The Cursed Dragon

by Rachal M. Roberts

  It got to the point where Kalara refused to sleep and ordered Jeremy to keep her awake, which wasn’t working out so well. Every time she’d nod off Jeremy would be in utter darkness. He would have to shake and slap her, making blind contact to wake her. There were bruises.

  Days passed in torment and struggle until Kalara had the idea to let Jeremy know her sleep. She paused her work on the geode trap spell and instead crafted a spell to give him telepathy. Since Jeremy never slept it worked great. He’d wake her whenever her dreams turned bad or help her dream world to shift into something happy. He knew her mind and she had nothing to hide from her mummy. He was there for her no matter what.

  Chapter 22

  Annette was traveling as fast as she could. She stole a car in the first town she came to and drove till it ran out of fuel. Then she was running again until she found another car. This occurred over and over. And when there wasn’t a car, she would steal a horse. But horses were harder because they sensed death so well. And in the rare times she was seen a quick decapitation by twisting off the head stopped any ruckus.

  She found that she ran faster during the daylight when the sun would warm her dried skin and long black hair, so much like a plant, lush and thriving, she didn’t even tire out from running.

  Kalara didn’t know where or how far Annette had gotten. Ravanan was still sending unwanted food to the fire pit in Black Blade Lair, Jeremy was still hunting all day every day because she refused to eat Ravanan’s food and instead used the blood from those carcasses for her ink. She was finally able to transform a monkey into a cloud and back again. The next step went easier than she thought it would, putting the monkey’s cloud into a rock. She wondered if the type of rock mattered and tried several – the hard geode crystals, flaky shale rock, grainy sandstone, and even the super hard rock of Black Blade Lair itself – they each made the spell a little harder or less to cast. There was definitely an art to wizards’ alchemy and Kalara felt as though she had barely learned to color inside the lines.

  When it came time to actually start practicing on herself Kalara was unable to proceed, not even from within her dark void, she couldn’t do it. Never again did she want to feel trapped, not even by her own doing. She switched to plan B, deciding to waste no more time and travel to wherever Annette may be.

  She draped her healing robe and let its blue ribbons cascade about her body. The next thing she did was to evoke a green-jeweled choker that graced her neck. (She’d found out what Ravanan’s two large green disks were for, a hardened aloe vera gel meant to aid recovery and it had other specs in it also of mold and fungus, held in check by magic, and also discovered several more pieces of the odd jewelry in the wardrobe chamber.) The one she wore now was called Leaf and it was one solid piece of hard aloe gel fitted for her neck, it was big and clunky but effective.

  “OK Jeremy, take my hand and be ready. All I can tell you is that we are going to travel to Annette’s dried up body. Be ready for anything, but above all you must protect and keep me from dying. You must get me to that cursed pelt.” Kalara then wrapped Annette’s lock of hair into her and Jeremy’s entwined fingers and cast “CONNECT THIS HAIR”.

  Jeremy experienced a wash of air, a dusty smell and a waving touch all over his skin. It was a rather nice experience to feel again for that brief moment of Kalara’s spell. He never got to feel anything anymore other than the dull sense of information he got from grabbing his prey, (his hunting relied more on his spirit-eyesight, and hearing rather than touch).

  He loved hunting for Kalara, for that moment of contact, and though it was dull and slight, when he made the tactile connection with the wiggling animal his world turned brighter because he was hunting for her, and that numbed touch and brighter world were his rewards. To the living he knew touching was taken for granted, but to him feeling life move under his hands was a real treat. Death had taken most of his sense of touch, while his eyesight had become more of a spiritual thing.

  The world of death was more vivid. Neons, vibrant yellows, stark greens, glowing blues, that was the true world, it only took death to see it, everything glowed. The spirits of all living things were giants, fully encasing the little earthen bodies they were tied to. That is what he saw of his Enchantress, a dragoness, it was her true form and she towered over him. Even the spirit of a monkey stood as tall as him. It was unnerving at first, to take down a six foot tall monkey, but Jeremy got used to it, knowing his spirit – like Annette’s – was every bit twice as tall as their dead bodies. The colors shown even brighter when the light of Kalara’s happiness highlighted them, the monkey’s fur turned a rich gold color with gleaming white. Seeing the world as it really was caused Jeremy to know magic was real.

