by K L Rymer
The dragons take to the skies, so they arrived in Greece a few hours after the rest of us.
Luckily, they arrived at nightfall as no one was around to see them, and once again we camped beneath the stars.
The climate is drier than Wales. I regret packing my raincoat and boots now.
I’ve always wanted to go to Greece, and I’d do anything to go to Mount Olympus, but we can’t draw attention to Sparkle Hearts and Shadow Stalker. Unlike the Red and White dragons, they can’t disguise themselves, so we are stuck living the nomadic life.
A shame... Jack looked as if he really wanted to go home to his mother. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to meet a real titan, and my heart shivers just thinking about it.
Maybe I just watch way too much anime.
They roamed the earth before the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus put an end to their reign of terror after all. So they must be deadly.
Nora’s race is of Greek origin too, but the girl would rather be in cold, rainy Scotland back with her mother.
I do wonder how the two gorgons blend in with the humans. Judging by Nora’s mannerisms and behavior, she doesn’t get out much, so they live a secluded life.
We sit around yet another flickering fire in the mountains, and it’s the same old shit again. Only this time Damien and Felicity don’t talk as they hold onto their baby dragons.
Shadow Stalker perches on Damien’s shoulder like a hideous bird, and if only he had the wyvern when he dressed up as Captain Hook for Halloween back in first year.
His little Tinkerbell cradles Sparkle Hearts like a baby. The sweet dragon sucks on the end of her tail again, and it’s a heart-warming sight. The other day, I caught her chasing her tail.
Shadow Stalker does nothing of the sort. Once, I spotted him staring at me like a silent gargoyle, and those tiny, black pupils... it was like they were probing deep into my soul.
He really is scary.
Unconsciously, I peer up at the wyvern, and he expels his breath when he catches me staring, wiggling that serpent tongue.
I’ve not seen him eat once. I’m pretty sure he feeds off our souls and misery because we have never looked so downtrodden and beaten.
Felicity glares at Shadow Stalker and it’s obvious she doesn’t like the wyvern.
What happened to raising their dragons as a team?
“Damien... your stupid dragon is hissing at everyone again.”
The demon’s eyes burn as red as his dragon’s. “And your dragon is chasing her tail again, Tinkerbell. You ought to tell her sometime that it’s attached to her.”
Alarmed, Felicity looks down, and there is Sparkle Hearts chasing her little tail. She manages to clamp her teeth onto it in the end, letting out a loud squeal when she bites too hard.
Felicity comforts her by picking her up, rocking her back and forth in her arms.
Damien scoffs as Shadow Stalker hisses in a threatening manner again. “Just admit it. My dragon is better than yours, Tinkerbell.”
Felicity purses her lips. “No. Sparkle Hearts is way cuter than Shadow Stalker. He’s... not even that cute.”
Damien smirks. “He doesn’t need to be. He’d tear Sparkle Hearts apart in seconds.”
The pixie stands to her feet and the wyvern snarls, flapping his wings. “You take that back!”
The demon’s eyes glow redder. “Make me...”
Felicity balls her fists, and I think she’s about ready to punch him, but then Brynmawr intervenes.
“That’s enough! Damien, Felicity... apologise...”
The tiny girl spins away from the demon, crossing her arms. “No. I refuse to acknowledge him.”
Damien chuckles. “That’s fine by me, Tinkerbell. Give me a break from your whiny, high-pitched voice for once.”
Zahara bursts into laughter, startling us all out of our wits. Shadow Stalker snarls at her.
It’s like everything offends him.
“Classic one, D-boy!” The Unseelie claps her hands.
Angelina rolls her eyes, swigging a beer. “Shut up.”
I round on that asshole demon now. “You’re going too far now, Damien. Unless you want me to kick your ass...”
Thomas speaks up. “She’s right. That was a little mean. She’s your girlfriend, Damien. You’re meant to work together.”
