Avalee and the Dragon

by Hamill, Patricia

  "What have we here?" the beast rumbled at her, the amusement obvious in its voice. "A runtling trying to steal away our prize?" It chuckled low and ominously at the idea of anything stealing the dragon from it and its companions.

  Avalee gripped the sword even tighter and took a brave step forward and then another until she stood before the prone dragon, blocking him from the approaching beast.

  "He is not your prize," she replied with a growl of her own that startled her, but she lifted her chin and said, "He is mine, and I do not intend to share him with the likes of you."

  The beast stopped just two paces away from her. Just two, and for it, perhaps that equated to just one. Avalee scowled at it; though inside she was a mess of nerves and fear—and energy, tingling and burning in her veins, but not affecting the transformation she knew it to precede. For now, she was human, just a girl, rather small, facing a beast four times her size. Perhaps she could wound its knee or hip. Maybe slice one of its fingers when it finally reached for her.

  "Yours?" the beast chuckled again, and she watched in horror as it reached behind its back and began to draw a blade of its own, jagged and notched, poorly cared for, but sinisterly rouged from prior conquests. "No, runtling. Mine."

  And then the beast closed the distance, and its massive sword swung in an arc meant to cleave Avalee in two, and it would have if not for the unexpected rush of power that filled her veins in response—that guided her sword up and gave her arms the strength to block its path. The impact still knocked her back, and she felt her rear foot hit the dragon's body, nearly tripping her, but she resumed her fighting crouch and leveled the sword at the beast again as it drew back to swing once more.

  Avalee waited until the beast's arm was high, but not quite as high as it had been the first time it had swung at her, and chose that moment to sweep in with her own blade. She brought it back, swept it in a circle over and behind her head, and rushed in with the blade to slash deeply into the beast's lower abdomen. Deeply, but the beast's skin was thick, and the wound was superficial. Its blade fell a foot as it bellowed in rage at the wound, and then quicker than she could imagine possible, her foe's sword was speeding towards her once more, and the beast was advancing with it, just as she had advanced on it. This time when her foot impacted the slumbering dragon, she couldn't stop herself. She tripped and fell, landing hard on the other side of him, her legs lying atop his and the sword knocked from her grip.

  The fall saved her life as the beast's blade sliced through the air just where her waist would have been a moment before. It would have been too close for her to bring the sword to bear against it. Avalee didn't linger on that thought; the sword had fallen to her left towards the trees near the dragon's head, and she was already reaching for it.

  But as her eyes and fingers sought the blade, a flash of red caught her eye. Around the dragon's neck was a golden chain with a rather large, sparkling ruby. She had never seen it before. Her hand clamped onto the sword, and she brought it up just in time to block the downswing of the beast's follow-up attack, yet its strength far outmatched hers, and she found both blades growing closer and closer to her vulnerable neck. The roar of power became audible to her sensitive ears, and then another burst of strength filled the muscles of her arms and chest, and somehow, inconceivably, she was able to throw the beast back and off of her.

  As it stumbled and regained balance, Avalee pulled herself up, scooted within reach of the dragon and moved the sword to her right hand, freeing her left to find the strange gem that hung around his neck. A strange gem that sent tingles through her fingertips when she touched it. Magic, it could be nothing else. Finally, a reason for the unnatural slumber. They were controlling the dragon with the amulet, keeping him a prisoner in his own dreams.

  Avalee watched the first beast prepare for another charge, but behind him, she saw the other two, roused by the first's roars and the clang of steel, take to their feet and draw their own weapons: one a hammer, the other a half-moon axe, both just as sinister as the sword held by the one before her. That one took a step, and Avalee gripped the gem—the tingle became an electric jolt as the gem seemed to come alive and fight the hold of her fist—and yanked it with all of her strength, snapping the thin chain that held it to her dragon's neck. And then she flung it back in the direction of the woods, where she heard it land amongst the leaves and hoped that it had landed far beyond the reach of these beasts.

  Not waiting to see if removing the amulet had broken its spell over the dragon, if that was indeed what it had been for, Avalee braced her body with her free hand and pulled her feet beneath her. She bounded to a stand and brought her sword into the path of the beast’s blade once more; the clash was deafening, and the shock numbed her hand and swung her sword wide. Fighting for her life, Avalee was barely aware of the other two at first, but then she found her arm guided not only to block the blade of the sword but the swing of an axe as the first of the other two reached the fight. She almost expected the hammer to follow, but then the unexpected occurred.

  The prone form of the dragon came alive, and through the haze of battle, Avalee was aware of him grappling with the third beast. He had caught the creature’s weapon arm in one of his fists, and the creature was trying to free itself, but Avalee had no time to watch.

  Her own fight was not going well, and fear began to drain the rage-born fuel of power that had kept her alive up to this point. Without it, her blocks were closer to failure, the impacts were flinging her arm wider and wider with each attack, and she could barely recover before having to swing the blade out to block the next. She fell back with each new attack, hoping such would give her the sliver of opportunity she needed to block or dodge, wondering how long she could hold out. Avalee knew it wouldn't be long until the beasts overpowered her, and they seemed to have no interest in holding her alive, not with the way they were aiming to cleave her in two.

