Chapter 24 #2
“Assuming it remains intact. Visitors and their vessels don’t fare well,” he commented.
“Not entirely true, since thieves keep coming. Don’t deny it. I know Merisu has been sending people to filch what they can find.”
Basil’s lips pursed. “Yes, they’ve been persistent.”
“You’ve encountered them?”
“Seen traces of their actions, yes, but as I said, the dragon doesn’t take kindly to their trespassing. Although, the last few groups have gotten smarter and have been releasing slaves as decoys while they rob.”
“How come you never tried to escape with them?”
“Why would I leave?” He sounded genuinely surprised.
“Because you don’t have to live like a mole in a burrow eating mushrooms.”
“Bah, I’ve spent most of my life underground. My foray to Daerva was probably my longest stint in the open air. My research has always kept me busy.”
“Speaking of research, the Dracova stone you tossed into the volcano, it was an egg. A dragon egg.” Stated not asked.
“Yes, which I’ll admit surprised me. The scrolls mentioned them being special, an unimaginable power created from sacrifice, but I assumed some kind of magic.”
“Is that why you wanted them? For the power?”
“That kind of thing never interested me,” Basil scoffed, his pace rapid as he navigated the many tunnels and their branches. “As I mentioned before, I only wanted to study them.”
“Your curiosity didn’t give you the right to steal, nor to seduce my mother in order to facilitate your theft,” Avera rebuked.
“Calixte was a surprise. I went to Daerva expecting to have to pay the queen for information on the stones hidden in Fraegus Spire. I brought her presents to that end, only the moment we met, I was smitten.” His smile softened in remembrance.
Rather than delve more into her mother’s love life, Avera stuck to the other thing he’d said. “The scrolls you mentioned, is that how you learned of Fraegus Spire, because Mother claimed the royal pilgrimage was secret.”
“The scrolls described their location. It wasn’t hard to decipher where they referred to once I began to research.
My first attempt to ascend the spire failed.
I kept getting turned around, hence why I had to convince your mother, the queen, to help.
The scrolls mentioned on those of the old blood could find the way. ”
Whereupon he’d repaid her mother by abandoning her and fleeing with his stolen goods. “What made you throw the rock into the lava?”
“Not me, technically. It was the last Verlorian leader, Chancellor Lance Leif. I’m afraid he became irritated with my experiments with the stones.
He demanded I cease my studies under the guise of being concerned for my well-being.
When I refused, he snatched the stone I was working on and tossed it in the magma lake. ”
“And thus, the dragon was born,” Avera murmured.
“Yes, although we didn’t know it at the time.
It was weeks before we saw it. It began as a dog-sized lizard with wings that we assumed used to live locked away in the volcano.
Lance took to feeding it, being the only one who could get near.
Soon enough, though, the dragon could hunt on its own, and it fed on the infected bugs and rats, and, well…
you saw the result. It became a very large dragon. ”
“It seems very territorial.”
“It is. Fascinating creature.”
A reply that puzzled given its actions. “Why does it sound like you admire it?”
“Because I do,” Basil stated. “It’s a magnificent beast and much more intelligent than expected.”
“It eats people.”
Basil waved a hand. “It’s a meat eater. Of course it does. To it, humans are just another meal.”
“How do we stop it?”
“Why would you?” Basil asked with surprise.
“So the Verlorian people can come home.”
“I’m afraid that will never happen. The dragon is too mighty to be killed. And before you ask, it was tried by some of the others who survived after the explosion. All of them failed. Their attempts to stab and harpoon didn’t even leave a mark.”
Not the most encouraging news. “Guess I’ll just have to wait for a moment when it’s out hunting to grab the rocks.”
“Touch anything in its hoard and it will hunt you down.”
A problem she’d have to surmount. “I wonder why the dragon didn’t drop the other stones in the lava. You’d think it would want companions.”
Basil snorted. “Dragons are solitary creatures.”
“How would you know that if there’s only one alive to observe?” she said tartly.
Basil’s attitude grated. She tried to give him some leeway given his isolation from human contact, but at the same time, would it kill him to listen to other possibilities and not assume he was always correct.
“I told you, that cavern of scrolls had much ancient knowledge, with much information on dragons.”
“You also said they spoke of Zhos. Did they mention what is it?”
