The Cursed Dragon

by Rachal M. Roberts

  The camo-wearing guy arrived at the designated meeting place, smiling kindly to the red headed bombshell that was near. He was soon to be her sixth trophy for the day.

  Jenniffer wasted no time. She befriended him and started slowly moving towards the door as they talked. Her voice was low and sexy, forcing him to keep inching forward to hear her. It’d be a quicky, the exit door opened to trailers that the vendors had brought their wares in. She had previously found one unlocked. Then she spied Bill and her brother – curiosity grabbed her because their musky smell was more exotic and stronger than all the other men in the place.

  The vixen quickly grabbed her victim’s arm and pulled him to the exit, using him as a blind to hide behind.

  He was nice to have. She’d picked another awesome cock. Emerging from the trailer the vixen adjusted her clothes and made her way back inside to follow that wondrous aroma.

  There she was! Bill’s heart leaped in his chest. He made his way to Jenniffer with Todd in tow. “Jenn, hi! How are you doing?!?” he asked her.

  Todd had a smile for his sister but it was colored with raised eyebrows “...and why are you at a gun show?”

  Jenniffer went right into Bill’s embrace, smelling him. “I’m good..... better now.”

  Todd kept his reservations alive. “I saw your corvette parked outside.”

  Clearly Todd was a third wheel. The magnetic pull between the vixen and Bill was heating them both up. Jenniffer mumbled something about walking around and the two headed off into the crowd.

  Todd set off the other way to find the bullets he needed. That was really strange, Jenniffer being at a gun show and she got her car back. He’d get the rest of the story later in the car ride home. And she looked so hot – Todd hadn’t ever noticed before or else she’d gotten prettier. It wasn’t right to be thinking that way. He got his head into something else quickly by looking at a booth swarming with salesmen.

  In the unlocked vendor trailer, their hot breath was making it steamy.

  While undoing Bill’s pants Jenniffer commented “What happened to you? You are more amazing than ever!”

  “What do you mean? I’m not different. And I could ask you what happened. Where have you been? You haven’t returned my phone calls, you’re never home....”

  Jenniffer had her arms around his bare waist, kissing his chest. “I mean you are freaking hot! Look at you! And you, you’re... you’re not empty. But you were empty, I know. Ah..... – I don’t get it but that doesn’t matter. I need you. Now!”

  Todd ended up driving home alone since Bill, The Endless Fountain, took off in Old Red with the vixen.

  Chapter 20

  Ravanan finally woke up feeling better. He blinked his eyes and stretched his scaly blue body. He had been in his healing sleep long enough that his scales were mostly healed over. But during that time of recovery he still had to keep Ishida controlled which prolonged the healing process that much more. He wasn’t sure how long it had been.

  He desperately needed food, which made him think of Kalara – how long had it been since he’d fed her? Ravanan immediately left to find the closest meal he could, not wanting to get so far from his prisoner that it would break his connection with her mind. He set up an anchor and sent Kalara her part of the meal, knowing she would be as hungry as he was.

  Only then did he look ahead. He had a lot of work to do with this new lair and its treasure.

  Days later, after countless meals and endless blood-consuming enchantments and all the while maintaining his control and sleep spells over Ishida, Ravanan kept at least two striking distances away and tossed some dead humans at her, hitting her snout and waking her up.

  Ishida checked that her egg was safe, noted that the bite out of her belly was healed, and then attempted to fly out of the hole. With a ‘thud’ she hit an invisible barrier over her head; it was as she suspected, she was imprisoned.

  She targeted the blue dragon and cast “SILENCE”. But was startled to find the sound waves of her spell were visible blue threads that fell down to the ground to be fully absorbed by it. She blew fire but Ravanan was out of reach and beyond her aura.

  The red dragoness quickly snatched up her food and stared at her enemy.

  Ravanan was watching her too, trying to discern any indication of intent from her since she was hiding her thoughts, and of course hiding thoughts was normal and expected. What wasn’t normal was being blasted by the deafening emotions of Kalara, that was not typical dragon behavior and it wasn’t fun knowing every single thought she had. This was much more fun, actually refreshing to him to have to pay attention and figure out the mystery.

