by Tyler Wild
“Sleep is for the dead,” I said.
Jayna’s eyes narrowed at me.
Sophia leaned to Cassandra and muttered, “I expected more complaining out of you, being a princess and all.”
Cassandra chuckled.
“Princesses don’t have anything on demigods.”
“I can hear you both,” Jayna growled.
Sophia looked over her shoulder at the bratty demigod and smiled. “Sweetie, I’m just saying, you’re hot and all… and if I had a dick, I’d be trying to stick it in any hole it would fit… but maybe a little less complaining, and a little more positivity?”
Jayna huffed.
“It sucks for all of us,” Sophia said. “You think I wouldn’t prefer sleeping all day on a bed of clouds?”
“Yeah, but you're used to this kind of thing. I’m not,” she said, not trying to be snooty, but it came out that way.
“You better get used to it soon,” Sophia replied.
Jayna stuck her nose in the air. “Once Kron destroys the dragon and takes his kingdom back, I will live as his Queen in his palace, catered to by his royal servants. Isn’t that right?”
I smiled. “We all will.”
“Even me?” Grombly asked.
“Even you, Grombly. Any man, or goblin, or wolf, who fights at my side will never know poverty or hunger, as long as I have any say about it.”
“Let’s hope you can fight as well as you can inspire,” Dashota said.
“I can,” I said with confidence. Though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the task that lay ahead. It seemed even more daunting as we reached the outskirts of Pernberry.
We gathered at what used to be the edge of the Lorewood. All that was left were a few scorched trees.
“What’s the plan?” Grombly asked.
I stared at the majestic citadel that I once called home. Surrounded by a moat, standing atop a high pillar of rock, the fortress was impenetrable. “There is a reason why Pernberry has never fallen.”
“Indeed, there is a reason. And you are a fool to think it will fall now.” Malvina’s evil voice swirled around my head.
At first I thought it was my imagination. Or, perhaps, she was projecting her voice into my brain, trying to instill fear in me? But I soon realized what was happening.
The voice swirled around, and Malvina materialized behind me. “Did you think I would not foresee your coming?”
I spun around to see her appear before my very eyes. “I see you’ve grown more powerful.”
“You have no idea.” Her evil eyes blazed into me. “You will pay dearly for Gort’s death.”
“I’m sorry, did I hurt your little plaything?”
Rage boiled on her face.
“Who is this bitch?” Jayna asked.
“My sister.”
“And I thought I had a dysfunctional family.”
An army of undead warriors emerged from the trees. I didn’t know what kind of sacrifice Malvina had made to conjure such demons. But there were more than I could have imagined. With swords drawn, they surrounded us.
There were too many for us to handle.
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The wolves snarled and brandished their claws, ready to pounce. The air was filled with growls.
With our swords drawn, we prepared to engage the undead. My eyes glanced around, trying to formulate a plan. There were too many to count.
I let out a primal roar and charged into the fray.
My comrades followed.
Swords clashed, claws swiped, and fangs ripped rotten flesh apart.
We tried to form a barrier around Jayna. She was unarmed and had no experience with combat. She trembled with fear, her face twisted, tortured by the chaos.
I deflected a blow from a shriveled sack of bones with my shield.
Another demon attacked.
Our blades clashed, and I knocked the cretin off balance. A second blow from my sword sliced his thigh in half, and he collapsed to the ground.
Another attacked.
Then another.
I kept hacking and slashing, deflecting their attacks and severing heads. The mindless creatures were easily dispatched, but their sheer number made them an insurmountable obstacle.
The wolves swiped at the bone-sacks with viscous claws, severing limbs and heads with ease.
As soon as one would fall, another took its place.
The crackle of bones and the sound of ripping flesh filled the air. I heard the yelps of wolves as demon blades penetrated their hides.
Grombly fought by my side, but he was too short to sever a bone-sack’s head. Instead, he hacked at their kneecaps, toppling them to the ground, finishing the job once they were sprawled on the dirt.
The bodies piled up around us. And the smell of putrid flesh twisted my nostrils. It was as if these creatures had dug themselves out of the grave and picked up a broadsword. Worms slithered through their skulls, and maggots gnawed at their flesh. Flies buzzed around them. They lacked the skill and sophistication of the wraiths. They reminded me of the undead from the open plains of the underworld.
I kept hacking and slashing and stabbing. It didn’t seem like I was making any progress. My chest heaved for breath, and sweat covered my body. It wouldn’t be long before my arms would grow weak and rubbery.
The girls held their own, and we managed to protect Jayna. But this couldn’t go on forever.
Malvina watched from a distance with amusement. But her grin soon faded.
I didn’t notice at first—too preoccupied with the horde of undead—but there was something more fearsome on the horizon.
The trees from the Dark Forest had made the long march, having changed their minds. They entered the fray with glee, sweeping aside large swaths of the undead with their massive branches that moved like arms.
They were unbelievably fast for trees, taking long strides. Their roots had retracted, and their trunks split into legs. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. They towered over the horde, snatching them up, pulling their heads off like pulling petals from a daisy.
