by Lyn Worthen
Nekos pointed up the hill the rock sat next to. To the left, there was a largish cave entrance that was wide enough for four men to enter side by side. “There,” Nekos whispered. “The dragon is there.”
Mikal stared hard at the entrance and thought he could see wisps of smoke drifting from it. He was filled with equal parts excitement and dread. Tern shuddered next to him. “How are we going to sneak past the dragon?”
“There is another way into the cave. Look to the right and up a ways. See that twisted oak?” Nekos asked, pointing. “There is a smaller way in by the tree. I spotted it after I encountered the dragon.”
Mikal remembered that Nekos had admitted to seeing the dragon. “Why were you out here anyway?”
The mage looked annoyed. “If you must know, I was collecting components for my work. Now, pay attention: if you want me to defeat the dragon, I need some very special stones.”
“Stones?” Mikal asked. He didn’t understand. There were plenty of stones all around them out here.
“These aren’t ordinary stones,” Nekos whispered, his eyes appearing to burn as he stared at Mikal. “They are black as my robes. And round, about the size of a ripe melon. I need as many as you can get.”
Tern frowned. “We won’t be able to carry all that many. Especially if we have to do any climbing.”
Nekos pulled two empty black pouches from his belt and held them out to the boys. “I’ve brought you each a magical bag. It can carry far more than you think. Carefully place the stones in the bag – all you can find.”
Mikal took the cloth bag and examined it. On the outside, it seemed to be an ordinary bag. Warm to the touch, it looked like it could hold maybe one of the stones Nekos described. Pulling the opening wide, he stared inside.
Despite the sun being nearly overhead, all he could see was blackness. Frowning, Mikal realized he couldn’t see the bottom of the bag. He reached inside and felt around. Except for the strange darkness inside, it seemed to be a regular bag.
He glanced over at Tern, who shrugged and then looped the strings of the bag around his shoulder. Mikal did the same. “You said you could make us invisible?”
Nekos reached into a smaller leather pouch. He pulled two rings from it, each with a black opal set in it. “Put these on. Just before you enter the cave, twist the ring around your finger and say the word, “Umbra.” That will render you invisible.”
Tern slid one of the rings on his finger. Mikal hesitated. “How long does the spell last?”
“About fifteen minutes. That should be plenty of time.” Nekos granted them another cold smile. “Now, hurry – the sooner you get the stones, the sooner we can protect the town.”
Still uncertain, Mikal slipped the ring on. It felt heavy on his finger. Grasping the black bag Nekos had given him, he thought a quick prayer as he headed upward toward the oak, Tern close behind.
Just as Nekos had said, once they got to the tree, they saw a fissure in the face of the hill. Mikal understood at once why Nekos wanted them to do this: slender as the mage was, it would be nearly impossible for a normal adult to squeeze in. He wondered if he and Tern could fit.
Tern must have thought the same thing, because he shook his head. “How are we going to fit bags full of stones through that? I’m not sure we’ll get in.”
“One way to find out,” Mikal said. Remembering the mage’s instructions, he twisted the ring on his finger. “Umbra,” he said.
A tingling wave swept over him head to foot and he gasped. Tern blinked, then yelped out “Mikal? Mikal, where are you?”
“Shh! I’m right here,” Mikal said, waving a hand. He noticed that his arm and hand looked fuzzy, as if he were seeing them through fog.
Tern jumped when Mikal spoke. “You really are invisible. Are you okay?”
“I think so,” he said. “Come on, let’s get going.”
He turned and headed for the fissure. Just before he crouched and entered, he heard Tern whisper the magic word Nekos had given them. Satisfied that he wasn’t doing this alone, Mikal pushed his way inside.
As he’d thought, it was a tight fit. Rough stone walls brushed his arms, and he nearly had to slither through the gently sloping passageway. To his surprise, he found that even though it should’ve been dark, he could see the walls of the passage. Everything had a grayish cast to it, but at least he wasn’t stumbling around in the dark.
