by E. Molloy
"It’s about time," it said, voice deep and echoing through the forest. Its mouth made a smacking noise as it opened it to speak, explained by the long strings of mucus that stretched from the top to bottom jaw.
"We don't want to fight you," Daveth shouted, quickly pushing to the front of the group. The dragon didn't seem interested in coming into the forest, so maybe they were safe if they just stayed here.
The beast laughed a roaring sound that shook the trees. A squirrel fell to the ground, dead, nearby as the air filled with a noxious stench from the beast’s mouth. "Well, that’s good news, since I think it would end in my favor anyway. Be a good snack, then, and come over here and accept your fate," the creature said. The foul stench of its breath nearly made Daveth's stomach retch.
Suddenly, Glop bolted into view. He was rushing past Daveth and toward the dragon, golden coin held high in the air. The sun glinted off of it, and reflected in the dragon's eye. The creature immediately looked down at the small swamp rat. Glop shouted, "Passage! It gives passage for shiny!" He jumped up and down fearlessly, no more than a few feet in front of the dragon.
The dragon let out another billowing, stinky laugh, though Glop didn't seem bothered by the smell. "Do I look like a cheap ride?" the dragon snapped at him irritably, but made no hostile movements. His chest seemed to inflate as his neck rose off the ground and his legs stiffened beneath him. "Stop wasting my time and come out here."
Glop set the piece on the ground in front of him, as if making an offering. He put his webbed fingers together, and repeated, "It gives passage for shinies. We have much more. In there." He pointed into the forest, small yellow eyes not leaving the dragon's. A red dragon’s weakness was much like a swamp rats: treasures.
The beast pondered, looking past the small creature into the darkness of the forest. An inner set of cream translucent vertical eyelids shuttered briefly, then reopened. It turned its good eye to Daveth, and then stood. All that was visible of the creature from the forest was its chest, and Daveth wondered if then would be the best time to strike. He held no illusions that this creature intended to let them pass, not without a fight.
After a few moments pause, the thundering voice could be heard from outside the woods. "Fine," it relented. The group didn't move toward it, though, and after a minute had passed, it lowered its head to look into the woods again. "I said fine. Let's go. Come on, I don't have all day. Unless you've changed your mind and would rather stay in there."
Daveth looked to Ragen who nodded to him quietly. Neither of them believed it was that easy. Glop, on the other hand, had scooped up the gold coin from the ground and was padding joyously toward the giant lizard, expecting exactly what was promised it. Daveth followed close behind, and the two were out in the clearing standing before the towering beast in no time.
Ragen went back to Lillian whose arrow was still nocked. "Let's go, princess," he said, moving to put an arm under her.
"Sorry," she replied coldly, breathing finally.
"Sorry for what? It's not your fa-"
Before the word had left his mouth, she released her arrow. It flew swift and true, past Daveth's shoulder and over Glop's head and straight into the dragon's chest.
The giant creature roared in what sounded more like rage than pain, and Daveth stepped back. Glop had wasted no time in scampering back into the woods, knowing that there was nothing he could do to fight the angry beast. Ragen cried, "Shit," as he left the princess' side and bolted toward the creature, removing his axe. If there wasn't going to be a fight before, there definitely would be, now. Lillian nocked another arrow, ready to fire as soon as her friends were out of her line of sight.
As the dragon reared its head, it raised its front legs, dropping them both to the ground at the same time and shaking the world around it. All four of the fighters fell as the wave of vibrations hit. The larger man fell mid-stride as he ran toward the beast, and Lillian fell to her side, causing her to release the arrow that she had at the ready. It flew over Ragen and into the monster's shoulder.
The beast fixed its gaze on Daveth, the only one still on the plains and within fighting range. Something seemed to be keeping it from moving into the forest, and it wasn't just its massive size. It could easily have burned the entire area or toppled the trees to get to them. Daveth pulled one of his swords from his side and the knife that Ragen had given him as he lay on his back. As soon as the dragon struck down with its head, he rolled out of the way of its attack. Flipping the knife in his hand, he swung his arm backwards at the creature's face and jabbed it into its upper lip. It was nothing more than a pinprick to the dragon, though, a mild irritation, and the creature lifted its head with Daveth's hand still gripping the knife.
