Nemesis and the Troll King by Ashley Du Toit Read Free Book Online Page A

that he would insist on weekly baths when he finally made it back to his fellow trolls. Just because they were trolls didn’t mean they had to stink! He almost swallowed half the lake laughing at the picture of himself telling Taliyard that he had to take a bath.
    Yarg reached the entrance and heaved himself out of the water to sit on the ledge inside the waterfall. The cave was less than reassuring. The intense stench of sulphur hung heavily in the air and the walls near him were scorched black from flames.
    Yarg waited until his eyesight adjusted to the dim light, then rose to move further into the cave. He had taken only a few steps when he heard a deep rumble.
    â€œSo you have finally sought me out, Yarg, King of the Trolls.”
    Yarg could feel the dragon’s hot, heavy breath close by, but he could not see him. Then Nemesis stepped out from the shadows at the back of the cave. Yarg swallowed at the size and stature of the dragon. He always seemed to forget how magnificent Nemesis was.
    The dragon’s massive body was as pitch-black as the darkest night, but nestled in the black was a sparkling glow of emerald-green glitter that shimmered as he moved. His huge body rested on four powerfully muscled legs. He had a long spiked tail, and mighty wings that spanned the cave. His deep yellow eyes glowed eerily in the dimness. Yarg looked deeply into those glowing orbs, and was overwhelmed by the immense age and knowledge that he saw there.
    â€œNemesis, Great Dragon, ruler of all the magical realms, I seek audience with you,” Yarg said.
    Lowering his head respectfully, he waited for Nemesis to respond. Nemesis stood for a long moment watching the troll king. Then, “What is it that you seek?” he demanded. Although his voice was soft, there was threat in the tone.
    Despite himself, Yarg shivered as he answered. “A human came to see me,” he said. “He claimed to be brother to me. He told me a bizarre tale. I have come to you seeking the truth.”
    Nemesis neither moved nor blinked, but continued to watch the troll closely. “What exactly is it that you want to know, Yarg?” Nemesis responded.
    â€œIs it true? Am I a human cursed into the body of a troll?”
    â€œThe truth will either set you free or it will condemn you. Which shall it be, I wonder?” mused Nemesis, as if speaking to himself, before continuing in a voice that was definitely directed at Yarg, “There is an old saying among mortals: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Are you sure you want to know the truth, Yarg?”
    Yarg slowly nodded his head. Nemesis turned his enormous body away and walked further into the cave’s depths. Yarg stood watching the massive wings blend back into the darkness until Nemesis commanded: “Follow me.”
    Yarg followed.
    Nemesis stopped in the centre of the cave and turned again to face Yarg. Growing uneasy under the unblinking stare of those strange eyes, Yarg shifted his feet. The dragon’s deep voice vibrating throughout the cave brought goose bumps to Yarg’s thick skin, but it was what he said that chilled Yarg to the core.
    â€œYou were a human. Through your cruelty, you damned an innocent fairy to a frozen existence.”
    Shock held Yarg immobile, but his mind shouted a denial.
    Nemesis continued thoughtfully, “But you travelled here with a centaur. There must be some good in you if a centaur has gone against his kind to align himself with you.”
    For another long moment Yarg was subjected to that piercing yellow gaze, then Nemesis suddenly boomed a question. “Do you seek redemption?”
    Yarg had been too stunned at what Nemesis had revealed to have thought ahead, but an impatient twitch of that massive tail told him that an answer was expected, and soon.
    Fear of the unknown, of losing what he knew as his life, warred with the desire to return to what he had been told was his true form. “Yes,” he said, surprising