The Battle of Iron Gulch

by R. G. Thomas

  Thaddeus pulled against the roots and clenched his jaw as he watched Isadora approach the dragon. He wanted—needed—to be free, to attack Isadora and protect his mother. He closed his eyes and tried to conjure his magic, but his thoughts were too scattered and emotions running too high for him to focus.

  “I feel you trying to use magic, dear nephew,” Isadora said. She had reached the dragon and was walking around it, running her hand lightly over scales that reflected the firelight and distorted her image. “But you just can’t seem to focus, can you? None of you have been able to toss me aside or bring part of the ceiling down on me, though you’ve been trying, haven’t you? That, my friends”—she nodded to the side of the cave where Leopold, Vivienne, Astrid, and Rudyard were bound—“and family”—she nodded in the direction of Thaddeus’s group—“is thanks to the lovely plant that keeps on giving, the nacht macabre. You see, with so much of it planted all around the entrance to this mine, and the heaps of it I’ve brought into this chamber, not only does it attract creatures with corrupt intentions, but it strengthens their black magic and suppresses those who might go against it.”

  She smiled. “Now, let me rouse the star of the hour and get our party started. Don’t go anywhere.”

  Isadora slipped out of sight around the side of the dragon. Thaddeus began to fight hard against his bindings, as did the others, but none of them were able to get free. Only Teofil remained still, standing with his eyes closed as he quietly hummed.

  “I don’t think it’s working,” Thaddeus whispered to him. “The roots are still too tight.”

  “Thaddeus,” his father said, leaning forward to see him around Teofil, “I’m sorry I never told you the truth about your family heritage.”

  Thaddeus shook his head and looked away from his father. “Not now, Dad. We’ll talk about it later.”

  “We might not have a later,” his father said. “You have to know I did it all in your best interest. Please tell me you believe that.”

  “I believe you, okay?” Thaddeus pulled harder against the roots, but they held fast. “Let’s just try to find a way out of this.”

  There was too much to consider concerning yet another of his father’s lies—and a whopper of a lie at that. Thaddeus tried to put the thought of it aside, but a quiet sense of betrayal flowed through him, just beneath his skin. He’d forgiven his father for not telling him about his magical heritage all these years, because he understood it had been done to keep him safe. But once that secret had been revealed, the lineage and how they were tied to Isadora could have been explained. Especially when Isadora had revealed herself at the Well of Tears.

  He had to put all of that to the back of his mind for now and focus on finding a way to escape. But the thought was stubborn, and it sat there in the forefront of his mind like an immovable stone, getting in the way of his concentration.

  The dragon gave a snort that blew a great cloud of dust out of the nook into which it had crawled, and Thaddeus jumped. He watched the muscles beneath its scales shift as it backed out into the center of the cavern, his struggle against the roots forgotten as he stared at it in wonder. He had seen the dragon weeks ago when he and Teofil had uprooted the drachen narcosis that had been keeping her in hibernation beneath Leopold’s yard, but he hadn’t truly been able to step back and appreciate the size of it.

  The tail unfurled from around its feet, and he saw how like a lizard’s it was: thick at the base and narrowing to a spiky point, covered with glistening scales. As the dragon backed into the cavern, he estimated it stood ten feet high from the ground to its shoulder and over twice that in length. Its feet were large and ended in claws that left divots in the hard dirt floor. Its wings shifted beneath the thick chain, but it was strong enough to keep them folded tight against its sides. As it continued to withdraw from the recess where it had taken shelter, Thaddeus’s heart pounded and he had to remind himself to breathe. Here they were at last, at the end of their quest. The dragon, his mother, was soon going to stand before him. He wanted to see her face, to look into her startlingly human blue eyes and say, at long last, “Mom.”

  Her neck slipped out of the niche, long and powerful. A bony frill rose up from the base of her skull, tipped with several small spikes. Then, at last, her head came into view. Tears welled up in Thaddeus’s eyes as he watched a snout with prominent nostrils appear. She shook her head back and forth, rattling the heavy black chains that had been fastened around her legs and around her neck behind the shield of bone. She started to turn toward Thaddeus’s side of the cave but was stopped short by the chain around her neck. She gave a grunt and Thaddeus could see a raw, wet-looking ring where the chain had rubbed away some of the scales on her neck. His heart lurched with anguish.