It raised the young man into the air as he held onto the handle of the blade for dear life. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword with his right hand, lifting the arm to stab it into the beast’s under jaw. The blade stuck as the creature opened its mouth and let out a thunderous scream that shook the forest nearby. He could see as the beast opened its mouth that the blade had come through and was sticking up under its tongue.
Ragen had gained his footing again, and had made it to the monster's feet. He swung at its ankles with the axe, as though trying to chop down a tree. While he was definitely doing damage, he only got in two swings before the leg lifted and kicked him, sending him flying backwards. His back slammed against a tree as he slid to the ground, growling, and struggled back to his feet to try again.
Lillian fired another arrow from her position on the ground where she now sat, unable to stand on her own but unwilling to stop fighting regardless. The projectile hit the dragon's shoulder again, just a few feet under the last one. "Okay, you little freak, go do your thing," she shouted above the screaming. Glop bolted into a four-legged gallop toward the dragon, bouncing off the ground and grabbing the lower arrow. He swung himself up with his arms, using them to jump off of the bottom arrow and grab the higher one with his feet. He then used his legs to raise himself onto the arrow, and hopped off of it onto the dragon's back. The arrow snapped as he leapt.
The swamp rat's eyes began to leak yellow ooze, the same that had been in the melting pot in its hut. As the creature cried, he stuck his suction cup fingers and toes to the soft scales on the dragon's back to secure himself there. Each drop that landed on the dragon's scales began to melt holes into it, and every so often the froglike creature would remove one hand to spread the substance around.
Meanwhile, Daveth was still at the creature's face, holding on for his life to the hilts of the blades that were protruding from the thing's mouth. He tried to remove the smaller knife from the dragon's lip, but couldn't pull it out. The beast shook its head violently, and Daveth could feel his hand slipping from his grips. He had to think of something, and fast, but he had sort of stuck himself in a bind. His eyes went to the arrow that stuck from the creature's head, still. If he let go of the sword, he could try to grab onto it during the wild flailing, but was more likely to lose his grip and fall before then.
Suddenly, despite the angry roaring of the dragon, Ragen's voice reached his ears. "Macey, no!"
A swirl of black feathers whipped past Daveth and up the side of the dragon's head. The raven scratched viciously at the already-wounded eye before lifting off again up into the air. The dragon's snout followed the bird, opening wide and forcing Daveth to let go of the long sword. He held on to the knife's handle with one hand, dangling past the creature's jaw as the bird came down and scratched at the other eye. The dragon lifted its head more, snapping its gaping maw in the air blindly trying to reach the winged creature.
The arrow was now just barely within reach, and Daveth took his chance, swinging out an arm to reach for it. His hand slipped just as he grabbed it, and instead of pushing it farther into the beast's head, he pulled the arrow out.
The giant eye opened and looked straight at Daveth, blood leaking from it like tears pouring down. The beast's wings flapped once, t
he force of the wind generated pushing Ragen into the ground and sending the raven at the creature's face shooting into the tree tops. The bird hit the trunk of a tree and fell to the ground in a heap of feathers as the dragon lifted off of the plains and into the air with Daveth attached to its head and Glop still clinging to its back.
Chapter 22
The ground got very far away very quickly. A thunderous roar filled the air and Daveth’s entire body. He could feel the vibration of it in the dragon's head, shaking him so much that the whole world seemed to shake with it. Once the screaming stopped, his head still vibrated with its echo. A rhythmic thumping filled him in its place. At first, he thought it was his heart about to beat out of his chest, until he noticed the beast's wings moving with new purpose.
When Daveth could finally look down, his feet ached just from the realization of how high up he was. The companions he'd left behind were merely specks next to a field of fluffy green plants on a pale yellow field. The wind whipped him from all directions, a constant barrage from the front with intermittent whips from the back as the giant wings barreled through it.
