Except that wasn’t Mitchell’s last thought. As he stood there, frozen and certain that he would soon serve as an hors d'oeuvre to this massive white dragon, the beast didn’t attack him. It merely stared breathing slowly and squinting at Mitchell as if studying him for something.

Finally, it spoke.

“You have her stench all over you. Her magic still lingers on your skin.”

The voice didn’t come from the creature’s mouth, but rather it exploded into Mitchell’s head like a bomb blast. The force of it sent Mitchell to one knee and, for a moment, his vision went white. He blinked rapidly and the world faded back into sight.

The dragon blew out a sharp breath from its nostrils that blasted Mitchell’s hair back and, in his befuddled state, almost knocked him over. Then its long scaled head lifted from where it had been resting on the rock face and scanned the passages in both directions. It took in several more breaths and seemed to be tasting the air.

Mitchell had just started to regain a bit of coherence when the dragon spoke again.

“How frustrating.”

Mitchell grabbed the side of his head and groaned. He could feel his brain quiver like a bowl of Jello every time the monster spoke.

When his eyes cleared a second time the dragon was peering at him inquisitively. Then it spoke again and Mitchel braced himself as best he could. It turns out it wasn’t necessary.

“Apologies, little human. I have not spoken with a mortal in some time. I forget how…” It paused as if searching for the word. “Sensitive your minds are. I trust this is more suitable.”

Mitchell slowly unclenched as he realized the dragon’s voice was no longer going to melt his brain.

“Y–” His voice cracked and he had to pause to clear his throat. “Yes. That’s better, thank you, um… sir? Ma’am?”

Mitchell had no idea what to address the dragon as. All he could do was hope he didn’t offend it.

“You may call me Udranth.”

Udranth directed his attention to the passage behind the wall that Mitchell had emerged from. It inhaled again and Mitchell watched as its nostrils enlarged enough that he thought he could fit his head and shoulders inside with room to spare.

“The fey witch is bold, I will give her that,” Udranth commented before turning his attention back to Mitchell. “How long? Three days?”

“Do you mean Luvari?”

A rumble like boulders rolling down a mountain emerged from the dragon’s chest at the mention of her name and Mitchell’s bones turned to ice.

“Yes,” the dragon answered as if he was tasting something foul. “She is clever and masks her presence well, but I will find her one day. Our battle will be legendary!”

The dragon’s claws began to flex its long black talons curled into the stone like it was no more substantial than cotton candy. Shards of granite exploded and Mitchell had to dodge a few of the larger pieces as the dragon almost quivered with anger.

“I take it you don’t like her?”

Udranth chuffed and glared at Mitchell, almost causing him to step back. He held his ground, though. The dragon didn’t seem to be interested in killing him, although that could easily change. Still, he could show a little courage. Even if all that amounted to was not moving his feet.

“She plies her favors in my territory and does not show me proper deference or respect. Slinking in and out, almost daring me to catch her. But I will. She will face me one day. I swear it.”

A ripple ran down the dragon’s body from its long neck to the bit of tail that he could see hanging over the edge. The scales puffed outward and the wings ruffled, and it made a strange but not unpleasant sound, not unlike dry leaves rustling in a fall breeze. It had a similar effect to a cat fluffing its fur. The dragon seemed to swell momentarily as the ripple moved over its body. Mitchell could only assume it was some sort of threat display, although when you were as large this thing was, he had no idea why a display of any kind would be necessary.

Then it cocked his head and looked at Mitchell anew.

“You smell of the human stock world. When did you arrive on Tewadunn?”

“Umm… about a month ago? Maybe six weeks? I don’t know exactly.”

“Yes. It still lingers on you. Different than I remember, somehow. More…” Udranth paused, considering. “Acidic. Has the atmosphere changed? Some event?”

Mitchell didn’t know what to think about that. Calling Earth a stock world spoke volumes and confirmed what the others had told him about how the races had arrived here. And Udranth was, at least in part, responsible for the kidnapping of other humans from Earth. Should he be angry? Would it matter?

