by Liara Woo
Fear didn't hold sway over her for one moment. Remember the flowers. "You can insult me all day long, you worthless excuse for a dragon, and I will not get back in that cage!"
Shrikirlych blinked, startled. I don't think anyone's ever disobeyed him before, Katie realized, a flush of pride strengthening her heart. He looked as if he didn't know what to say, and Halthren had lost consciousness from the ear-splitting roars. "Well…well you should know that I…"
He never got to finish his sentence. Loriina hit him from behind, hovering over him with a massive stalagmite clutched in her talons. She hit him once, and he groaned woozily. Then she dropped the rock on his head and he collapsed onto his side, a dent in his green facial scales.
"Nice job," Katie said, as her friend landed lightly on the ground.
"Same to you," Loriina beamed. "That took true courage, standing up to him—insulting him—like you did."
Katie blushed. "It really wasn't that great. I just wanted to help Halthren."
"Well, you succeeded," Loriina sighed, prying the elf from Shrikirlych's paw. He was trembling violently. "I just hope he recovers. Here, Katie. I finished your sword." She handed her a leather sheath protecting a sword with a shining brass hilt. Katie grasped the hilt and drew the weapon from its sheath, admiring its weightlessness and craftsmanship. The crosspiece took the shape of two dragon wings spread wide, as if in flight, and the pommel looked like a dragon's head, teeth bared in fury.
"Thanks," she grinned, sheathing it again. "It's perfect." Then she knelt beside Halthren, gently laying her hand on his clammy cheek and trying not to stare at his well-formed bare chest. "Halthren? Wake up, please. Come on."
He stirred, groaning as he opened his eyes.
"How are you?" Katie asked gently, giving in just a bit to temptation and resting her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm f-fine…" he whispered hazily. "I'm j-just a little bit…t-traumatized…are w-we going back to y-your lair, Loriina?"
"No," Loriina answered, with the barest hint of anger in her voice. "Here, Katie. Give him your cloak. We're going straight to Fliuviel. And thank you, Halthren, for jeopardizing this entire mission. You did a great job."
Halthren looked miserable, like a scared, lost child. "I'm s-sorry…I only wanted t-to help." He sat up gingerly, and Katie placed her cloak around his bare shoulders. She could feel him trembling as he struggled not to put any pressure on his broken arm. "I g-guess I d-didn't succeed…"
Loriina rolled her eyes. "No, you didn't. Not even a little bit. Nelaara told us about your curse, Halthren. Perhaps it would have been better if you'd stayed in Velana, or even Liandres. There at least it would have been less likely for you to die."
Halthren grimaced. "I can't just lie low in the north and not do anything to help my country. My kin." Shakily he got to his feet, leaning on Katie's shoulder. She tried not to dwell on the feel of his arm draped around her, of her face pressed right against his solid breast, of the strength beneath the skin of his back. Quickly she climbed onto Loriina's back and turned around to help him up behind her. He gasped as, for one brief moment, he used his left arm to push himself up; Katie grabbed him as he nearly fell.
"Are you sure you can get up?" she asked gently.
Halthren nodded, downcast. He sat behind her and clung to one of Loriina's spikes. She looked back at him, shuddering inside as she saw his arm. It was his upper arm bone that had been completely fractured; the skin over it was swollen and discolored. He held his left hand over his stomach, his eyes half closed out of pain and exhaustion combined. Noticing her concerned gaze, looked away self-consciously. "I'll just have to put it in a sling when we land," he muttered.
* * *
Loriina fluttered to the ground just as night was falling next to a river that cascaded in a huge waterfall only five feet from where she landed. Over the roar of the pounding water was the symphony of insects chirping and whistling within the shelter of the massive trees nearby. Katie gathered fallen twigs and river stones and started a small campfire with her Stone.
"Good thinking," Loriina approved. "Hopefully the flames will keep the creatures away. We're almost in Fliuviel." She lay down next to the fire and curled her tail around herself, asleep almost instantly.
