behind, she didn’t need him now and it would teach him a lesson or two about double crossing her. But he was looking at her with such hope in his eyes, such desperation, that she couldn’t bring herself to leave him. It went against all her principles – her mother had taught her from an early age that caring for others only brought you pain – but spending years in solitude made her more open to reconsidering the rules she’d forced herself to live by. She could only cope with the loneliness for so long.
“Come on then,” Aprestine said. “Let’s get this done.”
The magic giving her a newfound confidence, she swept out of the alleyway without a backwards glance at Marcus, barely stopping to assess the streets for signs of more catchers. Out of the shelter of the alley, the wind screeched past her ears, and the rain was biting cold against her face. She was almost glad to have a warm presence at her back.
Marcus, still trotting behind her, asked, “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Of course.” Aprestine said. “There’s only one place you’ll find a dragon round here.”
She pointed into the distance. She had led them to the port, the sea stretching out endlessly in front of them. At the tip of the horizon you could just about make out the shape of a mountain, its jagged peak sticking into the sky like the prong of a sword. The mountain was situated on a small island that people rarely bothered to visit, assuming there was nothing to see except sand and stone. What they didn’t realise was that the mountain was hollow inside, containing a cavern so vast it could house a beast nearly fifteen feet high.
“How are we supposed to get over there?”
Aprestine smirked. “Watch and learn.”
She climbed down the set of stairs that led onto the docks, and was immediately greeted by the harbour master, a balding man who insisted on sucking a pipe in between sentences.
“You’re past curfew.” He said. “Shouldn’t be down here.”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” Aprestine said. “I don’t see why we should be tucked up in bed if you’re not.”
The harbour master didn’t reply. His gaze was fixed over her shoulder at something going on behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know what he was looking at, not when Marcus was stomping so loudly that the wooden planks beneath their feet shook with every step. It amazed her that he had ever managed to sneak up on her at all.
“We need a boat.” Marcus said.
Aprestine grimaced at his forthright approach.
“Do you now?” The harbour master said. “Too bad I’ve got none to spare.”
She sensed Marcus was about to open his mouth again, and she raised a hand to stop him from ruining their chances any more.
“Oh you must have one.” She took a step forward, placing a hand on the harbour master’s arm. “Just one, tiny, little boat. We can pay you.”
She nudged Marcus with her elbow, and he cleared his throat. “Sure. One gold coin.”
“Two.” Aprestine corrected. “Two gold coins.”
Her finger slid down the man’s arm, coming to rest on his wrist. His pulse quickened beneath her grasp. “Surely you can give us a boat, and your silence, for two gold coins?” She took another step towards him, her lips parted just inches away from his cheek. “Can’t you do that for me?” The wisps of hair he had left flickered under her breath.
“Yes.” He whispered. “Yes, of course.” He unhooked a set of keys from his belt. “There’s a small rowing boat moored just behind me. You can take that. The silver key unlocks the padlock on the oars.”
“You’re too kind.” Aprestine said.
She grabbed Marcus’s hand, pulling him forward as she brushed past the harbour master who was still looking a little dazed.
She found the boat easily enough, tossing Marcus the keys so he could release the oars as she took to work untying the rope that tethered the vessel to the docks.
“Two gold coins?” Marcus muttered under his breath, before adding loudly, “You’re supposed to barter with him, Aprestine, not with me!”
“Funny.” Aprestine said, finishing with the rope and sitting back in the boat as it started to drift away from the pier. “I don’t remember you paying him anything at all.”
Marcus blinked, and he stared at her for a second, open-mouthed. “That’s because I didn’t.”
“Maybe you should start rowing before he realises.” Aprestine suggested, tossing an arm outside the boat and allowing her hand to trail in the water.
Marcus shook his head and plunged the oars into the sea.
They were about half a mile out when they finally heard the harbour master cursing them from the shore.
