Dragon's Blood -- Chapter Four
Author's Notes: I'm alive. I apologize for the lack of activity. I have no social skills and I'm obscenely lazy. I don't deserve to live. :bows: I'm also having no luck with my muse. I'll post as far as I can, since the story you're reading is not completed.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor do I deserve to.
It was only a half an hour before the fever began. The dragon gathered the small hunter to her side and covered him with a wing as the shivering began.
Though Iolaus' body was rather warm, Ravenwing barely felt the flush, as her own internal core temperature was much higher.
She did not fear for him, however. She knew the fever was a sign of the body repairing and cleansing itself. The sleep he was in would heal him with no risk of infection while his wounds closed.
The dragon nuzzled the top of the blonde's head fondly.
When Iolaus had looked into her eyes for that brief moment, she'd seen all she'd needed to.
This man was stupidly brave, quick to accept a challenge, despite the odds, fiercely loyal to one called 'Hercules', and finally, had come looking for an injured dragon with no thought to his own well-being. He was one of the purest beings she'd ever met.
Ravenwing's keen ears caught the sounds of bones grinding together in the vicinity of Iolaus' chest. He let out a soft groan, and his heart sped up a little.
Now that Iolaus had tasted her blood, the magic in it would allow them to communicate without having to maintain physical contact. He would be aware of that when he awoke. It was something, she knew, that would be important for future events.
Iolaus' heart rate slowed to normal. Ravenwing smiled a dragon's smile. The healing, in itself, was something that happened quickly. It was the rest of the body that needed to catch up. In another few minutes, the magic sleep he was in would change to a normal one to give his body a chance to rest.
The mortal's breathing steadied and he sighed softly. Ravenwing felt the pain and tenseness start to leave his frame.
"All is well, Iolaus. No harm shall come to you."
"I still can't believe we missed out on that dragon's pelt because of that arrogant punk!"
A low voice, closer to a growl, really, caught Hercules' attention. He put the spoon back into his bowl of boar stew and turned around to scan the rest of the dark tavern for who had spoken. Only about half of the uneven, scrubby tables were full.
"At least a couple of us got 'im before he got away. He could be dead by now. He wasn't in very good shape," said a second.
Hercules located a group of three dirty men, clad in black armor. They sat in a corner. The only light came from a single, stubby white candle melting in the middle of the table. Each of them nursed a mug of ale and a facial injury.
Curiously, Hercules went back to his stew , keeping his ears open. He hadn't heard reports of a dragon in these parts for almost seven years.
"Or… if that little blonde bugger manage to meet up with her…"said the third. "She could have finished what we started and killed 'im. She's vicious like that, you know."
There was a general murmur of agreement amongst them, each thinking of the cow, sheep and pigs they were still missing.
"Fought like a bloody demon, he did, though, dinnit he? Never saw no one take out another throwin' a knife like that before."
Little blonde? Fighting like a demon? Knife throwing? The increasingly accurate descriptions of his friend made Hercules' skin crawl. Surely Iolaus was all right…? He would have come back to town if he wasn't.
"Wonder what he was doin' in the middle of the forest, anyway?"
"Probably hunting, you idijit. Dincha see his bow? There was blood on his hands, too. Way the sun shown on 'im, he looked like a bloody angel or sommat like that."
"Careful, mate, you sound like you bleedin' fancy 'im!"
Flesh met flesh and the man who spoke grunted.
"Fancy that, why doncha?"
"Gerroff me!"
Hercules could stand it no longer. He abandoned his stew to make his way to the corner table. The men stared at him, as if sizing him up.
"I heard you were looking for a dragon. Care to elaborate?" Hercules said, with the air of one commenting on the weather.
The biggest man, who had a heavily bruised chin, glared at Hercules.
"What's it to you, you nosy git?"
"Well," began Hercules, resigning having to go through it step by step. "aside from the fact that it's a dragon, the man you're describing sounds a bit like a friend of mine." Hercules shrugged. "He's always getting into trouble."
"If he's your friend, mister, you'd best get after him sharpish, 'cause he dinnit look so good when he took off." Hercules recognized the voice who commented on the knife throwing as belonging to a younger man with a black and blue forehead. "He may have defeated us, but we got our licks in, dinnit we, boys?"
This was backed up by snickers from the other two men. Hercules smiled and laughed with them, grabbing two of them by the shoulders. Instantly, his cheery manner was gone.
"Tell me what you know," he hissed, squeezing hard.
The two men yelped in surprise and pain. They began to babble incoherently about a bizarre series of events, each trying to drown out the other. Finally, the big man with the bruised chin yelled: "QUIET!" His goons instantly went silent, along with the rest of the tavern. They stilled and Hercules relaxed his grip.
"What do you want to know?" asked the leader.
"What was this guy wearing, for one. And was he wearing any distinctive jewelry? Earrings, maybe?" demanded Hercules.
"Yeah, he was!" supplied the man in Hercules' left hand. "Some sort of weird shaped medallion, I think. And a ragged old vest."
Hercules' stomach clenched. His suspicions were confirmed.
"What did you do to him?" he asked quietly.
The man in Hercules' right hand, who'd compared Iolaus to a demon, spoke now.
"Orcus caught 'im in the head right away wiv a club. Got 'im real good. Lotsa blood from that one. Course, he got 'imself snuffed out right quick after that. Someone got 'im the ribs after that. Me and my mate went after 'him wiv our swords. He used me as a shield, killed me mate and put me out wiv an elbow to the head. I came to in time to see 'im feelin' up a bloody leg and whippin' that knife into Arjas' throat. Poor kid never had a chance. He fell, got up, and then just limped off. Prolly after that damn dragon…"
"Which way did he go?"
"Towards the mountains, probably, said the man in Hercules' left hand.
Hercules released the two men with a shove.
"If you three are still here when I come back, I'll come after you, understand?" threatened Hercules.
"Hey now, just who the bloody hell do you think you are, talkin' to us like that?!" demanded the leader, his face flushed with anger.
The demigod leaned in close to the other man, glaring. They were literally nose-to-nose.
"I'm Hercules."
Author's Notes: Thanks for your reviews before:bows: