THE NIGHT OF THE BLUE DRAGON
By Andamogirl
WWW
ACT THREE
In Colonel Vautrain's manor
In the parlor room
Jim and Dragon-Artie materialized a few seconds later in front of Colonel Vautrain and Dr. Loveless frozen in stunned silence and terror.
They staggered for a few seconds, disoriented.
Then lowering his massive head toward the two men, both stunned, Artie opened his teeth-filled maw, saliva dripping to the carpet and growled.
Seeing a revolver in the former Confederate officer's hand, Jim seized the opportunity to grab it and, pointing it at the ex-Colonel, he said, "It's really a dragon, you're not seeing things!"
A split second later, Loveless let out a strangled shriek and dropped to the floor on his knees, and then rolled in a ball, absolutely terrified.
Fear gripping his heart, Vautrain imitated him, the blood draining from his face.
Hands on their heads in a protective position, their bodies shaking, they didn't see Dragon-Artie being suddenly enveloped in a blue glow and begin to change.
Little by little the beast disappeared but the transformation abruptly halted half-way, leaving Artie a bulky half-dragon, half-human creature.
Looking at his best friend up and down, Jim saw that Artemus had regained his normal size, but light-blue scales decorated the lower part of his body, bone spikes ran along his spine, down to the end of his dark-blue tail, and he had leathery wings tucked in at his back. Dragon's claws replaced his fingers and toes. His eyes weren't red anymore, but dark brown and his pupils slotted, reptile-like and two small spiraled horns topped his head.
Confused Jim asked, "What happened?" then he remembered the blue glow and knew what happened. Mintee's spell had been interrupted by their sudden disappearance – leaving Artie stuck between being a dragon and a human.
Paling, Artie surveyed his hybrid body and rasped, "No, I can't stay like this…"
Looking up at the hybrid creature standing in front of him, Vautrain offered, "I can help…" and gulped when he saw the man-dragon spread his leathery wings and bare his long, white fangs.
His slit chocolate eyes flashing, Artie snorted out a tiny flame, "How?' he asked, his voice low and gravelly and inhuman, making the other man flinch.
Raising a peaceful hand Vautrain said, "I think a spell went wrong… You should have become human again, am I right?"
Looking at the ex-Colonel Jim said, "You're right, Vautrain and there's only one way to solve the problem. Send us back where we came from. I advise you to do so otherwise..." Artemus took a deep inhale and a ball of fire came out of his mouth.
The wall behind Loveless and Vautrain was charred and crumbled into ashes.
He had just said that, when a door opened and two men appeared next to what was left of the smoldering wall and they gaped, jaw dropped and blinked, blinked again seeing the hybrid creature, and then they pulled out their guns
Immediately Artemus snarled at them.
Loveless glanced at his henchmen and said, "Kill it!" and the two minions obeyed.
In a flash, Jim pointed his gun at the two goons and fired – pulling the trigger at the same time the goons did, and two bullets hit Artemus.
Loveless's henchmen collapsed to the floor, dead and Artie dropped like a stone at Vautrain's feet, howling in pain.
Placing the end of the Colt's barrel against Vautrain's head, Jim said, "Send us back into that other world," and he grabbed the other man's collar. "And you're coming with us!"
Nodding, Vautrain said, "Alright!" He gathered his power, closed his eyes, and… Jim and Artemus vanished in thin air, but he stayed in the parlor room.
Loveless grunted. "You let them escape! Gordon is going to die there!"
Standing, Vautrain replied, "In a world where magic exists?" He flattened the creases of his sleeves with his hand and said, "I'm sure that some mage or sorcerer will heal his wounds. He'll live. And I can bring them back whenever I want. I'm not in a hurry. I'll give them a little more time to have fun ... and before I kill them, I'll ask them to tell me their story, it looks fascinating."
Loveless wasn't happy about that.
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Back in the other world
Kneeling beside Artemus, Jim said, "Everything's going to be alright Artie!" and he pressed his hands on the bleeding wounds. "We're back! Mintee is going to heal you with his magic."
He looked around him ready to call the Mage and saw him approaching, moving as quickly as possible as fast as his old legs could move him forward.
Mintee said, "I was going to end the spell when you vanished into thin air!"
He was both very surprised and fascinated by the dragon-man lying at his feet, then he saw all the blood covering Sir Artemus's chest and frowned, intrigued, seeing the two bleeding holes. "What kind of wounds are those?" He asked as he had never seen bullet wounds before.
