The Dragon: An Official Minecraft Novel
Page 19
“It’s Dragon,” Ashton pleaded. “Our dragon.”
Zetta shook her head. Maybe it was once, but no more. The dragon continued to rage, flying through the barn and leveling it. Finally, the dragon flapped off toward the horizon. The damage was great, but at least there had been no townspeople about. They were all held safely in the—
“Oh no,” Zetta said, as the dragon turned back toward town. She couldn’t be sure. She didn’t want to be sure. But it seemed like the dragon was headed right for the town hall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Zetta blinked, and by the time her eyes opened again, half of the town hall building was gone, ripped apart by the dragon’s collision. Blocks of sandstone and terracotta flew everywhere, though the vault seemed to have held. Zetta watched as the dragon flew up into the air, those massive wings flapping so hard, she could feel the air currents churning from where she stood.
The dragon took aim at the remaining illagers that were still plundering and looting and picked them off one by one. It obliterated the belltower in the process, the last sad clang of brass filling Sienna Dunes with a harrowing off-key note. As the enraged beast drove its snout into the final raider, it left a giant scar of rubble and upturned sand through the once-bustling town square. The well was gone. Nothing was left intact. Dust and dirt filled Zetta’s lungs. She coughed and struggled to breathe. She struggled to stand.
Yes, the pillager raid had been dealt with, but at what cost?
Before Zetta could even start to ponder such a painful question, she noticed the dragon making another slow turn as it headed back toward the town yet again. “Halt, Dragon,” she muttered weakly. “Stop, Dragon!” she said, louder this time. The dragon’s purple eyes slitted toward Zetta briefly, but then focused back on its target—the tattered shell of the town hall. The raiders were taken care of, but the dragon had no intention of stopping its attack. Zetta wanted to turn away. She couldn’t watch this. This was all her fault. She shouldn’t have run off to her aunt’s house. She shouldn’t have touched the dragon egg. She shouldn’t have kept this secret so long…
Now there was nothing to do except watch the destruction.
As the dragon got closer to the town hall, something else flashed through the sky. Another of those winged demon creatures like the ones that robed illager had summoned? No, it was far too large for that. The figure looked human. And that human looked a lot like Aunt Meryl, her white puff of hair whipping violently in the wind as she approached at breakneck speed. She pulled up at the last possible moment, that winged cape of hers flaring out as she stepped gracefully upon the ground.
“Huh? What?” Zetta said, still breathless. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d seen. “Elytra,” she then whispered to herself, remembering what Ashton had written in his journal. Wings from the End cities. Whatever those were.
The look Aunt Meryl gave Zetta was sharp enough to cut a mile-long ravine into the desert. But she glared at her niece for only a moment, because the dragon was swooping down now, about to obliterate the vault. Aunt Meryl let out a screeching whistle at the dragon and then yelled some foreign words that sounded a lot like the scream of an enderman.
The dragon glanced over at Aunt Meryl, snorted, then pulled up at the last moment. It made another slow turn, but this time it started heading for Zetta.
Zetta moved to take off in a sprint, but Aunt Meryl grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back. “Hold your ground,” she whispered. “Don’t show the dragon fear.”
Zetta’s eyes grew large. How was she not supposed to show fear? She’d never been more afraid in her life. She stood there, shaking and quaking and about to vomit all over the place, but she held her ground. The dragon slitted its eyes at her again. It flew right over her head, and for a moment, it felt to Zetta like she was caught in a sandstorm.
Zetta held firm, though her legs wanted so badly to give out. Then, just when she thought it was over, the very tip of the dragon’s tail came down and bopped her in the head. Gently, for a dragon.
She’d still have a headache for days.
The dragon landed on top of the rubble pile that used to be the belltower, perching there, wings still flapping. It stared at Aunt Meryl as she continued to speak to it in that scratchy, scraping language that had to be tearing up her throat. The dragon finally settled down, looking frustrated and a little ashamed.
“Care to explain why there’s a nearly grown ender dragon in the middle of the town square?” Aunt Meryl said to Zetta.
“It was a series of very bad decisions,” Zetta mumbled, much too shaken to say more than that.
“But she saved me!” Ashton said, running up behind them. “And the dragon did take out the last of the illager raid. Who knows what would have happened if it hadn’t.” The dragon’s tail started twitching as Ashton got closer, as if there was just a bit of recognition still there, but even Ashton didn’t dare look it in the eye. There was no way they could claim the dragon to be a friend anymore. Its destructive forces were leashed for now, but that could change at any moment.
“She saved the farm,” Nana said. “Our entire crop could have been decimated if it weren’t for Zetta coming back for us.”
Papa stood firm beside his wife, still gripping a potato and giving the dragon major stink-eye. Rift and Rayne nodded. Slowly, other townspeople emerged from the vault. Most stood back, far away from the dragon, but Mayor Maxine approached.
“Zetta saved the town. Her ideas gave us a chance at defending ourselves.” She looked at Zetta’s father and nodded with that weird knowing look they always shared.
“Maybe magic does have a place in Sienna Dunes, Zetta,” Father said, and though he spoke Zetta’s name, he was looking right at his sister. “I was wrong. This town does have room for a potioner. Or two.”
