by Logan Byrne
“We haven’t received any word from Telerius or the others. It was probably just a terror within you,” Aidan said.
“Tyvin, could it be something?” I asked.
“There have been times throughout our history where certain fae have been aligned with the spiritual plane in a way that allows them to foresee events before they take place, but no fae has had that ability in well over a thousand years. I would say you’re just stressed, especially after the werewolf attack and having to complete your feats,” Tyvin said.
“Yeah, that must be it,” I agreed, shaking my head. “It’s just stress.”
•••
The four of us ventured into town later that day as the storm began moving past, but not out of our way just yet. It was heading north, well out of our eastbound trajectory, but we still had unanswered questions about where to go. I knew somebody had to know something.
I’d been out of the kingdom a few times before, but there was still something strange about being amongst those who looked like humans but weren’t fae. We were completely out of place, both by look and by clothes. Even when I went to the mortals’ realm I never had to deal with anything like this.
As we entered a shop near our inn with a sign that said “magical antiquities” on the window, a little bell tinkled above us. There were no other patrons inside, though a short cheery man smiled at us from behind a glass counter. “Good day,” he said.
“Hello, good morning, I was hoping we might trouble you for some information,” I said.
“You four are the fae that stopped the dragon last night. Talk of the town, you are,” he said.
“Can you tell us anything about it?” I asked.
“I might have some information, but it is never free,” he replied, twirling the ends of his handlebar mustache.
I stuck my hand in my sack, pulling out a few coins that I thought would tickle his fancy. “It’s fae money, but I hope it’s still good,” I said.
“Money is money, I do not discriminate based on its origin,” the man said. “The dragon’s lair lays east, towards the mountains. A scout has seen his den, a hellish place littered with the bones of the deceased whom he has killed.”
“What kind of bones?” I asked.
“All kinds, the dragon doesn’t care. The scout claimed there was heat there, as if the ground had opened up and swallowed the cold whole,” he said.
“Is this a map of this area?” Tyvin asked, as he looked at something on a shelf.
“Why yes it is, young man,” the shopkeeper said.
“Here, it’s a volcano,” Tyvin said.
“Sure is,” Adam replied, walking up and looking for himself.
“I always wondered what that was supposed to be. It’s never erupted,” the shopkeeper said.
“It might be dormant, but that would explain why the dragon chose it. The heat from the magma is likely what attracted him,” Tyvin said.
“So we’re going to fight him there? We have to dodge fire breath and the volcano?” Aidan asked.
“We can’t risk the citizens here. They need to know the dragon will be slayed and not at the risk of their homes and businesses,” I said.
“Listen to the woman, it’s a good plan,” the man said.
“Do you sell anything that could help us?” Aidan asked, looking at the shopkeeper.
“Hm, let me see here,” he said, walking out from behind his counter. The old man perused his wares, looking everything up and down, humming at some while shaking his head at others.
We watched him as he walked with his hands behind his back, until he stopped at something on a shelf near the corner of the room. “I came into possession of this a few years ago from a wizard in Aronia.”
He walked towards us with a small bottle in his hands and handed it to me. Inside was a slightly pearly translucent liquid that sloshed around, an old cork sealing the opening.
“What is it?” I asked.
“From what I understand, a great potions master invented it around the year 1237. It will make anybody who drinks it invisible, but only for a short time. I believe there’s enough there for all four of you,” he said.
“Invisible? That’s possible?” Adam asked.
“Son, your kind command the elements and live for hundreds of years. I think anything is truly possible,” he said, scuttling behind his counter once again.
“We could drink it right before entering his lair. Maybe we would have the upper hand and could slay the dragon before we’re even seen,” Aidan said.
“That ember is calling our name,” Adam said.
“Ah, a dragon ember, what a marvelous goal. A lofty one, but marvelous. I’ve traded a few in my day,” the man said.
“Are they hard to procure?” Tyvin asked.
“For me, yes. For you, definitely yes. A dragon’s ember lies deep within its core, glowing vibrantly and giving the dragon the very essence of life. You should be in awe of its power if you get to see it,” the man said.
“Oh, we’ll get to it, don’t you worry,” Aidan said.
“My advice to you all would be to stay hidden and don’t let the dragon see you. If he locks onto you, you can bet you’ll be a burnt piece of something or other,” he said.
“How much do we owe you for the potion?” I asked.
“It’s on the house. For saving my shop last night, and for stopping the dragon. Consider it payment for taking care of business,” he said.
“Thank you for your help, sir. We greatly appreciate your assistance,” Tyvin said, bowing a little.
“Take care,” the man said, as we walked out of his shop and the little bell rang overhead once again.
“The sky is clearing,” Adam said, looking upwards. The storm had mostly passed, and sunlight beamed through the remaining clouds and glistened against the puddles and droplets coating the town.
“Does that mean we leave today?” I asked.
“I think it does. Let’s go slay a dragon,” Aidan said.
