Dragon Envy

by Kelly Armenta

  Immy nodded and glanced around. “I think,” she muttered, almost to herself, “I think it best if we open the gate over there,” she said, pointing to the area to my right, about a quarter of the way around the herd.

  Jocara nodded as did the others. I just stood there wondering how this was all going to work. Immy glanced back at me and gave me a wait-and-see smile which actually made me shift from one foot to the other.

  “Let me just make my way over to Anete,” Immy said, “and we can get the gate opened. You and the others can move them through it once it’s in place.” And with that, Immy flapped her wings once and sprang into flight.

  I watched in amazement as she zipped through the air making a beeline to the other side of the herd. The animals didn’t seem at all phased by her flying over their heads. Well, I thought. Guess that explains that.

  Jocara glanced down at me and frowned, no doubt wondering what to do with me. “Stay here.” She told me in a no nonsense voice that sounded an awful lot like Mi’s.

  “Here?” I asked, innocently looking back up at her and pointing to the exact spot I was standing on. “Right here?”

  She gave me a look that any brain dead idiot could have translated and nodded again. “Yes right there.” She told me then gave me a stern look, not sure if she needed to clarify her directive again just so the wee little princess understood clearly. I smiled brightly back up at her which caused her to pause for a moment then turn to Mictaar and bark out and order.

  Mictaar glanced at me and signed, a little dramatically I thought, then bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing when she gave me a dirty look. Clearly she wasn’t amused at having to guard the helpless princess. I’m sure they were all wondering why Immy had brought me. Obviously she hadn’t felt the need to explain herself and I wasn’t about to crack open that can of worms.

  “What need would you have to put worms in a can?” Mictaar muttered. She’d moved to stand next to me so she could face the Lugnor. They would be driven past and away from us and through the gate, which should be opening any time. No doubt to protect me, should they decide they didn’t really want to leave and became suborn. The fact that I seemed blissful unconcerned seemed to bother her a bit. She looked tense and I could hear the sound of her tails swishing back and forth behind us.

  I glanced across the herd to see Immy talking to one of the other Centauresses. That one had white hair and antler like horns. What I could see of her body was also white. She looked slender, more delicate than her sisters.

  “That’s Anete.” Mictaar told me.

  “Ah,” I replied then asked, “How will they open the gate?” I was curious, because Immy hadn’t bothered explaining anything before basically yanking me through the Everlasting and plopping us down here.

  Mictaar shifted slightly and I could feel her eyes flick down at me. She shook her head then offered, “Anete will play the flute and the Keeper will direct the path. The gate will appear,” and she pointed at a spot between Immy and Anete, “there. Once the rift is open Anete will expand it while the Keeper holds it open so the herd can be moved through.”

  Really? I thought then leaned forward on the balls of my feet. How very interesting. “And just like that an opening will appear to another world?” I asked.

  “Just as it has always done.” Mictaar confirmed.

  I thought about that for a moment then asked, “Mictaar, how long have you been doing this?”

  “Doing what Princess?” She asked her voice sounding distracted as she swept her gaze to watch her sisters, who had begun pressing in on the herd to our left and right.

  “Helping the Keeper with her relocation project?” I explained, watching as Anete moved about fifty yards or so away from Immy, lifted her flute to her lips and began playing a soft tune. At first nothing happened, then the air beside her began to glow and what looked like a lighting blot split the space between Immy and Anete. Immy held up her hands and appeared to direct the lightening until it widened to touch the ground then moved upwards to about ten feet high or so. The air in the space swirled then started to clear and through the gate I could see another grassy plain. One with golden grass blowing gently in a breeze I couldn’t feel.

  Beside me Mictaar signed and finally responded, “Since our mother killed herself after our father died during the war with the Lapiths.”

  I glanced down at the ground quickly trying to remember my early Greek and wondering if their mother’s name was….Hylonome and their father…Cyllarus? Beside me Mictaar nodded agreement, so distracted she didn’t even realize I hadn’t spoken the question out loud. I didn’t know what to say to that, and glanced back up in time to see some of the first Lugnor wander through the gate. Like everything else, apparently a ten foot tall gateway to another world didn’t seem to bother them. They just calmly walked from the blue green grass onto the golden grass, lowered their heads and continued eating.

