A Demon and a Dragon

by Virlyce

  34

  Tafel swallowed and approached the empress who was kneeling on the ground, her cheek pressed flat to the earth. She was lifting a bush’s leaves with her gloved hand and squinting into the darkness underneath. Her armor was stained with brown streaks, and her hair was filled with leaves and grass. A few bugs crawled down her back, but she didn’t notice underneath her armor. A hoarse voice came out of Mary’s mouth, “Mary Junior?”

  Tafel cleared her throat and took a step closer to the empress. “Mary?”

  Mary stiffened and shot to her feet. She turned around and glared at Tafel, but her expression softened after realizing who it was. Mary’s gaze roamed down, and her eyes lit up. “Mary Junior!” In a flash, she was standing in front of Tafel, her hands grabbing onto the turtlesnake in the demon’s arms. “I was looking all over for you.”

  The turtlesnake let out a pathetic mewl and looked at Tafel with wide, wet eyes. Tafel looked away and let go of the poor creature’s shell, leaving her in Mary’s hands. The demon’s gaze traveled down Mary’s body, and she frowned at the stains covering her armor. “How long were you looking for her?”

  “Since last night,” Mary said, the noontime sun highlighting the brown smudges on her cheeks. “Where did you find her?”

  Tafel scratched her reddening neck. “She … wandered into my room while I was sleeping,” she said, unable to meet Mary’s expectant gaze. “And she was just there when I woke up.”

  Mary beamed and tucked Mary Junior underneath her arm. “I’m glad you found her.”

  “Yeah…, me too,” Tafel said. “Hey. Um, you just want a sword from Grimmy, right? That’s why you’re raising”—she gestured towards the turtlesnake—“her?”

  Mary nodded. “That’s right. Why?”

  “I happen to know a race of little people that are really good at making weapons,” Tafel said. “Like, really, really good weapons. I can introduce you to them if you’d like. I might have to bully a few of them since they’re a little arrogant, but that shouldn’t be a problem since I’m Vur’s wife and he happens to be their king.”

  Mary tilted her head. “Vur’s the king of little people?”

  Tafel’s expression darkened. “You saw how easily he became the great leader of those sheepmen, right? It’s the same thing.”

  “If I get a sword from the little people, wouldn’t that be similar to me owing Vur a favor?” Mary asked and pouted. “I don’t want to owe Vur. I don’t like him.”

  “Just think of it as owing me a favor,” Tafel said. “What’s Vur’s is mine, and what’s mine is Vur’s.”

  “Then isn’t the favor that I owe you also owed to Vur?”

  Tafel furrowed her brow. “I phrased that wrong. But don’t feel like you owe Vur,” she said. “You can obtain the weapon in normal, weapon-obtainy ways like, um, slaying a beast that’s bothering them or something. The point is, you aren’t getting a weapon for free.”

  “Oh,” Mary said. She nodded. “That sounds good. When can we start?”

  “Vur’s gone off to stop a purple dragon from eating his sheep people, but when he gets back, we can go,” Tafel said. “We’ll have to fly since it’s a bit difficult to teleport over an ocean. I’ll have to get my mentor to help me set up a teleportation array between our continents for easier travel.”

  “And I’ll be able to run away with Mary Junior?” Mary asked, looking down at the turtlesnake tucked near her armpit that was hiding in its shell. “If I stay away from this continent, then that black dragon won’t be able to find me. Then, when Mary Junior is grown enough to fight back, I can come back.”

  Tafel stared at the turtle shell. “I think it’ll be thousands of years before she grows old enough to escape from Grimmy’s clutches.”

  Mary bit her lower lip. “But I have to try. This is the first time I’ve ever had to take care of something. I have to raise her well.”

  Tafel sighed. “Instead of waiting for Mary Junior to grow up, why don’t you just focus on becoming strong enough to defend her from Grimmy yourself? I think that’s a slightly less unrealistic goal you can aim for.”

  “Defeat the black dragon…,” Mary murmured. Her face hardened, and she nodded. “If I get a good enough sword, I can do it. Can the little people really make something that strong?”