•••
The guys had disposed of the innkeeper’s body last night, rolling her up in the rug and putting her in the back room of the inn. We wrote a note on the counter on our way out, letting whomever came through know that she was a werewolf and was quickly dispatched. I wanted to stop and tell Clifford he was right about her, but we didn’t run into him and we didn’t have time to stop at the pub and be roped into talking again.
There was one dirt road that went out of the town and headed east. It looked ominous, the bumps and divots in the road foreshadowing the trial awaiting us and reflecting those we’d already been going through.
After walking for a mile, I looked back, the town just barely in sight, as we entered a forest filled with evergreens and marvelous flora that tantalized the senses.
“I’m surprised so much is living here like this,” I said, smiling, as I smelled the beautiful wildflowers growing nearby.
“It’s the volcanic soil. It’s rich in minerals and nutrients that allow the flora to flourish,” Tyvin said.
“I can feel it, the energy and the power,” Adam said, holding his hand against the ground.
“Feel a volcano?” Tyvin asked.
“I can feel something brewing miles away, but it’s faint. I’ll feel more as we get closer,” Adam said.
I heard soft chatter before looking up to see pixies flying about. They didn’t seem bothered by us, not even looking down at us walking through their forest, as they carried flowers and seeds to contribute to the flourishing of the forest.
“It’s remarkable, seeing other magical beings the way we have on this trip,” Tyvin said.
“It makes you wonder what more is out there,” I said.
“A lot of things you don’t want to know about,” Aidan said.
“What about mortals?” Adam asked.
“Haven’t you met one?” Tyvin asked.
“No, can’t say that I have, or maybe I have and I just didn’t know they were one. Either way, the opportu
nity doesn’t present itself to me often,” Adam said.
“They’re nice, most of them, anyway. They aren’t too different from fae, you know,” I said.
“I was lucky enough to spend a week with some of them a couple of years ago for my training. They were both peaceful and bloodthirsty, if you can believe it,” Tyvin said.
“We should visit a city sometime. A mortal one, that is,” I said.
“I’m guessing we’d have to leave our weapons at home,” Aidan said.
“They aren’t too big on people walking around with swords in public, so yeah, you’re right,” Tyvin said, laughing.
I heard a rustling in a bush just ahead of us. We all grabbed the hilts of our weapons and prepared ourselves for attack. A moment later a kitsune scampered out of the bush, a young kit, followed by its mother. I let go of my hilt, taking my sack off my shoulders and pulling out a little bit of jerky that I had on me.
“Here, take it,” I said, kneeling down as I extended my hand. The mother looked a bit nervous as she cautiously walked towards me, switching between eyeing the meat and eyeing me.
She grabbed the meat, running back to her kit, before her tails lit into a dull ember and the two of them fled in the other direction into the cover of the trees and bushes on the forest floor.
“They say it’s lucky to see a kitsune in the wild,” Adam said.
“I’ve heard they were the original creatures to wield fire, even before the dragons,” Aidan said.
“Beautiful creatures,” Tyvin said.
I smiled, dusting off my hands, and we headed on. Hopefully the kitsune was bestowing some luck on us.
13
We walked the rest of the day and the next before even coming close to the volcano. The terrain was harder to traverse than we’d thought; the map we’d found didn’t allude to the problems we would face. The map definitely wasn’t topographical in any sense of the word.
We kept a watchful eye on the skies, both during the day and night. We didn’t want to come all this way, only to have the dragon decide it was feasting time and that he wanted to terrorize the village. There was no way we could get back in time to deal with something of that nature. The townspeople would all be dead.
I woke up this morning and felt the dewy mountain air against my face as I crawled out of my tent. The sun was starting to rise. Adam said last night we were practically on top of the volcano, and that he could feel the flowing magma deep below us.
It made me nervous, even though we’d been told the volcano was practically dormant and had never erupted before, at least in recent memory. What if lava came raining down right now, or the fight with the dragon created some kind of tremor and provoked an eruption?
Did the dragon control the volcano? Could him knocking into the walls of the volcano set it off, triggering explosions that would inevitably destroy the village we were trying to save? I didn’t know the answer, but I knew that right now, in this moment, it was peaceful. This would be the last time anything felt peaceful today.
“Morning,” Tyvin said, as he sat cross-legged on a flat rock outside his tent and meditated.
“How are you?” I asked, before he got up and walked over to me.
“Good,” he said, giving me a kiss.
I smiled. It was the first time one of the guys had taken initiative with me. I supposed I could count the night with Aidan, but I felt like I had inspired that, at least in my head.
“Are you feeling ready for the battle?” he asked, rubbing his hands together as his breath formed a cloud in the chill air.
“I’m not sure. I’m ready for the challenge, but it’s a bit harder than what we’ve been through so far,” I said.
“I feel like Telerius and your mother put these feats in order of easiest to hardest. That’s with knowing the tensions between Terrandale and Atlantis,” Tyvin said.
“If slaying a dragon and taking its ember is easier than being friendly to a neighboring people, then I don’t want to know what will happen when we enter their kingdom,” I said, laughing a little, both out of humor and nervousness.
“I hate that we have to kill this beautiful creature. I almost wish he would’ve just kept to himself and not started these attacks. I feel like that’s the only reason we’re going, and that it wouldn’t have been a problem if he’d been more discrete,” Tyvin said.
