Stavius

by Gregory Cholmondeley

  Saiph turned to Stavius and asked why he did not want to be the one to steal the talisman. This seemed like the more important role to her, and he appeared to be the best candidate. Stavius replied that his strength would be better used in saving his friends and asked Saiph to protect them until the cage was disenchanted.

  His reasoning made sense to Saiph who assured him that, even as starved as she was, she had no desire to eat intelligent species and that she would protect the girls from the other dragons. She said, “But there’s more. You had already decided this even while I was teaching you how to control the talisman. Janus paid close attention, but you simply followed along. Why do you not want to steal the talismans?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to steal them, Saiph,” said Stavius. “It’s that I know I can’t. I don’t have any magical abilities beyond throwing lightning bolts and creating some shields, and I don’t have much control over those either. I can’t even create an illusion. How could I expect to control a talisman?”

  “Those illusions and enchantments, which are so important to you humans, are just parlor tricks,” Saiph softly thought. “You have a much more direct connection with magical energy. You’re more like a dragon than a man.”

  Stavius felt as though Saiph had pierced his heart with a sword. All the painful memories of people claiming that he was more of a primitive animal than a human being flooded back into his mind. He had begun to feel better about himself and even thought that, with his newfound abilities since becoming conjoined, he might be able to master a few, simple enchantments and have a chance to fit into society. Now he just heard a dragon say that she thought he was more animal than human.

  “Well, maybe I am more of an animal than a man, but at least animals can control their magic. I bet that if I attempted to blast that collar off you, I’d probably kill you in the process. I tried to blow a hole in a fence this afternoon and wound up destroying an entire building. Most of the energy goes where I want, but lots of it also sparks all over the place,” Stavius lamented.

  “Wait, you were the one who destroyed that hideous structure?” Saiph gasped. “I heard the explosion and saw it fall but had no idea someone had caused it. You truly are more dragon than man.”

  “Yeah, that’s me. Beast Boy,” sighed Stavius, who was struggling not to break down and cry. “My visitor comes to a magical world only to join with the one person on the planet who is so much less than human that he can’t perform magic.”

  Saiph gently blew some hideous smelling breath his direction and, although it was intended as a kind gesture, it caused Stavius to sputter and cough.

  “Sorry,” muttered Saiph. “I also haven’t been able to brush my teeth in a hundred years.”

  “Dragons brush their teeth?” asked Stavius in surprise.

  “Well, we don’t exactly brush, but we do try to gnaw on things like tree trunks to get the crud off. I don’t get much of a chance to do that in here though,” sighed Saiph.

  “Yeah, well, it’s OK,” replied Stavius. “I’m just feeling sorry for myself. We should talk about how we’re going to get the girls out of here.”

  “Oh, that’s easy,” answered Saiph. “I can easily break apart the cage once it is disenchanted. The harder part is figuring out a way to escape. Did you really destroy that building?”

  “Yeah, but as I said, my aim is terrible. I also started a huge forest fire when I blasted some werewolves who were attacking us,” said Stavius. “I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t have precise enough aim to cut through your chains. I’m just a stupid animal.”

  “Stop it with the stupid animal remarks,” warned Saiph. “You completely misunderstand my remark. Humans skim along the surface of the magical energy emanating from our world and use it in trivial ways. Few have any idea of the true power beneath their feet and, those that do, resort to building artificial devices to attempt to harness it. Dragons and a few other higher beings, like squarells, can tap directly into the world’s energy and control it. Comparing you to a dragon is not an insult – it is the highest compliment a human could ever be given. I have never heard of a dragon ever offering it before. You are unique among mankind, and no one can ever know of your abilities.”

  Stavius was flabbergasted. “But, what do you mean that no one can ever know about me?”

  “Look at how they captured and enslaved me to harvest my powers,” spat Saiph. “Can you imagine what they would do to you if they knew of your ability to tap into magical energy directly? You would quickly find yourself a slave, chained in a windowless dungeon, and forced to feed their dalliances with power.”

