by K L Rymer
My chin hangs open in shock. “I didn’t say he wasn’t—”
I’m cut off as the dog barks up at the dragon, wagging his tail. Gelert really likes being called a good boy.
“That’s right. You’re a good boy...”
Brynmawr reaches down and scratches Gelert’s head with a claw, and the dog groans in deep satisfaction.
I can’t believe my eyes. A dragon is petting a dog. Well, a ghost dog.
At least they see eye to eye now.
Now the dog licks the dragon’s face, and it’s such a beautiful sight to behold. But I should stop them at some point before it gets too frisky.
I’ve seen Shrek. I know dragons can have babies with anything...
“That’s enough! No more kissing.”
They both stop and look up at me expectantly, and they’re the best of friends now.
I gaze into Brynmawr’s gold eyes again. “So, about that whole flying thing?”
The dragon sneers and raises his head back to the clouds. “You’re very eager to fly me, aren’t you, Bryn the human?”
“Well, yes, kind of. It is in the prophecy after all. And stop calling me Bryn the human. I thought we were past that stage.”
Brynmawr tapers his yellow orbs. “Could it also have anything to do with that small six-year-old girl I see in your eyes right now?”
I cast my gaze down, embarrassed. “M-maybe...”
The dragon chuckles and brings his head back down, and now his massive, red face stops inches from mine. Once again he holds his breath so he doesn’t blow smoke my way.
“How desperate are you?”
I stare dumbfounded at those long, vertical pupils, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s amusement in those rippling pools of gold.
“Um... pretty desperate, I guess. I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to fly. I mean, I’ve been on a plane, but still. I want to feel the air rushing through my hair.”
Those lips of his curve again, and my heart’s in my mouth as I gape at the blood stains on his fangs. I spot a sheep’s eyeball too, and what looks to be entrails and I swallow.
Brynmawr won’t stop staring into my soul—probably assessing my worth again. He produces a snicker, but it sounds more like a growl.
“Very well. Hop onto my back.”
My eyes enlarge. “W-what?”
He lifts his head away, and now he stretches his red, leathery wings. “Climb up onto my spine. It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, Bryn the human.”
I start gasping for air, and I’m filled with sudden anxiety.
What... what if I fall?
“You won’t fall. If you do manage to lose your grip, I will catch you.”
“But... what if someone sees us?”
The dragon pauses, inclining his head to the overcast sky. “We’ll stay above the clouds. It’s like a whole other world up there. You will love it.”
I laugh nervously. “Thank goodness for Welsh weather then, hey...”
Slowly, I step forward and stop beside that dragon’s scarlet flank, wondering where I should position my hands and feet. I hope I don’t hurt him too much.
“It’s all right. I have tough skin. I won’t even feel you clambering up.”
I nod and start my ascent. “All... all right.”
Carefully, I grab onto those smooth scales and haul myself up. I almost lose my grip as my sweaty hand slips a few times, but in the end I get there as I swing my leg over, and now I perch snugly at the crook of his neck.
I don’t move for a while. All I do is sit there speechless.
I’m... sitting on a dragon.
“Are we comfortable back there?”
I secure myself and hold onto his neck. I even rest my cheek against his scales, marvelling at how warm he feels. “Yes.”
“Well, I guess we’re ready for take-off then...”
Without warning, he expands those magnificent wings and shoots off into the sky, and a weightless sensation passes through me. A loop goes around my stomach as an ear-splitting scream bursts from my lips.
I’m flying. Actually fucking flying.
I’m going to die.
...
I squeeze my eyes shut as a cold, bitter wind burns the tips of my ears. In fact, my whole body’s freezing, and I just hold on tight to that giant, warm dragon as if my life depends on it.
Well, I can definitely feel the air rushing through my hair now.
“Open your eyes...”
“No!” I shout over the wind.
“Bryn, open your eyes...”
His deep, soothing voice runs through my veins, and now that ice leaves my body. How is he doing it?
