Bryan Davis - Eye of the Oracle

Merlin squeezed Excalibur’s hilt but kept it in its sheath. “Speak quickly. I am in no mood to listen to your idiotic boasts.”

Devin kicked the other sword toward Palin. “When we sneaked up to the cave, we overheard Goliath and his mate conspiring with Makaidos. They planned to kill the king and blame it on our allies. Inciting war, they said, would ensure more human deaths and distract us from hunting dragons.” He nodded toward his squire who now stood next to him, his sword raised in a similar defensive posture. “Palin and I had to rescue the king from their clutches.”

“Your story smells like a nest of rats,” Merlin said. “The dragons would have sensed your approach.”

“Who can say what they sensed?” Devin waved his arm toward the cave entrance. “The carcasses are in there, so feel free to judge for yourselves. Unfortunately, Goliath got away. When faced with two warriors in closed quarters, he showed his true cowardly stripes and fled. But he cannot hide forever. Even if I do it with my last dying breath, someday I will slaughter that beast, just as Palin and I killed his mate and his father, Makaidos.”

Heat surged into Merlin’s cheeks. “You killed the king of the dragons?” He yanked out Excalibur, and the beam shot into the sky.

Palin stumbled backwards, his eyes wide, but Devin held his ground. “Makaidos was a traitor!” Devin shouted, a vein bulging at the side of his head. “Palin is my witness. We had to rescue our king!”

“Rescue me?” Arthur pushed himself up to a sitting position. “What need have I to be rescued?”

Devin dropped to his knees next to Arthur. “Your servants, Palin and I, rescued you from the clutches of three dragons, Your Majesty.”

Clefspeare roared. “You are a liar! My grandfather would never harm the human king!”

“But what of your father?” Devin helped Arthur to his feet, keeping his stare fixed on the dragon. “Will the son of Goliath defend him as well?”

“Defend him?” Clefspeare roared. “To the likes of you? You killed my mother and my grandfather. I should roast you and your little pageboy where you stand.”

“Perhaps not to me,” Devin said, nodding toward Arthur, “but I think the king would like to hear why he was unconscious in the cave of Makaidos.”

Arthur massaged the back of his head. “Yes, I would like to know. I remember nothing after my sword flashed.”

Merlin shoved Excalibur back into its sheath, extinguishing its light. “Goliath captured you and threatened to kill you. As a ransom, he demanded that Makaidos give up his war alliance with humans. Makaidos agreed and flew to his cave to meet Goliath and restore you to us.”

Devin pointed his sword at Clefspeare. “An obvious excuse to join forces against us in war. Makaidos saves face while plotting our demise in the recesses of his cave. I heard the conspiracy with my own ears.”

Palin waved his sword. “I heard it as well, exactly as Sir Devin has described.”

“Merlin,” Arthur said, “I cannot ignore two eyewitnesses. This is a most chilling accusation.”

“Your two witnesses are a lying snake and a conniving parrot.” Merlin strode in the direction of the cave, shouting over his shoulder. “I will see the carnage for myself. Clefspeare, I doubt that these two cowards would be brave enough to attack you in the light, so please stay here and represent my interests.”

“Gladly, Master Merlin.”

Merlin girded his robe and hustled down the muddy path. Within a few minutes, he arrived at the cave’s yawning entrance. In the dim recesses, two nebulous lumps took shape, quiet shadows that rose from the floor in uneven mounds. Stepping lightly on the pebble-strewn threshold, he avoided streams of dark blood trickling around his shoes and climbed to higher ground inside. As his eyes adjusted, the dusky outlines became clear, two dragons, his old friend Makaidos with his wing draped over his beloved daughter Roxil.

Merlin fell to his knees and pressed his hand against his stomach. As bitter nausea boiled within, tears flowed and dripped to the ground. Rocking back and forth through convulsive sobs, he grabbed two handfuls of pebbles and squeezed them in his shaking fists. “God!” he cried out. “O God, my Father! Why must the valiant bleed while the devious plot treachery against the innocent? Why must the noble among us lie silent in a bed of blood while murderers whisper treachery and death into the ears of a king?” He threw the pebbles against the wall and rose slowly to his feet, lifting his head and spreading out his arms. “But I cannot see what you see. I see only shadows, while you see everything unveiled. Grant me hope in these dark days, for I feel the dread of evil coming upon this land like a swarm of locusts, yet I know that you can blow a horde of wickedness out to sea with a single breath. Let me feel a hint of that breath while I await the deliverance you always bring to those who follow your path.”

As he lowered his head, a glint of light caught his eye, a red flash near Makaidos’s body. He walked in that direction, again high-stepping over bloody streams. Stooping next to the tiny red strobe, he touched it with his finger. “A gemstone?” he murmured. He lifted the knuckle-sized stone, mesmerized by its hypnotic oscillation between two shades of red light. He curled his fingers around it. “This must be the rubellite he kept between his scales. It probably popped out when Devin killed him.”

He crawled over Makaidos’s body and lifted his wing off Roxil, then, pushing with his feet on Roxil and his back against Makaidos, he rolled her to her side. After wiping the blood away from her belly with the hem of his robe, he searched her cold exterior shell. There it was. A pulsing red gem lodged between two scales.

Taking a deep breath, he pried the tiny stone free and gently placed it in his left pocket while sliding Makaidos’s gem into his right. Then, resting a hand on each dragon’s body, he heaved a sigh. “Father, I know very little about the spirits of dragons and their eternal destiny, but I do know that you are both just and merciful, so I trust that you will take these souls to the place you have prepared for them. Wherever that is, I pray that you will grant peace and everlasting justice to these noble leviathans. Makaidos showed his undying faithfulness to your purpose for dragons, his unflinching loyalty to serve humans at the risk of his own life and the loss of his family, and his hope in your plan for salvation, for, although he was a dragon, he trusted in the human messiah for his deliverance. I ask you to honor his obedience and give him the desire of his heart.”

Merlin rose and shuffled out of the cave, looking over his shoulder briefly before girding himself again and hurrying back to the king. When he arrived, Devin was gone and Palin stood next to Arthur, his sword drawn.

“Where is Devin?” Merlin asked. “I want to have a word with him.”

Arthur pointed down the path. “I sent him to call a council of war at noon tomorrow. We agreed that we must eliminate Goliath and his followers as soon as possible.”

Merlin spread out his arms. “I beseech you, my king. Do not allow this maniac free reign in his quest. A dragon slayer, once he savors the aroma of dragon’s blood, will always lust for more, and he will not care if the dragon is a follower of Goliath or Makaidos. The good dragons will also be targets.”

“During the council we will draw up safeguards to protect your so-called” the king eyed Clefspeare suspiciously “good dragons.”

“Do not denigrate a soul you know so little about simply because its appearance frightens you.” Merlin laid a hand on Clefspeare’s neck. “If humans, kings or otherwise, could elevate their virtue to the level of this noble creature, they would not have to battle hordes in the wilderness, and they would not doubt the counsel of their prophets.”