Chapter 9 – And Then There Were Two

 

 

Faster and faster he fell, spiraling uncontrollably as he flapped his wings. Wings? What the hell was he doing with wings, anyway? He caught sight of his right arm. It was green and heavily muscled. He stared at his fingers in shock. Two appeared to have fused together and each of his four fingers was tipped with a long fierce-looking talon.

Green? Why the heck was he green?? A quick check of his arms confirmed that his skin was now as green as the grass covered hills they had been flying over. Green. Scales. Wings. Holy crap! He was a dragon!

This had to be a dream. All he had to do was wake up. Steve closed his eyes and made a mental effort to wake. He cracked an eye open and scanned the area. Nope. Still falling.

He felt a chill wash over him. This wasn’t a dream? He was a dragon now? He bent his head down to check out the distant ground when he noticed several things at the same time. First, the shade of green had reminded him of Pryllan. And second, his neck was way more flexible than what he was used to. He carefully turned his neck to his right and was almost able to turn his neck into a complete loop. Observing the color and shape of the wyverian body he now possessed, Steve realized with a start what had happened.

“I’m in Pryllan’s body!” Steve thought excitedly. “I’m not making this up. I’m a dragon! How cool!”

His giddiness evaporated in a flash as he realized his revelation did nothing to solve his present problem. He was falling uncontrollably to the ground and if he didn’t do something, and do it quickly, his upcoming date with terra firma was going to be his final one. He glanced irritably at his impotent wings. No matter how hard they flapped they weren’t even marginally slowing his descent. Damn dragons. They made it look so easy!

SPREAD YOUR WINGS TO THEIR FULLEST POTENTIAL.

Steve was taken aback. He knew the voice wasn’t Pryllan’s, as it was a male’s voice. So who was it?

DO AS I SAY. EXTEND YOUR WINGS. HURRY!

I don’t know how! These wings are essentially another set of arms. I have no clue how to make them work. It’s like they’re flapping all on their own!

TUCK YOUR FORELEGS CLOSE TO YOUR BODY. HOLD THEM THERE. NOW EXTEND YOUR WINGS AND KEEP THEM EXTENDED.

Steve did as he was instructed. He felt the urge to spread his forelegs but suppressed them. There. His wings were now spread open but he was still spiraling. A panicked glance down caused his wings to begin flapping again all of their own accord.

STILL YOUR WINGS. DO NOT FLAP. THERE ARE PLENTY OF AIR CURRENTS TO KEEP YOU ALOFT. YOUR TAIL IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR SPINNING. OPEN YOUR TAIL WING.

My what?

YOUR TAIL WING. IT’S THE FLAP OF SKIN ON THE TIP OF YOUR TAIL THAT RESEMBLES A MINIATURE WING. IT IS USED TO DIRECT AIR FLOW UNDER YOUR WINGS. YOUR TAIL AND ITS WING ARE AT AN ANGLE WHICH IS CAUSING YOU TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL.

You’ve got to be kidding me. I have a tail now, too?

OF COURSE. YOU ARE A DRAGON.

What do I have to do?

PRETEND YOU ARE HOLDING OUT YOUR HUMAN HAND AND ARE SPREADING YOUR FINGERS AS WIDE AS POSSIBLE.

How is that supposed to help?

I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. DO IT. YOUR TIME IS RUNNING SHORT.

Steve did as he was asked. Both sets of his massive talons opened and he spread them as wide as possible. He then felt a similar sensation on another part of his body, but couldn’t tell where. It was a very surreal sensation to Steve as he could tell his wyverian body was doing something but he didn’t know what. It reminded him when the hairs on the back of his neck would suddenly stand up. He risked a quick glance back at his tail and saw that his tail wing was now fully extended. He said as much to the dragon voice in his mind.

EXCELLENT. YOU WILL NOTICE THAT YOUR SPIRALING HAS STOPPED. NOW, ANGLE YOUR WINGS UP SO THAT THE AIR FLOWS UNDER YOUR THEM AND IS NOT FORCED DOWN UPON THEM.

How?

IMAGINE YOUR SECOND SET OF APPENDAGES IS DROOPING TOO LOW AND IN ORDER TO CORRECT YOUR POSTURE YOU MUST RAISE YOUR SHOULDERS UP AND PUSH OUT YOUR CHEST. CAN YOU DO THAT?

I’ll try.

Steve flexed the muscles in his back and thought about how to best accomplish the task at hand. Correct his posture? It was an odd thing to say. However, so far the voice had been correct in everything it had suggested, so if the voice wanted him to correct his posture, he was going to do his damnedest to make that happen.

So what typically happened when he wanted to correct his posture? Steve briefly thought back to his childhood and recalled several past experiences where his mother would accuse him of slumping in a chair. He’d be told to straighten his back, angle his shoulders back and push his chest forward. He briefly wondered what he’d have to do in order to accomplish the wyverian equivalent of that.

Apparently the subtle request for a shift in body positions was all his dragon body needed. He felt the position of his wings adjust ever so slightly. His front forelegs also shifted slightly as his wyverian shoulders tightened and drew back a few inches.

Steve’s rapid descent leveled off and he found that he was able to keep himself aloft by flapping his wings every so often. He figured he probably looked like a baby bird just learning how to fly, but since he was, in fact, just learning how to fly, he let the embarrassing thought go and instead focused on keeping himself off the ground.

