by Eric Vall
I took Ravi’s gift while Valerra turned away with a sneer. Then I grabbed the second sack from Ravi as well. I noticed Valerra step away and shift into her dragon form before she spread her wings and lifted off into the sky. Sand and dust blew around all of us in a giant dust cloud, and we coughed before it finally settled.
“Thanks, Ravi. Don’t worry too much about her. I’m sure she appreciates it, too. She just doesn’t know how to thank people properly.” I coughed loudly and sent Valerra a stern look. Then I slipped the sacks away into my spatial storage.
“It’s fine. I just hope you both like everything, and I hope you two have fun on your adventure!” Ravi grinned and waved goodbye.
“I hope you find what you need,” Chief Fiyero added as he stepped forward. “We shall continue to prepare for the echidnas while you are away, so enjoy your time.”
“Thanks, both of you,” I said and shook the chief’s hand. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Then I shifted into my dragon form and took off after Valerra.
“Do you have to be so rude to everyone?” I growled when I finally caught up to her.
“Yes,” she sneered and sounded oddly proud of herself.
“You are such a pain, I hope you know that,” I told her as I raised my voice over the sound of the wind.
She snorted, and dark smoke billowed from her nose.
“As are you,” she snapped. “You are the reason I’m here. Maybe you should stop your whining and focus on what we’re here to do.”
“You don’t need to be so snippy with me,” I shot back at her, “and you don’t need to stress so much. Your sister’s egg is fine. When we go back to the tribe later tonight, I can send a message to Hatra to check up on things, okay? I’ll make sure I ask about your sister’s egg.”
Valerra was quiet for so long, I thought she had elected to ignore me.
“How long will the message take to reach Hatra?” she finally asked as we hovered in the air facing each other.
Her voice was unusually calm, and I knew it was because she wanted to play nice with me so she could get an update.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I’ve never sent a message this far before. If my message can travel as fast as they usually can over a long distance, I would guess somewhere around tomorrow afternoon? It could get there sooner than that, though.”
“I could fly there and back in that time,” Valerra grumbled.
“We need you here, you know that,” I explained to her carefully.
“Yes, yes, I know, I’m the greatest,” she said with sarcasm.
“You’re up there, I suppose,” I laughed when she scoffed at me. “I’ll send a message when we land, okay? Hopefully, it could get there tonight and maybe you’ll have a response in the morning. Is that better?”
Valerra snorted, and then she folded her wings and dipped below me.
I watched as she soared beneath me. Her massive form blocked the view of the ground below us, and I could see the muscles in her wings strain as she flew. The sun was still rising and sat low in the sky, but the desert heat was already brutal. The light seemed to reflect off the sand and scalded my underbelly, and I squinted against the bright light as we flew. In the far distance, I could barely make out a mountain range, and I briefly wondered if that was the direction of Hatra.
“I can almost see my canyons from here,” Valerra shouted as she stared off into the direction of the mountain range.
So, I was right. That was the direction of Hatra. It would be so easy to just collect our treasure and leave the tribe to fend for themselves. I had the maps, I didn’t really need to help them anymore. I could collect all I wanted and fly back home to Hatra. I smiled at the thought of my city, Alyona, and Laika. It had only been a few days, but I missed them, and I could imagine how happy they would be to see me when I finally arrived home. Valerra would also be ecstatic to return to her egg and retreat back to her canyons. It would almost be worth it.
Then I remembered Ravi. I could see her tear streaked face when she realized we had abandoned her people. I could feel the disappointment that rolled off her. I could see her and her people easily be slaughtered by the echidnas, because I knew that if I left them now, they would all die.
I swallowed hard as I stared in the direction of my city. I wanted to return home, but I couldn’t until my promise to Ravi was fulfilled.
So, I turned my focus back to our quest.
“I can see the mountain range near the city,” I called back to Valerra.
“We could easily go home,” Valerra shouted back, as if she’d heard my previous thoughts. “They would never know, let the echidnas eat them.”
“No, Valerra.” I rolled my eyes at her. “We aren’t here to let them die.”
“It was a joke,” she growled back to me.
“Sure, it was.”
We both looked away from the direction of our homes and flew along the path the map showed us. The mountain range quickly vanished behind us as we flew away, and I had a sense of homesickness. I secretly hoped the echidnas attacked soon so Valerra and I could go home. We could kick some insect ass, and then I would return to Hatra and my women.
Valerra and I stayed close to each other as we soared above the ground, and we flew in a comfortable silence for a while. The desert seemed to be more alive the farther we flew. The endless sand dunes that surrounded the village seemed to fade as cacti appeared more frequently, and we flew over a small oasis with palm trees and antelopes at the water.
We stopped to drink while the antelopes scattered.
“Are you hungry?” Valerra commented as we watched the animals run off into the sand. “We could easily catch one of them.”
“I’m okay,” I replied with slight disgust. The thought of raw meat didn’t sit well with me, so we quickly continued our journey.
I would occasionally send my magic out to search for treasures buried beneath the sand, but each time I tried, I came back empty handed.
“This is one of the areas where two routes connected,” I called to Valerra after more time had passed. “If there is any treasure to be found, it will be around here.”
