Chapter 21
• Demons and Dragons •
The fight changed everything. Whenever Gwyl moved somewhere within the cave most of the wolf would drop their heads slightly, a sign of respect and his dominance in the pack. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but the fight had gained him acceptance in the pack even though he had a pack of his own.
A few of the wolves were angry with him, but rather than show him disrespect they went about their business, ignoring him utterly. Gwyl didn't mind, he had no desire for their respect, he only wanted to be allowed to roam free. Soon dog would be healed, and though Gwyl had told no one, he was planning on leaving the moment that Dog was able to get along with the pack. He was worried that Stray, who'd been taken by the pups, would want to stay, but he also knew that she would listen if he commanded it.
Ashes, the tiny little phoenix, had not left Gwyl's side since the incident. Whenever Gwyl would her over to Stray while she slept she would awake again and immediately appear on Gwyl's shoulder. The action reeked of magic, and Gwyl was put off by the phoenix because of it. He tried to accept it, just as if it were like the magic that he and Stray did, but it was stronger and it reminded him of the castle, which was a frightening memory - something he didn't want to be reminded of.
Firenze, the one who'd calmed the spirit inside Gwyl, had retreated to the back of the cave, keeping quiet. When he passed by Gwyl, or Gwyl passed by him, he would drop his head, but not from respect. It made Gwyl angry and sad that Firenze felt such anger or shame that he would not even make eye contact. A deep part of him yearned for Firenze to smile and tell stories as he had in the forest, but Gwyl buried it as well as he could.
The second thing that bothered Gwyl, something that he focused on to keep his yearning buried, was the continued absence of Seth. While he had not expected Seth to return there was something else that weighed down upon him, a feeling that made his stomach churn. The feeling wouldn't leave either, it continued to churn and grow in the pit of his stomach until it distracted him even in the most basic of tasks.
Silver noticed, when he failed to sleep and curl up next to him, laying her head on his chest and whining softly while the others slept. Sometimes it woke Stray, while her senses were not as acute as Gwyl's, she always slept next to him, and Silver's closeness occasionally brought her to a state of semi-consciousness. During these times she would wrap herself closer to Gwyl, snuggling underneath his arms.
As the blanket of darkness would spread through the trees Gwyl would perch himself at the edge of camp and listen for any signs of Seth returning. Many times he spent hours in total silence, waiting, listening. Then Tala would appear, even more eager than a pup, waiting to run with him. She was always around, even more than before. Stray disliked her even more and so, while Stray was around, Tala stayed at a distance, watching, waiting, but never far away.
Then, one night, he could stand it no more. The stirring in his stomach grew so strong that he told himself he would search out Seth to discover why such a thing was happening. Tala was waiting of course, she seemed surprised that he was not in his nest in the trees, waiting and listening.
Immediately Gwyl growled at her, a sign for her to back down. She did back down, without thought, something that he was glad to be able to force her to do. Tala bowed, but kept her eyes on him, watching, waiting for some sign of release. She didn't know any different, didn't know she was free to do as she wanted, he was dominant and she obeyed.
For a prolonged moment, Gwyl considered taking her with him, knowing she had a few useful abilities, especially in the far-reaching jungle he knew little of. He thought on it again, remembering Seth's description of the nest and the other snakes and then, decided it would be best not to have her along. The snakes would not be friendly; they would be as Seth's companion, Glint, had been, angry and violent. That did not even bring up the point that the snakes and werewolves were on bad terms, and Gwyl needed them to be as nice as possible at the moment. While showing up at there nest wasn't something that was going to make them happy, he was sure it would only be worse if she came along. He didn't want to force Tala to fight her way out of a nest of snakes, and he wasn't sure she even could do it.
Tala continued waiting, staring at him, her eyes pleading for an explanation. Gwyl knew this, but he didn't feel particularly pressed to give her one, not at the moment. Instead, he slipped closer to her, glancing back at the caves to assure that no others were nearby or listening, and the spoke quietly. "Know where Seth go?" he inquired, trying to keep his words as simple as possible. Stray was not with him to translate to better English, so he had to think carefully. It seemed the more Stray talked, the less Gwyl spoke, and though he knew more words, he found it more difficult to speak them.
