The Dragon Hunter and the Mage (26 page)

“Ok, I get it. You don’t like me,” Aric said. He looked outside where the sandstorm was raging on. “But I’m afraid you’re out of luck because we’re both stuck in here for a while.”   

Making sure he kept his distance from the cat, Aric walked further into the cave. The cracked walls grew darker and darker until everything disappeared into shadows after a few feet. Twigs and small animal prints covered the dirt floor around the charred remains of a campfire. They were obviously not the first visitors to this place.

Aric sat down, massaging his legs. An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion was taking over his body. A grumble echoed through the cave and Aric placed a hand on his stomach. The race against the storm had clearly spent everything he had.

Careful not to spill any more drops again, Aric drank a couple of sips of water, shaking the canteen to check how much he had left. It wasn’t much. A third, maybe, though probably less.

Beside him, the cat had finally decided to relax and was licking his forelegs. Aric removed the biscuits from his belt pouch as he watched the feline laying down. The instant Aric took the first bite, the cat’s head snapped towards him.

Aric chuckled. “You’re hungry as well, huh?” He finished his biscuit and drew another one from the pouch. “Here.” The cat didn’t move right away, but slowly extended its head, sniffing the air separating him from the biscuit. “What? Are you afraid of me?” Aric threw the cookie and it landed right between the animal’s paws. The cat smelled the brown cookie, licked it, then tried a shy nibble. He must have liked it because the following moment the biscuit disappeared through his needle sharp teeth.

Aric ate another biscuit and pushed it down with a sip of water. Goddess he was hungry and thirsty… but he knew he should conserve what little food and drink he had, so he put the canteen and biscuit pouch away and leaned back. The cat mimicked him, resting his head on his paws, his tongue slapping the top of his already wet nose.

“Are you as tired as me, boy?” Aric asked in a low voice. “Or are you a girl?” His eyelids were getting heavy as he hugged himself.

The cave was warm, almost damp. Outside, the sandstorm whistled and howled hypnotically. The sound became further and further away, and Aric’s eyes became heavier and heavier until they shut and his head drooped to his chest.

A sharp pain on the back of his neck made Aric cringe as he woke. He straightened his head back and his stomach grumbled. Everything felt wrong, from the coarseness of his throat to the boiling sensation on his feet.

He looked up, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw the shape of the huge feline standing next to him. The animal had his head down and was chewing at something on Aric’s hip.

“No!” Aric yelled pushing the cat away, but it was too late. “You thief! You miserable thief!” Aric held up the empty pouch and a couple of cookie crumbles fell to the ground.

Fuming, Aric threw the pouch at the cat’s face, but the feline merely licked the corners of his mouth.

“I saved your life, yo
u‒
” Aric gave up on the sentence, cursing as he stormed towards the cave’s exit.

The storm was long gone, and the endless sea of dunes was back to its torrid calm. He didn’t have anything left to eat, but at least, the way was clear for him to get back.

I wonder if Leth and Clea are still waiting for me…
he thought.

But even if they were, how was he supposed to find them? Aric had some idea of the direction from which he had come, but without the compass on his backpack there was no way to tell north from south, let alone navigate across the desert for a few miles.

Still, there was no point in staying in the cave. He jumped, landing on soft, warm sand. The next moment, the cat landed right beside him, but Aric turned away from him. The huge, stone wall gave him an idea– maybe if he climbed up to the mesa he would be able to see some distant point of reference.

For the first time since arriving at Lamash, Aric felt grateful for the merciless training Saruk had been putting them through. A month ago, he would have never been able to climb such a wall. He looked down and saw his cave companion jumping over outcroppings and racing up impossibly steep portions of the wall. Apparently, without the storm to confuse him, the cat was an amazing climber.

“Are you following me?” Aric asked as he found a small ledge to place his right foot. “You already ate all my food, you know?” Using a couple of holes, Aric heaved himself up to the top of the mount, sweat dripping down his forehead. “Unless, of course, your plan is to eat me.”

The top of the small crag was completely flat except for the stone arch. Aric walked under the arch and sat beneath its shadow. He wanted to conserve what little water he still had, but the climb had taken too much of a toll, so he took a small sip. 

What now?

At that moment, he really wished for his backpack and the binoculars within. Instead, he covered his eyes with the palm of his hand and scanned the horizon. Sand and more sand surrounded the small island he sat on.

Sighing, he tied the canteen to his belt without taking his eyes from the horizon. There had to be something, somewhere, that could help him find his way back.

A tickling sensation on his hand made him look down, and the sight paralyzed him. A huge, black scorpion had climbed onto his arm. Fearing that a sudden move might provoke a sting, Aric held his breath. Slowly, he turned his head, looking for a rock to hit it with. There was a decent sized one to his left, but when Aric reached for it, the rock stayed a couple of inches away from his fingers. He tried to stretch his arm, but when he did the scorpion tensed and its tail arched forward.

