Dragon Tamer

Tallinn and I spent a good couple of hours thoroughly pummeling each other into the ground. Every inch of our skin was either cut or bruised, but by the time the sun was down and it was time to head home, we hugged it out. He no longer hated me, seeing that I was going through my own shit, and I felt better about falling for someone way out of my league.

Elesor landed gently in our backyard and lowered herself so I could slide off her with ease. Sorely, I took all the equipment off her back then kissed her a good night. We carried our muddied asses through the door.

Amelia screamed from the kitchen. Kaden whirled around, knife in hand to dispatch the intruders. He laughed when he saw us. “’Bout time you two made up.”

Casper, Harry, and Giles came tumbling over from the living room with Dad and Camden right behind them.

“Kali!” Camden shoved passed everyone and gripped my shoulders. “What the hell happened to you?” Up close, I noticed he still had the split lip I’d given him earlier.

Lovely, they’d been so busy, she forgot to heal him afterwards.

Rolling his eyes, Tallinn pushed him off me. “She’s fine, Prince. Kali can take a punch or two.”

“Or a hundred?” he shrilled, glaring at him, fists clenched at his sides. “Did you do this to her? You little shit, if you want to beat someone up, beat someone your own size.”

"Hello," I snapped, stepping between them, “are you blind? It wasn’t one way, Cam. This is how we settle things in this family.” I’d done just as much damage to Tallinn as he’d done to me. “Don’t you beat your brothers sometimes?”

He relaxed--a fraction--when he looked at me, eyes drifting from one wound to the next, seeming more and more distressed with every one he found. “Yeah, but it’s different.”

“How is it different?” I challenged, hands on my hips.

Dad squeezed through my brothers and put a hand on mine and Camden’s shoulders. “That’s enough, Kal. Go get cleaned up before dinner’s ready or we’ll start without you. You too, Tallinn.”

“I call the bath!” Tallinn pushed me into Camden to rush up the stairs three at a time.

Groaning, I dragged my feet up the stairs. Amelia hopped to my side. “I’ll help clean you up.”

I sat on my bedroom floor while Amelia grabbed some sponges from the linen closet. I was naked by the time she came back with a bucket full of warm soapy water. She only paused for a second, catching a glimpse of a large scar from when a dragonling had bitten my thigh; each tooth mark was clearly imprinted on my skin. I personally thought the one on my back where a dragon had raked his claws down the length of my spine was much worse. I was just thankful she didn’t say anything about them. I didn’t mind the looks, I was used to them by now, but I’d grown attached to her, and thus her opinion actually mattered to me--even what she thought about my scars.

Moistening her lips, she handed me a sponge then grabbed one of her own before starting brushing me down. “So,” she started, eyes focused on a particularly muddied part of my shoulder, “Prince Camden returned home shortly after you left.”

“And?” He did? That would mean they didn’t have enough time for. . . anything. It probably took him that entire time to walk back home.

So? There’s no need for you to do that weird flip-flop thing, stomach. It doesn’t change anything.

Amelia scrubbed my shoulder raw. “I just thought you should know. You seemed. . . upset that he sided with Amber.” She stopped her assault on my shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. “You know I’m your friend, right, Kali? You can always talk to me.”

I dubiously peered over my shoulder at her. “Really? You want to be my friend?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? You’re a generous, selfless, passionate person. You always stand up for what’s right. You’re the kind of friend I want in my life.” She went back to cleaning the mud and blood off my skin while I sat in silence, astounded by the words she spoke. She wanted to be my friend. She thought I was a good person. She didn’t think I was a freak of nature.

A strange feeling bubbled up in my chest, making me feel giddy. “Thank you, Amelia. I’d like to be your friend too.”

Once I was all cleaned up, she grabbed clothes she’d lain on the bed for me; they weren’t mine--I didn’t own a skirt--and from what I could tell the shirt was a tiny bit too small. “What’s this?”

She flushed, tucking hair behind her ears. “Your shirt got ruined--Prince Camden brought it back--by his blood and you didn’t seem happy with any of these shirts, so I got you one of mine and a skirt if you want it.”

The skirt was pushing it, but I gratefully tried the shirt on. It fit better than I thought, the sleeves not too tight while the top hugged my torso like a second skin; I’m sure on her it would have been as loose as the sleeves were for me. I paired it with my riding pants and smiled at her. “Thank you, again, Amelia. This is super sweet of you.”

