He rose up on his toes and said, “What are you going to do, breathe on me? Fool!”
I took a deep breath.
He laughed at me.
Sasha’s vibrant form stepped between us. “Please, everyone, stop yelling. You aren’t children; you’re men,” Sasha said, gentle hands pushing me into the sofa.
Calmness fell over me. “We have to work together on this,” she said, eyeing all of us. “It’s that important. Bayzog, tell him.”
I slumped into the sofa, feeling incredibly angry and guilty, but I let Sasha’s charm calm me.
“Yes, Bayzog, Ben mentioned there was something you wanted to tell me. What is it?” I said, noticing my beard. “Ugh! Really?”
Bayzog gave me a funny look.
I shook my head, which was beginning to ache, saying, “Go on then.”
“Dragon, I can’t say that I, or anyone in the world, for that matter, can understand your unique constitution―well, excluding your father, of course.”
My headache intensified. What would my father think?”
“I don’t think things are as bad as they look, however. I would venture that it was inevitable that you would start turning into a dragon eventually, and your scales, well, they aren’t a true reflection of your nature. Nath, we all know that you are good, as good a man as we all know, but there is darkness in all of us. No one person is perfect or without blemish; most just hide it better on the outside. That’s why it is difficult to tell the good people from the evil sometimes.”
“This isn’t helping, Bayzog,” I said, holding my head in my hands, irritated.
“Our deeds are what define us. Our actions. Our words. Not our garments, not our looks. What is inside a man, in his heart―his dragon heart―is what counts. Keep doing what you are doing.”
“But I want to get rid of it.” Sort of.
“And what if you can’t? Will you stop being good altogether, then? Will you join the Clerics of Barnabus?”
“NO!”
“So stop whining, then,” Bayzog said.
“I’m not whining.”
“You are whining,” Brenwar added, folding his arms across his chest. “Like a baby orc.”
“Fine, I’m whining, but I’m sure all of you would do the same if you had these.” I lifted my arms. “I’m not going to be wooing the ladies like I used to; that’s for sure. But I imagine I could be used in a carnival to frighten children.”
Brenwar harrumphed.
“I like them,” Sasha said, rubbing my scales, smiling. “I think they are marvelous.”
Her sweet words made me feel better; they really did. I guess I was just going to have to get used to it, but I really needed to fix it.
“Bayzog, my father says there are many things in this world that can heal. Perhaps you can help me find some of those things. Maybe I just need a different Thunderstone or something.”
Bayzog walked over to his large table, opened his tome, thumbed through the pages, and threw his hands out. When he twitched his fingers, an image of a mystic amulet formed and hung in the air, gold and silver with a bright-green gemstone in the middle.
“The Ocular of Orray. The legend says that it can bring health, peace, and prosperity. Its powers have been known to cure lycanthropes and liches and to restore the undead. Perhaps it can help.”
“So, where is it?”
Bayzog flicked his fingers. The amulet broke into several pieces.
“It was stolen from the elves in Elome a century after the last Dragon War, never to be seen again. According to the lore, the thieves broke it up into many pieces and spread them all over Nalzambor, for the Ocular cannot be destroyed.”
“So, who stole it? Who can go into Elome and steal anything?” I sighed. “It’s a fortress.”
“We’d have to ask the elves that,” he said, closing the book.
“So, I’m supposed to search the entire world for this Ocular? I’d rather just save the dragons.” I looked at Shum. “And what are you doing here?”
“I have an interest in the power of the Ocular as well. Remember my king? He needs the healing, too.”
“I see. And what about the dragons? I’m not going to abandon them for this quest.”
Brenwar shoved my sword and scabbard into my chest.
“We won’t!”
Bayzog and Sasha donned their traveling cloaks.
“Where are you going?”
“With you,” Sasha said, tying the neck with the magic of her fingers. “I’ve been needing to stretch my legs. Bayzog has kept me cooped up in here too long.”
It seemed everybody was ready for a trip but me as I shook my head and rose to my feet.
“So now I need supervision everywhere I go?”
