Cave of Nightmares

by V. St. Clair

  “What do you mean?” Hayden asked immediately.

  “Well, dragon bites aren’t poisonous all on their own, it takes time for their glands to make and store venom. Your dragon’s ducts look empty, so it probably poisoned the larger dragon while it was inside it.”

  Zane mirrored Hayden’s look of confusion and asked, “Dragons can poison each other? I thought they were immune to their own venom.”

  The healer shrugged. “Well sure, if your dragon wasn’t magical or the other one was…but just because they’re both called dragons doesn’t mean they’re exactly the same. They’re almost different species, and actually don’t have much in common at all other than their shape.”

  “Huh,” Zane looked at Bonk thoughtfully. “I’m not going to lie, Hayden…for a while there I just thought your familiar was being stupid and brave. I had no idea he actually had a plan for saving us.”

  Hayden tried to look offended on Bonk’s behalf, though truth be told he had been thinking the exact same thing. His dragon yawned, turned his head to the side, and went to sleep, still wheezing softly.

  “Well, that’s the most I can do for him right now,” the young woman rose to her feet. “Unless there’s internal damage I can’t see, he should start to perk up in a few days, but he shouldn’t fly for at least a week. Tomorrow, once the medicine has had time to kick in, try laying him in the fire for a while; it’ll speed up his natural healing.”

  Hayden was forcibly reminded of how stupid he had been for trying to use fire against that massive dragon in the field. I probably just cured its sinus infection or something.

  “Thanks for your help,” he shook her hand. “Um…how much do I owe you?”

  The healer gave him a long look and finally said, “Well, if it’s true that you all took care of the beast that’s eaten fifteen people, we’ll call it even.”

  Hayden was secretly relieved, because all of his money was at Mizzenwald right now and he didn’t want to beg his best friend’s parents for a loan until he could get to it. After thanking the young healer profusely for the favor, Zane’s mother insisted on sending a basket of cookies with her before letting the girl leave.

  Hayden helped his friend up off the floor and up the stairs to his bedroom, where they both changed out of their dirty, blood-stained clothes before collapsing on their beds (Hayden’s was a mattress pad that had been brought over from Victoria’s room).

  “Rough day,” Zane summed up the entire experience in two words, staring up at the wooden ceiling slats.

  “Too true.”

  “You know what the Masters would say, if this had been a challenge arena and not real life?”

  Hayden frowned. “No, what’s that?”

  Zane tilted his head to the side and gave him a lopsided grin.

  “Ten points to Bonk.”

  16

  The Heroes of Calypso

  Hayden hadn’t been expecting any fanfare when he woke up the next morning, dutifully transferring Bonk into the Laraby’s fireplace and apologizing for the stifling heat in the middle of summer. They opened all the doors and windows and spent most of the morning outdoors while Bonk rolled around in the cinders with obvious delight.

  Because they were outside, Hayden saw the rider approach at a gallop from the other end of the roadway.

  “What’s old Bil doing on this side of town?” Zane’s father mused out loud, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand and squinting for a better look.

  “I have no idea,” his wife responded. “The post went out just yesterday.”

  They found out soon enough when the rider named Bil pulled up in front of their home and dismounted, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Oh good, you’re all here,” he greeted them collectively. Hayden was surprised to be included in the salutation. “I’m supposed to bring you all to the celebration in the square, now that we finally got that big beast carried off and cut up.”

  This announcement was greeted with eight identical looks of confusion.

  “Sorry…what are we celebrating?” Maybelle asked curiously.

  Bil looked stunned that they didn’t already know. “The slaying of the monster, young miss! These boys are heroes! The mayor’s called for a feast and a presentation ceremony and everything.”

  It was a strange sensation, feeling all the blood drain from his face and extremities at the same time. Hayden was beginning to think it had all pooled in his feet, and he shook off a moment of lightheadedness and nausea.

  “Us? Heroes?” Zane exchanged a skeptical glance with him, and Hayden knew exactly what his friend was thinking. He got grabbed by the dragon and nearly eaten, and I accidentally made it stronger. If not for Bonk, they would certainly be victims sixteen and seventeen of the monstrous dragon right now.

  “Of course, young man! That beast’s been menacing us for months: none of the local mages would go near it without backup out of fear! And you two made short work of it, like it wasn’t nothing at all.”

  Hayden tried to explain that his familiar played a substantial role in their success, but the man wouldn’t hear a word against them, and eventually chivvied them to get “dressed fancy” for the celebration. Since Hayden didn’t plan on becoming a local legend during summer holiday, he hadn’t brought any appropriate formalwear and simply went in his tan pants and short-sleeved blue shirt, though he did comb his hair. Zane did him the favor of dressing casually so he wouldn’t feel out of place, which he appreciated.

  He debated bringing Bonk along with them, but the little dragon had finished rolling around in the fire and was covered in soot, napping amongst the cinders. Hayden decided to let him rest, though he did set out a bit of raw meat and some crackers near the hearth in case his familiar woke up hungry while they were gone.

