Urrax raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“I can’t see any bruises on you. Cad and the rest of them bound us very tightly. Look at these red marks.” Lynx showed the red ring-like bruises on his arms. Matt and Daniel had them too. “You don’t have them? That means you were not bound so tightly. Why?”
Urrax shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Lynx continued, “When the Sorcerers flipped us, they flipped us horizontally in the direction of the east. I remember you asking me if you could take my place on the right side of the chariot. If I connect the dots, I can now understand that when the chariot flipped, you remained safe.”
“Wait,” Matt said. “How?”
“Simple,” Lynx said. “Imagine a chariot flipping eastward. At one time, when it is perpendicular to the ground, the ones at the top would be thrown outwards. Those at the bottom would be thrown inwards. In other words, the ones on the right side would get hurt less.”
“Just wait,” Urrax said, frowning. “What are you implying?”
“I am not implying,” Lynx said. “Merely stating. And I can’t help but imply something too. What are you hiding?”
“That’s it!” Daniel said suddenly, realizing what Lynx was talking about. “You can’t suspect everyone you meet, for goodness’s sake! You are suggesting that Urrax is betraying us. I refuse to believe you.”
“Yeah, me too,” Matt said, but half-heartedly. “Maybe.”
Daniel glared at him. “Maybe? What does that mean? Urrax risked everything to help us when we first met him. How can he betray us?”
“Calm down,” Lynx said in a composed voice.
“How can I?” Daniel said. “Urrax is our friend. We can’t go on suspecting friends.”
“All right, all right,” Lynx said. “Forget this discussion. It never happened, all right? Calm down.”
“Okay,” Daniel said, his reddened face coming back to normal.
Lynx turned back to look at the valley and the conversation ended.
Matt leaned against the railing and looked outside, feeling the cold wind hitting his face. Daniel was saying something to Urrax, most probably comforting him.
They had travelled for about thirty minutes when they saw a bull with a long tail standing right in the middle of the road. It was humongous and took most of the space sideways on the road. There was no way they could drive the chariot around it.
Lynx stopped the chariot as soon as he spotted the bull and they started contemplating what to do next.
“What is that?” Daniel asked.
“A Stonehound,” Lynx replied. “It is a creature whose skin is made up of stone. If it gets provoked, it is dangerous to handle.”
“It looks like it isn’t going to attack, though,” Matt said.
As if on cue, the bull growled and darted towards them.
“Oh, no,” Daniel said. “Matt, you jinxed us.”
“Ditch the chariot!” Lynx yelled before leaping. They all jumped out of the chariot. There was a massive crunch behind them as the bull slammed into the chariot and demolished it.
“Move quick,” Lynx said. “Before it comes back. Just run away. I know how to handle it.”
The bull was racing towards Lynx. All the others scattered. Just as the bull was about to hit him, Lynx jumped sideways and rolled on the grass. The bull turned.
Lynx, knowing the situation was getting dangerous, quickly waved his hands around and muttered a spell.
The bull dashed towards Lynx. Suddenly, a big, dark square space appeared just in front of Lynx. The bull ran straight into it and disappeared.
“What was that?” Daniel asked.
“That was a special portal. The bull is now having fun in the cold mountains.” Lynx sighed with relief.
“What do we do now?” Matt asked. “The chariot is broken.”
“We walk,” Lynx said. “Opal City is not far.” He pointed up ahead.
Matt looked ahead and saw the silhouette of a tall structure against the bright sky.
“What’s that?” Matt asked.
“You’ll see when we get to it,” Lynx replied.
They started walking. Matt was steadily getting tired, but he didn’t complain. Lynx just kept walking undeterred at a steady pace.
“Slow down,” Daniel called.
Lynx slowed his pace but kept walking.
“I wish I had physical abilities of a warrior,” Daniel said. “It is such a boon.”
Lynx’s expert hearing caught his words. “Physical abilities are nothing more than curses,” he said. “As soon as people know that you are a warrior, they won’t stop at anything to put you down. They become jealous, you see. All my life, I have had to put up with these people.”
Daniel thought about it. “Hmmm. Maybe you are right.”
They continued walking in silence. Matt admired the scenery around. Back in London, this breath-taking view was not possible.
As they walked, the tall structure was getting closer. Matt still couldn’t figure out what it was.
And then it suddenly hit him.
“Is that what I think it is?” Matt asked.
Lynx nodded. “Yes.”
The structure’s height was difficult to take in. Matt remembered the day when his parents had taken him to Dubai and showed him the Burj Khalifa. Matt had been shocked to see its sheer height. Well, the Burj Khalifa looked like a school building compared to this structure.
It was a majestic statue of Lord Arcane.
“Who made this?” Matt asked in awe.
“Lord Arcane’s followers,” Lynx replied. “As a tribute to him. It’s a one-of-its-kind statue in the entire Dark World. It took almost two years to make this statue, and that too with hundreds of people working non-stop and many sorcerers to help. This was a massive project.”
Just behind the statue, there was an entrance to a city. A sign prominently read – “Welcome to the Opal City.”
Opal City was simply stunning. The streets were made of bricks, with specks of diamond dust all around. On either side of the street were mansions made of opal. It shone in the sunlight. The sight was mesmerizing. The streets had shops selling food, clothes, armours, etc. Some shops were even selling Oculuses and Cules.
The four of them mingled with the crowd and walked calmly, keeping distance between them to avoid suspicion. Lynx had told them beforehand that he
