The Unborn Hero of Dragon Village

by Ronesa Aveela

  Theo shrugged and walked toward the tunnel. “That’s okay. I can manage.”

  Dimana added, “When you get to the door at the end, knock hard and go in if no one answers. Magura is older than the world. She’s a living encyclopedia and sometimes gets caught up in her reading.”

  “Thank you.”

  “One more thing.” A malicious grin spread across her face. “How well do you know your Samodiva friend? Are you sure she’s trying to help you? I think Lamia would be happy to exchange her sisters for you.”

  “I trust Diva.” Theo turned his back to Dimana and stepped into the dark tunnel.

  He hadn’t known Diva long, but she wouldn’t betray him. She could have harmed him before now if she’d wanted to. He was glad she had warned him about not trusting the Rusalki.

  Lost in his thoughts, Theo bumped into a wooden door, then stepped back. He raised his fist to knock, but hesitated. Would the librarian be another terrifying creature? He thought about Jabalaka—ugly, but kind. Any creature that loved books couldn’t frighten him. He pounded on the door as Dimana suggested.

  No one responded.

  He inched the door open and peeked inside the dim room. “Hello?”

  Silence answered his call.

  The door creaked as he pushed it open. One step more, and he entered the room. The mustiness of ancient books filled his nose. Thin and bulky volumes—some open, others closed—lay scattered across the floor or stacked high against the walls, ready to topple.

  “Is anyone here?” Theo said.

  No one replied.

  Theo picked his way around the chaos of books to a rocking chair to wait for the librarian. On the table next to it, a gas lamp illuminated a tome. A large sculpture of a tortoise shell held it open like a bookmark. Theo eased the heavy volume closer and peered at the pages, but the language was like the one in Jabalaka’s books.

  A green head popped out of the shell. “So rude. I was reading that.”

  Theo darted out of the rocking chair. “I-I’m sorry.”

  The tortoise smacked her lips and yawned. “Hmm. It appears I wasn’t reading after all. Must have dozed. Anyway, you woke me.”

  “Sorry. Are you Magura the librarian?”

  “Yes, and have been so for a thousand years.” She squinted at him, then bowed. “Magura, the mage and keeper of knowledge, at your service. Now who are you? What do you want?”

  “I’m Theo.” He bowed in return. “Human from Selo for twelve years. Vodna said you could help me find Lamia’s second soul.”

  “Second soul?” Magura snorted. “I didn’t know they were numbered. I don’t know how to find any, even with all these books. Don’t think I haven’t sought a clue.”

  “I’ve already destroyed one,” Theo said. “Now—”

  “What?” Magura tucked her head inside her shell, and it rattled as if a hurricane passed over the table. “Lamia must be furious. There will be repercussions for all of us.”

  Theo peered into the shell. “I have a clue about how to find her next soul, but don’t know what it means. You’re wise. Vodna thought you could figure it out.”

  The tortoise poked her head out a little. “What’s the clue?”

  “The part I’m stuck on is this: ‘Within inky depths lies my mate.’ I have a golden key from the first soul. So a ‘mate’ could be another key or something for the key to open. I think ‘inky depths’ might be somewhere in the sea. Do you know what it might refer to?”

  “Inky depths, you say?” Magura extended her neck. “Let me think. The only creature vile enough around here to do Lamia’s bidding would be Morunduk, the octopus.”

  Theo laughed nervously.

  “What’s so funny?” Magura frowned. “That creature’s terrorized us ever since he came here. He can squeeze the life out of you with one tentacle.”

  “Sorry.” Theo shuffled his feet. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was thinking how obvious the clue was now. ‘Inky’ and ‘octopus.’ It all makes sense once you know the answer.”

  “Hmph. Don’t let it get out that I helped you. As bad as Morunduk is, Lamia’s a million times worse. I’d like to live a thousand more years, happy and lost in my books.”

  Magura stuck her head back in her book and continued to read.

  Theo cleared his throat.

  The tortoise looked up, her lips curled. “What? You’re still here?”

  “Can you tell me where to find the octopus?”

  Magura heaved a heavy sigh, shifting her shell. “The Rusalki could have told you,” she said, then muttered, “as well as telling you about Morunduk, I think, without having you bother me.” She stretched her neck and yawned. “He lives on the outskirts of the bay inside a shipwreck.”

