Thronegarden by Andrew Dickerson (top rated books of all time .txt) 📕

of my family, but also released Vaxlesh from his promise to us. I have not told my people this news as it would certainly see the end to all we have built here. I cannot see a way out of this mess.”

“What happened to the bell?” Damselfly focused.

“With Vaxlesh gone, a leviathan occupied the lake, a beast large enough to frustrate even The Lady of the Lake. I tossed the bell into those dark waters, afraid of what it could do and the leviathan took it.”

“What kind of sea creature are we talking about?” Delridden queried.

“It is fifty feet long with a giant head, sharp teeth and a hide strong enough to deflect magic,” Laetitia described.

“How did your ancestor trick Vaxlesh into becoming your deity?” Damselfly posed.

“The stories do not say though all maritime life enjoys gambling.”

Before they could learn more, a deafening crash resounded all around them and continued until Damselfly believed the sky itself was falling. Laetitia Shade burst out of the hut to discover the origin of this cacophony. Delridden followed while Damselfly had to practically drag Buttons along behind her.

“What is going on?” Laetitia could hardly make herself heard over the tumult. The guard seemed to realise that speech was useless and simply pointed towards Mount Duskenside. At first Damselfly thought there had been a catastrophic rockslide. Then she understood that the Sprite army was marching down the mountain at double quick speed.

It was almost as if the army were fleeing from something.

Damselfly could just make out the giant standing head and shoulders above everyone else as they descended to the flatlands. The ground shook under their feet and many of the Shades appeared, ready to run.

“What do we do?” they beseeched.

“There is nowhere else to run or hide,” Laetitia stated.

“We will make our last stand here and let Vaxlesh watch over us.”

Many of her followers still looked poised to flee as they watched the Sprite army come ever closer. Then, with fabled resolve, they took up whatever weapons they could find and formed a narrow line of defence.

“We’re not staying here, are we?” Buttons screeched. “We can’t just leave them,” Delridden disputed.

For once Damselfly agreed with her trusted companion. There was little they could do in the coming battle and her priority was completing Death’s mission.

“Where can we find the leviathan?” she asked Laetitia.

“Amongst the ruins where our holy font once rested.”

Leaving the Shades to face their final battle, Damselfly, Buttons and Delridden headed back towards the lake.

Inside the ruins of the old Shade tower, Damselfly led them down a steep flight of stone stairs. Buttons had refused to follow until they reminded him that The Lady of the Lake might be lingering. Delridden brought up the rear though he constantly looked over his shoulder, feeling sore at leaving Laetitia and the others to fight alone. The tower was a haunted shell with pieces of stone cracking as they walked over it. The only occupants were bats and supposedly a leviathan. As they reached the final stair, Damselfly could just make out an area across the room where she could see the holy font lying discarded on the ground. Watching her step, Damselfly led them across the abandoned room and stopped at the edges of a deep well.

“What do we do now?” Buttons questioned.

“We summon the beast.” Damselfly kicked a loose rock into the water.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” Delridden said.

Suddenly the water began to ripple and break into waves before a serpentine head broke the surface. A pair of tiny eyes stared out of a ginormous blue head as the leviathan stared up at the intruders.

“Who is throwing stones?” he demanded.

“I only wanted to get your attention,” Damselfly excused.

“Why would you want to do that? I eat fish bigger than you,” the leviathan threatened.

“I heard you were good at riddles, and I have some that even you cannot solve.”

“Ha, ha, the tiny morsel thinks she can beat me,” the leviathan chuckled. “I am old as the sea and wiser than any creature who lives above water.”

“Prove it,” the princess provoked.

The leviathan slammed his giant head into the water, sending a wave of cold spray over the three of them.

“Ask me anything,” he challenged.

“First we need to agree on the rules,” Damselfly stated.

“Get on with it,” the leviathan urged.

“I will ask you three riddles. If you get them all correct you win. If you get a single one wrong then I win.”

“Fine, ask the first one,” the leviathan agreed.

“What about stakes?”

The leviathan was by now getting visibly frustrated and could hardly stay still in the water in his eagerness.

“Name them,” he ordered.

“If I win you will give me the bell Laetitia Shade threw into the well,” Damselfly continued.

Suddenly the serpent’s gaze became astute as if reassessing his opinion of them, the earlier impatience replaced by studious observation.

“What if I win?” he asked.

Damselfly searched for something to wager and discovered Bakka’s skeleton key. With a slight hesitation she showed it to the leviathan.

“Good enough,” he agreed. “Ask your riddles.”

Damselfly had heard Old Nana tell a thousand stories and many of them included riddles or puzzles that the heroes had to decipher. She quickly scoured her memory for a challenging riddle that might stump the leviathan.

“Riddle me this,” Damselfly began.

Voiceless it cries,

Wingless flutters,

Toothless bites,

Mouthless mutters.

The leviathan looked deep in thought as they all held their breath hoping that the answer would not be forthcoming. After some deliberation the serpent bobbed his large head confidently.

“The answer is wind.”

“Correct,” Damselfly admitted.

“That was too easy,” the leviathan boasted. “Give me a tough one.”

“All right, see how you fare with this,” Damselfly posed.

What begins but has no end and ends all that begins?