I didn't finish my statement.
The Lord’s Gift
I sat on my haunches by Grace's bed, my tail curled tightly about me to keep it from thrashing and knocking into any of the equipment that crowded the room. Most of it was off and unconnected, waiting patiently while Dr. Doubting Thomas did his best to talk Mother Superior Angela out of its use, and Father Rich argued for.
"She's in a persistent vegetative state," the doc repeated again, as if the words were some kind of mantra. "She's brain dead."
"You can't know that!" Father Rich exclaimed.
"Father Rich is right," Mother Angela whispered. Telepathy was extremely rare in Faerie, but she was one of the few that had the ability to detect thoughts and emotions in general, though not in detail. "But her mind is failing with her body. We need a cure."
"And there is none," Dr. Thomas concluded authoritatively. "That woman was just teasing your dragon."
"Then we need a miracle," she said, and wandered away from both men, ignoring one's pleas to make a decision, another's warning that no decision was a decision to let Grace die. She looked at the equipment and shivered.
She caught me watching her and came to stand beside me, resting her hand on my shoulder just above the wing joints. "This isn't your fault. St. George gave you to us, and it has been a blessing."
I shrugged. I couldn't help thinking if it hadn't been for St. George, Grace would be alive and I would be back to my former glory, safe in my mountain home, my only worries keeping my stuff safe from treasure hunters and my skin safe from alchemists—
Suddenly, I was filled with a hope so strong it hurt. Trembling against that hope, I furled my scales and pierced my skin with my claw.
Mother Superior looked at me with dawning comprehension. "I didn't think you…"
"Just pray." I placed the blood upon Grace's chapped lips, careful of the ventilator.
The blood spread and soaked in, and her lips healed and smoothed as we watched.
Mother Angela gave a small hopeful cry. "She needs more, much more. We have to get it into all of her!"
"Give me a syringe!" I yelled at the doctor.
"What? What could you possibly want...?" But Father Rich was already out of the room asking the nurse, the parishioner who talked with me yesterday. Lois came in with an empty needle and at Mother Superior's direction, plunged it into a vein in my wing. That piercing was the sweetest sensation I'd felt in centuries.
"Are you out of your mind?" Dr. Thomas came out of his momentary surprise and ran to the IV, protecting it with his body. He was fast on the uptake at any rate. "I will not let you do this!"
"You said she was dying!" I argued. "You were ready to give up and let her die!"
"But I wasn't going to try to kill her. I will not stand by and willingly let this happen!"
"Fine!" I snarled and lunged at him over Grace's body. He yelped and backed hastily away, knocking over the unused dialysis machine. Rearing over him, I kept him cornered. "Consider yourself under duress."
I looked over my shoulder Lois. "Do it."
"Please," added Mother Superior.
Avoiding the doctor's eyes, she put the needle into the IV and pushed the plunger home.
We watched with our breaths held.
Grace began to convulse.
"Told you!" the doctor shouted. He pushed me aside and began shouting instructions to the nurse.
I ignored him and went to Grace, holding her steady with my arms and tail. "Come on, Grace," I growled. "Don't do this to me. I'm a dragon, remember? The dragon always wins."
She stilled. There was no sound but the drone of the flat-lined EKG. Dr. Thomas glared at us accusingly.
"Wait for it..." I murmured.
Grace arched as her body gave a huge gasp. The EKG began to beep in time with a normal heartbeat, and Grace began to fight the ventilator. With happy tears stinging her eyes, Lois pulled it out.
Faerie. They never miss a cliché.
I must have spoken aloud, for Grace opened her eyes and whispered hoarsely, "Like the dragon always wins?"
Full of joy and weak with relief, I laid my head on her stomach. She reached up and rubbed behind my cheek crests. I could see her IV was still pink from my blood.
"When it really matters," I purred. "Depends on how much we value the treasure."
A Note From Karina
I started writing DragonEye stories when I heard about the anthology Firestorm of Dragons (http://www.amazon.com/Firestorm-Dragons-Michele-Acker/dp/1896944809) I wanted a different kind of dragon, and after much brainstorming, I came up with a noirish dragon detective living on the wrong side of the Interdimensional Gap, helping people and not feeling particularly happy about it. The story had a comical, satirical bent, as did the next story I wrote, “World Gathering.” That story became the novel Magic, Mensa, and Mayhem, (http://amzn.to/e34KIT) which got really slapstick. That led to the equally funny 007 spoof, Live and Let Fly (http://www.amazon.com/Live-Case-Files-DragonEye-ebook/dp/B007Y5TCHG).
However, Vern had other stories to tell, many of which are not funny but (I think) very compelling. I’ve sold several of these to anthologies and magazines, but some of the longer ones have not found homes. Hence, I’ve decided to make homes for them by self-publishing them. I began with this one, frankly, because I saw this awesome cover on Sarah –Jane Lehoux’s page and knew it was perfect.
I had a lot of folks chime in on this story, from my wonderful editors, Chris Speakman and Pamela Luther, to friends on Facebook and in the Catholic Writers Guild, to my husband and best idea man, Rob. You are awesome, guys! Any troubles are mine, and if a section especially caught your attention, at least one of them probably helped tweak it.
Tim Marquitz gave me a lot of self-pubbing advice and made the process less intimidating. Thanks, Tim! Ellen Gable Hrkach, owner of Full Quiver Publishing, took time out of her busy day to patiently walk me through the process of publishing to Kindle. She had a saint’s patience, as I seemed to come across every stumbling block known to man. Thanks, Ellen!
I hope you enjoyed the story. If you were already a Vern fan, I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this side of him. If you’re new, I encourage you to feed the dragon’s ego (and the author’s kids) by checking out his other stories and novels. Read on for his website and contact information.
Want More Vern?
Check out Vern’s website at http://dragoneyepi.net
*Find DragonEye books and stories
*Read Vern’s blog
* Check out back issues of his newsletter, “A Dragon’s Eye View”
Friend Vern on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DragonEyePI
…and don’t forget to check out Karina’s other works at
http://fabianspace.com
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dragon & Nun
Dart in the Dark
Junior and the Fat Man
The Fall Drake
Faerie-Go-Round
Santry
The Roman Lance
The Lord’s Gift
A Note From Karina
Greater Treasures: A DragonEye Novella Page 5