Rojuun (38 page)

Tathan put his arms out again. “I’m very
sorry, but I don’t understand that either. It doesn’t make any
sense,” he told them. “I’d really like to know why it took her
too.”

The elders frowned. They had obviously been
hoping for some insight. “Very well then,” the middle elder
responded. “It was observed that your companion, Vevin Human,
turned into a great beast and destroyed most of the sstejj with
purple fire and lightning. Then Vevin Human flew forward on large
wings, still in the form of the beast.” The elder read statements
from the parchment in his hand. “‘The creature let out a roar that
shook the cavern.” He turned to Tathan. “If everyone there had not
agreed on these events, we would not believe it. Some of us are
still not certain.”

Looking back at the paper, he read once
more. “The guards at the gate said this about the arrival of Vevin
Human and Liselle Human: ‘The beast flew through the cavern and
landed near the gate. Liselle Human climbed down from its neck then
collapsed. The beast transformed into the human known as Vevin and
went to her side. Then Vevin Human picked Liselle Human up and
carried her to the gate where we let them in.’.” He turned to look
at Tathan. “This is what the guards told us. Their words are to be
believed,” the elder stated, holding the parchment up.

Tathan took a drink of his wine. There had
been no question in all of that. He didn’t know how to tell them
about dragons, so he just waited to see what they would ask.

The elder stared at him. The rest exchanged
glances. When it was clear that Tathan wasn’t going to respond, the
council leader leaned forward. “Is Vevin Human a beast and if so,
what sort of beast is he?”

“He’s a dragon,” Tathan said. “I don’t know
if dragons are called beasts. I wouldn’t recommend it.” He raised
his glass to take another drink. “Dragons are the most powerful and
noble of all creatures in Ryallon. They also like to eat things,
although Vevin
did
tell us that sstejj were very
disgusting.”

“We have not heard of dragons before,” the
elder said. “You say he is powerful and likes to eat things. Is he
dangerous? Will he harm the Rojuun?”

“Well, he
is
dangerous. Dragons are
some of the most dangerous beings in the world,” Tathan admitted.
“As far as whether or not he’ll harm Rojuun, he’s decided that he
likes you. However, he’s curious as to how Rojuun taste, so I
wouldn’t recommend upsetting him.” There were looks of horror on
many of the Rojuun faces and irritation on others. He waved off
their concern. “It’s pretty hard to upset Vevin, so I wouldn’t
worry about it too much.”

“Your words are disturbing, Tathan Human,”
the elder said. “To say that this . . . dragon can simply choose to
eat Rojuun as though there is little we could do about it is
offensive. Why does he take human form?” There was anger in his
voices. That anger was mirrored in the faces of the council as well
as many of the audience.

“It’s not my intention to offend you,
Elder,” Tathan said with a calming tone, holding a hand up in
peace. “Dragons have existed for a very long time. They truly are
powerful beyond anything and entire armies have fallen before them.
Also, if you kill one, the rest avenge it and where one is
dangerous, many dragons are a sight to be feared.” Tathan sighed.
“Vevin won’t harm you. He’s shown that he is your friend by
fighting the sstejj alongside you, probably killing more than even
Sir Danth.” He gestured toward the knight. “His reasons for taking
human form are his own. In fact, I didn’t even know dragons could
do that before I met Vevin.”

“I see. We have one last question for you
until your companions are well enough to answer the other
questions,” the council leader said.

“Yes?”

“Did you or your companions have anything to
do with the sstejj attack, the creature that killed Rojuun and took
your cousin, or anything else to do with any of these events?” he
asked.

Tathan did not respond immediately. He was
mad at them for their suggestion and mistrust. Sir Danth stood
behind him, stepping forward to his side in support. “I give you my
word that we did not have anything to do with the sstejj, that
creature, the attack or anything else to do with these attacks,”
Tathan finally said, biting his words in anger. “Until coming to
these caverns, we had never heard of sstejj. Since coming here,
we’ve fought alongside Rojuun to kill untold numbers of sstejj at
great risk to our own lives.”

