Hatchling

by Toasha Jiordano

  “Ye’ll have him come back, will ye?” Mr. MacLauren whispered, making prolonged eye contact with all three of them. He noticed Rowan cowering in the corner and frowned. “Aye, I’m terrible sorry, wee thing. I had no choice.”

  Rowan, for all her recent timidness, lit into her grandfather the moment she saw him. Running full speed, she threw herself at the cell wall, straining to reach any part of him. The sounds coming from her reminded Jimmy of a wild animal. “I begged you not to do this!” She spat the words at the old man and he stood there, taking all of it.

  “I had no choice, my sweet lass. Ye ken that, well.” His voice was low, almost pitiful.

  Jimmy pushed the sentiment from his mind. No, this traitor only deserved vengeance and whatever fate Adriel had in store for him when he lost his usefulness.

  “We could have run! Disappeared. Anything but this!” Rowan yanked on the bars that separated them, then pointed to Ash in the corner in chains. “Anything but that.” Her voice broke off.

  Jimmy forced himself not to feel sorry for Rowan either, no matter how much pain he felt coming off her. Instead, he and Isaac continued working the lock while Rowan had Mr. MacLauren occupied.

  Isaac found a thin piece of wood sticking out of the side wall, coming through a crack in the mountain. It bent the moment he shoved it in the keyhole, too waterlogged from being in the path of the steady trickling streams.

  Then, his senses coming to him, Jimmy felt in his pocket for the dragon skeleton key. He motioned for Isaac to stand guard, and the two switched places.

  Rowan and her grandfather still argued. “That monster took everything from me!” she yelled.

  “Och, but not from me. There was still you to lose. My most precious jewel of all,” came his reply.

  Isaac hovered over Jimmy’s back, ready to warn him if the situation changed.

  The jewel comment made Jimmy stop, hands hovering over the lock. His mind flashed back to the vision of Adriel in the throne room. Of Ash, cold bloodedly killing that poor man.

  “What?” Isaac whispered.

  “Nothing.” Jimmy shook his head and continued working.

  Rowan slapped the bars of the cage in anger. “Look what it’s cost everyone. It’s not worth it! I’m not worth it!”

  The vibration almost made Jimmy drop the key. He steadied his hands and looped a finger through the dragon skeleton. Twisting and stretching, he finally got the key into the lock and turned.

  And turned and turned. The key spun in the hole, catching on nothing. Jimmy squeezed the key as hard as he could. He wanted to throw it across the dungeon, but screamed in anger instead.

  “Oh, ye shouldna hae done that,” Mr. MacLauren backed away from the cell, his face tight with fear.

  Ash stirred in the corner, the first signs of life since Jimmy had seen him down here.

  Jimmy screamed again. He banged on the cell bars with the key. Isaac and Rowan began slapping and kicking the cell, too. Rowan had come up beside Jimmy, both too caught up in trying to wake Ash to notice or care.

  “Come on, boy. Come on. Good boy. Wake up.” They all called in unison.

  Jimmy reached for Ash again through their magic bond and this time found a tiny sliver of him far away.

  Then a heavy black magic slammed down on the bond, sending a shockwave of pain through Jimmy’s mind. He stumbled back and grabbed his head.

  Mr. MacLauren backed further away. “Stop! Are ye mad? Stop!”

  Jimmy stepped up to the cell door and yelled down his bond for Ash.

  There was more movement, more response. Ash struggled to stand but the glowing black chain around his neck dragged him to the floor again.

  A raging cry shuddered through the castle.

  Mr. MacLauren fled as tiny fragments of mountain rocks fell around them.

  “Jimmy.” Isaac tugged at his shirt. Jimmy flinched away. “Jimmy,” he said more urgently.

  “What?” Jimmy tore his eyes and concentration from Ash long enough to see a faint glow radiating from Isaac’s pocket.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Isaac pulled the rune from his pocket. It glowed dark yellow and hummed like a swarm of bees. He tossed it to Jimmy as if it was on fire.

  It was warm in Jimmy’s hand, and growing hotter. The buzzing began to take shape in Jimmy’s head. Thousands of voices trying to break free, to get through the chatter.

