by Virlyce
Emile scratched his head with his talon upon hearing Tafel’s words. “I never knew big sis could be so spiteful; she sounds jealous of dragons.” He shook his head and puffed his chest out. “Who cares about dragons? We, phoenixes, are their equals. Big sis is proving that right now!”
Lulu’s head burst out of the ground again, slower this time. She panted for breath. “Listen up, you! If you do that one more—”
“Begone!” Tafel said, her horns lighting up. She placed her hands on her hips as the earth filled itself in once Lulu disappeared. “This is a little … fun.” Her eyes widened as she dove to the side, barely dodging a pillar of white lava that shot out of the ground.
Lulu burst out of the pillar with a roar. “Is this your only—”
“Teleport!” Tafel shouted, pointing at Lulu. The silver dragon disappeared along with a portion of the pillar of lava.
“She doesn’t even have to be touching the runes?” Emile asked. He shouted so Tafel could hear.
“Nope,” Tafel said. “With these runes, I can manipulate any space within a hundred meters of me. If your, err, our mom didn’t imprint me, there’s no way I’d be able to sustain something like this for long, but since she did….” She shrugged instead of finishing her sentence.
“Big sis!” Emile shouted. “I never knew you were so amazing! Why’d you run away from Lulu the first time then?”
“Who wouldn’t run away from a surprise dragon attack?” Tafel asked with a snort. Cold sweat ran down her back. “But this time, I’m ready. Even if I’m still terrified.” She glanced at the ground. “Ah, she’s getting close again.”
The ground was torn asunder as a silver claw broke through. Before Lulu could even stick her head out or say anything, she was teleported back into the earth. Pillars of lava erupted around Tafel, but she managed to avoid them all by teleporting around. Lulu appeared a few more times, but she was always forced back the moment she showed a single scale.
Emile munched on a mushroom he found growing on the tree while watching the fight. “If big sis and Mom fought, Mom would win. So big sis isn’t super strong; it’s the dragon that’s weak.” Emile nodded to himself before he stiffened. The mushroom fell to the ground as his body tilted and landed on the branch before rolling off and dropping into a nearby bush.
Tafel panted as sweat rolled off of her due to the heat coming from the lava. She tensed, waiting for Lulu to reappear, straining her ears to hear better. There weren’t any sounds or vibrations coming from beneath her. “She didn’t die, right?” Tafel muttered, pressing her ear to the ground. Her eyes widened as a dragon roared, the sound coming from the sky. Tafel raised her head just in time to see a silver dragon swooping towards her.
“How dare you!? My daugh—”
The silver dragon disappeared once Tafel pointed at it. Tafel patted her chest and exhaled, a chill running down her spine. “From above? Jeez, that scared me. How’d she sneak—?”
“I give up!” Lulu’s voice shouted from far away. “How about we negotiate? I’m going to approach you, so please, don’t teleport me back into the ground. It’s really tiring climbing out. Okay?”
Tafel froze and stared at the direction Lulu’s voice was coming from. Then she lowered her head. The ground was vibrating beneath her. “If Lulu’s on the surface….” Tafel’s face paled, and she teleported next to Emile’s petrified body. She swallowed her spit as a pillar of white light rose towards the sky, obliterating the field she was just standing in, runes and all. A massive silver dragon, nearly twice Lulu’s size, flew out of the field-turned-pit. Tafel grabbed Emile with her clammy hands, and she dove to the side, avoiding a beam of light that disintegrated the bush. She wanted to cry. “How many dragons did Vur woo!?”
***
Vur sneezed.
“Are you cold?” Stella asked, peering at Vur’s face from his head. She had to cling onto his hair to prevent the wind from blowing her off.
“No,” Vur said and wiped at his nose with the back of his finger. “It feels like someone blamed me for something I didn’t do. It was probably Snuffles.”
“Oh,” Stella said. “How much longer until we get to the party?”
Vur shrugged. “About an hour, maybe more, maybe less.”
***
“Emile, are you alright?” Tafel asked, poking the stiff phoenix as she ran for her life. “I need some mental support here.” Her horns glowed silver, and a white light enveloped the duo, teleporting them forward by a few meters, just enough to avoid a rampaging dragon’s tail strike.
