The Beast

Fiction by Windsong

The beast’s metallic roar echoed about the cavern, reverberating through the passages and tunnels with a vicious energy. Incinerating heat raced along with it, flying from its owner’s mouth like an arrow of fire. Dirt shaken from its place in the walls showered in light sprinkles, seemingly replacing the mounds of glittering gold closest to the sheer rock with heaps of rusted metal and grime. The very volume of the cries sent the small piles of coins scattering and bouncing along the dusty stone, their sweet, sharp rings lost in the angry bellows.

Kitraes’ booted feet felt the ground shake as she drew her longsword from her back. Breath was coming ragged in her throat, matching the pulses of her heart. Her grip on the leather-bound blade tightened and she glanced behind her. A young man stepped from the shadows and nodded down the tunnel from which the heat and flame had come from, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

“He solved our problem.” His voice could barely be heard above the uproar that continued to echo mercilessly in their ears.

She rolled her eyes and hefted her round shield with a weary arm. “Our problem was something that we didn’t want him to get the chance to solve, Kles,” she shouted, cynicism dripping from her words. “Let’s get going. He gave us his position.”

“What we need to know, what we don’t want to know.”

Frowning in annoyance, Kitraes began to jog across the expansive cave to a side-tunnel that opened into absolute blackness. Her heart skipped faster at the thought of being blinded in their search –only now it wasn’t a search. Her fear she swallowed along with super-heated air that smelled of charred flesh. The tunnel opening only lay meters ahead of her, but she couldn’t hear Kles. Kitraes whipped her head around to toss a split-second glance over her armored shoulder. Kles was only a step behind her, unstrapping the two hardwood throwing spears from his thighs as they plunged into the jet black.

The smell grew worse with each cautious step they took, winding their way through the passage, running their hands along the rough walls. Kles rubbed his sweaty neck and blew out a gasp of disbelief.

“If I had thought to bring a few herbs, we’d make a wonderful pair of roasted-“

“This is a dragon we’re dealing with. Did you expect him to be breathing ice?”

“Well, if that were the case, then-“

“Shut up.” Her voice sounded hollow in this tunnel, dancing around her, increasing in volume, and finally escaping down ahead of them. Ahead to the dragon. Not that it mattered. He already knew they were there. Another roar jarred the foundations of the underground network of roughly-hewn stone, throwing the two to the ground. Scalding breath pursued immediately, singeing the hair on Kitraes’ bare sword arm. Muttering a curse under her breath, she chided herself for forgetting to wrap her forearms with leather,

No sooner had the barrage stopped than the two were up and jogging ahead, with nothing but a faint, evil glow at the end of the tunnel to light their way. Kitraes’ eyes strained against the dimness, searching for the thing that would end their journey. But all that could be seen was the brightening light ahead of them that throbbed red and seemed to emanate heat as they drew nearer.

She began to step from the tunnel into the empty cavern before Kles grabbed her sheath and jerked her back into the darkness. Gritting her teeth with irritation, she pried his fingers from the leather scabbard and leaned against the stone.

“Don’t go killing yourself just yet.” Kles moved forward as close to the opening as he dared, turning and beckoning Kitraes with two fingers.

“I thought it might be better than having him do it.” With a large sigh, she strode to his side and gazed out into the cave. The two drew in a simultaneous quick breath as their eyes traveled to the soaring ceiling and over massive natural columns. Everything glowed in an ethereal redness, flickering as if reflecting a bonfire in the center of the colossal hollow. Even the mountains and small hills of glittering coins, jewelry, and decorative weapons looked to be on fire, shining with a fiery crimson that sent chills down Kitraes’ spine. With his free hand on her shoulder, Kles leaned close and whispered,

“He may know we’re here, but we don’t know where he’s hiding in his underground castle.”

“All of his treasure is getting in the way. For all we know he could be behind that pile.” She jerked her head to the right, indicating an especially large collection of valuables that lay only feet away. Turning her eyes heavenward, Kitraes tossed her blade from hand to hand. “Couldn’t dragons have collected something like water?”

“No such luck.” Kles grinned. The grin faded almost instantly as he crouched and brandished his spears. Throwing herself to the ground beside him, Kitraes held her blade free and held the shield over her weapon arm. The dragon’s head rose above his stores and sniffed the air. The large, leathery wings opened and stretched to their full span, almost extending the full length of the cavern. The membrane that was stretched between the spidery fingers of the wings seemed as red as the rest of its surroundings, pulsing and flickering as if fire was running through the visible veins. Maybe it was.

