Dragon 2 Chapter 30 (Patreon)

As we moved through the mall, it seemed bigger than it should have been. It had been ten minutes, and we had yet to see another sign of trolls.

A hand wrapped around my mouth, even as vigilant as I’d been, and I yelped into it.

“Shhh. What the fuck happened to your scales?” Morgana asked over my shoulder. I could feel her breath on the back of my neck.

I made a muffled noise into her hand, reminding her she needed to let go for me to speak. “Not sure myself. They hurt Scarlett and… and I got really pissed. My breath became frosty and my scales changed.”

“Before or after the Winter Queen’s spell came?”

“Before.” I clarified.

Morgana bit into a nail, and she watched me. “Pendragon. Is this what it means?” Morgana had a theory about my last name being more than just a name, but a title that was once held by the king of dragons.

“Badass is what it means.” Scarlett said, still sounding loopy from her concussion.

“Give me one of T’s potions. I know you have at least one stuffed in your bra.”

“Why don’t you fish it out yourself. No hands though.” Morgana opened her chest to me and damn, did that have an effect on me.

Scarlett ruined it. “Just fuck him already. God, you two are obnoxious.”

Morgana’s smile stayed as she quickly dug her hand into the small pocket space I knew she kept in her bra. A little red vial came out with her hand, and she shoved it unceremoniously into Scarlett’s mouth, maybe even a little vindictive.

Scarlett choked on it. I knew from experience they tasted disgusting. Why T couldn’t make them taste better, I wasn’t sure.

“Better?” Morgana asked.

The kitsune in my arms curled into me, wrinkling her nose. “Better laying in his arms. You should think about it sometime. Or do you already?” She glared back at my partner as tension started to crackle between the two of them.

“Why don’t you two cut the shit. Now isn’t the time for it.”

“Sorry.” Scarlett was quick to apologize. Morgana just frowned, grudgingly nodding her own acceptance of a truce.

“Okay. What did you learn, Morgana?”

“That this isn’t a mall. Or at least, it’s not just a mall. Notice how big it is?” She asked.

I nodded, having started to piece it together in our walk. “So then, what is it? Is this like your bar?”

“Don’t know. It isn’t spatial magic. Or at least, not directly. But we are in a different space than just the mall we walked into. The place goes on for a long while. Eventually it empties into a space where hundreds of trolls are building something.” She scowled. “But then the Winter Bitch came, and I wasn’t about to get any closer without you there.”

“She’s here?” I was surprised. I thought she was staying in Faerie.

“An avatar of her is here. Come on. If he hasn’t already, Nat’alet is going to have to show himself, otherwise I’m pretty sure she could waste him.”

“Why doesn’t she?” I asked, lowering Scarlett down now that she was healed. But she protested, clinging to my neck.

I gave in. She wasn’t slowing me down, so I kept her cradled in my arms.

Scarlett spoke. “Because she’s a bitch, and she isn’t here to help.”

“As much as I hate to agree, she’s right. We knew the Faerie had an ulterior motive. Question is, how much help will we get once they get whatever it is they want from this.” Morgana picked up the pace as we ran through the too big mall.

My feet slapped with what might as well have been gunshots. Stealth was definitely not my strong suit.

***

We entered a large space, and now I was convinced something was wrong with the mall. Someone built a small quarry in the middle of the mall. It was like the space had stretched.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to comprehend a quarry being inside the mall. Tiles were ripped up, and the trolls were hauling cut stone out of the quarry. It was being brought over to a large stone tower being erected to the side. The tower must have been four stories tall; my brain failed to compute how it was inside the mall.

But what was most odd about the scene was that the trolls seemed frozen in time. They were hunkered over their stone, as if they’d gone to sleep right there.

“It’s the cold.” Morgana explained. “Even if they don’t freeze, they huddle up like that for warmth if they get too cold.”

I smiled. That made this all much easier.

