Night of the Dragons

by Miranda Martin

  "He's right," Kaidan agrees. "You will need more epis soon, Piper."

  "And it will need to be fresh," Mikhos says quietly, his eyes meeting mine somberly when I look back at him. "We need to go back. This time with you. It is the only way to get it to you while it is still at its peak."

  I have a flash of the giant zemlja that chased us out last time, but I square my shoulders. If they can risk their safety for me, I can certainly risk it for myself. Besides, what do I have to lose?

  We spend a little bit of time regrouping, taking time to eat and giving the newly arrived men a little rest period, but we're moving faster than I thought would be possible.

  Mikhos leads the way out of the clearing after I reassure him I can walk on my own and don't have to be carried. At least not yet.

  If we're traveling for days, I don't know how long my body is going to be able to hold up. It would be a lot easier to plan if the epis came with instructions. Something like "take every two weeks to not die." Or "Have fresh weekly to cure cancer. And not die." But I am grateful that at least I have enough energy to walk now, so I'm going to keep my complaints to a minimum. Any improvement is a plus.

  I start off in the middle of all four of them, as much as the trees and foliage around us can allow anyway. Ejder inches towards me and starts to talk to me, but Kaidan draws him back, pulling him into a conversation with him instead. That’s odd. I look over my shoulder and he meets my eyes with a wink, and then jerks his head forward towards where Anguis and Mikhos are pushing ahead in front of us. Is he trying to get me to spend more time with Mikhos and Anguis? He gives me an encouraging look and shoos me discretely as he responds to whatever Ejder is saying. Interesting. Maybe he actually understands what I was trying to say to him earlier about not playing favorites.

  I haven't spent alone time with either Mikhos or Anguis, not like I have with both Ejder and Kaidan by now, so I take Kaidan's silent advice and move forward so I'm closer to the other two. I also immediately trip over a root, giving me even more cool points than I already have. Before I fall even a quarter of the way, however, a large hand grabs me and easily rights me again. I look up into Anguis's concerned eyes.

  "Thank you," I murmur, feeling myself blush a little. "Sorry," I add.

  "It is no trouble," he says with a smile. "I enjoy touching you."

  That sends a flash of heat right through me.

  "So...how far away is this epis?" I ask, trying to move on from that dangerous topic.

  Anguis smiles slightly and I know he sees right through me, but he's nice enough to let me guide the conversation away without further comment.

  "A day's journey to the underground entrance and then another few days after that." His face turns serious. "It is quite a journey. Please tell us if you feel sick again."

  I nod seriously. "I will. Thank you."

  But I want a little lighter topic of conversation right now.

  "So...can you pick Mikhos up with one hand?" I ask, smiling a little.

  Anguis's eyebrows go up at that, clearly surprised at the new topic, but then he grins.

  "Of course. The others are all tiny compared to me."

  He deliberately pitches his voice to carry to Mikhos. And it totally does. Mikhos turns around, but he's smiling as he falls into step on my other side.

  "That is true," Mikhos agrees. "We are small compared to Anguis." He leans in close and lowers his voice as if to impart a great secret. "But none of us are as ticklish as him."

  "Mikhos," Anguis growls.

  But Mikhos just chuckles.

  "It is true," he continues. "If you want to bring the male to his knees, I would recommend a soft touch along the ribs rather than a hard blow. He could easily withstand the blow."

  "Careful," Anguis warns, though I can see he isn't serious, not really. "If you give away all my secrets, I will also give away yours."

  "What secrets?" Mikhos says, with a grin. "I am perfection in Zmaj form."

  They banter back and forth, Mikhos egging Anguis on and the bigger man playing along. I laugh more than I have in days. Not at all what I would have expected in their company. But I can tell that Anguis is making an effort to talk to me and Mikhos is doing the same, while also helping the bigger man get closer to me. Anguis even does banter intensely, his face so serious sometimes I don't know for sure if he's joking until I see his eyes twinkle. And Mikhos is so good at putting everyone at ease. Even as they juggle the conversation, I can see him and Anguis are alert to the area around us, not ever completely off guard.

