Deep throbbing pain clung to her muscles as she landed harshly on a soft pile of fallen sand. Emoriah raised her neck and coughed out the small grits of sand that coated her dry throat.
Blimey! Where was she?
Emoriah felt hot tears stream down her flushed cheeks from her dry hacking earlier, as she pushed herself to her trembling feet. Her red fiery necklace was the only illumining light in the cave she had tumbled in.
Emoriah felt a slight fear hit her chest, as she looked above her examining the extensive height she had fallen. It seemed night had approached for the entrance above was dark despite the twinkling stars winking from the heavens.
Emoriah glided her fingertips over the rough uneven earth wall before a daunting memory rushed it's way back through her mind.
Asita!
Emoriah fell to her knees and ran her fingers over the soft sand searching for her dragon. Worry tightened coldly in her chest like frozen drops of fallen rain, as she felt her breaths quicken in pace.
As she neared the other end of the dirt wall her fingers graced a scaly tail attached to a small body. Clutching the dragon to her chest she sank to her arse and leaned against the sodden wall.
Was she alive?
Emoriah shined her fiery necklace over Asita's scales and examined her petite frame. It seemed she had hit her head slightly on the tumble down, but she was definitely alive. Breathing deeply in relief Emoriah closed her eyes and soaked up the musty earth air around them.
Blast! Now, what was she to do?
Emoriah groaned irritably as she stood back to her foozling feet. She softly slid her precious cargo into her pocket, before glancing around the dark haunting room
There had to be a way out.....
Emoriah placed her hand on the smooth dirt wall and walked along feeling for an exit out. Suddenly her hand touched open-air sending her tumbling less graceful than she desired to the floor.
Cursing she stood to her feet and held her necklace further away from her. A tunnel void of any light stood barely illuminated in the scarlet shine.
Emoriah felt her foot take a step further in the dusky tunnel before her mind reeled back to the present.
There was no way in hell she was going in there.
Though her body seemed to ignore her thoughts, as she felt her feet step further and further in the shady gloom.
Blast! Blast! Blast!!
What the hells was wrong with her?
Something tugged on her heart from within the shadows of the hall pulling at her heartstrings as a sirens call. Clutching Asita's thin leathery body between her slender hands she cursed softly to herself.
Minutes tolled by as fast as she hesitantly measured pace. The looming shadows ahead gave daunting visions to were to the tunnel may lead out only further spreading Emoriah's anxiety.
Asiata now awakened and alarmed of their whereabouts laid curled in Emoriah's pocket like a frightened kitten.
Jollocks! For all, she knew this tunnel could lead to a lair of bloodthirsty crocs.
Turning another dingy bend, she spotted white light ahead. Excitement stole her next breath, as she quickened her steps to be released from the cold grasping darkness.
Stepping from the shadows with her diminutive hand covering her eyes Emoriah examined the sight before for her.
Bloody..... hell.
Glistening fresh water spilled from an opening above raining a small spring of delicate warm drops, as brilliant unworldly light shone from above.
It took moments for Emoriah's eyes to adjust to the beaming light but when the small black dots vanished from her sight she spotted bright glowing jewels.
Their beauty and brightness sent sparkles over the clear gurgling water in heaping magnitudes.
Asita flew around in elegant swoops her scales gleaming brightly. Emoriah smiled at the sight before bending down towards the spring.
Soothing steam raised from the pure water sending a not so pleasant reflection back to her.
A thin grimy young girl stared back at Emoriah with a dirt-streaked face, and mass of mangled fiery curls at her head.
Fantastic.
Emoriah splashed her reflection and glanced at the inviting warm water below her.
A few minutes would suffice.
Emoriah stripped from her stained clothing and stepped slowly into the relishing calm spring. The pleasant temperature of the water did wonders to her body, as she felt it swirl and slid past her bare flesh.
Dirt and sand slid easily of her skin, as she scrubbed with her thin fingers. Her hair was a whole different ordeal. Minutes flew by as she separated the mangy tangles that seemed as if they were glued together.
She was holding a loose fiery curl when a shining object below the shimmering water caught her attention.
Three alluring lustrous oval-shaped rocks glowed from the deeper end of the spring sending her heart into overdrive. A thick need spread throughout her hands, as she stepped towards the unfathomable end and dove in.
The stones glittered and reflected bright little lights in the water, as Emoriah pushed herself further with her legs. The desired feeling grew with fierce intensity the closer she reached her destination.
With her hands trembling in anticipation she curled her fingers around a deep cerulean stone. The second her fingers graced its hard surface a sharp biting zap zinged through her fingers, and down to her toes in a warm zapping electrical current.
Of all daft cows........
It wasn't a blasted stone! It was an egg!!
Emoriah kicked back up to the surface and spat the water that had leaked down her throat. She gently carried her new treasure to the disarrayed mess on the rock flooring. Gathering her clothes with her free hand she wrapped the egg in her loose sock.
Another dragon. She had another flipping dragon.