The anti-Christ is about to reply, but then Felicity interrupts. “It’s fine, Thomas. If that’s how he wants it to be, then fair enough. I won’t be his girlfriend anymore.”
Damien watches her incredulously and a little amused. “Are you saying you’re breaking up with me, Tinkerbell? I have to say, I’m impressed.”
Nora’s eyes burn green. “Damien, stop!”
You know shit’s really going down when everyone gets involved, but the demon can be a real ass at times.
Felicity squeezes her eyelids, trying to stop tears from falling. Now she storms off, taking Sparkle Hearts with her.
Nora rushes to her feet. “Felicity!”
“Just leave her, Nora,” Damien says. “She’ll come to her senses eventually and realise how petty she’s being.”
The gorgon jerks her head his way. “Oh, don’t make me turn you into stone!”
My jaw hangs loose, and I meet Zahara’s eyes. For as long as we’ve known her, Nora has never threatened to turn anyone.
I’m not surprised her first would be Damien. He really is being an extra d-bag. What’s gotten over him? What’s gotten over everyone? We’re so bad-tempered and depressed.
My eyes find the wyvern again and he shows me his teeth. I point. “It’s him. He’s doing something to our overall mood.”
Brynmawr sighs. “I didn’t want to have to tell you all this. But Shadow Stalker... he belongs to a subspecies of dragon. His kind are known as shadow dragons... ironically enough. They... feed off the good thoughts of those around them. That may explain our current, sombre mood around camp.”
“I don’t know what you’re all so miserable about. I’m great,” Zahara says, popping the cap off yet another bottle. She seriously has a drinking problem.
“Same here, Bitch,” Angelina replies, and the two girls clank bottles.
Oh, so long as those two are fine then.
The bitches...
“So, is no one going to go after Felicity then?” Nora cranes her neck, trying to get a good visual of the pixie. “She can’t go out there all by herself. There are bears in these woods after all.”
“It’s all right, I’m sure Sparkle Hearts can protect her.”
I growl, picking up a rock as I throw it at Damien’s head. It makes contact with his skull, and now both the demon and the wyvern snarl at me.
“Shut the fuck up!”
And with that, everyone shuts it, and we all go back to sulking in silence. Which is nothing new for Jack, I guess.
Another hour passes, and we start to get a little worried about Felicity. Damien tries to act nonchalant, but I can see he’s anxious.
No matter how much they argue, they still love each other. Yet he doesn’t bother to move, most likely under Shadow Stalker’s spell still.
He has no motivation to move. None of us do.
I jump to my feet, fighting off the wyvern’s spell. I didn’t almost make it into Audacious just to be overcome by some freaky lizard.
“I’m—”
“I’ll go.”
We all gasp as Jack stands to his full height, towering over us all, and I can’t believe it.
That’s the fourth time I’ve ever heard him speak.
Those brass eyes find mine. “You stay, Bryn. It is far too dangerous. I will look for Felicity...”
I blink, craning my neck to get a good look at his face. “S-sure, Jack.”
The titan nods and stalks off into the forest, almost as tall as the trees.
Damien breathes a sigh, climbing to his own feet. “I’ll join him. She’s my girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend...”
I’m sure Felicity never really meant t
o break up with him earlier, but he’s got the right idea. The sweet little pixie will forgive him immediately when he finds her crying alone in the woods. She’s just wired like that.
Shadow still hangs off Damien’s shoulder, and now he fixes those black pupils on me as I watch them walk away. He goes to hiss, but I cut him off.
“Yeah, whatever!”
The wyvern looks stumped by my reply.
Soon they disappear, and I re-join the others as we continue to sulk around camp.
What a great night this turned out to be.
Chapter 13 - Bryn
Felicity and Damien soon arrive back at camp, the best of friends once again, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
They’re so predictable, it’s kind of sad.
Their dragons still don’t get along, but I’m sure Shadow Stalker will come around and learn to love the adorable pink dragon one day, even if loving goes against his very nature.
When I first met Damien, I didn’t even think he was capable of love, but look at him now, writing haiku about the woman he loves.
