by Virlyce
Alice brushed his hand away and rolled her eyes. “Anyways,” she said, fixing her gaze onto Alora, “if you want to make a good first impression with your grandfather, then the best way is to stay with him now instead of running away; otherwise, that trio is going to take up the most space in his heart.”
Mr. Skelly frowned. “Do you have some repressed feelings that you aren’t sharing with me?” he asked, leaning over so that his empty eye sockets were taking up most of Alice’s view. “Aren’t you an only child? Who robbed your parents’ affection from you?”
Alice placed her finger on Mr. Skelly’s forehead and pushed his skull away. “It wasn’t my parents. My grandfather raised this lion cub, and he liked it a lot more than me.”
“Your grandfather raised lions?” Tafel asked, looking away from her glowing staff.
“I don’t want to hear that tone of voice coming from you,” Alice said. “You have no right to question the sanity of raising lions.”
“That’s a fair point,” Tafel said and chewed on her lower lip. She raised her staff and knocked the butt of it against the ground. “Portal’s ready.” A portal appeared in front of her, large enough to accommodate a dragon.
“How come you had to make calculations for this portal but not the one before?” Alora asked, gesturing towards the ripped edge of space.
“I’m rationing my mana,” Tafel said. “There’s a ratio between the size of the mass passing through a portal and the amount of mana it takes. If I’m unsure, then I can make an extremely large portal, but I’ll have used excess mana that goes to waste. Calculations let me make the margin of error as small as possible so that I don’t have to waste as much.”
“Oh,” Alora said. “I see. How much mana does it take to transport a dragon?”
“A lot.”
Alora furrowed her brow. “Does … it take more mana to transport me compared to the average dragon?”
Tafel scratched her head. “Well, I haven’t transported that many dragons, you see….”
“She’s trying to be polite, but we all know you’re fat, Alora,” Eldest called out from his safe spot next to his grandpa.
“Fight me!” Alora glared at her younger brother and bared her teeth at him.
“You see, Grandpa? She’s so aggressive!” Eldest said, looking up at Nova with watery eyes.
Nova petted his grandson’s head. “Now, now, Eldest. You shouldn’t tease your cousin like that. It’s not very nice.”
Alora snorted and tromped through the portal. Tafel glanced at Vur before looking behind him at Mr. Skelly and Alice. “Shall we head off?”
“You two can go,” Alice said. “The dragon that was chasing Lindyss seemed pretty angry, and unlike you two, Nate and I aren’t dragonproof. If we get trampled on, we’ll die.”
“Again,” Mr. Skelly added.
“I’m not dragonproof either,” Tafel said, a wrinkle appearing on her forehead.
“Yeah, but it’s your grandmother-in-law that you’re fetching,” Alice said. She waved at Tafel. “Bye now. You should get going before the portal closes.”
Tafel rolled her eyes. “You have no sense of adventure.” She grabbed Vur’s hand and stood up. “Let’s go.”
“It’s not that I don’t have a sense of adventure,” Alice said, cupping one hand over her mouth as Tafel walked towards the portal. “It’s just that my sense of self-preservation outweighs it.”
Tafel raised one hand into the air before disappearing into the portal. A moment later, it winked out of existence. Mr. Skelly raised an eyebrow, his skull contorting as his eye socket widened a little. “If you had a sense of self-preservation, you wouldn’t have agreed to be a part of their party in the first place.”
Alice shrugged. “They don’t do dangerous things all the time. It just so happens that I know my limits. I just wish I was a little stronger, so I could accompany them around more.”
“Really!?” a muffled voice shouted from the bag hanging on Alice’s waist. “No takebacks! I grant your wish! I’m free!” Laughter rang out of the bag, followed by a fit of choking and coughing. “Freedom! I hope you enjoy your little bit of added strength!”
Alice and Mr. Skelly stared at the leather bag. Alice swallowed and opened it. The jar inside was empty save for a weird mixture of liquid. “…Do you think he corrupted my wish?”
Mr. Skelly scratched his skull. “Well, your outer appearance hasn’t changed. Maybe we can ask Mervin sometime in the future.”