She waved it off, blushing. “It’s what friends do. If you want, I could hem your other shirts so they’ll fit you. I promise I won’t tell Giles you asked me.”

This was what it was like to have a human friend.

Tears welling in my eyes, I hugged her fiercely, too thankful to express with words. “I can see why my brother likes you. You’re the nicest person in the village.”

Cheeks redder than a tomato, she squeezed then released me and tidied up my hair so it didn’t cover my face like how I usually had it if I wasn’t training or working. “Come on, dinner will be done by now.”

Tallinn was still in the tub when we passed the bathroom, but since he was a jerk and stole it from me, I didn’t feel terribly obligated to remind him dinner wasn’t going to wait for him. And it smelt amazing. The closer we got, the more distinguished the scents became. . . roast beef, potatoes, carrots. My mouth was watering by the time we made it to the table. I sat beside Camden, who couldn’t stop staring at the bruises on my face, like he’d been helpless to stop my pummeling, and felt weak and awful for it. Amelia left to help Kaden in the kitchen.

Casper, on the opposite side from me, leant forward on the table, grinning. “So, who won?”

Camden was taken aback. “You’re kidding me. Your sister looks like she’s been run over by a wagon, and you want to know who won??”

“I did.” Obviously. I might have cheated and gone for a nut shot, but my brothers didn’t teach me how to fight fairly. I fought to win.

“That’s my girl,” Dad cheered, ruffling my hair.

“I can’t believe you encourage your sons to beat your daughter.”

“Cam,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder to make him look at me, so that he knew I was earnest, “it’s okay, honest. I started it. It’s how we settle things here. Tallinn and I made up, that’s all that matters.”

He smiled halfheartedly at me, as if he was unsure if he should be smiling. “As long as you’re okay.”

“She will be,” Amelia promised on her way back from the kitchen with two plates loaded with food; she placed them in front of Camden and me, earning a pout from Giles that she didn’t give him food first. “I’ll heal all three of you after dinner.”

Kaden came in balancing the rest of the plates. He sat down, and we prepared to dig in the feast he had prepared for us.

The town’s bell went off.

There was a beat of silence at the table, aside from the faint tolls outside. We all looked at Dad. He rose first and we followed.

“What’s going on?” Camden asked, following me on the way down to the basement.

Dad unlocked the beastly door and lit a match to reveal our weapons stash. The walls held swords, whips, and shields, while the drawers below them were filled with arrows and knives.

“We’re under attack,” Dad answered him then gripped my shoulder before I could enter the room with my brothers. “Stay here with Camden and Amelia.”

I watched Harry and Giles pick up their weapons of choice while Casper and Kaden slipped into some armour, then I glared at Dad. “I can fight.” I’d fought to defend this town many times before and had never given him a reason to doubt my skills.

He pushed me back up the stairs, which caused me to crash into Camden. “You’re injured. You’ll stay inside with Tallinn and protect the prince and Amelia. We’re done.” He turned back for the weapons room, dismissing me.

My blood boiled. Who cared if I was injured? People could die if we didn’t have everyone helping to defend Plum!

Cam yanked me behind him, shoving me up the stairs.

The next person to push me around was getting a knee in the groin.

“What about me?” Cam offered. “Put me to work, Grant, this is what I’ve been training for.” His gaze was resolute, a prince ready for battle.

Gods, if Dad let Camden, the newbie, fight, I sure in hell was.

“No,” Dad told him as he passed us, fully armed. Leather armour wrapped around his shoulders and torso, while he wore a heavy set of thick pants to protect his legs. “I need you to keep Kali out of trouble.” His eyes cut into me on his way up, a warning to stay out of trouble to keep Camden safe.

That’s not fair! Of course he had to play that card. Yes, Camden was my responsibility--but so was the town! Plum was my home, how could I stand by and let my brothers fight without me?

Dad marched out the door, each one of my brothers following stoically behind him. Not one of them forgot to ruffle my hair on their way out. They meant it to be affectionate, but it only felt like they were salting the wound. Giles stopped to give Amelia a hot kiss before leaving.

Grumbling, I ran up the stairs to get Tallinn out of the tub. He squealed and swore at me when I burst through the door and tossed him a towel. “What the hell, Kali!?”

“Bells are going off.”

That was all he needed to jump out and snatch the towel from me. “What is it this time?”

“Don’t know, but Dad wants us to stay here. We’re too injured."