A growl issued from the lipless mouth that sent the ground shaking and smoke pouring from the dragon’s nostrils. Sharp, razor-like teeth protruded from under the black reptilian skin that covered its jaws. The teeth glimmered scarlet and clacked together as the dragon opened and shut his great mouth, seeming to be irrepressibly ardent to kill and devour.

The beast rose to stand upon his powerful hind legs and arched his snake-like neck. His body was a black silhouette against the pulsing red walls of his dwelling. Scales devoid of any reflected light stood up like spikes along the broad back, tapering only to flare out again, deadly and blade-like at the end of his whip of a tail. The tail could be seen flailing about-scattering gold and gems every which way-from where Kitraes lay flattened against the scorched stone and Kles crouched in motionless awe.

She swore to herself and nudged Kles. “A Great Dragon,” She mouthed. Her partner had already noticed and nodded quickly, his brow creased into an extremely aggravated frown. This was something unexpected. There weren’t supposed to be any more of these kinds of dragons living. More capable warriors were supposed to have killed them all. This was supposed to be a routine job.

Another growl caused a miniature earthquake, which threw Kles off of his heels and on top of Kitraes. The breath came rushing from his lungs as his stomach collided with her backbone. The tremor continued as he struggled without success to get to his feet.

“Hello.” With his nose crushed into the floor of the passage, Kles glanced to his right to find Kitraes gazing at him in confused amusement. He would have laughed if his lips were not momentarily adhered to the ground. And if Death wasn’t laughing at him.

“This is comfortable, isn’t it?” Grunting under the extra weight, Kitraes rose roughly to her knees, tossing Kles off of her into the tunnel wall. She winced as soon as he connected loudly with the stone, apprehensively turning her eyes to the dragon. An unintelligible curse issued from her mouth at the dragon’s head cocked in their direction and his slitted eye fixed upon her face. Her knuckles scraped painfully against her breastplate as she stumbled to her feet, desperately pulling Kles up with her. “We’re not hidden company anymore.”

“Doesn’t give us much leeway, does it?” A trace of a laugh died in Kles’ throat as he rose, beginning to extract her fingers from his tunic sleeve. For an instant, the two stood face to face and stared into each other. Both looking for fear, but hoping not to find it, and both seeing something they didn’t know what to make of. Though both of their faces were half-shadowed in darkness, it was easy to read the other’s expression. But not so easy to interpret it. Kitraes hated things she couldn’t understand, and released her partner’s arm distractedly. The dragon’s wings were spread again as the beast paced fluidly behind and around the columns. His movements were surprisingly graceful for an animal of such build and size. His claws barely scraped the ground in his dance-like prowl, and the long, lethal tail lashed lazily from side to side. Such unforeseen rhythm. But that was the way of a dragon: never be or do anything anyone will expect.

Crouched in his customary battle stance, Kles twirled the spear in his left hand tensely and curled his lip. “Is the idiot stupid enough to ignore food when it’s sitting in front of him?”

“You’re wanting to get killed?”

“I just find it odd that a dragon ten- no, thirty- times bigger than us isn’t letting loose his fiery column of death.”

“He’s a Great Dragon. His mind is more developed than the regs that we deal with. He’s bigger, too. We’re no threat.”

“He’s mocking us.”

“Right.”

“And he’s smarter.”

“Right.”

“Perfect.”

There was no use for strategy now; they were seen and what they came here to do had to be done. Without a second glance, Kles leapt ahead of Kitraes from the cover of the tunnel and circled to the right. The opposite direction was Kitraes’, and she grasped the leather grips of her shield and jogged away into the mounds of gold. Her mouth was set in a determined but desperate line, silent and tight, Her normal war cry stayed locked in her throat; victory was not assured, much less an escape. Fighting a Great Dragon gave her no reason to let loose the confident, presumptuous words that so often before had rent the air of caves-her combat arenas. This was life or death, do or die. The future of Kles and herself rested in their ability to put into effect their years of training. If anyone had thought them heroes for killing normal dragons, their praises should be silenced. The honor and fame meant nothing now.

The dragon’s pacing continued as the black reptile waited patiently for his doomed prey to come to him. The next growl sounded like a laugh to Kitraes, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming in contempt.

Only feet separated her and the beast now, and she readied her sword. Before she could move, Kles flew through the air in front of her and hurled a spear into the Great Dragon’s flank. The weapon quivered in the leather-like flesh and stuck fast. Black blood slowly made its way from the wound to soak the hardwood shaft and dripped on the stone floor. A roar that violated all others ripped from the dragon’s throat and sent him whirling upon the two humans. Flame erupted through the knifelike teeth, sending Kles and Kitraes fleeing behind the nearest pile of coins. The ground shook under the massive clawed feet that pounded after them. Kitraes crushed herself against the gold and readied her shield. They had little time.

