Chapter 11

To think that dragons might still exist. Suddenly I realized something, "with Tristan gone, does that mean there is no one keeping out the dragons from the kingdom?"

Agnir was baffled, "excuse me! I'm still here! Which means you are the one who is in charge of keeping out the dragons. TaDa!!!" I almost invisioned her using jazz hands.

"what do you mean I'm in charge-..... Oh no." I just realized what having the kings flame really meant. "No... Not me, I don't even know how to fight let alone slay dragons!"

Agnir giggled, "oh silly! Don't worry so much. Now that I'm awake I can help you! I know exactly who we need to go see. The best part is they live close by!" Agnir seemed like a very optimistic person based on our few short conversations.

"who is it?" I asked, puzzled. Agnir sounded excited, "it's my mom!" Oh right of course, her mom.

"wait, your mom? The dragon? Fireheart the elder dragon?" I started to panic a little bit. "She'll eat me!"

Agnir started laughing again, "what? No way hahaha after all you're my current host! She would probably try to get me to another host first and then eat you. She doesn't want me to meet any boys yet, but I picked you so she'll just have to deal with it."

I imagined myself eating dinner with a giant dragon, she's eating an entire cow carcass with the tip of her claw, piece by piece. She would ask me what my intentions are with her daughter then burn me alive before I even open my mouth.

I shivered a little.

I brought up the elephant in the room, "what about Thena? We can't just leave her here." I pointed at Thena who was peacefully laying on my shirt.

"oh yeah.... I could eat her?" Agnir seemed to be giving a genuine solution to our current problem.

"no! She's a good person. She clearly is against the Drezir!" I put my head in my hands and pressed on my eyes. "I'll just carry her, how far is the cave?"

Agnir thought for a second, "hmmmm somewhere over there" I sat there waiting for a direction to look at. After all I couldn't see her. Then she realized her mistake, "oh yeah haha start heading down the mountain I will guide you.

I laid down on her gently with my back, grabbed her arms around my neck and flipped over so she was now on my back and I could stand up. Thena was heavier than I thought. Her gear was likely weighing her down a bit. Agnir led me down the mountain side. It was a long walk, we stopped several times for a break.

The sun was starting to set, Thena still hadn't woken up yet. "Agnir are we almost there?" My body was starting to get exhausted but I picked Thena up again one more time.

"yes, it's just up ahead." Agnir was confident which helped to motivate me to keep moving. We approached an indent in the mountain face. There were engravings in the rock.

Beware the demon in the mountain.
A spawn of hellfire.
A trickster.
Do not make deals with the devil, you shall lose your soul.

The message made it sound like dragons were from hell itself instead of creatures from our world. I already knew what I was headed into. "Do you have any tips agnir? What should I do? What should I say?"

Agnir giggled again, "oh silly, you don't have to worry about mom!"

Stories of dragons kept swirling in my mind. Deceptive evil tricksters with a silver tongue. I was nervous. How am I supposed to face a dragon, let alone an elder dragon!? "Agnir, what if she tries to eat me?"

"calm down Torin, I'm here alright?" I felt a warmth in my chest. That's right, agnir eats dragons, I might be safe then. I felt slightly better but couldn't help feeling scared.

We walked into the dark abyss, "torin, here's a little light. You can't control my flames yet so I'm only giving you a tiny bit to release into a wisp ok?"

My hand felt hot, "ow" I held it out and released it. A ball of fire the size of my head emerged from my hand, it floated just above me and followed me. This was all the work of agnir, I still didn't even know how magic worked. We walked until we came to a cliff edge. There in front of me was a dark abyss.

A low growl from a large creature reverberated in the room. "So a little snack has wandered into my domain... Come closer small human, I promise I won't bite." The voice was alluring. It was a female voice, it instantly made you feel drawn to its owner.

I resisted the urge to step any closer to the edge. "Um... Uh... Fireheart?" I finally spat out a few words. Scales clashed with stone as a giant creature, just beyond the flames, began to move. A giant dragon head emerged from the darkness.

"what brings you here human child? And is that a dragon kind you carry on your back? How strange... Well it does not matter. It just means more food for me. After all, I cannot let you leave now that you know of my existence." She smacked her lips.

I needed to cut her off before I got eaten. Agnir spoke in my mind, "mom! Yay! It's been so long!" I interrupted, "agnir sent me here!"

The great dragon got closer, "what? How do you know that name? What do you know about agnir? Where is Tristan? It's been 10 years since his last visit, where is he?" I was instantly bombarded with questions but Instead of anger, it sounded like Fireheart was genuinely concerned.

I could see the worry in fireheart's eyes, "agnir is safe. I have her, Tristan disappeared. The new king is his brother Ferdinand." I didn't feel so scared anymore, the dragon wasn't focused on me. Fireheart's mind seemed to be racing.

"with you? Are you her new host?" Fireheart seemed to suspect me a little. She looked me up and down.

"what are your intentions with my daughter?"

Huh? It actually happened?