The echo of their footsteps fill the hallway as they walk behind the creature meant to guide them out of Nurend’s home. As if from a distance, David could hear Zoey whispering behind him. He felt Chloe’s hold on his fingers and the slight warmth in the air. David gave Chloe a distracted glance. She was unusually silent, as if something was stuck in her mind. David couldn’t blame her, he was struck with something familiar too. A feeling that he hadn’t been able to shake off since he came out of the memory stone.

The woman in front of them was a different creature. She had no arms, the sleeves of her robe fluttered randomly as she walked and if not for the slight clack of her shoes on the stone floor, he would have thought she had no feet either. Her robe’s hood was pulled high, and the inside was veiled in an unnatural darkness making it difficult for them to see her face. Or her mask. Her voice was thin, ethereal, as if they were being tempted with every word.

“This way,” she whispered, her voice pulling David to the bend in their path. They’d been walking for a while and David was beginning to realize that these hallways were different from the ones before. The walls were dark and rough, and they glimmered, reflecting the low touches hanging on sconces. It was darker here too, making the orange flames brighter.

“Where is this?” David asked, stopping to look behind him. The creature sighed, making a hiss that made David think of a large serpent. She turned to them, bright lights for eyes and nothing else visible under the hood. David’s hand went for the hilt of his sword but the creature shook her head.

“You won’t be needing that,” she said. David wondered how a voice could be so low and clear at the same time. “Arg has been told to wait for you at Jaresh’s cave where you will meet the dragon.”

“How do we get there without the bird?” Zoey asked, coming to stand close behind David. Her bow was out and drawn already and Chloe was squeezing his hand tighter.

Fear could be a stone tied to one’s neck, but it could always be a source of growth, David noticed. When they came to this floor, they had all carried some kind of subconscious fear with them. That was thinning already.

“The Pathway,” the woman said, and then she turned. “You will see.” And then she was walking again, taking them through another hallway, this one darker with less torches. She didn’t walk far before she stopped in front of a door. A white rune carved stone. It looked smooth. There were torches on both sides of it, burning low and bright.

Magic, David thought.

The woman walked closer to the door and whispered something, a word. He heard the word and at the same felt he hadn’t heard, as if it had come to him and disappeared from his memory. The rune shone and then the stone groaned heavily.

“Wake up,” the woman said.

“Hasgrith,” a voice said, the words coming from all over as if the walls too could speak. “Of course he would send you. Only you and that damn Fiyerth can call my name.”

The creature hissed.

“Your self-importance is not my business, door.” She said the last word with a shocking venom. “Our Lord has commanded they be ferried to Jaresh. You will do your duty,” she said, the venom gone and the calmness back in her voice. The rune on the door pulsed and the white slab slid gently out of the way.

The woman shifted to the side and gestured for them to enter. David peered in. The room was small and empty. It was lit partially by a raised altar of fire. The fire danced wildly, but there was no wood, or cloth. It simply moved about in the center of the round altar.

Behind the altar was what looked like a door, except it wasn’t. David didn’t have to be a master at manipulating essence to feel the rippling force oozing out of it. It had a draped arch at the top, its frame carved in stone that looked almost silvery.

David looked at the woman, Hasgrith, and then back to the door. He didn’t know why he felt threatened by it, but there was something dark about the door. The essence pouring out of it and the unrestrained power he felt. Whatever magic had been used to create the door, it was not being controlled.

“Your fears are unnecessary,” Hasgrith said as she walked past him. “The Pathway has been locked here for so long it has become a part of this place. Look,” she pointed at the chains stretching from the sides of the door, hooked to the walls of the room. They were darker than the walls outside, more than anything David had ever seen before.

“Is it alive?” Chloe asked and Hasgrith looked down at her. Her hold on David’s fingers tightened.

“He is, but this is a manifestation of one of the things he can do,” Hasgrith said, now looking at David. “You have no need to worry. You will not be harmed. The Pathway can lead you anywhere in the tower, it is safe.”

David nodded. He walked forward, past the dancing flames. He noted that there was no heat from it. He stopped before the door. It was lifted slightly off the floor. He hadn’t noticed before, but there were runes on the frame, carved into them.

