The Dragon's Descent (13 page)

Vero looked over at Ada. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration. A scroll shot down, barely grazing Greer's head and causing her to duck. At the soft rustle of ancient paper landing on the stone table, Ada opened her eyes and unrolled the ancient-looking scroll. The parchment crinkled with her touch. A tiny angel with wings about an inch tall materialized from the parchment. It flapped its wings then shot into Ada's right ear, disappearing. Ada's eyes rolled around in their sockets for a few moments, then the tiny angel shot out of her left ear and back onto the unraveled scroll. Once the angel disappeared into the parchment, the paper rolled itself back up and flew up to the shelf from where it had come.

“Okay, so where do we find him?” Greer asked Ada.

“The sea,” she answered.

“Duh.” Greer rolled her eyes.

The angels flew high in the clouds over the mountains of the Ether, their wings flapped against the cool mist. Greer kept pace with Ada.

“How much farther?”

“Just on the other side of the mountains,” Ada said.

“I hope it's more like a real ocean, and not like that last sea we had to deal with in the Ether,” Greer said.

“Oh, that was disgusting!” Pax said as he caught up to Greer. “It was like an ocean full of motor oil.”

Greer and Pax were referring to the sea where they had encountered the Leviathan—the sea dragon. The water there had been thick and black, tar-like. It had also smelled like decaying flesh.

The angels continued on for a while longer before glimpses of deep blue peeked through the clouds. The group dropped below the clouds, and before them was a magnificent ocean, clear and sparkling.

“I need to take a break!” Kane said to the group as he headed for the shoreline.

Kane touched down on a white sandy beach as the others landed near him. Vero looked out to sea. It was vast, endless. He turned around and took in the tall, jagged green mountains in the distance, which peered down upon the sandy shores edging its forested base.

“Okay, we're here. Now what?” Kane said to Ada as he picked up a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers.

“Rahab lives somewhere by the Great Sea.”

“Somewhere . . . as in where?” Kane asked.

“I'm not sure. All the scroll told me was that he dwells by the sea, and that he surrounds himself with ‘severe beasts.' ”

“ ‘Severe beasts.' Now you tell us that?!” Pax said.

“Kind of a big detail to leave out!” Greer shouted.

“I knew if I told you, you'd probably not want to come!” Ada cried.

“Guys, knock it off!” X said. “We're here now, so deal!”

Greer's eyes became mere slits as she looked at Ada. “If I get eaten or killed by some ‘severe beast,' it's on your head.”

“Don't worry. I'll protect you,” Ada said.

Greer rolled her eyes. “Thanks. Now I feel perfectly safe.”

“Ada, what kind of beasts are we talking about?” Vero tentatively asked.

“A beast more severe than Greer?” X chuckled.

Greer shot him a look. “And I guess you can cross comedian off
your
career list.”

“I don't know.” Ada shrugged. “All it said was that Rahab, the angel of the sea—or as he's sometimes called, Euroclydon—dwells at the Great Sea, and that he keeps ‘severe beasts' for company,” Ada said, motioning. “And this is the Great Sea.”

Greer gave her a look of contempt. Ada picked up on it.

“At least I got us to the right place.”

“Then he dwells here somewhere,” Pax said, staring out over the water.

“Let's look around the shoreline to start,” Kane said. “If he has beasts, they probably would live near the forest, right?”

Vero stared at the towering reeds atop of the dunes behind them. The green shoots were just taller than X, who was nearly six foot, and they grew between the sandy beach and the wooded area. The fledglings would have to make their way over the dunes and through the wall of reeds in order to get as far inland as the forest.

“Wait! Look out there,” Pax said as he pointed over the water. “See?”

The others followed his gaze. Out on the distant horizon, a large outcropping of rocks protruded high above water. The boulders were stacked in a way that resembled a teepee made out of stones. In the center appeared to be a V-shaped opening.

“It could be a shelter,” Pax said, squinting through the lenses of his glasses.

“I say we check it out first.” Vero looked to Kane. “You okay with that?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why not?” Kane said, glancing around. “As good a place as any to start.”

Kane lifted off the ground, and had started out over the water when powerful gusts of wind began to churn up the sea. The winds seemed to come from nowhere, and were so strong that Kane was blown back to the shore. Instantly, the gale-force winds were whipping the fledglings on the beach. Ada grabbed onto Vero, who tried to stay on his feet.

“Quick! Behind the reeds!” Kane shouted over the howl of the wind.

With their heads held low to block the pelting sand, the fledglings raced toward the dunes. With each step Vero had to steady himself to avoid being blown over. Beside him, Pax held on to his glasses with one hand and Greer's hand with the other. Walking amongst the squalls was exhausting. Kane was the first to reach the protection of the reeds. He grabbed the others' arms, and one by one guided them into the cove of the thick, stalwart reeds. They crouched down against the wall of stalks.

“Whatever this wind is, hopefully it will pass,” Vero said, surprised at how much quieter it was behind the dunes given the gale-force winds.

“Yeah, let's just hope the wind will break.” Pax nervously chuckled.

“What's so fun—? Oh, I get it, breaking wind.” Greer rolled her eyes.

“Until these freak winds settle down, we'll have to stay put,” Ada said. “Might as well hunker down.”

“Agreed,” X announced, as he sat and tried to get comfortable.

As he stretched his legs out on the sand, X leaned back against his wings, using them both to support his back and cushioning him from the reeds. Vero looked over to X.

“Don't get too comfortable. We're out of here soon as it stops.”

“I know,” X said, reclining farther back.

Vero looked to Kane, who was keenly staring at something in the crowded stalks. Vero followed his gaze and saw what looked like weathered, once-white planks. Kane walked over and parted the reeds, revealing a rowboat. Even though it looked like it had been through quite a number of storms, it was still intact.