“Aim your next one for the joint where his head meets his neck.”

“That works for regs.”

“What?”

“Did you see how my spear stuck in his leg?”

“Must have softer skin.”

“Compensates with size.”

“What’s your point?”

Coins cascaded down the mound as the dragon emerged at the top, crouching over his collection of valuables. The next burst of fire melted the gold closest to the beast, and the two lurched from the pile to escape both flame and scalding metal. They split up again, circling widely.

Whirling to face his tiny adversaries again, the dragon leapt from his perch and landed in front of the girl. Her path was blocked, with a column behind her and mountains of valuables impeding her escape on either side. Stepping closer, he shoved his nose close enough to brush her round shield. Playing with his food was a favorite pastime of his.

Kitraes’ heart nearly stopped beating as she stared into the giant’s malicious green eyes. Shaking hands brandished her longsword, and she wondered if it would do any good against a Great Dragon. He opened his mouth slightly, smiling at her. Mocking her. Laughing at her. Anger spread through her veins like wildfire, and she sneered in what she hoped was convincing fearlessness at her dark enemy. She roughly passed her forearm over her cheek, wincing slightly as a small burn stung with her sweat.

Taking a gulp of scorched air, Kitraes ran forward and over the armored nose, onto the head where the spikes just began. Rearing his massive head, the dragon growled in helpless rage and shook the head-spikes furiously. Kitraes clung with a failing grip to his left horn as her feet groped for a scale to rest on. There was none, and she slid down his neck, barely escaping being cut to pieces by the slowly growing spikes that ran the length of the Great Dragon’s spine. Her fall was caught by the immense joint where the wing met his shoulder blade, and she somersaulted to lay with her stomach across the long arm of the spidery wing-fingers. The dragon’s dance of anger whipped her around violently on her precarious perch and it was all she could do to keep her numbed fingers wrapped around her sword hilt. Her shield had long since been abandoned, having been dropped as she fell from the beast’s head. It lay now beside his left set of claws, its metal edging gleaming a defeated, dull red.

Kles jogged to the dragon’s turned back and skidded to a stop. Kitraes was hanging onto the base of his wing! Baring his teeth , the young man leapt into a dead run between the black legs of the reptile and unstrapped his third spear from his back. As he neared the underbelly of the beast, he grasped his weapon’s shaft and cried,

“Get off of him, Kitraes!” Whether she had heard him or not, he didn’t know. But there was hardly a moment to think before he plunged his spear into the dragon’s soft underside. As an ear-piercing screech rang to the ceiling of the cave, Kles rolled clear of the dragon’s stomping feet. He jumped to his feet to see his partner falling from the wing into the gold below. Glittering pieces flew in all directions as she disappeared into the wealth. He was beside her in a moment, shoveling handfuls of the stuff away. Her hand appeared from under a bejeweled coronet and Kles grasped it, pulling her completely free.

Brandishing her sword at the dragon, Kitraes slid down from her place beside her partner and nearly collided with her adversary’s black right claw. She was thrown to the ground upon impact and rolled instinctively to the right, only marginally missing a volley of flame. The ends of her hair were scorched, and she bit her lip. That was a little too close.

She rose to her feet in time to duck another assault of fire. This time it screamed right past her shield arm, melting a chest of coins behind her to liquid gold. Kitraes’ eye caught her shield, sitting under the Great Dragon’s shadow. As she began to sprint recklessly toward it, Kles caught her arm and pulled her back.

“You’ll never come out from under there alive,” was his desperate shout over the unearthly roars of their opponent. The coins under their feet bounced as the beast closed in on his two pathetic assailants.

Kitraes jerked her arm from his grasp and glared at him. “You did.”

“That’s not my point.”

They were separated with another scorching argument from the dragon’s mouth. Kles jumped to the side and into the planks of a treasure chest. The metal lock hit the nape of his neck as if someone had thrown it, and blackness instantly clouded his vision.

Half of Kitraes’ boot was burned from her foot, and she growled in pain. Without looking at her leg she knew it was worse than she wanted to know. Standing shakily, she turned to face the dragon and pointed her sword at it. A challenge. The Great Dragon loomed over her, flapping his wings in assured victory. His huge, black chest was exposed to her as her enemy tipped his ugly head back in a triumphant screech. There would be no better chance. Her feet pounding the stone in a running start, Kitraes launched herself into the air and held her sword forward with both hands above her head. Her blade broke the skin easily and continued its fatal journey deep into the dragon’s flesh. Her hands were barely out of the wound, but blood was washing them both in an awful black rush. Her feet swung wildly as she dangled from her sword that was lodged in the chest of the Great Dragon. The reptile stumbled clumsily in his death throes, grunting in confusion at the piece of metal that was planted in his heart. With a last earth-shaking, spine-chilling bellow, the great beast collapsed. Kitraes fell from her sword and began to run from the dying dragon’s body, which was overtaking her. Her head broke from his shadow as a large blow from behind crushed her from consciousness.

