The Second Dragon

Whoever the woman that Adele met in the corridor really was, she crystallized misgivings that were already in Adele’s mind. She had lost her father, her hopes in vindicating his work, and her magical ability, all within the space of a day. Worst of all, she now had the blood of an innocent soul, a friend, on her hands – and it might get worse. She kept shivering, but gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and slipped the ring on her finger.

And she was all alone. Her father still offered no voice or even the silent insights that she had seen before. She concentrated. To that lake of hot stone she would go. She hoped that she could find Elaine and Astra quickly, and snatch them out of there. And then, go outside the caves and assure herself that the others were whole, and finally, submit to judgment. There was nothing for her beyond that.

To the depths, to the depths. She was now on a black, grainy hill overlooking the turbulent lake. A cloud of steam and ash floated over the glowing river. She concentrated on her task. Without the ring it would have be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but with the aid of the magic in the ring, giving her the eyesight of a falcon, it was a task that could be done – but she was fighting against time. In her haste when she sent Elaine and Astra into this land, she did not note exactly where she had sent them. If she had moved them too close to that lava, they might already be gone. Concentrate. Concentrate. Her eyes swept the area on the left side of the lake. Rapidly she scanned down the rivulets pouring out of that lake, looking for islands, platforms – any place where they could be stranded. Then again, on the right side. No luck! Scan it again. No. Look at the higher ground, then. Surely somewhere they are there! She agonized as nothing but basalt, ash, and glassy obsidian were there. Adele started to climb down, although it would not help her search. She made one more scan, slowly, over the mass of lava.

They are gone. Adele took off her ring. She wanted to fling it into the lava. She would then be stranded here, without any way to move. She would starve over time. But at least that damned ring would be gone. She climbed down the grainy rocks, her hands and knees rubbed red from the jagged edges of the porous basalt, down toward one of the quieter rivulets of lava.

After about fifteen minutes, she had reached a point where she thought that she could fling the ring into the lava with a good throw. But it would be better to get close, just to make sure that fate would not play one last trick on her. She clambered down, and she was now sweating, but still shivering. She inched down, closer and closer. She was now within a few yards of the rivulet. The lava, eating at the black banks would soon reach her and carry both her and the ring off. Then she shuddered at that terrible stream, and scrabbled up a few yards back up the rocks. She berated herself. You don’t even have the character to die decently, she thought.

She turned around to face the stream again. Damn it all. She harnessed the last bit of her will, and brought her right arm back with the ring in her grasp. As her arm started forward, another arm, more muscular, came from her right. Its large fist clamped her wrist, and she dropped the ring. Another muscular arm reached over her left shoulder and pinned her left arm to her side. She heard a gravelly, grandfatherly voice of a man in her left ear, saying, "Please do not do that, lass. I would like to live, even if you do not."

Adele did not struggle. She just looked forward and said, "I do not see how I could hurt you, sir. I did not even know that you were here. Have you by any chance seen two women – one blonde and missing a finger, and one with red hair that has a figure like the huntress Diana?"

The man's voice said, "No. I am sorry to say that I have not. This place fills me with awe, but I hope that they were not here long. Neither man nor beast was intended to stay here long."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, lass. We need to get out of here."

"You should not have wasted your time, or risked your life. I have done some terrible things. I can’t make them right."

The man replied gently, "How bad can it be?"

"I have the blood of three people on my hands."

The man was silent. Then he said, "Do you promise not to kill me?"

Adele said, "Don’t joke about this. Please. I cannot bring them back."

The man said, "I was not joking."

Adele said, "I will not kill you, sir – unless you try to kill an innocent person. Is it a deal?"

"It is a deal. I will not kill you either. Do not forget your ring. I do not care for it myself - the jewel is too large for its setting for one thing. Throwing it into that lava will make a hole in the ground the size of Grand Lake, though."

Adele knew nothing of Grand Lake, but she assumed that it was a large lake in the land where this man lived. She asked, "How do you know about this ring?"

The man pulled her arms firmly so as to spin her around, so that she now faced him. His hair had once been black, but that had mostly turned to gray. The outstanding feature on his face was his bushy black eyebrows. His eyes were set deep, and were a lively brown. The outline of his nose was jagged, as if he had had it broken in an accident or fight in his youth. His rosy cheeks and half-smiling mouth, with a slight gap between his two front teeth, on the other hand, conveyed warmth and kindness. The man had the body of a farmer of fifty years, who had stayed healthy and could outwork men thirty years younger.

He did not answer her question, but replied, "Yes, lass, I know some things about this ring – but there is much about it that I do not know. What is your name?"

"Adele."

"Mine is Heraclius. And I have a secret to confess to you as well. I am what your people sometimes call a dragon."

Adele just nodded. She was beaten, and if this Heraclius had announced that he was going to have her for his dinner, she probably would have nodded the same way.

"And, as part of our agreement, lass, we will not hurt each other. Now, I wish to live, for at least a little while longer." Heraclius picked up the ring, and handed it to her. "Please make sure that it does not do any harm while I get us out of here."

Adele clutched the ring tightly, not daring to wear it.

And Adele heard a ringing sound in her ears, and a huge cloud of steam enveloped her and Heraclius.

1. And when the cloud of steam dissipated, she found herself in a chilly place, on top of a mountain somewhere.
2. And when the cloud of steam dissipated, she found herself back in the room with the machine, with two corpses and Heraclius to keep her company.
3. Meanwhile, on a road outside the caves ....

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree