Invasion and Dragons

by Jekka Jones

  The sun was setting when they reached the prairie. They stopped at the fringe of the woods, eyeing the darkening grassland. Nothing moved except for birds and insects. Landon’s stomach cringed with hunger, and his body ached from moving quickly in the armor. He slid the pack off his shoulders and dropped it at the base of a hycamore. He removed his sword and threw it next to the pack. He was too tired to remove his armor and so just sat there.

  “Let’s rest for a bit,” Landon said, his eyes drooping. “We can cross the prairie once it’s dark.”

  “I don’t see any place to hide,” Myra said. Her head whipped around so fast Landon thought she would crick her neck.

  “Let’s face the prairie,” he said soothingly. “No one will come from there.”

  “Except the dragons,” Myra muttered. He heard the tension in her voice—the fear of discovery.

  “They stick to the air and only land if they spot someone. We’ll be fine so long as we stay under the trees. If we hear anyone, I’ll dump the armor and we can climb a tree.” Landon moved to the side facing the open prairie. Beyond the hills, about a seven-hour journey, was the next stretch of forest. Although they could have followed the treeline, it would have added another day to the long trek to the Rillis Mountains.

  Myra hesitated, then sat beside him. She pulled her pack around and dug out one of the food sacks and canteens. They sat and ate in silence, Landon trying to stay awake despite fatigue causing his vision to double. He distracted himself by looking at Myra. He liked how the fading light glinted off her, giving the appearance of gold streaks through her black hair. Her eyes also looked like they had flecks of gold among the blue, and Landon was overcome with how beautiful she was.

  “Do you think,” Myra asked around a mouthful of dried pears, “after what we saw today, with the samurai and Menrians, that the war has officially started? Or do you need a big battle like in the stories?”

  Landon shrugged. “I think your homeland being invaded is a start.”

  “Fair point.” Myra huffed and leaned back against the tree.

  They watched the shadows lengthen and the sky turn dark blue. Landon kept thinking about Darrin and the Seal. More than ever he needed to tell Myra about the Seal’s curse. Landon didn’t want her hearing it from a Seer if they were captured, as he had with the Wizard’s Seal. The question was how. Should he strike up a conversation and steer it towards the subject—or just throw it out there without warning?

  He tossed the two options around, but Myra solved the problem. “Landon,” she said, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Something Darrin said to me one day.”

  “What is it?” Landon asked, intrigued. He moved so he was sitting in front of her, his back to the prairie.

  Myra hesitated. “One day, Darrin got annoyed with me and said he would use me to hurt you. He implied that he could use the Seal through me—use me to torture you. It scared me, and he saw that. He started visiting me more often and kept bringing it up.” Myra’s eyes focused on Landon with intense worry. “Why would he think I could use the Seal?”

  Landon’s body tightened. He felt like his heart was being ripped out of him. Angels bless her, Myra had provided the opportunity he needed. With a short, quick explanation, she would know everything.

  It was easier to think than do. He struggled to find words that would not come. Myra waited, her lips tightening into a thin line the longer he stayed silent. “Landon, can I use the Seal?”

  “Maybe,” he managed to say. He began picking at grass blades. “Myra, there’s something about the Seal I haven’t told you yet. My parents told me my first night back in Tsuregi, when I had woken up and they told us about the Seal. I’ve wanted to tell you, but . . .” His voice caught in his throat.

  “You can tell me.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you, and nothing you say will hurt me.”

  Landon shook his head. “No, Myra, you don’t understand.”

  “Then tell me so I can understand,” she pleaded. “You rescued me last night like I was a princess from a story. And I have saved your skin several times, by the way. You owe me, Landon Durn-Dayn. I won’t be angry.”

  “Myra,” Landon said, pleading, “it’s not like that. Darrin—and everyone for that matter—knows I love you. I want . . . I want to marry you.”

  Myra sucked in a surprised breath. Her eyes widened with joy, yet Landon knew it would soon turn to disgust and horror.

  “Myra, I am really, really sorry for loving you.”

