Chapter 6 #2
Dave eyed me as he unconsciously gathered wayward trinkets back into his heap with his front claws. “Do you think all heroes who have had songs written about them accomplished their great deeds? I know for a fact that Bartholomew Dragonslayer was a charlatan,” Dave said, gesturing to himself.
“Did Bartholomew Dragonslayer admonish his brother for swindling others out of their gold, while also lying to that same brother for almost all of their teenage years, which led to his brother thinking Bartholomew was capable of things far greater than he actually was?” Dave flapped his wings, which in dragon body language was the equivalent of a nonchalant shrug.
“Right. I thought so. Thanks for the fun history lesson, but it’s not the same situation.
” I dropped into the chair at Dave’s golden bedside.
“I’m a hypocrite and a fake. There is no way I’m going to be able to trick the Elder Beast into giving me its horn. ”
Dave perked up immediately, lifting onto his haunches. “What did you say?”
“I said I can’t luck my way into saving Zig. I can’t do this. I’m an imposter, and everyone will know it when I ultimately fail.” I dropped my head into my hands, tears brimming in my eyes. “And Zig will die.”
“Not that part. That part is foolish, as you know you would never allow your brother to perish without doing everything possible to save him.” Dave’s tail swished in agitation. “The other part about the beast.”
“The Elder Beast?” I raised my head. “Do you know anything about it?”
“The Elder Beast,” Dave repeated in a soft, contemplative rumble. “Is that what the mages asked you to find?”
“Yeah. One of the most shrouded figures in the history of our world.”
Dave hummed, the vibration of it echoing down the cavern. “And what do the mages want?”
“They want its horn. But there’s almost no information available about it, just a few mentions in a handful of songs. Is it an ancient?”
Dave regarded me with a serious expression, one that set a chill in my blood. Dave was hardly ever serious. “No, it’s not an ancient.”
“Is it even real, then? Does it exist?” Trust the mages to send me on a snipe hunt.
If that was the case, then maybe there could be a way out of the bargain if I provided proof that it wasn’t an actual beast. I wondered if they would trust the word of a dragon?
I could always lure the mages to Dave’s cave, and he could tell them the Elder Beast wasn’t real, break the magical bet, and then eat them.
My brother would be saved. Dave would get a snack. Perfect. Problem solved.
“Oh, yes. It’s real,” Dave said. My heart sank. Well, there went that idea. “I’ve never encountered it, but it’s real.”
“Okay. I’m confused. It’s not an ancient, but it has to be more powerful than a folklore for the mages to want it and for them to farm out the job to me. From the stories, it sounds like a chimera, so it’s not an ordinary. What the hell is it, then?”
“A primordial.”
All color drained from my face. My breath stuttered. “It’s a god?”
“It’s not a god,” Dave said, regarding me with an intense gaze. “It’s the god. The god-king of all creatures. The maker of all the animals in our world. All the ancients. All the folklores. All the ordinaries. Every single one, including me.” His gaze traveled up and down my body. “Including you.”
I stood from my chair in shock. “What? How? Huh?” My trembling legs barely held me as they shook like I was on the precipice of a rumbling volcano.
“Very articulate,” Dave said with a haughty scoff.
“The story of creation is an ancient belief. Far older than either of us. Parts of the myth have obviously not been passed down through human stories if you’re unaware of the raw power of the Elder Beast.” He gave me a significant look.
“And the power of any portion of its body.”
I hadn’t thought of that at all. I’d been focused solely on saving Zig, not the implications of retrieving the horn. “What are you saying?”
Dave sighed, and tongues of flame licked the edges of his teeth.
“I’m saying that handing over its horn to a duo of mages is handing that duo a monumental amount of power.
If you could find the invisible realm, and if you could defeat the beast itself, allowing the mages to possess its horn is dangerous. For all of us.”
My knees gave out. I fell to the rocky floor, landing on my backside.
If what Dave said was true, there was an infinitesimal chance of success.
And if I was successful, I could save my brother but doom the rest of the kingdom.
Or the world. I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, voice barely a whisper.
“I have to save Zig. I can’t… I can’t let them have his heart. ”
I opened my eyes and came face-to-face with Dave’s snout.
He’d lowered his belly to the rocky floor, so his impressive maw was at my eye level.
If Dave were any other dragon, this would be the last sight I’d ever see in my short life.
