Night of the Dragons

by Miranda Martin

  Oh shit.

  A moment of shock as the others absorb what just happened, and then all hell breaks loose. A grunting battle cry goes up among the remaining apes, and they rush forward towards the men on all fours in an ungainly gallop that is actually quite fast.

  The one holding me loosens its grip enough that I risk turning my head just a little to look at what's happening. My breath catches as I take in the tableau.

  There are way more apes than I realized. And they don't just look strong. I can feel the power in those dense bodies in how the one behind me is holding on, its immovable grip almost absent-minded as it watches the battle unfold. It isn't even putting effort into that hard grip.

  But the dragon-men aren't pushovers either. They leap and slash and stab in that same dance-like battle strategy they've shown before, working with and around each other like they don't even have to think about it.

  I wince as one of the things lands a glancing blow on Anguis. I know it must have hurt. But his expression doesn't even change as he whips around and stabs it with a powerful thrust, the blade slicing out the thing's back.

  Ejder jumps between a loose group of them and spins his staff in a powerful arc, wounding five of them at once in an efficient, clearing move that buys him space. But I go still as I see one of the apes jump up in a powerful arc, its eyes locked on Ejder's back. He doesn't see it coming. He's not going to turn in time. But his friends have his back. Kaidan quickly takes it out, intercepting the jump with a leap of his own, thrusting upwards as he nears, skewering Ejder's would-be attacker.

  That was too close.

  Mikhos kills another one, his path bringing him closer to us, his eyes glancing at me before he has to engage with another attacker, the animal running towards him at full speed, its mouth agape, baring impressive fangs.

  I realize the others are slowly moving closer as well, leaving a trail of dead apes behind them. I'm not the only one who notices their progress. The alpha abruptly lets go of me and shoves me to the side roughly, letting out another grunting cry, pitched to carry. Glad to know I'm disposable.

  I catch myself before I hit the ground, taking a deep breath, my bruised ribs aching at the movement as I try to scoot farther away from the alpha.

  What is it saying?

  And then something surprising happens. It gives me one last look and then turns around and disappears back into the trees. I guess it isn't really all that into valor. I stay still, trying not to draw attention as the remainder of its pack follows, powerful bodies moving quickly and silently back into the trees, following their alpha's lead. There are maybe half of the amount that first showed up still left to run. They've sustained massive casualties for their trouble. Maybe they'll think twice in the future. The last one has just disappeared, following the rest of its group, when the dragon-men reach me, their faces grim as they surround me.

  Mikhos asks me something in a low voice, crouching down next to my head as he scans my body. The others look me over as well, their faces worried even as they keep an eye out for any more attackers, their shoulders tense.

  I don't know what Mikhos is saying, though I feel like I should be able to pick out a couple of words at least. I can't seem to focus. Maybe it's shock.

  Judging from his intense, worried face, I guess he's asking if I'm all right.

  I'm not entirely sure of the answer.

  18

  I take a deep breath, feeling my ribs twinge again. They don't feel injured really, just sore. I take inventory of the rest of my body as I slowly sit up.

  Mikhos is immediately there, helping me stand as I try to get to my feet, his supportive arm wrapping around my waist. The others watch, still vigilant in their scan of the area around us at the same time, which is comforting. I keep half-waiting for those things to regroup and show up again.

  "I'm okay," I say, patting Mikhos on the chest and trying to smile at the others reassuringly. Apparently, it isn't all that convincing. They give me dubious looks, so I pull away from Mikhos and take a few steps as they watch.

  "See?" I say. "I'm fine."

  I try my best to hide how shaken I feel, but from the worried looks they give me, I don't think I'm all that successful.

  Though I did learn one thing from the whole incident. Well, incidents. I know why the men probably don't live out here, closer to this oasis. Sure, the greenery and the copious amounts of water are a huge draw. But I wouldn't want to live so close to huge ground worms and deadly gorilla creatures either. Good call on sticking to that tiny oasis near the defensible cliff.

