When the dust settled enough that I could see better, I noticed that the wyrm had landed about fifteen feet away from us and was now completely still. While I was proud of our little maneuver, no part of me thought this fight was over yet. Still, at least we had a moment to figure our lives out.

  Reaching up, I hooked my hand on the back of Vral's neck, pulled her close, and whispered, "You're something else, Vral." Then, I pulled her into another kiss.

  She murmured as our lips pressed together. For a time, we explored one another. When she finally pushed away, she licked her lips and whispered, "I really am, aren't I?"

  That wasn't what I meant... I meant that she was insane, but I was smart enough at this point to let her think what she wanted. "Is it still alive?"

  She looked up at the monster and squinted. For a time, she was quiet. "It doesn't look like it's alive."

  "That's good." I pushed myself up into a seated position. "Still, we should be cautious." I knew we'd done some damage, but that fight seemed too easy.

  "If it's still alive, I think the wyrm should be cautious of us." She thumped her chest for emphasis.

  "Hey!" Tristan's voice called out from behind us. "Are you two okay?!" Her footsteps were heavy as she ran to our sides. Skidding to a stop beside us, she dropped to her knees and asked a flurry of questions. "Did either of you get hurt? Do you need healing? What happened? What can I do to help?" Her hands ran over Vral's face, her arms, everything that was exposed. Then, she did the same to me.

  Vral giggled. "I'm okay, I'm okay. You big baby."

  Tristan was undeterred. "When I saw you fall—"

  "We're okay." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. "I promise."

  Relief washed over her face. Taking my hand in both of hers, she squeezed it tight and said, "Goddess, that was terrifying. Until the dust cleared, I thought it landed on you."

  Looking at the wyrm again, I realized how close it actually had gotten to that. I couldn't believe we'd pulled that little maneuver off.

  "Terrifying?!" Vral's grin returned. "That was the best thing that's happened to me in months!" She held her arms out and flapped them like they were wings. "For a second, I actually thought we were flying!"

  Tristan sighed. "I thought you were going to die. Can't you try not to terrify me for once?"

  "But flying!"

  "People can't fly, Vral."

  "A girl can dream!"

  Shaking her head, Tristan asked, "I thought you were enjoying the peace at the Temple?"

  "Tch, peace? It's not peaceful there. It's all stupid work and boring books and lame training drills." She thrust a finger at the wyrm. "This? Now this is life!"

  Before Tristan could respond, the wyrm groaned.

  Groooaaa...

  In its rumbling, guttural voice, it grumbled something that I could almost make out.

  Tristan's eyes went wide. "What are we—"

  "Shhh." I placed a finger over Tristan's lips and focused.

  "Shoristhesk... malughik... fortuum... mortals..." The wyrm's serpentine body roiled as it spoke.

  "I can... I can almost understand it..." I strained harder.

  "What did you just say?" Vral's eyes widened.

  Tristan's sapphire eyes stayed locked on mine, but she didn't try to speak.

  Vral grabbed my hand. "Seriously, you're weirding me—"

  I pressed my other index finger to her lips next and listened more closely.

  "Inkaress..." It slowly inhaled. "Why... has this... been done... to me?" The wyrm shuddered.

  "I definitely think I can understand it," I whispered. Then, I looked at the girls.

  From the looks on their faces, neither one of them had any idea what I just said.

  Saying my words out loud a second time, I noticed I sounded off. "Can either of you... understand... me?" As I spoke, I realized I wasn't speaking English or Common, and my words sure as hell didn't sound like Skysong either. Was I speaking fucking dragon?

  "I hear..." The wyrm twitched and twisted. "I hear... the Elder Tongue... on the wind..."

  [Wind Slash]

  A burst of wind slashed through the air directly over our heads.

  Groaaa!!

  The wyrm shrieked as its side was cut open. A wave of blood sprayed outward, coating me, Tristan, and Vral in gore.

  "Ow, fuck!" Vral swatted at the blood that coated her face. "That shit stings!" Wherever the stuff touched her skin, it smoked.

  Unlike her, the fluid only made my skin sting a little, likely courtesy of my high resilience, but for her sake, I pretended it hurt worse than it did. "Ow, yeah. That hurts."

