A Demon and a Dragon

by Virlyce

  “What? No,” Zyocuh said. “We’re really inside your soul. Why do you think we aren’t?”

  “Hello?” Alora leaned back and fixed her expression. “Look at this place? It’s so drab and dreary and boring and totally not the soul of someone as interesting, awesome, and amazing as me. If this place really were my soul, then I’d be like, uh, a plant or something. But I’m a dragon, so there’s no way this is my soul.”

  Zyocuh frowned. “Shall I explain to you what really happened?”

  “I’m not going to believe the words of a dream person,” Alora said. “That’s just stupid. Grandma had a dream that Grandpa was cheating on her, that’s why she flew all the way out here to live with us until he decided to apologize. But then he fell asleep for a long while. Hmm. Anyways. The moral of that story is to not believe in dream people. Right.”

  “This isn’t a dream.”

  “That’s exactly what a dream person would say!” Alora lifted her tail and slammed it down on top of Zyocuh. To her surprise, instead of flattening him, he only let out a grunt as he caught her tail with his hands, holding it above his head. His knees buckled, and veins bulged on his neck, but other than that, he was fine. Alora withdrew her tail and pointed at him with an accusing expression. “See! If you weren’t a dream person, you wouldn’t have been able to stop that!”

  “We’re inside your soul!” Zyocuh shouted back. “And to get out, the both of us need to cooperate!”

  Alora narrowed her eyes. “Alright,” she said and sat back. “Let’s say that we’re actually inside of my soul. The question is why the heck are you here? Is this the same kind of magic you used to attack Vur? So, you actually tried to pull a fast one on me. I see.”

  Beads of sweat formed on Zyocuh’s brow as Alora’s aura pressed down on him. “No,” he said and took a step back. “That’s not it. While I was strengthening you, a phoenix attacked me and set me on fire. And as you may or may not know, phoenix flames can burn away your soul and prevent resurrection. The only way to save myself was to jump into the pit, turn myself into blood, and merge my soul with yours through the strengthening spell.”

  “A phoenix?” Alora asked. “I don’t believe you. What are the odds of a phoenix showing up where a dragon is? Two extremely rare creatures ending up in the same place? Nah. You’re lying.” She nodded. “Either I’m right and this is a dream, or you’re trying to take over my soul. And that can only mean one thing.” She smiled at Zyocuh, showing her teeth.

  Zyocuh swallowed. “What?”

  Alora’s smile widened. “I’m going to eat you.”

  “W-wait,” Zyocuh said and took another step back as Alora crept forward. “Let’s talk this through.”

  “Do you talk with bread?” Alora asked and tilted her head. She moved to the right, keeping her head pointed at Zyocuh as she walked in a circle. “Why would I talk this through with you?”

  “For one, bread doesn’t speak,” Zyocuh said. “It’s not alive in the first place.”

  Alora blinked but continued to circle the bald man. “But you said you turned yourself into blood. Doesn’t that mean you’re dead but still persisting as a soul? I wonder if souls taste differently than actual living things. Probably not, right? Even the grass feels like grass, so you should taste like you.”

  “You’re not actually going to eat me, are you?” Zyocuh took a step back, but Alora took a longer stride to maintain their distance. He swallowed as he rotated with her steps, keeping his gaze locked onto hers. “Grimmoldesser always said he didn’t eat humans because they didn’t taste good. You wouldn’t want to eat me.”

  Alora shrugged. “Some people like vegetables, some people don’t. Just because one dragon thinks humans taste bad doesn’t mean all dragons do.” She licked her lips. “And Vur said we shouldn’t terrorize our food before eating it because it’d make them taste bitter. But I, a dragon with a refined palate, happen to love that bitter taste. Now, I’ve never eaten a human before, but I’m sure my tastes are the exact opposite of my evil uncle’s, so I’m sure I’ll love eating you.”

  ***

  Lindyss tossed a red orb up and down. “That wasn’t very fair at all,” she said and shook her head. Surrounding her, a little more than half a dozen dragons were lying around with their mouths and claws stained red. There was one crushed dragon skeleton resting on top of a red puddle, its limbs ground into dust. “It’s still a shame I lost a skeleton though.”

