Aqua Jewel

Chapter 11 - Into the Dragon's Lair

"Why is Dennek's castle in the middle of the woods?" I asked.

"Probably to keep out unimportant visitors," Rennoc said.

"I'd imagine it works then."

The woods that surrounded the path to Lord Dennek's castle were indeed very intimidating. There was something about this particular forest that made me feel uneasy – a different kind of 'uneasy' from when we had walked to Mencia and back again. Even Nika and Lae, who normally loved the woods – and nature in general – were quiet and jumpy.

Around ten minutes in, I glanced over my shoulder for the umpteenth time, to see a pair of blood-red eyes staring back at me from the shadows of the tall trees. Unable to contain the massive wave of alarm rushing over me, I let out a loud, high-pitched scream and squeezed my eyes shut.

I could almost feel the panic sweeping over the group. At the sound of my scream, my friends jolted to a stop, more alert than ever. A couple – namely Alyk and Nika – yelped in surprise. We waited in silent anticipation for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, for something to happen.

"What?" Rennoc asked, almost angrily. I gathered the courage to look back at where I'd seen the creature. Naturally, it had disappeared.

"There was ... a pair of eyes, over there." I pointed. We all stared into the shadows for another few seconds.

"I don't see anything," said Haras eventually.

"It was probably just your imagination playing tricks on you," Lae said, but she didn't seem convinced.

In total, we walked along for maybe a quarter of an hour, twisting and turning with the winding path through that dark, menacing forest, until we caught our first glimpse of the castle. It was big, but not massive – maybe three quarters the size of King Trub's castle in Mencia. A large stone wall circled the building, the only opening being directly in line with the path, guarded by a tough-looking sentry with a sword at his hip. I shuddered, imagining what it was meant to keep out.

"So, we just walk right through the gates?" asked Nika, already doubting my plan.

"Of course," I said defiantly, although my stomach was churning with anxiety and my hands felt tingly.

"Like Lexa said, Dennek is expecting us to give up," Lae said, "so he'll have told his guard to look out for us." I was grateful to her for supporting my plan with such conviction. I really hoped she was right.

We approached the gates slowly. Coincidentally – or quite possibly not – I recognized the guard at the gate. It was Winel, who'd picked us up from the Jesburgon train station. I remembered how a young messenger – Locky, I believe his name was – had saved us from the intimidating man's clutches by coming to tell Winel that 'the boss' needed him. Their boss, I now understood, was Lord Dennek.

As we neared the large man, he narrowed his eyes, and a wicked grin crept onto his face. "So it is you." I swallowed hard.

We came to a stop in a tightly knit group before Winel, who checked us over – presumably looking for any types of weapons – then continued. "Come with me, the Lord will see you soon."

With that, Winel turned his back to us, then he strode through the gates and up the stone steps to the big wooden doors of the castle, leaving us to scramble warily behind him.

I looked over my shoulder one last time, to see the gates in the wall closing silently behind us, as if by magic.

Though the castle was smaller – therefore less impressive – than King Trub's, the interior decoration was grand. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Large landscape paintings, portraits and everything in between decorated the walls of the corridors to my left and right. A long spiral staircase located in a corner of the huge entrance hall led up to more floors of this amazing space. Spread out across the floor was an immense rug of deep purple with Jesburgon stitched neatly in large silver letters.