The Stranger and Other Tales

The Stranger

There was something about the stranger that just didn't smell right.

The way he wouldn't look me in the eye.

The way he glanced hopefully up to the sky every time he thought no one was watching. As if expecting the razor-clawed tawny eagles to descend on us any minute.

As if he'd summoned them.

The way the orb above his head was clouded in grey shadow. A dissimulator. A secret keeper.

I couldn't tell this to our leader though. On our first night in the forest, a ragged band of refugees, he'd held a skewered rabbit over the campfire and told us he didn't trust orb-seers,

'No better than sorcerers,' he'd scowled.

His own orb, like mine, glowed a bright emerald green.

I had my own secrets to keep.

When we'd come across the stranger, sleeping rough in a hollow oak, he'd flared his nostrils and told us he'd sworn a blood oath to defeat the Tawny Sorcerer. He'd shown us the scar on his forearm where he'd let the oath-blood flow.

'My enemy's enemy is my friend.' Our leader had clapped him on his skinny shoulder. And from that day on he'd travelled with us as we trudged wearily through the dark forest towards the coast. When we got there we intended to commandeer a ship to take us to Dunsinow, where we would throw ourselves on the mercy of their warrior queen and beg her to come to the aid of our sorcerer-besieged land. Still my hackles rose every time the stranger got too close.

I kept him in my sight. Day and night. Traitor. I knew he was a traitor. Somehow he was communicating with the sorcerers, I was sure of it. Showing them where we were, beckoning them. Why else would his orb be shrouded like that?

And then it happened.

Distant howls woke us from our sleep. 'Tawny wolves!' someone shouted. We scrambled to our feet. Our leader unsheathed his knife. 'Too many of them.'

And then we were running, our possessions left behind, stumbling over tree roots, hearts pounding in our ears.

Indignation fought with fear. I was right. The stranger had betrayed us. He'd brought the wolves upon us. I bared my teeth, fist clasped around my knife's hilt. He was in front of me, running like the wind in spite of his scrawniness. I chased him down. Before the tawny wolves fell on us and tore us apart, I'd put my knife in his treacherous back.

Just as I raised my hand, I tasted it.

Salt. The tang of the sea on my tongue. My hand dropped. We'd made it. If we were lucky there'd be a ship we could jump straight on, escape the wolves. Maybe we were saved?

Suddenly there were gasps. The stranger stopped abruptly and I careered face-first into him. Blood poured from my nose. Salt mingled with iron. I blinked my watering eyes in the sunlight. We'd come out into a grassy clearing beyond which the sea shimmered turquoise blue.

But there was no harbour. Only a drop. Our leader stood at the edge and peered over. I joined him, staunching the blood flow with my sleeve. Far below us, angry waves dashed against the base of the cliff, sending white spray high into the air.

Our leader looked at me, eyes wide, chest heaving. I watched as his emerald orb dulled and shrank to the size of a hen's egg, all hope draining from him. The baying of the tawny wolves was louder now. They were almost upon us.

This steeled me. I would finish what I'd been about to do. I raised my knife fist.

I turned on my heel and made to walk towards the stranger, but stopped.

My mouth dropped open. My knife fist fell to my side. While the rest of the group panted and shivered in panic, he smiled beatifically, his eyes half closed.

Weirder still, his orb had lost its shroud of grey. Now it glowed the brightest ruby red. He raised his arms into the air as if hailing a loved one. The orb flashed gold, then ruby again: ruby, gold, ruby gold. I gaped in wonder.

All at once, a shadow fell over me. I heard the beat of wings behind me. I looked up and round, covering my head to protect myself from the tawny eagle's razor-sharp claws.

But this shape was far too big for an eagle.

Giant leathery wings stretched out from a lizard shaped body, a long forked tail, a horned snout. Around the creature's edges red and gold scales glinted in the sun.

'Dragon!' someone shouted.

We all rushed back to the tree line. The dragon beat its massive wings, blowing our hair back from our faces. Extending its taloned feet, it landed on the clearing in front of us, claws gouging furrows in the grass. The creature folded its wings and dipped its head. The stranger ran towards it and threw his arms around its long neck.

'I knew you'd come!' he rubbed his cheek against the dragon's scaly neck The dragon lifted its head and stretched open its mouth revealing rows of needle-like teeth.

In an instant, the stranger had swung himself onto the dragon's back, behind his wing joint. He looked back at the raggle-taggle group of stunned refugees, a grin splitting his face.

'Hop on board. There's room enough for everyone.'

We stared, mouths agape, frozen in shock.

Howls sounded in the trees behind us and suddenly we were all clambering onto that scaly back, pulling each other up, holding tight to the person in front. The dragon spread its wings and pushed off.

And we were soaring upwards, wind rushing past us as the tawny wolves bayed at us from below.

And now we were flying, flying through the blue sky on the stranger's dragon towards the distant shores of Dunsinow.

I unclenched my fist and let my knife drop into the waters below.

⚡️⚡️⚡️This is my first flash fiction! ⚡️⚡️⚡️

I wrote it for @Watt-Dragons April 2023 Steal Your Dream competition 🐉 😴

I loved writing it 🩵 It's inspired me to write more short stories ✍️

Please vote if you liked it and comment if you feel inspired ⭐️ 💬

Thank you for reading 😊

I hope you enjoy the other stories in this collection too 💚