The Dragon's Heart

by David Powers King

  I did it! I’m breathing water!

  Celesia sank to the bottom of the sea floor, where she could still see the outline of the small boat above. She wanted to reach the surface, to let Groth and Taika know that she was alive, but she didn’t know how to swim up. The water resisted every move she made. She stood on the sandy floor and jumped, leaping higher than she could on land, but sank after each try. Even with her strongest effort, she was several yards from touching the anchor. She was about to fold her arms to think, when a creature suddenly rammed into her.

  “Eyo!” it exclaimed.

  It surprised Celesia how clear the voice was. “Sorry!”

  The creature hid behind a rock. “What in the Eternal Abyss are you?”

  Celesia stared in disbelief as the creature emerged from his hiding place. A man—half a man. Everything from his torso down was scaly like a fish. He resembled those watery creatures known as mermaids, based on stories she had read, but the story never gave mention to mermen. His eyes were of the deepest green like the coral rocks, and his hair was white and afresh, waving with the currents. In his left hand was a silver trident.

  “Speak!” he said. “Who and what are you?”

  “My name is Princess Celesia, a human.”

  “A human? In these depths? How are you speaking to me under the water?”

  “It’s a long story. Have you seen a dark blue jewel?”

  The creature raised his spear, pointing it at Celesia’s chest. “Blessed Alantica. Where have you come across that stone, the one you wear around your neck? Is that what you seek? I know one like it, only smaller. Sorry, I cannot be of more help. I am on an important mission.” The merman relaxed the grip on his spear. “I am in pursuit of Lord Aruqua, an evil merlord of this shoal. He has kidnapped Princess Talassa, daughter of King Typonus—my bride to be.”

  How terrible! “And you’re a prince?”

  “I am no prince,” the merman answered as though it were an outlandish question. “My name is Derrien, a trident smith. Tell me, how are you in possession of a stone like Aruqua’s?”

  “I’m looking for pieces of a larger stone,” she said, wondering if it was possible for her to help—but what could she do under the water? “There are fragments of this stone all over the land. I’m wearing most of them. If this Aruqua has one of them, I need to find it.”

  “Would you be willing to help me, human?” Derrien asked. “I don’t know if I can battle Lord Aruqua and save Talassa alone. If I can distract him, maybe you can set her free. I will do my best to uncover the stone. He never should have taken it from the treasury.”

  “I would, but I don’t know how to swim.”

  “Yet you breathe water? Strange human.”

  Darrien swam in graceful circles around her as he explained the art of manipulating the water with limbs, which helped her move about in a few short minutes. This would’ve been impossible if she had to breathe from the surface. Once she learned how to move by kicking and synchronizing her strokes, they swam for a destination that was as mysterious as the world before her. Celesia knew that Groth and Taika were worried about her, or assumed that she had drowned. They would be in for a surprise when she returned to the surface, hopefully with more of the Dragon’s Heart.

  The waters resisted every move she made until she and Derrien reached an undersea feature that revealed a cliff. Beside this was a structure carved from rock, chiseled to look like a small castle. Stone pillars lined the edge of a drop off. Derrien grabbed Celesia by the arm, and darted for a thicket of swaying seaweed. He parted the plant with his hands and looked over the castle. He pointed at one of the towers. Celesia followed his finger and saw two merpeople struggling. One was a merman with thick green hair and a massive chest, with arms equal to his bulk. The other was a mermaid, slender and beautiful, with sunny hair and a glittering blue fin.

  “There is my love,” Derrien said, carefully enraged. “I will charge at Aruqua. While I fight, you swim along this trench until you are just beneath that tower.”

  “I see it.” Celesia said as she withdrew her dagger. “I have this, in case she’s tied up.”

  Derrien eyed the dagger with a distracted spark of interest. “What an unusual weapon, for a human to be carrying. Perfect. Just be careful not to swim too deep in the trench. A current runs along the bottom. If you get caught, you will be drawn to the edge of the ravine.”