Kles’ vision was blurred, and a fringe of dark still haunted the corners of his mind. But he was alive. The carcass of the black Great Dragon lay prostrate in front of him, his wings crumpled limply by his sides. The long tail was curled around the large treasure mound they had been so close to just moments before. Or maybe it had been hours. Kitraes! The young man blinked and stood slowly. Pain lanced through his forehead, and he staggered slightly before making his way to his dead adversary. His panicked search began in earnest at the sight of her shattered shield under one of the lifeless claws.

“Kitraes? Kitraes!” Breaking into a limping run, he circled dragon once. The air still smelled as if it had been burned. The stone under his trembling feet remained scorched black. The melted gold was beginning to cool in its new form. This had happened. Why didn’t it feel like it?

A groan brought his attention to the large left claw as he passed on his second round. A hand blackened to blend with the dark scales lifted feebly. With an unknown strength, Kles lifted the claw from Kitraes and heaved it several feet to the side.

An involuntary sob left his throat as his partner attempted to rise. Her entire right arm was burned and covered in dragon’s blood, as was her leg. A cruel, dark cut ran across her face, beginning at her left brow and slicing until the right side of her upper lip. One eye was darkened in a bruise, swelled shut and painfully large. The other was half open, glazed over in pain. As Kles pushed her gently down, his hand was soaked with the blood of a wound at her side. Lifting her short tunic, he gasped at a bleeding cut in her stomach with a fragment of the dragon’s claw fixed between her ribs. His fingertips brushed it as he stared in horrified disgust. Kitraes breathed in sharply, grasping his hand and holding it so tight Kles was sure she would break his fingers.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch that.”

Kles’ voice cracked. “Done.”

“Thanks.”

“We’ve got to get you out of here.”

“There’s not time for that.” Her breathing was labored, and her voice rasped with fatigue. Slowly bringing her other hand to rest on their joined fingers, she closed her good eye. “I’m fairly sure he has a mate. She’ll be coming fairly soon. Get out of here.”

“You know I won’t do that.” Snaking his free arm around her back, he pulled her to him and looked into her eye. “I can’t do that.”

She grinned crookedly. “One of these days…you’re going to have to learn… to obey girls.”

“Not today.” He blinked and two rivulets of tears ran down his grimy cheeks. He sniffed fiercely, “I’m not losing you today.” His voice lowered to a whisper. “I can’t…without you....”

“You’re going to have to, Kles.” Releasing his hand, Kitraes brought her battered fingers up to brush his face and paused for breath. “There’s no way…you’re getting me out of here.”

Grabbing her hand on his face, Kles kissed it roughly and held it to his chest. “Then I’m not going anywhere,”

“Kles-“

“I love you, Kitraes!” She jumped at his outburst, then looked away, reddening in embarrassment. Her eyes were growing bright and she blinked to keep the tears from running down her cheeks. Kles shifted his arm on her back gently and looked her in the face. “And if you’re telling me I have to walk away from the only person I care about and leave them to an enemy I know I could protect them from-or at least try, you don’t know me very well.”

“Then I guess I don’t.”

Her words stung. He felt as if he had been slapped.

“I’m asking you to leave because I know what will happen if you don’t,” She drew in a shuddering breath as a tear rolled from her eye. “Do you think I don’t care about you, too?”

“Then why are you-“ His mouth was shut by her fingers pressed firmly to them. Her good eye was blazing fiercely into his.

“Just listen. We came in the long way, remember? It was quieter. On our way I noticed a tunnel that takes you right to the surface to the left of the passage we came through to get here. To get to this cavern.” She stopped and gasped for air before continuing. “As soon as you’re up top, face east. That’ll orient you to the way we came.”

Kles’ eyes were swimming with tears now, and he shook his head. “I’m not leaving!”

Kitraes’ eye slowly began to close. “Please do as I say…please? Stop killing dragons; you know what happens when you underestimate...you might get yourself killed. Kles...” Her body went limp in the young man’s arms as her last breath left her. Her face relaxed and a peaceful grin spread across her bloody face. Kles sobbed freely as he cradled her lifeless body in his arms, his cries heard by none but the deaf ears of the Beast.