Dragon 4 Chapter 18

“That’s not good enough.” I growled. “I can’t let that happen. So, where is the second half of her power?”

I grumbled as Tia tapped her chin, pondering her latest thoughts on where the power might be.

“Tia, we’re going in circles here. Do you know where the spider queen’s power was hidden?” I pushed her.

She paused, her brows scrunching down hard in thought before she gave me a lopsided grin. “Maybe I left it in my study.”

Bart covered his face. “It’s lost to the world then. Maybe for the best.”

“I thought her study was at the fighting beach.”

“You’ll see when you get there. Not that the place isn’t a trove of treasure, but finding anything will be difficult. It might be better for you to just leave it there.” Bart explained.

“Or he could try to take her power.” Tia said, still grinning every time she looked at me. “We couldn’t, but you are our combined power. Maybe you could.”

“How would I take her power?” I asked, eager for something to level the playing field.

“You just eat it like—“

Bart interrupted her. “There’s a very likely chance that you’d die in the process. We stole part of her magic and sealed it in a crystal. As condensed as it is, would be like swallowing a bomb.”

Tia pouted. “Or he could double in size.”

“Double before he bursts. This isn’t a paltry amount of mana he’d be absorbing; it could be too much in one go.” Bart paused. “But in the end, it is up to you. If you survive, you will grow much stronger. If you fail, well, there is a good chance the portion of her power is gone forever.”

I groaned, not really loving the idea of self sacrifice. But I had to acknowledge the spider queen was already formidable. And now she was going to absorb half her power. I had a feeling that while Tia and Bart had been able to take her power, there had been many casualties to get there.

Stopping her from restoring to her full strength was a priory.

Maybe I could ask them how they had taken her power in the first place, but I knew my skills with magic just weren’t there yet.

Another thought occurred to me. “The group she has been working with was trying to sow discord among paranormal groups and human magi. A member of her group said that they wanted to kill paranormals so that the quantities of mana in the world would go up to stop the decline.”

The two of them looked at each other, communicating silently for a moment.

“Not impossible. That is one of her goals, but you can’t trust a thing she says. She’s fae, so she won’t lie, but she will twist things until they are completely unfamiliar. Has she said anything else?” Bart rubbed at his beard. I was thankful he was willing to help me work through her plans and that he was there to keep Tia in check. I liked to think I was more like Bart than Tia at the moment.

“Humans are her opposite, the thing on the other side of her balance.”

“You must be misremembering exactly what she said.” Tia dismissed with a wave of her hand. “I think you should eat her second half of her power, if you can find it. If you can prevent her from reclaiming it, there is a chance that she could be resealed. But not in your current state.”

I raised my hand to stop her. “That sort of magic is well beyond where I am. I can only throw fireballs.”

Both of them looked at me incredulously.

Bart spoke first. “You can only throw fireballs?” He blinked.

“Well, you see, I only learned I was a dragon about eight months ago.” I explained.

Tia swooped in back on full mother mode. “That’s tragic. We need to teach you everything.”

“I’m short on time. Otherwise, I’d love that.”

“He can take us with him, can’t he, dear?” Tia looked up at Bart with eyes that would break any man’s heart.

Bart swallowed. “Yeah, I think he can. But if something happe—“

“Great, take us with you. We’ll teach you everything we can, and you can get to know us, your parents.” She firmly asserted herself in that role, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

But I was sure that I did not want my deceased parents’ imprints floating around in my head.

“No way. Sorry. I don’t need more complications in my life. There is no way I am bringing you around in my head.” I shook my head.

Bart started to interject, but Tia cut him off with a giggle. “Don’t be silly. I meant to take the crystal around with you. We can be there to help guide you that way. Though we won’t be able to pull you inside here often, maybe twice a month?”

I paused, considering it. Bart seemed less enthused, but he simply nodded.

I had to admit the idea of getting to know my parents better was exciting to me.

“Fine.” I agreed.

