Draggah (48 page)

BOOK: Draggah

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“
Then you will reveal yourself?
”
Princess Ariel asked, her voice seemed breathless, like she couldn
’
t wait to hear what the voice would say.

“
Yes
…”
rumbled the being in the darkness.

Terror once again enveloped Leonosis, but this time Ariel had moved beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in front of her. Leonosis couldn
’
t believe what was happening. The Princess was actually cowering behind Leonosis.

Then something moved in the darkness. Leonosis felt his bowels turn to water. He wanted to scream, but he held himself together. He knew he had to face what was in the darkness if he wanted the throne. He was shaking, every muscle rigid with tension, sweat popping out on his forehead and down his back.

The creature stepped into the light. It was a shadow, but it had substance. Leonosis knew somehow that it was not of the physical world. It was a demon, or devil, or dark creature from who knew where. It had horns on its head, and wings like a bat. It absorbed the light from the candles. Its legs were long, folded on either side like a man squatting down. The arms were powerful, each finger ending in a talon. Flames seemed flicker to where its mouth and eyes should have been, but they gave no light.

“
Behold,
”
it said in a voice like thunder.
“
I am Draggah!
”

Epilogue

Lexi

When she reached the river she felt a sense of accomplishment that reminded her of a successful heist. She had made it to the river. But after trying to help Rafe and spending over two hours filling the water pots, she was exhausted. The night was half spent and she needed to get back to the camp, but all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

She told herself she was just tired, not sick. How long had it been since she slept? More than a whole day. And the sleep she had gotten the night before had been fleeting, not nearly enough. She was so tired she felt as if she was going to be ill, and that thought terrified her. She was sweating now, but she didn
’
t know if that was because she had the fever the others were suffering with, or because of the strenuous work of filling the water pots.

She dipped her hands into the water of the river. It was cool and refreshing, but her torches were sputtering and the water was so dark it frightened her a little. She
’
d always felt at home in the darkness, but now she just felt alone. She splashed water on her face and let the cool drops run through her hair, down her neck, and inside her shirt. She plunged the pitcher she
’
d used to fill the pots with water and made her way back to the wagon.

One touch was all it took to know that Rafe was raging with fever. She slowly poured the water over his body until only a little of the water remained in the pitcher. Then she dribbled the water on his lips.

His eyes opened for a moment, but there was no recognition in them.

“
Rafe,
”
Lexi said.
“
It
’
s me, Lexi. Can you talk?
”

His body shook, trembling with either chills or fear. She smelled a strong odor and realized that Rafe had lost control of his bladder.

“
Damn it,
”
she said, hurrying back to the river.

She plunged the pitcher back into water and once it filled, she stood up, her back aching in protest. She was moving back to the wagon when she heard the first growl. The horses were asleep on their feet, their heads drooping down, but suddenly they came awake, neighing in fright.

“
Easy,
”
she called to the horses.
“
It
’
s okay.
”

She doubted they believed her shaking voice. She set the pitcher down inside the wagon and lifted one of the sputtering torches. She held it high, trying to see into the darkness, but there was nothing but gloom. She turned back to the wagon and heard the quiet guttural breathing again. She snatched up one of the unlit torches and spun back around. This time there were two glowing orbs floating in the darkness.

The horses shuffled nervously and Lexi told herself to remain calm. All she could do now was get in the wagon and ride away. She climbed up onto the wide bench seat, feeling a little more settled in the familiar spot on the large wagon. She lit the new torch from the old one and waited while it flickered to life. Then, taking a breath and gathering all her courage together, she threw the old torch toward the glowing eyes she could see in the darkness.

There was a roar of rage and the horses bolted. They were hitched together and they turned away from the roar, rushing back the way they had come. Lexi was nearly thrown from the wagon
’
s seat. She dropped the reins and nearly dropped the torch, as she scrambled to take hold of something solid enough to help her regain her balance.

Once she finally pulled herself up, she looked frantically for the reins, but they had dropped down between the horses.

“
Whoa!
”
she shouted, hoping the horses would obey the command, but they were spooked and there was no stopping them.

Lexi turned to check on Rafe and was relieved to see that he was still in the wagon. He was unconscious but with her, surrounded by the heavy pots of water. The wagon ride was much rougher now that the wagon was weighed down by the containers of water. As Lexi held the torch up high to cast its flickering light on the bed of the wagon, she was surprised to see eight sets of glowing eyes pursing them.

Fear struck like a bolt of lightning. She had no idea what the creatures were, but she guessed her small dagger wouldn
’
t do her much good if they caught up to her. She needed to get the reins and keep the horses moving. If they wore themselves out or got hurt, she and Rafe would be finished.

She frantically worked to secure the torch to the empty side of the bench seat. It was a much more difficult task with the wagon bouncing along wildly and her hands shaking with fear. She got the torch tied down and turned back to look for the reins. She leaned out over the tongue of the wagon, but she wasn
’
t even close to reach them. She would need to outrun the creatures or turn them back before the horses would stop and she could regain control of the wagon. She turned to the bed of the wagon and picked up her last torch. She wedged it in the seat beside her and then tugged the sputtering old torch out of its place beside the bench. She flung it behind the wagon, watching as it spun in the air and then bounced along the ground behind them. The creatures slowed at first, but then once the firebrand was no longer a threat, they renewed their chase.

Lexi cursed and picked up the last torch. She was just leaning toward the empty side of the bench to light the final torch on the one she
’
d just tied down when the wagon hit a bump. The entire wooden structure shook so hard Lexi was afraid something was broken, but the wagon rumbled on. Unfortunately, the torch didn
’
t. It swayed back and Lexi scrambled to catch it, but it toppled away before her fingers could grab hold of the smooth bone shaft and secure it again. She watched in horror as the torch bounced along the ground. The glowing eyes darted around the torch, then disappeared as everything around Lexi fell into darkness.

Terror set in and Lexi thought she was in a nightmare. She could hear the creatures behind her running, their snorting, growling breath seemed to be right behind her. She imagined that she could feel the hot fetid breath on her neck. The horses plunged on into the darkness and all Lexi could do was hold on. As the wagon rumbled and the horses grunted with exertion, and the creatures chased them, she felt her whole world tilting away from her. She told herself that it was just fear, and tried to hang on to the wagon so that its solidarity kept her grounded, but soon she was cowering under the bench seat, hoping the horses didn
’
t run into something or even worse wear out too soon. She wondered what was happening with Tiberius, and Olyva, and the tribe, and if they would ever find out what happened to her and Rafe as the wagon raced away, out of control, in the unforgiving darkness.