Treasure

Catherine's eyes opened slowly, the room around her spinning in and out of focus. For several moments, all she could see was a bouquet of colors and shapes, amorphous blobs that shifted continuously until finally fixing themselves into place. Her head was pillowed on a mass of green scales, and the back of her nightgown seemed to be fluttering with a steady, warm breeze. Below her, the ground was hard and unforgiving against her hip, and she wriggled into a sitting position with a little difficulty. The entire left side of her body was stiff, and she grimaced. It would take her a while to become reaccustomed to sleeping in a cave.

Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. A cave.

She stared down at the scaly surface that had been supporting her cheek, and a wide smile tugged painfully at her mouth. A few feet to the left of his tail, Adeon's reptilian head was propped up on an enormous claw. His filmy eyelids fluttered restlessly as he slept, revealing fleeting slivers of acid-green. He seemed to sense her stare, and after a moment, his eyes opened slowly. His wide, wide mouth stretched into a grin, exposing countless needle-sharp teeth.

"My dear," he groaned as his serpentine body arched in a languorous stretch. "My love." A long talon traced the underside of her chin. "You look so shocked," he concluded softly, and she laughed before kissing one of his knuckles.

"It's just...I can't quite believe it yet," she murmured, gazing up at him with wide blue eyes. "We did it. We're here."

"Is it so hard to believe?" he sighed. His nose butted up against her stomach, and she stumbled backwards a bit.

"It is, actually. I thought I would wake up in my bed this morning...that this would all be a dream." Her gaze flitted around the yawning cavern, studying each stalactite tip and the luminescent, glittering yellow crystals that had taken up residence inside the nooks and crannies. They seemed to be the only source of light in the cave, and they bathed the rock walls in a faint glow like so many strange candelabras.

"It isn't over yet," Adeon said, and she winced at the worry in his voice. The hours before their slumber had been spent essentially tugging at Grindel's arm, but he was remarkably adept at avoiding them in some way or another, and most of the other dragons, apparently exhausted, had shooed them away. When they finally tracked Grindel down again, he seemed less than impressed by Catherine's protests.

"There will be a gathering tomorrow. We'll hear you then," he had told her, studying his pointed fingernails as he walked. Catherine was by his side, followed by Adeon, whose upper lip had curled into an annoyed snarl.

"But...but we have three days," she begged, and he had paused and let his gaze flit briefly up to her face.

"Then it can wait, can't it?" he said softly, lifting his chin ever so slightly. When Catherine thinned her lips, he smiled. "Oh, don't fret. You're travel-weary...why don't you get some rest?"

"We're perfectly fine," Adeon grumped.

"I insist. Until tomorrow, Adeon." He turned to Catherine. "Catherine," he added cheerfully, those honey-hued eyes widening for a brief moment, and then he had stalked away.

Catherine shifted so she was sitting in between Adeon's claws, and his crooked talons wrapped slowly around her waist to drag her closer to his cheek. "Do you think they'll be meeting soon?" she wondered. She leaned back against the ridge of his jaw, relishing his heat against her spine. Although the cave was well and closed-off from the rest of the world, the chill of winter permeated the rock and bit fiercely into her bones.

"Doubtlessly. We should probably...move," he mumbled reluctantly. His voice rumbled through her limbs, thrummed in her belly, and she smiled up at him. One massive green eye blinked languidly as it met her gaze.

"We should." A long claw traced the exposed ridge of her collarbone, and she lolled her head back wearily. "I don't suppose they serve hot breakfast, do they?" she asked hopefully.

"Not unless we have a kitchen hidden somewhere, which seems rather unlikely." He exhaled heavily. "We can find something later."

With some difficulty, she rose to her feet. "I do need to dress. I'd rather not go prancing around in my nightgown..." With the soft rustle of scales, one of his wings extended behind her, and she smiled. "Thank you," she said brightly, and she dragged her sack with her behind it.

"Mmm."

"I'm nervous," she admitted as she rolled up the hem of her nightgown and tugged it over her head. "I don't have much practice speaking in front of so many people...er..." She dropped the fabric into a heap at her feet. "...dragons."

"Leave the speaking to me. They'll be wary, heeding warnings from a human." Catherine nodded and shivered as the air played over her bare skin, then ducked down to retrieve a dress from her sack of clothes.