He froze in the middle of grabbing his pants to scowl at me. “What? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”

“Right? Let’s go.”

“Hold up.” Camden materialized in front of the door, arms crossed with a very princely glare; it was the kind of look I’m sure his subjects did everything they could to avoid, it so menacing and commanding. Too bad for him, I wasn’t his subject. “Your father ordered you to stay behind.”

“And? Our people are under attack. Orders be damned.” I stepped forward with a challenge in my eyes. “You can move out of our way or you can come with us.”

This was it. The moment I found out what Camden was made of.

He held his ground, sharpening his glare on me, as bold as any stubborn male dragon. “You don’t even know what the threat is. Let’s gather some information before running into danger head first.”

“Oh.” It took a moment to process. He was going to help us. I’d expected him to dig his heels in real deep and do everything he could to stop us.

Tallinn slipped a shirt over his head and narrowed his eyes suspiciously on him. “You picked the right side, Prince. So, what’s the plan?”

Camden relaxed and offered me a small smile. “First, find out what we’re up against.”

Right on cue, a roar reverberated through the house. Seconds later, Amelia ran up the stairs frantically. She tossed her pale blonde hair out of her face, which had flown all over the place in her panic. “Guys! There’s a manticore outside!”

Tallinn and I swore on the same beat. Things have changed. They hadn’t attacked our village in over a year, but there were only two things they came here for: Dragon Vain and dragonlings.

The side of the house shook. A guttural growl followed. Amelia jumped to my side, gripping my arm with trembling hands. We rushed to the window at the end of the hallway. Down below, we had a clear view of a manticore trying to break into our stables-- where we stashed our Dragon Vain. Its venomous scorpion tail stabbed at the wooden walls protecting the stone while its massive lion claws pawed at the remains to clear its path. The dragon wings beat the air wildly in frustration as it struggled to get inside to claim the stone it so badly desired.

Dragons weren’t the only creatures that used Dragon Vain to breathe fire. It was thought that since they were also part dragon, they also needed it to fulfil their dietary needs; Dragon Vain gave them nutrients no other ore could give them. Typically, manticores attacked our mines and dug out the Vain themselves to complete their diet. Not tonight.

“Shit. Shit! Shit!” Tallinn, as aware of the gravity of the situation as I was, bolted for the armory downstairs. I chased after him, ignoring Camden’s call to make a plan first.

He caught my wrist before I hit the stairs to the basement. His frustration glowed in his eyes. “Kali, just stop and think for a minute.”

I understood that his training taught him to stand back and assess the situation before jumping into anything. But tonight was the night he learned that there wasn’t always time to take a minute.

“There’s no time to make a plan!” I tore my wrist free of his grasp. “If that manticore eats the bag of Dragon Vain in there, it can burn the entire village down. We have to stop it.”

Tallinn came up the stairs and tossed me a barbed whip, a short sword, and a bag of pegs. He eyed Camden up and down sharply, a broadsword in one hand and a saber in the other. “Are you with us?”

Camden held my gaze, mouth set in a stubborn line. A turmoil danced in his eyes: waste time making a game plan or trust that his instincts would be enough to keep him alive out there.

He blew out an agitated breath and shoved a handful of hair out of his face. “Hand me that broadsword. It’s time you see an Acker in action.”

That was the right answer. Relief flooded through me. I really didn’t want to fight him, but I would have if he tried to stop me from doing my job.

I turned to Amelia, gripping her shoulders, and prayed to gods she would listen to me. “No matter what, stay in the house. You’ll be the safest in the armory.”

This wasn’t our first rodeo. Our house--among many of my other villagers’ homes--have been burned down and rebuilt since the creation of Plum. Our basements were reinforced to withstand the hottest fires. Even if we failed to stop the manticore from consuming the Dragon Vain, Amelia would be safe.

She peered outside nervously then back to me. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

I admired that she wanted to do her part, but she didn’t have the skills to help us this time. Her time to help would come later once we took care of the threat.

“Stay out of our way,” Tallinn grunted, already at the door.

I gestured for her to go down to the basement then followed Camden and Tallinn outside. The village was lit up by flames, both from torches and from manticore that had gotten their jowls on Dragon Vain. From the roars echoing around town, a big herd had sniffed their way to our village. Dragons and their riders flew above to combat the beasts in the air, threatening to burn the buildings down. Our warriors fought in the streets to defend families who couldn’t fight.

