by B C Penling
Zen blinked and opened his mouth. “What of the wyverns? Do you think they’ll help?”
The old man laughed. “Possibly with some extreme persuasion. Now, turn around and move faster. I want some mauck and you’re in my way.”
“Your extreme confidence in the proper timing of everything is quite overwhelmingly annoying.”
“He’s been planning things for years,” Amara said. “And for longer than you’ve been alive.”
Zen snorted. “It’s frustrating not doing what I want to do. I want to save Lana.”
“You are, just not your way,” Amara said. “You’d fail if you did it your way. Everyone knows it wouldn’t work.”
“They’re right,” Dooley agreed. “The Warisai are many in numbers. You’ll need strong leaders and trained troops. They have dragons under their control and they would devour you before you could reach inland. They keep them hungry to ensure their savagery when they need them to attack. You wouldn’t stand a chance on your own.”
“Dragons,” Zen said. He looked at Dooley. “Can we free them?”
“I suppose it can be done,” he said, speculatively, “by destroying the stones or breaking their collars, I’m assuming. Nobody has ever done it before.”
“We will,” Zen said. “They deserve their freedom.”
“Consider it done,” Kijo said. “Now, mauck. Hurry on.”
Hurrying was something Zen had wanted to do.
“Try to keep up.” He grinned. “Hold on, Arley!”
Zen turned around and ran straight at Dooley.
“Wait! No!” Dooley yelled. He held up his arms. “I’m not…”
Zen leapt at him, flapped his wings and went airborne. As he flew over the top of him, he grabbed Dooley and hoisted him into the air. Dooley yelled with surprise.
"Hurry up, Kijo!" Zen called over his shoulder.
He flew north toward Ouris. Down below them, Tigthero had hastened his pace and was speeding quickly along the trail behind Amara who had changed into a cougar again. Xaf and Kijo took to the skies to keep up.
“This wasn’t what I had in mind,” Kijo yelled at Zen.
“It gets us there faster for your mauck,” Zen said with a laugh. “And it gets me a few minutes closer to Lana.”
“That’s not funny to me,” Dooley said. “I thought you were going to kill me!”
Zen laughed at him. “You remember that feeling before thinking about betraying us.”
“No betrayal intended,” Dooley said. “As I’ve said, I’m on your side.”
“With our strange group, I think we should land there and walk to the gates,” Kijo said.
Zen tucked his wings and glided toward the hill that Kijo had pointed to. He flared and flapped; putting his hind legs on the soggy ground and sitting on his haunches. He put Dooley down before dropping to all fours.
Xaf landed with Kijo and the others that were running joined up with them.
“Was that fast enough for you?” Tigthero asked Zen.
“I’ll admit I’m impressed,” Zen replied. “You’re much faster than I thought you’d be.”
“When I need to, I can run,” Tigthero said with a smile.
“And it’s so much fun.” Panthigra was grinning happily at him. “If he didn’t have a mane to hold onto, though, I would’ve fallen off.”
“Wait here,” Kijo said. He nudged Xaf and they headed towards the outer wall of Ouris. The nightsteed trotted proudly to the gates where they were promptly met by a few gatemen.
“Undoubtedly, they’re inquiring about us,” Dooley said.
“Or just you,” Zen replied. “It’s not like anyone would allow the enemy to walk right into their home.”
Dooley shrugged. “They don’t know I’m reformed. I believe I would be wary, too, especially if I was facing something larger and capable of devouring me.”
“Devouring? You’re not hungry are you?” Panthigra asked.
“I wasn’t hinting at wanting to eat them. I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives,” Dooley said. “I ate a couple rabbits in the mountains before Zen clobbered me.”
Zen chuckled. “That was actually fun.”
“I suppose it would’ve been, for you,” Dooley replied. “I didn’t enjoy it much but that is in the past. If we live in the past then we cannot improve upon our future. Plus, I’ve done much worse in my lifetime so I am not one to judge upon those actions.”
“Come,” Amara said, becoming a wolf once more. “The man needs us all.”
