Tail of the Dragon (9 page)

CHAPTER 24

Nath’s heart pounded in his skull. Darkness surrounded him.

Guzan! What’s happened to me?

The last thing he remembered was his father saying some words. Ancient and mystical. Powerful and transforming. The words had felt like they were separating his bones from the marrow. They penetrated his very core. The essence of his being. He struggled. His eyes wouldn’t open. His limbs wouldn’t move. His entire body was hemmed in by warm goo.

How am I even breathing?

His heart beat faster and faster. It thundered in his ears.

Settle down, Nath. Certainly your own father wouldn’t do you in. Would he?

Blood racing through his numb limbs, his body started to tingle. His strength grew. He pushed with whatever part he could feel. He hit something stiff. It was smooth to the touch.

What sort of prison is this? What has become of me?

Feet gathered into his chest, he stretched out. He kicked at the wall that held him fast.

Something cracked.

He kicked again and again.

The ooze around him began to spill out from the hole, and light crept over his eyelids.

Excited, Nath unleashed all of his limbs at once. Busting out of the strange shell, he started into a fit of coughing.

Yuck! What is this?!

Gagging, he spat up fluids until he could spit no more. Using his hand, he wiped the goo from his eyes and squinted them open. The light was painfully bright, and the surrounding sounds were muffled. A stiff breeze chilled his warm bones. Using his fingers, he cleaned out his nose and earholes. He rubbed his lobes.

“I have ears!”

“Yes you do, sleepy head,” said a muffled voice. “And a tongue, too!”

Nath shook his head like a dog and wiped all he could from his eyes. On opening them up, he found Brenwar. “You’re much bigger than before,” he said, spitting ooze from his mouth. “So I guess that means I’m much smaller?”

“Well, you certainly aren’t any smarter,” Brenwar added, “but if I were ever happy, I’d be happy to see you.”

Nath took in a deep gust of air. He was in the woodland, and a stream trickled nearby. His feet stood on large chunks of reddish-green shell and goo that reminded him of an … “Was I in an egg?”

“It looked like an egg to me, hatchling,” Brenwar said with the grimmest of smiles.

Nath stretched out his arms and hands. They were that of a man, but they still had scales. Black scales and golden-yellow claws. Eyes wide, he twisted his head over his shoulder and spun around. “No tail. No wings.” He thumped his chest with his fist and forced out more coughing. “I feel so weak. Vulnerable.”

“If you were smart, you would’ve asked to come back as a dwarf. We never feel that way.”

Nath stared at his hands. His body. His chest was skin with a slight mix of scales. The same went for his legs. He felt his face. His sensitive touch revealed nothing but smooth skin on his face. He smiled when he felt his long hair.

He let out a breath and gazed up at the birds chirping in the trees. One darted into flight, and others followed. He became aware of a hole inside of him. He used to tower over the trees. Over everything. Now he looked up to it all again. He held his head and sat down.

“What’s wrong?” Brenwar asked.

“This will take some getting used to, that’s all. Where are we, anyway?”

“South of Dragon Home.”

“Say, where’s Selene?”

“Getting something to eat,” Brenwar said, eyeing the streams. “Been gone since dawn.”

Nath jumped up. His head spun and his legs turned to jelly. He crumpled down on the ground. “Oof. I am weak.”

“And whining. Now get up.” Brenwar offered his arm. “Get up now.”

Nath took Brenwar’s arm. It was like grabbing an iron rung that pulled him up. “Hah. I guess my strength will come back soon enough.” He surveyed his colorful surroundings. “So Selene is well, then? How long has she been up?”

“Two days.”

“She got out two days before me? Really?”

“It hardly matters. You always slept too much.”

Combing his fingers through his hair, Nath then asked, “So how long since we left Dragon Home?”

“A few weeks?”

“Brenwar …”

“Give or take a few months.”

“Are you jesting?” Nath said in shock to Brenwar.

