THAT NIGHT, THEY SLEPT curled up together in a small cavern Yaarah found and scouted out for them. Tucked up in the longer fur at the base of his chest, a girlfae felt snug and safe. His strong, reassuring heartbeat drummed her off to sleep and woke her once more as it quickened with his own stirring. Neither dreams nor slivers of visions returned to bother her. She felt like a new bud this morn. Allory sipped sparingly from her gourd of nectar and adjusted three of his whiskers which had become tangled somehow.

Mister bachelor scholar pulled away with an embarrassed growl.

“Must have you looking your best, my friend,” she said stoutly. “You never know when you might meet a –”

“Pretty rock hyrax or a fat crevice deer?” he chuckled. “Mmm … gnarr.”

She pretended to push him away. “Go find breakfast then, you stomach on paws. Aye, I can take a hint as well as the next Fae. Clean your fangs before you come talk to me again. I don’t want to see any nasty dangly bits.”

“Alright, alright, fusspot. You polish up your sparkle while I’m gone, and one rule: absolutely no troublemaking.”

“Out here? Please. Isn’t that rule number three, for those who can count?”

“Three,” he purred, and padded out in search of a Felidragon belly-filler.

Not long ago, this conversation would have ended with Allory shaking all over at her temerity and trying not to throw up. Actually, it would not have happened at all. What do to? She practised aerial forms with her daggers and target shooting with the bow. How big were those Humans, anyways? Oddly, she found it hard to estimate their size from her dreams as her frames of reference had been so variable. As big as baboons and twice as hairy?

“Who’s the mythical creature around here, I ask you?” she snorted, pinning her target, a chunk of charred wood, with a decent shot. “You mythical Humans – take that! Right up the monkey nose. On second thoughts, I’d better not suggest you’re related to primates, eh?”

“Definitely not,” Yaarah said behind her left ear.

“Yaarah!” she screamed, falling over.

The arrow nocked upon her bowstring pinged off the cavern ceiling and whizzed back down, missing the golden prowler’s behind by a mere two inches or so. It plugged in the hard-packed sandy ground, quivering as fast as her little heart.

“That’s my name.”

“You sneaky … Dragon!”

“How perceptive you are. I like hunting little treasures, murrr-hurrr-harrgh.”

Bouncing back to her feet, Allory lifted her chin and said boldly, “Fang check? Open wide.”

“How’s this?”

The head of a very dead hyrax rolled toward her on his tongue. She recoiled. “Yaarah! Ew, that’s disgusting!”

“Yum, I like the brainy ones,” he said, flicking the morsel into the air. In a second, something crunched in his jaw and his long throat bobbed. Gone. “Just brained that hyrax – marrr-farr-parrr! Carnivore jokes – the bloodier, the better.”

“I don’t like you anymore.”

“Fur and fangs, that’s a great deal of sulking for such a tiny creature.” He nudged her playfully with a sheathed talon. “You should teach me how to achieve such a superior exposition of the stroppy pout.”

She smacked his nose sharply. “Not appreciated.”

“Ouch,” he said, touching a paw to the spot. “Decent slap you’ve developed there, Allory Fae. Where are you hiding all that muscle?”

“My non-existent muscle? Right. You’re not the most observant scholar, are you?”

“Mrrwll-gnarr!”

With a snipe that made the Felidragon’s tail stand bolt-upright and start sparking in annoyance, she and her alleged muscles packed up her few effects and they took off into another perfectly clear mountain dawn.

Yaarah started out by following the general course of seven crisply etched dark brown and tan ravines etched into a gradual but observable decline. The peaks remained extremely tall, but the bottoms of the valleys grew deeper, as if delving into the underworld to hide many secrets. They crossed over a huge area of grey, tumbled scree that Yaarah said was debris discarded after flash flooding in the spring season, before locating and following a deeper ravine that ran in their intended direction of travel. Planned by the scholar, naturally. Below the permafrost level, sparkling glacial streams twinkled in the knifelike valleys, still tiny in this season but growing more numerous and joining one another to create more substantial flows.

So delightful, Allory had to massage her jaw. Too much gawping.

In the mid-afternoon, he winged over a towering, blunt-shouldered ridgeline and glided down the far slopes, crossing a vast area of striated and stippled grey and black granite where one could trace with one’s eyes the tremendous natural forces that had pressed these mountains upward, creating fractured folds and great rocky splinters. The Felidragon pointed out an exposed seam of gold in passing and told her that Humans valued the shiny metal – doubtless one reason they had made that ancient pact with the Hyperdragons, seeking economics advantageous to their people. The first signs of green, sparse bushes, patches of lichens and tough spiky grasses appeared. The stark ravines cutting in from the sides became ever larger and deeper, the turquoise flows more frequent and ebullient. They paralleled the vaulting ridgeline until evening, at last reaching a mighty mauve cliff which cut knifelike across their direction of travel, and Allory caught her breath in amazement.

