Chapter
6 ‘The Great Stone’ Page 21
Lerix’s face was badly scarred. The scar ran from the top left side of his
head, across his left eye, across his snout, and ended at his chin. There was a horrible mangled hole where
Lerix’s left eye should have been.
Around his neck hung a flat piece of stone about the size of a CD. The stone had strange circular marks on it
and the same faint red glow as the one Peko had around his neck. A cold shudder ran through Tommy’s body.
“Hum,” said Lerix. “I’ve never seen anything like you
before.” He straightened up and slowly
paced back and forth in front of Tommy.
“Where did it come from?” Lerix
asked his guard.
“I’m not sure, my Lord. He was found in the jungle with some others
but they got away,” replied the guard.
“Oh yes,” said Lerix quietly. “The others.” He remained quiet for a moment then looked down at Tommy. “You belong to me now and you will do
exactly what you are told, understand.”
Lerix wasn’t looking for a response.
He looked at the guard. “It will
be branded like all the slaves.”
Before Tommy knew what was happening
the guard grabbed him, holding Tommy’s arm tightly at his sides. Lerix grasped the stone around his neck and
advanced on Tommy. He pressed the stone
against Tommy’s cheek. It burned into
his flesh and he squealed in pain trying to break free. After a minute, Lerix removed the
stone. Tommy could feel the stinging
burn on his face. He began to cry.
“Put it to work,” said Lerix. But before Tommy could be dragged away Lerix
grabbed him by his the shirt and pulled him close.
“Listen well creature. I don’t know what you are or where you came
from but if you cause any trouble whatsoever, I will make you very , very
sorry,” Lerix hissed.
He let Tommy go. The guard once again grabbed Tommy by the
arm and dragged him back down the stairs.
Once they were back down in the pit,
the guard took Tommy over to a section of wall and let him go.
“Get to work!” it growled then
walked away.
Lerix sat on his throne and surveyed
his domain. He smiled. Things were going better than he had ever expected. All that remained for him to do was get his
hands on the last few Gwondalians who dare defy him and he would be in complete
control of the valley and all who lived there.
As Lerix sat deep in thought, a
figure strutted out from behind the throne.
Lerix’s head darted to the left and found the Oviraptor, Egbert,
standing beside him. The awkward
dinosaur strutted in front of the throne and swooped down in a majestic bow. Lerix rolled his eyes. He only kept the bothersome thing alive
because he was so good at spying.
“What do you want Egbert?” said
Lerix with impatience.
“Egbert asks his most mighty leader
Lerix to forgive the intrusion, but---”
“Get to the point!” snapped
Lerix. “I haven’t got all day.”
Egbert bowed again then strutted
closer to the throne. Lerix watched the
half mad dinosaur approach. He didn’t
trust Egbert but he was safe in the knowledge that if the idiot tried anything
Lerix would rip his throat out.
The Oviraptor pointed down into the
pit.
“Egbert knows much about the strange
one brought before Lord Lerix.”
This piece of information peeked
Lerix’s interest. He knew Egbert was
always full of information even though he had repeatedly failed to bring him
the heads of those that eluded him.
“You mean the creature?” asked
Lerix.
Egbert nodded his head vigorously.
“Egbert knows this creature to be
friend of the ones that cause Mighty Lerix so much trouble. Egbert has seen it with them.”
Lerix rested his chin on the back of
his scaly hand and began to think. If
this creature was indeed the companion of those pests, then most likely they
will try to free their friend. This
thought hatched a deliciously evil plan.
Lerix turned his attention back to Egbert.
“Go and befriend this creature. Find out what it knows and if the others
will come looking for it. Report back
to me when you know something.” With
that said he waved his hand and dismissed Egbert.
The Oviraptor bowed deeply then
strutted off to find Tommy.
Tommy, meanwhile, was sitting on the
ground slumped against the wall. He
wiped the tears away from the stinging welt on his cheek. He was dazed and numb all over. For some reason, that he hadn’t figured out
yet, Lerix had branded him like a cow.
His head was cloudy and throbbing.
Tommy tried to shake the feeling off and noticed for the first time that
he was being watched. He looked over to
his right and found the eyes of a Nanosaurus and a Protoceratops watching
him. Tommy slowly got to his feet and
the dinosaurs quickly looked away.
Tommy wiped his dripping nose on his sleeve and noticed a primitive pick
ax on the ground near his feet. As he
picked it up, he suddenly felt very dizzy and had to lean against the wall to
steady himself. He was feeling very
strange, not at all like his usual self.
He looked at the ax in his hand and wondered what he was suppose to do
with it.
Tommy looked over at the dinosaurs
beside him. Both were striking the rock
wall with the ax then digging out lumps of clear crystal. Next the dinosaurs placed the crystals into
one of four baskets near them. Tommy
looked back at the wall. I better do
something, he thought, otherwise there was no telling what that Lerix would do
to him.
He lifted the ax into the air and
hit the wall as hard as he could just as the others were doing. Pieces of rock fell away revealing two lumps
of crystal, one clear and one black.
Tommy carefully dug the crystals out of the wall and placed them into
one of two baskets next to him. He was
very tired. How was he going to find a
way out of this nightmare? While Tommy
was trying to think of an escape plan, a large Velociraptor carrying a whip
walked up behind him. It gave Tommy a
hard prod in the back with the end of the whip.
Startled, Tommy turned around. He found a Myrite guard standing behind him
with it’s arms crossed and glaring at him.
“Get to work!” it snarled.
Tommy quickly turned around and
began to frantically hit the wall with his ax.