68. Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Tanead
I was deep in Vaharilar, sure to be caught if I traveled on the surface. I'd discovered a tunnel entrance as I climbed out, and it was my only hope and refuge now. I didn't know where it led. I prayed it led home.
The entrance was not too deep, for which I was grateful. I hummed as I walked, giving myself up to fate. When the tunnel branched, I guessed which way was west. I thought the word as if the tunnel could listen. West, west. I could end up anywhere. But that’s what faith is.
Where was Asherah? Amon told me she approached the River of Madness with an army of Losians at her side, but he was a damned liar and that could easily be a lie. Wherever she was, I would go to her. No more delays. The time had come to claim my destiny. To prove that I was my mother’s freeborn son and heir.
The soil around me grew rich and moist. Small roots poked out from the ceiling and walls, grasping for me like fingers. I sucked them, grateful for the moisture while it lasted. There were not as many exits from the tunnel as there would have been in Los. Such things had not been maintained here. I poked my head up once, but I didn’t know this land well enough to recognize where I was. It wasn’t colder, I noted gratefully. I hadn’t gone north. Neither was I in a desert like the one in the far east of Vaharilar. Good signs. I retreated back into the tunnel.
Gradually, the tunnel narrowed. I climbed over piles of rubble and squeezed through small holes in blockages. The darkness grew darker. It was almost as black as within a dragonstone tomb. And then, it was.
I couldn’t see at all, but the difference was obvious to my bare feet. Cold, hard, smooth. I had come to the corpse of a dead god. The tunnel continued as a narrow burrow into the stone. I crawled inside, scraping my sides as I squeezed through.
There was no doubt that I was inside the underbelly of a dead god. But which one?
Could it be…did I dare hope… Archeon?
The floor dropped away and I fell a short distance to land on new ground. A circular room with walls and…a door! I squeezed the latch and it actually opened. I was about to step through it and continue on my journey when I hesitated.
What was this room doing down here? I was still deep in the Crust—I could tell by the taste of the air and the fuzzy full feeling in my ears. Why carve a room down here?
I summoned my magic. My hands lit up red as hot coals, offering light in the dark space. I held them out like torches while I looked around.
There was a low ceiling above my head, hardly high enough to clear my horns. It was made of regular grey stone. The room was small with only one door, which was dragonstone. Even a Tajawl couldn’t burn through it.
When my eyes found the one object in the room, I knew why.
An egg.
My heart hammered in my chest. I fell to my knees before it, words of joy rising in my chest. They spilled out of me as I reached out my coal-hot hands to grasp it lovingly in my palms.
The egg was small, as I’d heard it should be. It could be carried in a pack on my back, if only I had one. It was hard and black, made of solid dragonstone. It needed heat to hatch, and had been given none.
I crooned at it as I took it in my arms and cradled it like a babe. I rocked it, blubbering words of welcome.
“Who are you?” I asked. “Are you who I think?”
I'd been certain the priestess had lied when she told me about the egg below Archeon, buried at the bottom of the shaft, but what if she hadn't? What if this chamber was what she'd seen? The grey stone above my head would have been invisible to her Sight.
Well, I'd find out soon enough.
I cradled the egg in my arms as I left the room. I felt the slight tilt beneath my feet that indicated I was ascending. As I walked, I sang a quiet song to my new friend.
It was an old song—the oldest. My mother sang it to me when I was “hardly more than an egg myself.” That’s what she called me when I was a babe. I remembered her stroking my horns and humming the quiet tune in her rich voice. It was as resonant in whispered song as it was shouting words of inspiration to her followers.
I bet she’d never sung the song to Caelan, the fucking mother-murderer.
Gradually the light brightened and I let go of my magic. But the egg held the heat I’d given it. It was warmer than before.
We were getting closer to the surface. And then, abruptly, I made a turn and I recognized the shape of the tunnels before me. A big grin split my face. I held up the egg to show it the road ahead. “Up there’s the dungeon,” I told him. “You’re Archeon after all.”
It made me proud to think I’d invaded their impenetrable fortress twice. But humble to know that I might still be caught. If I was, I’d lose Archeon. I could not be caught.
I worried about how I’d fight soldiers with no sword and an invaluable dragon egg cradled in my hands, but I slipped into the dungeon anyway. I had no choice. It was empty, not a single guard to be found.
I crept up the halls, expecting at any moment to encounter someone. But the fortress appeared nearly empty. I was above ground-level and growing suspicious when I heard voices approaching. I snuck behind the nearest door and hid, listening.
“I say we go back over and say hello,” said a young man’s voice, aggressive and determined.
“No good comes of crossing into Los. We saw that already. Now look at our numbers. We wait for them to come to us. Demons die when they cross the river, and this fortress has never fallen. Everybody knows that. We’ll be ready when they come.”
“And if the dragon comes with them?”
“Then you may be glad this fortress is made of dragonstone and cannot burn.”
My goodness, this day was going my way. My people had come for me. They’d brought Asherah with them, coming as close to the river as they could to await my return. From the sound of it, they'd already had a victory against the Vaharilarans who were stupid enough to cross the river. The numbers were now in my favor. That sadistic fuck Amon had actually told me the truth.
All I had to do now was bring my people across.
Mayze, can you hear me? I called to the Touched girl I’d once stupidly overlooked in favor of the traitorous priestess. Mayze’s Sight wasn't as powerful as Raven’s, but she could be trusted. She’d tried to warn me not to leave the Mother’s Womb and I should have listened. I’d bet anything she’d followed Asherah to the river. And if she had, she might be close enough to hear me call.
If you can hear me, this is the Prince of Snakes. I have escaped my captors and am hidden inside the Fortress of Archeon. You must gather everyone and attack the Vaharilarans before dawn. You must reach the river while it’s still dark, do you understand? Bring me my people. Bring me my dragon.
She would not be able to answer, so I could not know if she’d received my message. She might not even be nearby. But if she was, she’d pass my message on and the attack would come. When it did, I’d armor up with the Vaharilaran soldiers and march out to the river. With any luck, in the dark, they’d think my horns were just part of an elaborate helmet decoration.
I found my way into an abandoned room, covered in a thick sheet of dust, and settled down for a short rest. I clutched Archeon to my chest like a child with a comfort blanket. Come what may, I was taking this egg out of here. I was going home at dawn, and not a single soul in this world could stop me.