The sun would be rising soon. Already Emers could see a faint lightening of the sky. It was a sight she’d watched hundreds of times, yet this morning it brought a feeling of dread to the pit of her rumbling stomach. What would she see once all was revealed?
She had no idea how long she’d sat
by the fire. How many hours passed while she kept it stoked as best she could.
It managed to keep herself from freezing to death as she waited. She shivered.
It was something she’d done all night as she picked through recent memories to
try and find a reason behind her ending up where she was, wherever she was. And
why.
No other soul had passed their way,
even though a well-trodden path lay just a few meters away. Twice she’d been
alerted to something she couldn’t see or hear, but she knew was there. The huge
black dragon had returned only once more during her ordeal. Briefly. Its muzzle
remained stained from its earlier attacks. She prayed Kayge hadn’t been a
victim. After it left the second time, Emers never saw it again, although it
continued to remind her of its presence with the sound of its enormous,
leathery wings beating against the night sky. And the shadow it cast over the
moon when it flew over her.
She had no idea why it remained
nearby, yet for some odd reason she felt safer knowing it was somewhere out
there. Probably watching her. Guarding her. But it made no sense. It was a
dangerous creature. It destroyed and consumed humans and animals alike.
Why was it sparing her?
She looked down at the armor and
clothes that Kayge had been wearing. Clothes she’d found abandoned near that
dead man, as well as Kayge’s sword. The horses she and Kayge had been riding
were nowhere to be seen, and she wondered if the animals were the reason why
the dragon’s beak was bloodstained.
Emers stirred the fire one last
time and thought of the man who’d lost his life. Had he been fighting the
dragon? Had he been been traveling alone? Or had there been others? Had he
tried to ambush Kayge? For the first time since her awakening, she smiled. That
would have been a very foolish thing to do, challenging a seasoned soldier like
Kayge.
She sat up as she realized
something. The sword—the blade had been clean. There had been no blood on the
weapon. Unless Kayge already cleaned it.
Yet the fact that she found the
sword seemingly left abandoned told her the man had to be acting alone. Otherwise
his cohorts would have absconded with the sword. Taken it to the next town
where they could sell or trade it.
It was highly likely the strange
man was a vagrant. Unless he expected others to join him.
“Perhaps they weren’t meant to join
up until after daybreak. If that was the plan, it shouldn’t be much longer
before they show.” Regardless, she had to remain vigilant and watchful. And on
guard.
She checked the road in both
directions. She couldn’t stay here. Not out in the open where she was
vulnerable to attack, not to mention the weather. But not knowing where Kayge
could be kept her pinned to this location. He could return to claim his
clothes. Or, if not his armor, his sword. She knew how much he favored his
weapon.
Emers’ stomach growled again. The
rabbit had been a meager meal, and there was no telling when she’d eaten prior
to that. Slowly, stiffly, she stood. Her bare feet were numb from the cold. A
brisk breeze seemed to find its way underneath the woolen cloak she wore, under
the oversized leggings and bulky shirt.
A length of hair whipped her cheek.
A lock she’d missed earlier had come loose. Deftly, Emers tucked it behind
her ear. During the night she’d been forced to braid her long hair and tie it
with a length of leather from Kayge’s jerkin, or else the wind would have
fiercely tangled it up. “I must find more suitable clothing if I’m going to be
moving about,” she murmured. “Another cloak would be welcomed.”
She moved into the nearest thicket
to perform her ablutions. The rocks and undergrowth bit into her feet. A
splinter dug into her heel, making it bleed. As she plucked it out, she recognized
her first priority would be to acquire some slippers, or else she would not be
able to go very far. She could at least keep the robe on a bit longer.
Carefully she made her way back
toward the tiny encampment. From the corner of her eye she could see the
remains of the dead man where the dragon had dragged it last night. Her gaze
lingered on the worn boots. Biting her lips, she tip-toed over to the corpse
and said a prayer for the man. It seemed to help ease her fear of angering the
dead man’s spirit, but it couldn’t overcome her revulsion. Still, she needed to
protect her feet, and he no longer had any need for his footwear.