36
“What is this place?” Sharda frowned and inspected the altar, sniffing the air with her raised snout. “Something this dreary was infesting my territory?” Her eyes narrowed and she glared at Grimmy. “You have something to do with this, don’t you? If you didn’t, why would you be here?”
Grimmy scratched his chin. “Yeah,” he said and nodded. “One of my experiments ran off and escaped to this continent, but it arrived here before you did. So, technically, you’re the one who encroached on its territory first.”
Sharda’s face darkened. “You and your experiments. Don’t you ever learn?”
“What do you mean?” Grimmy asked and tilted his head. “I learn through my experiments. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for all the things I’ve tried. If anything, I’m the epitome of learning.”
Sharda heaved a sigh. “Whatever this place is, get rid of it,” she said. “I don’t want it here. Move it to Nova’s continent…, actually, no, move it to Kondra’s nest instead. Let her deal with whatever it is you’ve planted here.”
Grimmy blinked. “What if this place is beneficial like the Fountain of Youth?”
“Nothing you’ve ever made has benefitted anyone except for yourself,” Sharda said and bared her teeth. “I don’t care if this place generated the most delicious cookies in the world at the cost of nothing; get rid of it.”
“A magical place that generates the most delicious cookies at the cost of nothing?”
Grimmy and Sharda turned their heads towards the entrance to the altar room. A moment later, Alora’s purple face poked through the darkness and into the light. She licked her lips and looked around. “Where are the cookies? If you got rid of the cookie generator, get un-rid of it, please. I could use some cookies.”
“I don’t think you’ll find any cookies here,” Tafel said from beside Alora’s foot. “There’s an altar and some bookshelves, nothing pastry-related at all.” She walked up to a nearby bookshelf and blew on the books’ spines, sending a cloud of red dust into the air. Her eyes widened, and she stood on her tiptoes to pull down a book from the top shelf. She bit her lower lip and traced her finger over the title. “How to Become a Demon Lord: For Dummies?”
Vur appeared beside her, peering over her shoulder. Then he glanced up at the bookshelf. “There’s a lot more of those,” he said and pointed. “How to Become an Elder Lich: For Dummies. How to Become a Zombie Lord: For Dummies. How to Become a Vampire: For Dummies.” He blinked and walked around Tafel, pulling the vampire book off the bookshelf. It wasn’t actually a book, but a slab of wood shaped in the form of a book. On its front surface, there were only seven words: Get bit by a vampire and live. Vur flipped the wooden slab over, but there was nothing on its back. He flipped it back to its front. “Huh. That’s easier than I thought.”
Tafel pursed her lips. “If we had traveled just a little further after exploring the chimera queen’s nest, we would’ve discovered this place earlier.” She swallowed and opened her book’s cover, revealing the front page. On it, there was the image of a fairy. Tafel’s eyes widened, and she turned the page over. After reading the contents, she swallowed and looked up at Vur. “I think this is real.”
“Really!?”
Tafel flinched and turned around. Alora was staring at Lindyss with sparkling eyes, the dragon’s mouth hanging open in a grin. “She’s really going to listen to everything I say for five centuries?” Alora asked and looked up at her grandma. “You’re the best, Grandma.”
&n
bsp; Tafel exchanged glances with Vur, who shrugged.
Grimmy cleared his throat. “Ahem. You have to forgive me first,” he said. “While we both know I haven’t tortured you or anything and you were just making up nonsense claims, it’s clear our relationship wasn’t that great. If you want her to be your servant, then all ill will between us will disappear like smoke.”
“Oh!” Vur said, drawing the three dragons’ and Lindyss’ attentions. He nodded. “You should accept the deal so you won’t have to rely on Zyocuh to get revenge on Grimmy.” He furrowed his brow. “But then Auntie will be your servant for five hundred years, and that’s a really long time, so maybe you shouldn’t.” He shrugged before turning to Tafel. “How come making decisions is so hard sometimes?”
“Wait,” Grimmy said. “Repeat that part about Alora relying on Zyocuh to get revenge on me.”
Vur blinked at Grimmy. “Alora said she wanted to get revenge on you because you did unspeakable things to her, so she tricked Zyocuh by sticking him into her claw and forced him into helping her get stronger. That’s why she was eating my people.”