  “What’s beyond the edge of the ravine?”

  “A point of no return—the Eternal Abyss,” Derrien said. “Many of your human ships have been lost to it, as well as some of our civilization. Swim with caution.”

  Derrien launched from their hiding place like a viper from its pit. The merlord noticed him almost at once, turning with a spear of his own. They engaged with a shower of lightning and brute strength. Celesia followed Derrien’s directions, swimming just above the mouth of the trench. Although she couldn’t see it, a current was pulling her close to the ravine. Once she reached the tower, she moved her arms to swim up. Princess Talassa had been placed inside a crude looking cage, surrounded by mountains of gold coins and other treasures.

  “Derrien!” Talassa gasped. “Behind you!”

  “Stay out of this!” barked the husky merlord. The fragment Celesia wanted was dangling from his neck. “You’re mine, Talassa. No one can save you now!”

  “You have to vanquish me first!” Derrien hollered, casting another bolt of lightning at Aruqua. “Love is the only true magic, Aruqua. You have no power here!”

  Aruqua growled in pain as blood flowed from his shoulder like a misty red cloud. The mermen continued their fight, slashing and bashing each other into stone pillars. One broke from its foundation and fell over the reef. Celesia looked again at the mermaid princess, who was already staring back. The expression on her face was bleak and unsure. Celesia swam around the corner of the tower and searched for a way to free the princess from her cage. Without knowing if it would work again, she thrust the dagger’s tip into the keyhole.

  The lock snapped off in an instant.

  “Who are you?” Talassa asked.

  “I’ll tell you when we’re safe.”

  A thick stream of light flashed in front of Celesia, shattering the rocky platform on which she stood. She wasn’t sure if her body had drifted up or down from the blast. Her grip on the dagger tightened as she faced her attacker. Aruqua wielded his trident and paused. The merlord examined every inch of her with perplexity.

  “A human, down here?” He laughed while dodging Derrien’s advances. “Why are you here? You have no business meddling in the affairs of our kind!”

  Aruqua swung his weapon, sending another flash of light at Celesia. She thought about the magical spell that Modlyn had cast at her—how the dagger absorbed her curse. She forced the dagger in front of her and pointed it at the merlord as the lightning bolt struck her. The ray of powerful light split in two, sending a steady stream to a pillar behind Aruqua, weakening its foundation.

  “What is this? A Castor of Magic? They no longer exist among the humans!”

  “My name is Celesia, Princess of Bëdoustram,” she said, “and I seek the Dragon’s Heart.”

  “You know the stone?” Aruqua sneered, but then his eyes widened with shock. “You wear more of it around your neck? I can feel my piece reaching for yours. What an amazing power. This is a fantastic gift that you have brought to me on my wedding day.”

  “Talassa shall wed me!” Derrien darted for Aruqua with a brave stroke. He raised his weapon, preparing to lunge its three sharp tips into the merlord’s back.

  Aruqua diverted his blow and hurtled a current at him. The merman slammed his head against a wall, and his body drifted to the floor, unconscious. “I will deal with you later!”

  “Derrien!” Talassa finned to his side, and wrapped him tightly in her arms.

  “Touching,” Aruqua laughed. “Once I have claimed the rest of that precious stone, I will dispatch you and your daring merfriend into the Eternal
Abyss!”

  Celesia didn’t know what to do. She had no mastery of the water yet, and the merlord had to be quadruple in size compared to her. If only she could cast magic of her own. Since this was the only idea she had, she held out her dagger and thought hard, wishing for anything to strike Lord Aruqua where he swam.

  “You are speechless, I see,” Aruqua said. “What if I made this easier for us both? Hand me what you have of the Dragon’s Heart and I will let you to live. How does that sound, Princess?” The Dragon’s Heart rose again as it reached for Aruqua’s fragment. The merlord gazed at his piece while it reached for Celesia’s. “What is this witchery? You will die if you come any closer!”