Oh, Goddess…

He stretched his fingers again, making sure to keep the rest of his body still, but the rock was just too far away. Then, out of nowhere, the wheat colored cat pawed the scorpion away. A gigantic weight disappeared from Aric’s chest as he saw the cat pursuing the furious scorpion.

“No, leave it alone!” Aric screamed. “It’s gonna sting you!”

The cat ignored his pleas and kept harassing the scorpion with lighting strikes, until suddenly, he struck with his fangs and ripped it apart.

Aric was speechless. He neared the cat, sure that he had been stung either on his paws or snout.

“Are you ok?” he asked, placing a soft hand on the cat’s back.

The feline replied with a stare while chewing on the last pieces of the scorpion.

“Of course you are. You have your belly full.” Aric smiled. “Unlike mine…” He drew out his canteen. “I suppose I owe you, don’t I? Here, wash it down with this.”

The cat licked every last drop of water from Aric’s hand, then froze. His back arched and his tail tensed.

“What?!” Aric asked. “What did I do?”

Was it another scorpion?

The cat hissed, stepping backwards, and Aric realized that the hiss wasn’t meant for him, but for something
behind
him. Dreading what it could be, he looked over his shoulder and his stomach melted.

A black shadow slashed across the sky, roaring. 

Aric lost no time at all. Grabbing the cat by the neck, he dashed towards the narrow slit between two rocks and only let the cat go when both were safe between them. The cat shrank against the wall and his ears flattened. Only then did Aric realize his arm was bleeding.

“Must you always make me regret helping you?” Aric asked.

He moved to the edge of the rock, but another roar made him freeze just before he peeked.

“Fire take this!”

Gritting his teeth, he took a deep breath and snuck a peek.

Nothing.

Where was it? Had it flown away?

Another massive roar made both him and the cat jump almost a foot into the air. No, the Dragon was still near. Backtracking, Aric made his way to the other edge of the rock, where the mesa ended in a sort of cliff facing the sand.

This time, a mix between a yelp, a scream, and a cry for help got stuck in his throat. There was a woman in the sand, her white robes flowing around her as she gracefully walked the dune crests. She had an arm stretched towards the lumbering shape of the outrageously large of a black Dragon. The best’s wings flapped, sending several waves of sand flying into the air until the colossal beast landed.

Aric’s eyes had never been so wide.

The Dragon’s head curved upward and it let out a growl so rough and deep Aric felt the ground shake. Even at that distance, and hidden as he was, Aric shuddered. The woman, however, just kept walking towards the giant beast. Its head, neck, and back a forest of black thorns. The woman gracefully walked towards the Dragon and the creature lowered its head toward her, each of its fangs nearly as tall as her.

What is she doing?

Slowly, carefully, the woman’s arm reached forward, inching closer to the Dragon’s nose until they touched, and when they did, the beast roared so powerfully it sent the sand beneath her feet flying away.

The woman did not even flinch.

Eliran…

It was almost as if she had heard Aric. The woman turned around, stepped away with her arms open, and –
whoosh
! She was no longer there.

The Dragon, however, was still very much in the middle of the sand. Aric slid back behind cover, and from the desert came the flapping sound of the Dragon taking off. Pressing his arms against the side of his body, Aric made himself small. If he had remained undetected so far, maybe there was a chance he could survive this. That was when he realized his hand was squeezing the leather case of the Tracker-Seeker on his belt.

The mission
!

He had a mission to complete. Every nerve in his body told him to stand still and quiet, to not even breathe. But the mission….

What the heck kind of life is this?

He drew the bow from his back, opened the case, and picked up the Seeker arrow. The Tracker pendant immediately came alive, aiming at the arrow. Aric exhaled loudly and looked at the cat, still squatting down beside him.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

With a spin, Aric left the safety of his hideout, found the enormous shape of the Dragon circling up towards the sky, and fell on one knee. He nocked the Seeker and aimed it high, taking a deep breath in order to stabilize his arm and take aim.

Pang
!

The arrow flew away and Aric was behind cover long before it hit its target. If the Dragon felt anything, there was no sound to prove it. The only evidence Aric had that he had hit his target was the dancing Glowstone pendant on his neck.

  There was nothing quite like the sunset on the Mahar when the amber sky nearly fused with the orange sea of dunes. It was the third one Aric had witnessed since his encounter with the Dragon and the Witch, but this time, it was accompanied by the black outline of Lamash. The sight nearly made him weep. He hadn’t drunk a drop of water for two days now and the only reason he hadn’t eaten in three was his feline companion. The large cat had decided to follow him, and the previous night had even shared a tiny mouse, which Aric had promptly roasted on a crackling fire.

“We’re home!” Aric let out, hugging the cat, who replied with a purr.

A sentinel sent for Saruk when Aric reached the main gate, and the instructor arrived with the whole Company in tow.