  “Thanks, Magura.”

  The turtle didn’t acknowledge him because she had already fallen back to sleep on the open book.

  Theo walked back along the dark tunnel. How could he defeat a creature that could squash him with one tentacle? Where would an octopus even hide Lamia’s soul?

  Dimana glared at Theo when he arrived in the hall. She grimaced and splashed her fin in the pool. “So, the human boy returns. Pray tell, did you find your answer?”

  “Yes. I have to find the wrecked ship where Morunduk lives.” Theo cleared his throat. “I’m sure Lamia’s soul is hidden there.”

  She smiled, revealing yellow, pointed teeth. “Morunduk? He’ll tear you to shreds, but I’ll gladly take you there and watch.”

  Theo backed away. “Couldn’t Ruslana take me instead?”

  “Nay. The queen commanded me to help you on your quest—on one condition.”

  “What?” Theo asked.

  “You have to give us the kaval.” Dimana held out her hand.

  Theo stepped back, clutching the instrument. “I’m supposed to return it to the Samodivi.”

  “Then you have to locate and defeat Morunduk yourself—and find your way back.”

  “Theo.” The soft voice returned to speak in his mind.

  “Mom?”

  “It’s okay to return the kaval. It belongs to the Rusalki.” Invisible arms surrounded him in an embrace.

  “Well, human boy, what’s your answer?” Dimana pointed a spear at Theo.

  “It’s yours.” He walked to the pool and handed her the kaval. “Enjoy the music.”

  She gloated as she took the instrument.

  “Can we go now?” Theo asked.

  “So eager to die?” Still holding the spear, she grabbed Theo’s arm and dove into the pool.

  Before he had time to blink, he was outside the Rusalki cave and on the other side of the glass wall. He felt the bite of the cold, emerald water that cocooned him before he noticed the tiny screeching eel-like creatures nipping at his clothes.

  He swatted them. “Get off!”

  Dimana laughed. “They think you’re their next meal. Don’t worry. They won’t leave the safety of the window. They’ll stay behind when we swim away.”

  Heeding her advice, Theo kicked his feet and moved away from the creatures.

  “Let’s get this over with.” Holding Theo’s hand tight, Dimana sped toward the ruins of an old ship.

  Theo wished Diva and Pavel were with him. He didn’t trust Dimana. The woman might leave him at the ship alone since the Rusalki now had the kaval. Why would they care if he succeeded or not? They didn’t seem hurt by Lamia’s destruction of Dragon Village.

  When they arrived, Dimana floated near coral. “Behold, the lair of Morunduk.”

  Theo swam around the shipwreck. Coral and seaweed coated the dark, rotten wood like leeches. The tip of the bow had cracked from the hull and burrowed deep into the sand like a crab, leaving a gaping hole.

  A colorful school of glowing fish darted in and out of the wreck, as if putting on a choreographed dance. At the front of the ship, a golden figurehead of Neptune shimmered in the water. Like Dimana, the statue’s eyes gleamed with anger and pointed a spear in Theo’s direction.

 
“Enough sight-seeing,” Dimana said. “It’s time to learn what makes you so special.”

  “I have nothing to fight Morunduk with. My bow and arrows are on the beach.” Theo dragged his sweaty hands down his pants, forgetting water surrounded him.

  “Some hero you are.” Dimana puffed out her chest.

  “I guess I’ll just sneak inside then.” Theo swam closer, peering into the hull, hesitating. Darkness stared back. “Do you think the octopus is here?”

  “I’m sure he is. What do you expect me to do?”

  “I thought you were here to help.”

  “I am, but only at the queen’s command.” She pointed her spear at the broken ship. “I’ll draw the octopus out and divert his attention. Go find what you’re looking for. Be quick and watch out for other creatures lurking in the shadows.”

  Dimana swam near the wide hole in the ship’s hull. She beat on the rotten wood with her spear and screeched in the strange, ancient language. The vibrations swept through Theo, pounding in his skull. He pressed against the side of the ship when a tip of a tentacle as large as his body squirmed from the hole. Dimana lashed at it with a sparkling rope. The appendage jerked back, and the creature roared. Black ink squirted at Dimana, but she was quicker and swam above the hull.

