Hero's Dilemma 26

         Chapter 8, part 4

    As Paragon soared through the air, it took all of his focus not to dwell on the worst case scenarios that tried to make their way to the forefront of his thoughts.
    Beautiful landscapes stretched out below him while the serene night sky blanketed the atmosphere. Yet he saw none of it. His thoughts were on her alone.

    After roughly two hours, he slowed to a stop as he reached the coordinates. But as he looked around, he was utterly dismayed to find only a scattering of tiny islands surrounded by thrashing ocean waves.
    “Where's the island?!” he shouted. “Where's the castle?! It was right here!”
    He looked around desperately, but saw around him only the smaller islands-- most of them too small for even a single house to have stood on. But one had been the foundation of a great castle, yet where it once was he saw then only turbulent water and jagged rocks.
    As he looked around, a sudden feeling of fear came over him. He began to panic, and considered retreating. Yet looking around, he saw nothing that would threaten him. He scanned the horizons, the skies above him, and the seas beneath him, and still he could find no reason why his heart should be so overcome with dread.
    “There is nothing here,” he told himself. “There is nothing to be afraid of.”
    But it didn't help. The fear of some oncoming doom only grew greater as he waited. He felt vulnerable hovering out in the open over the little islands and vast ocean. Every rock seemed to conceal a hidden enemy; every wave, the wake of a deadly leviathan.
    “No. I will not run away. I will find her! She has to be here! She has to be!”
    He flew from one small island to the next, trying to find something-- anything-- that would illuminate the mystery. He tried to put thoughts of his own jeopardy aside and focus on his search.
    As he approached a familiar looking outcropping, despite the escalating terror, he felt himself move through something invisible, but not quite intangible; like walking through a curtain, or a tangled cobweb. It was only a moment, but once through, he saw the island and castle before him; precisely where it had been the last time he had been in that place. But a moment ago, there had been only crashing waves and scattered islands there. Or so it had seemed.
    Then he noticed that the place had undergone some minor changes since the encounter with Nero. For one thing, it was much cleaner. The roofs were still overgrown with trees and ivy, but they were trimmed and well maintained. Some of the broken walls had been repaired, and the rotten doors replaced with new ones. It no longer looked abandoned, but lived in. Almost hospitable.
    But as he floated over towards the castle, a huge, reptilian head rose up over the outer wall. A dragon. That was new, as well.
    It raised his head and looked at the newcomer.
    “Oh, hell,” Paragon muttered.
    The beast was a deep shade of red, with shining emerald stripes, and eyes of jade. It was a fraction smaller than the first one, but it had wild eyes that told Paragon that it was the deadlier of the two by a substantial margin.
    It leaped the wall and stood on the island's edge. It took in a great breath, and let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the very sea around them.
    But Paragon flew towards it, unperturbed. As the monster took in another breath-- for a roar or a blast of flame, was not clear-- Paragon cocked his arm back and threw his fist forward with all the force he could muster. The dragon nearly lost its balance as its head was knocked to one side.
    Wide eyed, it stared back at the hero; looking positively baffled, and quite frankly, a little embarrassed. It seemed unable to believe that something would react to its threat in such a brazen way, and seemed to have trouble processing what had happened.
    “I don't have time for this, monster!” Paragon said, his patience barely contained. “I am here for Sycorax-- my wife. You can either get out of my way, or I'll do to you what I did to the last dragon that gave me trouble. I will count to three. One--”
    At that moment, a wave of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, just as Paragon raised a bubble around himself. But the fire was a simple burning gas, compared to the far more hazardous, napalm-like fire of the first dragon.

    “Is that all you've got?” the hero began, but stopped as the beast leaped at him, grabbing the force field with him in it, and slamming it into the rocky ground of a smaller island behind him. It struck at the bubble with a great ferocity. The reptile talons came down at him repeatedly, and he had to re-double his effort to keep the barrier up.
    As it assaulted the force field, it glared at him with wild eyes, full of hate and fury.
    The dragon let out a deafening roar, and unleashed another stream of fire at him, but the barrier stayed strong. As soon as the flames subsided, the flying sword struck the dragon across the face. With the monster distracted, Paragon projected a wall like barrier at high velocity, slamming it into the dragon's jaw like a swift upper cut.
    The sword returned to its master's hands as he rose up on a platform of energy, and flew at his reptilian opponent.
    Then the creature saw him, and let out another torrent of fire. Paragon shielded his eyes with one hand, but otherwise endured the heat as he closed the gap between them, sword poised to strike down.
    One scaly claw shot up and grabbed the hero, and held him fast.
    Paragon was about to strike the beast's hand, when he saw that it was no longer paying any attention to him. It's focus had turned to something behind it, and it seemed to hear something he could not. With a flick of its wrist, it tossed the hero back as it took flight, returning to the castle it guarded.
    Paragon floated up again on the sword, confused as to the creature's departure. He hesitated. He hadn't expected the beast to back down so suddenly and casually. And yet, there was no longer any foe to face. He sensed that something wasn't right, but he did not have the time to contemplate the meaning of his enemy's untimely withdraw.
    He had to press on, no matter the risk.