"What do you think they'll do?" she wondered as she fit a bodice around her waist. "Tens of thousands of men, and there can't possibly be that many dragons..." The bodice properly laced, she moved to slip on a pair of panties. "I think it would be best to leave."

"Perhaps it would. But dragons are rather proud creatures, and I doubt that fleeing from an army of humans would do well to stoke their honor."

"That's just recklessness."

"Possibly. But valiant all the same." She finished shimmying into her panties, then glanced over her shoulder as the wing shifted to reveal one of those enormous eyes, which raked over her bared body with undisguised interest. Her lips quirked into an impish smile.

"You're peeking," she chided softly.

"I don't know what you expected."

With a short laugh, she pulled the dress over her head and wriggled into the sleeves, then fluffed her hair out over the neckline. While she didn't necessarily have any garb that conveyed a message of ferocity, she thought a red dress would do just fine. Maybe. Not for the first time in her life, she found herself wishing that she was taller or braver-looking. She was going to be standing with Adeon while he urged the dragons to take action against an enormous, malevolent force, and she wanted to be fierce-looking while she did it; not lurk near his elbow like a small, wide-eyed, lacy doll. It was an uphill battle, being short.

Once the dress had been smoothed down to her ankles, Adeon's features molded and twisted, and there was a perfectly naked man sitting at her side. The corners of his eyes crinkled cheerfully as he gave her a once-over.

"You look lovely," he said as he rooted around the floor for his clothes, and she looked gloomily down at her slippers.

"I don't want to be lovely," she moped. "I want to be terrifying." That forced a bark of laughter out from Adeon, and she watched him curiously as he rose to his feet and pulled on his trousers. He towered over her, his chin inclining so he could fix her with his glittering green eyes, and she frowned up at him. "Why do you all have to be so tall?" she demanded.

"Do you want to be tall?" he asked gently, like he was assuring a toddler that maybe, just maybe, they could be a grown-up too someday, and she felt her eyes burn indignantly.

"Yes, actually. We're going to be discussing battle, and nobody in their right mind is going to take me seriously," she said glumly.

"You've killed armed men, darling. You're quite vicious."

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do." He slithered into his shirt. "It's all for the better that you're tiny, really. People take that for granted, and that in itself can be dangerous."

"I suppose you're right." She gazed at him pensively as he pulled on his boots, then cocked her head to the side. "There is one thing I don't understand." He made a faint noise of inquiry. "Why isn't everyone here...scaly?" she wondered, and he shrugged.

"Well, for one, I don't think there would be room," he admitted. "And I think a massive congregation of enormous creatures would be bound to attract attention in some way or another." He offered her his arm after he finished lacing up his boots, and she smiled before taking it. No matter their location, Adeon always had a way of making her feel as if she were being whisked onto a ballroom floor. Even in the belly of a deep cavern, his steps were slow and precise and his head was tilted just so slightly towards her, as if awaiting her voice. She felt a smile tease at her lips as she observed him from the corner of her eye, but then she quickly looked back towards the end of the cavern when she saw his gaze flit towards her.

As they crossed the cavern, Catherine could make out the faint lumps of still-unconscious dragons all over the floor. Most of them had donned their scales and curled up against a wall, but a few were sleeping in remarkably human positions; leaning against stalagmites, sprawled out in corners. One dark-haired individual was even curled up with a protruding rock, as if it was a soft, cuddly stuffed animal. From what she could see of the dragons, the variation between each of them was astounding. Aside from scale color, she observed several lengths and thicknesses of spine ridges; stouter or thinner snouts; wide, looping horns like a ram's; barb-tipped tails.

"You know, until I met you, I didn't think that dragons could change," Catherine admitted, and Adeon fixed her with a thoughtful stare. "Into...into not-dragons, that is."

"We keep it quiet." He gave her a wry smile. "If man knew dragons could walk so easily among them, I think the battles against them might have fared differently."

"Well, you've all done a very good job," she told him, her eyes lingering on a female figure to their right as she rose to her feet and stretched. She was perfectly nude, and the slow curve of her spine accentuated the swell of a tan, modest bosom. Not for the first time, Catherine wondered what it would be like to prance around naked whenever the mood struck her. "I was very surprised."

