Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
I manage a smile as well.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.”
“Well, I already have a reputation as a boorish and vulgar fire-breathing lout. So I try not to swear in front of ladies if I can help it. But it’s the times and all. They are a-changing.”
“So I’m basically fucked.”
“Fucked.” Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “Yep. But”—I hold up a finger—“think about it, Madeline. Aren’t we all? I mean, we are, of course. But isn’t everyone fucked? It’s all pretty fucked.”
She blows out a breath, rests her head back on my thigh, and relaxes. “I guess. Life before this was…”
She trails off and doesn’t pick up.
I could fill in the blanks. A little, at least. I could point out that Uncle Jim was an asshole who had a very low opinion of her. I could point out that she comes from a line of eros. This is certainly true. And I could point out that no one at Saint Mark’s has anything to do with her dragon genetics.
But she knows all this, even the part about Big Jim. So there’s no point in bringing it all up.
“And the eggs?”
“Mine. From a long time ago.”
“You had someone else? I mean, before me?”
“No. All dragons lay eggs. It’s the only reproductive strategy that works. Often, there is only one or two of us alive on the earth at any one time. We’d just die out if there had to be two of us to lay eggs. But to hatch them, you need two. They do last for thousands of years, obviously. And once two dragons are in close proximity of the eggs, they mature quite quickly. It’s actually a horrible way to reproduce, but it’s the best we can do.”
“We’re going to hatch them, aren’t we?”
“Well, of course.”
She sits up now. All the way up so she’s actually sitting next to me. “But… the world.”
“What about it?”
“You said it wasn’t safe here. And it was crumbling.”
“It is.” It comes out tired.
“So what’s the point? If they’re just going to die?”
“Oh, they’re not going to die.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, actually, I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“And we’re going to die too.”
“Absolutely not.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well…”
“Let me guess. You haven’t gotten that far yet.”
I’m just about to wilt, because she’s right, but then I remember something important. I jump up to my feet and point across the dungeon. “Oh! We have a door!”
Madeline gets up as well and we both walk over to the door. I closed it after Pie left. I didn’t like the shimmering nothingness on the other side. It looked like a wall of mercury.
“Pie gave it to me. Actually…” I pause to think about this. “I’m not really sure it was Pie.”
“Who is Pie?”
“Oh, I forgot. You haven’t met anyone yet. She’s a magnificent alchemist. One of the best ever. She commands rings, and doors, and spellings—”
I’m about to go on and on about Pie’s merits when Madeline growls again. Only this time, it’s not some newborn dragon growl. It’s serious.
And when I look over, I have just enough time to skip back out of the way before her considerable teeth try to snap me in half.
She follows, waving those claws in the air, trying to take my face off. Her eyes are pure lava now. And I realize that I fell into a too-comfortable comradery with my dear baby dragon here. And I forgot what she really is.
A monster.
It was nice to have another real conversation with her. But that’s not her. Not anymore.
And this is my reminder.
Maybe tomorrow she will snap out of it again and remember what she used to be. And we can talk for a little while, discussing what comes next.
But then again, it might be a thousand years before we have another chat.
I retreat up the stairs, only going far enough that she doesn’t follow, and then I sit on a step, once again alone.
1
After a long while I go back down the stairs and peek around the final turn, much like Pie did earlier today. Madeline is sleeping on top of the eggs, arms and legs spread wide, her dragon instincts to protect the next generation kicking in.
When I step back into the room, I notice that the gemstones embedded into the walls are glowing a little. They haven’t done that since Pell left. But it gives off a nice glow, making the dungeon, and the blood dragon in it, look soft and romantic.
It was nice to have that talk with Madeline. Maybe she will never remember it, so it’s more for my benefit than hers. But I feel better for having explained a little, at least.
But then my eyes drift down to the eggs and their muted colors.
Madeline had a point. The world is no place for tender babies. And even though newborns from eggs are fully formed, just very small, they will be able to breathe fire by the end of their first day.