Brenwar eyed him.

“Guzan! A lot can happen in a few months.” Strolling over the grasses, he noticed he had toes and not clawed feet. He waded into the waters and rinsed off. The goo was quickly shed from his muscular frame and washed away with the waters.

Brenwar handed Nath an off-white suit of commoner’s robes and some boots.

Once he was dressed, Nath scooped up a handful of water and drank. “I guess I’ll have to get used to drinking from cups and goblets again.”

“And routine bathing will probably be in order,” replied a voice much softer than Brenwar’s.

Nath whipped around and found himself staring at Selene. She stood on the bank wearing commoner’s robes like his. Her hair was long and jet black, her eyes violet fire. Behind her back, a long black tail swished over the grasses.

“How do you feel?”

Shrugging her eyes, she said, “As mortal as I ever felt.”

“Yes,” Nath agreed, “me too. Exciting, isn’t it?”

CHAPTER 25

Traveling on foot, Nath, Selene, and Brenwar made it within a league of the Lost City of Borgash. Standing atop an overlook, Nath squinted his eyes toward the distant city. Its once-tall spires, now rubble, lay all over the barren and broken land.

“I don’t see a sliver of life in there,” he said, fading away from the edge of the overlook and standing alongside Selene. “What about you?”

“Though my vision is not what it was, I still see a few things that scurry.”

“You do?” Holding his hand over his eyes to shade them from the bright sun, Brenwar leaned forward on the overlook. “My eyes are as good as any. I see nothing.”

“Look closer. Scorpions crawl along the sand underneath that archway.”

Brenwar scowled. “Poor eyesight, my hide. Pah!” He marched back and grabbed his gear. “You still see better than the eagles.”

“I would hope so,” Nath said. He had the urge to pick up a weapon, but there was nothing to grab. He and Selene had nothing on aside from their commoner garb. It was odd. The clothing itched a little. It was nothing like being covered in dragon scales. He sat down, took off his boots, and dumped debris out. His feet were swollen, pink and tender. He started to rub them. “Sultans of Sulfur! Is that a blister?”

Selene giggled. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s horrible. My feet hurt, and I swear there’s a kink in my neck. And I can only imagine that my hair is a mess.” With a sour face, he eyed the blister and extended his index finger’s claw. Wincing, he sliced the blister open. “Ow!”

“Oh my, that’s embarrassing, you scaly child,” Brenwar huffed. “Perhaps I should get out a healing potion for you.”

“Would you please?” Nath said, more ordering than asking.

“Absolutely not! That’s not a wound.”

“But it could get infected,” Nath whined. “Great Guzan, what am I saying? I’m worried about a bloody blister. Shame on me.” He punched the ground he sat on. “Shame on Nath Dragon!”

Playfully, Selene said, “I could carry you.”

“No, we’d better make a stretcher and drag him,” Brenwar offered.

“Be silent, both of you. Blast!” Nath got up and hopped away from the pair of them until they were out of sight. Being smaller and weaker was a horrible thing. He missed the grand power he’d had. The ability to fly. The power to take on anything. He’d been the most powerful creature in all of Nalzambor, and now he felt like nothing. “I can’t believe I did this to myself.”

Selene appeared from underneath the low-hanging branches and said with a guilty look on her face, “Having regrets?”

“Yes,” he said.

Selene frowned. “I see.” She turned away.

“No, wait, Selene,” Nath said, hustling over and grabbing her arm. “Not about you. Certainly not about that. But losing all of that power. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“You know, Nath, the first time I met you, there wasn’t an ounce of doubt in you. You weren’t scared of anything. And you were less powerful than you are now. Ask yourself, what is different?”

“About five tons of brawn and scales.”

“Seriously?”

“Come on, Selene. Certainly you should understand. Don’t you feel weaker?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally, no. I still have my wits. Have you lost yours?”

He kicked a fallen branch. “No. But I liked being a dragon. Now I might not ever be one again.”