“How do you know?” Zen asked. He was watching the man the entire time and never noticed a wave or any sort of movement hinting at him summoning them to his side.
“He told me,” she replied.
“You sound as crazy as the old man,” Zen grumbled.
Amara laughed. “When you are connected to someone, you can hear them. Xaf and I are both bound to him, willingly might I add, so we know when he needs us. Come on. Let’s not keep him waiting.”
Amara jumped up and ran down the shallow hill towards the gates and sat down beside Xaf.
“I don’t suggest you run down there like that, Dooley,” Zen commented. “I’d speculate they wouldn’t like it and you’d likely end up dead.”
Dooley shrugged. “I speculate you’re right. I'll just walk.”
Zen, Arley, Dooley, Panthigra and Tigthero descended the hill to the gates. The amount of rain Ouris had received rivaled the amount that detained them in the cave the night before. The dried wheat stalks, which had already been harvested by Ourisians, were saturated and slumped down to the dirt. Puddles collected along the wagon wheel ruts and other depressions caused by travels.
“Come, they can give us accommodations in the stables,” Kijo said, asking Xaf to walk through the gates. Zen followed with Arley who was still sitting proudly on his back and enjoying every moment. Dooley received mistrustful glares and murmurs.
“I don’t see why we bother to let him in. He’s probably a spy,” grumbled a guard.
“If he becomes a problem, I’ll kill him,” Zen said. “Be settled. He’s with us.”
"Thank you." Dooley patted Zen on his shoulder.
A wave of malaise swept through him suddenly from snout to tail-tip. He shook his head that was gripped with sudden dizziness. A bitter taste had filled his mouth and he licked his palate to try to remove it. There was a sharp burning in his chest that made it difficult to inhale deeply. He coughed shallowly to get rid of it.
“Zen, what’s wrong?” Dooley asked, taking notice.
"Nothing," Zen said. "Just a bad taste in my mouth, like accidentally chewing on a firewasp."
"Sounds delightful," Dooley said sarcastically.
“Saia, you were exiled from Ouris. Turn away from here at once or face harsh punishment for returning.” The guard pointed a spear at her.
Tigthero growled. “Do you think that skinny stick creates an even match between you and us?”
“I have to follow the laws," the guard said timidly with a shrug.
“She comes with me,” the old man said sternly, not bothering to turn around.
“Sir, I can’t.”
“I say she comes with us,” Zen said softly, his voice hinting slightly at illness. “I will take responsibility for her. Let it be known that the dragon, Zenith Zephyr, defender of Meridsani and friend to Barator Valda, demands you to allow Panthigra to enter the city. There’s much that needs to be done and heeding exile of a Keizi is stupidity beyond measure.”
The man lowered his spear. “I’ve heard of your deeds in the northrest, dragon. The pleasure to meet you is mine. You are welcome here but I can’t let her through.”
“If you don’t let her come with us, I’ll eat you,” Zen said. “There, you can say I threatened you. Now, let us all through the gates.”
Zen looked at him intensely until the guard stepped back to let them enter Ouris. Tigthero walked ahead of Zen with Panthigra perched on his back hesitantly. They followed Kijo along the cobblestone roadways that wound th
eir way through the city. They received a lot of curious looks that were followed by whispers.
“Oi! You’re not supposed to be here!” a resident shouted from his porch, pointing at Panthigra.
“Obviously, you’re not intelligent,” Tigthero growled. “Do you see what we have on our side? He’s eaten people like you for breakfast.”
The man looked at Dooley, realizing him for the first time. Terror spread across his face and he stepped back.
“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t heckle my companion,” Dooley grumbled. “Especially, the little hairy one who has shown me more kindness than I deserve.”
Panthigra turned and smiled at him. It made Dooley feel odd inside; odd in a good way which is something he was a stranger to. Despite his hideous past, Panthigra wasn’t one to judge him. Her warm smile was something he could get used to.
“Say hello to Tommy for me, Mr. Thomason,” Panthigra said with a dismissive wave. They continued through the city.
