A Dragon's Tale Ch. 17

But instead of the corridor she remembered, now she was on a battlefield.

A massive battlefield.

The entire ground was covered with dead bodies of many different races from all across the Ten Kingdoms. The stench of blood and death was thick in the air. Most of the bodies had been slain with weapons, but many bore scorch marks from spells and the foul odor of charred flesh was also in the air. Many different battle standards where laying on the ground or stuck in the earth. Most were ripped or torn.

There was no one living in sight.

Fires - probably from the mages - where scattered all around the battlefield, giving off small amounts of smoke which covered the entire area. Their red, flickering light and the omnipresent smoke in the fading light of the twilight sky gave the entire area an otherworldly reddish glow... and not in a good way. It seemed like blood and smoke filled the air.

Something truly awful had happened here.

In the distance, she heard the sound of steel ringing against steel. She turned around to see two dragons fighting, each attacking the other with a ferocity she'd never before seen.

One dragon was steel gray.

The other was black as night.

The steel gray dragon was wielding a shield and a gleaming sword that seemed to shine with an inner light. The black dragon was answering with a mace and shield. They were both moving so fast she had trouble keeping her eyes on their movements.

She clutched the baby tighter as she realized what terrible danger the infant was in if the gray dragon lost.

"Keep the baby safe Kendra." She heard a somber but melodious voice say from behind her.

She whipped around to see a woman who was wearing robes of the purest white. Despite the bloodiness of the battlefield, there wasn't a single speck of dirt or blood on her pristine, shining clothes. She seemed to shine brightly, but with the warmth of a flickering candle.

"Protect the baby Kendra; keep her safe." The luminous woman said again.

Kendra heard a growl behind her and turned.

The gray dragon had been wounded - though not fatally - and he had fallen to the earth. The black dragon turned and started charging towards Kendra and the baby. She turned and fled, clutching the baby tightly as her heart pounded in her chest.

She wasn't fast enough.

She could hear the black dragon gaining on her as she ran for all she was worth, clutching the baby tightly to herself the whole time. She chanced a glance behind her and saw the black dragon was nearly upon them and swinging its weapon in a powerful overhand strike. She dove to the side and curled herself around the baby to protect the infant as best as she could.

She hit the ground and heard the dragon roar. She turned to see it raise its mace and prepare for a vicious downward blow that would surely kill them both. She used her body to shield the infant and clenched her eyes shut.

The hammer whistled through the air as it swung down...

* * *

"Aah!" Kendra yelled as she sat bolt upright in her airship, her eyes flying open.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was panting as if she'd just run a marathon and was nearly drenched in cold sweat. She was clutching her travel pack tightly to her chest as if it was the infant she'd been so desperately protecting.

Her hands were shaking.

Her breathing was short and ragged.

It took a few moments for her to get her bearings.

"It's okay, you're okay." She told herself. She took a few deep, calming breaths and tried to still her racing heart. "It was just a dream."

After a few moments, her body seemed to realize that she wasn't running or fighting for her life and it slowly calmed down. Her breathing returned to normal along with her heartbeat, and her hands stopped shaking.

"What in Saidow's lair what that?" She said thinking back to the dream. Dancing with a dragon? Fighting to save their baby like she was the most important thing in the world?

Kendra shook her head and shuddered.

It was still in the pre-dawn hours. The sky had just barely begun to lighten in the east and there was still a slight chill in the late summer air. She pulled out her enchanted telescope and scanned the horizon to make sure the dragon's airship was still berthed near the slaver's camp. It was, though they had removed the gangplank and risen another fifty feet in the air to prevent anyone from boarding at night.

Smart.

Satisfied that her quarry hadn't escaped, Kendra laid back down and pondered the dream. It certainly hadn't felt like a normal dream. Well, perhaps the first part with the dancing was. She often dreamed of dancing and realized with a sigh that she couldn't remember the last time she'd done it in the waking world.

But dancing with a dragon?

Strangely, she had quite enjoyed the experience and the conversation that had flowed naturally between them. She couldn't remember opening up that easily to anyone before. Of course, that was only in dream. She wouldn't even consider opening up like that to the dragon in real life.

And then there was their daughter.

The baby had been so cute. Kendra had never been a 'baby person' but had to admit that little bundle of joy felt amazing in her arms. She felt sorry for the girl because of her parentage, but otherwise...

She closed her eyes and tried to remember every detail. She lay there thinking about her desperate attempts to save the baby and the strange luminous woman who had instructed her to do so. Something about that seemed significant, but she didn't know what.

That was her last though before she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked at the large wooden ring that housed the unopened portal.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Alana agreed with him.

They stood just inside the small cavern which housed the portal. Taloni, Rachel, Hailey, Anthiel, the two women from Earth, and all the kids were standing behind him. Everyone had eaten a hurried breakfast and now they were ready to leave.