“Now, tell us about your life. Start at the beginning.” Tia dragged me over to the bench and sat me on her lap. Which was comical because I was far larger than her.

***

I woke up, my brain still remembering pieces of the weirdest dream.

Jadelyn crawled off of me; it must have been what woke me up. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure I could hold still much longer.”

“That’s fine.” I held my head and groaned. It felt like I just got done fighting swamp trolls again and they had cleaned my clock.

“Everything okay?” She whispered.

“Maybe?” I pushed myself against the bookshelf and to my feet while still cradling my head in my hand.

The dream from last night was so vivid; I cast about on the shelf until I found the right position.

There on the shelf was a large crystal wrapped in a gold setting that angled the largest face towards the room.

And in that face was Tia, bouncing and waving both of her arms at me.

“Jadelyn, can you see this?”

“Headache that bad?” she said, leaning around me before gasping. “There’s a woman in there. Do we need to free her?”

I shook my head and then regretted it as the throbbing redoubled. “No, you don’t need to free her. That is apparently the closest thing to a mother that I have.”

“Zach!” Jadelyn grabbed me. “That’s huge. I’m so happy for you.” But she failed to keep her voice down.

“Yes, his cock is huge.” Morgana said, rolling to her feet. “No need to wake the neighborhood, Jadelyn.”

Jadelyn blushed, glancing back at the crystal as everyone else stirred. “That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Morgana, if I put something in here in my bracer, would it risk damaging the enchantments?” I asked.

She looked at me like I was an idiot. “This room is a spatial enchantment. Putting it in another one won’t hurt it.”

“Great.” I grabbed the crystal and looked at my mother, bouncing happily. “I’m going to put in something to take you with me.”

She bobbed her head, her mouth chattering away, but I wasn’t great at lip reading. She wasn’t making any noise, though I suspected she knew that, yet it wouldn’t stop her.

Putting it in my bracer, I faced the room as the girls were all waking up. “Alright, good news. I think I know where the second half of Ikta’s power is. And the reason I know that is the other piece of good news. I saw one of the more recent versions of Bahamut and Tiamat.”

“Wait, what?” Yev blurted out, suddenly looking far more awake.

“Bahamut and Tiamat have been magically storing their memories here. They hijacked my dream for a talk.” I held my head, wondering if I wanted to experience that again. It left quite the headache.

Yev stood there blinking with a blank face. “You met them?”

“Yep. Apparently, the second half of the spider queen’s power is in Tiamat’s study. I’m told it may be chaotic there, likely it is lost among her stuff.” I replied.

“What about the rest of this?” Tyrande gestured to the book-lined shelves. I knew they were likely filled with valuable information, and the items on the shelf that could hold unknown power.

But at the moment, I needed speed. And with Bart and Tia with me, that was my best option. Sorting through the books would take more time than I had available, although… with Bart and Tia I probably didn’t need them.

“We’ll leave them for now. Our top goal is to do whatever is needed to stop the spider queen. I won’t let her destroy everything.” Conviction rang out in my voice. While being the combination of the two may have brought about a change in the great patterns, I was not going to let it lead to destruction. I touched the bracer on my arm where I had the crystal stored.

It was most definitely going in my hoard. I’d find a delightful spot for it.

“That sounds lovely, husband.” Jadelyn laid a hand on my arm. “Shall we go?”

“Yes. You are all okay?” I looked around the room. Besides a few still droopy eyes, everyone seemed good enough to get going.

“I hope there’s food.” Yev mumbled.

After she said it, I became more aware of the rest of my body. My stomach gurgled and growled. “Yes, food would be nice. I don’t suppose you have any snack bars stored away, Morgana?”

“I have blood.” She rolled her eyes. “Why would I have snack bars?”

“Because your favorite dragon gets hungry.” I grouched. “Fine, let's head down.” I waved for the girls to follow me as I opened the portal from the study and led the way out, pausing just outside to confirm it was safe for them.