  The men are silent as they watch me, giving me a few moments, maybe to see if I keel over after all. I just stand there and smile back awkwardly. I don't think I'm going to faint, but the attention is a little nerve-racking. I start to wonder if they might jinx me into passing out or something after all. But they don't.

  Eventually, they decide I must be okay after all because Mikhos gives an order that I half understand. When everyone moves to pack everything up, I know I'm right. We're moving camp. Not a big surprise.

  That's fine with me. I don't want to stay here where those creatures know exactly where to find us. I'd feel like a sitting duck.

  Now that I'm feeling better, I jump in and roll up one of the bedrolls, trying to contribute what little I can to the workload.

  "Come," Mikhos says, taking the bedroll.

  "I can carry it," I offer, but they ignore me as Mikhos takes my hand and the others fan out in the now familiar protective barrier around us. "Or not," I sigh, following along without argument.

  It's the least I can do. I don't even know how many times they've saved my life at this point. I can follow sensible orders. With those muscles, I don't think our supplies are much of a burden at all.

  We walk for maybe a half hour, Mikhos's hand holding mine tight, Anguis behind us and Kaidan and Ejder on either side in front of us. All of us are on high alert after facing two threats almost back to back. Where before I just saw the beauty of the trees and the lush leaves around us, I now see potential hiding places for more threats. Maybe blood-sucking birds. Or carnivorous butterflies. But I'm spared having my favorite insect ruined. We aren't attacked again.

  Eventually, we come to a small clearing that Mikhos deems acceptable, and we set up camp again. The enforced physical activity and the time it took to find a new site seems to have calmed everyone down a little, which is nice. Maybe now's a good time to ask for some water.

  "Thirsty?" I ask, sitting down on one of the bedrolls.

  Ejder and Kaidan almost knock heads in their rush to get the water over to me, glaring at each other. So I decide to take both the water skins they offer.

  "Thank you," I murmur as I take a few sips from each and smile at them both. That seems to drain them of their anger pretty effectively. They blink at me as they take the water skins back, obviously not expecting that response.

  Then Anguis shows up with some jerky and we all settle down to eat, breaking the remaining tension. Maybe I just need to figure out whatever the equivalent of what I just did is in every situation if it works that effectively. I might drive myself crazy trying to make every scenario equal and fair though. But I'll still do it if that's what it takes.

  I look around at the dragon-men's tired faces and wish I could say something comforting to them. They look like they could use it. Maybe it's time to learn more words. Starting with whatever the heck we—well, they—fought off. I give them a minute to eat first though.

  Then I stand, which immediately gets their attention. Okay. Uh.

  I hunch over, dragging my hands on the ground, grunting. It's a pretty good impression of our gorilla attacker, if I do say so myself.

  Anguis immediately cracks a small smile.

  "Majmun," he offers.

  "Maj-moon," I say, smiling back.

  "Majmun," Kaidan repeats.

  "Majmun," I say again.

  They all smile at me, nodding. I see Ejder do a quick scan of the area, like he's
worried just saying the name will summon them here again. I completely understand that fear.

  I think the giant worm thing is what I want to learn next. I think for a moment. All right. I crouch down under the men's interested gazes. I lay my forearm down on the ground and cover it with the corner of the bedroll. And then push my hand up, opening and closing the "mouth" as I try to make a worm-like movement. It looks more like a Muppet than a worm. Though I doubt they'd hire me to play Kermit the Frog. I look up hopefully. Maybe they can figure it out still from the context.

  Mikhos and Kaidan are definitely trying to hide smiles and I can see the humor dancing in Anguis and Ejder's eyes. Okay, so maybe I'm no Meryl Streep, but I think I conveyed what I want pretty well.

  "Zemljah," Kaidan says, giving me a break.

  "Zem-ja."

  "Zem-l-jah," Ejder throws in more slowly.

  "Zemlja."