After about fifteen feet the passageway opened up. With a sigh of relief, Mikal straightened up and crept downwards until his feet touched level ground. A soft thud a moment later told him that Tern was not far away.
There was a loud huffing noise up ahead, the view blocked by a wall. The sound made Mikal think of the smith’s bellows that he used to heat the red hot fires of his furnace. That reminded him that there was a dragon around here somewhere, and he didn’t have time to waste. He headed towards the sound, trying to make as little noise as possible.
Turning a corner, he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Behind him, he heard Tern swear softly.
There were several piles of dead animals along one wall. Mikal swallowed bile as the stench of decaying flesh hit his nose. He quickly looked away from the carrion and looked towards the source of the huffing sound.
It was the dragon.
It was huge – Mikal estimated it was a good twenty feet long, if not longer. It appeared to be sleeping, its head pointing away from Mikal and Tern, its eyes closed. Smoke rose lazily from its nostrils as it breathed.
Mikal spotted several of the stones Nekos had described scattered around the dragon, nested in piles of coins. Mikal suspected the coins were gold, though with his inability to see color he couldn’t be sure.
Swallowing, he went to the black stone farthest away from the dragon. Scooping it up in his hands, he was surprised at how warm it was – nearly hot. With his magical vision it seemed to glow.
Opening his bag, he slid the stone in. The bag didn’t change shape, but hung limply as if it were empty. Confused, Mikal stuck his hand in and felt for the stone. He found it easily, but the bag still looked empty.
Pulling his hand out, he reached for another stone. Then another. The bag didn’t get heavier or thicker, but every time Mikal checked, the stones were in there. He found it fascinating, and wondered if he should scoop up some gold coins as well.
Unable to resist the temptation, he scooped up a double handful of coin. Several coins slipped through his fingers, landing on the cave floor with a soft clinking sound.
The dragon stopped breathing.
Mikal froze, hardly daring to breathe himself. After a long moment, the dragon’s mouth opened.
“I hear you, thief,” it said in a voice that reminded Mikal of his grandmother’s; deep for a woman (his grandmother smoked a pipe, and she blamed it for her coughing and her voice), but clearly female. “Have you come to slay the dragon as well?”
Mikal didn’t dare move. He hoped Tern had the good sense to sneak out while he could.
As he watched, the dragon opened the eye nearest him. In spite of his limited vision, he could tell the eye was red. The dragon’s head swiveled this way and that, its burning gaze sweeping right by Mikal.
“I smell magic,” the dragon said. “So, you are the mage then? I will soon know, fool. I was tearing apart spells before you were born.”
With that, the dragon began to chant. Mikal dropped the coins he’d been holding and turned. “Run, Tern!” he yelled as he sprinted back to where the fissure was.
The ring on his finger grew hot, but he was afraid to pull it off. Just a little further – if the dragon couldn’t see him, he would be okay –
The ring shattered. Mikal yelped in pain and stumbled as his world plunged into darkness. He heard something fall and Tern swearing to his right.
He moved towards the sound. “Tern?” he whispered in a shaking voice, “Are you okay?”
Before his friend could answer the dragon began to chant again. Light shone around Mikal, and he real
ized to his horror that the gold in the cave was glowing. It grew brighter and brighter and now he could see Tern as his friend scrambled to his feet, clutching his bloody hand to his chest.
The dragon snarled. “Pray to your gods, thief. When I see you, you will die.”
Mikal couldn’t keep back a moan of fear as he backed away from the dragon’s approach. It turned the corner and swung its head towards the teens.
It caught sight of them and time seemed to stop. Mikal closed his eyes and prayed that the dragon would make it quick.
The dragon shrieked. Mikal fell to his knees, hands clapped over his ears. But the next thing he heard caused his eyes to open in surprise.
“Children? They send children after me? Oh, how could they! Truly they are an evil people!”
