Dragon Conjurer, page 12
“Can we talk to the victims’ families?” I asked.
“They’re all away from the village right now.” The caramel-skinned beauty turned and watched as Rosa, the woman she’d been talking to, stepped out of the doorway and stood on the porch of her home. “The two families who lost their babies left to get autopsies done to explain it, and the third family went to the nearest hospital to try and save the kid. That was two days ago, and there hasn’t been an attack here since.”
“Do they think it’s a… you know, vampire witch?” Nick asked and bent a little lower to hear Nala better. “A tlahuelpuchi?”
“They seem to think so, yes.” Nala stood up straighter and looked back at the other villagers. “Maybe they’ll be more willing to talk now that they see we’re not a threat to them.”
“Can’t blame them for being scared of outsiders, though,” Steffi remarked as she rolled her shoulders a little. “After what’s been happening, they’re bound to be hesitant to trust anyone.”
“Nala, see if you can find out if any family has been acting strange since the attacks began,” I ordered and moved to stand near Steffi as an old man got brave and came closer to us. “I don’t think the family will rat out their own, but we have to know. It’ll at least give us an idea of whether this village is the epicenter or not.”
Nala jerked her head in a sharp nod and turned back to Rosa. The two of them started another conversation in Spanish, and it sounded like Dora the Explorer on double the playback speed.
“Meanwhile, let’s see if the three of us can look around,” I said to the others, and I moved past the villagers so I could steal a glance into some of the homes. Now that everyone seemed to have moved out of their houses, it was hard to tell if anyone had remained inside out of shame or fear.
“Excuse me,” a small, accented voice murmured from behind me, and I turned around to see a boy no older than twelve standing there. He was short and scrawny, like he’d never eaten in his life, and his face was worn and thin, but his eyes were sharp in spite of the dark bags beneath them. Unlike Rosa and the other people in the village, this kid was wearing some more modern clothing, and since he spoke English, I wondered where he’d learned to speak my language.
“Hey, kid,” I said as I knelt down to his level. “We’re not here to hurt anybody.”
“I know.” The boy rubbed his eye with a boy fist and sighed. “You’re here to learn about what’s been going on.”
“Yes, we are,” Steffi confirmed, and she dropped to her knees in front of the boy. “We heard about what happened to those babies, and it’s just terrible to hear.”
“One of them was Carlos’ little brother.” The boy looked over his shoulder at the other villagers, then turned back to us. “Carlos is my best friend. He went with his family to find out what happened to his brother.”
“And what do you think happened?” the fairy girl asked as she reached into one of her pockets, pulled out a small orange, and handed it to the boy.
“I don’t know.” The child took the orange and started to peel it like his life depended on it. “All of the older people are saying it’s a curse, but they don’t know who could’ve been cursed.”
“I’m sure they’re just scared,” I said. “I would be, too. They’re not letting anyone sleep, are they?”
“My parents aren’t,” the boy mumbled around a juicy bite of orange. “They’re scared it’s going to come for my baby sister.”
“Do you think that’s fair?” Nick asked as he braced his hands on his knees and looked at the boy. “To keep you awake to protect your baby sister?”
“I do.” The boy nodded like a bobblehead and glanced up at Nick. “I don’t want my baby sister to die like Carlos’ brother did. I never saw him, but… everyone who did spit in the doorway of Carlos’ house and cursed whatever came and got him. They kept saying, ‘The glowing youth comes for us now,’ but I don’t know what that means.”
“Your English is pretty good, you know,” I commented and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Where did you learn it?”
“Some missionaries came through here about a year ago.” He shrugged. “They taught us English, but most of the adults rejected it. I didn’t want to stop learning after they left because I think it’s nice to speak to other people.”
“It certainly helps us,” Nick praised and nodded at the kid. “Anything else interesting you can tell us? What happened before all of this? Was there something that kicked it all off?”
“No, I don’t think so.” The boy finished his orange and put a hand on his chin. “It just sort of happened.”