“And then some,” Brenwar huffed. “Let’s go!”
“Fine,” I said, buckling my sword around my waist as Sasha draped my quiver over my shoulder and handed me Akron. I was ready for anything. But before I closed my eyes, I said one last thing. “But I’m going to save whoever and whatever I want to. Agreed?”
Everyone shook their heads except Brenwar, who laughed.
“Well, let it never be said I didn’t consort with highly unreasonable people.”
As soon as I closed my eyes, the adventure began.
CHAPTER 2
High Priestess Selene sat on her throne. Dark. Cold. Cunning. She was beautiful, dark eyed and raven headed. Her hair was pulled back behind her shoulders as she shifted in her chair, eyes intent and focused on the great doors on the other side of the room.
Nath Dragon. She looked forward to the day he was dragged to her on hands and knees, bound and broken. I shall have him. I shall have him and all the world of Nalzambor.
Something fluttered above. A dark birdlike creature landed on her shoulder. It had a mix of dark-green and red feathers, but it was not a bird. It had the face and mouth of a dragon. Its tongue licked her ear and its feathers shuddered when it roared with little sound.
She patted its head. “Ah, my little drulture. Such a caring and endearing pet,” she said. “Are you worried about me?”
It stretched its neck, feathers ruffling on its wings, and let out another tiny roar.
Her black lips pecked its cat-sized head. The drulture was her companion when no one else was about. So she sat alone in her thoughts in the grand room. She liked the open space. The quiet. She needed time to plan. Nath Dragon had escaped her clutches again.
“Are you hungry?” she said.
The drulture bobbed its head.
“I see,” she said. “Just give me another moment.” She snapped her fingers. Pop!
The great doors across from her opened and a pair of lizard men stepped inside and kneeled.
“It’s feeding time,” she said.
The pair departed and returned less than a minute later carrying a barred cage between them. A spotted bobcat, every bit of thirty pounds, was inside, its eyes and ears alert.
“Leave us,” Selene said, “and seal the door behind you.”
The lizard men departed, leaving her, the drulture, and the bobcat all alone.
“He’s a big one,” she said, “bigger than the last. I hope you won’t have any trouble.”
The drulture let out a tiny roar and hopped to the ground. The dragon-bird was less than half the size of the bobcat. It strutted around on two legs, making a chirping sound. The bobcat licked its lips. Its cat eyes narrowed.
Selene tapped her fingers together. She liked games like this. Who is the hunter and who is the hunted? She’d tried to trap Nath Dragon in a similar way before, letting him think he was freeing a dragon when in all reality the dragon bait was trapping him. It had almost worked a couple of times, but Nath had come out on top again. It had been costly, too. She’d lost many of her draykis, and one of her temples had been wrecked. She clenched her fists.
“I’m going to break him,” she said. “Soon.” With a wave of her hand, the metal cage opened.
The bobcat jumped ou
t and gave chase after the drulture. The bobcat pounced. The drulture flapped and soared into the air and began circling the bobcat. Once. Twice. Three times. Then it dove.
Swish!
It snatched the bobcat by the back and lifted it high in the air. The bobcat hung by the scruff of its neck, clawing, scratching, and growling. Higher they went, toward the domed ceiling. The drulture dropped the bobcat. The big cat plummeted fifty feet toward the ground.
The drulture dove, snatching it inches from the ground. Then swooped up to the rafters once more.
Drop. Dive. Catch. Drop. Dive. Catch.
Three times it happened. The bobcat fought and clawed until its strength was out. The fourth time, it hung limp in the talons of the dragon-bird and fought no more. Circling thirty feet high in the air, the drulture swung the bobcat up into the air and opened its jaws wide. They became wider and wider.
Gulp!
It swallowed the bobcat whole and landed softly on the floor. Its belly bulged. It waddled around like an overstuffed chicken for about a minute, burped an awful sound, and returned to normal.
“Now there’s an idea,” Selene said. She patted the drulture when it returned to her shoulder. It purred. She snapped her fingers. The grand doors opened and the lizard men came forward and bowed.
