Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 67

Being alone in the forest Marcie finally felt a knot ease in the pit of her stomach. She breathed in the last of the spring air and almost skipped along.

She tested her bow a few times, sneaking up on a few rabbits and a large vole then hanging their carcasses off her pack for later.

Dara's presence became stronger and stronger and she felt warmth seep into her bones, the bond lifting her spirits even as she became increasingly worried as to why Dara was not even attempting to contact her.

Days past and her progress through the forest was smooth. Despite that, she found herself jumping at every small sound and slept fitfully, waking with a jolt, her knife in her hand, sweat running through her hair line.

It was with such a sense of relief that she found the clear space free of trees around the base of the cliff side. She dumped her pack to stretch and pause for breath.

Then she looked around the trees and paused,  she saw the state of the bark that adorned the trunks. Something had gouged huge marks into the wood.

Marcie felt the edges of the marks with her fingertips, some of the marks were old, tiny shoots had began growing within them, others looks newer, still dripping sap. She looked closer at the surroundings and saw that the trees were not the only things to have suffered, the cliff face boasted yet more scratches in patterns of four, the marks continued up as high as she could see, as though something had clawed its way up the rock.

She looked down and saw that the lush grass and tiny flowers that usually adorned the ground around the cliff was blacked in places, burned away in lines and round patches.

Movement caught her attention and she saw a pair of huge dark eyes surrounded by pure white staring at her from a branch. The owl remained perfectly still, then with a sudden jarring movement, twisted his head towards the top of the cliff and held still.

Marcie waited for it to move again but it did not, she took the hint.

She hefted her pack and found the now familiar handholds in the rock pulling herself up with a sense of trepidation.

When she could see the cave she scanned the deep darkness for any movement but it remained as unwilling to reveal its secrets as always.

Dara was in the cave, that much she could tell, but beyond that she was blind.

She had not been afraid of the cave since that first time, before dragons became apart of her daily life and yet she felt the familiar chill settle in her bones. And yet she felt Dara as clear as day and he lay forward. She controlled her breathing and stepped into the darkness.

Marcie walked forward carefully, the cave was so dark that she could see nothing in front of her and although she knew the crystals would soon alight the further in she went her steps were cautious and quiet, alert for any sound.

The darkness began to be penetrated by the appearance of the smaller cousins of the great over head crystals that lit the main cavern, they lay in the walls and allowed just enough light for Marcie's sensitive eyes to make out the dirt of the floor and the rough stonewalls.

As she walked Marcie began to pick up a sound, so slight she could not make it out completely, it seemed to be a shuffling, shifting sound.

She made herself step even lighter, moving into a crouch, careful not to disturb the loose ground.

The noise grew, it sounded as though something very big and heavy was being dragged along on the ground, and a new sound joined the first, a rumbling and grumbling and then a whine joined the sound that made the hair on Marcie's neck stand on end, a sound so full of pain that she felt a corresponding ache in her limbs

She continued on until she could see, by the light of the increasingly abundant crystals, a large moving shape, large, much larger than she thought possible, much larger than he had been mere weeks before.

From what the bluish light revealed, Dara had grown exponentially.

He was now the width of the cavern, from the top of head with its huge great spikes to the tip of his tale, covered in many smaller but equally wicked looking spines and he was taller even than the tallest of the Daygon's horses.

He dragged his huge body along the floor, his belly hanging low, Marcie's eyes were drawn to his huge front and back legs, where the light from the crystals glinted off enormous talons that scraped at the floor, opening up gouges in the earthen floor as if it were no more the density of butter.

And yet she saw the light do strange things to his body, small patches showed the glinting of the light reflecting off his shiny black scales, like stars as his name suggested, but more showed nothing but inky oozing blackness, as though his beautiful scales had fallen away leaving nothing but the raw flesh beneath.

Her eyes wide in her face she stepped forward, her hand outstretched, "Dara" she whispered,

The great body turned around sharply, and her breath caught, his eyes sought her out as though he could not see and when they finally focused on her she saw pearls of moisture fall from the corner of his lids.

He hefted his huge body off the ground upon shaking legs, lifting his head towards the crystal encrusted ceiling then opened his great jaws and roared at her. The sound almost knocked her off her feet, sent the crystals to tinkling as dust trickled from the ceiling, and could be heard as far away as the village. Although by the time it got there it had lessened until the villagers likened it to a possible wolf or strange bird cry and barely glanced up from their work, Breen and a few hunters set off to patrol the edge of the village but came back having found nothing.

Meanwhile, Dafne stood upon her hill side home, her arms crossed, a warm breeze parting around her and ruffling her skirts gently. She stared across the trees in the direction of the roar her mouth set in a grim line.