"No, no, no," I gasped and touched the beacon's magic stone. It was cold and lifeless under my touch, completely devoid of the zing and warmth that magic normally gave. "How did it break?"
Usually magic stones were very durable, unless all the magic was sapped out. How did this one break? I literally just saw this beacon guide the roc here an hour ago. The magic stone was just fine then. Unfortunately, no matter how I asked, I'd never get an answer. After all, there wasn't anyone to ask.
But without the beacon, a roc wouldn't come here. A group of Hunters had to ride all the way out through the mountains and replace the beacon first. That could take weeks.
I signed and stood up. I ... was really going to have to trek through the mountains on foot, huh? I couldn't help but look down at the little blue snake. It would be a helluva lot easier if Levi was a huge flying dragon. Not that I blamed him for shrinking, he was the one forced down to my level. But I have a feeling I wouldn't be riding him like a tiny skateboard through the woods any time soon.
Now that I moved away from the magic stone, Levi finally approached it and gave it a critical eye. He reached out and touched the broken gem with his nose then leaned back in displeasure. Then he noticed my stare. Instantly, he fled in the surrounding tall grass.
"So we aren't talking yet, huh?" I muttered.
There was no point hanging around the dead beacon – it was super dangerous since it was out in the open.
"I need to find a safe place for the night," I whispered, looking at the sinking sun. It didn't matter that Levi wasn't immediately next to me or even able to answer, I talked to him anyway. It helped me feel not so alone.
I knew what time the city gates closed and the night barriers appeared, but I didn't know exactly when the more dangerous nocturnal monsters came out to feast. I could have three or four hours to find a safe place – or it could be as little as thirty minutes. Because it was farther from Boulder, the monsters here weren't as picked through, so they were stronger and their hunting patterns might be different.
As I trekked back through the tall brush, I kept glancing at the unknown dragon's carcass. There were two possible outcomes with that thing laying there. Either the smell would scare monsters away, thinking there was a strong predator here. Or it would attract monsters, thinking that there was a free meal just laying there. One was helpful to me, and the other really, really was not.
As it was, the monster territories in the surrounding areas were going to be a mess now. When all the monsters from the city fled the unknown dragon, they were like stones chucked at a card castle. Even if the city monsters returned to their original homes, the time they spent in another monster's territory would cause havoc which could affect the neighboring territories. Some might not even return all and a turf war could break out.
And I was going to have to hike through all that. Assuming, of course, that I survived tonight.
I glanced over my shoulder, catching a wisp of Levi's blue head. Man, I really wish he could fly. To distract myself, I started talking as I walked along the river. "Where do you think we should spend the night, huh? Maybe we can find a bank. From what I hear, the old vaults were really sturdy." I paused. "Given that I can even open the vault. Old technology can’t be that hard to crack, right?"
Okay, I didn't have a lot of confidence in that skill. When Hunters went on tasks to get in a vault, they usually smashed them open with force or magic. Apparently ice magic was really helpful, but that wasn't an option for me.
"Then again, if I did open a vault, how I was going to keep it shut so the monsters didn't get in, but I can still open it in the morning?" I paused, as my mind started to play all the worst case scenarios like a horror movie slideshow. Everything from being locked permanently in the vault, to a monster getting in and I couldn't escape, to suffocating to death because the air was sealed off. "Maybe I shouldn't look for a vault," I concluded. “Then where am I going to sleep tonight?”
The words barely escaped my mouth when Levi darted in front of me. I skidded to a stop, shocked. Was he finally going to open up to me? When I reached down, he darted away, heading in the opposite direction along the river side. He only went a couple feet before he stopped and looked back.
My eyebrows wrinkled. "Um, what?"
He blinked at me with large amber eyes full of expectations. Instinctively I knew he wanted me to follow. But follow him where? He was going in the opposite direction as the city. But he did know the area better than I did. I think. Who knew how long he'd been in the area?
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I turned to follow him. As soon as I took the first step, Levi slithered in the river and disappeared.
I stared in shock at the small ripple left in his wake. I totally didn't expect him to run off like that. Was he just teasing me?
A second later, his little blue head reappeared just above the water. He stayed there, staring at me as if saying, hurry up!
"Okay?" I muttered and walked into the river. Goosebumps spread over my skin as the chilly water soaked my feet and I couldn't resist shivering.
Levi disappeared under the water then reappeared ten feet away, where the shallow clear water abruptly turned deep blue.
