A Slave to Magic by Lana Axe Page B

into my abode?” the voice
asked. The words were followed by audible footsteps—the heavy, resounding steps
of a massive beast.
    His throat nearly too dry to speak, Kwil did his
best to project. “My name is Kwil,” he began, “and I’ve come to ask a favor of
you.” Civility, he decided, was the best option here. This creature was
intelligent enough to speak, so maybe he could reason with it to avoid a fight.
    Laughter resounded throughout the cavern. “You are
a bold fool,” the monster said. “What favor would you ask of me?”
    Swallowing hard, he replied, “A single claw is
all. My master requires it.”
    A brief silence followed, and the young man tilted
his ear toward the cave’s depths. He recognized the faint sound of dragging and
the dripping of water, but nothing of the cockatrice’s voice. Shining the light
of his shield throughout the cavern, he counted no fewer than five passageways.
With the echoing sounds, he could never guess which way the voice had come
from.
    Without warning, a heavy blow knocked him off his
feet, his shield scooting away from him along the muddy floor. Its light faded
out before Kwil could scramble to his feet.
    “I’ll be keeping all of my claws today!” the
cockatrice roared. With a swipe of its tail, it struck a second time, slamming
Kwil against the cave wall.
    Pain exploding through his body, Kwil struggled to
suck in a breath. Dropping to his knees, he clawed desperately at the floor,
searching for the stone shield. Feeling the beast’s breath on his neck, Kwil
instinctively rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a gnashing beak. Groping in
the darkness, he continued to search for the shield, knowing he must find it or
die.
    The cockatrice struck again, sending the slave’s
bruised body sliding into a shallow puddle. As he came to a halt, he flipped
himself over and coughed up a mouthful of pebbles and mud. When he reached out
his hands to steady himself, his fingers brushed against warmth—he had found
the stone. Its light glowed as the mage’s hand grasped it, and he lifted it
high in the air. With the cavern illuminated, he got his first glimpse of the
creature that had attacked him.
    Golden scales glittered in the pale light, its
long slender neck rising to the height of the cave. A menacing hiss escaped its
hooked beak as Kwil trembled at the sight. When the creature spread its batlike
wings, the slave pulled the shield close to his head, shielding his eyes from
the beast’s gaze.
    Realizing the intruder carried a polished stone,
the cockatrice commended him. “Clever boy!” it shouted. “You’ve come prepared!”
In a fluid motion, it swung its spiny tail, and sent the mage flying.
    Biting his lip to endure the pain, Kwil clutched
tightly at his shield. Knowing the monster would not relent peacefully, he
resorted to the only plan he could think of. Drawing on the magic inside him,
he placed one hand flat against the back of the shield. Adding his own heat to
the stone’s, he spoke a brief word of magic. The light illuminated tenfold, the
shield’s rays glinting off every puddle in the cave.
    Roaring with displeasure, the cockatrice was
forced to cease its attack and squeeze its eyes shut. Should its gaze fall upon
its own reflection in one of the many pools, it would turn itself to stone.
“Enough!” the beast cried. “Dim the light, and I will give you what you seek.”
    “How do I know I can trust you?” Kwil asked. Right
now he had the upper hand, but if he doused the light, he would be at the
creature’s mercy.
    The cockatrice lifted its foot to its beak and
clamped down, severing a section of claw. Spitting it in the mage’s direction,
it said, “Take it and leave this place.”
    Kwil grabbed the claw and shuddered, imagining the
damage it could have done him. It was larger than his own hand and as strong as
steel. “Thank you,” Kwil said. Before dimming the shield, he asked, “If it was
so simple to remove the claw, and it caused you