Something Wyverian This Way Comes

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  “If that were so then that would mean the wizard double-crossed everybody.” Steve looked down at Sarah. “So either the third Zweigelan included them or else the wizard did. How do we know which it is?”

  Pryllan looked up at Tirgath. “Could the third Zweigelan be angry that you two were forced to join the Collective?”

  Dirgath and Tirgath were silent.

  “Have you been in contact with the third one?” Sarah asked as gently as she could.

  “No,” Syrreth answered almost immediately.

  “She was asking Dirgath or Tirgath,” Steve told Syrreth.

  “Oh. My apologies.”

  Slowly, Dirgath nodded. “Aye. There is no harm in telling.”

  Sarah gave Pryllan an excited hug and almost knocked her over in the process.

  “I knew it! What did they say to you?”

  “Only to be kept informed what she was doing.”

  Sarah stared at Dirgath in shock. “She?”

  Dirgath and Tirgath both nodded.

  “Aye. Our third number is female.”

  Chapter 10 – Quid Pro Quo

  “A female Zweigelan, huh?” Steve snickered loudly. “That explains so much.” He detected a drop in the ambient temperature and risked a glance at his wife. “That is to say, it really explains nothing. I mean, what does it matter? Not one damn bit, that’s for sure.”

  Sarah glared at her husband. “Nice save, genius. You’re going to pay for that one.”

  Steve gave her one of his trademark sheepish smiles. “Sorry.”

  “Uh huh. Can we focus on the problem at hand?”

  Steve nodded and looked at the petulant Zweigelan. “Right. Dirgath, Tirgath, can you to tell us how to break this thing? You must understand that this is for everyone’s sake. You want to be able to fly again? Spit fire? We’re going to have to work together whether you like it or not.”

  Sarah returned to Pryllan’s side and helped her stand back up. “We know you two know more than you’re letting on about this curse. You know how to break it, don’t you?”

  Tirgath nodded. “Aye.”

  Dirgath angrily growled at his twin. “Hold your tongue. We mustn’t tell them anything!”

  “I haven’t told them anything,” Dirgath insisted, issuing his own growl. “And I won’t. They hope to sway me to their cause. It will not work.” The left head swung around to stare at Sarah. “Did you hear me? Unlike others that are present, I am not weak. We are not weak. We will never be tricked like Syrreth and Ferreth. We are much smarter than you will ever be!”

  Sarah felt Steve’s growl before she heard it. Deep and rumbling, it reminded her of one of those cars that drive by with the fancy audio systems blasting the bass way too loud. Putting a hand on Steve’s foreleg, she turned to look up at Dirgath and Tirgath and gave them her most charming smile.

  “You don’t want to help, I can understand that. You’ve been wronged, no doubt about it. Rinbok Intherer is trying to make amends. Can’t we compromise? Is there something you want that we might be able to provide which would entice you to help us destroy this curse?”

  Dirgath and Tirgath were silent. For several minutes they just stared at Sarah. No blinking, or sighing, or any signs of life were visible on the second Zweigelan. It stood still as a statue. Was it considering Sarah’s proposal?

  Sarah knew that she had sparked their interest. When she hadn’t been instantly shot down she knew there was something that they wanted. All she had to do now was get Dirgath, or Tirgath, to tell her what that was.

  “Listen, if we get you whatever it is that you want, will you help us break the curse?”

  Dirgath shook his head. “No.”

  Steve scowled. “So much for that.”

  Sarah held up a reassuring hand and patted Steve’s right foreleg again as she looked up at him.

  “Hold on. Don’t give up on me just yet. Dirgath, you say you won’t help us. Will you tell us how to break it? Will you tell us what we need to do?”

  Dirgath and Tirgath retreated into their cave and began a heated argument. While no one was able to hear what they were saying, save Steve and his heightened wyverian senses, they could tell that the Zweigelan was intrigued by Sarah’s suggestion of a compromise and were now arguing whether or not they should take her up on it. Several minutes later the cave fell silent and Dirgath and Tirgath emerged back into the daylight. Before either head could speak, Steve cleared his throat.