  “I’m sure they … might be able to,” Tafel said and pursed her lips. “And don’t call them little people to their faces. They’re called dwarves, and they really don’t like being reminded of their height.” Tafel sighed and reached into a portal, taking out a flask of water. “Vur calls them midgets, and they find that really offensive, but he’s their king, so there’s nothing they can do.” She shrugged and placed the flask to her lips.

  Mary furrowed her brow and tapped on Mary Junior’s shell while staring up at the sky. She lowered her head and met Tafel’s gaze. “When it comes time to defeat the black dragon, will you help me?”

  Tafel choked, water bursting out the corners of her mouth. She coughed and snorted, lowering her flask. Her hand thumped her chest a few times, and she straightened her back before wiping her mouth. She raised one eyebrow. “Pardon? Can you repeat that?”

  “I’m going to fight the black dragon for Mary Junior’s sake,” Mary said. “Will you help me when the time comes?”

  “Um, how long do you think it’ll be until you’re ready?” Tafel asked. “You do realize you’re talking about defeating a dragon, right? I mean, it’s possible to kill a dragon, but this dragon isn’t just any dragon. He’s like the evilest, slyest, trickiest dragon you’ll ever deal with.”

  Mary stared at Tafel. “If I had my sword, I could kill a dragon,” she said. “It might be tough, and I might die in the process, but it’s simple. All my sword has to do is stab their heart. If you give me a strong enough sword, I’ll challenge that black dragon right now.”

  Tafel groaned. “Didn’t you lose to him already? When you tried to get that devil that he kidnapped?”

  “No,” Mary said. “I lost against his woman. I didn’t fight him yet.”

  “If you can’t even beat Auntie, you’re not going to beat Grimmy,” Tafel said. “Promise me that you won’t challenge Grimmy until I think you’re ready; otherwise, I won’t help you get a sword from the dwarves.”

  Mary pursed her lips. “Fine. But when you think I’m ready, are you going to help me?”

  “I…, I guess?” Tafel asked, her voice rising in pitch. “Just don’t tell Vur, okay?”

  Mary nodded. “It’ll be our secret.” She glanced down at Mary Junior. “She can’t speak, so it’s okay. Vur won’t find out.”

  ***

  Two phoenixes were perched on the branch of a tree that was overlooking a cliff. One of the phoenixes turned to face the other. “Emile?”

  Emile clacked his beak and narrowed his eyes at his sister. “What?”

  Susan smacked his head with her wing. “Don’t snap at me.” She snorted and placed her wing back at her side. “Are we lost?”

  Emile shook his head and smoothed out his face feathers with his wing. “You don’t know where we are?”

  “Should I?” Susan asked and tilted her head. “I don’t remember being around a place like this.”

  Emile nodded twice. “That settles it then,” he said. “If you don’t know where we are, then yes, we’re lost.”

  “Oh.” Susan turned her head towards the horizon beyond the cliff. “We seem to be getting lost a lot.”

  “That’s perfectly natural,” Emile said. “This is our second time leaving the nest ever. I’d be more surprised if we didn’t get lost.”

  “That’s a fair point,” Susan said. She sighed. “I bet if we didn’t wander off and stayed near Tafel, we wouldn’t be lost though.”

  “There’s no fun in not being lost,” Emile said. “If you’re lost, you get to experience so many things.” He pointed up at the sky with his wing. “Like two dragons flying overhead. Look at that blue one. It’s so plump!”

  Chills
ran down Susan’s spine as the two dragons flying overhead paused, hovering above them. “I think they heard you…,” she whispered and inched closer to the trunk of the tree.

  Emile snorted. “Nonsense,” he said and shook his head. “Look at how far away they are. We can’t hear them talking, and everyone knows phoenixes have better hearing than dragons.”

  “Maybe they aren’t talking,” Susan whispered, practically hissing. “Keep your voice down!”

  Emile rolled his eyes. “Do you think I’m afraid of a couple of dragons?” He shielded his eyes from the sun with his wing and squinted up at the sky. “Hmm? They’re getting bigger?”