Deeply worried, Jim responded, "Later, Mintee! Do something or he's going to die!'
Mintee nodded. He waved his hand in intricate patterns, said a few words in a secret language and said, "It's done."
Moving his hands away from Artie's chest, Jim saw that the bullet holes had vanished. He sighed in relief and sat on the wet ground. "Thank you."
Moving to a sitting position, wings half-spread, Artemus looked down at his blood-matted chest and ran one hand over his lightly hairy chest. "They're gone."
He stood and patted Mintee's shoulder. "Thank you. Now you have to complete the spell, making a human of me again."
The old man shook his head. "I can't do that. Now that Sir Artemus is a hybrid creature, I have to find a spell suited to his special case to do that. But be reassured, I will find one." His clothes soaked, and the rain still pouring, he added, "Let's go back to the castle, we'll talk about that later. The Queen wants to thank you both for having saved her."
Jim nodded. "Can Daviina take back control of Artemus?" He asked.
Mintee shook his head. "As he's not a dragon anymore, no, she can't. But using a specific spell she can control anybody."
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Queen Mirael's castle
Later in Jim and Artie's room
Leaving Mintee's lab, Jim headed toward the 'apartment' that the Queen (healed thanks to the potion Mintee had made with the scale of the black dragon), had provided for them, into the dungeon. Artemus was still sleeping when he had left a few minutes before. Dragons were like cats, they slept during the day and 'lived' (hunted) at night, he thought.
But the bedroom with the twin beds was empty when he entered the room, and at it was dusk, he knew where to find Artie and he took a lantern from the table.
He found his best friend sitting on a merlon, staring at the horizon. Artemus had his wings folded in his back and he was waving his spiked tail, his clawed feet dangling over the edge of the high dungeon, 100 feet above the ground. He noticed that his best friend, to be decent, had made himself a Comanche breechcloth out of brown leather, tightened at the waist by a belt.
It wasn't raining anymore he realized, but the air was cool and damp and a thick fog was enveloping the area around the castle and further away the fields and forests too.
Jim sat the lantern at his feet, leaned against the next merlon beside his partner, and said, "The Queen and the King invited us to dinner, remember?"
Shoulders dropped, eyes riveted to the horizon, Artemus replied, "I'm not hungry," but his stomach growled signaling the opposite.
Jim nodded. "You needn't go to that dinner if you don't want to. They will understand. Placing a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder, he said, "Mintee is searching in his books and scrolls for the right spell to de-hybrid you, and as he has a large room filled with them and no assistant to help him, it's going to take quite some time to find the right one, but he is certain to find it, he told me."
Nodding, Artie-dragon replied, "And if he doesn't find anything, Jim?" He turned toward his best friend and, his brown slited pupils, focused on his partner, he added, "I'm going to stay like this, half-human, half-dragon, breathing fire, until I die - and God knows when. If I inherited the dragon's lifespan, it won't be until many centuries have passed, Jim." He paused. "If we survive after Vautrain brings us back next time, and I said 'if' because he'd take precautions to eliminate us as soon as possible to avoid another unpleasant surprise - drastically reducing our chances of survival, my life as it was before will stop. I will have to live hidden in a cave, feeding on raw meat, stealing and killing sheep and calves in the heart of the night so as not to be seen, and if someone sees me one day, I'd be hunted and slaughtered like a demonic creature – because I look like one."
Sitting on an embrasure, Jim nodded. "Being pessimistic doesn't sound like you. Where is the optimistic Artemus Gordon I know?"
His stomach rumbling loudly, Artie-dragon said, "I am realistic, that's all. I hope Mintee will find a way to make a human of me again, or I'd have to ask him to turn me into a proper dragon, I'm sure he can, it's better than to be…" He heaved a long sigh, exhaling a puff of white smoke. "To be a monster." Unfolding his large bat-like wings, he added, "Tell the Queen and the King I'm sorry, but I'm not going to attend the royal dinner."
He threw himself from the top of the dungeon and flew away in the dusky red-orange-colored sky, rapidly flying up through the clouds.
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The next morning
Moaning, Jim blinked open his heavy eyelids, his mouth pasty and his tongue thick. He winced as a painful headache was pounding in his head. He felt a little groggy and nauseous.
He squinted against the light and wrinkled his nose smelling grilled fish. "What'sthatsmell?" His words slurred together. "Ow! I've got a killer headache!" he mumbled.
He propped himself on his elbows, after two attempts, and saw Artemus-dragon perched on the bedpost at the end of the bed, his wings folded, looking like a bird of prey. "Morning," he rasped. His tongue was thick in his mouth.
