Dralin (33 page)

Both girls froze as the shockwave hit them.
Their bones turned to rubber, the hair on the back of their necks
stood straight and their feet became planted to the ground. Pelya
desperately wanted to get away from whatever had made that sound,
but couldn’t control her body.

The sound died to a low rumble before fading
away. Dust was crumbling from cracks between the stones in the
ceiling, falling gently down upon them. Ebudae whimpered next to
her. With all her might, Pelya forced her body to move and grabbed
the wizardess’s arm to pull her toward the door, the nearest safe
place they could get to.

Another supernatural roar ripped through the
hall, weakening them further and causing them to drop their
lanterns. It took all of Pelya’s strength to keep going. Ebudae was
crying and Pelya realized tears were streaming down her own face as
well when they reached the door. A flash appeared in the distance
up the hall. She tried to get the keys from Ebudae, but was too
weak to grab them.

Both girls screamed in terror when taloned
hands grabbed their necks from behind and lifted them off their
feet. Pelya’s remaining courage fled for its life, leaving her
alone. She couldn’t breathe anymore and her body shivered
uncontrollably.

Whatever was holding them snarled terribly
before putting its face next to Pelya’s. It sniffed rapidly and
flicked a long forked tongue all over her face. Ebudae’s keys
dropped to the floor in a clatter, startling the creature. The
wizardess drew in a strained breath. Pelya realized that spots were
floating in her vision. She inhaled a rasping breath, concentrating
on basic survival even though she knew they were about to die. In a
corner of her mind, she realized the hallway was glowing
orange.

The creature sniffed her again, a low
rumbling sound coming from its throat. It was loud, vibrating
through their bones and knocking more dust from everything. “Where
is my child?” it asked in a hissing voice that slithered up and
down the hallway.

Conversation was the last thing Pelya had
expected. She wondered what the creature was talking about, but
when she tried to speak, all that came out was a strangled sob. The
creature turned them both to face it.

Pelya was shocked to see a muscular woman
easily holding them up in the air. At least it was shaped like a
woman, but there were distinct differences. Her hair was metallic
orange, falling down her back. There seemed to be an orange tint to
the skin, though it could have been the bubbles of orange lights
floating along the ceiling. She wore silken black leggings and a
short-sleeved orange shirt.

The most frightening part was rows of sharp
teeth that didn’t seem to fit in its mouth. But what really stuck
out to Pelya were the swirling silver eyes that looked like the
trapped dragon she met the day before. “Where is my child? I smell
him on you,” it hissed at her again.

She wanted to tell the creature, but all
that came out was a strangled whining sound. It looked back and
forth between the two girls and suddenly seemed to realize they
were so terrified that they couldn’t answer.

“Be calm,” it ordered, setting them down on
their feet. Pelya’s knees buckled as did Ebudae’s and the creature
had to hold them up. Then unexpected relief washed through Pelya
and strengthened her bones once more as her knees found their
strength. She felt peace in her mind and her breath came back to
the way it was supposed to be. Ebudae stood on her own too. “Can
you speak now?” the creature asked in an almost normal voice. It
still had a hissing quality, but nowhere near as severe.

The girls nodded, but didn’t say anything.
The peace Pelya was feeling didn’t seem quite right and somewhere
in the back of her mind, she was still completely terrified. Ebudae
took her hand and held on for dear life. The creature, or woman, or
whatever it was, crossed its arms and studied them for a moment
before slowly unfolding the right arm to point a talon-tipped
finger directly at Pelya’s chest. “You have the smell of my child
on you. Tell me where he is
now
.” The words were a command
that became more threatening with each word.

If she hadn’t been under the false sense of
calm, Pelya probably would have wet herself at that point. Instead,
she answered as rapidly as possible in hope the creature would go
away. “If your child is a dragon, then I think he’s in a secret lab
underneath the manor of Lord Uylvich. I tried to rescue him, but
couldn’t,” she added, praying it would have mercy on them. At no
point did Pelya think she and Ebudae could fight or escape the
creature.

It began rumbling in anger. As the sound
grew louder, more dust began to fall. The girls felt as though
their bones were being shaken from the inside out. When a keening
shriek began to run over the rumbling, they covered their ears the
best they could. The creature’s fists were balled at its sides and
its throat was turned toward the ceiling.