  Stavius collapsed onto the muddy ground feeling nauseous as he realized the dragon’s warning was valid. All these families wanted was power, and that was all he had. He couldn’t control it, but that didn’t matter. He would become nothing more than a power supply like the talismans.

  “Someday, with training, you will be able to focus and control your energy, but not in time to help me,” sighed Saiph. “Now, you would have to use a lens to focus your powers, and those are rare indeed.”

  “What do you mean a lens?” asked Stavius. “Do you mean like a piece of polished glass or do you mean something like a magic wand?”

  “No, not glass” answered Saiph, “and I’m not sure what you mean by a magic wand.”

  “Um, a magic wand is like a stick that wizards wave around to help them cast spells,” explained Stavius.

  “I suppose,” thought Saiph. “That’s certainly similar to what the unicorns do. Their horns act as lenses to focus their magic.”

  “What if I had a unicorn horn?” Stavius cautiously asked.

  Saiph glared at him. “Dragons may cough up old gastroliths, but unicorns never shed their horns. The only way a human could have one would be from a murdered unicorn.”

  “Um, what if a unicorn gave them to us?” asked Stavius. The dragon had stood up, and Stavius was feeling nervous, even though she was on the other side of an enchanted cage.

  “That would never happen,” roared Saiph. “Unicorns treasure the horns of their ancestors and would never desecrate their burial crypts. What have you done, Stavius?”

  “Nothing! I swear I’ve done nothing,” explained Stavius. “Queen Esthara, queen of the unicorns, gave us two as parting gifts. She instructed us to use them to recharge the magic in our bodies and told us to keep the horns. I promised to find a way to recharge them and return them to her, but she wasn’t interested. I swear I’m telling the truth!”

  “Now I know you’re lying because no unicorn would ever do that and Queen Esthara would never allow humans to enter Equous. I demand that you tell me the truth!” roared Saiph.

  This brought Janus out of his contemplations of how to steal a talisman, and he joined the conversation. The two boys quickly shared their adventure in Equous, how the unicorns had taught them how to communicate using their minds, how the queen had given them the horns, and how Ajdahl and Maneran had carried them to the outskirts of Septumcolis.

  “If what you say is true then you did not just learn your telepathic skills,” Saiph wistfully said. The unicorns believe that their ancestors’ horns are far more than storehouses of energy like dragon stones. They believe that they contain at least some of the essence of the mares who grew them. It is very possible that you inherited some of the spirit and abilities of Esthara’s ancestors when you absorbed their power. Show me the horns.”

  Stavius and Janus reached into their packs and held the unicorn horns up for Saiph to inspect.

  “These are useless in their current state, but they could direct your energy if they were recharged,” Saiph excitedly said. “My sister Bellatrix could recharge them, but you would have to leave first thing in the morning to reach her in time. I’ll explain what you need to do, but first, tell me what else is in those packs of yours.”

  “Not much, really,” answered Stavius. “Just a couple of old apples and my dirty clothes.”

  “Give m
e that apple,” commanded Saiph.

  “Um, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” warned Janus. “They’ve been stuffed in there for days with Stavius’ dirty underwear, and I just learned that he doesn’t know how to do laundry.”

  “Hey, I know how to wash clothes!” retorted Stavius. “I just can’t magically make the dirt and stink disappear like some people.”

  “I don’t care, boys,” growled Saiph. “Give me those apples!”

  “Seriously, they are going to be pretty nasty after living next to my undies,” warned Stavius in one last attempt.

  “I haven’t eaten any fresh fruit in the decades, and you’ve smelled my breath,” rumbled Saiph. “Do you think that I’ll mind if those apples smell a little bad? Throw them into my mouth now!”

  Janus and Stavius tossed the last of their fruit into Saiph’s gaping maw, and she shook with delight as she swallowed the tender morsels.

  “Thank you, my friends,” she purred. “That was the tastiest treat I’ve had in decades. But Janus, please do zap Stavius’ clothes. There was an aftertaste so nasty that I can’t even imagine how awful that backpack must reek.”

