Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius)

by Stuart, Richard J

  What neither of them expected was that the dragon should choose that moment to wake.

  Chapter IV

  The Dragon

  There was a quick blast of flame and the dragon soared into the sky. Its name was Barcharosias and it was out hunting this morning, not for food, but for gold. The dragon loved gold and wealth in all its forms, as dragons are wont to do. It had collected a fair store already. It had plumbed the depths of the sea, raided goblins and trolls, and even other dragons. Ever the dragon’s eye was on more treasure, though, and that morning it had a plan to acquire more.

  It was a dangerous plan. The omens weren’t good. Throwing the bones he saw the presence of a powerful enemy. Well, that was no surprise; he’d be trying to steal a fortune in gold from under Dallen’s very nose. General Fuller wasn’t stupid either; the town had a ballista or two about in case of a dragon attack. Still, the reward made the risk worth taking. He didn’t have to fight Dallen, just run from him. His timing would have to be perfect, but if all went well, a fortune in gold was at hand.

  Tiberius woke early that morning. The first hints of dawn were in the air, and Tiberius stretched and looked out at the beauty of the sky. It was a fine morning; the sky was still a deep blue and there were just enough clouds in the sky to give it a bit of texture. His eyes fixed upon a bird for a moment. Then they grew wide as realized it was a not a bird that had caught his eye. It was a dragon, off in the distance. How he’d noticed it in the morning sky, he had no idea, but once seen he could not take his eyes off of it, especially as it seemed to be flying towards his hometown.

  Unknown to Tiberius, a large shipment of gold had come though town. The money was being moved to finance the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Stewardship. There were no public announcements. The shippers had decided their best bet was to keep things quiet and make it look like an ordinary shipment. Certainly no one had told Tiberius or his brother. Dallen and General Fuller had not been told either, or they would have taken precautions. Somehow, however, the dragon had learned, and now his greed for gold had overcome his fear of marching into a land populated by knights and men.

  Tiberius quickly shook his brother awake. Marcus jumped up, took one look though his spyglass, and said simply, “We’ve got to warn the town.”

  No more talk was needed. The two of them leapt on their horses and rode for all they were worth. Their hearts were filled with fear as they rode. Neither of them had ever seen a dragon before, but they’d heard the stories. They knew such creatures existed and what they were capable of. Now they had seen one. The question was would they ever see their town again.

  The dragon was moving fast and was past them already. As they rode into town they could already see fire leap up ahead of them.

  There was no point in ringing the bell now; the town was already on alert. People were running everywhere. Either they were fleeing from the dragon, grabbing buckets to put out the fires, or else they were trying to find the soldiers.

  The dragon's attack was carefully planned. He wanted the gold from the bank, but he had to be quick. There were too many soldiers here with ballista and crossbows with special arrows that could hurt him if he wasn't careful. Above all, he knew that Dallen the wizard was nearby. He feared the magi, above all. Dallen's magic had slain foes nearly as great as himself. Fortunately he didn't need to fight Dallen, he just had to distract him for a few minutes. The dragon planned to cause chaos in town, then swoop in, grab the gold and leave.

  Accordingly, he did not fly straight to the bank. He flew instead around it a couple of times in a broad circle, breathing fire, seemingly at random. The fires would serve as a diversion while he got down to his real business at the bank. Hopefully Dallen would be delayed saving people from the fire. The fires would at least block off some roads and delay the army's archers from arriving for a few precious minutes. He laughed as he set fire to the church gardens. Destruction was useful and fun. He'd kill the old pastor on his way out if he had time. For now it was down to business. Barcharosia circled around the main green, making his final approach to the bank.

  It was here that Tiberius and Marcus saw their chance. They knew one thing about dragons; the armor of a dragon was not perfect. A small chink was always there, vulnerable to a swift strike, such as a champion archer might deliver. The boys were ready with their long bows, and the dragon flew so low that a shot was possible. Just before it landed on the bank steps, the dragon came straight overhead and the boys loosed their arrows.