"Is there something over there?" I walked forward until the water reached my knees. "What do you want?" I looked at the wide river, trying to guess his reason. "You're not hungry, are you?" I asked, thinking of the fish that rained down on me during the dragon's fight. Were there any fish left in the river?
Levi dipped below the surface then emerged, his emotions turning impatient. Still, I could feel that he honestly wanted to help. Albeit somewhat impatiently. But what he was helping with, who knew. I needed a place to sleep, not fish to eat.
Still, he was my familiar now. There had to be some sort of trust between us, right? It was only fair that I gave up ground too.
I stepped closer to the edge of the river's shelf and looked at the deep water. “Where do you want to go?”
He didn’t answer with words of course, just disappeared back under the water.
"Okay," I said slowly.
I took a breath and dove in. The water enclosed me with a chilling shock. There was nothing murky or muddy about it, it was clear enough that I could see Levi gliding through the water just ahead. And watched as he dipped down in the dark chasm below.
I knew it was deep – after all, it was only forty feet across and still hid a leviathan for who knew how long – I didn't expect it to be that deep. Before the Gates appeared, this river was barely more than a stream. Did it get this big from the earthquakes that shook the whole planet the day the Gate disappeared, or did a monster personally enlarge the river? Or was it a little of both, with the river water helping?
Levi didn't seem to care about the current, he cut through it like a knife. Although I did feel a flex of irritation when he paused and pointedly looked at his small body before he kept swimming down.
He did know that I couldn't breathe under water, right? I had knowledge about dragons, but what did he know about humans? I doubt dragons had an education system. They also didn't live in groups, so everything a dragon knew was innate. I'd bet a million dollars that Caring for Humans 101 wasn't in the genetic understanding.
Still, I angled down and swam into the deep blue. I was stronger than ever before, but the current still grabbed me and dragged me down the river, no matter how hard I struggled. Slowly, I regained my swimming posture, but I still wasn’t strong enough to fight the current. In the short time that happened, I lost sight of Levi.
A flash of bright blue appeared and Levi darted around me, radiating frustration. But it wasn’t aimed at me — well, mostly — just at the fact that I was weak and he was too tiny to physically take me where he wanted. He bit my right arm guard and swam down, whipping his slender body furiously. As he did, I noticed the water swaying back and forth with his body. Not just a ripple left behind, but the water bent with him and propelled him forward. He was controlling the water, I realized. Just like when he fought the unknown. Sometimes the controlled water brushed against me and I could feel how it flowed differently than the river water.
Levi tilted down, guiding me deeper into the water. It was like having an underwater motor on my arm. Gradually, I figured out how to swim with his assistance, scooping the water with my left hand and kicking my feet. I didn’t know if it was a familiar bonding thing, but soon we were cutting through the water at a quick pace.
Even though we coordinated our movements, there was one glaring problem — I couldn’t breathe in water. And there was no air in sight, just dark water and a darker rocky wall.
Slowly, I felt the need for air burn in my lungs. I waved my hand to try to get his attention, then pointed to my mouth and nose, trying to communicate what I needed.
Levi glanced at me, then turned at a sharp angle, but he didn’t aim for the surface. Instead, he drove right towards the river shelf’s wall.
What was he doing? Trust or not, I needed to breathe. I tugged on my arm, trying to break away, but he stubbornly held on. Dimly, I could feel him telling me to be patient in my mind, but panic was starting to set in, clouding our connection. I couldn't tell if he had any other intentions.
He suddenly let out a burst of speed. The dark river wall loomed over us, so black that I couldn't see its features. It wasn’t until we passed into the total blackness that I realized it wasn’t a wall, it was a cave carved into the shadows of the river wall. I was completely blind, but Levi confidently kept going.
My whole body burned for oxygen. My muscles seized up, preventing me from swimming properly, and my mind buzzed in panic. Subconsciously, I trashed about, fighting against the water that threatened to drown me. But no matter how I moved, the little snake wouldn’t let go. Even if he did, I wouldn’t make it back to the surface in time. If it wasn’t for Levi, I would have sunk down right there and died in a pitch black watery grave.
As it was, he was determined to make me die where he wanted.
Levi angled up sharply, dragging me along. Suddenly the water disappeared from around my hand. Then my arm.
I clawed at the open air, desperate for it. My cramping legs kicked frantically as I forced myself higher. I burst out of the water, sputtering and gasping.
*****