Page 92 of The Heartless Archer

It sounded like a deep growl that made the walls of the tunnel shudder with its force. Noora did not want to meet whatever creature made that sound. Out of nowhere, the gravel turned to big stones, and her foot caught against one, propelling her forward.

She groaned as her chin collided with the ground, the skin of her palms scraping against the floor. “Godsdamnit,” she cursed as she felt something sharp embedded in her right thigh. With the lack of light, she slowly sat up feeling for whatever was stabbing her thigh.

Her hands trailed up blindly until her fingers closed around a smooth sharp object. She pulled it out of her leg biting her lip in pain so as not to let out a yell to gain the attention of whatever was residing inside the mountains. Already exhausted from this fall she continued to sit for a moment, her fingers driving over the sharp object until her hard stopped. No. It could not be.

With a groan, she got back up to her feet, her heartbeat pulsing in her ears as she took another step forward, stones crushing beneath her boots. With growing suspicions, she drove forward, she needed to escape. The tunnel grew thinner, squeezing her sides and her breaths came faster and shorter. Squeezing herself through the tunnel in agony, stones crushing beneath her weight, she could feel an air draft come from the direction she was approaching. She needed to squeeze only a little farther.

Her heart was beating agonisingly fast now that the crushing of stones sounded around her. Her lungs screamed at her for air as deep panic grew inside her, clawing its way to the surface.

Noora was on the verge of hyperventilating as the tunnel took a sharp turn and suddenly gifted her with a flicker of light. Thank the gods.

The space expanded and Noora broke out into a run, scraping her arms against stone, her left knee protesting again but she pushed until she escaped the tunnel and landed in a lighted cave again.

She doubled over, her body aching, her breaths heaving out of her, desperately. Her head was turning dizzy and she quickly shut her eyes, trying to regain her strength as her heart slowly went back to its usual rhythm.

It was only when her breaths slowed down and the strong ache in her left knee turned to a dull knocking that she slowly stood back up, her gaze drawn to the entrance of the tunnel she escaped out of.

A horrified gasp left her lips as her assumption was confirmed by the picture in front of her. One could only see little of the tunnel’s contents, though they spilled out of it like gold coins did in a treasure chest. But instead of coins, it was bones. Human bones were spilling out of the tunnel in masses, littering the ground around the cave. Skulls with deep holes driven in their eyes, their mouths gaping as if in a scream. Arms and legs were strewn around carelessly and only now that she saw the full monstrosity of the cave did something else hit her. The smell.

It smelled like decaying flesh, and although she could not make out its source, the smell was so stark it made her eyes water. What in Hel was living in this cave?

To her left was a small bridge made out of human bones and only now did she drop the sharp object that stabbed her in the thigh. It was a human finger.

Her eyes still stinging she disregarded the finger bone and stepped over to the bridge. Who built it?

There was no human around here but it could only be built by one. It led up to what looked like a small island in the cave, made out of stone. It was not the island that caught her attention, it was what was on it.

The ground was littered with golden coins so bright they reflected their lights against the walls of the opened cave, creating small patterns against the stone. This was the treasure. She could make out boxes full of rubies, emeralds shaped like teardrops, sapphires glinting in various forms. Pearl necklaces were knotted with each other, gilded shields strewn around carelessly. There was a small pedestal in the middle of the treasure, a stone put atop it. A silver blade was sheathed into the stone, the long blade drawing up into a narrow hilt, gilded in swirls. A ruby was embedded into the pommel, smaller emeralds arranged around the cross guard. The ricasso narrowed in, like the waist of a woman until it drew out into a strong blade.

Noora was not one to be dazzled by beautiful weapons or shining crystals but this was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen in her life. It looked like it was calling her name, a desperate cry in the stuffy air of the cave.

Noora hesitated. Stuffy air?

There was a soft breeze residing in the cave moments ago but now the air was hot, like she was standing on coals, or a volcano that grew active.

Hot air met her neck and she heard a sound, amidst her admiring the sword. Something was breathing.

In a matter of seconds, she let go of the knife, the blade clattering to the ground until it scattered off the edge and fell into the black nothingness residing under the bone bridge. In one movement she drew an arrow and turned, her hair whipping around her back. Her eyes widened when she spotted her cave mate and she realised an armada would not be able to help her in this dilemma and an arrow did not even come close to ensuring her survival.

Chapter 37

Noora

An abominable being hovered right in front of the witch, its lithe body covered in glimmering turquoise scales. Its body was formed like a sea serpent, dragging on for at least ten metres, its girth of colossal size. Noora wondered how it was able to wind its way through the tunnels of the mountain. Long talons spread from its legs, the size of a tree trunk, sharp enough to cut through bones. Its tail ended in a sharp tip swishing from side to side, its enormous scaly wings vibrating slightly as if it would take flight at any second. The strong bones in the wings were attached by a soft membrane, run through by purple veins that seemed to glow.

Cold dread slowly spread from Noora’s heart and poisoned her body as if freezing her in a block of ice, unable to move, cursed by paralysis of her body while her mind was awake. And her mind was loud and clear when it screamed at her to turn around and leave.

Her foot caught on a stone as she took a shivering step back and the creature’s reptilian eyes focused on her feet. It opened its wide jaw and let out a roar so loud it shook the walls of the cave. Noora stumbled to the floor, her nails grasping desperately for something to hold on as spit and hot breath hit her.

The force of the dragon’s roar held on for multiple minutes until the sound ceased, the walls and cave still intact, and Noora looked up again to see the monster charging her. The stone cracked under its forceful steps, a terrible screeching sound disturbing her ears as its talons scraped against the stone. Noora barely managed to roll to the side as its giant jaw unhinged and snapped at her body. Her hand went forthe knife at her calf as she stumbled to fight, the dragon’s jaw snapping again and again and she almost had to laugh at the absurdity of the small blade of her knife. It would not even pierce its thick skin. This dragon could swallow a little witch like her for breakfast, she was unable to fight it. There was only one other option. Flight.

Noora bound up the way she came as the dragon erupted in another roar, enraged that its prey seemed to escape its advances.

Blood pooled under her nails as she heaved herself over fallen rocks, stumbling over skulls and broken bones. Noora did not realise how far she staggered from the entrance that led to the tunnels, though she could make out the small little black hole, a few metres away from her. She drew an arrow as she turned to see that the dragon was following her determinately, its eyes spewing fire that his mouth could not realise. As if it knew what she was about to do, the dragon unhinged its jaw in anger, exposing two rows of deathly teeth the colour of amethyst, and at the sight of the glinting teeth, she stumbled over a dislocated shoulder.

The dragon drove its forelegs forward and a talon embedded itself in Noora’s calf. A gurgling scream left her broken lips as fire shredded up her body so powerful her vision turned black for a moment. In her blindness, she stuck her knife desperately into the foot of the monster, the blade piercing the skin against all odds and drawing a horrific wail out of the dragon.

Still, it would not let go of the girl and even drew its talon deeper into her flesh, making her bite her tongue until she tasted blood. She drew in her knife and with all her might turned the blade so hard that sweat pooled her temples. Little hairs stuck to the back of her neck until the foot finally gave loose. The dragon drew back as it howled in pain and Noora feltits talon still embedded in her leg. Hel. Her graze drew upward to the rest of the steep wall she would have to climb in order to reach the entrance to the tunnels but who knew if the creature would not be able to follow her?

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