Smiling, Artie said, "Hangover?" Then he added, "I can smell alcohol on your breath from here. All my senses are 1000 times sharper than before."
Moving to a sitting position on a nest of blankets and furs, Jim realized that he was still dressed – and had probably passed out drunk in his bed, and he replied, "Yes, I drank too much local alcohol… when you drink it, it's like water. It's sweet, fruity and you do not realize that it's very alcoholic. It's very potent." Once sitting on the bed he asked, "Speaking of smell; you smell of grilled fish."
Artemus-dragon nodded. "I know. I was hungry last night so I found a lake, captured lots of fish and grilled them before eating them." He opened his mouth, fire glowing within. "Spitting fire is very convenient for grilling." Then he chuckled. "It's funny, right?"
Feeling immensely relieved, Jim said, "If you're kidding it's because you're better and I'm very happy about that. What happened?"
Rubbing his jaw with his knuckles, Artie-dragon replied, "I realized that after having been transformed into a cat, a woman, a child, twice and into a merman and into an extraterrestrial creature, everything had ended well, I looked like my old self and I thought that this story wouldn't be exempt from this general rule." He grinned and added, "I felt better and I devoured tons of grilled fish!"
Smiling Jim asked, "What? No sheep? No cows? I thought dragons loved raw meat and plucked cattle from their pens?"
Shaking his head, Artemus-dragon responded, "Not me, I prefer my meals cooked and I'm only half-dragon. Besides killing livestock is a bad idea. Sheep and cows belong to people. They need them for milk and wool and for meat too. The lake is full of fish and they don't belong to anyone."
Rubbing his stubbled jawline Jim nodded. "That's true." He stood and stretched, yawning. "They don't have coffee but there's a barber here, at least."
He padded toward the big bathtub sculpted out of a dark gray stone and opened the metallic tap. "Middle Ages with running water, it's a plus! Even if it's rainwater collected in rudimentary plumbing," he said, noticing that the pouring rain outside was pounding against the window and the grumbling of distant thunder. "No rain, no water. Fortunately it rains a lot here. Mintee told me that rainstorms can be relentless for days, even for weeks. Same thing with thunderstorms."
Looking through the window at the gray curtain of rain Artie-dragon said, "Hmm, that explains why the vegetation is so lush."
Jim undressed and naked, said, "Oh! And Mintee told me too that he had gone through half of his texts already, and didn't find anything, yet."
Trustful of the Mage's vast magical knowledge, he had written the spell somewhere, Artie-dragon said, "He will, I'm sure."
Jim opened a trunk, pulling out clean clothes he placed on a table. Then, from a shelf he took a towel, a washcloth and a piece of soap.
He dipped his hand in the water and said, "Brrr! It's cold."
Nodding, Artie-dragon said, "They won't invent the boiler for several hundred years, but I can help!" He leaped graciously from the bedpost to the edge of the big bathtub, flapping his wings and using his dragon fire, he heated the water half filling the tub.
Sitting in it, Jim splashed his upper body with the hot water and sighed in pleasure, "The heat is just perfect. Thank you, Artie."
Bowing his head, Artemus-dragon replied, "It's a pleasure." His eyes closing with tiredness, he said, "Enjoy your bath, I'm going to sleep."
He yawned, showing his sharp, pointed teeth as his eyes grew heavy. He moved toward the large fireplace located in front of the two beds. The embers were almost cold.
He took two logs, put them in the hearth and let out a jet of fire – leaving nothing but ashes behind. "Oops! I need to control that…" He put two other logs in the heath and slowly breathed fire, gently igniting the wood, and big flames began to crackle. He smiled. "Better!"
Jim chuckled. "It's really practical!"
Smiling, Artemus-dragon lay on his stomach, his head on the pillow, his wings spread, tail curled and a few seconds later he was asleep and snoring loudly, smoke puffing out of his nostrils.
In his bath Jim rubbed the bar of soap against the washcloth and then he began covering his arms and torso with bubbles.
Half an hour later, Jim left the vast room, he was dressed and his hair combed. He had an appointment with the barber because he needed to be shaved.
He glanced at Artemus-dragon still asleep on his bed and snoring loudly and smiled, "Sleep tight Artie", and then he headed toward the door.
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Later
Daviina materialized silently next to the bed where dragon-Artie was sleeping snorting smoke from his nostrils and she observed the hybrid creature with great interest.
