Chereads / The Dark Stone / Chapter 18 - Freezing Mountain

Chapter 18 - Freezing Mountain

"I'll tell you. Everything you need to know, but not until I trust you." I replied.

Lucian didn't say anything, but I could see his expression soften. He didn't seem like he was mad.

"It's understandable. I'll wait. But you must know that I'm not here to hurt any of you." He said.

"What did you mean when you said you wanted to check if I were a threat?" I asked.

I wondered if Lucian thought that I will turn into a monster, like the one that attacked Arya. If he knew about such things then...it might give us a clue as to what is happening.

"Threat? Oh! You'll know what I mean. Trust me it won't be long and you'll be praying that you hadn't known any of it." He said and laid down.

I wanted to ask more, but he was already sound asleep or was pretending to be. But either way, my questions remained unanswered.

I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what Arya told me today. She went through something similar to me. Still, something quite doesn't fit in. I kept on thinking, but before I knew it, I drifted to sleep.

I was in a dream. But this one was different than the one I had yesterday. I felt relieved, but a little disappointed too. After all, I learned a whole new language just to understand what that voice meant. But I am mostly relieved because that pain was unbearable even though I was in a dream.

I was shivering. It was snowing and the air was freezing. I was on a snow-capped mountain.

'Great! First it was river of fire-like acid and now it's snow.' I cursed, my teeth clattering. I swear I'd never sleep again after this. The only time of the day when you relax and in that time too, someone make you swim a river, bear their torture and listen to their otherworldly bullshit, such miserable fate. And as if it wasn't enough, you have to climb a mountain too. Yep. I'm never sleeping again.

"Hello, Is there anyone here who want to spew nonsense in Shakespearean English? I came prepared this time." I shouted as I moved forward.

The temperature felt like it's a long way down south and is running in negatives. It was a rocky mountain, barren and utterly devoid of any flora or fauna. As far as I could see, the place was covered with snow. I looked down and the valley looked fathomless. I looked up, and saw the peak of the mountain touch the clouds. 'Wow! It's like it's penetrating the sky' I thought. The view, no matter how harsh the temperature and topography felt, was utterly beautiful. I would have really admired this place on a TV show or in a picture. But when you're the one actually standing there, it's an entirely different story altogether.

The place where I stood was a little flat, making it easier for me to go on and about. I kept on walking on the flat path that nearly spanned the periphery of the mountain.

I stumbled over a rock and lost my balance, I staggeredly moved back and slipped. A few pieces of rocks fell down and I was hanging onto the cliff with all my strength.

I didn't hear the stones falling, it was so high up. Nothing came to my mind and I was just thinking of getting back up.

My hand got weak and I knew it's going to slip eventually.

"Help me." I shouted

My hand slipped and I screamed, but suddenly a hand grabbed me. I saw a man pulling me up with just one hand. I got up and was panting and coughing. Is this really a dream? I was starting to wonder if dreams are something dangerous in this world.

I looked at the man who saved me. He was tall and muscular with unkempt hair. He draped a robe made of a tiger's skin all over his body. His arms, neck and even face was smeared with white ash. He looked at me and his pitch black eyes resonated nothing, but power. I got the feeling that he isn't the type of guy you can afford to mess with.

"Thank you" I said. The man looked emotionlessly at me and started walking away.

"Please wait." I called after him.

He paused, but didn't turn back. He tilted his head sideways to look at me.

"You're running out of time." He said.

Before I could ask what he meant, my dream collapsed and I woke up.