“You’re still a dragon, Nath Dragon.” She brushed her long locks behind her back. “Just a little smaller. You’ll get used to it.” She extended her hand. “Now let’s go find your mother.”

He took her hand in his. It was warm to the touch. Invigorating. The bounce returned to his step. After thinking things through, he came to a simple conclusion.

I’m a man once again. I have to live with the decisions I make.

Brenwar had already begun to forge ahead. He’d slid halfway down the steep hillside and had begun a determined trek into the valley.

The Lost City of Borgash was lost from sight and the wind picked up, howling through the half-dead trees. The area surrounding Borgash was eerie. It was heavy in overgrowth. Vines and roots jutted up like massive snakes, shooting from the ground and twisting around the trees. The berry bushes were barren. The leaves brown. The mosses weren’t green but rather a sickly yellow. Soft and spongy on the ground.

Nostrils flaring, Nath broke the silence, “I’m not so sure about that smell. Not to be crude, but it smells like a giant defecated.” He covered his nose. “It’s foul.”

“It’s no more offensive than your words to my ears,” Brenwar said, climbing into a corridor of fallen boulders. “Yer giving me a headache.”

“Mind your tongue. I’m still—”

Selene tugged on his arm.

“What?” Nath stopped and looked at her.

“You might want to let that argument go,” she said. “Things have changed, remember?”

“But I’m still the—”

“King? Prince? Does that really matter now?”

“I suppose not. It’s just that—”

Selene pressed her finger on his lips and gently shushed him. Her nose twitched. Her eyes darted from side to side. “Let it go. We have more important things to worry about.”

“Like what?” Nath asked.

Brenwar let out a yell. “Goblins!”

CHAPTER 26

Having snaked their way into the path between the rocks, Nath and company found themselves pinned in now. Brenwar stood face to face with a knot of goblins pressed into the path.

Little taller than the dwarf, they stood brandishing crude swords, spears, hatchets, and knives. Their dark hair was matted and greasy. Carved bone jewelry rattled on their chests and necks. Their yellow eyes were wide with evil.

“Perhaps that’s what I smelled,” Nath said, lifting up his foot and standing on one leg.

“Uh, are you going to stomp them?” Selene said.

Nath put his leg down and gave a shrug. It was instinct. He’d gotten used to crushing many things under his powerful legs. Now all he had was muscle and claws. “Brenwar, let’s see if we can come out of this encounter peacefully.”

“Never,” Brenwar said back over his shoulder. He held Mortuun out in front of the goblins’ eyes. “If you value your lives, you dirty things, you’ll be stepping aside.”

The goblin in front, a small, hunchbacked knot of muscle, licked his lips and showed a mouthful of jagged teeth. “Dwarf. Mmmm. Lots of meat under that beard. Should be fun to kill. Delicious to eat.”

“We’ll see about that,” Brenwar said, raising his war hammer high over his head.

Nath turned his ear upward. Scuffling clamored off the rocks that hemmed them inside the path.

Several more goblins appeared. Spears were poised in their sinewy arms. Their beady eyes hungered to attack. “I don’t suppose you are open to negotiation?” Nath said in Goblin.

The lead goblin spat a wad of dark juice, wiped his mouth, and said, “We’ve not eaten in days.” It set its eyes on Nath, then they shifted to Brenwar. “This dwarf should suffice. Leave him and you may pass.”

“Let me think about that.”

“What?” Brenwar said.

Nath made a quick count. There were ten goblins that he could hear and see. Their eyes were feverish with hunger. Desperation was in the leader’s voice. Hearts pounded behind their bone breast-plated chests.
I can’t believe I’m wasting my time with this. If I was still a dragon, they’d be fleeing into the hills. This is beneath me.
Summoning the authority in his voice, he said, “Tell you what, goblins, let us pass and I’ll let you live.”

