ZADOK


    I watched in horror as the dragon took Ithra farther and farther away from me.


    “Wait! Please! Don’t kill her!” I screamed with all my might. Praying that the dragon heard and reconsidered its decision – All to no avail.


    Instead, the dragon took her up to the roof of the cave and threw her into what seemed like a reef at the top of the rocks.


    “Not yet.” I heard the cackle of the dragon. “Sometimes, it gets lonely over here. I mean, it’s once in a thousand years before I can meet visitors in the dark forest.” he snickered, “And that’s not because there haven’t been a lot of them, but because they weren’t lucky enough to get here.” The dragon descended and sat proudly on the mountain of treasures. “So you can imagine my surprise when I saw two suspecting individuals threading my territory with every n of crossing over without saying hi.”


    “Let her go,” I growled, not in the mood for his story time.


    The dragon hissed, “I’ll be careful if I were you. Because even if you haven’t touched anything of mine, and I have no legal ground to hold you, I have something precious of yours that I could do with as I please.” It let out a roll of fire for good measure. “Get out of here while you can, wolf. I have nothing to do with you. Unless you touch what’s mine.” It added evilly.


    Before I could muster up a response, the dragon took to its heels, flying so far up that I could barely see its form. It had been there all along – waiting for us to make a mistake before making an appearance.


    My eyes found the high reef that held Ithra hostage, and I decided to climb for it. My journey was useless without her, and I’d die before I let her perish in this darned cave.


    It seemed like the heavens were against me this time because as soon as I began climbing, the caves rocked from above, and stones fell like hail from the sky. Desperate to take cover, I hid myself by a corner, shielded by a rock above my head.


    When I thought I had seen the worst, I came out of hiding, wearily searching the space above my head for any signs of the dragon or Ithra.


    “Zadok!” I heard the panicked voice of Ithra miles above me. “Are you alright? Are you alive?!” Desperation and concern in her tone.


    I needed to get to her.


    “Still there?” I heard the unfriendly voice of the dragon, and I took cover by the side of the cave.


    Suddenly, everywhere became hot – Like a burningrva at the top of my head.  I looked up and was greeted by the burning mes from the dragon, pouring down like a waterfall.


    For the first time, I stared death in the face, and within a second, I took to my heels, running for cover. As a result of the ring fire, the coins and treasures were sizzling hot – making it hard for me to run at ease.


    I ran away from the fire that chased me down. Soon enough, it became clear what it was trying to do. I came face to face with the door that led out of the cave, and when I tried to make a curve for it, the dragon released more fiery breath, trapping me with no way to go but out.


    His message was clear – the dragon wanted me out of the cave, and if I refused to obey, it would cost me my life.


    Another st of fire pushed me outside the cave, painfullynded on my butt.


    “And stay out!” I heard the dragon say, and I got up on my feet.


    I hastened to get up and heard a loud rumble inside the cave. I watched in horror as the cave door was blocked by fallen rocks – trapping me outside and leaving Ithra alone with the Godforsaken dragon.


    *****


    I toured the cave for another entrance but to no avail. By dusk, I was tired, frustrated and nearly lost hope of ever getting to see Ithra again.


    My stomach growled, and I saw the darkening sky above me. I hadn’t eaten anything for an entire day, and I doubted I could swallow anything with my state of mind.


    I needed help. For the first time in a long while, I hoped to reach Shilhi. Nothing in the ancient witch’s book spoke of how I could retrieve a person stolen by a century-old dragon.


    Or get into a dark cave locked by the said dragon.


    I let out a loud growl, and my wits were slipping. Kir was in a terrible mood. When I felt his burning anger at what he believed to be me abandoning Ithra in the caves, I let a walle up between us, blocking my head from his furious thoughts.


    A light passed by me, and I traced it to a shadow standing by an oak tree. My eyes narrowed as I watched it turn into the form of a woman with long blonde hair.


    Its beauty was ethereal – so much that it stung my eyes to look at such fairness. I thought I’d seen it all, but it gradually became a troll – getting so ugly that I could barely look at its horrendous appearance.This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    I stood a safe distance from the strange creature and got ready to fight if the need arose. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, I heard itugh so hard that it struck a chord.


    I knew thatugh. There was only one creature I knew that had such an annoyingugh – The Sirion – the most knowledgeable being to have walked the earth.


    Bingo.


    Without a second thought, I got on my feet and sneaked up to the beast while it shapeshifted into different animals andughed into my hands.


    “Hello,” I said when I was close enough.


    The rmed look on the face of the Sirion told me it wasn’t expecting to see me, which was good news because I didn’t expect to see it either. Perhaps the goddess decided I had suffered enough and sent me a solution on a tter of gold.


    Before the Sirion could disappear, I caught it by the arm, and an evil smirk graced my face, “Not so fast, buddy.”


    “Leave me alone! I don’t have anything to do with you. Just let me be.” The Sirion screeched, but I was far too gone to care.


    I made a thinking position and answered casually. “How about, no.” I opined, holding it tighter. “I don’t wish to do you harm. Just a little help and we’ll both be on our way. What do you say?”