  No sooner had Jeremy felt every hair on his body rise straight and fall again like cottonwood leaves shaking in the wind, the spell was over and they were sitting beside a surprised Annette with their hands tangled in her hair. Annette was driving a car and ended up swerving into a crash.

  Jeremy climbed out of the wreckage pulling his Enchantress with him. She hadn’t been kidding about the pain, now made worse from the wreck. She dropped, screaming. Not only could he hear Kalara’s screams he mentally heard them as well and they broke his heart.

  He scooped Kalara up with his strong arms which were as strong as wood from a bodark tree and yet his intent was as tender as a sprout. With a commanding voice he asked “Annette, where is that pelt? We need it!”

  Annette pulled herself out of the mangled car. “Wow, ya’ll just appeared outta nowhere!”

  “Annette, look at her! Our Enchantress. Do you have the pelt?”

  “No. But we’re getting close I think.”

  “Where are we?”

  “North of Mexico City – I just got passed all the lights and sounds.” She looked at Kalara, having never seen a body shifting so. “That is something! I thought she was going to use a geode. She won’t make it like this.”

  Jeremy frowned “She chose not to.”

  Kalara was delirious with pain, screaming, groaning, and shut her eyes, pressing her face into Jeremy’s shoulder.

  Jeremy turned to show Annette his pocket “Reach in here, I brought a geode just in case.”

  “Good thinking.” she found it, a purple geode “Here” she gestured “Put her down.”

  As Jeremy did so Annette came and knelt beside her. “We gotta get her naked, she can’t take anything with her.”

  As they worked to get the necklace and robe off, Kalara came alert with wild eyes “rrgg.. what?.. OW! What?”

  Annette tried to calm her “Kalara, trust me. Trust your mummies”.

  Kalara’s wild eyes caught hold of Annette’s and made an obvious threat and also a pleading for Annette not to proceed. “NO!” Kalara yelled through clenched teeth.

  The mummies’ world grew dark but they did managed to get her freed of everything. Then Annette took Jeremy’s hands in hers and together they placed the geode on Kalara’s belly button as the skin burst open. She prayed “Great Spirit, hear me, your daughter, Annette. Put this person in this rock! All of her, in the rock!”

  There was a tiny red whirlwind under their hands and then there was only the ground and the geode surrounded by a cloud of Kalara’s matter. Annette immediately left the geode in Jeremy’s hands.

  In cold, deep darkness of disobedience Annette picked up Kalara’s things while Jeremy put Kalara’s geode in his pocket. The air was so cold the grass crunched under their feet.

  “Which way do we go?” he asked.

  “Hold on,” she made sure to keep hold of Jeremy’s hand in the dark and knelt down to find a pebble. She whispered another prayer and felt the pebble roll on the Earth towards her thumb, “we go this way”, and they took off, feeling their way and going as fast as they could.

  From inside the geode Kalara sensed nothing. She was pain-free and alone with her thoughts. The connecting arcs of electricity that was her consciousness were stable inside the quartz crystals. She w
as mad that Jeremy brought the geode but incredibly mad at Annette and hoped Jeremy would continue to protect her.

  Light returned to Jeremy’s cold world just as dusk was settling in.

  For Annette it was nothing but cold darkness. It helped her to talk, anything to get her mind off the darkness she was in.

  “You know Jeremy, I think the living can tell we’re not human. I think we talk slow.”

  Jeremy arched his leathery eyebrow in resigned agreement “Yeah, I have to say Annette, you don’t look pretty anymore. In fact, you’re pretty ugly. Do my eyes look as scary as yours?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well I think it’s pretty easy to tell something isn’t right with us then.”

