Chapter 143 143. Descending

Chapter 143 143. Descending
Drake and Isolde moved closer, hissing softly; it was hard to hear over the sound of the rain coming down hard in sheets and the crack of thunder. "We need to get closer?" Drake said, and Isolde nodded, and they got closer, staying low to the ground.

They came to the mouth of a cave, a giant one, as far as the two could see. Where had it come from? How far away had they traveled from Arcane Academy? They both knew they had to enter the cave and investigate. "Let's drop our bags before we go in," Isolde whispered to him.  

They looked at each other one last time before they snuck low and against one of the walls of the mouth of the cave. The light they had seen off in the distance was brighter in the cave. Without the rain, and with the walls, it refracted and illuminated the space. The further they went in the cave, the more it went down, as if it wasn't a cave but a dug-out burrow.  

Isolde wondered if they would even have found the cave, or rather the burrow, in daylight. There had been a lot of trees near the entrance, and it was clear that this cave had been dug out by something. Fear prickled up her spine. A light meant whatever was down there was not sleeping, like a werewolf would have been. It wasn't a full moon. So if they found a creature, which was what she and Drake were looking for, it would be awake.  

She hoped it wasn't the dragon they encountered in the Mundane city. Drake, as if he could sense she was scared, grabbed her and gave her a look that said, you're not alone. That I am in this with you. Drake himself was feeling anxious; they could potentially be facing a fire-breathing beast, and while they were both competent, neither knew much about wielding craft against creatures.  

Drake and Isolde silently hoped that Malachi had been right that because they could speak split-tongued, they could communicate. Or even better would be if Isolde could slip into their minds and control them with split-tongued. Malachi had admitted he couldn't do it, and Isolde worried that if he couldn't, she wouldn't be able to either.  
The risks were not just that, though. She worried that even if everything were possible- that she and Drake could communicate, and she could mind-manipulate them- there would be another issue. Isolde worried there was more than one creature in the cavern; she had never controlled more than one mine at a time.  

If there was a horde, even if she could do as Malachi hoped, would they even be able to get out of there alive? Would she be able to save Drake when they were walking into a situation neither of them could return from? Why had they done this? Why? She could have said no to Malachai, right? No, that hadn't been an option; they had to do this.  

As they descended deeper underground, the air grew colder, and the light grew brighter. The sounds started to fill the space and echo. They had gone down a ways; unlike outside with the rain, they could now hear more than the thunder. There was hissing. Isolde and Drake froze instantly, pushing their bodies against the wall.  

Nerves rolled off both of them. It was hissing, not shrieking, not enticing; it sounded snake-like. They looked at one another, and both nodded, saying, " Let's proceed. It took a few more steps and then froze again; the hissing now had a familiar sound. Isolde turned to Drake. "Lucifer?" She mouthed, and he nodded.  

What came next brought fear between them: a much darker hiss. It sounded unnatural and coarse. It was almost screechy hissing; it didn't sound like a serpent, but it was- just a deformed one, were Drake's first thoughts. Both paused, thinking, as if they both caught on at the same time; it was the Dragon. Or rather, a dragon; they were serpents, giant fire-breathing serpents.  

Lucifer was down there; Isolde was going to get him. Her fear evaporated, and she went to charge in, but Drake grabbed her wrist; he was thinking they couldn't just rush in. Not when that thing was in there. He saw the damage one of them did to the Mundane city, and charging in was not the right choice. He shook his head frantically, and Isolde scowled.  

This whole time she had been wondering where her snake had gone; now she knew he was here. He could be trapped or stuck or something, she worried. She had let him be, and he had been here the whole time. Isolde didn't know that for sure, but it felt that way. Drake held her; he needed to think of a plan.  

One that got them both out alive. The only real idea he could think of was splitting up. One of them locating Lucifer and distracting the dragon. Then he worried about it: was the Dragon alone? Was it just one? He had only heard one unnatural hissing; maybe it was just a single one. He hoped so, especially when he let go of Isolde and took a deep breath, knowing she was walking into that alone.  

It was smarter to split up; he knew it, but they needed the element of surprise. Isolde had said he needed something that could pierce their hide and stab their heart. That, and they were serpents and could be talked to by them, as they both were split-tongued. Drake immediately began to panic; he had no idea what would pierce a dragon's hide and then stab their heart.  

Serphina followed the light, and as she came into a massive opening, she found it filled not only with a roaring fire that fought off her bone-deep chill. She was soaking wet from the rain and the descent down; there was gold, and mountains of it. Gold coins, precious jewels; no wonder the fire was reflecting everywhere. She looked around, seeing only gold at first. "Who dares to trespass on my horde?" That same creepy hissing echoed. Then a massive red head poked up through one of the giant piles of gold.  "Where is my snake?" She hissed back, trying to show no fear, but she was terrified and just hoped Drake would be there soon with a solution.