“Did I get him?” Gorga snarled painfully as he sent another burst of flames into the tunnel. “Is he dead?”
“Look for your self,” Wyka said softly. “I am not here to help you destroy everything that is good in the world.”
“How can I look for myself?” Gorga screamed as he turned his head towards Wyka. “That human waste has taken my other eye. Tell me if he is dead.”
“This is not my fight,” Wyka declared. “Dragon Heart and the Wrong One are destined to meet. Only one will survive.”
“Then be gone,” shouted Gorga as he sent flames towards Wyka.
Wyka moved away from the large entrance to the lair as Gorga turned his head and shot more flames into the tunnel.
“Where are you little beast?” growled Gorga. “Come and end this. I wish to savor your blood.”
King Arik knelt in front of Gorga and stared up at the massive head of the dragon. He waited until Gorga shouted and then got to his feet during the verbal tirade. Slowly and silently, the king drew the Sword of Heavens. The sword’s vibrations were tremendously strong, and Arik had to use all of his strength to control it. He froze while Gorga thrashed about. Several more times, Gorga yelled and shot flames into the tunnel. Each time King Arik inched closer to the dragon’s breast, but his target was too far above the ground. The minutes dragged on as nervous perspiration poured down the king’s face. His arms ached from the strain of controlling the Sword of Heavens.
Finally, Gorga’s tirade played out. With a sigh of exhaustion, the dragon went to lower its head to the floor. When he did, King Arik struck. The Sword of Heavens slipped between the scales on the dragon’s breast. Gorga gasped in surprise as the Sword of Heavens pierced deep into the dragon’s heart.
“No,” Gorga screamed as he felt his life slipping away. “This cannot be. You are to be the one to die.”
“Sorry, Gorga,” retorted King Arik. “The well-being of the world is more important than your desire to serve the Dark One.”
Gorga slashed out frantically in a last bid to take King Arik with him, but the king stood his ground and pushed hard on the Sword of Heavens. Gorga’s body collapsed on top of King Arik, knocking him to the floor. The fear of being crushed by the dragon’s body raced through the king’s mind, but there was no time for him to react.
While Gorga passed his last breath, King Arik stared at the massive body an inch from his face. The king slowly inched his body backwards until he could stand up. He knelt and peered under the body, wondering why it hadn’t crushed him. He saw the Sword of Heavens, its blade immersed in the dragon’s body, and its hilt against the floor of the lair. Only the hilt of the Sword of Heavens had saved the king.
“Wyka,” shouted the king. “I need your help.”
“It hardly looks like Dragon Heart needs anyone’s help,” came the sad voice from outside the lair.
“I am sorry, Wyka,” apologized the king. “I had to do it.”
“Do not apologize,” replied Wyka. “What you did was right and brave. My sadness only comes from how things could have been if Gorga had not been demented. Sadly, he has been beyond help for many years now. An evil flowed through his blood like nothing I have ever seen or heard. His death is a blessing to all of us.”
“Can you lift his body?” King Arik asked. “I must retrieve the Dragons’ Onyx and the Sword of Heavens.”
Wyka nodded as she entered the lair. She lifted Gorga’s body slightly while King Arik retrieved the ancient artifacts. The king turned and looked into the tunnel. There was no sight of his prized bow. He cleaned the Sword of Heavens on a fragment of his burned tunic and then sheathed it. He walked around the body of Gorga and emerged into a wide-open oval that was the floor of the dormant volcano. Many dragons were gathered there.
King Arik stood in the entrance to Gorga’s lair. The dragons stared at him with reverence. They spontaneously erupted in a recital of the Dragon Prophecy.
The dragons fly in wind-blown skies
Until the Dark One stirs the realm
Then inky black infests our eyes
'Til Dragon Heart can take the helm
A human small yet bold and strong
Will seek the onyx that we hold
He must kill the one who’s wrong
And purge the evil from our fold
Then Dragon Heart will rule the sky
And therefore will have earned the right
By giving freshness in which we fly
To lead the dragons in his fight
“So it has come to pass,” Wyka declared solemnly, “the Wrong One has been defeated. Praise to King Arik, our Dragon Heart, Ruler of the Skies. Let none among us ever doubt the requirement of our loyalty to Dragon Heart.”
The assembled dragons bowed their heads low and murmured something that King Arik could not quite understand. When they raised their heads smiles and cheers erupted.
“I knew he was the one when I first met him,” boasted one of the dragons, which King Arik recognized as one of the first dragons he had met on Grakus.
“You always had good instincts, Kinelli,” smiled Wyka.
“Does this mean that we can no longer hunt humans?” asked another dragon.
“No humans,” King Arik stated with a smile. “No unicorns or fairies. No elves or dwarves.”
“That leaves little to eat,” complained another dragon.
“Dragons are few,” smiled the king. “I am sure that there will be no shortage of game for you. One good thing about the change in your diet,” he grinned, “is that none of those races will be hunting you either.”
“Does this mean that our royalty will return now?” asked Kinelli as she gazed at Wyka.
Wyka shrugged and King Arik looked at her questioningly.
“Wyka is our queen,” Kinelli explained. “She has remained apart from us because of Gorga.”
“It was easier to let the royalty die then to dangle hopes of a kingship in front of Gorga,” sighed Wyka. “He was always in search of power, but I knew that he was evil beyond hope.”
“I see no reason why your royalty should not return,” smiled King Arik. “Let it be so.”
The dragons cheered and King Arik grinned when he saw Wyka blush a pale green.
“I thought you were to clear the Darkness from the sky?” Kinelli said to King Arik. “It would make us very happy.”
“Then happy you shall be,” he grinned as he drew the Sword of Heavens.
King Arik handed the Dragons’ Onyx to Wyka and nodded towards the sword. She beamed as she placed the gem into its slot. King Arik swiftly raised the Sword of Heavens high over his head. A brilliant flash of Lightning streaked from the Sword of Heavens and blasted into the Darkness overhead. The dragons yelped and hollered like small children as the Darkness fled from over the volcano.
“I am going to chase it,” Kinelli stated eagerly. “I want to see where it goes.”
Kinelli leaped into the air and flew out of the volcano. Dragon after dragon followed her until only King Arik and Wyka were left.
“Thank you for distracting Gorga so I could get closer,” King Arik said to the dragon. “I know he meant something special to you. That took a great deal of faith in me on your part.”
“It was something that had to be done. You are a marvelous human,” Wyka said admiringly. “The Mage would have been proud to see you here today.”
THE END
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Dragons' Onyx Page 36