  “What have you done to her?” he shouted, tears blurring his vision as he pulled harder yet against the roots. “What have you done?”

  With a smug expression on her face, Isadora walked into view from behind the dragon’s snout, her hand lightly touching the scaly skin.

  “Do you like her? We consider her the new, improved model.”

  “You’ve tortured her,” Thaddeus said, leaning forward to strain against his bindings. Was it his imagination, or had he felt them give a little bit more just now?

  “Torture is such a strong word.” Isadora’s smile was cold. “I prefer to think we convinced her of a few things.”

  She gathered up the length of chain that wrapped around the dragon’s neck and yanked on it. The dragon moaned as the chain dug into her scales, but she swung her head around to face Thaddeus’s group.

  Thaddeus looked into her face, and his eagerness and hope dissolved into anger and fear.

  The rounded blue eyes he’d looked into back in Leopold’s yard a few weeks before had been replaced by eyes that glowed the color of freshly spewed lava, the pupils a long black slit up the center. Gone was any semblance of humanity or recognition, and maybe any trace of his mother.

  Chapter EIGHTEEN

  FURY BOILED within Thaddeus. He looked away from the fiery glare of the dragon to Isadora’s superior expression.

  “What did you do?” he asked.

  “I told you,” Isadora replied. “We convinced her to change her outlook.”

  Thaddeus shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what you did to her. She’s still inside there, you haven’t killed the human part of her.”

  “Oh, is that right?”

  Isadora walked up to him and, not taking her eyes off his, pulled the canteen off his belt. She held it up by her ear and shook it, then looked surprised.

  “Not much water left inside,” she said. “Much less than what you’ll need to turn this big beast into the pretty young thing that used to be your mother.”

  Thaddeus glared at her. “Give that back.”

  Isadora crossed to the center of the cavern, stopped right beside the dragon’s back foot, and dropped the canteen on the floor. “Oops. I sure hope she doesn’t step on the last hope you have to change her back.”

  Thaddeus tried to summon the canteen, but no matter how hard he concentrated, it wouldn’t move. He focused his thoughts on it, remembered how it had felt in his hand, how it had felt when he had called it to save Teofil. But the canteen remained in the dirt next to his mother’s great clawed foot.

  “I told you, the nacht macabre will block your attempts at using magic,” Isadora said. “All is lost, Thaddeus. You have failed, and I have under my control one of the greatest weapons to ever live.”

  Isadora pulled on the chain again and the dragon let out a mighty roar that made them all jump.

  The Bearagon loped into the cavern from the passage. It stopped and looked at them before its gaze fixed on Thaddeus. With a low growl, it lowered its big fur-covered head and stalked right up to him. Thaddeus pressed himself against the rock and turned away as the Bearagon put its face right up in front of his and slowly opened its jaws to expose sharp teeth.

  “Enough, Logan,” Isadora said. “Heel
.”

  The Bearagon looked at her and growled again.

  “I have something special planned for him,” she said, as if she had understood the monster. “But you’ll be able to have some fun with his little gnome boyfriend.”

  “No!” Thaddeus shouted, and looked around the Bearagon to Isadora. “You won’t get away with this. You won’t!”

  “Oh? How?” She waved her hand. “You’re all bound to the walls and the ghouls took care of half of the townspeople. Even though my bodyguard here slaughtered most of the ghouls and their gruesome pet goblins, the humans wouldn’t know what to do even if they had the courage to come back inside.”

  The Bearagon turned away from Thaddeus and stalked up to Isadora. As it walked away, Thaddeus felt the roots loosen even more, and he risked a glance at Teofil. His eyes were closed tight, and he was humming so quietly even Thaddeus could barely hear him.

  “Isadora, your resentment is for me,” Nathan said. “Release the others.”

  “So noble,” Isadora said. “But no.”

  Dulindir dropped from the ceiling and landed quietly on the dirt floor alongside the dragon’s tail. Thaddeus drew in a breath and looked to where Isadora stood talking quietly with the Bearagon; neither had seen or heard Dulindir escape.

