Having been welcomed by the dwarves—who would refuse such a guest?—he'd found that the room of gold gave him exactly what he'd been searching for down the ages. A place to rest without interruption or concern for the human world above, and where he could gather magic, move on to the next stage of his transcendence.
He'd wallowed, grown stronger, and outgrown his welcome. He took the dwarves' gold, gaining power as he did so, until finally he had finished with them and theirs, but found himself unable to leave without resorting to genocide and even then it was doubtful he'd ever find his way out. Even one such as he had his limits and if he murdered his way to freedom, if that was even possible, he would never have peace for as long as he lived.
Dwarves never forget misdeeds, and he'd already angered them enough. To compound it with a mass killing was signing his own death warrant.
So, here I was, the only person in the UK that could help because I was no longer merely human either.
And I hated him.
I despised him with every ounce of my being for what he was doing to me.
"Don't even think about it, boy," I said to Mithnite as he called to the Empty to try to help me. He stopped, studied my face, and let the magic disperse.
But it wasn't me talking. Dragon was in control. I was no match for him, for his magic, for the fact he'd been planning this ever since he'd heard what had happened to me and decided to use it to his advantage. I raged and I tried to call on the magic inside me and that of the Empty, but Dragon shut me down as if I was a noob.
He spoke inside my head, told me to quiet down, to accept the fact he was the one in charge and that he was sorry, but it was the only way to leave.
The most annoying damn thing about the whole situation was that he was showing compassion, being kind, apologizing, even as he did the most terrible thing our kind could imagine. It still didn't make what he did anything like approaching okay with me, but I understood, and that weakness allowed him to increase his grip on my mind and body.
"Just act casual, tell the princess Spark here dealt with the terrible Dragon, and we'll be out of here in no time," said Dragon speaking through my own lips. "Okay?" I barked, giving Mithnite the evil eye.
"Okay," he mumbled. Poor kid looked completely lost. What had been a great adventure had turned sour on him.
Unable to stop myself, I bent and stuffed my pockets with gold, saying, "May as well grab some while we're here. After all, the dwarves promised me I could take as much as I could carry, but that's just being greedy."
The next few hours were just one long living nightmare.
We left the cave, and at the end of the corridor a nervous Urrad greeted us. Mithnite kept quiet but was mostly ignored anyway, and Dragon spoke through me, saying that he'd defeated the mighty Dragon and that the dwarves' gold was now theirs once more.
Urrad was ecstatic, hardly even paid any attention to the story Dragon was telling, lost to dreams of freedom now he didn't have to tend to Dragon. He led us back the way we had come, pace fast, never pausing, not even to eat.
By the time we got to the hall, the story of "my" mighty exploits were already legend, and the princess and her cronies were waiting for us.
With much thanks and her asking if I was sure I didn't want to take more gold, me saying no, and that I wasn't a greedy man, I found myself standing next to Mithnite under the massive tunnel that led straight up.
As the battle raged inside of me and I screamed a litany of abuse at my possessor, and he ignored me and smiled at the watching dwarves, the next thing I knew we were shooting up in the air and a reversal of the descent took us to the world of sky.
Would I be given my freedom, or did Dragon wish to keep hold of his newfound body? Even before the thought was finished he spoke in my mind, apologizing and saying he really was terribly sorry and that the moment we were on solid ground and
He'd wallowed, grown stronger, and outgrown his welcome. He took the dwarves' gold, gaining power as he did so, until finally he had finished with them and theirs, but found himself unable to leave without resorting to genocide and even then it was doubtful he'd ever find his way out. Even one such as he had his limits and if he murdered his way to freedom, if that was even possible, he would never have peace for as long as he lived.
Dwarves never forget misdeeds, and he'd already angered them enough. To compound it with a mass killing was signing his own death warrant.
So, here I was, the only person in the UK that could help because I was no longer merely human either.
And I hated him.
I despised him with every ounce of my being for what he was doing to me.
"Don't even think about it, boy," I said to Mithnite as he called to the Empty to try to help me. He stopped, studied my face, and let the magic disperse.
But it wasn't me talking. Dragon was in control. I was no match for him, for his magic, for the fact he'd been planning this ever since he'd heard what had happened to me and decided to use it to his advantage. I raged and I tried to call on the magic inside me and that of the Empty, but Dragon shut me down as if I was a noob.
He spoke inside my head, told me to quiet down, to accept the fact he was the one in charge and that he was sorry, but it was the only way to leave.
The most annoying damn thing about the whole situation was that he was showing compassion, being kind, apologizing, even as he did the most terrible thing our kind could imagine. It still didn't make what he did anything like approaching okay with me, but I understood, and that weakness allowed him to increase his grip on my mind and body.
"Just act casual, tell the princess Spark here dealt with the terrible Dragon, and we'll be out of here in no time," said Dragon speaking through my own lips. "Okay?" I barked, giving Mithnite the evil eye.
"Okay," he mumbled. Poor kid looked completely lost. What had been a great adventure had turned sour on him.
Unable to stop myself, I bent and stuffed my pockets with gold, saying, "May as well grab some while we're here. After all, the dwarves promised me I could take as much as I could carry, but that's just being greedy."
The next few hours were just one long living nightmare.
We left the cave, and at the end of the corridor a nervous Urrad greeted us. Mithnite kept quiet but was mostly ignored anyway, and Dragon spoke through me, saying that he'd defeated the mighty Dragon and that the dwarves' gold was now theirs once more.
Urrad was ecstatic, hardly even paid any attention to the story Dragon was telling, lost to dreams of freedom now he didn't have to tend to Dragon. He led us back the way we had come, pace fast, never pausing, not even to eat.
By the time we got to the hall, the story of "my" mighty exploits were already legend, and the princess and her cronies were waiting for us.
With much thanks and her asking if I was sure I didn't want to take more gold, me saying no, and that I wasn't a greedy man, I found myself standing next to Mithnite under the massive tunnel that led straight up.
As the battle raged inside of me and I screamed a litany of abuse at my possessor, and he ignored me and smiled at the watching dwarves, the next thing I knew we were shooting up in the air and a reversal of the descent took us to the world of sky.
Would I be given my freedom, or did Dragon wish to keep hold of his newfound body? Even before the thought was finished he spoke in my mind, apologizing and saying he really was terribly sorry and that the moment we were on solid ground and
Similar Books
