Chapter 8: Curiosity killed the Fey...

I self-edit and admit editing isn’t my greatest skill. I apologize in advance for anything I missed.

“I dreamed a dream in time gone by.” Hailey quietly sung under her breath as she scrubbed the floor. “When hope was high and life worth living.”

She pulled at the leather slave collar around her neck. No matter how she moved her head, it always seemed to dig into her chin or collarbone. She considered trying to get it off again, but didn’t want to be caught trying.

Again.

“I dreamed that love would never die.” She continued singing quietly. “I dreamed that God would be forgiving.”

Bracing herself, she plunged the rag into the ice cold water to rinse it out. She winced, then started on the next section of floor. “Then I was young and unafraid, and dreams were made and used and wasted. There was no ransom to be paid, no song unsung, no wine untasted.”

Hailey felt a few tears collect at the corners of her eyes. This wasn’t how her life was supposed to turn out. She was supposed to be at college, or starting her career, or maybe marrying and settling down. Anywhere but this God-forsaken hellhole of a world.

“But the tigers come at night.” Her voice cracked as she sang the next lines. “With their voices soft as thunder, as they tear your hope apart, as they turn your dreams to shame.”

Before long, water wasn’t the only liquid on the floor.

An hour and many sad songs later, she finished scrubbing the floor. She stood up, grabbed the bucket and headed back into the kitchen. It was large and very functional, if a bit warm because of the ovens. The other slaves were busy making food for the feast after their master’s victory in The Arena. He always won the judicial duels, so they assumed this time would be no different. At least he was in a better mood after winning a fight.

“Hailey, he’s losing.” Vienne shouted from across the kitchen.

“What?” Hailey’s jaw dropped. He NEVER lost. Well, not against the helpless prisoners his father always threw into The Arena for him to fight. She didn’t think he’d stand a chance against a real fighter. Maybe he had met one?

“Yeah, one of The Arena slaves told me.” Vienne continued. “He’s fighting some young dragon and it’s basically toying with him.”

Everyone in the kitchen turned to her with an expectant look. It only took a moment for her to figure out what they wanted.

“Oh no, not again.” Hailey said.

“Please?” Vienne asked.

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell.” Hailey shook her head.

“But you’re the only one who can sneak into The Arena.” Vienne countered. “Besides, won’t it be great to see that bastard get his comeuppance? You could actually watch it happen.”

Hailey had imagined their master getting killed in The Arena more times than she could count. God forgive her, but she wanted to see him die so badly. After what he’d done to her and the rest of the slaves, to actually see him die in person ... It wasn’t as good as burying a dagger in his heart personally, but it was close.

“I’ll sneak you a sweet roll from the feast if you go.” The head chef offered.

“I’ll sneak a spare blanket for your bed at night.” One of the laundry ladies offered.

“But if they catch me again...” Hailey said.

“It won’t matter if he’s dead.” Vienne countered.

Hailey teetered on the edge for several seconds before deciding. “I’ll do it.”

The whole kitchen cheered and clapped. Hailey stripped off her work dress to reveal a pair of very worn yoga pants and a loose fitting T-shirt underneath; remnants from her previous life.

“Hurry, or you’ll miss it.” Vienne said.

Hailey turned and sprinted out of the kitchen and into the yard. She made it to the vine trellis without the guard seeing her — not that he ever paid attention — and scaled the twelve-foot, vine-covered wall in mere seconds. She dropped down and rolled through her landing to come up sprinting.

Thirty seconds later, she was at the slave’s entrance to The Arena. She rapped on the door twice, paused a moment, then rapped three more times.

“Hailey, you’re insane.” The grizzled old gatekeeper shook his head as he opened the door.

“He’s losing.” Hailey said. “That bastard is losing right now.”

The grizzled old gatekeeper stepped aside and smiled, revealing a mouth only half full of teeth. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek in thanks, then sprinted through The Arena undercroft almost on autopilot. When she reached the store room, she used a few stacked barrels to get up into the rafters. Moments later, she was high and out of sight jumping through the wooden supports.