  Derrien warned her to duck. She followed his word, and a lightning bolt flashed over her head. The energy clasped around Aruqua, peeling at his skin as it burned.

  The band securing the gemstone around his neck withered to shreds, and the fragment dashed through the water until it collided with the Dragon’s Heart.

  When the stones merged, a tremendous surge flowed through Celesia. Aruqua roared and charged at her with his trident, and she raised her dagger again. Although she was under water, the dagger burst into flame, and it moved with a will of its own, blocking the merlord’s strokes. She pushed back and sent Aruqua headlong into the weakened pillar. She then held the dagger with both hands, until they both involuntarily pulled away.

  A tremendous wave rippled from her palms.

  Aruqua couldn’t escape the tidal force, hindered by the weight of rocks as they fell on him. The current in the ravine drew him over the edge of the reef, and his cries silenced as he spiraled deep into the Eternal Abyss.

  Celesia’s heart was beating fast, faster than she could think. She landed on the sea floor by a patch of oysters. The dagger was no longer aflame, having plunged into the sand. A colubrid-like snake slithered over the hilt.

  The merlord was gone.

  Celesia looked at her hands, weak and shaken. First Dálcort—now Aruqua. She didn’t want to bring harm to anyone, no matter how terrible they were. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Derrien and Talassa looked at her with admiration, without sharing her remorse.

  “You saved us, human,” Talassa said.

  “I am grateful for having met her as I was following you.” Derrien smiled. Bruises covered his body. “We couldn’t have done this without a sorceress’s help.”

  “I’m no sorceress. I don’t know what I did.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You saved us from a tyrant.”

  “He has been planning to overthrow my father, so he can rule Alantica.” Talassa held onto Derrien’s arm and caressed the side of her head on his shoulder. “Aruqua was not a bad merlord, until he found that evil stone in our treasury. How are you immune to its power?”

  Celesia shook her head. “It only stores magic.”

  “No. It consumed Aruqua, mind and soul,” Derrien explained. “He was once a just ruler of his realm, fair and adequate, and the king allowed Aruqua to find and keep an item in the treasury as a reward for his valiance. He found that jewel and his nature fell to evil. You are a sorceress. There is no other explanation. How else can you carry it without desiring malice on others?”

  Talassa tugged Derrien’s arm. “We should go. Father will want to thank her.”

  “Is it far from here?” Celesia asked, remembering the island where Flint said he would meet them. She had to reach the surface soon, before the bean’s magic wore off. “My friends are waiting for me.”

  “Darling,” Talassa cried with a sensitive voice. “Your trident is broken.”

  Derrien smiled before giving her a kiss. “No matter, love. I can make another.”

  Celesia looked at the couple as they held each other, unquestionably in love. She wondered if she would ever know the feeling of true love as they did, but now wasn’t the time. She sheathed the dagger and followed after the couple. They reached a slope that descended into a valley of lights and towering spires. Celesia was so impressed with the beauty of Alantica that she didn’t see the small army of mermen schooling toward them.

  “My daughter!” cried the largest merman, equaling the frame of Aruqua. A golden trident was in his hand, so tight that his knuckles were white. “My treasure is safe, but how can this be? Derrien? Did you go after Aruqua alone? And you have a human with you?”

  Talassa swam to the merking, and she hugged him. “It is alright, Father. She is a friend, and without her help, both Derrien and I would be lost. Princess Celesia, this is my father, Typonus, King of the merpeople.”

  Derrien told the merking of their adventure, and the dangers of confronting Lord Aruqua. The king listened solemnly, and cringed when they mentioned Aruqua’s demise. Typonus bowed before Celesia, showing his thanks for her bravery and willingness to assist. “The humans have wanted nothing to do with us since the fall of the Royal Magical Family.” He called for another merman and whispered in his ear. He swam back to the kingdom. “Who are you, and why did you help us?”

  “My name is Celesia, Princess of Bëdoustram. I have come to seek the Dragon’s Heart.”

