Dragon's Prize

by Shannon Tripp

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  Jacob skidded to a stop as the hallway opened up into a large cavern. With a practiced eye he measured the space to be about ten wing-lengths, wide enough he could get to the hole in the center of the ceiling without hitting either wall with his outstretched wings. Wow, big cavern. About three or four beats high. That makes it 75 to 100 feet. The sunlight streaming down the gap provided more than enough light for the grotto in the center of the cavern.

  A ring of standing stones stood silent sentinel for an underground lake fed by a waterfall cascading from the gap in the ceiling. The water crashed onto a rocky pillar sending water flying into the air. A carpet of ferns and moss softened Jacob’s footsteps as he tromped through the tangled vegetation toward the lake. Tripping over something lost in the ferns, Jacob half spread his wings trying to stay on his feet. By the time he regained his balance, he discovered another problem; water in the air had condensed on his wings. He flicked them and water rolled down the leather-like wings, dripping off the ends.

  Surging passed the last standing stone he spied something glittering in the failing light. Striding forward, he stepped into the small, shallow lake and waded closer. When he reached the small island, he paused to shake water off his feet. He glanced back over his shoulder, intending to ask Trevor why there was so much water. He was exasperated to see the magician still standing on the other side of the lake near the stones.

  “What are you doing still over there?” he called.

  Travis snorted, “The water might only come up to your hips but that’s over my head. Go on and see her. I’ll catch up with you once the water settles down.”

  Jacob didn’t argue. Once he’d see that glint of gold, his lust and greed kicked in and his mind immediately jumped from wanting to leave to wanting gold. He slowly circled the small island, as if he was sneaking up on the statue. When he was directly behind her, he surged forward and reared up.

  Laughter echoed through the cavern. “She’s not going to be frightened by you. She’s just a statue.”

  Surprised, Jacob tripped over his feet, striking his nose on the statue. Lightning lanced through him, bouncing around in his skull and sending fire to those places he’d burned out years ago. He blinked, trying to clear his vision. Eventually the sparkling dots and whirls faded and he looked up at the statue he’d been looming over. She seems larger, somehow. More there. More sparkly; shiny. It took him almost a minute before he realized the looming presence and the extra shine was due to the presence of magic.

  He blinked in surprise, rubbed his eyes, blinked some more, and stared at the statue. Nearly ten years ago, he’d burned out his ability to see magic when he was protecting his lair, and treasure, from another dragon. He’d driven off the interloper, but he’d lost his magic. If he could see it again, could he use it? He reached out and dug his claw into the swirling color around the statue, grinning when the colors stuck to him.

  Shaping it into a rope, he flung it over his shoulder. His grin morphed into a smirk as the magic curled around Trevor. He flexed his claw, pulling the rope toward him.

  Trevor screeched as he flew through the air; landing in a heap at the dragon’s feet. He twisted and wriggled; fighting the bonds he couldn’t see. “What the…? Let me go,” he squeaked in panic.

  Watching Trevor squirm amused Jacob for a few minutes, but when the man’s panic reached soprano levels, he released the magic, trying not to wince as his ears were abused.

  Trevor lay for a second; unsure the bonds were really gone. Slowly he climbed to his feet, dusted off his pants and glared at the dragon smirking at him. “Happy? Do you feel better now?”

  “Yes, I believe I do.” Dropping the smirk, Jacob looked back at the statue. “What just happened?”

  “Did you touch her?” Trevor gestured at the statue, gleaming innocently in the fading sunlight.

  “Touch? Why? What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “She’s magical. Duh. How did you think she worked?” he snorted. “You have to touch her. She’s not going to reach out to you.”

  “So, when I collided with her, she…? I don’t know what she did, but I can see magic, again.”

  “She healed you.”

  “But, I burned that ability out years ago.” He folded his legs under him, reclined on the grass at the statue’s feet and wrapped his tail around the base of the statue.

  Trevor smiled at the possessive posture the dragon displayed. “It doesn’t matter how old the injury was, she can heal it.” Trevor spaced the words out, speaking slowly.

  Jacob had the impression that Trevor was making fun of him, but he didn’t care. He pillowed his head on his forearms and stared at the statue. Watching the swirls of magic used to be a favorite past time. He knew he was going to spend the night memorizing the swirling color incase this was a temporary heal.

  “Shall I leave you two alone?”

  If Jacob had bothered to turn his head, he might have seen Trevor making a weird face.

  After watching the dragon moon at the statue for a minute, Trevor started pacing. After five minutes of pacing, he ground his teeth in frustration. The silence was getting to him. The dragon was still staring at the statue. “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “Will you take the job?”

  “No. I’ll take the statue.”

  Trevor sputtered for a second or two, before he realized that this may work out even better than he’d hoped for. If the dragon claimed the statue, then she would have the best guardian possible.

  Jacob turned his head just enough to see Trevor. The human was pacing around one of the standing stones wringing his hands. “Don’t worry, human. I’ll let people in need near her.”

  Sure that was the best he could ask for, Trevor quickly headed for the entrance. He didn’t want to give the dragon time to change his mind.

  Jacob watched the human hurrying away. When Trevor disappeared through the door, Jacob thought of his missing treasure for the first time since he woke up in that little room. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding he’d deal with it later. Nothing back home could compare with the statue he was wrapped around.

  He closed his eyes and let a pictured form in his mind. He saw Trevor flying through the air to land at his feet again. The picture froze momentarily before flashing to another scene where the human was walking around the statue, gesturing wildly as he explained something. Then the pictured changed again. Now he could see Trevor’s face as he offered to leave. This time he saw the scrunched up face and the wiggling caterpillars moving on the magician’s face.