"Still hanging on, White Knight?" the dragon hissed, his booming voice barely audible above the sound of the wind whipping past his ears. Daveth dropped the arrow, reaching about frantically for anything he could use as a handle for his other hand as his legs dangled. He gripped the edge of one of the smooth scales, digging his fingers underneath it and hoping with everything in him that dragon scales were firmly attached.
"Where...are you taking me?" he shouted, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. The dragon kept inclining higher into the air. Daveth closed his eyes against the cold of the wind that rushed past his face.
The dragon heard him, though, and replied in kind. "Away from distractions, of course," the monster chuckled, its irritation still quite evident despite its currently smug demeanor. Suddenly, things got much quieter. The beast's wings had stopped flapping, and the two were just hovering in the air. All of the whistling and whooshing sounds that had filled the air ceased. It was so eerily quiet up there that Daveth would have thought he was deaf if it weren't for the loud beating of his own heart.
Mistaking another look down, Daveth found his eyes landing on the city of Diamondruf. They were so close, if it weren't for this one last obstacle. "Well, the distractions are gone," he prodded irritably, looking up to the dragon's eye that he dangled just below. The beast huffed once, and Daveth continued. "So, what now?"
"You can let go of my head and make this easier for both of us, or I can-"
On the dragon's back, Glop had just finished melting through the creature's giant scale. The swamp rat retrieved a handful of tiny purple-feathered darts from his pouch and jabbed them all at once into the exposed flesh. A wave of panic and then immediate calm came over the beast as its eyes rolled in its head.
"Or you can...?" Daveth asked, but his answer was about to come.
The entire body of the beast jerked abruptly as the creature's muscles relaxed and its wings folded behind it. All at once, the wind began to rush past him again, and Daveth found his body flailing in the sky. His grip on the creature's scale came loose, and he immediately moved his hand to its upper lip next to where his knife was securing his other hand.
The ground came close faster than he thought they could possibly be moving, and before he knew it the monster's body was plummeting through the streets, Daveth dangling from its lips with his feet just barely above the ground as the bricks whipped by in a grey blur. The creature's wingspan tore through nearby buildings like they were paper, and bricks scattered the streets behind them. Screams filled the air, and an arrow bounced off of the scaled cheek just above his hand as the guards of the city presumably acted to defend it.
He knew he had to get off of this thing before it crashed into something headfirst and killed them both. Holding his breath and readying for the fall, the knife finally slipped out of the creature's face, and he lost his grip on the edge of its lip as he tumbled to the ground. His left shoulder hit the ground hard and he rolled away from the wreckage just in time to avoid impact with one of the leathery wings. The extremity hit the building he lay next to, just over his head, and a rain of shattered stone and splintered wood buried Daveth alive.
Lillian continued to fire arrows until well after the dragon was too far to hit. Her soft features were creased in an angry determination that was fueled by desperation and fear. Everything was so far out of her control, and she knew when the dragon left that Daveth was still with it. She sat on the ground, staring off at the plains as if waiting for something to happen.
Ragen, once he regained his footing, hurried to the heap of black feathers on the ground. He scooped the bird up in his hands more gently than he'd handled anything in his life, touching at her cheek a few times. The creature didn't move. He heard Lillian call to him, but it seemed so far away, so insignificant. "Macey. Hey, lady," he said, choking on the words. "Hey, lady, wake up."
Lillian forced herself to her feet, making her way toward Ragen and the bird. "I'm...I'm sorry," she said, quietly.
Ragen smiled and waved her off. "Nah, s'okay. She'll be alright. Just needs some rest," he said, petting her face gently. The bird still didn't respond.
Lillian knelt beside him, looking at the lifeless form in his hands. "Ragen, I-"
The man stood, holding the raven in one hand gently pressed against his chest. "Listen, kid," he said, "She's gonna be fine. Don't go actin' like this is the end, 'cause it's not. She's fine, you understand?" Tears had begun to well in his eyes, but none made it so far as his cheeks.