When both the rumbling and the shriek ended,
the girls were crying again. Even the magical sense of calm had
been shredded by the sound. Then the most miraculous thing
happened. A metallic tear slid down the creature’s cheek from the
rapidly swirling eyes. From the cheek, it fell to the ground and
turned into a silver dragonfly. The insect flitted about the
hallway before flying away.

“I . . . I’m sorry I . . . I couldn’t s . .
. save him,” Pelya stuttered fearfully, feeling sympathy for the
terrifying creature. “I . . . I really d . . . did try my
best.”

It looked at her. Then it looked at the door
behind the girls. Thin, rust colored tendrils spread throughout the
silver eyes for just a moment. “Let us go into the library.” The
tendrils disappeared. “I want you to tell me everything you saw. He
is still alive, yes?”

“Yes,” Pelya answered swiftly. “He was weak
and sad though. I think they’re draining his energy.”

The information caused the creature scowl
and rumble angrily again. Pelya really wished it would stop and
judging by Ebudae’s shaking hand, she did too. “Open the library,”
it told Ebudae who reached down with her free hand and picked the
keys up. They turned back to the door and the wizardess’s hands
shook violently as she tried to find the right key. Pelya helped to
steady her and they managed to get it open.

The creature picked up the lanterns and
followed them in. The orange lights came down through the door and
ran along the top of the ceiling, lighting the room further. They
were different from the orbs around the child dragon’s cage. Those
had been milky and swirling. These were translucent and looked like
they had little bolts of lightning dancing around inside.

Pelya and Ebudae walked around to the other
side of the table while the creature studied the room. “A . . . are
you really a dragon?” Ebudae asked, her first words coming out
trembling.

It focused on her. “Yes. I am a dragon.” It
looked back and forth between the two of them. Gesturing with its
hand, the dragon caused the door to shut, making the girls jump.
“In my natural form, I am too big for these forsaken tunnels
underneath your accursed city.” The dragon’s voice was quieter, but
still had an ominous hissing quality. “Human form is convenient for
many things in these ruins. It does not fool the wards which keep
dragons and others out of the city, else I would have destroyed the
towers of those silly wizards over the last month in my search.” It
put its hands on the table. The girls gasped when its talons
pierced holes into the stone top. “Now tell me everything you saw,”
it commanded Pelya.

She began describing the details of going
into the basement and the secret passage. Then Pelya told what she
remembered of the child dragon in its cage. After that, she
described what she remembered of the room.

“I am pleased that you use words with truth
in them, but there are many details missing.” The creature drummed
the clawed fingers into the holes it had created. Pelya wondered
how it knew she was telling the truth. It stopped drumming and
moved around the table in a blur. “I need to know those details.”
The dragon in human form enclosed Pelya’s head with clawed hands
and began speaking words of magic. Her words sounded like multiple
ghosts of voices dancing gracefully through the room.

Ebudae made no move to help her friend
because it could have killed Pelya. The warrior girl wouldn’t have
noticed either way. She felt her mind open and become colorful.
There was no other way to describe it. Her memories were like
rainbows she could slide on and she felt weightless.

“Now tell me
exactly
what you saw,”
the dragon commanded. Pelya stuck her hands into the pretty
rainbows and began playing. She heard herself talking, but hadn’t a
clue what she was saying.

After an unknown amount of time, the
rainbows went away. Pelya was disoriented as the dragon released
her head. Ebudae caught her when she stumbled to her knees.
Everything felt like it was tipping to the left and she couldn’t
get her balance. Then she threw up all over the floor.

Chapter
21

“Pelya . . . Pelya! Wake up!” Ebudae’s voice
came from somewhere far away. Pelya couldn’t pull herself free from
castoff rainbows that had lost their color. They were mush and
stuck to the walls of her mind. “You need to wake up now, Pelya,”
Ebudae insisted. The sound pulled Pelya out of the grey rainbows,
but she still felt sticky. A groan bounced around in her skull. She
was angry at whoever was making the noise. “That’s it. Come on.
Wake up.”

