THE GATEKEEPER

Chapter 8

Flying between two of the stone pillars was a massive figure, certainly larger than any of the dragons currently present at Drake’ location. Close behind the figure followed two more, slightly smaller than the first, one on the right and the other on the left. As the figures approached the thunder of dragons already gathered, they began to lower their altitude until they landed on the very edge of the topmost outer ring of steps.

They were dragons, but very different from most of the dragons Drake had seen thus far. The most prominent difference was their size; unlike most of the other dragons in the crowd, who all stood about three to almost four times Drake’ height, they were somewhat bigger. The one in the middle was about five times as tall as Drake, while the two behind him were about four and a half. Drake could also get the feeling that these three were very powerful; the whole crowd of dragons grew quiet as they approached.

A humanoid dragon flew out of the crowd of dragons gathered and landed in front of the bigger one of the three before falling to one knee and bowing. It spoke in a series of low growls and hisses.

Great. How are we gonna get anything accomplished if I can’t even understand what they’re saying?

Right on que, Drake felt a sharp object poke him in the back of the head, right where the lump from falling down the maintenance hatch in Atlantis City was. He flinched in pain, but the chains binding him held him still. He heard some hisses and growls from behind him, so he could only guess that another dragon was standing right there. The hissing behind him came to an end, and his vision suddenly flashed. Dazed, Drake went limp in his chains. The dragons surrounding him began hissing and growling again, but for some reason, Drake could understand what they were saying this time.

“So, the king actually showed up for this trial,” one voice whispered.

“Of course he did,” another responded. “The treasure of our kind has been stolen. That brat’s the only lead we have on anything; the king would have to show up for this.”

“I really don’t care if the king came or not,” a third voice hissed. “I’m so angry about the Orb getting stolen; it has never happened before. I hope we get to roast the brat and have him for lunch.”

What? What the hell is going on here? Trial? Stolen orbs? Did I do something?

“You can understand us now, correct?” a voice asked behind him. Drake attempted to turn his head and found that the chains allowed that, so he looked over his shoulder and saw a small dark grey humanoid dragon towering over him from behind, gazing at Drake with sky blue eyes. It had apparently stooped down to touch the back of Drake’ head with one of its claws.

“I just cast some communication magic on you,” it continued. “You should be able to understand what I’m saying right now, right?”

Magic? For real?​ Drake shook his head and looked up at the dragon’s face. The dragon was just as large as the other dragons that had just arrived. “Y-yes, I can understand what you’re saying,” Drake managed to spit out after a second. “Where am I? And what’s going on?”

The dark grey dragon looked at Drake with something akin to pity before sighing and covering its face with a clawed hand. “Do you honestly not understand what’s going on?” it questioned in a stressed voice.

“Nope,” Drake answered simply and honestly. “I have no clue what’s going on or why I’m chained up like this.”

The dragon took a deep breath before uncovering his face and looking at Drake once more. “You’re on trial for assisting in the theft of the Orb of the First King, dragonkind’s most revered treasure,” he explained. “You could very well end up being killed if things do not go well for you. At best, you’ll probably spend fifty years in a top-security prison.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Drake asked in disbelief. “I’m on trial for theft? And I could end up dead if it doesn’t go well?”

The dark grey dragon only stared back at Drake in silence, not responding.

“What kind of crap is this?!” Drake almost shouted. “All the dragons in the room fell silent again as they looked at the commotion occurring. “I didn’t do anything! I don’t even know where I am!!”

The dragon sighed again before responding. “Unfortunately, that’s not your decision to make. Nothing you say on the subject will matter if you’re found guilty. The king will decide if you’re actually innocent or not in the matter.”

“Not my decision?!” Drake yelled. “There’s nothing to make a decision about! I already told you that I had nothing to do with this theft or whatever happened! Besides, how can you say that nothing I say matters?! It’s my ​life​ that’s on the line here!”

Smack​. Drake’s head snapped to the side as the dragon slapped him across the face with the tip of its tail, silencing the young man. The dragon had a pained look on his face.

“Please stop making a scene,” the dragon told Drake in a hushed voice. “From the moment you regained consciousness, everything you have said and done has been closely observed. If you continue to act like this, it will only make things worse for you.”

Drake glared at the dragon but remained silent. He understood that this dragon was being completely honest. Is he supposed to be my lawyer or something like that? Drake turned back around to get a better look at the three dragons that just arrived.

The largest one, who was apparently the king, was covered head to toe in crimson scales, with a golden belly that extended out into a tail tipped with a tuft of black hair. Every crimson scale was edged in a golden sheen, making the king sparkle like a crimson diamond. The skin between his wing spines was a dusky shade of gold, and white talons tipped each of his toes and fingers. His eyes were like molten gold as they glanced over at Drake and saw Drake observing him. His silt pupils narrowing upon making eye contact. Uncomfortable, Drake shifted his attention to the dragon behind the king on the right.