Our children? he thought. Not the first time she’s said that. I cannot believe the Kull Naga is my son!
“Stay as long as you want. My patience knows no end when it comes to you. I’ve had to make concessions for years and more than one Drakku have paid the price. It’s not been easy to keep the peace. I’m not sure I’ve done it at all.”
She stood behind him a few moments longer, then he heard her footsteps walk away. When he figured she was gone, he turned to the small wooden plate she left behind him. His stomach rumbled and his mouth salivated. Hoping she was gone, he snatched the small loaf of bread and hungrily ate several bites, savoring the delicate taste. It was still warm and the heat made him think of dragons, of the Garnet ability to breathe fire. It soured the taste. He tossed the rest to the beach below to the delight of the cawing gulls that viciously fought over the scraps.
My poor sweet Alushia! What will become of her when this gets out? She’s a halfling! But…she’s my daughter! I’ve never known her to be anything but human. Does she know? Is she aware of the vile dragon blood running through her veins? I cannot tell the Order. I cannot tell anyone.
Lailoken came back to those questions day after day. From a young boy, he’d been taught by the Order how evil and sick dragons were. They were the scourge of Tregaron and were born only to die. They were creatures made to be hunted. Slayers were necessary because the Order could not kill them of their own accord; something about so-called impurities.
Halflings were worse. They were the unnatural result of a devious act between dragon and man. They were not fully human or fully dragon, but some other species without a purpose. Halflings were good only for execution.
At least that’s what Lailoken had understood for nearly his entire life. Now faced with the possibility his own flesh and blood was one of these creatures, he wasn’t sure the Order had it right.
What that left was Etain. Her deceit cut him deeply. All these years he wanted her back and then to find out she was a dragon…and seduced him and then gave birth to not only Alushia but Myrthyd as well…it made him feel angry and closed off. The line between love and hate was crossed and obliterated. More than once, he wondered if maybe he’d have been better off dying out in the plain. At least then he wouldn’t have to face the brutal truth that stared at him every day.
Waves crashed below in a rhythmic melody, chasing away the frustration brewing inside. Lailoken closed his eyes and listened. Between the gulls and the waves, he concentrated on only existing. In the moment, he was nowhere and everywhere. He allowed his thoughts to disappear into the air, drifting on strong currents.
Longer than he expected, Lailoken sat in silent contemplation. The pain in his chest throbbed, but he ignored it. He ignored the rumblings inside telling him to eat. The weakness he experienced after waking from his long sleep continued to bother him but sitting in the sun, listening to the gentle sounds of nature allowed him a respite sorely needed.
At last when he could sit idly no more, he opened his eyes and rose from sitting. Dusting his pants off, he stretched.
“You will not deceive me any longer,” he said into the wind. Whether the words were meant for Etain or Myrthyd, he wasn’t sure. He was done being manipulated. Securing the Blood Stone had seemed like the right idea, though after retrieving the thing, he had doubts about giving it to Myrthyd. In the end, Myrthyd obtained it from him by using Jor for his bidding. Did she willingly submit to him, or did Myrthyd compel her to act on his behalf?
Lailoken turned from the ledge intent on confronting Etain, when he heard an all too familiar cry in the skies above.
Dragons.
He spun, aware he had no weapon to defend himself or use against his lifelong nemesis.
“I’ll kill you all with my bare hands,” he growled.
Two Onyx dragons flew across the ocean, their black hides shimmering in the bright sunlight. They flapped their enormous wings and roared as they drew closer to him.
Lailoken’s heart leapt in his chest. “That’s it, come to me!” he cried. If it was the last thing he did, he’d attempt to kill the creatures that hunted the Tregaron lands and caused such chaos over the years. It was in his blood.
The dragons flew closer until they dropped from the air and landed with a loud thud on the rocky ledge jutting from the cavern’s entrance. They took one look at Lailoken and flexed their wings wide, roaring louder than before.
Etain came running from the cave.
“No! I’ve told all of you never to harm him! Leave him be!”
The dragons stepped closer to Lailoken. One of them inhaled and spit a cloud of acidic vapors at him. Without his protective leather armor he was unprepared for the blast.
In a brilliant flash of light, Etain shifted from her human form into a massive Garnet dragon, plunging herself between Lailoken and the acid, the vile expulsion repelled by her wings, which she flapped furiously. Small droplets of the vapor landed on Lailoken, his arms stinging a bit, but she cleared the majority of the acid.
In his head, Lailoken heard her scold the dragons.
I warned you never to touch him! He’s under my protection!
But he’s the slayer! He must die! How many of our kind will you let die because of him? he heard one of them reply in his mind. We’re done with listening to a human lover, especially one who protects the enemy.
Do you dare challenge me?
Etain rose to her full height and stood almost twice as tall as either of the dragons.
We question your leadership, one of the Onyx dragons replied. This voice was higher pitched than the other one.
The first Onyx dragon expanded its wings and raked its dark yellow claws across Etain’s chest. She roared in pain. The second Onyx joined the first.
At first, Etain was taken by surprise and fell back near the edge of the cliff. Lailoken scrambled out of the way, hoping to avoid entanglement in the fight.