There was nothing the undead could do to defend themselves. The trees didn’t have any flesh to gnaw on, and the hacks of their swords only caused minor scratches on their bark.
When the tide turned, Malvina disappeared.
Before long, the last of the undead had been vanquished, and the remains of the forest were littered with their carcasses.
The leader of the trees, Thornbeck, approached me. “We have reconsidered our position.”
“I can see that. Thank you.”
“We will fight at your side until victory, or death.”
I smiled. “I prefer victory, myself.”
Our moment of triumph didn’t last long. The harrowing screeches of the dragon filled the air.
My eyes searched the sky and found the heinous beast. The flap of Aurora’s leathery wings filled my ears.
The creature swooped down and its chest expanded as it inhaled.
“Take cover!” I shouted.
We scattered like roaches in the light as Aurora unleashed her fiery breath.
The trees parted as the amber flames scorched the ground. Several were caught in the fiery stream, and flames danced on their branches.
I had never heard a tree scream before.
It wasn’t a pleasant sound.
More trees burst into flames as Aurora made another destructive pass. Fires crackled, and wood popped. The trees rolled on the ground trying to put the flames out to no avail.
“The moat!” I shouted, waving my wooded comrades on. At least they would be able to douse themselves and put out the flames.
We charged down the slope toward the castle.
Evron’s praetorian guard unleashed arrows from the battlements as we approached.
We took cover behind the trees as we charged toward the castle. The arrows slammed into the tree trunks, not causing any harm to them.
&
nbsp; I had no doubt that the next wave of arrows would be flaming.
We raced across the verdant field. It was a stark contrast to the scorched Lorewood.
It wasn’t going to stay green for long.
Aurora plunged down, and a molten stream of fire spewed from her mouth, engulfing more trees.
More horrid screams.
Black smoke billowed into the sky.
Burning trees raced to douse themselves in the moat.
I felt like I was leading these trees to the slaughter. My stomach twisted with guilt.
I broke from the pack and ran in the open as Aurora made another pass.
“What are you doing?” Cassandra shouted, her face full of worry.
I was an obvious target.
I stood defiant, pointing my sword at the dragon as it plunged straight toward me. A slight grin tugged at the dragon’s craggy mouth. I was going to be an easy kill for her. Her sharp fangs glistened, and her eyes glimmered.
I watched her chest expand, then she blew out a scalding breath. At the last minute, I dropped to one knee and placed my shield in front of me.
I hoped it would work.
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The shield deflected the glowing flames, and heat wrapped around me. But I did not get burned.
I stood up, drenched in sweat and pointed my sword at the dragon again, taunting her.
She attacked again, and my shield protected me as I knelt to the ground.
Again, I stood defiant.
She was growing frustrated. It was easy to sense that.
Aurora plunged down and landed in the green grass in front of me. Her massive paws rumbled the ground. Her heavy breath rattled in her nostrils as she stomped toward me, curious.
The others backed away, keeping their distance from her fiery breath.
I stood alone in the field, facing off against the giant beast.
She blasted another stream of molten fire. It bounced off my shield and flickered around me.
The ground around me sizzled and smoldered, having been turned black by her breath. A small patch of green remained underneath my feet.
Aurora looked winded, and her chest heaved for breath.
I suspected she couldn’t blow fire forever. She would need to recuperate at some point.
She stomped around me, eyeing me with curiosity. “What magic do you possess that allows you to survive my breath?”
“No magic,” I said.
My response irritated her. She spit another breath of fire in a sweeping arc that pushed the trees back even farther from us.
She and I stood alone in the field.
“You are either brave, or stupid to stand against me in an open field.”
I shrugged. “The safe bet is on stupid.”
She chuckled.
“I have no quarrel with you. How about you step aside and let me have my revenge against my brother?”
“I could have been yours. Instead I must serve that horrible man and satisfy his every twisted desire. His death would set me free, yet I must defend him against all enemies. How can I ever repay you for dooming me to such a horrid fate?”
I cringed.
She spewed another fiery breath at me. I knelt down and brought my shield before me. Once again, it deflected the flames.
But fire wasn’t her only weapon.
The ground rumbled, and she charged toward me. She snarled and batted me aside with her massive paw.
The impact knocked the wind from my lungs and launched me into the air. I flew twenty yards, then crashed to the ground.
The shield bounced and rolled down the hill.
My eyes bulged from their sockets, and I swallowed hard. I was completely vulnerable.
My brain told my lungs to take a breath, but they said fuck you. My side ached, and I had a massive headache.
I finally managed to squeeze in a breath, but by that time, Aurora was charging toward me with a diabolical glimmer in her dragon eyes.
I reached for Asgoth.
“It’s been nice knowing you, pal,” Asgoth said.
It sounded flippant, but he was sincere.
I fumbled for the compulsion dust in the pouch on my belt. I thought maybe it could work. But I grimaced the moment my hand touched Lily’s ashes—they were still wet and clumpy. There was no way I could blow this dust into the dragon’s face.