THREE
The water was, thankfully, calm, and they reached the island within the hour. It was barely an acre wide, the shore an eclectic mix of sand and rock that lasted only a few metres before it reached the base of the mountain. The mountain itself filled the remaining land, made of a grey stone that was streaked with green, jutting upwards into the sky. It wasn’t the largest mountain in these lands, that claim went to the Adras, a series of mountains that lay to the west of Deniz, but it was certainly vaster than it appeared, for underneath the rock in front of them was layers and layers of caverns, deep underground, submerged into the sea. Aprestine could only hope the dragon was slumbering in one them, far beneath the vibrations of their feet that were sure to wake its sensitive ears otherwise.
She emerged from the boat first, analysing their surroundings as Marcus pulled the boat onto higher, flatter, land, to stop it from sinking back into the ocean and leaving them stranded. Marcus gazed at the mountain, looking a little daunted. Aprestine fought back a smirk; Marcus had always had an act-first, think-later attitude. Unfortunately for him, it seemed the thinking part of things had finally started to set in.
“Perhaps we’re rushing things.” Marcus said. “Don’t we need a weapon?”
“You have a sword, don’t you?” Aprestine said.
“Yes, but-”
“Well then.” She replied. “What more could we possibly need?”
“Why do I feel like you’re not taking this seriously?”
Aprestine stopped, turning around to face him. “Fear gets you nowhere, Marcus.” She said. “And for the record, we won’t be killing any dragons today.”
“What?” Marcus exclaimed, striding towards her, stopping just short of touching her. “What about my sister?”
Aprestine rolled her eyes. “Relax. I didn’t say we weren’t going to get your sister. But dragons can’t be killed with a regular weapon, and we haven’t got the time to go and find an enchanted one. So, we’ll just have to be stealthy.”
“Stealthy?” Marcus hissed. “That’s your grand plan? To sneak in? I could have done that without you!”
“Without me, you’d still be in Deniz trying to get a boat off a man who clearly didn’t like the look of you.”
Marcus cursed, turning away to look at their surroundings once more.
“There isn’t even a door.”
“Then you’re not looking hard enough.”
Truthfully, she’d have missed it too if she hadn’t already known where to look. The last time she’d been in this place, the door had been visible from the second you stepped foot on the island, but now it was partially obscured by a thick set of vines, their trunks as wide as Aprestine’s palms, with dagger sharp spikes protruding from them at various intervals.
Aprestine narrowed her eyes. The vines had no roots, nowhere to come from, and this door was the one and only entrance to the mountain. Whoever was feeding the dragon had to have put them there, a falsity to hide the door from prying eyes. It was almost as if they had expected visitors.
Aprestine unsheathed Marcus’s sword for him, prompting a sharp gasp of “Hey!”, as she wielded the weapon and began hacking at the plant. She wasn’t as strong as she used to be, and she grunted with the effort of slicing through the vines, their green skin as thick as elephant hide.
“Ap
restine, let me…” Marcus placed a hand on her arm just as the final vine gave way, the plant breaking clean in two to reveal the door underneath. The wood was starting to rot in places, and as Aprestine ran a hand over it bits of timber flaked off, dusting her dress like ashes from a fire.
“What are you doing?” Marcus asked.
“Checking for heat.” She replied. Dragon breath could be felt from an age away. The wood beneath her palm felt cool to the touch, and once she was reasonably satisfied that they weren’t going to find the dragon sitting right in the doorway, she pushed the door open. It swung open easily, as though the rusty joints on the hinges were just a ruse. Aprestine pursed her lips. They stepped inside, Aprestine leading the way, and a rush of stale air hit her in the face, causing her to turn her nose away in disgust. Something in the mountain was definitely rotting.
Once she was used to the odour, she turned back towards the dark passageway, whispering a few words of magic to create a glowing ball that floated in her hand. It illuminated the passage – barely - but she couldn’t afford to make it any bigger. If Marcus asked, she would say it was so she didn’t draw unnecessary attention to their whereabouts. The truth of it was that she didn’t want to waste any of the magic he had given her on this mission of his.
“Where now?” Marcus whispered in her ear.
“This way.” Aprestine said, leading him down the path, running her hand along the stone walls to help feel her way through the bleakness. “There’s a small antechamber