The boots came off easier than she
anticipated. Of course, they were bigger than her own feet, but she could make
do with a little dry grass for padding until a better pair came along. Dried
blood marked the instep of one boot. Emers rubbed some ashes on it to clean it
up. If she ran into the others she half-expected to appear, she didn’t want
them to become suspicious of her. Heaven knew she had nothing to do with the man’s
death, but she would be hard pressed to explain why she was wearing his bloodied
clothing.
When she was done, she checked the
road again. She recalled Kayge telling her they were heading to the village of Lisstanbor
for the night. For our wedding night. But now she had no idea how far
she was from there.
Emers glanced around in the growing
dawn for some familiar sign or landmark which would help her determine her next
course of action. A dark movement caught her eye, and she froze for a moment
before realizing it was the dragon. He was flitting back and forth, neck
extended, nose almost touching the ground, as if seeking a scent, before
landing a short distance away.
The animal appeared impatient. It
stopped abruptly and turned to look her way. In the pre-dawn chill, Emers could
see the creature shivering, but the wind had momentarily stilled. It stumbled
slightly, as if caught off-balance. Sensing something was amiss, she watched the
dragon raise its head and let out an almost melancholy roar.
Emers opened her mouth to hail the
animal when the first shafts of daylight peeked over the distant mountain
range. She squinted against the sudden light just as the dragon turned in its
tracks. It swiveled its head to look at her with big scarlet eyes, its mouth
open and panting steamy clouds of air. The young woman felt herself entranced
by its stare.
Without warning, the dragon staggered
upright. Its legs shook underneath it as if they didn’t have the strength to
keep its body off the ground. As it struggled to remain upright, the creature
made a gurgling sound. Its long neck swung forward and back, the head pointing
its snout up to the sky, then dropping it as it retched. Its wide chest heaved,
trying to force whatever was in its gullet out of its body. Trying to
regurgitate, grayish foam bubbling around the edges of its mouth.
One more heave, and the creature
opened its mouth as wide as possible. A form, slick with bile, slid out of its maw
and landed on the ground.
It was a man. Naked. Intact with
all four limbs. She could see no marks or blood or wounds of any kind on his
back, arms, buttocks, or legs. Neither could she tell if he was alive.
The dragon hovered over him,
watching him and, she would swear, waiting for her. To do what?
Emers fought the need to go to him
and turn him over to see if he breathed. To see if he lived, as impossible as
it sounded, but she feared what the dragon would do. For the first time, she
feared what the creature’s next move would be.
A groan came from the man, and her
heart jumped. The man moved on his own, startling her, and she took a step back
when the man rolled over.
Emers screamed his name and threw
herself onto his body. As she tried to take him into her arms, a hand found her
hair, her face, and Kayge coughed up phlegm.
“Em…”
He shivered from the cold. Tearing
off her shirt, she used it to wipe away the slimy wetness coating his face, clearing
his nostrils so he could breathe.
“Kayge! Kayge, my love!”
She was vaguely aware of the dragon
moving away, circling behind her, but her whole focus was on her love, her
lover and husband who lay on the hard ground.
Coughing up
more phlegm, he turned his head and spat. She waited until he opened his eyes
so she could see his expression when he finally saw her. Hunched over him, she
placed her hands on either side of his face as he opened his eyes.
He stared
up at her, when his gaze shifted upward. She caught the dark reflection in them
looming closer and closer, and he shouted her name as he tried to ward off the
immense creature bending down with its mouth agape. At the last possible
second, Emers tried to raise her arm to ward off the dragon, but she was too
small, too weak, and it was too determined.
The last thing she remembered before the enormous creature swallowed her whole was the clench of hunger once more asserting itself in her belly and the maniacal cackling of an unhinged mind echoing in her ears.
TO BE CONTINUED
