by Paul Cude
53 Dragon's Hide
If in fact there had ever been one, the plan was to stay in the nursery ring for a few more hours, get some rest, try and recruit a few more dragons and then move on, splitting into two groups to carry out the separate missions agreed upon. The tors had other ideas though. They'd provided food and in the valued safety of the nursery ring, a climate for much needed rest. Gee Tee was utterly exhausted from the day's events and he wasn't the only one. Having fought valiantly, the humans, to one degree or another, were still intoxicated from the alcohol consumed on their night out. It was no state to go charging blindly into an all out battle for the planet's survival and so, reluctantly, Richie had agreed when the tors had insisted they stay, eat, drink and recover as best they could, at least until morning. That was some time ago now, with the food having been mostly packed away, a few remaining scraps scavenged for the trip ahead stowed here and there by dragons and humans alike. Young dragons, the tors' charges, roamed around the nursery ring, hardly daring to believe that real humans sat and slept amongst them. Too excited to sleep, they were starting to become a real distraction, and Richie wasn't the only one to think so.
Snoring away soundly in the far corner of the courtyard they all found themselves in, the master mantra maker grunted and wheezed occasionally, reminding everybody of his presence. The humans, well most of them anyway, had curled up against the back wall, asleep for the most part, Hook supporting two of the girls' heads on his hulking great thighs, saving them from bedding down on the uncomfortable flagstones. Hook himself sat upright against the wall, eyes shut, not entirely asleep. Taibul leant next to Sam, eyes closed, breathing shallowly. Midway between the sleeping old shopkeeper and the sportsmen and women from the surface, sat Janice, cross legged, awake and entirely lost in thought, all the time twisting and turning the legendary sword Fu-ts'ang in her lap, its frosty glow giving the skin tone of her face an odd, blue radiance.
Looking over, Richie knew full well what was on the young human girl's mind: Peter! It had to be. Nothing else could explain that faraway look. Well, perhaps the discovery of dragons, and the battle to end all battles, but she knew that look too well. It was one she herself was trying desperately to mask. Her worry for Tim would have to wait. She had given herself over to more important matters.
'Still,' she thought, 'I wonder where he is and what's happening?'
A large, powerful hand brushed her shoulder gently, startling her from all thoughts of her former, illicit boyfriend. Turning, she looked up into the friendly face of Tank.
"And how are you doing?" he whispered, plonking himself down on the floor beside her. On arriving at the nursery ring he'd transformed back into his human guise, much to some of the other dragons' surprise. Feeling that it was the right thing to do, for many reasons. Normally, he spent almost all his time in that form and having his human friends here, he hoped that by appearing as such, it might just put them a little more at ease, if that were at all possible. Given what they'd been through already today, they'd done remarkably well. And then there was Richie. Part of it was for her. She'd been amazing, despite having learned the truth about her past through some illegal and immoral action on Peter's behalf, with no doubt the sleeping shopkeeper having something to do with it... oh yes, he knew. Well, he didn't, but you didn't just stumble across a magical ring that could absorb and safely store a dragon's consciousness, not unless you were nearly five hundred years old and owned your own Mantra Emporium. They'd be having THAT conversation at some point, but only after they'd saved the world again, if indeed they could.
"Okay, I suppose," she replied softly.
"Really?" enquired Tank sceptically. "Not worried at all?"
"What you fail to understand, is that as leader of everything... I can delegate anything I like. Currently I have others worrying for me. You see... leadership... it's a piece of cake."
Tank chuckled quietly, so as not to disturb anyone.
"But really," he said more seriously, "are you okay? Is there anything I can do?"
Richie took stock of her thoughts. She hadn't quite made up her mind... well, not yet. But there was going to be something he'd have to do. And he really wouldn't like it. But that was for another time. Not here, not now.
"I don't think there's anything you can do at the moment," she replied thoughtfully. "We all just need to rest as much as we can... like the great dragon himself," she said, nodding in the direction of Gee Tee, who'd she'd just noticed was using his magical rucksack as some kind of pillow.
"Not only are his mantras legendary, but so is his snoring," added Tank, trying to lighten the mood. No easy task, given their current predicament.
Nodding in the direction of Janice, Richie said,
"Do you think she'll be alright?"
"She's worried about Peter... like the rest of us," replied Tank, looking deep into Richie's eyes, seeing there the fear he himself felt for his friend's safety. "But given her actions back at the square, I'd say she's every inch as tough as any dragon I've ever met. To think that I didn't approve of their relationship seems utterly ludicrous now."
"And not just theirs I might add."
"I know... and I'm truly sorry."
"It's alright... I understand. But one way or the other, the world as we knew it has already been turned totally on its head."
Tank muttered his agreement, as both friends snuggled up to each other, keen to gain as much rest as was possible in the dim light crackling forth from the fire in the centre of the courtyard.
Just then, two of the tors shepherded a group of youngsters into the area directly around the fire, the younglings keen to feel the warmth of its embrace.
"I think a little story might take the edge off everyone's nerves," announced the head tor to Richie as he strutted past. She nodded her agreement, hoping that he'd be as quiet as he could, allowing the others to sleep for as long as possible.