  "Shut up!" She growled at me, clearly not buying it.

  "It's waking!" Ro shouted as he rushed by us, sword drawn and blazing. "To the fight, my family!"

  [Holy Light]

  Na-Ya chanted, and a second later, a streak of burning energy cut through the air and burned a large hole in the wyrm's side. "No rest for the wicked!" Na-Ya called out from the trees nearby. "On your feet, fam!"

  "I... will not fall... to these pitiful mortals!" The wyrm squirmed and began slithering forward.

  "I'm gonna kick this fucker's ass!" Vral tried to stand, but her skin had blistered terribly wherever the wyrm's blood had touched it. Falling back to one knee, she wiped at her face and hissed. "Ow ow owie!"

  "I can help!" Tristan began chanting in the Goddess's tongue. For the first time, I could understand her words as she spoke: "Sarai Lumara! Ishari vaelis!" Her voice grew stronger as she chanted the words. "Lúmara léneth arial!"

  [Healing Light]

  Vral's smoking skin, which had begun blistering, returned to normal. However, within seconds, it started smoking again.

  "Damn it!" Tristan frowned. "I haven't cast this one before, but I know it can help!" Pulling her prayerbook from her hip, she opened to a page and began reading aloud. "Sarai Lumara. Ienis..." The words melded in my mind as she spoke, "... what does not belong, depart! Be washed, unmade. Begone!"

  [Restoration]

  She pressed her hand to each of us, and white light washed from her skin and onto us. As it cascaded over our skin, the wyrm's blood instantly dried and began flaking away. When the last of it fell from our skin, she smiled and slumped onto my shoulder. "I did it."

  I squeezed her hand. "Good job."

  Her mouth dropped. "Alex..." Her words were tight. "You just spoke the Goddess's Word."

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  My heart skipped a beat. Thinking back to what I'd just said, I realized I'd spoken words that sounded a whole lot like her chants always did. "I, uh, I have no idea what's going on." Nodding back toward the trees, I said, "We can figure it all out later. Until then, go rest by Na-Ya, alright?" Standing first, I pulled her to her feet.

  Slowly, she nodded. "Okay." Her eyes searched my face for a time. Then, with a small nod, she turned and half-walked, half-ran back to the trees where Na-Ya was.

  "Hahahaha!" Vral cackled as she took off for the wyrm. Looking over her shoulder, she shouted, "I've missed this!" and charged.

  I watched as she darted to the wyrm's side and carved long lines along its belly. I wanted to move. I wanted to help. But something was wrong...

  Why could I understand the monster? And why was it talking about thieves? About its lair? How could it even speak? Monsters couldn't speak. They could only mimic. That's what all of Arden's tomes had said. And wyrms were supposed to be monsters. The Dark Lord was said to have created them when he incarnated at the beginning of the Fourth Era as a slight against dragonkind... But this wyrm was speaking...

  [Heroic Strike]

  Ro's blade flashed and, with one mighty cleave, he cut the wyrm's damaged wing clean off.

  Rooooooaaaa!!!

  The world shook and shuddered from the wyrm's pained cry.

  "Pathetic mortals!" The wyrm's cries shook the earth. "You have not known fear until this day!" It reared its massive head up and let out a roar. "No mortal will bring low Dhurak, He Who Grinds the Hills!" With a loud sucking sound, Dhurak inhaled a massive breath of air, then exhaled. As he did, a thick hail of small green spores poured from his mouth, flew up into the air, and then floated down to the earth, where they settled on everything. Every spore that was touching a rock, stone, or plant sprouted rootlike tendrils, which burrowed like roots into the various materials.

  Then, as the roots sank deep, the world around us, and everything in it, began to twitch and move as if it were alive. The rocks rose from the earth, whole trees and bushes began uprooting themselves and walking, and the ground itself began to ripple as if it were alive.

  "What the hell is this?!" Vral screamed as she jumped back, daggers flashing as she took out one of the walking bushes.

  "I have no idea!" I kicked a tree as it wobbled up next to me. The top-heavy thing crashed to the ground and cracked down the middle. "Girls! We need cover!"