Katie rummaged in her satchel, looking for the purple healing potion. She pulled it out, surprised when she saw that the potion had been reduced to a slightly opaque substance with a faint purple hue. "I…I think its potency is gone," she said. "But you can try it if you'd like." Gently she placed it in Halthren's long, thin hand. With his fingers he managed to uncork the bottle, and he drank its contents, making a disgusted face. Her eyes were drawn to the muscles over his stomach, to the way they clenched as he swallowed. Her cheeks grew warm.
"Nothing but lizard fat now," Halthren gagged, setting the bottle on the ground. "Is there anything in there for burns?"
Katie jumped, shaken from her thoughts. "Oh—yes. Right," she stammered, withdrawing a bottle full of green slime from the satchel. "You just have to rub it on your burns, so don't drink it." She uncorked the bottle and handed it to him.
"Thanks. Do you have anything I could use for a sling?"
Katie turned her attention back to the satchel and pulled out some linen bandages. "This should work. Aspeniel sent us with just about everything we could need."
"I'll wrap it up at dawn." Halthren murmured. Then he lay down with a faint moan.
Katie sighed. "You'll be thoroughly bruised all over in the morning." She eyed the black-purple mark on his forehead anxiously.
"I am sorry," he said in a hollow voice, gazing up at the stars. "I should've listened to you. I'm sorry."
"You had good intentions," Katie replied gently. "Stop beating yourself up about that. If Shrikirlych's lair had been on the map, we both would have known about it and we'd have missed it. So get some sleep." She gently squeezed his right hand and moved away a few paces to get some sleep herself.
* * *
"Don't. Move."
Katie awakened with a start, and it took all of her willpower to stay silent. All over her were green creatures—fanged frogs, large furry spiders, and slithering vipers. Her eyes widened in terror. Halthren's right hand, which clasped her left wrist, was trembling. She looked over and saw that he'd reached as far as he could without moving his body closer to her in order to wake her up. Her cloak had gone askew and his bare chest was covered in green creatures. A spider crawled from his hip bone to his navel.
"If we stay still they might not bite," he whispered slowly, grimacing as a snake slithered around his neck.
Katie held her breath as a frog hopped across her torso. The way its skull was formed made it look like it had devil horns above its eyes. Its incisors glinted in the moonlight as it flopped onto Halthren's arm and across his sweaty chest, finally coming to a stop on his left arm.
"No," Katie whispered. But the frog opened its mouth and sank its fangs into the swollen flesh. She heard him inhale sharply, and his grip on her hand tightened. She squeezed her eyes shut, her muscles tensed. Fearfully she awaited teeth in her own skin. Instead she felt a sharp sting in her ankle. "Halthren?" she whispered. "S-something got me. A-are we going to die?"
"I don't think they'll inject poison unless we startle them," Halthren replied, sounding every bit as nervous as she was. "I hope Loriina doesn't wake up, because she would definitely startle them."
Katie opened her eyes and saw that the frog was devouring Halthren's arm. His face was white and his teeth were clenched. "You're getting eaten. There has to be something we can do!" The fear was making her feel sick, as if a storm of centipedes had taken over her stomach and were having a disco party in there.
"We have worse problems," Halthren breathed, his husky voice tight with pain. "Loriina…"
Katie looked over at the dragon. Loriina's mouth was ajar as she snored, and a spider was crawling inside. She yawned widely and the spider bit into her tongue with a sickening squelch. The dragon blinked her eyes
open, spat the spider out, and slowly raised her head. Much to Katie's eternal relief, Loriina didn't freak out or start breathing fire. Instead she calmly studied the situation and softly warned, "Cover your ears."
Slowly Katie moved her hands up to cover her ears, being careful to make each action smooth and deliberate. Beside her, Halthren wrapped his right arm over his head so that his upper arm covered one ear and his hand covered the other one. Instantly the frog tore a fifth bite out of his left arm and he cringed.
