Misti and the Dragon Egg

Misti freed her ears and turned to Virgil.

“What in the Heavens is in there?” she asked, shouting.

She was panicked. She was a hundred percent sure there was a dragon in there. It had sounded exactly like she’d imagined dragons sounded like.

“Don’t worry!” Virgil dismissed her.

He walked to the gates, unmoved, confident. He walked up the steps, passed Misti, and found himself at the tower’s entrance. He pushed the gates open again and stepped inside.

Why was he so calm about all of this?

No other sound came out, so the girl-cat eventually followed Virgil into the tower. They stepped into a large circular hall with no ceiling. Two sets of stairs split and coiled all along the tower walls. Above their heads, the moon floated in the sky. It gave them enough light to see ahead.

Then the light turned into this violent flash. The ground shook again, and this time, the voice that came was ten times louder.

“Leave!” it screamed, and Misti had to cover her ears again.

She made the greatest effort to stay standing and look around. She wanted to see the source of the voice. She expected a dragon to appear any minute now. Whose voice was it?

“Hello?” she called. “Please, hear us out!” She was shouting so loud, her throat hurt.

“Leave this place! Leave!”

Misti fell to her knees. The tremor was too intense. Virgil was still standing, but he had to hold on to the wall.

“My name is Misti! I’ve come all the way from Bravoure and followed the Path that has led me here. Please, will you hear me out?”

The tremor stopped. The voice, silenced again, vanished in a whisper. Misti heard footsteps coming from a dark corner. Something walked towards her. It was no dragon. When it came into the light, she saw exactly what it was. Who it was.

Virgil had spoken of the Blasphemer, and there he was. And he was no sindur. He was no human or elf.

He was sithrax.

Misti’s heart skipped a beat. The tall red lizardman wore nothing but a long monk’s tunic tailored to his size. He had a scaled beard, the horns above his eyes were small and rounded. The crest on his head was damaged. He walked slowly but assertively like she’d seen all other sithrax walk in the capital.

The closer he got, the faster her heart beat. She cowered back quickly, not wanting this giant monster to come closer to her. Her head cocked left and right, looking for Virgil, searching for the exit. She rolled back on all fours and was ready to make a run for it. But the sithrax now stood behind her. She could hear his loud breath. She peered over her shoulder, slowly, quivering, and when she made eye contact with the beast, Misti fainted.

When she opened her eyes, Misti did the last thing that had been on her mind: she ran. She had to stop when she realized she had no idea where she was. It was some sort of room with a single window. She’d been placed on a bed underneath a warm blanket. The blanket was on the floor. She could escape through the window but noticed she was at least twenty feet above the ground when she looked over the ledge. She checked the door—there was no door. Only an opening to some sort of dark corridor. She was still in the tower, though not on the ground floor anymore. Misti returned her attention to the window. She could jump out. She’d land on her paws, and the chance of breaking a leg was low. The girl-cat had to get away.

Where was Virgil?

He’d brought her here, to this vile creature that was going to eat her! Why had he brought her here? Where was he?

Maybe he’d already been eaten!

“You are awake,” a hissing voice said behind her. Though it was quite soft for a hiss.

Misti instantly spun on her heels. The large sithrax in his robe stood by the room’s entrance. She didn’t want to faint again, so she climbed on the window’s ledge.

“Wait!” the creature shouted. “I do not intend to harm you. I am just...” The lizardman held out his hand, his palms and claws open.

He got closer, and Misti got closer to the edge.

“Don’t jump! You’re safe here. Not in the jungle, especially not at night.”

Misti veered her head to the lizard. “You ate my friend!” she shouted, her eyes shooting darts at him.

“You mean...me?” Virgil’s voice. Virgil stepped into the room. He stood behind the lizardman.

A wave of relief washed over Misti, she almost got vertigo from it. Then she realized it was actual vertigo. Her head was spinning from the pressure and the void beside her. She quickly jumped off the ledge and back into the room.

“You see, I mean you no harm,” the sithrax said. He made a strange movement with his thin lips and stretched them. Was it a smile? It was so ugly!

He approached Misti, slowly, hesitant. Perhaps there was something in his eyes that made her relax. Even then, she still stood on her guard, but she would no longer try to escape. The lizardman held something in his hand, which he placed on the ground by her feet. It was her backpack. Next to her backpack, he placed half of a coconut filled with water.

“You must drink and rest, little one,” he said gently. “Tomorrow, we will talk about why you’re here. For now, the night is dark, and you must be exhausted.”

Misti’s eyelids felt heavy as the lizard spoke. He was right, she was tired. Her legs and back were hurting, and the smell of that coconut really distracted her. The sithrax bid her goodnight, then he left the room in silence. Misti wanted to talk to Virgil, to ask him what was happening and who this lizardman was, but he’d followed the creature outside. Misti stood still for a moment. She was all alone again.

She drained the coconut shell of its water, then used her claws to scrape bits of the flesh. She went to sit on the bed, still holding her coconut. She was ready to eat all of it. She was so hungry, she truly believed she could. But Misti was exhausted, and as she rested her head on the pillow just for a second, she let the sounds of the night rock her to sleep. The thump the coconut made when it fell did not even wake her.