Almost as if reading her thoughts, and with the young dragons closed in all around him, his soft voice could just be heard over the crackle and hiss of the dying embers of the fire.
54 A Prize Fit For A...
Walking from the sink over to the wall with the lava running down it, holding her damp hands mere inches above the slow moving, molten rock, soaking up the heat, she decided that everybody in the world should dry their hands this way. Moving across to the bed, she lounged back, tired from lack of sleep. In a way, she didn't mind the waiting, but the worrying and not knowing how things were proceeding, now that was a different thing altogether. Slowly closing her eyes, her thoughts drifted off for the last time, back into the past.
'It was so easy,' thought Earth as she slipped unnoticed off the monorail, heading towards the secluded entrance to the human world above. Gnarled Wolf, her father's mission planner, had always had a soft spot for her. All it had taken was a flirty smile, the promise of a drink sometime and a tall tale about a family tragedy, to get him to reveal the details of her father Fredric's current operational deployment and exactly where they were in Germany. So easy. Smiling a sick, twisted kind of smile, pleased that she'd guessed right, she continued on her way. Of course Fredric hadn't told any of the other dragons about what had gone on between them, or most importantly about the events in Barcelona. Probably too ashamed, he was no doubt already planning her rescue from the clutches of the evil Nazis. If only he knew.
Slipping stealthily out into the moonlit forest, she followed the muddy tracks that she knew would lead her to the farmhouse headquarters. Once there, she would unveil her plan to capture the dragon agents without revealing the details about her father's identity and involvement. That she would save for later... personally presenting the dragon king's special envoy and head of the Crimson Guards, knowing this was her 'ticket' up the ladder. For some time now she'd been trying to get noticed by the hierarchy. This would be like a massive flare sailing up into the night sky, shattering the peace and quiet, lighting her up like a film star. They couldn't possibly fail to notice her a
fter this. And best of all... she'd be rid of her interfering and do-gooding father, FOREVER!
Assigned half a dozen nagas to assist her, as well as having been warned in no uncertain terms that THIS was her last chance, and although not unexpected, the nagas had been a welcome addition. As for the warning... it had just made her laugh.
The group of three dragons led by her father stood no chance against her force, especially as they had no idea they'd been betrayed and that their little operation had been compromised.
Splitting the nagas up into three groups of two, each pair responsible for taking down one of the dragons, she was keen to assist with her father. Of course she could take him down alone; using her relationship with him could in itself be a very potent weapon, but she'd learned over the years not to underestimate him and for the sake of earning her freedom once and for all, she wasn't prepared to take any chances.
The teams had been on site for a week now, one posing as the manager of the hotel they were staying in, the rest disguised as either staff or guests. Being masters of concealment, the nagas had found it easy to blend in, especially given all the years of experience they'd had in the service of their new masters.
As the teams reported in, she marvelled at how professional, focused and ruthless they were. Nothing stood in their way, nothing was left to chance. She admired that a lot. Their mission so far had been a success. Two of the dragon agents had been assassinated, killed in cold blood, gunned down in a hail of machine gun fire, stuck fast in their human disguises, which was no way for a dragon to die. She knew they found it abhorrent, and knowing that they were missing out on a proper dragon burial was the icing on the cake for her and, in her opinion, nothing more than they deserved. Of course they could have been captured alive, but she'd ordered them to be killed, knowing that it would make the prize of her father all the more valuable.
Carefully she sneaked down the hotel stairs, always mindful, on the lookout for any traps. It appeared he was being careless, but she knew him better than that. Being on the run and having seen his comrades gunned down would be enough to make him dangerously angry and unpredictable, and he had an uncanny ability to spot anything out of the ordinary. Knowing all this didn't bother her at all, because the naga spell casters had smothered her with spell after spell, negating the signs of her presence and abilities. If spotted, she would appear totally human and of little threat to anyone. Tiptoeing down the last step, she edged cautiously along the wall towards the fire escape that led to the alley behind the hotel. The door was still ajar. Sneaking a peek through the thinly veiled gap, half fearing some kind of ruse, she glimpsed her father kneeling behind a perfectly polished black car, facing away from her, his back fully exposed as two naga assailants headed in his direction down the alley. Savouring the moment, just as you would with a fine wine or the first bite of a perfectly cooked meal, the thought of what she was about to do sent her enhanced senses into overdrive. With her moment of glory almost upon her, she knew exactly what to do and nothing now could or would stop her. Silently she slipped through the gap in the door, creeping ever closer to her father Fredric, his attention fully focused on the human shaped nagas marching in his direction from the other side of the alley, sweeping their automatic weapons from side to side as they did so. Three paces away. That's how far she was from him. A feeling of euphoria washed over her, despite not yet having completed her task, which would have been stomach churning to most. With her heart pumping furiously, she took one more step forward, the mantra already set to be unloosed by her bony, white fingers.
