Legends of Windemere: 03 - Allure of the Gypsies

by Charles E Yallowitz

  *****

  “This can’t be happening,” Nyx mutters, standing outside the dome of darkness. She reaches into the darkness and feels a chilling wave of magic run up her arm before yanking it back.

  “What’s going on here?” Talos asks from behind the caster.

  “I don’t know,” she answers without looking back. “I was on my way back from talking with Isaiah and I found this darkness spell.”

  “Is Isaiah still here?” the elf asks.

  “No. He teleported away after he remembered that he had to talk to Ionia about something,” Nyx says, poking her head into the darkness. A queasy feeling fills her throat until she pulls back into the moonlight. “I’m starting to wonder if he knows when these things are coming and runs away.”

  “The birds and crickets have stopped. They know something is coming,” whispers Talos, drawing his longswords. “Prepare yourself.”

  “How can people enjoy living here with all this constant trouble?”

  “It’s actually been pretty boring here for the last twenty years.”

  “You’re enjoying this?”

  “I might as well enjoy the excitement while it lasts,” Talos claims with a wry grin. “Where’s my grandson? He should be here for this.”

  “Knowing your grandson, he’s probably already in there,” Nyx says. She focuses her magic and covers her body in a glowing shield.

  “That wouldn’t surprise me either,” Talos agrees, rubbing his bald head.

  Nyx is about to ask something when a quake shakes her off her feet. The dome of darkness begins to fade, revealing a large, constantly contorting form. She can feel her mouth go dry when the towering Sword Dragon shatters the darkness spell. It releases a deafening roar that sends numbing chills up her spine. The beast shakes its head in rage before taking a surprisingly slow, cautious step forward. Its tail thrashes chaotically against the ground leaving deep gouges in the dirt. The monster abruptly lifts its head to the sky and launches a chunk of flaming metal out of its mouth. The projectile soars over Haven and crashes into a distant hill.

  “How did that thing come back?” Nyx asks in shock.

  “I don’t know, but we should concentrate on killing it again,” Talos answers, charging toward the beast.

  “There’s something strange about this,” Nyx whispers, frozen in place by a gut feeling of confusion. “The dragon lost its head and most of its neck. Now, it’s rampaging again like nothing happened. Trinity couldn’t have fixed it and Kalam is dead.” She watches Talos duck under the dragon’s tail and slash at its hindquarters. The beast rears back and stomps a shaky foot in a feeble attempt to smash the elf.

  Snapping out of her trance, Nyx launches a swarm of fireballs at the Sword Dragon. She watches it fly into the air and twist its body over them. The surprisingly agile maneuver leaves the beast open to a heat blade that the caster launches out of her palm. The spell misses by a few inches when the dragon flaps its wings and makes a strange horizontal loop around the clearing. It tries to land, but puts its head too low and ends up snagging its reptilian snout on the ground. Talus and Nyx watch as the dragon lands on its back and slowly rolls to its feet.

  “It looks like the same beast, but it is acting strange!” the elf yells, diving away from the dragon’s half-hearted bite.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that this dragon doesn’t know how to work its own body,” Nyx says, carefully watching the monster.

  “That is probably because it was recently resurrected. That means now is the time to kill it,” Talos declares. He rushes toward the dragon becoming a whirlwind of steel as soon as he jumps off the ground. Nyx watches the whirlwind strike the dragon in the chest and send the beast crashing to the ground. Talos leaps on its nose to strike at the gem in the dragon’s forehead, but he is knocked off by a blast of hot air from the beast’s nostrils.

  “I can’t use any spells without putting you in danger!” Nyx shouts in frustration.

  “Find out if the person who resurrected this beast is nearby,” Talos orders her, leaping away from a slow, awkward swipe. “It would be pointless for us to kill it only to do it again tomorrow. Find the enemy behind this monster and we can make sure it stays dead.” The warrior barely notices the enormous head of the dragon lancing toward him and connecting with his crossed blades. His feet leave small trenches in the ground as the impact shoves him backwards.