I don’t know who you are but you saved my life. Thank you.

YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO I AM?

No, I just said that I don’t. Clearly you know who I am and that I am human. Who are you?

WE HAVE MET BEFORE. SEVERAL TIMES. WHAT YOU ARE DOING INSIDE MY MATE’S BODY CONFOUNDS ME.

Kahvel! Is that you?

NONE OTHER.

How did you know I was in trouble?

YOU MAY BE A HUMAN IN NATURE BUT RIGHT NOW YOU OCCUPY MY MATE’S BODY. WHEN SHE IS IN DISTRESS SHE CALLS OUT TO ME FOR HELP.

You’re saying I somehow contacted you?

I FELT YOUR DISTRESS. I WAS VERY CONFUSED TO SEE THAT PRYLLAN’S MEMORIES WERE NOT THERE, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS HER BODY I WAS COMMUNICATING WITH. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED?

The only thing I can figure is that we must have been attacked by that renegade wizard again. How he managed to get me in Pryllan’s body is beyond me. I want to know why he did it. What’s his plan?

YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, SO I SAY WHATEVER HIS PLAN WAS, IT FAILED.

You couldn’t be more wrong.

OH? HOW SO?

The wizard’s plan worked perfectly. I’m a fire thrower and from what people tell me, I’m a strong one at that. With Pryllan no longer able to use her flames, it was up to me to handle the protection aspect of this group. I was more than willing to do that for everyone, but as Pryllan I don’t have my jhorun anymore. I can barely keep my scaly ass off the ground.

IF YOU’RE NOW IN PRYLLAN’S BODY, IT STANDS TO REASON PRYLLAN MIGHT BE IN YOURS. WOULD YOU AGREE?

It makes sense.

WHY WOULD THIS WIZARD TARGET PRYLLAN?

She’s our transportation. She obviously knows her body better than I ever will. Now that I’m a dragon I have every intention of getting my butt back to the ground safely and once I do, I don’t plan on leaving it any time soon.

BUT IF PRYLLAN WAS YOUR TRANSPORTATION, AND SINCE THAT HAS NOW FALLEN TO YOU, YOU CANNOT SIT IDLE ON THE GROUND. I AM UNABLE TO FLY, SO I CANNOT RENDER AID. YOU, AS MUCH AS YOU MAY WANT TO DENY IT, MUST ASSUME THAT RESPONSIBILITY.

In your mate’s body? Are you serious? Aren’t you afraid of me hurting it or something? The last thing I want to do is crash and end up hurting her. Or me, for that matter.

I KNOW THAT, STEVE. YOU ARE THE ONLY HUMAN I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED THAT I WOULD TRUST WITH MY MATE’S LIFE. PRAVARA’S, TOO.

Remembering that he and Sarah had originally been riding on Pryllan’s back, Steve bent his neck around and checked to make sure they were still there. His heart sank. No one was on his back.

Oh, no! I forgot about Sarah! And if I have Pryllan’s body, she must have mine. Sarah and I were riding on Pryllan’s back before all of this happened. They’re gone!

THE TWO OF YOU WERE RIDING ON PRYLLAN’S BACK? AT THE SAME TIME??

Kahvel, focus! My body is gone. Sarah’s is gone, too! I have to find them!

ENHANCE YOUR CALM. I SENSE…

Dude, stop telling me to enhance my calm. I’m tired of enhancing my calm, okay?

AS I WAS SAYING, I SENSE THE ZWEIGELAN NEARBY. THERE ARE TWO HUMANS WITH HIM.

Really? Oh, man. That could have ended badly.

INDEED.

I need to find them. So how do I steer this thing?

THING? YOU ARE REFERRING TO MY MATE’S BODY?

Obviously. How do I turn? I don’t want to get into that tailspin again. That wasn’t fun.

WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER IS THAT WHILE YOU ARE HUMAN, AND HAVE HUMAN EXPERIENCES, YOUR BODY IS NOW WYVERIAN. DO NOT THINK ABOUT FLYING. DO NOT WONDER WHAT MUSCLES HAVE TO BE USED, OR HOW FAR YOU SHOULD EXTEND YOUR WINGS, AND SO ON. PRYLLAN HAS DONE THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE. HER BODY WILL REACT INSTINCTIVELY. UNLESS YOU FIGHT THE SENSATIONS, ALL YOU SHOULD HAVE TO DO IS THINK ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT TO GO AND HER BODY SHOULD RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.

You’re saying I shouldn’t be thinking about what I’m doing but just do it?

DO YOU HAVE TO ORDER EACH OF YOUR LEGS TO TAKE A STEP WHEN YOU WALK FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER?

Err, no. I do it without thinking.

PRECISELY. IT IS THE SAME FOR US. WE ALL KNOW HOW TO FLY. JUST LET THE ACTIONS COME NATURALLY.

So what’s the deal with the tail? The freakin’ thing acts like it has a mind of its own.

SAME AS BEFORE. DO NOT FIGHT YOUR TAIL.

Tell that to the tail. Okay, let’s see. If I want to turn to the right then I should…

He felt part of his body start to automatically move somewhere on his right side. Deciding against fighting the urge, he let his body’s movements play out. Sure enough, his right wing dipped down and he began a gentle turn to his right.

