The Lost King

Chapter Nine

I scrabbled wildly to hold on, giving myself a chance to take a deep breath before my head went under. Surprisingly, it didn't feel wet. I opened my eyes to see a very pale dragon in golden chains. But something was wrong: its veins were pure black, and a dark blue substance was running from its eyes. I was still inside the pool, but it was a lot bigger than anticipated.

Setty and Birch were gone. I had no idea where to go, and I would drown soon if I didn't find out. My face was already turning blue.

The dragon turned its head toward me, smiling crookedly.

"Your destination?" A deep, raspy, voice issued from its void of a mouth, chilling my spine. How was it able to talk?

Everything started to go fuzzy, and my body automatically took in a breath. I expected to choke on the water that flooded in my lungs, but they were suddenly filled with air. I gulped it down, restoring my brain.

"Your destination?" The dragon repeated. His chains rattled as he moved toward me.

"What-where? How?" Was all I could mutter. Something was dreadfully wrong with this creature. It wasn't supposed to be here. Why was it here?

"Your destination?" He asked for a third time. Suddenly, Birch's voice echoed through the cavern:

"Tell him you're with us, hurry up before you stay!" I tried to take a step forward but my hooves wouldn't move. They were turning black and hard, the substance freezing my legs.

"I-I'm with them, I need to go there!" I said, starting to struggle. The substance only moved up my body faster. Suddenly, it moved very quickly and wrapped a talon around my neck, hurling me upward. I wasn't prepared to land flat on my feet in the middle of a city. 

I looked around, surprised at what I saw.

Houses, all stacked together like dominoes, lined the reddish-brown brick road that led to a square. In the middle was a fountain, guarded by stocky humans holding spears. Black and blue flags were hung on every door, the same symbol on the guards' breastplates.  

They started towards us. Sudden anxiety curled up inside of me. Setty and Birch beside me didn't flinch, but I shied away behind them.

"Hey! What're you doing?" One of them said. "Portal use is unauthorized after curfew! Explain yourselves!"

Setty moved forward, respectfully gazing back at the guards.

"We are simply travelers, sent on a mission by the King. Birch, show him the orders," I blanched. They were sent by the King? The King would want me dead, if he was the king. Were they lying to me or to the guard? I started to back away very slowly.

Birch withdrew a paper signed by a seal. A seal I recognized. A seal I feared.

I stopped walking back. What was I doing? Stand tall, Astrom. Be a King for them, Astrom. Fight for them, Astrom.

"This says you're registered to bring back any artifacts you find. Not any living creatures," The guard proclaimed as he read the paper.

"You see, sir, he is an artifact. The very artifact we were sent to find."