Aunt Meryl stiffened up, cleared her throat, and wiped at the corner of her eye. “Got sand in my eyes,” she grunted. “And anyway, I’ve got to get this dragon back to where it belongs, which is definitely not here. Sienna Dunes is lucky the dragon hasn’t gone through its final molting. The whole Overworld is lucky it hasn’t gone through its final molting.”
Aunt Meryl turned to leave. She put two fingers in her mouth to whistle to the dragon, but before she could, Zetta yelled, “Wait! Just a minute!”
Zetta ran to the tool shop and dug a stone shovel out of the inventory. She left a hastily scribbled IOU note on the counter of the shop, then ran over to Captain Zayden and whispered into his ear. It was time to call in her favor. He nodded, then took the shovel and scurried off.
“Thanks everyone, for the kind words, but I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. We fended off this raid together. All of us.” Zetta sighed. “But I also want to say sorry to everyone. To Dad, for hiding the truth from you. To Aunt Meryl, for destroying your potions and breaking your dragon egg.”
“Don’t forget about almost creating a wither!” Rift said, not being helpful as usual.
“Yeah, that too, I guess.” Zetta shrugged. “Sorry to my friends for dragging you into my mess. And sorry the town is such a wreck now. But I promise I won’t be going anywhere until every block has been replaced and every building has been fixed.”
Captain Zayden came sprinting back with the shovel, now glowing purple with an enchantment. Everyone looked at it, amazed. “Mending, IV, just like you asked,” he said, presenting the shovel to Zetta like she was being knighted.
Zetta thanked him quietly, then took the shovel. She pulled a piece of coal out of her pack, then drew eyes and a smiley mouth on the face of the shovel. It wouldn’t replace Meechie, but with a high-level mending enchantment, hopefully the shovel would be able to repair itself and withstand the dragon’s gnawing for a long, long time.
“Most of all, I want to say sorry to Dragon, for not believing in you.” Zetta approached the dragon, just taking a few steps at
first. When it saw the shiny shovel, the hostility seemed to drain out of its bones, so Zetta dared to get a little closer. “You are wonderful. I’m almost glad I broke your egg so I could get to know you.” Zetta swallowed. “Almost.”
She handed the shovel to Aunt Meryl. “We used this for—”
“You don’t have to explain,” Aunt Meryl said with a wink. “This isn’t my first run-in with an ender dragon.” She stashed the shovel away in her pack. “You did a fine job, Zetta. Considering. I hope you won’t mind terribly if I ask you to keep checking on my place for a bit.”
“Sure, definitely!” Zetta said, then looked at her father. “If that’s okay?”
Father nodded, exasperated, but happy. “Founder’s Day is next month,” he said to his sister. “There’s a spot for you at the table, if you want to come back and join us, Meryl.”
“We’ll see, Carl,” Aunt Meryl said. “Maybe if I’m back by then.”
“Back from where?” Ashton asked. He was worried about the dragon, even with all the destruction it had caused. Zetta felt that worry, too. Deep down, she didn’t want to see the dragon go. She didn’t want to give up on the idea that maybe, just maybe, it could be Sienna Dunes’ ultimate protector. Maybe if they just trained it a little harder, the dragon could keep them all safe from any threat that might come for their town.
But as Zetta looked around at her friends and family and fellow townspeople, she saw that Sienna Dunes already had what it needed to keep itself safe. They would all come together as one, using their skills and love for one another to make sure their town thrived.
“Where? I think you know,” Meryl said, winking at Ashton.
THE END
To Alex
Builder of wondrous worlds,
creator of magnificent contraptions,
your ideas and imagination
delight me
to the End and back
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I punched my first tree over three years ago now and still remember the stress I felt as night set in and I struggled to build my first dirt hut. I remember the exhilaration of mining my first diamond and the anguish of losing it shortly after when a skeleton shot me into a giant pool of lava. There have been many, many Minecraft adventures since, and I thank you, Dear Reader, for going on this one with me.
Getting to write in this universe has been a huge honor, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to the entire Minecraft community. Eternal thanks to the designers and developers who have bestowed us with this sandbox for our imaginations. Thanks to the YouTubers whose creativity and passion begets more of the same millions of times over. Thanks to the players who rock their Minecraft t-shirts and backpacks, spreading the word and bringing more into our fold. And thanks to the many countless others who work their brilliant magic behind the scenes. And last, but not least, a very special thanks to Mojang for entrusting me with this story, to Jennifer for potioning up this opportunity to tell it, and to all the Alexes who helped to make it shine.
I am so glad we get to share this world together.
BY NICKY DRAYDEN
Overwatch: The Hero of Numbani
The Prey of Gods
Temper
Escaping Exodus
Minecraft: The Dragon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicky Drayden resides in Austin, Texas, where being weird is highly encouraged, if not required. Her other work includes Overwatch: The Hero of Numbani—a novel about the misadventures of a kid genius and her pet robot—as well as a collection of stories for Magic: The Gathering that dive deep into the mega-city of Ravnica. Her adult works include The Prey of Gods, Temper, and the Escaping Exodus duology.
nickydrayden.com
Twitter: @nickydrayden
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