Deragan Sword Prophecy: Book 02 - Meladrom Read online

  “What is he doing?” Gareion questioned, startled at his brother’s sudden strange behaviour. Grabbing his arm Arweyn whispered in his ear so as not to disturb Kainan.

  “I think he is having a vision,” she informed him, watching as Kainan continued walking down the corridor.

  “A vision?” Gareion replied sharing a troubled looked with her. He had yet to see his brother in a state of trance, and his glowing red eyes un-nerved him somewhat. She nodded.

  “Come on we must follow him.” Gripping his arm, she pulled him along with her, following Kainan forward.

  “This is really weird,” Gareion mumbled, a little scared by his brother’s state.

  “Do not worry he will be alright. This has happened a few times now,” she assured him.

  Ahead of him, Kainan could see what it was that had been calling him. As he drew nearer, he raised his hand forward, once again touching at the nothingness in front of him. He stood for a moment in silence, staring, trying to work out the meaning of what it was seeing. A smile of recognition spread across his face. He began shaking his head, blinking a few times, until his eyes returned to normal. Arweyn stood alongside him, looking somewhat relieved that he was back. Putting her arm around his waist, she pulled him in close to her. Looking down at her Kainan smiled, kissing the top of her brow.

  “Are you all right?” she asked concerned.

  “Yes, it was another vision, but much clearer this time. I know where I need to go,” he informed them, the excitement in his voice quite clear.

  “What do you mean, go?” she asked.

  “Forget the tapestry, we need to go to The Chamber of Knowledge, come on while the vision is still clear in my mind.”

  “The Chamber of Knowledge, Kainan I cannot go down there,” Arweyn said, shaking her head at him. “It is forbidden.”

  “Neither can I,” Gareion said, frowning at him. “It is for the King and the first-born only.” Kainan clapped his brother warmly on his back.

  “Gareion I am sorry but that is just ridiculous. I need you, both of you. This is more important than some tradition. You both know of its existence, so what difference does it make?”

  “Father will not like it Kainan,” Gareion said nervously.

  “Do not worry about father I will take all the responsibility and consequences. This is far too important to ignore,” Kainan insisted. His brother raised his shoulders in defeat.

  “Okay if you say so, but you still have not told us what is so important, what did you see?”

  “I have seen the answer to the scroll, to the tapestry. I think I know what it means.” His voice trailed off for a moment as he considered his explanation. “I will meet you at the start of the tunnel. It will be easier to explain when we are there. I need to go and get a couple of things, including the Deragan Sword. I have a feeling I might need it. Gareion, it might be an idea for you to fetch your sword too, Arweyn your knives.

  “Why are you expecting trouble?” his brother asked, apprehensively. Kainan shook his head.

  “No, it is just a precaution that is all. Be as quick as you can. Oh and wear your cloaks, it is a bit chilly down there,” he added. They separated, returning to their own chambers.

  A short while later the three stood at the entrance to the Chamber of Knowledge. Gareion glanced around concerned, and still hesitant about going in.

  “Are you sure about this?” He was still worried about his father finding out. Kainan nodded, grasping at his brother’s shoulder firmly.

  “I am sure brother, do not worry.” Gareion shrugged.

  “Okay if you say so.” The young prince took hold of Arweyn’s hand as he opened the door. Lifting his free hand, he pointed to a torch on the wall in front of him.

  “Illumanartry,” he whispered, and the flame on the end of his finger appeared. Kainan lit the torch and lifted it out of the holder.

  “Ready?” he asked and they both nodded. Bringing the flame down into the channel of liquid, it instantly caught fire, and within seconds, the flames had travelled around the entire chamber, illuminating the whole room.

  The other two stood, mouths gaping.

  “By the spirits,” Gareion mumbled as his eyes searched the room.

  “Wow,” Arweyn managed. Kainan smiled at the intrigue on their faces.

  “Come on, no time to lose,” he pushed, returning the flaming torch to the holder. “We have got to search this place before we are missed.”

