Chapter 22
The Beginning of the End
All thought and emotion vanished momentarily as Echo watched the first of the creatures emerge from the cavern. A giant head, covered with silver scales, protruded from the entrance. A long, scaled neck snaked behind it, followed by the colossal body of a full grown dragon. Song laughed musically as she approached to the dragon without fear.
Echo was frozen to her spot. Only in her wildest dreams did she ever think she’d lay eyes on a real dragon. Its scales caught the sun, sending shafts of colorful light into the air; talons bigger than Shimmer’s head dug into the earth, leaving large holes in their wake. It was the most magnificent thing Echo had ever seen. After staring in awe for several minutes, she was finally distracted by Shimmer’s snorting. Echo hugged her horse’s neck. It still doesn’t compare to you! she reassured her jealous horse.
The dragon lowered its enormous but delicately shaped head toward Song. The fairy stroked its face--the only smooth part of its body that Echo could see. Plumes of silvery smoke--no, mist--floated from its nostrils as a contented rumbling sounded from its throat. Fascinated, Echo approached. The dragon’s glassy eye fixed on her, but it remained calm under Song’s touch. Echo reached through the surprisingly cold mist rising from the dragon’s snout. The smooth face was like cool stone. “She is an ice dragon. Her breath can freeze her prey if she chooses,” Song explained.
The girls stroked the dragon for a long while, reveling in its powerful beauty. Then they stepped back and the dragon stretched its wings, covering the entire clearing like a giant tent. It crouched low, crumbling dirt and rock with its talons, and then thrust itself upward with powerful muscles. A blast of wind nearly knocked them down as the dragon pumped its wings and took flight.
Echo was delighted to see four more dragons emerge from the cavern; a red one and a gold one, both with breath of fire; a green one with scales that gleamed like emeralds; and a blue one that outshined the sapphire sky to which it flew. They each took their turn pushing against the earth and vaulting themselves into the sky, turning the ground to a pile of dust. Their core-penetrating cries sounded through the air as they left, bugling their arrival to all of Shae Vale. The wolfix yipped and howled, sending their treasures off with joyous farewells. And then the dragons were gone.
The stillness that followed was deafening. Echo felt suddenly sad. She’d finally seen dragons, but the time had been too brief. She longed for them to return so she could gaze at them for hours on end. Turning to Song, she asked, “Where did they go? Will we see them again? How did you approach them? Why didn’t they kill us?”
Song’s face held a peaceful contentment. “All fae folk have connections to dragons. It has been so for centuries. And, I believe we will see them again someday. They have gone to help with the battle against Degus. We must celebrate, for the defender, Ayden Green, will soon face her. And now he has the weapon to stop her. Shae Vale will finally be freed from her clutches!”
Echo’s heart dropped like a rock, hitting the bottom of her stomach with nauseating force. “No. No, he can’t defeat Degus! Not yet!” Her mind raced with Dorian’s and Cage’s words. If Degus is defeated, nothing will keep Belzac from completing his army and attacking Thildin Valley.
“We have to go! Shimmer, let’s go!” Echo leapt to Shimmer’s back. They had to get to the Fate, and fast! It was her only hope of saving Brecker and stopping the shadow dwellers’ attack on her home.
Song’s face was serious and confused. “I do not understand. What is wrong?”
“I don’t have time to explain. I have to get to the top of the mountain,” Echo said urgently. She looked down at the beautiful fairy. Realizing that in their short time together Song had become more to her than a woodland fae, Echo dismounted and hugged her new friend. “Thank you for everything.” A pang of loneliness hit as they parted. Echo would miss Song and her beautiful strength.
The fairy looked at her with sad eyes. “I may not understand, but I will not stand in your way. Please, take what is yours. Use it wisely.” She handed Echo the crystal and star. They grasped hands, the crystal between their palms, and then separated. “We will meet again, Echo. That I will promise you,” Song said passionately.
Echo didn’t dare to attempt speaking as a hard lump formed in her throat. They released each other’s hands and Echo re-mounted. She placed the crystal securely inside her pack. Giving Song, Jia, and the wolfix one last look, she and Shimmer turned and made a hasty retreat into the trees.
The first thing Echo noticed as they climbed closer to the mountain peak was the drop in temperature. The change was sudden and severe. While Shimmer climbed, Echo removed her extra clothing from her pack, careful not to drop the crystal in the process. She pulled a thin cloak, made from the same material as her blanket, over her shoulders. Unlike the blanket, though, the cloak was lined with goose down, giving it extra insulation. She and her siblings had spent hours collecting the down from along the riverbanks and in the nearby valley to make each of them a coat. The elves had spun the cloaks and attached the material and feathers together.
She also had a thin pair of hand coverings that she slipped on before leaning forward so that her weight could assist Shimmer up the steep slope of rock. The trees became sparser, and flakes of snow floated lazily to them from an opaque sky. Echo could feel Shimmer’s hooves jarring against frozen ground. Ahead, the earth was covered in a white blanket.
Shimmer’s hooves crunched against the snow as gusts of wind curled around the mountain top and blasted against them. The cold, thin air took Echo’s breath away and she lowered her face against Shimmer’s neck in attempt at blocking the wind from her face.