  The merpeople murmured in astonishment. “Listen to my counsel,” Typonus said with a weary voice. “If you are a princess, you are the last hope for all creatures of magic. Rid yourself of the Dragon’s Heart. Cast it into the Eternal Abyss. Do not let it rest by your heart.”

  “But, I’ve carried it for months. Why should I?”

  “The hearts of many mermen have turned evil in the presence of that stone,” the king answered. “You have collected much of it, so you must have an exceptional heart to be unaffected by its influence. Be warned, all are susceptible to temptation when least expected.”

  The merman returned with a silver ring and a horn-shaped seashell. He handed the ring to Derrien, and the pinkish-white shell to Celesia.

  She looked at the hollow shell with a hole on its end. “What’s this?”

  “That is the Call of Alantica,” Typonus explained. “If you are ever in need of help, blow into the mouth of that shell, and we will know where you are, no matter where you are. We have the power to influence the waters of the world to obey our command. If you are near a body of water, whether it is a river or pond, lake or stream, we will help you in any way we can.”

  “What is this?” Derrien examined the ring.

  “To seal your marriage,” Typonus said. “Wear it well, young Derrien. That ring was lost from the surface during the downfall of the Warmongers who loitered in the island fortress. Since you have opposed tyranny, I think it fitting for you to possess this human artifact.”

  Talassa held Derrien’s hand. “It is beautiful, Father. We will treasure it.”

  “And thank you for this shell,” Celesia said, trying to curtsy. It was difficult to do under water. “I will guard it well. I must leave, but I have one other question.”

  Typonus welcomed her request. “What is it?”

  “You’re the king, and your daughter is a princess,” Celesia wanted to make sure that her question was clear. “And you’re allowing your daughter to marry a merman outside of royalty?”

  “We do not follow the human customs,” Typonus said. “No title or status can bind love, the greatest of all magic. Love may exist between those of royalty, but by no means limited to bloodlines. We watched in dismay as the prince of the southern world sailed over our kingdom to seek your hand, as well as many soldiers who have arrived. We know of your endeavors. All that your quest will accomplish is the return of magic, or the enslavement of all by the Alchemist.” Typonus stared at her. “Is something wrong, Princess Celesia?”

  “I—” The water turned cold. Strangling. “I—”

  “She cannot breathe!” Derrien cried. “She’ll drown!”

  Typonus hoisted her by the arm. “Take her up!”

  Celesia’s chest burned as the merpeople raised her. Sunlight shimmered in the waters around them, but it was too late. The ocean faded like a waking dream.

  ˙ ˚ ˚
˚ ˙

  Something cold and wet splashed against Celesia’s legs. She lifted her head from a pile of sand. The color of late winter dusk filled the sky with a setting sun.

  She sat upright on the shore, brushing sand from her face and clothes. By the setting sun was a wide stretch of land with the village of Caperholm at its center. She was on the island. Celesia coughed with a sore throat as she stood up on her feet. The waves of the sea brushed against the shore with white foam. She felt something in her hand. Without looking, she knew it was the seashell that was given to her by the merpeople.

  They had saved her life, and everything she had was intact, from Ereman’s dagger to the Dragon’s Heart.

  The stone was about the size of her thumb now.

  Celesia looked behind her and saw a fortress. Its size couldn’t compare to her castle, but its colors were quite different. Greenish blue marble lined the foundation and corners, the stones having a polished look with the color of pearls. It was a fortress, a stronghold worthy of kings, sturdy enough to withstand storms and navies. The island was a remarkable place. All she could hear around her was the crashing of waves and the wind.

  “Flint?” Celesia shouted into the cool air.

  No one answered her. She was all alone.

  “Groth? Taika? Is there anyone here?”

  Still no answer, so Celesia walked along the shore in hopes of finding them. When she turned the corner of the outer wall, she heard a splash from the sea. A giant veil of water sprayed into the sky, and settled again.

  “Flint!”

  Celesia ran to the water’s edge as the dragon was about to make another dive. He returned to shore.

  “Where have you been? We took you for dead!”