The Half Dragon of Yaerna: The Gathering Arc Box Set: Books 1-3

by Hans Bezdek

  This couldn’t be happening… at this point, I thought for sure he was the crazed inventor in the prophecy! He couldn’t be dead! What would happen now? Did The Gathering fail?

  “Is it real to you now?” laughed Domino. “You and the elf will soon join your green friend in death!”

  Red hot anger surged through me. I could feel the dragon blood within me yearning to come out. There was no point in trying to contain it now, was there? I was only hiding my true self from Dhot. That didn’t mattered anymore.

  Putting my shield up, I started my transformation to my half dragon form. Green scaled sprouted from my arm as my fingers turned to claws. My arm with the Time Shield was shaking, but I assumed it was from my rage. The shield would probably meld into me, as the rest of my things typically did.

  “Look at the little human shaking!” roared Domino with laughter. “No need to be afraid. You’re death is coming swiftly.”

  My wings spread out wide behind me as I completed my transformation. The Shield hadn’t disappeared at all, but instead was now tight on my left bicep. Bringing my arm back and standing tall, I stared into Domino’s eyes.

  “H-How can this be?” asked the black dragon, a look of confusion on his face. His movements suddenly slowed down. His mouth was still moving, but it grew slower and slower with every passing second. “I. Don’t. Under…sta…n…d…”

  The black dragon stood still.

  “That’s odd,” I muttered, looking around.

  Cassandra stood with her back against the wall, Shattered Sword raised up and clashing with a motionless Jacqueline. Neither of them moved either.

  Suddenly, everyone began to slowly move again. Their movements seemed odd though… almost as if they were… moving backwards?

  I watched as Jacqueline threw back several strikes at Cassandra, then flew backwards. Dhot rose from the floor, blood shooting back up and into his body. Jacqueline continued back, placing her feet and her claw back into Dhot, before removing it, flying backwards to Cassandra again. Dhot jumped down, standing next to me and look at Domino once again.

  Time stood still again for a few seconds, until suddenly it started again.

  “What’s the plan?” asked the goblin.

  “The plan?” I whispered. Didn’t this just happen?

  Dhot glanced over at me, his eyes growing large.

  “W-What… who are you?!” he asked, looking me up and down.

  “You can see me?” I asked, glancing down at myself. I was still covered in my green scales. I was still in my half dragon form.

  “H-How can this be?” asked Domino, a look of confusion on his face. “I don’t understand…”

  “Reimar, watch out!” shouted Cassandra.

  I turned to see Jacqueline flying for me, a sharp claw aimed at my back.

  It was all happening again… only this time, I was stronger and faster.

  Spinning on my heels, I threw my tail back to hold Dhot back from jumping up. I reached out as fast as I could, grabbing Jacqueline’s claw as it reached me and stopping her in the air.

  “H-Huh?” asked the dragon, landing with a foot on the ground. “W-Where did you come from?!”

  I smiled wickedly back at her. “Too easy.”

  I shot up to the ceiling, dragging the large dragon behind me. Grabbing her claw with both hands, I flung her up as hard as I could into the stalactites above us.

  The dragon let out a roar in pain, but I wasn’t done yet. Kicking off from the wall, I flew us to the other end of the cave, and around to where the water was.

  “W-What are you doing!?” she shouted.

  I slammed her into the side of the wall, quickly letting go of her claws and grabbing the dragon’s neck instead.

  “S-Stop this!” she screeched. “Y-You’re clearly like Ulrich! He’ll want to work with you!”

  “Too bad I don’t want to work with him,” I grunted, throwing the dragon’s head down and into the water.

  Water shot up as Jacqueline tried to bring her head out of the water, but I wouldn’t let up. She tried bucking me off, but I kept my balance with my wings and digging my clawed feet into her back.

  There were several more attempted kicks from the black dragon, before they became fewer and fewer. The dragon gave one final half-hearted attempt to buck me, then laid still.