  Another voice, one Jimmy recognized as his own, joined them.

  The rune vibrated.

  From behind him, Jimmy heard a clatter and the sound of something scraping across the floor. Before he knew it, Ridire-solas glowed in his other hand.

  Ash started whimpering again, struggling to rise against the pull of his chains.

  The two yellow beacons radiating from Ridire-solas and the rune joined over Jimmy’s head.

  His voice rose above the hum of all the others, saying words he didn’t understand.

  Jimmy looked to Rowan and Isaac for help, but they had none to give. Whatever was happening was his burden to bear.

  From far above, one piercing roar drowned out Jimmy’s cryptic chanting and that of all the others in his head.

  The light crackled and churned over Jimmy’s head, growing larger by the second.

  Jimmy tried to stop himself from speaking the foreign words, which felt like an ancient prayer, but he had no control over it. The words flowed through him of their own volition.

  Another cry, this one human, echoed through the dungeon. A man pled for his life.

  The sound of metal dragging across a floor, then a great wrenching noise, then an agonized scream.

  The voices in Jimmy’s head came together, all repeating one phrase.

  Ash stood, hunched over by the chain around his neck, and ripped one of his arms from the wall. He clawed at the neck shackle with his free hand. The heavy iron chain dangled at his side.

  The entire mountain quaked and larger rocks fell from the ceiling.

  The beast was coming.

  Jimmy wanted to drop the rune, to stop the voices, to stop his voice. But it had him. And it wanted more.

  Ash opened his mouth and let out a loud, deep roar.

  Jimmy managed to turn himself toward Ash, to see the desperation in his eyes. He fought against the rune’s hold on him, against the voices. One single thought went out toward Ash.

  Help.

  That one moment of broke concentration was all the rune needed. Jimmy’s whole body went rigid.

  The ceiling began to crack and rock back and forth, threatening to fall on their heads.

  Ash clawed at his neck, gouging out his beautiful yellow scales without a care. He cried out again and the answer came from right outside the door.

  Through clenched teeth, Jimmy heard himself echo the voices in the rune and in his head.

  “When Men of Bones triumph, the Serpent Queen shall fall.”

  All of a sudden, Jimmy opened his eyes. Or the dark veil lifted from them. The sound of metal on metal and metal on flesh rose up all around him. A fierce battle raged on the other side of the wall.

  “What did you do?” Rowan knocked the rune from Jimmy’s hand. Its energy spent, the medallion laid cool against his palm as he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

  “I don’t know…”

  “We need to get out of here!” Isaac yelled over the clamor.

  The chains around Ash’s neck and legs glowed darker. As he struggled to break free, the movement illuminated a line of shaky text scrawled across the wall above his head. “Don’t lose your head,” it said, in blood.

  “Well, that’s just great,” Isaac muttered. He frantically beat at the lock with whatever he had handy and Rowan joined in.

  “Come on.” Jimmy reached through the bars as far as he could and urged Ash to fight against his restraints. He let out a similar plea through their magic bond.

  From just outside their room came another great wail of fury. A blast of green light and heat flicked through the hall. Some of
it snuck around the corner and nipped at the black torches along the walls. They were no match for the fire’s intensity. They blinked out, one by one, until the room brightened to an early dusk.

  To their right, standing in what used to be shadow, was Adriel. His long shadow cloak swayed, casting shadows around the room. He wrestled with a long wooden staff. At the tip, was an iridescent pearl. Smoke and lightning seethed inside it. Jimmy thought of the Fortune Teller’s crystal ball. Was this her intent all along? To get him captured by this monster so he could turn Ash into some kind of weapon?

  Adriel waved a hand at the intruding light around him. His shadow expanded outward, nearly covering him again. He stalked toward Ash with the staff, looking over his shoulder at the doorway.

  “Stop!” Jimmy screamed. Again he silently begged Ash to hurry.

  But Ash had nothing left. He slumped over in exhaustion.

  Please. Please. Please. Jimmy repeated down their bond as he slid down the cell wall with Ash. Please.

  The battle outside grew louder, closer. Men howled in pain. Bones crunched. Boots stomped. It sounded like a war raged right on top of Jimmy.