Scarlett came out with a gun drawn, sighting down both ways before ushering Jadelyn out. When I caught her eye, she just shrugged. “Can’t be too careful.”

I grunted, happy my mates were keeping each other safe.

From the top of the tower, I could see out across the island. The green of the jungle looked like someone had dusted it with white paint. Webs made themselves known, stretching across the treetops.

The island was egg-shaped. The tower stood at twelve o’clock, and the dueling beach was roughly at the four o’clock position on the island.

From here, I could see the barge parked on the opposite side. I knew we were low on food and moving it to the tower had suddenly become more complex.

Morgana stepped up beside me. “What are you thinking?”

“We might have to fight our way to the dueling beach, and I’m not loving doing that or giving up its position. How many driders did she bring?” I squinted down at the jungle, hoping for it to open up and answer my question.

But it didn’t.

“We should assume a near inexhaustible amount.” Morgana gazed out over the jungle. “This might be done easier in smaller numbers.”

“Agreed. Let’s go see how the situation at the bottom looks.”

The tower was at least secure; guards leaned against the openings. Although if she suspected the crystal wasn’t in the tower, it would have less appeal to her.

People milled about, smoke rising from a few fires as guests managed to reclaim some of the meat from the parties. I noticed the prepackaged food appeared to have been devastated by hungry bellies already.

There wasn’t enough food to last even the day.

Brom noticed me enter and strode across the large hall. Even though he wasn’t king anymore, he commanded respect and people parted for him.

“My King.” He did a quick bow with his hand on his shoulder. “We scouted around the tower. They have retreated into the jungle, but even now they are creating giant caltrops and lining the jungle floor to prevent a dragon from advancing on the ground.”

I frowned. “Why would we advance on the ground if we have the air available to us? We have complete air superiority.”

“Unless they ground us. It would be dangerous for us if they pulled us out of the sky one at a time.” Brom sighed. “Advancing through the jungle would be the safest way for us. Not much can stand up to a battery of dragon firepower, not in these numbers.”

I nodded, understanding what he was saying. If we marched as a group, our breath weapons would lay waste to anything in front of us. Yet without the fire of the red and golds, we were left with just the green and brass to deal with all the caltrops.

It would be slow going and they knew that.

“Then I have mixed news for you. I searched Bahamut’s study and came away with the location of what we need. Tia’s study is by the dueling beach.” Glancing around at the gathering, I winced. “It’s, unfortunately, the opposite direction of the barge and all our food. We need that as well.”

But to my surprise, Brom waved away that concern. “We don’t even know the food is still there. She may have taken it. Solving the problem on our island takes priority. We will move together as soon as we can.”

“Actually. I have a different idea.”

We could mow through the jungle as a force, but that would give away our direction and the location of her study. I didn’t know how long it would take me to find the crystal.

If it was anything like Bart’s study, it wouldn’t be able to hold many dragons.

I didn’t like the idea of the rest of the dragons having to sit outside of it for that unknown length of time, taking on a never ending flow of driders.

“We need to buy ourselves more time.” I reasoned. “You lead a force to push towards the barge and reclaim our food. I want to throw her off the trail. It will make her think we have a different goal, and ideally, we reclaim the food.”

“Once you take it, hold it. I want the barge as an option to get all the non-dragons off the island.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you will be on your own?”

“I will have my mates. What we are doing will take time, maybe even days. If the rest of you come with us, you’d be besieged and without food. You could only hold for so long.”

Brom nodded slowly, but I could see the unease on his face. “You will take some of my daughters. They have been trained to fight for many years. I won’t let the king of our people go without at least some protection. I would feel better to know my blood is with you, supporting you.”

I knew instantly that he wasn’t going to budge. But he was trying to help me, so I accepted it. “Okay, but keep the number low. This is a stealth mission.” He nodded, and I turned. “I’m going to check in on Herm and Tim before we get set to go.”