Etain regained her footing and blasted an enormous ball of flame at the attacking dragons. They howled when her flames singed their hide.
One of the Onyx managed to distract Etain while the other rushed her. It bit down on her arm and held firm. Etain howled and clawed at the dragon’s head. Thin tendrils of dark blood bloomed on its scalp. Etain continued to claw and then she let out an intense burst of flame. The Onyx let go and Etain went after it.
She leapt as if to fly, then shoved into the Onyx, knocking it to the ground.
You cannot win! Your leadership is over! one of the Onyx cried out, the voices loud inside Lailoken’s head.
Etain’s fury grew, her large wings obscuring much of what she was doing. The two Onyx dragons seemed overmatched, no matter how much acid they spewed or how much they dug their sickly yellow claws into her hide.
Lailoken had never seen such a display and was both terrified and in awe. He watched as Etain ripped into one of the Onyx dragons, peeling back its thick hide and exposing bloody muscle underneath. She exhaled fire into the wound, the dragon desperately trying to escape her clutches.
You will die for this! None challenge me and live! Etain cried. Lailoken covered his ears to stop the voices, but was unsuccessful.
You’d kill one of your own instead of the human? He lives to hunt us!
My decision was made and your disobedience will not be tolerated!
Etain bit on the frayed flesh and pulled her head back, ripping off a long, jagged piece of its abdomen.
As if on cue, the second Onyx jumped into the air and flapped its wings, rising higher into the air.
You will not be allowed to get away with this! How dare you turn on your own!
Etain lifted her bloody head to the sky. Come back and fight me, Grymryg, she growled. I’ll rip you to shreds!
One day, Etain. One day, you’ll get what’s due to you!
Grymryg roared and flew away, leaving the corpse of its friend.
Etain turned her head toward Lailoken. Blood dripped from her chin. Dragon hide hung from her teeth. Thi
n tendrils of smoke curled out from the sides of her mouth. Her body heaved. Blood ran from the claw marks on her shoulder and wings.
Do you trust me yet? You mean more to me than anything. My decision was final. This is the result of disobedience. It will not be tolerated.
Etain stomped her way back to the cavern.
Let me heal and then we can talk, Lailoken heard in his head.
He turned from Etain to the bloody carcass lying before him.
“By Meanos. What does all of this mean? Am I in danger?” Lailoken murmured quietly under his breath.
For a moment, he regretted the loss of the Onyx blood before him. The Order would be upset they were not there to enhance their stones and their powers.
Then again, maybe they were all wrong to begin with. Maybe the Order ruled out of fear and not reality. Their insistence on killing dragons for their blood had made a lot of sense before. But after Myrthyd’s actions and Etain’s protection, maybe there was more to dragons than he allowed himself to believe. He’d have to confront the truth no matter what. If Alushia was a halfling, that meant he either had to kill her or go against all his understanding. And he had no desire to murder his daughter.
Seven
Myrthyd hadn’t left his room in the tower for weeks. Food was regularly brought to him and he had his own private bathroom and living quarters. Instead, he spent every moment possible with the Blood Stone trying to unlock its secrets. He felt on the precipice of victory, as though at any moment, he’d cross the threshold and forever be remembered as the man who rid Rowyth of Deavos’ dragons. The power he sensed in the gem was intoxicating, more so than anything he’d ever known.
He spent many nights in a fugue state, forcing the night-wraith to constantly devour halfling dreams. He no longer called it by its real name. It must know it no longer existed to serve itself, but to do his bidding only. Some nights, the night-wraith took longer to respond than others. When it did, Myrthyd sent fierce bolts of agony through the ever-strengthening bond between them, reinforcing his dominance over the trapped soul.
“Wraith,” he now called the creature, “why do I wait on your arrival? You must always be ready for me. Do I make myself clear?”
Chepon bowed, refusing to utter a word.
“You will do as I command, or else.” Myrthyd floated in the dream state, drifting ever closer to the night-wraith.
“The first of the gray-souls has come to me. She serves me well. Her obedience is unquestioned. How many more halflings have you discovered to join my forces?”
Chepon’s silence aggravated him.
“Speak, you miserable soul! Tell me of your actions.”
“I have not,” Chepon said. Myrthyd blasted her with a long, intense burst of torment. Chepon howled and fell to the black ground, writhing in agony. Myrthyd grinned.
“Your failures are mounting. I will not tolerate this much longer.” Finally he relented and released her from the excruciating shock in the bond.
“I will discover soon enough how to completely harness this power. When I do, your terrible lack of progress will be dealt with in ways you will wish you could die, unless you serve me better and do as I command.”
Chepon pushed herself up on her shaking legs, her tattered wings softly moving and her smoky eyes barely open. “You will never win,” she whispered. Myrthyd poured all his anger into the bond, striking her with a power more painful than anything she had ever felt. Chepon cried out in horror while Myrthyd narrowed his eyes and watched her struggle. Eventually letting go, Myrthyd spoke quietly through gritted teeth.
“I need more halflings to build my army. You will get them for me or I will end you. My people will starve no longer. My conquest of the south shall begin soon and I will wipe out your kind from Tregaron forever. I will not rest until every last drop of your evil blood is destroyed. I must have my army! Do not fail me, wraith!”