  Moving quickly and quietly, Dulindir scooped up his sword and slipped out of sight behind the dragon’s tail. The flare of hope within Thaddeus faded a bit when Dulindir did not rush over to free all of them, but he reassured himself that Dulindir would find some way to save them. He wouldn’t just leave them there. Even though Isadora had greeted Dulindir just now as if they were old acquaintances, just as she had back when she had revealed herself to them at the Well of Tears, Thaddeus had to believe that Dulindir was on their side. He wouldn’t let himself suspect that Dulindir had been working with Isadora and Logan and plotting against them all this time.

  The dragon shifted and growled, and Isadora looked up at her.

  “What troubles you, my dear?” Isadora asked. “Is it the smell of these creatures? Well, never fear, we’ll be rid of them soon.”

  The roots around Thaddeus’s wrists loosened even more, and he thought he might be able to slip one hand free if he tried hard enough. He didn’t want Isadora to see, however, so he kept his arm inside the loop of roots. After another moment, the root around his chest loosened as well, and soon his other hand was able to move more freely. He looked at Miriam and found her staring at him. She shifted her gaze to their hands and back to his face, and he nodded, then leaned forward to look past Teofil to his father. Nathan nodded to him as he twisted his hands within the roots to show his bindings were looser as well.

  “So then,” Isadora said, and tugged on the chain that looped around the dragon’s neck. “Shall we start with this side of the room? How about a nice, blazing end to your long, tiresome journey?”

  “Now!” Nathan shouted.

  Thaddeus pulled his hands and feet free and tore the root from around his chest. His father and Miriam broke free as well and ran at Isadora, both of them shouting. Thaddeus rushed not at Isadora, but to the canteen on the floor. The dragon pulled her head back and up, startled by the sudden commotion, and yanked the chain out of Isadora’s hand, sending the witch stumbling backward and out of sight into the shadows of one of the niches.

  Just as Thaddeus grabbed the canteen, a magical force threw him across the cavern where he landed on the hard-packed dirt of the floor. His breath left him in a rush, but he rolled to his feet and darted out of sight behind the dragon. The canteen was still in his hands, and he held it close to his chest as he hurried toward the others across the cavern.

  “You won’t win this battle!” Isadora shouted. “I’ll bring this entire mine down on top of all of you.”

  Thaddeus knew he shouldn’t respond, but he was angry and couldn’t help himself. “You’ll kill yourself along with us.”

  Leopold and Vivienne had pulled free of the roots, but Rudyard and Astrid were still struggling. Dulindir was nowhere in sight. As he ran toward the others, Thaddeus clipped the canteen onto his belt, the familiar weight a small reassurance that somehow, someway, they would get out of this alive. All of them.

  “There you are!” Isadora shouted.

  “Thaddeus, get down!” Leopold cried.

  Thaddeus dropped to the dirt as the dragon’s tail swung past overhead. He heard Isadora let out a scream and looked around. His hope that the dragon had splattered her against a wall was dashed as he watched her jump out of harm’s way at the last moment.

  “Keep the dragon between you, Isadora, and the Bearagon,” Leopold hollered.

  “Okay,” Thaddeus shouted back.

  Leopold suddenly gave a shout of surprise as the Bearagon pounced on him. Without hesitation, Thaddeus extended his arms toward the struggling pair. He could almost feel the Bearagon’s fur beneath his fingers as he reached out with his magic. Something was different—most likely the effects of the nacht macabre—and he couldn’t get a good grip on the Bearagon to be able to throw it. But he had to do something fast, as the Bearagon raised a mighty paw to strike a deadly blow on Leopold.

  Thaddeus did the only thing he could think of. He set his gaze on a rock that lay just beyond the Bearagon. His concern for Leopold and the adrenaline pumping through his system intensified the power of the magic as it flowed through him as he summoned the rock. It shot forward, striking the Bearagon in the head and falling to the dirt with a thud as Thaddeus released it.