Loriina opened her mouth wider than Katie could have dreamed possible and roared so loud that the ground itself trembled with fright, and the green creatures fled as fast as they could. Katie sat up, breathing deeply and trying to calm her pounding heart, shaking as the tension and fear seeped from her body. Then Halthren sat up, and her relief fled as quickly as it had come. "Halthren…your arm…"
Blood drenched his entire left arm and part of his chest, and several chunks of flesh were missing. His silver blue eyes widened in horror. "Oh…" he murmured before collapsing, unconscious.
Katie's head was spinning. Black spots danced before her eyes, and she couldn't see anything. The ground tilted upwards to catch her as darkness filled her mind.
* * *
The next thing she knew was sunlight gleaming in her eyes and reflecting off of the rushing river. The roar of the waterfall drowned out every other sound, so loud that Katie's head was throbbing. Woozily she pushed herself into a sitting position and the miniscule black spots returned. She almost passed out again.
"Drink this," a soft voice said. Katie turned to see Loriina in human form crouched beside the satchel, holding out a leather flask.
"Thanks," Katie responded in a shaking voice. She took the container and raised it to her mouth, relieved to feel cold water dripping down her throat, soothing her dry mouth and sharpening her thoughts. After returning the flask to Loriina she looked around, and her eyes were drawn to Halthren. He was still very much unconscious; his face was as white as chalk and his sculpted chest was rising unnaturally slowly. His mauled upper arm was tightly bandaged, but there was already a slowly growing silver-red bloodstain on the white strips.
"Two injuries on the same arm," Katie sighed, shaking her head as pity coursed through her heart. "It's all because of that stupid curse." She moved to sit beside him, anxiously peering into his pale face. Then she scratched the bite on her ankle.
"DON'T!" Loriina exclaimed, looking up from the sling she was creating. "That just makes it itch worse! Trust me; I've got a bite on my tongue and after I scratched it…well, let's just say it's a miracle I'm able to speak at all."
Katie winced. "Is there anything that helps?" she asked hopefully, thinking about the itch creams on Earth with longing.
Loriina shook her head with a sigh. "Nope. Sorry. Listen; if that elf doesn't wake up soon we'll have to leave him behind. It might be better for him; it'll probably only get more dangerous from here."
Katie shook her head. "We definitely have to take him with us. I don't know exactly why, but I've just got this feeling…" She shook her head, trying to clear it, hoping that she wasn't confusing her intuition with her growing attraction to Halthren. "Anyway, nothing could be more dangerous than what we've already faced."
At that moment Halthren stirred. He opened his eyes and slowly sat up without putting pressure on his mangled arm, and the cloak slipped away from his shoulders. After a few moments, he said quite casually, "I must still be dreaming. There's a giant green dragon behind you."
Katie felt terror jolt through her. She and Loriina exchanged alarmed looks as they turned around. Sure enough, Shrikirlych stood among the trees behind them. They hadn't noticed him because he'd been as still as stone, and because he was just so large that he'd seemed like a mountain of some kind. "You aren't dreaming, Halthren," Katie croaked. "The dragon is real."
A rumble began, deeper than the waterfall. It took Katie a moment to realize that it was the dragon growling. He curled his lips back, revealing his jagged yellowed teeth. Smoke or steam spiraled up from his nostrils. He was looking directly at her. "You stole my dinner," Shrikirlych growled. "Now I will eat you all."
Katie backed away in terror.
"You'd have to get through me first," Loriina hissed, transforming.
Shrikirlych laughed, switching his attention to the younger dragon. "Good; I like a good fight." He stepped forward, crushing trees. Halthren grimaced at the sight; Katie continued backing away. Loriina lunged, streaking forwards across the ground and standing protectively in front of her friends.
