Amber and Iron - Margaret Weis [57]
Nuitari assured her that, since his Tower was located far beneath the Blood Sea, there was little likelihood of any mortals annoying her. The only one who did come was Caele, a mongrel half-elf who was forced to visit her every so often to beg her to give him a drop or two of her blood.
Midori would have refused, but Caele groveled so well and flattered her so lavishly, and he was obviously so frightened of her, that she found she actually enjoyed his visits. She would emerge from her lair and toy with him for a time, long enough for him to utterly debase himself, and then she would snarlingly grant his request, snapping at him as he collected her blood just for the pleasure of seeing him leap about in panic.
No one else came to disturb the dragon’s rest and ruminations. Nuitari built a lair specially designed for her—a large crystal-walled globe flooded with seawater located at the base of the Tower. Inside the enormous globe, the dragon could swim at her ease, coming and going as she desired by swimming through a magical portal placed in the crystal wall.
In the center of the globe was the Hall of Sacrilege—not really a hall, but more of a small castle, where the artifacts were stored. Any mortal trying to gain access to the artifacts would not only have to be able to swim, they would have to find a way to avoid the sea dragon, and the other denizens of the deep. The dragon couldn’t abide commotion, so she admitted into her globe only those creatures who were quiet and kept to themselves, such as jellyfish and stingrays. Sharks were stupid and uncouth, but they made a tasty snack, and they entertained her by fighting her giant squids. Sea urchins, with their constant chatter, were banned.
All in all, a pleasant way to pass one’s twilight years.
Midori was dozing, her head half-in and half-out of her shell, lulled into a tranquil state by the undulating motions of the jellyfish, when she heard the door leading to the underwater chamber open. A person entered.
Thinking it was the half-elf after more blood, Midori decided she didn’t want to be bothered with him now. She was about to tell him to go drain his own blood or she would do it for him, when she realized, suddenly, that this was not the half-elf. This was an intruder.
Midori withdrew into her shell and held very still. She was, to all appearances, a vast coral formation. Fish swam, undisturbed, around her. Sea plants, growing on her back, swayed back and forth with the currents that swirled around the globe. Only an acute observer, looking very closely, would have seen the dragon’s yellow eyes gleaming from out of the shadowy depths of her shell.
What Midori saw amazed her more than anything else had amazed her in several millennia.
She came out to investigate further.
Mina watched the dragon in a terror that seemed to paralyze her. The dragon’s jaws gaped. Fangs glistened in the eerie green sunlight, as the dragon sucked in a breath that sent hundreds of helpless fish disappearing into the beast’s gullet.
The dragon’s jaws snapped shut. Two huge flipper-like legs thrust the ponderous shell up from the seaweed-covered floor. The dragon’s tail lashed the water, stirring up clouds of silt. The flipper legs propelled the beast through the water. Head and neck outthrust, the dragon lunged straight at Mina.
Mina feared the dragon meant to crash through the crystal wall. She ran back to the door and pushed on it frantically.
The door would not open. Mina looked over her shoulder. The dragon was almost on her. The eyes were enormous—slits of black surrounded by green-gold flame. It seemed the eyes alone could swallow her. The dragon’s jaws opened.
Mina pressed her back against the door, a prayer to Chemosh on her lips.
The dragon reached the crystal wall, made a sudden turn, following the curve of the globe, and hung there, floating. The dragon spoke, words and fish gushing from her mouth.
“Where did you come from?”
Mina had expected