“Let’s get going. We don’t have any more time!”
The three started walking towards the dark cave at a quick pace. They didn’t have much time before Violet was going to take over the world and they knew this was the only way to save the Vladdicus Coven from destruction.
When they got to the cave they heard howling and other strange noises coming from inside. Matilda had heard these noises before and knew that the animals who were making them were large and violent. She thought for a second about not entering but she knew she had no choice.
“Come on. We have to enter. We have no choice,” Matilda said.
“Why don’t you go and we will wait outside,” Penelope said.
“No! We need strength in numbers. We can’t separate now!” Matilda said.
“That’s right, Penelope. I can’t let her go in alone. What if she never came out. I could never live with myself,” Hunter said.
HSSSSSS
“What was that?” Penelope yelled in terror.
“Shh, be quiet. Don’t let them know you are scared,” Matilda said.
“Is that the Komodo Dragon?” Hunter asked.
“Yes!” Matilda said.
“I’m not going in!” Penelope yelled, almost in tears.
“You are coming in. It’s not any safer out here,” Hunter said.
“Let’s go!” Matilda said.
They walked inside the cave and all over were stalagmites and stalactites. It was actually very beautiful once they were inside. There was a shimmer of light at the end of the cave, which sparkled off the stalagmites and sent a beam of light shining throughout the cave and brightening up a pathway for the three to walk.
“So where is it?” Hunter said.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I know it’s in here somewhere. I just know!” Matilda said in excitement.
“Should we go towards the light?” Penelope said.
“That’s where we are heading!” Matilda said.
They started walking to the blue light at the end of the tunnel and Matilda noticed that it started to glisten as if the light was not actually light but something else. It was like a mirage in the distance, which she couldn’t quite make out.
As they got closer, she could see that the light was actually the reflection coming off the big blue pool of water in the cave, making it glisten.
HSSSS
The hissing got louder and closer as they reached the pool of water and when Matilda looked up she saw at least fifteen hissing komodo dragons standing in between them and the pool of water.
“HELP!” Penelope yelled. “Please can we go now!”
“This is crazy!” Hunter exclaimed.
“We have to keep going!” Matilda said.
“How are we going to get past them?” Hunter asked. “This doesn’t look good.”
“Do you know how dangerous the komodo dragon is?” Penelope asked. “We are all going to die!”
“This is going a little far, Matilda,” Hunter said. “You don’t even know if the Waverly Mirror is over here. You can’t risk our lives in the event it may be here. Let’s go!”
“I am not leaving. I know it is here. Why do you think all the dragons are here. They’re protecting it. I’m sure Violet and the Greslin’s sent them here to protect the Waverly Mirror. I bet they didn’t even think we’d get this far in finding it!” Matilda said.
“It’s not here!” Penelope said. It’s just a coincidence.
SCREECH SCREECH!
Above them flew hundreds of thousands of bats and they started to surround them and began to bite their bodies. They could barely see in front of them anymore as all the bats swarmed them.
“RUN!” Matilda screamed. “Start running towards the pool!”
“ARE YOU CRAZY?” Hunter yelled.
“Let’s go! We don’t have any time!” Matilda said.
The three of them started running through the swarm of baths flailing their arms as they ran fighting off the bats that were biting them. As they approached the edge of the pool, Matilda looked down and saw something shining at the bottom of the pool.
HSSSSS
A komodo dragon came close to her with his tongue sticking out of its mouth as if he were going to eat her alive.
“LOOK!” Matilda said.
“LOOK AT WHAT?” they yelled.
“There it is!” Matilda said.
“Where?” Hunter asked.
“It’s there at the bottom of the pool! Don’t you see it! The Waverly Mirror is what has been shining the light through the cave this whole time. It was guiding us to it!” Matilda said. “I knew it was here I just knew it!”
“How do you think you’re going to get past the dragons?” Penelope said.
“And look there’s sharks in the water circling!” Hunter added.
“This isn’t looking good!” Matilda said, but it’s our only shot at survival. If I don’t get it we are going to die and if I do get it there’s a chance we may still die. But I have to at least try. If not for ourselves for our coven and for all the vampire people.”
With that, Matilda started running full speed ahead and jumped into the air over the komodo dragons and dove into the water with all her clothes on towards the Waverly Mirror. She hoped that she would come out alive, but knew her chances were slim.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Flying at the speed of light Rachel could barely keep her eyes open as the wind rushed past her face. It was like she were in a wind tunnel and all she could do was make sure she didn’t run into any trees or large birds in the sky.
Her eyes were peeled for the statue of the eagle but she’d yet to see it. She wondered if she had accidentally flown the wrong way or missed it due to the intense speed and lack of clear vision. Either way, she was beginning to worry. She knew she was running out of time and the last thing she needed was to get lost on the way to the family mausoleum.
Rachel slowed her flight down a little bit although she felt anxious doing so. She didn’t want to waste time going slow but she also knew it would be a huge waste of time to over shoot the eagle statue and then have to turn around. Part of her felt like this was all a big mistake to venture off in the swamps alone, but she knew she had no other choice. In hind sight she wished her grandmother would have just taken here there and shown her exactly where to go and what to do once she arrived. Now she was completely on her own in a place that felt foreign to her.
The dawn was breaking and on the horizon Rachel could see the sun trying to peek over the trees. It was like no other sunrise she’d ever seen before. The sun was molten red against the dark black of the night sky. It was eerie looking and she knew that something was different. She could feel it in the air that other forces were working against her.