Dragons of Asgard

by Logan Jacobs

  The next morning, I woke to Blar landing on my chest with a small

  thud that almost knocked the breath out of me.

  “Blar!” Kas laughed. “I told you to wake him up, not jump on him.”

  “I’m alright,” I chuckled as I sat up and scratched under Blar’s chin.

  I smelled something delicious then and saw Kas and Asta had a couple

  of pans on the fire.

  The twins came up to me as I stretched, and all three dragons crowded

  around me. Blar rolled over in my lap so I could rub his belly, then Inger

  rubbed her neck and head against my arm until I reached down and stroked

  her back. Uffe waited patiently for his turn, so once I had finished petting the

  other two, I grabbed him up and held him in my arms for a moment while he

  rubbed his face against my beard. My little friends were obviously starved for

  attention, so I petted and stroked each of them.

  “Well, that’s certainly a way to wake up,” Kas commented as I loved

  on the dragons.

  “Yeah,” Asta chuckled. “All I got was a foot to the face, then they

  begged me for breakfast.”

  “It seems like you all figured it out, though,” I laughed as I stood up

  and walked over to the fire. “It smells delicious.”

  “We didn’t have much of a choice,” Kas muttered. “Those little things

  are relentless.”

  “They’re growing babies,” I teased.

  “They’re hungry babies,” Kas laughed.

  “So, what did you all make?” I asked as I smelled the air. I thought I

  could smell apples and spices, but I wasn’t sure.

  “Some sort of quick apple bread,” Kas said with a shrug, and she lifted

  the lid so I could see. “I’m not sure exactly what we made, but it seemed like

  it would be good.”

  In the pan was a combination of flour and apples with some spices.

  The flour had cooked up to an almost bread-like consistency it looked like,

  and the apples were cut up and mixed in with the bread. Whatever they had

  made, it smelled amazing.

  “Kas did all the work,” Asta told me. “I just picked the apples.”

  “You’re only saying that so I’ll get blamed if it’s terrible,” the blonde

  laughed and playfully pushed at the elf girl.

  “Apparently, my powers of persuasion aren’t so effective on other

  sorcerers,” Asta chuckled.

  “Whatever it is, it smells delicious,” I told the girls.

  “We made tea, too,” Asta informed me.

  “Tea?” I asked. I hadn’t drunk tea in a long time. It was the one thing I

  could never truly master on my own. Finding the perfect blend of herbs and spices was difficult, and mine never tasted very good, so I’d given up on it a

  long time ago.

  “Yes,” the white-haired elf told me with a smile, and she handed me a

  cup. “Elves love tea. Try some.”

  I put the cup to my nose and inhaled the fruity and floral aroma. It was

  delicate and sweet and made my mouth water.

  The second the liquid hit my tongue, my eyes closed in pleasure as I

  savored the flavor. It had a sweetness like peach to it, but I could taste some

  other floral herbs as well. I had no idea what she’d put in it, but it was

  absolutely delightful.

  “This is amazing,” I sighed.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Asta said with a proud grin.

  Kas dished up breakfast and handed Asta and me a plate before she set

  down little plates for the dragons as well. The little creatures ate their

  breakfast with exuberance, and I had to laugh at how their little tails swished

  back and forth in happiness.

  The dish Kas prepared tasted just as good as it smelled, and I thought

  for a second she’d been holding out on me as far as cooking, but then another

  thought crossed my mind.

  “Kas,” I said as I lifted another bite toward my mouth.

  “Yes?” the blonde asked, but she wouldn’t look at me.

  “Did you make this all on your own?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Of course,” the blonde said, but I just stared at her for another few

  seconds until she tossed her arms down by her sides and rolled her eyes.

  “Alright, you caught me. I used a spell.”

  “How did you use a spell to cook breakfast?” I laughed.

  “I found a spell to make whatever I made taste the best that it possibly

  could, no matter how poorly it was prepared,” the sorceress said, and she

  tried not to laugh.

  “I thought we weren’t supposed to tell him,” Asta whispered, and she

  looked back and forth between Kas and me with wide eyes.

  “You knew, too?” I chuckled.

  “Um,” the elf girl said, and she looked down.

  “Did you enchant the tea as well?” I laughed.

  “No, the tea was all Asta,” Kas said with a smile. “But this breakfast

  probably wouldn’t taste nearly as good without the enchantment I put on it.”

  “Well, whatever you did, it’s delicious,” I told her with a grin.

  “Thank you,” the blonde replied, and she lifted her chin indignantly.

  We ate quietly then, though I couldn’t help but smile about the

  situation. Kas knew she wasn’t the greatest cook, and she’d obviously wanted

  to prepare a nice meal for us. It was sweet, really, though I found it quite

  funny she couldn’t prepare something without the addition of a spell to add

  flavor.