The lead goblin made a face like he’d swallowed a large bug. In the next instant, his expression darkened and a rage-filled order burst forth from his sweaty lips. “Attack!”

Brenwar ducked underneath a slicing sword and charged straight into the leader.

Behind Nath, Selene’s tail licked out and swatted two goblins across the face at once. Both tumbled headlong into the path.

“Nice move,” Nath said, spinning around and snatching a spear that was flying toward his neck.

The goblin that threw it gaped, wide eyed. It went for the knife tucked into its belt.

Nath spun the spear around and busted the goblin’s hand. “None of that, now!”

Clutching its hand, the goblin cried out in pain.

Nath slugged it across the jaw with the butt of the spear.

It stumbled into one of the boulders, knocking its metal helmet off. “That will …
oof
!”

A pair of goblins flung themselves into Nath and drove him headfirst into the ground. One wrapped around his legs and started biting. The other goblin locked one arm around his neck, squeezed, and started stabbing at Nath’s chest with his free arm. The blade bit deep.

“Argh!” Nath twisted the knife free from the goblin, dipped his shoulder, and, with a heave, slung it off his neck. He turned his attention to the one latched onto his leg and biting it.

Its teeth sank deep into his calf.

Now realizing he still had his boot in his hand, Nath started beating the goblin with it. “Get off of me, you dirty tick!”

Selene’s tail coiled around its neck and jerked it free. She hoisted it high in the air and slammed it into one of the nearby rocks.
Thud!

Ahead, Brenwar had a goblin pinned down by the neck. He hammered it in the face with his fist. “Eat me, will you? Eat this!”
Wham! Wham! Wham!

Chest heaving, Nath caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye.

Above, on the rocks, a goblin and its spear were poised to attack.

Nath sprang high in the air, landing right beside the slack-jawed goblin.

It made a desperate lunge.

Nath caught the spear and ripped it away. He cracked the goblin upside the head with the shaft, breaking the spear.
Whap! Whap! Whap!

The goblin fell to its knees and begged for mercy. “Please, stop! Please stop! No more hungry. Please!”

Nath picked it up by its ragged armor and trousers, and with a heave, he tossed the goblin far into the woods.

The party of goblins that survived quickly grabbed all the fallen weapons and fled in all directions, leaving Nath, Selene, and Brenwar alone once again in the crevice.

Looking up from the path at Nath, Selene said, “You’re bleeding. Are you going to cry about it?”

Blood pumping through his battle-charged veins, Nath smacked his fist into his palm and replied, “Let’s go find some orcs.”

***

The Lost City of Borgash was anything but lost. However, it was a wasteland. Nath and company entered from what was left of the main gate that led into the city. A rusting portcullis—big enough for giants to enter—was torn asunder. The rocks that held it were half rubble, but many still stood firm. There were markings. Carvings in the stone.

Nath ran his fingers over the edges. “What do you think, Brenwar?”

“Well before my time. Not much in the dwarven archives, either.” He ran his hands over a fallen stone column. “Clearly not made by dwarves, or it never would have fallen. Har. Probably elven or orcen.”

“What about you, Selene?” Nath asked. “Any ideas?”

She ran her hands up and down her arms and shivered a little. “It’s eerie. It’s always been my understanding that there was an invasion and the people just disappeared. But that was hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago for all I know. I don’t think anyone really remembers. Besides, there are several cities that have come and gone just like this.”

“This was no small city,” Brenwar said. He climbed up a pile of vine-covered rubble. “It rivals the likes of Quintuklen. If there is a clue about your mother here, it will take days, maybe weeks to search it out. And with the air so foul, it will take some getting used to.”

“At least we’re here, so let’s get started. Perhaps we should split up,” Nath suggested.

“There’s danger here, Nath,” Selene said, covering her shoulders with her hands. “I’ve no doubt we aren’t alone. And there’s a reason not many venture too deep into Borgash.”

“Really, why is that?”

“Because most that go in don’t come back out.”