Alden Greenleaf's Arc

Chapter 2 of 5

The creature planted itself in the cave mouth. It was no dog. Sweeping wings folded against a catlike body, and long fangs curved past its jaw. A thick tail lashed the stone. Alden drew back and loosed. The arrow struck its shoulder and bounced away, useless. She fired again, faster. The shaft skipped off the beast's hide and cracked against the rock. Its skin turned every point she had. Alden stepped back. Four arrows gone. The tail swept out and slammed the ground where she'd stood. She would never shoot her way past this. The dragging steps of her mother's captors faded deeper into the dark. Every wasted moment carried them farther. She remembered the old magician who camped near the eastern rocks. Traders spoke of him with pity now. His power was fading. But she had no better plan. Alden ran. She found him seated on a stone, rereading a cracked book, his staff leaning at his knee. White hair stuck out in every direction. He did not look up. "There's a winged beast at the cave," Alden said. "My arrows can't touch it. I need to get past." Arglad Chakleberry closed the book. "I moved a river once. Held a storm still for a wedding." He paused. "Last week I moved a river four feet. Into my boots." "Can you help or not?" He studied her. Then he stood, slower than his years should allow. "I can try. The trying is the risk." They climbed back to the cave. The beast rose the moment it saw them. Wings spread. Fangs bared. Arglad lifted his staff. The crystal at its tip glowed pale blue. He spoke words Alden didn't know. He aimed at the creature. The light bent wrong. It missed the beast and struck the cliff above the cave mouth. Stone cracked. A slab the size of a cart broke loose. The creature looked up too late. Rock crashed down and buried it, filling the opening in dust and rubble. When the dust cleared, the beast lay pinned and still. But the cave mouth was gone. Boulders sealed it wall to wall. The path her mother had taken was blocked from the world. Arglad lowered his staff. He stared at the ruin. "I meant to freeze it." He cleared his throat. "The beast is handled. Mostly." Alden dropped to her knees at the rubble. She clawed at the stones. They did not move. Her mother was on the other side, deeper than ever, and the only door was buried. She pressed her palm to the cold rock and made herself breathe. "There's another way in," the magician said behind her. "The caves branch. I've heard of a second mouth." He looked at the buried entrance. "I've only heard of it." Alden stood. The beast was beaten. The door was gone. Now she needed the one path she couldn't see.