Emily Rodda - Dragon's Nest

Gasping, they half slid, half clambered, back down to the foot of the slanting rock.

‘The tide is rising,’ Lindal said, shaking water from her painted head like a dog. ‘It took longer to get here than I remembered. We must move quickly—before the Nest begins to flood. Otherwise we will have to wait in this accursed place for hours until the tide turns again.’

Together they moved forward. The sound of the waves was deafening. The cruel wind whistled around them, and every now and again they were sprayed with freezing foam.

By the time they reached the hollow they were crawling on their bellies, shivering and breathless.

They hauled themselves to the very edge. And as they looked down, they all caught their breath in shock.

Whatever they had expected to see, it was not this.

The vast, stony bowl of the Nest was completely empty, except for a small, piteous figure lying huddled in the centre.

Lief stared at the dark, curly head, the slender arms, the sprawled, furred legs tipped with delicate hoofs.

‘Rolf!’ he whispered. ‘It is Rolf! The dragon must have carried him off—brought him here. But why?’

‘Any creature finds it useful to have a little of its favourite food put aside for later,’ Lindal pointed out, gazing down at the Capricon with interest.

At that moment, Rolf’s crumpled body moved feebly.

‘He is still alive,’ breathed Jasmine.

Lief’s stomach knotted.

‘Do not call to him! Do not make a sound!’ Barda warned sharply, his eyes scanning the looming mountains. ‘The beast must be about somewhere. We do not want to alert it.’

Impulsively Lief moved to hurl himself down the sloping sides of the Nest. Barda caught and held him back.

‘No, Lief!’ Barda whispered. ‘Think! Once we are down there, we will be helpless if the dragon attacks. And I am not sure that Lindal is right. To me, the Capricon looks unpleasantly like bait.’

‘Bait?’ hissed Lief. ‘Bait for what?’

Barda shrugged. ‘Possibly for other Capricons who roam the mountains. But I suspect—I fear—bait for us.’

‘Are you mad?’ Lief struggled to tear himself free. ‘What does the ruby dragon know of us?’

‘Have you forgotten the enemy who tricked us into going to End Wood Gap?’ Barda demanded, tightening his grip. ‘What did that enemy do after we went into the Forests of Silence?’

Lief grew still. His mind was whirling.

‘What if when the ruby dragon arose, our enemy’s face was the first thing it saw, and our enemy’s voice was the first sound it heard?’ Barda demanded. ‘What if they formed some sort of alliance? To trap us, kill us, and defend the Sister of the East?’

Lief wet his lips. ‘That is impossible,’ he whispered.

‘It does not seem likely,’ Lindal agreed. ‘From what the old folk say, dragons do not form alliances—even with each other. And surely your enemy hoped you would die in End Wood? As you nearly did, in fact.’

‘He might have hoped for it, but he would not have depended upon it,’ said Barda. ‘The Shadow Lord does not tolerate mistakes by his servants.’

Lief shook his head stubbornly.

‘The dragon would not harm me,’ he said. ‘Not while I wear the Belt of Deltora. And it would never agree to defend the Sister. No dragon would tolerate such a thing in its territory. Doran said—’

‘Forget what Doran said!’ Barda broke in. ‘Who knows what might have happened to the body and brain of a beast that has slept for centuries?’

He clenched his fists. ‘You cannot argue with the proof, Lief! The dragon has been here, but it has made no attempt to find the Sister and destroy it. The Nest has not been disturbed. Not a stone is out of place.’

A giant wave smashed against the rocks beyond the Nest. Icy spray rained down. Far below them, the Capricon writhed and wailed.

‘You are all wasting time,’ Jasmine snapped. ‘This argument is pointless! We are here to destroy the Sister of the East. We know that it is somewhere in Dragon’s Nest—somewhere down there, hidden under the stones. So we must go into the Nest and dig for it. It is all very simple.’

‘Simple!’ Barda growled. ‘With a dragon lurking, and Rolf moaning and squirming around our feet?’

‘Oh, we will have to get Rolf out first, I suppose,’ Jasmine said impatiently. ‘Otherwise he will get in our way.’

‘Lief will have to go down for him,’ said Lindal, peering down at the wailing Capricon. ‘It would be too much to hope that he would co-operate with anyone else, even to save his own life.’

Jasmine nodded and turned to Lief, pulling the coil of rope she carried from her belt.

‘Barda must lower you down, Lief,’ she said. ‘The stones on the sides of the Nest look far too loose to support you. Take my rope for Rolf. Then Barda and Lindal can pull you both up together.’

Lindal grinned broadly. ‘Why, how this little mouse is ordering us about, old bear!’ she jeered, digging Barda in the ribs. ‘Are you going to take that?’

‘It seems I am,’ Barda muttered, as Lief began tying his own rope around his waist. ‘I fear I have no choice.’

17 - Fire and Water

As Jasmine had feared, there were no safe footholds on the sloping sides of the Nest. The stones slid downward the moment they were touched, setting Lief swinging at the end of the rope like a puppet. And the lower he dropped, the colder it grew, and the more he was gripped by dread.

It is the Sister, he told himself, struggling to keep his mind clear. But his teeth had begun to chatter and his heart was pounding in his chest as though it would burst.

He landed awkwardly on the floor of the Nest, sinking almost to his knees in the bed of smooth stones. Stones slipped beneath his feet, and dried weed tangled around his ankles as he stumbled towards Rolf, the end of Jasmine’s rope clutched in his hand.

The stones are deep, he thought numbly. Very, very deep. How far down is the Sister of the East? How long will it take to find it? It may not even be below the floor of the Nest. It may be in one of the sides. What then?

Waves of sickness threatened to engulf him. Every step was an effort. He realised that he had begun to stagger.

This place will defeat us, he thought suddenly. Its evil is too strong. No-one could dig in these stones for more than a few minutes at a time. We are going to fail.

Fighting despair, he reached Rolf’s crumpled body and knelt down beside him.

‘Rolf!’ he croaked, the word sticking in his throat.

With a choking cry the Capricon sat up. He snatched at Lief and clung to him, his huge violet eyes swimming with terrified tears.

‘Oh, why did you abandon me?’ he moaned. ‘The guards did not protect me! You said they would protect me, but they did not! Oh, the screams—the blood—the fire! Never will I forget it!’

‘I know, Rolf,’ Lief muttered. ‘Be still now.’

‘The dragon seized me … carried me—’ Suddenly Rolf broke off and looked around in bewilderment. ‘But where are your friends?’ he squeaked. ‘Did they not come with you?’

‘They are waiting at the top,’ said Lief briefly. With difficulty he freed his arms and began looping Jasmine’s rope around Rolf’s waist.

‘Oh!’ Rolf covered his face with his hands and rocked from side to side. ‘Oh, soon the dragon will return! We must get away!’

‘Stay still then!’ begged Lief. He pulled at the rope to make sure it was secure, then hauled Rolf to his feet and, with the last of his strength, half carried him to the side of the Nest.

Jasmine was standing up above, keeping watch. Barda and Lindal were kneeling, peering over the edge of the Nest, the ropes gripped ready in their hands.