Free Whistlestop by Karl J. Morgan Page B

One.”
    “ I am not denying that, my
dear, although I don’t think our fate is so preordained. All I’m
asking for is calm, rational decision-making. If we react too
quickly to the emperor’s threats, we will fail. There is a reason
Jerry is with the dragons now. We have to see where this takes
us.”
    “ You do what you want,
Abbot. I choose to act!” She spun around and stretched out her
right hand and promptly disappeared.
    “ Oh dear, that is
unfortunate,” the Abbot moaned.
    A nearby monk asked, “What do we do
now, Abbot? Should we attempt to rescue her?”
    “ We must pray the elves can
save her. Our presence in the Valley of Thrace would only endanger
things more.”
     
    Jerry was beginning to wake up. His
mind was filled with unfamiliar voices, speaking over one another
as if he was in a crowded party and could hear all the
conversations muddled together. “What do we do with him?” a voice
asked.
    “ He will come for him, and
then we are promised an egg.”
    “ Only one egg for the
Chosen One? That hardly seems fair.”
    “ Beatitude, that is not up
to us. If we want to make it home, we must do as he
says.”
    In his mind, he saw the emperor
standing in front of him laughing. Then there were two dragons, one
of either side of him. A horrified looked crossed Karl’s face, just
as the two beasts shot blasts of fire at him. The emperor moved his
mouth to scream, but was instantly engulfed in flames. After a few
seconds, the fire faded and a charred skeleton collapsed to the
ground. “Yeah, you and me both,” one of the voices said. “Wait, I
think our guest is listening to us.”
    “ That isn’t possible, he’s
just a man,” another said.
    Jerry opened his eyes to see more than
twenty dragons staring at him from the other side of the metal bars
that held him in a small cave next to a giant chamber where more
than a hundred dragons clung to the walls. He was lying on a pile
of straw. “Hello?” he said. The dragons looked at one another.
“Were you just talking about me?”
    “ Maybe he did
hear.”
    “ No, he was having a stupid
dream. Humans can’t hear us. They aren’t evolved enough for
that.”
    Jerry stood up and replied, “Well,
this human is evolved enough. Your endless jabbering woke me
up.”
    A dragon stood up and looked at him.
“Okay, human, my name is Beatitude. If you can hear me, say my name
out loud.”
    “ Beatitude,” Jerry replied.
The dragons moved backward in shock.
    “ Archimedes, you’d better
get over here,” a voice said. A giant black dragon clung to the far
wall of the cavern. It jumped into the air and flew over to the
cage. The other dragons scurried to move out of its way as it
landed and stared at the others. “The human can hear our thoughts,
Brother.”
    “ Don’t be ridiculous,” the
dragon said. “You all must be dreaming.”
    “ Excuse me, Archimedes, I
can certainly hear you talking,” Jerry noted. The beast swung its
head around to face him. “You’re the one who kidnapped me, right? I
wanted to thank you for sharing your body heat with me. I thought I
would freeze to death.”
    “ So, you are not human.
Then what exactly are you?”
    “ My cousin says I am a
Halfling.”
    “ And what pray tell is your
non-human half?” Archimedes asked.
    “ Perhaps the Emperor will
give us more eggs for a Halfling?” another voice asked.
    Archimedes turned his head and
glowered at the others who backed off further. “Our deal is done
and set, Brothers and Sisters. I will not stand for such talk.” He
turned back to Jerry and waited.
    “ No one seems to want to
tell me, Archimedes,” he admitted, “but obviously not a dragon.”
The dragons burst out laughing. “My father is a Knight of
Winterpast, and I thought my mother came from the same place,
although I do not know for certain. She looks totally human to me
and bore me in the way of humanity.”
    “ Well, Halfling, I’m afraid
this changes nothing,” Archimedes said. “We have too