Morgana’s ears twitched. “Seems like the Winter Queen just found Nat’alet.” She moved quickly to the partially constructed stone building. Inside, the building was bare stone. Two figures stood inside.

The Winter Queen’s back was to me, but her rich lavender hair and frost blue skin wrapped in white furs made it easy to pick her out.

Nat’alet was a surprise. He was sitting on an oversized stone throne, which only made him seem deathly thin. His skin hung off his skeletal frame like it was ready to slough right off with a breeze. He was old and, surprisingly, his skin was the same frosty blue as the Winter Queen’s. Though his hair was a dull grey.

“It seems your guests have finally arrived.” The winter queen turned to look at us, and her silver eyes swept over me like a pair of knives scraping the scales off a fish.

Her form wavered slightly, reminding me that she wasn’t there in the flesh.

“Merely pests.” Nat’alet’s voice boomed with a rich, deep power that belayed his otherwise fragile looking body. “I shall deal with them after we discuss why you are here.”

A growl rose out of my throat at being dismissed. I had a feeling he wouldn’t call my hybrid form a pest.

The Winter Queen gave a brittle laugh. “Doesn’t seem like he agrees. He’s the one they think will kill you, and I have to say, with the current state of your trolls, he might even stand a chance.” But when she looked at me, there was a question in her eyes. She wasn’t sure what I was, either.

“No matter. You came here to speak to me. Speak.” Nat’alet demanded from his throne.

“Don’t speak to me that way, Merville.” The Winter Queen glowered.

The blood drained from Nat’alet’s face at the name, but he pulled himself back together in a snap. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” His voice boomed, but it sounded hollow, like a man hiding behind something.

“You failed. When you used old magic that we have since scoured from the world, you showed your hand, Merville.” The Winter Queen glared with such intensity that even without being the recipient of the glare, I could feel the weight of it. “That magic has been stripped since we opened this portal in North America. But you predate that, and the surrounding area. How could I not recognize this?”

“I didn’t touch the Faerie. Why are you here.” Nat’alet’s voice cracked as he scrambled to talk himself out of being in trouble with the Winter Queen.

Turning to Morgana, I raised an eyebrow. “What’s happening?”

“I think I know why the space inside the mall is distorted.” Her gaze hardened. “We are in Faerie. Or at least, we are in a piece of it.”

Without turning, the Winter Queen addressed Morgana. “See, she’s even figured it out Merville. You stole a piece of Faerie.” Her tone sent shivers up my spine.

“I— I—” He stumbled two times, almost like he couldn’t speak the following words. “Eat brownie shit. I have ruled this small piece of Faerie for over four hundred years, ever since I was tossed aside. Do you think just because you are a stuck up Queen bitch that you can take it away from me?!” Nat’alet lost it. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he screamed at the Winter Queen.

The Faerie Queen was unperturbed by his outburst, a slight smile dancing on her lips. “There’s another option, of course. You could return this piece of Faerie to me. If you do that, I will withdraw my presence from this. Otherwise…” Her eyes lingered on me. “The council’s candidates to kill you will receive my support. They look quite dangerous, don’t they?”

Scarlett nearly jumped forward; Morgana holding her shoulder was the only thing stopping her. “The Summer Queen said you were here to help.”

“She said I would provide a barrier and remove him from his source of power. That is precisely what I’m doing. The barrier around this drab building will not fall for hours, and taking back a piece of my realm will take part of his power. I am doing exactly what the Summer Queen promised. I’m just not doing it exactly as you wanted.” She looked over her shoulder at Scarlett as if she were a petulant child.

The Winter Queen focused back on Nat’alet. “And in your case, you get to survive on your own merit without my interference.”

Nat’alet’s eyes wandered over to Morgana and me before focusing back on the Winter Queen. “You damned bitch.”

“He’s going to do it.” Morgana whispered.

“She betrayed us.” I felt a hate boiling in my gut for the Winter Queen. She might have stuck to the letter of her agreement, but she wasn’t here to help. She was here to use us as pressure to get what she wanted.