“Stop running!” the massive silver dragon shouted as it whirled around to face the direction Tafel was heading towards. The dragon’s chest expanded as it sucked in a deep breath.
The hairs on the back of Tafel’s neck stiffened as shivers ran down her spine. Her horns glowed silver again, and she disappeared before reappearing off to the side. A beam of light passed by her, causing her skin to blister from the heat. The light destroyed everything in its path, leaving behind a line of scorched earth with bits of lava. Tafel gulped and ran while channeling her next teleportation spell, silently cursing the dragon in her head.
“Those who attack my children shall die!”
“Your daughter attacked me first, you stupid lizard!” Tafel shouted back. She gritted her teeth as she ran through the fields towards a nearby forest.
“You tell her, big sis!” Emile said, sitting up in Tafel’s embrace. He yawned and smacked his beak a few times. “That no good dragon matriarch is a bully! Wait until Mom finds out about this.” He sniffed and stuck his beak into the air while puffing up his chest. “Ah, I’ll go call her while you distract the big lizard.”
“She’s the dragon matriarch!?” Tafel teleported ahead again and avoided another beam of light. “She’s trying to woo Vur too!?”
“Yup,” Emile said as he crawled out of Tafel’s grasp. He flew into the air, wobbled a bit, then crashed straight into the ground. “Ugh, I feel sick.”
“Mom! Stop!” Lulu shouted as she flew towards Kondra. “We were fighting over a mate.”
“Fighting over a mate or not, anyone who attacks my children is a no-good person,” Kondra said, barreling past Lulu. “If she were a pure-hearted person, she’d be cleansed by my holy light instead of purged. The only reason she’s running is because she knows she’s not a good person!”
“You crazy reptile!” Tafel shouted. “Even the trees were destroyed by your laser beams!”
“Trees don’t have hearts; they can’t be pure-hearted,” Kondra said as she flew into the air. “Stand still!”
That damned dragon logic again, Tafel thought, a whimper escaping from her throat. She weaved through the trees and dove to the right, just in time to avoid a massive boulder hurtling towards her. “If, if you kill me, Nova will never let you off!”
“Nova!?” Kondra shouted. A shockwave resounded out of her, accompanying her roar. The trees around Tafel groaned and buckled before flying out of the ground, taking the earth around their roots with them as they were uprooted. Tafel screamed as she was thrown forward along with the trees, tumbling into a heap of branches and leaves. Before she could orient herself, a gaping maw spewed a hot and damp breath on her, causing her to freeze. Kondra pinned Tafel to the ground with a single claw, piercing through her shoulder. The dragon’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What’s your relationship with Nova?”
Tafel gasped and shuddered as blood poured out of her arm and onto the ground. She bit her lower lip and glared at Kondra, her horns glowing silver. As she was about to teleport away, Kondra opened her mouth and roared in Tafel’s face, causing bright lights and stars to dance in the demon’s vision. Tafel’s chest rose up and down in violent spasms as she gasped for breath.
“Mom! Stop! Really!” Lulu said and tackled Kondra. She pushed her mother’s claw out of Tafel’s body and rested her snout against the bloody wound. White light enveloped the gash, causing the flesh, sinew, and bones to wriggle and reconnect. “Hey. Are
you alright?”
Tafel squinted at Lulu, her vision hazy. “Your mom’s a lot scarier than you.” She sat up and clutched her shoulder, sweat dripping from her pale face. Her breaths were slow and her movements stiff. “Remember, you said you gave up. Dragon’s honor.”
“Yeah, I did,” Lulu said and sighed. “How about we share Vur? You can have him for six days of the week. I’m okay with just one, really.”
“No.”
“My…, my own daughter attacked me?” Kondra muttered to herself while lying on her side. She hadn’t moved since Lulu had tackled her. Her wide eyes narrowed into slits as she clenched her claws and slammed her tail against the ground. “It must be that girl’s fault! Anything related to Nova is evil!” She climbed onto her feet and sucked in her breath, glaring at Tafel.
“Kondra!” a crisp voice said, piercing through the din. “Do you think my family is that easy to bully?”