  I took a moment to catch my breath. I was trying hard to understand all that was happening, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. She knew Ulrich, and that he was also a half dragon, which meant they were probably sent by him to come out here. They might have succeeded, but that weird rewind happened. Surely that was the Time Shield… but how did it work? And how did it know to stop rewinding when it did?

  “Watch it, Cassandra!” shouted Dhot, waking me from me thoughts.

  Hopping around, I shot off into the air to join the others. Dhot had one of his metal arms out, uselessly beating at the back of Domino. The dragon was focused on Cassandra, sending an unrelenting torrent of swings with his claws. The Shattered Sword remained up and helping the elf, but without its blade burning blue, she could only do so much.

  I let loose a roar and charged at the black dragon. Domino looked up as I came, bringing his claws up to catch mine. I drove him back several feet, before he repositioned and met my strength.

  “So you’re a half dragon too, huh?” he grunted.

  “Finally figured it out?” I asked, trying to push him back. I wouldn’t last in a strength contest against a full dragon while I was just in half form for long. I knew I only beat Jacqueline because I surprised her, but Domino seemed to be getting himself back under control faster.

  “How did you change while I was staring at you?” he growled, pushing back against me.

  I took a step back, unable to stay on the offense. “Let’s just say I had a little help from my newest legendary accessory.”

  The black dragon’s eyes narrowed, risking a glance at the Shield on my arm. “So, the legends are true, then. It allows the user to manipulate time.”

  “Looks that way,” I grunted, having to take another step back. I turned my head to the side, where Cassandra and Dhot were talking quietly, trying to figure out a plan. I tried to give them a look to hurry it up, and they nodded frantically.

  “Our master will be most pleased when we bring it back to him,” he grinned.

  “Oh, you mean Ulrich?” I asked, losing another step. The black dragon raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s right. We’ve met.”

  “How interesting,” he said, pushing harder than ever and driving me back three more steps. This was no longer an even battle for power. I was on the defense, and he wasn’t letting me pull away. “Should I give him any last words from an old friend?”

  “Give me a minute to think of something and I’ll get back to you,” I said.

  “Ah, you think you’re funny?” grinned the dragon, pushing me back until I was nearly against the other wall. This wasn’t going like I thought it would.

  “I mean, I think so,” I grunted. “I thought it was pretty funny when I drowned Jacqueline just a minute ago.”

  The black dragon’s eyes widened. He looked over to where I came from.

  Taking my opportunity I started summoning fire into my throat, and pushed forward with all the remaining strength I had. Domino stumbled backwards, unprepared for my sudden burst of power. Opening my mouth, I let loose my own stream of flames right at the dragon’s face.

  Domino roared, trying desperately to get his face out of the way.

  To my right, I saw Dhot run up, several boxes in his hands. I kept the heat going for as long as I could, trying to distract Domino from whatever it was the goblin had in mind.

  After just a few more seconds, though, my breath ran out.

  The black dragon shook his head, opening his eyes through the pain.

  “Enough of this stupid wrestling match!” he shouted. “Time to rip that Shield away from your carcass!”

  Dhot jumped up in between us, landing on
top of my shoulder. The goblin giggled, holding something up in his hand.

  “No Dhot!” I shouted, staring up at the trigger. “You’ll blow this whole place up!”

  “Don’t worry,” he smiled. “I found a special space to hide my bombs this time!”

  Confused, I looked around the right side of Domino to try and understand what he meant. Domino turned and looked at his side, following my eye line as it fell upon the spot the goblin was talking about. The spot on the black dragon’s side that Cassandra sliced open was now covered with Dhot’s small boxes.

  “I-Impossible!” roared the black dragon. “I would’ve noticed you come over to me!”

  “Not if you had a flamethrower going off in your face,” smiled the goblin, reaching up with his detonator. “Maha!”

  Click.

  The dragon roared as explosion rippled through his side. The back of the dragon expanded from the blast, sending many of his scales flying off. Domino crashed down a few feet away, dead.

  The goblin hopped off me, scrambling away from Cassandra as well.

  “What’s going on?” asked Dhot. “Are you really Reimar?”