Kijo led them to a large stable near the center of Ouris, adjacent to town hall. The stables were reserved for dignitaries and were the largest in the city. Outside of the stables was a large town green with a statue of Baradier, Barator’s father, with his big black diredog Lexik. The statue was erected soon after the Fae War as tribute to their great leader.
Surrounding the statue was four acres of buckgrass, a thick and durable type of grass. The town green served the city in numerous ways. People would gather there to hear speeches, hold festivals, allow their children to play, and it served as the main food source for stabled animals that required roughage. The easiest way to keep the grass trimmed was to let stable horses graze it. The town green was the largest in the city but it wasn’t alone. Wherever there were stables, there were also greens that were usually called stable greens and their sizes were dictated by the size of the stable. Most of them were no larger than a couple acres.
The old man dismounted Xaf and took the bags off Zen with Arley’s assistance. Dooley carried them into the stables, placing them beside the first stall. Tigthero flopped onto a pile of straw, thankful for a place to catnap. He rolled onto his back and lay with his feet in the air. Panthigra climbed onto his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tig purred, closed his eyes, and rested his huge paws on Panthigra's back.
Outside, the people that had been on the town green began approaching curiously, having never seen the likes of such an odd group. The children gravitated to Arley, calling him a bearded child.
“Not child. I am dwarf!” Arley said deeply. “I live under mountains.”
The children laughed. Most of them were taller than Arley and fascinated that anything fully grown could be shorter than them. One reached out and tugged gently at his beard. He screamed like it hurt, causing the children to jump, and then laughed at their reactions. The children laughed, too, and begged him to go play. They took him by the arms and pulled him onto the green. They started teaching him a ball game and, much to their delight, Arley was enjoying it. Even more, he loved all the attention from the kids.
Children also approached Zen to caress his beautiful red scales. One girl, around ten years young, asked how it felt to fly and was promptly scolded by her mother when she asked if he could give her a ride. Zen smiled at her.
“Your eagerness reminds me of my friend,” he said softly. “On any other day, I think I would’ve taken you into the air with your mother’s permission, of course. But, unfortunately, I must rest for we all have a long journey ahead of us.”
The young girl leaned into Zen and placed her ear against his neck. “I can’t help myself,” she said. “You hum.”
“Hum?”
“Yes, like chimes,” she replied. “It’s soothing.”
“My friend Lana never mentioned that,” Zen said. “I wonder why.”
“Each of your souls resonate the same frequency,” the old man said, walking up to Zen. “You two are a perfect match in this time.”
“Resonate?” Zen asked.
“Magic levels within,” Kijo said. “Your new friend, here, happens to have a very low resonation, very low magic concentration, and is unsullied. Her relatively easy and simplistic life allows her feel your higher resonance.”
“Makes a little sense,” Zen said. “That’s why Lana and I are so close?”
“Many factors affect your relationship,” Kijo answered, tapping his chest over his heart. “I think you know that already.”
Dooley walked up behind Kijo and looked at the town green. Arley was kicking a ball with the children and all was peaceful until the parents noticed the large green Warisai in their presence. The mother of the child that was enthralled with Zen grabbed her away sharply and pushed her behind her.
“I won’t hurt her,” Zen said quickly. “You don’t have to fear me.”
“Not you,” the lady shrieked. “That!” She pointed at Dooley.
“Yes, I know,” Zen said. “The Warisai is ugly.”
“Very,” Dooley chimed in.
“But he’s with us,” Zen said. “If he’s a problem, I’ll kill him myself and he knows that.”
“I don’t need that sort of persuasion to behave, though,” Dooley replied, patting Zen's shoulder.
“Look at all this.” He gestured to the people on the town green. “Warisai do not have beautiful places, nice buildings, or young ones that play. Warisai do not appreciate this. Warisai destroy things as good as this. You do not have to fear me for I fight to change the ways of the past. I want to see Warisai enjoy things like this.”
“Zen, what’s wrong?” Kijo asked suddenly.
His legs had begun trembling as if they struggled to support his weight. He lowered his wings and rested them on the ground.
“I feel sick all over,” he moaned.