“I don’t know when you were there last, but it has changed a lot in the last one hundred and fifty years or so. I suspect there is more industry than the last time you went for… stock.”

“Yes, that might explain it. Burning more organics for fuel. Without magic, your people would need such. Still, you appear healthy and strong. You would have been a good slave if I had found you then.”

“Um… thanks, I guess.”

How was one supposed to respond to being told they would make a good slave?

“And what is that I sense?”

Udranth suddenly drew close to Mitchell. Its large head loomed in his vision, each fang thatprotruded from its iridescent white mouth longer than his arm. It drew so close that Mitchell could reach out and stroke the creature’s nose. Needless to say, he did not make the attempt.

Udranth sucked in a breath so sharply that it actually pulled Mitchell forward a step and he brought himself up just shy of reaching out to brace against the dragon’s snout. Then, his already huge eyes widened slightly and he looked behind him at the door beyond which Lethelin and Allora were presumably still resting having no idea of this remarkable conversation.

Something almost like a chuckle came from the dragon’s throat.

“So you seek to challenge the usurper, then. That is why an Onyx Knight is with you.”

“Yes,” Mitchell responded, almost stunned.

The dragon knew. It could sense it or smell it on him somehow.

“How do you know that?”

“I no longer concern myself with mortal affairs. Frankly, I was glad when they killed Yuliana. She had gone mad with power. Now, I am content to sit in my lair and enjoy my solitude. But I retain agents among the people. Some still serve faithfully. I know a little of what goes on in Awenor, but since the last monarch’s death my messengers have been less frequent. However, I had heard rumors of a surviving Onyx Knight, and now I know why you travel with her. There is something strange about the other one, though.

“Lethelin?”

“The other human, yes. Her scent is most odd.”

Mitchell almost said she was a moon child, as Luvari had called her, but he also knew that information was a powerful form of currency here, and it was best to keep his mouth closed on the matter.

“I will be most interested to see if you succeed.”

“So you’re not going to eat us?” Mitchell finally asked.

Udranth arched an eyebrow and cocked his head at him.

“Why would I eat you? Do you have any idea how foul humans taste?”

“No, I have never eaten one.”

“I don’t recommend it. Foul, as I said. And from the acrid scent you carry, I doubt you would taste any better than the last one I ate.”

“Thanks,” Mitchell said, unsure if he’d been insulted or not.

“You and your companions are free to travel the paths as you like. The only reason I emerged from my lair was I felt the fey witch’s magic on the air. But I was late yet again. She is masking herself when she appears, and I will find out how eventually. She will answer for her disrespect.”

Udranth growled again low in its huge chest and Mitchell could feel the vibrations through the soles of his feet.

Without preamble, the dragon spread its wings and the large leathery membranes caught the air instantly. They were pulled tight like the sails of some massive old wooden vessel from the days of the British Empire. Udranth pumped them once, then twice, experimentally and, this time, Mitchell did step back being forced to cover his eyes as snow was sent swirling into near white-out conditions.

“I hope you struck a good deal with the witch, human. You’re going to need every advantage if you are attempting to retake the Onyx Throne.”

Before Mitchell could answer Udranth pumped his wings much more powerfully and lifted off the surface of the rock face he had been crouched on. Mitchell was thrown back by the force of the wind and he smacked hard into the old rock wall and fell in a heap.

Suddenly he was being shaken roughly.

“Mitchell! Mitchell, what happened?”

Mitchell peered through bleary eyes to see two Lethelins crouching over him. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus again. This time the two images merged and he could finally focus on her. Her hair was disheveled and she was still in her undershirt, shivering in the cold air. Behind her Mitchell could see a similarly garbed Allora, standing guard in the pass, sword out and krisa flashing.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Is he awake?” Allora called behind her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Mitchell grunted. “I’m awake. I’ve got a nasty bump on my head though.”

“What was that?” Allora turned then and walked over to examine him. “What happened?”

Mitchell groaned and sat up. His back was already smarting from being slammed against the old fort wall.

“There was a dragon,” he said with a grunt as he slowly got to his feet.