It took her another ten seconds to reach the one of the water drains lining the edge of The Arena. Five seconds later she had crawled into one so she was looking through the iron grate into The Arena. A small, steel gray dragon had pinned the champion to the ground. It was casually twirling a spear in one hand.

“This is it!” She thought.

The dragon raised his spear above his head.

“Do it, please do it.” She hissed.

The dragon seemed to falter, or at least hesitate. He shook his head and seemed to be fighting with himself about something.

The crowd was silent as the grave.

“Please finish him. Kill that bastard.”

The dragon’s spear came down with incredible force. From her hiding place, Hailey could hear the sound soft ‘thud’ of it striking something solid. A wide smile crept onto her face.

She was free.

She was finally free of that monster. He couldn’t hurt her or anyone else again. A wonderful lightness of spirit swept over her. She felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She would probably be sold to a new master, but they couldn’t possibly be worse.

The dragon pulled his spear up and all of Hailey’s hopes were dashed in an instant. There was no blood on the spike at the spear’s tip. The dragon must have thrust his spear into the sand.

Her owner slapped the ground three times.

He had yielded the fight.

He was alive.

A sinking weight of despair came over Hailey. The slaves still told stories about the last time he had lost a fight. He had beaten half the slaves and raped many of the female ones. For weeks afterward, every little infraction was punished so severely that a few slaves had died. With his father being the magistrate, there was nothing anyone could do.

Panic was soon replaced with a survival instinct. If she was found outside his estate when he was that mad...

Hailey’s flight back to the kitchen was even faster than her run to the Arena. She scaled the wall using the rope she’d left there for that purpose while her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. She managed to get back without being seen, and slipped inside the kitchen. One look at her face told the rest of the slaves everything they needed to know about the outcome.

“He lost, but he’s not dead or even injured.” Hailey said.

They whole kitchen was dead silent for several seconds and then there was a mad scramble to get the work done. Hailey retrieved her working dress and slipped it on. She ran to where she had left the bucket and sponge, then ran to the next place she was supposed to clean. As luck would have it, it was the rear entryway. Far from the front entrance her owner usually used because he liked the attention. Hailey breathed a sigh of relief and started scrubbing the stone floor vigorously.

Not for the first time, Hailey imagined how she could get a dagger and kill that bastard herself. She touched the leather slave’s collar around her neck and cursed the enchantments would make that nigh impossible. With the collar on, she couldn’t hurt him.

Five minutes later, she had already scrubbed a quarter of the floor. She had finally started to calm down when the back door opened. She turned around to see who it was--

WHAM!!

Something heavy and solid collided with the side of her head. She momentarily blacked out before a searing pain on her scalp brought her back to consciousness. Someone was dragging her by her hair. Hailey let out a scream then struggled to her feet, but the person never let go of her hair.

Then she saw who it was.

It was her owner.

He was still clad in full chainmail and the look on his face was pure murder. Hailey had never seen such pure hatred before. Ever. Fortunately it didn’t seem to be directed at her, though her hair wasn’t sure it agreed. She couldn’t even fight back. Striking your owner was punishable by death.

She realized he must’ve used the back entrance to avoid being seen. He dragged her through the streets and back towards the Arena. Hailey managed to stay on her feet, even though he kept dragging her by her hair.

After several extremely painful minutes — which sadly weren’t even close to the most painful she’d experienced since coming to this world — they arrived in what looked like a reception area inside the Arena. Her owner stopped, but he dragged her forward by her hair and threw her to the ground.

She caught herself, but barely.

Her owner touched the back of her neck, and her slave’s collar fell to the floor in front of her. She couldn’t believe it. She was free. With the collar gone, he had no hold over her anymore. No enchantments stood in the way of her escape...

Or revenge.

Hailey looked up and saw a clawed, steel grey foot right in front of her face. Looking further up, found herself staring into the face of the dragon.

To say it was terrifying was a massive understatement.