  Tiberius made as sure a shot as he’d ever made. He watched as the arrow bounced harmlessly against the dark spot on the dragon’s hide. The arrow did not even reach the dragon. Some dark magic had stopped its flight even before it reached the skin of the great worm. The dragon didn’t even bother to respond; it simply hopped up the short steps of the bank.

  Tiberius looked at his brother in horror. He tried to speak but he didn’t feel like shouting with the dragon about, so ducking low, he ran over next to him.

  “Our arrows are useless. How do we stop that thing?” Tiberius asked.

  Marcus gave the practical answer. “We don’t. We keep our heads down, work on crowd control. Ti, they’ve got specialists for this. It’s not up to us.”

  Tiberius didn’t like it. A true knight did not recoil before any enemy, but Dad had long taught him there was a difference between cowardice and suicidal stupidity. Even Hector fell back at times when forced by circumstances. Marcus was right, too; the town had professionals, ballista teams with special holy arrows. They would be here soon. The two of them took cover by the brick steps of a nearby building.

  The dragon was an awesome, terrible sight. The look in its eyes sent a chill down Tiberius’ spine. There was a vile darkness in its heart that chilled him to the bone just to be near it. It landed in front of the bank and uttered some dark incantation, making a gesture in the air and drawing a mystical symbol with its claw. In response, the steel bank door ripped off of its hinges and flew aside. Then the dragon smiled. The vault was filled with gold, piles of it.

  Tiberius could only watch. There was nothing he could do to hurt that thing. He had just made up his mind to be sensible when he heard the scream.

  Across the green, not a hundred yards away from him, he saw Marybeth cowering in a corner of the building. Worse, she’d screamed because the dragon had seen her too. Slowly turning its head away from the vault it was methodically ripping open, it had paused to spy the young, virginal female cowering nearby.

  Tiberius didn’t know what sort of vile lusts had arisen in the dragon, but no knight let his lady die while he stood by and did nothing. He had no hope of victory, no weapon that could harm this dragon, much less kill it. Still, he might at least distract it and give Marybeth a chance to flee to safety.

  He charged forward. It was only a few feet away and he might just cover the small bit of ground in time. If he whacked it on the back of its head, or the eye, if he could get close enough, he might at least distract it.

  Marcus was there too, though, and read his mind, as only a brother might. To his horror, he heard and saw Marybeth scream. He saw Tiberius leap out and charge the dragon. He did the only thing he could, which was to madly leap out and try to grab hold of his brother and stop him. Barely catching hold of an ankle, he managed to trip Tiberius. He wasn’t sure if that would be enough, so at the top of his lungs he screamed.

  “TIBERIUS, NO!!!”

  The dragon stopped and jerked as if stung by a hornet. Then its head whipped around, fast as a viper. It sent out a blast of flame behind it. Fortunately Tiberius was not in range; he’d barely moved a foot. The dragon’s blast hadn’t been aimed at him, just a quick defensive blast over the shoulder. All the same, that was much too close. Even from here that felt hotter than anything he’d ever known. He could barely breathe through the heat and smoke. He tried to push his body deeper into the earth but the ground was unyielding. Marcus at least had a little cover from the corner of th
e nearby building.

  At least he got its attention, Tiberius gulped. Or had he? Had the dragon gone nuts? It wasn’t looking at him, but it was looking all about, looking for something now. It obviously heard Marcus shouting. His name upset the dragon. Why was he still alive? Why didn’t it aim at him? He couldn’t miss at this range.

  Tiberius had never been more terrified in his life. He and Marcus just lay there in the scorched earth of the village green. His eyes were watering from the smoke in the air. He didn’t dare do or say anything but push his body deeper into the earth as best he could. He prayed that Marybeth would have the sense to run now, while she had the chance. At any instant now he expected to die, to be burnt to death or torn apart by those terrible claws. But death did not come. To his utter and complete amazement the dragon had stopped what it was doing, but it wasn’t attacking. The dragon spun around, crouched down, and put its back against the wall. It looked about cautiously. It almost looked frightened. How could that be? What could frighten a dragon? It couldn’t be frightened of him. Then it spoke.

  “Where are you, Tiberius?” it said quietly. “I sense that you are here, though you've cloaked yourself well! Has our hour come already? Come and fight if you dare!"