  When I stumble for the second time in a row, Mikhos nods at Anguis, and the big man immediately scoops me up.

  "I can walk," I protest weakly, but I can feel my body tiring.

  "And I can carry you," Anguis says easily. "You weigh nothing."

  I sigh. I guess to him I do. Anguis carries me for a while.

  I talk to him, peppering him with questions about the journey, if they encountered any more animals, how much they slept. He answers me patiently, using an economy of words I kind of admire. All of my stories and descriptions take up a lot more airspace. Anguis notices this too.

  "You use many words," he observes.

  "Is that bad?" I ask, wondering if I should stem the flow a bit.

  He shakes his head, tightening his grip.

  "I enjoy your words. And your voice." He scans my face. "You may continue."

  That has me laughing.

  "All right. With your permission, of course."

  "Of course," he agrees, the corners of his mouth curling up in a secret smile.

  So I do continue, with my ten words to his one, and he looks like he does actually enjoy it. Go figure. We stop to rest and eat after a few hours, and then Mikhos carries me.

  "You are very good at leading the others," I say quietly, trying not to have my voice carry.

  Mikhos glances down at me, but only for a moment.

  "Hmm. They are all good males. Good Zmaj warriors," he counters. "It is just that we must fight the bijass."

  "Bijass?" I ask, tasting the word. "What is that?"

  He frowns, obviously searching for a simple explanation.

  "It is our . . . animal side," he finally says. "Territorial. Possessive." He looks down at me. "The problem is . . . we all desire to possess you. And that awakens those instincts."

  Oh.

  Well.

  "I am sorry," I offer, not knowing what to say that piece of information.

  He shakes his head.

  "Nothing to be sorry for. We are adjusting," he says, smiling at me warmly. "And may I just say, your learning of our language is very good."

  I have to grin at that as I lean against his chest.

  "I've been trying," I admit. "I feel like I'm practicing the words in my sleep."

  He chuckles, ducking under a branch, protecting me while he does so.

  "There is no substitute for practice," he agrees. "Perhaps you might teach me some words of your language as well?"

  I perk up at that.

  "Sure," I agree. "Do you want to start with dirty words?"

  "Dirty words?" he says, unsure. "How would the words get unclean?"

  "Well," I start. And give him quite an education. Maybe I shouldn't have started with those, but I haven't learned any curse words in their language and maybe I could use Common to fill in the gap. Right? That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

  By the end of that leg of the journey, I feel like I know Anguis and Mikhos a lot better, but then things start to go downhill again.

  Like they always do.

  22

  It takes just as long as Anguis said to reach the underground entrance we're aiming for. We stop around the dark hole in the ground and I stare at it dubiously. Yeah, I really don't want to go in there. Too bad there isn't really a choice.

  How did they manage to find this entrance in the first place? It isn't like there's a blinking sign they could have followed. No wonder it took them so long to get back. They must h
ave been combing the area forever.

  For me.

  The amount of effort and risk they've taken . . . It's truly humbling.

  "This is where we need to go?" I ask, staring down into the hole.

  "Yes," Anguis says. "Do not worry—we will keep you safe."

  I pat his chest. That's really sweet, but I still don't want to go in there.

  Mikhos nods at the others and jumps right into the darkness without hesitation. Now I feel like a real wuss.

  "I will lower you down," Anguis explains, stepping closer to the opening and placing me on my feet. "Ready?"

  "Yes," I lie, gripping his hands firmly. Ready as I'll ever be.

  He takes me at my word. He lifts me over the hole, and then he slowly lowers me in, crouching to get me down all the way. I start a little as hands close around my waist, but it's just Mikhos. He lowers me the rest of the way, steadying me when I sway a little. When I look back up the way we've come down, Anguis, Ejder, and Kaidan seem farther away than I would have expected.