“Is this what actually makes the path?” David asked. Hasgrith sighed, frustrated by their unending questions. David felt bad for a moment, but then realized that was stupid. He would need to know more if he wanted to survive and protect his siblings, so he waited for her answer.

“No,” Hasgrith said finally. “That is part of what holds him here. Now, go.”

David walked forward and stretched his hand to touch the calm pool of essence. There was a faint ripple when his finger brushed it. He felt a tiny vibration, as if something had wriggled onto his flesh. He pulled away, turned to Hasgrith whose eyes only stared back.

David sighed and put his hand through. He felt nothing on the other side. The movement on his arm was disturbing, but he ignored it. He walked forward, putting one leg through and then his face. On the other side, he saw another small room, well-lit and empty. He let himself pass through the portal completely until he was standing in the room fully.

“Finally!” Someone said. David jumped, saw the grinning man and drew his sword immediately. The man grinned. He looked like any other human David had seen, but he could also be a dragon. Jaresh? It couldn’t be Jaresh, David confirmed. There was no brimming power leaking from this person and there was no sense of royalty.

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Zoey bumped into David, saw his stance and caught sight of the man he was looking at. The man grinned at her too. He was leaning against the wall, beside the door that led out of the room. He had an emerald robe on, edged with gold. His rob was open at the top, baring his chest where a claw scar had healed.

He waved when Elisha pulled Chloe through the portal and then pushed off the wall. David caught the hilt of his sword. By his feet was a small gourd. He picked it up, staggered slightly and then tried to tip the gourd over his mouth. Nothing came out.

“Ah…yes, I finished it while waiting for you,” he said. He shook his head, scattering hair all over his shoulder and face. He bowed slightly to them. “Forgive me, I am Ars.”

“Ars?” David asked, sheathing his sword. Ars grinned, walking forward. Then he sniffed the air and grinned again. “You fellows are young.” He sniffed again and shook his head, his body shuddering slightly. “Ugh! Nurend’s smell is all over you. Lord Jaresh won’t like that.”

He shrugged and turned, walking out the room. His movement was smooth, graceful. His sword was long, curved. Ars was tall, David nodded. A couple heads taller than him. His robe flowed behind and around him, like a smooth falling green gel. He hummed as he led them through what looked like a roughly cut passage. The more they walked, the clearer it became to David that they might not be in any fancy palace or castle.

“This is a cave?” Elisha asked. Ars chuckled.

“Smart,” He said. “You can feel it then. We are in the belly of Mount Guntar. Lord Jaresh doesn’t think you are worth bringing to his home. We have been waiting here since The Mother requested that you be tested.”

“Proud,” Zoey muttered and Ars laughed. David turned to Zoey and she shrugged. They walked on for silence until they got to two tall doors. Except Ars, there had been no one else since they started walking. There were no decorations either. No tapestries, etchings or markings. Everything had been roughly hewed out. As if whoever did it had no need for beautiful. David wondered what this Jaresh would be like.

“I will grant you these words of wisdom,” Ars said before the door, not turning to look at them. “Stay silent, listen, speak only when Lord Jaresh asks you to and do not stare at Teth’s face.” Then he pushed one of the doors. The stone groaned, and the floor shuddered as Ars pushed it until it was wide enough for them to walk through.

The hall was wide and flat like the rest of the cave. The pillars were tall, and roughly chiseled. David wondered what had done something like this. They followed Ars to the steps that led up a raised dais where sat a large throne, like a sleeping chair carved from stone. On it was spread a large bulk of a man. He leaned on the right arm rest of the chair, his head resting on his knuckles.

David whispered a swear. He didn’t have to guess. He knew for sure that the man he was looking at was Jaresh. The dragon was huge, even in his human form. His chest was bare like Ars, even though he was half covered in a red robe. David was too far to see, but there were patterns on it. He focused instead on Jaresh’s face. His head. His hair was a small bonfire. A short, waving flame. Blue and crackling. And from within the flame, two horns protruded, a bit longer than Nurend’s, curving forward.

