The Dragon Slayer

by D L Colon

Lee smiles sadly and looks at the sky. “She is no longer alive among us, but I will still forever love her until the day I die. As a sign of my gratitude take my horse, Pandora. He is young and strong still. Take good care of him.”

  Pandora nods and says, “I know.”

  Glaycol and Pandora turn around and Pandora mounts the horse. Once she is firmly in the saddle Glaycol mounts Zodiac and as they are leaving Glaycol says, “I didn’t know you knew Lee.”

  Pandora, with a sad smile, responds, “How could I forget the one male that truly rejected me?”

  Chapter 23

  Glaycol and Pandora are riding back to the castle. When they are almost at the crossroads where he and Ethan and Jasorian broke away they see a caravan on the way to the castle. Glaycol notices Jasorian in the rear end of it which means it’s the Noble Dwarves that are heading to the castle. They are going to make it there the same time Glaycol and Pandora will, but, since he's blocked by the caravan, he has no choice except to follow from behind. Glaycol decides to ride close to Jasorian and he makes signs to Pandora to ride on the other side of him. Once they are at his sides, Jasorian notices Glaycol. “Oh, Glaycol, I'm so glad to see you. How was your hunting trip? And who is she?”

  Glaycol nods and says, “Likewise Jasorian. I did what was necessary for the mission and she is the one I was hunting. You aren't paying attention if you didn't see her horns and tail.”

  Jasorian smiles and starts to laugh as he says, “That doesn't bother me in the least. She has such an amazing body that everything else fades into the background. Her horns and tail are what makes her unique. What’s her name?”

  Pandora answers before Glaycol can, “I am Pandora. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jasorian.”

  Jasorian nods and says, “Pandora, the pleasure is all mine. I assume you are the Succubus that Glaycol was sent to hunt. He was totally against it and instead wanted to make himself your master.”

  “I know, he told me about it and he succeeded in doing so. Now I serve him.”

  Jasorian whistles his amazement and says to Glaycol, “You fulfilled your mission, now we must finish ours.”

  Pandora, with interest glistening in her eyes, asks, “And that is?”

  Jasorian answers, “That is to take this asshole to the castle safely”.

  Jasorian proceeds to tell them what happened once they arrived to where his caravan was stationed. The Dwarf King was an asshole from the moment they got there, saying that they made him wait for them and that he hoped their trip wouldn’t be interrupted now that their escort has arrived. He’d been complaining about being hot and sweaty, but he’d been clinging to females the whole way and had been drinking. “I can smell the drinks being opened right now.”

  Pandora and Glaycol pick up the smell of the drinks, and they nod, but say nothing. Glaycol changes the subject and tells Jasorian about what Pandora did when they were leaving the village, telling him how she killed the three hunters. As they approach the castle they ride in silence for a few more minutes until they come to a stop. Glaycol urges Zodiac to run forward to see what’s going on and finds Vlamarine at the gate waiting for them. Glaycol smiles, gets off of Zodiac, and walks toward the Gate, embracing Vlamarine in a tight hug and giving her a deep kiss, one that Vlamarine gives back. When they break apart Glaycol tells her, "I have missed you so much, love.”

  Vlamarine is so surprised by Glaycol’s signs of affection that she can't bring words to her mouth. After a few seconds she smiles back at him and says in Elvish, "Ni gellweg an gin cened".

  Glaycol looks at her surprised, but waits for her to say what she meant. Vlamarine smiles, realizing that due to her excitement she ended up speaking in her native tongue. While a little embarrassed she says to him, “What I meant was, I am joyful at seeing you.”

  Pandora comes into view as Glaycol and Vlamarine hugs each other again. Once they separate Glaycol notices Pandora and motions for her to come closer. Once she is there Glaycol says to Vlamarine, “Love, I want you to meet Pandora.” Then he turns to Pandora and says, “Pandora this is my wife, Vlamarine.”