  I have a moment where I wonder how the heck we're going to get back out. Irrational since the others obviously explored this place and made it back to us in the clearing, but there you go. Dark tunnels make me feel irrational anxiety now. Though maybe it isn't so irrational given how the last cave and tunnel expedition went. Mikhos pulls me back to the side so the others can jump in after us, making the tall leap look effortless. Maybe I could make it look like that too if I had wings.

  All right, getting snarky. Another indication I'm not feeling all that hot. At least I feel well enough to walk again after my rest.

  Mikhos leads the way and the others surround me as we walk deeper into the dark tunnel. It doesn't take much time for the darkness to engulf us after we leave the ambient light of that hole we entered from. I stumble a little and two hands immediately reach out to steady me.

  "Anguis—light," Mikhos calls out.

  Anguis murmurs his assent and then there’s some rustling behind me. I turn towards it just as there’s an odd whooshing sound, right before the area around us lights up instantly.

  What—?

  Anguis literally breathes fire onto a torch that he must have taken out of his pack. The end of it lights up with bright orange flames that are ridiculously welcome in the darkness.

  Wow.

  That's so cool! He lets up on the fire, leaving the torch lit, shining more than enough light to see by.

  "You can breathe fire?" I ask excitedly as we continue walking. "That's amazing!"

  They look at each other and smile at my enthusiasm.

  "Yes, we can," Ejder confirms.

  "That is so useful," I mutter, shaking my head. "I wish I had wings and could breathe fire."

  "We like you just as you are," Mikhos reassures me, smiling at me. "Makes us feel like powerful males."

  I chuckle, shaking my head. That's really sweet. But man, it would be great if I had either of those things. I feel like I'm surrounded by superheroes and have no powers of my own. Maybe I'll find a radioactive spider or something down here to bite me and give me a power of my own. A girl can hope!

  It's a little easier to pick through the uneven, rocky surface of the cave system with the light, but the men still have to trade off supporting me through. We go through one tunnel that opens up into a large cavern, the edges of which we can't see because the light doesn't travel that far. I can hear something scurry in that edge of darkness and I inch a little closer to Anguis who's next to me in that moment. This place is beyond creepy. But nothing bursts into the light and then we're in another tunnel, this one narrower than the one we came in from.

  By the time we turn again and hit another tunnel, Mikhos is carrying me. I just can't keep walking. My body feels too drained. I don't know how long we go before Mikhos gives the order to eat and rest, but I'm feeling my body waning in a deeper way. I know the effect of the epis is starting to fade even faster now. The men look worried as I pick at my food and take a sip of water. We don't rest for long before we're up and moving again, and I know it's because they can see how fast I'm deteriorating.

  We must have traveled for at least a day when I wake up again in Anguis's arms, startled because we've come to an abrupt stop.

  "Can you climb onto my back?" Anguis asks. "We must cross the hole."

  Hole? I crane my neck to see we're at the meeting of multiple tunnel openings. There's a giant crevasse between us and the opening we apparently have to reach. Oh boy.

  "Uh, yes," I say faintly, trying not to look too deeply down that hole. Not that I really can anyway. The light doesn't penetrate deeply enough to see the bottom. I swallow. Don't think about it.

  Ejder takes Anguis's pack and he helps me situate myself onto his back, positioning my arms and legs so he can flare out his wings. Then he backs up.

  "Hold on," he orders.

  No problem there. I'm probably already cutting off his circulation with how tightly I'm holding him. Then he starts running towards the edge. I want to shut my eyes, but I also need to look as he leaps into the air, his powerful legs thrusting us up and his wings helping carry us across the gap. My hold tightens on him even more as my heart beats hard.

  I hold my breath, nothingness beneath us for one beat.

  Two.

  Three.

  And then his feet land hard on the other side. He runs a bit to absorb the momentum, Mikhos already on the other side with the lit torch to help catch him. I must have slept through his crossing. He takes me off Anguis's back and I watch Ejder and Kaidan make the same jump, looking like they almost float across the opening. They make it look easy. Looks a lot less dangerous from this vantage point.