  And then she heard a roar, not of rage, but of pain, from the third beast—the one facing the dragon. She took a step back from another sweep of the axe and glanced briefly over her opponents’ shoulders. The dragon had taken the third one's hammer and clobbered it, and though the beast still stood, half its face had caved in under the impact. The roar became a gurgle, and the dragon danced aside to avoid being crushed by the creature's falling body, and then the dragon turned in her direction, and their eyes met for an instant before she had to tear hers away to focus on the two that still came for her. She could not fail now—she would not—and the fear that had siphoned away her energy and weakened her arm was consumed yet again by a raging storm of fury and hope. Fury that these beasts would come at her so, hope that the dragon, now freed of its adversary and armed, would soon take one of them off of her hands.

  And now with the strength returning to her muscles, Avalee once more held her own—though it took all she had and left no room for counterattack as she blocked first one and then the other—and then she realized that, yet again, she faced only the first beast, the one with the sword. The clash of hammer to axe and the roar of the angry beast who had finally seen its companion's fate were hard to ignore, but Avalee had enough to worry about in the one she still fought. If anything, the blows were coming quicker and harder than before. Avalee gripped the short sword with two hands, knuckles white, fearing that the blade would otherwise be knocked free of her grasp, though she knew that limited the range of the weapon.

  But the dragon could not come to her rescue now; the beast with the axe had already lasted longer than the one with the hammer. While, the dragon fought that one, Avalee found herself tripping and nearly falling as the rocks on the beach became more frequent beneath her feet, and larger, too. She'd seen some that were nearly her height and worried what would happen should she find herself backed up against one of those. If she couldn't retreat, she feared the beast would overpower her, and then it wouldn't matter that the dragon was free, she would be dead, and it would then face both beasts.

  And then it happened, she
slammed against one such rock and her sword took the full force of her adversary's swing, which drove both blades to within inches of her face. This time, the beast didn't bother withdrawing for another blow. It knew it had her and, at long last, decided to stop playing with its prey. She couldn't tell if it was aware that one of its companion's had already fallen, but it knew that battle raged behind it, and it knew it had her.

  Leading with its blade, the beast leaned in close, and the fetid breath from its tusk-faced grin felt hot on her face. Avalee's own blade was now touching her cheek, and a trickle of blood ran down and onto her neck as the razor-sharp sword pressed into her flesh. She pulled her face away, but that seemed to do little good as the beast pushed in even closer, sensing its imminent victory. The rush of power was the only thing preventing it from completing its goal, but even that paled in comparison to the power the beast brought over her in this final moment. It needed no such enhancement; brute strength and evil intent alone were enough for it to win the day.

  Avalee gripped the sword as tightly as she could and squeezed her eyes shut, imagining happier things, even as she strained every muscle in opposition of the beast's lingering attack. She imagined her family, her little sister in particular. She saw herself growing up, learning, and playing. She saw herself in the smith's shop, wrapping the very sword she now held and hiding it beneath her skirts. She saw herself facing the dragon for the first time; she saw herself seeing him as a man for the first time. A tear fell, joining the blood on her cheek. She imagined him holding her after she'd decided to spare him that last time, and the kiss. He had held her. She clung to that moment, that safety and comfort, and refused to look at the beast who would soon end her. She focused on the dragon's face in her mind, the last thing she would ever see, even though the sight of him was only in her mind, and the image shifted between dragon and man, transforming before her eyes. She didn't care. The same well of emotion arose from both images, and she realized, even as her blade once more pressed into her flesh, that she cared for the dragon deeply, no matter the form he took. He was her dragon, and she would die defending him. She knew this, and the last of her fear fled with this knowledge. The rush of power infused her with new vigor, and her already white-knuckled grip tightened with new strength, and her burning muscles began to burn in a new way, with a fire born of magic, not exhaustion.

  She pushed back, and the beast fell back in surprise as she left the confining presence of the rock that had blocked her. No longer retreating, she charged the beast, and it lifted its wide sword once more, hoping to cleave her in two, but with the energy raging through her, the creature seemed slow and awkward, while her own efforts were quicker than thought. She brought the sword up and over her head, shifting her hands into a better grip and aiming the blade directly at the beast's heart. At the last moment she crouched and leapt, flinging the sword before her with all of her strength and the weight of her body, and the blade slipped into the beast's massive chest and kept on sliding all the way to the hilt. Avalee hung tightly to the hilt, braced herself against the immense body, as would a rock climber on a cliff's face, and twisted the blade. She heard the massive sword fall from the beast's grip and felt both of its hands grasp and begin crushing her, even as she heaved at the buried sword and willed it to further damage. No longer able to take a breath under the pressure, Avalee's vision began to shimmer and dance, and despite the raging energy, her hands weakened and lost their grip. But then a gurgling roar rushed over her, and the beast tossed her to the side and began pawing at the steel that pierced it.