Trusting that the yearling did know the forest well enough to know where Seth was, or at least had headed, was something Gwyl was confident to do. She was quite knowledgeable about the forest, and Gwyl knew why now, because she had little else to do as an outcast yearling. Until he had come along, she had spent much of her time in the forest alone; he had heard it whispered in the caves.
Automatically her eyes narrowed, and Gwyl could see her active mind working out the reason he'd asked for such a thing. He didn't say anything, because he didn't want to stop her from future thought around him, but he did growl, demanding an answer. She froze for a minute, having forgot her place, and nodded a little. In the past few weeks he'd known her, she'd changed a lot from the yearling he'd first met, developed into a semi-dominate wolf. He hoped that she would continue to learn and grow while he was away because Tala was one of the few werewolves he did like.
Turning, Tala raised her hand, pointing the direction Seth had originally headed. "Near mouth of big river. Go to river, move against. Will not take long. Smell many snakes. Not safe place."
Gwyl moved in closer, so close that their bodies touched for a moment and he could feel the shiver that ran down Tala's skin. He nuzzled her as a thank you and then brought his mouth to her ear. "I fine," he whispered and then pulled away, ascending into the trees and disappearing among the branches, heading the direction Tala had pointed out.
It was hours later when he happened upon the river. He heard it first, a dull roar of sounds that came closer and closer. He almost fell into it though, because the trees just dropped off right into the river with no real warning. The roar of the river had echoed through the trees, making it difficult to determine its location until the moment that there were no more trees. He snagged a long reaching branch, and swung himself upwards and then back into the trees.
Once he stopped he stared into the river. He had to watch it in awe, as the water flowed past him. It was an amazing sight, and nothing like any river he'd ever seen. It was so large that he could barely see the other side of it. It wasn't a river, not to Gwyl, it was a lake, a huge, flowing lake.
Turning, he finally faced the current, looking up river to see if there were any sign of the snakes. None were present immediately, but there were a few faint hints of them having come and go in the past. So, he moved along the edge of the river, against the flow, just as Tala had told him.
Within minutes he saw dozens of animals he'd never seen before. There were fishes in the river too, they were quick and surfaced for moments, but there were other animals in the river that caught his attention.
An animal surfaced, bobbing a little bit just like a log, with a snout that looked extremely powerful. The creature was massive, and Gwyl knew it would be something fierce in a fight, something that would be a struggle to defeat in the water. For a brief moment their eyes met, one predator to another. It watched, interested, until Gwyl shook away the stare and the river to continue on his quest. He was sure he knew the name of the creature, alligator or crocodile, though why it had two different names, he could not be sure.
It wasn't long before the scent of the snakes increased. It was a faint difference at first, but it became increasingly stronger, and he began to realize that the snakes traveled the path rather frequently. There were other signs of their presence, paths that had been well used with signs of snakes having shed their skin. Snakes stayed at the edge of his senses, sometimes there, sometimes not. From his time with Seth, he had learned that snakes had magnificent senses, and because of that, he was sure that they knew he was around.
Of the nest, Gwyl knew very little. Seth had never chosen to explain it, he only speak of his mate and a few minor facts about the workings of the nest. Even though he was confident of his own fighting ability, Gwyl had no idea what he was walking into and he hoped that Seth was not one of many his size. Still, the drive to find Seth safe was too much, and he continued forward, even with the threat looming close at hand.
When Gwyl came closer, he could feel it, and hear it. It was as if voices whispered in the wind around him. He could smell them, but the smell lingered in the air all around him, making it difficult to pinpoint a certain location. None of the snakes were familiar, so he continued forward, cautiously. A snake moved into his path, coiling itself around a nearby branch. It raised its head and stared at him, waiting for something.
Gwyl didn't respond, he stared, waiting to see if the snake had something to say. It did not, and after a few minutes it dropped into the dark ground and moved along its way as if nothing had happened. After several minutes of waiting Gwyl moved again, even slower, careful about where he moved, insuring that a snake didn't appear closer than the last one had.