  [Holy Light]

  [Holy Light]

  Both Tristan and Na-Ya unleashed their holy light at the monsters around us. To my surprise, their attacks not only shredded the animated trees, but they also washed over the land and seemed to cleanse the green fungus from the terrain they touched. Even still, their spells were small. The area of effect they covered couldn't keep up with the sheer number of monsters that were rising from the earth all around us.

  "Istresh..." Dhurak roared. "I will grind your bones to dust!" The wyrm coiled around itself so that it was facing us. "I will melt your flesh and consume the ichor!"

  "Shit!" I had to do something. I couldn't let my family die... but...

  Dhurak.

  It had a name. He had a name. He wasn't some mindless beast. He was sentient. And if he was a thinking being, if he was a person... and if he was brought here against his will...

  I couldn't just kill him.

  There had to be a way to get through to him, right?

  Maybe.

  Maybe not.

  But I had to try. He wasn't even supposed to be here.

  "Dhurak!" I shouted at the creature. Immediately, I realized I was speaking another language. "We don't want to fight! We want to talk!" I sheathed my sword and held up my hand. "There is no reason to spill more blood today!"

  The wyrm froze. Then, its eyes locked onto me and slowly narrowed. The monsters around us stopped twitching as the wyrm considered me. Eventually, something shifted in its eyes, its lips twisted, and it spoke. "I thought it was the wind..." The monster rumbled in a singsong tone, "Could this little mortal truly know the Elder Tongue?" His eyes narrowed further. "Why only speak now? As I chased him through the night like cattle for the slaughter, why would he not try to reason with me then?" The wyrm's head turned. "I do love when mortals plead for their little lives. Oh, the things they offer..." Dhurak began slithering toward me. "What will you offer, mortal? Your riches? Your lands? Your soul? Your women?"

  Fuck that.

  I was giving you a chance, not an offer, asshole.

  Despite myself, I took a single step backward.

  [Holy Light]

  [Holy Light]

  The girls didn't hold back. Their beams of holy energy carved massive furrows into the creature's face, turning its scales into smoking cinders.

  Graaaaaa!

  Dhurak roared in pain as it writhed on the ground, then slammed its remaining wing into the earth, cracking the ground we stood on. As the earth split, whole sections of rock and rubble rose up and took on humanoid shapes.

  "A trick!" The wyrm's glowing emerald eyes turned away from mine and locked onto the girls. "How could I have been fooled again?!" The creature roared, then bellowed, "No more games!" He thrashed and tore at the earth. "When I devour the marrow from your bones, I will devour that mage whole!" He let out a wild, horrific scream.

  [Holy Light]

  [Holy Light]

  The girls fired again, but by how much less vibrant their spells looked, I could tell they were running out of mana.

  What was worse, this time, the spell was met with another shimmering globe from Dhurak's palm, but the magic wasn't strong enough to completely stop their combined power. After sputtering and wavering for a moment, the light broke through and seared a wide, smoking line into Dhurak's belly.

  That meant he was weakening, too.

  That was good.

  A plan started forming in my mind.

  "Nothing!" Dhurak's lips curled upward. "You are all nothing!"

  "Tris! Na-Ya! Take out the animated stuff! Vral, stay safe! Ro, to me!" I shouted, my mind racing. We could do this.

  "On it!" Ro appeared at my side in an instant. His eyes scanned the battlefield. "What's the plan?"

  "We need to get in close." I pointed my sword at the wyrm. "You do more damage than I do. Can you cover me as I run in?"

  "I can, but..." His face went grim. "It won't be easy." He glanced at the approaching animated horrors. "And those things will be a problem."

  "Na-Ya, Tristan! Carve us a path, but don't hit the wyrm!"

  "Okay!" They both called back.

  Turning, I found Vral fighting a walking rock nearby. "Vral, cover my rear!"

  Her red eyes met mine. "That's my second favorite thing to do!"

  I had a feeling covering Tristan's was her first. With a small grin, I turned back to Ro and said, "Second Wind time."

  [Second Wind]

  [Second Wind]

  It was like twenty shots of espresso were poured into my veins all at once. By the look in Ro's eyes, he was feeling the same thing.

  "Let's go." I heaved, the world bent, and with a single stride, I covered ten feet. Then I did it again.

  "What trick do you have this time, mortal?" Dhurak snaked forward, trampling over its own creations as it charged. "You cannot speak your way out of your grave!" His mouth opened wide, and he started inhaling.