Tallinn tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention over to our first target. His grip tightened on his sword, but Camden was gazing around the ashen town in horror and rage. This was what he was training for, why he wanted a dragon so bad--to defend his people. If only he had a partner to give him the strength to get through the night.

I caught his attention, gesturing for him to follow Tallinn as he crouched and edged around the corner. Now wasn’t the time to be stuck in his head. I needed him to focus. He seemed to read it in my gaze and nodded to me firmly, eyes steeling over into ones of a fierce prince who had sworn to protect his people. It was all I needed to feel confident in him.

The manticore was far too busy tearing apart our stables to notice us turning the corner. The beat of its wings sent a gust our way, and thanks to my training, Camden held steady, giving me comfort. Out of all the creatures he’d told me he’d slain, a manticore hadn’t been one of them. I was worried his unfamiliarity would put him at a disadvantage against the beast’s weapons.

“The most important thing is to avoid its tail,” I whispered to him. “If the strike doesn’t kill you, the poison in the stinger will. I’ll take care of it, if you guys grab the Dragon Vain.”

Tallinn nodded in agreement, motioning for Camden to take the right side while he went left. I waited for them to be in position then swung my whip for the tip of the tail. The barbs dug deep at the base of the telson. The manticore turned to snap at me, but Tallinn swiped at its leg, distracting it. On impulse, it tried to strike its tail for him. Holding tight to the whip like an idiot, I went flying; my weight was enough to throw off its aim so Tallinn easily got out of the way. It dragged me across the ground a couple feet, before I got my bearings and stood up, yanking on the whip to regain control of the tail.

Meanwhile Camden snuck passed the beast, leaping through the hole it had created, and snatched the Dragon Vain satchel.

Tallinn cut into its side while the manticore was focused on getting me off its tail. It snapped its attention to him. I pulled my pegs out, driving them deep into the ground, and wove the whip around each peg. With a vicious yank, I secured the tail to the ground.

Seeing our plan, the roaring manticore flapped its wings to take off. Its wings were much stronger than its tail--if we let it get any air it could free itself.

“He’s taking off!” I warned. There wasn’t anything more I could do with its tail, so I joined my brother, cutting the tendons in its hind legs. The manticore cried as it collapsed onto its rear.

Camden swept in the front and sliced into the belly, narrowly dodging the guts that spilled out. With one final whimper, the manticore fell still.

“Everyone okay?” Tallinn asked as he stepped over the pinned tail to me.

Grimacing, Camden tiptoed around the body and guts to my other side. “Just peachy.”

A shadow flew over us.

“What now?” Camden groaned.

Elesor landed in the backyard and called for me. Her eyes landed on the manticore body, and her scales bristled.

I rushed to her side, soothing her scales down. “It’s dead, Elli, we’re okay.”

A high-pitched, blood curdling bellow rented the air. Elesor bowed down at the sound.

My heart lurched. There was only one creature that could make such a heart breaking sound. A dragonling dying. Everyone was so busy defending their homes, no one was protecting the dragonling pen. We kept them there to keep them safe from predators until they were old enough to defend themselves.

“Let’s go, Elesor.” I jumped onto her back, resting my feet on her wing joints.

“Wait!” Cam hurried to our side. “Where are you going? We should stay together.”

He was right, of course. I couldn’t take down a manticore by myself. But the only thing on my mind were the dragons I’d trained since they hatched being torn apart by the vicious jowls of a manticore. They needed me. Their mothers entrusted them into my care. Nothing in this world could stop me.

“I have to help the dragonlings.” I took the bag of Dragon Vain from him. “Stay with Tallinn.” It was the safest place for him to be at the moment.

Not caring much for his consent, I double tapped Elesor’s sides with my heels. With a powerful thrust of her wings, we were airborne. From above, we had a better view of the attack. There were fifteen in the manticore herd altogether. Thankfully, our warriors had taken down more than half, but the ones that still roamed the streets left chaos in their wake, strewing the streets with bodies and rubble. Some had broken into peoples’ stables where they stashed their Dragon Vain like we did and spread their fire wherever they deemed fitting. If they weren’t tended to quickly, they could take out the entire town.

However, I couldn’t worry about the fires right now. A manticore had broken into the dragonling pen; it was a massive bird cage designed to keep the dragonlings from wandering around town, but at the moment it had caged them in so they couldn’t escape the manticore cornering them. It had already killed Oscar; his front leg had been completely torn off, chest wide open and inviting the manticore to feast.