  That meets with their approval. Two more down! And the charades has the added benefit of the men relaxing a little, which is good. We spend a bit more time trying to communicate, and I'm surprised that we're able to somewhat. I can string together a couple of words. Maybe not a full sentence yet, but it's a start. And I'm starting to understand parts of what they say at full speed. Progress!

  But night soon falls, and we stop everything to settle down into our bedrolls. I'm fully beat from that long day, so I lie down with a relieved sigh. Mikhos stays up when the other three lay down with their backs towards me, arranged around my bedroll. He must be awake to guard us. They aren't taking any chances now. The last image I have in my mind before I fall asleep is Mikhos, with his watchful eyes and handsome face. Not a bad picture. Not bad at all.

  When I wake up the next morning, I have a vague recollection of a chase dream. No surprise there. My first real thought is to wonder how long we're going to stay here. None of the men make any move to leave, so I mentally shrug. They must have some reason to stay. I trust them. They have a lot more expertise with this place than I do. So I stop worrying and spend the day hanging out with them.

  I spend some time picking fruit with Mikhos—which turns out to be delicious and sweet. Kind of like the man himself. I can also see his brain working the whole time, watching for threats, glancing at the other men to make sure the mood is still calm, while also paying attention to me. And all the while spreading an aura of steady calm around himself. It's impressive how good he is at that. All of that.

  I have conversations with Ejder that show off his sarcastic sense of humor. I've learned enough words at this point that I can figure out the gist of what he means when he rolls his eyes at Anguis's back and makes a serious, brooding face mimicking the large man's demeanor. I stifle a laugh, not wanting to cause any problems between the men even if he is being deliberately provocative.

  Kaidan spends a lot of the time posing, checking out of the corner of his eye to see if I'm noticing how the sunlight highlights his perfect features. I am looking. And I think the fact that he's trying so hard is pretty damn adorable.

  Anguis is still a man of few words. But when I talk to him, he gives me his focused attention and the few words he does say get his point across and show he's listening. I really appreciate that.

  I get to know all of them even better, the quirks of their personalities, how they interact with me and each other. There are a few spats between them, but I smooth them over or Mikhos steps in. It's a lot calmer than it was in the caves, which I'm definitely glad of. I'm starting to get the hang of dealing with them as a group. I also learn more words and start to string together actual sentences. I'm making real headway! Soon, they won't be able to get me to shut up. The thought brings a smile to my face as I lay my head down for the night again.

  But it's wiped off in the morning when I open my gritty eyes. The familiar ache in my bones is back. The nauseous roll to my stomach. The pounding in my head. Oh no. I close my eyes, but there's no denying reality, no matter how much I may want to. The epis is wearing off.

  I'm sick again.

  19

  There's no hiding that I'm sick from the men. Not that I have the energy to try anyway.

  Mikhos takes one look at my face and barks out orders to the others. As he props me up with an arm around my back, Anguis and Kaidan bring me some water and jerky, Ejder crouching down at my feet, his expression as concerned as the others. They don't even snipe at each other as they watch me take a few sips of the water and a bite of the jerky. I must really look bad if they don't even bother taking shots at each other. The food and water revive me a little, dulling my headache and settling my stomach, but I still don't feel well.

  They murmur to each other in hushed voices as I chew. The tone is worried and I hear the word they've used before. From the context, I think it refers to that miraculous plant that has already helped me so much. Epis. They're talking about epis.

  I listen closely as they have a short, to-the-point discussion. I think I hear the word for day from Anguis, and then Ejder says something about weeks, maybe. I made it a point to learn some of the common time words since I figured they'd be useful. Then the word I think might mean sick. Hmm. I could be wrong, but it seems like they might be talking about how the epis should have worked better on me maybe. Like I should have felt better for weeks rather than days? It would make sense.

