Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon (11 page)

They were weather wolves that had attached Aaron before. They had the same red glowing eyes and a jaw full of sharp teeth. The wolves stood on two legs and made agonizing growling noises.

Everyone reached for their weapons except Flynn who was looking for a place to hide. Dan was the first one to make a move; pulling his sword out he jumped and reached for one of the wolves but missed. The wolf growled and pushed Dan to the ground. Ony gave a grunt and with his axe, he hit one of the wolves on its feet. The wolf cried in pain and tried to hit Ony but he ducked and the wolf fell on the ground. Aaron too had his sword in hand, but he did not know what to do. A wolf came towards him growling. With a swing of his sword he cut off the wolf‘s right arm but this only made the wolf madder. With its other hand, it grabbed Aaron by the neck and chocked him.

Aaron couldn’t breathe for a moment. But, suddenly to his surprise, the wolf gave another cry of pain and let go of his neck.  The wolf had a knife stuck to his eyes; it writhed in pain, rolled around and fell on the ground. Another wolf also fell on the ground with a knife in its eye. Aaron then spotted Flynn sitting on a tree, throwing knifes at the wolves.

Dan and Ony sprang to their feet and were now fighting the rest of the wolves. Aaron felt brave and ran towards a wolf yelling. He was caught by another wolf midway and he tripped suddenly, his sword fell far away from him.

He heard a cry and then Ony came flying towards him and fell on his right leg.

“Ony, Ony wake up!” he tried to move the giant off his legs but he couldn’t.

Aaron looked around, five big wolves were around Dan and he was fighting them alone. He wanted to help Dan but he couldn’t move as he was stuck under Ony. He tried to reach for his sword.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his left thigh and let out a cry. The wolf Aaron fought was lying next to him with its only hand and one good eye. It had dug its claws deep into his thighs and was not letting go. The pain was unbearable.

A louder howl came from nearby. The wolf suddenly withdrew its claws and left Aaron alone. Slowly, it moved towards the other wolves.

Aaron looked at Dan, holding onto his thigh. Dan’s mouth was wide open, he had a terrified expression on his face “No…” his said loudly.

Aaron looked in the same direction Dan was looking. Flynn had fallen on the ground. The wolves must have pulled him down from the tree. In front of Flynn stood a much bigger and hairy creature, the wolves gathered around the big creature.

Aaron couldn’t keep his eyes open, the pain spread to his head. “You shouldn’t have come with us Flynn” he whispered, with tears in his eyes, he blacked out.

Chapter 9

The Blue Mountains

Aaron opened his eyes. He didn’t remember how long it had been. He was sleeping on a bed inside a dreamy house, draped in silky white covers. The bed was small, but comfortable. The room was large and had many shelves on the walls. There was a large table with some strange apparatus kept on it. And the other two smaller tables were empty. There were two small armchairs kept next to him. The room had a beautiful aroma like the smell of fresh spring. Aaron’s face lighted up as he remembered the spring in his village. Open fields, colorful flowers and the trees full of fruits.

“How are you feeling now?” came a sweet voice from near his head. He turned his head to see but he couldn’t. The fragrance of the spring was getting stronger now.

An angel like figure appeared in front of him. His vision was still dizzy. The figure had hair of pure gold and was draped in a white gown that flowed to the ground. In her hair, she wore white and pink Alabas flowers. She moved gracefully in front of Aaron. Her voice was sweet as nectar.

“Am I in heaven?” He murmured under his breath.

He then heard a giggling and the girl ran out through the door. She was of the same age as Aaron. He heard the girl say “He is awake, come soon!”

Aaron realized that he was not dead yet. His vision was getting clearer and he could see a lot more properly now. He tried to move his hands and legs. As he moved his left leg he felt a pain but it was not as bad as before. His head hurt like he was asleep for many days. He slowly sat up against the headboard with some effort.

Dan walked into the room. He was dressed differently, mostly in white and there was no weapon on him. He looked much calmer.

“Thank God! You are ok! How do you feel now?” Dan sat next to Aaron, he looked relieved.

“The pain is still there, but I feel much better” said Aaron.

“A wound like this one will take some time to heal” remarked Dan.