He floated higher, gazing down on her motionless body. “I dare ask, knowing your answer will anger me, but have you located the traitor Lailoken and his horrid daughter Alushia? That halfling will serve as the commander of my army against her will. I will use her to destroy my enemies while Lailoken watches the truth march from the mountains.”
In his training with the gem, he discovered that Alushia’s faint echo meant she had dragon blood inside her. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it to be true. It was a truth he wanted to deny for a long, long time. Of all the halflings in the world, she was the one he most wanted to destroy, to turn into his servant and lead his army south. It was only fitting.
Lailoken the great slayer betrayed his people by laying with a dragon in human form. He had to know it was wrong and wretched and against nature. The children spawned by that horrid Etain deserved to die. He’d make sure they did, or at the very least, Alushia. Lailoken knew only of his daughter, not his son, a castoff who had somehow lived and thrived.
Chepon barely spoke, her voice strained from the pain. “I am nearer to finding them. The girl’s blood is strong but eludes me still. I sense them but cannot determine precisely where they are. South and east is all I know.”
“Do not fail me in this, wraith! Find her, devour her dreams, and turn her into my servant. Am I clear?”
“Yes, master.”
“I will unlock the secrets of this gem and you will no longer have the will to disobey. If you prefer to still control some of your existence, you’d do well to heed my commands. I might show mercy.”
Chepon bowed, but Myrthyd noticed something flicker in the blackness behind her.
“What is that?”
She said nothing.
“Tell me! What surprise do you hide from me?” He punctuated his words with a jolt of pain.
“It is nothing. An echo of the living. Nothing more.”
Myrthyd fixed his gaze in the direction of the movement and waited, but nothing appeared. “Lie to me, wraith, and I will never let you roam freely again. Forever you will feel my wrath!”
Chepon roared her understanding.
Myrthyd closed the bond, exiting the shadowy dream world, and opened his eyes to see the dark stone walls of his room.
Flames flickered. It was winter and the thick stones remained cool for now but the room was comfortable. In another month or two, the warm sun outside would heat up the stone tower and bring with it stifling, thick air.
“I must have my army. We must remove this blight on our lands. With the gray-souls under my control and this gem to power my ultimate weapon, none will oppose me and live. The destruction of the Drakku is upon us. I shall rid Rowyth once and for all of those winged demons and their disgusting halflings. No more will they roam freely like partners in this world. I will rectify the folly of Deavos, and soon his name will be lost to history. and only the mighty Myrthyd will be known. I will make an example of Lailoken and his awful daughter. She will not escape me.”
Myrthyd carefully placed the Blood Stone into the pouch inside his robe and waited.
***
Once she felt the bond sever, Chepon spun round. “What are you doing? He nearly found you!”
The older dragon hung his head.
“Avess, you must be careful. If he knew you were here—”
“He won’t. I shall be careful. He barely knows the power he wields. He cannot possibly discover me.”
“Have you reached out to the girl?”
“It’s been some time, but I know where she is. He is right; she’s south of here. She’s protected by Ryn, whom my daughter sent.”
Chepon nodded. “Then we must stall as long as possible. His powers grow without his understanding.”
Avess reached out and gently cupped her face with his claw. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I do not wish this fate on any dragon. You protected the Stone well for centuries. Etain and the others were wrong to create this. She knows the mistakes made. I gave myself to protect others. I only hope that someday we’ll be free of this. Death would be a welcome respite.”
He turned from her and flapped his tattered wings, jumping into the air and flying off into the black nothingness.
Chepon watched him leave, knowing if Myrthyd ever discovered the second soul within the gem, his plans of domination would be unstoppable.
“You know I had to do it. It was the only way. I had to enter the Blood Stone.”
Avess was too far away, unlikely to have heard her. The old Dragon Lord deserved better than an eternity trapped inside a gem controlled by a man. She had no idea how to end it all, but she knew Avess needed help. She could at least give her aid, no matter what Myrthyd put her through.
Eight
Ryn closed his eyes, concentrating.
“Don’t bust a vein on your forehead on my account,” Alushia chided. It was Ryn’s third attempt to change back into a dragon that day.
And it was the fifth day he’d tried.
“Agh!” he cried out. “It’s useless. I’m stuck in this form.”
Alushia balled her fists and placed them on her hips. “Now is that so bad?”
Ryn smiled, the afternoon sun framing his handsome face. “No, I guess not,” he replied softly.
They left for the Dragon Lands several days ago. “At least if you can’t change yet, we’ll still be making progress,” Alushia said to get them moving. Ryn agreed and they left the relative safety of the shelter for the unknown waiting for them in the forest.
“Come on, then. Don’t stress yourself out about it. We’ve still got two feet to use.”
Ryn shook his head. “I don’t understand it. I feel better. We’ve been fortunate enough to find food. My body doesn’t feel weak.”
“It’s fine. Whatever the reason, we’ll deal with it. It’s only mountains and dark forests ahead, right? What could go wrong?” Alushia grinned at him, hoping he’d caught the sarcasm.
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