Mimir's Well (The Oracles of Kurnugi Book 3) (6 page)

CHAPTER 14

            
 
U
nlike the tunnel containing Mimir's well, the heat here pressed against him, and he was aware of it even through the protection of the cloak. Within a few seconds of crossing the cave entrance, he was drenched in sweat. He wrapped his cloak around himself, trusting its mystical origin to protect him, but if it did anything to help, he couldn't tell. Yggdrasil's root wound around the tunnel which had transformed from dirt to smooth black glass. Every footstep sounded like it echoed forever, and Henry held his shield forward, ready to deflect any fire the dragon sent against him. Ratatoskr danced around him like he was having the time of his life. He kept throwing ridiculous suggestions at Henry, everything from saying he should just try being nice, to throwing acorns at the dragon's head. To be fair, when Henry pointed out that there were no acorns in the tunnel, the squirrel concluded that it was probably a bad idea.

              Once, the ground started to shake. Henry reached for the wall, but there was nothing to grip, and his feet flew out from under him. His sword cut a gash in the ground, and he cut his hand on the edge when he stood up.

              "What was that?" Henry asked.

              "The dragon. He was probably growling or something."

              "Ratatoskr, just how big is this thing?"

              "Bigger than you."

              Henry rolled his eyes. "I figured that. How much bigger?"

              The squirrel stopped its skittering and looked Henry up and down. His tail flitted around sending up a thin cloud of dust and ash.

              "You could probably fit in its mouth." It chittered for a second. "Maybe not, probably everything but your head. He doesn't like eating food whole anyway."

              "Well, thanks. That's a pleasant thought. Is there any chance I can slip by him?"

              "Not unless you can turn invisible." He paused and cocked his head. "Can you?"

              "How many humans do you know who can turn invisible?"

              "Well, I don't really know that many humans."

              Henry sighed. "No, I can't turn invisible."

              "Then, you're going to have to fight him. How sharp is your sword?"

              Henry tapped it on the edge of the rent in the black glass. "Pretty sharp. Why?"

              The squirrel looked away. "It's just that I forgot to tell you that the dragon's scales are stronger than steel."

              Henry gave him a level look. "That's an important thing to forget."

              "Sorry," the squirrel said. "I've never tried to kill him, so I forget all the things you need to know to do that."

              "Anything else you're forgetting?"

              Ratatoskr paused and looked at him. He scurried from one side of the tunnel to the other, making a clinking sound as he ran across the obsidian floor. He lost his footing and slid into the wall. Henry held down a laugh. The squirrel got up and leapt onto Yggdrasil's root, which was running along the wall.

              "Did I tell you he breathes fire?"

              "It's a dragon. I figured that part out on my own."

              "I don't know why you're getting so mad at me," Ratatoskr grumbled. "All I'm trying to do is help."

              Henry let out a long breath. "Sorry. I get a little nervous when I'm going to fight a monster."

              Ahead, an orange glow filled the tunnel and died down a second later. Henry's throat went dry, and his knuckles went white around the hilt of his sword.

              "Why don't you go first?" Henry asked. "The dragon knows you. Maybe you can distract him or something."

              "For a hero, you're not very brave."

              "Just tell him you have more insults from that eagle."

              "He'll ask what they are. What do I tell him?"

              Henry raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been carrying insults between those two?"

              "Since the beginning of time."

              "And after all that time, you can't make up a realistic sounding insult?"

              "I can try."

              "You do that. When you have his attention, I'll come in. Hopefully, I can take him down before he knows I'm there."

              The rodent squeaked and disappeared down the hall. Henry waited a few seconds before creeping after him, but the ground rumbled again. This time, he was able to get a grip on Yggdrasil's root and kept his footing. He moved a little closer and was able to make out the voices.

              "Why do you persist in this?" A deep rumbling voice made a tremor Henry could barely feel. "It is obvious the eagle did not send you."

              "He said your mother was a worm." The squirrel's quick words contrasted with the slow speech of the dragon.

              "I was born of the primordial ice even as he was, and you, for that matter, little friend."

              "Yes, well, he said you smell."

              "Did he, now?"

              Henry rolled his eyes and held his sword and shield ready. He took a step and almost slipped on the obsidian ground. The coin he'd stepped on rolled away, and he was surprised he hadn't noticed the scattered pieces of gold and gemstones lying around. There seemed to be more as he neared the bend in the tunnel. He paused for a second to compose himself. Then, he stepped around the corner and found himself staring at the dragon that lay at the root of the tree at the center of the world.

              It lay on a mountain of gold and silver. Other treasure littered the ground, but Henry's eyes were drawn to the beast itself. Four thick, muscular legs rose out of the treasure like tree trunks sprouting from a gold-strewn hill. Scales the color of desert sand covered its underbelly. On its body, they became an avalanche of dark gravel, climbing down its serpentine tail, which lashed around and knocked down piles of gold coins. It had no wings, but skeletal ridges ran up its long neck. Its eyes were a solid shade of grey, and Henry didn't even have time to raise his weapon before that deadly, empty gaze fell upon him. A forked tongue flickered out from between razor sharp teeth. Henry saw Ratatoskr had been wrong. Even with his head, he'd have no trouble fitting into those massive jaws. A rumbling that shook the whole cavern erupted from the dragon's stomach.

