Relinquishing Revenge

It’d been three weeks after Alex killed him. That was out of revenge.

           “What you did,” said Jaya as she walked beside him on the path, “was good. The king gave a long-standing order. With your skill, there was little competition.” The red hue on her cloak faded with each week, and was as faded as the blue dress he’d bought her. Her hand patted off dust. The smell was at least better than his clothes, she thought.

           “Look lively, we got company ahead. I’m supposed to be a ghost. The ghost. As if dragon slayers shouldn’t be seen.” Grumbling to himself that the sense of calling a dragon killer a ghost was lost on him. “I did it without being seen by either human or dragon. But I got my reward sure enough and that’s all. No one else took credit because they figured whoever really had done it, could easily deep-six them. Not much else to say ‘bout, I guess.”

           Alex had enough combat experience to impress only children. But that he did actually remove a—“Hey, Jaya, what’d you call that thing?” He leaned to whisper so the passing wagon of the accompanying family wouldn’t hear, “The dragon, what’d you call it?”

           “Species,” her reply was as quiet as his.

           Too loud for one of the adolescents not to hear. “Aye, you’re speaking about dragons? I love dragons. My brother fights them all the time. Like the ghost. Says he’ll take on a real one and do it one-handed!” The girl’s eyes lit up as did her pitch with each emphasis of how her brother smashes and stabs and kills all foul beasts. Her father eyed Alex a strange look and without missing a step, brought the little girl up and into the wagon.

           Once the crunching on the ground from the wheels left his earshot, Alex sighed. It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult after winning a bunch of gold and getting recognition. The first he could do with the latter, who cares? Fame could be had by others, he’d keep the money.

           Ever onward they walked, as they had started a week before, when most of the money was lost by a cutpurse. The king spoke high and mighty about the valiant and courageous young man with whom a royal commanding a thousand like him could conquer a country. Though his hands never even came near to give the coins to him. Alex was an object for the court. Even when the king told him in a stage whisper that “were you to kill its kin, twice the reward you shall get, and from my own hands.”

           The fingers twitched on his right hand, the one that had the most grip on the blade that cleanly fell through the snout and must’ve hit the brain. Luck, that’s all. Fear and hate mixed in an energy that was humming through his body so he could fly far enough from the outcrop of rocks above the cave. A run and a leap. He couldn’t even scream because his voice had clamped up. He looked at his left hand, still so bruised to barely hold a knife much less a sword.

           Smashed upon the beast’s head, to the hilt. But with an alteration paid by the king’s bounty, it was a finer weapon than it’d been for the warrior whose corpse presented it.

           His trousers were undoubtedly as dust covered as Jaya’s, his hair uncaringly tousled from hours-gone sleep, but his sword shone every time it was unsheathed. This he did at least six times an hour. Just to make sure it was still there.

           “I appreciate the half of the money, but it’s not as if I did much.” Her words grazed his ears. Jaya knew a lost battle when she saw it. So she lay on her side, a small bundle of spare clothes forming a pillow beneath her head.

The muscle memory from his dad teaching him with sticks for countless hours every week for years had Alex not believing his own words. The thoughts muddled in his mind while he and Jaya lay at the campfire until sleep easily overtook them.

           The next morning they were awakened by an increasing gust, still red-warm charcoal landed on Jaya who whelped a cry. “It’s here!” She screamed over and over as if in an instant everything would be okay. She would go no where until there was silence and she could accept what was before her.

           The ground groaned, trees bent forward and back. Every beat of wings sending a chill through Alex. His sword he grabbed, throwing off its scabbard and running the other way. Jaya, equally homeless and flummoxed, he had to leave. Much as he left the ravages of street life, begging and sleeping on practically anywhere once the last of parents die, his swift legs of youth brought him away. He couldn’t save her by facing the thousands upon thousands of pounds of hovering, fire breathing terror.

           Instinctually, the dragon knew who slayed his friend. Words never formed, but the comprehension of trust and fellowship ended when she flew over the corpse. The human had reveled and glorified in the carnage; that is their way. Dragons eat what they can nowadays and leave when the increasing oppression that is humankind turns their way. Like the forests, soon the dragons would give way to fate. But, thought the dragon, not today.

           Its light green scales shimmered in the sun. Rife with anger, explosions from ejecting balls of flame tore through the brush near the campfire. A scream—that was good. The louder the cry, the sooner the deed. If it knew what it was to laugh, it would do so. People would die and the pleasure of vengeance would urge it forth until it consumed crispy limbs. Skewered into the ground by fire was the most delicious of any revenge. Of that, it knew.

           Alex’s cloak was off now, his protection was ready. He breathed in what was always a musty smell from the sword. He’d jumped down before to strike, but now the wonder of how to kill an even larger dragon without momentum to speed the point into a sweet spot toward an instant killing meant deep thinking. He ran, not away from Jaya exactly, away from certain death. The flapping of wings was less the farther he went. But ever since he ran from the first dragon, the one that grabbed his dad years before and with a flick of its wrist threw him in the air to be caught in its maw meant revenge for Alex. All days were spent dwelling on the suffocating goal: kill that which kills.

           He stumbled, the loose shoes might’ve looked good, once, unfortunately though they weren’t for running. So he stopped. The object for ending his obsession hit him like falling off a cliff and meeting the bottom before really being ready. He couldn’t move. He knew without doubt the cause for his continuing—his mission in life—would not stop. Not unless something happened. And then he turned to make the decision a reality.

           “I’m here.” Legs carried him slowly back to the danger. “I’m the killer.” The words were louder. “I killed your kind like you killed mine.” Drops of sweat rolled down to his chin. “You want this!” Arms spread outward. Walking toward his fate: the monster that hovered before him. He repeated his slaying of its kin. Alex knew, it knew. His beating heart slowed, echoing twice for every step.

           The dragon slammed into the ground and carefully strode toward the human. Small in its limbs and walk. The head as swift in thought as it was crunchy, some more than others. This creature walked with purpose. A worthwhile time to halt for understanding. The dragon was one of the few, of what used to be many, that hesitated so as not to make a mistake when it came to these puny creatures. Claws impulsively tapped on the dirt, making rivets in soft ground.

           A minute and enough trembling to shake free a mountain into almost flat ground, the young man arrived. Was he a man now for attempting this? “Perhaps that’s what fate is, accepting what’s before me.” The uttering came out of his mouth without care who heard.

           “I killed your kind. I did it.” Breaths of smoke tendrilled up from the snout of the monster. “Kill me. I have nothing but spite for you. Let all the other humans live. Take me and then fly away. Die in a far away land where none hunt you. If you don’t kill me, I will be your bane, and I will not stop.” Spittle shimmered in the dawn’s light.

“If you don’t leave Jaya and other humans alone, you will suffer. Every day you will live abandoned by your kind for they will know all who are near to you be annihilated. And in your fear you will fly away ever further until you know you’re the last and every breath will be a gasp of shame. Until you die!”

           He pointed the sword at the dragon, which moved its head back, ready to retaliate at the move. “I seek revenge, like you. Take me, end it. And be on your way.” He swiped his arm with the sharp edge, blood freely dripping on the ground. “You know I killed your kind. Take me. I swear I am done.” The clattering echoed when the sword was let go. Silence ensued.

The beast had stopped breathing. It understood. Vengeance was only met with death. She would give it to him.

It was enough.