“I’m channeling my magic into you. Your magic is borne from mine after all. Who knew that small drop that I left would one day find its way to you...”
“Well, it’s as Myrddin said... I was born in the year of the dragon. It’s no coincidence.”
Brynmawr takes a moment as he considers my words. “The year 2000? So you didn’t even see any of the last millennium? Tch, you really are a child...”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m an old soul. I listen to the damn frigging Beatles!”
“Prove it. Sing one of their songs...”
“I’m not singing for you!”
He growls in annoyance. “Just open your eyes! You’ll be amazed by what you see.”
I grit my chattering teeth then slowly open my eyes.
Clouds and open air. Oh, and a beautiful blue sky.
I gasp in wonder.
Brynmawr was right. It really is like a different world up here. Carefully, I peer over his flank, spotting that blanket of gray cloud.
It seems I left the miserable weather of Wales down below with all the other ants.
It’s actually pretty warm up here. The sun is blazing and I’m surprised I’m not lightheaded. We are high up in the atmosphere after all.
I gaze around. The world above almost looks like an ocean. The clouds are the sea and it’s never ending. The sun hovers on the horizon, and I can’t believe I didn’t want to open my eyes before.
It’s beautiful up here. I never want to come back down.
We totally have to do this at night—I want to fly when the stars are out.
“I told you you’d like it.”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t.”
No reply from him, but I know he’s sneering with those massive fangs of his.
“Grip tight hold... I want to show you a neat trick...”
My heart thumps. “Brynmawr... whatever you’re planning—nooo!”
A scream explodes from my lungs as the dragon somersaults and around I go. He returns to his horizontal position again, and his stupid, deep chuckling rumbles through my head.
I growl, beating his neck. “You stupid, big, dumb dragon!”
“Hey, I could still eat you, you know...”
I stop, buttoning my lips. He really could. There is no one up here to stop him after all.
Fuck... what if it was a trick?
“But I won’t. Trust me, if I was going to eat you, I’d have done it the moment we met.”
“I’m guessing you’re not completely impartial to human flesh then.”
“Hmmm...”
My heart pounds again. “That’s it! Get me down! Screw the prophecy!”
“And let our cold-hearted exes win? I think not. Let’s teach those bastards a lesson.”
I snort. “Did you really just say bastard?”
“Oh, I can say a lot worse...I bet you never thought you’d hear a dragon curse when you were a child hey, Bryn?”
“No. But I have had one call me a whore before... it still stings.”
Brynmawr snarls. “She’s no saint herself. I would know. I lived with her... We didn’t just sleep under that hill and let me tell you... she’s a dirty little—”
“Stop, stop! You’re making my inner six-year-old cry!”
The dragon roars in laugh
ter. “Sorry to ruin your perception of dragons, but when we mate.... the earth moves. Literally.”
“Kill me now...”
His laugh dies in his throat, and now we remain in silence. I can’t believe I just talked about sex with a dragon. So fucked up.
This is not the dragon fantasy little girls dream about.
Brynmawr speaks again. “Bryn, from this day onward, you will fly me several times a week. I may even let the Boy Wizard ride me if it helps. We need to stop them. The Humphreys can’t win. Gwyneira can’t win...”
I hold onto the dragon, lost in thought as the wind passes through my hair. I pinch my eyes tight shut, letting tears escape.
I know it’s for the best. If Brynmawr and I need to save the world, then... we need to stop the ones we love. Even if it means we have to kill them.
But a small part of me hopes that we can negotiate with them. I saw it in Gwyneira’s eyes. She’s not a complete monster. She cares about Mattie, so she’s not incapable of love. They have a deep bond. Just as I’ve bonded with my dragon now.
I release a heavy sigh. “All right... I would be happy to train with you, Brynmawr.”
I can feel the dragon’s sly smirk again. “You too, Bryn the human.”
Chapter 24.
Myrddin finally found a safe place where we could hide Brynmawr in the end. A secret place and the anticipation is killing me...