They hold hands as their dragons snap at each other on their shoulders. Well, Sparkle Hearts tries to paw at Shadow Stalker, engaging him in play, but he takes it as a threat.
“Guess what? We made up!” Felicity cries.
We all release a collective sigh.
Thank god that soap opera drama is over with.
“That’s great!” Zahara mocks. “Now sit down and shut up. If I hear another peep out of you two, I will gag you both. You know how kinky I like it after all.”
Damien chuckles. “Do what you feel’s best, Zee.”
The demon and the pixie take their seats by the fire, holding each other close. Their dragons are still at war as the pink one tries to play with the black one.
In the end, Shadow takes to the shadows—unable to take all the love and affection—and now he glares at us from the bushes.
Only his red eyes can be seen, and once again they land on me.
It’s like the wyvern has it in for me the most.
I shake my head, trying to distract my thoughts. “Did you both happen to come across Jack by any chance?”
Damien and Felicity look up from rubbing their noses together, and just gag me with a spoon already. They stop, contemplating, and they even pull the same facial expression.
“Come to think of it... no. I didn’t see him at all,” Damien replies. “He disappeared pretty much after I got up to look for Tinkerbell.”
Felicity whirls her head around, searching the trees. “Oh no... do you think he’s lost?”
“Someone as big as him? Please...” Angelina scoffs, staring into the fire. It reflects off her eyes.
The pixie bites her lower lip. “Still... I’m worried about him. Let’s go back out there and look for him, Damien.”
“An adventure in the woods with my favourite pixie again? I’m in.”
They both rise, and we all just know that they’re going off to have sex, but then a stick snaps, and we all turn.
Lo and behold...
A giant, hulking figure emerges from the shadows, and Jack appears before us in all his mountainous glory.
He’s dripping wet. His brass eyes hold a triumphant glow as weeds stick to his long, disheveled hair.
Did he go for a swim?
He clutches something in his large, fisted hand, and my eyes expand. The firelight reflects off its brass surface.
His mouth hikes at the corners, and now he says in that coarse, baritone voice. “You’ll never guess what I found...”
I get shivers just hearing his voice. That’s the fifth time I have heard him speak. His voice seems to send tremors through the earth.
Zahara laughs. “Let me guess? A dragon egg?”
The titan’s smile stretches, and it really brings out his hard, chiseled features. He opens his palm flat, and a brass rock rolls about his hand. “It was like a pull... The little guy was calling for me at the bottom of a lake. I couldn’t resist.”
Damien mumbles in agreement. “It was the same with Shadow... I could hear him beckoning my name too.”
Most likely in parelstongue, I bet.
“Sparkles called to me as well. Her voice was beautiful.”
No one speaks after their confessions.
Brynmawr nods his head. “Your dragons are calling to you... I see. Something similar happened between Bryn and me too. She kept appearing in my dreams, as annoying as it was.”
“You were so stubborn back then...” I reflect affectionately, going down memory lane for a moment.
Our eyes move back to Jack, watching his shining, brass egg. The shell looks a lot like his hardened knuckles, and I’m starting to notice a theme.
Everyone’s dragon matches their essence. My magic is red like Brynmawr as Mattie’s is white like Gwyneira.
Maybe there was more to the prophecy than Myrddin realized.
The Red and White Dragons were not meant to fight but to reunite all the lost dragon eggs. And they needed the help of half-human riders.
We’re impartial after all. We’re sympathetic to both the human and the supernatural world.
We’re Merlin’s army after all.
The titan takes a deep, rumbling breath then steps toward the flames, and everyone shuffles back.
Oh, so he’s doing this right now? Okay then.
No time to dilly dally I guess, as Myrddin would say...
The sooner we can find and hatch these dragons, then the sooner we can beat the Humphreys.
Brynmawr adds more fire to the kindling with his breath, and now the flames dance before us. Shadows flicker around camp and I hear Shadow Stalker hiss in protest as the light fills the forest.
