discovered that the region was pocketed with numerous caverns just waiting for the unwitting traveler to step into them. Night fell, and the moonless sky made progress even slower.

“Maybe we should camp in one of the caverns,” Laura suggested. “It would offer us shelter from any more sandstorms.”

Everyone nodded, and Caritha peered into a nearby hole. “This looks suitable
and
a lot easier to exit.” She descended first.

“Yep, this is much better.” Rose’el arrived beside her and laid out a bedroll.

“Better, yes.” Levena looked around at the strange formations on the walls. “It’s still not to my liking.”

Rose’el scratched her head. “What
would
be to your liking? An inn out here in the desert?”

“Home would be preferable,” Levena said.

Rose’el clacked her tongue. “Tut tut, living at Ilfedo’s house has made you soft!”

At last the sisters settled in, and the night passed without incident. In the morning everyone confirmed that their dreams had been pleasant—no more massive swimming creatures pummeling them with ice.

They ate biscuits for breakfast and pulled themselves out of the cavern. There was no breeze, thankfully, so no sand whipping about. Once on the desert floor, they used Yimshi’s rising disc as a frame of reference and continued their pursuit of the creature.

Several days passed, and they had about given up hope of ever finding the beast. But a wind kicked up, and when it stopped, they saw the creature’s tracks clearly imprinted straight ahead of them and continuing on to the horizon.

They followed the tracks for an hour or so and then stopped. As far as Caritha could see, a vertical wall of solid yellow stone rose from the desert floor.

The barrier stood over two hundred feet high, and its smooth face was unbroken except in one place. About two thirds of the way up a large opening cut into the rock, most likely a cave. Deep claw marks marred the rock face beneath the opening. Caritha bit her lip.

Rose’el let out a long whistle. “Now that is something incredible. How can a creature that
large
climb that? Why, it is almost vertical. Do you realize what it would take to pull that much bulk up
that
? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m duly impressed.”

Gritting her teeth, Caritha tied back her hair and stepped up to the wall. Gazing up made her a bit dizzy. Rose’el was right. The rock rose from the desert floor at a near-vertical angle. Grabbing hold of a crevice in the rock face, she pulled herself up and set her foot on the slightest excuse for a ledge.

Repeating these steps, she soon reached a place some twenty feet above. Careful not to offset her balance, she glanced under her arm. “What are you all doing standing there? Climb, ladies. Climb!”

The stone under her hand crumbled, forcing her to grab another handhold. The climb demanded all her attention. She lost track of time. When she was within ten feet of the cave opening, she dared to look down. First she noticed her sisters making their way up the rock face behind her, then her gaze wandered out to the desert and, for an instant, she thought she saw a human figure on the horizon.

“Is someone following us?”

Rose’el closed the distance between them.

“For all that is holy! Move along Caritha. I can’t climb over you, you know.” She grunted, pulling herself higher. “This isn’t so easy in a dress. Now quit staring out there—it’s probably a mirage.”

Taking one last look into the desert, Caritha had to admit a mirage sounded plausible. Heat waves created several images of people in pursuit, but one by one they vanished. She put her attention back where it should be and led her sisters the rest of the way up the daunting rock face. Upon reaching the ledge of the cave, she pulled herself in, sat near the opening, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

She leaned over the edge. Rose’el extended an arm, and Caritha helped her into the cave. Then she reached down to help Laura up. “Here give me your hand.”

“No thank you!” Laura pulled herself up, and the others soon followed.

They gathered on the ledge, looking at the desert below. At last Caritha drew her sword and scraped it along a claw mark in the floor. Grimly she faced the cave’s dark interior.

Caritha moved her finger to her lips. “From here on we should keep quiet.” She pointed to her sword, signifying that her sisters should produce their weapons. From their robes they drew their rusted blades and held them at arm’s length as they followed her into the darkness.

“Shine, oh my sword,” she whispered. Her command could not affect the weapon, but saying it aloud and willing it in her mind somehow steadied her, and immediately her blade glowed with a brownish-red color.

The others followed, murmuring, “Shine.” One after the other their blades illuminated the area, albeit dimly. Caritha moved ahead into the pitch-black chamber. So dim was the light from the swords that she halted until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gradually the floor and walls became distinguishable, and she walked on.