WELL DONE.

Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you.

IT HAS BEEN MY PLEASURE, ALTHOUGH I WILL ADMIT THAT I HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN KEEPING YOU ALIVE.

Steve laughed, which in his dragon form came out as a throaty chuckle. I stay alive and therefore Pryllan’s body stays alive, is that it?

EXACTLY. NOW, SOMEWHERE NEARBY IS THE ZWEIGELAN. SEARCH FOR THEM. PRACTICE YOUR TURNS. DO NOT FIGHT THE SENSATIONS YOU FEEL AS YOUR BODY ADJUSTS ITSELF TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR NEEDS.

Got it.

Steve went through a series of wide, careful turns to the left and then to the right. He banked to the right a second time and stayed that way until he had flown in a complete circle and was once again facing north with the sun on his left.

UP AHEAD ABOUT THREE HUNDRED FEET ABOVE YOU.

Is it the Zweigelan?

AYE.

Steve angled his head up and reacted with astonishment as suddenly the tiny figure he had spied in the distance jumped into focus. Syrreth and Ferreth were each holding a human. Looks like Syrreth was holding Sarah and Ferreth was holding his body. A quick check of his body’s face indicated that, sure enough, someone was inhabiting it as he could see his face turn from left to right as if he was searching for someone. They must be looking for him!

Suddenly both Sarah and his body were looking straight at him. The Zweigelan must have spotted him and announced his presence to the humans. That was odd. It looked like his body was crying. Is that what he looked like when he cried? No wonder guys don’t like crying in public. He looked terrible.

I WILL LEAVE YOU NOW. GIVE PRYLLAN MY LOVE.

I will. Thank you again, my friend.

YOU ARE MOST WELCOME.

Kahvel’s strong presence faded from his mind and he was then left to fend for himself. Struggling slightly with a powerful air current, he looked up at the rapidly descending Zweigelan and rose to meet them. Both Syrreth and Ferreth warily watched him as he approached. The Zweigelan dropped down another fifty feet and matched his speed. Before Steve could say anything his body called out to him.

“Steve? Is that you? Are you okay?”

Being addressed by one’s own body in one’s own voice was somewhat disconcerting, Steve thought wryly. He’d like to think stranger things have happened, but so far, this one had become the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him.

“It’s me,” Steve confirmed as he tried very hard not to stare at himself.

“Are you okay? What happened? How did you get out of that nosedive you were in?”

“It wasn’t easy. I had some help.” Steve stared at his body, who was staring back at him with equal fascination. “Pryllan? Is that you in there?”

Sarah raised an arm.

“I am here.”

Steve stared at his wife. Or, rather, what he thought was his wife.

“Are you Pryllan?”

Sarah’s body nodded. Steve stared incredulously at his own body. “Sarah, does that mean you’re…”

“You?” Sarah finished for him. She nodded. “Yep. What an experience this is turning out to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sarah laughed.

“Do you really want me to go into that here? What happens if I have to go to the bathroom? You have an entirely different set of plumbing, you know.”

Steve burst out laughing, which coming from Pryllan’s body sounded like deep resonating growls.

“Laugh it up, Mr. Chuckles,” Sarah told him with a frown. “You realize right now you’re a girl dragon? So if I told you to go lay an egg, you could. Think about that.”

That sobered Steve instantly, causing Sarah to burst out laughing.

“Point taken. So, what do we do now? How do we revert back to ourselves again?”

“Well,” Sarah began as she brushed the back of her hand under her nose to give it a good itching, “for all we know, this spell might just wear off on its own.”

Pryllan turned to look at Sarah.

“And if it doesn’t? What then?”

“We’ll get Shardwyn on it. He should be able to break the spell or at least nullify it.”

“Are you sure?” Pryllan let her human hands drop into her lap. “I do not think I can take much more of this human existence.”

Sarah turned to her body and put her hands on her hips in a very feminine move.

“And what’s wrong with my human body?”

The sigh Steve let out was loud enough to be heard by all. This got Sarah’s attention.

“What was that for?”

“Don’t put your hands on your hips like that. It’s not a good look for me.”

Sarah stared at the dragon. She slowly folded her arms over her chest.

“I could make it worse. Much, much worse if you catch my meaning.”

Steve narrowed his green slitted wyverian eyes and glared at his wife. “Don’t you even think about it, lady.”

Sarah smiled sweetly at him. The problem was, it was his own face smiling back at him.

“That’s just it. I’m not a lady at the moment, am I? You know, I’ve always wondered just what –”

Steve let out an irritated breath, which sounded an awful lot like a growl.

“Fine, you win. I’ll shut up now.”

His face smiled back that creepy smile of his.

“So what happened to us?” Steve asked, hoping to change the subject. The last thing he wanted was for Sarah to do something that would embarrass him, and since she was in his body, the possibilities were endless. “How did the wizard switch us around? And why weren’t Syrreth and Ferreth affected?”

“Flew around that cloud, we did,” Syrreth told them.

Sarah turned to look at the Zweigelan’s left head.

“What cloud?”

“The one that placed itself directly in your path,” Ferreth helpfully informed her, as though he was doing her a favor. “We suspected you did not notice. We did. Flew around it, we did.”

Pryllan glared at Syrreth.

“Why would you not warn us?”