Every few minutes he stopped, listening to the sounds of the forest and scenting the wind. Other snakes came, most of them small, but he avoided them well and always waited until they were gone before continuing forward.
It came as a great surprise when, on one occasion, as he stopped, something dropped from the trees. A spider, one nearly the size of his fist, scrambled up the branch with its pincers clicking away. It hopped around madly, trying to tell Gwyl something. He stared at it, smelling the wind again and realizing that the smell of the snakes was so strong that the tiny spider had gone unnoticed.
"I going to snakes." Gwyl said to it and it paused for a moment, then danced around again furiously.
Even not knowing what it was, Gwyl had seen enough of the spiders to realize it was distressed and probably trying to warn him of continuing forward. He ignored the warning, knowing that soon it wouldn't matter. He was near the nest, he could smell snakes now, lots of snakes, just ahead.
There was another smell that began to bother Gwyl as he moved forward. It was something he'd never come upon before, but it burned at his nostrils even though the scent was faint. It wasn't a snake, though the scent was somewhat similar, it was as different as the scent of a human and the centaurs.
It wasn't the only thing present, there was something else, a gnawing feeling of need. He needed to continue forward, needed to find out what was ahead, find Seth, regardless of his safety. He fought the feeling as it took over him, trying to stay in control, but it pushed him, made him sink into the animal part of himself.
In ten minutes time, without having any idea how it happened, Gwyl found himself standing in a clearing that he suspected was as close to the nest as he would allow himself to go. Seth was next to him, and until that moment Gwyl had not noticed him. He dropped to Seth, horrified to find that he'd been split open, but was, fortunately, alive.
What made matters worse was that, since Gwyl was within the boundaries of the nest, he didn't even have a vague idea of how many snakes. He could smell them all around and watched as some of the larger ones twisted in and out of the edge of the forest. Dawn was coming, and mounting light was just enough that it was making it difficult to see in the darkness.
It wasn't the snakes that bothered him the most though. They were keeping their distance, and most of him that he saw were nowhere close to the size of Seth. He knew they were waiting for someone, or something, but even that wasn't the most chilling thing in the glade, the thing that kept Gwyl quiet. There was something else, the scent that had puckered Gwyl's nostrils only a little while before, it was in the clearing.
The creature wasn't a snake, even though its smell was similar, it was somewhat like a snake, just as a lizard might be like a snake. This was no lizard though, not unless a lizard was able to wrap its tale around you twice over. It wasn't nearly the size of Seth, perhaps half the length, but just by its smell Gwyl could tell it was infinitely more dangerous just as some snakes were predators and some where peaceful, this thing made predatorily snakes seem peaceful. It wasn't a predator, it was a killer, and much, much larger than Gwyl.
Unlike a snake, it had skin, a thick, leathery skin that looked rough and thick. Gwyl's hand rubbed along the side of his knife, wondering if it would find itself buried in the animal soon. It moved gently, a soft rocking motion as it breathed, and a coarse hiss escaped its snout every few seconds. The grass and rocks nearby were black, and the scent of fire reached Gwyl's nose. Gwyl watched it, ignoring the other snakes because of their distance, trying to decide how to best fight the creature should they clash. Now was the time to decide, when he had time to watch.
Again it moved, not to breathe, but to adjust itself as it slept. Gwyl could see the solid bulk of muscle, the sinuous curves that suggested a deadly, fluid grace. It was built to move with great speed even as large as it was, though from the look of its feet it didn't look like it could walk well, or run at all. It wasn't slick enough to wind across the ground as snakes did, its skin was far too coarse to do such a thing.
Then, it moved one last time, the sleep it had been in was becoming restless, as if it sensed another true predator nearby. It had wings, great monstrosities that were tucked tightly into its side, thin, but strong. It wasn't something Gwyl could imagine, a creature of such size flying, but then, it could do no other thing, and their size suggested they were used for something.
"Do you enjoy watching my dragon?" a slew of voices whispered on the wind, swirling around Gwyl like a storm.
