Tirgath scoffed loudly. “Whatever for?”
Pravara gave Tirgath such an uncomprehending look that the silver Zweigelan’s right head was taken aback.
“It’s what all dragons strive for,” Pravara finally answered. “I want to be like them. I want to fit in. I want to hear the song of my brethren.”
“Did your parents force you to recite that?” Tirgath bitterly asked. “Typical wyverian hypocrisy.”
Properly confused, Pravara turned to Steve.
“What does that mean?”
Steve laid a reassuring hand on her side.
“Don’t listen to them. He’s just a grouch. Ignore them.”
Pravara nodded once then looked back over at the silver Zweigelan. “Mother tells me the Collective will return soon.”
“The Collective is not for us,” Dirgath quietly responded.
“It is so,” Syrreth corrected.
Dirgath and Tirgath turned to see Syrreth and Ferreth join Pravara and begin to walk alongside her.
“Heard the songs she speaks of, we have,” Syrreth told them.
“Not as bad as we had originally thought,” Ferreth added.
The silver Zweigelan faced off against its green counterpart.
“Have you grown to enjoy being their puppet?” Tirgath sneered.
Ferreth bared his teeth and growled. Worried that he might actually try to snap at Tirgath, Syrreth deliberately swung his head in front of his twin’s.
“We hated being included in their Collective at first,” Syrreth admitted, “but have since discovered something we hate even more.”
Curious, both Dirgath and Tirgath cocked their heads to the side, as if they had heard a high pitched noise.
“And what would that be?” Dirgath wanted to know.
Syrreth met their gaze. “Returning to solitary life.”
“Zweigelans do not need the support of others,” Tirgath spat out. “Not now and not ever.”
“Aye, we do,” Syrreth countered. “Try it sometime, you should. Wait until you are fully accepted by the wyverians. Then, if you prefer, you may leave. The Dragon Lord says it is up to us now whether we wish to remain in the Collective. An honor, it is. We have accepted that honor. You should as well.”
Dirgath snorted. “Do you believe that?”
The green Zweigelan nodded both of their heads.
Dirgath eyed Tirgath and stepped off to the side and started a hushed argument amongst themselves. Syrreth and Ferreth moved off to the side as well.
“Why did you come?” Ferreth asked, genuinely curious. “You told us what you know. You don’t have to be here. Why bother in the affairs of the dragons?”
“We want to see her outwitted,” Tirgath answered as he, and his twin, smiled lecherously.
“Why?” Steve asked as the dragons were loud enough he could still hear them. “You don’t owe her any allegiance.”
“Arrogant, she is,” Tirgath told him.
“Believes herself superior, she does,” Dirgath agreed.
Understanding, Steve smiled. “She thinks she’s better than you. That must be annoying.”
Neither of the silver Zweigelan’s heads responded.
“So you’re just waiting, hoping, that she’ll be defeated. Humiliated. Am I right?”
Dirgath shrugged and tried to act indifferent. “Whether successful or not, it should be interesting to watch.”
Steve suddenly straightened. He reached an arm up behind his back to grasp the hilt of his sword. A knowing look passed over his face. He glanced at Sarah and nodded.
“It’s showtime.”
“Already?”
“They’re ready, so yeah. We’re up.”
Sarah looked at him. “Okay, let’s do this. Dirgath, Tirgath, make yourself scarce. Be watching and be ready. If you want to see the female Zweigelan defeated then we’re going to need your cooperation.”
Dirgath and Tirgath were silent but nodded their heads. They disappeared into the densely wooded forest and vanished. Steve waited a few moments before he cracked his knuckles together and took a few deep breaths. He then allowed his posture to slump. He became fidgety, restless.
As he nervously glanced around the surroundings he briefly locked eyes on their Zweigelan.
“Remember,” he quietly whispered to them. “No matter what you’re about to hear, just play along. Understand”
Syrreth nodded while Ferreth began glancing nervously around, as instructed. Steve smiled and gave them a thumbs-up, but the meaning was lost on the two-headed dragon. Steve looked at Sarah and leaned forward. Wanting to be included, Syrreth and Ferreth both stretched out their necks so they could hear what was being said. Little Pravara squeezed by their Zweigelan so that she could be next to Sarah. Steve spoke loudly so everyone could hear him.