But he wasn’t just any dragon. He was my friend.
“Are you sure you want to take that risk?” he asked, his voice a concerned rumble.
I didn’t have an answer for that, other than one laced with obscenities. I gulped down my fears. All of them, and somehow made it to my feet. “Yes. How… how do I find the invisible realm?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. Great. Good start.”
“But I’m positive we’ll figure it out.”
“We?”
“Yes. We. If you’re taking on this ridiculously dangerous quest, I’m coming with you.”
I winced. “Sir, you are a dragon. You’re very conspicuous. I only called on you when I knew you wouldn’t be seen, and if anyone found out you were traveling with me, it would put both of us in danger.”
Dave lifted his nose high in the air. “We could only travel at night. And you could fly on my back and—”
“Dave. Be realistic.”
“I could wear a hat. No one would know.”
Laughter born of the absurd vision of Dave in a hat, and of the utter stress of finding and somehow defeating a primordial being, bubbled into my throat.
Dave was less than amused. “Laugh all you want. I would look dashing in a hat.”
Suppressing my giggles, I bobbed my head in agreement. “I’m certain you would. But to keep us both safe—you from anyone looking for the glory of killing a dragon, and me from being dragged in front of the royal court for my deception several years ago—I think you must stay here.”
“You’ll call me if you need me, yes?”
I lifted my wrist, the slim silver bracelet glittering in the light. “I’ll give it a tug and request your assistance, like I have before.”
“Fine. I guess.” He huffed in annoyed acceptance. “But if I’m not coming, you’ll need more than a bracelet.” Dave suddenly twisted away from me and slithered deeper into the cave, his form serpentine as he disappeared into the recesses.
I fell heavily into my chair and propped my elbow on my knee while waiting.
I had no starting point, other than to tell the mages I had accepted their quest and then hunt down any clues from there.
After a few moments Dave returned. He approached and dropped a sturdy vial of a glittering liquid at my feet.
“What’s this?” I asked, picking it up and twirling it in the light. The vial was ornate, with a golden dragon encompassing the glass, but inside, a green elixir sloshed. A golden chain hooked to the stopper, long enough to wear under my armor.
“I can’t join you, as you don’t want your reputation to be jeopardized by the appearance of a large, unhinged golden lizard.”
I smiled in spite of myself. “Thanks for your understanding.”
He snorted. “But this quest is beyond what you’ve encountered before. It’s dangerous out there. I don’t want you to be alone. You can summon me with the bracelet, but just in case I can’t arrive in time, take this.”
“And what does it do?”
“It’s a healing potion. It won’t save you from death, and it certainly won’t bring anyone back from the dead, but it will cure moderate ailments.”
I slipped the chain over my head, the vial banging against my breastbone. A tingle of magic, much like the one that emanated from the bracelet, brushed my skin with a gentle warmth. “Thank you for giving me another piece from your precious hoard.”
“Don’t be too flattered.” He dropped back onto his golden pile, rolling around in the coins and jewels like a pig would roll in mud. “The bracelet is only silver, and the amount that tiny vial holds couldn’t help me if it came down to it.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not.”
He smiled, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
That piece of burned animal flesh was still caught in his teeth.
Our relationship had been born from necessity—my need to complete a quest and his need to remain alive—but it had evolved over the years into a friendship marked by gentle teasing and comradery.
We didn’t do feelings often. If ever. But he was my longest friend… maybe even my only friend.
“Thank you,” I said, mustering every ounce of sincerity I had. I tucked the vial under my shirt, the silver bracelet around my wrist slipping slightly down my arm, shining in the scant light like a beacon. “Really. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t get mushy.”
I sighed and rolled my head back. “Fine. I’m leaving.”
“Good. I hope not to hear from you until it’s all over.” He snuggled down into his nest of gold. “But,” he said, voice low and soft, “if you need me…”
I waved over my shoulder as I exited the cave. “I won’t,” I called back, taking his cue. “No need to get sappy.”
“Bye! Have fun finding the invisible realm and defeating the Elder Beast!”
I laughed, but the levity was short lived once I wiggled out of the cave into the light of day.
I found Bluebell as I’d left her, saddled and munching on the long grass.
Dragging her away from her lunch, I mounted the saddle and rode home, the sound of her hooves hitting the ground in beat with the worries pounding in my brain.