“You were eating people?” Sharda asked, her eyes widening at Alora.
Alora glared at Vur before looking up at her grandma with an aggrieved expression. “They were sheep, Grandma. I didn’t know Vur had sheep for his subjects.”
Sharda furrowed her brow. “Who’s Zyocuh?”
“The runaway experiment,” Grimmy said before Alora could respond. He gestured towards the altar. “He owned this place.”
“And you stuck him into your claw?” Sharda asked, grabbing Alora’s paw. She raised it into the air in front of her face and frowned. When she saw nothing out of the ordinary, she put it down and lifted her other paw. “Where is he?”
Alora struggled free from her grandma’s grasp. “Vur’s just making up stories. I don’t know about any Zyocucumber or whatever.”
“What?” Vur asked, his eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Lindyss raised her hand. “I, for one, have never heard Vur tell a lie. You should believe him. Your granddaughter is lying to you right now, and it’d be a horrible practice to give a liar a servant. She shouldn’t be rewarded for lying or else it’ll teach her to lie to you more often.”
“Now, now,” Grimmy said, stepping between Vur and Alora. “Let’s not throw around any accusations. Do you think I’d let one of my escaped experiments run free without keeping a tab on them? I have a simple method to locate Zyocuh.”
Alora swallowed, sliding her front paw back. “Y-you do?”
Grimmy grinned. “No, I don’t, but you’re acting suspicious while Vur’s remaining calm, so if there’s a liar here, then it’s you.”
“T-that’s not right!” Alora said. “I demand a fair trial!”
Sharda nodded. “A fair trial is what she wants, so a fair trial is what she’ll get.” She stepped back and pulled on Grimmy’s tail, dragging him to the side of the altar room as well. “We’ll proceed with a trial by combat between Alora and Vur. Whoever wins is the one who told the truth.”
“Wait, how’s that fair?” Tafel asked.
“Don’t question dragon logic,” Lindyss said and grabbed Tafel, dragging her away, but not before placing the bookshelf into her shadow. “You’ll hurt your head if you do.” When she arrived near the entrance, Lindyss turned around and cupped her hands over her mouth, speaking in a loud voice at Vur, who was in the process of polymorphing, “You better not lose, Vur. If you do, I’m going to stop knitting sweaters for you.”
“You know he doesn’t wear your sweaters, right?” Tafel asked. “He goes around shirtless.”
“Yeah, but he gifts them to you, and I know you like them,” Lindyss said.
Tafel blinked and turned to Vur. “You better not lose, Vur!”
Alora wet her lips with her tongue, staring at Vur, who was still in the process of polymorphing. “I can do this,” she said in a low voice. Her golden eyes flushed with a pink color. “I can do this,” she said again. The pink inside of her irises darkened, pushing out the gold. “I can win against Vur.” Her irises turned completely red, her slit pupils shifting from black to pink. She opened her mouth again, her voice slower and more melodic. “You can do this.”
“Did that dumb lizard just hypnotize herself?” Lindyss asked and furrowed her brow.
Tafel flinched before tugging on Lindyss’ sleeve. “You’re speaking your thoughts out loud,” she whispered in a hiss.
Lindyss frowned. “I was just surprised.” She glanced at Sharda and Grimmy, but it seemed like neither of them had heard her. “If she knew hypnosis, why didn’t she try it earlier on me?”
A roar rang through the cavern, and Vur flared his wings outwards. He stood on his hind legs, and two more front legs sprouted out of his sides. He fell forward, his four front feet landing on the altar room’s floor with a thud, shaking the ground. His eyes glowed gold, and Alora sank down, her knees bending as the gravity around her increased, her head nearly touching the marble tiles. Vur pounced forward, but right as he was about to tackle his cousin, Alora’s eyes flashed, and she shifted to the side like a fish in water, avoiding him. She looped around to his back and flung herself on top of him, seemingly unaffected by the increased gravity.
