Chapter 19 #2
“I think so. Just a little banged up and bruised. A few scrapes,” she said, ruefully glancing at an angry brush burn on her arm. “Other than that, I’m okay. How did I get down here?”
Dewey shined his flashlight around the space. “You fell. I thought that was kind of obvious.”
Paige winced as she tried to stand with Devon’s help. “Duh. But how?”
“You’re a klutz.” Dewey snapped the flashlight at her. “Again, obvious.”
“I fell through a wall, duh. How did that happen?”
“Ohhh, it wasn’t a wall,” Dewey said. “It looked like a wall, but it was an illusion. There was an opening hidden. Well, until you did your swan dive through it.”
Paige adjusted her glasses to sit straight as she swept her beam around the room. “Could the portal be down here?”
“Maybe,” Dewey answered, still exploring the chamber. His voice failed to hide his excitement at the most recent discovery. “I’ve never been down here before. I didn’t know it existed.”
“That’s promising. Maybe no one did,” Devon suggested. “Or only a few people. That may be why you never knew there was an Astral realm opening nearby.”
Dewey shined the light in his face, with a snarl.
Devon held a hand up to block the beam as he squinted against it. “Hey, cut it out.”
“I don’t like when you make sense.” Dewey spun around and trained his beam along the wall again.
Paige crossed to the far wall and swept her flashlight back and forth. The light disappeared into a hole. She waved her hand inside before she twisted to face the others. “I found a passage.”
Dewey buzzed over to her. “Careful. You don’t want to fall into another hole.”
“I know.” She inched forward, letting her fingertips rub against the rough stone to guide her.
“Do you see a glowing portal?” Dewey called from behind her.
“No.” She continued to creep forward. “Just darkness.”
“Not in there, then. Where could it be?”
Paige’s light beam continued to pierce the darkness but found no end to the passage. Her fingers traced the stone beside her until they curled around an edge. “Maybe there’s another passage. Looks like this one’s emptying into another chamber.”
Paige directed her light toward the wall nearest her. Her jaw dropped open. “Whoa.”
“Did you find the opening?” Dewey asked as he fluttered into the chamber behind her.
“No, but look at these cave drawings, and the writing here. I wonder how old this is?”
Dewey studied the glyphs on the wall. “It’s Drakken.”
Paige circled around the round cave, in search of the story’s start. “Your language?”
“Yep,” Dewey answered.
“So, you can read this?”
“Mostly,” Dewey said, with a crinkled nose.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s archaic,” Devon murmured as he peered over Paige’s shoulder.
She jabbed at her glasses as she shot him a look. “Huh?”
“Think of Old English as opposed to modern.”
Paige flicked her beam back to the images and squinted at them. “Oh, right. Do you speak Drakken, too?”
Devon nodded as he squinted at the writing on the wall. “Yes, I do. So do you. Have you never seen it written before?”
“I don’t speak it.”
“You understand Dewey just fine.”
“She’s got a crystal of understanding,” Dewey shouted from across the chamber.
Devon ran a hand through his hair as he nodded. “Right. Got it. I thought it was weird that you always answered him in English.”
Paige flicked her flashlight beam toward a specific passage. “Can you read this?”
“Uh,” Devon said with a crinkled nose as he squinted at the passage. “It says something about a wise old dragon named Qirun. He was very smart and led his people well. He created many potions and serums for healing.”
“He must have been important if they dedicated this entire story to him.”
“He was…” Devon paused and leaned closer. “This is weird. I think I’m reading it wrong.”
Dewey fluttered over and peered at the wall. He scanned the writing with his flashlight before he skidded backward, his eyes going wide.
“What does it say?” Paige asked.
“It says…” Dewey swallowed hard, a tiny smile creeping onto his features. “It says Qirun was tiny. So small, he could ride on a human’s shoulder.”
Paige’s jaw dropped open. “Dewey! Could Qirun be your ancestor?”
Dewey buzzed across the chamber again and studied the writing on the far wall. “This details the clan’s lineage.”
He swept the beam hurriedly down the tree. “Yes! Yes, here! Qirun is my great-great-grandfather!”
Paige grinned at him. “So, tininess runs in your family. And look, it didn’t stop Qirun. This says he was a fantastic leader, and very smart.”
“Like me,” Dewey exclaimed. “I’m tiny and smart.”
Paige nodded. “Yes, you are. And you love working with potions.”
“Right. It must be genetic, like my tininess.”
“That’s right, buddy. Brains and brevity.”
“And if we ever find the opening to the Astral realm, I’m going to make great-great-grandpappy proud and save my entire village.” Dewey pumped a fist in the air before Paige raised her hand in a high-five request.
He flew toward her, and their hands glanced off one another, sending Paige stumbling forward and Dewey barreling behind her.
Paige righted herself and fixed her glasses. “Still not got that down, but that’s okay. There must be another opening in here somewhere.”
“There are no markings on that wall,” Dewey said, swinging his beam toward the one furthest from the corridor leading back.
“Which is a prime spot for a passage.” Paige aimed her flashlight at the wall and strode forward. After a bit of feeling around, she found the opening. “Got it!”
They squeezed into the narrow passage and continued forward until light sparkled ahead of them. Paige clicked off her flashlight as she studied the multi-colored swirl.
“That’s it!” Dewey exclaimed. “We found it.”
Paige grinned as she approached it. A breeze rustled her hair and tugged it closer to the realm, opening like a magnet. She shot a nervous glance Dewey’s way.
“Do I just walk into it or what?”
“Yep. May feel a little tingly, but just step inside, and you’ll walk right into the Astral realm.”
Paige nodded and lifted her foot as her stomach flip-flopped.
“Wait,” Devon said, thrusting an arm out to stop her from moving. “I should go first. In case this is a trap.”
“Okay,” Paige said as Dewey landed on her shoulder. “I’ll wait here until I get the all-clear from you.”
Devon gave her a node before he ducked into the portal and disappeared. Paige drummed her fingers against her thigh.
“How long do you think–”
“All clear,” Devon said, poking his head back into their realm.
Paige startled, then slid her eyes closed as she pressed a hand to her heart. “Okay, that’s creepy.”
“Sorry.” Devon’s head disappeared back into the portal.
“Ready?” Dewey asked.
“No. But I’m going to do it anyway.”
Paige lifted a foot and let it dangle inside the swirling opening. A tingling sensation shot up her skin. She forced herself to move forward and took a few steps before a glittering new world lay in front of her.
Her lips curled into a smile as she stared at the shimmering crystals surrounding her.
She thrust a hand forward to point at a pink one when her jaw dropped.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she glanced over at Dewey.
He fluttered into the air and stared back at her before they both issued a scream.