He won’t tell me until we arrive though. “You will know it when you see it,” he told me.
I don’t know why he can’t just tell me, but he wants it to be a surprise.
So Myrddin and I teleported to the hill three days after Brynmawr’s epic exit, and there we find the dragon surrounded by more sheep skeletons.
Oh, don’t worry; they were all wild sheep...
No farmer will miss them.
Still, the dragon needs to be careful. He is pushing his luck. There have been no wild claims of dragon sightings on social media yet, so we’re good.
Myrddin hasn’t lifted the charm from Dinas Emrys, so the hill is still technically non-existent to humans. He has wiped it away from all human memory basically.
Brynmawr stretches his front legs before him like a cat the moment we arrive, and I would have thought the action cute if his death breath didn’t catch me off guard when he lets out that big yawn.
Ugh, the stench of rotten sheep flesh...
The dragon raises his head to the clouds, regarding me and the headmaster with a pair of glowing eyes. “So... what fun do we have in store today?”
Myrddin beams wildly, stamping his staff to the ground like an excited child. “Good news, Brynmawr. We have finally found a place to accommodate you.”
The dragon’s hopeful expression falls. “You’re going to lock me in a cage, aren’t you? I’m not your pretty, oversized bird, Boy Wizard. For one, I could burn your beard...”
The wizard’s eyes expand. “Heavens, no! I wouldn’t dream of such a thing. No, Bryn and I have a very special place for you indeed, Brynmawr. Bryn, Brynmawr... Almost has a ring to it, hey?”
Brynmawr doesn’t look the least bit amused as he fixes his gaze on me now. “Any idea what he plans to do with me?”
“None whatsoever. The professor said it was a secret.” I fold my arms, offering the wizard in question a pointed look.
Myrddin laughs good-naturedly then stands between us. He hooks one arm around me and places the other on Brynmawr’s leg. “First, we must teleport.”
The dragon hisses, flapping his bat wings. “I think not. You keep that wizard’s magic away from me, Boy Wizard...”
The headmaster stamps his magical stick in anger again. “I told you to stop calling me that! Besides, there is no other way. It’s the best method to get you to your new location without prying, human eyes.”
The two start bickering now and I leave them to it, chewing my bottom lip as I gaze out over the lush, green valley. It’s a clear day. There are some clouds, but judging by the grayness along the horizon, there’s going to be rain soon. I’ve been living in Wales a year now. You learn to read the sky.
“I have a better idea...” I announce.
They both stop, looking my way instantly. I turn back, meeting their curious faces. “We fly.”
Both dragon and wizard stare at me flabbergasted. A smile slowly creeps across Brynmawr’s mouth, but once again it looks like a snarl.
“I like the way you think, Bryn.”
I smirk. “Thank you.
Myrddin shakes his head. “No. We would be exposed. We have quite a way to go.”
I narrow my eyes. “Where exactly do you plan to take us, Professor?”
“Yes, Boy Wizard. You must simply tell us...”
I don’t fail to hear the sarcasm in Brynmawr’s tone.
The wizard produces a heavy sigh, staring at us both intently now. “All right. I will tell you. We are going to Camelot.”
My eyes protrude and I stumble backward. Brynmawr stops my fall with his big, spiky tail. “W-what...? Like... like the one from all the stories?”
His face is emotionless as he keeps those bored, green eyes on me. “Yes, Miss Williams...”
I start to hyperventilate. “But... I... I thought... I thought it didn’t exist anymore.”
“Well, it does. In a secret location in fact. Every fifty years or so, I move it somewhere new...”
“So... I will get to meet King Arthur?”
Both dragon and wizard blink for a moment before letting out a huge guffaw. Brynmawr stamps his feet.
“No, Bryn. Arthur is long gone now. I’m sorry,” Myrddin replies, and my soul dies a little.
If the legends are anything to go by, Arthur is lying in a glass casket in the mystical land of Avalon.
“You really are too precious, Bryn the human...”