“Minerva!” Kondra said, raising her head. A sea of flames swallowed the sky as the phoenix matriarch descended from above the clouds. “Stay out of this.”
“After you attacked my child? How can I?” the phoenix matriarch asked as she landed in front of Tafel. She nudged Lulu aside with her talon. Despite the fact she was a quarter of Lulu’s size, Minerva easily pushed the silver dragon away. She turned her head and blinked at Tafel. “Are you alright?”
Tafel exhaled as the tension left her body. Her eyes watered as she hugged the phoenix. “I’m so glad you’re here. I really thought I was going to die.” She wiped her tears with the backs of her hands and sniffled. She pointed at Kondra. “This crazy lizard attacked me because she wanted to steal my husband!”
Minerva drew her head back and blinked before turning to face the dragon matriarch. “I thought you were happily married,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Was I wrong? I never thought a holy dragon would commit adultery.”
“Adultery!?” Kondra asked. She glared at Tafel. “What are you accusing me of? Liars need to be taught”—a glowing white light appeared in her mouth—“lessons!”
Minerva snorted and blocked the beam of white light flying out of Kondra with a wall of flames. “I don’t want to fight you, Kondra.” Her eyes narrowed as the flames in the sky flared and roared like a river. “Why don’t we—”
Another beam of light slammed into Minerva’s wall of flames.
Minerva sighed. “Stay back, Tafel.”
***
“I’m really glad the fishmen offered to take us here. It’s a really nice party,” Breeze said as he patted Gale’s shoulder with his left hand. In his right hand, he was holding onto a tankard of frothing liquid. The two were sitting on a bench with a plaza in front of them. “You’ve gotten a lot happier since we’ve had that meal with them. It’s almost like you became a different person.”
“Is that so?” Gale asked, his head turning to his right like a doll’s. He grinned. “After months at sea, anyone would be happy on land.” He tilted his head up as a bright light shone down from above. “Fireworks?”
Breeze removed his hand from Gale’s shoulder and looked up. “No,” he said. “The sky’s on fire.” He brought his tankard to his shadowy lips and took a swig. “The last time I saw something like this was eight centuries ago. I remember they’re usually accompanied a lot by dragon roars.”
A pillar of white light flew up into the sky followed by a deafening roar. The ground shook, and a few tiles fell off the roofs. Some of the partygoers screamed, but Breeze just took another sip, unfazed. “That’s more like it,” he said. “I wonder who’s going to win.” Breeze turned his head and furrowed his brow. “You’re not scared? Under normal circumstances, you’d be crying and begging for your life.”
Gale shrugged. “If it’s a dragon and a phoenix duking it out, then what can I do? Panicking won’t help.”
Breeze nodded. The two watched partygoers run and trample each other as they fled opposite the direction of the pillars of light. “Right, panicking is meaningless,” Breeze said and patted Gale’s shoulder again. “This is how my brother should act. We’re fearless!”
Gale scratched his nose and grunted.
“But really, this is a little boring,” Breeze said and sighed as he watched the flames diminish as more and more beams of light pierced the sky. “In the olden days, when the phoenixes first invaded, there were dozens of dragons and phoenixes fighting it out. Dragons and phoenixes died so often, you’d hear about a new death every day. But this fight, they’re both too weak to kill each other. Well, I’ll go possess one of them after they’re weakened. I never got to possess one before since their corpses kept disappearing.” He kicked a rock that was in front of him, causing it to disintegrate. “It was probably that witch’s doing. Ugh, just thinking about her gives me the heebie-jeebies.” Shivers ran down his spine.
“The mistress?” Gale asked.
“Huh? Yeah, she’s called that sometimes by her followers,” Breeze said and brought his tankard to his lips. He froze mid-swallow, liquid flowing out of the mug and down his chin. His head turned towards Gale as he completed his swallow. “Gale…?”
Gale grinned. “Yes?”
“Are, are you feeling alright?” Breeze asked as he slowly placed the tankard onto the bench.
“Never been better,” Gale said. “Why?”
“Uh, no reason,” Breeze said as he stood up and backed away, keeping his gaze locked onto Gale. “I’m going to step out for a bit to, uh, get some fresh air and maybe possess a holy dragon. Cool? Cool.” He turned around and dashed away without waiting for a response.
