The Dragon Knight; The Secrets of the Desert

The Secrets of the Desert (Chapter 2)

     The longer I sat there the more I began to understand why the people in Delstaten Solen were so keen on the sun. The darkness was battling constantly again the light coming from the stone and the light ball floating in front of me. At times it seemed to be winning, and otherwise it was doing its very best to push it the furthest away as possible.

     In Tanah Bulan, we loved the moon and stars, the symbols of our Goddess, Tien. Darkness was needed to see those symbols. It gave me a sense of home and safety. But even I was beginning to yearn for the sun and its light and heat. And that was saying something, coming from me. But this darkness wasn’t naturel. Something about it made me think it was magic. Nothing could be this dark.

     Waiting was the hardest part. I had to wait for the sun to rise and the light to show me where to go. Didn’t it occur to whoever carved those lines in the stone that they were in a cave with no sun?! That the sun wouldn’t rise? There would be no light to show me where to go. But if someone had been here before they might have found a way out. And that was what I wanted above all right now.

     So if that meant I would have to be patient then I would be patient.

     As I waited I thought about how the sand had opened up beneath me. The landing had seemed to be minutes later, the blow knocking me unconscious, but I still remembered the long fall. I was still surprised I wasn’t hurt more that my leg where the bone had been. And the way the Desert had closed above me like that? That wasn’t naturel. That was magic.

     A lot of things about this place were linked to magic. I didn’t like it.

     Suddenly there was a loud noise behind me. I jumped up and turned around but of course there was only the dark tunnel. But I listened carefully as I stared right at the dark hole in the wall of the cave. There was something coming, I could feel the ground trembling. It was a big something that was coming. I wondered what it was because I hadn't seen anything while I was in there and there was no other passage it could have possibly come out of.

     Or maybe it was Zjarr. Maybe the Desert had opened up under her as well and had she been sucked in. Maybe Robin was with her. That would be the best. If they found me now I wouldn't have to be alone any longer in this darkness. And right now there was nothing I wanted more. I hated this darkness. Not knowing what was hiding right in front of me was scary.

     As the trembling got worse and worse, I thought I saw light ahead in the tunnel. And I heard voices, no not voices, only one. A female voice. I couldn't make out what she was saying yet but at the moment I didn't care. Someone was coming to me. I wouldn't be alone any longer. But what was the trembling. It left like the times Zjarr didn't try to make her landing as unnoticeable as possible.

     It still seemed to take several minutes for the light to get to me. It became bigger and brighter, and the voice became more understandable. But I didn't understand what she was saying. Or who she was talking to. Eventually the light got really bright, forcing me to close my eyes before the intensity lessened.

     When I opened my eyes, I was ready to scream on the top of my lungs. But I didn't. Maybe they hadn't seen me let. I crouched down behind the ledge I had fallen off and slightly peered over the edge. There was a girl standing in the opening of the tunnel. And sticking out of it just above her head was the giant head of a dragon.

     On closer inspection, my brain slowly started to recognize the girl. It took a while because she herself was the source of the light; she was entirely glowing herself. Really spectacular. But I recognized the way her hair was braided, although slightly loose, the way she looked at everything around her, the way she stood even.