Between the Willow Trees [NaNoWriMo 2013] (Editing)

Chapter 4: The Unlikely Weapon

Chapter 4: The Unlikely Weapon

As we travel to our next destination Thorne tells me about basilisks. Apparently their venom is extremely deadly and so is their gaze. Looking in its eyes can kill a person instantly, similar to a gorgon only rather than turning to stone the person will die on the spot. The more he tells me about it the more I begin to believe that we aren’t going to make it out of this place alive, or at least I won’t. I know that Thorne won’t be affected by the basilisk’s eyes. There’s only one way he can die whilst I am vulnerable. Humans are easily killed.

We arrive in the middle of an empty street late at night. Thorne walks out into the middle of the road and leans over something on the ground. I watch him wondering what on earth he’s doing. When I hear a breaking sound I run over.

“There is a basilisk living down in the sewers here,” he explains as he pushes the broken cover to the side revealing a dark hole in the ground.

“Are we seriously going down there?” I ask even though I know that it’s going to be a yes.

“You are not, but I am. I want you to wait here because this is far too dangerous for you,” he says as he dangles his legs down the hole to reach the ladder.

I shake my head. “No way, I’m not waiting around out here while you risk your life in there. You’ve already helped me so much I have no idea how I’m ever going to repay you. You can at least let me help you out with killing the basilisk.”

He’s hardly risking his life though because a basilisk can’t kill him. I don’t want to miss out on all the fun now though, do I? I just need to convince him to let me go with him into the sewers.

“You did not pay attention to the dragon’s advice. She told you that you should not consider yourself in my debt because I might expect too much in return from you. You might end up owing me forever.”

“I don’t care about what she said. What does she know? She’s just a dragon who’s hidden away in a cave for decades. She knows nothing about life.”

Thorne turns to look at me. His eyes are bright blue and I still don’t know what that colour indicates. Perhaps he’s scared? Could Thorne really be scared of something? When I was younger I always saw him as this invincible hero who feared nothing. Perhaps my overly active imagination had built that up though. Maybe Thorne has plenty of fears.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he says, his voice low. I don’t really take in what he says though because I am more focused on his sudden change in his use of language. He didn’t say do not, he said don’t. I wonder for a second if perhaps he’s finally picking up on the way I speak before realising what he actually said.

“I promise I won’t get hurt. I’m stronger than you think.”

“That is a promise you had better keep.” His eyes turn purple for a second. He reaches into his boot and pulls out a beautiful silver dagger. Then he hands it to me. I’ve never really handled a weapon like this before, so I’m not really sure what to do with it. After staring at it for a minute I decide to just slip it into my bag.

Thorne leads the way down the ladder into the sewer. As we grow deeper into the ground the smell gradually gets worse until it’s almost unbearable. I try to hold my breath for as long as possible before I have to give in and take a huge gulp of air. You know that sensation you get when a smell is so strong you swear you can taste it? That’s exactly what it feels like right now. I can’t help but wonder how on earth Thorne isn’t reacting to the stench. Perhaps he has no sense of smell? After all, he is made of metal.

The sewer is fairly dark and I had expected it to be darker but it turns out that there’s a faint light on the wall roughly about every five metres. At first there’s a pathway along the side of the sewerage that flows down the tunnel but then the path ends and we’re forced to walk in it. I cringe when I take my first step in the waste. Then the tunnel gets smaller and smaller until we’re almost crawling through the pipes.