They were all gawking at him. All were splattered with blood and unsteady. Every single one of them looked like he or she was surprised to still be alive.
Killum looked around. He'd conquered the dungeon. Gyevikxus was his dragon, his vicious pet attack-dragon at that. And all of the dragon's treasure was theirs for the taking.
"You saved my life," Asha said.
He actually saved all of their lives. She was just the only one of them who had died, so understood better how important it was to not die in that realm.
"Take cover. Hide," the battle-mage said. "I'm about to bring the dragon back."
"Why?" Tiana cried. "We barely survived his attack."
Killum tapped the helmet. "This helmet controls him like it's a subjugation talisman, so I think he has to obey me now. But you might want to hide just in case it all goes south."
They all found something to hide behind. Killum remained up on the dragon's bed and took a deep breath. If he misunderstood what the helmet was about, then he was about to die.
"Gyevikxus."
The dragon came out of the helmet, looking like it burst out of his forehead, and coalesced before the battle-mage. Gyevikxus appeared facing him, on all fours, and looked around. Killum noticed he looked towards each of his friends, so hiding from him wasn't going to be easy.
Gyevikxus growled, before lowering his head. "What is your command?"
Chapter 33
"Is Gievexus the dragon's name or a magic word?" Rand asked.
Killum almost answered, but to speak the dragon's name would be to suck it back into the helmet. The dragon spoke up before he could figure out how to correct Rand.
"Gyevikxus, dork," the dragon said. "It's my name and the magic word."
"Did the big lizard just call me a dork?"
"He's a very smart dragon," Fergus said. "I like him."
Killum jumped in before it got out of control. "How do I address you without activating the spell?"
"The usual practice is to just shorten my name," Gyevikxus said. "Call me Gye, master."
Killum cringed. "Yeah. Don't call me 'master' anymore. My name is Killum."
"Hi, Gye, I'm Tiana," the thief said. "You're gorgeous."
Gye's massive, terrifying head swung around to the thief. "You're my favorite, Tiana."
The dragon turned to Asha, pushed his snout into her belly to shove her back a step, and stared into her eyes. The sorceress's eyes widened as everyone tensed.
"Don't ever hit me with one of those overgrown lightning bolts again," Gye said slow and menacingly. "I don't like it."
"Be nice, Gye," Killum said. "These are my friends. Asha has been my friend the longest."
"Even the surly dwarf?"
"Well…"
"Hey, I'm right here," Rand said. "I can hear you."
"Of course Rand is my friend and valued member of our motley crew," Killum said. "He'll be your friend too, but he is an acquired taste."
"Your friends are my friends. Especially Tiana and the elven ranger."
Fergus stepped forward with a wave. "My name is Fergus. Rand is okay, just stay upwind of him. He farts a lot."
Everyone looked at Rand, who shrugged as he squeezed one out. "I like beans."
Tiana and Asha waved their hands before their faces as they moved away from the dwarf. Fergus laughed, and Killum just shook his head. They probably weren't making a good impression with the dragon.
"So, Gye, from now on I will be calling on you to help us in fights," Killum said. "Besides being huge and physically powerful, and breathing fire, is there anything else you can offer?"
"I have limited magic. Mostly defensive," Gye said, giving Killum a curious look. "But warriors generally ride me into battle."
"That's actually awesome," Asha said. "Now I'm a little jealous."
"I'm a lot of jealous," Tiana said.
Killum noticed a place on Gye's shoulders where a man could ride straddling his neck. There was a long line of sharp spikes behind that spot, running down his spine and tail. There were no spikes on the neck, but Gye's head was covered with horns and spikes.
"How do I keep from falling off? Is there a spell for dragon riding?"
Gye made an odd shrug, and a fine leather saddle appeared. It was bright red, with silver trim and decoration. Wide leather straps crisscrossed the dragon's shoulders to keep it snuggly in place.
"Want to go for a ride?" Gye asked. The dragon bowed and pressed his shoulders to the ground, bringing the saddle down low enough to climb into. "You're not afraid of heights, are you? I won't like it if you throw up on me."
Killum tried to act nonchalant, but he felt like a ten year old boy in a candy store. He had his own flying dragon. A real, live flying dragon mount. He quickly, and a little awkwardly, climbed into the saddle and pulled the safety strap across his lap.
"Is that strap going to be enough?" Asha asked.
"My magic will keep him from falling out. The strap is only to make the rider feel safe."
With that, Gye turned into the tunnel and rushed through at a furious rate. Killum hung on tightly and ducked low to keep from hitting the ceiling. The dragon reached the entrance in just seconds, and launched himself out like a missile. His vast wings started beating hard and fast, the powerful thump-thump-thump in the air was felt in the battle-mage's chest.
"This is like riding a rocket!"
Gye flew up so high it got cold and Killum was able to touch clouds. Then the dragon did a power dive into a small valley, scattering a herd of deer in a clearing. Killum hung on for dear life, but at no time did he even feel like he would come out of that saddle. Indeed, he could feel magic binding him to it.
"To guide me, you can either speak your commands aloud, or think them," Gye said. "The helmet will transmit your commands to me. So be careful what you think."
"You can read my mind?"
"Nothing deep, but I can hear your surface thoughts, like when you talk to yourself, as long as you are wearing that helmet."
The first thing that popped into his mind, I better be careful what I think about Gye.
Gye nodded. "Absolutely."
Killum spotted his friends watching from the lair's entrance when they passed. Gye flew over the peak of the mountain, and then down the other side very low to the ground. He flew super fast nape of the earth, even catching an unwary mountain goat and swallowing it whole before the battle-mage's eyes.
"That's how I hunt," Gye said.
"Follow the Forest Road northward a little ways," Killum commanded. "I want to see if there are any Dread Ones guarding the road."
The dragon veered sharply and flew over to the road in just a second. They flew up the road, close enough to the ground for Killum to see without using his Farsee. It wasn't long before he spotted a small horde of ork zombies coming down the road.