Brom nodded. “It will take time to get things organized. Best of luck to you, my king.”

The way he said it sounded like he was saying goodbye.

So much depended on the spider queen and her motivations. Only time would tell if she would shift her focus to finding me when she realized I wasn’t with the rest of the dragons. But part of me hoped she did.

I was a king now, and my people were my responsibility. I would do what I could to get them to safety, with supplies to survive.

With that in mind, I headed towards where I’d seen the wounded earlier, walking through a crowd of people who parted or offered what they had as they bowed.

I indulged in some of the food they offered, needing to at least somewhat quiet my raging stomach.

A copper dragon noticed me as I approached and bowed, her hand shifting on her shoulder. “My king, are you in need of a healer’s attention?” There was a hint of hope in her voice. I paused, realizing that I could possibly use her help. It was only after she rose from her bow that I recognized Trina.

“My head is killing me, if you can help with that?”

“Sit down, let me look.” She said eagerly, pulling a trunk over for me to sit on.

“Sorry for the suspicion of your people.” I felt bad for rounding up the black and copper dragons.

She parked my hair, inspecting for injuries. “No need. You had your reasons. There’s no injury.”

“No, it was a communication spell that caused it.” I said.

Trina nodded and pushed her hands against my head. “Might be some strained blood vessels. Mind magic is tricky.”

A soothing pulse went through my head, and the ache subsided. “That worked very well.”

“Good. It is a simple spell to reset some of the pressure. Is there anything else?” Trina asked, hopefully bowing again. This time I could see clearly down her dress and I knew she was doing it on purpose.

“Actually, if you are not too busy, you should come with me. It might be dangerous, though.”

She unceremoniously shot up out of her bow. “Really? I’m a dragon. We all handle danger pretty well, even if I focus on healing.”

Right, why would a dragon be afraid of danger?

“Yes, a healer would be helpful for what we plan to do next. But for now, I am looking for Herm and Tim.” I said.

“Of course, right this way. What is it I can do for you?” She pointed in a general direction of the ward.

Having a healer would be helpful, but I was aware she was a female dragon and that might have implications. “Have you met my first mate, Scarlett?” Of course she had. She was one of the eligible dragons, but the question was already out of my mouth.

“The plucky kitsune and the gatekeeper to our kind’s own king? Yeah, we’ve met.” She said it as flatly as she could manage, but it was clear she wasn’t exactly happy with Scar.

“Find her and tell her that you are coming with us. My orders.” I added the last bit.

“Happily!” She jumped and hurried through the crowd.

A heavy sigh ripped itself from my chest. Scarlett would not be happy with me, but I knew she’d understand.

I pushed through in the direction she’d pointed, finding the two brothers leaning against a wall with bloody clothes wrapped around them as bandages.

“You two look like shit.” I teased as I sat down with them.

Tim picked at the cloth. “The blood is dried and our wounds are closed. But I am a little peckish. I could use a cow.”

“Or three.” Herm grumbled, looking a little more pale than his brother. “I’d like to eat a little more to regain my strength, but they said food is low and we were limited.” Herm picked up an empty bag of potato chips and grumbled. “This is not food fit for a wounded dragon.”

Tim put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Calm brother. We survived a fight with the queen of the wild fae, and we helped our king. That is something to be celebrated.”

Tim turned to me. “Is there anything we can do for you?” He tried to push off the wall, standing with a groan as he helped his brother up.

“You two will be going with Brom to help secure the barge and the rest of the food. Think you are up for that?”

Herm chuckled. “For food? Yes, I’m motivated to go all out. When do we leave?”

“As soon as Brom can organize it. And I wanted to check on you, make sure you are okay after yesterday.”

Tim grunted. “Our wounds healed quickly; we are fine. We just need a bit of food to replace what we lost.”

“Good.” I put a hand on each of their shoulders. “After yesterday, I consider you both friends. Stay safe. We’ll talk again later.”

The brothers both gave me big grins and nodded.