* * *
A loud clang startled Jacob out of a pleasant dream. He reared back and looked wildly around, thinking someone must be trying to steal his treasure. He glanced at the statue before looking over the rest of the grotto. Wait a minute, he thought. He jerked his head back to the statue. She still stood in the center of the stone pillars but she was not alone. A pile of gold and silver coins littered the ground at her feet. A few loose chains dripped from her outstretched hand and trailed into the water. A helmet sat askew on her head and the matching shield spun crazily off to one side.
A rustling sound alerted him and he jerked his head toward the ceiling. A glint of silver and gold shined in the dark recess above him. He closed his eyes as a rain of jewelry cascaded down on his head. He dimly felt the thud and bang as various pieces drummed against his head and back. He curled his wings tightly against his back and rolled over, letting the metal bounced off his stomach. He wiggled in glee and scratched his back on the loose coins and gems.
Laughter filled the grotto. “You look like a giant cat,” yelled Trevor.
Jacob opened his eyes and looked at the figure in the doorway. He had barely heard the man’s voice over the clanging and banging of the falling metal. Grinning happily, he rose and bounced to the door. He snaked his arm out and snagged Trevor’s tunic. Spreading his wings, he launched into the air with Trevor gripped in his fore claws.
Weaving in and out of the waterfalls, he zoomed around the room, skirting the falling gold and silver. A few pieces caught his eyes and he realized something he instinctively knew: this treasure was the one from his cave.
Eventually shrieks and screams penetrated his glee. He glanced down at a terrified Trevor clutched in his claws. Grinning evilly, he rolled over in midair and let Trevor go. A shriek pierced the air only to be cut off when Trevor smacked into the dragon’s stomach.
Taking pity on Trevor, Jacob stroked his wings lazily, swimming through the air toward the waterfall. He landed softly in the water on his back, resisting the urge to roll over.
Trevor huddled on the dragon’s belly, trying to suppress a grin that threatened to split his face. That was the most thrilling, and frightening, thing to have ever happened to him. He waited for his insides to stop shaking before sitting up. He glanced at the dragon’s head but could only see the bottom of the dragon’s jaw. “Can we do that again?”
The tiny voice squeaked from somewhere around his right shoulder. He rolled over, dumping Trevor into the water. Following the sound of splashing, he watched Trevor’s progress to the bank and laughed as he watched the human climb out of the water.
“A drowned rat looks more alive than you.” Jacob laughed.
Ignoring the comment, Trevor stood shivering in the slight breeze, his hands on his hips. “I thought you might like to have a bit of home, so I go to great lengths to secure your treasure and how do you repay me? You dump me in the lake. Are you trying to kill me?”
Jacob noticed there was no mention of the wild flight that led to the dumping, but he was too happy to mention the missing information. He had his old treasure to add to his new treasure. He glanced over at the obelisks, intending to admire the drape of jewelry on the statue. He half spread his wings and bounded through the water. A growl of anger bubbled up and erupted from his throat, echoing off the walls of the cavern and tripling in volume by the time he reached the island the statue stood on. He did not like the sight before him.
Hand outstretched to touch the golden hand, a young pup, about eight or nine was standing on a pile of coins. The child didn’t even turn around when Jacob roared again and pushed against the sandy bottom of the stream. He raced across the grotto and pushed through the standing stones, reaching out a claw to snag the youngster.
The boy’s hand touched the statue just as Jacob’s claw snagged the back of the boy’s pants. He jerked the boy away from the statue, but it was too late. Swirls of magic drifted from the statue and surrounded the boy, sinking into the boy’s head. He watched an iridescence green snake into the boy’s ears. A flash of light and the magic left the boy, returning to swirling around the statue.
“Let go,” the boy slurred.
Jacob dangled the boy at eye level, trying to figure out what he was garbling. He could barely understand the child. The words seemed to be garbled and dusty, as if the boy hadn’t spoken in years.
“Callen? Callen, where are you?” A voice drifted through the same door Trevor had appeared from. A young woman, barely out of girlhood, glided into the cavern. She raised her fingers to her mouth and sent a piercing whistle into the air. The boy clapped his hands over his ears and whimpered as the noise bounced off the standing stones and the dragon standing before the statue. She turned and stared at the trio.