Both Allora and Lethelin froze and stared at him in stunned silence.

Mitchell was too preoccupied with trying to stand without falling over to pay the women much attention. One hand bracing himself, he stood, and his vision swam. For a moment, he thought he might retch. Seeing his unstable condition Allora remembered herself and stepped up to perform a minor healing on him.

Her magic passed into his body and almost immediately he felt his aches recede and his head became clearer.

“Thank you,” he said with a sigh of relief.

“Mitchell, are you saying there was a dragon? It was here? You saw it?” Allora drilled him.

“Not just saw,” Mitchell replied as he began to search the piled snow for his sword. He found it a few feet away in a pile of rubble. “I spoke with it. I don’t know if it was a male or a female.”

“Stollar’s balls, man,” Lethelin spoke up then. “You talk as if you were having a conversation with a fisherman on the wharf. You don’t just talk to a dragon!”

Mitchell stretched, trying to relieve the little bit of stiffness that he could still feel in his back, and shrugged.

“Look, I was just as shocked as you were, believe me. Dragons don’t even exist on my world. I’m lucky I didn’t piss myself. But I came out for some air this morning, and it was just there.”

Mitchell pointed to the bit of rock face that the dragon had perched on. The gouges that its obsidian-black claws had left in the granite surface were easy to see. “It was curled up like a cat the size of a Mac truck on a ledge and staring at me. I don’t know how something so large could move without a sound, but I had no idea it was there until I looked up. Besides, it talked to me first.”

The two women looked at each other and something seemed to pass between them. Allora was the first to speak.

“What color was it?”

“It was white. Like the color of a new pearl, kind of iridescent. It was beautiful, actually. I mean, I was scared shitless, I’m not going to lie, but it was beautiful.”

Lethelin plopped down on her ass like her strings had been cut and looked like she was going pass out.

“Stollar’s hairy cock,” she exclaimed in hushed breath.

Mitchell looked to Allora to see she had gone as white as a sheet.

“You spoke to Udranth, the Cold?”

“Don’t say his name!” Lethelin hissed at Allora. “What if he comes back!”

Allora actually looked chagrined and ducked her head in an apology.

“You spoke to the Cold One?”

Mitchell had the distinct feeling that he was in trouble, like a child called to the principal’s office.

“Yes? I didn’t know what else to do. I looked up and it–he–was there. He spoke into my head.”

“What did he say?”

“He was looking for Luvari, actually. I guess he could tell we had met her. He said he could smell her magic on our skin.”

“And he just left?” Allora pressed. “Just… flew away?”

Lethelin still looked too stunned to actually talk. She wasn’t actually rocking in place but she seemed to have trouble keeping her hands still. It was a nervous habit which he’d seen her displayinside the cave when she was feeling trapped. Clearly, she’d been rattled.

“Tell me everything,” Allora said and her tone suggested she really meant everything.

So Mitchell explained everything he could recall in the order that it happened. Allora was silent the whole time, listening intently. Lethelin eventually picked herself up out of the snow and paced back and forth, only swearing occasionally. She seemed especially distraught that Udranth thought she smelled interesting.

“What if he decides he wants me? He has my scent now! He can find me! Stollar’s balls!”

“Quiet,” Allora snapped. “Do not borrow trouble.”

“Easy for you to say! The Cold One didn’t say you smelled interesting!”

Allora clucked her tongue at the pacing thief.

“If he wanted you, he would have taken you,” Allora argued. “Please let Mitchell finish.”

Lethelin closed her mouth despite obviously wanting to argue, but continued to pace. She glanced repeatedly at the sky as if expecting the dragon to return and snatch her up.

“Well, that was pretty much it. He said he hoped I made a good deal with Luvari because I would need it if I wanted to retake the Onyx Throne. Which, what is that, exactly?”

“I can explain that to you later,” Allora said.

Mitchell gave her a warning look and she immediately spoke to allay his fears that she was once again hiding something.

“It’s not like that, it’s just not as important right now.”

Mitchell arched an eyebrow but nodded.

