Page 133 of To Scale the Emerald Mountain

PART THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

ALEC

7years ago

Parting the great curtain hiding a gaping opening, I enter the mouth of the cave hidden behind vines as thick as my forearms. Taking a deep breath, I ready myself for the task ahead. I light my torch, knowing it will do little to penetrate the inky, unnatural darkness that stretches ahead of me.

I could hardly believe it when Ellya described the vision she had. My heart stuttered when she allowed me to see the vision, knowing what she Saw—knowing what it meant.I had been here before as a boy, with my brother and Ellya’s father. No older than Ellya is now, we happened upon this place one summer.

We explored the surrounding mountain forests of Rhydelle Castle, venturing farther than Locane and I had before. We had spent several nights camping in the woods when Locane found this opening that I stand within now; a small tunnel in the side of a cliff hidden by thick overgrowth and tangling vines. Not even Milo had found this hidden corner before.

The curiosity of boys took hold, and we went within.

The darkness did not initially deter our inquisitiveness, but the further we went along, the more our unease collectively grew, a tight grip from a phantom hand, choking us with doubt.

It was not until we rounded a corner and came into view of the strange underground waterfall—shining like a beacon in impenetrable darkness—that unease morphed into pure dread. It clung to my skin like an oily sheen, seeping into my pores and rendering me motionless. I stood, eyes unblinking on the waterfall before us emitting a strange, unearthly glow. I could sense that my brother and friend were experiencing the same thing as I.

It was Locane who broke out of it first, laughing with uncertainty and saying, “This place is weird.” Attempting to make light of what felt like a heavy situation.

Milo glanced back and forth between us and said, “Maybe we should just go?” A surprising suggestion coming from Milo, as I was always the voice of reason in our trio.

Locane smiled at Milo. “We didn’t just walk through pitch black for miles to turn scared when we finally found something interesting. Come on, let’s get closer.”

And so, we did.

As I stood at the edge of the pool, I more closely inspected the waterfall before us. It was strange in the way that it looked and the energy it emitted.

The water itself was more like a mist that floated rather than fell. The green hue it gave off grew brighter the longer I stared. It pulsed like a living heartbeat, that strange luminescence calling to me.

It was then that it became apparent the green light and the strange energy were not from the water itself, but rather in the wall behind it.

The unease I had just moments ago returned with fierceness as the surface of the pool started to ripple out from the center and water began lapping against my feet.

“What the…” Locane said under his breath, retreating slowly as he noticed the sudden disturbance in the water.

“Again, I think we should go.” Milo’s voice came through tinged with fear.

At that moment, a head of some sort became visible, rising with dangerous and deliberate ease. I backed away, not ready to turn and run, too intrigued and curious to know what might follow us.

The shoulders broke the surface.

The creature started walking towards me in the shallow water, revealing more of itself.

It had a svelte, feline body covered in scales that shifted in color from onyx to a poisonous dark green, shimmering back and forth. The creature had a long, forked tail, both pieces covered in small barbs. Feet with three long talons, front and back. Its face was truly terrifying. Serpentine with a flat nose. Purple catlike eyes with vertical lids blinking at me hungrily, and a smiling mouth filled with jagged, red teeth.

“Yooou,” it hissed at me.

I knew in my bones that it had singled me out, and only I could hear it.

With that single, threatening word, I lost all sense of bravery and pride; I fled.

Locane and Milo followed quickly behind me. We did not stop until we made it a mile away from the strange cave.

“I don’t know what that place was, but I’m never going back,” Locane declared with a shaky laugh.We all agreed.

It took me many years of intense research to find a name for that creature, and the little I could find claimed it as a myth; the favored creature of a god.