A Dragon's Bond (10 page)

As soon as Davin began describing what had happened Myrdinn began ushering them in. Just as they entered Davin blurted out, "Could it have something to do with the Ancient one?" Unfortunately, his statement hadn't fallen on deaf ears.

It wasn't until they were inside that Myrdinn had told him what he had found. He went on to tell them about the dragon that had been referred to as the Ancient one. She was thought to be the oldest of the dragons. Nobody new if she really existed any longer, or ever at all for that matter. People had written of a dragon that possessed all of the different dragon's abilities. She had the brute strength of the greens, the flight and heat of the reds. She could take to the sea like the blues and could control gravity just like the browns. She even possessed the more rare abilities of the black dragons and the golds. The ability to morph her colors to blend to her surroundings and create great bursts of electric energy. There was not much in the way of what she looked like other that her glowing blue eyes. The blue eyes of the Ancient one.

The kids could tell that there was something that Myrdinn had not been telling them. He was very reserved and paused before speaking almost as though he was trying not to divulge too much information.

Davin finally got the courage to ask Myrdinn about the book. Now that it wasn't a secret that he had read it. "Myrdinn." He paused. Tell me about the book you handed me before you left." Davin's mind went to the picture of the man drinking from the dragon. "Tell me why a man would want to drink the blood of a dragon?"

Myrdinn looked at Davin instantly. He had a very bewildered yet angered look. "First, you tell me how it is you read a page in that book, that had been lost from it and has been missing for years." He snapped. "How is it that you know of such things?"

Davin's stomach turned as he realized his mistake. Davin put himself in a position which he couldn't back out of. He had to confess to Myrdinn what he had done. Chloe looked at him with worried eyes. Davin only smiled as to reassure her. He did not however have to involve Chloe. He ran through the whole story with Myrdinn leaving out no detail, other than Chloe. She sank in her chair the further into the story he got, knowing deep down that she was the one to blame.

Though Davin feared the worst, Myrdinn didn't do much more than lecture Davin on morals and honesty. He seemed to be rather understanding based on the circumstances.

After being dismissed they felt a little more informed but not much. Davin decided to spend some time alone with Halo. He spent the evening playing with her in the stable. She had a very playful personality and quite enjoyed wrestling around with Davin, like a great big puppy. It would not be long before he wouldn't be able to play with her so roughly, due to the sheer size difference.

Davin had worn Halo and himself out. Davin lay on the ground with his head propped up against her. It was not long before they both drifted off to sleep.

It had grown late. The stable had become pitch black with the night. There were no windows to let in the light from the moon outside. Davin woke suddenly. There was a large crash upstairs in the apartment. It sounded like Halo had gotten into something and knocked a pot off of the counter and onto the floor. He sat up and jumped to his feet. He gave a long tired stretch as he headed up the stairs. "Halo what have you gotten into now?" He said loud enough to be heard upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs he paused when he heard something else. It wasn't loud and that's what bothered him. It was quiet. "Halo." He said softer in a very cautioned voice. Then he heard it. The faint hiss of a whisper. Suddenly hid head hurt and his ears rang violently. He felt his knees begin to buckle and he fell flat to the floor. A drop of blood hit the floor after it had rolled down his head from behind his ear.

The soft voice hissed again. "You better not have hit him too hard. If he's dead you may as well be too. Our Master has warned us. He is to be kept alive." The two dwarf like figures picked up Davin's limp body and placed him in a large cloth bag and carried him back down the stairs. The two strangers had left as quietly as they had come. The apartment and the stable stood empty as somebody had already taken Halo and now were in the process of taking Davin.

Davin woke up once again. His head throbbed and his vision was blurry. He was being held in place by shackles suspended from the ground by chains. The rough metal cut into his wrists. His toes were barely even touching the ground. All of his weight was pulling the shackles deeper into his skin. There was a bag over his head. He couldn't see anything and could only smell the blood and sweat that soaked the bag. He hung there for a moment, as he was too weak to yell even if he could. A gag had been tied around his mouth as well, keeping him for screaming for help. Then the fear of his situation set in and he began to panic. Davin started swinging and kicking his legs frantically until her he heard a door open. A familiar voice spoke softly in his ear. "The master wants me to ask you some questions." The voice hissed. He couldn't forget the eerie sound of the imps voice. It was the same one he had seen in the egg chamber so many years ago. The memory came back to him as though it had only happened minutes ago.

Davin heard the rattling of the chains and felt himself begin to be pulled up higher off of the ground. His feet were no longer able to touch at all. He began to swing slightly as he felt himself being moved around suspended above the ground. His body jerked with a sudden stop.

He heard the voice again. "Now, I am going to ask you some questions. But first, I am going to pursued you to be honest with me." The imp let out a hoarse laugh. Then Davin could feel himself starting to be lowered. The cold water hit his bare feet. He began to panic and thrashed about as he was slowly lowered into the water. He was all the way to his chest when he could feel the weight of the chains begin to pull him under. He began to scream from behind the gag. It was not loud like he had hoped and was only wasting the precious breath he had in his lungs. He took a quick and final breath before his head went under. He tried to calm himself, so he could try and conserve his breath. It wasn't until his lungs began to burn, aching for a large breath of air that he began to thrash about again. Just then he felt his face clear the water as he was lifted out again. He took another deep breath before being sucked back under.

This went on several times. Each episode under water feeling like it was longer. He did not think he was going to be able to wait to take a breath the last time he was under the water. His lungs burned so very badly and they were screaming for him to take a breath. He was lifted out of the water and again was fully suspended over the ground.