  Ishida cast “EVOKE SPEAR”. And again her spell turned into blue thread and fell at her dark red talons. Then there came a list of spells “POISON” “FIREBALL” “DIE” “SLEEP” “STOP MAGIC”. All turned to blue thread and fell.

  Then she bent her head and looked at the ground. It was nothing noticeable, just dirt and rock. Targeting it, Ishida cast “STOP MAGIC” “END CURSE” “RETURN MY SPELLS” “NULLIFY”. And again her words became blue thread falling down. The pregnant dragoness quieted herself with a meditation pose and closed her eyes.

  Ishida stayed in that pose until the following day then quietly she cast “AURA TAKE ME TO MY BROOD ROCK”.

  She didn’t leave or disappear, but Ravanan did notice her eyes seemed wetter, any more wet and a tear would possibly fall from them.

  Ishida had only one last idea, “VANISH” - but that did no good either.

  It was another three days before she made a noise, she roared. Loud and long, her roar echoed and traveled up into freedom.

  Ravanan only watched.

  With good feelings of a small triumph, she targeted him, casting “SILENCE” “EVOKE SPEAR”. But her spells only became falling blue thread.

  Angry, poisonous gas filled her aura, “What have you done?” she spat the words out. “Trapping my spoken spells?”

  Ravanan consoled her from across the chamber “At least you can talk, be glad for that.”

  He continued to feed her well, keeping her body healthy for the egg. While she kept her indignant silence, Ravanan was meticulously going about, discovering the new lair.

  Finding the lair’s entrance was easy since the hole was left visible. Ravanan descended into its depths. He cast “STARLIGHT” and began the tedious search for traps, knowing his patience would be rewarded. Just as it was in his lair he knew somewhere near him was a short anchor to skip over the treacherous passageway but he also knew that the short cut was keyed to the dragon who placed it there. It would be easier to suffer every trap rather than attempt to decipher the magical doorways that Kianthyx or that ancient dragon had crafted. At least he would only have to walk it once and then he could make his own anchor later.

  The cave system was wet and with many tight squeezes, the ancient pair had to have been dabbling in rock growing as the formations didn’t look natural to Ravanan’s studious eye. Rock bedding planes were interrupted, the color of the rocks didn’t always connect, and he noticed at least once that a fault line was oddly terminated. It just didn’t look right.

  Nearly at the onset of his trek he cast “MORPH TO ANACONDA” to make navigating the gauntlet easier. His anaconda spell was convincing with the exception of his blue eyes because no matter the form of the body the eyes are directly attached to the nature of the individual and cannot be changed.

  The path was riddled with numerous slippery ledges and turn-backs, each were traps within themselves. Slithering through the hazardous subterranean climb Ravanan gained an appreciation for the pair of master rock sculptors and he was already redecorating Black Blade’s entrance inside his head. The small water ways and waterfalls were always splashing at the worst place possible for anyone trying to cross them and then there were the steep drops and rises. He was learning and exploring with wide eyes, not that Black Blade was lacking for high quality traps but he was always looking for ways to improve it, and what be
tter way to improve than to review what 7,000 year old dragons had done.

  He found his first magical trap. It was a loop-back trap and he discovered it when he felt the subtle phase-out of his body as the trap moved him back to its beginning. He had this same trap in his own lair, it was easily foiled by a simple spell of stability.

  After passing through the trap and seeing new cave formations once again Ravanan came upon a chamber. It was small and he could tell it had recently been widened to accommodate two dragons. There wasn’t much to the chamber and he could see where the cave continued on the other side. Kianthyx must have set up camp in the room, unable to get past the next trap. That little fact made Ravanan even more alert.

  There wasn’t much to the make-shift lair. Their wizard’s alcove was greatly lacking. He could see one corner contained their wardrobes, beside them were their tools and weapons. He took a closer look, seeing if there were any useful ones he didn’t have in his collection. Ravanan saw up close the razor that shaved off his scales, he hated that one. Of everything there the razor was the most unique but even that one he could reproduce from memory with no need to study it further.