  The process was moving along slowly, the Lugnor seemed willing enough to cooperate as the Sisters slowly pushed them in the general direction and they passed through to D2. I continued standing in the exact spot I’d been told to occupy and beside me Mictaar remained on guard. Her eyes constantly moved as she watched the pale blue animals amble past us. They followed along behind the others in an orderly fashion. Just another day on the range I thought. At this rate we’d be on our way to gather up the Vuratar. Whatever those were, in no time at all.

  “Goats.” Mictaar informed me.

  Okay good to know. First blue cows then on to the goats. Let’s just hope I didn’t break a nail from all this excitement, I thought then jumped slightly when Mictaar snorted next to me.

  “For someone that doesn’t speak much,” she informed me, “you are never truly silent.”

  “Sorry.” I muttered, trying not to fidget where I stood. A second snort was all the response I got so I raised my lower shield and nearly went to my knees. Mictaar swung to face me and reached to grab my arm which helped to keep me from falling face first into the lovely blue grass.

  “What ails you?” She demanded her eyes narrowed as she looked me over. I shook my head and sucked air into my lungs trying to understand where the noise I was hearing was coming from.

  “I hear screaming.” I told her, lifting a hand to my head and winced at the pain.

  The blood drained from her face and she immediately glanced around with wide eyes. Apparently she’d forgotten she was still attached to me as I was drug along with her as she moved, her body now facing away from the herd and toward the flat plains behind us. “Describe what you hear?” She demanded her voice low and urgent.

  I struggled to make sense of the noise hammering at my brain and told her, “I…don’t think it’s human.” Not that that meant much since technically neither of us was either. She frowned at me so I added, “Sounds like cat?” I told her. “A very very big cat.”

  Mictaar hissed, and still holding my arm she whipped back around and let out three piercing whistles that nearly deafened me. She then made some kind of sign to her sisters. Between the noise in my head and being yanked around as she waived one arm, I was surprised I wasn’t face down in the grass. I had no idea what she might be telling them, only that added to the screaming in my head were the sound of whips cracking and the unhappy rumblings of Lugnor, who were no longer looking as placid as they had been.

  “Um…I think it’s getting closer.” I told her while she continued to hold my arm and her gaze swept the grass almost frantically. It was clear she wanted to join her sisters who had the Lugnor now moving at a trot and were pushing them to increase their speed toward the gate. But she couldn’t decide what to do with me.

  “Can you run?” She demanded then almost hissed at me herself when I yanked my arm out of her grasp and folded it across the other one on my chest.

  “Jocara said to stay here.” I told her pointing a finger at the ground at my feet and lifting an eyebrow while giving her one of my more stubborn looks. Behind me I could feel
the screaming thing getting closer but it wasn’t within striking distance yet. “You should definitely go help your sisters though.” I advised her while she stomped a foot and looked like she was considering just grabbing me and making a dash for it. In front of us the herd was finally picking up speed and I could see her sisters shooting worried glances our way.

  “Arrgghhh, just, get on my back!” She snapped at me, looking extremely annoyed and urgent both at the same time.

  I merely raised an eyebrow and slowly shook my head from side to side. “Not going to happen.” I told her calmly but firmly.

  “I can’t leave you here!” She growled, while I merely tapped the ground with my toe and continued looking determined to stay.

  “I’m pretty sure Goldy and I will be just fine.” I replied while she glanced down toward my middle and gave me an incredulous look.

  “You’re mad.” She said and backed up a step.

  “I’ve been called worse.” I told her then smiled as I tossed away the cape I’d still been holding, reached for my bow and pulled an arrow. “You really should go now. Whatever is out there is almost upon us and I’d really be angry if you were hurt because of me.”