Aaron remembered everything that happened.

“How did I survive the wolves? What about Flynn? And Ony?“ Aaron became restless.

“You should not stress yourself, it’s not good for you!” somebody said as he walked in. Aaron saw an old man with long white beard and a white robe that touched the floor. The man was standing tall but his eyes showed his age. His silvery hair sparkled in the sun.

Dan stood up immediately and said “I will go and inform the others”. He then left the room.

The old man pulled a chair and sat next to Aaron. Aaron felt a sudden sense of calm as his headache was melting away. There was some kind of an energy field around the old man and Aaron could feel it strongly. He was a little intimidated by the old man’s appearance.

But he finally asked “Who are you?”

The old man smiled “Young boy full of questions...I know, I know” said the old man.

Aaron said nothing but watched the old man in amazement, he looked exceptionally contented. He had a voice was of a middle aged man. It felt like his body had aged, but he had not.

“I will answer all the questions you have, but not now. Now, you shall eat and rest” he got up to leave but then turned towards Aaron and said “For now, all you need to know is that you are in my house and you are safe”

“
Safe?
“ thought Aaron. He had been attacked twice and nearly killed once, there was no comfort in the word safe anymore.

The girl who he thought to be an angel, was now standing at the door with a trey of food and a small jug. She walked to the smaller table and kept the trey on it. She then took a smaller plate to serve onto it. The old man noticed Aaron staring at her.

“My dear boy, this is Jane. She is the one who has been taking care of you. You should be thankful to her” saying this, the old man gave Jane a gentle grin and left.

Jane brought the plate to Aaron and handed it to him. Aaron was still mesmerized by her charm and couldn’t speak. He ate the delicious fruits and the sweet smelling bread. Jane sat on the chair right next to him. Both said nothing. After finishing his food, Aaron gave the plate back to Jane. She gave him a small glass to drink from. The water in the glass was sparkling. After drinking it, he felt his strength coming back. He looked at Jane when she was not looking and quickly looked away as she looked back at him.

“Would you like more food?” Jane asked in her sweet voice. He nodded his head in a ‘no’. As she was about to leave the room, Aaron said “ Thank You!”

Jane stopped and looked at Aaron and asked “For what?”

“For taking care of me while I was hurt”

Jane smiled, Aaron couldn’t think of another name for her than Angel. Her cheeks went pink and she said “You are most welcome!” and hurried out of his room.

Aaron eyes followed her, her pretty golden blonde hair bounced on her shoulders as she walked. She was gone, but Aaron stared at the door and wished that she would come back.

He heard heavy boots coming his way. Ony entered the room with open arms, happy and round. He too was dressed in white.

“It’s good to see you alright boy” Ony almost crushed him with his arms. His hands were twice the size of a normal man. Aaron struggled to hug him back.

“I am so happy to see you too Ony!  How did you manage to get away from the wolves and what about Flynn? Is he hurt?”

“Everything turned out ok boy, your friend is alright” said Ony.

This bought relief to Aaron “Where is he?” he asked.

“He is here..” before Ony could finish, Flynn came rushing into the room.

“Aaron!”

“Flynn!”

“You are fine, I got so worried!” said Flynn giving Aaron a tight hug. “How’s your leg now?”

“It feels much better. But how did you get out of the forest, I saw many wolves around you” Aaron asked.

Flynn exchange glances with Ony. Ony shook his head.

“You should rest now boy. We will talk again soon” Ony said.

Aaron opened his mouth to say something but Jane walked in and Aaron stopped. Both Ony and Flynn looked at Aaron. Aaron was staring at her without blinking. Flynn gave a smirk and Ony stood up.

“I think Aaron is in good hands and we should come back later” said Ony.

Ony walked out of the room and signed Flynn to do the same. Flynn followed Ony without saying anything. His eyes went from Aaron to Jane and then back to Aaron again.

Aaron took no notice of the men as he was gazing at Jane.

“Your friends are very nice!” said Jane as she gave Aaron a small glass filled with a blue color potion. “Flynn told me all about how bravely you fought the wolves!” she said.

