Jun'ai walked the peaks. Beside her walked Sudara. Both carried bows. His, a massive longbow, hers recently crafted, sized for her draw. Both were armed. Him with a short shafted battle axe, her with a slender dueling sword.
Behind them were two warriors from Sudara's tribe. They were massive and stoic, perfect examples of their kind.
The group navigated the crest of a ridge, following it deeper into the range of mountains. Ahead of them lay a pass. It was the only break for miles and the minotaur tribes used it for trade with the humans living deeper south.
The last minotaur travelers to have passed through the ravine had been attacked by a giant creature. One injured. One fatality.
"What kind of monster are we after?" Jun'ai asked.
"Toran described it as reptilian. Massive wings. It dropped down from the peaks suddenly without warning. Its tail knocked Toran flat on his back. Then it got Boris. Took him off. Presumably back to its lair."
"A dragon?" She wondered aloud.
"If it's a dragon, then we are all dead."
Great. Then she asked, "What's the plan?"
"We find it and we kill it."
Jun'ai rolled her eyes. How perfectly taciturn of him.
They walked for some time through the tall thistle and sage. It was knee high and sharp and dry. There were few trees at this altitude and those that grew were scraggly little things bristling with thorns. For Jun'ai all that meant was: no cover.
By following the crest, they hoped to come in above the beast's lair and descend on it.
But all their planning was dead leaves in the wind.
When they reached the final peak in the chain, just above the pass, the creature found them.
There was a blast of wind and the ground shuddered as it landed behind them.
Sudara turned, yelled out orders.
Jun'ai didn't hear them, instead knocked an arrow.
The creature was indeed massive. Charcoal gray scales, black keratin claws, an ivory horn from it snout.
It had two legs. Stood atop the broken body of one of the minotaurs. Its claws were at the leading edge of its wings. Half bat, half crocodile, the size of an elephant.
The dragon's tail flicked back and forth, its head darting from side to side. It looked ready to take flight again at any moment.
Jun'ai fired. Her shot took the creature in the wing. Cutting through the membrane of skin. Sudara fired. His arrow took the same wing.
The dragon recoiled. A sting only, but possibly enough to ground it.
Then the tribal chief and the surviving warrior charged. Axe and halberd.
The dragon recovered quickly. Pained, it was itching for a fight. It slashed down with its right claw, the uninjured one, raking the chest of the warrior. His halberd slashed at the wing. Both wings were damaged. Grounded for sure now.
Still no core damage though, and its central mass was well protected by the folded wings and long claws and snapping jaws.
The two minotaurs were outside the arc of the wings. They weren't getting hit, but could do little damage. The dragon would wear them out. And then it wouldn't matter if the beast could fly or not.
The two minotaurs spread out. Defensive stance. Both daring the head to attack them. Eventually the beast chose. It lunged at the warrior. The halberd clipped its horns. The dragon didn't care. It clamped down on his shoulder, amputated the arm. The warrior lay bleeding and screaming. Lost in the sea of tall grass.
Sudara saw his opening. Charged. Biceps bulging. His axe bounced off the shoulder scales.
Shit.
Jun'ai knocked another arrow. Waited until the massive head turned toward Sudara. She let loose. The arrow pierced a black eye.
The dragon howled. Head jerked back. One wing scratched at the shaft embedded in the soft tissue.
Sudara took the opening. He charged beneath the wing and hacked the chest with heavy blades. It was more like felling a tree than regular combat. Eventually the axe found a gap in the scales, embedded itself under the plates of armor and hit vulnerable flesh.
The dragon pulled back now. It ripped the axe from Sudara's hands.
The chieftain picked up his fallen comrade's halberd and thrust toward the neck. The spear tip found a gap between two scales.
Blood poured down Sudara's arms.
After that it was quick work hacking at the twitching body until there was no more movement.
It was only then that Jun'ai screamed. Adrenaline rush, the thrill of the kill.
"Your shot was well timed, human." Sudara came to stand beside her. His arms drenched with black blood.
Jun'ai shook her head in wonder. "I've never seen a dragon before."
"And you haven't now."
She turned to him.
"Two legs," he said. "We killed a wyvern. If it had been a true dragon, we would all be dead."
They stood on the peak some time among the bloody bodies savoring each breath of cool air. They felt truly alive in that moment.
