by Chrys Cymri
‘So I had to fly away. She nearly caught me, but then I found a way to leave her behind. It was like an opening in the sky, and I went through. I found myself in a desert, and then I came here.’
‘An opening in the sky,’ Audrey repeated thoughtfully. ‘Isn’t that what my aeroplane went through? A crossing between my world and yours.’
‘I don’t know.’ Raven shuddered. ‘The desert was terrible. Full of humans, and metal, and blood. Fighting.’
Audrey sighed. ‘Sounds like the war is still on.’
‘What is war?’
‘War is when men decide to prove that their nation is stronger than another.’ Audrey looked away. ‘It destroys homes and families, and makes wives into widows and children into orphans. War is an abomination against God. And, God forgive me, I felt there was no choice but to help in the fight against Hitler.’
Raven cocked his head. ‘What is God?’
‘And that is a discussion for another day.’ She lifted her shovel. ‘I managed to pay for another barrel of salt. If you can bring back a deer, I could work on preserving more meat this afternoon.’
The idea of turning flesh into carrion made Raven’s lips lift away from teeth. But he made his way to the forest. If bringing a doe back to the building would calm Audrey’s uneven heartbeat, the effort would have been worthwhile. And he didn’t know what else to do.
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‘Why is this happening?’ Raven grumbled a few weeks later as he stalked into the house. ‘The sun is going down earlier and earlier, and it’s getting colder and colder.’
Audrey looked up from the corner fireplace. ‘The world tilts as we travel around the sun. That affects how much sunlight hits us.’
Raven pulled the door shut and curled up in his space on the floor. In the last month, he’d suddenly put on height, and he was now a foot taller than Audrey. ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.’
‘Of course not, why would anyone have taught you?’
The fire caught as Audrey added twigs and then larger pieces of wood. ‘How did you learn?’
‘By going to school, of course. My father always said his daughters would be given the same level of education as his sons.’ She stood and wiped her hands on her frayed trousers. ‘Sorry, you won’t have a clue what “school” is. It’s a place where children go and learn how to read, and write, and do maths.’
The memories had brought a smile to Audrey’s face. She moved through the small room, closing the internal window shutters and lighting candles. Hoping to encourage her good mood, Raven asked, ‘Can you teach me?’
‘About what?’
‘Everything you said.’
‘I don’t think you’d be able to write.’ She swung a pot over the fire, and the thick smell of meat broth made Raven’s nostrils twitch. ‘I suppose I could teach you to read.’
‘And about the world tilting?’
‘Goodness, now you’ve put me on the spot.’ Audrey dug around in the pile of wood and pulled out two pieces. ‘Pretend this one, the bigger one, is the sun. And this one is our world.’ She moved the smaller log in a circular motion around the one in her right hand. ‘See how I’m tilting this one? Half of the year, the top part faces the sun, and is warmer. The other half of the year, it tilts back like this, and so it isn’t as warm.’
‘But what causes the tilt?’
‘Sorry, I can’t answer that.’ Audrey lowered her arms. ‘Mr Lewis might have said, but I think I was making eyes at Clive by that point.’
‘“Making eyes”?’
‘Don’t worry about that.’ Audrey took a seat at the table. ‘I’ll start teaching you how to read when we’re snowed in. It’ll give us something to do.’
Raven sighed inwardly. The conversation this evening was full of words he didn’t understand. ‘What about tonight?’
‘Tonight, I need to mend the fishing net.’ She had already pulled out the tangle of ropes. ‘The lake is already beginning to ice over at night. So, tomorrow, I’d like us to try to land one more catch.’
‘You’ll want me to swim out with the net,’ Raven complained. ‘And the water’s very cold now.’
‘You can warm yourself up again.’
‘Only afterwards. I scare away the fish if I try it in the lake.’
‘That’s enough, Raven.’ Audrey put down her needle and rubbed her forehead. ‘We need the food. At the rate you’re growing, I’m very worried about having enough for the two of us. We are fishing tomorrow, and you’ll do your bit.’