  “Undead are meant to be used,” Grimmy said and thumped Lindyss’ back with his paw. He knocked her over onto the ground from the blow. “You were saving it for something important, weren’t you? If this wasn’t important, you wouldn’t have lost it, but since you did, then it was worth spending.”

  Lindyss spat out a mouthful of mud as she pushed herself up with her arms. “Watch your strength, you oaf,” she said and glared at the black dragon. “Am I going to be compensated for my lost skeleton?”

  “Compensation?” Grimmy asked and raised an eyebrow. “Why would you need compensation for accomplishing a good deed? The sense of satisfaction from achieving good in the world should be all the compensation you need.”

  “Satisfaction won’t replace what I’ve lost,” Lindyss said with a scowl.

  “Then … do you want me to gift you another soul?” Grimmy asked and grinned. “I can do that. Which one would you like this time? A beast tamer’s? A phoenix’s?”

  Lindyss furrowed her brow. “Why do you have a phoenix’s soul?”

  Grimmy shrugged. “You know how things are,” he said. “Things just happen and somehow things end up the way they do.”

  “I’ll … take the phoenix’s soul,” Lindyss said and nodded. A moment later, she frowned. “Which phoenix did this belong to?”

  Grimmy chuckled before reaching behind his wing, pulling out a hazy red orb. “Despite what you say, you’re quite greedy, aren’t you? As for the phoenix this belonged to…, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” He held out his paw, offering the orb to Lindyss. She grabbed for it, but Grimmy moved his claw forward and smacked the cursed elf’s forehead, planting the hazy mist directly into her face. She yelped and clawed at her nose and eyes before curling up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest as she lay on her side in the fetal position.

  The annoying trio, Sera’s sister, and Sera’s sister’s mate turned to stare at the fallen elf. “Um,” Bonnie said and bit her lower lip. “Is she okay?”

  “This happens all the time,” Sera said and wiped at her mouth with the backs of her paws. She spat a few times, shooting out bits of red saliva. “You can ignore her.”

  “Is, is that so?” Bonnie said and swallowed. Lindyss was rocking from side to side, thumping her knees against the ground with every twist. Bonnie snuck a peek at Grimmy, and his eyes met hers. She froze, her wings stiffening against her sides. “Y-yep. She looks perfectly healthy. Nothing wrong here.”

  “Did I hear that right?” Tafel turned towards Vur. His face was also smudged with red liquid, his claws tinting the ground red. “Grimmy just slapped a phoenix’s soul into Auntie?”

  “I heard it too,” Mary said. She pursed her lips and walked up to Grimmy, holding out her arms which were covered by leather gloves. “Give me back my sword and armor, please.”

  Grimmy snorted. “You always cause trouble when you have that sword,” he said. “Why should I give it back?”

  “That’s not true,” Mary said and pursed her lips. “Sword, please.”

  “Oh? Have you been causing trouble without your sword?” Grimmy asked and raised an eyebrow. His gaze landed on Tafel and Vur. “Has she?”

  “No,” Tafel said and shook her head. “She’s been very well-behaved.”

  “And there you have it,” Grimmy said. “If you have your sword, you’ll cause trouble. You won’t cause trouble without your sword, so I think it’s better for me to hold onto it. Besides, it’s, uh, melted and stuff. You probably don’t want it back anyway.”

  Mary’s eyes widened t
o the size of saucers. “It’s … what?”

  Grimmy blinked. “You saw us dismantle that blood giant just now, right?”

  “Yes. It was very impressive. What did you say happened to my sword?”

  Grimmy pointed at Lindyss. “I let her use the sword to dig out the core. And it partially melted.”

  Mary bit her trembling lower lip. “But why would you let her use my sword…?”

  “Like I said.” Grimmy shrugged. “Things just end up the way they do. Crying about it now won’t bring back your sword. I suggest you find a new one. Good luck.”

  Mary turned towards Tafel, staring at the demon with watery eyes that threatened to spill over at any moment. Tafel sighed and ran her hand through her hair from the front of her head to the back. She walked up to Mary and held her hand before nodding at Grimmy. “Do you think you can spare one of your swords that I know you hoard for Mary?”

