The Roar of a Dragon (20 page)

Next thing I heard was, ‘Woah, hey, watch out!’

And then Derrick’s body was colliding with mine and I was crashing to the ground.

Frantically, I scrambled to my feet and drew my swords. I felt a small impact, and saw the two guards flying backward, crashing to the ground.

‘They’re Ther-lor!’ Iskandor screamed at me.

Derrick and Kirra scrambled backward, still not sure exactly what they were dealing with. Timor and Iskandor readied their ranged magic, and I charged in with my swords. There were only two of them, I should have been able to handle it…

The gates to the royal city were opening.

‘Aidan, look out!’ Timor screamed.

I skidded to a stop as I saw more Ther-lor emerging from the gates. It was far too many for even me to handle.

Someone was laughing from the top of the wall.

King Marion was standing there, his head thrown back, laughing with glee.

You pint-sized bastard
.

‘Run!’ I yelled, before turning and following my own advice. But as I was running from the gate, someone was about to pass me, going in the
opposite
direction.

Someone with long, wavy, red hair…
Lady Mirabelle
. Reacting instinctively, I quickly swerved in her direction and snatched her over my shoulder.

‘Let me go!’ She screamed. ‘That is my home! Let me go!’

Then I felt a searing pain in my shoulder.

Gasping, I dropped Mirabelle and tumbled to the ground. She continued her sprint for the gates.

‘Stop her!’ I yelled, but I wasn’t sure if anyone heard.

Timor and Iskandor were attempting to keep the Ther-lor back with their magic, while Derrick and Kirra tried to intercept Mirabelle’s path. But somehow, she used a feint move to dodge both of them, and continued on her way.

She’s going to die!

I was thinking that now would be a good time for Iskandor to do a little switch-a-roo, but he had his hands full with the Ther-lor.

Damn it!

My left arm didn’t really agree with me (Mirabelle had stabbed me in the shoulder blade), but I pulled myself up and charged back into the fray. Mirabelle had reached the Ther-lor and was fighting with everything she had. She really was an amazing fighter, sparring with superb grace and ability.

Can’t let her die
.

With that thought ringing in my mind, I dove for the Ther-lor around her. My enhanced leaping abilities greatly increased my acceleration, and I could feel my powers swelling up against my will. When I collided with the Ther-lor, it felt like an
explosion
.

My tactic, with its unintended enhancements, sent me crashing through the Ther-lor and sent them flying backwards. I had given Lady Mirabelle enough room —

But when I landed, I would be surrounded by Ther-lor.

I could
still
hear Marion’s high-pitched cackling from the city wall.

Jumping to my feet, ignoring the screaming pain in my shoulder, I fought, slashing, kicking, and punching with all my might. I couldn’t see through the crowd of Ther-lor, and when you can’t see through a crowd of enemies, that was never a good sign.

I heard yelling and heavy blows, saw Ther-lor bodies flying to the sides. Derrick had joined the fray, broadsword in hand, taking out enemies in a sweeping motion. Kirra was right behind him, firing her bow.

Finally, the roar of a dragon, and Iskandor, with Timor riding on his back, was snatching all of us up, Derrick and Kirra in one claw, Mirabelle and I in the other. In the matter of a few seconds, we were flying to safety.

The second Iskandor gently set us on the ground, Mirabelle shoved me so hard I fell. I groaned from the pain in my shoulder as I landed.

‘What is the matter with you?’ she yelled.

Clad in a gleaming silver chest plate, which was hand-crafted with intricate purple designs all over, no greaves, and silver boots that matched her chest plate, she walked with a deliberate stride in an atmosphere that was overflowing with turmoil. Her long, fiery, red hair, hung perfectly straight until it curled at the ends, bounced in her fury. Her porcelain-colored skin seemed far too delicate to be on a soldier, let alone a knight — but her violet eyes made it quite clear that she knew how to carry herself. She wore a ring on her left middle finger, a ring of gold with a large red jewel encrusted on it. I made a mental note of it.

I couldn’t help but notice that my heart was struck still by the sight of her — just for a split second. In the next, my mind was busy trying to figure out how to get out of this predicament I’d gotten myself into.

‘Mirabelle, he saved your life,’ Derrick said delicately.

‘And left my city to rot!’ Mirabelle returned. ‘That was my chance to get inside!’

‘You would have died,’ Iskandor stated.

‘I don’t need to hear the words of a
dragon.’

My breath caught in my throat, sure that Iskandor would incinerate her on the spot. But the dragon just stared silently.

