The word had been thrown around so many times it felt familiar to Zikee’s ears, almost like a blanket forced upon her by the rest of the world. She took pride in it. The weak would throw around the term like some holy shield up until her sword was being shoved through their skulls. It had no power against her. It had no power to them.
So why did the halfling seem to hate it so?
Zikee watched as Ty and Andiz busied themselves in the garden, their shared laughter only reminding her further of her encounter with the elder. The look of rage they shared. When she thought about what she would do to the Silver Dragon, Zikee had been told she had the mind of a savage. She would have buried the man who said that if Andiz hadn’t been there to stop him. She would have done a lot of things if he hadn’t been there.
I wonder if he sees me a savage as well…
Knowing her husband, she doubted he’d act on the notion even if he did. The thought wasn’t comforting.
After a while, the two returned with the harvest, Ty noticeably shrinking away to the couch as Andiz came into the kitchen with her. Was she afraid of her now? Or perhaps she simply made that terrible an impression. The two barely said a word to each other these days, something Zikee wasn’t sure if she quite preferred.
“Here’s the last of it, Kiki,” Andiz said, setting everything down before the fridge. Though expensive, the cooling chamber had saved them many starvation-fueled nights together. “Sorry for the wait.”
Zikee gave a grunt of a response. He liked to stockpile the fridge before every big hunt just so they’d have food ready upon return. And this was set to be their biggest by far. They’d finally gotten a lead to Qui Valentina’s whereabouts. Who knew how long it would take to investigate? Still, despite knowing Andiz’s preference, she also knew the harvest was usually much faster. And that it was rare to hear Andiz laughing so much.
“Was she helpful?”
Andiz looked up from his vegetables, a reaction which made Zikee more off-put for asking. A smile crept across his face.
“She was, yes,” he said. “Maybe next time you’ll join us, Kiki?”
Zikee couldn’t respond, finding herself suddenly put on the spot by the question. Though she didn’t say a word, she could feel Ty looking at her from the couch. Just what had those two been talking about? Zikee finally offered a shrug to get the attention off her. That seemed enough to make Andiz happy, the healer returning to stocking up the fridge. Was he implying something? She quickly changed the subject.
“We should hurry before we lose Valentina’s trail,” Zikee said, though the words had lost any semblance of their usual power. “We have too much ground to cover.”
Andiz’s response was a chuckle.
“Yes. It’s a good thing we have our dragon friend, isn’t it?”
Zikee glanced at Ty, a response which seemed to surprise the halfling for some reason.
***
Though she hated to admit it, Zikee had to agree with her husband on the merits of having a dragon ally.
Thanks to a bit of searching, they’d managed to track down Qui’s last known location to a city near the Revanie border. It was at least a week’s trip on foot, perhaps less with magic augmentation. If they were lucky, they might have found a carriage to ferry them across the kingdom in a matter of days. Yet all it took was one day for the two of them to be carried by Ty all the way from Kison to their destination of Nerania City.
It was halfway across the nation, and yet Ty cleared the distance over the span of two separate flights, only stopping in between to rest. As they reached the closest riverbank to Nerania, Ty landed for the final time, returning to human size.
“Phew.” She stretched out her arms with a smile. “Can’t remember the last time I had to fly so much. Feels like my insides are all sore now. How’s it looking, Andy?” The healer’s gaze narrowed on her. “I don’t see anything wrong. Although you might wish to put this on.”
He offered up the spare cloak they’d brought, along with the mask. As a side effect of her draconic expansion, Ty always tore through whatever she was wearing, though it was less noticeable when she towered over everything in her path. The minute she shrank back to human size, she’d grace everyone with the exposed body of a naked halfling.
“Oh, right. Suppose I forget sometimes.” Ty threw on the cloak and mask, turning to them both with a dramatic spin. “Better?”
Andiz gave a snort, stifling his smile. “It certainly fits you better, yes.”
He looked to Zikee, who regarded the two with little more than an indifferent shrug. Somehow she’d already gotten used to the sight of Ty naked, a realization that both disturbed and unnerved her. She quickly put it aside to focus on the task at hand, making her way towards Nerania. But as she did so, she felt it only fitting to offer the halfling some gratitude.
“You have my thanks, Ty.”
Given they were hunting one of the founders, it was best to walk from the river to the city. The minute Qui spotted a dragon, she could just as likely detonate the bomb as she could flee somewhere else. Zikee wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away. But as she was walking, she noticed neither Andiz nor Ty following. Instead, they were both staring at her for some reason.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
They looked at each other, neither saying a word though Andiz grew a bigger smile. Now what was he thinking? When they did begin to follow, Zikee could feel Ty’s gaze from beyond her fox mask. Fortunately, arriving in the city served as a good distraction for all of them.
Compared to Kison, Nerania was both several times bigger and vastly more prosperous. Towers of silver and gold shined across the landscape, the streets lined with countless lanterns illuminated by translucent crystals. In the skies above the night was blanked by a colorful haze that turned the whole city into a glimmering gem before their eyes. As the second richest place in the kingdom, it made sense that this would be where Valentina chose to seclude herself. Most of the citizenry wore tapestry so exotic Zikee wondered if they’d already crossed into Revanie territory.