Lillian bit her lower lip and nodded, knowing it was just his way of dealing with it. "We...we should get going," she said, looking off toward the city and trying to change the subject.
Ragen looked down to the little body in his hands again. "Yeah. You, uh...you go on ahead. I just gotta do somethin' first."
She looked back to him. "I can't really-" she started, hesitant to argue but knowing her own capability at the moment was limited.
Ragen interrupted. "No, no, I understand. But I'll just be a minute, and then I'll be right there by you. Promise," he said, his eyes never leaving the bundle at his chest.
The princess nodded, understanding, and said, "Alright. I'll...I'll just be right outside, if you need me."
He smiled, and forced his eyes up to her. "Thanks, princess," he said, then turned and walked into the thick of the woods.
Lillian stepped onto the plains. She knew he needed to be alone, but she also couldn't go too far out there on her own. If the dragon came back, she needed to be able to retreat to somewhere, especially if she was alone.
Her own sorrow began to take hold as she stared at the city. Whatever secrets were there would soon be revealed, and the thought of what that could mean for her father and her country were terrifying. Even if she made it back alive, if there was some conspiracy against her, what protection did she have? The only allies she had were the mismatched group she had just been travelling with; all others were loyal to her father. Even her friends -yes, she supposed she had made friends - were falling apart.
The would-be-knight was gone, she could only assume dead by now. Ragen might not be the same again after what happened. And even the swamp rat had gone missing. Despite how creepy, gross, and utterly repulsive the thing was, she'd started to grow a little attached to it. If it weren't so ugly, it might have even been cute. If nothing else, Glop had certainly proven its loyalty today, like the dog she never had.
Her thoughts went back to the first time she'd met Daveth. The princess had pretended that she was a peasant who had lost her dog to the dragon, shrugging off the loss and saying, 'It's just a dog.' Her eyes began to tear up as she realized the loss they'd suffered today, and she felt that all there was to look forward to would be more loss.
A shuffle in the woods snapped her out of her thoughts and sent the princess whirling around. She drew her bow and nocked an arrow in the half-second that
it took to spin, only to find Ragen emerging empty-handed. She immediately lowered her weapon, returning the arrow to the leather quiver on her back. "Did...did you bury her?" she asked, feeling intrusive but unable to mask her curiosity.
Ragen walked on past her, not saying anything. The fake smile he'd held almost their entire trip was gone, and his brow was drawn down angrily.
The princess bit the inside of her lip, following after him as quickly as she could. "Hey, slow down," she said, unable to keep up with his stride.
Ragen stopped, waiting for her to catch up, and then turned his head to look at her. "My son," he said, and she stared on without a word. "He was supposed to meet us."
Not sure how to respond, Lillian forced some words out awkwardly. "Here? Or...back there? You have a son?"
Ragen nodded solemnly. "I'm not going anywhere until I see him. You hear me?!" He shouted at the air like a madman, and Lillian found herself suddenly terrified of the man she was travelling with. It was the first time she’d seen him angry, and the first time she’d been afraid of him. He looked at the sky, then back to the woods. "You were right! She didn't leave! You overconfident bitch. But you ain't seen stubborn yet, so you bring him here or the princess never makes it to the castle, y'understand me?!"
The forest responded with silence, and Lillian backed away from him a few steps. "Ragen, what are you doing?" she demanded, unable to force confidence into her voice.
Suddenly, a rhythmic thumping sounded on the plains. Lillian turned her eyes toward the expanse, seeing nothing but grabbing for her bow again. The large man placed a stern hand on hers to stop her, dark eyes fixed on a dark form in the distance that was quickly growing nearer.
Toward them galloped a large stallion, black coat glimmering in the light of the sun as its body lurched forward with every heavy beating of its hooves against the ground. Its muscles pulsed with the effort of running, full speed, toward the two, and for a moment Lillian doubted it intended to ever stop.