  Somewhere in the night suddenly Jeremy felt a great weight and heard his pocket rip. Kalara had freed herself and was now in agony again laying on the ground.

  “What do we do now?!” he screamed at Annette.

  The mummies fumbled around for the robe as Kalara cast,”DRAPE LEAF! DRAPE HEALER!”, and ended their struggle. Then the enchantress cast “NUMB ME” on some dirt and rubbed it on. Between moans she ordered Jeremy to continue on.

  Jeremy took off again and Kalara groaned as she bounced in his arms. The mummies ran northward through the jungle of Mexico, wishing they had a car. The trees kept hitting them in the face and arms which helped keep Kalara alert.

  Kalara was relieved when the land opened up finally and the trees were spaced far enough apart as to be avoided. Occasionally Jeremy would jostle Kalara back awake to make sure she was still alive.

  In the coldest part of night Jeremy stopped, he read Annette’s mind and knew she needed a break.

  Annette sat down. “What’s up?”

  “We’re not going fast enough. I think she’s dying.”

  Although Annette couldn’t see she checked her for fever, breathing and pulse. “Well, she’s about like I’d expect. I’m sure if she has made it this far alive, she’ll live. Let’s keep going.”

  Jeremy’s eyes turned to steel “That’s not good enough. I can run faster than this. I know it, she made me to run faster with magic. I have been letting her down and I aim to stop. Is this the fastest you can run?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll split up. I can get there faster than you.”

  “Jeremy, splitting up won’t do any good – you don’t know where the pelt is. Now think!”

  They both thought.

  Annette offered “I’ll stay with our Enchantress and tell you where to go. You take the sand. I’ll give you a day and then we’ll join you. Here, give me some hair.”

  Jeremy huffed. “No. I don’t like that.”

  They both thought some more.

  Then with the uncanny ingenuity that only humans possess – even the dead ones – the mummified medicine woman had a better idea. “Let’s hide Kalara here, then you’ll carry me to the pelt and we’ll zip back here with it.”

  Kalara, for as much as she could hear, apparently liked the idea because finally Annette’s world brightened up.

  Jeremy smiled a stretched, dried smile. He was so glad he learned to worship Mother Earth and follow her teachings. He watched as Annette chanted and placed four stones to the four directions of the earth, she spat on the ground, she picked certain grasses, smoked some grass, and sang, Annette took her time, but when she was done Kalara could hardly be seen.

  In Annette’s pocket was a chip off a nearby rock to bring them back. He carried Annette fast away leaving their enchantress behind, crying in the bush.

  When Annette’s dried feet touched her land it was sunrise a day and a half later. She was home. She took off towards the honey locust tree, keeping alert for any sign of Todd.

  He could be anywhere, or maybe not here but over at Melissa’s. He was most likely sleeping but some rituals and tasks required sunrise, and then there was hunting and fishing – always done better at sunrise when the critters were waking to feed. She did not want to see him, or rather, didn’t want him to see her.

  The place looked great, a little cleaner. Todd was keeping it all up just as she knew he would. She missed being here, it felt like a lifetime ago when her world was simpler. Even though she knew the Great Spirit was everywhere Annette still felt a special connection as she ran through the back yard, wishing she could take some time to visit the prayer stone she had made many years before. But there was no time to waste, her and Jeremy kept to the edge of the yard and used the trees as cover.

  Annette stopped to listen. Yes, she heard them, Todd’s footfalls on the leaf-covered grass. He was coming back from hunting, evidently not successful. She and Jeremy had just enough time to evade and hide. He looked really healthy, attractive even. The gift of the rooster was indeed a gift. She wondered how he was getting along – if only she could talk to him one last time. It was simply out of the question. Never again would she get to talk with her son, and she couldn’t even shed more than a drop of a sappy tear over him.

  It wasn’t hard for them to hide, being plant-like helped when hiding among plants, their respiration was always low and quiet. Annette watched Todd go in the back door to the house and then they took off again.