With a deft spin, Gwyl had turned in a complete circle, rushing to see those who had spoken. He almost missed it the first time, standing in the darkest of shadows, as much a part of the shadow as any other part of the forest. For some reason even Gwyl's piercing eyes couldn't make out its exact shape, it was as if the shadows had wrapped themselves around the creature, cloaking its form.
As far away as it was, Gwyl was sure that it couldn't have been the same creatures that had spoken. But there was nothing nearby, nothing but snakes, and one of the things Gwyl had learned from Seth was that snakes could only speak snake, and his ability to speak their language was a rare gift, for even their mysterious master could not speak their language.
There was a moment when their eyes met, gleaming black against glistening jade, they were hot, hot as a white fire, and for a moment they burned into Gwyl's head. Gwyl shook it away, shook away the pain and the thoughts, growling a challenge. Something invisible shot from the darkness, it disappeared into the ground and then rose again, all around Gwyl. It was magic, he could taste it, but it was unlike any magic he'd seen from others. It was rough magic, the sort of magic that was like sharp rocks, waiting at the bottom of a cliff. They poked him, reaching out to wound, and leered at him from afar, daring him to try and fight.
Deciding that it was best not to try and combat the magic, but instead combat the creator of the magic, Gwyl turned back to the darkness, waiting to see what new things this creature would turn upon him. He did not understand the creature, for he had made no enemy of it, he'd done it no wrong that he knew of, and yet it despised him enough to use magic on him.
The voices spoke again, but they were not voices, they were a single voice echoed and changed, coming from every direction. The gleam of the black eyes disappeared that instant, and Gwyl heard the voice echoing through his head as he searched for the creature it belonged to. "Gwyl, the so called Wolf-Demon," it mocked, "you've graced me with your presence at last."
In the shadows far to the right of where the creature had previously been, the eyes appeared again. Gwyl shuddered, watching them, waiting to see them move again. He knew how to detect the creature, such an unnatural mantel of darkness carried magic with it, and though it was faint, Gwyl could taste it as well. He knew the creature was not human, for it was unlike any human he'd yet to encounter. The fact that it hid demonstrated it was scared or smart. Perhaps it did not want to show itself for one reason or another, but no matter what the reason, it eventually broken into two reasons, it was afraid to be seen, or wanted it used to its advantage.
Gwyl growled another response at the darkness. The creature laughed, a hideous screech like from a dying bird as it took its last breath. It too traveled on the wind, coming from all directions at once. "Would you really challenge me Demon? Without having even seen me?"
The challenge was growled a third time, daring the creature to come out. Gwyl knew that he did not have the advantage here, because, while it knew him, he had not even seen it yet. He crouched, finding the ground comforting, and using it to balance his senses. They were fired up because of the beast asleep at the far side of the clearing, they were awake because of the darkness and magic that had wrapped itself around this second, unknown creature. He stared as the black eyes watched him moved a little a time until Gwyl was crouched beside Seth.
Seth was alive, he knew that much, but there was agitated breathing, a slow hissing sound that sounded just the output of a bubbling brook. "You are awake?" he hissed calmly to Seth, trying to keep his voice down, but not low enough.
The monster laughed again, louder this time, and instead of the creature's voice wafting along the winds, it cut through them, leaving no echoes or thoughts other than its power. "You truly can speak to them," it said, adding to the laugh. "Such a beautiful gift given to such an undeserving human, it is not an honorable thing to see the stars allowing such an atrocity."
Beside Gwyl the sound of the brook got louder, and there was a bubbling sound and a painful hiss, a single word. "Yesssss," he said, obviously in pain.
"The injury is bad?" Gwyl asked again, not caring that his voice carried to the creature in the darkness, because it did not understand the words. Gwyl did know that there was going to be a fight soon, whether it was with the snakes, something he would have much preferred, the sleeping beast - the thing he least preferred, or the shadow creature with its magic. What he needed to know was how much Seth would be able to help. It was a mistake, coming without the rest of his pack, but he no longer had the option of changing the thing he'd done, and was willing to face it.
Seth was almost dead, he was sure of it, but he had to ask, to make sure.
Again, it was a single word, the bubbling had died, but Gwyl could sense the pain that Seth endured just to hiss "yessss."