“Moved quickly, it did,” Syrreth recalled. “Small and wispy, it was. Only because we were flying somewhat lower than you were we able to avoid it.”

“Why would he do this to us?” Sarah asked. “What possible good can come from us being shifted around like this?”

“He’s neutralized us,” Steve told her as he flew closer to the Zweigelan.

“What?”

“Think about it. Pryllan didn’t have her fire, but I did. At least I did until I ended up over here. You might be able to produce some flames but not nearly as effective as I can. Then look at you. Your teleportation is far and away the most useful jhorun we have, only now you’re me and can’t use it. Pryllan has access to your jhorun but no knowledge of how to use it.”

“Why bother with Pryllan?” Sarah countered. “He could have neutralized us by simply switching just the two of us. Why include her?”

Pryllan was watching and listening from her position in Syrreth’s talons.

“Because she’s a dragon,” Steve answered, “and she’s responsible for helping us get to where we need to go. We count on her for protection and transportation and now she cannot provide either. Whoever this wizard is, he knows what he’s doing.”

“Why not just kill us?” Sarah asked. She noticed that Pryllan was nodding. She must have wondered this, too.

Steve thought about shrugging but since he was managing to keep himself up in the air, he didn’t want to risk doing anything that could have jeopardized that. “I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t want any deaths on his hands? Maybe he has a sense of humor? Who can say? All I know is that this is a fine pickle we’re in.” He briefly glanced down at the passing forest. “What now? Do you really think that Shardwyn can fix this?”

“He’s a wizard, too. He might be a bit quirky, but I do have faith in him.”

Steve lifted his massive head up and turned to look back behind them.

“Well, shouldn’t we return to R’Tal so we can get switched back?”

Sarah shook her head. “That’ll take time. I think that’s exactly what the wizard wants us to do. He’s trying to stall us without really hurting us. I’m sorry to say he’s succeeded. Brilliantly, if you ask me.”

Steve scowled. Was that a trace of admiration in her tone?

“So we’re going to try and continue on like this? What if something happens? What if we need to defend ourselves? We’re sitting ducks like this.”

“What is a duck?” Pryllan asked.

“It’s a bird,” Sarah answered. She glanced over at her body to see how Pryllan was doing. “Well, it’s a kyte to you. Likes to live near the water. It’s relatively defenseless and easy prey for many predators. How are you holding up over there?”

“Are you asking if I am well? No, I am not well. Being this small is uncomfortable.”

“And you think being this large is?” Steve countered with a low growl. “We should turn back. I can’t even begin to imagine carrying one of you in my hands. Claws. Whatever. I’d be afraid I’d crush you. I’m pretty much useless over here.”

Pryllan fixed him with a stare. “You are now a dragon. You may not have your fire but all your other senses should be working just fine. Hearing, sight, and smell are all more advanced than any other creature here in Lentari. Just have a care with my body. I will want it back.”

“I’ll give it back as soon as the first opportunity presents itself,” Steve vowed.

Pryllan raised her left arm and pointed down at the distant ground. “Behold! It appears as though we are approaching our destination.”

Steve looked down at where Pryllan was pointing. A large rectangular glade was visible in the midst of the forest and was occupied by half a dozen dragons. Before any of the dragons on the ground could see that a two-headed dragon was about ready to land in the clearing, Steve and his less than stellar landing drew everyone’s attention. Nearing the ground he pumped his wings hard to bring himself to a stop. However, as soon as he touched down on the ground he tripped on an overturned log and stumbled nose first into the tall grass. Embarrassed, he rose to his feet and gave a sheepish smile to the other dragons.

“Wow. That stupid log just jumped right out of the brush, didn’t it? I totally meant to do that.”

“They are going to think I am a clumsy fool,” Pryllan moaned from somewhere behind Steve’s body.

A red dragon with purple flanged wings approached. He was bigger than Steve. In fact, as Steve looked around the small clearing, every dragon there was bigger than he was. They had better be friendly.

“Pryllan? Are you injured? What kind of landing was that?”

The dragon knew him? Well, it knew Pryllan? That was just great.

“Ummm…” Inspiration struck. “Er, could you come with me? It’ll be for just a second, I swear.”

“Why are you talking like that?” the red dragon inquired as he followed Steve to the far side of the clearing. “You must have hit your head after that dismal landing.”

“Hey, bite me,” Steve instantly snapped back, annoyed. “You try to land in a body like this when you have no experience with it.”

The red dragon cocked his head to one side and studied him. He stretched his neck over to Steve’s head and gave a few sniffs, much like a strange dog would have done when trying to decide whether or not a stranger was to be trusted or not.

“You sound like Pryllan and you smell like her, but you don’t talk like her and you certainly don’t fly like her.”

“It’s because I’m not her,” Steve confided to the red dragon in a low voice.

“Who are you?” the red dragon demanded. “What have you done to Pryllan?”

“I am here, Rhamalli,” a soft voice called out.

Rhamalli blinked his eyes in rapid succession as his eyes scanned the glade.

“Who speaks?”

Pryllan appeared by Steve’s right rear leg, clutching Sarah’s arm tightly as she still hadn’t mastered the supremely difficult art of bipedal locomotion on her own.

“I do. Look down. I am Pryllan, but I am in human form now.”

Spying the small human female next to the male, Rhamalli lowered his head to the ground and stared at the woman.

“Not possible,” Rhamalli decided.