The dragon looked livid. His mouth was open and his teeth were bared. They were long and looked razor sharp. Its eyes looked like a cat’s, and they were narrowed in fury. Hailey could see the muscles rippling under its scales. His hands looked like talons. His claws were out and they looked like the Grim Reaper’s favorite weapon.

She wished to God that he would use them on her master.

“How DARE you treat her like that!” The dragon shouted as he placed himself between her and her owner — no, her former owner. She was momentarily confused. He almost looked like he was trying to protect her.

“I’m giving her to you.” Her owner said. “A life for a life. My debt of honor is repaid so don’t even think of trying to collect.”

A low growl escaped the dragon’s throat and her former owner looked terrified. He backed up as fast as possible without losing face until he hit the doorway, then turned and fled the room. The dragon growled after him for several seconds while flexing his claws like he was itching to use them. Finally, it turned around to look at her.

She flinched.

“Are you okay?” It asked. There was a surprising note of concern and care in its voice. Plus, now that he didn’t look livid he seemed much more ... human? Personable?

“Um, yeah.” Hailey replied.

“Don’t worry, he’s not as scary as he looks.” A woman with flame-red hair said.

“Well, sometimes his breath is.” A short, elven woman said while waving her hand under her nose. She had chocolate brown hair, wore a green dress, and smiled mischievously.

“You find me a toothbrush and I’ll take care of that.” The dragon rolled his eyes. It was an oddly human gesture for one of his kind.

“What’s a toothbrush?” The flame haired woman asked while the chocolate haired elf looked confused.

Hailey blinked several times as the significance of what the dragon had just said hit her. “You know what a toothbrush is? As in a toothbrush and toothpaste to clean your teeth?”

The dragon’s jaw went slack for several seconds. “Are you from Earth?”

Hailey smiled wider than she had since arriving on this world. “Yup, the good old US of A.”

“I’m from Iowa; the land of cornfields and ... more cornfields.” The dragon said with a smile. A smile that showed a lot of teeth and could’ve been scary if his eye weren’t shining with happiness.

“Indiana.” Hailey said. She had the strange urge to give the dragon a hug, but resisted.

“How did you get here?” the dragon asked.

“I don’t know.” Hailey replied. “I was out jogging when someone ambushed me. I woke up here and don’t remember much in between.”

“But if you got here, then maybe there’s a way to get back.”

“You’ll get no argument from me, but you’d need to ask the assholes who kidnapped me and sold me into slavery.” Hailey replied with a note of bitterness in her voice.

“Oh, I will.” He growled.

“So...” Hailey bit her lip before asking this next question. “If you’re from America, are you as opposed to slavery as I am?”

“Absolutely, why?”

“Because technically I’m your slave.” Hailey said. “My previous owner gave me to you so technically — if you want me — I’m supposed to be your slave.”

Hailey didn’t add that she would put a knife through his heart if he tried to put another one of those damn slave collars on her.

“I have zero interest in slaves.” The Dragon said. “You’re welcome to come with us, but it will be as a free woman not a slave.”

“I can live with that.” Hailey smiled; she was really starting to like this dragon.

He certainly made a great contrast with her former owner. At that thought, she suppressed a shudder and a scowl. Now that she was free — and the slave collar was off — she had a little unfinished business with her former master. More precisely, she wanted to better acquaint him with the business end of a dagger.

There was an awkward moment of silence, then the door opened and a herald entered.

“Sir dragon, I bear a message from Elder Goman.” The Herald said. “He requests an audience with you and your elven companion.”

“Isn’t he the one that helped at the trial?” The dragon asked his fiery haired friend.

The redhead nodded. “Yes, though I didn’t get the impression he was all there.”

“Elder Goman once ranked among the greatest wizards of our age.” The herald said. “Sadly, his mind is declining with his health. However, he does not request an audience with non-wizards very often. You should consider this a great honor.”

The dragon looked at the chocolate haired elf for a moment and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them.

“We’ll go.” The dragon said to the herald, then turned to the flame-haired woman. “Rachel, can you escort...” he turned to Hailey. “I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Ethan, this is Alana and Rachel.” He indicated the two women.

