The Bones of the Earth (The Dark Age) by Scott Bury Page B

bleeding by the time they reached a small, flat area covered with loose stones. There was no going farther. Ahead, the cliff rose sheer again, straight up to a height Javor couldn’t guess at. Behind, getting darker already in the setting sunlight, Javor could see the country stretching out, rivers like ribbons, trees fading into meadows and pastures.
    They put their packs down on the plateau. Where now?
    Photius just stared at the rock wall. It seemed deeply scored, as if it had been raked by claws the size of oak trees. To one side, a thin stream fell from the shadowed heights above, falling with a tiny sound far below. Other than that and the wind whistling around the crags, the silence was complete. No bird sang, no insects buzzed. Javor couldn’t even bring himself to speak for fear of breaking the silence.
    Photius lifted his arms over his head. He spoke in a strange language—not Greek, or not what Javor believed was Greek. It sounded, somehow, very old, ancient as the rocks in front of him. “ Ad natha rim bach, al nath roh-on !” he cried. And then, among the cracks and striations on the rock wall, Javor saw a deep cleft.
    “ Hey! Is that a cave there? Why didn’t I see that before?” He realized that he was whispering.
    “ Hush! I have opened the monster’s lair. It is within.” Photius put his hands on Javor’s shoulders and spoke more words in that ancient language. “I have put such spells of protection on us both as I know,” he said. “They may not do much against the monster’s claws or teeth, but against any foul magic here that may cloud our eyes or our minds or prevent us from entering, or worse, leaving, they should protect us for at least a short time. Now is the hour, my boy. Now is time for you to attempt your revenge. For this monster is not invincible, not immortal. It can be killed and sent back to the pit that spawned it, if the right man attempts it. Are you such a man?”
    Javor’s knees felt weak, his stomach churned, even his testicles felt cold and vulnerable. I can’t do this. I’m not a warrior! The cave gaped like a beast’s maw, and for the first time, he believed the story of the monster that killed his parents and so many others in the village. Involuntarily, he took a step back. His hands shook.
    But then he saw his father’s body across the threshold, his mother broken in front of her own oven. He lifted his axe.
    “ No, Javor. Not the axe. The old knife. Your great-grandfather’s knife.” Javor drew it from its sheath and looked again at the strange markings on it. They gleamed, catching the light of the sinking sun like running fire.
    They heard a shriek from behind them. Javor spun to see a dark, winged something falling toward them from the sky, filling more and more of his vision. A saurian maw gaped to show long, terrifying teeth. “Dragon! Run!” shouted Photius, and together they flung themselves into the cave. Javor scraped his chin on the cave floor, and turned just in time to see a long, reptilian shape sweep past the entrance to the cave, screaming in rage and frustration.
    “ Was—was that it?” Javor panted. “The monster that killed my parents?”
    “ No,” Photius panted in reply. He was as shaken as Javor. “No, that was a dragon. They often live in mountains. I did not know there was a dragon in these parts. However, the monster that we seek is within this cave, so we had best keep our voices down.”
    You are the one doing all the talking, old man.
    The cave was narrow, so Javor went in front. The last of the dying daylight did not penetrate very deep, but a strange pale light came from the top of Photius’ walking staff. They could see the sides of the cave were wet, dripping with a foul-smelling moisture. “Do not touch the wall, Javor!” Photius warned. Javor tried to draw his shoulders in. His skin crawled when he thought of the liquid on the cave wall touching him.
    There was a heat coming from within, and soon he was sweating.