Timor was next to me, tending my shoulder. ‘We saved her life. If she doesn’t appreciate it, we should move on.’

Part of me was shocked at Timor’s bluntness, but he wasn’t wrong with his logic. Timor helped me up, and I stared at Mirabelle with narrowed eyes, holding my wounded shoulder. ‘We’re going to save Delmar. You can help us stop this evil, or you can walk away.’

As soon as we had gathered ourselves, we were going west. I had no intention of turning to see if Mirabelle was following…

But I couldn’t help myself but look at her.

As it turned out, Mirabelle did decide to follow us, and when we set up camp that night she sat on a small rock by herself, almost in a catatonic state. After Timor tended to my shoulder, I walked back east a short way, still under the cover of the trees, and found a log suitable enough to sit, rest, think, and keep watch. I wasn’t too far away from camp, and my eyes that improved my ability to see in the night would allow me to cover a good distance in the darkness.

I had a lot on my mind: my less-than-human status, my powers, the fact that our mission to Delmar was looming on the horizon. No one thought came to the forefront, and I was trying desperately to sort things out in my mind.

‘Oh,’ came a voice behind me, easily recognizable, though it was wreathed in weariness and pain — Lady Mirabelle.

I turned and gazed at her. She stood not far away, shoulders slumped, hair disheveled, looking vulnerable.

‘I apologize, Aidan,’ she murmured, head bent toward the ground. ‘I didn’t know where you had gone to keep watch. I was just…looking to be alone.’

‘I understand, Lady Mirabelle,’ I said. ‘Are you okay?’ Even as I said it, I realized how stupid the question was. ‘I’m sorry…I know better — it’s clear that you’re not.’

‘No, no, it’s fine,’ she responded. She still hadn’t met my eyes yet, another clear sign that she was not herself. I could see that her eyes were lined with sorrow and grief.

There was a short silence, then she continued. ‘I appreciate your concern. I just…the reality of my life hasn’t hit me yet, I suppose.’

I nodded. ‘I know exactly how you feel. What happened to you in Longchester?’

Mirabelle was silent for a moment. ‘Marion exiled me. The second he got power, he knew he had to get rid of me because I wasn’t going to cooperate with anything he wanted. It was easier for him to have me out of the way. Not long after I left the city, everyone was changed — except Marion. I believe he made a deal with the Dyn’osi to save his own hide.’

I was lost in thought for a moment. ‘Do you think Norvin could have made the same deal?’

Mirabelle’s eyebrows rose. ‘It’s certainly possible.’

So he may still be alive, after all
.

She smiled faintly. Then — finally — her eyes met mine. ‘I apologize, Aidan, if I seemed ungrateful for you saving my life. I really does mean a lot. I just —’

‘I know, Mirabelle,’ I said, cutting her off. ‘It’s okay. You must understand,’ I said, feeling a sudden need to explain myself, ‘I care very much for the people of Delmar…but after what happened, I can’t bring myself to be physically involved.’

Mirabelle nodded. ‘From what I heard, your exile was very bitter and humiliating. The problem I see with that is — you’re going for revenge, but not to save your country. How do you expect to do one and not the other?’

‘I haven’t figured that out yet,’ I admitted.

Mirabelle came and sat next to me on the log. ‘I’m sure there are people you remember fondly.’

There certainly were — I nodded in agreement. I thought of them all, the people of my city, who had truly made my job worth it.

Mirabelle paused before speaking. ‘Is that not enough to at least think about joining the fight?’

I didn’t know what to say.

‘My parents didn’t approve of me becoming a knight either,’ Mirabelle said. ‘We came from a high-ranking noble family. I could have lived easily off the family fortune but I wanted to accomplish things, to have my name mean something more than just someone with money.’ She was silent for a moment, reflecting. ‘My parents loved me very much, but they were more interested in political maneuvering than taking care of me; they had hired a caretaker when I was very young. What they never realized, however, was how fond the caretaker was of wine; she was constantly passed out, and it wasn’t hard for me to take advantage and sneak away.’

I smiled. ‘The majestic Lady Mirabelle — not quite the angel in her youth.’

She smiled back and shrugged. ‘I did what I had to do. That wasn’t the hard part though…the hard part was being accepted into the military. When I went to sign up, the commander just laughed at me, said they didn’t take any “prissy little poodles” there. I refused to leave, and the commander asked a couple of guards to remove me. I’d secretly had training from an old soldier in the city. I drew my sword and forced them to fight, and I defeated them soundly. Defeated, not killed, mind you — neither soldier suffered any injuries other than to their own dignity. I was sure I was going to be arrested, but when he saw me still standing, the commander cackled with laughter and said that he would take me in. ‘“Any filly with that much spunk,” he had said, “deserves a chance, at least”.’