  Still, he only cared about Ash.

  Maybe the Fortune Teller got it right after all. This was his destiny, not to get captured, but to help Ash overcome whatever fate Adriel had in store for him.

  Please, hurry. It was all Jimmy could think, all he could get across to Ash, before their bond slammed shut again.

  Black lightning struck from Adriel’s staff and licked at Ash’s skin. Ash cried out, but was powerless to fight back.

  Outside, the sounds of soldiers in battle were replaced with a sickening roar, much like the one they’d been hearing above.

  Everything stopped, including Adriel, and the beast making its way down the corridor to their cell.

  In answer to the roar, a loud hiss echoed through the dungeon.

  At the sound of it, Isaac and Rowan dropped their tools and hugged each other. They shrank to the floor with Jimmy.

  Adriel was the first to move again, raising the staff toward Ash.

  Jimmy’s silent begging turned to apologies. He had failed.

  The narrow corridor lit up green again and the mountain quaked one last time.

  When the dust settled, a giant beast stood snarling in the entrance.

  She filled the entire cavernous doorway. Somehow, Jimmy could tell she was female. Not only because he fully expected to find Ash’s mother on this mountain, but because she looked… elegant. It was the only word that came to mind.

  She had the same two backward facing horns as Ash, though hers stretched out much longer. They also curved slightly, and had ridges winding around them like unicorn horns. She was a deep green where Ash’s scales had a lighter yellow hue at the tips. They both grew to near black underneath.

  And her eyes. If nothing else proved to Jimmy that he had found Ash’s mom, her soulful yellow eyes told him all she had gone through to get here.

  Ash stirred at her presence. He tried to lift his head, but couldn’t.

  Adriel backed away, slinking into the shadows his magic had created for him. The branding staff crackled. Lightning still erupted from the pearl, not wanting to leave Ash.

  The dragon turned her vengeful gaze toward her master.

  “Lhysa, stop.” Adriel forced as much authority into his voice as he could.

  Ash’s mother stepped into the open area and stretched her wings. They reached high to the crumbling ceiling. Talons on each tip scraped the mountaintop as she stalked toward her prey.

  “I command you!” Adriel pointed the staff toward the dragon, more as a shield than weapon.

  The circular tattoo on her shoulder pulsed, alternating green and black, then some color in between.

  The dragon faltered, dropping her head and trembling.

  Jimmy watched Ash’s whole body sag with her. “Please, Ash. Please get away. Please.” Jimmy felt tears streaming down his face as Ash didn’t move.

  “Lhysa, come.” Adriel raised the staff. He began chanting, a strange mix of English and Gaelic, and… something else.

  Lightning flew across the room and struck the dragon in the chest. Circles appeared all over her body, some small and some growing as Jimmy stared, unable to move.

  The lightning pulled Lhysa, her nails digging into the rock floor.

  Jimmy turned to Ash and pulled Ridire-solas from his shorts. Not knowing what he was doing, he pointed the sword at Ash’s collar and said whatever came to mind. “I call upon the Men of Bones to vanquish mine enemy and guide us home!”

  Nothing happened.

  “How did you do it last time?” Rowan asked. She and Isaac now stood around Jimmy, watching the sword for some kind of reaction.

  Outside, the sounds of two great beasts tearing at each other’s flesh. Inside, more darkness as Adriel’s magic engulfed everything.

  “I didn’t do it before. It just… happened. On its own.” Jimmy shook the sword as if that would trigger some sort of on switch.

  Ash whimpered again and Jimmy felt immense pain through their bond.

  The last drop of fear left Jimmy’s body. Fury blazed inside him. Ridire-solas blared to life, a blinding yellow beam in the near pitch of the dungeon.

  Everything happened at once.

  Ash fell over, unable to fight any longer.

  Adriel turned his attention to Jimmy, to the light.

  And so did the dragon.

  Lhysa roared and bucked against the dark magic dragging her across the floor. With a shudder, her tattoos began to blink out, one by one. The black light from Adriel’s staff evaporated.

  Lhysa charged.

