Balthazar - 2. Chapter 2

Whether minutes or hours, he knew not how long he’d remained incapacitated. The soft kiss of raindrops fell in rivulets down his cheeks instead of the glass of his study windows. By the gods, Daniel Mythara, if you’ve exploded my keep…

The droplets on his skin quickly evolved into a deluge, pounding insistently against his already aching head. A vague shadow hovered in and out of focus above him, the rain sluicing down in tiny streams. Small hands shook his shoulders roughly, as their strident tone lashed Balthazar in a language he’d never encountered.

‘Is all of that truly necessary?’

His rumbling voice spoke directly into the mind of whoever it was hovering over him out of draconic habit.

“Ahhh! T’kat undel M’thos!!”

There was a muddy sounding splash as the shadow disappeared from his blurry sight, falling back on their ass in the pouring rain. The sharp scent of fear cut through the fresh scent of the sheets of water falling around them.

“M’thos! M’thos!!”

Prying his heavy lids apart through sheer force of will, Balthazar turned his head in the direction of the creature frozen in terror beside him. The size of a child, feline ears pinned back against their rain drenched skull in abject fear.

“ Asitar n’ligous M’thos, t’aaka ma’et!”

Still fighting to gain his bearings, the golden dragon raised a hand weakly. Startled squealing and angry hissing met his attempts at communicating. Balthazar dared not attempt speaking into their mind again after such an adverse reaction.

“Please...I’m not going to hurt you.”

Raising his voice just loud enough to be heard above the rain, he pleaded with his tone even knowing that the words themselves were just as odd and alien sounding. He let his hands fall back to lay at his side in the mud, making no other movements that might startle what he was suspecting to be a ‘her’.

Whatever perverse magic Daniel had employed to get him...who knows where, appeared to have also sapped him of his usual reservoir of draconic magicks. It would take time before the wells of his strength would be restored. Though brought low from his usual mighty perch, there was something laughably refreshing about laying in the pouring rain, current situation unknown. What a pretty pass this was.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl around Balthazar and he cursed himself for letting himself become so lax. Somewhere behind the young one a very real sense of murderous intent cut through any frivolity that lingered. Acting on instinct, he snaked his arm out to grasp the child close to his chest even as clear claws elongated out from the fingertips of his free hand. Jabbing upward, his talons found purchase in the neck of a horned hound, sharp teeth gnashing and snapping with futility at the tiny feline meal it had been robbed of.

Blood sprayed across his face, hot and stinging to the touch. Slowly the life drained away from the beast's eyes and he grew limp over Balthazar. Throwing the body aside like refuse, he loosened his hold on the little one. The danger now passed, he immediately freed her to move away from him. She’d certainly seen enough for one day.

“I’m glad you are alright.”

It took all the energy he had left to pat her gently on the head, doing his best to reassure her that she was safe. As his honeyed gold eyes began to roll back into his head, Balthazar could feel her shaking him once more, although much more gently this time.