Inferno Legacy: Valor of the Dragon (Book One)

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

            Cody awoke at the exact time that Inferno predicted, after a day devoid of dreams. He felt refreshed and ready for his task, though he wasn’t very eager to begin. With a deep sigh, he crawled out of the fort and walked up to the dragon’s right leg. He leaned onto the saddle and removed every last coin, before turning around and racing towards the trail, following the direction that Inferno’s tail was pointing, since he had collapsed on the ground after going in an approximate straight line from the path.

            With his swift feet he raced through the forest, careful not to trip or leave signs that were too obvious as to where he had come from. He could easily find his way back to where the dragon was resting, but he didn’t want someone else to and he couldn’t be sure exactly who would be walking along the main trail just looking for something interesting to track. No doubt someone would want to investigate an odd-looking trail that just jumped into the main road.

            Using as little time as he could manage, Cody covered up his trail as best he could and continued on his way. He charged along the path with his amazing speed, hoping desperately that he’d make it to the gate before sundown so that he could get inside without paying a tax. Then again, the tax still could be a myth and just a way to rob people of their hard-earned money. But he couldn’t focus on that, he had to find Dongoithu and figure where his friends were, and whether they were even still alive.

            Rather abruptly, Cody skidded to a halt and nearly tripped over his own feet when he caught sight of something animalistic ahead. If they were human, there was no way they could have seen him from that distance, but he couldn’t be perfectly sure. The outline of the creature was so faint it could have been anything from a dog to an elf. But Cody didn’t want to get closer to it.

            It seemed to radiate a sort of evil chill as it strode along the path at a steady yet unusual pace. A gross scent invaded Cody’s nostrils, like the smell of rotting flesh that had somehow avoided being absorbed into nature. Like a body that had been rotting in the ground for centuries, but had still managed to be in perfect condition physically. Cody had to close his eyes and shake his head to try to get rid of the terrible visions and scents that raced around his head. But when he opened his eyes, the figure had disappeared and the forest had seemed to grow clearer and warmer.

            Cody shook off the intense sense of fear that he felt coursing through his body as he continued on his path to the city. After a few minutes of walking he got to the position where the thing had been standing just before it vanished, but not a trace of it remained. The rider pressed further along the trail with his heart beating faster and faster with each step. He had followed the creature for a while, curious about what it was doing and where it was going, and he had felt sort of like a hunter, stalking his prey. But he abruptly became the hunted, or so it felt as he looked around at the forest, which seemed even more eerie since the creepy encounter.

            The sense of relief was so profound that Cody could feel his skin practically buzzing when, far off in the distance, the flag that sat atop the massive wall came into view. While the flag itself couldn’t protect him, and the city was still very far away, he felt much safer with it in sight. The rest of his walk was spent completely in concern for his friends and worry about whether he’d make it inside with all of his money. Although, he was also pretty worried about what he’d do to get his information, when he didn’t know who he could go to.

            He decided to stop at the clothing shop first, in the hopes that they would be open for him to legitimately buy what he needed. Then he would go to the tavern/inn that he had stayed at previously, but stop along the way at the antique shop. That reminded Cody of the two lockets he had purchased those few nights ago. The black one, he realized with a start, was still wrapped around his neck, while the white one was miraculously left unharmed in his pocket. He shook away his incredulity at the kidnappers, which took nearly everything he had, for not taking the lockets, as the actual gate of the city came into view.