Vur whirled his head around to bite Alora, but an invisible force pressed down from above, bending his knees and forcing his neck towards the ground. Alora’s eyes were completely red, shining like two dying suns, staring down at Vur. Her mouth stretched open and she chomped down on Vur’s neck, sinking deep into his flesh. Not even a second later, she coughed and reared her head back, spitting out a puddle of purple liquid. Vur’s body melted, his scales slipping down like ice cream.
Alora struggled free from the purple goop beneath her feet, but bits and chunks clung to her claws and scales. The purple goop on the floor partially solidified. Two eyes appeared in the center of the mass, and it hopped away from Alora, growing in size with every bounce. Vur reformed, the purple goop turning into blue scales as it wriggled back into place.
“When did he learn how to do that?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s very….”
“Overpowered and broken?” Tafel asked.
“No.” Lindyss shook her head. She tapped her finger against her chin. “Disturbing to watch.”
“Oh.” Tafel nodded. “It is a little weird, I agree. It looked a lot better underwater when the leviathan did it.”
Vur glared at Alora. “Did you reflect my gravity magic?”
Alora didn’t respond. Instead, she sucked in a deep breath, her chest billowing out like a balloon. She stomped forward with her right paw and exhaled, ejecting red icicles out of her mouth. Two streams of fire left Vur’s nostrils as he snorted, and he stood on his hind legs. A green rune in the shape of a star lit up on his front leg, and his wings flapped. Gusts of wind surged forward, halting the icicles before blowing them back to where they came from. Alora growled and leapt to the side, but her foot sank down instead as a fissure opened up underneath her leg. Her face planted into the floor, and the icicles thumped against her side. Only one or two had been blown back with their sharp end pointed at her, and the rest bounced off of her scales without harming her.
Fire blossomed throughout the room, and Lindyss retreated through the entrance. Tafel’s eyes widened as the familiar blood-colored flames danced around her body. “Vur! That’s cheating! How come you know more phoenix skills than I do!?”
Vur burst into flames, and he reappeared over Alora’s head, his body forming from the fire permeating the room. Alora had just barely lifted her leg out of the ground, but Vur fell on top of her, forcing her down again. White rays of light shone out of the corners of Vur’s mouth, slipping through the gaps between his teeth as well.
Sharda furrowed her brow and turned her head towards Grimmy. “Isn’t that Kondra’s…?”
Grimmy grinned. “Yep.”
Sharda’s eyes widened, and she leapt forward. “Stop! The
trial by combat is over!” She tackled Vur, knocking him over and off Alora. A beam of white light shot out of Vur’s mouth and into the ceiling. When it dispersed, sunlight shone through from above. Sharda peered up at the hole and exhaled before placing her paw on Vur’s head. “You win.”
Alora rose to her feet, her eyes still red. She lowered her head towards her front leg.
“Alora? It’s over, dear,” Sharda said. “You lost.”
Alora bit down, sinking her teeth into her own flesh. Blood trickled down her leg and towards her paw, but the little red rivulets disappeared as if they were absorbed by her scales. Alora shuddered, and her muscles contorted, growing and shrinking as if a wave had been sent into her body. Starting from her head down to her tail, she grew and shrank before finally ending up a little larger than before. Her purple scales slowly became lighter as they lost their blue hue, turning into a bright red.
Sharda frowned and stepped towards her granddaughter. “Alora?”
Alora roared and charged forward. Sharda dug her legs into the ground, bracing herself to stop Alora’s charge. The two dragons collided, and Sharda was flung into the air while Alora maintained her pace, heading straight for Vur. Vur snorted and disappeared, his body going up in flames. He reappeared behind Alora and grabbed her tail with his front paws. He planted his remaining four paws against the ground and braced himself. Alora’s body stretched taut, and Vur pulled while lifting. Alora’s legs scrabbled in the air, seeking to grab something solid, but Vur curled his body and slammed Alora into the ground behind himself. Before Alora could orient herself, Vur stepped on her hind legs with his and pressed her front legs down with the four of his. Then his eyes glowed as he increased the gravity around himself. Alora wriggled, but Vur was like an unmoving mountain, pinning her in place.
Alora opened her mouth and inhaled, but Vur blew a breath of flames at her face, and she choked and gagged, her chest deflating. Vur blinked and looked up at Grimmy. “How do I stop her?”