  I think she may have been offended at my attempt to get rid of her, for her own safety of course. Or maybe I wasn’t the only stubborn one around here. Either way, she too reached for her bow.

  She gave me one last annoyed look then turned to face the open plains and seemed to settle in for battle. “So be it.” She whispered as the grass before us parted and something huge and blue with six stripped legs, massive fangs and claws, leaped toward us. No lie, the thing looked like a charging rhino, of the sabretooth variety. In my head it sounded like a freight train colliding with wet cat. And everyone knows just how much cats hate being wet.

  I gritted my teeth and took careful aim. Bow strings twanged as arrows embedded themselves into the massive creature. Its screams echoed across the plains and through my brain. Loud enough to nearly make my eyes bleed. My lower shield seemed to somehow amplify the sound. I ignored the pain while I dove and rolled to narrowly avoid the eight inch claws. I used the bow to give it a whack across its face and Mictaar’s hoof connected with one of the things hind legs, causing it to hiss and pivot toward her. Two more arrows buried themselves in the cat and it yowled and would have lunged at Mictaar, but was distracted by me landing squarely upon its back. My legs squeezed into its sides and my left forearm wrapped round its throat while I raised my knife and slammed it deep into its chest. The creature reared up onto its back most legs and I felt it take more arrows to its underbelly, compliments of Mictaar who was now looking horrified but determined, while she somehow managed to stay just out of the monster’s reach. Her face was pale, and if I didn’t know better I would have sworn she thought I was a goner.

  “O ye of little faith.” I thought, flashing a wicked grin as I plunged my knife twice more into the creature. The thing dropped back down to all six legs then tried using one of its back feet to slash at me. I quickly shifted the skin of my legs, covering them in my dragon scales on the exposed side. On the underside I added barbs which grew outwards and embedded themselves into the creature’s tender sides, causing it to scream once again as the wickedly sharp scales stabbed it. Its claws raked me, causing me no harm. The crunching-snapping noise I heard seemed to indicate the creature’s claws weren’t so lucky. Yep, dragon scales trump claws every time. Unable to get me off its back with its foot, made the thing crazy. I tightened my grip as I felt its muscles bunch beneath me just before it leapt straight into the air, flipping and twisting while I held on and repeatedly drove my blade into its chest and side. A pink froth bubbled up out of its mouth, coating my arm and neck. My blade hand was covered in hot sticky blood that ran freely. Beneath me I could feel the creature’s lungs straining with the punctures they’d taken, either from my blade or the many arrows sticking out of it. A violent shudder wracked its body and the beast simply collapsed onto the trampled grass beneath me. One final alien hiss whispered through my mind and then all was blissfully quiet.

  I shifted my legs back to normal, dropped my shield and rose to standing. I glanced around quickly, my eyes sweeping Mictaar noting that she appeared unharmed. I then lifted a leg over the beast and moved a couple of feet away. Now this is a vacation! I thought, and threw back my head and let out a victory scream. I won’t lie, it felt amazing.

  By the time I’d cleaned and sheathed my knife and gathered up my bow and cloak, the others had joined us. Our little disturbance with the cat must have encouraged the Lugdor to move a little faster as they’d fled through the now closed gate. Immy stood next to Jocara, who like her sisters, kept glancing between me and the now dead cat creature as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. I merely smiled, found my sunglasses in a pocket and slipped them on. This world’s sun was hell on the eyes and the glare was starting to give me a slight headache. Or maybe that was left over from the creatures’ madness. I wasn’t certain.

  Since no one seemed to have anything to say, I finally asked, “So, about those Vuratar?”

  “By the Gods!” Mictaar breathed then started chuckling, which quickly turned into full blown laughter.

  I glanced around at the rest of the sisters who were looking at Mictaar with concern and I couldn’t help thinking that folks released tension differently and who was I to judge? After all, I’d just screamed at the heavens on a who knew how far from my own, while covered in blood from I don’t know what kind of animal. And honestly, I’d much rather she be laughing than screaming at me for doing what I’d just done. In my humble opinion, it was way less irksome.