“So do you think they’ll agree to the trade or do you think they’ll want something else in exchange for it?”
“In exchange for what?” Pravara automatically asked.
Sarah placed a hand on her nose and smiled.
“Don’t say anything,”she quietly told the young dragon. “Just listen and play along, okay?”
Pravara fell silent.
Sarah nodded. “I’m certain they will. They really didn’t like giving up their helix. Personally, I think they’re getting the worst part of this deal. A firestone. Can you believe it? Even the Kri’yans don’t have one of those.”
“I assume you are Lady Sarah and Sir Steve?” a gruff voice suddenly announced.
Everyone turned to look back at the forest. Three dwarves dressed in full leather armor, complete with black dual-headed battleaxes strapped across their backs, had appeared. They bowed so low that the tips of their beards brushed the ground.
“I have a package for you from Master Breslin,” the lead dwarf announced.
“Louder,” Sarah whispered.
Caught off guard, the dwarf blinked at her.
“What?”
“Say that louder.”
“Very well.”
The dwarf cleared his throat a few times.
“Ahem ahem. I have a package for you from Master Breslin,” the dwarf said again, this time projecting his voice almost to the point of a shout.
There were a few seconds of silence as the three dwarves eyed the humans, who in turn, eyed them back. Sarah nudged her husband. Steve snapped his fingers.
“That’s right. I have lines.” He straightened and then said in a much louder voice, “You’ve kept your promise. So shall we. We’ll get you your ruby helix back. The last thing we want to do is return this rare firestone.”
“How is it the stone hasn’t incinerated the package?” Sarah asked as she took the tightly wrapped bundle. She looked at the lead dwarf and waited for an answer.
“How is what not burning the package?” one of the other dwarves asked, bewildered.
“You were told to play along,” Steve whispered to the dwarves. “No matter how absurd. Now, you were saying?”
Recovering first, the lead dwarf chuckled. “Right. That’s a good question. The wrappings haven’t burnt because the fabric is composed of, um, er, dragon fibers.”
Startled, both Zweigelans began growling at the dwarves, who hastily started backing away.
“How hot can the firestone get?” Steve asked as he began warming up to the game.
“Hot enough to melt the strongest armor,” the third dwarf added. “I’ve heard it will even melt Narian armor.”
“Impossible,” the lead dwarf instantly snapped out. “Um, er, I mean, really? How remarkable!”
Sarah started to unwrap the bundle when Steve let out a concerned shout.
“Sarah! What are you doing? If you unwrap that thing then you’ll burn! You’d better let me.”
“Darn it, I want to see it,” Sarah softly muttered.
“You will, but I have to be first,” Steve whispered back.
He took the tightly wrapped bundle from Sarah and began peeling back thick layers
of leather.
“That’s some mighty fine dragon fibers you have there,” Steve commented as he tried to keep a straight face.
“There’s a reason you’ve never heard of a dwarf storyteller,” the first dwarf grumbled in a quiet voice but loud enough for Steve to hear.
Peeling back the last layer of fabric, the ‘firestone’ was revealed. On cue, the stone began to blaze brightly just as soon as everyone could see it.
“Oooo, that’s pretty!” Sarah exclaimed as she looked at the exotic jewel.
What she was looking at was a simple fire opal, but thanks to Steve’s impressive jhorun, anything would look like it was burning in his hands and still remain undamaged if he so chose. Therefore this stone gave off the appearance of it being covered with flames, yet it wasn’t showing any signs of damage.
“Want to hold it?” Steve asked as he offered it to his wife.
Sarah hesitated.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s perfectly safe,” Steve quietly assured her. “It won’t burn you unless I want it to, and trust me, I don’t want to end up in the doghouse for an entire month.”
Sarah giggled quietly. “If you burned me it’d be longer than that, dear.”