“Wonder why that's up here?” Vero asked.

“Probably washed up on shore,” Kane said. “Maybe we can use it to look for Rahab.”

Kane picked up a thick rope tied to the front and pulled the boat a few feet through the reeds. “We don't need a boat!” Greer said. “Last time I checked, we still had wings. Why would we paddle when we can fly?”

“Good point,” Kane said, dropping the towrope.

X screamed.

“See? X agrees with me,” Greer said.

X's screams grew frightening loud. “Help me!”

The fledglings' heads whipped around to see X being dragged deeper into the reeds. Kane and Pax ran over and grabbed X's legs and held firm with all their might.

“What is it?” Vero shouted as he grabbed X around the waist.

The reeds parted, and Vero saw what had grabbed X—a bear! It had a large head with a long snout and small, rounded ears, and a stout body matched with strong muscular legs and a distinctive shoulder hump formed by powerful back muscles. The bear had X's wing in its mouth, and was dragging him even farther into the reeds. X yelled in agony as the stocky animal shredded a hunk of flesh from the meat of his wing, then momentarily released him when Greer's sword shot from her hand.

“Pull him back!” Pax shouted.

Kane, Vero, and Pax quickly pulled X away from the bear. Greer swung her weapon at the giant bear and sliced the tip of its nose. Enraged, the bear roared and stood threateningly on its hind legs. His head easily cleared the tops of the reeds. Using her sword like a trainer's stick, Greer poked at the bear, aiming for its light-brown shaggy coat, but only caught air. The animal swatted its sharp black claws at her. Vero's sword shot out into his hand. Standing next to Greer, he swung at the animal and caught its midsection. The bear yelped in pain. It dropped down to all fours, and retreated back into the reeds.

Ada ran to X's side. She looked down on the ground and saw what looked like three ribs on the sand. She looked to X's chest—they were not his.

“How bad?” Ada asked X as Greer and Vero rushed over.

“Real bad . . .” X moaned as he stretched his hand to reach his bleeding wing.

“Retract them,” Pax said. “It will stop the bleeding, and you won't feel it so much.”

X rolled over onto his stomach. He winced as his wings slowly disappeared into his back. He sat up.

“Better?” Pax asked.

X nodded. “Yeah, now it just feels like I pulled a muscle.”

“We need to get out of here,” Vero said. “That bear will probably come back.”

“We're gonna have to brave the winds,” Kane said, his eyes trying to see over the reeds.

This time it was Greer who screamed. Vero looked over. She was face to face with a gigantic golden leopard. And then the head of another leopard broke through the stalks to the right of the first, joined by a third one on the left side. Vero was still doing a double take when a fourth leopard poked its head through, right alongside the other three. As the snarling creatures stalked out of the reeds in unison toward the fledglings, Vero and the others stepped back.

“We're doomed!” Pax said, his hands shaking.

Vero's eyes bugged out of his head. It wasn't four leopards approaching, but rather one massive, spotted leopard easily the size of a Clydesdale horse, with four heads and two sets of giant wings. At that moment, Vero couldn't think of anything that could be worse, until—

A ten-horned lizard, the size of a rhinoceros, emerged from the reeds. It snarled, revealing razor-sharp iron teeth.

“Oh no,” Ada said, staggering back. “Brace yourself. If I'm right, we'll be seeing a lion break through . . .”

A lion with a pair of wings pounced through the thicket of reeds. The others looked to Ada, incredulous.

“Rahab's ‘severe creatures' are the four beasts from Daniel, the ones that rise up out of the sea,” she said. “I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner!”

Vero brandished his sword before the four-headed leopard, stopping the advancing beast. Kane did the same, holding the ten-horned beast at bay, while Greer flashed her sword to the lion. The bear rushed out of the reeds straight at X, determined to finish him off. X's breathing intensified as his sword sprung from his hand. Running on pure adrenaline, X swiped at the bear, slicing its ear to the ground. The bear whimpered as it pressed its claw over the bloody gash where its ear had been moments ago. It turned and ran back into the reeds for the second time.

“And don't come back!” X yelled. “Unless you want some more of that!” He turned to the others, proudly holding up his weapon. “Guys, my first sword!”

“Might be your last if you don't help us fight these beasts!” Kane yelled.

The leopard head on the far left side of the beast snarled and snapped at Vero. He swung his sword and managed to nick it across its forehead. Its head jerked back, but then the one next to it hissed at Vero, while at the same time the head on the right opened its mouth to bite down on Ada. She screamed in terror and rolled out of its way just in time.

“Your sword, Ada!” X yelled as he struck at the leopard. “Use your sword!”

“It's not happening!” she screamed, looking into her empty hand.

“For once, don't use your brain, just feel it!” X yelled, sweat dripping into his eyes.

A sword unexpectedly popped out of Pax's hand. A huge smile spread across his face.

“That's what I'm talkin' about!” Pax bellowed. “I've got sword!” He held his sword up to the horned beast and turned to Kane. “I've got this guy,” Pax said as he bumped Kane out of the way.

A determined look on his face, Pax shoved the tip of his blade into the ten-horned beast's mouth. The beast bit down on Pax's blade with its large iron teeth, dislodging it from Pax's hand, then swallowed it in one gulp. Pax looked like he was going to cry.

“Easy come, easy go.” Kane shook his head.

As the iron-toothed creature lowered its head, like a bull ready to charge a matador, it aimed for Pax. Catching the beast's angry glare, Pax began to panic. As the creature bolted toward Pax, he took cover behind Vero.

“Fight it Pax!” Vero yelled to him.

“It ate my sword!”

The lion fiercely roared, bearing down hard on Greer. As she slowly backed away behind her upheld sword, the feline pounced. She rolled underneath the beast, barely escaping its slashing claws.