I watched Aurora’s massive chest inhale again. In a moment, I would be fried to a crisp.
Grombly had no intention of letting that happen.
He charged the beast from behind and stabbed the dragon’s tail with the Dagger of Onyx.
If the blade was capable of killing an immortal, it should have been able to kill a dragon. Though a shifter, and gifted with long life, Aurora was not immortal. Any sword would do. But the trick was penetrating her scaly exterior.
The tip of Grombly’s sword bounced aside.
Aurora spun around and swiped at the little goblin. She batted him into the air, and he flew twice as far as I did. He tumbled a few times, then came to rest like a sack of bones.
He didn’t move.
I thought he might be dead.
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My heart filled with sadness and rage. I sprang to my feet and charged the dragon while it had its back to me. I climbed up its tail, traversing its scaly back, and stabbed my blade into the area between its shoulder blades.
Even Asgoth couldn’t penetrate Aurora’s armor plating.
Outraged, the dragon spun around, attempting to throw me. I clung onto the tall spikes along its spine.
Aurora tried to swipe me with her arms, but she couldn’t quite reach the middle of her back.
She reared up on her hind legs and howled.
I hung on for dear life.
Then she launched into the air.
Her massive wings flapped, pulling us toward the sun. Within seconds, the castle grounds grew small. Wind raced through my hair. The sensation of flying was both exhilarating and terrifying.
She did a barrel roll, angling upside down. I hung onto a thorny spike with one hand, my feet dangling thousands of feet above the ground. My comrades looked like specs on the ground.
Aurora righted herself. I figured she couldn’t maintain flight upside down for very long. She plunged down, then climbed up, and looped around.
Still, I hung on.
I tried to wedge the tip of my sword between her scaly plates, but I couldn’t penetrate the thick armor.
Aurora kept rocking from side to side and rolling upside down, flying erratically, trying every maneuver in the book to dislodge me. I flopped from one side of her back to the other.
Eventually I would fall.
And she had no intention of returning to earth until I did. She could probably glide on the updrafts for hours.
I had to do something.
Her wings were like a second pair of arms. Long skinny arms with a leathery inter-femoral membrane between her long bat-like fingers. This is what allowed her to fly. The membrane was unprotected by scales or armor. It needed to be flexible in order to contract and expand and catch the wind.
It was probably a dumb thing to do, but it was my only chance.
I stabbed my sword into the membrane close to her torso and sliced clear through toward the first finger.
Blood poured from the wound, and the flap of dragon skin fluttered.
Aurora instantly lost support on that side. She flapped frantically trying to stabilize her flight.
We spiraled toward the ground.
A piercing screech filled the air, and again she tried to buck me off.
I sliced the membrane on the other wing, and we began an unpleasant and uncontrolled descent.
Aurora shrieked and howled as she desperately tried to gain control. We plummeted down, the flaps of her wings rippling in the wind like a torn sail.
“You’ve killed us both,” she growled.
My heart leapt into my throat as we plunge
d toward the ground. A million thoughts raced through my mind. Namely, what it was going to feel like to hit the ground at 120 miles an hour. How many bones would I break? Would I live, or die? Or exist somewhere in between—spine snapped, unable to move?
It wouldn’t take long to find out.
We hit the ground like a meteor from outer space. I heard bones crunch. A plume of dust erupted around us. The ground rumbled, and the impact echoed across the valley.
Aurora took the brunt of the impact. We slammed the dirt and bounced in different directions. I tumbled through the air and hit the dirt again and rolled.
Stars danced around my vision, and I couldn’t breathe.
Aurora flopped on the ground and groaned.
My entire body was numb. That scared the hell out of me. Who knew what was going to hurt when the numbness wore off?
I finally inhaled and breathed a mouthful of dust. My ribs hurt when I coughed.
I staggered to my feet. It was a miracle. Nothing seemed broken, but I was going to be sore as hell the next day—if I lived that long.
Asgoth lay in the grass not far away.
I dashed to the blade and scooped it up.
Aurora wailed in pain and tried to climb to her feet. Her left arm was broken. She crawled toward me, rage burning on her face. She coughed and hacked and tried to take a breath, but with her broken ribs it hurt too much. The dragon winced and coughed again.
Even in her wounded condition, she could still be lethal. And as long as she had an ounce of breath left in her, she would carry out her master’s commands.
Those commands were to kill me.
I had an idea.
It was probably a dumb idea. But it was the best I could think of at the time. I hobbled toward the dragon, trying to get to her before she could suck in a full breath and spew more fire.
My hand dug into my pouch and grabbed a fistful of Lily’s ashes. I ran toward Aurora, and as she roared at me I threw a fistful of the clumpy wet ashes into her mouth.
The dragon coughed and hacked the dust out, her hot breath drying it in the process, turning it into a fine powder once again. The glittering fairy dust hung in the air around her. When she inhaled, the dust worked its magic.