“What? No! She probably killed it with her magic!”
“We would have heard or seen it if someone killed something that size with magic.”
“Well, then that monster is still out there! It will kill us!”
“Would you rather die of thirst from the drought?”
“Yes! It takes longer! Besides, maybe it isn't the dragon causing the drought. Maybe it's the witch.”
“Then feeding the witch to the dragon will solve both problems, won't it?”
“You're on your own, Drudder. Me and . . .--hey, wait for me!” called Mirren after the others, who had already set off quickly back to town.
Drudder looked to the bound girl, then to the town, and finally toward Teller's Pit. With a grit of his teeth, he stooped, clutched the girl under an arm, and set off toward the pit. As he walked, he ranted.
“It is the dragon causing the drought. People will die if it doesn't rain. So we send you to appease the dragon, and you run? Do you want the drought to continue? Not me. No, this is the right thing to do. This is . . . this is for the greater good!” he muttered almost maniacally. “That's why I'm doing it. It has to be done.”
It was the act of a man desperate to convince himself. His pace was brisk, practically a run, despite having to carry Jade. It had to be. He was feeding a little girl to a wild beast. It was a horrific act, even with the purest of intentions, and his were anything but pure. Drudder was in a race against his own conscience.
The edge of Teller’s Pit came into view. He stepped up to the rocky lip, girl over his shoulder. He gathered what little will he had left and took her into his arms. All he had to do was throw her down, and all of his problems would be over. He would inherit the land once and for all. He would not be suspected. The drought would end. It was all so simple, clean cut. It would all be over. He extended his arms. All he had to do was to let go . . .
The ground shook, a shadow slipping over Drudder. He turned. There were legs, scales, and shadows. He looked up . . . and up . . . and up . . .
The dragon’s head hung directly above his own. Quite without his permission, his arms lowered the girl. She fell to his feet.
“She . . . she’s yours! Take her!” He shuddered.
The dragon, eyes locked and teeth bared, circled to the side. Drudder bolted, a panicked run taking him madly back toward the town. The beast unleashed a bloodcurdling roar and followed. The footsteps retreated into the distance and, for a moment, Jade was alone. She struggled desperately, but the ropes around her hands and feet were far too tight and far too strong. The best she could manage was to dislodge the gag from her mouth and wail for help. She screamed as loud as she could, and for as long as she could, until a sound between cries rendered her silent. The footsteps were returning.
Jade shut her eyes tight and tried to stay silent as the monster stalked closer, hoping perhaps it would not notice her. Despite the warmth of the sun, she could not stop trembling. The dragon's terrible claws clicked against the stone of the pit's edge. The monster did not run, it did not pounce. It almost seemed cautious in its approach, turning what Jade had feared would be a sudden painful end into a torturous wait. Finally, the dragon stopped. Though she did not dare open her eyes, the little girl could feel it towering over her.
For a moment, the only sounds were the vast, hissing breaths of the monster and her own terrified whimpers. Then came the rumble, a sound felt as much as heard. It was a growl, deep and grating, more like pounding hammers or distant war drums than a sound a creature could make. Steadily, it grew stronger, until it shook the ground and rattled Jade's bones.
There was a sudden, forceful nudge at her arm that flipped her onto her stomach. For an instant, she felt the dragon's steaming breath on the back of her neck. She braced herself for the end. The growl grew louder and sharper in tone as it opened its mouth. Then came a firm tug at the nape of her shirt and she was wrenched into the air.
The terrified girl could stifle her screams no longer. She cried and wailed harder and harder as the beast leaped into the pit and plodded along, its latest morsel dangling from its teeth. Breath from its nostrils hissed in her ears as she swung by her tattered shirt, traveling deeper and deeper into the cave. The journey was a long one, exhaustion and a scoured throat reducing her cries to quiet whimpers long before it reached its end. Time dulled the edge of her fear enough to let her mind wander. Where could it be bringing her? Her thoughts drifted to spring, to mother birds bringing worms to their nests. Nests filled with gaping, hungry mouths . . . She found the strength to scream again.
