Richard Tuttle - Army of the Dead

“Not much of a greeting,” Marak scowled humorously. “Wake up. We have a favor to ask of you.”

“Talk to me tomorrow,” grumbled the dragon.

Marak thought Myka was being playful and prepared to deliver a suitable retort, but Lyra gripped his hand in warning.

“What is the matter, Myka?” Lyra asked. “Are you wounded?”

“Bah,” snorted the dragon. “There was nothing here to wound me. I just do not feel well.”

“What hurts?” questioned the Star of Sakova.

When the dragon did not answer, Lyra turned to Marak and whispered, “Go get Avalar.”

While Marak was off searching for the elven king, Lyra settled down next to the dragon and leaned against her. She listened to the strange rumblings emanating from the dragon.

“There is a great deal of noise within you for someone who is supposed to be sleeping,” Lyra remarked.

“I have not eaten today,” Myka replied curtly. “I wonder if the Fakarans would miss a few horses?”

Marak rounded the corned of the temple with King Avalar running alongside him. Lyra rose and moved away from the dragon to greet them.

“What is wrong with her?” King Avalar asked.

“I do not know,” admitted Lyra, “but she sounds very weak. I think she may have overexerted herself, and she mentioned that she had not eaten.”

“I will check her,” promised the elven king.

“There is something else,” Lyra said as her hand tugged on Avalar’s arm to prevent him from leaving. “Do you remember when we healed her after her bout with the demons?”

“I will never forget it,” nodded King Avalar.

“When we thought she had died,” explained Lyra, “I thought I heard four hearts within her. We finally determined that her heartbeat was so weak that we were probably hearing echoes, but those extra beats are stronger now, and there are five of them. I fear something is going terribly wrong inside her. I do not think we fully healed her the last time.”

“Let me check her,” King Avalar said as he pulled away from Lyra.

The elven king moved to the dragon and cast a general healing spell on her. While he cast his magic, he placed his ear to her scales and listened intently. After an hour of healing the dragon opened her eyes and reported feeling somewhat better, but the elven king was not convinced.

“Go get her some food,” ordered Avalar as he returned to where Marak and Lyra were standing.

Marak nodded and ran away while Avalar moved away from Lyra and wove an air tunnel to Elvangar. The Torak returned with two Fakaran horses, but the dragon was not interested in them. Myka closed her eyes again and tried to sleep. King Avalar finished his conversation with Elvangar and approached the dragon. He spoke softly to her, and Myka’s eyes suddenly opened fully. Her head turned towards the King of Elvangar and stared at him. Avalar gently patted the dragon’s snout and walked away.

“You two should go to bed,” King Avalar said as he reached Marak and Lyra. “You have a big day tomorrow.”

“What about Myka?” Marak asked with concern.

“She will be fine,” assured the elven king. “Do not worry about her.”

Without further words, the elven king walked off. Marak stared at his winged warrior for a moment and shook his head. While Avalar’s words were comforting, fear for Myka filled his heart. He led Lyra towards the temple where rooms had been set aside for them.

* * *

The wedding ceremony was indeed simple, but thousands of guests attended. The cheers of congratulations reverberated across the land, but Marak was only concerned about the feelings of two special friends. Lyra’s face was aglow with joy, and Myka grinned broadly with short spouts of flame occasionally escaping with her joyful laughter.

Marak helped Lyra onto the dragon’s back, and Myka leaped into the air. She sped around the huge encampment below several times before turning and heading off to the southeast.

“I see you are feeling better today,” smiled Marak. “Did you finally eat those horses?”

“Those two and more,” cackled Myka. “My appetite returned with a vengeance. I hope the Fakarans will not be too angry.”

“They will get over it,” laughed Lyra. “What was wrong with you? Was Avalar able to help?”

“There is nothing that Avalar could do for me,” replied the winged warrior, “except tell me what Garl had discovered in the archives in Elvangar. How was I to know?”

“Know what?” Marak asked with confusion.

“That I am going to be a mother,” Myka said proudly. “No longer will I be the last of the dragons.”

“I do not understand,” admitted the Star of Sakova. “If you are the last of the dragons, how is that possible?”

“With Kaltara,” beamed Myka, “all is possible. I shall have one child for each demon I destroyed.”

“Then those heartbeats were not yours,” Lyra nodded with understanding, “and that is why there was an extra one yesterday. You killed another demon.”

“Congratulations,” grinned Marak. “I am so happy for you.”

“Happy?” retorted the dragon. “I should dump your body in the sea and just take Lyra someplace nice.”

“What?” balked the Torak.

“You cost me two children,” replied Myka. “You had to use that fancy sword of yours to slay my demons.”

Marak was mortified with Myka’s verbal response, but he caught the dragon winking at Lyra, and the Star of Sakova tried to cover up her laughter, but she was not very successful.

“I am surprised that you were even able to get four by yourself,” quipped Marak. “By all rights, the children should have to consider me their father. Without my urging you would never have come out of your cave, and the demons would still be around. I probably would have had to kill them all myself.”

“Kaltara is their father,” Myka shouted with joy as she folded in her wings and dove for the sea, “but you two can be their aunt and uncle.”

The dragon flared her wings and skimmed over the waves of the sea. Moments later she soared high in the sky and dove towards the sea once more. Marak and Lyra clung on as the dragon flitted around in ecstasy. As the three servants of Kaltara passed over the Island of Darkness on their way to a strange and foreign land, a keen observer would have seen the dragon zigzagging through the sky, but she was far too high for anyone to hear her ecstatic words.

“I am going to be a mother!”