“Is he a friend of yours?” Steve asked, turning to look down at Pryllan. “Can we trust him?”

Pryllan nodded. “He is a friend, aye. We can trust him.”

“Good. Rhamalli is it? My name is Steve. As I already mentioned, I am in Pryllan’s body. Pryllan is in my wife’s body. Sarah, my wife, is in my body.”

Rhamalli stared at the three of them as though they had all lost their minds.

“Just forget about that for now, okay?” Sarah looked up at the red dragon. “We’ll deal with returning to our rightful bodies after we deal with this curse. Can you tell us what’s going on here? Why are there dragons milling about? I thought once you fell victim to this curse then you lose your desire to live and want to just hole up somewhere and die. That’s what Rinbok wanted to do.”

Rhamalli’s eyes opened a little bit wider.

“You spoke with the Dragon Lord? What did he say?”

“We told him what we knew about the curse and who’s responsible for it.”

Rhamalli’s huge head nodded eagerly.

“When was this?”

“Several hours ago.”

“That coincides with when we learned what was happening to us. The Zweigelans are responsible. As it happens, one lives nearby. We are waiting for several more of our brethren so that we can finally drive the abomination away from here.”

Syrreth unwisely chose this moment to poke his head out from behind Steve’s body. Rhamalli caught sight of the Zweigelan and gave a warning growl. The red dragon’s growl was so low and dangerous that Steve inadvertently took a step back. Without saying another word Rhamalli advanced on Syrreth. Ferreth’s head appeared moments later. Both Zweigelan heads hissed with alarm and retreated behind Steve’s body once more.

Steve’s first reaction was to raise both arms in an ‘easy’ gesture, but in wyverian form, all that happened was both wings had snapped open, blocking the Zweigelan from sight. Rhamalli instantly changed course and began stomping around Steve’s wings so that he could get to the two-headed dragon on the other side. Steve urgently looked down at Sarah.

“You’re going to need to get his attention. Use my jhorun to stop this. Get mad. Point your arms up and blast your jhorun straight out though your palms. That should blast out several jets of fire. Hurry!”

Sarah did as she was instructed, but only managed to generate two rather small spouts of flames that lasted no more than a few seconds. Thankfully it was more than enough to draw Rhamalli’s attention.

“Listen to me, Rhamalli,” Steve implored. Once Rhamalli had looked his way he continued. “Syrreth and Ferreth are helping us deal with this curse. Are they partially responsible? A little. Did you guys bring this upon yourselves by treating them as outcasts? Yes. I heard it myself. ‘Drive the abomination out.’ So you dragons are not without guilt here.”

Rhamalli dropped his eyes to the ground. Steve nodded.

“You clearly know what I’m talking about. You want to drive the other Zweigelan out of here? Listen to yourself! He’s a dragon. You shouldn’t harm or bully other dragons just because they’re different. How would you like it?”

A commotion drew everyone’s attention from somewhere behind them. Another three dragons had appeared in the clearing and were being heartily greeted by their companions.

Sarah scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You need to put a stop to this.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Rhamalli admitted. “They are angry. They are all at stage two or three. Word has spread about the nature of the curse and who is responsible. It seemed the logical thing to do.”

“Give us some time,” Sarah pleaded, eliciting a low growl from Steve who didn’t like to see himself with such an imploring look on his face. “Let us go to him.”

“What do you hope to accomplish?” Rhamalli asked in a low tone. “The abom – er, Zweigelan is angry and bitter. You will get no help from him.”

“Perhaps,” Steve told him. “But we still have to try. Where can we find him?”

Rhamalli told them where they could find the second Zweigelan’s lair. All they had to do was find the large fissure on the northwest face of Rhamalli’s mountain, located less than a mile from where they were presently situated, and look for the place where the fissure had naturally widened. From what Rhamalli told them, they should look for this ‘cave’ about halfway up the mountain.

The group looked east. Everyone could see the craggy peak rising thousands of feet into the air that Rhamalli called home. Whereabouts his cave was no one knew as Rhamalli hadn’t volunteered any details. With a sigh, Steve watched as Syrreth and Ferreth took to the air. Sarah and Pryllan had elected to ride with the more experienced dragon as Steve was certain his takeoff wasn’t going to be pretty.

Desperately flapping his wings in an attempt to correct a dangerous tilt he was experiencing as he rose unsteadily upwards into the air, Steve tried to ignore the swelling panic he felt in his chest. Why wouldn’t his wings just cooperate? He had tried very hard not to overcorrect himself during his takeoff, but the only thing he had ended up accomplishing was becoming more and more grateful that he didn’t have to worry about any passengers. He didn’t know how Pryllan managed it. Trying to keep his wings extended and level while tucking his forelegs up tight against his body, all while using his tail as a type of rudder were beyond him. Way beyond him.

“Not very elegant,” Sarah observed from Ferreth’s palm, “but it’ll do for now. Good job.”

Steve grunted as he fought a burst of wind from the south that threatened to tip him over. Forcing his left wing back down, Steve clamped his mouth shut and kept the obscenities to a minimum.

“I thought Rhamalli said the nest was close,” Steve complained loudly as he fought to keep up with Syrreth and Ferreth.