  “He is,” said Cassandra, sheathing the Shattered Sword. She was covered in several bruises and cuts, but was standing on her own two feet. It must have been rough taking all the hits from the dragons, even though the Shattered Sword helped some.

  “What are you?” he asked, looking me up and down. “Some sort of dragon?”

  “I’m a half green dragon,” I nodded. “I’m sorry I kept it a secret the whole time, but I could tell you really didn’t like dragons.”

  “I don’t,” he nodded simply.

  The cave shook again, causing a few chunks from the ceiling to fall down.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, looking around.

  “The cave probably couldn’t handle that battle,” said Cassandra. “Let’s worry about getting out of this alive before we explain any more!”

  Chapter 20

  The cave shook again as we contemplated our next move.

  “Should we just swim back out?” asked Dhot.

  “No,” said Cassandra. “The Gray Adders will fight us. We’re in no position to deal with them now.”

  “Oh, really? Mr. Green Dragon here can’t do anything about that?” he asked.

  “No, I can’t,” I said, glancing over at the drilling device the black dragons used to get here. “However… I can get us up the way Domino and Jacqueline came in.”

  The three of us looked up at the hole in the ceiling as the cave shook once more. We had no idea where the tunnel went, or if there would be more black dragons waiting for us. However, we knew for sure that Nicole and her group would be on the other side of the water.

  “Fine,” shrugged the goblin. “I’m sure the two of you will kill me while we’re doing this, though.”

  “We’re not going to kill you!” said Cassandra.

  The cave shook again. We didn’t have time for this. I grabbed Dhot by his bag and Cassandra by the back of her shirt, and flew straight up. The tunnel went up a dozen feet, before curving and continuing at a slight diagonal. I flew us a few more feet before setting them down.

  “Look Dhot,” I explained as we walked through the underground passage. “The reason you see me now in my half dragon form is because time reverted back when I changed. The first time Jacqueline came at my back, I wasn’t fast enough to turn. You jumped to block the hit, and were killed because of it. I was so upset, I transformed. While I was shifting, I felt my arm vibrating, and then time stopped.”

  “You’re saying I died?” mumbled Dhot.

  “You did, but time was warped,” I said. “I don’t get why, but the Time Shield activated and sent me back. When it did, it kept me in my half dragon form. It reset time when you were standing next to me, asking about a plan. Then when Jacqueline flew at me, I was able to nudge you back with my tail and grab her.”

  “I did notice you blocked me with your tail,” he said quietly.

  “Maybe the Time Shield activates when you’re really upset?” said Cassandra. “Or if something really traumatic happens.”

  “Maybe,” I shrugged. I had no idea how the thing worked, but I was glad it did. Hopefully Dhot would come to see that, too.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were a dragon?” asked Dhot, glancing at me.

  “Honestly, only Cassandra and a few other people know,” I said. “Most people think half dragons aren’t real, and even if they did believe me, they’d want my eyes.”

  “Oh, right,” nodded the goblin, stroking his chin. “I forgot the greens’ eyes were a hot market item back in the day…”

  “Unfortunately, I only know of one other half dragon,” I continued. “And he’s the one that we believe is going to spark the second Dragon War. In fact, both Jacqueline and Domino mentioned him by name to me.”

  “Really?” asked Cassandra. “They were working with Ulrich?”

  “Sounds like it,” I nodded.

  “So, Ulrich is after these legendary weapons, too?” asked Dhot.

  “Apparently,” I said. “Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the Winged One, also called The Gathering?”

  “Maha!” laughed the goblin. “Of course! When I would tell people I was attacked by the reds, they told me I was insane and just trying to get people to fall for the prophecy of the Winged One. I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I looked it up.”

  “I don’t know how to say this…” I said.

  “We think Reimar might be the Winged One,” interjected Cassandra.

  “Woah, really?”

  “By being half human and half dragon, he would fit the description.”

  “I guess that makes sense…” said the goblin, eyeing me closely.

  “On top of that,” I added. “Cassandra might be the banished rogue.”