When even the renewed terror was not enough to convince her to torture her parched throat any longer, she hesitantly opened her eyes. It did no good. The light from the mouth of the cave was long gone. Blackness surrounded her. Still, the dragon walked onward. Its growl had subsided, leaving only the clicking of claw on stone and the huff of hot breath to remind her of that which carried her. In time her aged shirt began to tear. The beast lowered her in the darkness, wrapping her instead with its tail and lifting her to continue the terrible journey.
After what seemed like hours, Jade's red, tear-drenched eyes caught a glimpse of light on the walls around her as she was carried behind the beast. Were they heading back to the mouth of the cave? She twisted her neck and strained to see the approaching glow. It was certainly the sun, but it was not the craggy pit that she'd been carried into. As she was brought nearer, it was certain that the beast had hauled her to a second cave entrance.
The dragon loosened its tail and Jade dropped to the dry, sandy ground outside the cave. She tried to roll over, but the monster's snout nudged the small of her back, forcing her down. Before she could struggle any more, she felt a razor sharp tooth graze her wrist. This was it. The end. Now there was a scrape at her knuckles. Jade prayed that the beast would be swift. The bindings of her wrists pulled painfully tight . . . and then fell loose.
After a moment, the ropes that bound her feet were similarly sheared through. The young girl remained trembling on the ground for a moment. Steadily, the footsteps of the dragon retreated. She climbed to her feet, shaking. It had spared her. More than that, it had freed her.
In times of great danger, the body acts in its own defense long before the mind has had time to prepare orders. She had already run a dozen strides before she had realized she had even moved. When Jade was finally able to overrule her survival instincts, she slid to a stop and fought to catch her breath. Where was she going? She didn't know where she was, though that hardly mattered. She could probably find her way back to the city, but there was no use even trying. If she went back now, they would never believe that she wasn't a witch. No one should be able to survive being a bound offering. Even if they did let her return, Drudder had said that the dragon was causing the drought. If it didn't have her, the horrible thing wouldn't let the rains come and the town would wither away. For the good of her home, and against her every instinct, she began to walk back to the cave.
With each step, the fear smoldering in her stomach burned hotter. The sandy ground with its prickly, parched grass dwindled to rough, cold stone. The monster had dangled her for a long time. The cave must be enormous. How would she even find the beast? Ahead was a wall of blackness. It came sharply and suddenly, as though the light itself was afraid to delve any deeper. Perhaps with good reason. From the darkness came the thundering growl once more.
The dragon emerged from the pitch. It must have been lurking there, just out of sight, as if hiding behind a black curtain. The strength drained from Jade's legs. Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground and let her head sag. The growl grew stronger as the beast plodded the few remaining steps toward her. Its snout was inches from the top of her head. She trembled, but did not run. This was for the others. This was to end the drought. She repeated the words over and over again in her mind in a failing attempt to stem the urge to flee.
The terrible nostrils drew in a long, slow breath, releasing it all at once as a terrible roar
. It was earsplitting, rebounding off of the walls in a chorus of echoes. The gale of scalding hot breath hit her with all of the fury of a raging storm. Her hair rushed back, tears poured down her face, but she held firm.
When she raised her eyes, the beast was barely visible as a gleam of eyes and a vague form beyond the edge of the darkness again. Jade locked the eyes in her gaze. The rumble began again, but it brought with it something more startling than anything that came before it. A voice.
“Leave,” it spoke.
The word folded seamlessly with the growl, so much so that she for a moment doubted she had heard it at all.
“N-no,” she managed, when she finally found her voice.
“Have you no sense?” the beast thundered.
Its voice was different this time. Not smooth, but smoother. There was a power and depth to it that almost made it more terrifying than the roar. It was a voice that sliced to the very core of the mind, deep and commanding.
“You h-have to e-eat me.”