“It is.” Sarah pointed at the approaching western face of the lone mountain. “The mountain is right there. You can’t get any closer than that. We’ll start circling it to see if we can spot this fissure we were told about.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Sarah looked back at the large green dragon fighting valiantly to stay level and up in the air.

“Just circle around up here. We’ll find the lair and let you know when we do. Think you can do that?”

“I’ll try.”

Steve watched the strange two-headed dragon fly off to the north and slowly circle the rugged mountain. If Rhamalli called this home then his cave had to be there somewhere. Suddenly his head lifted. He had just detected a scent so strong that he could almost see the pheromones in the air leaving a trail for him to follow. In fact…

Steve blinked a few times. He did see a slight swirling mist dancing through the air much like a ribbon would do if held in front of a fan. Intrigued, he followed the mist as it twisted and turned in the air, drawing him ever closer to the mountain. Once he was within several hundred feet to the side of the mountain, the mists took an abrupt turn and headed straight down before disappearing into a large crack that extended to the top of the mountain all the way down to the base of the cliffs. The mists were emanating from a ledge just outside of the widened section of the fissure, approximately half way up the mountain. Wait. A fissure? Wasn’t this what Rhamalli was talking about? Didn’t that mean he was looking at the Zweigelan’s lair?

Right on cue Syrreth and Ferreth appeared. They flew straight towards the fissure and landed on the ledge. Ferreth noticed Steve flying closer and nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“Is there enough room for me to land, too?” Steve asked as soon as he passed by overhead.

Their two-headed companion jumped off the ledge and soared by him moments later.

“We can do it,” Syrreth informed him. “So you should be able to as well.”

“I should be able to land there,” he heard Pryllan say.

“While I appreciate your vote of confidence,” Steve told the dragon inhabiting his wife’s body, “my landings stink. That ledge looks small.”

“Use your wings to slow your descent,” Pryllan instructed. “The ledge is much larger than it looks. Once you’re close enough, use your talons to grip the rock. Once your talons take hold you will need to fold your wings flat against your back lest you injure them on the side of the mountain. I would prefer you return my body to me in the same condition as when I left it.”

“What if I start to fall?”

“Then push off from the mountain and fly away.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Steve accused.

Pryllan shrugged. “Because it is.”

“Uh huh. Can you walk around yet without falling over?”

Pryllan fell silent.

“I didn’t think so,” Steve continued. “You take flying for granted. What seems easy to you is damn near impossible for me. Just like walking is for you.”

“I concede the point. Do be careful.”

“Yep, I hear you. I think I got this. Hold on, I’m going to give it a try.”

Steve’s wings wavered as he inched closer and closer to the ledge in front of the widened fissure. Syrreth was right. It was big enough for him to land. Actually, there was more than enough room for both he and the Zweigelan on the ledge. From the air it looked as though the ledge was less than a dozen feet wide. Now, up close, it was easily twice that and perhaps fifty or so feet long. Dark discolorations were seen scattered all across the ledge.

Pretending he was a small aircraft coming in for a landing, he kept the runway in his sights and dipped his wings down to bring himself closer. It took several attempts but Steve finally managed to land on the ledge. He folded his wings before he could damage them against the mountainside. Proud of his accomplishment, Steve checked the area to see who might have witnessed his heroic feet.

“Nicely done!” Sarah called to him from within Syrreth’s clutches.

A grin appeared on Steve’s face, which unfortunately looked like a ferocious snarl on Pryllan’s. “Thanks!”

Within moments Syrreth and Ferreth had executed a perfect landing and was standing next to him. Sarah covered her nose with her hand.

“What’s that smell? It’s horrible!”

Steve’s gaze darted about the area. The dark splotches he had seen from the air turned out to be decomposing carcasses of dead animals. The grisly piles of matted fur and bones were everywhere: in front of the cave, shoved into crevasses, and even visible in the cave’s interior. Sure enough, as they all peered into the dark smelly cave, they could see the remains of at least three more animals lying just inside the cave entrance.

Steve snorted. The odor was almost overpowering his keen sense of smell. “Wow. That’ll clean out your nasal passages.”

Sarah turned to look up at the Zweigelan.

“What are their names?”

Syrreth shook his head. “Unknown. We were never close.”

They all waited to see if they could hear some signs of life from emanating from within the cave. However, once everyone had become still, not even the slightest sound could be heard. For that matter, they couldn’t even hear any birds, or insects, or anything else that typically made noise.

“Maybe he’s not here,” Sarah whispered.

Steve’s nostrils flared. Even though the scent of decay was strong and threatening to overpower everything else, he could still detect the unmistakable aroma of another dragon. He didn’t know how he knew it, as he hadn’t ever smelled this scent before, but he knew this body had. So it was time to listen to what Pryllan’s body was telling him.

“No, he’s in there.”

Sarah turned to look up at him.

“How do you know?”

“I just do. I can smell him.”

“Good lord, is he dead?”

Steve cast his powerful gaze into the cavern and scanned the interior, seeking out the darkest corners of the cave. There, fearfully crouching in the darkest deepest corner was the second Zweigelan. This one was silver with black stripes running across its chest. It looked like a cornered, frightened cat. There’s no way it was going to come out peacefully.

This one, Steve noted, was just as long and sinewy as Syrreth and Ferreth, but had longer, almost stretched out faces and neither one of them had horns. It was the first dragon Steve had ever seen that didn’t have some type of twisted, spiraled, or straight-as-a-poker horns extruding from their skull. He watched the left head look nervously towards the entrance of the cave.