Preparing to unleash hell on those damn Nazis heading his way, the tiniest splash in the world reverberated out from behind him. Before it happened, he already knew it was too late. He didn't even have time to turn around. But that didn't matter. Instantly he let rip the hell he'd been preparing for those scum sucking soldiers who only minutes before had cut down his dragon comrades. As a surge of pain ripped through the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out, he released the power he'd been holding on to. Magic crackled furiously out from the entire length of his body, purple, blue, orange, red, yellow and green waves of unadulterated, unstoppable energy filled the alley. The car saved the Nazi soldiers, or nagas as they were in their true form. Earth, well she wasn't nearly so lucky. Having flung nearly all her magic into her father's exposed back, she was caught off guard by the power that exploded out of him. Being so close, she caught the full force of it and more, with some being reflected back towards her from the shiny automobile Fredric was crouching behind. The magic behind the mantra Fredric had cast was not unlike the magic that his daughter had hit him with. Both father and daughter lay unconscious, side by side in the puddle littered alley, as the rain drizzled about them, before both being dragged off by the squad of nagas.
Fredric was condemned to his icy prison, never to return. Earth got what she wanted, well in a way. Upon waking, she had no recollection of her past at all. Nothing from before she was hit with her father's magic, and so was unable to reveal the importance of her prisoner, his identity, or anything else that she knew and had been saving up. But it didn't matter. From that day on, she became a high flyer, if such a thing were possible for a dragon that shunned its natural form. Nazi officers, as well as fiendish imposters, welcomed her with open arms, quite literally most of the time. Not once did she ever wonder about her father, indeed, how could she when she had no memory of him? Even if she had retained it, it's doubtful whether things would have been any different. That rainy night turned out to be of huge historical significance, something from which the world was still suffering.
55 Queen Of Hearts, Necks And Throats
It all happened so quickly. One minute she was curled up in a ball on the rickety old bed, in the cellar deep within the dragon domain, guarded by a squad of nagas. The next, she was being whisked through the shadows by her contingent of naga bodyguards, off to meet fate, and of course her love, thoughts of revenge on the dragons she hated so much, clouding her mind.
Tucked out of sight, hidden behind a stunning marble pillar situated at the top of the steps off to one side of the entrance to the council building, waiting to be introduced, she marvelled at the assembled army as it filed into the square in front of her.
Having bided her time for so long, a great sense of satisfaction breezed across her at having got this far, knowing it was very nearly PAYBACK TIME!
Trudging into the square past more pyres of dead dragons, the scale of what was happening finally hit Peter. Up until now, he'd thought it was just a renegade group and that they would be put down without mercy by the dragon authorities. But looking around at the burning towers of dead dragon guards, and the thousand upon thousand nagas in both human and their natural forms, as well as turncoat dragons, the reality of what was going on finally hit home.
'We're doomed,' he thought, still trying hard to keep in step with his marching captors and the equally shocked Tim.
The rebel army, as that's what they were, faced the steps leading up to the council building, the one that Peter had visited, the one that sat in front of the king's private residence. On either side of the steps, directly beside the swirling pools of mesmerising lava, poles with the heads of dragon guards lay on display for all to see. It was a terrifying sight, in so many different ways.
SMACK! Peter got a clout around the face for daring to look up at the council building off to his left.
"Keep your eyes forward," spat the nearest guard.
With his ears now ringing, his blood soaked face hurt even more than it had previously, something he wouldn't have thought possible. Desperately wanting to share a look with Tim, he was too afraid of being hit again to even try.
Turning slightly, the column of enemies made their way through a natural gap in the lines towards the very front of the building at the bottom of the steps, passing the fiercest and most frightening beings Peter had ever seen, giving him even more incentive to keep his gaze straight ahead, mostly looking at his fe
et. Abruptly, the guard in front of him stopped. Peter was too slow to react, and walked straight into the back of him. WHACK! The guard hit Peter with a powerful uppercut to the jaw, sending him flying up in the air, before spiralling down into a bedraggled heap, five yards away, blood flowing freely from his mouth, teeth littering the floor, much to the amusement of all the other guards around him. One of them grabbed his chains and forced him to his feet. When he got there, he swayed unsteadily.
"NO MORE!" issued the guard who'd picked him up, to the one who'd punched him. "The boss wants him in one piece, that's all I know." They shared a look, and then a nod.
Through the haze surrounding his mind, despite the pain and blood pouring from his face, his thoughts turned to the king, wondering where he was and if they had him. He hoped not. He hoped, even now, that he had a plan and that soon the evil out here would be wiped from their entire, miserable existence. As that thought circulated in his head, there was a commotion off to one side. Dragons and nagas alike were moving, no... kneeling in unison. Before he could see what was happening, powerful hands dug into his shoulders, forcing him to his knees. Trying to look up, a hand gripped his head, compelling him to look at the floor. Peeping out of the corner of his eye, he tried to see what was happening to Tim, but all he could see was the new dragon's knees, pressed to the cold floor just like his. Off to his right, people, no... beings, a group of them, sauntered past, making their way onto the steps.
A rush of air around the back of his neck told him the guards behind had dropped to their knees. Thoughts of escape bubbled up... ridiculous really, given the number of troops gathered in the square, all on bended knee before the council building. Silence, punctured by just the bubbles from the pools of lava in front of them, enveloped everything, the air sick with the smell of death... dragon death!
