Dragon Green

by Macy Babineaux

  He saw the light ahead and bolted forward, clutching the trident in one hand and holding his other arm against his side as it screamed in pain. Not knowing whether he needed to, he leapt the last few feet, vaulting himself up and out of the tunnel and onto the dry red dirt.

  The trident fell out of his grip to rest in the dust as he landed on his ruined hand, sending a fresh bolt of pain up his arm that made him nauseous.

  He rolled over and looked down at the opening of the tunnel. The metal was beginning to wilt like the petals of a burning flower, curling down to the desert floor.

  Brynn stood there beside him, watching in horror as the opening collapsed, a dark hole forming before them.

  Vander dug his heels into the earth and scooted backwards, not sure how big the sinkhole opening up before them was going to grow. Brynn moved back as well, and he saw her pick up the spear and carry it away from the growing black void puckering into the ground.

  It stopped, but not before a gaping crater large enough to swallow a house lay before them. Vander gingerly climbed to his feet and peered down into it. The newly-formed pit seemed to be filled with what looked like silver tar, bubbling and churning.

  He looked at Brynn, who clutched the trident in both hands and looked down into the pit with a look of despair.

  “I am truly sorry,” he said.

  8

  BRYNN

  “It’s okay,” she answered.

  Actually, it wasn’t. An entire treasure trove of archaeological evidence had just imploded before her eyes and melted into a pool of molten metal.

  Brynn gripped the spear in both hands, feeling some kind of energy pulse through her palms. This relic alone would redeem her academic career, but Vander needed it, and she needed to get him back to the portal and his world.

  Then nearly all the evidence she had worked so hard to find would be gone. Well, except for the thing inside her. The fabricant. She had to be careful. She didn’t want to end up on some government lab table being sliced open by men in white coats. But maybe she could find a way to study and document it. After all, it was the only remnant of Xandakar that would be left once Vander returned.

  She looked at him, standing at the edge of the newly-formed pit, cradling his right hand in his left.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, nodding at his hand.

  He moved his left hand just enough for her to see the ruins of his right, shards of white bone jutting from the first two knuckles. Her stomach clenched and rolled before he covered his hand again.

  “This?” he said. “It is nothing.”

  She took a deep breath, feeling the wave of nausea subside. “It doesn’t look like nothing,” she said. “What happened?”

  A look of embarrassment crossed his face, then quickly disappeared. He smiled sheepishly. “Falling rubble struck me as I ran from the chamber.”

  Brynn might have suspected this was a lie simply from the way he was acting. But she didn’t have to suspect. As the words left his mouth, she saw a crystal-clear image of Vander swinging his fist into the tube containing the trident. She heard the crunch of his bones breaking and saw the blood smear on the transparent surface. She even felt a much milder version of the pain he had experienced when it happened.

  He was lying to her. She didn’t like that, but she understood it. His pride had been wounded right along with his hand, and he didn’t want her to know about it.

  She stifled a smile, but his hand did look awful. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Do you need to go to a hospital?”

  She could see by the look on his face that he didn’t know that word.

  “A…healer?” she tried.

  He surprised her by laughing. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I have no need of a healer.”

  “Okay,” Brynn said. She hefted the spear. “Well, I guess we can head back. We need to get you and this back to your world.” Though the portal wasn’t supposed to appear again until early the next morning. Maybe they would have time to say a proper goodbye. She imagined them lying together in the tiny bed in her crappy apartment. The picture in her mind seemed ridiculous, but made her knees feel weak all the same.

  Maybe they could go to a hotel? They could lay low until it was time for the portal to appear. She could finally have that shower. And then who knew what might happen? She had access to his thoughts now. She still felt dishonest not disclosing this fact. But then, he had just lied to her, hadn’t he? That was shitty justification. But when she looked at him standing there like a god, the sun sparkling off the skin-tight armor across his chest, she wanted him. And she’d never been in the position of knowing exactly what a man was thinking, much less a man like this. Was it really such a bad thing to use that to her advantage?

  Yeah, actually it was. She knew it was wrong. Brynn opened her mouth to tell him, but he spoke first.

  “Shall we go, then?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, letting out a little sigh. She would tell him at the hotel. Maybe after, as he held her in those massive arms. She’d run her hand across his chest, raise her lips up to his ear, and—

  “Brynn?” he asked.

  “Oh,” she said. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  They drove back along the highway, the three prongs of the trident jutting up from the back of the jeep. The spear was too long to fit properly. There was no way to transport it without some part of it sticking out.

  They rode in silence most of the way, though Brynn kept feeling flashes from Vander’s mind. She didn’t try to see deeper into his thoughts, but she didn’t push them away, either. She just let whatever she felt and saw come to her.

  He was anxious, wanting to get back to his world. But she was also happy to feel a pull in him. He liked her. He didn’t want to leave her so soon, and that made the heat rise up in her neck and her cheeks flush.

  “I thought we could go to a hotel,” she said over the noise of the wind as they drove.