  Nyx quickly casts magic sight only to be sent into a stomach crushing state of vertigo when she looks at the dragon. She drops to her knees and stares at her feet while her mind tries to catch up to her eyes. The Sword Dragon had changed into something both beautiful and hideous the moment she had looked at its aura. For a moment, she swore that it had fur and feathers pulsing with electricity instead of a body of cold metal and dead flesh. A screeching beak had emerged from its face, but it was quickly swallowed by the dragon’s maw. Nyx is still piecing things together when a hand touches her shoulder. The caster leaps to the side and coats her body in fire armor before she recognizes Sari.

  “Sorry. You looked like you were sick,” Sari apologetically says. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying, but her expression is one of steeled courage.

  “I’m fine, but we are in trouble,” Nyx gasps, after realizing that she had been holding her breath. “This thing showed up. I’m not sure if it’s the dragon or not. Its aura is a jumble of images.”

  “Where’s Luke?”

  “I thought he was with you.”

  “I ran off and made my way back here.”

  Nyx looks at the rampaging Sword Dragon. “Maybe he got here first and went into the dome of darkness. I mean, if he isn’t here by now then he must . . . no . . . he couldn’t have been eaten by that thing.”

  “I doubt his luck could be that bad,” Sari claims, smiling awkwardly.

  The women watch as Talos rushes under the dragon and makes a shallow cut between its belly plates. A roar of pain erupts from the beast’s mouth, but the sound gradually turns into a high-pitched shriek. The sound is immediately familiar to Nyx who swiftly casts a spell at Talos. Her hands send out hundreds of strands that wrap around the elf and restrain his movements. Sari helps yank Talos away from the dragon, which is curiously watching from the far side of the clearing. Eventually, it looks toward the city, but the beast shakes its head violently and goes back to watching its attackers.

  “What do you think you’re doing? You could have gotten me killed!” Talos angrily yells.

  “That Sword Dragon just made the sound of a griffin,” Nyx urgently says. “I don’t know how, but that monster is Luke.”

  “That’s ridiculous!” Talos snaps.

  “Then, why does it seem to be fighting against itself?” the caster asks, pointing at the stationary dragon. “Every attack it’s done has been slow and clumsy. It hasn’t even tried to spit flaming metal at you. Even now, you can see that it wants to go after Haven, but it won’t. Trust me! Luke is in there!”

  The dragon takes a small step toward Haven, but its tail wraps around the nearby windmill, retracting to pull the monster back into the clearing, its front legs trying to drag it toward the nearby town.

  “I do have to admit that it is acting funny,” Talos begrudgingly admits.

  “Why would he turn into that monster?” Sari asks.

  “It probably wasn’t intentional,” Nyx answers while she desperately tries to think of a way to help Luke. “Maybe one of our enemies got to him when he was looking for you. Trinity was here, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Lich was nearby. More than likely, Luke found that decaying bastard waiting for Trinity and attacked. Something happened around the dragon’s corpse and Luke bonded with it.”

  Talos sighs and nervously shifts his feet. “This makes it a lot harder to defend the town.”

  “All we have to do is restrain him,” Sari suggests, her voice full of hope. “If Luke has some level of control then we have a chance that he’ll revert soon.”

  “We can’t was
te any more time talking,” Nyx announces. “He’s barely in control now, so we have to act now.”

  The half-elf rises a few feet above the ground and hurls a net of yellow flame over the Sword Dragon. She carefully holds her hands in front of her as if she has delicate strings tied around her fingers. Every time the dragon thrashes in the burning net, Nyx’s fingers struggle to remain in position. She can feel the powerful beast push against her magical prison, making her hands throb in pain. The dragon throws back its head, its sharp-edged head creating a hole large enough to launch a chunk of flaming metal at the caster. Talos is barely able to tackle Nyx out of the way before the projectile slams into the ground. She watches her fire net snap around the dragon as it stretches its golden wings.

  The Sword Dragon releases another roar before knocking down a patch of trees with its tail. Talos sprints to get in the monster’s way when it makes a more determined move toward Haven. He can hear the sounds of the townspeople running out of their homes and away from the clearing. A quick bite from the dragon forces the elf to leap to the side where he is easily dashed to the ground with a savage wing slap. Talos uses his hands to immediately push himself off the ground, rolling away from an earth-shaking smash of the beast’s tail.