“Is there anyone else in your village about your age?” I asked. “Other than you and Carlos, I mean.”
“A few, but they’re all girls.”
I looked up at my friends, and even though I couldn’t see their faces, I had a feeling they were thinking what I was thinking.
“Thanks, kid,” Nick said and patted the boy on the head. “Hope you enjoyed the snack. Don’t tell anybody else, though, because we don’t have enough to share.”
“I won’t.” The boy smiled with a mismatched set of baby and adult teeth, and then he took off running toward a house to our right, hopped through the doorway, and disappeared into the shadowy interior.
“You don’t think any of those girls could be what we’re looking for, do you?” Steffi asked as she pulled her shemagh down and covered her mouth with her hands. “I just can’t imagine a girl that young being capable of such horrible things. Can you, Dylan?”
“No, I can’t,” I sighed and shook my head. “Maybe the girls are too young. Maybe tlahuelpuchi go through puberty at a later age. I don’t know. There isn’t a lot of lore about them.”
“Is it because they’re such an isolated legend?” Nick asked as he put his sunglasses on top of his head. “That would make some sense, at least. You knew the region before we said the name, so it’s safe to say no one else uses this name for these creatures.”
“But similar monsters exist throughout the world.” I pursed my lips and spun in a slow circle as I tried to see into each of the houses around us. I couldn’t distinguish anything inside, though, and I had no way of knowing which house had a potential tlahuelpuchi anyway. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Hey, guys,” Nala spoke up as she walked up to us. “Did you learn anything?”
“Nah,” Nick scoffed with a shrug. “Some kid tried to tell us some stuff, but I don’t think it was anything useful. He just said he didn’t know what to believe about it, but his friend’s brother was a victim, so I think it’s safe to say our problem is here.”
“But how are we supposed to locate the monster?” Steffi asked as she crossed her toned arms and shook her pink-haired head. “We have yet to get any sort of lead.”
“Actuallyyyy…” Nala drawled in a happy tone, “I asked Rosa if there were any other villages or even some caves nearby, and she said there was an outcropping about two miles east of here that we could check out. Maybe we’ll find some answers there?”
“Way to go, Nala,” I cheered and motioned toward Nick’s backpack. “Let’s get hydrated before we get going. I doubt there’s going to be any shade between here and there.”
“Good plan,” Nick agreed as he slipped the pack off and unzipped it. “We have stuff for the trip out there and back, but if we don’t find anything at the cave, we should probably return to the jet to restock.”
“If that’s what you think is best, man,” I sighed and took the first sip from the canteen. “I don’t think these people are going to be sad to see us go.”
“I agree.” Steffi nodded as she took the canteen from me. “Not that we’ve done anything to make them hate us. I just have this feeling they don’t want us here.”
“I think so, too,” Nick added while he lowered the backpack so it rested on top of his feet. “There’s something about these people. Do you think they’re hiding anything?”
“It’s hard to tell,” Nala whispered and wiped her mouth when she finished drinking. “They all seem scared, but I don’t know if it’s because they’re scared of what’s happening or who’s doing it.”
“Let’s go check out the cave,” I suggested as Nick zipped the canteen up into his backpack and shouldered the bag again. “It’ll be better than speculating what’s actually happening.”
“Dylan’s right,” the fairy girl said as we started to walk east out of the village. “Let’s just hope the journey isn’t too hard on us.”
“Two miles through desert sounds less than fun to me,” Nick grumbled as he fixed his shemagh and glasses back on his face. “I want to be in a forest, next to a river--”
“Where you can find yourself a nice water nymph,” Nala interrupted and laughed. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? You want chimera babies with an actual nymph.”
“I-I do not!” The blond dude threw his hands wide and started trying to defend himself, but he kept stuttering through his argument.
“Ha, you want to stick your dick into an actual forest spirit!” the dark-haired beauty snickered and poked Nick in the side. “We all know about your secret fetish, you naughty nymph boy.”
