The Scarlet Dragon Saga

by J. P. Rice

  “There is always a chance at redemption,” he stated in a deeper voice.

  I exhaled audibly though my nose, hoping his words would come true. “Yes. That’s the unfamiliar path I’ve been traveling on lately. Seems to be paved with bumps and bruises so far.”

  “I’m sure it will get smoother if you keep going. Doing the right thing always seems harder than taking the easy way out. And as I say that, I realize why they call it the easy way out. For me, the easy way would be to stay with the pack and accept all the bullshit they are spoon-feeding us. You may have inspired me to take another look at my future,” he said and winked.

  I would have to let him know to ditch the sleazy wink. Later, though. I joked, “Hell, if there was a werewolf in London, there could be one in New York City.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Nice Warren Zevon reference. Although I like ‘Lawyers, Guns and Money’ myself.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “I fookin’ love you.”

  “Excuse me?” he asked, taken aback.

  “Sorry.” I waved my hands in front of my chest. “Didn’t mean that amorously. It’s just that I’ve been making awesome pop culture references that none of my other friends seem to understand. So it’s refreshing to talk to a like mind.”

  “I would have never thought we’d have anything in common. Seems crazy that I hated you up until about twenty minutes ago.”

  “If you give me some time, I’m sure you’ll come to hate me again,” I joked. “I’ve never been a huge fan of wolves either. Toxic masculinity on steroids and cocaine. But in this line of work, I deal with that all the time. I hardly ever get a chance to work with another woman, let alone two.”

  “I know we are tracking after a dagger that speaks, but what is the bigger picture I seem to be missing?” he asked, squinting in confusion. His proper pronunciation and avoidance of contractions reminded me of Owen.

  I told him the story about the death cards and how Gareth fit into the puzzle. As I revealed the details to Justinian, it reminded me of how much work still lay ahead of us. First things first, we needed to find out if Dolphus’s tunnel led to the Goblin Queen’s castle.

  Chapter 14

  Next morning, as we crawled on our bellies in the tight tunnel to get to the Goblin Queen’s castle, my stomach churned. I hated being away from home and not knowing what was happening with the death cards. We hadn’t been gone long, but I knew supernaturals could unleash mayhem at any moment.

  I considered calling in my favor from Zeus for seven of his best men. I could send out a supernatural squad to hunt down the death card culprits. That plan would only be necessary if we failed on this mission, which I went back to focusing on. Nice to have in the back pocket though.

  We had been burrowing through the tunnel for about twenty minutes. Dolphus said it would take about a half hour, but I had the feeling his small body could travel faster through the enclosed path that I had to tuck my shoulders tight to my body to get through. We hadn’t thought about the body size difference until we’d entered the hole.

  Fire flamed underneath my fingertips, lighting up the path just enough for me to see a foot in front of me. Titania was in front with the Morrigan behind her. I could see the soles of the Morrigan’s boots less than a foot ahead. Justinian was crawling behind me, and every so often, he would bump my boot when I slowed down.

  I couldn’t blame him for being eager to get out of there. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but his wide shoulders probably barely fit through the hole. My biggest worry was about the prospective escape.

  Most of the goblins from the swamp grew to bigger sizes than all the other ones in Sleepy Willow. Sunlight was the number one factor that stunted their growth, and as Dolphus had pointed out, the trees covered the castle and surrounding forest. Most of them were between five and seven feet tall, but there were some monstrosities in the bunch that rivaled orcs or giants.

  Being cut off from the rest of society meant that the goblins were dumb. I concentrated on figuring out a way to use that against them. With only four people, the goblins would outnumber us greatly, so we would have to outsmart them. I tried to go over a few scenarios in my head, but the possibilities were endless.

  I’d never seen the castle, so we had no idea what we were in for. Did the tree branch still lead directly to the balcony? I shifted my thoughts to possible stakeout missions so we could find out where they were hiding the knife. Titania could prove invaluable in that effort. Since we had no clue of the knife’s location, we didn’t have the option of going straight into the castle. But my little dragonfly friend could sneak in.