The gleaming eyes narrowed.
“No.”
The growl rumbled behind the word, like a hammer driving a spike home. Jade shut her eyes tight, tears flowing anew. With a heroic effort, she managed to utter words that likely had never been spoken before.
“Please eat me?”
She offered the words up imploringly, pitifully. Nothing about this made sense anymore. She was a sacrifice. It was supposed to be terrifying. It was supposed to be deadly. It was not supposed to be difficult. She shouldn't have to convince the terrible beast to play its role. She was lost and unsure, her mind spinning. In a way, it was far worse than the fear, which had at least been certain.
“Why would you beg for death?” grumbled the dragon, the merest hint of frustration in its voice.
“They sent me to . . . to 'pease you,” she said uncertainly.
After a few silent moments, the dragon replied.
“They sent you to appease me?” offered the beast.
Jade nodded vigorously and sniffled, grateful that she appeared to be making progress.
“Then go to your people and tell them that I am appeased,” the dragon instructed.
The words took a moment to penetrate the layers of fear and confusion, but when they did, they came with a glimmer of hope that fairly gleamed from Jade's eyes.
“R-really?” she asked, heart leaping.
“Yes,” the creature replied.
“So you'll stop the drought?”
The silence lasted longer this time. Slowly, the dragon slid from the darkness. Jade clung desperately to the thread of hope. For the first time, she was looking upon the creature with at least a tiny fraction of her wits about her. Its face, fearsome though it was, had another quality to it. Though it was subtle and difficult to identify, there was a glimmer of emotion in its features. It was in the twist of its mouth, the flare of its nostrils, and, more than anything else, in its eyes. There was weariness, frustration and, perhaps, a hint of . . . regret?
“No.”
“But, but that's why I had to a-ppease you. They said that the drought wouldn't end until you were a-ppeased. You have to end it! People are starving! Animals are dying of thirst!” she urged desperately, her last slim chance slipping away.
“Go,” the creature ordered, turning and slipping back into the shadows.
“I can't go back! They think I know magic, and if I come back now, they'll never believe I don't, and they'll kill me, and even if they don't, without water the crops won't grow and, and--”
The words came in a torrent. More followed, but they were nothing but a mangle of bawling sobs. Mind clouded by desperation and eyes clouded by tears, she charged into the darkness. She didn't know what she was hoping to achieve with the act. All she knew was that her life, which by rights should have ended by now, was hopelessly out of control, and somewhere in the darkness was a beast that had to answer for it.
Her bare feet pounded against the cool floor for a few steps until, without warning, the floor was no longer there to meet her. Jade tumbled forward onto what turned out to be a sudden, steep slope. She crashed and flailed painfully along the incline until it turned sharply to level ground once more. The young girl's head struck the floor with the full force of the fall.
Red and white sparks filled her vision. She slipped to the very edge of consciousness. There was pain, but it was far away. Though she could not see, she felt that the whole of the cave was spinning wildly. The world faded in and out around her, as though everything was happening on the other side of thick curtains. Was she moving? Was something echoing? She had neither the wits to know nor the will to find out.
Chapter 3
When the daze came to an end, it did so slowly. She became aware of a flickering yellow light and a faint crackling noise. A fire? The ground beneath her was not cold and hard. It wasn't ground at all. It felt almost like . . . cloth? When she tried to turn her head to see, the world seemed to whip around her so violently she held onto the mysterious bedding for fear of being thrown free.
When the bout of dizziness died down, she opened her eyes. What slowly came into focus was a pair of massive, amber-gold eyes. Now the emotion was clear, even to Jade's impaired mind. This creature was concerned.
The dragon was standing over her, not so much staring into her eyes as analyzing them.
“Speak,” the beast demanded.
“Where am I?” Jade asked muzzily.
The dragon stalked quickly away, anger replacing the worry in its voice and features.