  “What are we looking for exactly?” Gareion asked. His brother hesitated a moment.

  “Well, I am not entirely sure, but I do know it is in here.”

  “That is helpful,” he quipped. Kainan slung him a grin. The three began to wander around the chamber. Gareion stared in awe at the crystal skull, it sat on a shelf in the back of the room, his hand hovered over it, and he was tempted to touch it. Unexpectedly Kainan’s voice made him jump, and he spun around to him.

  “It is the dragon!” he cried triumphantly. Gareion turned to him.

  “Father has already said he has checked all the dragon emblems in here. There is nothing, no doors, no levers, nothing,” Gareion informed him, pointing at the dragon with green wings and the two swords crossed in front.

  “No not that one,” his twin said, shaking his head and marching to the back of the Chamber, to the painting of a dragon with green wings but no swords. Gareion followed him, not sure, what he meant. Kainan banged it with the flat of his hand.

  “This one, the first time I came here with father to take the crown, it just glowed at me.”

  Gareion ran his fingers along the painting.

  “It looks like an unfinished painting.”

  His brother shook his head. “No, I think this is our original emblem. I have never noticed before, probably because I have never really bothered to look, but look at the two swords closely.” Kainan marched back over to the other dragon and pointed at the hilt of one of the swords. Gareion raised an eyebrow questioningly, as he followed behind him. From his pocket, his brother pulled out a glass magnifier.

  “I borrowed this from Jacob the physician. I was going to use it to study the tapestry more closely.” He placed the magnifier over the hilt of one of the swords. Gareion leaned over for a closer look, his eyes widening in disbelief.

  “Kainan,” he cried aloud.

  “Yes brother D for Deragan,” Kainan said with finality. “There are two swords Gareion. The other one is initialled with a G.”

  “How is that possible? There has never been any mention of another sword, I had always just assumed…. Well I do not know what I assumed. It was just two swords. I never thought there was any relevance to them.” Kainan raised both his hands.

  “Well the painting does not lie, that is the Deragan Sword.”

  “So what and where, is the other one?” Gareion asked as his brother walked away from him. Kainan shrugged as he returned to the dragon without the swords. “Another mystery we need to uncover,” he said, running his fingers across the seams and the edges, in hope of finding a hidden device that might trigger a secret door to open.

  “Find anything?” Arweyn asked, hopeful. He shook his head.

  “No,” he replied disappointed and standing back a few steps from the painting.

  “Perhaps you were wrong?” Gareion suggested. There was a long silence as Kainan considered his brother’s words.

  “No,” he said finally. “I know there is something about this dragon. Just give me a moment, I need to think.” He smouldered angrily for a while staring at it, annoyed with himself for not being able to figure it out. The other two stepped back away from him, giving him some space.

  “Come on I know you are telling me something ….but what?” he muttered to himself, puzzled as he studied the painting. Stepping forward with sudden realisation, his hand went to the amulet around his neck, the one his mother had given him.

  “What is it Kainan?” Arweyn asked, moving in beside him. She had noticed the sudden rise of his eyebrow, as
if he had just realised something.

  “Look at the dragon’s chest,” he said, moving his hand towards the painting. He touched it with his finger there was an indentation. His eyes flashed with excitement. Quickly removing the amulet from around his neck, he held it in his hand, looking at Gareion his brother nodded, urging him to continue. So carefully, Kainan placed the amulet into the indentation on the dragon’s chest. It clicked into place they all held their breath, but nothing happened. Kainan frowned glancing at Arweyn he could not understand it. Then all of a sudden, there was a clunk followed by a tearing creak and crack and with a sharp sudden squeal, the wall began to move backwards. All three of them jumped back in surprise. A puff of dust whooshed up around them, and all three coughed, holding their hands over their mouths.

  “Kainan,” Arweyn cried his name with excitement, shooting a sideways glance at him. He grinned back at her and then grabbing hold of her hand, he squeezed it tightly. The wall stopped moving, leaving a gap large enough for them to squeeze through.

