Dragon Hero
Page 35
I grabbed his armored body with my large claws and held him in the air. I stared into his glowing eyes and could feel his fear. I opened my large mouth and spoke, “If you desire so much to (bring a demon out)[see a demon], I am going to bring you to them!” I blasted a stream of white fire into Xum’gol. He screamed as I shoved him through the gateway. Xum’gol’s body disappeared through the energy field. I breathed out more fire and decided to destroy the gateway. The stone gateway crumbled and soon everything grew calm. I spread my wings and let out one roar before losing consciousness. Before everything faded out, I heard the Dragon Spirit speaking to me, “Thank you, Blake…”
I found myself staring at a cloth ceiling. I blinked a few times and lifted my hand. It was back to normal. I sat up and found myself covered in a blanket and nothing else… what was going on. Apparently, I was stuck in a small tent. All of my wounds were gone, too… “Blake?” a female voice spoke from the other side of the tent.
I looked around, “I am here… wherever here is…”
The flap of the tent opened up and Talestria poked her head in, “Oh, good-you’re awake!”
I stared at her, “Um…”
Talestria giggled, “Oh, I didn’t do that and… oh! I didn’t peek!” She tilted her head back, “The others found you in the room like that and brought you here. Talestria moved her head away from the open flap and then tossed me a bundle of clothes, “Here! Go get dressed!”
After putting on some simple clothes, I walked out of the tent. Everyone was out there to greet me. Several arms were raised and everyone cheered at me. Clagmir walked up to me and shook my hand, “You actually did it! I am simply amazed!”
Jerak butted in, “Oh, man! I can’t believe you defeated him! It is going to be great now, knowing that we are heroes!”
Bolam laughed, “Like you did anything!”
Jerak argued, “Hey, we all did our part!”
Bolam smiled and turned to me, “I don’t know what happened, but I can assume that the Dragon Spirit is finally free.”
Teltar walked over and patted me on the back, “Remember, you are always welcome among the dwarves!” I smiled at them but was too speechless to even say anything. I then saw Ayjestus walking toward me.
Talestria glared at her and walked away with her arms folded. Ayjestus looked back and just sighed. She stared at me with her three eyes and gave me warm smile, “You have done us a great service! I can’t tell you how grateful I am for what you have done.” She then gave me a friendly hug, which was weird since she had four arms. Talestria was staring at her and appeared angry. Ayjestus leaned back and turned to her. Talestria ran over to my side and clung close to me. She was still frowning and glaring at Ayjestus. I just give her a peck on the cheek which calmed her down a bit. Ayjestus smiled at the both of us and sighed, “Now… I see no reason to bother you anymore… Talestria…” Talestria’s jaw dropped and I could tell she was surprised but speechless. Ayjestus shrugged, “Though I can’t undo the sentence that the elves had passed upon you, maybe time will heal the ties between you and them.”
Falstrid walked over and shook my hand. He had a few bandages but appeared to be too tough an old man to let that stop him. Falstrid chuckled, “You amaze me! Not only were you able to bring down Xum’gol, but you also managed to change Ayjestus’ heart! I wonder what is next!” Talestria gave me a sly smile which made me feel a bit nervous.
There was a celebration of the victory and the end of Xum’gol and the Shadens. Jerak was already goofing off and started to tell stories to the troops. Bolam handed me a bowl of stew, “Here. I thought you might be hungry.”
I grabbed the bowl, “Thanks.”
Bolam stood there, “So, do you think it would be possible to visit?”
I lifted a brow, “Huh?”
Bolam peeked over behind me, “You know, visiting her house. I am dying to check out more of that library!” I smiled and turned around. Talestria was shoving things in my pack and flashed me a smile. My jaw dropped and I slowly turned to face Bolam again. He was too eager to visit the library to take notice of the situation.
I took a deep breath, “Uh… sure…”
Bolam grinned, “Great! Well… I am sad to see you guys leaving so early, but I’ll be sure to visit soon!” He backed away and waved at me and Talestria. I stood there a bit confused.
Talestria put my pack on one of her iron golems. It appeared that she planned to take me away soon. Everyone waved at me and bid me farewell. I was the only one left a bit clueless regarding the situation. I did plan to go back to Talestria, but this felt a little sudden. Talestria waved at everyone and gave me a peck on the cheek. She held my hand and started to pull me away, “We should be heading out before it gets too dark!”
The two of us walked toward the west with the iron golems marching behind us. They had a few dents but appeared to have handled the bone constructs well enough. The sun was about to set behind the western mountains as we left the forest. A strange rustle in the bushes near us caught my attention. I took a few steps toward the sound and could actually sense fear in whatever was hiding. “Uh… anyone there?” I asked.
To my surprise I saw Torkuhl poking out his hiding place. He stared at me and then at her, “Uh… did you really defeat him?” I raised an eyebrow and turned to Talestria who just folded her arms and waited. I gave Torkuhl a nod. I wasn’t fully sure if he meant Deshra or Xum’gol. Torkuhl stood up with his arms in the air, “Well, I… uh, I have no quarrels with you! Uh… farewell!” and then Torkuhl just fled. I stood there dumbfounded that someone that big and scary just ran away from me.
Talestria walked over and held my hand. I smiled back at her and just felt so happy. We walked off toward the setting sun. It was quite blissful. Talestria rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. I smiled, “So, how far is it to your home?” Talestria appeared to have zoned out and ignored what I said. I couldn’t blame her; I was feeling ridiculously happy as well. I put my arm around her and kept walking.
Talestria kept her head on my shoulder and asked, “Do you want to get married?” My eyes went wide and my heart stopped. I bit my lower lip and then smiled at her. Oh, this was going to be interesting…
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15