  My heart palpitated at the notion that someone was playing us for fools. Several sources had confirmed the rumor about Gareth going to the castle, but it could be a smoke screen to get us off the trail. I didn’t want to believe it and chased those thoughts away. No negativity now.

  Besides, I had renewed hope in my heart from my conversation with Justinian. The fire for finding my husband had dwindled to a few glowing coals, but he had stoked the coals and ignited the flames again. I considered using my resources from Zeus to help me on that endeavor.

  The Morrigan yelled back in a muffled tone, “Titania says we’re here. She’s going to check it out.”

  I repeated the message to Justinian, and a few moments later, the Morrigan was moving again. As I crawled forward, a dull light started as just a pinprick. It expanded with each corresponding elbow forward until I stood up, my head popping out of the tunnel and into a shaded forest.

  I squeezed myself through and helped Justinian plow his way out. The young wolf greedily sucked in the fresher air. Fresher because there was a certain stench lingering in the air that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

  “Stinky ass goblins,” Titania exclaimed. “I’ll take a quick trip around to make sure no guards are snooping.” She zipped off into the distance.

  I tilted my head to the sky. The heavily camouflaged canopy above choked out the sunlight, creating a dusky forest landscape. The goblins also had tremendous vision in darker settings, which only helped them keep intruders away. Now I understood why nobody had tried to storm the Queen’s castle. Apparently, we were one crazy quaternion.

  We covered up the opening of the tunnel as quietly as possible. Titania returned and hovered in front of us.

  She said, “There are a few goblins around, but they aren’t very concerned with their watch duties. Wait til you see the size of these suckers. No lie. One of them is bigger than a cyclops.”

  Titania had an odd habit of saying ‘no lie’ a lot. I wondered why she had to stress that she wasn’t lying, and it made me doubt she was telling the truth. Probably just a little quirk, but it had always struck me as an odd phrase.

  We decided to scope out the area. None of us had been here before, and I wanted to find this tree branch that led up to a castle balcony.

  With Titania guiding the way ten feet ahead, we hiked down the hill toward the castle. We needed to develop a plan to get Gareth. I’d tried to get Titania to go ahead by herself, but she wanted backup in case she got in any trouble.

  My chest tightened as the castle came into view. The dark strong hold with four corner towers sat on top of a grassy mound, with the woods less than fifty feet away. Towering walls made of stacked black stone blocks comprised the square castle. Oversized windows were scattered haphazardly across the walls. Noticeably missing were the crenelations for archers and parapets teeming with guards.

  I surmised that since no army had ever raided the castle, the goblins didn’t need siege weapons or any long-range weapons for that matter. I’d never seen a castle appear this unprotected before. Their complacency could work to our advantage.

  I studied the branches of the trees and searched for the one that led up to the castle.

  As we moved carefully down the hillside, I noticed a large group had gathered in a stone courtyard in front of the castle. As we continued moving silently, the scene came into focus. I saw a dwarf sta
nding on a wine barrel with a noose around his neck. The rope hung from a branch on the maple tree that grew out of the stone courtyard.

  My mind immediately went to the winter rose. How were they defying nature? The tree made much more sense because I didn’t know how deep the stone went, but it still mystified me. I shook it off and continued down the hill.

  We dipped into a dense area of the woods and the courtyard disappeared. I searched for branches that led up to the castle, but still came up empty. In my haste to find a way into the castle, I’d forgotten to keep watch around me.

  My head swiveled around, searching for any of the goblin guards. I only found trees, dirt and bushes as we arrived at another sparse area.

  I turned my attention back to the courtyard. A giant goblin was poking the dwarf with a stick and trying to make the dwarf fall off the barrel and hang himself.