  Every time this guy spoke, I hated him more.

  [Holy Light]

  Na-Ya chanted, and another wave of light, this one even weaker than the last, struck the wyrm in the mouth, burning a black hole in its palate.

  Despite the damage, the wyrm never stopped inhaling.

  [Holy Light]

  Tristan chanted, and a beam of light tore apart a rock monster that appeared on my left.

  "Ro, cut right!" I darted to the left and activated a skill.

  [Provoke]

  The wyrm's head turned away from him and toward me. Just then, Dhurak's sides tensed and, with a mighty roar, he exhaled a massive wave of chlorinated gas from his distended maw.

  [Iron Skin]

  The instant the wave hit me, my skin turned to metal, which smoked and sizzled in the corrosive gas. However, while it stunk terribly and didn't feel great, I was mostly unharmed.

  As my skill wore off and my skin turned back to normal, Ro reached the other side of Dhurak's head.

  "Hit him hard!" I called out.

  Leaping into the air, Ro raised his sword high and, with a massive heave, struck directly at one of the wyrm's horns.

  [Heroic Strike]

  Ro's blade flashed white, striking with so much force that the horn broke away from Dhurak's head and went flying into the marsh.

  Graaaaooo!!!

  The wyrm shrieked. It thrashed, whipping its head so hard that it threw Ro a good thirty feet.

  He tumbled through the air, but managed to land on his feet and leaped to the side an instant before Dhurak's tail turned him into a pile of meat. Rolling, he sprang back to his feet and ran back toward the girls, but he got cut off along the way by several of the rock monsters.

  At the same time, Dhurak slithered and coiled, cutting through the sandy soil, aimed directly for the girls.

  "Dhurak!" I roared, trying to match the power of the wyrm's voice as best I could. "You're fighting me!"

  One of his emerald eyes fixed on me, but he didn't take the bait.

  That made my blood boil.

  No one fucked with my family.

  [Provoke]

  Focusing with everything I had, I felt as my skill took hold. Immediately after, the wyrm veered off course and aimed straight for me.

  "You wish to die first, mortal?!" Dhurak sped up as he roared at me, crossing the gap between us faster than even Vral could. "I accept your sacrifice!" His mouth opened wide, and he inhaled again.

  "And I accept your challenge!" Sheathing my sword, I whirled and threw my shield directly at his open mouth.

  [Shield Throw]

  Like a bullet, my shield streaked through the air, brushed past Dhurak's massive fangs, and lodged itself in his throat just as he exhaled.

  I watched as my shield, crafted specially for me by the dwarves of Tinker Town, became black and pitted, then started to bubble and melt.

  "Mmmph!" Dhurak croaked as his throat extended outward. Green mist began pouring from his nose, his eyes went wild, and he started thrashing as he choked on my equipment.

  In four loping strides, I crossed the gap between us. Planting my feet directly next to his distended throat, I didn't hesitate to pull back. If he died, he died.

  With the strongest heave of my life, I punched with all my power and activated my monk skill, the one I'd brought back from my time on Earth.

  [Stoneshatter]

  My fist struck the massive beast in its distended throat. Its scales shattered like paper, and the wyrm's throat exploded, spraying stinging black ichor everywhere. My shield, which had been melting, shot out of the wyrm's mouth and skittered into the marsh.

  Raaaoooo!!!

  The wyrm shrieked a wheezy, pained shriek and shuddering, beating its one remaining wing as it slithered backward, clutching at its ruined throat. Blood poured from its ruined flesh and fell, creating thick, steaming pools on the ground. Its creations writhed and twisted in pain, mirroring their creator, until at last, Dhurak let out a weak wheeze and collapsed.

  For a long moment, I waited, making sure he was actually down. When I was sure he was actually done, I took a second to check if he was alive—he was.

  What should I do?

  I knew he was dangerous, and I knew it was a massive risk, but...

  Looking back at Na-Ya, Tristan, and Vral, I did a once-over to make sure they were okay. Luckily, aside from being coated in sweat, they all seemed fine.

  With a deep breath, I listened to my heart and said, "You all aren't going to like what I'm about to ask, but hear me out..."