  The joy disappeared from her face and anger took its place. “Are you really? Well, guess what maggot-brains, I’m not. I love you very much and I refuse to believe you feel that way. You wish you never loved me—”

  “I didn’t say that!”

  “Well then what are you saying, Lan?” Myra snapped, her voice rising.

  Landon took a deep, shuddering breath. “There is a chance you can use the Seal.”

  Myra stared, a myriad of emotions playing across her face. He could tell that she hadn’t been expecting that answer.

  Landon seized the opening her confusion gave him. “You said Darrin was certain he could use the Seal through you—it’s because he can. Not now, but someday. Sooner if we’re both caught.”

  “But how?” Myra asked softly. “I’m not descended from Thirien. At least, I don’t think I am.” There it was—the fear Landon expected shone at him through those beautiful blue eyes.

  With more trepidation than he had ever felt, Landon mustered his will. Now was the time to put their love to the test. “Because anyone I marry will be able to use the Seal. The Seal recognizes a marriage, and it will allow my wife to use its power.”

  The words hung in the air, cold and malevolent. Myra said nothing. Landon continued, taking advantage of her shocked silence. “The kings tried to take advantage of that in the council, but Dad stopped it. I tried to help him, but I made it worse. They asked me if I loved you, and I denied it. I told them we were just friends, but they didn’t believe me.”

  He took Myra’s hand and squeezed it. He forced himself to look in her eyes, to let her see the truth of his words. “Of everyone that Darrin had taken prisoner, you were the most important because I love you. I love you so much that I want to marry you. But . . .” he swallowed, “I don’t want to. I don’t want you to get hurt. It’s bad enough that the Menrians are hunting for you to avenge Angen. I am so sorry that I got you into this mess.” Landon felt his eyes water. “I love you Myra. I . . . I want to marry you, but . . .”

  “You don’t want me to have the Seal,” she finished quietly.

  “Yes. However,” he swallowed, “if . . . if you are willing to accept that. . . .” He readjusted himself, his armor creaking, until he was kneeling before her. Landon clasped both of her hands in his and took a deep breath. Myra’s eyes widened.

  Now or never.

  “Myra Higgins . . . will you marry me?”

  Chapter 13

  His heart pounded. Myra stared, her face blank as she digested everything Landon had said. He didn’t dare speak and so allowed the silence to lengthen, never taking his eyes off her face.

  “I know I should have told you sooner,” Landon said when he couldn’t bear her silence any longer. He dropped her hands. “I should have told you right after I found out. I tried to, but I couldn’t muster the courage, until now. I’m sorry, I really am. If you want time to think about it, I understand. I can wait. And if you decide you don’t—”

  “Yes.”

  “I—what?”

  “Yes.”

  Landon gripped his trousers to steady his hands. “Sorry?”

  Myra’s expressionless face burst into a smile, and she laughed. “Sometimes, Lan, you are as brainless as Morgan.” She grabbed his head and kissed him. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you duckbrain. I never thought you would ask.”

  “Myra—”

  “Don’t ask me to think about it because I have. I thought about it those days when you were lyin
g in your bed, dead for all I knew. I told myself that if you lived I would marry you no matter what. You asked, and I said yes. I’m not leaving you.”

  Landon tried to hold his composure, but he failed. “Myra,” he choked through tears, “you are a gem among women. I don’t even have a ring to give you.” It was custom for the man to make a ring himself, either from wood or precious metals taken from the Rillis Mountains, which was their destination.

  Myra smiled and nuzzled into his chest. “That’s okay. You can make me one later. I don’t think you’ll have much luck with a war going on.”

  Landon laughed, his exhaustion vanishing in an instant. The sky was almost dark, with a thin band of pale blue still touching the horizon, and more stars were beginning to appear. “What do you say we cross this giant stretch of grass? I feel up to it and we might find a better place to sleep on the other side.”

  Myra pulled away, worried. “Aren’t you . . .” Her eyes focused on something beyond him and widened. Her face paled and a strange whooshing sound came from behind.

  “Lan, run!” Myra screamed, and the tree they were sitting under exploded.