“I need the High Cleric,” she said, “and take the cage and fill it with something bigger. A halfling or gnome perhaps.”
The dragon-bird purred and batted its eyelashes.
Selene smiled. “You’ve given me an idea. If it works, my master will be pleased. If I can’t beat Nath Dragon as he is, then perhaps I should wear him down first.”
CHAPTER 3
“Are you pouting?” Brenwar said.
“No,” I said.
“Don’t lie, Dragon. I can see your brows buckling. Straighten up.”
The ride from Quintuklen wasn’t so bad the first day. It was good being in the company of Bayzog the part elf, Sasha his apprentice and mate, and Shum, one of the Elven Roaming Rangers. It had been a long time since I’d spent time with so many people. Usually it was just me and Brenwar.
I kicked my steed and rode ahead of the party, leaving Brenwar in the rear. The day was dreary, a little chilly, and nothing but rolling green hills and wildflowers lay ahead.
“Don’t leave my sight!” Brenwar said.
I didn’t even look back. Instead, I rode farther out. Far enough until I got the feeling I was alone. As I said, it was nice catching up with everyone, but their chronic presence was disturbing. Every eye seemed to watch everything I was doing, and Brenwar kept commenting on what he thought I was thinking.
“Don’t think you’re gonna sneak off!”
“Stay on this side of the river.”
“Shum, go with him.”
“Bayzog, can you cast a spell that can track him?”
It got old. It was aggravating. I was a man. I was becoming a dragon, and I didn’t need anyone’s protection. Especially now. Now I had two dragon arms, not just one, and I was itching to see what I could do with both of them. I massaged my arms. I loved the slickness and toughness of my scales. And my claws―mostly yellow, but a little gold―came in handy when I gutted fish for dinner. I clicked them together. I loved the sound they made.
Burp.
A white puff of smoke came out of my mouth. My nostrils steamed. I tapped my fist into my chest.
I guessed I’d had too many fish earlier, but I was still hungry. Hungrier than ever. Nowadays I was even eating more than Brenwar, and he always ate a week’s worth.
I fanned the smoke. I didn’t want Brenwar to see. He’d say “Smoking’s bad” or something silly like that.
I had been able to burp smoke a few times when no one was looking, but I hadn’t summoned any more fire yet. I wasn’t certain how I’d done it the last time, but I knew it was in me, brewing. A volcano ready to burst. Remembering the cleric Finnius whom I’d turned into a human roast bothered me, but not as much as it should have probably.
Well, remembering the smell did make me grimace. A little.
I heard horse hooves trotting up behind me. Oh great. I hadn’t even been alone for a few minutes and already―still well within eyeshot―I had company.
I turned and yelled, “Will you leave me alone!” Gulp.
It was Sasha. She sat tall and splendid in the saddle. Her blue eyes were bright and her auburn hair was lustrous. Her apprentice robes hung loosely over her elegant form. She was one of the prettiest women I’d ever seen. And she was smiling.
“No,” she said, smiling bigger.
“What?” I said. “Oh. Well, I’m glad you aren’t Brenwar and I’m sorry that I yelled, Sasha. I’m just not used to having all of this bossing around.”
She rode alongside me, giggling.
“I understand, Nath,” she said. “Even Bayzog is demanding from time to time.”
She called me Nath, and that was fine by me, but I didn’t like it so much when others called me that. Nath was just the beginning of my long name. Longer than a hundred men’s strung together, and whenever I heard Nath, my mind would start running through it.
“I believe you do know what I’m talking about. Bayzog’s rigid as a dwarf sometimes.” I winked at her. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“I won’t,” she said. “So, Nath, tell me. What’s it like having two dragon arms?”
She caught me off guard with that one. I figured she was going to ask how I was feeling or in her own polite way offer some advice. And I’d hate to tell her I’d had all the advice I could swallow. My father was bad enough, but Brenwar was worse.
“Uh …,” I said, glancing over my shoulder, then back at her, “can you keep a secret, Sasha?”