I grind my teeth. “What did I tell you about calling me that?!”
The dragon sneers smugly, and I roll my eyes.
So, we’re going to Camelot. It really does exist. I just wonder who’s ruling that famous fortress now.
I hope the Round Table is still there...
Myrddin steps up to the dragon and the two hold a staring match. After some time passes, the wizard speaks. “So, Brynmawr... would you really allow me to ride your back?”
Brynmawr pauses and his eyes dart my way. “If my rider allows it. Then yes.”
I turn a little giddy. I’m his rider now...
The dark, somber expression vanishes from the wizard’s face, and now he gives a dazzling smile. “Splendid! Well, come along, Bryn. We have a dragon to ride.”
I can almost hear the small boy in him once again, and the revelation hits me.
Myrddin has never ridden a dragon before. But I have...
He’s well over a thousand years older than me, and he has yet to experience the joy of dragon-riding.
Brynmawr lowers himself, allowing me to climb up onto his back, and I reach a hand out for Myrddin. He takes my palm then sits behind me, and he won’t stop laughing.
“Simply amazing! My first dragon ride!”
“Don’t lose your beard now, Boy Wizard...”
“Or your magical stick,” I add. “You don’t want to lose it, Professor...”
Myrddin is too overjoyed to take notice of either of us. “I can’t wait to feel the wind rushing through my beard!”
I sigh, shaking my head.
Amateur.
“So, where to, Boy Wizard?”
“Lancashire, England!”
I raise my brows. So, he was right. Quite a way to go. Brynmawr will most likely get us there an hour tops.
Unfortunately, the dragon snaps, whirling his head around. He fixes those burning eyes on Myrddin, and I almost see flames. “England?! Absolutely not! I hate Anglo-Saxons!”
Myrddin chuckles behind me. “Oh, come on now. The English aren’t that bad... Besides, we don’t call them Anglo-Saxons anymore.”
“Still... I refuse... I’m a Welsh dragon...”
> I roll my eyes. As an American, I don’t get the rivalry between the English and the Welsh. It all just seems so immature.
“Well, you will just have to put your Welsh pride aside and take us to Lancashire, won’t you then, Brynmawr.”
The dragon seethes as he blows thick plumes of smoke from his nostrils.
My, he really does have strong feelings toward those Anglo-Saxons...
I rub my temples, massaging an oncoming migraine. “Brynmawr, just do as he says. It’s what’s best after all. Myrddin promises that he can hide you. So we have to trust him.”
He turns his great head, locking one of those yellow eyes on me. “Do you trust him?”
I drop my hands, giving him an incredulous look. “Of course I do! He’s my headmaster and my father. He’s the one that got me this far after all.”
The dragon bares his teeth, and I can tell he’s not smiling this time. “Fine... I will take us there. But I’m not happy about it.”
I sigh. “Thank you. Now up, up you go!”
The dragon releases another angry puff of smoke, and now he pops his wings out, preparing for take-off.
Myrddin holds on for dear life, and soon we are air bound.
That loop goes around my stomach again.
I will never grow tired of that sensation.
...
It actually took us two hours to get to our destination.
Brynmawr flew over the Irish Sea to get to Lancashire, so we didn’t have to pass too many towns.
Most of North Wales is rural, but it still has some busy towns.
We flew over Bangor and I swear I saw Megan and Sophie’s house from Brynmawr’s back, but I know that’s wishful thinking. It’s way too small, and all the houses look the same.
We passed my University’s main building (the one that looks like Hogwarts), and I told Brynmawr that I hope to graduate there in one year with a degree in Zoology and Herpetology.
He seemed rather interested in the subject, and when I told him herpetology was the study of reptiles and amphibians, he raised his eyebrows.
Maybe he can come to my graduation. But I doubt he could even fit through the door. He could always peer in through the high windows, I guess.
A raincloud gathered over Bangor, so luckily we remained unseen. If anyone down below does see the silhouette of a dragon floating high in the heavens, well...