TS: Chapter 4
#5 of The Spies: Story
Candidate for a re-write.
-4-
I touched down in the cemetery at 6:25 p.m.
"This it?" I asked.
"Yeah," answered Sparktrivis. "Look, there's the tomb right there."
Sparktrivis pointed at a vault off to left in the back of the graveyard. A thunderbolt marker was in plain sight on its front.
I approached the grave. Below the mark was some kind of ancient writing.
"I feel like..." I trailed off.
"What is it?" asked the fairy.
"I feel like I've read this language somewhere before," I answered. Of course, I had not.
"Can you read it now?"
"Hmmm...In this grave lies a sacred treasure...I can't decipher the rest. It's too eroded."
Below the text was a notch shaped like a thunderbolt. I examined the gemstone I wore around my neck.
"I wonder..."
I took the necklace off and placed the stone into the hole. It fit perfectly.
The stone glowed then quickly dimmed. There was rumbling; the front of the tomb slid into the ground, revealing a wall behind it. This wall sank into the earth, revealing another wall. Eventually a set of steps were formed. I removed the jewel from the hole and placed it back around my neck.
"Ready?" asked Sparktrivis.
I looked at the time on my watch. 6:33.
I exhaled deeply. "Let's get this over with."
I walked down the steps, two at a time, and entered the ancient tomb. It was dark and dank inside.
"Use your senses," advised the fairy.
The senses she was referring to are innate in all thunder dragons, enabling us to detect the smallest electrical transmissions. It also worked like night vision, so I used it now to see where I was going.
I was in a long, narrow hallway. Some sort of stand was at the end of it. I Blitz-dashed up to it. What I saw was something wrapped in cloth with a roll of parchment bound to it by twine. I grabbed it and dashed out of the grave, which promptly sealed itself behind me. Outside, I untied the twine and unraveled the cloth.
I held in my hands a brown scabbard, shaped like the thunder symbol.
"It came with an instruction manual," said Sparktrivis.
At this, I unrolled the parchment. More ancient language to read.
"What you hold in your hands is the Bolt Blade," I read. "It is lightning from the Lord himself hammered and sharpened all around. However, it may never harm its user.
"In its singular form," I continued, "it functions like a broadsword and is wielded with one hand. It can be converted to dual form for use of twin blades. The scabbard also follows these changes. In either form, it may also function as a boomerang when thrown.
"Furthermore, the Bolt Blade can be instantly summoned to its wielder's position, regardless of distance.
"This is not a toy. It is a sacred weapon created by our Lord and requires experience in swordsmanship. Misuse will be punished severely."
"Seems legit," I said. I took out the "sword"-- it was yellow and, obviously, followed its scabbard's shape.
"It's as if you never read the last part of the manual," Sparktrivis chided.
"I'm not going to swing it," I assured her. "I just want to see the conversion thing."
With the scabbard on the ground, I willed the blade to duplicate itself, and sure enough, it did. The big yellow blade was now two slender yellow blades.
I looked down. The scabbard had changed as well. It doubled to fit both blades.
I converted the "sword" back to a single unit, sheathed it, and wrapped it back up. I retied the twine and slid the now-folded parchment underneath it.
"Now that you're done," the pixie began, "where to next?"
"The library," I answered. "I want to know what the Baron's Bolero is first."
The library was twenty minutes away from my current position.
I looked down at my watch. 6:45. I could get there in ten minutes if I flew fast enough.
*****
I entered the library at 6:57 p.m.
"Can I help you?" asked the librarian. She was a slender dragoness, re- skinned, orange-blondish hair, purple eyes.
"Yes," I replied. "I need some information on the Baron's Bolero."
"Oh," she said. "That's the song that honors the god Pyros--at least, that's what the books say. I sing it to my son all the time as a lullaby."
"Who is your son?"
"Oh, I doubt you know him--big, stocky fire dragon about your height. His name's Curin."
My blood ran cold.Uh-oh, said Sparktrivis telepathically.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"The hospital. He got into a fight with a new kid at school."
I stood there for a while before pushing my guilt aside. There was business to attend to.
"Can you sing the song to me?" I asked, eyeing my watch. 7:03.
"Of course," Curin's mother replied.
