Dragon Spirit (Brian Kesinger Writing Challenge) ✔️

2 - Tassalon

Talk about pressure on a first assignment.

"So how are we gonna get to Tassalon?"

He let out one of his annoying hisses. "Leave that up to me."

His wings spread. My jaw dropped  when he grew in size until a huge shadow fell over me. When his scepter pointed right at my forehead, I shrieked–this was taken it too far. Sparks spilled out of the tip, engulfing me within seconds. I was sucked into a giant black hole before I spiraled. I know, totally cliché, but what can I do?

My legs kicked into empty space as I fell until my behind hit hard grounds. I was glad my tongue wasn't sticking out or my teeth could have caused some serious damage when they slammed together.

Patumuk appeared in front of me with a smug grin. "Now you have to stop the Prince of Light," he said eagerly.

I stared at him. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Dunno." He stared back without flinching.

"What do you mean, you don't know? Aren't you supposed to be my guide or something?"

"Yeah, but that's a new scenario they didn't teach us in dragon school." His arms crossed in front of his chest. "The Prince of Light hasn't been around in centuries and we don't talk about him. He is a bit creepy in a Voldemort kind of way."

Figures. First assignment and I get the super villain.

"Okay, so how does he steal the colors?"

"He touches the rainbow that feeds Tassalon all its colors with his sword. That turns the rainbow white and leaves the kingdom with nothing."

"Hm." I glanced around, soaking in my surrounding. We had landed on a beautiful meadow with flowers in any imaginable shade blossoming as far as my eyes could see. The scent in the air was intoxicating.

When I turned around, my eyes fell onto a waterfall, but it wasn't the usual kind. The cascading water was the color of the rainbow. As the sun sparkled in the falling drops, a symphony of sparks exploded, sending flashes of gold, silver and neon into the sky. It was truly magical.

"So who can tell me how to beat this Prince?"

Patumuk shrugged. "Probably the mountain witch, but she is in hiding with the rest until the crisis passes." His tongue shot out, licking his nose which was kind of gross. "Plus there's the Evil One."

That didn't sound too promising. "Who's the Evil One?"

"She's another dragon. Thinks she owns the place which is kind of annoying."

She couldn't be worse than him. "And where do I find her?"

He rolled his eyes. "Duh. Where do dragons usually live? In the dungeon of the castle, of course."

My smile was mild. "Of course. How did I not remember?"

His eyes narrowed–probably, he was catching onto my sarcasm. "Ready?"

I nodded just as he multiplied in size again. A wave of his scepter sent me back into a spin, but this time, the journey only lasted a couple of eye blinks. The castle in front of me was gigantic and build with intricate detail like something you would find in a Disney movie.

Toddling behind Patumuk, I tried to remember every color for future drawings, but my mind shut down on an information overload. By the time we reached the stairs to the dungeons, I was dizzy. Patumuk lit a torch with his breath before we descended down the steep spiral staircase. On the third landing, he started to hide behind me, ready to bolt. Of course, of all the dragons around, I had to get the coward as my dragon spirit.

Dampness crawled through the thin fabric of my gown the further we ventured underground. My teeth clattered when I set foot onto the lowest level, but it was not all from the cold. The hair on my neck raised when a scratching noise, followed by a loud puff, bounced off the rock-like walls. Something was down here and didn't seem friendly.

"Oh Lililia," my dragon spirit called out in a rather whiny voice. "It's Patumuk. I'm here with the Guardian. She needs to ask you something."

The puffing was getting louder. Patumuk shoved me in the back when I hesitated. I shot him a nasty look, but he just shrugged. "What? She won't attack you. She respects Guardians." He grinned, before adding "I hope" under his breath.

My fingers wrapped tightly around the torch as I continued. Two green eyes greeted me when I stepped into the dungeon. The dragon was huge, smoke drifting from his nostrils. If Patumuk had not poked me with his scepter, I would have run for the hills.

I bowed slightly. "Hello, Evil One."

Patumuk burst out laughing. "That's only Zippo, Lililia's pet. She's right over there."

My eyes fell onto a dragon not even half the size of Patumuk who was cowered in a corner, watching me with red, burning eyes. Her tongue kept shooting out as I edged closer. She looked awfully fragile, her body made of pure crystal glass.

"What do you want?" she piped.

"I need to defeat the Prince of Light."

"No one has a weapon strong enough to defeat him." When my shoulders slumped, she held out a small brush. "Here, take this. It's the magic brush. It belongs to you."

I had no clue how this could be of value, but grabbed it regardless. When I blinked, the familiar spinning was back until I found myself right on top of the rainbow waterfall. When I gazed down, I saw a knight who was just about to stab his sword into the stream.

"NOOOO," I shouted.

Without even thinking twice, I dropped into the stream. The water twirled around me like a cushion, carrying me down in a crazy spiral ride until a rock broke my fall. Surprisingly, I was not hurt.

I gazed around until my eyes interlocked with those of the knight. He closed the gap between us with only three steps. His sword was raised in a way that there was no doubt he was going to slice me in half. With my eyes squeezed shut, I let out a scream. My hand clutched my only weapon–the little brush.

His sword came down as I held my breath. I expected pain and a whole lot of blood, but the sword just ricocheted off me. Before I could sigh a breath of relief, a familiar voice echoed across the sky.

"Take the brush and paint over him, Irina. The colors will rob him off his powers."

My arms swung automatically up and down, the color pouring from the tip of the brush onto the knight. He shouted, but kept frozen in place as his plain white armor turned the color of the rainbow. Then he crumbled before evaporating with a puff.

"You did it," Patumuk squealed from above me before zooming down and landing next to me on a rock.

"I think I just heard my grandma," I stuttered. My eyes darted around, but I couldn't see her.

"I am in the spirit world and invisible to your eyes." A whiff of wind accompanied her words. "But I will always be here when you need me. Patumuk will do the rest."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "I'm scared, grandma. I don't know what to do."

When the wind caressed my hair, I could imagine her fingers. "Paint, Irina. Be it here or in the human world, make everyone see the beauty of colors. It's one of the spirits' greatest gifts."

I choked on my words when I nodded. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, but only silence flowed out of my mouth with my breath. So I did the next best thing–I took the brush and painted my feelings into the sky. That was all I was ever meant to do.