I was there before them, knew where to hide, they didn"t see my horse. They came down on the ledge and she had that blasted dog in her arms. One moment he was a dragon-near s.h.i.t myself-then just the fellow she slept with. Followed "em down the pa.s.sage, not too close . . .
Got to the cavern. Hid in the entrance. They walked to the chasm, he said something and the whole place lighted up. Talk about f.u.c.king rainbows!
There was this light. . . .
Thirsty: any more of that wine? G.o.d, how you drink it, I don"t know! Now if you were me, travelled all over the world, tasted the wines of-What was that?
Bells, bells, bells! Same in that monastery. b.l.o.o.d.y monks . . .
The jewels! Never seen anything like those jewels! Piled up like mountains they were. Forgot to be afraid of the dragons. Gold, too. Enough to buy you and your trading empire out a thousand times. Dazzled . . .
There was a lot of growling and hissing and roaring and from what I had heard last night they were going to try and exchange that obscene thing she called a dragon"s egg for him, her fellow, to stay human. Well, she brought it out from behind her back, held it up for them to see, then laid it on the ground together with her sleeping dog. It all went quiet, I tell you!
Then Summer and her boyfriend walked over a kind of bridge and there was a sort of ceremony, lots of spitting and hissing and roaring, and then they started to walk back, with smiles on their faces like they got what they wanted. It was their own fault, I tell you! They stopped in the middle of the bridge and started kissing and cuddling and I couldn"t stand it no more!
Couldn"t get near the jewels, but if that egg thing was that important, why shouldn"t I have a piece of the action? Never meant no real harm, just a bit of a threat; hold it over the chasm, they"d give me enough of the loot to keep me going.
Crept forward, had my hands on the thing, when that b.l.o.o.d.y dog woke up and started barking- How was I to know they thought it was a plot? How was I to know they thought she and him was in it too? I didn"t mean no harm, honest! No one can say I haven"t suffered for it neither. He was trying to shout something and she was clinging to him like ivy when it happened- Oh, G.o.d, Jesu, I can see it, hear it, smell it, now!
I swear I didn"t mean to. . . . The fires of h.e.l.l, I can feel them now! I"m burning, burning! Christ Jesus, I never meant to hurt her! I loved her, G.o.d curse it, I loved her. All right, so I was jealous; that too. But you don"t hurt those you love, do you?
What time is it? Time for me to go. Creep into a dark corner, like an animal.
Like the b.l.o.o.d.y dog . . . The rainbow creature came for him afterwards, all b.l.o.o.d.y and singed as he was, took him away and healed him. But you can"t heal a mind, can you? She loved them both, more than she ever cared for me. .
. . Hated them!
The fires, the fires! Have you ever smelled singeing flesh? She screamed, so loud it burst something in my heart. Couldn"t feel anything for anyone after that.
It seemed the top of the world blew off. They were in the middle of the bridge when it collapsed, he had her in his arms and the flames came up and caught their hair. I saw him change man-dragon, dragon-man, so quick you couldn"t blink and he wrapped his wings about her and then they were gone as though they"d never been!
That scream . . . she knew it was me. She looked at me. Just once. Oh, Summer, it wasn"t my fault, it wasn"t, I swear it!
Dark, it"s dark; why don"t you light the candles?
The patient became delirious, then relapsed into a coma; he awoke for the last time just before midnight. He was given wine, but was unable to drink it. He asked the time, day and date.
All Hallows" Eve? I might have known it. She had her revenge after all. Fifteen years . . . Oh, Lord: was it worth it all?
Ricardus lapsed again into a coma, the storm returned to hara.s.s us, and then, just before midnight, he woke once more, sat bolt upright in bed and uttered his last words.
But I did get something out of it! And now those dragons can search till Doomsday, G.o.d curse them and curse you all! Do with it what you will- This is the testimony the man Ricardus asked us to forward to you. If you feel so disposed, our messenger will willingly bring moneys back to us for Ma.s.ses to be said for the deceased"s soul, for I fear he did not die in a State of Grace.
In fact any donation towards the upkeep of the Abbey would be most welcome. . . .
I also send with Brother Benedict whatever poor possessions Ricardus carried with him: his few clothes were distributed to the poor, as was his staff and mug and plate. There was, however, a certain object he referred to in his disposition and kept in a pouch around his neck; a round pebble wrapped in hide, and a sc.r.a.p of paper. Although the object appears to be worthless, no doubt it will prove of sentimental interest to yourself. As you can see, the piece of paper bears the misspelt legend: "This be Dragonnes Eg."
POSTSCRIPT.
In the Indian Ocean there is a small island, situated well off the trade routes.
It was charted in the eighteen thirties by the Portuguese, who mapped it as Discovery Isle. Many years later the missionaries arrived and once they understood the native language, found that the inhabitants had always called it "Dragon Isle." When questioned, the islanders related the legend that accompanied the name.
There were two points of consistency, otherwise the tale had obviously changed with the years and recollection. The points of agreement were that one day in the distant past a great black dragon, sore wounded, had arrived in the skies from the northeast bearing a burden. It had circled the island three times before alighting somewhere in the hills to the north. The other point of agreement was that the creature eventually left in the same direction, after circling the island in the same fashion.
Between these two "facts," there were two different versions of events. The first had it that the dragon laid waste to the forests of the island till the air was black with the fires, then he buried whatever he carried in a cave high in the mountains before flying away again.
The other version had the dragon again alighting in the hills with his burden and three days later a man and a woman, both badly injured, coming down to dwell among the islanders. This story would have it that the pair recovered and lived for many years at peace, the woman communing with the beasts of the field, the man a master of weather. In the fullness of time the woman died, and the man bore her body up into the hills and buried it, then the great dragon appeared again and flew away, sorrowing. . . .