“So long as it doesn’t place me in conflict with the others,” she said, nodding.
I hesitated. I could see her point, but I didn’t think what I was about to tell her would create a conflict.
“All right … It’s wonderful, Sasha. I feel like I can do things I could never do before. I feel faster. Stronger.” I held my hands out in front of me and gazed at the black scales that shone like black sheets of ice in the sun. “I feel like I could fight anyone, anywhere, and win.” I flexed them. “I was strong before, but now, well, I just want to test them out.”
“Whoa,” she said, “you really are infatuated with yourself, aren’t you?”
“Well, no, it’s not like that. I’m just amazed.”
She giggled. “I’m just teasing you, Nath. I really like them too…”
She trailed off, her light eyes glancing away.
“But?” I said.
She reached over and rubbed my arm. Her eyes brightened when she did it.
“Oh, but nothing, Nath. I trust you and I’m thrilled for you. Who wouldn’t want to be a dragon anyway? And Nath, you know I think the world of you. I always have. You’re a hero. You’ve done great things and you’ll do more…”
She did it again. Trailed off and glanced away.
“But?” I said.
“As long as you stay on the right path. Let us help with that, Nath. Why do you rebel?”
“Because I’m a rebel,” I said, laughing a little. But it wasn’t very convincing. Not to me or her.
“Oh Nath,” she said, “you just have to be careful. This world, Nalzambor, it has a way of changing people who aren’t careful. I lost some family because of that. I don’t want to lose you too.” Her eyes watered up and she was looking right at me.
It got me right in the heart, the dragon heart. And I felt guilty. Unlike the others, Sasha had a way of saying things in a manner that I would listen to.
I think it helped that she was pretty and her soft voice gave me chills.
I cleared my throat. There was a lump in it still. I did it again.
“Sasha,” I said, touching her hand, “you don’t really think anything will happen to me, do you? I’m a good dragon, remember. I’ll never turn evil.” I said it as if I was trying to convince
myself. That bothered me. “Look, I know I have to be careful and that I can’t run off on my own like I did before. But, what if it happens anyway? Didn’t you say something about it mattering more what’s on the inside that on the out?”
She nodded.
I went on. “And we don’t know that black dragons were all evil. Maybe just some of them. Aw… I don’t know, Sasha.” I shook my head and ran my fingers through my mane of hair.
I blew a puff of smoke.
“Wow!” she said, “I’m impressed. When did you learn to do that?”
“I’ve been practicing when no one is looking—what now?”
I glanced back. Brenwar, Shum, and Bayzog were galloping toward me. “Aw, here comes another lecture.” I started to fan the smoke away but thought better of it. “All right, there’s nothing I can do about … what’s going on?”
They galloped right past us and Brenwar was yelling.
“Are you coming or not, Dragon?”
Sasha and I looked at each other and then our eyes followed them.
Up ahead, miles distant, was a giant, black plume of smoke.
I might get to test my arms out after all. Whatever it is, I hope it’s big. Dangerous. Because if it is, I’ve got a surprise for it.
“Let’s ride, Sasha! Yah!”
CHAPTER 4
Selene sat with her scaled black tail coiled around her, petting her drulture, as the great doors opened. The lizard men led a large man inside. He wore dark crimson and purple robes and was accompanied by two dragon-like men. The draykis.
The man stopped at the edge of her throne’s dais, kneeled, and bowed his big shoulders. The draykis kneeled at his side.
“I come as you wish, High Priestess,” the man said. His voice was dark and cheerless. “My life is yours.”
It warmed her cold heart whenever he said that.
“Arise, High Cleric,” she said, “and tell me what you know.”
He nodded, rose, and pulled back his hood. The High Cleric’s bald head was covered in colorful tattoos. They moved, shifted, and changed. Different shades. Different hues. The man’s face was hard. Not old. Eyes dark and mean. His hands were thick and calloused. A heavy war mace hung by a strap over his broad shoulders. He looked more like a warrior than a cleric. A destroyer, not a healer.
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