My blood boiled.

Elesor landed just outside the pen, growling furiously at the sight of the corpse. Thinking of only protecting the other four dragonlings, I jumped off her back and bolted into the pen.

Unaware of the rage driving me towards it, the manticore poised its tail to strike Xanu. I cracked my whip, catching the stinger and yanked it down. Caught by surprise, it had been easy, and it gave me enough time to swipe my blade across the telson, cutting it clean off.

The beast reared up, roaring something furious. As the lion and dragon halves thrashed around in agony and panic, the ground shook violently, causing me to lose my balance. What was left of its tail came crashing down for me. I rolled to the side again and again, throwing myself as far away from the flailing limbs as possible-

A wing unexpectedly came swinging and hit my chest. I went flying into the arena’s wall. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and I missed the claw looming over me. It shoved me down on the ground, pinning my front in the dirt. It leaned more of it’s weight on me, crushing me.

Ignoring the splintering pain running up my side, I groped for my sword and slashed at the paw. The angle was too awkward, the manticore barely felt it and continued to press down on me. Its teeth came uncomfortably close, hot breath spilling over my shoulder.

Damn it! Why wasn’t I stronger? My brothers wouldn’t have let a manticore best them like this!

Suddenly, the weight came off.

Taking the brief reprieve to breathe, I looked up to see the dragonlings tugging on the manticore’s tail, pulling it away from me. Xanu, the biggest male of the group, spread his wings and thrashed them in a threatening display to distract the beast while Kylie, Trinatar, and Jazin clawed and pulled with everything they had.

The manticore released a blood-chilling, terrifying roar. As much as I appreciated their efforts, even four dragonlings were no match for a manticore. They were in trouble

“Elesor!” I cried, climbing to my feet.

The loyal green dragon broke through the cage walls and stood between the beast and the babies. Her threatening wing display made the manticore bow down, second-guessing its decision to go after them. Good. She made herself look as big as possible, wings fluttering, smoke billowing out of her nostrils. She released a roar fit for any dragon in the heat of battle. The manticore snarled back, snapping his teeth at her.

Then it pounced.

They rolled in a big kerfuffle of wings, tails, snarls, and claws nearly crushing the dragonlings hiding in the corner. While they fought, I bounded for my whip laying on the ground where I’d dropped it.

Elesor snapped at the manticore’s wing, tearing at the webbing with her teeth. The monster batted at her with its massive paws, swatting the side of her muzzle, exposing her long neck. I shot out my whip before it could pounce for her throat; it caught its hind leg, and I pulled as bloody hard as I could. The manticore fell flat on its face.

In that split second, I grabbed the biggest chunk of Dragon Vain in the bag I could find.

“Elesor! Burn that bastard to ash!” I threw the Dragon Vain for her.

She tore away from the manticore, eyes locking onto the hunk of ore instantly. Mouth open, she reached out for it-

The manticore leapt into the air and caught it in its jowls before she could.

My heart stopped.

That chunk was big enough to fuel a dragon for a good two hours with flames hot enough to melt the side of a mountain--and the manticore just took it.

Time seemed to slow down as I watched it swallow the biggest mistake of my life. An amber glow slithered down its throat, shining so bright it was visible through its thick mane. It burped, smoke billowing out of its nostrils.

“Fuck me.”

All the dragons stuck in the cage would be unaffected by fire. But me? I was stuck in a wooden cage with skin very sensitive to burns. Even if it didn’t directly breathe fire at me, if the cage caught fire and collapsed on me I was dead.

Feeling an awful sense of dread gnaw at me, I backed away from the digesting manticore. I shouldn’t have. It caught my movements in the corner of its eye and snapped its head to me, barring its sharp, sharp teeth.

Elesor barked at it, ramming her horns into its side. The manticore cried out, caught off guard. She whipped it with her tail, herding it away from me so I had a chance to escape. I hated the thought of leaving her and the dragonlings alone in the arena with the manticore, but she was right. It had to leave. I was in over my head.

Swallowing back my pride, I booked shit for the massive hole she’d created-

A fireball landed right in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. Choking on a scream, I staggered back, tripping on a piece of rubble.

“Kali!”

“Don’t come in here!” I didn’t know who was stupid enough to run head first toward a manticore with Dragon Vain, but they needed to leave. Now.

I was distracted for only a second. It was all the manticore needed. A fireball came hurtling my way and there was nothing I could do to stop it.