  Morunduk reared his head from the shipwreck. Theo felt his guts twist. Blood-red eyes the size of basketballs glowed from the monster’s face, and spikes jutted off the sides of each tentacle. Holes like mouths lined the underside of each limb, screeching as they opened and closed. Magura had said Lamia was a millions times worse. Once again, he doubted he could defeat the dragon, let alone accomplish what he had to do today.

  Dimana jabbed her spear toward the opening. “Go now! Look for Lamia’s soul.”

  Theo slipped into the shipwreck past Morunduk. Only a flicker of light from outside made its way into the darkened interior. As Theo swam down a long corridor, tiny fish glowing silver, yellow, and blue lit his way. Keeping close to the wall, he swam into a large room that might have once been the dining hall.

  A sliver of light peeked through a crack in the hull onto a sparkling object. Theo swam toward it. He frowned. Only a silver pin bordered by tiny shells. It wasn’t a mate for a key. He looked for a locked box.

  “Hurry, human boy. Morunduk’s winning this battle.” Dimana’s words forced their way into Theo’s mind.

  Glowing fish flashed over a scalloped clamshell settling into silt. Theo swam closer. His feet sank into the disturbed sediment. He wrapped his arms around the shell, his fingertips barely making it halfway around, and pulled.

  The shell dug deeper, sinking fast. Theo poked his fingers between the two valves, straining to pull them apart. It opened a little before snapping shut.

  He swam around the room, looking for something to pry the shell apart before it disappeared completely. The pin might work. After wiggling the tip into the clam’s mouth, he pressed down on the other end.

  A trickle of blood twirled in the water.

  The valves parted enough for him to stick his fingers in again and pull the two halves apart. The bottom shell split in two, opening sidewise, pushing aside the silt it had hidden in. The top half moved upward with a groan.

  Something black lay nestled within the pink interior.

  Theo reached for it, but thin sticks resembling fingers held it firm. Grasping the top valve, Theo pushed upward, trying to force the shell to open faster. It groaned again and resisted his effort. As the shell opened farther, blood poured from the place where Theo had stuck the pin.

  The black object became more exposed, revealing a mahogany box with a golden keyhole. Theo stuck his hands in again, but floated backward when the shell opened the rest of the way with a snap.

  Ten thin, pink fingers, attached to two twiggy arms, meshed around the front of the box. The arms connected to mounds of pulpy flesh-like material secured to the shell.

  Theo raised his eyes. The wrinkled face of an old man with sagging jowls returned his gaze.

  “W-will you give me the box, please?” He thought-talked to the creature, hoping it spoke the same way the Rusalki did.

  The creature said nothing, but tightened its fingers around the box and stared at him with bloodshot eyes.

  The pin sparkled in the gap between the two halves of the bottom shell.

  Theo floated closer. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He lunged for the pin and sliced it across the creature’s hands. “I’m sorry.”

  A soft moan escaped the old man’s lips, and he released his grasp. Theo snatched the box and kicked hard to distance himself from the shell.

  “Dimana, I have it.”

  No one answered.

  Had something happened or had she deserted him? Theo sped back down the corridor toward the exit.

  A black shape moved in the shadows. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Dimana?”

  Huge red eyes glowed in the darkness. The octopus! Morunduk crept toward Theo. A black tentacle shot out to grab him, but Theo backed into a wall. The creature loomed in front of him, blocking all escape. Murky ink filled Theo’s vision like a thick veil.

  The monster’s tentacles wrapped around Theo’s body, squeezing the breath from him. The mouths on the limbs bit into his clothing.

  Selo appeared in Theo’s mind. Zmey flying away from the Stone Forest. Mom, laughing with Nia and holding her hand. He fought the foul-tasting blackness, but the ink’s depth saturated him until his mind’s images faded.

  Chapter 15

  Wicked Witches

  Theo woke to a cacophony of screeches. A tight grasp held him captive, pressed against the wall of the shipwreck. He thrashed in the inky water to escape the octopus’s shrieking mouths.

  “Be still!” a woman shouted in his mind.

  “Ruslana?”