Basil shrugged. “The scrolls didn’t identify it, nor did they have a description or image.
But then again, I didn’t really pay a long-dead creature much mind.
The Dracova stones were what interested me.
” Basil waved at a door ahead of them. “Here’s where I’ve been living.
You’ll have to excuse the mess. It’s been some time since I’ve had to worry about entertaining visitors. ”
Mess didn’t begin to describe the space.
It mostly held tables, the tops of a few covered in contraptions with tubing that led to jars in which liquid bubbled.
Other surfaces held sheaves of paper and books.
A mound of fabric in a corner appeared to be a bed.
Only a stool, no chairs, dotted the space.
Heat came from a small, bubbling puddle of lava over which hung a pot on a trivet.
“Make yourself comfortable while I find a second bowl.” Basil began scrounging through his papers seeking a container.
Avera strolled toward the nearest table with a pile of scrolls, one which had been unrolled, the corners weighted by rocks. A glance showed writing she couldn’t decipher. “What language is this in?” she asked.
“One long dead, so it took me time to decipher, but once I did…” Basil’s expression turned dreamy. “The knowledge that was lost, fascinating stuff.”
“Griffon says Verlora used to have quite the library.”
“Who is this Griffon?” Basil asked, ladling some soup into a bowl.
“A Verlorian turned pirate. His father managed to put him on a boat before the volcano erupted. He’s now the de facto leader of the refugees on Saarpira.”
Basil paused. “And his name is Griffon.”
“Yes. You probably knew him. When I told him your name, he recognized it.”
“I’ll bet he did,” Basil muttered. “And where is he now?” He carried the bowl to her.
Avera shrugged. “Home, I imagine. The night I was kidnapped, Saarpira was being attacked by giant crabs. Not real ones, but magical constructs.” Her nose wrinkled. “Captain Koonis used them to distract everyone so he could abduct me.”
“Will Griffon come to your rescue?” Basil asked as he returned to the pot with another bowl.
“Doubtful. For one, he has no idea Koonis brought me here. And even if he did, from the day he met, he’s refused to set foot on Verlora.
He’s most likely happy to be rid of me.” He’d never been clear on why he’d abducted her in the first place, and she doubted any royal ransom would be motivation enough for him to overcome his fear of returning to his old home.
And that single shared kiss wouldn’t be enough to have him put himself or his crew in danger, either.
“Well, I am most delighted you’re here,” Basil stated with a smile. “Now, shall we eat?”
Her nose wrinkled at the grayish gruel in the bowl. It would be rude to refuse. It tasted as unpalatable as it looked, but Avera managed to choke it down, bitter taste and all.
With her belly full, her eyes grew heavy, and she yawned. “Goodness, but I’m tired.”
“Sleep. Sleep. We’ll speak more when you wake.” Her father waved to his bed.
Avera stumbled in its direction, didn’t remember hitting the makeshift mattress, and awoke confused for she lay flat on her back on a hard surface.
When she tried to move, she found herself unable to do so for she’d been tied down.
She thrashed, tugging to no avail at the straps binding her wrists and ankles.
“Help!” she yelled.
“Awake already? I should have put more of the sleeping agent in your stew,” Basil muttered as he came into view, holding some narrow tubing, the dangling end of it fitted with a needle.
“What’s happening? Why have you tied me down?” she huffed, straining to free herself.
“Because I need some of your blood.”
“My blood?” she squeaked. “Why are you trying to kill me?”
“Not kill. You’ll simply feel a little weak once I’ve extracted a few pints.”
“You’re not making any sense. Why do you need to bleed me?” Avera asked as he wrapped a tight band around her forearm and began tapping around her inner elbow.
“Because I require it for an experiment.”
“Why my blood? Why not use your own?”
“I would if I could, however, it doesn’t have the right qualities.”
“But mine does?” Did he know it sometimes allowed her to do magical things?
“We will soon find out. Now, don’t move while I put this needle in a vein. My eyes aren’t as keen as they used to be, and I’d hate to miss.”
Avera could only watch wide-eyed as he brought the sharp, metal tip close to her skin. When it poked, she let out a scream, not of pain, but rage.
Turned out it wasn’t the monsters of Verlora she should have feared, but her own father.