Steve smiled and handed her the jewel. He watched, fascinated, as Sarah studied the flaming stone. The fire opal was the size of a baseball, perfectly spherical, and was a grayish white in color. What made the stone even more striking was the bright streaks of vibrant color running through the heart of the opaque gem. Dazzling ribbons of gold were interwoven with stunning cobalt blues and blazing reds. Holding the gem up to the sunlight caused it to sparkle even more. Add the pyrotechnical effects of Steve’s jhorun and the ‘firestone’ became the prettiest gem anyone had ever seen.
“This is lovely,” Sarah decided. “I’m sure Dirgath and Tirgath would gladly exchange their Heart for this firestone.”
“Well, let’s find out. They said they’d meet us at the edge of the forest. Well, the border is right over there. Let’s go find them.”
“They better not have wandered off,” Sarah muttered under her breath.
“Do you trust this other Zweigelan?” Steve asked, remembering that he had more lines to recite out loud.
“No,” Sarah admitted as she shook her head, “I don’t.”
“Well, before he puts in an appearance, maybe you should hide the firestone. Just in case.”
“Hide it where?”
“How about that tree?” Steve suggested.
He was pointing to a fallen log that looked as though it had been hollowed out on one end, no doubt by some burrowing creature. There was more than enough room to stash a jewel. Sarah got down on her hands and knees and rewrapped the firestone. She reverently placed the leather bundle inside the log and then pulled some dried shrubbery in front of the log’s open end. She hastily returned to her husband’s side. Together they hurried away from the log, but kept the fallen tree within their line of sight.
“This damn female Zweigelan had better be around here,” Steve grumbled. “This is an awful lot of work to go through if it isn’t.”
Sarah smiled. She put a finger to her lips.
Right on cue the silver Zweigelan appeared. It hooked the tip of its tail around the closest tree and leaned forward, all without completely leaving the safety of the trees. It fixed Steve and Sarah in its sights.
“Have you brought the stone?”
Steve nodded.
“We have. Show us your Heart first.”
“Our heart is here,” Dirgath assured him. “It is safe. Give us the firestone.”
“You can have the stone once we’re holding the ruby helix,” Steve gravely told the Zweigelan. “And not a moment sooner. We trust you about as much as you trust us.”
“We will not show our Heart until we see the stone.”
Sarah laid a hand on Steve’s outstretched arm and gently pushed his arm down to his side.
“Fair’s fair. Let’s show him.”
Sarah teleported the bundle to her arms. She unwrapped the fire opal and held it up as soon as the last layer of packing had been removed. The jewel burned brightly. It was the first time the second Zweigelan had seen the ‘firestone’.
“We would exchange it,” Dirgath decided, using a low voice.
“Gladly,” Tirgath agreed.
Steve looked up at silver Zweigelan, who only had eyes for the ‘firestone’.
“It’s a fake, you guys,” Steve whispered to them. “It’s only burning ‘cause I’m making it burn.”
“We’d still exchange our Heart for your firestone.”
The group began walking towards the nearby forest. Dirgath and Tirgath were gazing at the firestone with such rapt fascination that Steve halfway expected the dragon’s tail to start wagging like a dog’s.
“Aren’t you forgetting something, human?” the first dwarf asked.
Startled, everyone turned back to the previous owners of the firestone. They had forgotten that the dwarves were still present and had been watching the proceedings. The first dwarf had his hand out, palm up.
“I’ll have that ruby now.”
Steve hesitated. He looked worriedly at Sarah.
“Umm, we don’t have it at the moment,” Sarah admitted. “We’ll get it to you, okay?” In a much quieter tone she added, “You weren’t supposed to say anything else. Maelnar assured me himself!”
“If you want this to be believable then an exchange must be made,” the lead dwarf insisted. “Just hand me anything.”
“Thanks to you and your big mouth now we have to give you something that looks like a ruby,” Steve complained as he scowled at the dwarf.
“Do you promise to return our Heart to us if we were to give it to you?”
Steve turned to look up at Dirgath.
“We do.”
“We were asking the female.”
Sarah suppressed a giggle as she caught sight of Steve’s darkening expression. She nodded. “We do.”