“So this dragon is bad?”

“He’s bad in the way that a blade in the heart is a lover’s kiss,” Lethelin said.

Allora crossed her arms and shivered, not only from the cold.

“Come on,” Mitchell said. “Let’s get inside and get ready to go. You can tell me as we pack.”

They rushed back into the room where they had set up camp. Tammi and Marvin were alert and agitated, no doubt having smelled the dragon outside, and it took some work to calm them down and get them saddled up. As they packed, Allora explained.

“Much information was lost after the war that brought down the dragon lords. But a few names survive and the terror that they inspired is still very much remembered. Few dragons remaining alive from that time bring more terror than U–” Allora caught herself and used his title rather than his name. “Than the Cold One.”

“Remember when I told you there were two dragons living in the Peaks? A blue one and a white one?”

“Vaguely.”

“The blue one ranges farther to the south. She prefers the warmer temperatures. The Cold One is an ice dragon. The cold is where it feels most at home.

“He made his name through his skills as a slaver. He had a knack for sensing worlds where new mortal races could be kidnapped. He didn’t need to scry for them. It is said that he could smell them. Somehow, he was able to detect suitable worlds and, through his minions, create the teleportation circles to those places. No one knew how he did it. He became the preeminent slaver during the time of their rule. He was responsible for more of our people being stolen from our home worlds than any other dragon.”

Mitchell took that in.

“So he’s a real piece of shit?”

“That is putting it mildly,” Allora said.

“He was a fan of collective punishment to get obedience from new slaves. He would kill half his stock to get compliance from the other half. Sometimes, he wouldn’t even wait for a sign of rebellion, he would do it preemptively. His servants were just as brutal. Because it was so easy for him to go to the worlds where more slaves could be found, he was unconcerned with how many needed to die to get what he wanted.

The packing finished, they stood at the entrance of their shelter as Allora finished her story.

“After Yuliana Blood Scale was killed the mortal races rose up en masse and turned on their oppressors. Those who served the dragons willingly were slaughtered in the most brutal fashion. It’s said that it took a month for the rivers to run clear again from the blood of all the dead. The dragons that could be brought down were. Some fought and tried to regain control of their slaves but, after centuries of growing fat off of our labor, they were unprepared for the scale of the rebellion. And there were many more of us than of them.

“So, while many were killed in the rebellion, the people were able to gain their freedom.”

“Of course, they set to warring with each other almost as soon as they had that freedom,” Lethelin quipped. “Greedy river slugs that they were.”

Mitchell remembered some of that conversation when Revos recounted how his people arrived at a place that the warring factions of survivors weren’t all that interested in at the time. The place they now called Kazig.

Allora grimaced at that.

“So much life lost,” she agreed remorsefully. “But before the civil wars started there were hunting parties created to seek out and kill some of the cruelest dragons that had escaped the purge. The Cold One was one such dragon. He was one of the most feared and the most hated. He killed every group that came after him, and eventually they gave up. When they realized that he seemed content to stay in his lair in the mountains, they stopped sending parties after him and left well enough alone.”

Lethelin shivered and then added to the story.

“The rumor was that he knew the scent of every one of his slaves. He could find them even across the continent. Any slave he had bought or sold he could find again. You couldn’t escape from him, no matter what you tried. The only way out was to die.”

“Whatever the reason,” Allora continued, “the Cold One always knew when they were coming. None of the men and women sent to make him pay for his crimes ever returned.”

“Fuck,” Mitchell said in English.

“You have Stollar’s own luck,” Lethelin said, a grin managing to break through the frown that had creased her face since Mitchell had first mentioned his encounter with Udranth.

“I guess.”

“Maybe it’s an omen?” Lethelin asked Allora. “Maybe the Cold One not killing us all is a sign that we’ll survive this insanity?”

“I hope so. I think we are due some good fortune.”

Mitchell smiled back and soon they were all grinning at each other. Maybe it was his near death experience or the fact that they were all still alive at all, or that he was standing on the top of a mountain in a magical kingdom carrying a sword and a sevith that could harness the primal forces of nature. Mitchell didn’t know but suddenly he felt really good.

