SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twenty Two
Petraya lay flat to the ground, watching Kozane and his horde surge after Maven and his staggering companion. She slid back from the edge of the precipice and smiled,
“Are you ready?” Behind her Kinga turned to Joe. It was a struggle to keep him up but she was surprisingly strong and with Petraya’s help they could carry him to the mine’s entrance.
“Reece is braver than I thought,” Kinga said. Joe nodded, but his face was etched with worry. He argued against Maven and his friend risking everything to lead Kozane’s forces away. They would be caught, maybe killed, but Maven insisted there was no other way. He tried his best to walk but his legs were like jelly and they dragged him through the dirt. Petraya peered into the valley,
“There are a few left,” she said, “Three guards and a Wytch. Can you manage him on your own?” Kinga shrugged, her way of saying ‘What choice do I have.’
“I’ll be okay,” Joe muttered, forcing his legs to bear his weight. Petraya nodded,
“Good, I will distract them. Get him into the mines.”
Petraya broke cover and charged for the cave mouth, teeth bared and her bow drawn back ready to fire. Kinga dragged Joe after her and he pushed himself forward, dredging up the last scraps of energy he could find. They were too close now to fail and if it hadn’t happened already, Maven and Reece would soon be caught; he couldn’t let their sacrifice be a waste. Petraya let an arrow fly, reloading on the run and loosing a second shot before the first thumped into the breastplate of a shocked guard. Her second arrow caught another soldier in the shoulder, spinning him round in the dust, and with a scream he fell to the ground. The third was drawing his sword, and around him the Wytch’s feet turned to face their attacker. Petraya slid to a halt, kicking up dust, bow slung over her shoulder and her sword glinting in the light. The blade flashed out, crunching through the bone of a leg and the Wytch wailed in agony. The final guard leapt forward, his own sword lashing out, but Pretraya’s blade countered it with sparks and she cannoned into him in a fury, driving him from his feet in a flurry of strikes. A piercing screech lifted her gaze to the lip of a rise, where two thick spider mounts reared back with their front legs twitching in the air. They leapt as one, landing either side of the woman and in the mists more thick shapes crowded forward.
“Get inside,” she screamed, driving her blade under the closest beast and severing two of its legs in a spray of yellow blood. Kinga hauled Joe on, though his legs buckled beneath him, unable to support him any longer. The second spider thumped into Petraya, sending her sprawling, and it scuttled over her, its thick abdomen twitching in excitement. She cursed, trapped in a cage of thick hairy legs and struck at it with her sword, though there was no room to power her swings and the blows were feeble.
Joe screamed for Kinga to go back and help but she ignored him. She threw him into the cave’s open mouth with a grunt and he rolled across cold stone, smothered in darkness. Panicked, he twisted onto his back, hands groping in the gloom for some handhold, a rock or vine, anything to help him drag his body to its feet, but they swept through the ice cold mist and found nothing. He rolled onto his knees, heart thumping like a drum, and forced himself to stand, staggering to his feet with a gasp. Trainers dragging across the floor, he turned back to the entrance, and took one stumbling step before the mist burst aside and Kinga thumped into him. She caught him, her face a dark silhouette against the white of the cave mouth.
“Idiota!” she hissed in his ear. The mist parted again and he cringed back, expecting the searching talon- ended legs of a giant spider, but instead a familiar figure appeared.
“Hurry,” Petraya said, taking his arm. It was too dark to see clearly but her grip was strong and he hoped she wasn’t hurt.
“Will they follow?” he asked. As if to answer a horn blared into the mines, echoing along the walls.
“Move!” Kinga snapped and with Petraya’s help dragged Joe deeper into the caves.
Maven and Reece stood alone on a small island of rock at the far edge of the valley, surrounded by soldiers and beasts, when the horn blared into the sky. A wall of flames burned brightly behind them and other smaller fires flickered through the swamps, where the circling dragons blocked their escape. Maven looked around at their captors and pulled out a tube of fruit gums. He passed one to Reece who took it silently, staring at Maven as if he’d lost his mind. Maven offered the pack round,
“Fruit gum? I don’t think there’s enough for you all, but I’ve got some midget gems somewhere.” Kozane pushed through the ring of soldiers with a snarl and signalled to two of the guards,
“Hold him still.” Two guards rushed forwards and grabbed Maven’s arms but he smiled at them politely and didn’t struggle. Kozane stepped closer, ignoring Maven’s grin, and searched his pockets. With a victorious cry he pulled out his wand, turning it over in front of the Warlock, smiling cruelly,
“You won’t be a problem without this,” he said and broke it in two. A bright flash of Majia flared and the smoking pieces fell into the dirt.
“That stick was no match for you,” said Maven and though his tone was light, there was pain in his eyes. Kozane ignored him and turned to Reece, snatching up the boy’s hand.
“There is no mark!” he growled. Somehow Maven slipped free of his guards, leaving them standing open-jawed holding on to thin air. Before they could react he pushed Kozane aside and grabbed the Reece’s hand himself. He stared in amazement,
“You aren’t the chosen one!” he wailed, “I’ve got the wrong one!” He dropped Reece’ hand and winked at him, before turning to back to Kozane with a smile, “Whoops!” The scars on the wizard’s head pulsed for a second and his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.