“I’m Hailey. It’s nice to meet you all.” She said, and she really meant it.

“Come on, I’ll take you back to our airship and introduce you the others while they’re meeting with the elder.” Rachel offered.

Hailey’s eyes went wide. “You have an airship?”

Alana was really starting to enjoy communicating telepathically with Ethan. They followed the Herald in complete silence, but could still talk. She loved that they didn’t need to worry about other people interfering or overhearing. It was just them and she liked the intimacy that provided.

So, you and Hailey seemed to hit it off. she observed as she thought about the girl.

She was tall, slender, and willowy with a certain grace that made Alana think of a dancer. She was nearly as tall as Ethan, but probably didn’t weight much more than herself because of her rail-thin frame.

Hailey’s hair was jet black and fell to mid-back. Her face was also thin but very feminine. She had a nice figure too, but being so thin she wasn’t quite as curvy. She did have legs that went on for miles. The wood elf was frankly a little jealous of them.

Yeah, I didn’t know anyone else from Earth was here. I thought I was the only one.

You seemed very interested in going back, she tried to keep the disappointment out of her tone, but wasn’t sure she succeeded.

Does that bother you?

Um, not ‘bother’ me exactly. It’s just that I’d miss you.

You could come with me.

She considered for a moment before replying. I could, and I suppose there’s nothing stopping me since Beth is ... you know.

I know, he replied. I still haven’t had time to even process it. It’s just so hard to believe.

Yeah, me too.

Ethan took a deep breath. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t know her that long, but now that she’s gone it’s like there’s this enormous hole in my life. I don’t know if that’s normal, or because the bond we had, or something else. I feel like there’s a hole there, like part of me isn’t ... I don’t know, I feel like part of me is missing.

Missing?

Yeah. Ethan replied. *Well, more like it was cut off. And with that part gone I just ... It doesn’t...”

Doesn’t what? she asked. Ethan didn’t say anything for several moments but the guilt rolling off their bond was almost palpable.

You wouldn’t understand.

Alana put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Because of our bond, your feelings are an open book to me. But your thoughts are your own. I’d like to know what you’re thinking, but I won’t pry. You can tell me when — and if — you’re ready to.

He gave her a weak smile. You’re amazing, did you know that?

She felt a distinct warmth in her chest as she smiled back. Takes one to know one.

I’m not a good guy. He replied as a dark cloud seemed to roll over his thoughts.

There’s your trademark guilt again. What’s so bad about you Ethan? Because from my observations you are one of the best men I have ever known.

No I’m not, not really.

You may not feel like it, but I tend to judge men on their actions, she countered. I could tell you wanted to kill that champion in the Arena, but you didn’t.

He didn’t reply, but the guilt over their bond intensified as the darkness in his thoughts deepened.

They walked in mental and audible silence for a while. She tried to figure out why mentioning the champion at the Arena had provoked such strong feelings. Ethan’s emotions where a swirling mix every negative thing a person could feel, especially guilt.

But even more disturbing than that was the dark edge to them. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was affecting him. She didn’t know what, but it was dark and ... just evil. Every time she focused on those thoughts, she got distracted.

Hmm...

She stared into space for a moment as she tried to remember what she’d just been thinking about.

She started to say something telepathically several times but couldn’t even get a word out. She didn’t want to push, so she let it be. Finally, after almost five minutes of false starts, he spoke.

I tried to kill him, he said like it took all his willpower to admit.

Who, the champion?

Yeah. It seemed that once he started he couldn’t stop. I could feel what I was doing and I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to kill him Alana. Every instinct in me was screaming for me to kill him. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t stop myself. Worse, I didn’t want to stop myself.

But you did stop yourself.

Ethan shook his head slightly. No, I didn’t. When I brought that spear down I fully intended to ... to...

He looked away from her and shuddered.

Then what happened?