  They don't know they're working with an information deficit. I wish I knew the word for cancer. That would clear things up for them, but I have no idea how to convey such a complex idea with my very limited vocabulary. And maybe . . . maybe that plant just isn't enough for what's wrong with me. I'm about to sink into another spiral of thoughts triggered by that one, but then another word draws my attention back to the conversation.

  Zemlja. And cave. They want to go back to those caves? That's insane! We barely made it out the first time!

  I sit up, away from Mikhos, shaking my head.

  "No," I say firmly, meeting each of their eyes. I frown, trying to find the word I want. "Danger," I say, finally settling on the word. "Danger." I shake my head again.

  They look at each other grimly.

  "Piper . . . here," Mikhos says gently, but firmly. He says something else between those two words but I don't understand them. I still get the gist though. He wants me to stay here while they go.

  " . . . epis," he finishes, standing up with the others.

  "No," I say again, but it's clear they aren't going to listen to me. What else is new? I rub at my face with my hands as they have what sounds like a short argument. Ejder is insisting on something and the others are snapping back, but Mikhos intervenes as usual, silencing everyone.

  I look up again as Mikhos, Kaidan, and Anguis each come to me, touching me lightly and murmuring something softly. I smile sadly, squeezing each of their hands in turn. I don't want them to go. I don't want them to put themselves in danger for me all over again. But I can't physically stop them as they step away and melt into the trees. Mikhos gives Ejder one last warning look before he disappears.

  Now it's just Ejder and me in the small clearing. They've left me here with one of them to guard me while they look for another way into the zemlja caves, because it's too dangerous to take me and probably also because they'll be faster without me slowing them down. I sigh, dropping my head into my hands. I hate that I'm such a burden, that the men have had to put themselves into danger again and again because of me, because they want to protect me, help me.

  There's a slight movement next to me, and then a heavy arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me in against a large, hard body. I lean against Ejder, needing the comfort too much to worry about whether or not it's a smart idea. For the record, it's probably not. We just sit like that, with my head leaning on his shoulder, for some time before Ejder stirs.

  I raise my head to see him grabbing for some more of that juicy fruit I'd gathered with Mikhos. He slices into it with his knife and offers me a bite with an encouraging look. My stomach does feel a little more settled. Leaning forward, I take a
bite from his fingers with a murmured thanks. Juice drips down my chin and I raise a hand to wipe it away, but Ejder stays my hand and wags his eyebrows at me in an exaggerated leer.

  I can't help the giggle that bursts out at that look, but it fades as he leans in and sucks the juice away from my chin. And my neck. He trails his mouth down to the curve at the base of my throat, scraping his teeth slightly against me, causing a shiver to go through my body.

  All right, that's clearly enough. We're skirting the edge of real danger here. I push him back before the tingles can become more, and I find myself in an untenable position. I've already demonstrated how susceptible I am to all of them. He moves back reluctantly but then meets my eyes and shrugs, as if to say it was worth a try. I roll my eyes, cracking another smile. He's completely incorrigible. But he did manage to shake me right out of my mood. Maybe that was his intention all along because he doesn't push at all.

  We spend the rest of the day eating and resting in the clearing, with Ejder doing impressions of the other guys to my make me laugh.

  "Mikhos," he says before he clears his throat and puts on a serious face.

  I shake my head, laughing at the serious expression and walk. And then the pompous look he dons for Kaidan, the preening poses he mimics that are so spot on I can't hold in the belly laughs. But even as he pokes fun at the others, I can see he clearly cares for them. None of the impressions are mean-spirited. They’re the way one would make fun of a close friend or brother. We pass the day together more easily than I would have predicted. Ejder is actually good company, funny and fast.

  But when night falls, the men still aren't back. I worry, but Ejder murmurs to me, lying down on the bedrolls with me. He's scooted ours together to make a bigger one so he can spoon me from behind, and I don't mind, not with everyone else gone. It makes me feel safe—as safe as we can be in the middle of this oasis, where I now know danger lurks around every corner. Probably best not to think too hard about that or I won't be able to sleep at all.