  Landon scrambled to his feet as wood, branches, and leaves rained on them. His foot brushed his sword and he snatched it, pulling it free of its sheath. He turned to the forest, his muscles bunching to leap to safety, but another tree crashed to the ground and blocked their way. He spun, pulling Myra with him as more trees splintered and fell all around them. Birds took to the skies, screaming and darting around in crazed loops as they fled, winging their way across the open prairie to safety.

  “The prairie! It’s safer!” Landon yelled, pointing with his katana. He pulled on Myra’s hand, but she resisted.

  “That dragon’s out there, Lan!” Myra shouted back. “I saw him. If we go that way he’ll kill you!”

  “If we stay here, we’ll die! Even the birds are making a run for it!”

  “Not if we try to go deeper into the for—” She cried out as a large branch fell on top of them. Myra’s hand was wrenched from Landon’s, and she disappeared under broken branches and leaves. Branches raked Landon’s face and hands, sliding off his armor.

  “Myra!” He grabbed several branches and pulled, but the bough was too heavy. Landon could barely see her under the foliage and knew it was too dangerous to hack away with the blade. He stuck the sword beneath the wood and tried to leverage it.

  “Come on,” he said, throwing his weight against the sword. It barely moved. Another branch fell behind him, and he shook leaves out of his eyes. “Myra, try to crawl out.”

  “My leg’s stuck. It won’t come loose.”

  Landon pushed and stopped. It was quiet. The exploding mayhem from the trees and the screaming birds had ceased. There was no movement, and the only sound came from Myra’s attempts to get free.

  “Lan, I’m really stuck.”

  “Ssh!” Landon hissed. “The dragon’s stopped.”

  Myra fell still. They waited, straining their ears for movement. Landon scanned the area, searching for Sri’Lanca’s bulk, but the darkness warped his sight. Everything was either black or midnight blue, and the stars were no help. Trees were scattered everywhere, piled on top of each other like small broken hills. Landon searched for the moon and spotted a faint white light to the east, marking where it would rise in a few hours. He crouched down and waited, expecting any moment for Sri’Lanca to attack.

  Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. Landon’s chest burned from the effort of keeping his ragged breaths quiet. After several minutes of silence, he returned his attention to Myra. He resumed pushing on the branch, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was a futile attempt. He couldn’t see what he was doing, and winced every time a branch shifted or he jostled the foliage. Landon glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t see anything. Where is Sri’Lanca?

  “Lan,” Myra whispered, “If you move this,” a splintered log on Landon’s right jiggled, “I think I can work my foot free.”

  Landon didn’t waste his breath with a reply. He slid the sword from the spot he had been trying to move and braced it against the log. He worked the katana against it but it wouldn’t budge. Squinting in the dim light, Landon felt along the wood and found a part of the log entangled in a thicket of broken branches. He used the katana to saw at the branches, pulling and working them free. The log shifted as he worked, and hope bubbled in his chest.

  Landon was almost done when his shirt snagged on something around his waist. Thinking it was another branch, he twisted around to pull himself free. He touched something smooth yet slightly rugged like a branch, but it was warm.

  It wasn’t a branch, but a dragon’s tail. In the dim starlight, Landon saw an arrow-like tip twisting itself around his armor. Like a snake, it wiggled until the arrow-point caught on the leather fastenings. Before he could do anything, he was yanked off his feet. He soared through the air, a scream wedged in his throat. He had no idea how high he was, which terrified him. His hand seized around the sword from sheer fright. For one fleeting second, he thought to use it to strike at the dragon, but his arms were too busy windmilling for control.

  As suddenly as he had been pulled into the sky, Landon crashed into the ground. The sword went flying from his hands and into the darkness. He rolled for several feet, grass and rocks scraping against the armor, and came to a stop. He struggled to his feet, gasping for air. He turned in place, and saw a large, lizard-like bulk hunched several paces from him. Even in the darkness, Sri’Lanca’s eyes glowed with an ethereal yellow light. Not far away lay the destroyed forest where Myra’s panicked cries screeched into the night.

  “Landon? Landon! Are you okay?”