The bag was pulled from his head and the gag pulled down from his mouth. He took several very deep breaths before speaking. "Where is Halo?" He cried. "Please don't hurt her."

The imp slapped him in the face. "I am going to ask the questions. Not you. Now what do you know about the Ancient one?"

After a while longer, Davin didn't even hesitate to answer. He told the imp everything he knew. It wasn't much but apparently the Imp had been satisfied. He left the room and Davin was left to his pain. Not only had the imp half drowned Davin, he had scalded him, whipped him and hit him repeatedly. He was not far from unconsciousness when he heard someone else enter the room. His vision was blurred from the pain and he couldn't seem to focus. He could only make out a dark figure and a pair of red eyes. They were glowing like a bonders eyes, but blood red. The figure placed a damp cloth over his face and Davin could feel himself drifting into sleep. He fell deeper with every breath he took until everything went black and again was unconscious.

Davin's eyes strained to open. He was woozy. His head was swimming and his body hurt all over. He was laying in the stable again.

Had it all been a bad dream. He thought to himself.

He reached up to his head and winced as he felt behind his ear. It clearly had not been a dream. He struggled to get to his feet as his legs were like rubber underneath him. Panic set in again and he quickly began limping upstairs. He was worried, scared and furious. He couldn't find Halo. Whoever had taken him, still had Halo.

CHAPTER TEN

BUILDING ANGER

Davin stormed through his place in a fury. All the pain had ceased as he was now fueled by anger. He burst through his door slamming it shut behind him. Fiercely, he raced down the hallway to Chloe's place, ignoring the pain that had previously caused him to limp. He began beating his fist on her door until she opened it in a panic.

She looked Davin up and down. "What in the world happened to you?" She said with a gasp.

"
They took her. They took Halo."

"
Who did?"

"
The imp. It was the same one we saw that night in the chamber."

Chloe's eyes began to fill with tears. "He did this to you?" She opened her arms and wrapped Davin in a hug. "We'll find her Davin. We'll find her, don't you worry."

Chloe grabbed Davin's hand took off in a hurry to begin the search. The two rushed down the hall towards Derrick's to ask him to help as well.

"
Where do we start?" Derrick asked.

Chloe chimed in. "I think we have to go back to where we found the book."

"
You mean the passage out of the egg chamber? Surely we wont be able to get in that way again."

"
Hold on." Derrick said. "Whoever took you had to have gotten in somehow, if that's where they took you. Do you remember anything about where you were?"

Davin shuttered at the thought of the room he had been kept in. "It was dark. It smelt musty, like the air had been trapped in the room for a long time."

"
What else?" Derrick asked.

"
It smelt funny. Like rotten eggs."

"
Sulfur." Derrick said. "There are sulfur mines below the keep." It is one of the minerals added to the dragon feed. There is actually an entrance to one near by here. The entrance has been boarded up, but it's close. With the amount of time you were gone they couldn't have taken you very far."

"
Show us where Derrick." Chloe said in a panic.

Derrick led the two down a couple of long hallways. They came to a staircase that led down deeper beneath the keep. At the bottom of the stairs, was a small passageway that led to a partially boarded up mine shaft.

"
That's strange." Derrick muttered. "This was completely closed up the other day."

Without hesitation Davin entered through the entrance to the mind shaft. It was dark and Chloe materialized a small ball of yellow light in her hand. The further they got into the mouth of the mine, the more uneasy Davin became. The air was growing thin and stale. Finally with a glimpse of hope, they came to a door that appeared to be newly constructed, like it had not been there that long. Davin tried the handle. It was unlocked. He opened the door and the three walked through.

They could hear voices up around the corner. Davin's blood began to burn in his veins. His anger had been building with every step. They heard a heavy door shut and then heard footsteps heading their way.

Around the corner came one of the dwarfs that Chloe and Davin had seen with the imp in the egg chamber. Davin's heart began to race. Before he knew it, his hands were glowing red hot. Flames burst from his hands and then became engulfed in a field of electrical energy. Chloe and Derrick only watched as Davin unleashed a barrage of fire and explosive energy towards the dwarf. He fell immediately to the ground screaming in pain. He didn't move and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. His body lay dead. It was still smoking and had sparks flying from it.

Davin didn't stop his march forward and disappeared around the corner. Chloe and Derrick caught up quickly. Davin was standing in front of a large set of double doors. They were secured with a heavy chain and large padlock.

Davin began pacing in front of the door. The electrical energy and flames began to grow yet again around his hands. "She's inside. I can feel her."

"Hold on, hold on." Derrick quickly ran back around the corner. He came back swinging a small key around his finger. Davin had begun beating on the door. Derrick simply walked up comely and put the key in the lock and the chain fell to the ground.

Davin pulled the doors open. He rushed in and dropped to the ground in front of her. She was breathing but barely. Davin picked up Halo in his arms and began to carry her back out of the shaft. All he could think of, was how much he wanted to run into that evil imp, so he could blast him just as he had done to the dwarf. They did not speak as they left. Chloe and Derrick simply followed behind Davin.

Halo didn't look good at all. She had a large incision in her neck and appeared to have been bled. There were no other injuries that were visible. Blood was still slowly dripping from the drain that had been put in her neck. She was barely conscious.

Without even knocking, they burst into Myrdinn's chambers. The three were met by Myrdinn's scowling face. "What on earth is this?" He roared. Then he looked down and saw Halo, hanging in Davin's arms. "Bring her here quickly! What has happened to her?" He quickly cleared a table over by the bookshelves. He ran over to a closet and came back with a large leather bag. He pulled out a small scalpel and a set of sutures.

"Get some towels from the kitchen and some hot water!" He instructed Chloe, pointing to the kitchen.