One moment the silver Zweigelan’s claws were empty. A second later the twisted ruby had appeared in the Zweigelan’s right claw. Dirgath held it out to Sarah, who gingerly plucked it out of the dragon’s claw. Sarah, in turn, faced the dwarf and dropped the ruby onto his palm.
“We’ll need this back.”
The dwarf studied the ruby whorl. Then he turned to Sarah and bowed. “So this is the jewel that has caused so much fuss. Milady, I am Vardos. You have my word I will keep this safe.”
Sarah curtsied. “I know you will. Better get going.”
Vardos nodded. “Right. Until we meet again.”
The three dwarves stepped back into the heavily wooded forest and disappeared.
Tirgath spoke up. “We were serious. We will exchange our Heart for the firestone. May we see it?”
“This is just for show,” Steve reminded them, as he took the jewel from Sarah and showed it to Tirgath.
Since the jewel had been uncovered Steve had ordered his jhorun to keep the gem nestled in a bed of flames. No burning, he told his jhorun. Put on a show, sure, but the jewel needs to remain unharmed.
The ‘firestone’ blazed brightly as tongues of red flames danced through Steve’s fingers and across the glassy surface. Steve raised the jewel high into the air and at the same time blasted his jhorun up through his hand, making it look like the firestone had just emitted a jet of fire.
Facing away from the forest Steve waved the stone through the air. A snaking tentacle of fire shot out and hovered in the air for a few moments before eventually fading away. No matter how he waved the jewel through the air he instructed his jhorun to create a burning strand of fire in the same shape so that it looked as though the gem had created the streaks of fire.
Dirgath and Tirgath only had eyes for the firestone. Slowly, one of the Zweigelan’s claws stretched out and remained open, palm facing up. He wanted the firestone.
Steve shook his head. “Nuh-uh. No way. I think our firestone is worth more than
your helix. I think we need to renegotiate.”
He handed the gem back to Sarah, who wrapped the pieces of leather back around it and teleported it back to its hiding place within the log. Sarah suddenly looked at him. Goosebumps had appeared on her arms. Steve returned her gaze and stiffened. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up.
“Are you feeling this?” Steve quietly asked Sarah. “It feels like we’re being watched.”
“I feel it, too,” Sarah agreed. “Think it’s her?”
Husband and wife turned around just in time to see a sleek red and black shape bolt out of the nearby forest, rip apart the hollow log, and then raise the bundle triumphantly up into the air. Twin black heads on thin serpentine necks grinned maliciously at the two humans before the leather wrappings were ripped off the jewel. It held the firestone up in its left claw and hesitated as it was expecting bolts of flame to come erupting from its hand.
Nothing happened.
The gem sat harmlessly, glittering in the sunlight, in the red dragon’s hand. It wasn’t burning. Confused, the female Zweigelan looked up at the approaching humans and growled dangerously. It again tried to use the non-existent powers of the gem before finally giving up and streaking back to the forest.
It happened so fast that the third Zweigelan had all but vanished into the trees before any of them could move. The black tip of its tail was the only visible part of it left and even that was rapidly disappearing, much like a coil of rope would be pulled into the water if it was attached to a sinking anchor. The tail suddenly froze in place and at the same time everyone heard twin bellows of outrage. Without warning, the tail was yanked backwards, dragging the struggling Zweigelan with it.
Trees were uprooted and deep gouges appeared in the soft earth as the red Zweigelan, with black wings and dual black heads, was pulled out of the forest by its tail. Sarah pulled the struggling Zweigelan a full fifty feet away from the forest’s edge before she finally ordered her jhorun to stop. The female Zweigelan shrieked with rage and lunged at them.
Sarah jumped backwards in alarm just as twin jets of fire blasted from Steve’s outstretched palms, hitting the black-winged red dragon full in the chest. Unaffected by the blast the third Zweigelan readied another lunge but was suddenly lifted up off the ground. It writhed and flopped around in the air as though someone had electrified its tail. Cursing, growling, groaning, hissing; the Zweigelan went through the entire gamut of emotions while trying to find something in the air for it to pull itself back to the ground.
Something Wyverian This Way Comes Page 28