The Dragon's Descent Read Online Free PDF

produced his sword. Looking the creature in the eyes, he fearlessly cut the shadow hands from around his neck. This time, his sword had power.
    The creature’s eyes went wide as it vaporized into thin air. Vero fell back against the wall and watched as the swirling horde of shadows vanished. Moments later, he stood. There was no sign of the entities anywhere. He retracted his sword. His theory had been correct—his fear of the shadows was what drew them to him. And it was his own lack of confidence that had initially rendered his sword powerless. Vero straightened his back and raised his head high, determined to no longer fear the shadows, or his ability to vanquish them.
    As Vero continued down the path, he glanced up once more at the rows of gargoyles. He had read about them last year in his seventh-grade World History class. Placed on top of cathedrals and castles, they served as waterspouts that directed rain off the roofs through the gargoyles’ mouths, but no one really knew the exact reason why the statues were so unappealing and frightening to look upon. Some historians felt they were placed to ward off evil spirits. Others claimed the gargoyles were evil themselves and were meant to frighten people so they would run into the church for protection. Staring up at a particularly scary statue with a distorted, angry, ape-like face with horns protruding from its head, Vero hoped the former was the correct explanation.
    As he walked, Vero noticed that sparse clusters of grass broke through the stone ground like weeds clinging to life between cracks in the sidewalk. He started to hear the song of crickets and he crinkled his nose. The musty-smelling air gave way to the smell of a barnyard. Vero was suddenly reminded of the small petting zoo that had taken over their backyard for Clover’s ninth birthday. As he rounded a corner, Vero was faced with another split in the path. Taking a step toward the right side, he heard the faintest sound of a running river. Thinking of the three beautiful waterfalls in the far more forgiving region of the Ether, where souls cleansed themselves before meeting God, he decided to follow the sound. Vero’s excitement increased as the sound grew clearer and louder with every step he took. As he rounded a corner, he stepped out into a wider, taller corridor.
    Vero hadn’t realized how claustrophobic he had been in the smaller corridors of the maze until he stepped into this new, bigger space. To accommodate the added width, the gargoyles had also gotten bigger, maintaining a canopy top that prevented any escape by flight. There was flowing water here, though the trickle of the stream that cut right across the path in front of him could not be the source of the sound he had been following. As he stepped over it and walked ahead, the noise of rapidly flowing water became almost deafening. Vero’s head whipped around. A feeling of dread came over him. The tiny stream had somehow magically swelled into a raging river.
    â€œWeird,” Vero said aloud. “Guess I won’t be going back that way.”
    Ahead on the wall to his left, Vero saw a large cave-like entrance, illuminated by flickering torches. Vero rested against the stone wall for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Moments later, he walked into the cave. The deeper he went into the cave, the fainter the sound of the river became. He started to hear a new sound. “Is that the clucking of chickens?” Vero wondered. This maze was so weird.
    Confused, Vero wearily approached the source of the sound. Before him, the cave seemed to open into a much larger chamber. He distinctly heard a great multitude of chickens, echoing against every crevice of the cave. Scattered around the chamber were what appeared to be life-size statues of angels, made of some sort of whitish plaster. Some had their wings fully open, while others did not. Vero noticed looks of either shock or terror on every face. He was