Dimwater's Dragon

by Ferguson, Sam

  She wasn’t left alone for long, as a knock wrapped on her door loudly. “Kyra, you had better be extremely ill, for I do not take lightly to being stood up for hours on end.”

  Kyra’s eyes shot open wide, and goosebumps rippled across her forearms. Cyrus wasn’t exactly the most warm and tender person to begin with, and now that she had to face him while he was angered, she was rethinking how she had decided to spend her morning.

  The door opened and the thin wizard walked in, shaking a bony finger right at her face. “Just what is it you have been doing?”

  Kyra opened her mouth to speak, but Cyrus waved a hand and cut her off.

  “You had a report due today, did you forget?” Cyrus asked. “You were supposed to choose a creature, and present to me as much vital information about them as possible. Don’t you remember? I gave you this assignment shortly after I introduced you to the imp.”

  Kyra had to think fast. She had forgotten about the assignment until now, though at this moment she recalled precisely when it had been given to her. It was three days after she had battled the first imp. Cyrus had wanted her to expand her repertoire of knowledge, so they could broaden her defensive skills.

  She did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled the book out of her satchel and held it out toward Cyrus. “I have been reading about dragons,” she said.

  The expression on Cyrus’ face changed instantly from one of anger to a wide smile and incredulous eyes as he began laughing at her. “You are a talented apprentice, but I believe a dragon is a bit far out of your reach. Or is it that you are hoping to be assigned to a unit of dragon slayers, so that you can see your young friend again?”

  How could he know about Kathair? She stared at him blankly. Cyrus moved in close and took the book from her.

  “I wasn’t reading this to join the dragon slayers,” Kyra said.

  “I’m not concerned with your fantasies,” Cyrus said pointedly. “Your wedding is a matter strictly for your father and your fiancé to decide. I am concerned only with your level of focus and that has been wanting significantly of late. You have great potential. One day you may be more powerful than me, though I dare say that day is quite some time from now. All the same, it is a possibility, but it will be farther off still if you cannot focus on your studies.”

  “But I have been reading about dragons,” she insisted. In the moment she was so focused on getting out of trouble that she forgot to consider where this conversation might take her if she was careful.

  “Why?”

  “Why?” Kyra echoed. Suddenly she realized her mistake. The old wizard’s piercing eyes were staring directly into her soul and interrogating her silently, searching for the truth behind her motivation to read about dragons.

  “Why the fascination with dragons?” Cyrus pressed.

  Kyra thought quickly, and came to an answer that she was sure would pacify the old wizard. “My mother gave me the book, it is from my father’s library. It is one of the last books that she gave me.”

  Upon hearing those words, Cyrus changed from being a cold callous wizard to being a human being. He offered the book back to her. “I understand what it is to lose family,” he said sincerely. “Take the rest of the afternoon off. Take tomorrow as well. You’ve had some hard times of late, and I can respect that. When your head is clear, you will find me in the classroom.” Cyrus turned without another word and started for the door.

  The mention of her mother only served to dredge up all of her feelings that she had been bottling up inside since the news of her death had come. She called out to the old wizard, “Thank you.”

  Cyrus turned around and offered a sincere smile. “Of course.” He turned back for the door but Kyra stopped him.

  “The letter the headmaster gave me when my mother died, I read it.”

  Cyrus paused and glanced over his shoulder at her, waiting for her to finish what she wanted to say.

  Kyra stumbled through the next bit of information. “The letter said that my mother was murdered.”

  Cyrus nodded. “Yes child, she was,” he said softly.

  Kyra felt a lump rise in her throat, but she pressed on anyway. “Did they ever find out who it was that did it?”

  Cyrus sighed heavily and looked to the floor for a moment as he shook his head. He turned back and looked at her with those strong, fearsome eyes of his. “My dear child, it was not a who, but rather a what.”

  Kyra balked and took a step back. Suddenly she drew a connection between what the satyr had warned her away from just a few minutes earlier, and her mother’s death. She had seen some sort of strange creatures before leaving her home and coming to Kuldiga Academy. One of them had even chased her, and her mother had fought it. Was it possible that her family was being pursued by creatures unknown?

  Her mouth fell open as she recalled the ethereal creature that had attacked the egg, and killed Guardian. All this time she had thought it was going for the egg, but now she wondered. The possibility seemed too likely to be shaken. It had been after her.

  Cyrus closed the distance between them in an instant and grabbed her by the shoulders. “What have you seen?” Cyrus asked insistently.

  Kyra wasn’t sure whether to trust him. If she told him about the ghoul near the dragon’s nest, then Leatherback would be in danger. Still, perhaps she could tell him of the creature she had seen around Caspen Manor. Maybe that would be enough for him to help her unravel this mystery.

  “They look somewhat like ghosts, don’t they?” Cyrus asked, too impatient for her to answer.

  Kyra nodded slowly.

  Cyrus pushed her away and shook his head. “I had intended to wait for a day when you were in a better frame of mind,” Cyrus began. “But I should tell you, the reason I have brought imps and other such creatures into your training regimen is because I believe you are in danger. Given what you have already seen, and the recent events with your mother, then perhaps now is the appropriate time to tell you. I was with Janik when we rescued your mother from the vampire. However, ever since that day, there have been dark forces chasing after your family.”