  Ravanan slithered around the chamber, following the walls and using his snake tongue to investigate. If there was something to find it most likely wasn’t in the middle of the room. On the other wall was what he was looking for when he bumped into an invisible obstacle. He stopped and raised up his anaconda head to look above him and all around, sensing no traps he decided to change forms.

  While not a lover of the human appearance Ravanan saw the value of it and at the moment human hands were needed. He cast ‘MORPH TO HUMAN”, seconds later he was naked and erecting his human body by pushing with his hands up off the cavern floor.

  He dusted his hands off before casting “EVOKE TOOLS”; then his bag of minerals appeared in his palms. He opened the pack and took out his iolite crystal, and then biotite, pulled off a flake of the black mineral and dropped the rest back down inside the bag. Ravanan held them up to his right eye then rotated them while looking intently at the invisible thing on the floor.

  A small chest materialized before him. He thought about traps and cast the reveal spell again to check the chest. He could hardly believe that there was nothing protecting it other than the invisibility spell, but then again they were young dragons. He knelt down and opened it carefully. The chest was partially filled with gemstones colored clear and red. They were small sizes but beautiful none-the-less and now they belonged to him. Ravanan allowed himself a moment to visualize what he would make with the little gems - that was the most fun part of getting new treasure.

  Again he opened his tool bag and took out a small crystal of rock salt. Adding one of the red gemstones, he put them in his mouth and held them in his tongue. Using his aura, he could taste it, the salt enhanced the gem. The red ones were spinel, not such a rarity but their color was bright. Next he grabbed one of the clear gemstones. From the fire-like sparkle he was pretty sure they were diamonds but did the same test to be sure.

  Diamonds and spinels, three hundred of each. A good start for a dragon, and in his case, a small restart.

  Ravanan sealed the tiny lair with his own enchantments then moved on deeper into the ancient cave, looking for whatever trap had bested Kianthyx.

  A short way further and he came upon a corridor connecting nine passageways of various sizes and shapes. Going largest to smallest as a guess he took a step towards the biggest tunnel and the room filled with a dark cloud so magically dense that it broke his starlight spell. He stood there and after getting the room cleared he noticed all the passageways had changed places. He headed back up to rest and figure out a plan.

  The next day when Ravanan came back from hunting he brought no food for Ishida. Most of the day was gone before she finally spoke out “No food today for your prisoner?”

  “No. Not until I get some answers.”

  “I won’t answer. Soon my egg will be gone and then I’ll be dead by your hand.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Ishida scoffed, “I know my egg is the only reason I’m alive. Don’t think I don’t know that you have also set a killing curse upon me.”

  “You’re wrong about that. That won’t come until after I have what I need.”

  Ishida laughed “I don’t believe the words of a Naga! Especially when I can feel the enchantment in my head. The base of my head still hurts!”

  Ravanan wasn’t laughing though and he wondered about the pain in her head. “Tell me Ishida, why are you here in Kynasteryx when your brood rock is in Nikhadelos?”

  Ishida quickly answered “I am fleeing from the Naga, this is their egg.” Her eyes were wide with astonishment that she said that.

  Ravanan asked “How long were you mated to Kianthyx?”

  “A little less than a season.” Again her eyes were wide. “Why am I telling you this?” she yelped.

  Ravanan’s voice was calm as always “Because the enchantment you feel in your head forces you to answer me truthfully, it is not one of death. And it will cease when my aura gives it the signal that I have all the answers I need.”

  Ishida asked “Is that all it does?”

  “Yes”

  She was amazed, “That must have been most difficult to do.”

  “Yes,” Ravanan nodded, “My last interrogation was impromptu and rushed. Not so this time however. I’ve had time to build it right.”

  Ishida relented “So feed me then, let me nurture my egg.”

  After the meal Ravanan asked her “How much longer until the egg is ready?”