  “You want to be excluded from the Collective,” Steve guessed. “Am I right?”

  Both Dirgath and Tirgath gave him a condescending look.

  “That’s a given,” Dirgath sneered.

  “That is the price for us to even consider this proposal,” Tirgath agreed.

  “Agreed,” Pryllan quickly said.

  “Can you speak for Rinbok Intherer?” Sarah asked Pryllan in a hushed tone.

  “Since the welfare of my species is at stake, and since he is unable to be here in person, aye, I will speak for him.”

  “And if he doesn’t go along with this?”

  Pryllan frowned and bared her teeth, which on Sarah’s face made it look as though she had just tasted something awful.

  “Kahvel will persuade him. And before you can ask, aye, I can and will persuade Kahvel if necessary.”

  Sarah smiled. It worked for her. They both returned their attention to the second Zweigelan.

  “The price for us to disclose the secret which would break the curse is beyond your power,” Dirgath continued.

  “If you get whatever it is you want,” Sarah interjected, “then will you help us break this curse?”

  Both Dirgath and Tirgath shook their heads no.

  Undaunted, Sarah pressed on.

  “If you won’t help us, will you at least tell us how to break the curse?”

  “We will tell you,” Dirgath began, “how to defeat the curse if…”

  “And only if,” Tirgath continued, “you return what is rightfully ours.”

  Sarah smiled triumphantly. So they did want something. Perfect.

  “Something was stolen from you? Well, that’s a start. What was it?”

  “Our Heart.”

  Sarah blinked a few times and cocked her head. Of all the things they could have asked for this wasn’t anywhere on the list.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Our Heart,” Tirgath repeated.

  “Ummm, someone stole your heart? You mean someone broke your heart? Like a potential mate?”

  This time it was Dirgath and Tirgath’s turn to blink in confusion. Sarah turned to look at Steve.

  “I think I’m missing something here.”

  “Someone stole your heart?” Steve asked them, looking first at one head and then the other. “Physically stole it?”

  “Aye. We want it back.”

  “Describe your heart,” Pryllan suddenly said. “What does it look like?”

  “It’s red,” Dirgath supplied helpfully.

  “You don’t say,” Steve muttered under his breath.

  “It’s twisted,” Tirgath added.

  Steve nodded. “I can believe it.”

  “It sparkled radiantly in the sun,” Dirgath added with a far-off look in his eyes.

  “Aye, it did,” Tirgath recalled.

  Confused, Steve turned to Sarah and Pryllan.

  “We are on totally different pages here. I thought he meant a physical heart.”

  Sarah tssked her disapproval. “Of course it’s not his physical heart. How would he still be alive if his heart was literally stolen? He must be talking about something else.”

  Exasperated with the lack of a straight answer, Steve turned to the second Zweigelan.

  “This heart of yours. Describe it.”

  “It’s red, and…”

  “Yeah, yeah, we know,” Steve snapped. “What else could it be called?”

  “A ruby.”

  Surprised, Sarah glanced up at Steve. He bore a shocked expression on his face, too.
This ‘heart’ was a ruby? Well, at least rubies were red. But twisted? What was that supposed to mean?

  “Did you say that this ruby was twisted?” Steve asked, as if reading her mind. “Literally?”

  Dirgath nodded and made a circular motion in the air with one of his talons. “Aye. Twisted.”

  “How can a ruby be twisted?” Steve wondered aloud.

  “Gems come in many forms,” Pryllan told them. “While I have personally never heard of a twisted ruby before it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They – Syrreth, Ferreth, have you something to say?”

  Their Zweigelan, as everyone had started referring to them, was staring straight down at the ground and trying not to attract attention.

  “We have nothing to add,” Syrreth softly mumbled.

  Steve shrugged and returned his attention to Dirgath.

  “So who stole it? Someone you know?”

  “We do not know who took it,” Tirgath heatedly exclaimed.