Valerra nodded her massive head but didn’t otherwise reply.
It was still morning, but the sun had risen significantly, and I could feel the desert grow hotter as the sun rose into the sky. Valerra and I continued to fly as I searched through the sand below, and finally, I sensed something buried deep in the ground.
“Valerra, let’s land,” I shouted over the wind. “I think I found something.”
I followed after her as she immediately began to descend, and I was blown away by her ability to maneuver her giant body. A moment later, she landed gracefully on the sand, and as her red scales glittered brightly in the sun, I marveled at her. Her human body was beautiful, but her dragon form was gorgeous as well.
She turned her head and caught me as I stared at her. Then she bared her fangs at me.
“Well?” she asked. “Do you plan on actually doing anything or do you plan to just stare at me all day?”
I shook my head and blinked a few times to clear my thoughts.
“It’s over here,” I said as I gestured to the side with my foreleg. “Come on, your giant feet will be useful for digging.”
Valerra narrowed her golden eyes and let out a wordless snarl. “I’m not a shovel, Evan,” she snapped.
“I know you’re not,” I replied, “but you also want to find treasure just as much as I do. Your feet are bigger than mine, which means you can dig faster. Now, come on. Stop complaining and help me.”
Before she could retort, I walked away and began to dig above the area where I had sensed the treasures.
After a few seconds, Valerra came over to help, and within a few minutes we had revealed a wagon. It didn’t have a cover, and it was still half buried and full of sand, but I could sense the treasures hidden inside it.
I shifted into my human form to better handle the riches we were about to
find.
“There’s something here,” I said as I dug with my hands.
Valerra watched as I eventually uncovered several bags of gold coins.
“Jackpot.” I could see the greed in the other dragon’s eyes as I slipped each bag away in my spatial storage, but she said nothing as I finished up.
Once I was sure there were no more coins or any other treasures inside the wagon, Valerra and I carried on, but on foot this time. We walked along the sand as I used my magic to find more hidden valuables. I could feel treasure buried beneath us, and it drove me crazy.
I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I needed it all, and I needed it now.
Valerra walked next to me in her dragon form as we continued on, and I stopped us again to uncover another wagon before she spoke.
“Is this the start of your first treasure hoard?” she asked as I urgently dug through the sand.
“Yes, is it that obvious?” I asked when I finally found a small chest.
I easily snapped the worn-down lock with my hand and opened the lid of the chest. Inside was beautiful jewelry. Necklaces, rings, pins, earrings, bracelets, and hairpins all shone brightly in the sun. The hairpins reminded me of Alyona, and I sighed at the thought of her beautiful hair pinned up. Then I quickly slipped the chest away into my spatial storage.
“You want to start a hoard,” Valerra drawled, “it is not unusual to act possessive over treasure you find. Dragons have never been good with sharing our wealth, especially with other dragons. It is one of the very few flaws of our species.”
“I’m fine,” I said. “I just want to find as much as possible so we won’t have to look so hard whenever we return to the area.”
Valerra smirked. “Of course.”
We continued across the dunes silently. Occasionally, I would feel something buried within the sand, and Valerra and I would dig for a few minutes and inspect the valuables we discovered.
We carried on like this for a few hours. When we finally decided to take a break, I grabbed the two different burlap sacks Ravi had packed for us. Inside each bag was a variety of different foods, and I recognized most of them now. I saw some of the purple fruit I’d eaten at the party, which I discovered was prickly pear. There were a few charred lizards, carefully wrapped in fronds, and a jug of liquid, stopped with a cork. Ravi had also packed a small wooden cup.
I pulled the cork from the jug and ignored the cup. Then I took a swig and hummed in approval. It was cactus juice, the same clear water-like substance I’d tried at the party. I took another drink before Valerra shifted into her naked human form as well and sat next to me.
Her milky skin was bright against the yellow sand, and her red hair looked like a river of fire as it blew through the wind. I handed over her own burlap sack, and she pulled out her own jug of cactus juice and drank quietly. When she finished, she grabbed one of the charred lizards and took a bite. We ate in a comfortable silence before I remembered my earlier promise, and I summoned my silver dragon into my hand.
“Go to Ruslan or Alyona,” I instructed, and Valerra watched as the little messenger hovered over my hand. “I know we are far from them, but I need you to get there as soon as possible. Let them know that we are fine, I just want to check up on everyone and see how the city is. Valerra is also worried about her egg, so if they could give me an update on that as well, that would be great.”
The silver dragon nodded dutifully and took off, and a silver streak trailed after it.
“You made me sound pathetic,” Valerra growled.
“I said you were worried,” I scoffed. “I thought you wanted an update?”
“What I want it to hear about my sister’s egg, I didn’t ask for you to humiliate me in the process!” she snarled.
“You wanted me to find out about your egg, I’ll find out about it soon,” I tried to reason with her. “Everyone is already aware of how much you love the egg, so I’m sure they know how worried you are. No one thinks less of you because you care.”
I could see her hand as it clenched into a fist at her side, and I reached across the gap between us to grab her arm.
