Dragon Ops

by Dragon Ops (retail) (epub)

  As he landed, he shook himself, sending more ripples of blue down his side. Then he turned to us, regarding each of us carefully as if he’d never seen a human before. I shivered a little, hoping he wasn’t deciding which one of us to eat first.

  Finally, he spoke. Who are you? he boomed in a deep, throaty voice. And why have you disturbed my slumber?

  The monk immediately dropped to his knees, bowing his head. I wondered if we should be doing the same. “They have traveled far to seek your audience, Your Excellency,” the monk informed the dragon in a trembling voice. “And to ask you a favor.”

  A favor? the dragon roared. His mouth dipped to a frown. And why should I grant you a favor? Have you done any favors for me? He paused, sniffing the air. Have you brought me a gift?

  Lilli stepped forward. “How do you feel about giant gummy bears?”

  The dragon pushed off his hind legs, rising into the sky. Gummy bears? he boomed. Do you know whom you address? I am Lord D’ou. Born of ice and given breath by the gods themselves at the birth of our world. And you dare come here and offer me gummy bears? Angry blue slashes spiked down his spine.

  “I’m thinking the gummies are a no-go,” Yano hissed in my ear.

  “What about wrath armor?” I squeaked. “I have a very epic set of—”

  Silence! the dragon roared. He kicked up his feet and swam through the air, executing a perfect barrel roll. When he finished, he locked his eyes on the monk. These humans need to be taught a lesson in the proper dealing with dragons. Send them away and see that they do not return. He paused, then added, And… take their gummy bears. As… punishment for their impudence.

  My heart sank. He was sending us away? He wouldn’t even hear our request? “Please!” I begged. “If you’d only listen—”

  “Come on!” the monk said gruffly, grabbing me by the scruff of the neck. “You heard the Master. You need to leave. Unless you’d prefer to stay for dinner?” He gave me a humorless smile. “I’d be all too happy to serve you.”

  “Ew.” Yano shot D’ou a disgusted look. “Should probably stick with the gummy bears, mate.”

  I slumped my shoulders. I couldn’t believe we’d come this far only to be turned away. As the monk began shuffling us back to the temple, I turned to my sister and Ikumi, eyes wide. “What are we going to do?” I whispered. “Should we try to fight him for it?”

  “Are you joking?” Ikumi hissed. “We’d be flattened like pancakes in the first round. Even I am not powerful enough to take on a dragon like this.”

  “But we can’t leave! We need that Ice Stone! Derek’s life depends on it!”

  “Maybe I can talk to him,” Yano declared suddenly. “Dragon to dragon.” He hopped off my shoulder, taking flight.

  I grabbed his leg, yanking him back down. “No way! He’ll kill you!”

  “Give me a little credit, kid!” Yano shook free of my grasp, flying back to the dragon. I watched him flutter before the mighty beast—a tiny insect up against a goliath. Any second now and D’ou would swat him like a fly. Or reach out with his long neck and slurp him up for a late-afternoon snack.

  Instead, to my surprise, D’ou simply peered at Yano curiously. It was then that I remembered they had the same programmer. Maybe, in a weird way, that made them related? I craned my ears to hear what our guide was saying.

  “Look, Your Majesty,” Yano pleaded. “I know these kids are completely daft. And disrespectful, too. Believe me, I’ve had to deal with them longer than you. But they do have a legitimate emergency, and you’re the only one who can help them. Might you at least hear them out? Then if you don’t like what they have to say, feel free to eat them—I won’t stand in your way. Though, I do feel obliged to warn you, they taste nothing like porg.”

  D’ou stared at him for a moment, and I held my breath, praying it would work. Instead the ice dragon leaned forward and plucked Yano out of the sky with his mouth, holding him between his teeth. Yano screeched in terror.

  Perhaps you taste better, D’ou said.

  “Oh no!” Lilli cried, turning to me with wide eyes. “We have to do something! We can’t let him eat Yano!” She started reaching into her robe’s pockets and her bag. “We must have something we can give him! Ikumi? Do you have anything?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing a dragon would want.”