  “Quickly grab a torch Gareion,” Kainan urged, peering into the darkness behind the wall. Hastily his brother grabbed a couple of torches, passing one to him. Kainan had a sudden thought.

  “You should wait here, just in case. After all we do not know what lies ahead.” His brother laughed.

  “No way, I am coming with you,” he said with firmness in his voice.

  “Gareion,” Kainan implored thinking of Alys, and his unborn baby, but he shook his head defiantly.

  “Okay,” Kainan conceded. “But stay behind us.” With a nod, his twin agreed. Raising the torch in front of him, he edged through the gap in the wall, Arweyn following closely behind.

  “Kainan, do you think we should take the amulet?” Gareion asked, squeezing himself through the narrow gap after him. Quickly considering what his brother had said, and thinking that he was probably right, Kainan reached back around the wall, carefully pulling the amulet out of the dragon. The huge slab of wall slammed shut behind him. Arweyn jumped fearfully, and catching Kainan’s arm she turned back to him, frowning.

  “I hope you can open that again?” she whispered, looking at him, her eyes wide. The fire from his torch reflected in his dark eyes, he turned around raising the torch at the now closed door.

  “Look,” he said, pointing, “there is another dragon with green wings.” He ran his fingers across the dragon’s chest, and sure enough, there was another indentation. “We will be fine,” he spoke lightly, but it seemed to Arweyn that he still looked a little concerned. Smiling at her worried face, he held out his hand to her, she slipped hers into his squeezing it. She hoped he was right.

  Raising his torch, Kainan looked ahead of them, but all they could see was a long dark tunnel cut into the rock.

  “Well shall we go and see where this takes us?” the young prince asked. Gareion swallowed, and nodding apprehensively, he followed behind them both. The tunnel ahead was pitch black, the air damp and permeated with the smell of musty dampness, it was chillingly cold too, and the group wrapped themselves with their cloaks trying to keep warm. Being the first in line, cobwebs caught Kainan across his face, and he quickly brushed them away with a shudder. He did not like spiders.

  “Kainan,” Arweyn whispered, pulling on his hand. Stopping, he turned back around to her.

  “What is wrong?” he asked.

  “I’m really scared,” she confessed. He grinned at her. Just then, Gareion raised his torch, illuminating his face in the light of the flames.

  “Me too,” he said, sheepishly. Kainan chuckled, as he saw the fear in his own eyes reflected in his brothers.

  “Well that makes three of us,” he admitted. Their eyes went to the tunnel ahead of them all three were having nervous thoughts as to what could be hidden in the blackness ahead of them. Then looking at each other, they nodded knowing they had to go on.

  The long narrow tunnel was quite wet in places, water ran continuously down the walls, forming into many puddles, which covered the tunnel floor, and the only sound heard was the clonking of their boots on the ground beneath their feet and the drip, drip of the water, which echoed eerily all around them. Kainan was glad he had gone back to get his sword, he had been checking it at regular intervals to make sure it was free of its sheath, so it was in readiness if anyone or anything might suddenly appear ahead of them. The tunnel however, remained quiet. The torch Kainan was holding began to flicker slightly and he looked behind at his brother.

  “There is a draught coming from ahead, I think we may be nearing the end of the tunnel.” As a precaution, both he and Gareion drew their swords. Arweyn looked at them both, reaching down she lifted her skirt, drawing a dagger from her boot and holding it protectively before her. Kainan smiled at her. The tunnel stopped abruptly with nothing but what appeared to be a solid wall in front of them.

  “What now?” Arweyn asked glancing at him. Kainan raised his torch, and the flames flickered.

  “See, it is definitely another door, there is air passing through.” He moved the torch closer inspecting the wall. He turned to them both.

  “There,” he whispered, and they both looked to where he was pointing. It was another dragon with green wings. Taking the amulet from around his neck, Kainan felt along the wall with his finger, until once again he felt an indentation. He breathed deeply.