  He still cupped his hand against his stomach. “Ah, an inn,” he said. Then she saw an image run through his head. He imagined a dark, candlelit room, the walls made of, what was that? Bamboo? It didn’t matter. She focused on the part where he was pulling her shirt up over her head, her breasts bobbing lightly. In his mind, she looked far more attractive than she felt. Her chest looked amazing, her nipples erect.

  He lowered his lips to kiss her shoulder. In his mind, she had light freckles across her collarbone and the tops of her breasts. They weren’t there in reality, but at this point she really didn’t care. She was engrossed in his fantasy of what they might do together.

  Brynn could almost feel his touch as he imagined his arms wrapping around her, his powerful hands at the small of her back, pulling her towards him as he—

  A siren sounded behind them. Brynn snapped out of the fantasy and looked in the rearview mirror at the flashing red lights.

  “Fuck,” she said, her thighs still trembling. Actually, maybe being pulled over was lucky. If she had gone too much deeper into Vander’s thoughts, she might have driven them off the road. And when she looked down at the speedometer, she realized that might have done them in. She was going nearly ninety.

  Brynn slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder, trying to steady her breathing. She didn’t care about getting a ticket right now. She was dizzy from the fantasy, her nipples hard and sensitive against the inside of her tank top.

  But she needed to focus on the situation. They had an ancient trident poking up from the back seat, and Vander didn’t have any identification. He certainly didn’t look like he belonged here. If the cop started asking too many questions, they might be screwed.

  She took another deep breath as the jeep came to a stop. One thing at a time, Brynn, she thought.

  The cruiser stopped behind them and turned off its lights. The door opened and out stepped a six foot woman wearing the uniform of a Texas State Trooper. She wore dark sunglasses and her brown hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. Brynn watched as she put on her
wide-brimmed trooper’s hat, closed the door, and walked towards them.

  “Let me do all the talking,” she whispered to Vander, who smiled and nodded.

  The female trooper walked up to the side of the jeep, her hulking form blocking out the sun. Up close Brynn realized she had actually underestimated the woman’s height. She was easily six-two, probably taller. The shiny metal nametag pinned above her large breast read “Harrison”.

  “Afternoon, Officer,” Brynn said, putting on her best smile.

  Trooper Harrison didn’t smile back. “License and registration.”

  “Sure,” Brynn said. She reached down in front of Vander and thumbed at the button for the glove compartment. He spread his knees to try to get them out of the way, but he was filling up the passenger’s seat, and he couldn’t help but be in the way.

  Brynn finally popped the door open and took out her registration, silently praying it wasn’t expired. She always seemed to forget to take care of that sort of thing. She handed it over with her license.

  The trooper wordlessly took the documents and put them under the top of a small clipboard. She took a pen from her pocket, clicked it open, and began writing.

  So far the woman hadn’t said a thing about Vander or the trident. Brynn figured it would be best to not say anything until the trooper brought it up. Maybe if they were lucky, she would just write them a ticket and let them go.

  “You have any idea how fast you were going, ma’am?” the trooper asked. Her voice was actually quite soft and lovely, though she tried to make it stern.

  “No, not really,” Brynn lied.

  “You were traveling at ninety-two miles per hour,” the trooper said.

  “Oh,” Brynn said.

  “Now the traffic is pretty light out here this afternoon,” she said. “But the posted speed limit is still sixty-five.”

  Pretty light? Brynn thought. It was actually non-existent. She had no idea where the cruiser had even come from. They must have passed it on the side of the road while she was thinking about what Vander was going to do to her when they got to the hotel.

  “Sorry about that,” Brynn said, trying to sound contrite. But then the trooper looked across the seat at Vander. She tilted her head. Then she looked up at the trident, lifting her sunglasses to reveal beautiful light grey eyes.

  “Where are you folks headed?” Trooper Harrison asked.

  Okay, Brynn thought. She thought she had worked out a pretty good excuse for all this. “I’m driving my cousin Dennis here to one of those comic book conventions,” she said. “You know, where they dress up like characters.”

  “Mm hm,” the trooper said, not looking at her. She was reaching up to feel one of the tips of the spear. “This doesn’t quite look like a toy.”

  Brynn laughed nervously. “Well, Dennis takes his cosplay pretty seriously.” She looked over at Vander, who seemed more confused than ever. But he was keeping his mouth shut, and she was thankful for that.

  The woman took her sunglasses completely off, hanging them from her shirt pocket, then turned her eyes to get a better look at Vander. She squinted a little as she looked him up and down.

  “Sir?” she said. “Who are you supposed to be?”

  “He’s—” Brynn began, but the trooper cut her off.

  “I didn’t ask you, ma’am.” She stared at Vander expectantly.

  He looked at Brynn, then up at the trooper, clearing his throat. “I see you are too keen for my traveling companion’s ruse,” he said.

  Oh God, Brynn thought. We're screwed.

  “My name is not Dennis,” he went on. “I am Vander Tanglevine, lord of the Emerald Isle, leader of the green clan.”

  The trooper looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded. She tore the ticket from the clipboard and handed it to Brynn.

  “Good enough for me,” she said. “You folks watch your speed, and have a nice day.”

  And with that, Trooper Harrison turned and headed back to her cruiser.