I spoke up louder. “Whether you think you are in the right, you are crossing me.” My tone was harsh to the Winter Queen. “You will regret that.”

“Morgana, would you put a leash on your little man? He doesn’t know who he’s talking to.”

“Oh, he’s more than capable of making his own decisions.” Morgana backed me up.

I stepped forward, the beast hammering in my chest and my palms itching for a fight.

The Winter Queen snapped out her wrist in my direction, and a frosty blue magic washed over me.

It was frigid. I assumed it was what she’d done to the frozen trolls outside, but it slid off me. Cold didn’t bother me one bit.

For just a moment, there was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. The fact that her magic hadn’t affected me gave her pause. “It is unfortunate that you have to be caught up in this, but I have made a deal with Summer and I cannot go back on my end either.” She softened. “If he gives me the piece of Faerie, my hands are tied, but I will do what I can.”

I paused, realizing that my anger wasn’t just with her. The Summer Queen had negotiated with the council and then The Winter Queen. She had a role in this.

Where was the piece of Faerie going after this? Had Summer traded more, and the Winter Queen was just a middleman broker?

There were layers to this that I’d have to peel back.

“Fine. If he accepts, you pull back. I don’t want you or anyone on your behalf to observe the fight.” The least I could do was try to protect my secret a little longer.

Her pale blue skin wrinkled slightly as she frowned. “So be it. No one outside those present will observe your fight.”

“Zach, is that wise?” Scarlett turned to me in confusion.

“Yeah. I don’t want anything holding me back from letting loose.” My voice rumbled with a growl as I focused back on Nat’alet. I needed something to sink my claws into and tear apart.

“So, what do you say Merville?” The Winter Queen held out her hand, already knowing what he was going to do. She hadn’t left him any options.

The skin and bones god on the throne sighed. “You’ll leave?”

“Yes. And the barrier will remain for four hours, or until one of your groups is defeated.” The Winter Queen clarified.

Nat’alet spat on the floor before magic gathered into his hands, drawing from the world around us.

The mall walls around us started to shrink, collapsing inward, even as the stone structure we were in continued to stand tall. Walls crunched against the stone structure as the four-story stone tower shoved its way back into reality.

Ceiling tiles crashed to the floor as the stone held. Light fixtures shattered and cords tore, dangling down around the stone walls as it ripped through the ceiling of the mall.

The shifting stopped, and Nat’alet held out a glowing sphere. “Take it, but we are not even. I will plan my revenge.” He didn’t budge from his throne, and the Winter Queen didn’t either. They both seemed to wait for the other to make a move.

It was a game of dominance, one my dragon was quickly growing tired of watching.

But before I could move, the Winter Queen flicked her hand and the orb shot over to her. “With that, the deal is done.” She turned to leave.

“What about defrosting all of my people?” Nat’alet stood up for the first time. His legs were as thick as toothpicks and wobbled slightly.

“I said I would remove myself and not interfere. I never said I would undo what I’d already done.” She winked at me, trying to earn a measure of my goodwill. “They will thaw on their own in time.”

Nat’alet’s eyes glowed red. He looked like he was about to fight, but the Winter Queen was done. The avatar she had brought wavered, disappearing with the piece of Faerie that had been the center of their bargain.

With her departure, the mall was already rapidly climbing in temperature. She might have not undone what she did to the trolls, but I estimated we had less than ten minutes before they started to regain enough body heat to be a problem.

“So, you’re here to kill me.” Nat’alet swung those glowing red eyes back at me and my group. “Poor choice.”

With the Winter Queen gone, I let my scales come out, taking on my dragon knight form. I was still silver. Figuring out how to change that would come another day.

“A shifter?” Nat’alet smiled. “Two can play at that game.” His skin and bones pumped like someone was inflating him. As he grew, his legs grew stocky and his torso ballooned, taking on dark maroon scales. His neck split, and seven heads rose up before me. He almost had a draconic form, just distorted slightly, like a pale mimicry.