Something pushed the tip of my spear just before impact. It wasn’t me though. If something hadn’t intervened I would’ve... He trailed off like he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. It wasn’t even like it was self-defense. I had him dead to rights. This wasn’t like the other battles I’ve fought. He was helpless and I just ... I tried to...

He was trying to hide his shame, but there was no mistaking the droop of his shoulders or the faraway look in his eyes. His head hung low and he couldn’t even look at her.

She didn’t know what to say and her jubilation over their victory evaporated.

In her head she had built up this idea that Ethan and the Dragon were two completely different people, like he had a split personality. Now she was forced to consider that this wasn’t the case. Maybe the Dragon was a part of Ethan that he couldn’t escape? Maybe it was part of his nature now that he was a dragon?

The Herald broke the silence.

“Elder Goman is just through here.” The Herald said indicating an ornate wooden door.

“Let’s go.” he said without meeting her gaze. The guilt rolling over their bond was so strong it was almost palpable, and it had that dark edge to it that just didn’t feel natural.

Come to think of it, she’d felt this darkness from him several times over the last week or two. It clung to his thoughts like ugly to a troll, but it was a subtle thing too; insidious, pernicious. There was no denying the darkness behind it though...

Then the thought slipped from her mind.

Beth followed Ethan and Alana as they followed the herald to meet this Elder Goman person. Ever since the fight, the dark halo around Ethan’s head had grown larger, thicker, and darker. It looked even more evil, if that was even possible.

The creeping roots from the dark halo — which before had originally struggled to find purchase on his head — were now securely fastened and had started winding their way down his neck. It was as if he had lessened his resistance for a few moments, and they had surged into the small crack in his mental defenses. Every so often, a pulse of darkness would travel from the dark halo down through the roots, thickening and lengthening them.

“What is it doing?” Beth asked her companion.

Gabriella frowned. “Feeding him a constant stream of negative thoughts and emotions, while suppressing any positive ones he might feel.”

“So how do I get rid of it?”

“You know I can’t tell you. I promise you will figure it out before the week is out, but I can’t tell you. Now pay attention; you should listen to this conversation.”

Ethan entered Elder Goman’s room feeling like he deserved to enter a cell on murder row. The champion’s obvious disregard for other people — like Hailey — helped a tiny bit. However the knowledge of what he’d nearly done felt like the emotional equivalent of an eighteen-wheeler on his back.

In the back of his mind, he wasn’t sure why he felt so guilty. Something felt off, but every time he tried to think of what it was his thoughts turned to other matters. He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t keep his mind on track.

This is incredible Alana mused upon seeing Elder Goman’s room.

The room looked exactly like what he imagined a wizard’s room would look. There were several bookshelves filled with dusty old tomes. A few tables were covered with glass bottles filled with different color liquids, which reminded him of a mad scientist’s lab set in medieval Europe. Against one wall there was a massive window overlooking Arcanum.

“Welcome.” Elder Goman said after they entered. He still looked like he was on death’s door and Ethan almost suggested they come back when he was feeling better.

Elder Goman’s eyes dropped a little, but he went on. “Welcome to my ... my room. Yes, my room. Could you shut the door behind you dear, I fear for the draft in these old bones.”

Alana nodded and closed the door.

As soon as it shut, Elder Goman stood up a little straighter and took a deep breath. Suddenly, Ethan’s impression of Elder Goman changed. In an instant, he went from looking like he was on death’s door to looking almost healthy.

Physically, he didn’t look any different. His hair was still wispy and his robes still clung to his thin frame. But the overall effect had changed drastically. Suddenly his face didn’t look so heavily lined and his eyes looked a lot brighter. He looked like a fit man in his sixties instead of pushing one hundred and on death’s door.

“Ah, that’s much better.” Elder Goman said in a voice that was strong and confident. “Thank you very much my dear.”

“What just happened?” Ethan asked when he’d picked his jaw up off the floor.

“A simple but powerful illusion spell, much like your disguise gem.” Elder Goman replied tapping a medallion on his chest. “Never underestimate the value of surprise. I used to be one of the greatest mages of this age but never got a moments’ peace. So I announced I was going to become an arch mage, but made it look like I botched it and the attempt made me senile.”

