by Brad Clark
As he stood in the center of the village, his eyes scanned for any signs of the dragon. To his dismay, the rain began to fall even harder. Then a light flashed in his peripheral vision, and a split second later thunder boomed across the mountains, echoing off the rocky peaks. His horse jumped, yanking the reins out of his hand. He gave one desperate reach for the horse, but it was already several paces away, sprinting for the protection of the forest. Hopefully, it wouldn’t run too far, as it had all his provisions.
With both hands now free, he knocked the arrow and gave a slight pull on the bowstring. Lightning flashed some distance away, followed a few seconds later by a rolling clap of thunder. The lane between the buildings had become a muddy mess. The hard rain formed many small rivers of water cutting through the mud and down the hill. Footing would be treacherous. He would have to move cautiously and without sudden movements. The large building had a short overhang that stretched over the entire front face of the building. It should offer him some protection from the rain. He moved underneath it and kept his eyes moving from left to right, waiting for the dragon to come out of hiding.
He could feel it. He didn’t know why or how, but he knew the beast was near. His heart pounded, but he kept his breathing slow and easy. The rain and cold made his hands ache, but he was too disciplined to let it bother him. He was a Karmon Knight and would soon be the first Dragonslayer of Karmon.
A chill overcame him, and he shivered.
“It has been a long time since I’ve hunted.”
Marik’s heart jumped at the voice. He looked around, but he didn’t see anyone. Even with the pounding of the rain around him, he could hear the female voice as clear as if she were standing right next to him.
“Who are you!” he shouted out.
“You do not know?” the voice said, taunting him.
Marik pulled the string of his bow all the way back and dropped to a knee. Slowly he moved his bow from left to right searching for whoever it was that was speaking. He could not tell where the voice was coming from. It appeared it was coming from all around him.
“The beast! Is that you?” he yelled out. “You can talk?”
Laughter filled his ears. “Of course I can, but you do not need to yell. I can hear you just fine.”
“Where are you?” His voice had the hint of panic. He knew what the dragon could do.
“Your piddly little stick can’t hurt me.”
“I already did it once! I can do it again.”
“I do not doubt that you will try, but I have been hunted by much better and braver souls than you. I can feel the fear coming from you. Those who have hunted me before were cold-hearted killers with the strength of lions and hearts of steel. You are weak. I can feel your weakness.”
Marik could feel his fear, too. He had never felt this way before, and it scared him. For all the fighting, death, and creatures from his nightmares, nothing had put a fright on his soul like this beast. It talked to him. It wasn’t just some beastly animal. It had a voice and a mind, and that is what scared him. For the first time, he began to believe he came up against an opponent that he could not defeat.
His hands began to shake, so he released tension on the bow.
“Who are you?” Marik called out.
“I am death. I am the nightmare that will end your life and the life of all your fellow Humans.”
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
There was not an immediate response.
Again, Marik called out, “Why do you wish to kill us?”
“Is it not you who are hunting me? Do you not wish to kill me?”
Marik thought he noticed a change in the tone of the voice. It was not as firm and forceful as if it were questioning itself. “You attacked us first. In South Karmon, that was you, was it not? You destroyed the city killing hundreds or even thousands! Come out and show yourself! Face me!” Marik pulled back on the bowstring, preparing himself to fire the arrow at a moments notice.
“I am right here. In front of you. I can see you clearly.”
Marik dropped to a knee and pointed his arrow directly in front of him, but he could not see anything. The rain continued to pour down in sheets that left his visibility only a few dozen yards in front of him. He couldn’t even see the tree line in the distance.
“I do not believe you!” Marik cried out, still searching for the beast. “I believe you are afraid of me!”
More laughter filled his mind. He then realized that the words weren’t coming from outside. He wasn’t hearing what was being said. The beast was speaking directly into his mind.
“What sorcery do you cast upon me?” Marik yelled out. “I can hear you, but I do not hear you!”
The laughter fell to a chuckle. “Of course. Dragonkind do not speak as Humans or Elves speak. Your mind hears us speak.”
“You can hear me, even when I don’t talk?”
There was a slight hesitation. “I can feel your feelings, but I cannot hear your words unless you speak them. I can feel that you are afraid of me and afraid of dying. It is refreshing as the last time I faced one of your hunters, they felt no fear and were full of arrogance. They did not die quickly. I made sure of that.”
“I am not afraid of you!”
“You cannot hide the fear in your soul. I can feel that. You may not be afraid of me, but there is something that you are afraid of. Tell me, small, little Human, what are you afraid of?”
Between the thick, heavy rain, he could see movement. Slowly, the dragon slithered towards him. At first, it was a shadowy form, mostly hidden by the rainfall. But it moved forward, and he could see it clearly. It kept its head close to the ground, its wings were folded along its body, and its tail swished back and forth.
