Mysteries Beyond (Dragons RTTE Fanfic - Sequel to Deception)

Chapter 21

"Vulcan?" you repeated, the name not meaning much to you, yet triggering your curiosity nonetheless. He continued to stare at you blankly.

"Vulcan." you muttered again to yourself under you breath. The more you thought about it, the more you said it, the more you thought you'd heard that name before. Somewhere, a very long time ago in the depths of your memory...

"Yes." he said after a moment. "You are no doubt weary from your travels. Follow me." he spun round quickly on his heels, and began stalking hurriedly through the trees.

"Hold on just a second!" you called after him. "All that just happened, and you're just going to walk off?!"

"Follow me." he repeated, not even turning round to check you were behind him, as he continued to walk. You chased after him (he was a fast walker, but luckily so were you). Now that he had turned away from you, you could see that he not only had a bow across his back, but also a slender sword strapped diagonally across his spine.

"Aren't you going to tell me where that dragon came from?" you asked. He picked up his pace - so did you.

"You know I know what it was." you asserted. With no warning, he suddenly turned round to face you, his face taut and eyes burning with ferocity.

"I've heard of Lycanwings - I was always told they were mythical creatures - half man, half dragon. I didn't believe they were real until now. But, now I have the proof." you continued.

"Proof?" he said with disbelief, a sort of anger rising in his voice, but not the sort that you were used to "Proof!"

"Don't pretend I'm stupid. There was a huge dragon right in front of Amethyst and I, which disappeared into thin air just before you arrived, with the same burning eyes no less!" He turned around again, and began walking through the bracken, but you paced at his side this time.

"Tell me what you know about the Lycanwing." he asked, the anger having vanished in an instant.

"Legend says they are ravenous beasts that are doomed to a life lingering between a dragon and a human. The Lycanwing becomes a dragon when the moon is full, at which point it will mercilessly hunt down and feast on whatever creature crosses its path, friend or foe." You broke through the thick vegetation into a clearing. The canopy of leaves above you only broke a little here, just enough to catch a glimpse of the stars.

"Indeed." was all Vulcan said. There was a pause before he asked: "And what do you think of the moon tonight?" you remarked with raised eyebrows. You looked up, the leaves obscuring your view of the night sky. However, it wasn't difficult to see that half full moon.

"It's half-full." you stated, looking back at Vulcan's gleaming eyes, which now shone more vibrantly in the moonlight. "And I suppose the dragon I saw wasn't exactly a bloodthirsty monster either." you added slowly. "So, it wasn't a Lycanwing."

"No, that's because you were quite right in your previous assumption - Lycanwings are mythical creatures."

"What did I see then?"

"All in due time." was the only answer he gave, before picking up his pace through the undergrowth again.

As Vulcan led you further into the clearing, you noticed a scattering of nests on the ground. Glowing nests! Crouching down, you observed the carefully knitted and intricately wound grass and bracken nest and, at the center of it, a glowing Changewing egg, the slow fluctuating glow of colors instantly recognizable to you. Amethyst recognized it too, lowering her snout to sniff the eggs carefully. You could tell she was instantly drawn to them - they were her kind after all. High grass reeds grew around each nest, which you now realized were dappled everywhere around the clearing, as you looked around you. Through the clearing ran a small brook of trickling water, and red oleander flowers rose from the ground in a burst of color.