Now this was a canyon! Her gaze dipped into dizzying purple depths before rising in search of the far side, perhaps somewhere out there on the horizon. The middle carved impossibly deep around many columns of striped rock layers, like a rock forest of umber, rust-red and orange colours. Many small reptilian avians fluttered in the air, perhaps cousins of the Tyrowyverns they had encountered before – although, the sheer variety would surely challenge and delight any Faerie zoologist.

Allory breathed, “So, where’s Durhelm Castle?”

“It’s a ways yet along the canyon to our right wingtips,” the Felidragon said, indicating the direction with a fancy wingtip-twirl. She dug in with her toes to regain her balance. “Sorry, brrr-frrr. We won’t get there today. There are nocturnal Fire Raptors which hunt along these slopes. We would not want to meet them even in their best mood.”

Fire Raptors. Remembering her dream, she shivered.

“What’s –” she coloured at her high-pitched squeak “– what’s this canyon called, Yaarah?”

“Giants’ Maze.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Giants aren’t real, are they?”

“Approximately as unreal as the Scintillant Fae, I believe,” said he, blowing a tasteful smoke-heart to celebrate his own cleverness. Worth a giggle, duly supplied. “However, one word about Giants. They are not half as stupid as the legends paint them, and they are every bit as dangerous as everyone says. The Humans wisely stay well out of their way. That is why we’ll find no trace of Human settlements or activity along the base of the canyon. They live up on the slopes, well above the areas where Giants range.”

“Do the Giants ever attack them?”

“I believe so. They’re rather partial to their cattle. Worse, I believe that Human meat is something of a delicacy in Giant culture.”

“Charming. What are Humans like?”

“Smelly.”

“You’re really winning on trying to convince me about this venture, aren’t you?”

He flashed his fangs over his shoulder. “I’m not being entirely fair, but you will find that most other intelligent creatures do readily identify themselves to a Felidragon’s nose, Allory Fae. Our species boasts a particularly acute sense of smell, augmented in addition by the tongue, nostrils and whisker-senses. I smell you all the time. I smelled your wound when it was suppurating, mrrr-frrrt, but otherwise, you are quite aromatic.”

“Eh …”

“Faerie fragrance. Not at all awful.”

“What a relief. So, that looks like a cavern where we might spend the night?”

“Well spotted.”

Not so well chosen, as it turned out. Allory and Yaarah investigated no less than seventeen potential caverns before they found one which was not inhabited by the nasty grey Irzonwyverns, or in one case, a very large, sleepy, violently orange constrictor, which cracked open one eye to regard the intruders with withering disdain. Rather than risk being snuggled to death by the reptile, they chose to move on.

By the time they hunkered down for the night, it was fully dark. Allory had just begun to fall asleep when a grating cry shivered the night. She sat bolt upright with a gasp. That sounded like a boulder had just split open to disgorge a ravenous nightmare with a scabby beak and an attitude that stank like suggid-spit.

“Fire Raptor,” the Felidragon said, laying a paw upon her curled-up body. “It won’t bother us in here, don’t worry.”

“Why did you want such a deep cavern?”

“They come furnished with a venomous pincer on their tail. They like to stick it down burrows to see what they can haul out. I’d rather not have my ribs tickled by one of those beauties, if you please. Besides, caution is the wise cousin of fear.”

“Fear keeps us alive.”

“Hrrr-mrrr, but the wrong sort of fear can kill you faster than anything else.”

Having just begun to relax again, Allory stiffened as she heard a leathery scraping outside of their cavern. A blood-curdling scream echoed into the deep space. Before she could remember how to breathe, a black, chitinous, many-jointed tail darted inside, its twin points jabbing haphazardly.

“The creature has scented us,” Yaarah noted.

How did he keep so calm when her heart was trying to climb right out of her throat?

“It’s too big to climb inside,” he added. “Give it a minute or two and we’ll have its opinion of us before it moves off in search of more accessible prey.”

Allory nodded nervously. The screams of those Men the Wraith had hurled to the ravening maws echoed through her memory. Gross! Fear them she might, but Humans were people. Supposed to be. Did any creature deserve that kind of death?

Indeed, the tail shifted out, only to be replaced several seconds later by an extremely large, equally shiny paw. Allory stared at it in fascination as the apparently disembodied appendage explored the space. A separation of at least twenty feet from the beast helped her to feel safe, but not so safe as to be acutely aware of the Felidragon’s pounding heartbeat and quick, shallow breathing. Caution or fear, Dragon? She could not fault him for philosophizing at such a moment, however, for that seemed to be the way he dealt with the world around him. They both jumped as the paw ignited in a halo of black flame, burning with heat palpable even from this distance.

Hummingbird heart. She placed a hand over it. Since when did her sparkliness behave like a rampaging Hyperdragon? Still, with Yaarah’s eyes appearing as large as flaming saucers beside her, Allory knew her reaction was not unjustified. Oddly, this calmed her. Normal creatures reacted to fear, too. Not too many had Fire Raptors scraping around outside their caverns, however. Rather a sticky spot, as jungle Fae liked to say.