Raven slid his head to point at the door. Pulling logs had loosened several of his teeth. There were a number of deep scratches in his chest and forelegs caused by the rough wood. He had lost a claw whilst digging out potatoes, and his shoulders ached from the effort of breaking the hard ground. This was not the sort of work a dragon should be doing.
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Long before dawn, while Audrey was still asleep in her bedroom, Raven cracked the door open and snuck outside. Why should he go fishing? A promising smell of thick fur drifted across his nostrils as he stood in the starlight. A number of large creatures had gathered on the other side of the woods. His steps were light as he strode away from the building. A good hunt would both fill his belly and give him something far tastier than fish to bring back to Audrey.
Many hours later, in the early afternoon, Raven limped past the lake and turned up towards the house. He had found a herd of sixteen mammoths, two with small calves. What he hadn’t realised was how large they were when fully grown. All of the adult females towered over him, as did most of the mixed gender juveniles. Every attempt he had made to rush in and pick out a calf had been met with bellows and the brandishing of curved tusks. His last attempt, to sneak around them and come from upwind, had only resulted in the matriarch charging towards him. Despite her size, she was quick, and he had only escaped by racing into the forest. The trees grew too closely together for her to follow, and eventually she had given up and returned to the herd.
Perhaps Audrey would have a good catch of fish to share. Raven swallowed against the pain in his stomach. If no fish, there was always carrion. Which was better than nothing.
The net was resting in the lake, albeit much closer to shore than when Raven helped to spread it out. No sign of Audrey. He stopped by the shore, puzzled. Where could she be?
The question seemed to open up a rarely visited part of his mind. He could sense Audrey, the essence of who she was. And she was far away, both the lake and several miles of land between them. Raven probed further, but couldn’t work out her surroundings or how she might be feeling. All he knew was that he could find her.
Why had she left? He lowered his muzzle to the ground and criss-crossed the area. A dank smell led him to a large body which lay near the vegetable patch. Raven’s ears and horns drew back. Audrey had pointed them out once, when their boats had cut across the far end of the lake. Troll. He was looking at a dead troll.
Raven trotted back down to the water. Now he noticed the deep ruts just above the shore line. Footprints showed where the trolls had jumped to the ground. He followed the impressions up to the building. The door was half open, and the wood still held Audrey’s scent. A small metal object lay nearby. It looked like something designed to fit into a human hand. A chemical smell clung to the protruding end.
Grass was broken and torn nearby. Raven stood still, trying to visualise what his nose was telling him. Audrey and the trolls had met here. Only sets of large footprints went back down to the lake. He knew that she was quite a distance away from him. The trolls must have taken Audrey away in their boats.
Raven glanced back at the body, recalling how the mammoths had protected their young. The trolls, he was certain, would be angry that one of their group had died. Whether Audrey had been the cause or not, he could only assume that they had dragged her off as a result. What would they do to her?
The lake was broad. He could barely make out the shore on the far side. The length w
as too far to swim, even if he inflated his gas chambers so he could float. To go run around it would take at least a day. He could think of only one way to make a quick crossing.
Teeth and claws, reaching out to him from the sky. Raven shuddered. But the thought of Audrey in the hands of angry trolls made his breath catch in his throat. She could only defend herself for so long. Again the image of the mammoths working together came to his mind. Audrey needed him at her side. Two were always stronger than one.
Raven unfolded his wings. A breeze caught at the trailing ends. His gas chamber filled, lifting his body so that he stood lightly on his feet. Nostrils extended as he probed the air. His feet shuffled on the soft ground. Then he began to run along the shore, body sideways to the direction of the wind. The skin along the top of his wings thrummed in the current. His claws began to lose their grasp on the soil. A final kick sent him upwards.
The sky is dangerous, the sky is dangerous, the sky is dangerous. The thought pounded in tune with his heartbeat, and his wings began to fold. Then he recalled the sound of Audrey’s laughter, and her clear voice the few times he had heard her sing.