  He was mortified to see the carriage that had arrived to transport him and Zane to the party while they were inside getting ready. It was hard to push his feelings of inadequacy from his mind as he climbed in and tried to enjoy the experience of his first carriage ride. The only good thing was that the enclosure and curtains gave him a few minutes to talk to Zane alone.

  “You know, I think this is the mayor’s carriage,” Zane marveled, tracing his fingers across the plush velvet seats.

  Hayden groaned. “You don’t think that Bil guy was serious about us being paraded in front of the entire town, do you?”

  Zane lifted an eyebrow at him. “Probably, or why else cart us off to the Festival Square?” He shrugged his shoulders. “Why are you so worried about it?”

  “Uh…have you forgotten whose son I am?” Hayden grimaced. “I’m sure everyone else hasn’t. They’ll love me right up until they ask for my name, then they’ll be throwing stones.”

  Zane winced. “Maybe it won’t be that bad…I mean, my parents are pretty smart about things like that, and they went on ahead with my sisters while we were getting ready. Surely they’ll say something to the mayor before we show up.” He looked more confident than he sounded.

  “And anyway, it feels like cheating,” Hayden continued nervously. “I mean, let’s face it, we didn’t really do much good against that dragon on our own. If not for Bonk we’d both be dead. He’s the one they should be celebrating, and he’s stuck sleeping in your fireplace by himself while we go off to feast.”

  His friend shrugged. “Well, look at it this way: if we weren’t there, Bonk wouldn’t have been there either, and that dragon would still be flying free, killing off cows and townspeople,” he explained pragmatically. “I don’t think the mayor really cares which one of us actually slew it, as long as it’s dead. People like having something to celebrate.”

  Hayden did feel marginally better after hearing Zane’s take on things, but as the carriage rolled to a stop in the Festival Square and Hayden saw how many people were assembled, his palms began to sweat so badly that he had to wipe them repeatedly on his pant legs.

  The area looked like it had been built to serve as an outdoor dance floor in the center of to
wn, though it was currently packed with cheering, clapping hordes of people. At the far end of the Festival Square was a wooden stage big enough for theatre performances, currently empty except for Zane’s family and a portly, balding man in his fifties with a purple velvet sash across his chest.

  Hayden felt claustrophobic as soon as they exited the carriage, a swarm of people clapping him on the back or shaking as hand as they gradually pushed him and Zane towards the stage. He was mortified by how sweaty his hands were, but no one else seemed to notice, and there was no time to apologize to each and every person who touched him so he let it go.

  He focused his eyes on the steep wooden stairs as he climbed them, painfully aware of his body and how stupid his arms must look swinging at his sides right now.

  The first thing I’m asking Master Asher when I get back to Mizzenwald is how to cast a spell for invisibility.

  His legs felt dangerously wobbly as he stared out at the crowd from on high, and even Zane looked faintly green, though he managed a smile. Hayden’s own smile probably came out more like a grimace.

  From this vantage point he could see the entire Festival Square laid out below him, as well as the dozens of men and women at the far end, flitting around tables laden with food in preparation for the feast.

  Well, at least the food smells good.

  He tried to focus on that as the mayor called the crowd to silence and began speaking.

  “Fellow citizens of Calypso, it gives me great pleasure to stand before you on this joyous occasion, to celebrate the slaying of the beast that claimed the lives of fifteen of our friends and family members since its arrival.” He paced the length of the stage as he spoke, and Hayden and Zane stepped backwards to avoid being trampled. “As you know, true heroes are hard to come by—”

  Hayden was surprised to see a mage in the crowd below him, identifiable by the golden pin on his shirt that bore the elixir symbol. The man was eyeing him and Zane appraisingly, frowning at his massive Focus-correctors, and for a moment they locked eyes.

  I wonder if he was one of the ones who wouldn’t go after the dragon because he was afraid of getting eaten.

  Hayden blinked and turned his gaze, refocusing his attention on the mayor’s speech as the portly man stepped to the side and made a sweeping motion with his arm as though to showcase them.

  “So tonight we honor our young heroes, Zane of Calypso and Hayden of Mizzenwald!” The mayor paused for another surge of clapping and cheering. Hayden wondered if he omitted their last names purposefully, and his question was answered when the mayor came to shake his hand and present him with an eight-inch dragon tooth as a keepsake. The look he gave him was frightened, curious, and hopeful all at once.

  He presented Zane with another of the dragon’s teeth and then called for the party to commence.

  “Uh, what are we supposed to do with these teeth?” Hayden asked his friend in a low voice when the mayor turned to speak with his family once more. A group of people with instruments began playing, and the crowd dissembled into dancing, drinking, and feasting.

  “They’re spoils,” Zane explained, the smile still plastered on his face for anyone who looked up at them on stage. “Mages usually keep trophies from the dangerous monsters they kill, so when you want people to hire you, you have something to show that you’re not all talk. It’s bragging rights, basically.”

  Hayden looked down at the sharp tooth he was holding with renewed interest. Someone had obviously taken great care to clean and shine it, and he hooked it through his belt for safekeeping.

  Zane grinned at him. “If you’re still not feeling very festive, maybe this will help: imagine the look on Oliver and Lorn’s faces when we turn up at school with spoils from a twenty-foot long, man-eating dragon.”