  Vlamarine and Pandora look at each other, but feel no anger toward each other. Instead they shake hands and proceed to the castle while Glaycol, who has not been paying attention, is joined by Ethan and Jasorian as they escort the Dwarf King to the castle with his representative. Once they arrive the meeting goes as planned, but they didn’t expected to meet Tricia instead of the actual King. Even so, they managed to come to an agreement and Tricia made sure to let Glaycol in on some pieces of the conversation, knowing that he will soon be going their way, too. The Dwarf King, knowing that he was in presence of the Dragon Slayer, can’t help but invite him to his Kingdom, to which Glaycol tells him he will be needing his help to take care of the Dragon Empire. The Dwarf King agrees to help and says to Glaycol, “It has come to my attention that there’s a dragon hiding in the Blood Forest during the day.”

  Tricia hears this and says, “Glaycol, I know you want to go so go ahead. While you are gone I have to have the rest of your group on hunting trips.”

  Glaycol nods and walks toward Vlamarine. Giving her a kiss on the lips, he looks back at Tricia and asks, “Can I take her with me?”

  Tricia shakes her head, “I can’t let you take her while you are gone. Vlamarine will be here taking care of me during the coronation ceremony that it’s taking place in a few days. I also have to share the news of the death of the King so I need her protection and I believe you need to take care of this situation by yourself. Having Vlamarine with you would be a problem instead of a help. Once you are done with the dragon I will grant you your final wish. I will make your wedding happen before you leave my castle.”

  Glaycol nods and says, “I appreciate your help, your Majesty, but I think my wedding will have to be postponed for the time being.”

  “Why is that, Mr. Master?”

  “Because after I come back and bring everyone with me, I am going to the capital to save the King of the Continent, and hopefully kill Hyglarur in the process.”

  Tricia nods and says, “I understand, Glaycol.”

  Glaycol excuses himself, and goes to Vlamarine’s house to gather his stuff. When he’s finished he gets on Zodiac and rides away faster than lighting, knowing that the trip to the Blood Forest will take a few days.

  Chapter 24

  Few days later

  Glaycol is walking toward a cave on the Blood Forest where he heard that a dragon roams in hiding during the day. Glaycol is walking stealthily, hiding his presence despite his big body. His steps are like a feather, like his body weighs nothing, as he slowly gets closer to the cave. His senses are screaming at him, telling him that something is wrong, when he is really close to the cave. Looking into the cave he sees two big, green eyes looking at him menacingly and Glaycol smiles as he steps into the cave. Once inside he starts to feel how hot it is inside and he puts his hand on the wall as his armor absorbs the heat from it. Glaycol keeps walking deeper into the cave when a sudden light erupts and he sees flames heading his way. Glaycol drops to one knee and uses his cape to cover himself and to let the armor do the job.

  As soon as the flames extinguish Glaycol hears a voice say, "How did you find me, Dragon Slayer?"

  Glaycol responds, "There's no dragon that can escape my wrath. Thanks to your leader, Hyglarur, all of your race runs the same fate, but I have to ask, are you part of Hyglarur’s puppets or you are against him?”

  The voice answers, “Will that make any difference? And what's your name, Dragon Slayer?"

  Glaycol answers honestly, “It most likely won’t make a difference, but my name is Glaycol Master. What does that have to do with this?"

  "Well, Glaycol Master, I am Draneez. The purpose for this is so I know the name of my killer."

  “Very well, Draneez. As you wish. You know why I came here, so let's just get it over with.”

  Suddenly Glaycol looks at the color of Draneez for the first time and admires her silvery color as sh
e stands and jumps up to elevate herself into the sky. She flies out of view, high into the sky and Glaycol runs out of the cave as fast as he can. When another wave of fire comes through the hole that Draneez went out off, Glaycol is running fast, despite having his armor on. As he runs away he comes out of the cave and a few seconds later the flames come out. He jumps and throws himself on the ground as the flames go over the top of his body, not touching him but making him feel the heat due to the proximity of the flames. Glaycol stands up and unsheathes his great sword. As he is doing so, Draneez comes rapidly down toward him. As soon as she comes close she stops just above the ground, looking down proudly at Glaycol and asks, “Is that the best you got?”

  Glaycol can’t help but smile at what Draneez said. As he starts running, Glaycol lets a smoke bomb fall to the ground and it hides him from Draneez’s sight. He keeps running around Draneez, running in and out of her sight, but Draneez swings her tail around. Glaycol was expecting this and he jumps, evading it, and swings his great sword, causing some of Draneez’s scales to fall off. She is surprised, but she swings her tail again, causing Glaycol to use the sword to protect himself. He is sent flying back, but he lands on his feet and starts running back toward Draneez.