Though it hurt Seth, Gwyl needed more information, about the sleeping beast, the one the shadow beast had called dragon. He needed information about the shadowed beast as well, because he was sure it would be one of these creatures he would have to fight to escape, and now that he'd come, and Seth was alive, he was going to escape with Seth, so the fight might be against all the things that had surrounded him.
"The winged snake," Gwyl hissed, "does if have a weakness?"
One thing about the snake language was that Gwyl knew it, knew it better than any other language, it was something he had to lea or adapt to, he simply knew it, and it made speaking such complex things much easier.
"Dragon... isss... deadly..." Seth hissed, one word at a time. "isss... ssstrong... breathesss... fire..."
There was no easy way to explain how difficult the task had become. Of all the things Gwyl had seen, the only thing that Gwyl was afraid of, was fire. He used it, rarely, Firenze used it much, but it was contained. Firenze had only had to demonstrate once how an uncontained fire was deadly, and it had been frighteningly fast, and just as deadly.
"The shadow beast is strong?" Gwyl asked, his eyes returning to the black cloak of shadows.
For the first time Seth's eyes opened, and Gwyl turned to him. There was a look, something that said more than words. The black-eyed beast was powerful, perhaps more powerful than the dragon beast that slumbered. Seth did speak though, in a long, drawn out hiss. "Leave," he said, "I will die here... do not ssstay and die asss well."
Angry that he was being sent away, Gwyl growled. Seth had stood beside him once, changed his allegances and was now hurting because of it. Seth was in trouble, and Gwyl knew that he wouldn't abandon his friends, someone he would gladly let join his pack. Besides, the black-eyed creature had issued a challenge, and Gwyl did not take challenges lightly.
Taking a deep breath, Gwyl raised his head to the morning light and sang into the wind, hoping it would reach his pack over such a distance. Then, with a movement as quick as lightning, he threw himself forward into the trees, heading towards the dark-eyed demon.
Various snakes shot out at him from the darkness, but he saw them, they weren't quick enough. Slashing and hacking, he came to the spot he demon had stood, but the demon was no longer there.
A vicious laugh rang out as Gwyl let himself feel through the are to find the magic of the black-eyed monster. "Gwyl, the Almighty Wolf Demon," the voice mocked. "You must do better than that." Again, the voice was carried with the wind, and had no direction. Gwyl was troubled to find that he couldn't locate the magic that wrapped the shadows even though he knew the beast was still around.
There was another problem that immediately came to light. The dragon, which until now slumbered, stretched and woke.
Gwyl felt it first, as he moved back into the clearing, he felt the disturbance of a magic, like bug crawling all around, crowding him until it crawled up his own skin. Magic sprang to life all around, magic that had not existed before. The dragon was even more fearsome now, for it was almost like the very essence of magic. As it moved, magic changed, formed around it.
When Gwyl slid to a stop in the clearing he stared at the dragon. Its eyes focused on him, not narrowing, just focusing on him as they opened. They were slitted and pale, almost icy white. They didn't stare, they just watched, or at least one of them did. The second eye wriggled away, tracking all the movement around it. It stopped for a moment on something that even Gwyl had not seen, and for a moment Gwyl dropped his defenses to look toward that spot.
Something struck Gwyl from behind, so hard that he was propelled head over heels into a tree on the other side of the clearing. When Gwyl stood again he could see that the dragon had moved, moved at a speed he hadn't even seen, and was half risen, watching the activity with interest.
Whatever it was that had struck Gwyl, struck hard, much harder than even Kangon had. Gwyl had landed it well, using his arms to cushion himself against the tree, but it damaged him. He watched the dragon first, since it was the easiest and likely most fearful enemy, and his back screamed in pain as he moved. He felt welts rise up against the thick layer of mud, blood and other forest things that had become his second skin.
What had struck him was a snake, Gwyl's eyes flickered away from the dragon for an instant to confirm it. A snake, a large one, though not nearly as big as Seth, was curling up in the position he'd been standing, taking its time to show it was there. Gwyl growled, but kept from allowing it to get too loud, he didn't need to challenge the snake and dragon at once. Besides, while the attack had hurt him, he was far from incapacitated.
