Chapter Twenty-Four: An Eye of Gold

    Egon's fingers were intertwined in Mercury's fur, as they trailed behind Mace and Nilas, who were galloping towards the mountain. Egon turned and noticed the slightest of nods produced by Rayner as he and Lilith vanished into the Dark Forest.

Egon breathed in a chunk of courage and narrowed his eyes on the horizon. Mace's axes dangled from the sides of his hips and with every step of Nilas the weapons bounced.

Egon had packed light, a few apples in case he grew hungry, nothing immense, if he was in need of a meal he believed whole heartedly he was a sufficient enough hunter to kill prey quickly. Also in the saddle bag he carried, a map of the mountain, he received from Rolland right before they left, and a canteen of water.

Egon willed Mercury to catch up to Mace, by nudging the animal in the ribs.

"Are we making camp half way up?" Egon asked Mace.

Mace furred his brow in contemplation, but shook off his conflicting thoughts.

"No, we need that bloody dragon eye as soon as possible." Mace replied. Egon pulled out the map and a sea of accomplishment washed over his being.

"Mace wait!"

Egon pulled back on Mercury's fur, and the animal dug its claw in the ground coming to a halt.

Mace slowed the speed on Nilas and brought the horse around to the side of Egon.

Egon handed the map to Mace.

"What the bloody blight am I looking at?" Mace complained, in the dark of Egon's findings.

A short cut! Look, if we go around to the left we can get to the cave in half the time." Egon's smile spoke of the glee he found with himself.

"Blimey...You're right..." Mace tucked the map into his cloak and snapped Nilas's reins. Egon tightened the loose strap, holding his staff across his back, and commanded Mercury to follow Mace.

***

    The two winded their way through thick foliage and navigated their way around crumbling cliffs. The sun was falling into a sleep, and her light was fading, the sky being raided by millions of radiant stars.

Mace stopped and swung his leg over the side of his horse and brought the animal's mussel to meet his forehead.

"Nilas I need you to run, and disappear, you can't be here when we fight the dragon, I can't let you die protecting me..." The horse neighed in rebuttal. A tear glossed down Mace's pale cheeks and turned to frost as it hit the ground.

"You have to! I'm not asking, now go!" The horse reared up and pawed the air, but as soon as his feet hit the ground he took off into the woods and disappeared.

"We are almost there, you should send Mercury away, as well." Mace said to Egon as he brushed passed him, and headed higher up the mountain.

After Egon had commanding his lion to leave his side, he raced to Mace's side.

"Ok captain, what's the plan?"

Mace pulled both axes from their sheaths, twirling the one in his right hand.

"We find that cave..."

Egon nodded and removed his staff from his back. Egon trailed behind Mace, brushing their way through the dark night and condensed branches.

Mace stopped dead in his tracks and held up a hand demanding stillness. Egon planted his staff on the ground and hunched behind Mace.

"Light" Mace's tone was hushed but commanding.

"What?" Egon asked in confusion.

"Summon a bloody light..." Mace demanded then muttered under his breath. "Prick..."

Egon's face twisted into a scowl, but he didn't reply, instead he stiffed his fingers and held open his hand. A faint luminous orb grew inside Egon's palm.

"There you go, mate." Egon brushed off Mace's sarcastic tone, knowing he wasn't intending to be rude, it was just his nature.

"Now what...mate..." Egon mocked Mace's slang and accent with the word 'mate'.

Mace sharpened his eyes at Egon but didn't retaliate.

"You smell that?" Mace titled his neck and sniffed the air. Egon did the same.

An aroma of burnt granite and raw fish, sifted through the night's wind and singed Egon's nostrils.

"How can you not?" Egon's stomach curdled at the scent.

"That's the dragon..." Mace began inches out of the woods the two lurked in.

"How do you know?" Egon asked.

"Let's just say...I've had my fair share of encounters with these beasts." As Mace and Egon exited the woods a the emerge into an area covered by rock slabs. The granite and rock climbed its way up a wall, and a hole poked out of the side, leading into the dragon's lair.