  At the honey locust tree Kalara’s Pelt was still snagged on the thorns, hanging there mournfully. Jeremy had to get it off because Todd had placed it up high. Annette poured Kalara’s sand on the ground and pulled out her chipped rock piece that would get them back to their Enchantress.

  Then a dense cloud of smoke enveloped the mummies. Jeremy looked around for a fire. Annette quickly prostrated herself in reverence. “Oh Great Spirit!” she sighed with happy surprise. Jeremy did the same, unsure of what was happening.

  The splintery voice shattered in their ears “My child.”

  Jeremy opened his eyes and lifted his head. He kept raising his eyes trying to find the source of the odd voice, lifting his chin higher to take in all he could see. Though the cloud was thick he was able to see the spirit of a towering silver dragoness peering down at them.

  Annette still had her eyes closed. He wondered if she knew about the dragoness in front of them. He nudged her elbow. She didn’t flinch except for to move her arm away. He wasn’t scared. After all, he was dead, so with a silent curiosity he followed Annette’s lead and lowered his head once more.

  “You’ve returned without Kalara and you’re helping her.”

  “Yes.”

  “That little animal skin won’t help her. Return it to my tree.”

  “Mother Earth, I need it.”

  “Return it to my tree.” Again the shattered glass voice was jagged in their ears.

  Annette the mummy raised her head, looked up at her Great Spirit, in defiance she answered “No.” Then with a mighty blow and no prayer the mummy medicine woman slammed her hand, chipped rock shard in the palm, hard into Jeremy’s back with such force that Jeremy’s tree-hard body made an impression in the dirt. Both mummies and the pelt vanished.

  A shrill scream went out over the woods that morning, the few humans who were awake could not describe it later and all the forest animals heard it and ran far from the hill in a panic.

  The mummies appeared at Kalara’s hiding place.

  “It worked!” Annette exclaimed. “I mean, I didn’t have to do a ritual or sing, not even utter a prayer!”

  “I’m glad it did.” Jeremy returned. “I didn’t know what she was fixin’ to do to us.” he added as he went to their Enchantress.

  Kalara was in a tormented and sweaty sleep but at least she was alive. Jeremy scooped up her body to wake her.

  In a delirium Kalara opened her eyes “Help.” was all she could say.

  Jeremy held the ugly white pelt that had some of Kalara’s own dark hair on it. Annette took it and held it out for Kalara to see.

  Seeing it brought Kalara to attention better than coffee ever could. She mumbled “Is there anything special we have to do to end its curse?”

  “That depends on if you want to upset Mother
Earth or not.” she threw it on the ground.

  Purple fire shot from Kalara’s mouth and the pelt was no more.

  Kalara laid back, feeling the power of Leaf and Healer take over the war on her flesh.

  That little spot of land became their hidden camp of recovery. In the following days Kalara continued to feel better and better and was sleeping less.

  Her mummies were enjoying themselves too, being out in the sun. Annette was teaching Jeremy her medicine and he was picking it right up. It never occurred to Kalara to question how Annette was so powerful, she just accepted it as she always had. Jeremy was teaching Annette how he hunted as an undead even though she wasn’t as fast as Jeremy. In any case Kalara was glad for the company, even if they were undead. She noticed they needed new clothes to cover the disgusting leathery skin, that would be a task to do upon returning to Black Blade. Yes, full clothes and dark sunglasses to hide those hideous eyes.

  There were cattle in the area but Jeremy feared hunting too much and thankfully Kalara wasn’t requiring a lot of food for spells at the moment. The area was farmland and he remembered in Oklahoma that dead cattle were investigated immediately with guns. He’d found a nearby town and hoped to snag some restaurant food for Kalara but chose not to go for fear of getting caught. So hunting became a real game to find small animals – his success was fairly high.

  In time Kalara was able to drape her favorite robe Heed. The purple looked great in the sun with all the little black shiny glints of biotite, but the dark metal breast cage was heated by the sun. This gave Kalara something to work on, making her aura cool off the air without her having to be angry to make it happen.