She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued. “Some of you have heard the rumors that a dragobat sleeps under the path, and the stories are true. It will wake up as soon as we step into its lair, but it’s easy to pass if you can keep your nerve.”
“What’s a dragobat?” Haldir asked.
“You were a dragon master,” Evander said. “How do you not know?”
Haldir crossed his arms and looked stony.
Evander bent down and picked up a rock. “Dragobats are big—their claws are large enough to wrap around your body. But they are blind and averse to sunlight, so she won’t come out here unless the sun passes behind the clouds.”
At once, everyone studied the sky. Large, fluffy pink clouds drifted overhead, shutting out the new morning sun every few minutes, then sliding away.
“If you make a sound, the dragobat will try to snatch you. Walk single file. Whoever walks at the front of your group will toss a rock as far ahead on the path as possible, and the dragobat will attack the rock. While it’s busy, you move quickly toward it. When the rock proves fruitless, the creature will slink below, and you will throw the next rock. Repeat this until you are safe on the other side.”
He paused, waiting for questions. No one spoke. The conscripts looked ill. Ignatius and Elspeth shifted like they were fighting the urge to run. Rosemary hopped up and down, muttering to herself.
“If you follow my directions, we’ll all make it to the other side and return to camp before midday.” Evander met their wide-eyedgazes and pale faces with iron calm. “All you need is courage, and every one of you has enough of that to fuel an army. You can make it through this, and you will.” He hesitated and then added, “I trust you.”
Once Valenna had filled her arms with stones, she lined up her group behind her and faced the entrance. She felt like a mother duck leading a row of ducklings through a fox’s den.
“Let me see them,” Evander said, indicating the rocks she held in her arms.
“They’re fine, Vander,” she replied, squaring her shoulders and trying to fake confidence.
He blinked rapidly, a muscle in his jaw fluttering. “Remember what I told you. Don’t panic and run, don’t try to fight. Keep your group calm. Don’t make any noise …”
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m worried about you, with Haldir and Giles.”
She nodded toward Haldir, who was wiping sweat from his brow. Giles sat staring into the middle distance, his knee jogging up and down so fast, she thought he might start a landslide.
“Giles is showing some promise, and I can handle Haldir. Now, move slowly. The path is narrow, so don’t lose your balance. Don’t let anyone touch each other—if one person falls, we can’t have them taking the whole group …”
“Vander.” Valenna smiled bracingly. “We’re wasting time.”
Afraid he would stop her if she lingered, she kissed him hastily and stepped through the opening.
The darkness squeezed around her like hands gripping into fists. The cavern was unnaturally warm and damp, and the reek of putrid feces and rotting flesh burned her nostrils. Valenna wanted to cover her mouth and nose, but her hands were laden with stones.
She reminded herself to breathe and tossed the first rock. It struck the bridge with a hollow clatter that echoed from wall to wall. The echo faded, and then silence. Valenna glanced over her shoulder at Evander, and he raised his hands, signaling for her to wait.
A hog-like squeal made her jump as scabrous black talons curled up from the edge of the path. They clawed at the loose dirt with a nauseating scraping like a knife drawn across slate.
Valenna stood rooted, every instinct urging her to run, to get away from this place. She swallowed her fear and forced her feet to move across the bridge. The others followed, their boots hushing. The claws searched for a victim, scrabbling where the rock fell, and then the creature below let out a shriek like a burning witch and vanished over the edge.
Valenna held up her fist as she stopped running, and the girls, distracted by their terror, blundered into her. She lost her balance. The darkness yawned like an open throat, and she accidentally dropped the stones into the bottomless nothing as she wind-milled her arms. Elspeth caught the collar of her jacket and yanked her back onto her feet.
Trying to stifle her frantic breathing, Valenna glanced over her shoulder and glimpsed Evander already two steps past the entrance. He paused, his chest heaving, and then slowly backed up.
Valenna shrugged off her jacket, balled it, and tossed it ahead on the path. It landed with a soft thump.
The dragobat’s shriek sent a shiver vibrating down her spine, her arms, up her neck to the base of her skull. The talons clamped over the path again, and Valenna ran toward them, the girls pattering behind her. She got so near the claws this time that she could have reached out and touched them. Unsatisfied, the dragobat slunk out of sight.
Sunlight streamed in dusty beams onto the path only a few strides ahead.
Valenna felt along her belt and in her pockets for something to throw. A knife, a canteen, anything. Her hand found her knife, and she started to draw it, but it made a faint “shing” as it left the sheath, and the creature below shifted, chittering.
Forcing herself not to turn and look at Evander, who she knew would be in the middle stages of an impressive panic, she began to unfasten her belt. It made a clicking sound, and she froze, holding her breath. Drops of water echoed off the walls, and the dragobat grunted.
With nothing left to throw, Valenna had two terrible choices: risk taking the time to remove her boots, or make a break for the exit. It was only six strides; it might as well have been a fathom.
