The Shattered Dragonslayer

Chapter 21: The Scout

Green passed as mist before their eyes. Demetri was out of breath, but Fidelma still rushed as though the dragon chief himself was behind her. The light in the woods had faded, and pale strands of pink and red penetrated the walls and roofs of the trees as dusk broke upon them. At last, Demetri's foot gave way under him and he stumbled into the root strewn ground with Fidelma's hand still yanking on him.

"Enough-" he gasped. Fidelma halted, realizing she dragged him behind her. Her own breaths were exhausted, and as she stood there checking on her companion the air felt dry and sharp in her throat. But she at least could stand, while Demetri lay sprawled out on the earth, huffing and coughing on his back. "We can't be in any danger now," he said hoarsely. "...Can you see anything?"

She erected her neck and cocked her ears. "It's getting dark, so it's hard to see anything, but..." she turned and scaled the nearest tree and surveyed from the tallest limb. Her little voice called down, "there's nothing but smoke on the horizon in the west, but it's old and stale, and the fire seems to have died down. I can't hear anything, neither the stirring of a dragon nor the warbling of a bird. The stars are coming out." She dropped back down in front of him like a droplet of rain, her torn and tattered dress floating about her. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. Duhra may send scouts. He doesn't like to leave survivors."

"Oh..." She shivered terribly, beginning to grip at her elbows. "What if there are no survivors but us? Dara, Terran, Ohraan, Eva and Lacia...Bobbin-!" She froze up, and her eyes were watering in place, as a flower petal holds a bead of rain, unwilling to let it drop. Demetri sat up in silence, staring ahead into the woodlands. He couldn't look at her, not right now, lest he start tearing up himself.

"We, we have to go back," she stammered.

"No!" he snapped, "don't be daft, there's no good you could do if you were to return now, the city is in ruins. Duruileon is gone."

"But if there's any chance there are still people fighting to escape-"

"I'm taking you somewhere safe, that's what I was told and that's what I'm going do. You have a cousin that rules in a neighboring forest, right? Do you know how to get there? We can seek him for help."

Fidelma trembled 'till at last she dropped to her knees, both her hands and her hair hiding her face as she wept out loud. Demetri turned to her and sighed, then crawled over to her reluctantly, trying to see her face.

"Fidelma?"

She couldn't stop crying, nor would she lift her eyes to look at him.

"Fidelma, please don't cry." Slowly, he wrapped himself around her in an awkward but tender embrace, and instantly she squeezed back. He rubbed her back as he stifled the tears swelling up in his weary eyes. "It's going to be okay."

"What if-if Papa didn't make it out, or Mama, and there's nothing I can do about it, and w-we'll never see them again. I almost lost you, and I had to kill it..." She choked on a tear, then sniffed hard. "I still have its b-blood on my hands...I could hear the life leave its body when it hit the ground."

"Fidelma, you did an amazing thing; you were protecting your own, like a princess should for her people. I only wish I could have been of more use."

"I hate killing things! It's hard enough hunting animals but now I've slaughtered something with a conscience."

"You can hardly call a dragon something with a conscience."

She pulled back and glared at him. "A life is a life!"