“We are not dead,” a sinister voice hissed out at them, “but if you do not leave us alone you will be.”

“Come on out of there,” Sarah called out to the Zweigelan. “We’re friends. We’re not going to hurt you. We need to talk to you.”

“You are no friend to us,” the voice hissed back with annoyance. “Leave us be!”

“What do we have to do in order to prove we’re sincere? We aren’t here to hurt you.”

“We haven’t left the cave in several weeks,” the voice angrily responded. “Not safe, it is.”

“Why isn’t it safe?” Sarah asked, confused. “Do you feel your lives are in danger?”

“The outside is not safe for us.”

Sarah looked at the closest rotting carcass. “Because of all these dead animals? I can’t say that I blame you. They smell really nasty. We just figured they were remnants of your meals.”

“Left for us to consume, they were,” another voice chimed in. “Tainted and unsafe for consumption, they are.”

Sarah automatically took several steps away from the rotting remains. “Tainted? Are you sure?”

“They are laced with deadly herbs. Another effort to drive us out, it is. They were dropped here in the hopes we would become drugged. Failed, they did.”

Sarah was appalled. “That’s horrible! We would never do that! We just want to talk to you.”

“No human ever wants to ‘just talk’,” the second Zweigelan coldly informed her.

“How do you know I’m human?”

“Because I can see you.”

“Then can you also see that I’m not alone?”

“Travelling with another human is not reassuring,” the Zweigelan haughtily informed her.

“What about the dragon? What about Syrreth or Ferreth?”

“All the more reason to remain concealed. Go away.”

“We must confer with you,” Syrreth loudly called out.

The silence was so loud it was deafening. Then they heard movement as the second Zweigelan emerged into the daylight.

“What are you doing here?” the Zweigelan’s left head angrily hissed out.

“Trying to break the curse,” Syrreth answered.

“What have you told them?”

“All that I know.”

The hornless Zweigelan began pacing in what little room remained on the ledge outside his cave. Sarah, Pryllan, and Steve were all ignored as the two Zweigelans angrily eyed one another.

“And that’s why we don’t include you, brother. You’re weak.”

“Shame on you!” Sarah instantly snapped out. “He’s doing what is right!”

The second Zweigelan ignored her. That is, until Steve stepped up beside her and cleared his throat. In his dragon body, it was the equivalent of giving a fairly loud roar. Syrreth and Ferreth, who had started to hang their heads, instantly jerked them up and twisted around to watch Steve glare at the second Zweigelan.

“Not bad,” Pryllan murmured quietly to herself. Sarah immediately smiled but was able to return her face to neutral before anyone could notice.

Their confidence returning, Syrreth raised his head and stared at the other two-headed dragon.

“We want to talk to the wizard who cast this curse.”

The Zweigelan’s right head finally spoke.

“I’m sure you do.”

“This curse has ramifications that weren’t realized,” Syrreth continued.

“The Dragon Lord has apologized,” Ferreth added.

The second Zweigelan focused both of its heads on him.

“Hasn’t apologized to us, has he? Even if he did, it doesn’t change anything.”

“We have pledged ourselves to ridding our dragon brethren of this curse.”

The second Zweigelan eyed Syrreth and Ferreth dangerously but elected to say nothing.

“Why did you do this?” Steve finally asked.

“To bring about the downfall of all dragons.”

“Well, Mr. Genius, you know you’re a dragon, too, right?”

The second Zweigelan stared at Steve for a full minute before finally shaking both heads and returning his attention to Syrreth and Ferreth. Steve glanced down at his wife, who shrugged as if to say the staring match happening between the two Zweigelans would have to be resolved by them and them alone. After another minute the hornless Zweigelan spoke.

“We are not dragons. We are Zweigelan.”

“You may not want to think so, buddy,” Steve told the petulant two-headed dragon, “but you are. ‘You are Zweigelan.’ Is that supposed to be some sort of catchphrase? You’re a type of dragon. End of story, so let it go. Besides, didn’t you say that you hadn’t ventured outside in several weeks? You claim it’s because you’re afraid of these poisoned carcasses. I say it’s because you can’t fly. You’re stage three, aren’t you?”

“Am not,” the hornless right head snapped back angrily.

“Prove it,” Steve challenged. “Try to fly. Take off! Let’s see what you can do. Oh! Better yet, try spitting out one blast of fire. Just one! I’m willing to bet all the tea in China that, ummm, that is, I’m willing to wager, er, anything that you’ve fallen victim to this curse. Syrreth and Ferreth here have become stricken, too. They can still fly, obviously, but they can’t use their flames. That makes them stage 2. You’re stage 3, aren’t you? Just fess up.”

Sarah let out an exclamation of surprise. She waved her arm to get Steve’s attention. “Did you catch that? You mentioned stage three and they didn’t ask what that was. They knew what it meant.”

Both of the second Zweigelan’s heads growled angrily. Steve’s growl in return instantly silenced everyone.

“You’ve fallen victim to this curse,” Steve told them. “And from the looks of it, it happened a while ago, didn’t it?”

“We’ve been feeling ill,” the right head told them. “We haven’t had a decent feeding in a while. It is related, we’re sure.”

“What are your names?” Pryllan asked. “What are you called?”