  That did brighten Hayden’s mood, and the two of them made their way carefully down the stairs and into the crowd, trying to remain together as people descended upon them to shake their hands and ask for a recount of their supposedly-great battle. Zane did a better job of making it sound impressive, so Hayden let him do most of the talking.

  Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned it was to see the mage he noticed earlier with the elixir pin on his shirt, along with another mage with the crossed wands on his. They were both giving him an appraising look.

  “Twelve years old and you helped slay a fully-grown dragon,” the first greeted him. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given whose son you are, even with such heavy Focus-correction on both wrists.”

  Hayden swallowed and glanced around to make sure no one overheard. Given the level of chatter and music it was fairly unlikely, and most of their nearby admirers were still badgering Zane with questions about their battle.

  “How do you know who I am?” he asked tentatively, hoping he wasn’t about to get an earful about every person they knew who his father had murdered during his reign of terror.

  “You’re the first natural prism Mizzenwald has seen in several years and word gets around quickly.” The man nodded towards Hayden’s belt. “No mage has that many prism-slots on their belt unless they’re a natural, especially at your age. Who else could you possibly be?”

  Hayden glanced down at the six (currently empty) prism slots along his belt. It was true that the only other person he had seen with that many so far was Master Asher, but he’d never given it too much thought until now. Even Oliver’s belt was only made to hold three.

  “Zane and I had help against the dragon. I tried to tell people, but they won’t listen. Bonk—my familiar—is the one who poisoned it in the end.”

  The other mage lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “You’re being hailed as a hero and you’re trying to give away the credit?” He frowned thoughtfully. “That’s definitely not something your father would have done.”

  Hayden scowled. “Well I’m not him.”

  The mage smirked. “No, I am beginning to see that.” He gave Hayden a respectful nod. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Hayden of Mizzenwald.” The man shook his hand and then he and his colleague made their way towards a table loaded down with cooked turkeys.

  “Are you going to make me do all the talking while you hide behind me?” Zane tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

  “Uh, yeah, that was sort of my plan,” Hayden grinned.

  Once he got past the initial shock of the ceremony he began to relax and have a better time. They didn’t have to wait in line for their food, and everyone seemed genuinely pleased to meet him. Of course, most of them had no idea who he was related to, but he wasn’t certain that it would matter much tonight even if they did.

  At least I’m starting to make a name for myself for doing something good.

  A few more lucky accidents like this and he’d be a legend.

  The festival lasted until sunset, and by the time they made it back to Zane’s house Hayden was ready to collapse. He remembered to stop in the living room to check on Bonk, who had eaten the scraps of meat and crackers that were left out for him. His familiar was awake but sprawled out on the floor, and his ears perked up at the sound of Hayden’s footsteps.

  “Hey there, Bonk, how’re you feeling?” he knelt down beside the little dragon and carefully checked his wounds. He could still see the puncture marks, but they looked better than yesterday.

  Bonk tried to roll himself into a standing position but moaned feebly and abandoned the attempt. Hayden scooped him up gently in his arms.

  “Don’t you try to walk or fly until you’ve healed up; I can carry you around until you’re better,” he insisted, not caring that his familiar was still covered in soot and ash that was smudging his shirt. “Are you still hungry, or do you want to come upstairs for bed?”

  Bonk made an excited noise that Hayden had no idea how to interpret, so he carried the dragon into the kitchen and offered him a bit of stuffing before taking him upstairs to Zane’s room.

  Hayden set Bonk down gently on top of the sheets and went to wash up and put on his paj
amas. When he returned his familiar was still awake, watching his progress around the room. He wasn’t sure whether he should let the dragon sleep with him tonight—what if he accidentally rolled onto him and injured him again?—but Bonk let out an indignant squawk when he tried to move him somewhere safer.

  Hayden sighed and let his familiar curl up against him, deciding that if Bonk felt squished he could just bite him until he moved. Bonk made a contented noise and went to sleep.

  ***

  They returned to Mizzenwald a few days before the start of term, Zane’s father accompanying them so he could lead their borrowed horses back to Calypso after dropping them off. Bonk was still healing steadily from his encounter with his much larger counterpart, but couldn’t fly for more than a minute or two without resting. He seemed content to sit on Hayden’s shoulder for most of the journey north, eating morsels of food from his hand whenever they were offered.

  Hayden was surprisingly happy to return to school, his first sight of the castle bringing a smile to his face.

  I’m home.

  He thanked Mr. Laraby for letting him stay the summer with them, and then left him and Zane alone for some last father-son farewells. He was pleased to see that many students had already returned to school and were preparing for the fall term, and dozens of them sat near the obstacle courses coaching their familiars through them.

  On a whim he decided to see if Torin was back yet, because there was no one he trusted more to examine Bonk and make sure he was healing properly.

  His search was rewarded when he saw the front door propped open, and he would have broken into a jog if not for fear of jostling Bonk from his shoulder. He strode into the log cabin without knocking and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Torin wasn’t alone.

  Master Asher was with him.

  Of course, just what I need…