He punched at the air, wings rising and falling as he turned and headed across the lake. The wind was at his back, giving him extra lift and speed. Long unused muscles were already aching, so he was grateful to stretch out his wings and soar.
The lake slid past beneath him. He kept close to the surface, part of him still expecting death to drop out of the sky. If his mother came for him again, he would plunge down and take his chances in the water. Although he knew that she was thousands of miles away from him, the memory of her attack still made him glance upwards every few minutes.
He was halfway across. The far side was coming into view. Raven could see the boats pulled up on the shore, and several squat buildings just beyond. The wind pushing him also kept him from picking up any scent, but he knew that Audrey was not far away.
Two thirds of the way. Raven ignored the pain in his shoulders and beat his wings. As he rose further into the sky, he searched for Audrey’s slight figure. More of the wooden houses straggled up the nearby hill, but he sensed that she was not in any of them. As he came to the end of the lake, he tilted his wings and headed to the right of the settlement.
Sounds of grunts and roars filled his ears. And the higher pitch of Audrey’s voice. ‘Cowards, all of you! Does it take a dozen trolls to face one British woman?’
The responses were in Welsh. There were many words that Raven didn’t know, but he growled at the general tone. A sudden dislike for trolls filled his mouth with a bitter taste. He followed a mixture of ears, nose, and his awareness of Audrey to a clearing some distance from the last house.
The trolls had formed a loose circle, and Audrey stood in the centre. Raven scented no blood on her, and she seemed to be standing without pain. For a moment he hovered, taking in the sight of the beings which surrounded her. The trolls were nearly twice her height. Thick muscles bunched under green skin. Short black hair covered their flat skulls and trailed down bare backs. Leather skirts clung to broad legs, and various weapons were threaded into wide belts. Several grinned at Audrey, exposing sharp teeth and long red tongues.
Raven folded his wings and dropped down, landing clumsily at Audrey’s side. ‘Stand back,’ he told them angrily, adding a few puffs of flame to underline his words.
‘Draig,’ one of the trolls spat. ‘Beth sydd a wnelo’r ddynol â chi?’
‘What did he say?’ Audrey asked Raven.
‘He wants to know why I’m here.’ Raven bared his own teeth, and responded in Welsh, ‘I’m taking her back to her home. Get out of our way.’
‘Why should we?’ another demanded. ‘She killed Dagunn.’
Raven glanced at Audrey. ‘You killed one of them?’
She glared back. ‘They were tearing into my vegetable patch and wouldn’t leave.’ Then she teared. ‘But I didn’t mean to kill anyone. I tried to shoot to one side to warn them away. The troll moved into my line of fire at the last moment.’
Not all of her words made sense, but Raven had heard enough to tell the trolls, ‘She didn’t mean to kill anyone.’
‘Blood calls for blood,’ the first troll snapped. ‘We brought her back here to face the council, and the council has decided.’
Raven growled. ‘You’ve decided to kill her?’
‘Not exactly.’ The troll grinned. ‘She’ll be given a chance to fight for her life. And we’ll grant her a spear.’
Raven relaxed. ‘They’ll let you fight for your life,’ he told Audrey.
She didn’t seem to share his approval. ‘It’s hardly a fair contest, is it? Twelve against one?’
‘The creature seems uncertain,’ one of the shorter trolls said. ‘Should we let the dragon fight instead?’
Raven snorted a negative. ‘I’ll fight with her, but I won’t fight for her.’ He added in English, ‘I’ve told them that we will fight together.’
A spear was tossed at Audrey’s feet. She picked it up, the stone point wavering as she pointed it at the nearest troll. ‘We’ll be crushed.’
‘You have your weapon, and I have mine.’ Raven pumped up his gas chamber, and exhaled a stream of orange and red flames into the air. ‘Which of you wants to try against us first?’
‘That’s the ticket, Raven,’ Audrey said as the trolls backed away. ‘Send them packing.’
‘We’re here to fight,’ he reminded her.
‘I don’t fancy our chances.’
Raven turned his head and aimed more fire. Trolls ducked, and one yelped as her hair singed against her head. ‘I do.’
