How to Slay a Dragon - Bill Allen [79]
“Try using it on the scale.”
Lucky returned to kneel behind the sleigh. He popped the cork and shook the vial over the dragon’s scale, scattering a few remaining drops across its surface. “Let’s hope it’s enough,” he said as he wedged the scale back into place. “Try it now.”
Greg really had no choice, as his arms were again giving out. He eased off the rope in the sense that he suddenly let go, and this time the scale held firm. Unfortunately only one runner was blocked. With a jerk the sleigh pivoted sideways and crashed into the tunnel wall. Lucky shrieked and dodged out of the way, possibly reconsidering how far his talent would carry him.
“You okay?” Greg asked.
“Of course. Hey, look at this.”
Greg felt uncomfortable dropping the rope, but the sleigh seemed firmly wedged between the wall and the dragon scale. He moved around to join Lucky, where a fine crack no wider than a thread crept up the tunnel wall for several feet, beginning at the spot where the corner of the sleigh had impacted the surface. Greg drew his finger over the line, and the end of the crack crept along in front of it, giving the impression Greg held his finger on a giant zipper in the stone.
“It’s a doorway,” Lucky said.
“Not just any doorway,” said Greg. “It’s the Passageway of Shifted Dimensions. We found it.”
“No way. I mean—I knew we would. How does it open?”
Greg thought a moment. “Hazel said we needed to command it to open in the name of the prophet.”
Lucky shrugged, pivoted toward the door, and raised his arms wide. “I Command You To Open In The Name Of The Prophet!”
Nothing happened.
“Try using his real name,” Greg suggested.
“I Command You To Open In The Name Of Simon Sezxqrthm!” Lucky tried.
Still nothing.
Greg grunted. “You’ve got to be kidding. Here, let me.” He faced the door just as Lucky had done and spoke in a much more ordinary tone. “Simon Sez, open.”
With a click the door swung inward, spilling a wave of refreshingly cool air into the tunnel, proof of the powerful magic within.
“You did it!” Lucky said.
“Seems so,” said Greg. He just wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
The Passageway
of Shifted Dimensions
Greg had assumed the white crack outlining the passage had been caused by light filtering in from behind, but the door opened to a side tunnel of utter darkness. He could make out only the first ten feet or so by the light of his flickering torch.
“I hope this is it,” he whispered.
“Of course it is,” said Lucky. “How many magical passageways do you think are up here?”
“Who knows? The tunnel is infinitely long. There may be quite a few. Let’s see if we can get this sleigh in there. I’ll pull the rope. You push from behind.”
Lucky scrambled around to the back of the sleigh and prepared to push while Greg picked up the rope and stepped into the passageway, pulling out the slack. Greg’s arms felt like rubber, but to his surprise the sleigh moved on the first tug, sliding easily into the passageway, only to become firmly wedged in the narrow opening.
“Doesn’t fit,” Lucky grunted. “What do we do now?”
“Push it back out,” said Greg. “It’s already served its purpose. We’ll just have to leave it.”
He waited for Lucky to step out of the way, then set down his torch, dousing the area in sudden darkness, and pushed. The sleigh held tight.
“What are you waiting for, Greg?”
“It’s stuck. Just crawl under.”
Lucky agreed, but unfortunately the sleigh sat too low to the ground. He could fit neither under nor over it. “I knew it was too good to be true,” he called out. “Well, you go ahead. You can tell me all about the dragon when you get back.”
Greg’s stomach churned. If only he would get the chance. He groped the floor of the passageway for the eternal torch until his fingers bumped into the hard wood and lit the area with an eerie, flickering glow.
“Er, thanks for all your help,” he told Lucky.
“No problem. See you soon.”
One last trembling breath and Greg stepped into the ominous passageway.
“Wait!” Lucky called out.
Greg