“You’re a really good person, you know that?” I asked.
“That’s all one can strive to be,” Tyvin said.
“Morning,” Adam said, as he came out of his tent.
“Good morning, sleep well?” I asked.
“The soil here is great for relaxation,” Adam said.
“I know, it was like a heater all night long,” Aidan said, walking towards us.
“We should eat and then get our things ready. I feel as if we’re close, and I don’t want to give the dragon any hints about our arrival,” I said.
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Aidan asked, touching my arm.
“Sure, no problem,” I said, before turning and following him behind his tent.
“I just wanted to make sure we’re still good,” Aidan said.
“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t we be?” I asked.
“It’s just, with the first night in your tent, and then the other night in the inn, it hasn’t always gone that great when we try to progress things. I’m just starting to really like you, and I could see myself bonding with you, so I wanted to make sure I still have a chance,” he said.
I appreciated and liked that Aidan was opening up to me and trusting me with this information, since he’d always seemed like more of a closed-down guy, battle-hardened and tough. I didn’t like, however, that he had no clue what my decision was ultimately going to be.
Had I alluded to it? Yes, I had that night in the inn. Had I been totally forthcoming and open about what I wanted? Not quite. I would understand if any or all of the guys didn’t want to be my mates, but I wasn’t giving them the chance to start forming their own decisions yet. I was holding back, but I didn’t think telling them right before a huge fight was the best option.
“You’re doing great, I promise. Nothing between us has been ruined, and I’ve loved spending time with you and getting to know you on all levels,” I said, smiling.
He leaned in, gently kissing me on the lips, like a slow burn, before pulling away. “Let’s go get us a dragon.”
•••
With my armor on and weapons sheathed and ready for combat, we began our ascent to the dragon’s den.
Adam told us he could feel a cavern of sorts a few hundred feet up the side of the mountain, which coincidentally was also the volcano, a piece of information that didn’t help anybody’s stomach.
“How early are we using the potion?” Aidan asked, as we walked what felt almost vertically up the side of the mountain.
“Right before we go in the entrance to the cavern. I don’t want to use it too early and have it wear off right before we make a move,” I said.
“Does anybody else smell that?” Tyvin asked.
“It’s death,” Aidan said, with conviction.
The smell of rotting flesh filled the air, as if we’d just walked into a morgue with no fresh air. I wanted to gag a little as we started to see a littering of bones scattered far apart from one another on the side of the trail.
“I wonder if the dragon dropped these bits,” Adam said.
“I can’t imagine he’s that liberal with his food supply,” I said.
“You never know, he might not realize he’s dropping legs and arms as he’s flying to his front door,” Aidan said.
“I have a feeling we’re getting close,” Tyvin said.
He was right.
We breached the top of the hill, standing about eight feet above a landing that looked like something out of a movie. Human remains, the flesh of a townsperson being eaten by maggots, greeted us right away. Bones were scattered everywhere, some shattered, others completely charre
d.
There were large footprints in the shallow rocky gravel, definitely from the dragon. “Adam,” I whispered. “Anything?”
He bent down to one knee, closing his eyes, before putting both hands against the wall. “He’s in there. Heart rate is down, possibly sleeping, I’m not sure.”
“We need to be quiet getting down, and no harsh, sudden movements,” Aidan said, motioning towards the landing below.
We slid down the side, avoiding any scattered human or animal remains, before I reached into my bag and pulled out the potion. I swirled the liquid inside a little. It looked a little like bird spit in this lighting. I grimaced and pulled out the cork.
It popped. I froze, my heart racing a little, as the guys’ eyes shot open wide. There was no sound from inside the cavern, not even the rustling of a tail or foot. He didn’t hear it. I drank my portion, wincing. The liquid tasted like acid mixed with the strongest alcohol I’d ever tasted in my life.
“God,” I whispered to myself, trying not to cough.
As the guys took their portions, I looked down, seeing my body start to drift away, even though I could still see my feet pressing into the stones below. “We’re going to have to hold onto one another, I can’t see you guys,” Tyvin said.
“Didn’t realize that would be a side effect,” I said, looking for them as the final shreds of their bodies disappeared.
We all reached out, grabbing one another into a line. Though we couldn’t see each other’s bodies, we could easily see everything else. “Start walking,” I said, with Adam in front.
He guided us in, carefully navigating as the cavern was plunged in darkness. It was wet, the sounds of water droplets plopping into shallow puddles echoing throughout the cavern as stalactites hung from the ceiling above.
The cavern felt at first like a maze, a puzzle, but it was fashioned in one long tunnel devoid of any choices. I glanced at the wall to my right, seeing scratch marks carved along it from the dragon’s scales as he burrowed his way inside. It was huge in here, but it was still remarkable that something of his size could fit given how huge he looked in the village.
I could feel the warmth of his breath as we grew near. It was like standing next to a fire, yet the warmth only hit me in waves and not constantly. We were getting close, I knew it. We passed a corner, entering a room far larger than even the chambers we’d been walking through.