At her side, Adeon looked rather smug. "I could tell," he said. She swatted at his arm playfully. "Catherine," he said suddenly, his expression growing somber, and she raised her eyebrows, "I'd like you to stay close while we're here. The majority of the dragons here are reasonable creatures, but some have nursed a rather intense hatred of the human race for centuries. They'll hail you a spy or something equally unpleasant, and I..." He closed his eyes and took a composing breath. "...I need to be there to protect you. Not that you aren't capable and terribly, terribly brave, but..."

"Oh, no," Catherine interrupted quickly. "You don't understand--I'm utterly terrified. Honestly, I'm more worried about how incessantly I'll be clinging to you during our stay." His eyes seemed to light up as she spoke.

"I'm sure I'll relish every moment of your clinging. I usually do," he admitted, and she grinned. The hall they were walking through began to swell open, and once again, Catherine gawked at the sheer number of dragons bustling through the vast chasm below them. Adeon arched a silvery eyebrow as she wobbled in place beside him, and she cracked a smile.

"So many dragons," she said weakly, and he laughed. Ahead of them, a band of rather gruff-looking dragons was speaking to a tall, shaggy-haired man, and Catherine's eyes widened when she caught sight of those amber irises. Adeon watched her in confusion as she scuttled behind him and emerged at his other side, and she kept her head low while they passed Grindel. "He's terribly spooky," she replied to Adeon's inquisitive stare.

"Spooky," he repeated blankly.

"I don't know. He acts friendly, but he isn't. And he's just so clever and sneaky and confident, and I'm not sure if I like it," she admitted, cringing slightly as her voice came out small and timid.

"I can't stand him, personally," Adeon murmured as they descended into the circular pit. "He treats the councils like an opportunity for his agenda, and I don't like the followers he's been gathering. It should be the elders speaking."

"Should be?" They came to a stop near the far end of the cavern, and Catherine's brow knit in confusion. "These...sorts of meetings have happened before?"

"Yes, but not often. I believe the last was held over a century ago, to negotiate with the fey over the forests." More and more figures were flooding into the wide chasm, and Catherine clung to Adeon's elbow as dragons crowded around them. From behind a crowd of ancient-looking men and women came Grindel, as stolid and confident as always. He was wearing a white shirt today as well as a pair of dark trousers, and several tendrils of ebony hair had fallen gracefully into his eyes.

"Settle," he intoned, his voice echoing richly from the rock walls, and, to Catherine's shock, the dragons abruptly settled. The rumble of conversation in the cavern dwindled to sparse chatter, scattered whispers, and Grindel regarded the crowd evenly before descending a few steps to stand on a landing above them. The ancient dragons stayed in the jutting rock beside him, and for a moment, Catherine thought she saw a few of them fix Grindel with contemptuous-looking stares. The tension there was palpable, although the rest seemed serenely nonplussed by the entire affair. The mood in the cavern shifted from place to place, ranging from dark mutters to awestruck stares. While it was clear that Adeon wasn't the only one who was wary of Grindel's influence, a large number of dragons were gazing hopefully out at Grindel where he stood, casual and certain, above them all. Catherine knew that gaze. It was the placid acceptance of worshippers in temples, the obsequious awe of subjects listening to their king speak.

Grindel had certainly done well for himself.

"Now," he said, steepling his long fingers pensively before his lips, "we were last discussing retaliation. The eastern alliance has wrought havoc...well, on the east, I suppose, as I'm sure many of you are already aware. Some of you have joined us quite recently because of this, because your homes have inconvenienced neighboring kingdoms, because men lust for our gold and our destruction. Because, because, because. So many,

many

reasons they'd like us all dead. Today, I think we should come to a decision." His eyes narrowed. "Before our numbers dwindle any further at their hands."

"Burn them all!" a green-haired dragon roared from the front of the crowd, and several other dragons thrust victorious fists into the air and shouted triumphantly. Grindel waited patiently for the chaos to subside, but Catherine thought she saw a smirk teasing at his mouth. Adeon stayed quiet at her side, but there was a moodiness to his silence, a hint of disappointment in the thinness of his lips. Catherine touched his arm with quivering fingers and he jumped a little, like he had forgotten she was there.

"Is this what they want?" she whispered hoarsely, and he grimaced.