  Sight rushed back once she landed, and she saw the creature pull the blade from its own chest in a single yank. The blood it had held back gushed forth like a fountain, and then the beast held the sword aloft and took a step towards her. Avalee's eyes widened in shock—it was still coming for her—but then its eyes glazed over and this steel, too, fell from its weakening fingers, fingers that reached for its wound and tried in vain to hold back the flood of blood that was its life, draining away. Green blood, dark and viscous, it burned where it had spattered on Avalee, but she ignored it as the beast fell to its knees just a pace away. She ignored the acidic burn as she scurried away, still on her back, as it fell face first at her feet and moved no more.

  For what seemed an eternity, but what was in reality only seconds, she watched the beast for signs of life before becoming aware once more of her surroundings and the clash of the continuing battle between the dragon and the last of the three beasts. She looked over and saw him as hard pressed as she had been.

  Instinctively, she knew that he would be unable to transform into his draconic form while so engaged, but even now that she was free of attack, she had no idea how to take advantage of her own hard earned victory to do what he couldn’t, but that didn't stop her from acting. She took to her feet and sprinted over to where her fallen foe had flung her sword, dripping with its blood, and then rushed to join the battle against the final beast. But her eye caught something as she neared the two of them—something on the water, first a sail, and then a vessel visible beneath it, quickly approaching beach—and she knew their time was nearly at an end. She knew deep in her heart that the approaching boat held the one who had sent these creatures for her dragon. It took everything she had to turn from the fast approaching vessel and resume her run towards the combatants.

  She joined the fight, not at the dragon's side, but from behind the beast, caring nothing for fighting fair. This was life or death. She brought her sword up and across, slashing into its back, and the beast bellowed in rage and turned towards her. The dragon, surprised, but welcoming the help, did the same with his hammer as the beast swung its axe at this new threat. His blow crushed into it, breaking the creature's spine, and its legs crumpled beneath it, but Avalee still had to jump to avoid the axe as the beast swung it low, trying to take her legs out with it. The dragon jumped on its back and with both hands brought the hammer down on its head. The body twitched and spasmed beneath him, but soon fell still.

  And the dragon looked up from his perch and met her eyes even as she crouched where her leap had landed her, the sword in hand but flat on the ground, her hands balancing her as she looked back.

  "Avalee," he said, the word catching. He looked shocked, and then his eyes took in her face, two kinds of blood streaking it, unnoticed tears sprung and streaming down in telltale lines through the gore. And he was up and running to her, pulling her up into his arms and hugging her, only to hold her back and look her over for injuries. "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?"

  "I'm fine." She smiled up at him. "Are you?" And her free hand reached up to touch his face where a nasty bruise was forming and then trailed down to touch those places where the axe had most definitely broken past his guard.

  He caught her hand, and stopped her from continuing the search. "I am, too." Then she looked up and saw him grinning widely at her, astounded, if she had any guess, but perhaps proud as well. "You saved me."

  She nodded as the calming sensation soothed the fire in her veins, and she felt herself weaken in response. At that moment a burst of sand erupted just a pace from where they stood, and she remembered the vessel. The dragon, seeing it for the first time, tightened his grip on her shoulders without thought, pulling her close to him and turning her so his body blocked her from the view of the one who had flung such magic at them. Flung and missed, but a miss could easily become a hit.

  "Come, dragon. They are here for you." Avalee pulled away and grabbed the dragon by the hand, and he gave no resistance when she began to run towards the forest. Another burst of sand blew up behind them where they had just stood and then blanketed the nearby form of creature number three.

  "Do you know who comes?" he asked as they ran and wove their way among the trunks towards the path.

  "Of course not, I only know they come. Why else would the beasts wait so long? They were waiting to be picked up."

  "How long?"

  "Two days," Avalee explained, her lung
s already burning. She'd barely rested at all from her run down the path, and she’d followed that with a hard won battle for her life and that of her dragon. She had very little to give now and concentrated all of her efforts on the run.

  She released the dragon's hand when they reached the path, and the two of them picked up their pace, though Avalee's body was pure fire now. The sword was still in her hand and weighed her down, throwing off the balance of her strides, but there was no way she would drop it now. The dragon saw her distress and finally stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

  "Here, let me sheath it for you for the run." And he followed offer with action, taking the blade from Avalee and giving it a quick rub with dirt to get most of the green blood off. Avalee panted and watched as he did so and was surprised to see the swirling etchings that now decorated the blade where the creature's blood had lingered thickest. It had been devouring the metal.

  Blade cleaner, the dragon carefully, but quickly, slipped it into Avalee's sheath, and she looked down the path, trying to estimate how long it would take the two of them to reach the cave, wondering if reaching the cave was enough to buy them safety. Obviously, their adversary knew they lived on the island and had known where to find the dragon.

  "Come, are you ready to run again?" the dragon asked as he joined her side.

  She nodded and wearily put foot before foot, building speed slowly as the dragon kept pace beside her. She didn't look at him as she ran, trying instead to watch where her feet landed and to look for obstacles, but she sensed his eyes on her as he kept glancing her way.