  “It’s getting more aggressive!” Talos gasps, putting more distance between him and the dragon. He averts his eyes when a series of blinding fireballs pushes the beast back.

  “Let me try,” Sari requests, gently stepping in front of Talos.

  “You don’t even have a weapon drawn,” Nyx points out. She sends another swarm of fireballs into the dragon’s face causing the beast to shake its head and snort in annoyance.

  Sari begins whispering into a sudden breeze that picks up her words and carries them to the Sword Dragon. The ribbon of wind turns into a delicate pink mist as she continues her incantation. Nyx and Talos watch the magic wrap around the dragon’s head, which immediately begins to droop. A chunk of flaming metal slams into the ground next to Sari as the dragon suddenly fights against the enveloping spell. The beast roars in frustration, its reptilian snout twisting into a sharp beak. The towering beast appears to shrink, as one of its metal wings quivers and shatters.

  “Do not fight what you want,” Sari softly demands. She locks eyes with the dragon and beckons it to come closer.

  “This can’t be a good idea,” Talos hisses, ready to tackle the gypsy.

  “I don’t know,” Nyx admits, who is ready to magically yank Sari away from the dragon.

  They watch as half of the dragon’s head transforms into that of a griffin and one of its forearms shifts into a tiny human arm. In rage, the Sword Dragon begins bashing its face against the ground, leaving dents in the soft earth. The beast shrinks with every impact until it is only twenty feet tall and its remaining wing has shriveled into its metallic hide. Nyx and Talos nervously watch Sari walk toward the dangerous beast until she is standing under its deformed head. The dragon hangs its head a few inches above the gypsy who stares defiantly at the beast.

  “It’s about time you started acting like yourself again,” Sari whispers, reaching her hand up to the beast’s metal cheek and pulling its face to her.

  Sari gently kisses the dragon on the mouth, a soft glow emanating from her lips. The beast’s body slowly splits into two pieces, the larger piece growing and pulling away from the gypsy. The larger piece of metallic flesh shifts and twists until it becomes the headless corpse of the Sword Dragon. It rapidly deteriorates into a pile of metal ore that topples into one of the dents made during the battle. The smaller piece of flesh smoothly morphs into Luke who is still locked lip to lip with Sari. His sabers are weakly dangling from his hands while he continues kissing the gypsy.

  “Can you explain what she just did?” Talos asks in stunned disbelief.

  “Sari used a love spell on Luke to strengthen his spirit. If he was in love with her then he would fight to expel the Sword Dragon spirit before she got hurt. It really was a plan that only a gypsy would think of,” Nyx explains. She smiles and begins walking over to the kissing couple. “Although, I think them continuing the kiss is a sign that she hasn’t released the love spell. Either that or your grandson is milking this for all it’s worth. Give it a rest, you two!”

  Sari pushes Luke away, leaving him gasping for air. “Sorry. It's been a while since I kissed like that.”

  “Me too,” Luke coughs uncomfortably.

  “So, would you care to explain what’s going on?” Nyx asks, staring at Luke.

  “I came across the Lich and followed him to the Sword Dragon corpse. We had some words and he used my gift to merge me with the dead dragon,” Luke tells her, sheathing his sabers and looking at the destruction he caused. “Its spirit was too strong for me to get any real control, so all I could do was watch and look for a chance to slow it down.”

  “Did the Lich take the book?” Talos inquires.

  “Yes,” Luke replies with a big smile.

  “What book?” Nyx inquires curiously.

  “The Lich wanted Kalam’s spellbook,” Luke says, cautiously stepping out of Nyx’s reach. “He threatened to activate a spell on Sari unless I brought it to him. He put it on her when you two were captured by Kalam. Don’t worry because I made sure he removed the spell before I handed over the book. You can check her for yourself.”

  “You gave him Kalam’s spellbook for the release of a spell that might not have existed in the first place?” Nyx asks, her temper boiling. “That’s idiotic!”

  “I’m flattered,” the gypsy admits with a coy smile.