              "Well now," the dragon said in a voice that sent chills running down Henry's spine. "Ratatoskr, have you brought me a snack?"

              "Ummm...Yes," the squirrel said. "Are you surprised?"

              "Very," it said and turned to look at Henry.

              Its toothy grin forced Henry back a step. Ratatoskr looked at him and smiled before making a chopping motion with his tiny hand. Henry waved his sword in a manner he hoped looked threatening, but the dragon only laughed.

              "What exactly do you intend to do with that, my little morsel?"

              "I don't want to fight you," Henry said. "Just let me past, and no one has to get hurt."

              "Only one of us will be getting hurt here, and I very much doubt it'll be me."

              The dragon stood, and coins tumbled off its feet revealing claws the same color as charred wood. It moved faster than he would've believed possible. The cavern trembled at its charge, shaking so hard that Henry was thrown to the ground. It was the only thing that saved him. An instant later, the dragon's clawed hand slammed down the spot he'd been standing, sending coins flying. He scrambled to his feet just in time to avoid the dragon lunging with its other hand. Henry lashed out with his sword, and the tip of the dragon's finger came off, claw and all. The dragon roared and recoiled, bringing its bleeding hand to its face.

              "You little worm!" it bellowed. "I'll kill you for this!"

              Henry had only a second's warning. An orange glow appeared in its mouth, and he raised his shield. The sheer force behind the fiery blast drove Henry back several steps. It was so hot, and for a moment, the fire continued to beat against the shield, but Hephaestus' power held, and the flame turned back and created a firestorm around the dragon's head. The obsidian wall behind the beast became molten slag, and dripped onto its tail, but the dragon seemed not to notice. Smoke drifted up from its nostrils.

              "Interesting." Its voice made Henry's skin crawl. "I'd thought you'd only provide a bit of entertainment before a snack, but now it seems I'll have a new treasure to add to my horde. It's been centuries since I've seen anything like that shield."

              Too late, Henry realized it was a distraction. The dragon's tail slammed into his back. He stumbled forward, and the beast brought its good hand down, not onto him but the top of his shield. For a second, he thought his arm would be ripped from its socket, but the leather strap attaching the shield snapped and the shield crashed into the ground, embedding itself halfway in. Henry tugged at it once, but had to throw himself to one side to avoid the dragon's strike. Hot blood from the severed finger sprayed on his face, blinding him. He coughed, and an instant later, the air was driven out of him as the dragon's hand forced him to the ground and held him there.

              "You hurt me, little human. No one's done that in a long time, but it's time our little game ended."

              The beast's great jaws moved toward Henry. The dragon had pinned him down and stopped his shoulders from moving. The angle was bad, and he had no way to put any force behind his swing, but this was exactly the sort of situation for which Hephaestus had forged his sword. Henry bent his arm at the elbow, and the sword impacted the dragon's hand with the strength of ten men. Two other fingers came off, enough for Henry to free himself. The dragon roared again, and the sound made Henry think his brain was going to explode. Mad with rage and pain, the dragon tried to bite him, but Henry danced to one side and drove the sword into the dragons head.

It tried to recoil, but Henry held the sword firm, and the beast's movements tore the sword free of its head. The dragon flailed, and Henry retreated into the tunnel to avoid being hit by its uncontrolled movements. Ratatoskr darted in a second later and hid behind him. Henry took the moment to wipe the blood from his face. The dragon took another two minutes to die.

              After everything had been silent for several seconds, Henry crept back into the cavern. The dragon had managed to climb atop its mountain of treasure and lay there staring at him with empty eyes. Blood from its hands and head formed miniature rivers through the gold, and a trickle even found its way into a silver chalice. The squirrel looked from Henry to the dragon and back.

              "I take back every mean thing I ever said about you."

              Henry looked at him. "I don't remember you saying anything mean about me."

              "That's because I didn't, but I wanted to say that just in case."

              He knew it should be funny, but his heart was beating too hard for him to laugh. He sat against a pile of gold and felt very tired. Ratatoskr walked up to him and stood on his right foot.

              "Are you going to drink it?"

              "Drink what?" Henry asked.

              "The blood."

              Henry wrinkled his nose. "Why would I drink dragon's blood?"

              "Because the blood of a dragon you killed provides power."

              "It does?"

              "Don't you talking humans know anything? Sigrund killed a dragon, and its blood gave him the ability to speak with birds."

              "I don't really need to talk to birds."

              Ratatoskr let out a long sigh, and Henry could've sworn the squirrel rolled his eyes. "Dragon's blood is always different, but there are those who would give up whole kingdoms for the chance to drink from one. If I were going up against the gods, I'd want every advantage I could get."

              Henry looked at the dragon's corpse. The scent of blood was already making him want to leave, and he gagged even at the thought of drinking it.

              "They took Andromeda because I wouldn't drink from the well when I should have," Henry said.

              He stood up and walked to the golden hill and picked up the silver chalice and gazed into it. Somehow, it seemed easier to drink if it was from a cup. It wasn't even a quarter of the way full, but he looked at Ratatoskr, and the squirrel nodded. For some reason, the sight made Henry laugh, but when he looked down at the blood in the chalice, he went deadly calm. He closed his eyes and brought it to his lips. For the space of a few heartbeats, he considered throwing the chalice away, but the moment passed, and he threw back his head and gulped down the blood.