  Tiberius didn’t dare answer. He didn’t dare to even breathe. He just froze, staring at the dragon in shock. Where was he? He was lying down in plain sight. Had he turned invisible somehow? No, Marcus was staring at him. So was the banker and Marybeth. What was wrong with this crazy dragon?

  The dragon’s mind was racing. A trap, a trap, it had all been a trap! He knew it was too easy, too tempting a target; the omens were bad; he should have known. Tiberius was here! He knew it! He felt it in his bones! Something had been nagging at the dragon all morning long and the moment that boy called out it hit the dragon like a thunderbolt. The prophesized enemy, his mortal enemy, the wizard Tiberius, he was here! Tiberius had set a trap for him and he’d walked right into it. The demons said he’d be a clever one. Where was he? Those boys weren’t wizards; where was Tiberius? The dragon felt his heart racing; he had to force himself to be calm.

  The dragon cautiously stepped away from the bank and the gold. Its head darted from left to right as he tried to find the wizard, tried to catch some scent or hint of his presence. He made an intricate gesture in the air with its claw and lights flashed around its body. A little extra protection never hurt. Where was the wizard? Suddenly it called out in anger.

  “Where are you, wizard? Why don’t you show yourself, Tiberius? I know you are here. I smell your blood nearby. I sense you but not your magic. What trick is this? Show yourself!”

  Tiberius almost laughed. This dragon was frightened, terrified, of him! Tiberius the dragon slayer! Tiberius, with his useless bow, against the dragon’s iron scales. Yet there he was, cowering and raising every defensive spell he could think of. What utter madness. How was he supposed to hurt it? He had to fight back a desire to leap up and shout, “I’m over here you daft worm! I’m Tiberius! I’m the only Tiberius here!” Fortunately, he was too terrified to do anything of the sort. He could only lay there and think.

  The dragon started a series of additional magical gestures. There was a sudden rushing wind from the direction of the dragon and a light mist abruptly covered the ground. The dragon was hiding him in a mist? Why?

  The dragon’s mind raced. He’d hoped the mist would show the wizard’s outline. He might be invisible, but he’d still see the shadow in the fog. But no luck. They warned him! Oh, the demons warned him he’d be clever, with new defenses never seen before. He must have some sort of new cloaking shield. No, not invisible, unnoticeable. That must be it. His senses kept going to some teenage kid, but the kid wasn’t the wizard. Any mortal powerful enough to kill a dragon had a presence. There was no magic about that kid at all. Kill him? No that’s what the wizard wanted him to do. It was part of the trap. But why wasn’t the wizard attacking? What was he waiting for? How did that other kid see him? Hmm, ‘Tiberius, no.’ Maybe the boy was a dragon lover and was begging Tiberius not to kill the cute dragon? Humans did weird things like that some times. But no, that couldn’t be right.

  The dragon called out again in rage and frustration, “Why don’t you show yourself! I know you are here!”

  Suddenly with a sweep of its wings it leapt into the middle of the green. Tiberius felt the crash as the mighty worm hit the ground. It let out a roar and circled itself with a blast of fire. It brushed over the heads of Ti and Marcus though.

  “Come, let's begin our final dance, Tiberius!” Barcharosias roared. “I’ve waited long for this day!”

  Tiberius now could do nothing but wonder. What was wrong with this crazy dragon? It was ignoring him and yet calling him by name? All at once it hit him, and terror gave away to astonishment.

  The dragon said, ‘it was waiting for this day.’ That was it! The dragon was just like Salina; it could see into the future. Just like her, he got confused. It could sense him, yes, but it was expecting him to be a wizard, not some teenaged kid. That creature was terrified of him, the future him. That was crazy, too. Tiberius wasn’t going to study magic ... or was he?