Sighing in exasperation, she marched toward them, whisking through the ferns grabbing at her ankles. She stopped at the edge of the water and planted her hands on her hips in a pose eerily similar to Trevor’s.
Jacob looked from the girl to the magician to the boy in his claw. All three were glaring at him. “What?” he growled.
“What did you do this time, Callen?” She asked, moving her hands as she spoke.
Jacob was relieved that the girl wasn’t yelling at him. She glared at the boy dangling above her head.
“I didn’t do anything, Eleanor.” The boy stopped squirming and hung limply from the dragon’s grasp.
“I find that hard to believe,” she said. She glowered at him until he started to squirm again.
Jacob was feeling lost. He didn’t know who this boy or his keeper was and he didn’t know why they had invaded his space. He glanced over at Trevor who just rolled his eyes and pantomimed lowering his arm. He slowly lowered the boy. When Callen’s feet touched the mossy stones lining the river, the boy’s feet started churning.
“Don’t you let him go,” Eleanor said to Jacob. She turned back to Callen and waited.
Eventually Callen noticed he was going nowhere fast. He stopped trying to get away and slumped in the dragon’s grasp. He pushed out his lower lip and lowered his head so he could look at Eleanor though his lashes. “I only wanted to see her. She seemed to be calling to me. I didn’t hurt anything.” Hoping this was enough to get him off the hook, he pouted harder. His lip started to tremble and he squeezed a tear out of his eye.
“Pull your lip back in. You don’t want a bird to land on it.” Eleanor dropped her arms to her sides and stepped over to Callen. She knelt before him so she could look him in the eye and began signing again. “How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of trouble?”
Jacob released the boy and turned back to Trevor. He picked the man up and half-spreading his wings, he hoped over the small lake. “Who’s the boy?”
A loud boom, a bright flash of light and smoke filling the cavern drowned out Trevor’s reply. Jacob swung his body around and unfurled his wings. He started beating them, blowing the smoke away from the stone pillars. He felt anger boil up in him at the sight of the empty pedestal. A glint of gold close to the hole in the ceiling caught his attention. He glanced up to see a pair of golden feet disappearing through the hole. He saw ropes dangling down and was angry with himself for being distracted by the boy and his nursemaid.
Spreading his wings, he leapt for the hole, claws outstretched to grasp the edge. A shriek and a jerk on his claw reminded him that he wasn’t alone. Too late to stop now, he thought. The wrapped his wings around his body and shot through the hole. He spread his wings wide, scooping air and hovering in the air. He glanced down, passed the man hugging his fore-claw. Below him a horse was running full tilt down a rocky lane, a wagon careening wildly behind its hooves.
Roaring in anger, Jacob dived at the road. Someone was stealing his treasure. The world turned red and he opened his mouth loosing another roar. Flames shot from him and bathed the road in red and orange. The wagon jerked around a corner in the trail and Jacob followed; around twists and turns, over fallen logs and through vi
nes hanging from trees. As he slowly gained ground, he breathed fire over the wagon and watched the statue glow a bright red from the heat of the flames.
He pulled up sharply as the horse ran into a cave. As he hovered uncertainly over the opening, a small voice called from his claw. For a confused moment, he thought his talons were talking. He glanced down, finally remembering Trevor.
“It goes through. Go over.” The man gestured wildly, trying to get the dragon to understand. “Go over.”
The red haze over the world receded slightly and Jacob finally understood what Trevor was trying to tell him. He spread his wings wide and let the wind carry him over the mountain. As he crested the peak, he saw the horse and wagon burst through the other side. He heard the laughter of the thieves as they celebrated their escape. The red haze closed once more and all he could see was the golden glint of his treasure.
Flames burst from his mouth and he pumped his wings harder. He dived at the fleeing wagon. His flames darkened from yellow to red to blue and were slowly fading into white. He let the fire wash over the wagon and listened to the men inside cuss as fire raced across the tailgate and dribble into the back. He narrowed his beam and cut the wagon in half. His statue bounced out the back and landed in the middle of the path, rolling into a patch of grass. He zoomed
Dragon's Prize Page 4