  Draneez uses her fire breath and Glaycol, despite that, keeps running toward Draneez. As he approaches Draneez, Glaycol swings his sword and cuts Draneez’s leg, which makes her roar in pain, but that doesn’t stop her from going up in the air and coming down to strike again from the air. As Draneez goes up in the air, Glaycol gets out a flash bomb and prepares for Draneez’s attack. As Draneez is coming down at an incredible speed, Glaycol throws his flash bomb, making Draneez go blind and crash into the bushes, injuring her wings. Glaycol starts running toward her and swings his sword, cutting her wings and making it impossible for her to fly again, leaving a deep wound.

  Glaycol is about to deal the killing blow, when Draneez, sensing something that compels her to help Glaycol, says, “Glaycol Master, not all dragons support the Dragon Emperor. Some of us are in hiding and I was the leader of the opposition. We never wanted to control the humans, we just wanted to learn your way of life, but Hyglarur was the leader of the dragons and he had other plans. Glaycol, I sense something strong in you, but you have no way of using it. Stand in front of me.”

  Glaycol doesn’t detect any hint of a lie in Draneez’s words, so he stands in front of her. Draneez blows her breath in front of him and Glaycol feels something unlock inside of him. “I leave my child on your care, Dragon Lord.” She tells him just before she dies.

  Glaycol goes back to the cave wondering what Draneez meant and that’s when he realizes that Draneez was a female and she already gave birth. She was taking care of her egg before it hatched. Glaycol starts walking back toward Draneez’s body when he hears a cracking noise. He turns around and sees the egg hatching and realization sinks in. “Oh, great. This is just what I need.”

  Glaycol goes back to Draneez’s body, cuts off her tail and throws the liquid bomb that was made from Saudem’s blood. Once she is turned into stone he gathers her tail so it can be used to improve his great sword and armor. After he gets the parts he needs, he goes back and hunts a deer and a rabbit and lights a fire inside the cave. He throws the deer to the baby dragon, which eagerly starts eating it, while he takes his time cleaning the rabbit and cooking it over the fire. After he is done, he eats then he uses his cape to cover himself as he leans against the wall. The baby dragon sits down and leans toward him. As he sleeps he wonders what he is going to do now and he also wonders how Vlamarine and Pandora are doing with protecting the Queen and how Ethan and Jasorian are doing with their hunting trip. He also worries about what are they going to say when they find out he is taking care of the son of the leader of the opposition, which he has killed.

  After a few hours he is awakened by a huge pain that is shooting through his whole body and he tries to scream, but no noise comes out. He searches his body where the pain shot through, which was his chest, and sees a black mark that looks like flames that goes through the left side of his chest all the way to cover his whole left arm. Seeing it makes him remember that his mother used to have what he thought to be a birthmark, like this one, on her right leg.

  Chapter 25

  The next Morning

  Glaycol wakes to a gold-looking baby dragon sleeping right beside him and reality of the situation sinks in. He killed this dragon’s mother and now he needs to hide this baby dragon from the Dragon Empire Ruler, Hyglarur. If Glaycol is going to kill him he knows that he won’t be able to do anything without the help of the Dragon opposition, but as of right now he has to hide the baby Dragon and the only place he can do that is back where he killed Commander Zaz. Glaycol does a physical check on everything that he is taking with him and once he has everything he takes the baby dragon and walks with him back to where he left Zodiac.

  Reaching the area, he goes to Zodiac and starts to put the stuff he took from Draneez’s body into his bags, then he gets on with the baby dragon in his arms. As he starts to ride away he hears Zodiac asks; What happened down there that you come back with a baby of the species that took your family from you?

  Glaycol sighs and says, frustration evident in his words, “I killed the wrong dragon. This dragon was the mother of this baby and she was the leader of the dragons opposing Hyglarur. The moment I killed her she put him under my care and as a sign of honoring her wishes I will take care of the baby until I finally unite the races. The war is about to start, but as of right now I have to take him to a safe place and that is where my grandparents reign.”