She opened her eyes and instantly regretted
it as the dim orange light in the room spun around. Another groan
sounded and she realized it was her own. As Ebudae put an arm
around Pelya’s back and lifted her into a sitting position,
everything tilted to the left again and she felt the nausea
threaten to remove whatever might be left in her stomach.

“Drink this. It’ll help.” Ebudae lifted a
bottle to her lips. Pelya turned her head and weakly fought off her
friend.

“You can take it from your friend or I can
hold your head still with a claw and force it down your throat
until you choke on it, child,” the dragon said irritably.

Pelya saw it standing nearby, still in human
form with its arms folded. The dragon was spinning in the opposite
direction of the room, making Pelya even sicker. When the bottle
was put to her lips again, Pelya drank it all. She knew the dragon
would make good on its threat.

The effect was amazing. Pelya could feel the
thick, cool syrup slide down her throat. As soon as it hit her
stomach, the nausea stopped and energy flooded her veins. The best
part was the fact that the puddle of monochrome rainbows at the
bottom of her mind washed away and she could think clearly
again.

Ebudae helped her to stand before putting
the bottle on the table. She held Pelya’s arm and examined her with
concern. “Are you alright?”

Pelya nodded slowly. “Everything feels
funny, but I think I’ll be alright. What was that stuff?”

“A special healing potion Hezzena had me
give to you.” Ebudae jerked her head toward the menacing
visitor.

“Hezzena?”

“It’s not my true name, but it will do for
your simple human minds,” the dragon interrupted testily. “For the
last few hours your little friend and I have been going over
everything you told us. It is time for you to listen to the
plan.”

“Plan?” Pelya questioned blankly.

“I worry that this one is not bright enough
to perform her task,” Hezzena told Ebudae.

“You stirred her mind like you were making
butter in a churn!” Ebudae protested. “She’s smarter than anyone I
know and more decent too! You be nice to her!” The wizardess
treaded forward and jammed a finger up into Hezzena’s chest before
remembering she was talking to a dragon. When another low rumbling
growl shook the room, Ebudae stepped fearfully back to Pelya’s
side.

Pelya positioned herself so that she would
be between her friend and the dragon. “The plan is to rescue your
child, isn’t it?” Pelya asked, hoping to deflect any violence.

The rumbling died down and Hezzena’s
expression softened. “You two protect each other in the face of
death. I almost don’t hate you as I hate every other human at this
moment. Yes, child. You are going to save my son, Rizzith, as you
may call him. I have devised a plan with the help of your crafty
little friend there, but she’ll kill herself with foolishness if
you don’t do your part.”

Ebudae blushed and stared at her feet when
Pelya looked at her questioningly. “What is she talking about?”
Pelya asked.

Hezzena answered the question instead.
“Human children aren’t capable of handling magic. Your bodies are
developing and magic can stunt that development, even deforming a
child.” Purple tendrils appeared in the dragon’s eyes, much like
the rust colored ones from earlier. “I can already see that small
damages have been done to the juicy parts inside her bones and both
her livers. If she continues, she’ll die when she reaches
maturity.”

The danger to her friend horrified Pelya.
Ebudae had tears in her eyes as she desperately grabbed the young
warrior’s arm and pleaded, “Please don’t make me stop. I love magic
so much. I can’t live without it, Pelya.”

“And it will kill you if you continue,”
Hezzena stated irritably. “That is of no matter to me right now.
You must rescue my child.”

Pelya turned to the dragon, flaring in
anger. “And what if we refuse?”

Both of their heads were instantly held in
claws. The tips pierced skin where they touched. “
Then you will
die
!” Hezzena hissed. She released them quickly and stood back,
claws forming back into the taloned hands. Pelya’s stomach twisted
at the feel of blood trickling from the small piercings in her
head. “If you do not accept this task, you will die. If you begin
this task but do not finish, you will die. If you run away, you
will die. I have means to see to it even if you’re in the city
where I can’t reach you.” Pelya and Ebudae clung to each other,
both nodding fearfully while Hezzena rumbled, shaking loose more
dust. Then the dragon’s expression changed, softening. “However, if
you give me your word that you will attempt to rescue my son in
good faith, I will not implement those means.”