Arley had noticed Zen’s change in posture and ran up to him. He put his hands on his foreleg.
“Friend! Friend! Metal sick?” He turned and looked worriedly at Kijo. “Help him!”
Zen’s heart rate quickened with panic. Could the alvenite be making him sick? The dwarfs had repaired his broken body with their earthen magic and forgery skills by using alvenite to repair his broken bones. If it was the alvenite then the only viable option he could think of was to remove it all or die. Removal of the alvenite that held his body together, that held his wings together and allowed him to fly again, would obliterate his hope of finding Lana.
He barred his teeth as a hot pain rose within his muscles.
“I need to… I need to find Lana. I can’t have this happen,” he growled.
“Come inside the stables,” the old man said. His voice was usually calm but the situation alarmed him and his voice was stricken with concern. A sick dragon… It was unheard of.
Zen struggled to walk into the stables. His legs threatened to give out beneath him. Each step was agony, his muscles burned like firebrands beneath his scales. The hot pains rose to sear him in places then subsided, only to move to another location not far from the last. He dragged his wings and tail behind him, in too much pain to bother lifting them, and barely made it inside the stable before he collapsed. Zen lay on the cobblestone floor, muscles spasming, and quivering in pain. His ears buzzed loudly and his heart thumped wildly in his chest.
“Lana,” he muttered. “I need to save Lana.”
Tigthero and Panthigra leapt up from their short nap and rushed over to help.
“What’s wrong?” they asked in unison.
“I don’t know, yet. Amara, bring me my bag.” Kijo knelt beside Zen’s head. He looked at his eye and then lifted his lip and looked at his gums. “They’re dark red.”
Amara placed the bag beside him and sniffed Zen’s mouth.
“What do you think?” Kijo asked her.
“Toxicity,” Amara said. “It reeks of a nasty poison.”
“Metals?” Arley asked. He was anxiously wringing his beard with both hands. Tears were welled in his soft, worried eyes.
“No,” Amara s
aid. “It’s not the metals. It also reeks of foul magic.”
Her blue eyes flickered to Dooley and her hackles rose. She snarled at him. “You!”
A split second later, Tigthero pounced on Dooley. “What did you do to him?” he roared, pressing his enormous paws down on either side of Dooley’s chest.
“You said you were different than the rest!” Panthigra cried. “Liar!”
“No! No!” Dooley gasped against Tigthero’s weight. “I did nothing to him. Why? Why would I?”
“If you felt you needed to kill him because he was the only one that would kill you, you better reconsider.” Tigthero barred his teeth at him. “You won’t live to see tomorrow, filth!” He roared in his face and slowly sank his claws into Dooley’s chest muscles. “What’s wrong with him?” he demanded again.
“I don’t know!” Dooley roared back. “I don’t know!”
Tigthero closed his mouth and licked his lips. “I think he’s telling the truth. His eyes don’t hint at lies,” he said to Kijo. Tigthero stepped off Dooley’s chest. “Sorry about the claws. I was…”
“Digging for the truth?” Dooley griped.
“You could say that,” Tigthero replied, raising an eyebrow.
Zen growled and dug his talons into the cobblestone floor. “Help me,” he muttered.
The old man pet the dragon’s face. “Bad timing for all this, friend,” he said.
“Yes,” Zen replied quietly. “I need to find Lana.”
“You hold on to that thought,” Kijo said. “Hold on to it and don’t forget why you need to live.”
“My companion needs help. We don’t know what’s wrong with him. Can any of you help?” Panthigra looked at the crowd of adults and children that had gathered by the stables. “Water! Bring us water, herbs, medicinals, clean rags, anything that you think could help.”
“I’ll get herbs from my husband’s shop,” one lady said before rushing away with her son in tow.
“We’ll get water!” a set of twin boys shouted and ran off.
A few more people departed quickly as if they had silently assigned themselves to retrieve something useful.
Tigthero stepped up behind her. “Good idea sending people for medicine, Pan. I know Kijo has some but I don’t think it’s enough for someone his size.”