  The Bearagon howled in pain and leapt off Leopold, shaking its head as it staggered away. Thaddeus couldn’t help a satisfied smirk, but it was short lived when a shout made him look around. The dragon lifted its head on its long neck, and the spikes growing out of the bony ridge at the base of skull jabbed into the cavern ceiling. Several large stones broke free, forcing everyone to scatter.

  Thaddeus rolled out of the path of a large stone as it bounced past, then squinted through the dust to make sure his father and the others had escaped injury. Isadora was nowhere to be seen, and neither, for that matter, was Dulindir.

  “Thaddeus!”

  He spun to see Astrid and Rudyard still tangled within the roots that had bound them. Thaddeus hurried over and pulled the roots away to allow them to escape at last.

  “Look out!” Astrid shouted. “Get down!”

  Thaddeus dropped to a crouch without hesitation. He felt the breeze of something passing by just over his head, and when he looked up, watched the dragon’s tail swing past. As he squatted there, Thaddeus had a good view beneath the dragon and was able to see Dulindir on his back, scooting himself along beneath the scaled belly. At first Thaddeus assumed Dulindir planned to drive the sword he held into the dragon and kill her, and he almost shouted at him to stop. But then he noticed the chains around the dragon’s rear legs had been broken, leaving them looped around the ankles but with a few feet of loose chain dragging in the dirt.

  Dulindir was freeing Thaddeus’s mother. Now they just needed to find a way to get her to drink the water.

  He got to his feet and, with Astrid and Rudyard beside him, ran around the back of the dragon. Once they reached the other side, they saw Isadora fling Vivienne, his father, and Miriam into the air and against a far wall.

  “That’s it!” Rudyard shouted. “This ends now!” Hefting his battle ax, he rushed toward Isadora.

  “Dad!” Astrid called, then grabbed a rock for each hand and raced after Rudyard.

  Thaddeus looked around for Teofil, but could not find him within the heavy dust and commotion. He knew, however, that Astrid and Rudyard would need help against Isadora. Firmly planting his feet, Thaddeus extended his right hand toward a pile of rocks the dragon had brought down from the ceiling. It was easier now to call upon the power within him, and he flung several of the stones toward Isadora. She cried out in surprise as the first whizzed close past her face before easily deflecting Astrid and Rudyard’s attack.

  “Good try, ex-sister,” Isadora said as
she sent Astrid tumbling across the cavern.

  The dragon stomped a foot down, and Thaddeus gasped as it nearly missed squashing Astrid. He darted away from the dragon’s swinging tail and was now standing just in front of the passage through which they had entered the cavern. Thaddeus had his back to the passage, keeping an eye on the dragon and looking for Isadora. In that position, he didn’t see who grabbed him from behind and dragged him into the dark of the passage. He lost his grip on the knife and heard the clank of the blade as it landed on a rock at his feet.

  “Well, look who’s here,” a woman whispered in his ear. “The fledgling wizard responsible for our demise. This is my lucky day.”

  Thaddeus was spun around and pushed roughly against the wall. The firelight from the cavern nearby reached just far enough for him to recognize Ruby. His heart thundered faster, and his breath caught in his throat as his right hand went protectively to the canteen at his belt. He stared into Ruby’s furious expression. Then his gaze shifted as he picked out places where the skin she wore had torn or was starting to come apart, revealing her true, monstrous form. He struggled to get free, but her grip was strong.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Ruby whispered in a quiet, threatening voice. “You’re mine. Not only did that monster of yours kill most of my pack, but that damnable top-dwelling girl you befriended tore out all of the nacht macabre around the mine entrance.”

  His confused mind spun like a prize wheel. She grabbed him by the throat and started to lean close. Aisha—Aisha had pulled all the nacht macabre from the ground. That was why they’d been able to get free; that was why they could suddenly use magic.

  He spared a brief thought of thanks to her and then clawed at Ruby’s face with his hand, peeling away strips of loose skin to expose the sickly gray-green flesh beneath. With a strong swipe, he stripped away the bottom half of her face, revealing the round, red mouth as she leaned in closer. The glistening mouth pulsed with excitement and firelight glinted off the points of her tiny teeth. As he held her back with his right hand, Thaddeus extended his left to the side and tried to summon something, anything, to keep Ruby from putting her disgusting sucker on him.