‘It must have been hard being a woman in the military,’ I observed.

Mirabelle smiled grimly. ‘It was. I was constantly having to prove myself, to the commanders and my fellow soldiers, who were constantly heckling me. It was a struggle, but for the first time in my life, I knew what I wanted — and that only made me more determined.’

I nodded, understanding perfectly.

‘How about you, Aidan?’ she asked. ‘Did your parents disapprove of your dream?’

I told Mirabelle that my father mildly discouraged my “training methods”, but that I continued to train behind his back. ‘I always felt that he knew what was really going on, though,’ I added. Thinking of my mother, I felt a pang of longing — longing to know her, who she really was. ‘I’ll never know how my mother truly felt…she died giving birth to me.’

Mirabelle’s expression burst into one of surprise and sorrow, and then she looked away abruptly. ‘I — I’m sorry…I should never have pried —’

‘No, no,’ I said, interrupting her attempt to apologize, ‘it’s quite alright. I don’t mind.’ At this, she glanced back at me with an expression of relief. ‘My dad always told me how beautiful she was, but also how strong-minded and stubborn she could be. In that way, I believe that if my mother were alive, she would have fought tooth-and-nail about my dream to become a knight.’

‘Perhaps,’ Mirabelle said, ‘but maybe she would have realized how much it meant to you, and, though grievously, allowed you to go through with it.’

‘Perhaps,’ I said, frowning thoughtfully. I had never considered that possibility…was my mother proud of me for a accomplishing my dream, or disappointed by it?

We were quiet for a few moments, then I once again noticed the ring with the large red jewel on her finger. ‘I hope you don’t mind if I ask,’ I began, ‘but where did you get that ring?’

Mirabelle looked down at it fondly. ‘It was given to me by someone in the city,’ she answered, ‘someone who was very fond of me. In all honesty, I do not know what his name was, or even who he was. I was walking along the streets one day when he suddenly appeared in front of me, said he was an admirer of mine, and gave me this ring. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was, or that someone wanted to bestow such an extravagant gift upon me. I didn’t want to keep it, thinking that he should give it to someone else, but by the time I looked up from examining the ring, the man was gone.’

I nodded, admiring the ring. Mirabelle took a breath and continued.

‘So what are your plans to save Delmar?’

‘Somewhere in the city,’ I began, ‘the Dyn’osi leader, Sirak, had trapped all the souls of the people in a magical barrier. We must destroy the barrier, and we must do it before he takes another city.’

‘He cannot perform the ritual anymore,’ Mirabelle said, flashing a beautiful smile.

‘Why not,’ I asked.

Mirabelle pulled something off her belt. ‘Because I have the Rod of Therl.’

I was in a state of disbelief. ‘Oh, by the — that’s great! That buys us more time! How did you do it?’

‘I snuck in and out of the city a few times,’ Mirabelle said, and that statement impressed me. ‘I once got inside the castle, and down to the chapel in the basement, and I saw it. I knew it didn’t belong there, and that the cultists must have had something to do with it, so I took it.’

‘Good call,’ I said, amazed at her bravery.

Just then, there was a flash of light in the distance, not too far away; a flash I recognized instantly.

‘I think your dragon friend is upset,’ Mirabelle said. ‘I don’t believe he’s very fond of me as well; he seems to go out of his way to avoid looking at me.’

‘I’m sure he is avoiding you, to some extent, but I can guarantee you that’s not the reason,’ I replied. I stood up from my log seat, and turned to Mirabelle. ‘I enjoyed our conversation, Mirabelle.’

She smiled lightly. ‘I did as well, Aidan. I’ll take up watch.’ She hesitated, then continued. ‘I regret that our first meeting included me stabbing you in the shoulder.’

I shrugged, forgetting that was a bad idea as pain pierced my shoulder. ‘Not the strangest first meeting I’ve ever had.’ Mirabelle smiled in response.

‘Thank you.’

I really did enjoy my talk with Mirabelle — I saw a side of her that, I would guess, she’d shown to very few people. I was loathe to leave her, but something was wrong with my “dragon friend”, as she had said, and I had a pretty good idea what.

***

Iskandor, in his dragon form, was lying in a clearing a short distance west from where I was. I approached him from behind; there was no movement from the dragon, no flick of the tail, no restless shifting. He was brooding, just as Mirabelle and I were.

‘What’s the matter, my friend?’ I asked him.

