Ancestral Dragon

Chapter 10

Rory stoked a fire just outside the cave entrance the next morning. She was cooking some sort of small animal. Jak learned yesterday that he didn't always need to know what he ate but just be grateful to have a mostly full stomach each day.

Jak walked out of the damp cave and sat next to Rory. The tall turrets of the castle peaked through early morning fog off in the distance. Rory cut off a piece of meat from her wooden stake and handed it to Jak.

"So, where do we go from here?" he asked.

"Nowhere. This is it. Viktor will meet us here."

Jak's heart skipped a beat. "When?"

"Today," Rory answered. "Maybe tomorrow."

"You don't know?"

"It's not like I can communicate with him instantly. He couldn't come with me to get you but we chose this spot after figuring out how many days it should take for me to get here from John's cabin."

Could they really be done running? Jak looked out to the vast plains covered in fog as they ate in silence. Viktor was supposed to be able to get Jak home. Jak might even get to sleep in his own bed tonight! He shifted about on the ground and stopped eating as he thought about the old couple. They had cared for him without expecting anything in return. Von Chiemer's words had Jak thinking the worst; that they were killed.

How can I go home without knowing if they're okay? Jak thought with a heavy heat.

He forced the conversation to change in his mind. Rory had mentioned that the old couple could take care of themselves well enough. It was a small ray of hope but Jak latched onto it.

After eating, they cleaned the small fire and did their best to leave no trace. Rory took Jak to collect water in a stream through the forest. Even though she had used a spell to create more water before, she explained that it wasn't worth the risk drawing attention to this spot while they waited for Viktor.

On their way back to the caves, she hesitated on the trail and told Jak to hide in the brush. His pulse raced with confusion as she ran ahead. A few moments passed when the ground trembled. Worried about Rory, he ran up the trail only to stumble upon a horrific scene.

Four of the adult ground dragons, with a younger one, stood on all four limbs near the corpse of the fifth adult. Blood poured from the dragon's neck through the mounds of dirt. A different dragon stood just outside of the group with flesh still hanging from one of its mouths. The dragon had two heads with very narrow snouts and each with a single horn growing from the back of the heads. The body was low to the ground with short, thick legs. A pair of webbed wings extended from its back. The scales were reddish-brown.

Jak's body shook uncontrollably as he froze in place. An arm pulled him from the trail and into the safety of the brush. Before Jak could say anything, Rory put a finger to her lips and pointed at the unfolding scene. The youngling lay next to the fallen dragon as if it were its parent. The other adult dragons circled the young one to guard it from the twin-headed monster which lowered its heads, making a sound between a roar and a hiss. The adult ground dragons responded with guttural growls.

The twin heads lunged forward latching onto two throats at once. It tore away flesh as the dragons fell to the ground. The twin-head was much quicker than the ground dragons, moving before the others could react.

The two remaining adult ground dragons quickly crawled to opposite sides of the forest. Trees snapped against their heavy bulks. The twin-headed dragon didn't know which way to go, so it focused its attention on the only one left; the youngling. Jak and Rory looked away as the twin-headed dragon lunged forward, knowing what would happen.