Laughing to herself she walked back to the gushing spring and gazed at the last two sparkling eggs gleaming from the bottom.
How was she to get them out without touching them?
An idea then sprung from the back of her mind.
She needed her other sock.
Emoriah broke from the water and sucked in oxygen with desperate haggard breaths, as her hands were wrapped tightly around the black soggy sock containing her two vibrant eggs.
Carrying them over to her pile of soiled clothing she laid them beside the deep blue egg and examined them in awe.
One of the two eggs she brought up was a dazzling fiery red that seemed to burn even in the water, while the other was a lovely purple.
She had four dragons........
Four scaly reptiles who could fly and bite toes and fingers off.
Was this something she desired?
A sharp prick at her shoulder snapped her from her thoughts, as she lifted her head and met Asita's startling blue gaze. Asita scurried from her shoulder and down her arm with little sharp pinches of her claws, before a small snort blew from her scaly snout as Asita sniffed the eggs in curiosity.
You've bonded.
Emoriah flinched from the sudden tinkling voice in her mind, before spotting Asita beside the cerulean egg.
Of course, how could I forget that lovely finger numbing pain it presented me.
Emoriah scooped the small egg in her hand and examined the fine crisscrossing lines of silver and white adorning its cold surface.
What was it that Xavier her book stated about blue dragons.......
Emoriah racked her weary brain for any clues but her mind was filled with rooms of dusty cobwebs.
They echo.
Echo.... what the hill berry does that mean?
Emoriah stroked her dragon's small scaly head, before forming her words.
"How could you possibly remember that?"
Asita leaned her small frame into Emoriah's hand with a quiet growling purr.
I didn't you did. I just offered a small push in the right direction.
"I see....."
So..... she was telepathic and sidekick.
Emoriah raised her drenched sock in the air watching fat warm drops fall from the bulging weight of the eggs inside and tied them tightly around a loop hanging loosely from her faded jeans.
There.
Pulling her clothes from the floor she struggled on pulling her aged jeans, as the dripping heavy sock kept tugging them down her boney frame.
Once dress she snatched the cerulean egg from the dirt floor and tucked it into her warm fuzzy pocket with a slight smack of her palm.
That should do it.
Standing straight she examined the cavern around them.
One steaming hot spring. Check.
Millions of bright sparkling crystals. Check.
Two exits. Check.
Wait......two exits!!
Emoriah snapped her head back and forth between the two dark passageways in slight unamused irritation.
Which one did they exit?
Bloody hell!! How could she know the exits were pathed only a few feet away from each other?
Grumbling lowly under her breath she approached the pathway on the left. A gust of cold biting wind blew past her slender frame tossing her damp curls around her head in a frantic dance.
Emoriah felt Asita land on her shoulder her sharp little claws burrowing into her jacket, as an alarmed growl ripped from her throat.
"Asita?"
A soft rustle against the dirt floor beyond snapped Emoriah's attention back to the icy pathway.
What the hells was that?
The rustling quickly grew louder in rhythm like a band of rambunctious children scuffing their shoes. Emoriah stepped back with her heart pounding, as three massive shadows appeared from around the unilluminated bend.
Extensive snapping snouts appeared from the bleak shadows, as multiple furious yellowed eyes grounded her to place. A heavy stank filled the fresh air in the cavern the further they stepped in with their long needle-like claws.
Moles?
There were flipping giant moles now??
The mole on the left snorted loudly delivering a mass of thick white snot at Emoriah's feet.
Fantastic!
Emoriah pursed her lips as they sniffed the air with their long drooling noses.
They must not see her.
A puff of foul air blew at her face initiating a small shriek to leave her lips. She quickly cupped her trembling lips, as the mole's wet nose made its way closer to her. A low growl emanated from its small mouth, as all yellowed eyes landed on her.
Prat.
A strong smell of sewage made way to her nose as they all opened their mouths to growl at her. Emoriah plugged her nose and stepped back with soft timid steps. She felt hot drops of sweat slide down her brow stinging her cheeks, as they fell.
The Mole who had spotted her first swung its long sniffer in her direction catching her waist and throwing her harshly down at the dirt floor, before advancing in slow scraping steps.
Asita growled lowly from being thrown back her claws digging into Emoriah's bare skin in fright.
She wasn't going to die.
Not without a fight.
Emoriah pushed herself to her feet in determination with a small rock clutched between her fingers.
"Get out of here uglies! Shoo."
Throwing the rock, she watched as her aim narrowly missed their fuzzy heads and smashed into the earthy wall behind them.
Blast!
Their lengthy nails scratched at the soft dirt beneath her feet, while they bared their sharp yellowed teeth down on her with wicked gleams in their monstrous eyes.
uh oh.
Emoriah scanned for another pointy weapon when she heard a soft whooshing in the air followed by a wet contact of hard flesh. The mole to her right swayed on its flabby paws before face-planting with a bright arrow protruding from its back.
What the....bugger?
At the sight of their fallen mole brother the grinding of their teeth only grew louder, as they tossed their extensive wet noses to the ceiling in a clamorous shivering screech.
