The Secret Sea - (Chaptered Version)

35

"No knife can pierce Bonnacon's flesh," says Karkadann, lowering his massive head, "but this can." His horn glows white-hot until the tip severs and falls to the soft foliage below. "Rend this shard through his foul heart. The magick the horn contains should prove sufficient to end his reign. However, its power will not last long. You must hurry."

Eve grabs the luminous horn--three feet of vicious, black keratin. "Come on Tim, let's do this."

"Free the souls of my people and save your own," bellows Karkadann as we leave the hut.

Eve and I walk a few hundred yards to the edge of the plain. We stop in front of a wide crack in the earth--a segmented canyon stacked with eons of colorful rock. "I hope you know where you're going," I say.

"We just need to follow the smell," replies Eve, looking over the edge of the gorge.

I flare my nostrils and instantly regret it as the aroma of feces overwhelms me. "Good god!"

"Bonnacon's preferred form is an enormous red bull with a long mane, inward curving horns and a huge, pungent ass. He's essentially a shit demon," says Eve. "Even in his sleep, he defecates continually. His waste is highly caustic--acidic enough to eat through steel."

"I'd much rather deal with a fire-breathing dragon or something," I bemoan as we hover at the edge of the canyon. "Where's this cave?"

"It's beneath us," replies Eve, getting on her stomach to peer over the lip of the cliff. "I can see it--and smell it--about 30 feet below us. I hope you're a good climber."

"There's only one way to find out," I say, preparing for the worst.