  Blar let out a little growl sound then, and I turned to see someone

  coming through the trees that led back out to the road. I immediately grabbed

  my axe and stood up so I could defend my women and my dragons. Luckily,

  the enchantment was still on the dragons, so whoever it was would only see

  three dogs, but I rarely got visitors, especially not unannounced ones.

  “Who is there?” I questioned.

  “I’m a messenger from the council,” a male voice said, and a younger

  boy stepped into view and held his hands up in surrender.

  “What’s your business here?” I asked, my axe still in hand.

  “I have a message from the council, as I said,” the boy sang. “They

  wish to see you at once.”

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about the council right then still, but I didn’t

  want to refuse their invitation as well, especially not since the messenger had

  come and found me personally.

  “Anything else?” I asked.

  “No,” the boy said. “But they do wish for it to be today.”

  “Thank you for the message,” I said with a nod, and the boy waved and

  backed up and exited through the trees.

  I pursed my lips as I thought for a moment. The council hadn’t called

  on me since I’d lied to them about the twins, and I hoped they didn’t want me

  to try and get another egg for them. I wasn’t sure I could give that one over to

  them, either, not until they told me what exactly was going on, which I didn’t

  expect them to do anytime soon.

  I knew they had a plan with the dragons, but they hadn’t told me what

  it was yet, and I refused to do their bidding if it meant they would continue to

  be secretive with the information they had on dragons.

  “Alright,” I said with a nod. “I’ll head over there, you all stay here. I

  wanted to go to the hunter’s lodge today, anyway. Will you be okay here with


  the dragons?”

  “Of course,” Kas agreed, but her eyebrows pulled together in

  confusion. “But why do you need to go to the hunter’s lodge?”

  “I want to ask them about some birds around here,” I said. “I think if I

  can show the dragons how the birds fight in the air, then it could help with

  their training.”

  “Oh,” Asta said with a nod. “That’s a good idea. It is always better to

  learn from seeing than being told.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Take all the time you need.” Kas smiled. “We can handle the

  dragons.”

  “You hear that?” I called out to the three little reptiles that played in

  the yard. “Kas and Asta are in charge while I’m gone.”

  They had paused to listen as I spoke, but as soon as I finished my

  sentence, they went directly back to playing without acknowledging what I’d

  said whatsoever. I knew they’d listen to the women, though, and at the house

  there wasn’t much trouble they could cause in the first place.

  After I finished my tea, I went inside and threw on an old blue tunic

  and grabbed my axe to hang down by my hip. I didn’t think I’d need it, but

  sometimes the hunters could get rowdy, so it was better to have it rather than

  not. I also grabbed some coins from the coin purse under the bed. There

  wasn’t much in there, just what was leftover from my own earning with the

  warband, but I didn’t often need coins, so it didn’t bother me. Today, though,

  I wanted to get the girls some new shoes. They had lost theirs yesterday, and

  I couldn’t have them running around in sandals or barefoot in different

  worlds.

  After I retrieved the coins and pulled my hair back into a braid, I left

  the girls by the fire as I started toward the trees that would lead me to the city.

  Kas was reading a spell book, and Asta was sipping tea when they turned to

  wave at me. The dragons, of course, were still playing, and the amount of

  energy they possessed was amazing, but just as I was about to cross the tree

  line Blar saw me and ran over to me.

  He came up to my feet, sat down, and looked up at me.

  “You need to stay here,” I told him as I crouched down to pet his chin,

  but the little dragon shook my hand away before he gave me a determined

  look and stomped his little front feet.

  “I think he’s insisting he go,” Kas chuckled as she and Asta walked

  over to us to see what was going on.

  “I think you’re right,” I agreed with a sigh. The council already knew

  about Blar, so I didn’t have to worry so much about him, but they couldn’t

  see the twins. “Blar and I will go, then, you two stay here with the twins.”

  “Of course,” Kas agreed.

  “However we can help,” Asta added with a sad smile. “Please be

  careful.”

  “Don’t worry,” I told them both, and I put my hands on their shoulders.

  “We’ll be fine.”

  Regardless of what the council had to say, I knew they knew I was

  valuable to them, so they wouldn’t try anything stupid. I was the only one who could control Blar, and small as he was, if they tried to harm me, I had

  no doubt he would defend me to his last breath just as I would do for him.

  It was concerning they wanted to see me so suddenly, though,

  especially considering the last time they summoned me quickly it was to send

  me off on an adventure to find another egg. I wondered how they knew so

  much about the whereabouts of the eggs in the first place, but Preyna was a

  high sorceress, so perhaps she had a way of finding them that Kas and I

  hadn’t thought of yet.

  The girls still looked at me with concerned eyes, but I kissed both of

  them on the cheeks. Then I looked down at Blar, who sat by my feet with a

  determined look on his little blue face.

  “Will you be good if I let you stay off the leash?” I asked, and the little

  dragon nodded eagerly.

