Kaida: Protection's Price - 01

Elyenryl Goodwin, a new student at the Academy of Magic, made the mistake of publicly spurning the duke after her parents had arranged their marriage. The furious duke sent his men to capture her. Elyenryl fled, searching for a dragon she had read about in an old journal, hoping to bargain for its protection.

The dragon wants more than she is willing to offer, until the dukes men capture her

My crystal talisman, the focus for my magic, hung between my breasts on its leather strap. Finger resting on its smooth surface, I concentrated as I had been trained. Controlling the magical energy all life naturally generated took several long minutes. A trickle of mana flowed from my fingers into the crystal, and I chanted the only spell I knew. Since I had been forced to flee shortly after being accepted at the Academy, I would never learn another.

My talisman glowed with a dim blue light that barely reached an arms-length into the darkness. It wasn't much light, but any light was immeasurably better than absolute darkness. It would be enough. It had to be.

Somewhere in this cavern lived a Dragon, or so an old journal I found in the school archives had said. Dragons were solitary creatures, even though they were as intelligent as any other sentient species. Few Dragons spoke any language but their own, but supposedly, this dragon could speak the common language.

Dragons are powerful and deadly, both physically and magically. One on one, Dragons reigned supreme, even when measured against the strongest of adventurers. Only the most foolish would consider facing a dragon without a literal army at their back.

Yet, here I am, all alone, searching for a dragon's lair.

Cautiously, I hiked through the twisting caves, following the map I had found inside the journal. Death was a kindness compared to what would happen if I was captured by the duke's men, and they weren't far behind.

Ignoring the tears blurring my vision and the churning of my stomach, I continued through the darkness. I knew that the dragon was enormously dangerous.

It was also my only hope of survival.

Silence filled the world around me, except for an occasional drop of falling water. Every small sound I made seemed to be magnified tenfold. A dislodged rock clattered against the wall, echoing around until I wasn't sure where the original sound ended, and the echoes began. Narrowing walls forced me to slow to a crawl, but I didn't dare stop.

I placed one tired foot in front of the other. How far had I come? I really didn't know. Time moved strangely with neither day nor night marking its passing.

Abruptly, the cave opened into a vast cavern. Far above, stalactites reached down until they merged with stalagmites reaching up from the ground.

Clicks, sharp and evenly spaced, came from the shadows. Visions of a giant scorpion's chitinous legs walking across stone ran through my mind. I held in the scream that wanted to escape and lifted my talisman higher.

Something moved, glinting in the shadows. It bounced twice, hit my leg, and spun on the floor for a few seconds before falling on its side. Shining brightly in the dim light was a single gold coin.

Trembling in fear, I backed up half a step.

A deep voice chuckled darkly, and ice shivered down my spine.

A Dragon's massive head entered my talismans light, close enough to touch. Cold terror gripped me in its icy embrace. My breath froze, and I lost control of my magic. Without a thin trickle of mana providing power, the talisman flickered twice, then winked out.

Darkness enveloped us.

My mind's eye still saw its monstrous jaws, filled with sharp teeth, and each one had been almost as long as my arm. I hadn't been prepared for the reality of what I dragon was. Nothing made a sound, and in that terrible silence, the fear grew. Gripping my talisman in one violently shaking hand, I tried to call my mana. Typically, it only took a few moments. This time, I couldn't focus through my fear.

Something brushed against my back, and I screamed, loud and piercing.

The dragon's echoing laughter filled the cavern.

"Allow me," said a rumbling voice that rattled my bones. Two terrifyingly large claws grasped the talisman I held in my hand between them. Mana surged. Daylight flared, blinding me.

Claws tapped on stone as the massive dragon stalked around me.

"Tasty morsel, why are you here?"

"I found a book," I said, then hesitated, unsure of how to proceed.

"I'm sure it was an excellent book," said the dragon, sounding amused. It was mocking me!

Get ahold of yourself. Frustration and anger will not help. You've gone too far to back out now.

"It was a journal, and the writer described exploring the island and finding this cave. She said that you made a bargain with her and traded a cloak of invisibility for a few drops of virgin blood. I want to make the same deal."

The dragon laughed again. "A few drops of virgin's blood? Is that really what she said?"

"Y… Yes," I said, suddenly nervous.

"Foolish mortal. Virgin's blood, while required for some enchantments, is practically worthless. Any wizard with a modicum of common sense could purchase virgin's blood by the bucket from a farmer. Most spells don't care where the blood comes from, and a yearling's blood works perfectly well."

Oh, I didn't think about that.

My cheeks flushed in shame.

Even if a spell required human blood, how hard would it be to find a teenager willing to sell a small vial? In the beggar's quarter, it probably wouldn't take more than a loaf of bread.

"The author lied," I said with resignation.

"It was a euphemism."

"A euphemism? You mean..." my voice trailed off, and my eyes widened in horror. I carefully avoided looking between its legs.

The dragon snorted, "In my humanoid form, not this one. Mortals are far too fragile." It didn't seem to feel any embarrassment at the subject, even though I made me want to run and hide.

"So, she sold her virginity for a cloak of invisibility?" I could feel color spreading across my cheeks.

It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but better one night... Goddess, I don't want to sell my body!

But, when I made the mistake of publicly spurning the duke, he whispered a threat that drained the blood from my face. He said that I'd better run now. His men would come for me, I would be raped until he grew bored, then whatever was left would be sold to a brothel. Something about the cruel confidence with which he spoke told me that he not only meant every word, but that he had done it before.

As much as I hated the thought, I could handle this. I would survive.

"No. She belonged to me for a year. In every way, she was completely mine. The cloak was a parting gift."

"She was your sex slave," I whispered in horror.

"More like a well-crafted sex toy."

Overwhelmed, my blood drained from my face, and I felt like a giant was crushing my heart in its fist. A year! By all the gods, I couldn't imagine making such a bargain!

Except... One year is far better than forever. Is being its sex toy better or worse than being his sex slave? No one should be forced to make a choice such as this. The world spun, and I slid to the ground. I... I guess I'll know soon enough.

Steeling myself, I forced the words out. "I would like to make a bargain, one year for--"

"No," interrupted the dragon. "Keeping my word was... difficult. Never again will I make a temporary bargain. What's mine stays mine."

"What!" I squeaked, shaking my head in denial. "No! Please! They'll capture me."

Without a trace of pity, cold, inhuman eyes stared into mine. A sudden reminder that I was dealing with an alpha predator that ate mortals. In its eyes, my kind was food. How many had it killed over the centuries it had lived? Hundreds? Thousands?

Had a chicken's protesting clucks ever stopped its head from being chopped off when it was time for a chicken dinner? Had a pig's squeals ever stopped a farmer from chopping it up for bacon, sausage, and ham?

Of course not.

"Are you going to eat me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No. You came in good faith. You are free to leave."

What now? Could I sneak past them? Perhaps I'll get lucky.

Choking back my sobs, I left the dragon's lair. My talisman, now charged by dragon's mana, shone so brightly that I might as well have been carrying my own little sun. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have covered it up.