She cleared her throat and began singing. I pulled out the wooden flute Master Furon had given me earlier. I put it to my mouth and began to play it. Having never touched an instrument before in my life, I was surprised at how well I played both the flute and the song.
"That was beautiful," I said when the librarian had finished. "You have an amazing voice."
"And you're a great flute player," she praised.
"Thank you," I replied. "I really must be going."
The librarian nodded. "Feel free to come by anytime!" she exclaimed.
"I will," I said as I left. Outside, I looked at the time. 7:12.
I flew into the sky and sped off towards home. Not five minutes had passed when an eerie feeling came over me.
"We're being followed," I said. "I can detect the neural transmissions of another dragon close behind. I sense malevolent intentions."
Sparktrivis agreed. "Land," she said.
I touched down in a clearing. I could see my house in the distance.
The follower touched down as well. It was indeed a dragon--an exceedingly small one. The dragon had two-toned grey skin with red tattoos, green eyes with blue irises, and short, stubby arms. Around its waist it wore a loincloth with a stylized 'v' with a dot above it and two arrows pointing downward. The same symbol, sans arrows, appeared above and between its eyes, glowing a pinkish-purple. It roared to show a purple tongue.
"It's called a Dragonet," Sparktrivis informed. "Its attitude is disproportionate to its size."
Is if in response to the insult, the creature lunged at me. I responded with an Electrorb straight to its belly, which sent it to the ground. I leaped on top of it and finished it off with a thunderbolt to the jugular.
I backflipped out of the way as the Dragonet tried to close the wound, from which blood squirted like a fountain, in vain. The creature's eyes glazed over and it went limp. Its body lay there for all of five seconds when it dissolved into purple lights.
"That was strange," I said. I checked the time. 7:20.
*****
At 7:32 Grandma opened my bedroom door.
"Dinner's ready," she said.
"Okay," I replied. "I'll be at the table in a few."
She nodded and crept out of the room. I couldn't tell if she was still angry or not, but I didn't really care. The flute and Bolt Blade were under my bed, my clothes were blood-free, and she never found out about my sneaking out. Satisfaction enough for me for one day.
"I guess I should apologize," I said to myself. "I can at least say I tried to make amends."
I hopped off my bed and left the room.
*****
Curin was seething in silence as he lay in the hospital bed. No one had ever beaten him in a fight before. But that punk--what was his name--it didn't matter--that punk had beaten him with one punch. Not only beat him, knocked him out--humiliated him in front of the whole class. And he had a broken jaw and a lost canine tooth to show for it.
I want to kick his ass, Curin raged in his mind.I want to humiliate him like he did me. I want to make him suffer!
I can help with that.
_ _
There was a flash of violet. Curin's bandages and brace were gone. His jaw was healed. His tooth had been replaced.
"How the--"
I can do anything that my lord desires, said the disembodied voice.You host a lot of anger and hatred, and that intrigues my lord.
"What the hell are you?" asked Curin. "And why do you care?"
The voice didn't reply. Instead, an image of a young dragon of the thunder race appeared. He had striking blue eyes, a black and yellow color scheme, and a distinct birthmark on his left shoulder.
Curin's rage showed itself again. "Are you a friend of his?" he snarled.
The voice returned with derisive laughter.Not in slightest, it replied. I'm here because I can give you want you want--to beat him. To humiliate him.To make him suffer.
"I don't need your damn help!" Curin vented.
Actually, you do. You'll NEVER beat him as you are now. It is not fated to happen.
"But--"
There are no buts. I will give you the strength to do all of those things you want. If you refuse my offer, I'll be on my way.
Curin thought long and hard about what the voice had said. "Fine!" he exclaimed. "If you can give me the strength to punch that fucking punk's face in, I'll take it! I'd do anything!"
The acceptance of my offer is all I need.
There was another violet flash, and Curin was gone.
A nurse, seeing the strange event, rushed into the room.
"Where's--"
She stopped mid-sentence as she heard the chuckle. It was only a whisper, but it was plainly audible in the quiet room. The laughter had evil on its heels.
A 'v' with a dot above it appeared in the center of the room's floor. The laughter grew louder.
"Power..." someone said. "So much power..."
The nurse, utterly terrified, ran out of the room for all she was worth.