Suddenly, Shimmer lost her footing. The horse tensed as her legs spread wide to keep herself upright. Echo quickly dismounted, relieving the extra weight. Shimmer regained her footing, but Echo was dismayed to see the cause of the problem. From where they stood and up the rest of the mountain, sheer ice peeked out between drifts of snow. The mountain was capped in frozen glass.
“You can’t go any further, Shimmer. Your hooves won’t hold on the ice,” Echo said, dismayed. Shimmer stomped forward as if to prove Echo wrong, but soon found herself fighting to keep her hooves beneath her. Finally, she slowly made her way back to Echo and nudged her in the chest.
“It’s okay. You tried,” Echo said. Heaviness settled in her heart. She’d come all this way only to be stopped by ice.
Echo’s brows furrowed. I can’t quit now. I’m almost there.
As if to spur Echo’s conviction, a beam of sunlight pierced through the clouds, landing brightly on a patch of bare rock surrounded by two rows of strange looking, frozen trees. The area was about a half a mile from where they stood. The trees reminded Echo of the birch trees further down the mountain, but she doubted they could survive at this higher altitude. Their bare limbs were coated with frost.
The trees weren’t what interested Echo the most. The rock between them was smooth and clean. No frost or snow touched it, and a symbol of a flame was etched into it. That has to be the Fate’s lair! Echo thought excitedly.
“Shimmer, stay here. I don’t want you getting hurt on the ice and you can see me from here. If something goes wrong, don’t try to come get me. Go back down the mountain and get help. Do you understand?” Echo asked as she secured her pack to her waist. Shimmer shook her mane, sending Echo uncertain emotions filled with foreboding.
Echo stroked Shimmer’s neck, speaking soft words, trying to give them both reassurances. Shimmer kept nudging the crystal with her muzzle. Everything will be okay, Shimmer. I won’t be long. And when it’s over, we’ll be back at Thildin Valley and everything will be as it should.
With a knotted stomach, Echo stepped away from Shimmer, placing her steps carefully where the snow covered the ice for traction. She could hear Shimmer behind her, trotting back and forth over the snowy earth. Echo knew
her horse was frustrated--she could feel it. But there was nothing to be done for it.
Echo lost her footing several times. She even fell hard once, hitting her stomach on frozen ground so forcefully it knocked the wind out of her. She slowly stood, gasping for air as another gust of wind nearly forced her back down. Bits of snow and ice slapped against her face until her skin was numb. She pulled the hood of the cloak tighter around her face and pressed on as she rehearsed her request.
She’d decided to wish that Belzac had never been released from the shadow lands. If he’d never been released, Mavel and Moodey would never have been lured by him, the villagers would never have been misled, and Brecker would never have been enslaved. And, Echo thought darkly, I would never have failed Brecker and everyone else.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of treacherous climbing, Echo reached the edge of two rows of trees that led to the flaming symbol. With heart pounding, she stepped past the first two trees. The wind stopped abruptly, as did Echo. She gazed around, listening and looking. The trees stood on either side of her, the first sentries in two rows of guards that led to the flaming door. Frost collected on her eyelashes, making her eyes water; her breath floated in the air like a mysterious cloud. Everything was perfectly silent. She couldn’t hear the wind.
Echo’s heart quickened. The wind wasn’t the only thing she couldn’t hear. She’d lost the sound of Shimmer’s pacing earlier, but now her connection to the horse was completely severed. She attempted several times to reach her with thought and emotion, but Shimmer’s voice was gone.
This was a bad idea! Echo thought as panic lurched in her chest. She spun around, ready to leave the area and slide back down to Shimmer. She stepped toward the edge of the trees and smacked into something hard; her body ricocheted back and she landed in the snow with a grunt. Frantically, she got to her feet and then slowly walked toward what looked like an open area between the two trees. Reaching with her hands, she felt in front of her as if she were blind. Soon, her hands pressed against something cold and solid. Some sort of invisible barrier was keeping her inside the trees!
Echo felt all around, hoping to find a hole or invisible doorknob. Nothing. She went from tree to tree, wishing desperately she’d never come on this journey. Fear took over her mind as a strange feeling washed over her, like being in a bad dream that she couldn’t wake up from. She was completely alone--away from Shimmer, away from her family and friends, away from home.
Tears were threatening Echo’s eyes when a voice startled her. Instinctively, she drew her daggers and spun around to face the flaming symbol on the stone. The engraved flame grew yellow, then orange, then red before her eyes and she felt heat wash over her. The flame wriggled, as if it were becoming real. Echo’s panic was full-fledged now--she had no way to escape and no one could help her.
Then, through the flickering false flame, a figure appeared. At first, the figure resembled yet another giant flame. Arms and hair danced toward the sky as if caught in an up-draft as the figure flamed red, then stepped past the stone. As soon as her bare feet touched the snow, the red glow vanished and the entire figure turned blue. From her cropped hair that spiked out from behind her ears to her skin, even her eyes and lips, were an icy blue. A dress made of frost covered a tall, lean body.
Echo gaped at the figure as it strode closer to her. She held her daggers shakily in front of her, uncertain of what to expect. The woman came closer, and then stopped with her arms touching the sharp tips of Echo’s daggers. She stared into Echo’s eyes, not moving, not blinking, as if she were a sculpture made of ice and snow.
Finally, the figure spoke again, her voice powerful and chilling. This time, Echo understood her words. “Stay your weapons, young human. I am the Fate whom you seek.”