  “Did I err?” Vander asked Brynn after the trooper had gotten in her car. He was looking back at her, more confused than ever. “I didn’t know what else to say other than the truth. Is she going to seek reinforcements?”

  “No,” Brynn laughed. “You did just fine.” She tossed everything back in the glove compartment along with the ticket, then started up the jeep.

  The Starlight Motel sat just off the highway on the way into town. It was old and run-down, but a better place to take Vander than back to her apartment. She didn’t want anybody to see him there and ask questions later.

  The motel consisted of three one-story buildings, eight rooms each in a row. The paint was faded pink and flaking, and Brynn imagined a time when it might have been fresh and bright. The neon sign with its five-pointed star dotting the “i” in Starlight was burned out, but the place was still open. She doubted they got many tourists these days, probably mostly cheating couples and low-end prostitutes. But it would work for them for a few hours. Besides, the idea of maybe getting into bed with a dragon king from another world in a sleazy motel turned her on even more.

  She told him to wait in the car while she got them a room. A toad of an old woman worked the front desk, peering out at the desert with half-lidded eyes and puffy wet lips. She took Brynn’s money and handed over the key to room eight with all the enthusiasm of a cadaver. She must have seen Vander sitting in the jeep through the window. But maybe the old woman just didn’t care. She certainly looked like she’d seen everything.

  They pulled the jeep in front of room eight and Vander stumbled out and stretched before bringing the trident inside. The room was dark and smelled of smoke and mold.

  Okay, Brynn thought, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. The place wasn't very romantic. The wood paneling was chipped. The bed was small, but was covered with a surprisingly comfortable-looking handmade quilt with the pattern of a coyote baying at a moon over mountains.

  Vander set the trident against the wall. “I have seen worse,” he said.

  Brynn tossed the key on the cheap dresser. “Really? I’m not sure I have. Sorry about this.”

  “I once spent four days in the dungeons under Castle Moonglow,” he said. By the look on his face it hadn’t been a pleasant stay. “The rats were quite large.”

  “Well, I was hoping for better than a medieval dungeon,” Brynn said. “Look, I really need a shower. Do you mind?”

  He looked at her with yet another confused expression, and she realized he probably didn’t know what a shower was.

  “I need to clean up,” she said.

  “Of course,” he said, his eyes brightening. He looked at the quilt. “I shall rest. Though I am not fond of wolves.”

  She almost told him she thought it was a coyote, but decided there wasn’t much of a point. She just hoped the shower here put out water that wasn’t brown and was reasonably hot. She’d have to change back into the same clothes, but at least she’d feel better.

  “Okay,” she said, not sure what else to say. Then she ducked into the bathroom. Inside, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and almost gasped. How the hell did he find her attractive at all, looking like this? Her hair was stringy and gross. Her eyes were bloodshot. She looked like a wreck.

  It was understandable. She hadn’t slept for over a day, and what an eventful day it had been. She’d seen the discovery of her life, of any academic’s life, and then seen it snatched away. She’d met a man from another world and developed something that felt like far more than a crush. And something in that hall of gadgets had fused with her, rejuvenating her and allowing her to read Vander’s mind.

  Yeah, a lot had happened, and it wasn’t over yet. But first she needed to clean her ass up.

  The shower was small, but surprisingly clean. And thankfully the water was clear and hot. She pulled off her shirt and wriggled out of her shorts, the small bathroom already filling with steam.

  She heard something out in the room and her breath caught in her throat. Bu
t when she put her ear to the door she realized it was just the television. Vander must have gotten curious and figured out how it worked.

  Brynn climbed into the shower and closed the curtain, letting the hot water cascade over her. She put her head under the stream and felt the gritty red sand wash out of her hair. Oh God, it felt good.

  The tiny hotel bar soap was nearly gone by the time she finished with it, washing herself three times over. She used all the shampoo as well, lathering up her hair and massaging her head. Before long, she began to hum to herself. Her spirits were starting to lift after seeing her life’s work melt into a hole in the west Texas desert.

  After all, she still had a piece of it inside her, and a man who seemed straight out of her dreams was lying on the bed just outside. When she was done with the shower, she looked down at her dirty clothes. No.

  But should she go back out into the room completely naked? She knew he liked her, even wanted her. And now that she was cleaned up, she should be even more appealing. But that might be a little too aggressive. She hoped he would take her in his arms, but he might not. He said he was supposed to marry soon. Maybe having pledged himself to another woman, he wouldn’t act on his urges toward her.

  “Are you all right in there?” he asked loudly through the door.

  She wrapped the thin towel around herself and opened the door, the cool air rushing over her. Vander was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching an old re-run of the A-Team. Something exploded under the wheel of a blue pickup truck, making it roll to one side before splashing into a nearby lake.

  “This box is incredible,” he said, turning to look at her. When he saw her, he coughed, dropping his eyes to the ground. “Pardon. I did not know you were not clothed.”

  “No pardoning necessary,” she said, trying to sound as flirty as possible. But her head swam a little from the heat of the shower, and she felt the exhaustion creeping up on her again. “Mind if I lie down?”