Bubbles

Chapter 32

The day came. It was too pristine to be The Day – the sun turned drops of dew on the grass into glittering diamonds beneath Kula's feet. She woke, blissfully forgetful of what lay ahead.

Things kind of came crashing down around her after a few seconds as she remembered the dragon, and Brendan, and Nalia, and the armor that lay across the ground beside her. She dressed in it quickly and met Nalia and Brendan at the base of the hill. Hearts pounding, she and Nalia crept around to the back of the clearing, holding their breaths and stepping oh-so-slowly to avoid detection. They didn't dare turn their heads to glance at the dragon. The greenery around them whispered in the breeze. Kula imagined that they were saying things.

Turn back.

This will not end as you hope.

The bubbles promised you, Kula. They intend to make good on their promise.

But that was ridiculous. Trees in the wind were just trees in the wind. No gnomes, no words, no nothing. It was time for her to grow up, Kula decided. The people she loved most didn't trust her enough to let her be a real part of the battle. She needed to lose the naivety and become more like her friends. That would keep her alive.

She crouched into position, and finally allowed herself to glance up. And she saw the dragon.

Well, she saw the back of the dragon, which was almost as bad. In some ways, Skajager was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen – brilliant white scales turning gold in the morning light, lithe and muscular. But he was terrifying, too – claws long and deadly sharp, a spiked ball at the tip of his tail. Kula was enthralled, horrified, and scared, all at once. She wanted to get a little closer, just to see if it really was as beautiful and horrible as it seemed.

No. She snapped back to reality. She wasn't going to let herself fall into whatever strange aura the dragon was exuding. This thing could kill her if it saw her. Tear her to shreds. She couldn't go anywhere near it.

"Skajager!" Kula never did figure out how Brendan made his voice sound so powerful. He sounded like a warrior. Brave, strong, and confident. She knew that he was terrified, but he didn't show it. She admired him for that. His use of the name was smart, too – the word had power, and maybe using it could take power away from the monster.

"Hmm?" Just the dragon's hum made Kula's knees go weak. Her heart sped up. Her breath was shallow and fast. "What's this? A little gnat, coming for a fight? Or perhaps the humans have sent me a snack!"

His voice was pure poison – deep, sweet, and deadly. He struck fear into Kula's heart. It's useless, she thought. How can we stand against him? He's so powerful. We should just... give up...

Gently, Nalia pinched her. She jumped and turned to her, confused. 

"I know," Nalia hissed. "I feel it too. But it's him. Not us. Fight, Kula! Remember the plan. It's a good plan. It'll keep us safe." Kula forced herself to believe her, and continued to watch.

Brendan's voice had lost some bravado, but he took a deep breath and continued.

"We cha- that is to say, I challenge you, Skajager!" Kula prayed that the dragon wouldn't notice the slip. This needed to be perfect. "Fight me, man to... dragon!" Nalia stifled a giggle. How could she find anything funny in that moment? Kula was too scared to think straight.

"Well, that's absolutely precious, isn't it?" This time, Kula was prepared for the wave of terror, but that didn't help much. Her heart was so loud she worried it would give her away. Her bones shook from the deep tone. She wanted to run. But she didn't. She couldn't. "The gnat wants a battle, and a battle it shall get."