  “Hurry,” Kas said. “And if they try to send you somewhere again, then

  come back and get us, so we can join you.”

  “Of course,” I told her with a smile, then I turned to Blar once more.

  “Let’s go.”

  I waved to the girls and watched as Inger climbed up Asta and Uffe

  climbed up Kas. Then both of the girls and the dragons watched as Blar and I

  made our way through the trees and headed toward town.

  The little blue dragon at my side had grown even since the twins had

  been born, so he was nearly up to my knee in height now and almost as long

  as my leg. He was so narrow, though, that I often forgot about how big he’d

  really gotten. He could barely fit on my shoulders anymore, and soon I’d

  have to figure out another way for him to come to me when we were in battle.

  His little horns were bigger, too, and I thought about how small he’d been

  when he’d first hatched and how he slept in my hair that first night.

  I couldn’t even imagine how large he might be by the time he was a

  year old. Would he be as large as the dragons we’d seen in Asta’s home

  world? I wondered how long it took for dragons to grow to their full size.

  They were massive creatures, but Blar had grown so quickly I couldn’t rule

  out the idea that he’d been fully grown in just a few months.

  Blar stayed right by my feet as we made our way up the cobblestone

  street toward the castle. It was a beautiful morning, and the sun shone down

  on us and cast a bright white light on the world, so I had to squint my eyes as

  we walked. The market bustled as we walked through, and where I half

  expected Blar to run over to every food vendor he smelled, he stayed right

  next to me, intent on his destination.

  I could feel he was determined and focused, and I appreciated his

  concern, but it also made me much more nervous about our visit with the

  council. What did they want? If it was another mission, I wasn’t sure I could take it. If I found another egg, I didn’t think I could give it to them, just like I

  hadn’t been able to give the twins to them. I still had too many questions

  about their intentions with the dragons to just hand them over to them.

  It was well over an hour’s walk to the castle, and I tried to focus on the

  scenery around me, but the closer we got, the more my heart rate accelerated.

  The walk seemed to have taken forever and also no time at all, and as we

  went up the white stone stairs, I instinctively reached down to feel my axe at

  my side.

  It was already almost afternoon by the time we got there, and some

  sweat beaded on my forehead from the walk, which I quickly wiped away

  when I approached the magnificent spiral keep where the elders of Asgard

  conducted their business. The two guards in front of the council doors didn’t

  hesitate to let me in this time, and I smiled and waved at them, but Blar

  pranced in ahead of me with his little head held high as if he owned the entire

  castle.

  “Ah, Rath,” Rinbar called from his middle seat. He had on a black

  tunic that matched his long hair, and he smiled at me as I slowly approached

  the stairs that led to their seats.

  “We’re glad you came,” Preyna told me, and her brown eyes looked
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  friendlier than usual, which only made me more suspicious.

  “I was told it was urgent,” I said, and I looked at the three council members before me.

  “It is a matter of great importance.” Beyer nodded, and his light blue

  eyes were all business.

  “What is this about?” I asked, and I took a slight step forward so my

  foot was in front of Blar.

  “Please,” Preyna said, and she closed her eyes for a second and held up

  her palm to me. “We did not call you here to harm you or Blar.”

  The gesture had been small, but I wasn’t surprised she’d noticed it.

  “Forgive me if I seem concerned,” I said, but I kept my face straight

  and stared at each of them. I wouldn’t allow them to think I was a pawn for

  them to use any longer. They may be the council of elders, but I was the man

  who could tame the dragons, and I had decided I was not to be fucked with.

  “We understand your concern,” Beyer said, and his voice was gentle

  and soothing.

  “You do?” I asked, and now I was even more suspicious of this entire

  meeting.

  “Yes,” Rinbar replied, and his mouth widened into a smile behind his

  massive black beard. “We know what you did, and we don’t blame you. We

  haven’t been very forthcoming.”

  “What is all this about?” I asked as my eyebrows pulled together in

  confusion.

  “Rath,” Preyna said softly, and she waited until I locked eyes with her

  before she continued. “We know you have the egg.”

  I made no move to comment. I wouldn’t deny it, but I wasn’t about to

  confirm it as well.

  “You were right to do what you did,” Rinbar said with a nod. “We

  realized after you told us the egg had been eaten that you only wanted to

  protect it.”

  “Them,” I corrected, since I’d already been caught in one lie, and it

  was only a matter of time before the council discovered the truth. “There

  were actually two eggs. Twins.”

  “Really?” Preyna breathed with wide eyes.

  “Yes, but dragons are worth protecting,” I said, and my chin lifted

  slightly as I spoke even though my heart hammered in my chest. “They

  should be considered sacred beings instead of bloodthirsty monsters.”

  “We agree,” Beyer said.

  “Your training of Blar has impressed us greatly,” Preyna added, and

  she smiled slightly at Blar.