  I didn’t want to watch the dwarf’s demise and scanned the rest of the courtyard. A rustling of leaves caught my attention and my neck jerked to the right. I reached out with both hands and tapped the Morrigan and Justinian. With Titania hovering right next to me, I blew gently on her abdomen to get her attention.

  They turned to me and I pointed toward the tall goblin coming our way. We moved quietly to the left and went behind a bush almost as tall as me. I could barely see the goblin through the dense shrub, but I heard him kicking the leaves and muttering under his breath.

  Dressed in a shirt and pants made from rough spun hemp, the goblin kept scratching his shoulders. His green neck and arms had avenues of black varicose veins intersecting with each other. His thick black hair looked like a blind man had cut it with a knife. The big goblin wore a nose ring and earrings made from bone. His friends in the courtyard were dressed the same and wearing similar jewelry.

  He walked right past us, not even slowing down, but still talking to himself. Dolphus’s assessment that the goblins didn’t take the forest security seriously seemed accurate. It made me wonder about the dwarf on the barrel.

  If the goblins had caught him in the forest, it would certainly ramp up security, but this guard didn’t seem to care at all. It led me to believe that they had captured the dwarf in the swamp. The forest would be swarming with guards if they had caught the dwarf in the woods. Right?

  Another thought entered my mind and made my stomach turn. The goblins had the reputation of going out into Sleepy Willow and snatching children to bring back and eat. The dwarf was only a small step away from a child and would be easier to abduct than a grown sidhe. Caught up in the adventure, I’d nearly forgotten about that aspect. In fact, I’d been trying to avoid thinking about it.

  My head was swimming with possibilities as we continued down the hill to get closer to the castle. I focused on the courtyard, and the dwarf dancing on the barrel, contorting his body and trying to avoid being poked by the goblin. The giant goblin hit the dwarf in the midsection with the point of the stick. The solid strike knocked the dwarf back. He waved his arms around, trying to catch his balance, but the goblin poked him again, sending the small man off the barrel.

  His faced turned bright red and his little legs flailed around, trying to get back onto the barrel, the toes of his worn-out boots barely scraping the wood. The goblins erupted in pleasure, pointing and laughing at the unlucky dwarf.

  The dwarf gagged as spittle and drool flooded from his mouth, collecting in the corners, then pouring down onto the leather shirt covering his chest. His spasmodic movements slowed and then came to a stop, his head slumped down with his chin against his chest. A slight breeze spun the body around, almost like a grotesque display for the screaming goblins.

  The guard put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loud enough for us to hear easily from fifty yards away. In a blur of green, the goblins closed in on the dwarf, ripping him to pieces. Then the goblins devoured the flesh of the dwarf, ripping away large chunks with their fangs and chewing it greedily.

  Soon after, their mouths were framed in blood, the strong burgundy color clashing vividly with the bright green goblin skin, sinking into the recesses of their wrinkled cheeks.

  I realized we had a much bigger mission on our hands now. We could grab the knife and get out without disturbing the queen or her goblin horde. But what about everyone else?

  I forced myself to watch the goblins use their claws to cut the flesh off the bones of the dwarf and stuff it into their mouths. Standing right here. Right now. How could I allow this to keep happening?

  To repair my damaged soul, I couldn’t let people suffer, especially if I was in a prime position to help. I planned to keep the idea to myself for now. The Morrigan was extremely selfish and saw death—no matter the degree of cruelty—as necessary for life. Titania and Justinian probably would jump on board, but if not, I’d go alone.

  An alien feeling snaked through my body, making me feel as light as a feather. I’d helped people many times, but only if I had a stake in the outcome, never out of the goodness of my heart. A fuzzy feeling surrounded my chest, then extended to the rest of my body, eventually making it to my extremities. It was better than being drunk. What was this?

  Just committing to the idea of helping others nearly overwhelmed my systems. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to liberate the potential victims living in Sleepy Willow. My body could explode if this was any precursor.

  It was as if the pure blood inside me was finally fighting against the darkness. Fueling me to be a better person. I liked it.