***
“Grimmy, go that way,” Lindyss said, patting Grimmy’s head and pointing off to the side. The four dragons’ heads followed her finger. “I see Vur.”
“Vur? Why the heck—, oh, whaddya know? It’s Vur,” Grimmy said as he changed his course. “Vur! What the heck are you doing over here? I thought you were hosting a party.” He glanced at Vur’s half-naked body. “I was told you had grown scales and a pair of wings. But I see neither of those.”
“Uncle Grimmy!” Vur said as he alighted onto the black dragon’s head. He pouted. “I don’t have enough mana regeneration to always have my wings and scales out.” He sighed and sat beside Lindyss. “Hi, Auntie.” He looked off to the side and waved at Leila, who was accompanied by her two brothers. “Hi, Aunt Leila.”
“Here,” Lindyss said and took out the necklace with the screaming faces. She clasped it around Vur’s neck and patted his head. “This should help with maintaining your dragon form a lot.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Erin said as she popped out of Lindyss’ hair. “Why is the treatment between me and him so different!? You give him a necklace, but all I get from you are a few smacks! This isn’t fair.”
“Hey!” Stella said as she appeared next to Vur. She flew into the air and tackled Erin. “What are you doing in my spot on her head!?”
“Your spot?” Erin asked as she grappled with Stella on Lindyss’ head. “I earned this spot!”
“It’s my spot!” Stella said and flailed her arms, but Erin had a firm grip on her. Instead, Stella raised her neck and bit Erin’s shoulder while growling.
“You crazy witch!” Erin shouted and pressed her palm against Stella’s forehead, struggling to peel her off. Stella used that chance to claw at Erin’s face. “That hurts! You were born three months ago; Vur’s your spot, not Lindyss!”
“Ah?” Stella asked as she relaxed her jaws. “You’re right.” Her brow furrowed. “Then why did I get so angry?”
“If you two midgets are going to wrestle, can you not do it on my head?” Lindyss asked, brushing the two fairies off with the back of her hand.
“It’s her fault!” Stella and Erin said at the same time, pointing at each other. They blinked and exchanged glances before wrestling again, this time on Grimmy’s head.
“Hey, Leila,” Leo whispered and nudged his sister. “This human who feels suspiciously like a dragon is…?”
&nbs
p; “Nova’s grandson,” Leila said. She smiled at Vur. “Have you been well?”
“Yup! Lulu’s your sister, right?” Vur asked. “She’s really nice. She helped me a lot.”
“Oh?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. “With what?”
“She helped me beat up the phoenix matriarch,” Vur said. “And she helped fix my hangover after getting me drunk. She helped me strip the penguins too. She also makes lots of drinks for me to try. Oh, and she let me ride her.”
The three holy dragons stared at Vur with dark expressions. Leo winced. “Did you say you stripped the penguins?”
Vur nodded, but Lindyss flicked his forehead. “Don’t say you stripped the penguins,” she said. “Say defeathered. It sounds more appropriate.”
“Okay,” Vur said. “Lulu helped me defeather the penguins.”
Luke sighed. “It’s a good thing Mom’s too busy beating up Dad back at home.”
“Right?” Leo asked. “We should get him a souvenir from the party for his valiant sacrifice.”
***
“Mom’s amazing!” Emile said, flapping his wings twice while on Tafel’s shoulder. The demon’s hair flew up and tangled with her horns, causing her head to shy away from the phoenix. A laser beam flew towards the duo, but the phoenix matriarch appeared in front of them and deflected the attack. “Go, Mom! You can beat her!” Emile blinked and nudged Tafel’s cheek with his beak. “Got any snacks?”
“Err, I have some corn,” Tafel said, pulling a cob of corn out of a portal.
“That’ll do,” Emile said as he swooped down, landing on the cob.
Tafel shook her head before turning her attention back onto Minerva and Kondra. Neither side had the advantage. Kondra ignored the flames surrounding her, acting as if they didn’t exist, but at the same time, none of her attacks could pass through. When she tried to engage Minerva in a physical contest, the phoenix matriarch would teleport away, swapping positions with her flames.