  Zodiac doesn’t say anything else but Glaycol knows that Zodiac understands how dire the situation is and understands that they need to get there fast. If word gets out that this happened, Glaycol will have to start killing humans who will try to kill this baby and Glaycol can’t let that happen. Zodiac increases the pace. Luckily for them the Kingdom of Tagglar is only a few hours away from the Blood Forest and Zodiac is riding full speed ahead.

  A few hours later

  It has taken most of the day for Glaycol to arrive at the Kingdom of Tagglar because he had to make a few stops to eat and feed the dragon, and to make sure that Zodiac had the rest he needed and was not being overworked. Glaycol arrives late in the night at the Castle and hides the baby dragon under his cape. The guard lets him pass knowing who he is to the King and Queen. After leaving Zodiac in the stables for some much needed rest, he makes his way to the chamber of the King and Queen. Once there he knocks on the door and Falror answers. He opens the door wide for him to enter while Elaine sits at the desk reading some letters. Falror, knowing that there’s a reason for him to be here this late at night, asks, “What’s the problem, son?”

  Elaine hearing Falror talk the way he does, stops and turns to see who it is. When she sees Glaycol she goes and stands beside Falror. Instead of saying anything, Glaycol shows them the baby dragon hiding under his cape. They both gasp in surprise as he explains what he did and what he needs. He also explains what’s going on in the Elven Kingdom. Once he’s finished he opens his armor, showing them the black mark that covers half of his arm and chest. Falror and Elaine look at each other and nod their heads before Elaine goes to a small chest on her desk, removes a sealed letter from it, and hands it to Glaycol, saying, “This letter was entrusted to me by your mother, Vlumariny. When your mark revealed itself I was supposed to give it to you. Now the time has come where I must reveal to you one thing, Glaycol. You are the Heir to this Kingdom we now hold. You are Glaycol Master of the Black Flame. Your mother was Vlumariny of the Black Flame. I don’t know what the letter says because, as you can see, it is still sealed so it’s contents are a mystery, but it holds your mother’s seal.”

  Glaycol starts laughing, knowing that everything Elaine has said is true, and that everything changes now for him with this new revelation. But he is not going to let this stop him. Deep inside he knows that this has been in the back of his mind, plus with everyo
ne always asking if he was nobility it raised the question in his mind. Now that he has an answer he knows he doesn’t want this position. However, he knows he was born with this being part of his responsibility, sooner or later, so he looks at his grandparents and says, “I always knew this was going to pop up sooner or later, but I can’t take this responsibility now that I know where Hyglarur is hiding and I’m going to save the King of this Continent. I’ll have to wait to read this letter when I get back from the capital, with my wife and war companions. For now, I need you to take care of the baby dragon and hide him in the caves were I killed the last dragon that was here. Also, I’m leaving Death Bringer here with some of the materials I got from this dragon’s mother so you can make an update on the sword.”

  At the mention of the word wife, Falror and Elaine look at each other and smile, but they also nod their agreement of the situation. Glaycol hands them the baby dragon and the letter before he takes off Death Bringer and leans it against the wall. When he’s finished he goes and hugs Elaine and Falror goodbye then goes to the stables, gets on Zodiac, and heads out back to the Elven Kingdom in the middle of the night.

  *****

  Glaycol is hiding his face under his hood while riding as hard as Zodiac can, but they have been riding hard for hours already and the sun has started to shine through the morning as weariness starts to take a toll on both of them. They come through the city that is on the way to the Elven Kingdom and they stop at an inn to get a couple hours of rest.

  On the way inside the inn, Glaycol ties Zodiac to the post and notices the people watching him as he is going inside, feeling threatening eyes on him, and despite being tired he stands firm and let’s go of his bloodlust, causing everyone in the room to quickly look away. The moment Glaycol puts his hand on his hood, everyone holds their breath and puts their hands on their weapons. The innkeeper is even being cautious about him. When he pulls his hood back, everyone instantly lets go of their swords and keeps to themselves, knowing who he is. Glaycol puts two silver coins on the table and says to the innkeeper, “That's for a room and feeding my horse that is outside tied to the post out front.”