  “They’re coming closer!” Susan said, her voice cracking. “Shut up, you dumb brother! You’ll get us both killed!”

  “I—”

  Susan leapt towards Emile and knocked him off the branch. The two phoenixes tumbled past some branches and onto the ground. Susan planted her stomach directly on top of Emile’s face, smothering his beak. She gathered fallen leaves and branches and covered herself with them, but her red feathers were quite obvious compared to the rest of the muted forest floor. A shadow covered her, and she looked up just in time to see a mass of blue scales crush a few trees beside her.

  The blue dragon looked around before knocking over a few trees with her tail, creating a clearing in the forest. She tucked her paws underneath her as she lay on her belly. “This looks like a good place to stop, don’t you think?”

  “Any place you pick is a great place to stop, dear,” the green dragon said and landed next to his mate. He pressed his cheek against hers and draped one wing over her body.

  Susan cringed and hunched her shoulders. She lifted her belly a teensy bit, and there was a gasping sound as Emile took in a deep breath. Then Susan sat back down, covering her brother’s face. He kicked and thrashed, but Susan pinned his wings to the ground with her talons and pecked at his feet until they stopped kicking.

  “Did you hear something?” Sharda asked, looking off to the side.

  “It was probably a rabbit having a heart attack,” Nova said. “You know how easily those things die of fright.”

  “I’m going to check,” Sharda said and climbed to her feet.

  Susan’s heart thumped in her chest as the ground shook beneath her. A moment later, there was a large crashing sound, and she nearly screamed. What happened? She turned her head slowly to avoid making even the slightest sound and squinted through the leaves of a bush. The green dragon had pulled the blue dragon back to the ground.

  Sharda rolled over and frowned at her mate. “What are you doing?”

  “How could I let you check?” Nova asked and chuckled. “What if it’s dangerous? I’ll be the one to check.”

  Susan swallowed, staring at the rising green dragon without blinking. The ground shook as the dragon stomped towards her. She craned her neck up to follow the dragon’s face, and a pair of slit eyes met her gaze from above the treetops. The green dragon stared at her, and she stared back. Susan’s wing trembled as she raised it and held one feather in front of her beak in a shushing motion.

  “Did you see something?” Sharda asked.

  Nova scratched his snout, breaking eye contact with Susan. His head shifted from side to side, sweeping his gaze over the forest floor. “Nope. It was probably just a fallen branch.” He made eye contact with Susan and winked at her, giving her a knowing smile before pulling his head back from the treetops. The ground shook as Nova chuckled and paced around Sharda before settling down, snuggling next to her. “There was a reason why you thought this was a good place, right? We could’ve flown all the way back to the nest, but this place is far enough from the kids, am I right?”

  A throaty laugh was the only response before the ground shook as the two dragons entwined.

  Susan’s eyes widened at the scene beyond the bushes, and she forgot to lift herself to allow Emile to breathe. It was only after the moon rose, and the dragons had long left that Susan waddled off of her brother. She shivered and hugged herself with her wings, crouching down into a ball of fluffy feathers. Emile’s body twitched, and his eyes shot open as he gasped for air. He rolled over and hopped onto his feet before shaking his body like a wet dog. His brow furrowed at his sister. “What happened after I passed out? Don’t ever do that again, by the way.”

  Susan shook her head. “I don’t think we should wander anymore—there’s some very scary things out in the world.” She shuddered and sank her head further down, hiding her beak from view. “Let’s stay by Tafel’s side from now on.”

  ***

  Lindyss lay on a bed inside of a dark cave, a book placed over her face, covering her eyes and nose. Her hands were crossed over her chest, and her stomach rose up and down in time with her steady breaths. By her ear, there was a snoring fairy, wrapped up in her hair as if it were a blanket. Light poured in from the cave’s entrance, but none of that entered Lindyss’ eyes due to the book. Because of that, she didn’t notice when a shadow blocked out the light.

