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"That's not an eye, that's a rock."
"I'm glad you found a rock that doesn't move.,"
Kine yelled with amused annoyance. "But I just found one that does!"
Behind Sandon, Kine's sword rang free of
its sheath, and the boy turned swiftly to take in the scene. Two of the
boulders at either side of the cave opening were moving. Short, stubby
legs erupted from their bases, lifting them in unwieldy motion. The
sides of the rocks split away from the main body of stone. The creatures
had no eyes or head, per se, nor did they seem to have bones or organs.
They were just . . . stone!
"They're some kind of guard, I think.
Sandon, get down!" A clang of steel against stone punctured Kine's
warning, and the soldier shouted a primitive battle cry. Sandon jerked
his head around to watch the fight.
Kine's sword clanged again from the side
of the one nearest him, making a tiny chip in the solid stone. "Sandon,
try to get past me. The grappling hook's still on the ledge, and the
rope's attached to my backpack. If you throw it over, you can climb
down." Kine's words were clipped and brisk as he wove about just outside
of the reach of the slow-moving rock creature.
"I can't leave you, and even if I wanted
to, I don't even think I can get to it--that monster's between you and
me."
"I'd be a pretty bad guest if I let you
get turned into applesause," the soldier growled. "Do as I say!"
Sandon ignored the order--it was too late
anyway. The creature shuffling toward Kine had already gotten between
them, and any attempt to get to the ledge would mean running right into
the creature's stony fists. Beneath the cracks in the odd-looking arms,
Sandon could see shining copper cogs and twisted wires. The stone part,
however, ended in fists like sledgehammers that rained blows down on the
stone floor of the cavern. He jumped back with a yelp as one of those
fists nearly smashed him flat.
Kine dodged to the side again as the
boulder's fist punched forward like a piston, slamming with massive
force into the floor. When it lifted again, the rocky earth where it had
struck was spiderwebbed with deep cracks, and chips of stone skittered
away from the motion. "What is that thing?"
"I think it's here to guard the dragon's
body." Sandon ducked again as a fist passed over his head.
Kine ducked under a second punch and
swung, his sword clanging against the boulder that made up his
opponent's massive form. Kine was faster than the guardian creature and
far more nimble, but he couldn't get past it into the room, and with
Kine's back toward the ledge and open air, that meant the soldier was
running out of space as the creature advanced.
By this time, the second of the two
boulder guardians had reached the dragon's head and was looming over
Sandon. The boy yelped and jumped to the side, scrambling to his feet to
avoid the guardian's uneven tread. Unlike Kine, Sandon had been on the
side of the dragon closest to the large cavern, and he had plenty of
room to move about. Between that and the stone guardian's awkward
slowness, Sandon felt confident he could outmaneuver it for hours,
dashing here and there around the big internal room.
He backed farther toward the big pillars
that held the cavern ceiling aloft. It's not like I can go anywhere,
Sandon thought, so eventually--hours, maybe days--it'll catch me. At
least Kine can get away. That is, if he could get the grappling hook
placed of the ledge again, or if he could fly . . .
Brave like a knight was one thing, but
brave like a crazy person was another. Sandon wasn't planning on going
anywhere--least of all over the ledge to his distant doom on the rocks
below. He gulped.
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