At last, the paw retracted. A great jaw scraped outside before a horrible voice hissed, “Isss scentsss yousss, little eggssss ssstealer! Iss currrsssess yousss!”

Allory’s jaw dropped. Yaarah mewled unhappily.

“Sssppeeaaakk! Orr isss – GRRRARRR!! Isss mountainsss no hold meesss!”

Thunderous, its voice rocked the cavern. Black fire swept toward them, only covering about ten feet before it curled upward in smoke. She coughed at the acrid scent, finding herself right at the back of the deep, narrow space together with Yaarah who seemed to have abandoned caution in favour of a very healthy awareness of fear.

“They speak?” he breathed.

Enough to make the context of a ghastly threat immediately clear. One massive digit extended into the cavern. Upon it glistened a brilliant, venomously green droplet of a substance that neither of them wanted to think very hard about, perhaps six inches in diameter. The terrible voice informed them that if the accursed egg-stealer did not appear forthwith, the creature would ignite his poison and gas them out. Allory had read about Raptor poison back at the Pixie library. It was said to produce a pain unlike anything else in all Spheris.

No, this Raptor was not the brutish beast Yaarah had taken it for.

Far more dangerous than that.

“Make a dash for it?” he whispered.

Allory peered into a darkness lit by orange-streaked obsidian flame. “I believe that’s its mouth right out there,” she said at last, making sense of the dim image. “What are the odds of escaping through its digestive system?”

“Mrrwll,” he moaned.

“Even the fumes would kill us?”

“Their poison is a little-understood but exceptionally virulent combination of caustic and neurotoxic elements, so … paralysis combined with being burned from the inside out?” he stammered. “Can’t say I fancy that as a fate.”

“Well, since it’s me it wants –”

“Allory, no!”

“I’d prefer not to die. With me, Felidragon?”

“That’s literally death on paws out there, mrrr-ssst! Fire Raptors are known neither for brains, mercy nor actual table manners as they rend you limb from limb.”

Aye, she knew. Yet a wholly unexpected, heady soup of bravery appeared to be flowing in her sap. Or bravado? Either way, she heard herself say, “Watch the sparkle in action, then.”

“NOOOWWSS!!” thundered the enormous beast. “ISSS KILLLSSS!!”

What was she doing? Only a mad Faerie could act so calm and rational when all within her was a screaming maelstrom of terror.

“Why aren’t you moving?” Yaarah inquired after another breathless second marked only by mutual terror. “I thought –”

“My feet are stuck.”

“Nrrr-prrr, only the mouth is brave?”

“Something like that. Now, can you help – ouch! Thanks.” Rising into the air, since it helped that the wings had decided they would work even if her feet would not, Allory fluttered unsteadily toward the cave entrance, calling in her loudest voice, “I’m coming out. Please, hold your fire!”

“AARGGHHH!” the Raptor gargled horribly.

She skimmed out, dodging the swipe of a blade-edged black talon of a size suited to razing whole jungles, one could only imagine, and found herself flitting in front of the snout of a Fire Raptor who put the ‘exceedingly vast and venomous’ part in front of the word ‘beast’ and made it all work together seamlessly. He was simply humungous, a sort of squat, six-legged winged creature similar in body shape to a jungle scorpion, as best she could tell in the near pitch-blackness, complete with the lethal stinger-tipped tail curling overhead. Everything about him was black and shiny. His body sported more weapons than a reasonable bit of jungle had branches – fangs, hooks, razor edges, pincers and spikes. Hundreds of spikes. The Fire Raptor looked as if he had been born to start battles and finish them solo.

He also appeared more than startled by the miniscule dimensions of his nemesis. The flaming crimson eyes crossed as he tried to peer down the length of his stonkingly great snout at the butterfly-sized sapphire Scintillant facing him. She could not speak. In fact, what surprised her most was the fact that her heart had not thrashed itself to a standstill and dropped her lifeless on the rocks below. Allory prickled all over, most especially her scalp, which felt as if it were peeling itself off her skull preparatory to bolting back to the Russet Jungles.

If this is bravery, it feels terrible, Allory told herself. This creature had to be ten times bigger than any of those young Raptors she had seen before. This has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

“Isss … mossssquittooosss?” he thundered.

Having just about evaded the verbal hurricane that stank of burning brimstone, she replied, “No, I am All –”

FFWWOOOSHH!!

The creature scented her. A massive inhalation sucked her helplessly through the air. Seeing a two-foot-tall nostril coming at her like an improbably mobile cavern, she instinctively stuck out her arms and legs and just about managed to splay herself across the entrance.

It roared, “Noss … thisss nosss … ticklesss!”

The Fire Raptor inhaled still further. FFWWOOOSHH!! Allory held on for dear life. Gale force winds. Her wings fluttered haplessly. No escaping this – oh, suggids! The darkness inside that nostril stirred and came alive with flame. The instant the airstream reversed direction, she deployed her wings and dived out of harm’s way, never faster thanks to an excess of sweltering motivation.

FWAA-AACHOOO!!