Sacred Mountain

Chapter 28: I'm Alive

'What happened?'

Annifer propped herself up on her elbow where she had been lying out cold on the sandy cave floor. She rubbed her head, blinked and looked around, taking in the new picture in front of her. The dragon's ribs rose as he inhaled deeply and let out a great groaning sigh. He stretched his long scaly body and unfurled his huge reptilian wings, letting the life flow back into his long dormant frame. Annifer ducked as a red wing swept over her, grazing the top of her head. She heard Jemima's footsteps striding towards her.

'I'll explain later. We've got to get out of here and find Daisy!' Annifer crawled out from under the wing and took Jemima's hand. Jemima yanked Annifer to her feet and started hauling her over to the tunnel they had come in through.

'The dragon's healed. How did you . . .? Who's that?' Annifer stopped dead, jerking Jemima to a halt, and pointed wide-eyed at Isolda's prostrate form, white hair haloed around her head, eyelids closed, motionless. Jemima's eyes followed Annifer's finger. She noticed for the first time that Isolda was wearing the Wise Women's blue tunic and cloak.

'She's a Wise Woman,' Astonishment accented Annifer's voice. 'Who is she? How did she get here?'

'I promise, I'll tell you later. We really must get to Daisy. If Morwain got back here to set the gorgon after us, Goddess knows what he's done with her.'

Annifer jolted back to her senses and bolted after Jemima who was clambering on her hands and knees up the sloping tunnel.

Together, they hurried through the tunnels that led upwards to the entrance. Thank the Goddess Jemima remembers the way, thought Annifer. As they passed the cave of giants' bones, Annifer caught her breath and spoke.

'But if Morwain got back here, that means he'll be waiting for us when we get out. How can we take him on, just the two of us? Why didn't you stay in dragon form? We might have had a chance.'

'I don't know how long we've been down here. It's probably sunset now. If I hadn't shifted back, I'd have been stuck.'

'But what can we two girls do against a powerful wizard like Morwain?'

Jemima was silent. She had an inkling, just the smallest of suspicions. As a Shifter, she knew a lot about animal behaviour.

'You'll just have to trust me, Annie.'

Reluctantly, Annifer fell silent and carried on jogging alongside her friend.

Just when she was thinking the tunnel would never end, they turned a corner and saw that here the underground walls were lit with a dim orange glow. The cave's entrance was in sight and Jemima was right, the sun was setting.

'Can you see him?' Annifer whispered as they approached cautiously.

'No, but there's something on the ground up there. Something dark.'

They tiptoed up to the cave mouth. What they saw confirmed Jemima's suspicions. The snow was trampled with dozens of paw prints. Morwain's black cloak lay torn and blood soaked on the ground. The flakes of crystal were scattered around and a thick trail of blood led off to the flat plane where the wolf pack had lain mesmerised earlier.

'Stay back!' Jemima pushed Annifer back inside the tunnel while she poked her head out and peered round. A grisly sight met her eyes. She inhaled sharply.

Scraps of black cloth, bloody pieces of flesh and clumps of matted red hair littered the snowy plane. The wolf pack was gathered in a circle around something on the ground which Jemima couldn't see. They were in a feeding frenzy, tearing at it ferociously. Ripping, squelching sounds filled her ears, she gulped down the nausea that rose in her throat. Every now and again, a wolf would raise its red stained muzzle, its jaws champing on the meat. The pack was completely absorbed in their kill.