“What sort of a fool are you, charging into a dark cave. You could have been killed,” grumbled the beast, as it set about a task beyond the range upon which Jade's eyes were currently willing to focus.
She eased herself up and tried to look about again, this time slowly. Her head felt two sizes too big, every motion threatening to topple her over. The dim light was coming from a weak fire in the corner of what looked to be a high-roofed chamber within the cave. From the darkness came the dragon, still muttering, with something clutched between its teeth.
“Where am I?” she asked again, trying to stand.
Almost immediately, she lost her balance. The dragon's tail snaked around her before she could hit the ground. It placed her back upon the pile of rags that had served as a bed.
“Sit!” the beast ordered through clenched teeth.
It lowered the bucket it was carrying before her.
“Drink.”
Jade looked down. It was a large wooden bucket with a tin dipper. Her eyes widened. It was filled with water. She began to drink almost frantically. The precious liquid ran down her face and soaked her shirt as she desperately scooped it up. Her parched throat and cracked lips fairly sang with relief. The water had an inky and stagnant taste, but she didn't care. Jade drank until her stomach felt like it would burst, and when she couldn't swallow another drop she ladled the water over her head to feel the coolness trickle down her back.
When the bucket was empty, Jade paused for a moment. The combined effects of the blow to the head and the profound sense of relief from finally quenching her thirst was a potent one. For a time she simply sat, feeling the life return to her dehydrated body.
Gradually the facts of the current predicament began to trickle into her mind. Her vision had cleared enough to take in the sparse contents of the cavern. Here and there were scatterings of items. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to them. Some piles seemed to be clothes and bags. Others were pots and pans. All seemed to be originally from chests, which were now splayed open and splintered. It made the cave look more like a field left behind by a traveling market than the home of a monster. Near the center was a handful of gold trinkets and coins mounded carefully. It was all very curious, and Jade's young and addled mind struggled to cope, but all she had learned thus far was that was little more demanding of one's attention than the presence of a dragon.
The beast was sitting beside the tiny pile of valuables, tail curled in fro
nt of it in a vaguely protective manner. Its eyes were locked on Jade. The stare was almost painfully intense, and unshakable. It made her feel small and helpless, like a cornered rabbit cowering from a wolf. Almost worse was the silence. Something as massive and deadly as a dragon ought to make a noise, even when standing still. Clearing a throat that was not dry for the first time in weeks, she spoke.
“Th-thank you for the water,” she managed.
“You needed water,” the dragon rumbled, as though somehow that was all that needed to be said.
“My people need water, too.”
“Then they should get it.”
“If . . . If you would bring back the rain . . .”
The cavern echoed with a deep growl.
“I'll do whatever you want me to. You said you were a-ppeased, but you aren't bringing back the rain, so you must not be.”
The thumping growl continued to rumble.
“What would it take to a-ppease you?”
“Do you even know what that word means?”
“I . . . Uh . . . At first I thought it meant 'get eaten by' . . .”
“It means they want you to give me what I want so I won't be angry anymore.”
“So . . . it does mean 'get eaten by'?”
“Why would I want to eat a little girl?”
“I don't know! You're a dragon! It's what dragons do! They come to towns and scare everybody, an' they capture maidens an' fight knights an', an' . . . an' cause droughts!” she raved, climbing to her feet again.
The voice of self-preservation within Jade gently suggested that screaming at a dragon was not a wise thing to do. Unfortunately, it was lost in the tangle of her mind. She was tired, she was hungry, her head was throbbing, and she was being asked questions she didn't know how to answer. The little girl was at the very end of her wits, and the dragon was the only one she could vent to, so it was going to get an earful.
“Why are you doing this? What did we ever do to you? It is bad enough that you take away the rain and keep it all for yourself,” she cried, kicking the bucket away, “but then when we try to give you what you want, you won't take it! You roar and growl at me, then when I fall and get hurt, you bring me here and give me a drink!? Why? What is wrong with you!? What do you want!?”
The Book of Deacon Anthology Page 133