  Chapter 17

  The only dangerous thing about the Vuratar was their crafty natures and surefooted abilities. Oh yeah, and their massive horns and rock hard heads. The beasties could run up the flat side of a mountain then right back down faster than I could shift to dragon. If they hadn’t been so pretty with their shaggy calico coats of brown, black and cream, I might have simply roasted them and had a nice cookout. Even so, I was sorely tempted what with the running and chasing back and forth and up and down that mountain.

  At first it was all fun and games. I hadn’t worked out in, I don’t know how long and a good run after the brief excitement with the cat thing seemed a good way to deal with my pent up adrenaline. But with Immy and Anete working the gate and the sisters being not very nimble in the steep places, I soon was a hot sweaty mess with little to show for my efforts.

  After several hours trying to get the dratted sneaky brutes through the gate, Goldy finally lost patience and shifted us. Not having to climb up and down chasing the nimble things over jagged rocks made it much easier to round up the majority of females and young and get them through the gate. Of course it nearly caused the Centauresses to attack me, and only Immy’s frantic waiving and yelling kept them from trying to shoot me out of the sky. Their reaction was rather amusing and I’d been chuckling over it when one of the more stubborn larger males I’d been stalking across a particularly steep cliff, decided to use his massive curved horns as a battering ram on my forehead. He quickly learned that horns aren’t just good for smacking the daylights out of poor dragons; they’re also great carrying handles for dragon’s claws.

  It probably wasn’t my finest moment, but plucking them off the mountain suddenly became much easier than chasing them across it. Of course, one per claw was more expedient. Yes maybe they did look a bit like fuzzy round balls as I gently tossed them through the gate. They did know how to tuck and fall, after all.

  In no time, my game of bowling with Gruff was wrapped up and I was winging my way back to the girls. I’m pretty sure I had some explaining to do.

  A dozen worlds and a kaleidoscope of weird and wonderful creatures later, we’d finally called it a day. Well, technically I think it had been several days. And we had stopped more time than I could remember to eat and briefly regroup. Exactly how many days it had been was hard to estimate, what with our having arrived on
some of the worlds in the middle of what was their night.

  Each time my thoughts wandered back to my golem me, Immy would just shake her head and say something like, ‘You sleep in the Sidhe amongst your men,’ or ‘You’ve just fled your Mother’s room.’ That had required some explaining for the others, who weren’t certain if they should pity or envy me. After all, none of them had had a mother for a very long time. And as far as males went, I didn’t know how long that had been.

  Favns, the only redhead of our group, or would that be sorrel? I wasn’t really sure. Well, she was particularly animated in her opinions. She was also clearly the most bloodthirsty, and had grown angry on my behalf at various points during my story. She especially liked my having dragged the Prince into the corner of the bathing chamber, and had offered the novel idea that perhaps I should geld him. Which when seriously contemplated, had caused Immy to become distressed. Obviously there weren’t many displaced Elven Princes and the thought of losing even one such as Cam, was unthinkable. She was such a conscientious environmentalist. Nearly as adorable as the white and pink furry fruit bats we’d liberated from a planet called Ramaloth. And those things had some serious cute going on. What with their little pale pink ears and noses, big soft black button eyes and pink wings. The Oristns, as Immy named them, had fallen in serious like with my dragon form. Their reaction to me had been nearly as bad as the full on ladybug coverage.

  We had been trying to move a herd of huge elephant like creatures with brown leathery skin, jagged tusks, huge antlers and the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen. Immy had told me the name for the creatures but I couldn’t even pronounce it, so I’d just called them Elles for short. The Elles were stubborn in an ‘I weigh several tons and you aren’t going to move me’ sort of way. Rather than risk one of the sisters getting squashed, I’d shifted and dive bombed the herd which got them moving toot sweet. I was flying slowly at the back of the herd, ensuring they kept moving in the correct direction, when the air around me was suddenly full of little pink and white bats. The adorable pests attached themselves to me, pressing their little furry white bodies against my scales and cooing like sycophants.