“Stop!” Nick stepped away and ripped his glasses and shemagh off to glare at her. “Quit being such a little--”
“Hey, guys.” I stepped in between them with my hands held up. “Let’s keep our eye on the ball here. We don’t have the time or the energy to fight each other. We have monsters to fight. Remember why we’re here. We have to keep our heads if we want to stand a chance against the tlahuelpuchi. It’s dangerous enough as it is without you two bickering with each other.”
The two I stood between cocked their heads to one side before I moved back so they could look at each other.
“Apologize,” I ordered as I walked next to Steffi. “I don’t care who goes first, but we can’t go into this with any sort of anger or hurt feelings.”
“I’m sorry, Nala,” Nick sighed as he dropped his green eyes. “Sorry I yelled at you and almost called you a bitch.”
“Sorry I accused you of being a sexually deviant freak,” Nala replied and stuck out her hand to the nymph boy. “You still want to be my friend?”
“I don’t think I have a choice anymore.” Nick smirked, took her hand, and shook it once, and then the four of us kept walking out of the village and toward the eastern horizon.
“That was amazing,” Steffi whispered into my ear just as we cleared the edge of the village. “You really got them back on track, and I’ve never seen them stop arguing for anything. Great job.”
“Thanks,” I murmured and hid my blush behind my shemagh. “I’m used to being damage control. I was the kid who did everything in group projects, so I kind of got boxed into being project leader, too. Wasn’t much fun when it came time to break up fights between adults who argued over the smallest fucking details like where we were going to put the pictures on the slideshow.”
I shuddered like someone had dropped an ice cube down the back of my shirt.
“I guess you hated group projects,” the fairy girl laughed, and even though I couldn’t see her golden eyes behind the lenses of her sunglasses, I imagined they were sparkling. “I hope you don’t think about this as a group project.”
“Nawww.” I smirked and shook my head. “This is way better than any group project. We’re a badass team.”
“I think so, too.” Steffi smiled, and then she slipped her hand into mine and squeezed her fingers around my palm.
My heart almost stopped beating in my chest, and I had to remind myself to keep walking.
“Are you alright, Dylan?” the fairy goddess next to me asked as she let go of my hand and tilted her head to one side. “You seem a little stunned.”
“I-I’m okay,” I stuttered and willed the blush on my face to go away. “Sorry. I guess I’m still adjusting to this whole thing.”
“I know it’s still an adjustment, but I hope you feel comfortable with us.” She brushed her shoulder against mine, and the dragon under my skin seemed to purr at the contact. “I hope you feel comfortable around me.”
“I do, Steff.” I looked at her and took my sunglasses off when she turned to face me. “You’ve made all of this so much easier for me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
The fairy girl stayed quiet for a moment as we gazed into each other’s eyes, and I thought I could see some blush rising on her cheeks. It could’ve been the oppressive heat, though. I didn’t know for sure.
But I thought there was definitely some chemistry here.
“I’m sure you would’ve been fine,” she murmured as she stepped away from me and picked up her pace to catch up with the others. “You seem to be pretty resourceful, Dylan.”
“Don’t give me too much credit, Steff,” I chuckled and shook my head, “but thank you.”
Steffi and I lapsed into silence while we journeyed through the desert with our teammates. The sand beneath our feet was packed and sunbaked like pottery, and it wasn’t easy on our joints. The sun also glared down from overhead and threatened to blind us if we dared to take off our sunglasses. The wind wasn’t still, but the breeze whipping around us was just as hot as the surrounding air, and the current flung sand onto any exposed skin.
“I hate sand,” I grumbled to imitate Hayden Christensen’s memorable speech from Attack of the Clones. “It’s coarse, and rough, and it gets everywhere.”
“Okay, Anakin,” Nick called out from in front of me as he turned around. “We get it. I don’t like it, either. I’m getting sand in places I didn’t even know I had!”