Mikal stared as the dragon sat back on its haunches, shaking its forelegs. Part of him was indignant – he wanted to protest he was no child! Next to him Tern tugged at his arm. “Let’s go, let’s go!” he said.
The dragon was swinging its head around and seemed distracted by something behind it. Mikal thought leaving would be good. He and Tern started for the fissure—
“Wait!” the dragon wailed. “Oh, wait! Did you take them? Do you have them?”
Mikal paused. The dragon sounded anguished, not angry. That confused him. Tern, already beginning to climb to the fissure, turned back. “What are you waiting for?”
“Tell me!” the dragon demanded. It moved far more quickly than Mikal thought it could and at once was almost close enough to touch. “I swear by the gods I won’t hurt you, but you must give them back.”
“You believe in the gods?” Mikal burst out.
The dragon stared down at him. “Of course. It was the gods who created the first dragons to rule the skies while man ruled the earth. Isn’t that what they teach you?”
“Um…” Mikal didn’t have an answer for that question. He’d never heard that the dragons had anything to do with the gods.
Shaking its head impatiently, the dragon said, “Enough. Give back what you took, and you may leave in peace. I will not fight children.”
“We’re not children!” Mikal protested. “We’re sixteen!”
“You are indeed a child if you are going to argue with me,” the dragon said. “Now, return them.”
“All we took were some stones,” Tern said. “You have a lot of them. We only took a few.”
“Black stones? Warm to the touch?”
Mikal nodded.
The dragon snarled. “I will not harm you, but you must give them back. They are precious to me beyond measure.”
“Why should we?” Tern asked. “You attacked our town. Stole some animals.”
“And you have tried to steal from me,” the dragon said. “I would have traded for the animals, but the mage said you wouldn’t be willing to bargain. But you can have all the gold you want, just give me back my treasure.”
“What are they?” Mikal asked. “They’re just warm rocks.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, young one,” the dragon said, shaking its head. “Is that what the mage told you? I smell his stink. Did he send you here?”
“He’s just trying to protect the town from you,” Mikal said.
To his surprise, the dragon laughed. It was a horrible sound, like rocks grinding together. Mikal clapped his hands over his ears again.
“The mage cares nothing for you – or your town,” the dragon said. It snorted. “It offered your town in payment for my treasure – I declined. I have no desire to harm you or your people.”
“But that’s what dragons do,” Tern said.
“Yeah,” Mikal said. “My father fought a red dragon that stole and killed people. And you have gold – didn’t you steal it?”
The dragon ducked her head. “I suppose I took some here and there – I thought they’d like to play with it.”
“Who?” Mikal asked.
“My children,” the dragon replied. “Please, give them back and the gold is yours.”
“Wait a minute,” Tern said. “We don’t have your children.”
“But you do,” the dragon said. “The stones you took, the ones the mage wants so badly – they are not stones. They are eggs.”
“Eggs!” Mikal said.
The dragon nodded. “My eggs. Your mage desires them for an evil spell, one I suspect he will wield to wrest control of your kingdom for himself. The eggs would give him great power. He must not have it.”
Mikal struggled to make sense of the dragon’s words. “But the other dragon – he was evil.”
“It sounds as if he was,” the dragon said. “Does that mean all dragons are evil?”
Mikal hesitated. He looked at Tern, who appeared as confused as he felt.
“Help me, young ones, against the mage,” the dragon said. “I will grant you a boon if you do.”
“But how do we know you aren’t lying?” Mikal asked.
The dragon narrowed its eyes. Then it sighed. “I suppose it is asking a bit much for you to believe me without evidence. Therefore, listen to my plan…”
# # #
Mikal took a deep breath, trying to make as little sound as possible. The dragon had assured them that the invisibility spell it had cast on them would conceal them from Nekos, but he’d learned that such spells had weaknesses.
The dragon walked to the mouth of the cave. “Mage,” it hissed, sending a shudder through Mikal, “come out. I know you are there – your servants cursed your name as they died.”
After a brief pause, Mikal heard Nekos’ voice. “Swear to me by the gods you will not harm me.”