His eyes bore into David and for a moment, there was only silence. David felt his heart racing, echoing in his ear, swallowing the silence. This was a completely different feeling from what he felt when he met Hilga. This was a different shade of fear.

Jaresh closed his eyes. Suddenly, he looked bored.

“Ars, you are late!”

David’s eyes dragged away from Jaresh with some effort and fell on the others in the hall. Six of them, including Ars. Then sat on the steps that led up to the throne dais. One on each step and the final one sitting at the edge of Jaresh’s feet. The Fangs, David thought. They were cladded in different colors—bright and startling designs. As if they were dressed for festivities.

“Welcome, pups,” the man that had called Ars said. He was plump in the middle and a step higher than Ars. He grinned and spread his hands. When he looked up, Jaresh nodded without opening his eyes. “Our lord would like this done fast, we have hunting to do.”

David nodded.

“Good lad!” The man said. “I will explain. Each of you can pick one of us to battle, to the death.” He smiled, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “From bottom to top, there is Ars, our youngest, and me, Felur, our sister Zaran, Jors, Teth, and Oluk who sits beside our Lord.”

“And we just pick?” Elisha asked. Felur nodded. He raised a finger before Elisha could speak again, his smile gone, replaced with a frown.

“First, you have to know our strengths. Our Lord has placed a threshold on us. We can only fight with the strength of a two-ring essence weaver. That should be enough to test you, or kill you. Ars is a swordsman, he manipulates wind. I use a Halberd, and I am blessed with the dream skill. Zaran uses all kinds of weapons. Jors carves the earth. Teth fights with pure flames and Oluk has a piece of our Lord’s strength, making him the strongest of us Fangs.”

David tried not to look at Teth’s face. It was squid-like, with appendages writhing and snapping. The rest of him was human though. Zaran was half veiled, wearing a robe of blue with flowers and wild thorns embroidered in glimmering gems. It was snug about her, reaching up her neck. She caught him looking and held his gaze until David looked away.

Like Jaresh, Oluk had his eyes closed. As if removing himself from it all.

“How about you pick first, Chloe?” David asked, not taking his eyes away from Oluk. He couldn’t guess how strong Oluk was, but he felt a small compulsion to fight him. David tore his gaze from the Fang and looked down at Chloe. She was pointing at Felur. David wondered if that was wise. Chloe had no fast or strong offense skill. But then there was a lot they didn’t know about Chloe’s powers yet.

“How about you?” David asked, looking at Zoey. She was already staring at Zaran. The female Fang stood up and strode down the steps beside Felur. Elisha pointed at Jors and David sighed, realizing how stupid what he was about to do was, but he couldn’t help it. Some part of him was egging him on. Also, he’d realized something with his fight with Nurend, he needed a challenge to get stronger.

“Oluk,” David said. “I challenge you.”

There, He thought, it is done. I cannot undo it. Even though immediately he said it, he wanted to reject it. He stared up, waiting for a response. David imagined how better it would be if Oluk declined. He would rather fight Teth, yet he held Oluk’s gaze when the Fang opened his eyes. His face was smooth, tan, as if he’d be staring into a furnace.

Jaresh’s eyes opened when Oluk stood up. Oluk bowed to the sprawling dragon and then he was coming down the steps. He looked magnificent. His hair tied back, but flowing down his shoulders. His eyes were like empty rooms. There was no wasted movements—even his eyes stayed focused, holding David in view.

He stood in front of David, silent, as if trying to see through David’s eyes. David tried not to blink in hope to show that he held no fear for the Fang. His heart thundered in his chest. Then Oluk smiled, and unlike Teth’s face, Oluk’s was horrible. His eyes became a deep pool, pulling him in, drowning him, and suffocating.

David blinked, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing before Oluk. The drowning feeling was gone, the pool had vanished. He was staring at ordinary eyes. Oluk’s stared still, but there was something else now.

Oluk nodded slightly and David knew that he hadn’t imagined that. He’d been pulled in. He’d been tested, baited and now he was about to be swallowed.

You made a mistake, Ignis’s voice said in his head. You are too weak for this monster.

“Yes,” David whispered to himself.

“Begin,” Jaresh roared.