  The three of them laughed and felt better than they had all day. Janus promised to do Stavius’ laundry and went back to his planning. Saiph explained to Stavius what he needed to do to recharge the horns. And, after another hour of discussion, the boys said good night to Saiph and began walking home.

  “So, you found us a place to stay?” marveled Janus. “Our tour guide thought I was crazy not having a room. He said that everything has been booked for weeks. Where and how did you find a room?”

  “I’ll tell you later, Janus,” sighed Stavius. “But trust me, you’re going to love it.”

  Chapter 20

  Preparations

  Janus woke up to the sounds of Stavius rummaging around the small shed in which they had spent the night. “What in the name of Luna are you looking for?” he grumbled.

  “I’m looking for an old, leather case that used to be in here if you must know. It would be perfect for carrying the horns. Go back to sleep,” Stavius replied.

  “I’d love to, but that would imply that I had been sleeping. I don’t think that happened very much last night in these luxury accommodations,” Janus complained. “I couldn’t decide whether wrapping myself around this barrel was better or worse than folding myself between these two chairs. It’s too bad your parents didn’t have any spare rooms in that big house of theirs. I assume they were hosting out-of-town guests.”

  “Janus, stop whining. You’re easily six inches shorter than me, and you don’t hear me moaning and groaning about the uncomfortable positions in which I had to sleep in last night. And, no, I doubt that my parent’s six bedrooms were occupied. They don’t encourage house guests.”

  “Man, your family is messed,” sighed Janus. “I always felt sorry for myself for being an orphan, but maybe I need to reconsider. Well, at least we are dry and, since I’m up, I may as well help you look.”

  Janus reached over and pulled a yard-long, leather cylinder with a removable cap on one end from under the table next to him. “Is this what you wanted?”

  “Dammit Janus,” groaned Stavius. “How long have you known that was there?”

  “I dunno. Ever since sometime in the middle of the night when I tried to use it as a pillow,” grinned Janus. “It doesn’t work as well as you might think, though.”

  Stavius grabbed the container from Janus and opened it up. It was used for carrying rolled up documents or paintings but was empty now. Stavius slid the two unicorn horns inside and closed the top. He asked Janus to illude a sticker with Larsa’s logos on it across the cap to make it appear as though it was securely sealed. Janus complied but just made the arrows point a little off north and a little off south since he didn’t know where Larsa’s studios were.

  “That’s good enough,” Stavius said. “It just needs to look real at the bridge checkpoint and, I’m hoping that they aren’t blocking illusions since they’ve already captured the terrorists.”

  Stavius then gave Janus the money pouch to acquire the objects Janus needed for his part of the plan. They said their goodbyes and Stavius promised to return before nightfall as he left to recharge the horns. He was not looking forward to his day.

  It was late September in Septumcolis, and there was a refreshing brisk crispness in the morning air. The trees were just starting to brighten into their fall colors and yesterday’s rain had washed away the summer’s humidity and oppressive heat for a while. The early morning sky was a clear pale blue and Stavius broke into a cheerful trot down the hill towards the bridge, almost forgetting about his dreaded assignment.

  Saiph’s sister, Bellatrix, lived on top of a hill on the other side of Septumcolis River. Hers was the closest dragon nest to the city, and Saiph felt she was also the most likely to be willing to help. While dragons live in small flocks near each other, they tend to be rather solitary creatures. Most tend to avoid contact with each other, except for the rare times when they mate. They bury their fertilized eggs and leave them untended for decades until their babies are ready to hatch. And, when their babies are born, the parents will remain close enough to guard them and to drop food to them from the sky, but most rarely visit their children.

  Bellatrix was mated with a dragon named Rigel, but he lived farther away and didn’t like Saiph very much. The feeling was mutual, and Saiph hadn’t seen him for decades before she was captured. She doubted that they even realized she was gone. The only other dragon in the area was a male dragon named Betel, but Saiph warned Stavius to avoid him. Not only would Betel be unlikely to help; he would most likely try to kill anyone who approached.