  Landon glanced at the dark form of Sri’Lanca and sprinted to the forest. He had only taken two steps when a dark, streamlined shape came towards him. He threw himself to the ground, and Sri’Lanca’s tail skimmed the top of his head, tossing his hair. He jumped to his feet and bolted for the forest and to Myra.

  A clawed foot materialized in front of him, and Landon was once more rolling on the ground. He climbed to his feet, yet the dragon’s tail thwacked his legs. Landon cried out and collapsed to the ground, sure that his legs were broken. He heard a whooshing sound and flung himself to the side. His legs protested, but it was with the ache of bruises, not fractured bones. He scrambled to his feet, only to be walloped by a wing.

  The dragon’s laugh sounded through the night. “Keep trying, murderer. I have all the time in the world!”

  Myra screamed his name. Landon wanted to call to her, but he had to focus on Sri’Lanca. He could hardly see the dragon. With each of his attempts to return to the forest, Sri’Lanca’s tail, claws, and wings came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. He felt bruises forming, and his muscles screamed in pain, but the armor held. Landon was grateful that he had been too exhausted to take it off. He would’ve been dead or maimed by now.

  That assurance cleared his terror. He couldn’t run for the forest and Myra. He had to somehow lose the dragon first, then help her. It would not be easy, but he had to try.

  Landon spun on his heels and sprinted for the prairie, hoping to double-back behind the hills. Yet again, he had only taken a few steps when one of Sri’Lanca’s talons flicked his back and he fell. A great weight pressed on him. He blinked away blood from a cut above his eye and saw Sri’Lanca standing over him. The foot pressed him face first into to the ground. He couldn’t move.

  “No fight?” said Sri’Lanca, bringing his large head near Landon’s. “I expected more from you, murderer.”

  Landon gagged on the sulfurous breath. “Fight? You want a fight? Give me my sword and I’ll show you what I’m capable of!”

  Sri’Lanca laughed. “Now that is a challenge worthy of any dragon. But I want our battle to be remembered long after I have picked your bones clean.” The dragon cocked his head, and a wicked gleam came to his eyes. “Let’s raise the stakes, shall we?”

  The weight on Landon’s body lifted, an
d he struggled to his feet. He managed to face Sri’Lanca, swaying where he stood. He was exhausted. His whole body ached and was slick with sweat. The armor was dented and covered with deep furrows where Sri’Lanca’s claws had pierced the metal plates. A few areas on his ribs and thighs stung with cuts and bruises.

  “Where’s my sword? I’m going to need that if I’m to give you your legendary fight!” Landon shouted when the dragon remained motionless.

  Sri’Lanca’s reptilian lips grinned, and his sharp white teeth gleamed in the starlight. In answer, he turned and breathed a stream of fire towards the demolished stretch of forest.

  Flames sprouted from the boughs and licked the night sky. The orange glare hurt Landon’s eyes, and he raised a hand against it. Myra’s shouts doubled in volume and desperation. He watched in horror as the flames spread along the piles of shattered trees and branches.

  “No! Leave her out of this!” Landon dashed towards the fire, but the dragon’s tail appeared out of nowhere and swept his feet out from under him. Spitting out grass, Landon bellowed, “It’s me you want, Sri’Lanca! Me! She has nothing to do with this!”

  The dragon turned back to him. “Give me battle, murderer, and I will spare her life,” Sri’Lanca said. “Better hurry. Dragon fire burns anything in its path to ashes within minutes.” He roared and a stream of fire raced to Landon.

  Landon rolled to the side. The fire’s roar was deafening, and every part of his body covered in armor became hot. He scrambled to his feet, and saw a black talon coming at him. He threw himself to the side and rolled a few feet. He got on all fours, only to throw himself to the right as Sri’Lanca’s tail swept over the grass. He struggled to regain his footing, and a sharp pain sliced through his hand. He looked down and saw that he had fallen right on top of his sword.

  He grasped the handle and swung just as Sri’Lanca’s foot was coming towards him. The blade bit into the softer underside of the dragon’s foot. Landon threw his weight into the strike, driving the sharp edge between the scales and to the skin beneath. Droplets of blood flew from the cut, and Sri’Lanca hissed and withdrew his foot.