Marik aimed the arrow at its one good eye, but it was still too far away to try and take the shot. With the eye being such a small target, he needed to be really sure before he fired his weapon. Plus, in the rain, there was no telling what the arrow would do. The one good thing about being far away is that it gave him confidence that he could run away if need be. If it opened its mouth to fire its breath at him, he would have time to dive away and avoid it.
Slowly, he moved a couple paces to his right so that he would be closer to the edge of the building. The dragon didn’t seem to notice him move. It kept its head pointed at where he had just been.
“I only fear for those who cannot protect themselves from you!”
The dragon flinched and snapped its head to look directly at Marik.
Marik smiled, realizing he had stumbled upon the beast’s weakness. Somehow the pouring rain was interfering with its ability to see him clearly. Yet when he spoke, it was able to know where he was. If he kept quiet and moved without a sound, he just might be able to take it by surprise.
Unfortunately, Marik never got a chance to test his theory. The dragon suddenly sprang forward, its jaws wide and foreclaws stretched out to attack. Without thinking, Marik pulled back on his bowstring and let the arrow fly. It was hard to hit a small moving target, but he had done it hundreds of times before. The moment he let the arrow loose, he was sure it was going to strike home, but at the last instant, the beast turned its head, and the arrow fell harmlessly against the back of its head. Marik did not waste a moment lamenting his miss. He turned and ran. Just behind him, he could feel the heat of fire as the dragon released its fiery breath upon the spot where he had just been standing.
With bow still in hand and his sword banging against his leg, he took the corner around the building as fast as he could, slipping on the muddy ground. He kept his legs pumping and got behind the building before another blast of fire came after him. His chest heaved as he ran as fast as he could for cover in the forest behind the village’s buildings. His only chance of survival would be to get far enough away so that he had time to draw an arrow and fire it. He would need only seconds, but with the dragon on his tail, he would be hard-pressed to find those seconds.
Halfway to the forest’s edge, an
explosion rocked his ears. He glanced behind to see wood shards and pieces of the building flying in all directions as the dragon burst through its walls. Several pieces struck him, but he kept moving. The last sight he saw was the dragon rearing its head back to launch another attack with its fiery breath.
He made a quick and sudden move to the left to try and confuse the dragon. Ahead of him a wide stream of rainwater was rushing across the ground and heading towards a hill that led down and away from the village. He couldn’t see how steep the hill was, but it might be his only chance to escape. If he were able to get down into the forest, he should be able to hide, especially if the dragon couldn't see him in the pouring rain.
Three steps from the edge, the dragon’s fiery breath, struck him. A searing, unimaginable pain exploded across his body. The force of the fire caused him to stumble forward directly into the muddy water that was spilling over the edge of what was a steep cliff. Falling face first, he rolled onto his back instinctively, trying to quench the fire that was roasting his skin. The rushing water and his forward momentum propelled him over the cliff, which was steep enough to send him tumbling down at an uncontrolled fast speed. He did not care about slowing himself down, much less stopping. The pain that filled his body was so intense and so sharp that he couldn’t even scream. As he rolled and tumbled down the hill, he could feel himself become packed in mud. But he also hit many small trees and rocks which caused more pain and injury.
Eventually, he came to a stop in the middle of a pool of thick, muddy water. He could not move any limb. His head hurt from the rocks and stumps that he struck. The rest of his body was in so much pain that he couldn’t even scream or cry out. He wanted to die. He closed his eyes, hoping that death would come quickly.
***
Myllia stopped herself at the edge of the cliff and looked down. The small river of rainwater poured over in a waterfall of mud. She could see where he had slid down and hit all the rocks and trees that were in his path. Even if he had somehow survived her initial blast, she was sure that he could not survive the fall. Humans were so weak.
For several long minutes, she stood still at the top of the cliff, her eyes scanning the ground below. The rain continued to wreak havoc on her vision, but her ears were as finely tuned as ever. She tilted her head to try and hear any movement or cries. Surely if he had survived, he would be crying out in pain. While she stood there waiting to hear or see if the Human survived, she thought about just going down there herself. If it were not for the pouring rain and injured wing, she would have done it. But the heavy rain would make it hard for her to generate enough lift to rise up from the small ravine below her. And if she used her wings with too much force, she just might make the rip in her wing larger.
After a long time, she finally realized that the Human must be dead as there were no signs of him. She turned and began running as fast as she could. Once she reached her top speed, she spread her wings and pumped several times to get herself into the air. Being as careful as she could to protect her injured wing, she climbed up into the air and turned to the north. She would have preferred to have tasted the blood of the hunter, but she would have to satisfy herself with the blood of Humans from the city that she had seen on the flat plains between the two mountain ranges.
But first, she would need to rest and heal. The storm would last for many hours, not enough to completely heal, but enough time to rest her weary, old body.