“Thank you for your answer. We did not
believe you had, but felt it a question that must be asked,” the
elder said in a conciliatory manner. The council members relaxed
and sat back as well. “Everything about the attacks was unusual and
we don’t understand why,” he admitted. “That is enough for now
though. It is obvious that you are still not recovered from your
ordeal, Tathan Human. You keep leaning to your left and the color
is gone from your face. We also see pain in your features. Go and
rest. When your companions are well enough, we will ask more.”

Tathan took the wine back to the suite. They
checked on Liselle and Vevin to find them sleeping hard. Both
looked exhausted and gaunt from their ordeal. Rojuun had stripped
their dirty robes and covered the sleeping pair. Vevin’s arms
wrapped protectively around Liselle who was curled up against him.
Tathan sighed and headed back to his own room where Sir Danth
helped him into bed. He fell asleep immediately.

Chapter
35

The companions were before the Council of
Elders once more. Tathan was standing and had just exchanged
pleasant formalities, thanking the elders for their hospitality.
This time Liselle and Vevin were with them. Both were tired, but
had smiles on their faces. They were holding hands, giggling and
flirting with each other. Tathan sighed, knowing there was nothing
he could do about it.

Two days had passed since the last council
meeting. Tathan, Vevin and Liselle had all slept until dinner the
day after the meeting. When they woke, each moved gingerly to the
common room of the suite and had their meal. Very little was said,
but they gave each other gentle hugs and smiles of relief before
going back to bed until morning.

The morning meal had been eaten in quiet as
well. After breakfast, they talked of their experiences. Liselle
told of the hhorrj that had tried to take her glow. Vevin held her
as she remembered her fear of the dark tunnels. Sir Danth and
Tathan talked about the end of the battle and the council meeting
they attended.

Vevin then told how he had flown into the
tunnel after Liselle. It had been filled with sstejj, which he
killed with another blast of his breath. He continued down the
tunnel for a long ways, passing other tunnels and holes that were
in the ground. After a while, he had come to another cavern where
he destroyed more sstejj with his breath.

When Vevin found no trace of Liselle, he
stopped. Numerous tunnels led from the cavern and he had no idea
which way to go, so he turned back to find her scent. It took quite
a while for the dragon to find it down the first hole he had
passed. After that, he had to explore each tunnel to find the scent
again. Vevin explained that scent was the weakest of a dragon’s
abilities and the injury that he sustained to his head before
meeting the cousins had actually made things worse. He had hoped to
find tracks, but only the marks of sstejj were visible.

It took much longer than he wanted to find
the cavern where Liselle had been imprisoned. Her smell was
stronger there, but he was even more afraid for her when he saw
that she was gone.

Throughout his searching of the tunnels, he
killed hundreds of sstejj. When they were heavy, he would use his
breath. However, his powers were not infinite and he began killing
with tooth, claw and tail. His lightning was pitiful in the cavern
of the hhorrj, only killing a few sstejj. The rest had to be
physically killed and Vevin developed a severe distaste for the
slimy meat of the creatures.

When he heard Liselle weakly call out his
name from down the tunnel, Vevin raced down its length at full
speed. More of the foul beasts were converging upon her. The dragon
went into a rampage and began slaughtering them as fast as he
could. The small breath of energy that she had sent him was just
enough to release one last breath of lightning.

When he was finished with his account, Vevin
told them that he was in love with Liselle. Then he looked into her
eyes and told her once again. Liselle kissed him deeply and told
him that she was in love with him as well. They both turned to
Tathan. Vevin had a determined, but worried look on his face as to
how Tathan would react. Liselle had a challenging look, as though
daring him to disapprove.

Not being willing to risk the wrath of
flowers, Tathan stood and said, “Oh yeah? Well, I’m in love with
Sir Danth!” Then he turned, reaching toward the knight with
outstretched arms and a kissy face. The knight put out an arm in
sudden fear and held Tathan’s face in his gauntleted hand to keep
him away. Tathan pushed forward saying, “Come here my knighty,
knighty! Give me kisses. Smoochy, smoochy, smoochy.”

Vevin and Liselle burst into laughter at the
sight of the two. Tathan pulled back with a grin and even Sir Danth
joined in the laughter, though he did sit a little further away
from the rogue after that.