  “Ian?”

  Heart pounding, I reached into my bag, searching for something—anything—that a dragon might want. Probably not the pirate hat. I did have a few gold coins I’d picked up when climbing the mountain, but the rest of my gold had gone to the—

  I stopped short. I looked up at D’ou. At Yano dangling dangerously from his jaw. “Don’t eat him!” I begged the dragon. “I’ll give you a gift.”

  D’ou shot me a skeptical look. I thought you didn’t bring a gift.

  “Actually, I did. A very valuable gift.” I drew in a breath and dared a step forward. Then I reached into my bag and pulled out the piece of paper. “The recipe for Ghost Goop.”

  D’ou’s eyes bulged. He opened his mouth, dropping Yano like a hot potato. Yano flew out of biting distance and landed on the statue of Wyrm, shaking out his wings one by one.

  “‘Maybe I taste better!’ Of all the blasted ideas!” he muttered. “I have half a mind to—”

  Lilli ran over to shush him. But I kept my focus on D’ou, trying not to let him see how my body was shaking like a leaf. I took another step forward, holding out the recipe. “With this, you can make unlimited batches of Ghost Goop. Anytime you’re feeling festive. It’s a pretty big gift. And, well, I’m not happy to give it up. But that’s how important our mission is. How much we need your help.”

  D’ou beckoned to the monk, who stepped toward me and plucked the paper from my hands. I sighed, watching it disappear into his robe’s pocket. So much for that awesomeness. Still, if it got us out of being eaten, I guess it was worth it.

  D’ou nodded, as if satisfied. Now, he said. What is it you ask of me?

  “Right.” I could feel Ikumi and my sister coming up behind me, giving me strength to go on. I drew in a breath. Here went nothing.

  “It’s about Atreus,” I said. “He’s kidnapped our cousin and trapped us in the game. He says he won’t let us or Derek free unless we defeat him.”

  To my surprise, D’ou started laughing. A huge belly laugh that practically shook the ground beneath our feet. You? he repeated. Defeat Lord Atreus? Now that is the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time.

  My face flushed. “Look, I know we’re beginners, but Ikumi’s really good and—”

  Oh children, children. You will never beat Atreus. Just as you would never be able to beat me. You would be fools to even try.

  “We don’t have a choice!” Lilli piped in. “We can’t let him eat our cousin!” Her voice broke with frustration.

  And why is this my concern? D’ou asked.

  Ikumi stepped forward. “Because killing their cousin is only the beginning,” she replied, lifting her chin and locking eyes with the dragon, not looking the least bit afraid. “Atreus has broken free of his maker’s chains. He destroyed Ghost Hollow last night. And he will strike again. And again. Until the entire land is awash in his flames.”

  D’ou’s laughter faded. Is this true? he demanded. Has he left his roost at the Crystal Temple?

  “I saw it with my own eyes,” Ikumi replied. “He has gone completely rogue.”

  D’ou let out a loud roar, which almost knocked me backward. This is unacceptable, he declared. Atreus must be stopped before he disrupts the balance of this land. He shook himself, sending a shimmer of white stardust down his flanks. But I am afraid I cannot help. For I am still bound to this mountain and cannot leave.

  “Don’t worry! We can do it!” I declared. “We just need to borrow your Ice Stone.”

  D’ou stared at me, incredulous. You want to borrow my Ice Stone? The very core of all my power?

  “It’s the only way to defeat Atreus
,” I replied simply.

  The dragon glared at me suspiciously. And how do I know you will actually use the Ice Stone against him? That you will not hand it over to him in trade for your cousin?

  I sighed. “We wouldn’t do that! We’re not stupid, you know!”

  “Maybe a little stupid,” Yano confided to D’ou. “But not the types to betray a great dragon like yourself.”

  “Besides,” Lilli broke in, “we already have the first stone.”

  She reached into her bag, pulled out the brown turd, and presented it to D’ou. I cringed, waiting for the dragon to laugh in her face.

  But instead, D’ou’s eyes went wide. And when I looked down at the stone, I was shocked to see it glowing a brilliant yellow, as if it were made of amber.