An impenetrable glossy appendage rose from their arse's coiling and twitching like the tail of a poisonous scorpion.
Bloody.....
"Get back." A firm feminine voice demanded, from behind.
Emoriah stumbled over her feet, as a small warm hand pushed her shoulder back. Glancing up swiftly she met the steady green gaze of a fair golden-haired young woman before her.
"Stay by the spring." She whispered earnestly, her dazzling emerald orbs stunning Emoriah to silence.
Who was she? Why was she here? Where did she get that......bow?
Blood pooled in sticky scarlet puddles from another massive reeking mole its face mushed to the earth, as bright colorful adornments covered its back.
The women stepped on the deceased mole and ripped a shining magenta arrow from its back without a care in the world, as more thick blood covered her fair skin. Nocking it swiftly the woman released the arrow at the last creature hitting it squarely in the eye.
A vibrating thud shook the small cave slightly as the mole fell to its side with glazed eyes.
Blimey...
Emoriah watched with a churning stomach, as the fair woman danced around pulling her arrows from the mole's thick skin with a sickening pop.
"Let's go, there might be more Akrabbim nearby." The woman stated, with a bundle of stained arrows clutched between her arms.
..
"Who are you."
They had taken the tunnel on the right shortly after the woman washed her splattered arrows in the spring. The tunnel still held the cold unbarring darkness Emoriah remembered but the hot need she felt earlier was absent. All she desired was a hot cup of decent tea to forget the burning smells of death and blood.
"Shay. I was sent to receive you, Miss." Emoriah glanced over and met Shay's luminous jade eyes in curiosity.
"By whom?"
Shay softly smiled and moved her golden curtain of hair behind her slender pointed ears. "I'll explain later."
Explain later!! What the bloody hell was going on?
A thick rope hung from the towering sandy opening at the top, as the first rays of sunrise warmed Emoriah skin.
"I'll climb first."
Emoriah watched in puzzled fascination as the woman jumped five feet in the air and snatched the swinging rope with her small hands. Using her feet, the woman scurried up the rope like a monkey, within seconds Emoriah watched, as Shay pulled her nimble body towards the opening spilling soft grains of sand below in her wake.
"Come 'on Miss. Emoriah shows me what you got." Shay said, amusedly from the top.
You can do this.
Wiping the sweat from her fingers Emoriah jumped and grabbed the rough rope with her hands. A soft burning pain pulled at her arms from baring her weight.
Don't give up. Come on pull!
Gripping the rope harder she moved her hand further up the coarse twine. Emoriah bit her lip firmly as the skin on her fingers were rubbed raw from holding her weight. She had almost let go when a harsh tug on the rope broke her from her thoughts.
"Hold on." Shay voiced out in determination.
Emoriah gripped the rope and held tightly as she was pulled to the warm sands above.
"Give me your hand!"
Emoriah bite her tongue with strong willpower, as she flapped her arm up. A sharp yank jolted her body, as she was flung to the sand on her face.
How lovely.
"You alright?"
Emoriah raised her head and spat the gritty grains of sand from her teeth.
"Just peachy."
A light harmonious laugh pulled from Shay's rosy lips, as great amusement lit her emerald eyes.
Fantastic, now she was the amusement.
"Laugh all you want. I know you're not human."
Shay's eyes widened at her statement, as her lips parted in surprise. "What gave it away."
Emoriah was suspicious the moment she met the blessedly fair young woman. I mean who carried a giant wooden bow around these parts of town? But what really made her apprehensive was Shay's slender elf-life ears. There was no way she could have bought those at a costume shop.
"Numerous body parts. What I want to know, is what are you?"
Shay slung her bow over her back and stared at Emoriah in bewildered curiosity.
"You know it's rather impudent to ask someone "what they are" but you're still a child I see."
Shay beckoned Emoriah to follow with her slender finger, as a diminutive smile danced at the corners of her full lips.
"I'm a Fae Miss. Emoriah."
..
The woman beside her walked with such elegant grace and poise that Emoriah felt out of place walking so close to her. Her long golden hair blew from the breeze of the sea catching her long thick lashes that rimmed her dazzling eyes, before falling over her shoulder in blonde waves.
How was it possible for her to be so.....strikingly beautiful.
As they reached Aunt Jane's house Emoriah noticed something seemed quite off. The house was silent with shadowed eerie darkness as if every light in the house had been turned off.
The sun had not quite peaked its level of filling the sky with bright light. So, it seemed puzzling that the house was as dark as it was.
Emoriah snapped her eyes to the trees, as she caught something moving. A dark figure danced across the rim of trees with silently unnerving steps, before vanishing in the shadows. A deep chill shook Emoriah's body.
What the hells was that?
Shay cocked her head and breathed in the air heavily, before glancing at Emoriah with slight distress in her jade eyes.
"Emoriah get inside now."
---------------------------------------------------------------
It's getting more intense. I knoww. But hold on to your seats, because their almost there. Their almost in Aron.
Till next time!!