“I’ll be back soon,” Brianna said.
“Be careful,” Zollin said, but there was an element of excitement in his voice.
The truth was, he felt like they could actually finish their task soon. He knew that returning to Yelsia with his task unfinished would be difficult, and after the virus had set them back almost two whole days in the Jaq clan village, he had lost hope of getting in front of the dragon. Now their plan was coming to fruition, and he couldn’t help but be excited. He had sensed the wounds on the dragon. Its pain was palpable, and he was sure the beast couldn’t fly. There was really no reason why they couldn’t defeat it. He rose joyfully into the air, excited to find the perfect vantage point.
Brianna led Lilly through the valley. The horse was the picture of contentment, her horse shoes clipping and clopping on the rocky valley floor. Unlike the Great Valley, which was green and full of life, this valley was filled with loose stone and low, anemic-looking shrubs that managed to take root in the few spots where soil covered the stone floor. The cloud cover overhead was starting to break apart, and a few shafts of sunlight shined through the thick clouds.
Brianna knew she should be positive and hopeful like Zollin. Once they had dealt with the dragon they could return to Yelsia and to their friends. They could be married, and that thought was a happy one, but still she felt a sense of trepidation. She couldn’t put her finger on the problem. In her mind she knew that killing the dragon was the right thing to do. The beast had slain countless people and laid waste to entire villages. Still, in her heart there was a spark of hesitation. Somehow she had developed a sense of empathy for the beast. She didn’t want to feel sorry for it but she did, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t shake the feeling.
It took half and hour to walk Lilly through the valley, which eventually curved around one of the mountains and ended in a small, sheltered area that was the perfect place to leave her horse and set up camp. She gathered some dry brush that could be used for a fire later that night and took the packs off Lilly. Then she spent some time talking quietly to the horse and rubbing its soft nose. Then she left Lilly, telling her to stay, which the horse willingly did.
The walk back was more difficult. She knew that she needed to tell Zollin about her misgivings, but she didn’t really know what to say. They had a job to do, a duty to their kingdom, but she wasn’t sure if she could go through with it.
Zollin had already found what he thought was the best place to wait on the dragon. There were scattered boulders they could hide behind if they ended up needing to do that. They had a perfect view of the valley. When Zollin saw Brianna returning, he used his magic to lift her up the mountainside.
“What do you think?” he asked. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s just what I had in mind,” she replied.
“You don’t sound very convinced.”
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“Well, we’re going to be just sitting here, waiting for the dragon to come by. You might as well tell me what’s bothering you.”
“How do you know the dragon will come this way?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she was changing the subject.
“It’s a big valley-several of the other valleys feed into it,” he said, his forehead wrinkling with thought. “I guess we’d be better off having something to lure the dragon this way.”
He stood up and let his magic flow out. He could sense the dragon nearby, but it was moving slowly and he wasn’t sure that it would come into the valley. He began looking for other animals. He needed something big, something large enough that it would be a tempting meal for the dragon. There was a goat on the mountain opposite them, but it was small and scrawny, making Zollin doubt that it would attract the dragon’s attention. Then he found an elk. It was a cow, all alone, which Zollin found odd. Still, he concentrated hard and lifted the animal into the air. She kicked and thrashed in terror, but Zollin didn’t lift her high. He pushed feelings of peace and safety into the terrified animal and was pleased to feel that she immediately calmed down.
“Is that an elk or a deer?” Brianna asked.
“A cow elk,” Zollin said. “I think I can calm her down and keep her in the valley. We can make a few small cuts to get her bleeding. Hopefully that will be enough to attract the dragon.”
“It’s a bit inhumane isn’t it? I mean, the elk will be in pain.”
“Not if I do it right. I should be able to keep the pain blocked and after she’s bled a little I can heal the wounds.”
“Okay,” Brianna said.
She wasn’t wholly convinced, but she had a bigger issue on her mind. The dragon was coming closer. She could feel the large beast now, through some sort of magical connection, although she didn’t understand it. It was like a woman who is close to labor, but hasn’t started contracting yet. Brianna knew the dragon was coming, and her sense of empathy was growing with every minute that passed. She could sense the dragon’s pain, its raw feet, the festering wounds, its overwhelming hunger. She knew instinctively that it would now come through the valley. It would smell the elk, even if Zollin didn’t bleed it. It would come to feed and it would be walking right into their trap.
Zollin had just finished healing the elk and putting it into a deep sleep in the middle of the valley when the dragon appeared. It was hobbling along, obviously in pain. They could hear the scraping of its rough scales as it dragged its body along the ground.
“There it is,” Zollin said.
“I see it,” Brianna whispered.
“Get your bow.”
“I will, it’s too far away to shoot at yet.”
“You shot game that far away,” Zollin said, with a note of suspicion in his voice.
“Think about it, Zollin. Even if I hit it, one arrow won’t kill it. And it can easily just run away. We need to let it get closer so that we have time to make sure it doesn’t escape.”
“All right,” he said. “So are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”
“It’s nothing,” she lied.
“Since when do we keep secrets from each other?”
“We don’t keep secrets,” she said.
“Well, whatever is on your mind is more than nothing, so why don’t you tell me?”
She sighed, an obvious sign of exasperation that Zollin recognized.
“Okay, you don’t have to tell me,” he said, throwing up his hands.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you,” she replied. “It’s just that I don’t really know what’s bothering me. It’s just a feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“I don’t know. Why is it so important?”
“I’m sorry, I can just tell that you’re not okay. I want to help.”
“Well, you can’t fix it. Thanks for caring, but I’ll be fine. Let’s get on with it.”
They watched the dragon for several more moments. The beast was hurrying toward the elk, oblivious to any danger. Zollin couldn’t tell if it was so used to being at the top of the food chain that it had no fear, or if it was being reckless.
“What do think?” Zollin asked.
“If we wait much longer it will kill the elk,” she said, her voice sounding hollow.
“Okay, do your thing. I’ll make sure there’s a magical shield up around us, just in case.”
She raised the bow and nocked an arrow. There was something reassuring in the familiar routine. Having the bow in her hand again made her feel strong. She pushed down her foreboding and drew the bow, bringing her thumb to her check just below her eye. Her vision narrowed and zoomed down onto the dragon. The beast looked weary. She could see the wounds her arrows had caused at the dragon’s lair. The tissue around the wounds was swollen, and there was some type of dirty-looking mucus seeping from the wounds. She focused on the beast’s head. It had a row of thick, scaly lumps or ridges running from its snout up across its skull. There were small horns on the dragon’s head, and its eyes were cloudy.