‘Just have a great deal on my mind,’ Iskandor answered simply.

‘I know how you feel,’ I responded. ‘You’re not upset that Mirabelle came with us, are you? I know she was pretty harsh to you.’

‘Of course not,’ Iskandor answered. ‘It is because of me that you have no idea what you are, that you are only partially human.’

‘It is
not
because of you,’ I answered quickly. ‘If those bastards had not killed me, you would have never had to try to save my life — which is exactly what you tried to do — and succeeded in doing, by the way.’

‘But at a terrible cost.’ Iskandor replied.

I was unrelenting. ‘But I’m alive. I’ll be honest…I’m not particularly fond of my powers, especially since I can’t seem to control them. My appearance? It’s difficult to deal with, makes it hard to blend in and be taken seriously. But I’m alive, and inside, I’m the same person I always was…well, perhaps not, but the reasons for that are no fault of your own, either. I’ve been through a lot, and it’s been hard to deal with.’

‘I know it has,’ Iskandor muttered.

I stepped up to him, began to lightly stroke his neck. ‘Stop beating yourself over the head with these things, my friend. They cannot be changed.’

Iskandor sighed again. ‘If I had never been to Delmar, you would have lived your dream of being a knight.’

I shrugged with my good shoulder. ‘If things didn’t happen the way they did, then I wouldn’t have you for a friend — and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.’

The dragon lifted his head suddenly, looking over at me in astonishment. ‘You mean that, don’t you?’

‘Absolutely,’ I said without hesitation.

One of Iskandor’s eyebrows lifted quizzically. ‘You wouldn’t trade our friendship for your dream of being a knight — provided Delmar was in its normal state?’

‘Not a chance,’ I said honestly. ‘With you, there’s no politics, no backstabbing, no judgment. With you, I don’t have to ask any questions; you give me your honest opinion, no matter what. With you, I always know where you are coming from…and that’s very rare to have, even in a friend.’

The dragon smiled. ‘Thank you, Aidan.’

I smiled back. ‘Thank you, Iskandor.’

There was a comfortable silence between us. I like to imagine that Iskandor was doing the exact same as I; reflecting and appreciating the fact that every word I had said had been absolutely true.

Finally, Iskandor broke the silence. ‘If I may ask, what did you and Lady Mirabelle talk about?’

I gave Iskandor a basic recap of my talk with Mirabelle.

Iskandor nodded and responded, ‘You’re quite fond of Lady Mirabelle, aren’t you?’

I was quite taken aback by the unexpected question. ‘I don’t know…I suppose so.’

The dragon smiled and tilted his head slightly.

‘Yes, I am,’ I amended, smiling. ‘She is beautiful, courageous —’

‘Respectful, and strong,’ Iskandor finished. ‘I agree with you; she is quite an amazing person.’

I looked away slightly. ‘How could you tell?’

‘It is plainly written on your face, Aidan,’ the dragon answered. ‘Your face brightens at the mention of her name, and you went into far more detail about her story than you did about yours — which indicates to me that you listened very intently.’

I hadn’t realized any of that but, looking back on it, one could say that I was mesmerized while she was telling her story. I felt as if I was by her side throughout all of her experiences, like I had lived them right along with her.

There was a pause, then Iskandor said, ‘You are aware of the legends surrounding Lady Mirabelle?’

I nodded. It was said that any man who came into Lady Mirabelle’s presence fell in love with her instantly, at first sight. It was rumored to be some type of magic or enchantment, perhaps on her armor — no one knew for sure. Truthfully, the legend had been another thing in the back of my mind since I had met her; it made me wonder if my feelings for Mirabelle were real or imagined.

But it’s just a ridiculous legend
.

‘King Marion wasn’t in love with her…’ I murmured.

‘Perhaps he acted out of jealousy,’ Iskandor countered.

I sighed. ‘That’s possible,’ I conceded.

Iskandor smiled sympathetically. ‘I am not trying to hurt your feelings, Aidan — nor am I trying to tell you your feelings for Lady Mirabelle aren’t in your heart. I just believe that it is important that you are aware of all of the possibilities.’

I thought about all of the possibilities, and suddenly I found myself confused. ‘What do I do, Iskandor?’

The dragon lowered his head a little, his yellow eyes staring straight into my white. ‘You are at a crossroads, lost and unsure of what to do. Several paths stand before you, and you do not know which one to take. Any of them could lead to either a right choice or a wrong choice. My advice to you is this: choose a path, and follow it to its conclusion, no matter where it takes you. It could be right, and it could be wrong — but you’ve made a choice, which is far better than being indecisive.’