  “How long ago was it taken?” Sarah wanted to know.

  “Many centuries ago,” Dirgath answered. “Our favorite gem, it was.”

  Tirgath nodded. “Unique and special, it was. We want it back.”

  Dirgath gazed at their group with a neutral look.

  “Find our Heart and tell you how to break the curse, we will. Do not bother us again unless you have what rightfully belongs to us.”

  With that the Zweigelan retreated back into their cave with their heads held high.

  Steve glanced at his wife and then down at Pryllan.

  “Well, at least they’ll consider helping us. We just have to find this damn gem. How are we supposed to do that? Especially when it was taken several hundred years ago?”

  Sarah shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  Pryllan tilted her head up to check the sun’s position in the sky. The western horizon was slowly fading from blue to orange as the sun prepared to set for the night. There was less than an hour of sunlight left.

  “I would like to return to the nest. I would like to see Pravara.”

  Steve rose to his feet and extended his wings in the process. He hastily turned to the side so that he missed hitting the mountainside. In doing so his right wingtip brushed by one of the shriveled remains of the tainted carcasses and swept it right off the ledge. It clattered noisily down the steep slopes before dropping out of sight. Steve stretched his long neck out over the ledge and looked down at the distant ground. He slowly turned his head and studied the rocky ledge that was strewn with dead animals.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. As a gesture of goodwill, we are going to get rid of these carcasses. I’m going to –”

  “Eww!” Sarah exclaimed. “I’m not touching those things! Gross!”

  “What I mean is, I’ll get rid of the remains. Syrreth, Ferreth, since you’re the only one who can, I need you to go hunting. Find something for Dirgath and Tirgath to eat. You heard them. They haven’t eaten anything in a while.”

  “Why should we?” Ferreth snapped. “No one would do that for us.”

  “No one would have done that for you then,” Steve clarified. “Now you’d have all the help you’d need, including Pryllan, Kahvel, myself, Sarah, and even Rinbok Intherer. You have the opportunity to come to their aid. Will you do it?”

  Syrreth looked at his twin. “Aye, we will.”

  Ferreth bristled with annoyance. “I haven’t agreed to…”

  “Aye, we will,” Syrreth reiterated, eyeing his twin as if daring him to rebuke him. Ferreth wisely withdrew his objections.

  Once their Zweigelan had left, Steve began flexing his wings in various contortions. Piles of bone, fur, and various other parts of animals were swept over the ledge as they methodically scoured every nook and cranny looking for poisoned remains. With Sarah and Pryllan pointing out the carcasses, Steve would either sweep them out over the ledge or else pick up the remains in his huge talons and hurl them far out over the ledge and into empty space. Once they were sure they had removed everything, they waited for Syrreth and Ferreth to return.

  Fifteen minutes later their Zweigelan landed on the ledge with a strange animal dangling from Ferreth’s jaws. It had black fur, a really long neck, and short stubby legs. Sarah thought it looked a little like a llama with tiny legs.

  Steve inspected the cave’s interior with his superior wyverian vision and saw that the second Zweigelan was watching them. It had seen the kill as was drooling so much that a small pool of saliva had formed underneath them. It was hungry alright!

  “Dirgath! Tirgath! Dinner is served. It’s perfectly safe. Bon appetite! We’ll be back once we find this ruby of yours.”

  When it became clear that neither Dirgath nor Tirgath were going to touch the kill until everyone had left, Sarah and Pryllan were scooped back up by their Zweigelan. Within moments they had become airborne and were heading southeast. Steve leapt off the ledge and instantly stretched out his wings. He let out a groan of pure ecstasy as a gust of wind caught his open wings and pushed him up. Within moments he was flying next to Syrreth and Ferreth.

  With each passing minute Steve became more and more confident of his flying abilities. There was no way he’d ever match the grace of poise of a real dragon in the air but at least he was pretty sure he’d never be caught in a tailspin again. This was fun! Pryllan was incredibly lucky that she could do this whenever she wanted. Well, any dragon could for that matter.