“Weakness would never be a word I used to describe you, okay?” I went on in a low voice. “If it’s any comfort, I’m pretty sure Hatra’s citizens are more afraid of you now than they’ve ever been. They all know what would happen to the city if anything happened to the Crimson Dragon’s egg. In fact, I bet your egg is the most guarded thing inside of the city right now.”
I knew I would never let Valerra hurt anyone inside Hatra, but I also knew she needed to hear that her egg would be okay. She thought she displayed weakness as she worried about the last member of her family, but I knew nothing about Valerra was weak.
“Good,” Valerra sneered as she pulled her arm out of my grip. “Humans should fear me. I’m glad their fear of me will grant my sister’s egg the best protection their weak bodies can offer.”
I sighed, but decided to let her be. I knew first-hand how stubborn she was.
“Come on, let’s keep up the search. Who knows what we could find buried under all this sand.” I held out my hand to help her up, but she pushed it away.
The other dragon quickly rose from the sand and gathered her burlap sack. She hastily threw the rest of her food and her jug of cactus juice back inside it and shoved the sack into my arms. Then she walked along the sand and continued naked down our path.
Good thing we probably wouldn’t run into anyone out here, though if I saw a naked beautiful woman in the desert, I’d probably think she was a mirage.
I slipped both of our packs away into my storage space and jogged after her.
“I suppose I should offer you a thank you,” she muttered as I caught up, but she didn’t look at me.
“For what, the message?” I asked and smirked at her. “I thought you were mad about that?”
“No. Don’t remind me of that. I should rip you apart for your message that made me sound like a needy child.” She rolled her eyes dramatically before she gestured toward the sky. “I meant for this. You allowed me to finally leave that terrible little vil--”
“Hey,” I interrupted with a half glare.
“You gave me the chance to spread my wings for the first time in several days,” she quickly corrected. “I’m used to daily patrols or at the very least, leisurely flights through the canyons. To sit around and wait is not something I do.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I told her as we continued to walk. “You came out here because of me. This was the least I could do for you.”
“Just accept my thanks,” Valerra snapped. “You won’t hear it often.”
“It’s hard to accept a thanks from you when you get snarky in your next breath,” I pointed out to her.
She glared at me and walked quickly ahead. Her red hair trailed behind her like a flame, and I chased after her.
“So,” I said as I returned to her side, “is there anywhere you want to try? I’m not sure if my sense for treasure is a dragon thing, or just because I am incredibly awesome.”
Valerra scoffed and rolled her eyes at my joke.
“I can sense treasure as well,” she said as she ignored my last comment. “Though not nearly to the degree you can. I know when treasure is near me, but you seem to be able to find exactly where it is buried. I admit you have a useful skill.”
“So, you can sense all of the treasure but can’t find it?” I asked with a smirk. “Wow, that would suck.”
“Evan, shut up.”
I laughed as she continued to stalk forward.
As we continued our journey, the intense heat evaporated the sweat from our bodies, so we at least stayed relatively dry even though I could feel the heat rise off the sand below our feet. We walked slowly, which caused the sun to beat down on us harshly, but there was nothing for it since I needed to focus to sense the treasure buried deep beneath the sands. For a second, I was worried about sunburn, but I doubted I could get sunburnt anymore.
We gradually made our way down the caravan route, and I collected the treasures we found. I could feel the desire and greed as it nearly seeped off Valerra, but she was cautious and never tried to take anything for herself. We shifted in-between our dragon and human forms for a majority of the search. Our dragon forms made it easier to dig up any wagons we found, but it was easier to collect and inspect anything we discovered while in our human forms. So far, most of what we found had been gold coins. There were a few jewels and rare artifacts that we dug up here and there, but for the most part my hoard was coins. It suddenly made sense why Valerra’s treasure hoard back in her cave had so many piles of gold. It was plentiful.
“How long did you plan to stay out here?” Valerra asked later on in the day.
Her head was turned toward the sun as it begun to lower into the sky. The coolness was a welcome sensation after the intense heat.
“Not too much longer,” I replied. “I want to return before it’s dark. We can start to head back once we find a few more wagons. There’s something big out here, I know it, and I don’t want to leave until we find it.”
I used my magic to sense around the sand. I could pinpoint different riches buried around us, but none of them felt like they would be anything more than coins or small amounts of gemstones. I branched out, in search of anything bigger and better than a few bags of gold, and we continued to walk as the sun slowly descended toward the horizon.
Then I felt a powerful pull on my magic.
“This way,” I said as my heart skipped a beat in anticipation. “Follow me.”
I followed my dragon instincts and turned sharply to the left. Valerra trailed close behind, and I wondered if she could feel it, too.
I knew the moment we finally stood over whatever treasure trove was buried in the sand. My magic seemed to vibrate inside me, and my heart rate picked up as I looked down. The area was flat, barren, and inconspicuous. It looked just like the rest of the desert. The wind had seemed to die down, and the sun began to dip below the horizon.
“There’s something here,” I said to Valerra.
“I know. I can feel it as well.”
We shifted into our dragon forms and began to dig. It was slow work as we pulled the sand out of the hole we had formed.
