by Lee Magnus
Lyza remained standing. Nick and Don were on their knees.
“I’ve never gotten – ugghh – used to that,” Don said nearly barfing in the grass.
“It’s been a long time. You’ll get it back,” Lyza said as she comforted him with a light hand on his back. He rose and turned to her as she continued, “I’m so happy you’re alive. I’m sorry it took us so long to find you.”
“It’s ok. You didn’t know. I’ve been in anguish thinking I gave the keys to Khaitu’s freedom to Commerand. I’m glad everything is still intact.”
“It’s not intact but I think we’re still winning.”
“You and I will catch up soon. Go home. Take all the time you need to make things right.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Don said with a big, nervous smile.
She hugged him tightly then turned to Nick.
“I have to find Seth and hurry back. Take the car to get home. Call me if you need me.”
“I will. Let me know when you find Trey.”
She looked down fighting back tears. “I will.” Lyza held Nick’s hands, kissed him on the cheek, then said looking deep into his eyes, “Bye Nick.”
Nick seemed startled and didn’t return the farewell.
She knelt at the stone then disappeared.
Test Results
Trey awoke dizzy. Shadows danced in his peripherals. He made several unsuccessful attempts to clear his vision.
“The fire tamer lives,” said a calm, eerily familiar female British voice.
Trey’s stomach plummeted upon recognition of the metallic voice. “Where am I.”
“You are in my home.”
A shiver engulfed him at the thought of being in a dragon’s lair. However, it wasn’t like in the movies he had seen. It was pleasant and felt peaceful. Also, no hint of a massive treasure.
His voice cracked when he said, “Why can’t I see?”
“Your eyes haven’t yet healed,” she replied elegantly.
“What happened to my eyes?”
“They were badly burned.”
He lowered his voice and said, “Oh. Yeah. That happened. What’d you do to me?” He swam a hand through cloudy water that stretched several meters to each side of the moderately lit cave, “What am I in? Is this some sort of pool?”
“Yes. The water induces your exemplary healing capabilities. You were badly burned from your ill-constructed plan. You nearly died. Tell me, wielder of Andressen’s sword, do you descend from fairies?”
“Fairies? No. Why?”
“Anyone else would have perished from the injuries you sustained.”
“But here I am,”
“Indeed, you are. I’ve only known fairies to possess such healing power.”
Trey remembered Coméllula and what she said about the gifts then continued, “You didn’t even care about the sword to begin with.” Everything remained blurry but he was able to make out certain shapes, including the chatty green dragon resting peacefully next to him at the edge of the water.
“Yes. It is an insignificant weapon in the hands of anyone but Khaitu – including yourself. I would like to know how it came into your possession.“
Trey laughed, “By accident. Like everything else that has happened – including you.”
“Nothing, dear boy, happens by accident.”
“Tell me again why I’m here? You tried to kill me remember, Tanarkin? Should I call you Tanarkin or Tanny?”
“I have grown fond of Tanny over the years. Don’s incessant attempts to sway my favor with conversation didn’t go unheard.”
“Tanny it is.”
“Killing you wasn’t my intention. I had to test you.”
“Test me? What if you killed me with your test?”
“Then you would have failed, of course.”
“Of course,” Trey repeated somberly.
“But why? Why did you have to test me?”
“I had to know if it were true. It has been foretold – Above the forest he will arise, the one from the line will become a savior of his forefathers, impervious to dragon’s breath, resistant to death.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you had the sword and I had to test you. You didn’t die so you must be the one.”
Trey used his farce to continue his purpose. “My friends. Let them go,” he said in a weak attempt at a manly voice.
“They’re already gone.”
A rush of relief surged through him. “Really? You let them pass through the portal?”
“As you said, my duties here are no longer required. Are you sure Ragnistant is dead?”
“Yes. Well. He’s in the Etherios I, uh, was told, but the snake part of him is gone.”
“Fire Tamer, you cannot lie to a dragon. I am aware of the potions and I know you have visited Logos.”
“How do you know all of that?”
“I perceived it through our connection while you were healing. A connection we will now forever share.”
“But I don’t feel you like I did with Ragnistant.”
“Thank you,” she replied. Trey sensed pleasure in her words.
“Wait!” Trey said startled. “What do you mean by forever share?”
“Once you make a mental connection with a dragon, that connection remains open through space and time.”
“You mean we’ll always be able to talk to each other, no matter where we are?”
“You are correct,” she said cheerfully.
“That’s just great,” Trey said as he rolled his eyes and huffed a big sigh. He continued, “If you knew about the potions, why did you still help me. Wait, you yielded to me before I passed out. You didn’t know about the potions until after.”
“And my word is my bond.”
“But you didn’t have to save me. You could have let me die or,” he gulped, “ate me.”
The water rippled violently at the force of her hearty laughter. “I would never eat a helpless child.” She leered with a playful eye, “But you were cooked just about right,”
“That’s not funny,” Trey replied. He shifted uncomfortably in the water then stood. His clothes were scorched rags. He rubbed a dark spot on his leg where his skin was burned. Trey’s thoughts suddenly turned to himself, of spending the rest of his days with a vicious dragon.
