“That don’t sound good,” said the girl.
“It wasn’t. When Etanun recovered, he once more declared, ‘I have killed the Dragonwitch!’ ” Leo bellowed this in his best heroic voice. Then he changed his tone to be deep and wise. “ ‘No, my brother,’ said Akilun. ‘You have merely killed her the second time. The Dragonwitch will return once more.’
“Etanun flew into a rage, inspired by the poison inside him. He flung Fireword far from him, saying, ‘Who can trust such a sword, when it could not even kill the Dragonwitch?’ Then he fled from Akilun, far, far away. But Akilun knew where he was going.”
“Where?”
“The younger brother was determined to find the Dragon who fathered the Dragonwitch. He wanted the power of the Dragonwitch for himself.”
Leo pointed toward the mouth of the cave. In the deepening twilight, it looked even more like a wolf’s head to him. But it was just a cave. And this was just a story. “In my book,” he said, “there is an engraving of the Gateway to Death. It looks like that. Like a wolf’s head.”
“Folks say it’s the face of the Wolf Lord,” said the girl.
“This all happened long before the Wolf Lord,” Leo replied dismissively. He continued his narrative. “Etanun walked through the gate as he sought out the Dragon. What he did not know was that Akilun, following the light of the Asha Lantern, pursued him.
“The path to the Dragon’s Kingdom is long and perilous. But Akilun caught up with his brother at last and held him tight. ‘I won’t let you do this,’ he said. ‘I won’t let you destroy yourself.’
“ ‘Ha!’ said Etanun. ‘My Prince abandoned me when he gave me that faulty sword of his! You will soon abandon me too! I will offer myself to the Dragon as his servant, for his power is the only power that lasts!’ Then he wrestled against Akilun’s grasp. His strength was much greater than that of his brother, but Akilun’s love was greater still.”
Leo rolled his eyes, suddenly embarrassed. “I know that sounds silly. That’s the way it was in the book.”
“It don’t sound silly. It sounds pretty,” said the girl, exactly like a girl.
Leo rolled his eyes again and continued. “They battled a long time on that dark pathway. The book said their battle lasted through generations of mortal men, but that is probably just book talk. At last, Akilun forced his brother to gaze into the light of the Asha Lantern. ‘Look at it!’ he cried. ‘Look at it and know the truth once more!’ The light nearly blinded Etanun. But it was so pure and so bright that it drove the dragon poison right out of his veins. He stopped struggling, and both brothers collapsed.
“When Etanun came to himself once more, he was no longer poisoned. He realized that he’d been wrong to doubt the power and strength of his Prince, to throw away his gift so quickly. And he realized what a narrow escape he had had, thanks to his brother. But when he turned to him, he found that Akilun was dead.”
“Oh!” The girl shook her head. “Not really dead?”
“Yes. Really dead. As the book said, ‘His spirit was flown across the Final Water.’ ”
“That’s sad.”
“I never said it was a happy story.”
“What’s the good of a story that ain’t got a happy endin’?” the girl demanded, crossing her arms.
Leo considered. “Maybe it does have a happy ending. At least, when it’s actually complete. I mean, this part of it is sad. But maybe something good will come from it still? I suppose you have to read all the legends together to know for sure, but I don’t know all of them. This one is sad, but there might be a story out there somewhere to make it happy.”
The girl nodded. “I’d like to know that story someday.”
Leo didn’t answer. He leaned against his beanpole, eyeing the mouth of the cave once more.
“What happened to the younger brother?” the girl asked at length.
“Oh, he buried Akilun right there on the path’s side. Put a stone marker on the grave and set the lantern on top. It’s supposed to shine for those who walk Death’s Path, offering hope. Something like that.” Leo’s hand moved up and down the beanpole, knuckles whitening intermittently. “So . . . there isn’t really a monster in this cave, is there?”
The girl didn’t answer for a long moment. Then she said, “You’d have to go in to find out.”
Leo nodded. “It’s getting dark now,” he said. “I . . . I should probably retire and plan my assault first. Come back again tomorrow when I’m better prepared, right?”
To his great relief, she nodded. “That’s good. But you won’t find the cave by yourself.”
“I won’t?”
“Nobody finds this place on their own.”
This thought didn’t bother Leo as much as she seemed to think it would.
“You’ll need me,” she went on. “I can lead you here in a snap, any time you like! Just so long as Beana don’t catch on. Beana don’t like me to come up here without her.”
“Who’s Beana again?”