  Tiberius looked around. That dragon had just stopped dead in its tracks because it heard his name. Clearly that wasn’t because of his skill with a bow. Tiberius didn’t want to study magic. He didn’t trust himself with that kind of power. But now he had to reconsider. His duty was to love his neighbor as himself. If he could get the power to stop that thing, could he refuse it just because there was risk? If he blew himself up or even blew up the block, was that worse than having the dragon running around? Everything he knew and loved was in clear and present danger because of that dragon, and apparently he was the one thing the dragon feared. Dad didn’t trust the magi. He thought they were dangerous, nearly as dangerous to themselves and the community as dragons. Tiberius understood, but now he could see that he needed to be as dangerous as a dragon.

  Just then, he heard the clamor of hoofbeats behind him. The cavalry had arrived at last. Tiberius and Marcus breathed a sigh of relief.

  The dragon heard it too. "What's wrong, wizard?” it shouted angrily. “Cowering behind your soldiers?

  "Something is wrong," the dragon said with sudden determination. "I know you can hear me. I know you are near. You know we will fight, and one of us will die. I don't know why you won't show yourself, Tiberius, but very well.”

  It flapped its wings and rose above the green, just out of crossbow range, but it stopped suddenly and turned around.

  “Dallen, I might have known. This is some trick of yours,” it said.

  Tiberius heard familiar voice behind him.

  “You’ve no place here, Worm. Go back to your mountains and sleep. This gold is not for you,” Dallen answered.

  “Why doesn’t he show himself! Where are you hiding Tiberius, Dallen?”

  Dallen looked genuinely shocked. “Tiberius?”

  Suddenly the dragon’s eyes at last fixed on Tiberius.

  The dragon started to laugh. “Ho, now I understand. He’s one of your pups, isn’t he, Dallen?”

  With that he breathed a stream a fire right at Tiberius, but Dallen was there and cast a shield spell, just in time. The flames bounced harmlessly off some invisible obstacle a few feet above Ti’s head.

  The dragon shook its head. “Well, Tiberius, you’ve stopped me this time. I am not going to fight Dallen and all the soldiers in the Stewardship just to speed up your death. Mark my words; die you will. You cost me a fortune today.”

  Dallen spoke out. “Tiberius is under my protection, Worm. While I live he won’t fight you alone.”

  “Even you can’t live forever, Dallen,” the dragon said. “Your day will come, and then I’ll have my revenge! You’ll fight me then and die, Tiberius. You’ll come to me, or I’ll come looking for you. I’ll kill your every friend, every relative; I’ll destroy everything you love. I’ll tear this town apart brick by brick until you have the nerve to face me. Till
then, enjoy your cowering life while you may. I’m not fool enough to face you and Dallen together. I look forward to our next and final meeting."

  It turned then and flew off. Singh had come too and let off a lightning strike, which seemed to clip its wing, but the dragon was too quick. It flew off into the northwest. Finally, Tiberius was able to raise his head out of the dirt. As he did so he realized every part of his body was shaking.

  He found himself looking at his brother, who was also pale with fear and astonishment.

  “Ti,” he said, “that dragon was terrified. Terrified of you!”

  The banker was looking at him too. “You saved the gold!” he said, rather giddily.

  Tiberius rolled over and sat up. He didn’t think he had the strength to stand. Every part of him was shaking, though whether with fear, relief, adrenaline, or just astonishment he couldn’t say. He glanced over at Marybeth. She looked deathly pale herself, but at least she was safe. She was looking back at him with astonishment too. Everyone in the town was.

  "It was afraid of me,” he heard himself say. He was still stunned by what had happened.

  Dallen came up beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Tiberius met his eyes. “No, I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again. I'll be seeing him again, won't I?"

  "Not soon,” Dallen answered thoughtfully. He seemed as astonished as everyone else in town. “But, yes. Someday. For now, rest. Drink some of this.”

  Tiberius was too in shock to even glance at what Dallen was handing him to drink, but an instant after he put the beverage to his lips he was less pale. He had the strength to stand up at least.

  He looked over at his fiancée. Just then she collapsed. “Marybeth!” he exclaimed and ran towards her.

  For a moment, he thought she was dead. She looked so terribly pale with fright and had sunk against the side of the building, but when he touched her, she moved. Dallen was right beside him and gave her a sip of his flask. Then she threw her arms around Tiberius and started crying uncontrollably.