The hornless silver Zweigelan fell silent as the left head returned Pryllan’s frank stare while the right head kept an eye on Steve.

“No harm will befall you for just telling us your name,” Sarah added as gently as she could. “I’m Sarah. That’s Pryllan over there and my husband is the dragon standing next to you. Obviously you’ve already met Syrreth and Ferreth.”

Both of the second Zweigelan’s heads stared at Sarah for a few moments before turning to look incredulously at the large green dragon, and finally returning back to Sarah to stare at her a few moments longer.

Sarah laughed.

“I know what you’re thinking. It’s a long story.”

“I am Dirgath,” the left head said uncertainly.

“I am Tirgath,” the right head said a few moments later.

Sarah nodded, pleased.

“Dirgath, Tirgath, we’re pleased to meet you.”

“Okay you two,” Steve began, drawing Dirgath and Tirgath’s attention, “we know you’re at stage 3. We know you know it, too. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to happen that way, and judging from your reaction, I’d say that you’d agree. We really need to find this wizard. We have to nullify this curse. Will you help us?”

“We do not know where he is,” Dirgath answered.

Steve cleared his throat. “Tirgath, what about you? Do you know where he is?”

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at Steve with a look of sheer incredulity on her face. His face. It was still confusing to him. Steve noticed and frowned, causing Pryllan’s body to bare her teeth.

“What? What’s that look for? Stop looking at me like I’m a complete moron.”

“If Dirgath doesn’t know where the wizard is, why would Tirgath? I can’t believe you’d ask that.” Steve was embarrassed, which caused his tail to automatically dart between his legs.

“Oh, don’t do that,” Pryllan pleaded. “I don’t ever tuck my tail between my legs. Makes me look silly. Weak.”

Steve wiggled his butt in an attempt to get his tail back out to where it was supposed to be.

“Sorry. Damn thing did that on its own accord.”

“You are a strange group,” Dirgath observed.

“You ain’t just whistling Dixie,” Sarah muttered before her eyes shot open. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that, either. It just slipped out.” Sarah cleared her throat. “Back to the situation at hand. Dirgath, Tirgath, if you don’t know where the wizard is, you have to at least know how to break the curse. Can you tell us anything to help us out?”

Tirgath eyed Dirgath with a look that dared him to answer. Both heads were silent. Syrreth and Ferreth let out a small roar of frustration and advanced on Dirgath and Tirgath, who actually retreated a few steps.

“How is this curse lifted?” Syrreth snapped, growing angrier than anyone had ever seen him.

“We are not immune to the curse,” Ferreth reminded him. “What affects the dragons affects us as well. Agree with my brother, I do. We must lift this curse.”

Dirgath and Tirgath finally showed some nerve of their own. Both heads straightened and their noses lifted high into the air.

“Don’t turn on us, brother,” Dirgath warned with a vicious growl. “You won’t like the consequences.”

Anger flared and before Steve knew what was happening, he had given a rumbling growl and was standing beside Syrreth and Ferreth. Pryllan, with Sarah’s help as she was still not used to walking around on human legs, had appeared on Syrreth and Ferreth’s other side to show her support.

Dirgath’s shocked expression mirrored its twin. Tirgath addressed Steve.

“Stand beside them, do you?”

Steve nodded. “I do. He is a friend. He saved my wife’s life just a little while ago, as well as Pryllan’s. For that I will be forever indebted to them. You ask if I stand beside them? You bet your ass I do.”

Syrreth was angrily staring at Dirgath as if daring him to be the first to look away, which he was. Ferreth glanced left and gave Steve an appreciative nod of his head.

“Living like an outcast stinks, guys,” Steve said as he made a conscious effort to stop growling. “I will admit there are some advantages to living alone but the disadvantages number more.”

Hoping to alleviate some of the tension that was so thick she could have cut it with a knife, Sarah leaned Pryllan up against Steve’s right foreleg and took a few steps towards Dirgath and Tirgath.

“Let’s assume you had no idea that you’d be included with the others in the curse. Is it possible that the third Zweigelan specifically instructed the spellcaster to include you two? Does the third Zweigelan hate you two that much to do something like that?”

“It is a theory that fits the facts,” Pryllan observed as she tried to push herself up to a standing position and take a few steps. She stumbled after the second step and returned to her position of leaning up against one of her former legs. “Both Zweigelans have become affected which indicates either the third member of their species wanted it that way or else the human wizard engineered the curse to include them.”

“If that were so then that would mean the wizard double-crossed everybody.” Steve looked down at Sarah. “So either the third Zweigelan included them or else the wizard did. How do we know which it is?”

Pryllan looked up at Tirgath. “Could the third Zweigelan be angry that you two were forced to join the Collective?”

Dirgath and Tirgath were silent.

“Have you been in contact with the third one?” Sarah asked as gently as she could.

“No,” Syrreth answered almost immediately.

“She was asking Dirgath or Tirgath,” Steve told Syrreth.

“Oh. My apologies.”

Slowly, Dirgath nodded. “Aye. There is no harm in telling.”

Sarah gave Pryllan an excited hug and almost knocked her over in the process.

“I knew it! What did they say to you?”

“Only to be kept informed what she was doing.”

Sarah stared at Dirgath in shock. “She?”

Dirgath and Tirgath both nodded.

“Aye. Our third number is female.”