Or as ready as they could be.

"Okay, here's the plan." He said turning to face them. "Rachel will show Anthiel and Taloni how to open the portal. Once it's open, I'll go through first to make sure it's safe and Gonorran isn't around. If the coast looks clear, I'll let Alana know and she'll let everyone else know. If she says to go, then run through the portal because I'm not sure how long it will stay open. Rachel says it would take the better part of a day for Taloni and Anthiel to replenish their mana enough to open it again, so rush through as soon as Alana gives the word. Everyone understand?"

There was a general murmur of agreement.

"Then let's get to it." He said.

Rachel led Anthiel and Taloni over to the control podium and started showing them how it worked. It seemed as simple as pushing your mana into the large orange gemstone embedded in the center of the control podium. At least, it was that simple to open a portal. Rachel had said there was no way she would risk trying to alter the portal's endpoint.

He noticed Hailey standing a little away from the others. She had her arms crossed as if cold, but it wasn't cold in the cavern.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Just nervous. I've been dreaming about this day for years. Now that it's here I just..." She glanced at the portal. "What if everything has changed?"

"I'm sure some things have changed." He replied. "You've been gone a while and it would be silly to think that everything stayed the same. But we'll be with you every step of the way."

"Still?"

"Yes." He nodded. "We take care of our friends."

"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without you; all of you."

"You're welcome."

She looked at the portal. "I'm half expecting this thing to open into a military base under the Cheyenne Mountains. It looks like the Goa'uld might come through at any moment."

He chuckled at the Stargate SG1 reference, though he had to admit the resemblance was striking. There were plenty of differences between the portal and SG1's Stargate, and also between the portal's control podium and SG1's DHD - dial home device - but they were definitely similar.

It almost made him wonder...

"Maybe the resemblance isn't accidental, but causal." He mused.

"Come again?" Hailey asked.

"Well, Earth has plenty of stories filled with magic. Perhaps Earth once had mages and one of them created a portal like this which someone found? That would certainly explain the resemblance."

"That sounds farfetched." Hailey replied.

"Does it?" He asked. "I've definitely met other people on this world who came from Earth, or at least visited there." He then explained about Luminar Kossel quoting Star Wars and Kendra's friend who had a quote from Pulp Fiction memorized.

"Interesting." She made a thoughtful sound. "So what? You think the US government has some top secret portal and that was the inspiration for the Stargate movie and series?"

"Maybe?" He shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm just thinking out loud. Besides, there's no magic on Earth now anyway, so how would they charge a portal to open it? "

"Good point." The willowy woman replied.

"We're ready." Rachel called.

Ethan walked over to Antheil, Rachel, and Taloni; who were all standing near the control podium. He looked at the Fey teen and smiled.

*You can hear me right?* He said telepathically.

*I can.* she replied the same way, then she grinned. *I like this; it's like our own private conversation in a room full of people.*

*I know, right?* He gave her a hug and then kissed her forehead. *I love you, and I'll be back as soon as possible.*

She squeezed him tightly. *I love you too master. Be careful and hurry back.*

*I will.* He nodded and then walked to the head of the ramp.

"You might not want to stand so close while the portal is forming." Rachel said from the base of the ramp where everyone else was standing. "It might be dangerous."

"Good point." He said, remembering how the portal on Stargate SG1 had a tendency to vaporize everything in front of it when it opened. He walked to the bottom of the ramp, picked up his spear and hammer, and waited.

"Okay ladies, give it all you've got." Rachel instructed.

Taloni and Anthiel placed their hands on the large orange gemstone on the control podium. They got looks of intense concentration and then looked at the large ring that would contain the portal.

It worked.

The gemstone on the lower left slowly lit up and then flashed slightly.

"Chevron one encoded." Hailey whispered to Ethan.

He chuckled at the Stargate SG1 reference.

It took about a minute for the Fey and the high elf to fully charge all seven gemstones around the edge of the ring. When they had, all seven flashed at the same moment, then something that looked like opaque water started flowing from the inside of the ring toward the open center. It moved like honey or maple syrup; slowly and like it was very thick. In seconds it had met in the center, forming a membrane and then began to relax and undulate like water in the wind.

The membrane was like the surface of water as it reflected the sun. Or perhaps like oil left out on a flat surface. Like the portal stone Elder Goman had given him, it undulated and moved liked water in a slight breeze, reflecting the colors of the rainbow like soap bubbles. At the same time though, it was a subtle thing; easy to miss with just a glance; again like the rainbow colors in a bubble.

"Portal's open." Rachel called. "You better get going."

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his weapons. Then - hoping that Gonorran wasn't waiting for him on the other side - he ran up the ramp and jumped through the portal to Earth.

TO BE CONTINUED...

STORY TAGS: dragon, magic, medieval, elf, teen, romance, virgin, harem, cuckquean