  We went back to the tunnel in case we needed a quick escape, and I realized this mission could take a lot longer than expected. We still didn’t know where the talking dagger was, and I’d committed to killing the Goblin Queen. I hoped both plans would converge into one since we probably needed to take out the queen to get Gareth.

  The sun began to set, thrusting the woods into further darkness and leaving a sharp chill in the air. We couldn’t make a fire because that would blow our cover.

  Luckily, we had reserves of beef jerky and sun-dried fruit chews to fill our stomachs. I could conjure many things. Mostly weapons and survival items. Food, unfortunately, wasn’t on the list.

  I swallowed some jerky and turned to Titania. “What do you think about going into the castle and trying to find out where they’re hiding the knife?”

  Her voice cracked, “Anything for the team.”

  She was nervous, and I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to fly into a hornet’s nest. But her size created the best hope of obtaining any info.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. Titania had immediately chased after Dolphus without hesitation, but this was a different beast.

  “I’ll just stay near the ceilings where nobody can reach me. What do you want me to do exactly?” Titania asked, staring toward the castle.

  I replied, “At this point, find out anything. Like where the dagger is, but also listen to see what they are plotting and if we find an opening, we can exploit it. Just gather as much information as you can.”

  “Will do, buckaroo,” she said and took a few shuddering breaths to steel her nerves. Then her four wings began beating and she zoomed away, heading straight for the dark castle in the middle of the deadly swamp.

  Chapter 15

  “Are all the stories about you true?” Justinian asked the Morrigan, as Titania disappeared from my vision.

  She tittered. “Depends on what you read or heard.”

  “Why don’t you tell it in your own words,” he said.

  In typical fashion, the Morrigan shrugged her shoulders and turned away shyly, embarrassed to talk about herself. Her rising body temperature caused her cloak to shrink and tighten, hugging her thick curves. “I don’t know. How do you explain yourself? I’ve been a God for as long as I can remember. Been dealing with death even longer. I’m married to the bore known as the Dagda. Despite the hype, I’m not that cool.”

  “You’re not so bad,” I said, trying to cheer up the Goddess of Death. Whoa, that sounded weird. The Morrigan was honest
. She really wasn’t that cool. In fact, she could be a real pain in the ass.

  Mo continued, “I know I’m not the life of the party. Don’t care. I spend most of my time with the dead. Escorting confused souls to where they need to go. Studies have shown that you absorb the characteristics of the people you spend the most time with. Maybe that’s why I have the personality of a dead body.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. I can state honestly that you are quite unique,” Justinian said.

  The Morrigan leaned back against a tree. She lifted her right leg and rested the sole of her boot against the trunk. “Most people don’t understand my job is just as important as creation. I perform a taboo task that no one else wants to deal with. And I’m damn good at it if I do say so myself. That’s why it chaps my ass that someone is messing with the natural order.”

  “Chaps my ass. See, you can be funny,” I said.

  “That’s funny?” she said and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

  Justinian asked, “If you weren’t a Goddess, what do you think you would be doing?”

  She took a deep breath and said, “If I ever get sick of this, I think I might be a professional poker player. And I’ve always wanted to open a butcher shop.”

  “Animals, right?” I joked.

  “Yes, obviously,” the Morrigan confirmed with a little smirk.

  “Where?” Justinian asked.

  “I don’t know.” She thought for a few moments, staring off into the dark forest and tapping her chin. “Paris, perhaps. Somewhere where they respect food. When an animal gives its life and we use it as sustenance, we should honor that animal’s sacrifice. And not be wasteful with any part of the animal. That is how you respect the dead.”

  “That doesn’t extend to people, right? I mean, the goblins didn’t waste any of that dwarf,” Justinian said.

  “No.,” the Morrigan replied, shaking her head in disgust. “There isn’t an established custom for cannibalism. At least not in Clara Spiritus. Here seems to be a different story.”