A laugh emanated from thin air, carried by the wind, irritating Gwyl. He didn't turn to find it, instead calming himself and letting his senses do the work. There was nothing at first, but magic began to swirl around him. Knowing what was happening, Gwyl leapt to the tree branch and then swung away, leaving the magic to do its work. The ground rose, forming walls and then a roof flowed tightly overhead forming a neat little box.
Gwyl growled a challenge again, for what had to be the fifth or sixth time, deciding that it was possible the creature was a human, or a wizard, possibly even a shaman. Whatever it was knew much magic, and was apt at using it, which was becoming increasingly chilling. Because the magic had come from the ground, Gwyl had no idea where it originated from and he tried to sense it again, but the dragon chose to move then.
It rose to its feet, slowly, almost lethargically, its head bobbing back and forth gently, like a gentle ripple of water. It never looked away though, just moved back and forth, stretching slowly. One leg rose, taking a step forward, but it never moved further, just stretched its neck, then its tail and legs, finally unfolding its massive leather wings. It was magnificent, standing tall, wings open, breast bared. It opened its mouth, a soft roar that sounded like a yawn, followed by a black wisp of smoke. Gwyl was again reminded that Seth had warned it could breathe fire.
The voice reached his ears again, a grating laugh. "You're no match for him Demon. He's not like those foolish wizards that dared invade the forest you called your home."
Gwyl blinked, then searched once more for the voice, deciding it might be best to find it as well as watch the dragon. Whoever it was, knew his history if it knew of the wizards before. "How… know?" Gwyl asked, irritated that the creature knew so much about him.
"Oh Gwyl, there is so much more I know about you. Why you came here - why you feel the need to save this traitorous snake, the one you have so willingly bestowed a name upon."
The words brought hisses from all around, as if the snakes understood his words as well as Gwyl did. He could hear all of them cursing in their tongue, wishing him a painful death. For the most art, he ignored the voices, knowing that it was not the snakes that he needed to fear most.
The dragon did not speak, it did not even seem to pay the voice any mind, it simply finish stretching, then stood completely, waiting for something. Gwyl knew any chance of catching the creature unaware had faded, but he was certain that it had acted docile on purpose, to give the impression of innocence and amateur abilities. Gwyl knew that neither of them were true.
Finally Gwyl decided that it might be best to stay in the clearing to fight the dragon. While it made him more vulnerable, it allowed him to see the dragon move about, to test it's abilities before mounting a real fight. It also made it more difficult for a snake to get too close without being seen, or the black-eyed creature in the shadows.
"Gwyl..." the voice chided, then added another name, something that angered Gwyl even more. "Harry..." it said, just loud enough for it to whisper in the winds. "You claim to be a demon, and you plague my life," it continued, the sound of its voice carrying so much rage that Gwyl's throat constricted. "I came here to be rid of my old life, to be free to do as I wanted, and yet here you are. You and that fragmented pack of yours were not suppose to be here. I was supposed to be rid of you, and yet, here you are."
The prior confidence was not gone, but it was different somehow, as if it was broken, filled with hate. It helped Gwyl, because he knew that a creature that would show so many emotions during a battle was not as strong as it could be. He was a little confused because he knew he'd never met the black-eyed beast before. The voice, the eyes, nothing that he knew about the beast was familiar at all.
A howl broke through the whispering wind, not a familiar one, but still a howl. It was comforting to know that there were other wolves out there. The problem was two-fold, first that it had come from the wrong direction, further from the pack than he was, a lot further. Its voice would not Harry to the pack he wanted to hear it, and he hoped that his own voice would carry far enough, even the werewolves would know his howl and tell his pack. Another howl followed the first, from the same direction, a series of songs that made him feel better facing the odds he was facing.
The sounds were different, the voices were different, but the song was the same, always the same. It was strong, an acknowledgment of his plea for help. Even though the voices were foreign and unknown Gwyl was glad that there was pack there and that it would come to help.