  A purple dragon poked her head inside the cave and looked around. Her eyes lit up upon seeing Lindyss, and she slinked inside. The entrance to the cave was a bit tight around her waist, but she managed to fit after breaking the entrance, widening it a little as rocks crumbled down. Alora crawled next to Lindyss and raised her front paw. “Hey,” she said in a small voice. “Are you asleep?”

  There was no response.

  Alora brought her front claw down and poked Lindyss’ side, causing the cursed elf to twitch and groan. “Wakey, wakey,” Alora said, poking Lindyss continuously. “The sun’s already up. It’s a beautiful day, and it’s a shame to be sleeping at this time.”

  Lindyss lifted her left hand off of her chest and pointed her palm at Alora’s face. Her eyes were still covered by the book, and it didn’t seem like she had any intentions of moving other than that one motion. Mana flooded towards her hand, and her palm glowed with a white light.

  Alora tilted her head. “Is that—”

  Boom!

  Lightning surged out of Lindyss’ palm and struck Alora’s snout, blasting the dragon clear out of the cave without even giving her a chance to scream. Erin shot up and looked around, blinking away the blurriness from her vision. She wrapped Lindyss’ hair tighter around her body and frowned. Seeing that Lindyss’ face was still covered by a book, Erin’s expression relaxed, and she lay back down. “Must’ve been a rat or something.”

  Moments later, the ground shook, and rocks fell from the cave’s ceiling as Alora lumbered back into the cave. “What the heck!? That hurt!”

  Erin sat up again and blinked at the glaring dragon in front of her. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and blinked again, but the dragon was still there. Her head tilted to the side. “Hello?”

  “Hello? Hello!? Is that all you have to say?” Alora asked, smoke puffing out of her blackened snout. “I was shot in the face by a top-tier lightning spear and all you have to say is hello?”

  Erin swallowed. “I don’t shoot lightning spears. You must have the wrong person.”

  “Her!” Alora said and jabbed Lindyss’ side with her claw. “She shot me!”

  Lindyss ripped the book off of her face and tossed it to the ground as she sat up. She glanced down at her side, which was bleeding, before glaring at the dragon in front of her. “Who the turnips are you?”

  Erin blinked. “Did you just use a fairy swear?”

  Lindyss glowered at Erin before climbing out of bed, mana radiating from her palms. She clenched and unclenched her hands before pointing both her palms at Alora. “You have three seconds to respond.”

  “You don’t remember me?” Alora asked. “I’m Alora. I used to be blue, but I dyed my scales purple.”

  Lindyss furrowed her brow and lowered her palms, the mana in them receding. “And what do you want?”

  “You’re certainly grumpy,” Alora said and snorted. “You shot me in the face with a lightning spear. I should be the peeved one here.”

&
nbsp; Lindyss snorted. “When did I do that? And if I did, it’s clearly because you had bad intentions.” She placed her hand against her bleeding side, and green light flowed out of the gaps in her fingers. “So, what do you want? Don’t tell me you woke me up just for fun.”

  Alora narrowed her eyes at Lindyss. “I don’t like the attitude you’re talking to me with. I’m a dragon. Don’t you know you should respect us?”

  Lindyss smeared away the blood on her no-longer-open wound and wiped her hand on her pants. “With all due respect, tell me what you want or get out of my sight.”

  Alora sighed. “Alright, alright. Since I’m the one asking for a favor, I’ll play nice.”

  “A favor from me after so rudely awakening me and not apologizing?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Sorry, okay? Jeez, no need to be so grumpy,” Alora said and rolled her eyes. “Okay, so Vur told me you picked up an orb after killing the red giant. I need that orb.”

  “Vur told you that?” Lindyss asked. “Where is he?”

  “He went to find Tafel to report his safe return,” Alora said. She held out her front paw. “About that orb?”

  Lindyss crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you need it for?”

  “Important dragon stuff,” Alora said and nodded. “Top-secret and totally classified information.”

  “If you don’t tell me what you need it for, its location is about to be a classified bit of information as well,” Lindyss said. “As far as I’ve been able to figure out, it’s only useful for blood magic. And you don’t seem like the type of dragon to dabble in blood magic.”