  “Holy crap!” squawked Yano. “Er, no pun intended.”

  How did you get that? Did Wyrm actually gave you her stone? D’ou demanded, his voice rich with disbelief.

  “Um, yes?” Lilli stammered, her face flushing bright red with her lie. I tried to mentally tell her to keep it together. The last thing we needed was for D’ou to find out we killed Mommy Earth Dragon in cold blood. That would definitely end any chance of us scoring his Ice Stone.

  “Yes, she did,” I declared. “In fact, she’s the one who sent us to you.”

  D’ou’s eyebrows rose. Well then, he said. This changes everything. If Wyrm believes in your quest, that is good enough for me. I will give you the Ice Stone to help you defeat Atreus and save our land.

  “Thank you!” I cried, relief bursting through me. “Thank you so much.”

  Do not thank me yet. You have two of the Elemental Stones, yes. And Atreus has one. But it will still be a hard-fought fight—one that you may not be able to win.

  My heart sank. “Really? Even with two?”

  However… the dragon added. Were you to get the third…

  “The Water Stone?” Ikumi broke in. “You think we need the Water Stone, too?”

  Three stones for three of you. It is your best chance.

  Of course. A follow-up quest. Every time you thought you were almost done, you got stuck with a follow-up quest.

  “Do you know where to find the Water Stone?” Lilli asked.

  The dragon lord nodded. The Water Stone is guarded by the mighty sea serpent Kaito, who lives deep underground in the Cave of Terrors. If you follow the River Tremulous, you will find his lair. But beware. For he is not as generous or trusting as I or Wyrm.

  “So… what are we supposed to do?” Lilli asked. “Can we fight Lord Kaito for it?”

  I doubt you would win if you did, D’ou replied. He is mighty in battle. Also, it is better to keep him alive. As one of the four dragon lords, he helps keep the land in balance and harmony. Were he to perish, Atreus would only gain more power.

  Okay, now I was really feeling bad about killing Wyrm.…

  “So what do we do then?” Lilli asked.

  The dragon raised a bushy eyebrow. The good news is, Kaito is old and often deep asleep. His mouth quirked. Some might say it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.

  So steal it from him, then. Okay, got it.

  “Thank you,” I said, bowing to the dragon. “We appreciate the help. I promise, we won’t let you down.”

  The dragon gave me a steely look. I hope not, he said. For, it seems, the very fate of our world has been dropped in your hands. He turned to the monk. Prepare the Ice Stone for travel, he ordered. And set up three hang gliders for our little friends.

  The monk grumbled under his breath, but disappeared behind the door. “Hang gliders?” I asked, dread rising inside me. Please let that be game talk for something that does not glide through the air.

  D’ou smiled. You don’t want to walk down the mountain, do you?

  “Not if we don’t have to,” Lilli piped in.

  The dragon nodded, performing a graceful twirl in the air. Then he lowered himself back to the ground, his eyes sparkling.

  Now, he said. About those gummy bears…

  After handing over our gummy bears to the dragon, we followed the monk to the side of the mountain where the hang gliders were stored. Real hang gliders, Yano assured me, made out of metal and cloth and wire. A bit different in mechanics from the ones you found in the real world, but very similar.

  They looked like giant kites with triangle sails attached to two metal bars that met in the middle with a crossbar and harness. The monk showed us how to strap ourselves into the harnesses and steer by leaning our bodies on the crossbar. Left to go left, right to go right. Lean forward to speed up, push the bar away from you to slow down. Easy peasy.

  At least for a game character.

  “Follow the river,” he said, “and you’ll get to the Cave of Terrors. I suggest you glide as far as you can. Otherwise, it’s a long walk filled with deadly beasts.”

  “More deadly beasts,” my sister muttered. “Awesome.”

  I, on the other hand, was totally fine with loads of deadly beasts. It was the sheer cliff that had me freaking out. This wasn’t some virtual thing that didn’t actually exist and I could rationalize away. This was literally a cliff. That we were going to jump off of. With no adult supervision whatsoever, if you didn’t count the monk. (Which I totally didn’t.)

