Born In The Dungeons

Chapter 13: Poison

Nephos flew us over the city which must have looked beautiful from this height, but I was too afraid to look down. Unlike Pegasus, he didn't have a saddle and holding on to the spikes on his neck was challenging. I didn't want to fall off in the middle of the flight. 

Instead I focused my eyes in front of me, where the castle of Kingdom Gora on top of a grey mountain appeared to grow in size as we neared it. A statue of Goddess Artemis stood strong by the entrance, drawing her bow and protecting the kingdom. 

Nephos circled above and around the castle and dove down toward a large balcony wrapped in green vines. He hovered beside it, wings flapping softly, then picked me up with one paw and placed me on it. 

I looked around me in confusion. "Is there a reason why you chose this balcony? There is an entrance, you know."

He chirped and motioned to the sky with his eyes. 

I tilted my head to one side. "Up? You're leaving?"

He shook his head and motioned to the sky again, then to the balcony door, pushing me toward it with his nose. 

"You want me to go in there."

Nephos nodded and looked at the sky again. 

I sighed. "And now you are either telling me that you are leaving me here or...I don't understand what you are trying to tell me."

He released a sharp breath through his nostrils as if frustrated and rolled his eyes. Then he motioned to the sky again. Looked up and then at the balcony door, then at me. I shook my head. I still didn't know what he was trying to tell me. 

He made a low sound in his throat that almost sounded like a groan and pushed me toward the balcony door one last time before flying away toward the sky. He didn't even look back. Bad dragon.

"Nephos!" I called him and waved my arms in the air. He turned his head and came back to hover beside the balcony. Pushing his head close to my face and locking our eyes, he tried again. He pointedly looked at me and then up at the sky where the sun was. 

He's telling you that I gave him these orders. 

I jumped and clutched my heart. That voice again. I looked up at the sky. "Who are you?"

That is of no importance now. Someone in there needs you. Time is running out. 

I swallowed and looked at the balcony door. I heard wings flapping behind me, the sound getting farther and farther. Nephos left. I didn't know if I could trust that voice in my head, but there was no other way to get off of this balcony now other than using the door in front of me. 

I slowly opened it and peeked in. They were someone's sleeping chambers. I saw a large bed in the centre of the room. Someone laid in it with thick covers over them and a white cloth over their forehead. No one else was in here. 

Carefully slipping in through the door, I closed it behind me and approached the bed. A woman as pale as the cloth over her forehead breathed heavily beneath the covers. I could see the colour of her veins through the transparent skin of her neck. They were green. 

I put two fingers to the side of her neck and checked her pulse. It was uneven. Her heart was beating at an abnormally slow pace, skipping beats. 

Pale skin, green veins, difficulty breathing, abnormal heartbeat --

"She was poisoned," I whispered with wide eyes. 

"She was," a shaky voice confirmed. I whipped my head around and saw a small girl, not older than seven or eight, sitting by the foot of the bed. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and was rocking back and worth in one place, sniffling.