She recognized the knight she had transformed into a blue dragon and murmured, "I cast a spell to appear next to the blue dragon… and what do we have here? A hybrid. Part man, part dragon. She reached out and brushed against the bone spikes that ran along the length of the human-dragon's spine. "Did old Mintee cast the wrong spell to turn you into a man again? Whatever happened, You're a beautiful creature… and unique." She had a greedy smile. "And like dragons, I love rare and precious things."
She lifted her hand up and traced a circle in the air in front of her… and then a circle of magical green light materialized around Artie-dragon, immobilizing him.
Sleeping soundly Artie-dragon didn't wake.
Daviina smiled broadly. "Perfect! Now let's join Drakstil," and then she used magic again, and a split second later Artemus-dragon and she vanished.
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Drakstil was chewing her tenth sheep when Daviina appeared not far from her, and she noticed her mistress was accompanied by a strange winged creature.
She dropped what was left of the ruminant animal to the bloodied ground and licked blood from her claws with her long lizard-like tongue.
Then she burped and lowered her head toward the 'thing', which looked like half a human and half one of her kind, nostrils flaring, sniffing at it, curiously.
The sorceress rubbed her pet dragon's scaled muzzle. "Do you like him?"
Drakstil nuzzled the blue pale flesh and the blue scales of the strange creature's body and… let out a low confused rumble, recognizing the faint scent of the blue dragon which had scratched her before flying off with the human that she was ready to kill and eat - but not recognizing it.
Daviina nodded recognizing the dragon's puzzled expression and she said, "Mintee cast the wrong spell to 'de-dragon' him and he ended up like this, a hybrid. I wanted the two of you to have dragon offspring, but having babies with human characteristics is far better. They will be born in eggs, so you can lay dozens in a short time and thanks to magic I will turn them into adults, and they will serve me as formidable warriors. In just a few cycles, I will reign over all the kingdoms!"
With a groan and a puff of smoke Artemus-dragon woke up and couldn't help but cry out in fear – and a jet of flames - as he discovered Drakstil's head above him.
Flames ricocheted on the black dragon's muzzle… and Drakstil purred, loving it.
Daviina patted her dragon's head. "I'm going to transform you into a hybrid creature… but before that I need to cast a spell to control your future mate."
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Later in Queen Mirael's castle
In Jim's and Artie's apartment
Mintee raised his hand and closed his eyes. "I can sense tendrils of vanishing magical energy…" He looked at Jim and added, "Daviina was here and I'm afraid to tell you this, but she took Sir Artemus with her. We have to find him before she does something to him."
Frowning in deep worry, Jim asked, "Can you explain to me what you mean by 'something'? Like turning Artie into a dragon again?"
The Mage nodded. "I'm sure it's her intention. She did once, and she'll do it again. She wants a second pet dragon. She killed all our knights, except the Prince, with Drakstil, and with the blue dragon she'll be unstoppable if she attacks the castle and she will now that her 'army' is gone."
Imagining two dragons attacking the castle with bolts of flames and killing dozens of people, Jim said, "I have to do something!"
Mintee nodded. "If you go the dragon's lair, where Daviina probably is, she'll capture you and turn you into a dragon. I have to protect you from her, and I have an idea how to do that – thanks to magic I'm going to make you invisible and undetectable. Daviina won't see you and won't 'feel you'. Those are simple spells, I don't need to consult my books or scrolls to cast them."
Impatient, Jim said, "Alright, cast those spells now! I'm ready."
The old man nodded. "If you need to leave in a hurry, just say 'Mintee bring me back!' and I will bring you back here at – and if you find Sir Artemus, which I hope, hold onto him, and it will work too. I will bring the two of you back here. In the meantime I'm going to continue to search for the spell which will make your friend human again" Then he cast the spells.
Jim became invisible and vanished.
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Meantime, in the dragon's lair
Drakstil looked down at her reflection in the mirror which Daviina by using magic had materialized in her hand. "You are beautiful."
Her hand shaking, Drakstil used her knuckles to touch the pale flesh of her face and neck freed from scales, scales which covered the rest of her stocky yet curvy body, and then she ran a clawed hand through the long dark curly hair falling onto her shoulders.
Drakstil unfolded her wings which looked like they were too big for the rest of her body and twitched her shorter tail in irritation.
She let out a low growl of displeasure, puffs of smoke coming out of her nostrils. She wasn't a dragon anymore and not a human either but something in between.
She was weak, frail, and vulnerable like her prey and she hated it!