  Nyx turns to her and glares at the gypsy “Stay out of this.”

  “Please calm down, Nyx. We took care of this. Luke came to me about the problem and I helped him find a solution,” Talos explains in a calm and soothing voice. “With help from Aedyn, we found the most powerful of Kalam’s spells and altered the instructions. It will take years for the Lich to get those spells right after what we did. We made sure to copy Kalam’s handwriting perfectly too. It would appear that your priest friend has some skill in forgery as well as healing.”

  “What’s done is done, but don’t come to me if it comes back to bite you in the throat,” Nyx grumbles. She waves her hand over her eyes, making them glow bright gold and she examines Sari’s aura. The caster wrinkles her nose before letting her eyes return to their normal violet.

  “Is something wrong?” Sari asks, childishly fidgeting with her sleeves.

  “I see the remains of a dormant necromancy spell, but it is no longer active,” Nyx replies, her voice filled with relief. “I can get rid of the pieces within a few minutes.”

  “I told you she was going to be okay,” Luke proudly states. “Well, the night is coming to a close and I have some business to attend to. Sleep well, everyone.”

  Sari swiftly catches him by the arm and leans up to whisper in his ear. “Don’t get into any more trouble. My kisses won’t always be enough to save you.”

  “I’ll . . . keep that in mind,” Luke nervously stutters. He backs away from Sari, who maintains her grip on his arm. Eventually, Luke moves too far away for her to hold on, allowing the half-elf to turn away and sprint into the forest. A screech fills the air before the elegant griffin erupts from the treetops and soars out of view.

  “Any idea where he’s going?” Nyx asks.

  Talos shrugs and starts walking back to town. “If I know my grandson, he's probably gone to bite off more than he can chew.”

  *****

  Lord Perrin howls at the autumn moon as the yellow orb dips below the horizon. She tears a chunk of flesh off the dead stag at her feet, contently sitting on her haunches. Her fur is still raised even though the distant roars ended minutes ago. It’s a feeling deep in her gut telling her to be careful. A brief scent on a rising wind catches her attention moments before she notices that there are no moving branches. The wolf leaps to the side, narrowly avoiding the silent arrival of the angry griffin. The winged beast gently lands over the dead stag a
nd starts pecking at the warm meat.

  “That’s my prey!” the wolf snarls, pouncing at the griffin. She quickly skips away when the larger beast lifts into the air, carrying the stag carcass. The griffin attempts to hurl it at her, but hits a tree instead.

  “This is an unprovoked attack on one of your allies, child!” Lord Perrin shouts in human tongue. “Is this how you thank Uli for her gifts?” The only response is a ripple of laughter that attracts the song of a few nearby birds.

  “You may be bigger than me, but don’t think that size is the deciding factor in this fight,” Perrin says, instinctually baring her fangs at the hovering griffin. “I am faster and more experienced with my transformed body. It would be in your best interest to calm down, change back, and talk to me about what has you so angry.”

  The griffin swoops down at the wolf, which effortlessly ducks low enough to stay out of reach. A feral snarl starts to rumbling from the wolf’s throat, but it is cut off when the griffin starts to circle above its head. Lord Perrin stares hypnotically at the odd display when the griffin abruptly lashes out with one of its hind legs. In mid-strike, the furry leg transforms into a toned, cloth-covered limb. An amused laugh escapes the wolf’s mouth an instant before the booted foot connects with its front teeth. The taste of blood and broken fang coat Lord Perrin’s tongue.

  “My mouth!” Lord Perrin mumbles as she changes into her human form. Blood spills from her lips and she uses her tongue to feel that one of her teeth is missing. She’s sure that she swallowed it and tries to force her stomach to vomit the tooth back up.

  “My foot!” Luke shouts from behind her. She can hear the youth hopping toward her along with the steady dripping of his open wound. When Lord Perrin finally decides to turn toward the young forest tracker, it is with a savage punch aimed at Luke’s temple. She is very surprised to find an equally brutal punch to her already throbbing chin. Both forest trackers crash to the ground, laying on their backs in stunned silence.

  Lord Perrin finally takes a deep breath and laughs. “I am furious, impressed, and amused by you.”