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The wind attacking the soles of my feet forced my eyes open. I groaned and tried to move. But my muscles took forever to comply. What had Princess Shala knocked me out with? Why did she bother doing something so drastic? It wasn’t like I was planning on disobeying her.
The princess’s people dropped me off on a mound of snow. My feet screamed from making continuous contact with the snow. It took a moment for me to remember that I needed to charm them. I quickly summoned my power and slammed it into my feet before looking around to see no one in sight. Oh, crap, Zamire hadn’t come with me. I vaguely realized that we were duped into believing that we would kill the draguel together. This was great.
My ears picked up an ear-piercing shriek. At least I know where to find the draguel, I thought to myself. There wasn’t a house in sight. It looked like I would have to run into battle. The princess was obviously trying to make things as difficult for me as possible. “Great.” I ran toward the shrieking, trying to think of what I could really do against the beast. I didn’t have a weapon, and none was conveniently left for me. That crazy princess probably expected me to fight the creature with my bare hands. I could ask a villager for a weapon, not that it would do me much good. Jantons were taller and stronger than humans. I doubt that I could weald anything they gave me.
The screaming I heard abruptly cut off, causing panic to fill my chest. Oh, crap, I was too late. I pushed myself even harder, trying to reach the terrified person. I mentally cursed Shala for punishing these people for my existence. Why in the hell had Zamire kissed me? If he hadn’t, would Ishmar Village have received assistance from Shala’s warriors?
“Run,” a man roared from up ahead. That didn’t sound good. I was definitely unhappy with the fact that I was running toward the danger. As I grew closer to the screams, my entire being filled with warning. The ground abruptly vanished, and I stooped and looked down into the hole and saw chaos. It looked like the village was underground. Each house was made out of bricks, though some of the small homes were on fire. Men ranging from six to eight feet tall were standing in front of their homes, holding spears, maces, and pots filled with water. An honest-to-goodness fire brigade was happening in front of my eyes. Each home was being doused with water, some of the flames sputtering out. There had to be five hundred men milling around, and twenty houses were ablaze.
I searched for the draguel and shuddered when I heard a roar. A monster suddenly flew over the hole, its mouth opened wide, flames dancing in its maw. Oh, crap. I’d never seen something so hideous in my life. The dragon was twenty feet long, with a snakelike torso. It had gray wings attached to its back and pointy scales on its underbelly. The dragon had a reptilian head with four red eyes, a bulbous nose, and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. How was I going to fight a creature that could fly and breathe fire? Jade. Don’t delude yourself; the point is for you to fail. Shala is willing for an entire village to be destroyed by a fire breathing monster to punish you.
Sharp rage filled my insides, and it was like I was seeing red. I let out a wild shout and pointed at the creature. A bright light filled the air, and its roaring stopped. How dare this monster spray deadly fire on these innocent people? It had to pay. It was going to pay. It needed to pay. It needed...
A hand shook my shoulder and I blinked, fatigue immediately crashing into me. My eyes threatened to close, but I forced them open. If the creature was coming for me, I needed to concentrate on its every move. It took some furious blinking, but I stared at the remains of the creature and sighed. At least I didn’t have to kill the thing. It looked like the villagers fared well on their own. Good. All I needed to do was seek shelter from the people then find my way back home. Preferably, that would be Earth, but who knew how to get back there.
“It’s dead, Jade,” Prince Zamire insisted.
“Lord Larshak?” I hoarsely asked.
“Don’t call me that,” he snapped. I blinked and turned to face him. He was dressed in a fur cape, fur-covered leggings, and thick boots. What in the world was he doing in Ishmar? I thought that Shala wanted him to suffer for daring to cheat on her.
“Princess Shala let you come here. I thought that you were her sperm donor,” I said, without thinking. He sent a scowl in my direction.
“I’m beginning to think that you’re the kind of person who isn’t cautious with her words,” he rebuked.
“In my world, women aren’t treated like lesser beings. We can actually speak our minds,” I shot back, my legs threatening to send me tumbling to the snow.
“What are you going to do about the other dragon? You can barely stand. I bet you can’t use your power on it,” he said.
“My power? I charm things. I didn’t do that,” I argued, relieved and annoyed that the prince was with me.
“Jade, when I showed up, you were glowing as brightly as the Nerethian sun. You sent light into the creature and destroyed it,” he explained. I felt uneasy, not liking that I had destroyed a creature with a thought. Yes, my power was a great resource, but where did it come from?
“I don’t think my Hyndroyl crystal was removed,” I said. “Shala lied to me.”
Zamire winced. “I saw your bloody crystal. She made me watch the entire procedure.” It was obvious that the prince hadn’t enjoyed the visual. Was he squeamish?
“Whatever. I just want to know how I’m getting out of here,” I said, gesturing at the area. I squeaked in surprise when a man suddenly appeared in front of us. He was tall, thin, with cropped golden hair. He smiled in my direction.
“You got on Princess Shala’s bad side. I can tell by the robe,” he said.
“Yes,” I rasped out.
“And I’m guessing this man is the reason why the princess quarrels with you?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Yes, Jade, just answer all of the stranger’s questions,” Zamire said.
“Stop being an ass, Zamire,” I said, losing patience with the prince. This stranger was my only hope of figuring out how I was going to get off this forsaken planet. The man smiled in my direction.
“You speak English?” he asked hopefully. His words made me realize that I had reverted to English to insult Zamire.
“Sorry,” I said in Janton.
“Don’t be. I moved here three years ago from California. My wife doesn’t speak English, so I usually have no reason to speak it,” he explained in English. “I’m Luke, by the way. What’s your name?”
“Jade,” I said.
“Jade, you might want to recharge before the next draguel comes,” Luke said, a sad expression on his face.
“The next draguel? How do you know that more are coming?” I asked.
“They will keep on coming until you die,” Luke said, sympathy in his ocean-blue eyes.
“What?” I squeaked.
“This is how Shala punishes people. She’ll lure a draguel to a village that she doesn’t favor and send a poor soul to kill it. If whoever she sends manages to kill one, she’ll send more. It will take some time before she realizes that the draguel is dead.”
“What did your village do to run afoul of Shala?” I asked.
Luke scowled. “The Kigor Spaceport was destroyed. She seems to think that a Najorian did it.”
“Najorian. That sounds familiar,” I said, trying to figure out where I heard the word from.
“There are Najorian on Earth; perhaps you befriended one?” he asked. There were aliens on Earth? Seriously? Then again, Lord Peirc had gone to Earth to procreate with unsuspecting humans.
“I see,” I said. “What will happen if I continue killing the draguel that she sends? Will she get tired of sending them and forget about me?”
“No,” Luke replied. “They will keep on coming until you die.” Fabulous! The evil princess had placed a target on my back. These people would have no reason to keep me alive if it meant that more fire-breathing creatures would be sent their way. What in the hell was I going to do?
I eyed Luke, who didn’t seem dangerous, but maybe that was the point. WTF, what was I supposed to do? I glanced at Zamire, hoping that he would have an idea. I wasn’t prideful enough to refuse to turn to the only help I had. He grimaced, his body going rigid. The prince let out a snarl, then he vanished. My body broke into a cold sweat when I realized that I was weak, alone, and defenseless. What in the hell was I going to do?