  “I want my sword…,” Mary said and sniffled. She blinked hard, her eyes burning.

  “Nope,” Grimmy said. “Those are my swords. Maybe if you do a quest for me, I’ll consider it.”

  Tafel squeezed Mary’s hand. “Do you want to do a quest for a sword? It might be even better than your first one.”

  “How am I supposed to do a quest without my sword...?” Mary asked in a tiny voice.

  “That’s simple,” Grimmy said. He grabbed Lindyss and frowned. “Stop squirming.” The elf cursed at him as he rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a crying baby turtle with an attached snake for a tail. He dropped Lindyss onto the ground and rolled the turtle over to Mary. “Here. Raise this thing. It reminded me of you because you both cry a lot.”

  Mary stared at the turtle pawing at her foot. She blinked away her tears and raised her head to glare at Grimmy. “How long do I have to raise it for?”

  Grimmy shrugged. “Not sure. Until it’s old enough for me to harvest its soul.”

  Sera glared at Grimmy and spoke while Mary’s mouth was hanging open in shock, “I think you should go to Leila and help her watch over your egg. She needs to be around you to keep you in check.”

  ***

  A purple dragon lay in the bottom of a pit, a layer of red mud underneath her. Her eyes were pressed shut, and her back rose up and down in time with her breaths. Snorts escaped from her nostrils as her face twitched. Her claws scratched the ground, sinking her paws deeper into the soft earth. Air surged into the pit as Alora’s chest expanded, taking in a deep breath through her mouth. With a thunderous crash, a sneeze racked her body and the ground around her. A crack ran up the side of the pit, and a particularly large rock was dislodged, landing on Alora’s head.

  “Gyack!”

  Alora shot to her feet, her head swiveling from side to side. The rock rolled off her head and onto the ground by her front claws. She frowned and stared at it. Her chest lurched, and a second later, reddish-black vomit spewed out of her mouth. She brought her paw up to her head and groaned, rubbing her forehead while frowning, her eyes squinting. “What the heck? Did I catch the flu?” She closed her eyes and sat on her haunches, rubbing her temples with both her front paws. “Or did I eat something bad? That was a really weird dream. I’m sure I ate something bad. But if I eat something bad in a dream, would it affect me out here?”

  Grating sounds rang out as she scratched her head with her claws. She sighed and opened her eyes before reeling back. “What the heck!? I’m purple!” Her neck craned down and to the side, her gaze taking in every inch of her body. “Why am I purple?” She swallowed and rubbed her eyes. She slowly opened her right eye and brought her paw up to her face. It was still purple. “This isn’t good. Mom’s going to withhold food from me.”

  Alora’s eyes narrowed, and she bolted upright, standing on her hind legs. She crawled up the side of the pit and peeked her head over the edge. “Zyocuh? Where are you?”

  There was no response.

  “He ran away!” Alora clacked her teeth together and climbed out of the pit. She brought her head up towards the sky and sniffed. Then she lowered her head to the ground, her nostrils expanding and contracting as small snuffling sounds filled the air. “He ran away after finding out I turned purple! How dare he? I knew I should’ve tied him up, but I didn’t think I’d fall asleep.”

  Alora rubbed her chin and sat back on her haunches. She brought the back of her paw up to her face and spat on it. She rubbed it against her side before bringing it back up. Alora’s face darkened. There weren’t any signs of the purple color fading. “How do I explain this to Mom? I…, I think I’ll blame it on Vur. Okay. This is definitely Vur’s fault. He’s the adult who was supposed to be watching over me.” A sigh escaped from her lips, and she tilted her chin up towards the clouds. “The real question is why am I talking to myself out loud? I should stop.”

  “No, no. Don’t stop. It’ll help me understand your state of mind better.”

  Alora froze. She waited with bated breath, but the strange voice that she swore she had just heard didn’t say anything. “H-hello? Is someone … there?”

  “Down here.”

  Alora swallowed and lowered her head towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from underneath her paw. She raised it up, but no one was there. “Where are you?”

  “Over here.”

  Alora flinched. This time, the sound came from near her head by her … paw. She stared at the tip of her claw. It shone with a dim light, and the voice from before came through. “Yes, you found me.”