  No, they can’t, a small voice corrected in his mind. Not unless this curse is lifted. The plight of the dragons is hopeless.

  No, it’s not, Steve argued to himself. No one should have to give this up. Flying through the air like this was the ultimate thrill! He was going to be sorry to give it up!

  Maybe you wouldn’t have to, the small voice persisted. Maybe you could stay like this forever.

  Steve snorted. As a girl dragon? Never. He didn’t care how cool it was. Why would he think that? He wanted to return to his body. He wanted to return to his normal life. He wanted to be with Sarah. That’s what mattered. That’s what was important.

  You could remain a dragon forever, the voice insisted. It could happen. Just say the word.

  A realization washed over him. That serene sense of calm he was experiencing vanished like a puff of smoke. Steve suddenly realized who the source of the small voice was.

  You think I want to remain this way? You think I want to give up my life and keep these scales? You’re a bigger dumbass than I originally gave you credit for.

  He felt a brief flash of anger before it vanished and that calm, peaceful feeling returned to his mind.

  Just say the word, my friend, and I will see to it you remain a dragon for the rest of your days. You would like that, wouldn’t you? It’s your heart’s fondest desire!

  If you’re going to kill me, then kill me, Steve angrily thought back at the wizard. The problem is, you and I both know you won’t do it.

  Really? You have no idea what I’m capable of.

  You’re capable of a lot of things alright, Steve agreed, but murder isn’t one of them.

  How can you be so certain?

  Because you would have done so already. Be a royal pain and nuisance? Sure. You have that down pat. But to kill someone in cold blood? No. You won’t do it. You’ve got the power to do it but you won’t. So for that, I’m grateful.

  Irritation flittered through his mind. For now, the wizard was at a loss for words.

  Back to the problem at hand. Yes, being able to fly is great, Steve reluctantly admitted. A brief victorious sensation washed through him. It ended almost as abruptly as it began. You want me to say the word? Okay, I will. In fact, I’ll give you three: Kiss. My. Ass.

  Anger once more coursed through his veins. Steve briefly wondered how Pryllan severed the mental connection she shared with him as clearly the renegade wizard had exploited his lack of attention and slipped inside his mind. Just as he thought about shutting down his senses his mind took the guesswork out of his hands and
his mental senses were turned off, like the flip of a switch. The anger he felt from the wizard vanished immediately.

  Steve growled. If the wizard was able to get into his mind when he was daydreaming then he’d have to warn the others so that he couldn’t do the same thing to them.

  “Guys, no daydreaming. Don’t let your minds drift.”

  Sarah looked over at him from Ferreth’s claw.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I heard a little voice in my head encourage me to stay as a dragon forever.”

  Sarah stared at him.

  “Okay.”

  “It’s because I was thinking how cool it was to fly,” Steve explained.

  “With you so far.”

  “This voice appeared in my head and started to say that I would be better off as a dragon and since it was my heart’s fondest desire, if I asked, I could remain that way.”

  A look of concern appeared on Sarah’s face. Well, his face.

  “Was it the wizard?”

  Steve nodded. “Yeah. He was just trying to stir up trouble.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Nothing really. I essentially told him to leave us alone.”

  “Essentially? Steve, what did you say?”

  “It isn’t important.”

  “What. Did. You. Say?”

  “Well, er, it might have been something to the effect of kiss my ass.”

  “You said that? To a wizard that has already done this to us? Are you crazy? What if he retaliates? What if he tries to kill us?”

  “He has had ample opportunity.” Steve shook his head. “No, if he had wanted to kill us then he would have already done so. I don’t think he wants to kill anyone. Seriously mess them up, sure. But kill? Apparently not.”

  Sarah was furious. “How many times have I told you NOT to provoke a wizard? You never know what he’s capable of doing if he feels provoked enough.”

  “Sorry. If I talk to him again, I’ll try and keep it cordial. Would that suffice?”

  “Is he going to talk to you again?”