  “Yes, you’re safe for the moment, but we have to remain hidden.”

  Hidden? He stopped fighting and looked where he was. The far wall of the shipwreck. That was still too close to Morunduk. At any moment, the beast could win the battle he raged against the Rusalki. When had they arrived?

  Shadowy images kept the octopus at bay as they performed a deadly dance with Morunduk. Sparkling lassos whipped from the Rusalki hands toward the octopus. Harpoon prongs struck the creature with force. Spears shot through the water toward the beast.

  “Is Dimana ... okay?” She hadn’t answered when Theo had last thought-talked to her. Had Morunduk killed her?

  “She’s injured, but she’ll survive.” Ruslana bared her yellow, pointed teeth and hissed. “She tried to prove her worth to the queen and left without waiting for the rest of us.”

  Dimana hated him, all humans. Theo shouldn’t have cared, but the tightness in his chest relaxed knowing she was okay. He jerked his head and felt his empty hands. “The box with Lamia’s soul! Where is it?”

  “Shhh. It’s okay. I have it.” Ruslana tapped the black box, tucked into a net at her side.

  Theo’s chin dipped to his chest. “Why would you all risk your lives for me?”

  “A debt repaid. For the kaval.”

  Theo raised his eyes. “You’d kill yourselves for a flute?”

  “It was given to your mother for a kindness she showed to our queen.” Ruslana twisted her green hair. “Vodna told your mother to play it when she needed our help in return.”

  Theo’s heart ached for the kaval’s loss, something his mother had owned. But the instrument hadn’t belonged to him or her.

  An ear-shattering roar erupted in the ship’s hull. Theo pressed closer to Ruslana.

  Morunduk battered the ship, a spear lodged in his neck. Rusty metal and heavy beams crashed around Theo and Ruslana.

  “We have to go. Now!” Ruslana sent to his mind.

  “There’s no way past him.” Theo shook. “He’ll see us!”

  Ruslana surged into the midst of the melee, darting around Moruduk’s tentacles. One slapped Theo’s face and squeezed his body. Theo opened his mouth to screa
m, but sucked in foul-tasting liquid.

  He was going to drown! Where was his belt that let him breathe underwater? He kicked and pummeled the weakened octopus, which clutched his belt.

  Ruslana pried the creature away. “I’ll get you to the surface.”

  His lungs and throat burned like lava. Within seconds, his body went limp and his mind blank.

  “Hold on. You’re going to make it.” Ruslana sped through the sea with powerful thrusts of her tail.

  More precious seconds passed, but felt like hours. The darkness cleared. Saltiness replaced the noxious taste on his lips. Muted sounds of crashing waves beat against Theo’s ears. With one last push of her tail, Ruslana broke the surface.

  Theo’s throat clenched. He coughed, unable to spit out the liquid in his lungs. As he thrashed in the sea, more water filled his nose and mouth.

  “Don’t panic. Not much longer.” Ruslana set him on his side on a rocky shore and pushed against his stomach.

  Water rushed from his mouth, and then he vomited. Each breath felt like eating fire. He lay on the beach with his eyes closed, his entire body aching.

  “Theo!” Wavering shouts came closer. Pavel. Diva.

  Pavel kneeled at his side. “Theo, it’s me.”

  Other words grew louder, then softer. Harsh sounds. Screaming. Or was that him?

  A hand touched his head. “Diva, get him fruit from the orchard. It’ll help him heal.” Ruslana.

  Footsteps dashed away. Cool liquid washed his face. Air.

  Theo breathed in slowly. He was alive. “Thank you for saving me, Ruslana.”

  Groaning, he opened his eyes and pushed himself from the ground to a sitting position. Everything around him spun.

  “Keep your head between your knees,” Ruslana said. “You’ll feel better soon.”

  “I want to destroy Lamia’s soul before anything else happens.” Theo stood on wobbly legs.

  “Let me go get the key.” Pavel jumped up. “Is it in your backpack?”

  Theo nodded. “Thanks.”

  Pavel had taken a few steps when Diva ran toward them.

  “Hide!” she screamed.

  Hissing and screeching came from above. Boo disappeared within dense bushes. Pavel ran back and crouched beside Theo.