  “That’s great and all,” Alora said and wiggled her claw back and forth. “But, uh, what did I find?”

  “You don’t recognize my voice?”

  “Nope.”

  “I’m Zyocuh.”

  “Say what?” Alora asked. She brought the tip of her claw right up to her right eye and closed her left. “Did you shrink? I don’t see you.” Her eyelid narrowed until all that could be seen of her eye was a slit. “Oh! I think I see … nothing. I demand an explanation.”

  The tip of her claw flashed. “You ate my soul,” Zyocuh’s high-pitched voice said. “But I have ways to preserve myself, so I let you tear me to bits and infused a part of me into the claw of your soul. I’m lucky you don’t wash your paws after you eat.”

  Alora stared at her paw. Then she craned her neck forward and bit down, removing the tip of her claw that Zyocuh’s soul was occupying. There was a high-pitched scream followed by a wail. Alora nodded and spat out the tiny portion of claw. Unfortunately, another one of her clawtips lit up. Zyocuh’s high-pitched voice echoed through the air. “That hurt!”

  Alora’s eyes bulged. “Why are you still here!?” She groaned and shook her paw a few times. “Mom’s really going to get mad. Not only did I turn purple, but I caught a weird sickness too?”

  “You shouldn’t refer to me as a sickness,” Zyocuh said. “Besides, weren’t we planning on working together to defeat your uncle? This can be thought of as a bonus. Using your body as a medium, I should be able to channel spells that I could only theorize about back when I was still a human. As long as the two of us cooperate, there should be nothing in the world that can stop us. But first, we have to absorb the giants from the other two ritual sites.”

  “How about … you tell me how to get rid of you?” Alora asked and nodded. “I think that’ll be the best for our cooperation.”

  “…You don’t even know how to use your newfound powers, and you want to get rid of me so soon? I thought dragons were wise.”

  Alora shook her head. “No, no. I’m wise, and I know that keeping you around is going to bite me in the butt one day, so … yeah. We’ll go absorb those two giants, but after that, you better be planning on finding a way to separate yourself from me in a manner that both of us will enjoy. Got it?”

  “You’re a lot shrewder than I thought.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Alora said and nodded. “Now that I’ve established dominance in our unlikely cohabitation, how about you tell me what newfound powers I got?”
<
br />   31

  Tafel wiped away the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. She exhaled and lowered her staff, the burnt piece of wood that she had taken from the palace courtyard. The fireballs floating around her disappeared, and she reached into a portal to take out a flask of water. She took a sip and deposited it back inside the portal.

  “You sweat? I thought you were part phoenix now,” Alice said and dropped a towel onto Tafel’s head. She had to climb up Mr. Skelly’s back to do it, but the effect was the same. Tafel grabbed the towel and raised her head, meeting Alice’s gaze. The guild master pointed towards a nearby tree that Mary was sitting under. “Do something about her now that you’re taking a break.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Tafel asked and tilted her head. She wiped her face with the towel and frowned. “She looks perfectly fine to me.”

  “That’s because your eyes suck,” Alice said. “Look harder.”

  Tafel squinted.

  “Lower.”

  Tafel’s eyes widened. “Oh! Mary! Mary! Stop!” She ran over to the empress while waving her hands. “Stop!”

  Mary paused and raised her head. “Yes?”

  Tafel crouched next to the empress and grabbed her forearm. “Why are you spinning the turtle!?”

  Mary glanced down at the crying turtle by her feet. It was rotating on its back, its limbs flailing in all directions. Its snake tail had been tied into a loose knot, and it was pressing itself against the belly of the turtle to avoid spinning too much. Foam leaked out of both animal’s mouths, splattering onto the ground. Mary blinked and looked back up at Tafel. “It’s training,” she said in a deadpan voice.

  “What part of this is training…?” Tafel asked and placed her finger on the turtle’s shell, slowing its momentum. When it stopped, both heads stared up at her with teary eyes and wails escaped from their mouths.

  “You never know when you’ll be placed upside down and spun around,” Mary said and nodded. “Look at how effective it is at disabling Mary Junior. It’ll be a common tactic used against her.”