  The journey to Beatrix’s cave would take nearly two hours, so Stavius left early but was then stuck waiting at the bridge until the guards finally showed up to open the gate. The worst part about the wait was that no shops were open, which meant he couldn’t get breakfast. Once they arrived, the guards didn’t care about anyone leaving the city, and Stavius hurried across the long, sweeping bridge.

  He turned right along a path which followed the river rather than heading straight down the road through the cotton fields to Clothton. It was a pretty walk along the edge of the vast cotton fields to the south with the broad, muddy river flowing on his right. Eventually, the broad river valley narrowed, and the cotton fields gave way to steep hills. The path he had been following continued to curve around the edge of the fields, but he needed to continue farther along the river before climbing the tall hill rising on his left. He found a small game trail and followed it around the hill and part way up the narrow valley on the far side before starting to climb the slope.

  There were no trails up the hill, so Stavius used his sword to hack his way through the underbrush to create his own. He found his desire to give up, turn around, and go home increasing with every step. Climbing the hill was tiring and his doubts about succeeding in convincing a dragon to help him increased with every step. He expected a wave of relief when he finally hacked through the undergrowth and stepped out into a small clearing but his uneasy feelings only increased.

  There was no dragon here, and there hadn’t been one here in years. Stavius could tell that there had once been a dragon cave carved into the hillside, but it had either collapsed or had been filled in a long time ago. Vines, creepers, and wildflowers grew over the dirt and rocks mounded in front of the cave mouth. Stavius tried calling for Bellatrix a few times, but he knew it was pointless. More than that, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

  There might not be a dragon here, but other dangerous creatures were living in these woods. A shiver ran down his back as he remembered the trolls he encountered so many months ago and, of course, the werewolves. Stavius spent a few minutes poking around the former dragon nest, but his feeling of dread and danger kept increasing by the minute. He finally gave up and scrambled down the hill so quickly he stumbled, scraped and bruised himself re
peatedly by the time he reached the bottom.

  Stavius ran back down the game trail for several hundred yards before stopping in a small meadow. He was out of breath, his heart was racing, and he had no idea what had scared him so badly. He had hunted dragons, fought trolls, and battled with werewolves and never felt fear like this. He was curious as to what had spooked him, but he was mostly glad he had escaped. Now, however, he needed to figure out what to do.

  Stavius pulled out the map Janus had drawn from the aerial images Saiph had mentally shared with them. Each dragon’s nest was highlighted with an X. Rigel’s nest was so far to the east that he would never make it there and back in time. The only possibility was the dragon named Betel, who Saiph warned against visiting at all costs.

  Stavius put the map down and sighed. Betel’s nest was an hour journey southwest if there were roads or decent trails. It could easily take two if there were no roads. Recharging the horns to free Saiph so that she could aid in their escape was, by far, their best plan. However, they would inevitably fail if he didn’t make it back before the ceremony. He could admit defeat and turn back now and still have some sort of a chance to free the girls, if not Saiph.

  Stavius stared at the map for several more minutes before sighing and stuffing it into his pack. He went west on his game trail muttering, “go big or go home.” He wondered why Saiph was so dead-set against him visiting Betel.

  There were no trails to speak of in the southwestern wilds of the Septumcolis magic pool, so Stavius didn’t reach the base of Betel’s hill until mid-afternoon. He wished he had turned around earlier but was now committed. There was no way he would make it back to the bridge before it closed, which meant that he could not make it back before tomorrow morning with, or without, charged unicorn horns.

  His feelings of fear and dread returned as he began climbing the hill. Once again, every fiber of his mind and body was screaming to turn and flee. These were not normal feelings for him, and he finally concluded that someone, or something, was broadcasting those emotions to deter unwanted guests. Perhaps these dragons had empathic magic similar to unicorns and vampires. Once he realized what was happening, Stavius found it easier to ignore these emotions, and they had almost entirely dissipated by the time he reached the clearing near the top. This time, however, the area wasn’t deserted. He had yet to see the dragon but Staven’s years as a dragon hunter confirmed that this was an active nest.