‘Enough of that,’ an older troll snapped. She broke from her place in the circle and marched up to Raven’s snout. ‘I offer you a challenge, dragon. We fight one to one, until one of us yields. I will use no weapon, and you will use no flame. If I win, we’ll feed you to our wolves. If you win, we’ll allow you to live.’
‘Not good enough,’ Raven declared. He lifted his head, and studied their surroundings. ‘If I win, then all the land between the mountains is mine.’
‘Agreed,’ the troll growled.
‘But Odna,’ another complained, ‘that would include our gems.’
Raven felt his spines tingle. ‘Gems?’
‘Why do you think we rowed across the lake?’ Odna asked. ‘For vegetables? Pah! We buried gems in that land. And we wanted them back.’
‘They will also belong to me,’ Raven asserted. Now there was even more reason to win.
Odna dropped her head in a nod. ‘Agreed.’
‘What’s happening?’ Audrey demanded as the other trolls backed away. The spear was still clenched in her hand.
‘She and I will fight,’ Raven said, not removing his eyes from the troll. ‘And the winner will have the gems in your vegetable patch.’
‘And what happens to the loser?’
‘We’ll be fed to their animals,’ Raven said happily. ‘But don’t worry, I won’t lose. Stand back.’
Audrey hurried to one side. Odna crouched, her thick arms spread out on either side of her thick body. Raven expelled the rest of his gas chamber. Then he lifted his lips in a snarl. ‘Have at you, troll.’
With a speed which belied her size, Odna lunged forward and caught Raven’s neck in a tight grip. He staggered under her weight. Then her sharp teeth ripped into his shoulder, slicing through scale and skin.
Raven roared, outraged. He threw himself to one side, using their fall against the ground to release her hold. Snapping his neck around, he buried his own jaws into her chest and ground down.
Blood and flesh filled his mouth. The taste reminded him of the smell from Audrey’s outhouse, and he gagged. The involuntary movement loosened his grip, and Odna pulled free. Shreds of skin were left in his teeth, and he coughed and sneezed, trying to free himself of the foul flavour.
He sensed more than saw the broad hands aiming at the base of his wings. Instinct made him leap upwards, removing himself f
rom her attempt to cripple him. As he looked down at her wide face, he suddenly realised that he had never promised not to use flight. In this, he had the advantage over her.
Raven pounded his wings, rising higher and higher. Odna seemed to suddenly realise the danger she was in, and she darted from the circle. He chuckled deep within his chest. Then he put his nose down and arrowed from the sky, aiming himself at her running form.
The force of his plunge drove his claws deep into her back. The troll was lifted from her feet. She crashed heavily to the ground, and he landed on top of her. The sweet scent of victory filled his nostrils, along with the danker smell of her sweat. And his heart pounded with the thought of her death.
‘Raven, no!’ Audrey was beside him. Raven lifted his teeth away from Odna’s neck, although every muscle in his body was ready for the strike which would open up her throat. ‘Don’t kill her. There’s already been one death because of me. Please don’t add another to my conscience!’
Her words were strange, but the intent was clear. Audrey was begging him to allow his enemy to live. Raven struggled for a moment, his claws digging deeper into the troll’s flesh. Then he tore himself free, panting with the effort of fighting against himself. ‘Do you yield?’ he asked Odna, hoping for a negative.
She rolled to one side, and black eyes stared up into his. ‘I yield. The land is yours.’
‘And all it contains,’ he growled. ‘Including the gems.’
‘And all it contains.’
Raven turned his head and glanced across the lake. Something opened up in his mind, as if he were hovering above the vegetable patch. The pouches of gems glowed where they had been hidden. Again he felt the tingle along his spine, and his claws itched to dig up the treasure.
‘The body is yours,’ Audrey said in halting Welsh.
The trolls stared at her. Odna rolled to her feet, green skin streaked red with dripping blood. ‘Why would we want the body?’
Audrey blinked. ‘A decent burial?’
‘Dagunn’s dead. The body is only an empty shell.’