She followed effortlessly as Trey moved through the lair.
“I suppose I will stay in Don’s farm hut?” he said dismayed. “How do I get down there?”
“That would be fine, if that’s what you choose. However, wouldn’t going home be preferable?”
“Home!” Trey said excitedly. “You’ll let me go home?”
She smiled in his mind, “Yes. And I’ll take you there.”
“But how? We don’t have a key.”
She lowered a wing intending him to climb on. He hesitated. “Isn’t there another way?”
“Yes,” she said as she moved her massive head closer and opened her mouth wide.
Trey quickly said, “No thanks!” He then stepped onto the autumn colored tip of the great wing. Before hiking up he rubbed the wing surface in amazement. “Your scales are leaves.” He rubbed leaf shaped scales the size of his head. They were hard and Trey thought, impenetrable to most weapons of which he was familiar. “They’re beautiful.” He then proceeded to slowly crawl along its length. He pulled toward her neck using dark green spines that trailed her from head to tail. He found a position at the base of her neck where the spines were smallest and more manageable than the human-sized ones on her back and neck.
She crawled to the opening high in the mountain. Trey shivered in the cold.
“Hold on tight,” she said, just as she leaped from the edge.
Trey ducked low, holding onto a narrow spine with both hands.
The wind rushed through two tree-like antlers that split into four of haphazard shape. It blew down her neck at a hurricane’s speed and pelted Trey with blistering force. He pressed his feet harder onto raised spines
and held tighter, unsure if his grip would be sufficient to sustain the dive.
She spread her wings to level out over the tranquil lake. Trey softened his grip as the warm air and gravity eased his insecurity.
She made a wide, swooping turn then landed gently at the stone on the hill. Trey observed the burnt crater created from their earlier battle. She lowered a wing prompting Trey to initiate a thrilling slide down onto the ground. She then rested a foot at the base of the portal. A grey root shaped claw grew from a large toe. It twisted into a familiar shape as it protruded outward.
Trey looked at her strangely then laid a hand on her wing. She pressed the shape to the portal sending them to the well in the forest.
Trey stood in the dark forest, holding the hand of a charming older woman. Her skin was pale in the moonlight – her tightly braided hair was the color of autumn leaves. She wore a flowing green dress with no shoes.
Trey felt oddly close to the woman, as if she were family or a dear friend. He stared longingly into golden yellow eyes.
“Shall we?” she asked as she pointed him toward a clearing just beyond the overgrown trail.
They walked quietly through the dense forest. She tenderly stroked soft fingers over several towering trunks as if thanking them for their majestic service.
When they entered the clearing, she faced Trey and took him by both hands. He looked curiously into her eyes. She then quickly spun him as if enthralled in a passionate Latin dance and tossed him high into the air as she transformed into the gargantuan dragon.
Trey screamed as he rose higher and higher until at the apex of his loft, he gently settled onto the base of Tanarkin’s neck.
“Don’t ever do that again! Please!”
She laughed as she darted toward the brightly lit city in the distance.
Reunion
A distant “Hey Jude,” eeked from the speakers of Lyza’s sports car. The two men sat quietly with their thoughts. Nick tossed around memories of Trey and how he would try to explain his disappearance to Janet, Trey’s mother. Don thought only about meeting his family. About what they would say – about how angry Clara would be.
Don stared blankly out the passenger window, lost in a daze when he suddenly lurched forward then smashed into the passenger door as the car skidded to an abrupt halt in the middle of the deserted road. He stared out the smooth glass as his body petrified in fear. A huge glowing yellow eye peered into the tiny vehicle.
“Tanny! She’s come for us! Go! Nick! Go! Go! Go!”
Nick stomped on the gas spinning the car around in a cloud of tire smoke. He immediately slammed on the brakes again when Tanny blocked their escape with a well-placed foot.
Nick jumped out of the car intending to run. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice call his name. “Trey? Is that you?”
“Mr. H!”
“Trey! Where are you?”
Trey came running around Tanny’s enormous foot and nearly tackled Nick.
“Trey! We thought we lost you.”
“I know. But I’m okay, thanks to Tanny.”
“What? We watched her burn and eat you.”
“No. She’s good now. She actually saved my life. I’ll explain later.”
“I don’t care how you’re still alive I’m just glad you are.” He hugged the boy again so hard Trey lost his breath.
“Mr. H! Mr. H! You’re killing me!” Trey said jokingly.
“Sorry, son. I’m just happy you’re safe. Can we go home now?”
Trey looked up at Tanny. She nodded in approval. He then said, “Yes! Let’s go home!”
“Thank you, Fire Tamer,” she projected to Trey.
“For what?”
“For setting me free and giving me another purpose.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Just call out when you need me. I’ll always be there,” she said just before disappearing into the night. The wind from her wings nearly tossed he and Nick to the ground.