*
Days later she returned to the village of Spring Wind.
Jun'ai walked the narrow trail that led to the lodge she shared with Hakkon. Her legs were sore from the forced march and her arms were sore from the fighting. Still her spirits soared.
She passed the oak at the edge of the common grounds, and she heard commotion from her house. Muffled and low. Stifled words.
Her pace quickened.
She passed a cart beside the trail piled high with vegetables, stacks of dried firewood and she neared her home. The sound grew. She still couldn't make out the words. But it sounded like Hakkon. Her heart slammed in her chest. Something was wrong.
At the door, she stopped. Hand on the iron handle. She was anxious, her high spirits evaporated, she needed to see what was going on, had briefly considered calling out his name, but instead paused at the door and listened.
Grunts. Heavy breathing.
She pushed the door and stepped inside.
Immediately she went to the baby. Hyun slept in her crib. Her tiny chest rising and falling with shallow breathing. Coiled tension inside her chest melted. Hyun was safe.
Then she set her quiver of arrows on the table, leaned her longbow against it. Shut her eyes against the mental image of what she would find in the back room.
And she approached the bedroom.
The sound of heavy grunts. Fists pounding the floor.
She pushed open the door. Just a crack.
Hakkon was on his knees. In front on him was Rasya. Ass presented for his pleasure. Both were naked. Both covered in a sheen of sweat.
His hands gripped her waist, intimately ran the length of her back, caressed her shoulders, squeezed her waist.
Jun'ai froze. Watched in fascination (in shame) for some time.
When Hakkon finished, she gingerly shut the door and stepped outside and only then let the tears flow.
*
Jun'ai sat atop a crust of rock. She had no idea how long she sat there. Over an hour for sure, when Rasya stepped outside.
The two women looked at one another. Said nothing. Made no show that anything was amiss, and then the minotaur walked along the trail away from the lodge.
It was another few minutes before the human climbed to her feet and went inside.
"How was the mission, my chrysanthemum?"
"Don't you dare call me that," she hissed. "You betrayed me. You don't have the right to call me that. Not after what you did."
Hakkon stood still, studied her face and her stance. It was combative, but also vulnerable. Arms crossed across her chest. Face lowered. He was surprised by her reaction.
He spoke slowly. "You know about me and Rasya."
"Everyone in the village knows. I could hear you at the common grounds."
"There is no shame to be had. All of us have acted civilized."
"Civilized! You call that civilized. You betrayed me, Hakkon."
"You lay with Sudara."
That hit her like a slap in the face. "That's different. That's political. I lay with him to gain his trust. To make life more bearable."
Hakkon was nonplussed. "Don't deceive yourself, human. That is not your only reason."
"Of course it is!"
"Then why not lay with Guarinn? He is the more powerful ally, is he not?"
Jun'ai froze.
Hakkon continued. "You chose to ally yourself to a powerful man, yes, but also one that you were attracted too, is that not correct? And if you were to be impregnated by him, then what? There would be no way of determining which of us was the father until the child was born and we could see the color of his fur." He let those words sink in before he continued. "And if the child turned out to be Sudara's then what? Kill it? I doubt it. You would raise the child. Expect me to play the role of the father."
Jun'ai seethed. She spoke real quietly. "What I did was for political reasons. If I happened to enjoy it, there is no harm in that. But it was politically motivated. What you did was for pleasure and pleasure alone." Then it was her turn to pause and let her words sink in. "As for a child, yes. I would cherish that child as much as I do Hyun. And yes, I would expect support from you. But only because it is in your best interest as well as mine to have powerful allies."
Hakkon took a step toward her. "I am truly sorry my -"
"Don't." And Jun'ai stormed from the house.
*
She stood beneath the great Guarinn. She was completely topless now, a sign of respect to their ways, and she was on lower ground, another sign of respect.
The minotaur chieftain stood atop a knuckle of granite punching up through the thin soil. He looked down at her with those unreadable bull's eyes. "You have failed me, woman."
If he thought that would get under her skin, he was right, especially in her present state of mind, but she didn't let it show. Inside she seethed over her battle with Hakkon. Yet she spoke in an even tone. "Why would you say that?"
"I spoke with Sudara the other day. He told me an audacious thing. I would never have thought him capable of something so -" he broke off, "so human."