***
The cloak pulled over her body had not kept the rain from thoroughly soaking her, but it had kept her hidden from the great beast that had come into her village. For several hours she had huddled near the building that had once been her Inn, a comfortable place for mountain travelers to rest. She had been caught outside when the beast first descended from the skies. Out of fear she simply dropped to the ground next to Harmmerik’s old house and pulled her cloak about her body and head. Even when the rains started and became a downpour, she did not move.
The sight of the man running around the building surprised her and then when the dragon ran through her Inn, she just became mad. That was the only good building in the entire village, and now it would not keep her warm through the winter. The sight and smell of the man being burned had scared her enough to keep still until the dragon was far away. His screams would surely keep her awake for many nights to come. Never had she heard such a horrendous sound.
Curiosity and concern caused her to finally move. After the dragon had been gone for some time and the rains had let up some, she stood, stretching her sore legs. Gingerly, she walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Far below she could see the pool of rainwater. Within that pool was the body of the man. Seeing one more death gave her a sadness that surprised her. There had been too many deaths in the recent years, and one more should not have affected her, but seeing the still body in the muddy water caused her to be filled with sadness. She took in a deep breath to keep a cry from escaping her lips. Just as she was about to step away to go find a dry place to build a fire and warm up, the water of the pool rippled and a hand moved.
Chapter Thirteen
“You are up early,” Hallendrielle said. The sun was just above the eastern horizon and still hidden by the trees of the jungle. In another hour the heat of the sun would burn down upon them making it uncomfortably hot in direct sunlight, which made early morning the perfect time for a casual walk.
Glaerion smiled at his wife. “I could say the same to you.”
Hallendrielle smiled back. “But I have always taken a morning walk through the jungle. You, however, always snored your way through the best part of the day.”
They were some distance from the village, but still at the fringe of the jungle. If they went much further into the trees, they would encounter dangerous wild animals. Although they lived in peaceful harmony with most animals around them, there were still some predators that would hunt them as food. Neither were afraid nor concerned. It had been many years since an animal had wandered into their settlement and attacked an Elf. But just in case, both had a long dagger stuck in their belt.
“I did not sleep well last night,” Glaerion said.
“Nor did I.”
“Shall we walk together?” Glaerion stepped forward and took Hallendrielle’s hand, and they continued walking down the well-worn path.
Over the many years of living in the village, many walking trails had been forged through the underbrush of the jungle. Some of them were useful paths like the one that led north towards the protected inlet where the fishing ships would moor. Others were just paths that led into quiet areas of the jungle. The path that they now walked was one of those paths that led nowhere.
“Worry keeping you up?” Glaerion asked.
Hallendrielle nodded her head.
Glaerion let out a long sigh. “Me, too. I do not understand the council’s decision. It does not make any sense. I know that they are simply trying to protect us, but we cannot run and hide forever. Eventually, the Deceiver’s army will come to us and if they have already conquered the Humans, do you think we would be able to stand alone against them? But if we were able to fight alongside the Humans, I believe that we would have a big enough and powerful enough of an army to defeat them.”
“Then you should speak up against their decision.”
Glaerion stopped. “Speak against the council’s decision? I thought I was the rogue Elf. When did you become such a rebel?”
“I am not always so prim and proper!”
Glaerion squeezed her hand and continued walking. “Well, maybe now, but back when we still lived in the homeland…” His words trailed off to a chuckle. “There was this one time when we were young that I remember you not being so proper.”
Hallendrielle giggled. “That was a long time ago!”
Glaerion’s voice softened, and he replied grimly, “In more ways than just time. The world has continued to change while we have sat here in comfort and safety. For thousands of years, so little of ourselv
es or our culture has changed. The Humans have built great cities and have developed a prosperous culture without magic. They have spread across the continent, and new kingdoms full of new and wonderful people have grown.”
“Like Conner and Queen Elissa.”
“Yes, like them.”
“I have become fond of Queen Elissa,” Hallendrielle said, her eyes looking off blankly into the jungle. “She is a sweet, yet strong woman. She is deserving of her title, and I can only imagine how great of a queen she is to her kingdom.”
“A kingdom that no longer exists,” Glaerion reminded her.
“Yes. And how many more kingdoms will be destroyed because we did not send our people to help.”
“All that you speak of has already been presented to the council. Even the king spoke in favor of helping the Humans. If they could not be convinced by King Illichian or me, then how can we convince them to reverse their decision? A decision that was unanimous, by the way.”
Hellendirelle huffed. “Unanimous? I know their rules. All their decisions that come out of their chambers are unanimous. That does not mean that all of them agree with the decision.”
“What are you saying? That if we convince some of them to change their mind? Because that will never happen. One of their strengths is that their decisions are always final and cannot be questioned.”