“Me, too,” Nala sighed as she walked with her legs splayed further apart. “The chafing is real down there.”
“That sounds, uhh, rough…” I cleared my throat and forced myself to not look at the dark beauty’s thighs, even though my eyes were fighting just to steal a glimpse.
“Maybe we should take a break,” Steffi suggested as we crested a sparse, grassy hill and looked out to the valley below.
“Is that the cave?” I asked, and I pointed to a huge gathering of rocks in the middle of the valley. “Seems big enough.”
“We’ve been hiking for about an hour,” Nala groaned as she sat down on a nearby stone and stretched her short legs out in front of her. “That looks like it’s about a half mile away, which would be consistent with our pace.”
“Get some water, then we’re going in.” I sat down on another rock near Nala and began to untie my boots to let my feet breathe for a few minutes. Then I got an idea, and I rolled up my sleeve to expose my tattoo. “Exokyzo.”
My dragon appeared with a bright flash of white light, and the creature settled close to me on the rock. Almost immediately, it opened its mouth and began to pant, and its dark blue eyes rolled up to me and seemed to ask what the deal was.
“I hate to ask this, buddy,” I sighed as I patted its head, “but we could use some relief from this heat. I’m afraid we might get heat exhausted if you don’t help us out.”
The scaly beast regarded me with a long stare, and then it blinked its deep blue eyes and bobbed its head like it was nodding.
I reached into Nick’s pack, which he’d set down next to me, and pulled out a Slim Jim. “There’s some jerky in it for you, bud.”
“Hey--” Nick started to protest before Nala punched him.
The dragon sniffed the jerky, and then it seemed to nod again before it walked away from us until it stood about four feet in front of us.
“What’s he doing?” Steffi asked as she moved closer to me.
“I don’t know,” I said and braced myself, “but I know it’s going to be cool, whatever it is.”
“Pun intended?” Nala joked as she fanned herself. “Whenever you’re ready, little buddy.”
The dragon reared its head back and opened its mouth to breathe frosty vapor over us, and the cloud of tiny icicles and snowflakes blasted over us like the most beefed-up air conditioning unit man had ever created.
I felt like my nose hairs froze on contact, and I almost shivered in the middle of the Mexican desert.
“Whoo!” Nick shouted and threw his head back. “That’s the shit! Thanks, little dragon dude!”
“I feel much better already,” Nala sighed and reached her arms over her head. “That was better than any AC ever!”
“I’m glad I’ve got an ice dragon for the heat,” I chuckled and opened the jerky to give it to my dragon. “He comes in handy.”
“He sure does,” Steffi said as she leaned in to pat the dragon on the head. “Does he have a name, Dylan?”
“I haven’t named him, no.” I tossed the dragon a piece of the meat stick and grinned as it snapped the snack up. “I’ve been calling it ‘he’ and ‘him’ this whole time, but I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.”
The dragon snorted and walked up to me. Then it reared its head back and tilted its chin up to the sky.
“Are you a male?” I asked and scratched its neck.
The dragon let out a rumble and moved its head down in one short nod.
“Whoa,” I whispered to myself as my eyebrows shot up and my mouth fell open. “This dragon can actually understand me. This is fucking awesome.”
“Okay, so how about we call him Frosty?” Nick suggested and knelt down to feed the dragon. “It fits, right?”
“Just like calling you Camo would fit,” Nala snickered and punched Nick in the shoulder. “We should come up with something less obvious.”
“What about Ky, since you say the ‘exokyzo’ word to summon him?” Steffi suggested and smiled as the dragon finished the jerky. “I know we said less obvious, but I think it sounds punchy.”
The dragon purred and arched his head into Steffi’s hand like a cat seeking attention.
“He likes that,” I said and wiped my greasy hands on my pants. “Ky it is.”
“I still think it should’ve been Frosty,” Nick muttered and stowed the meat stick wrapper into his backpack. “That’s a reference to his powers and not the word you say to summon him.”