"Not all of them," he murmured back. "But it's a possibility, I'm afraid, and I can't quite blame them for considering it. Homes destroyed, lifetimes of treasure confiscated..." He looked darkly at the ground. "Had it happened to me any sooner, I think I might have joined the fray." She gazed at him worriedly.

"What changed your mind?" she asked quietly. He offered her a rather weary smile.

"You."

"Easy, friends," Grindel finally said, and the cavern quieted. "Unfortunately, the world isn't such an easy place, and there are those of us who have voiced some...reluctance." Faint, furious hisses erupted sporadically from the crowd. "It can't be helped. We can be sympathetic creatures." His gaze lingered a little too long near Adeon as he spoke, and Catherine frowned up at him. "However, before we make such an important decision, there are more pressing matters we must discuss. A friend of ours has returned with some news, and I think it would be best to hear him out."

"Balls,"

Catherine hissed suddenly, and Adeon gave her a baffled look. Her cheeks glowed pink. She didn't swear very often, and while she had hoped it would be something she would grow into, it had never quite come to her naturally.

"I beg your pardon?" he said in a gleeful voice that implied he was only seconds from succumbing to violent laughter. Catherine looked up at him hopelessly.

"You see what he's doing, don't you? This must be why he wouldn't speak to us yesterday. He's twisting this--he wants everyone to--"

"Adeon," Grindel said suddenly, and Catherine's mouth snapped shut as hundreds of dragons turned to face them. Catherine was struck by the deafening roar of their shifting, the audible way the crowd's heads seemed to rotate at once, the unified scrape of feet on rock. She swallowed hard. It was terrifying, being the subject of so many, many stares. Immediately, she wondered if she looked as pale and scared as she felt. "Enlighten us," he continued delicately. Adeon gave Catherine an apologetic wince, cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"Before I arrived here, I was informed that there would be scores of men marching to the Whispering Mountains," he said grimly. "Tens of thousands, to arrive in two days."

Frantic murmurs broke out throughout the crowd, moans of panic, and Adeon was cut off by the crescendo of voices.

"How did they find us?" a shorter dragon near them demanded, his yellow eyes lit with worry.

Adeon fixed him with a determined gaze. "Perhaps we were tracked. It would have been easy to spot large numbers of flying creatures flocking to the mountains. I was nearly captured when a group of knights saw me flying back from the councils--"

"You headed east, didn't you?" someone snapped, and Catherine saw a maroon-haired female staring furiously at Adeon.

"I did," he admitted. A soft hush fell over their portion of the crowd, and Catherine saw many other dragons watching Adeon warily.

"Then it could have been you," she hissed, "who led them to us." Her orange eyes were angry and wild in her face.

"It couldn't have been. It happened too quickly," Adeon said flatly. His body was tense, but he was glowering down at the woman who had spoken as if she was simply a petulant child hurling mindless accusations. "I had only returned for a day before I heard of these plans. They couldn't have amassed so many men in that time. This is a plan that has been in the making for much longer."

"Casting blame isn't helpful. It's what they'd want us to do." Catherine turned and saw Sher glaring moodily at the other female from behind them, her thin lips set in a snarl. The hood of the lavender cloak she wore was draped over her hair, and a pair of violet eyes glittered angrily out from the shadows it cast. "It isn't the point," she finished in a gloomy mutter, apparently abashed from all the attention she was receiving as dozens of eyes darted towards her. "They're coming, and we need to prepare ourselves."

"Well, we're going to fight, aren't we?" a golden-haired dragon shouted from deeper in the crowd. "We can't just turn tail at the first sign of--"

"You

can't!"

Catherine yelped suddenly. That deafening shifting of bodies filled the room again, and she felt her heart skip several beats as she was made the focus of countless stares. Adeon's face had grown slack with anxious anticipation, and he watched her hopelessly as her quivering lips opened to continue. "Th-there are too many," she protested weakly, and a few dragons around her snorted. "They'll be ready for you..."

"What's this?" someone roared. Catherine glanced up and saw the green-haired dragon glaring out at her. From above them, Grindel seemed to be watching the scene with faint delight. "Is this the source of your information? Some simpering human wench? Gods above, are we really supposed to listen to--"

"I heard the news from a soldier," Adeon snapped. "And Catherine is perfectly credible, and of no threat to any of you."