“I’m sure you will,” he said staring into the darkness.
“I will what?” Nick asked.
“Oh. Nothing.”
Nick and Trey joined Don in the car.
“You could have said bye to her,” Trey said to Don. “She’s really nice.”
“No. I’m good. I’ve had enough of dragons for a while.”
~~
“Hey. He’s alive. Yeah. Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker phone,” Nick said.
“Hey Lyza.”
“Trey! You’re alive!”
“Yep.”
“That’s amazing! But how?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I bet it is. Another one that you will have to tell me soon.”
Trey laughed at her insinuation of all the details he has left out up to this point.
She continued, “Your mom will be waiting for you when you get home. You should be safe for a while. I have people watching to help if Commerand should send anyone your way. But I wouldn’t worry. His full attention will be on the eye.”
“That means that he doesn’t yet have it?”
“Right.”
“What about Clievan? Have you found him?”
“No. But that’s good. The longer he stays out of sight, the better off we’ll all be. Seth is on his trail. We’ll find him soon.”
“But they came before looking for just the disk. Now I have all three pieces. Why wouldn’t they be back soon?”
“That’s exactly why he won’t be after you now. He knows where it is and feels he can get it later. But for now, his mandate is to free Khaitu by securing the eye and the relics. Even if he got the eye tomorrow, it could be years, even decades before he finds all the relics. Plus, they weren’t after the disk. You see, your grandfather left behind a book. The book holds the locations of the relics.”
“So, they now have this book and can easily find the relics?” Trey said worriedly.
“No. I found it while you were sleeping. I hid it.”
“Hid it? Why not destroy it?” asked Nick.
“The relics are what can bring him out of his prison, but they are also the only way to fully imprison him. He wasn’t properly bound in the original ceremony. There’s a possibility he can become free another way. He may even already be free. However, that is unlikely considering the effort they put forth to find the book. If he were to escape, we would need to quickly find the relics.”
“I understand. So, me and my family are ok until Khaitu comes looking for the sword?”
“Yes. But if that happens, we have more to worry about than those annoying roggletts.”
“Ok. Is there anything else I need to know?”
“No. I think that is it for now. I hope to see you guys again under better circumstances. And Trey! Good luck on your match this weekend.”
“My match against Ridgeview! I completely forgot about that! Coach Rafiq will be furious with me for missing practice.”
“You’ll do fine. Take care of yourself…and Nick?”
“Yes? “Watch after that kid.”
“I’m not taking my eyes off of him,” he said, glancing at Trey.
“I know you won’t.”
“I’ll see you all soon. Take care.”
“Bye, Lyza,” Trey, Nick and Don said nearly in unison.
Nick looked again at Trey in the rear-view mirror, “Let’s get you back to your mom. I bet she’s worried sick.”
“But first, let’s take Don home,” Trey countered.
“That good with you?” Nick asked Don.
“Yeah. Let’s do it,” Don said nervously.
~~
Nick felt uncomfortable driving the fancy sports car through the rough apartment complex. A group of baggy-clothed teens huddled around a corner streetlight eyed them as they completed the right turn into block 306. He pulled the car into an empty spot fronting building C where Don’s wife and son live. A repetitive beat echoed in the early night. Trey thought he could make out a few words.
; Before the Maybach, I’d drive anythang
Buy my Range, make em go insane
Two men in their mid-twenties sat on the steps to the building.
“You ready?” Nick said to Don.
“Which one is it again?”
“Stop procrastinating and go already,” Trey said.
“Come with me, Trey.”
Trey thought about Donald and the anger he expressed during the chase through the playground. “I – I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll help much.”
“It would make me feel better.”
“Go on, Trey. It’ll be ok,” Nick said assuredly.
“Uh. O-kay,” Trey said nervously. “I’ll go. But don’t be surprised when Donald isn’t happy to see me.”
“Same here,” Don said. His heightened anxiety was stamped on his face. He looked like he was facing Tanny rather than his family.
“Let’s go, Mr. Smith. We’ll be ok.”
When they exited the car one of the men on the steps said to Don, “That’s a sweet ride, pops! Tell yo friend to let me take it for a spin.” He then laughed and backhanded the other playfully on the chest.
The men politely moved aside to let Don and Trey into the building.
They climbed two flights of dimly lit stairs before arriving at C215.
Don stood in front of the doorway, took two deep breaths then turned to Trey, “Are you sure about this?”
“Just knock, Mr. Smith. We’re here. You can’t back out now.”
He faced the door, took another deep breath, raised his hand and placed three knocks on the door.
A few seconds passed – then a minute.
“They aren’t here. Let’s go.” Don turned toward the stairs just as a voice behind the door said, “Who’s there?” It was Donald.
Don’s face was white. He stood speechless. He didn’t know what to expect but seemed caught off guard at the thought of meeting Little Don first – the son he unintentionally abandoned.
Trey urged Don to speak but Don said nothing.