What I would have given to see a place like this before…
A part of her still felt curious, but Zikee pushed that desire aside as she remembered their objective, the face of the Silver Dragon burning in the back of her mind. She was the only one with such willpower.
“Woah! Andy, check out that fountain, it’s spitting- Woah is that Revanie, silk? That’s gotta be- Petch, is that a casino!”
Ty was running around like some child, constantly ogling everything despite the strange looks she got from passersby. And though he seemed to be trying to reign her in, Zikee could see Andiz was just as excited to be within the city.
“It does seem rather amazing,” he said. “But we’re on an important mission, Ty.”
The halfling looked back. “Hmm? Oh, right. Sorry.”
She straightened up despite clearly still wanting to explore more of the city. Zikee rolled her eyes.
“Just go already.”
Both she and Andiz seemed surprised by that. Why did they keep staring at her? Zikee groaned, moving to give her husband a light shove forward.
“Andiz, you make sure she stays out of trouble. I’ll follow Qui’s trail to see what I can find.” Even with her mask on, Zikee could see how much Ty lit up at the idea, though Andiz seemed hesitant.
“You’re going alone, Kiki? Is that wise?”
Though she loved her husband, she found his concern more insulting than soothing. Still, she knew his heart was in the right place. She offered a smile, one hand resting on her sword.
“I’ll be careful,” she said. “You go have fun, gentle wing.”
She wouldn’t give him a chance to argue back, already walking past the two of them and into the nearest alleyway. Though she wasn’t sure where she was going exactly, typically the seedier parts of town resulted in information the fastest. She only cast one final glance behind her to make sure she wasn’t being followed before beginning the search in earnest.
I suppose I’d better start with the taverns. No one spills secrets quite like drunken fools.
Her eyes scanned the landscape for any signs of a tavern. They’d neglected to buy maps of any sort, but Zikee always had her magic to listen out as needed. In fact, it was thanks to her magic that she noticed the sounds of footsteps lightly trailing behind her.
They were too loud to belong to Andiz.
Zikee ducked behind the corner, halting in preparation for whoever it was. Given what Vivica had said, it was quite possible that monster would be near. She didn’t wish to get her hopes up, but the thought of finding her prey here all alone was too intoxicating to pass up. Andiz would forgive her for getting revenge without him. As would the halfling get over the news when she told her.
Listening to the footsteps closing in, she saw the face of that butcher writhing through the shadows. She could smell his scent, the smell of burning flesh and her wife’s blood. She could hear his growl, a deep gurgle that always followed her waking nightmares.
As the steps grew closer, Zikee’s sword began to draw from its sheath.
Before you die, monster, I will see the fear in your eyes. I will hear you scream for mercy.
She stared at her blade in anticipation, listening for her target to get closer. Even closer. She could see a shadow in the darkness and ceased her chance to strike, coming out and swinging without mercy.
The sword stopped before it breached skin.
She was right. It had been a dragon she sensed approaching. But as she stared at the woman at the end of her blade, she realized with some degree of disappointment that their scales were not silver. No, the dragon she saw was bright red, their small frame accentuated by a white silken dress. Zikee recognized them almost immediately.
It wasn’t the Silver Dragon she was seeing. It was the female counterpart of the Dragon Duet, Sky.
“Like what you see?” the halfling asked.
Zikee only stared back in response.
The wounds of her dungeon stint were still fresh in her blood, as was the desire to see the woman’s head on a spike for escaping. But where was the other one? Zikee saw someone else standing beside her, but his face wasn’t one she recognized. Nor was it one she found she could easily look away from.
His teeth gleamed as he smiled.
“Well, aren’t you feisty, big one.”
Anyone else would have gotten punched for such words. Yet as Zikee stood there with her blade to Sky’s throat, she found she couldn’t so much as move to strike the man. No, she couldn’t move at all.
“Hmm. You’re larger than the last one.” His scaled fingers rose up to casually grip Zikee’s blade, running his nails against it. “And this steel. You’re quite the fighter aren’t you, big one?”
Zikee was about to respond, but she found it hard to so much as open her mouth, let alone form a complete response. Her sword shook in her hand, eyes locked with this stranger, this man whose purple scales made it clear as day he was a dragon. What was this feeling? No matter how much she tried to fight it, her arm refused to move an inch further. She could see Sky from the corner of her eye only realizing at that moment that she showed no reaction to either of them.
Her gaze had been locked ahead since Zikee first drew her sword, a vacant stare reaching none of them.
“I think I’ll keep you,” the purple halfling said, his gaze rising to meet Zikee’s. “Shall I show you a good time, big one?”
As he lowered her sword, Zikee finally realized why it was she could not move in the presence of this man. Why it was she didn’t want to move.
Over her many years both with her old tribe and her dragon hunting ventures, Zikee had always prided herself on one simple fact. She would never hesitate. No matter if it were a traitor, a child, or her closest ally, she had always prided herself on a commitment to always finish her strike. To always end her target.
This stranger made her hesitate. He turned her words to puddy in her mouth, the giant of a human only able to nod and nothing else. She’d seen such magic once before. Though she hated to think so, she recognized with disdain what she was dealing with.
Zikee was under the mercy of a seduction spell. And this halfling had clearly mastered it.
