Chapter 10

Journey to the Pit

Ethan

We were nearing the Pit of Eternal Doom. I could even feel the cold horrors that lay inside the Pit from here. The wind blew the stinging smoke of the Pit here, alerting us to its presence. Most of all, I could sense the danger - danger that could only be found in the Pit.

"It's unusually cold here," Cara said.

"The Pit of Eternal Doom radiates a chilling smoke that can even be felt here," Scàth said. "Some say it is the dying breath of the trapped souls in the Pit."

That dragon creeped me out sometimes. He always seemed to be offering his dark wisdom, even when it wasn't needed. His yellow eyes never looked away from me, as if he didn't trust me. The scariest thing was that he had a way of sneaking up on us, despite the fact that he was the largest dragon in the group. I never knew when Scàth was right behind me, taking his role as the wise one too literally.

I always felt purposeless in the quest. I had done little to deserve a suicide mission to the Pit of Eternal Doom. The prophecy had not laid out a role for me, like it had for the others. If Marlene had not chosen me, I would have been at that run-down hotel with Dad and the crazy Irish guy. But then I wouldn't have met Cara or Sparrow, who turned out to be rather nice.

I glanced over at Marlene. She was by far my favorite dragon friend. Marlene always looked out for me. Being the only human on the quest, I was sometimes ignored by the others. But Marlene always cared about me.

"I see the pit!" Sparrow exclaimed. I looked around, but I couldn't find it. I could tell that it was closer, however. The Pit's smoke was almost blinding now. Maybe dragons could see through it, but I couldn't.

Suddenly I saw the Pit. It was a giant gaping hole ahead of us. As Scàth had told us, the smoke seemed to be rising from the Pit. Dragons were gathered around the Pit. I assumed they must be the Fangpyres Marlene had said so much about.

"The Fangpyres are here," Sparrow said, confirming my suspicions.

"If the Fangpyres are here, Abyss must be here too," Cara said.

"What about Veronica?" I asked, remembering my dad's ex-girlfriend, who was also a Blood Seeker.

"I don't know," Marlene replied. "Last time I saw her was three years ago when she kidnapped me." I gave her a puzzled look. "Long story," she said.

"None of the individual Blood Seekers matter much," Cara said. "Once Abyss is gone, most of them will surrender. They need Abyss' strong leadership to fight us."

"That makes sense," I replied. "The Blood Seekers and the Fangpyres have brawn, but no brains. They're not capable of more than spontaneous guerrilla attacks without Abyss." I left out that I had learned my own military strategizing skills from Dragon Destroyer 2.

Scàth and Cara nodded. "I couldn't have put it better," Cara said.

We were practically walking along the Pit's edge. I knew that one wrong step would mean eternal doom. I took each and every stride with more caution, trying not to slip over the ledge.

"Ow!" Marlene yelled as she tripped over a rock.

"Be more careful Marlene," Scàth said. "Many a dragon has fallen into the Pit that way."

"Do dragons... normally come here?" I asked.

"Not usually," Scàth replied. "Normally only the bravest of adventurers will go anywhere near the Pit. I don't think any dragon has gotten this far and survived the ordeal."

"So hooray for us?" Sparrow said.

"I suppose this is an achievement," Cara replied.

"But it's not over yet. We still have to get Abyss into there," Marlene said as she gestured towards the Pit.

"Where is Abyss anyways?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Cara said as she looked towards the Fangpyres on the other side of the Pit. "Scàth, do you know?" Scàth didn't respond. "Scàth? SCÀTH?"

"Oh I'm sorry," Scàth replied. "I didn't know you were talking to me. I was recalling a memory... an old, old memory. It was a terrible memory and I'd prefer not to talk about it. As for Abyss... I can feel her presence. She is composed of the same magic that created the terror that is the Pit. I'm sure she is here."

I didn't ask how he knew this. I also didn't ask about the memory, though I wondered about it. What was Scàth's terrible memory about anyways?

We were getting closer to the Fangpyres. Now, even I could feel Abyss, though I couldn't see her. She had a chilling presence, like the Pit itself. She was hiding somewhere among the dragons. We just had to find her.

"Ethan, do you see Abyss?" Marlene asked.

"No," I said. Then I noticed what appeared to be a dark smudge against the Pit's smoke. As I looked closer, I noticed the smudge had a woman's features. I wasn't sure what I expected from the evil mastermind we called Abyss, but I didn't expect a dark phantom. If I knew anything from my years of gaming experience, it was that ghosts were usually easy to get rid of. I thought Abyss would be a demon or a wizard or something else more powerful than a phantom.

"She's over there..." Marlene said, gesturing towards Abyss.

"Yeah, I know. I see her now," I replied.

This was it. Maybe I was the one who would meet an untimely end, but at least I would die happy. Now, I had made some friends who would help me throw Abyss into the Pit. I could only hope for the best now.