“I swear that you will not die this day,” the dragon said.
It backed into its cave and settled on its haunches. A few minutes later Nekos entered with a wary expression, a hand hovering near one of his pouches. “They are dead?”
“You were a fool to send them,” the dragon said.
Nekos shrugged. “You would not agree to my terms. I need the eggs. I will have them, one way or the other.”
The dragon stared at him. “You seek power. There are other ways, besides killing my children.”
“And what do you have in mind?” Nekos said.
“My children and I could be powerful allies,” the dragon pointed out. “Think of it – an army of dragons under your control. Nothing could be denied you. Not even the throne.”
Nekos appeared to consider its words, then shook his head. “No. I will not depend on another. Give me the eggs. If you refuse, I will find a way to destroy you – and I will still have the eggs.”
“You have destroyed yourself,” the dragon told him. “The boys are not dead. They have heard your lying words. They will tell others.”
If possible Nekos grew more pale. “You’re lying.”
“Speak, young ones,” the dragon said. “Let him know you’re here.”
“You were going to give the village to the dragon!” Mikal shouted. “When I tell the mayor, he’ll stop you!”
“Yeah,” Tern said. “We’ll stop you, too!”
Nekos looked in their direction, a hand darting to one of his pouches.
The dragon snorted. A small ball of flame, smaller than Mikal’s fist, shot out of the dragon’s nostril and struck the mage’s hand. He cried out in pain and beat out the flames. The odor of burnt sage hung in the air.
Grasping his injured hand, Nekos gasped, “You swore –”
“I said you would not die,” the dragon reminded him. “The wound is not fatal.” It lowered its head, its eyes glinting. “I give you until dawn to flee this land. After that, if you are still here, I will hunt you. And you will not be promised safety again.”
Swallowing, Nekos backed out of the cave. Mikal craned his neck and saw the mage running away, still cradling his burnt hand.
The dragon looked toward the boys and chanted. A minute later Mikal saw Tern pop into view. “I can’t believe it.”
Mikal shrugged. “We always thought he was evil.�
�� He turned to the dragon and, as it watched, pulled the three eggs from the bag he’d put them in. He saw Tern add two more to the pile.
The dragon nudged the eggs with its snout. “Thank you. What can I do to repay you?”
Mikal looked at his friend. “Mind if I make a suggestion?”
Tern shook his head. “I’m guessing it isn’t the gold,” he sighed.
“No.” Mikal turned back to the dragon. “You mentioned an alliance with Nekos. Would you ally with my people, help them in the war to the north?”
The dragon cocked its head. “I would ally with your town. But why the north?”
“Our fathers are there,” Mikal said. “If you could help end the war, maybe they could come home.”
“Ah,” the dragon said. “I will agree to your terms. But I suggest you stay here this evening. The mage is tricky – I think he would harm you if he could. I can protect you here and then, if he is still here tomorrow…”
“Why don’t you take us home?” Mikal suggested. “You could talk with the mayor then. Nekos can’t harm us if you’re protecting us, right?”
“I cannot leave my eggs unguarded,” the dragon pointed out. “Please, stay here. No harm will come to you.”
Tern shook his head. “Our moms are gonna worry.”
“I am sorry for that, but it’s best this way,” the dragon said. “Unless your people are a threat to me and my children?”
“Not if you don’t bother them,” Mikal sighed. Tern was right – his mother would be frantic. But he would be home tomorrow. With a tale better than any he and his friends had made up.
And even though he hadn’t fought, he’d found a way to help end the war. He thought his father would be pleased with that.
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Claire has written on and off for most of her life, and writes across a wide range of genres. A transplant from the cold winters of Massachusetts, she now enjoys the sunshine of 90210 (Hollywood). While she’s not a movie mogul, she enjoys her work in the film industry. When not busy with the day job or writing, Claire does animal rescue, reads, and goes to movies. She loves to hear from fans, so feel free to drop her a line.