  “I think I’ll walk,” I stammered after stealing a quick peek off the side of the mountain. The ground loomed and spun, giving me a half-dizzy, half-pukey, all-miserable feeling in the pit of my stomach. “It’s really not that far.…”

  “Are you kidding?” Lilli cried. “It took us half a day to get up here! Also, you might remember a certain ice dragon at the bottom? We can’t be sure he hasn’t respawned by now. You want to face him again?”

  “Um, not exactly, but…”

  Lilli sighed. “Look, I know you hate heights, Ian. But we have no choice. Derek is counting on us. We can’t let him down.” She gave me a pleading smile. “Also, better to jump off a cliff than become dragon dinner, am I right?”

  “Honestly? They both sound equal in awfulness.”

  She clapped me on the shoulder. “Well, I think it’s going to be awesome. Better than zip-lining through Costa Rica. The Steel Eel at Sea World. The Tower of Terror at Disney.”

  “You are so not making me feel better,” I said flatly. I stepped a few feet back, away from the cliff, my heart racing in my chest. I had to get out of this somehow. But how? Lilli was right—we couldn’t walk down. But was this really the only other way?

  “Are you all right, Ian?” Ikumi asked, stepping up to me. She spoke softly so my sister couldn’t hear.

  “I’m fine!” I protested, probably a little too forcefully to be believable. “It’s just… heights. I really hate heights.”

  “I understand,” Ikumi said with a nod. “The first time I was supposed to hang glide for a quest? I deleted the quest rather than do it. But eventually I did everything else in this really big quest chain and I couldn’t complete it unless I took the plunge.” She walked over to the cliffside, looking down. “I was petrified. But… in the end, it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was kind of fun.” She turned and grinned at me. “Kind of like wearing the raccoon suit in Mario 3. You don’t fall. You glide.”

  I bit my lower lip. No way was this going to be in any way fun. But we also weren’t going to complete our quest unless I sucked it up and tried. Reluctantly, I walked over to the hang glider and strapped myself in, just as the monk had instructed, then double-checked and triple-checked the bindings—just in case.

  It’s just like Mario 3, I told myself, trying to breathe normally. No big deal. Just like the raccoon suit in Mario 3.

  I stepped toward the edge. I could do this. I could. But then the wind hit me square in the face and almost knocked me over, and nope. Couldn’t do it. I took a step back and slammed right into my sister.

  “Lilli?”

  “Go, go, go!” she cried. And then she shoved me off the cliff.

  I yelped as my kite launched into t
he air and the ground fell away beneath my feet. The wind roughly caught the sail, jerking me upward and tossing me around as if I were a leaf in a hurricane. It was all I could do not to puke on the spot. Instead, I white-knuckled the crossbar in front of me and swallowed back a scream as the glider shook and shuddered above me.

  This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.

  Out of the corner of my eye I could see Ikumi and Lilli struggling, too. Even my sister couldn’t manage to get her glider to behave in this wind. My heart pounded in my chest; if we couldn’t get these things under control—fast—we’d be whipped way off course…

  … if, that was, we even survived the landing.

  Just like Mario 3. Just like Mario 3, I chanted to myself, squeezing my eyes shut.

  Suddenly a new wind whipped up out of nowhere. A strong, fast wind—shooting me forward like a rocket. I flailed at first, screaming at the top of my lungs, sure I was about to plummet to the earth and find out once and for all whether dying in the game meant dying in real life. A question I really didn’t want to know the answer to.

  As I tumbled through the air, my brain raced through what the monk had said back at the top, wishing I’d paid more attention. What was it again? Lean left to go left, right to go right? If you’re going too fast, push the control bar away from you to slow down.

  I pushed. Hard.

  For a moment, I wasn’t sure it worked. Then, to my excitement, my kite began to stabilize. I pushed back some more and soon I found myself gliding smoothly through the air like a bird in flight. A rush of adrenaline shot through me.

  Now this was more like it!

  I turned to my sister and Ikumi. “Push the bar!” I yelled at them. “Push the bar away from you and you’ll slow down!”