Sparkle Hearts dances for joy.
Hopefully, Jack’s dragon will want to play with her.
Jack drops the brass egg, and at once it gives off a loud crack. The titan snaps his knuckles.
A split runs down the shell, and we all watch in anticipation. This is the third dragon birth I have witnessed now, and it never gets old.
A brass horn smashes through the shell, and soon an eye locks on us. There comes a tiny growl, and the hair rises up on the back of my neck.
I will never grow tired of the sound of a baby dragon drawing its first breath. It’s so beautiful.
The hatchling tears through the rest of the egg, and soon the carapace breaks away as a brass-colored dragon rolls forth.
He’s all curled up as his tail coils around his body, but I can’t take my eyes off his scales.
It’s like he’s wearing metal armor. Even when the flames lick his sides, he feels no pain, and now he stands and stretches, revealing his impressive size.
He’s twice as big as Shadow and Sparkles, and his wings could already pass for mini sails.
Jack’s dragon will be flying in no time.
The dragon jumps down from the flames, and a little bit of fire burns the end of his tail like Charmander’s from Pokémon.
There I go with the anime references again, but it’s true. The flames dance around his body as he crawls toward his new rider.
He stops, sitting on his haunches like a well-behaved dog as he gazes up at the half-titan.
Jack nods and the brass dragon does the same.
“Everyone...” the titan says. “I would like you to meet Buddy. My new dragon.”
Wait, Buddy? Surely, he could think up a better name than that. That beautiful, brass dragon looks more like a Brutus or a Maximus.
Buddy is a friggin’ Labrador’s name!
Buddy seems to like his new name, and now he spreads his wings, flapping several feet in the air, and I was right.
He’s flying already.
Sparkle Hearts jumps up, trying to reach him. Shadow Stalker hisses in the bushes, already deeming Buddy a new threat.
Three down. Four more to go.
It seems our army is growing.
Chapter 14 - Matthew
I stand outside Br
yn’s childhood home.
It has a front porch with a swing, and for a moment I picture her there kissing boys in her younger years like they do in all the sappy movies.
It really is picturesque.
The front yard is well kept and very green despite the dry Texas heat, and I thank god I ditched the armour.
My balls would have been sweating off.
I decided to dress like a muggle this time lest the humans become suspicious. It’s a longshot, but there’s a chance Bryn may have gone back home. Just in case—despite the fact she left her passport in her suitcase back at the academy.
She can teleport after all.
I march up the path, climbing the stairs when I reach the porch. I knock once, and a man’s voice shouts from inside.
“Who the hell’s knocking on my door at this goddamn hour?!”
It’s twelve noon Texas time. What a bum...
The door opens, and a bald, middle-aged man stares back at me. I resist the urge to vomit as I cast my eyes up and down his stained, white vest.
I guess this is what they mean by the phrase “Couch Potato.”
This must be Larry. Bryn’s stepfather.
She mentioned him once or twice.
The man squints at me, scratching his balls. “Who are you? What do you want? I’m trying to sleep!”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m looking for a Bryn Williams.”
Larry’s eyes bulge, and now he exposes his smoke-stained teeth as he waddles out onto the porch. “What’s that girl been up to now?”
I sigh. “I can assure you everything is fine. I’m just merely looking for her, Sir.”
The man winces when he hears my accent. “Ugh, you’re one of those hoity-toity British types, aren’t you?”
I clench my jaw at the words “Hoity-toity”. I’ll show him what this hoity-toity British boy can do...
“Jennifer! Get over here! There’s some British guy looking for Bryn!”
The hideous man moves back inside the house just as a pretty, dark-haired woman appears. Her blue eyes amplify when they find me.
Bryn looks nothing like her mother, yet both women are pretty in their own rights. Jennifer Williams is way too good for that slob Larry, and I wonder how anyone could downgrade so much.
She’d been with the most powerful wizard of all time and now look at her— married to a bum.