"Get out of my way," the green dragon roared. Loriina didn't obey; she waggled her tail threateningly and leaped on top of him, her teeth bared, scratching and biting. Shrikirlych twisted violently, shaking her off and onto the ground. Loriina grunted and jumped to her feet, but the other dragon hit her side with his head, knocking her back to the ground. She surged upwards, lunging with her teeth for his throat.
"Celed—" Katie began, but Halthren reached up with his good arm and stopped her.
"No! You might hit Loriina!" he exclaimed, struggling to his feet and drawing the sword of the Great Elves. He limped toward the two dragons snapping at each other and Katie followed him, grasping the sword Loriina had forged in her hands. She slashed at the green dragon, but her sword bounced off of the impenetrable scales, doing no harm whatsoever.
Shrikirlych's claws weren't as sharp as Loriina's. The younger dragon was also sleek and swift, whereas he was thick and bulky. She twisted, took to the air, and dive-bombed him, burying her claws in his hide. Valiantly she hung on as he writhed and bucked, trying again to shake her loose. Katie and Halthren desperately tried to get out of the way as they tussled ferociously.
"Run, Katie!" Loriina shrieked. Abruptly, Shrikirlych stopped bucking and gallumphed towards Katie.
Not good, she thought desperately, running as fast as she could away from the rampaging dragon as he stomped all of the trees around him flat. Shrikirlych bounded after her; if she wasn't careful she would be smashed down as well.
"Over here, you fool!" Halthren shouted, throwing his sword with all of his strength. By some stroke of pure luck it hit the space directly between two scales, burying itself deep in his flesh. Shrikirlych howled in pain and turned on Halthren with fury blazing in his eyes.
"What did you call me?" he hissed. Halthren swallowed nervously and tried to run, but his injured foot slowed him down. Loriina bit down hard on Shrikirlych's neck, but he smacked her off and she fell down, unconscious. Shrikirlych advanced on Halthren, closing in the distance between the elf and the edge of the cliff.
"Run in between his legs!" Katie exclaimed, hacking at Shrikirlych's tail. Again, her blade did nothing. The dragon looked back at her and hissed. He hit her in the side with his tail, knocking her backwards. "Can't breathe," she croaked, her head spinning and her side aching as she lay on the ground. At last she managed to sit up, and she saw what appeared to be hawks circling above Shrikirlych, now clutching Halthren in one paw.
"If you attack again, he dies," he growled. Then a shriek pierced the air.
"Celed Vorello!"
The words did not come from Katie's mouth. What she saw next seemed to happen in slow motion. Lightning pierced downwards. Shrikirlych tossed Halthren into the air, and the elf intercepted the blow, falling with a scream of agony to the ground, unconscious—or dead. Katie froze, stupefied, her eyes wide. That did not just happen. That did not—
Shrikirlych cackled evilly and once more lifted Halthren in his paw. "I will eat him if you don't throw yourself over the cliff," he growled.
Katie backed slowly away, towards the edge of the waterfall. Her entire being was numb with shock. She couldn't believe what had just happened. It seemed impossible.
Loriina was stirring. She got to her feet, her eyes flaming, and launched herself at Shrikirlych with every ounce of strength she had, sending him, Halthren, and herself over the waterfall, into the mist far below them.
&nb
sp; "No!" Katie screamed, watching in horror as they vanished from her sight. Her heart raced. Where they dead? Are they all dead? She sank to her knees, overcome by a sudden trembling. How could this happen? It had all occurred so quickly…it was a blur in her mind. Loriina attacking, Halthren getting hit by lightning, Shrikirlych falling over the side of the cliff with her friends. She stared into the canyon below, hoping that Loriina would fly out of the mist through the rainbow with Halthren alive and uninjured on her back; that despite the roaring of the water she'd hear them call out to her and tell her that everything was fine.
Katie turned and saw her cloak lying on the ground with a few splotches of Halthren's blood staining it. She shivered, tears burning her eyes as she reached out and stroked the material, wondering if, after so many false alarms, Halthren was actually dead this time, and if he'd taken Loriina with him. Please, no...