The Heir of Kings

Chapter Fourteen: The Giant

The three of them turned around in the darkness and heard the sound of their own breathing very clearly. And above that, there was an unholy rasping in the air. Relma shuddered, wondering what lay behind them as she turned around.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I might ask you the same question." said whatever it was in a deep, dark voice. "It is fortunate for you that I've gotten out of the habit of eating humans and halflings. Or I might have devoured at least one of you before asking you for your business.

"It had best be interesting. Or I may devour you just to be sure."

"Um, we're no one special," said Relma before realizing that no one special would probably end up chomping. "Just hiding from Pandora the Sorceress." There, a hook. Maybe he'd ask for more information.

"Pandora, the Sorceress?" asked the voice. "You intrigue me. What did you do to anger her?"

"We went looking for Lightning Trail against her explicit orders," said Relma.

"Did you now?" asked whatever it was. "Well, then, you must be someone relatively important to her. I wonder if I might be able to make use of you as a hostage..."

"It wouldn't be worth the effort," said Relma. "I'm just a servant to her; she keeps me around to do her scullery work. But she's obsessed with controlling other people. I'm trying to escape from her.

"But if she were to find out I was dead, well, she doesn't take kindly to people damaging her property."

"An attitude I can respect." laughed the voice. "Now, I wonder if I should devour you last of all. You seem more interesting than the other two."

"You don't want to devour us," squeaked Ronald.

"Why not?" asked the voice.

"Because there will be a pack of man-wolves under Telix coming this way soon," said Estela. "They'll track us to this cave. Then, they'll want to take us prisoner when they get here. And if we're dead, they'll take it out on killers."

"And how will they get past the cave door I've shut?" asked the voice.

"You must know how powerful Telix really is," said Relma. "They'll get it open."

"A servant, and yet you claim you are being followed by the servants of Telix," mused the voice. "Why would you warrant such treatment?"

He probably knew she was lying. But every moment he was asking her questions was a moment he wasn't eating it. "Not me. Estela. She had a run-in with Ajax, Telix's son, and he came off the worse for it."

"Well, this story is becoming very elaborate, isn't it?" asked the voice. "What were you doing fighting with Ajax anyway?"

"She was trying to rescue me as a favor to Pandora," said Relma. "More about making a name for herself than saving me, though."

"Really?" asked the voice. "And how did you escape?"

Relma shifted. "You might have noticed a fire in the woods."

"So now you've started a forest fire and angered Pandora." said the voice. "My, you are good at piecing all these things together, aren't you. Of course, I'm unsure if I should believe a word of it."

"Well, if Ajax and company find this cave, it will prove my story, won't it?" asked Relma.

"I suppose it would," admitted the voice. "I wasn't in the mood for devouring things on two legs anyway. I am Ergath, the Giant. I keep sheep in these hills."

Suddenly, five lights like small, dull suns flared to life at five points on the ceiling. Rays of light shot between them, so they took the form of a star. And their captor was revealed.