“An arch mage.” Ethan repeated. “Aren’t they the ones who can tap the Ether for mana directly?”

Elder Goman nodded. “We also go by the term ‘wizard’ but yes. Would you please have a seat?” Elder Goman indicated two ornate chairs and a couch that lay opposite him, so they sat down.

“You’re really an arch mage?” Alana asked with an eyebrow raised.

Elder Goman raised his hands and conjured a marble sized fireball out of thin air. He let it hover for a few seconds before making it dissipate. The temperature of the room hadn’t changed a single degree.

The elven enchantress looked dumbstruck. “I’ve never seen anyone do that. So you just act all helpless and weak when you wield more power than a hundred mages put together?”

“A hundred is quite an exaggeration, but I certainly do wield more power than any normal mage.”

“But if you can draw unlimited mana from the ether ... I can’t even imagine having that kind of power.”

“Unlimited is also a stretch.” He chuckled. “I may be able to access unlimited mana, but doing so would kill me outright. Even making that small fireball was rather taxing. Too much mana too fast is deadly. But arch mages certainly have a much larger mana pool than any regular mage.”

“How much larger?” Alana asked.

“Enough.” Elder Goman said with a sly smile. “But enough about me; let’s talk about your Arena victory.”

Ethan let his shoulder slump. “What about it?”

“It was you.” Alana said. “You’re the one who pushed the tip of Ethan’s spear.”

Elder Goman nodded. “I thought he deserved a second chance after that sham trial. A blind mage should’ve been able to see that Ethan was bonded to the murdered woman. A dragon will no more kill someone they’re bonded to than they would give away their gold.”

Ethan stared at him blankly.

“Goodness boy, I thought you were intelligent.” Elder Goman said. “When a dragon bonds to another human — or any sentient — the person changes in a fundamental way. They become more receptive to the dragon’s unique magical aura and gain the ability to resonant in the dragon’s presence.”

“Resonate?” Ethan repeated. “You mean like how I make gold resonate to collect mana?”

“Of course.” Elder Goman said then pointed at Alana. “Haven’t you noticed your mana fills when this young woman is around?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t know exactly why.” Ethan said.

Elder Goman frowned. “Dragons crave power and control above all else. Their attraction to gold is only because gold grants them power. Most dragons are too selfish to realize the advantages of bonding to another. In fact, I only know of one other dragon that discovered this secret.”

“Who?” Alana asked.

“Ithlan.”

Alana looked dumbstruck. “Ithlan? Are you serious?”

“Wasn’t he an emperor or something?” Ethan asked.

Elder Goman nodded. “Our first emperor, yes.”

“Everyone always wondered how he...” Alana covered her mouth. “By Illuminar’s name ... Does that mean Ethan will...? I mean, considering what happened to Ithlan.”

“What happened to him?” Ethan asked.

“Ithlan bonded to many women.” Elder Goman nodded. “Certainly dozens, possibly more. With all of those women acting like gold and feeding his magic, he became the second most powerful being this world has ever seen, behind Illuminar Himself of course.”

A fire was stoked deep in the core of Ethan’s being. Something about Elder Goman’s words rung true and made Ethan excited beyond all belief. His dragon’s heart was kindled at the thought of easy access to so much magic. A warmth spread through his chest as he thought about what it would be like to have a group — a harem — of women all feeding his power while they served him completely as their lord and master. As the man said, it was power and control just short of God Himself.

The idea was intoxicating.

Calm down Ethan. Alana thought to him.

“Yes, that’s a splendid idea.” Elder Goman said. “Please keep a level head about this information.”

They stared at him.

“You heard her?” Ethan asked.

“Of course dear boy.” Elder Goman said. “You’ve been broadcasting your thoughts all over the city since you arrived. They’re the only reason I’m telling you all this.”

“How did you hear us?” Alana asked. “I thought we could only talk this way because of our bond.”