The voices did something else, the infuriated the shadow beast. "You came to destroy me!" the voice screamed, the haunting quality of it no long present. Gwyl might had thought that the voice might have been two different beasts, but he knew it wasn't. This animal was no longer angry, it was scared, and all of the confidence it had was gone. "You're here to steal away all that I've gained!" he screamed savagely. "You've come to destroy me! I won't let you! I won't let you leave here again! You stole away everything I had! You killed me once, you'll never do it again!"
Gwyl was even less sure of the identity. He'd never stolen things from people, only taken what had been given to him. Thought he'd killed before, he was sure that he'd never killed anything remotely like this beast. A few animals, a few humans, no others. While he wasn't completely sure the animal wasn't human, he was sure that he'd killed the humans and wouldn't have to worry about them coming to life again.
Adrenaline surged through his body, and his mind began to focus on the pending fight. Gwyl's blood was racing, his heart began beating twice as fast as normal. Magic began spreading through him, making him angry and making the magic spread further. The fight was not a fight, not like the fight he'd had with Kangon, this was deadly, a battle. Gwyl was almost sure that he wouldn't survive and it thrilled him even more.
Somewhere, far in the distance, in yet another direction, Gwyl heard a faint howl. It wasn't a strong song, the wind had killed the words, but it played along the breeze, giving him more hope that the wolves of the jungle would echo his call.
The dragon moved. It was suddenly baring its breast, puffed out, its wings folded close to its body again.
Knowing the fight had begun, Gwyl darted forward, knife finding a place in his hand. He stabbed towards it and watched in horror as the head retracted and the body slid sideways in a puff of dust. The wing had moved for an instant, opening up and closing just as fast. He was almost ten feet to the right of where the dragon was now, his knife plunged into mid air, where the dragons neck had been moments before.
The dragon snarled, though it sounded more like a roar. Its head swung around lightning fast, stretching to catch Gwyl. Gwyl moved, not as fast, but fast enough to dodge. His feet felt light on the ground and he moved with reflexes that were unmatched.
When he was a safe distance from the dragon he considered it again, fighting the dragon and how to approach it. It rose, stretching again, opening its wings wide. They rose, then dropped, flapping slowly. They rose again, and snapped downward, throwing up a cloud of dust. Wind swirled with another flap, bringing up more dust and a few flaps later, rocks.
When the dust and rock settled back to the ground the dragon was gone. Nearby snakes hiss threats, daring to come close now that it had disappeared, but Gwyl didn't care. He searched for the dragon, trying to discover where it had gone to. It didn't take long, to discover where, but it surprised Gwyl to see it moving higher into the air. It was something he hadn't expected.
Magic sliced through the air like a knife, giving Gwyl barely enough time to avoid it. He glanced towards where it had come from, a deep dark part of the forest, but he couldn't see eyes, the black eyes that were angry at him. Another shot of magic twisted towards him, and Gwyl through himself away from it, keeping away from the magic. It was problematic to be facing it. He glanced up to find that the dragon was all but a little speck in the sky, but it was quickly growing larger, coming towards him at a tremendous speed.
With all the strength he had, Gwyl bound across the clearing, away from the shadow and towards the trees opposite him. He glanced up to see the dragon was coming closer, gaining speed faster and faster as he dove through the air. It was adjusting itself as Gwyl moved, keeping up with every step forward. Its wing spread outward, giving it a flat look instead of a solid round object.
The time between opening its wings and reaching the ground was minimal. Gwyl had only enough time to change directions before the sharp talons of its feet tore into the ground and pulled away, taking with it rocks, dirt and roots.
He watched as the dragon rose into the air again, its wings flapping up and down, pounding against the wind that carried him. A snake slithered forward, trying to use Gwyl's focus against him. The snake pulled back, finding several deep wounds in its belly before it could get out of the way. The dragon neared again, Gwyl could feel it magic approaching like a huge stone in the sky.
Gwyl dodged the snake and focused back on the Dragon, finding it was almost upon him. The snake struck at his side, and was suddenly not there. The Dragon had gripped the snake around the midsection and was roaring a battle call. Gwyl watched as the snake was rushed from the center and then tossed aside from he sky. It fell into the woods a good distance away, no longer a problem. Still, the dragon was a problem, Gwyl knew that if it caught him he'd be squeezed much easier than the snake, because the snake was much bigger.