  “Banished rogue? How could it be her?”

  “I’ve been banished from Aelric for stealing from the Queen,” she said, turning slightly pink. “A few times, actually…”

  “That would do it! Maha!”

  “That’s not all,” I said, lowering my voice as I saw a light up ahead at the end of the tunnel. “I think you might be the crazed inventor.”

  “Crazed inventor?” he asked. “How do I fit that description?”

  Cassandra and I stared blankly at him as we continued.

  “Maha! Okay, okay,” he laughed. “I guess I can see how you get there.”

  We paused our conversation as we got closer to the light, unsure of what waited for us on the other side. Cassandra gripped the Shattered Sword’s hilt when we were nearly there, while Dhot reached in his bag and pulled out his metal sledgehammer arms.

  Emerging from the tunnel, we found ourself in a clearing. Down the hill was Lake Quip, and up to our right was the city of Mela. The sun was close to setting now, which gave us a perfect backdrop as we watched the Nicole and her Gray Adders frantically run back and forth around the lake.

  Seeing that we weren’t in any immediate danger, I shifted back to my human form. Dhot cast a curious eye over at me while Cassandra continued to look down at the lake.

  “Can’t let myself be seen,” I explained to the goblin.

  He nodded, turning back to look at Lake Quip.

  “How long do you think they’ll stay out there?” asked Cassandra.

  They all held bows and crossbows, pointing at various points on the water. The rest of the lake had been cleared, probably after the explosions from Nicole’s boats. If that didn’t do it, I’m sure a group of angry armed people scared the rest off.

  “Probably the rest of the night at least,” I said. “Maybe even most of the day tomorrow. Should buy us some time before we have to skip out of town.”

  The three of us watched the Gray Adders scramble for a few more minutes, before all agreeing that we could use a stiff drink. Finding a small tavern on the northern part of town, the three of us settled in at a table in the back. The ta
vern had a few other patrons, but none seemed to pay us any mind. Even Dhot was ignored for the most part.

  A young barmaid came by and took our order. We all ordered beer in their largest containers, and a large plate of boar and bread.

  “This one’s on me, guys,” said Dhot, pulling out a large amount of quat and handing it over to the girl. The barmaid’s eyes lit up, especially when he added, “Keeps our drinks filled, and keep whatever is left over.”

  The well tipped barmaid hurried off to get our drinks and put our order in.

  “Wow, and here I was, thinking I was going to have to pay for everything again,” I smiled.

  “It’s only fair to spread the cost around every once in a while,” shrugged the goblin. “Besides, I stuck enough gold and quat in my bag while we were down there to get by for quite some time.”

  I wanted to ask if he was factoring in coming with us or not yet, but dropped it as the barmaid came back.

  “Here are your drinks,” she smiled, placing them all down before us. “Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you need anything else while you’re here.”

  “This is all for now, thanks,” smiled Cassandra.

  The barmaid smiled and made to leave, before seeing my Shield and hesitating.

  “Um, excuse me, sir,” she smiled. “I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but is that by chance a replica of the famed Time Shield?”

  I glanced down at the actual Time Shield and couldn’t help but smile.

  “It is indeed,” I said. “I thought it looked pretty authentic, but I’ve got nothing on my friend’s Shattered Sword replica.”

  Cassandra held up her scabbard, showing the girl the hilt of her blade.

  “Our goblin friend also has very realistic looking Goggles of Greshok, if I do say so myself,” smiled Cassandra.

  Dhot smiled and tapped the goggled on his forehead, before taking a big drink from his mug.

  “I used to love all those stories!” beamed the barmaid. “The Lance of Power, the Time Shield… oh, how I wish all those children’s tales were true! Can you imagine?”

  “I wish I could,” I smirked.

  “Everyone is always spreading rumors about the whereabouts of these things,” she laughed. “Why, just this morning, I heard a fellow from The Guild going on and on about how he was going up to the western part of Brumark. Apparently there’s been talk of Grimkell’s Mace being up there. Grimkell’s Mace! Believe that?”