  “weeks maybe.”

  “Well hopefully I won’t need you much longer and then we’ll see about that egg.” Ravanan advised, “Now about your treasure, is any of it stolen?”

  “No.” she rubbed her neck. “We mined it freely and won some in fair battles.”

  Ravanan paused at Ishida’s answer. His treasure was not there. Yes the ancient lair had other treasure which would soon be his, but of his and Kalara’s treasure he still hadn’t found it.

  “Do you know who took the treasure from Black Blade Lair?” Ravanan used his aura to paint a sparkling blue image of the Black Blade cliff near Ishida in the air.

  She took a good look at his art work, “No. That place is foreign to me.”

  Ravanan was becoming sad with every “no” he heard. “What part did you play in trapping the Kynasteryx Acama?”

  “None. I didn’t know she had been trapped.”

  “Who took her?”

  “I don’t know who bested the Acama.”

  On any other matter Ravanan’s manner was cool and kept but on these topics his nerves were fraying and his frustration was starting to show. Ishida noticed. She spoke up “So you thought we had stolen your treasure. That is why my mate is now dead and I am soon to be.”

  Ravanan said nothing.

  She didn’t mind him ignoring her because she knew she was right. Ishida played with her long, ornamental chin feathers and kept talking “I never met the Acama here, I take it she meant more to you than simply acting as your communications channel to all of dragonkind – possibly your mate? Or are you just that heroic to lead a search for any dragon gone missing?” She smirked.

  He was silent and turned away from her. But his actions only fueled her further.

  “I’ve never had a use for the Acama, the one over Nikhadelos, what is his name? Oh yes, Kadd, he sure doesn’t help much with the Nagas, of course who would want to deal with such vile dragons? – it’s a wonder that they still hold with Dragon Law at all. It causes me to doubt that Acamas are even useful to us.”

  Ishida continued uninterrupted. Her tail was playfully twitching like a whip and she was purring with satisfaction “Now that I think about it, you are most likely not a Naga, because I am still alive and my egg is still in me. And you were so careful to not bite into it when you took my flesh – you shouldn’t have been able to do that you know.”

  Rav
anan turned his head around to face her, wanting to put an end to her game, “You’re right, you’ll probably want to improve the hardness of your scales before you battle again.”

  If Ishida was simmering from that statement she didn’t let it show.

  Seeing she had no response Ravanan decided to go in another direction “Why are you carrying a Naga’s egg?”

  Ishida answered “I was arranged to mate with a red Naga and right after I did he got into a fight with another dragon and I saw my opportunity to get away before he could trace me.”

  “But why leave your mate? After all you chose him knowing he was Naga.”

  “I did not choose him. From the moment I hatched I was bound to a red – him; it is their way. Never left alone for seventy five years; I was always watched and when they band together there is no way to battle with all of them and their collective knowledge. I could be Naga, I suppose you could say I am a Naga since I came from them, but as time went on I felt differently about humans and did not agree with all I saw going on. It is a bad thing to hatch in those lands. I couldn’t openly relocate, it was only from my inherent memories did I believe there was another way to live.”

  Ravanan recalled her wet eyes the other day when she tried to return to her brood rock. “So you don’t want to go back to Nikhadelos?”

  “No. Only to avoid death would I consider going back to the Naga.”

  “How do you know he won’t come find you?”

  “He thinks I’m dead.”

  Ravanan wasn’t so sure, “What is his name?”

  “Somen of Nikhadelos Xylo the Malefic Garnet”

  “So how did you convince Somen you died?”

  “We were in our mating flight, necks entwined, he quickly completed the bond. Then I saw my way out, a young black dragon who was minding his own affairs, seemed to be hunting. I took advantage of my mate’s primal mood and flew in a path to get us within the aura of the black dragon. Timing my magic was essential, I told my aura to target Somen from the black dragon, a ray of sickness and fatigue – a black’s basic attack and it appeared to come from him. It worked, I feigned getting hit with the main blast which theoretically would kill me, they fought, and I vanished.”