Chapter Thirty Four

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Howl's POV

    "Well you should have known you couldn't have left without me. You shouldn't have taken it upon your self to think everything depended on you. You have me. And the others!"

     "Please tell me the others don't know," Artemis pleads with me. "It is bad enough that you are risking your life. You probably will die!"

    I look down at the forest floor, sparsely covered in oak, maple, popple and beech leaves, unable to meet her eyes.

     "Howl, you didn't!" I can't blame her for her frustration.

    "You expected us to stand by? I saw you packing the bag, I definitely noticed that all of my sleeping potions were taken. The others are only a few hours behind us." With that, I turn, roll so I face away from her and sleep.

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    "Did you sleep well?" I ask, bleary eyed as I roll over, the sun shining along the open sides of our make shift shelter. "Artemis?" I still hear no response.Then I realise it is only this bright because the sheet is gone. So is Artemis's pack.

    Not to mention: Artemis is gone, too.

    The others are probably almost caught up to me, considering that I slept until nearly noon. I notice an empty vial near my feet, half hidden by brush, and discover one of my sleeping potions is the source of an acrid after taste . . . And my sleeping in so late.

    I wait until I hear Mellach's and Solomon's voices nearby before i pack up camp myself.

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Artemis's POV

    I near the rocky base of what can be none other than the Lonely Mountain. Taking a deep breath, I have to talk myself into scaling the only slightly sloping mass. I would have made it sooner if I hadn't gotten lost.

    Then I went back for Howl's map. I thought I could get by without it, but alas, these are not the forests I am familiar with. He began to stir when I was digging through his pack for the map, so I had no choice but to use one of his own potions against him.

    I should be hours ahead of the rest of them, for surely they travel together now that Solomon and Mellach should have had time to catch up to Howl, as he slept.

    Just as I inch my way up the mountain, I can spot the mouth of the cave where The Ferocity resides. I hear the beast screech before I see it. But not before the wind, from the air pummeled by the dragon's wings, rips me from the stone and throws me to the ground.

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