  That was it! Now she knew where she recognized Cyrus from. He was the wizard in the painting in her father’s study. He was the other hero that had rescued her mother. All sorts of thoughts and questions flooded into her mind, but Cyrus grabbed her by the shoulders again and was quick to bring her back to the conversation at hand.

  “Did you hear me Kyra? I am telling you that there are dark forces pursuing after your family.”

  “You knew my mother was in danger?” Kyra asked as she contemplated the wizard’s words.

  Cyrus shook his head. “No, I did not. I believe these creatures are after a specific artifact, a dagger with three rubies in its hilt to be precise. It is a powerful relic, and can be put to devastating use if it falls into the wrong hands. I had believed this dagger to be lost after we rescued your mother from the vampire’s lair. However, it seems I had been mistaken. I now believe that your mother had this dagger all along, and that is what they seek.”

  “I never saw such a dagger,” Kyra said quickly. “Why would she take it?”

  Cyrus pouted out his lower lip and tugged gently on his beard with his left hand. “Come sit down. I will tell you what I know, and then you and I will decide how to deal with the forces that are stalking you.”

  “No.” Kyra looked into the old wizard’s eyes and folded her arms over her chest. “I want you to teach me how to kill them. Then I will track every last one of them down, and destroy them for what they did to my mother.”

  Cyrus looked at her for a moment, before finally nodding his agreement. “Until you are ready, you must stay within the walls of Kuldiga Academy. I do not think anyone will venture here, for there are far too many masters of sorcery here that could defend you. When you are ready, I will help you vanquish this enemy.”

  “Do you know where we can find it?” Kyra asked.

  “I have only some clues, but nothing ce
rtain yet. I am confident we can figure it out together.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Cyrus stepped through the portal, his skin adjusting quickly to the cold, humid air in the cave. He conjured a small orb of blue light that hovered over his left shoulder to light his way. Moss and algae grew along the inside of the wet rocks that formed the walls of the cave. His feet splashed in the shallow water as it trickled along the floor. He followed the cave around the bend to the left, holding his robes up just a touch so that they would not get soaked from the floor.

  He hated coming here. To Cyrus, it showed weakness to ask for help. More than that, he knew the man that he was about to visit was only interested in what Cyrus could do for him. The deals were always cut in the warlock’s favor it seemed. Perhaps that was karmic justice for the way Cyrus treated others. The old wizard laughed the notion away. There was no justice of any kind except that created by those with the power to enforce it.

  Around the bend the cave opened up into a large chamber. The inside was barren except for a long table made of stone in the center of the room. A pair of iron candle holders flanked either end of the table standing roughly four feet tall and holding seven candles each. The candles were lit, and burned with a blue fire that despite the magnitude of the chamber managed to chase away every shadow.

  Cyrus walked to the table and sat down. On the far side of the chamber was a single door made of black stone. It was plain, without decoration or knob. Unknowing adventurers would try to open the door, but that would only result in their death. Cyrus knew better, having been invited here several times before. He sat at the table and gave three slaps on the slab of stone with the palm of his right hand. For a while nothing happened. The chamber remained silent and the door did not move. Then, after a few minutes, the door began to glow, changing from black to blue and then finally disappearing altogether. A man dressed in long black robes walked toward Cyrus.

  As the man came closer, Cyrus was able see the purple trim on the sleeves of the black robes. A long hood hung loosely over the man’s face, covering his features. Strands of silver hair poked out from the hood like small snakes. A medallion hung around his neck in the shape of a gleaming triangle of gold enclosing the image of an open eye. A staff of wood appeared in the man’s left hand and he closed the remaining distance to the table.

  “I do not suppose you have come to tell me that Kyra has pledged her service and loyalty?”

  Cyrus shook his head. “As I said before, the girl is headstrong. She is not only extremely talented, but she is wickedly smart, and not easy to convince. Since her mother’s murder, she has grown ever more wary and watchful of everyone around her. It will be some time before I can gain her trust.”

  “The Order of the All-seeing Eye is not concerned with time. Whether it takes three weeks or ten years is irrelevant. The mission must be accomplished. Kyra must join our cause.”

  Cyrus sat up straight and looked at the warlock, trying to peer through the darkness cast by the man’s hood. Even with his magic orb of light, the shadow seemed all but impenetrable, allowing only for faint images and shadows, but nothing distinct to be seen. “Tell me why the girl is so important to you.”

  The warlock cackled and leaned heavily upon his staff as he swung his right leg over the seat and then eased himself down. Then he set the staff on the table between them and laced his fingers together as he leaned over to speak with Cyrus. “A dog does not question its master when it is sent to fetch the fowl.”

  “You know I am more than a dog,” Cyrus said.

  The warlock laughed again. “Unless you were to swear fealty to the Order of the All-seeing Eye, there is nothing more for us to discuss. What we want with the girl is our business. You came to us those many years ago to locate items that you are searching for. We agreed upon a price for the information you sought.”

  “There is another who seeks the dagger,” Cyrus said. “Why didn’t you warn me of him?”

