Page 13 of Blood Red Woes

The bolt doesn’t pierce the scales. It’s not strong enough.

“Shit,” I say, and I ready myself to dodge another flame attack, but the dragon turns its head to the sky and lets loose its fire. This blast is longer than the first, and it makes the entire storm flash in a bright orange hue. It’s so bright it blinds me, and I have to close my eyes and take a step back as I summon another yellow bolt.

The dragon snaps its mouth closed, but before I can send the bolt flying its way, it reaches for me. Rune warns me, “Watch out,” but it’s too late. The dragon’s claws wrap around me, and before my mind has time to register it, I’m being thrown.

As my body soars through the air, all I can think is that I’m going to splatter like a bug. Get squished by a giant dragon. I’m going to die in this weird place.

And the most depressing thing is I don’t think anyone would miss me.

My body lands on the grass with a thud. I’m face-down. My eyes are still closed. I’m afraid to open them, frankly. I don’t know if I want to see my death coming. I kind of wish it would just happen so it would all be over, you know? It’s obvious I’m way out of my league here.

Magic. Dragons. Mysterious village-wide death. Weird dogs and soul gems with trapped wizards. It all sounds impossible.

But the dragon’s foot never comes to squish me. Neither does its teeth or claws or flames. In fact, I don’t hear it at all, nor do I hear the crackling thunder or the thick, choking wind. The air around me is silent.

“Uh, Rey?” Rune asks, sounding impatient. “How long exactly are you going to lay there?”

I roll over and open my eyes, and to my surprise I’m greeted by a brilliantly blue sky and a searing sun. Slowly, I work to sit, and I find the dragon is gone, along with that strange storm. I’m in a peaceful green field, small wildflowers growing amongst the grass, light yellows and pinks.

“What was that?” I ask, breathless, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins from the near-death experience.

“Are you talking about the dragon or the storm?”

“Both.”

“Perhaps the dragon guards Magnysia? Impossible to say. I’ve never heard of a beast such as that before. Only in the old tales. And as for the storm… well, I’m no expert, but it seemed like it came out of nowhere. If it was magical in origin, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

It sounds like those storms are a relatively new phenomena for this place, same with that dragon. Could it all be connected, somehow?

I work to get to my feet, a little sore after being thrown, and I groan as I straighten myself out and crack my back. In good conscience, I cannot recommend getting thrown by a dragon. Zero out of zero.

“Did the dragon come with the storm? Where did it go?” Not that I want the dragon to come back. It’s more so I don’t want it to pop up anywhere and, you know, eat me.

Rune is quiet for a few moments. “It appears they’re both gone. Or perhaps it is you who’s gone. Look around, Rey. We’re not where we were.”

I’m about to ask him what he’s talking about when it hits me. I make a full twirl, surveying all of the land around me. He’s right. I’m not where I was. That village is not anywhere I can see; I’m alone in a field of grass and flowers, no dragon or storm in sight, a completely different area.

“How…” I can’t finish the question, too stunned, and yet Rune knows exactly what I mean.

“I don’t know, but we should move on. We don’t want that dragon to find us again.”

“You can say that again,” I mutter.

“Why… why would I say it again? Did you not hear me, or—”

I groan. “It’s a figure of speech. Something people say. Apparently not people around here, but whatever. Which way do I go, buddy?”

Rune seems to think. “I don’t quite know where we are. Why don’t you head up that hill to the east? Hopefully we can reacquaint ourselves with our destination there. With any luck, we’re closer to Laconia.”

I wipe some sweat off my brow, take a swig of water from my leather flask—yep, the water tastes a bit weird now. Great—and set off to the hill Rune mentioned. It’s a mile or so away in the distance, and it’s a bit steeper than the hill I climbed outside of the first village. Unlike the first hill, I don’t need to reach the top to see something.

About halfway up the hill, I see a huge, stone structure in the distance, and the more I go, the more of the structure I see.

I almost hate to ask, but I do it anyway: “Is that Laconia?”Please be Laconia, please be Laconia, please be Laconia.

“Those are Laconia’s walls, yes. The city of Laconia lies within. With any good fortune, someone can help us there.”

No offense to Rune, but there’s only one thing I care about, and now that I know it’s Laconia, I have a new prayer:please have someone who can help me get home.

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