Aaron felt a sudden blush all over him. He gulped the medicine in one go. Even though the medicine tasted pungent, he managed to keep a straight face. He couldn’t find anything to say to Jane. He watched her leave again. For some reason, he felt like he was floating on a cloud.

Sleep overcame him and soon and he drifted off in the land of dreams. He was flying in the sky and looking for Jane. Jane sat in the green fields giggling and playing with many other maidens. This sweet dream lasted only a little while. He saw Jane running, she was scared. A huge hairy beast was chasing her. Aaron couldn’t find his sword, he was calling her name in vain.

Aaron opened his eyes and realized how his dream had turned into a nightmare. He sat upright on his bed. It was dark outside now but his room was lit by many candles. ‘Jane must have put all these here’ He thought to himself and smiled.

He moved his legs, he couldn’t feel any pain. He examined his leg closely. The bandages were still there but the pain had vanished. He slowly tried to stand up and then walked across the room for some time. He felt like he had found a new strength in himself.

Aaron opened the door of his room and realized that it was a part a large house. The corridors were lit by strange white lamps and the house looked like heaven indeed. Aaron came out and opened a few doors in the corridor. The rooms were similar to the room Aaron was in, but some were smaller and some were really huge. The rooms were all empty with minimal decoration, mostly white and golden.

Suddenly, something caught his eyes. He saw a small shadow moving at a distance. He tiptoed and followed the shadow. He saw a very odd small creature. It disappeared inside one of the rooms. Aaron stood near the door of the room the creature had gone into. He then slowly opened the door and entered the room. It was a big room that expanded into many galleries which were separated by wooden shelves. Aaron walked around the shelves but could not find anyone there.

There were many glass bottles of every shape and size. They were all filled with colorful potions and were kept on the shelves. There were some glass tubes and containers kept on a table in the corner. There was some kind of a liquid bubbling and smoking in one of the containers there. The room was filled with a strange smell that made him nauseous.

“What do you think you are doing here?” said a thin voice.

“Do you understand the meaning of a secret room?” another voice joined in.

Aaron turned around but couldn’t see anyone. For a moment, he thought that he was hallucinating.

“Excuse me! No strangers allowed here.” the first voice came again.

Aaron looked down. There were two small creatures standing in front of him, wearing long robes. They looked like gnomes, but had no beards. They had very thin bodies and wore long pointed hats. They also had bright green robes and wore a large belt around their waist. Both of them had their arms crossed over their chest and looked very angry.

“I ... I am sorry. I was looking for my friends” Aaron was not sure who or what was he talking to.

“It’s the boy” another voice came from behind him.

“The boy?!” both creatures looked at each other.

Within seconds, Aaron was surrounded by many more such creatures. He didn’t know if he should be afraid or not. They started to climb on Aaron. They checked his hair, his face, clothes and his ears. They were very curious.

“Hey! What do you want? Stop doing that. Get off me” Aaron shouted as he pulled one of them from his head.

The creatures quickly came down and hid behind the shelves. Aaron din not want to scare them, so he kneeled down and said politely, “I didn’t mean to shout at you. But, who are you? I have never seen anything like you guys before”

Some of them came out slowly and stood next to Aaron. The one with really long ears said “We are Nomes; we make things for our master”

“Nomes?! Where do you come from?” Aaron was surprised.

“Our master made us” said one of them.

“Made you?! What do you mean, made you?” asked Aaron.

“Yes! He made us, through Magic” said the Nome.

‘
Magic!
’ Aaron thought. He instantly understood that he was in a wizard’s house. And the old man he saw earlier was the wizard of the Blue Mountains that he had heard in the tales.

“Why did you call me the boy?” Aaron asked.

“Because, you are the boy the prophecy foretold”

“There is a prophecy?! And I am in it?” Aaron jumped and came closer to the Nomes.

“Yes!” they all said cheerfully.

Suddenly, a cracking sound came from another room and all the Nomes looked in that direction with their mouths hanging open.

“What was that?” Aaron asked.

“The eggs! the eggs! They have started to hatch!” one of them said alarmed.

“What eggs?” Aaron’s voice was lost in the cries of the Nomes.

All the Nomes ran towards a small hole in the wall and ducked down and went through it.