"The cave..." Egon's mummer was drowned out by an earsplitting roar that echoed from behind the two boys.

Mace and Egon whirled around, just to duck as a large sky serpent darted through the sky above them.

Mace tumbled to the left and Egon leapt to the right, the bright light vanished from Egon's hand when he landed. The spark of adrenaline shook his focus and the orb of glitter faded.

Mace's hands erupted in a blue glaze and shimmered down to coat his axes in a shield of sharpened ice. Egon swung his staff out to his side and a bright flash exploded from his emerald and expanded around the tip of his weapon.

The dragon circled through the sky and tucked in its wings diving to the ground in front of the.

When the creature landed, its wings burst outward and a gust of wind chomped at Mace's and Egon positions. Egon study the beast, its body was covered in dark gold scales, which captured the light Egon produced and projected it into a glow. The dragon's eyes were a shinier gold than the scale but not as bright as the dragon's claws, which look as if it had its talons had been dipped in the liquid treasure.

Mace dashed toward the towering creature and hurled one of his axes toward the dragon. The creature swiped the weapon out of the air and growled in defense.

Mace continued to advance towards the beast as Egon distracted it by blasting waves of glowing fluorescent light at its head. Multiple of Egon's attacks landed, by just as many were blocked by the dragon's wings.

Mace summoned a glacier like ball covered in spike and launched in at the dragon, which, upon impact, knocked the dragon backwards and to the ground.

Egon twirled his staff around in circle, a glow following the staff's movement. He immediately stopped whirling the staff and slammed it on the ground sending a shiver of erupting light sparking towards the dragon, which connected with the dragon and seared its skin.

The dragon hissed in outrage and opened its mouth, letting out liquid gold, which melted across the ground and coated Mace's feet, sealing him in one place.

"What the bloody..." Before Mace had a chance to finish his thought, the dragon whipped Mace across the face with its tail and knocked him out.

Egon's heart plummeted and he leapt aside just in time to miss the dragon's second attack. Egon raced to Mace's side, dodging golden tail whips and razor like teeth. Egon snatched up one of Mace's fallen axes and chunked it at the dragon.

As the weapon spun through the air Egon dropped his staff and created a path of light the arched through the air. Egon bolted up the shining path of light and towards the creature. The axes struck the dragon in the eye and Egon dove off the bridge of light and gripped onto the handle of the axes.

He ripped the axes out of the dragon's body, the eye still skewered on the end, and tumbled to the ground.

The dragon crumbled to the rock floor and let out a battle cry. Egon dropped to Mace's side and shook him awake.

"Here!" Egon handed him the axes, with the eye hanging off the end.

"How in the bloody─"

"It doesn't matter, I have the eye and we need to leave...NOW!" Egon yelled and began blasted the hardened gold around Mace's feet, with a ray of light.

The dragon's cry began louder and Egon turned to see a smaller creature emerging form the cave behind the fallen dragon.

The second dragon locked eyes with Egon and barreled towards him. The smaller dragon launched itself on top of Egon, pinning him to the ground. Mace stood, five feet away, helpless and trapped. Egon thrashed and jerked as the dragon opened its mouth ready to bite Egon's head off.

Egon wrapped one hand around the dragon's leg and summoned a ball of light the dragon jerked away in pain, which gave Egon the split second to snatch up his staff.

Egon raised the staff, molten light covering the weapon and rammed it into the dragon's heart.

The small beast whimpered and fell to the side. When the larger dragon noticed the other dragon, it let out a wail of sorrow.

Egon wasted no time and blasted away Mace's restraints. The two darted towards the woods summoning their sprit animals as they ran.

The two animal appeared in a matter of seconds and Mace and Egon jumped into the back on their pets and head for the outpost.

As Egon was entering the wood his eye caught a glimpse of something phenomenal. The tow dragon began to morph and changed their body's shrunk and soon two women took their place.

He brushed the sight to the back of his mind and focused on the thought of the potion, and willed Mercury to run faster.