  I don't have time to dwell on it. We're moving again, picking through various tunnels as quickly as we can safely move. Some are at an incline, some go deeper into the earth. There's a point at which one of the tunnels is so narrow we have to go through one at a time, the walls feeling like they're closing in on us. I really don't know how Anguis makes it through that one, but he manages, and then we're moving fast again.

  We have to climb up to another cave entrance at one point. Mikhos carries me up on his back for that one.

  I hold on tight.

  Don't look down.

  Don't look down.

  I look down.

  Oh no.

  That's . . . a really long way down. And that's when one of Mikhos's feet slips. I let out a short gasp, but we're almost at the top and Ejder and Kaidan are right there to grab Mikhos and haul him up the rest of the way.

  "Are you fine?" Mikhos asks as soon as we're back on solid ground.

  I nod, feeling my heart settle. If I was feeling better, I might have screamed. But we've been traveling for days at this point and I'm getting sicker and sicker with each hour. I don't have the energy to scream.

  Anguis gives me some water as the others murmur to each other in low voices. I know they're worried. I am too. And then we're moving again, even faster this time. I don't know when the men rest, or if they even do at all. I'm in and out of consciousness as we keep traveling through the near dark, everything blurring together.

  I don't have a whole lot of time left. I can feel that familiar, deep ache setting in. The pounding in my head increasing. My stomach starting to roll.

  I focus on simply getting through each moment. Just keep breathing. That's all I can do.

  I'm dreaming—or hallucinating, I'm not sure at that point—when someone gently shakes me awake.

  "Piper."

  "Is she...?"

  "She's breathing," Mikhos says grimly. "Piper, wake up. We're here."

  Here?

  I force my eyes open.

  It’s only then I realize the light has changed. And the scent. There's some kind of rushing, tinkling sound.

  The first image that comes into focus is the glowing cavern ceiling, so high above me I know I can only see it because it's glowing.

  When I turn my head away from Anguis's chest, an unbelievable
sight greets me.

  It's a lake. It's too big to be called anything else.

  Water rushes in from several cracks in the cave wall, filling the area. There must be a place where it drains because the water level looks steady. When I look down, the water laps at the sandy edge, a gentle slope entering the water.

  Blue-green light shimmers along the top of that gorgeous sight.

  All around me—high up on the curved walls, on the ceiling—the place glows. When I focus on the wall closest to me, I can see why.

  Epis.

  Fresh epis.

  My hand tightens on Anguis's chest.

  "We made it," I whisper, almost unable to believe it.

  We made it.

  23

  That first dose of epis revives me just like my first and only other taste of fresh epis did before.

  I feel alive. Like a rush of health is filling each of my cells with vitality. It’s possible that only someone who has battled with illness all of their life could really appreciate just how good it feels to have one's body feel whole.

  After that first dose, I eat like I haven't eaten in months, the men gathering around and feeding me as much as I can hold, their faces relieved, the tone of their voices uplifted, a spring in their steps now too.

  They're so happy that I'm okay, and seeing that warms my heart in a way no plant ever could.

  When I'm full and walking around with my new burst of energy, I ask how long we're going to stay.

  "Until you heal," Mikhos says readily. "You need epis daily. Fresh epis. And this is the only way to provide that."

  "Are you sure?" I ask. "Is it safe down here? I do not want any of you to be hurt because of me."

  "Safe enough," Ejder says softly.

  "And we would gladly risk some danger so you might take the time you need to heal," Kaidan adds.

  "We do not want to see you sick again," Anguis agrees in that quiet, intense way.

  "And it's nice here," Ejder says, trying to inject some levity into the situation. "Maybe Kaidan will actually bathe for once, so we don't have to smell him coming from the other side of the oasis."

  The others chuckle, and Kaidan punches him in the arm, but everyone's in too good a mood to really fight or be angry.