Well, now we knew. Nat’alet was a hydra. His massive form towered over us, his seven heads attached to a wingless lizard’s body.

My brows pinched in confusion. “Morgana, are hydra’s fae?” If he was once a Faerie, this couldn’t be right.

“He’s a changeling.” Her blades rang out of their sheaths. “But he’s a very powerful changeling.”

Scarlett had a gun in one hand and Sabrina’s blasting rod in the other. “Is he a hydra for all intents and purposes right now?” She grimaced at the creature before us.

“Ordinarily, a changeling can’t mimic paranormal abilities. But in this case, I think we need to assume he’s going to heal at least as fast as a troll.”

“Cower before me!” Nat’alet’s head spoke each word from a new mouth in a way that was rapid and alien. “I am no changeling. I am a god.” He roared, stomping his feet like a petulant child. I had a feeling we’d just touched a soft spot.

“Got it. Changeling. What, were you abandoned by your big Faerie mother?” I mocked him, hoping to anger him into attacking me. My shift to my hybrid form was an element of surprise that might just make this a short fight, and time was a factor with the trolls’ defrosting.

Sure enough, I’d hit the mark. Nat’alet screamed in impotent rage, but instead of charging, spat streams of green liquid.

We all scattered as the acid hit the floor, bubbling and hissing as it ate away at the stone.

I had the urge to demand Scarlett sit this one out, but I knew asking her to do so would only end in an argument that would be a distraction. There was no time.

“Scarlett, I need illusions from you. We have seven heads and three of us. Make it harder for him to outnumber us. And be ready with that blasting rod; I want to see if it can’t come in handy freezing his wounds open.” I hoped giving her those tasks would keep her at least a bit out of the way, while still providing us support.

“Morgana—”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I killed a hydra.” She cut me off. “Be careful of its blood. It’s just as toxic as its breath. Fire works best for cauterizing a head, but frost might just do in a pinch.” Her eyes wandered my scales before she shook her head. “We’ll figure out how you can switch between them later.”

Nat’alet hung around waiting for us. He wasn’t in a rush. He was more than happy to wait for his troll army to weaken us.

I charged the massive beast, remaining in my dragon knight form for the moment. My fingers elongated to claws as I jumped over the first head.

The heads moved quickly, like seven coordinated, striking serpents. One after the other snapped forward, jaws full of fangs glistening with residual green acid from its spit.

But as I moved over the head, two illusion versions of me moved as well. Scarlett was already at work.

The illusions and I danced, trading places like a ball and cup shuffle game as I ran along one of the necks, hoping to get to a place where I could do some damage.

Nat’alet’s attention was split, his heads snapping in pairs of two while the last of his seven heads remained focused on the girls.

I leapt from the neck onto the hydra’s back, thinking it was best to go for the heart. My claws slashed a deep cut, but on the body of the hydra, it was nothing but a scratch.

Instinct made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I bolted from its back as it washed itself in acid. The acid appeared to do nothing to himself.

My claws smoked as the blood on my hand sizzled, trying to dissolve my scales.

Damn. The hydra had amazing defensive properties. I could only imagine the pain of biting it in my draconic form and having that blood pour into my mouth and throat.

“Careful, Zach.” Morgana warned before she blurred forward. She used the moment of the hydra’s distraction to attack, her blades dancing along its flank as she cut open a stream of small cuts.

When Nat’alet’s head whirled on her, she disappeared, only to reappear on one of the heads. Her magic made an impossibly thin blade of spatial magic that tore through three of the heads at once.

I took the opportunity, picking up a torn metal electrical duct from the debris and sprinted forward, leveling it like a lance.

It pierced the hydra’s hide, driving straight for its heart, but Nat’alet’s body bubbled and shifted before I could reach the heart. His form darkened and shrank rapidly until a copy of Morgana rose from where the hydra used to be. I blinked, stepping back and trying to figure out what had just happened.