  “To see the future is like trying to drink from a geyser. No sooner do you stick your face in it, than it shoots much more than you could ever handle straight at you, and just like a geyser it is roiling with danger. We have devised tools to help peer into the future and limit these dangers to ourselves, but there is still room for improvement.”

  Cyrus shook his head. “Perhaps I would be better off on my own,” he said.

  The warlock shot his right hand across the table with the speed of lightning and seized Cyrus by the throat, pulling him in close. “You have come in to our circle. You may not leave unless we say you can. Whatever you view as our shortcomings, let me remind you that it was you who came to us for help. No one else could tell you the information you sought.”

  Cyrus calmly reached up and grabbed the warlock’s hand, prying it free from his neck and pushing it back as he sat down again. “You may have me outnumbered, but if you attack me again I will burn you from the inside out. Your brothers may finish me off, but I guarantee I will drag you down to Hammenfein with me.”

  There was a moment of silence. Neither of them spoke nor blinked for the space of several minutes. Then, the warlock laughed again and tapped a finger on the table.

  “I like you,” the warlock said. “If you would join our order, not only would you have the information you seek, but you could have so much more.”

  “Why does that matter to you?” Cyrus asked.

  The warlock held up both his hands palms up and shrugged his shoulders. “It is wise to surround yourself with strong, capable men. Especially when times of war are soon at hand.”

  “I’m not interested in war, or politics,” Cyrus said. “My interest is purely personal.”

  The warlock held a finger in the air. “I know what it is you seek. The others know as well. The journey ahead of you will not be an easy one. If you were to join with us, we could add additional power to your cause.”

  “At what cost?” Cyrus asked.

  The warlock slapped the table and drew his hand back slowly. “I can see now is not the time for negotiating. Perhaps later. Let me offer you a gesture of goodwill, and you can think on the offer to join us for a future conversation.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “The man that seeks the dagger you are hunting is a dangerous one. I won’t lie, it will serve our order to remove him, as much if not more so than it will serve you. As agreed upon before, you may of course keep the dagger when and if you find it. The man who searches for it is a necromancer. His name is Severin. Have you heard of him?”

  Cyrus tapped the table nervously and sighed heavily. “I know him.” The short answer was terse and dripping with anger, something that the warlock did not miss.

  “An old friend of yours then?”

  Cyrus shook his head slowly. “I made a deal with him many years ago. He reneged on his part of the deal, and left my rump swinging in the wind. I had my suspicions that he might be involved, I was hoping that I was incorrect.”

  The warlock reached down under the table and pulled up a small silver ring a moment later. “If you know Severin, then you know he will not to be an easy foe to conquer. You will need the girl, and you will need her dragon. If any of the other masters were to catch wind of what you are doing…”

  Cyrus nodded his head when the warlock’s words trailed off into nothing. “The girl will be easy to convince on this one. I can see the hunger for revenge in her eyes. As for keeping the secret, she will be good at that as well. So far she has managed to hide her dragon from all at the Academy. I’m sure if I offer her the chance to avenge her mother, she will keep quiet about it rather than lose the opportunity.”

  The warlock nodded and rose to his feet. He set the ring down on the table in front of Cyrus and pointed to it. “In order to hunt the necromancer, you will have to teach the girl how to recognize magical presences. As she has vampire blood within her veins, it is an ability she already possesses. You need only unlock it. The danger in doing so, of course, is that as she hones her
skill she will recognize the dark magic within you. Wear this ring and it will help dull her senses to what you are.”

  Cyrus took the ring and examined it. It was a simple silver band, with a small emerald set into it. He slipped it over his right ring finger and then rose from the table to leave.

  “One more thing, Cyrus,” the warlock said. “If for some reason she were to decide to disclose anything about hunting Severin, you will have to find a way to silence her.”

  Cyrus nodded knowingly. “If she were to doublecross me, then I will expose her dragon. That simple threat ought to be enough to seal her mouth. Still, I am confident enough she will be more than eager to avenge her mother. She will keep the secret.”

  *****

  With her time off from class, Kyra spent every waking minute with the dragon. The satyr was there, though he gave them much more freedom than he had the first day. He still followed them of course, but not as closely and his countenance became much softer than it had been right after Leatherback had hatched. They hunted for small game in the area near the grove. Kyra had asked Njar if he had ever discovered what had been following them the other day, but the satyr would only cryptically answer that all was handled.

  Kyra and Leatherback walked along the stream searching for rabbits or squirrels. When they came to a deep eddy in the stream, Leatherback moved over to the water and thrust his head deep into the liquid, splashing water all about. He came up with a rather large trout nearly the length of Kyra’s forearm. He tossed it up in the air and then swallowed it down his gullet. Kyra laughed and moved to pet Leatherback. The brown scales had already formed along his entire body now. Whatever the satyr was doing to accelerate the dragon’s growth, it was magnificently quick. Leatherback was now almost the same height as a small horse. The top of his back just a few inches below Kyra’s shoulder line. The horns along his forehead were beginning to grow out as well. There were several straight horns that protruded out slightly backward over his neck and there were two horns that curled out from the sides of he head like sharp hooks.