It was then he realized how one-sided the fight was, how futile any effort would be to stop the beast. It was quick, and lived in the air, gwylk could tell from the way it floated there, not feeling the least bit uncomfortable. It belonged in the sky, that was why it had wings.
The fight, while something he'd only imagined, was decided. Gwyl knew the outcome would not be in his favor, not unless he could lre it into his playground, a place where it no longer had the advantage of air.
Scrambling towards the nearest tree, Gwyl felt the dragons magic descending on up again. He pushed himself harder, trying to make it to the trees before the dragon made it to him. He couldn't make it though, as he neared fire sprang from the sky, obscuring his path. He screamed in frustration, sliding to a start and heading towards another section. It too burst into a wall of flames, obscuring Gwyl's path. The flames did more than burn him, they weren't just like normal fire, they screamed magic at his senses, scaring him even more.
Another laugh, from a different direction, near the edge of on of the flames.
The dragon swooped in again, and tried directly for Gwyl as he stood, surprised, considering his options. It missed him, but just barely. The heat of the flames didn't seem to hot as he considered what would happen to him otherwise.
Pulling the rope from his belt, Gwyl decided on the best plan of action, not sure if it would work, but hoping. He would have liked to have had the whip, or even the wrap, but Stray had them both, and his pack still hadn't responded.
Looping the rope around his wrist, he concealed it and ran again, heading towards the nearest opening of flames. A snake appeared just beyond, but he ignored it, because it didn't matter. The dragon was faster, it had risen into the air and it fell again, like the sky was throwing a rock that never touched the ground.
Gwyl felt it behind him the instant before it reached out. He rolled to the side, leaving the rope to hand in mid air, exactly where he'd been. For a moment he thought it didn't work. Then, almost the moment he was about to try something else, the rope yanked hard on him, cinching the rope around his wrist and rising into the air so fast that everything was a blur of greens and blues.
By the way that Gwyl was thrown back and forth he didn't have to see the dragon to know it was angry. It roared so loud that the whole forest must have heard, and continued higher into the air, with Gwyl trailing along, no longer happy at his idea choice. He was going to use the rope to propel himself into the trees, losing his rope but keeping his life. Now he was whipping around with no control.
He stared down at the ground as it shrunk beneath him. The snakes, even the largest of which, disappeared, even the large clearing became nothing but a tiny dot. Then the rope went slack and Gwyl twisted in terror. The dragon had flipped in mid-flight, using the length of the rope to its advantage, it was suddenly baring down on him. Gwyl began dropping, faster and faster, with no way to maneuver.
It seemed to take forever when it happened. He felt the dragon approach, saw the ground and how far it'd been. It once again seemed as if he were standing away, watching himself die. The dragon's mouth was open, ready to engulf him whole. There was nothing else, no pack to watch him die, to avenge the death. Seth was far below, and would soon follow in death.
Magic started to build within, he could feel it, almost see it happening from afar. It was like a burning ball of flames spreading out from the center. Then, as everything returned back to reality the sharp teeth of the dragon crunched, killing the spreading magic. Gwyl roared in pain, an intense, white hot pain that seared his whole body. He wriggled, but found it only mad things worse as the teeth cut deeper. His blood boiled, and the pain intensified, like pokers of pain being shoved into him.
When Gwyl tried to move the pain deepened until his body quit responding altogether. He couldn't even close his eyes as he watched the ground come closer and closer. The dragon dropped him unceremoniously next to Seth. Gwyl knew because he could see the stakes driven into the ground, holding Seth down. He saw nothing else, except that the morning sun had finally breached the mountain tops on the horizon.
There was a brief moment that the light intensified, as if the sun were coming closer. Magic sparkled, tearing at the ground around him, but Gwyl could do nothing about it. He would have liked to face the dragon again, he thought, in a match that was even, when he wasn't hurting and he had only the dragon to worry about. The light became so bright that his eyes, even open, went black and he dropped into unconsciousness.
• Updated 2004.12.17 •