“Get back to the mines!” he screamed, though his eyes never left Maven, “Fetch me the boy!” The army spilled towards the mines like a flood, leaving only the circle of guards with Kozane and his prisoners.
“Bring them,” he said, “We may need to bargain with the child.”
Kinga and Petraya dragged Joe through the warren of caves as fast as they could, Petraya taking most of his weight, and Kinga kept her eyes on their trail, sword raised; ready for anything coming from the mist. The tunnels leading from the entrance were so dark they hurried blind, clawing along the walls for guidance, but deeper into the mines clear crystals sprouted from the rock, dancing with Majia, creating stuttering lanterns to light their way. Mist lapped at their ankles and the tunnels curled and twisted as if a huge worm had burrowed through the rock. Frost glistened on the cave walls and glittering spines of rock hung from roof and erupted from the floor like teeth. Joe staggered on, each step more uncertain than the last, and though they both tried to rally him, their words often drifted away into silence. They were never going to find his father; the mines were a maze and Petraya seemed to be choosing their path at random. They had no idea where they were going and would never find their way back. The caves spun around him, swimming in and out of darkness and he knew he could collapse at any moment. Only the thought of reaching the King snapped him out of the haze. Maven and Reece were in the hands of their enemies now. He had to reach his father and give him the Majia. Then he could use it; he could save them.
Avarat’s soldiers were gaining, a far distant sound at first but growing louder every second. The thunder of their feet echoed through the caverns, though louder still was a horrible wet slapping sound; something heavy and fierce. Kinga slipped her shoulder under Joe’s arm and shoved him forward, nodding to Petraya, who fell behind and readied her bow. The noise grew louder with frightening speed and the Majia threw jagged shadows across the rock walls. They stumbled on, rounding corner after corner and Joe feared the tunnels would never end.
Suddenly, with a deafening roar, a black shape thundered around the corner behind them and Joe knew what the horrible wet sound was. Wings. Great, sleek wings, used to stretching wide across the sky, now twisted and bent into the tight winding space of the tunnels. Behind them came a dragon, scrambling on all fours, its vast body breaking chunks from the walls, smashing Majia crystals into tiny spinning shards. Petraya yelled out a warning and loosed an arrow into the beast, catching it in its thick belly but not slowing it at all. A second arrow punched into its foreleg and it roared again, tumbling forward. Its throat was expanding and the green flesh glowed, painting the rocks orange. Petraya swung her shield from her back and flung it across the tunnel floor, drawing her body in behind and screaming to Kinga and Joe. They had barely flattened themselves against her when the tunnel erupted into flame. Fire licked around the shield’s edge and they pressed in tight with terror, Petraya groaning at the metal burning in her hands. The blast ended and she threw the shield down, nocking a fresh arrow, preparing to fire, but stopped in shock.
The heat of the blast had swept back the mist. They were no longer in a tunnel, but pressed up on a rock ledge dropping away into blackness. The Dragon, unable to stand, drove itself forward with its strong hind legs and Petraya drew back her bowstring, letting her arrow fly, piercing the beast’s throat. It reared again, cracking the stone overhead, and thumped against the wall, its long neck whipping in agony. Behind it a group of Avarat’s soldiers appeared. Their feverish eyes caught sight of Joe and they pressed forward eagerly, pushing past the beast, but it lurched, still trying to reach its prey, and its thick spined tail swept out, plunging them into the abyss.
Kinga dragged Joe to his feet, the sharp sting of her Majia biting through his clothes. The energy was running across her in a frenzy, but she pulled him on regardless, chanting over and over to hold the power in. Petraya drew up beside them,
“I will take him. Finish the dragon. Go!” Kinga nodded, drawing her sword, and plunged back into the tunnel with a snarl. She ran low, keeping her eyes locked on the flailing creature, but suddenly a soldier sprang from the shadows. She cursed and dropped, throwing herself back, and his blade swept an inch above her head. Behind the soldier, a small dark hollow ran along the cave edge, through which the man had crept, and more were pushing through.
Kinga barged into the first soldier, but he was taller and stronger and struck out at her again. With no room to move she dodged his blade as best she could, though it sliced through her coat, deep enough to draw blood, and she sprang at him with a yell, her speed too great for the bewildered soldier. He fell to his knees clutching his side and with a grunt she pressed her boot against his shoulder and kicked him from the ledge. She watched him fall with her back to the tunnel, unaware of a second soldier creeping up behind.
“Kinga!” Joe shouted. She was fast, almost managing to block the blow, but though her sword sent the soldier’s blade wide, the force of it sent her staggering back…
..over the edge...
Her hands grasped at nothing and she disappeared into the mist. Petraya screamed, letting Joe fall to the floor, and leapt after her, drawing and firing her bow before plummeting over the edge. The soldier hit the floor with her final arrow in his chest.
Kinga and Petraya were gone.