  At Jimmy.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  Jimmy stared down the mouth of the dragon. By the light of Ridire-solas, he saw a small opening in the back of her throat, behind her tongue. Green smoke whipped in and out of it as she reared back her head.

  Jimmy stole one last look at Ash before Isaac pulled him away from the cell door.

  The room lit up with dark green flames, the sound of a freight train barreling toward them, and the smell of burning metal. Jimmy braced himself for the pain and welcomed the death that would follow. But neither came.

  When Jimmy dared open his eyes, a glowing yellow forcefield surrounded them. He looked down at Ridire-solas shining bright in his hand.

  Lhysa yelped in pain, her fire burning out.

  Adriel swung the staff, striking Lhysa in the back. “You insufferable cow! I need him alive!”

  Lhysa grabbed Adriel with her tail, coiling it around him like a snake, and lifted him into the air. The staff fell to the ground.

  With a violent shake, she slung Adriel across the room. Jimmy heard a crack and a thud as he hit the unforgiving rock wall. This sent more rocks tumbling to the ground, which was now littered with them.

  A moment passed, then a few. Adriel did not move.

  Just as Lhysa turned her attention back to Jimmy, fire glinting in her eyes, Ash made a sound.

  Lhysa and Jimmy both made similar moans in response. Lhysa forgot Jimmy and went to her baby. She clawed at the restraints, but they still held the same magic that bound her to Adriel. The tattoos on her body began to glow again. She dropped the chain.

  “Look,” Isaac said.

  The cell door hung open, melted away. A hole, big enough to squeeze through, had been blown into it.

  Jimmy shoved the sword down the side of his shorts and rushed out the door. He knelt by Ash’s side.

  Another large chunk of ceiling broke away and landed right where Jimmy had been standing.

  “We have to hurry!” Rowan and Isaac ran to help Jimmy free Ash.

  The iron collar around Ash’s neck was heavier even than it looked. Jimmy could hardly lift it. No wonder Ash was so weak.

  “It’s alright, boy. We’re gonna get you out of here.” Jimmy said the words out loud, and through their bond.

  Ash didn’t stir, but Lhysa did. One yellow eye o
pened. She watched them struggle with the chains, but didn’t move to stop them, or help.

  Jimmy’s fingers worked the collar, feeling for a weak spot.

  Every few seconds, another rock fell from the sky. Another roar or eerie hiss sounded from outside the crumbling walls.

  Then, Jimmy’s finger caught the edge of something, a hole in the iron.

  A keyhole!

  He quickly found the dragon skeleton key in his pocket and turned it in the lock. He heard, and felt, a magnificent click. The collar fell away. As it did so, the dark glow faltered and disappeared. The shackles on his wrists and ankles unlocked and dropped to the floor.

  Ash rose to his front paws and shook his head. Jimmy threw his arms around Ash’s neck. Their bond snapped back, strong and warm.

  Lhysa also rose, only much slower than Ash. Darkness still lingered in her tattoos.

  Before Ash could go to her, a bolt of black lightning struck her in the back.

  Behind her, Adriel hovered in mid-air, dark clouds at his feet. “Come,” was all he said. His voice bellowed.

  Lhysa began to move toward him, defeated. The smoke clouds nipped at her tattoos, filling them back up with his power.

  The mountain jerked hard to the left, knocking everyone to their knees. Jimmy heard the staff fall and roll away.

  Lhysa growled deep in her chest. Jimmy smelled sulfur.

  “We have to get out of here!” Isaac grabbed Jimmy’s arm to pull him up.

  Everything around them shook and lurched from side to side.

  Lhysa lashed out at Adriel, slamming him across his legs with a massive wing. He flew up into the air like a rag doll. She caught him in one claw on the way down and began to squeeze.

  The ground gave way and Jimmy fell.

  Jimmy landed hard on the floor below. Seconds later, Isaac and Rowan landed nearby, both letting out all the air in their lungs as they hit. Ash fell too, a little more gracefully, considering he had wings.

  Above them, Lhysa’s roar brought a shower of rock down upon herself and Adriel. Some of the rocks came down around Jimmy and he had to roll onto his side to dodge them.