When things had settled once more, Liselle
watched Tathan rubbing his head, which still hurt from the
explosion. She sat next to him and took his head into her hands.
With a whisper and light breath, she eased the pain that rang in
his skull. The touch of her fingertips was cool and healing. Tathan
smiled gratefully.

They went to the council meeting wondering
how the news would be taken and how the Rojuun would treat them
from that point. The four were united in their friendship and they
vowed that they would stay together no matter how the Rojuun
treated them. A small part of each was fearful that things might
come to a fight, but they earnestly hoped not. None of them felt
good enough to endure sustained battle. In addition, they had grown
fond of the Rojuun and didn’t want to be at odds with them.

“Tathan Human,” the council leader spoke his
name, drawing Tathan out of his reverie.

“Yes, Elder?” he responded.

“We would have Liselle Human and Vevin
Dragon tell us of their experience so that we may fully understand
the events of the other day. Are they well enough to speak now?”
His voices were pleasant and the entire council seemed much more
relaxed, though eager to hear the missing parts of the story.

“Yes, Elder,” Tathan answered. “They’re
still weak, but will answer any questions you may have.

“Very good. Our first questions are for
Liselle Human,” he said with a gesture toward Liselle who stood up
gingerly and stepped forward. Vevin stood to provide a steady hand,
but sat back down at a smile of reassurance from her. “Liselle
Human, please tell the council about the creature that took you and
why it took you,” the Rojuun elder said while looking at his
parchment. Tathan thought the council leader must keep a list of
questions on it for as often as he referred to it.

“Its name was Krraa and he said that he was
a ‘hhorrj’. It wanted my glow,” Liselle answered succinctly. All of
the Rojuun in the room became animated at the mention of hhorrj.
There was a great deal of discussion and alarm even among the
elders. After a moment, the council leader yelled, “Quiet!” It was
a sound like an avalanche rolling. The room instantly became
quiet.

“What did it look like, Liselle Human?” the
council leader asked.

Liselle described Krraa’s red eyes,
malformed lower arms, hunch and wings. She detailed the terrible
appearance of the hhorrj with a haunted look in her eyes.

The elders and audience listened to every
word. When she was done, the elders nodded sadly. “It is as you
say, one of the hhorrj. It is forbidden to speak of them as they
are a dark blight within the short history of the Rojuun,” he said
in heavy tones. “I will not tell you any more of them and you must
know that you are not to speak of them outside of this council
meeting,” he warned firmly.

None of the companions responded and the
elder did not push it, seeming to assume that they would simply
obey the directive. “Liselle Human, you mentioned that the creature
wanted your glow. Explain what this glow is and why it wanted the
glow,” the elder insisted in pleasant, demanding tones.

Liselle took a deep breath and composed her
thoughts. “The creature told me that I had a glow,” she began. “It
said that the glow would fix him . . . finish him.” Liselle gulped
and took another breath. “It said it would take my glow and then it
began to cut . . .” she stopped as tears began to fall. A sob
wracked her body as she hunched over, clutching her stomach in
memory.

Tathan and Sir Danth stood and reached out,
but Vevin was there with his arms around her instantly. He put her
head against his shoulder and let her cry.

Tathan looked at the response of the Rojuun.
The elders were stoic, but Tathan could tell that they felt sorrow
for her as well.

After a moment, Liselle composed herself
with effort, wiping the tears away from her cheeks. Vevin used his
thumbs to catch a few she had missed. One of the Rojuun came to her
with a glass of wine, which she accepted gratefully. Liselle smiled
at Vevin and let him know that he could sit back down. Sir Danth
and Tathan sat as well.

Liselle had told her friends that the ring
saved her life, but they didn’t feel entirely comfortable letting
the Rojuun know about it, so she told the story they came up with
instead. “Right after the creature began to cut me, Vevin arrived
in dragon form and killed it,” she said, turning to smile at her
dragon. “He saved my life.” Then she turned back to the council.
“He took me out of the terrible room I was in and then destroyed it
with magical fire,” she told them. “We were both exhausted from our
ordeal, but made our way back, not wanting to stay in that forsaken
place any longer.”