Kena

Chapter 8

Rogan lived on the shore of the center continent of Aerin, right on the opposite side of the ocean from Terria. Rogan had been paranoid for a while now, afraid that something would happen, and so he and all of his minions around the planet had the only currently working communication system. They had something similar to portable walkie-talkies, only with a long range.

Rogan had a vendetta. He had never liked dragons, but never had a good reason until now. Rogan’s wife and daughter had left to take a vacation to Terria shortly before the attack. As paranoid as he was, he sent a couple of men with them, and another group of men shortly afterwards. His wife never knew how many men he had in his employ, and so would never know how many people he had sent to keep them safe. They had failed their job.

Rogan was working on paperwork down in his cellar/ panic room when he heard a loud ruckus coming from upstairs. His house had been destroyed. Most had burnt down, and what was left had been crushed. The only part of his house still in tact was the cellar. He ran back down just in time to hear his comms.

“Sir! Sir! This is Eimy, come in Rogan!”

“What is it Eimy? What happened?”

“Dragons, sir. They came out of nowhere.”

“Same here, Eimy.”

“But sir... “

“What’s wrong? Spit it out!”

“Well, sir… It’s your wife and daughter…”

“Are they okay? Eimy, are they okay?”

“Sir, they are dead… Along with the two guys you sent them with, and a few of my own.”

Rogan couldn’t speak. His wife, Glade, was the only reason that his paranoid self hadn’t gone completely off the deep end. After their daughter, Lulyn, had been born, he had realized that there was a chance for peace and calm in this world. With Glade and Lulyn in his life he finally had a reason to truly live, instead of just trying to survive. The following week was their anniversary, and so he sent his two girls off on a relaxing vacation while he planned and prepared for the perfect night for him and his wife. Now they were gone, dead in the blink of an eye. Those dragons, the ones he had always had trouble trusting, they were the ones who ruined his life.

Almost a week later, Rogan was sitting in that same cellar. He was plotting and planning. Those foul creatures that had ruined his life would not be allowed to survive for much longer. He would find them and destroy them all. That was when the comms began again.

“Sir, are you there?”

“What is it?”

“Sir, it’s Eimy.”

Rogan let out a low growl. He was not happy with Eimy. He had not only failed at his one job, but he had been the one to tell Rogan about his family. That put him in a bad spot with Rogan. Rogan made a silent promise to himself. If Eimy told him one more piece of bad news, he would kill him when he saw him next.

“What is it, Eimy?”

“Sir, they were stolen.”

Yep, Eimy was now a dead man walking, thought Rogan.

“What was stolen?”

“Sir, the bag with your family’s personal items. Your daughter’s toy which had your wife’s ring and recorded message from your family in it, it’s gone.”

Yep, definitely dead. If he could have killed Eimy through the comms, he would have.

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Stolen, sir. We were attacked, and it was stolen.”

“A whole posse of big, strong men, and you were attacked? Who dare attack you?”

“Well, sir… We were attacked by a little girl and her pet dragon, sir.”

“Eimy, are you that weak?! Was it an ambush? Did they catch you off guard?”

“Ummm… Well… No, sir… I had seen the girl with the dragon, and when she came into town without him, I grabbed her. I was going to kill the dragon, but she called for him, and as soon as he roared a few of my men deserted. He then attacked me from behind, and the girl started shooting at us with arrows. I was knocked unconscious, and while I was out she stole the bag with the stuff in it.”

“Get it back, Eimy. Find her, kill her and her dragon, and get me my stuff back. You don’t want it known that you were beat by a little girl and one tiny dragon, do you?”

“No, sir.”

“Good, now go.”

Rogan closed the line, and slammed his fist on the desk. Those dragons had ruined his life, and now one was back, and somehow got help from a treacherous little girl. Her own people were attacked, and most were killed by those dragons, and now she was in league with one of them?

Rogan stood up and paced the room to relieve some of his anger. It didn’t work. All he was doing was walking and thinking, and thinking wasn’t going to calm him down. His anger had been building up for a week now, and it didn’t look like it would disappear any time soon.

Suddenly Rogan collapsed on the ground, and landed on his knees in a kneeling position. The tears started flowing down his face, and he brought up his hands to cover his face. This big, tough man who led almost a hundred men was now on the floor in tears. The one thing that had been holding him together was his family, and now they were gone. So, he had asked for certain objects to be brought home, things to remember his family. He asked for Lulyn’s toy bear, because it had been her favorite toy. He bought it for her specifically because of the secret pocket. He had told her that she could put all of her very special secrets in the bear, and no one would ever know what they were. The other object he had asked for was his wife’s wedding ring. There was a whole story as to how he acquired that ring, a story that only he and Glade knew.

The problem was that they had been stolen now. Everything that had truly meant something to him had been taken away. Rogan was no longer on the verge of madness. That wall which stopped him from crossing that line was gone. It was as if his insanity had been building up like pressure behind him, and as soon as that wall was taken away, he shot over the crazy line like a bullet from a gun. Rogan now had a vendetta.