Daviina made the mirror vanish and then she cast a new spell and a few seconds later she said, "You can talk now, go on!"
Shifting on her new, weak legs, Drakstil hesitated and said, with a throaty voice, "I can speak…" And she was amazed.
Smiling, the sorceress nodded. "Yes you can, Drakstil." And then she pointed at Artemus-dragon whom she had chained to the wall of the cave with magical restraints. "He's yours. Have fun."
Following her mistress's gaze, Drakstil looked at the male creature who was fighting to free himself from his bindings of blue light. "Mine?" she rasped.
Daviina nodded. "Yes, he's yours, Drakstil, all yours. I'm going to leave you alone. You have to get to know each other. I will come back later." She waved her hand and cast a spell, releasing the half knight, half-dragon and she vanished into thin air.
Freezing, Artie-dragon watched Drakstil having been turned into a hybrid creature move toward him her wings fluttering slightly like a predator stalking its prey, her eyes glowing in the semi-darkness.
He gulped. "Oh boy!" he whispered.
Suddenly Drakstil leaped on Artie-dragon, mouth open and claws out, her wings outstretched, pinning him to the rocky ground, straddling his legs, clawing his shoulders.
She nuzzled into the male's hair and blew, smoke leaving her nostrils. "Love scent," she said before sniffing his face and neck. "Mine, mine," she cooed. She bit his neck, hard with her sharp pointy teeth, making Artemus-dragon cry out in pain, blood pouring from his neck. "Claimed you," she added and then she licked her mate's blood, purring.
But the beast's instincts in Artemus took over and he pushed Drakstil away from him, a growl rumbling through him, low and threatening.
He unfolded his wings and, blood covering his neck and bare chest, he threw his head back and roared, flames coming out from his mouth.
He lunged at Drakstil then, his wings flapped furiously, pinning her in his turn to the hard ground of the cave… and curled his tongue around her neck, nuzzling her face.
Drakstil growled deep in her throat and used one clawed hand to rip Artie-dragon's unprotected chest and blood gushed out.
Artie-dragon reared back, growling in pain.
Drakstil sucked in a large breath of air, expanding her chest and breathed out a powerful blast of fire – the flames engulfing Artemus-dragon's bulky frame, making the hybrid creature move back.
Freed from the male's body, Drakstil slammed her adversary to the rough ground, between two stalagmites and snarled.
She clawed Artemus-dragon scaled limbs – the scent of his blood exciting her – and in order to stop her Artie-dragon bared his neck, offering her his throat – which was a clear sign of submission. "I yield", he said in a hoarse voice, the dragon part of him giving way to the human part.
He bit down on his lip and willed himself not to cry, but he did. It hurt so much! His whole exhausted body was on fire!
Pain was overwhelming. He burst into tears.
Drakstil shoved herself off of the male, cocking her head to the side, intrigued by the water running down his pale face. She leaned toward Artemus-dragon and licked his face clean, cleaning out the blood and the tears, loving the taste.
Jim materialized beside his changed partner and gasped in surprise when he discovered the other half-human, half-dragon creature pinning his best friend down.
He blinked twice, mouth agape and said, "Drakstil?" And the two hybrid creatures froze, looking around them, but not seeing him. but they had heard him, he realized.
He was invisible, Daviina – who wasn't here – couldn't feel his presence, but Mintee had forgotten to include, 'no one can hear you' in his spell.
He backed off a few paces as Drakstil stood and, on all fours, started to prowl not far from him, sniffing the air and his heart in his throat, Jim realized too that Mintee had forgotten to include 'no one, dragons included would be able to smell you'.
He froze as she spotted him with her slit eyes and snarled.
Grimacing in pain, covered in blood, Artie-dragon let out a very pained whimper, scrambling to get up, and once he was up and staggering, he said, "Jim! Is that you?"
Still invisible, but now located by Drakstil, Jim said, "Yes, it's me," and he ran toward his partner. He grabbed his arm and added, "Let's get out of here!"
Surprised, Artie-dragon asked, "How?" and he winced, his whole body shaking, weakening.
His arm wrapped around his best friend's waist, Jim said, "If I need to leave, I just have to say 'Mintee bring me back!' and he will bring me back – and you too, as I'm holding you. Ready?"
Nodding Artie-dragon replied, "Yes, let's get out of here!"
Smiling, Jim said, "Mintee bring me back!" and opened his eyes wide in fear when Drakstil leaped on them, sending them crashing to the ground.
There was a bright golden light and they all vanished.
Tbc.