  “Ready?” he questioned, and they both nodded. Kainan placed the amulet into the wall, clicking it into place once again. Immediately the wall clunked, clicked, and began to move slowly backwards, leaving an opening big enough for them to squeeze through. Gareion went first, followed by Arweyn. Grabbing the amulet and placing it back around his neck, Kainan slipped through. The wall closed behind them. They were in what appeared to be another chamber, and it was almost as large as the Chamber of Knowledge. Lifting up their torches the three of them looked around, quickly assessing any possible dangers. Satisfied there appeared to be no imminent threat, they sheathed their swords and Arweyn replaced her dagger back into her boot. She noticed that placed all around the room were large candlesticks, still with their candles intact, so with a sweep of her hand, she sent a spark of magic into the candles. A warm glow illuminated the chamber as the spark caught the candles’ wicks, and their flames flickered brightly. Raising both his eyebrows, Kainan stared at her in astonishment.

  “What?” she remarked at the surprise in his face, before grinning back at him smugly. “I have been practicing my magic.”

  “Hmm, so I can see,” he replied, shaking his head in amusement.

  “Where do you think we are?” Gareion questioned, as they wandered into the chamber. There was a huge bookcase spanning the entire length of one of the walls, it was brimming with books, and parchment scrolls. Kainan shook his head in wonderment at what he was seeing.

  “I have no idea,” he whispered back, brushing his fingers along a row of books. His finger stopped on a green book. Turning his head slightly he read the word on the spine of the book. It simply said, ‘Kainan’. His eyes widening, he frowned, stealing a quick glance at the others, but they were both busy raiding through the drawers of some of the six large wooden desks that sat in the centre of the chamber. His hand hovered for a moment, before carefully pulling out the book. Carrying it, he walked over to one of the desks and placed it on top.

  “Gareion, Arweyn, come and have a look at this.” Across the front of the book was a dragon with green wings and his name, ‘Kainan.’ Gareion leaned over his brother’s shoulder and read the title. He shot him a startled looked.

  “Coincidence?” he questioned. Kainan shrugged.

  “Maybe, I do not know.”

  “Well open it then,” Arweyn insisted impatiently. He smiled at her, reaching his hand nervously he opened the book. All three stared. Arweyn looked hesitantly at the book. Taking a deep breath, she began to read aloud.

  “It is our shame that we have had to abandon our realm and our people to the darkness. One day our King will return

  Taken
and then found he will join with another.

  Together their powers so strong will defeat the darkness and free our people and our lands.

  There was no choice left to us.

  We have saved those we can they sleep for he will return.

  The dragon Meladrom keeps your secret.

  Awaken the Dragons find the Sword.

  Destroy Gemini.”

  An eerie silence fell upon them. Gareion looked at them both.

  “It is about you two, it has to be,” he insisted.

  Leaning closer, Arweyn pointed to a place on the page.

  “What does it mean find the sword?” Kainan twisted his head to read the words above her finger. He touched the hilt of his sword.

  “Perhaps it means the Deragan Sword,” he replied, turning the page. Gareion frowned as he stared at the writings on the page in front of him.

  “What is wrong?” Kainan asked, seeing the puzzled expression on his twin’s face.

  “If I am not mistaken the person who wrote this book has the same hand as me,” he said, scanning the pages.

  “What?” Kainan was not sure what he meant. Looking around Gareion spotted an old quill and inkwell on one of the desks; he marched over to them, picking them both up, along with a piece of old parchment and brought them back. Groaning, he tried to open the ink well.

  “Here,” Kainan offered reaching out and Gareion passed him the well.

  “Thanks,” he replied gratefully as Kainan undid it. Dipping the quill into the ink Gareion began to copy the exact words as written in the book. The other two leaned forward watching. They both gasped in astonishment, when they realised what he had meant.

  “Gareion it is exactly the same!” Kainan exclaimed, staring at the writing in the book and then at his brother’s.