Without asking, he leaned forward and kissed Allora firmly on the lips. She stiffened but didn’t pull away. She started to lean into him and the kiss lingered. He pulled away slowly, and he saw her eyes open and she licked her lips and gave him a smile that Mitchell thought held some promise. Something had definitely changed since she’d woken up.

From the corner of his eye Mitchell saw Lethelin shift uncomfortably. He turned to her and pulled her close to him and kissed her just the same. She was significantly shorter and she stood up on her tiptoes and leaned much more into the kiss than Allora had, but it was just as warm.

After the kiss finally broke, Mitchell stepped back and Lethelin fell back on her heels. Then a look of panic passed over her face and she stared at Allora like she thought the Knight was going to take her head. Instead, Allora merely nodded.

“It is okay,” she said quietly. “You have earned my trust.”

Relief washed over Lethelin like a wave and she actually giggled. Her hand came to her mouth and she tried to stop it but a half giggle, half sob actually broke through. Then she stepped forward and embraced Allora who looked just as stunned as Mitchell felt.

“Thank you,” Lethelin said into Allora’s shoulder as the elf awkwardly embraced the hardened killer.

“Um…? What’s going on?” Mitchell asked, confused.

Allora patted Lethelin’s hair, who hadn’t broken the hug yet, and gave Mitchell a sympathetic smile.

“Just something between us. It is okay.”

Lethelin stepped back then and tried to collect herself.

“Well, come on! It’s getting late, and we’re not dead yet!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mitchell told Lethelin.

“Lead the way,” Allora chimed in next.

***

Two days after the dragon encounter, the three of them rounded a corner on the path and stopped dead. Mitchell stared in awe at the land stretching out in front of him. If you had told him it was the Garden of Eden, he would have believed you. The land filling his vision from horizon to horizon was the lushest and most verdant he had ever seen. From this height, he could see for what had to be a hundred miles or more and everywhere was the explosion of life. After the desolate wastes of the desert, he’d just crossed he almost couldn’t believe that such life existed in this world. But it did – and in abundance. Everywhere he looked there was something growing, something living. Greens of every shade and a sprinkling of reds, yellows, and blues. Far off in the distance he could see evidence of worked fields and what might have been towns or villages. There was a glistening line of silver cutting across the landscape from north to south and he thought he could make out some lakes here and there.

Strangely enough, it felt familiar to him. He felt like he had seen it before. It felt like home, but not a home he had ever known. There was a pull in his chest that somehow resonated with the land below. Time seemed to slow.

“Welcome to my home, Mitchell Theodore Allen. And now your home, as well.”

Mitchell knew that voice. It was Awen. She was speaking to him through the heart stone.

“You are beautiful,” he responded. “It’s the most beautiful place I have ever seen.”

“Thank you. I await you in Lorivin. You must get to the throne and complete the bond. Then I will be able to aid you much more in the cleansing of the land.”

“Are you safe?”

“Milandris hunts for me, but I have slowed him considerably. His forces grow weary and frustrated, but they have not given up. The things I do to slow him down also damage the land around him and, if he is not stopped soon, I will cause serious harm to the plants and animals that live upon me. I know you have much still to do, but do not delay long. Some of the things I have done to divert him have already caused damaged that may take a generation or more to repair.”

“We’re coming.”

“Yes.”

Mitchell blinked. As Awen’s presence receded from his consciousness, sound filtered back into his ears and things started moving at normal speed.

Allora stared out at her homeland with what could only be described as pure love. She was where she belonged. Even Lethelin looked a little awestruck.

“This is Awenor, Mitchell,” Allora said, her breath coming out in an almost reverent manner.

“It’s beautiful.”

They all stared for a moment, simply drinking in the sight of so much life.

“Awen sends us welcome,” he said into the silence.

Allora only smiled and took her hand in his. Lethelin did the same on his left.

“Come on,” Mitchell declared at last. “We still have a long way down.”

Hand-in-hand, they began the final descent into Awenor.