Kendra climbed down the rungs. By the time she reached the bottom, Warren was unconscious.
"This has been a tough week for Warren," Gavin commented. "Should I just put him out of his misery?"
"No, please," Kendra begged.
"Why should I heed your wishes?" Gavin asked. "You tried to club me in the head!"
"I'll be good if you leave him alone," Kendra promised.
"It really doesn't matter if you behave. But, sure, I'll spare you having to watch me kill your friend. Go on up the ladder." He already held the unicorn horn. He crouched, easily picking up the iron egg in his other hand.
Kendra scaled the rungs. If good behavior might spare Warren, she would behave. Besides, Gavin was right. If she resisted, all he had to do was knock her out and drag her wherever he wanted.
Gavin exited the knapsack, set aside the egg and the horn, and removed a flask from a pocket. Unstopping the flask, he began drenching the knapsack with a pungent fluid.
"What are you doing?" Kendra asked, fear creeping into her voice.
Producing a lighter, Gavin set the knapsack on fire. "No!" Kendra cried, lunging toward the burning knapsack.
Gavin grabbed her, firmly holding her back. She struggled, staring in horror as the flames rapidly consumed the backpack. Eventually the fire began to burn lower. Flinging Kendra to the ground, Gavin poured more fluid on the fire, the resurgent flames throwing devilish highlights across his features. As the fire burned down a second time, he hacked up the blackened knapsack with his sword.
"You said you wouldn't hurt him if I behaved," Kendra sobbed, hands trembling.
"No, I said it didn't matter if you behaved. And I said I wouldn't make you watch me kill your friend. Instead, you watched me trap him in an extra-dimensional space forever. He has provisions, and the room is magically ventilated. I bet Warren will get really good at Yahtzee."
"You're a monster!" Kendra yelled.
"You're finally catching on. I'm much worse than most monsters, Kendra. I'm a dragon, and a demon prince."
Kendra huffed. "And a servant of the Sphinx. How do you like taking orders from a human?"
Gavin's face hardened. "The Sphinx may be a brilliant strategist, and it may serve my purposes to aid him for a time, but before the end, the Sphinx will learn that no mere mortal is my master."
"Why not teach him by switching sides and helping me?"
Gavin snorted derisively. "No, Kendra, I will not be helping you. I want the demon prison open."
We're coming, Kendra.
She did not hear the words with her ears. They were chanted in her mind. Although a thrill of hope raced through her, Kendra tried to keep her face composed. She needed to keep Gavin talking.
"You want to open the prison on your terms, not the Sphinx's."
"We should not be having this conversation." Gavin turned and raised his sword. A screeching astrid flew toward him. The blade flashed, and the owl fell. A second astrid came behind the first, talons outstretched, human face set in a determined expression. Gavin cut it down as well. A third astrid streaked along the passage from the opposite direction. Gavin pivoted and slew it with a well-timed slash.
Kendra covered her eyes, unwilling to look at the three dead astrids. "Stop!" she cried. "Stop, he'll kill you!"
"Astrids?" Gavin asked, looking up and down the passage. No other owls flapped into view. "Even as a human, I
could kill astrids all day! Nowhere easier than in a narrow passage like this. Send them all and let's be rid of them! Whose help will you summon next? Chipmunks? Snails?"
"I didn't call them," Kendra said.
"We had best get going."
"If Nafia is standing guard, how did the astrids get through?"
"The same way chipmunks would get through," Gavin said. "Nafia is guarding against threats, not pathetic owls."
"I'm not coming willingly," Kendra said. "You'll have to knock me out or kill me."
"Easily done," Gavin said with a shrug.
Then a dragon with silvery white scales materialized behind him. The dragon was not particularly large, hardly twice as tall as Gavin, but even with its wings folded, the streamlined creature barely fit in the passageway. Raxtus stared at Kendra, then glanced from her to Gavin uncertainly.
Gavin quickly checked over his shoulder. Raxtus disappeared just in time to avoid detection, then reappeared once Gavin turned back to face Kendra.
"You're overacting," Gavin remarked, "but it never hurts to be sure. You can save the theatrics. If you want me to look away from you again, you'll have to do better than comically gawking over my shoulder."
Kendra returned her gaze to Gavin. Raxtus loomed right behind him. Gavin kept his eyes fixed on hers.
"I don't blame you for wanting to take a swing at me," he went on, "but try to show a bit more ingenuity. I have excellent senses. If something tried to creep up behind me, I would know."
Raxtus shook his head.
Kendra fought the urge to stare at the dragon. He had Gavin trapped! The hallway was much too cramped for Gavin to transform. All Raxtus had to do was strike. As she watched him peripherally, the silver-white dragon looked hesitant. He leaned his head forward, mouth opening slightly, then stopped himself, pulling back a tad.
"At least now you're looking over my shoulder more subtly," Gavin complimented. "Had you glanced that indirectly the first time, I would have been much more startled. You might have even earned a chance to land a cheap shot." He snorted as if the idea of resistance were ridiculous.
Kendra had to motivate Raxtus. She had to do it without directly talking to him, and it had to happen now.
"Maybe I should stop trying to fool you," Kendra sighed.
"Now you're making sense," Gavin replied. "I wish you meant it."
"What about the other dragons?" Kendra asked. "Won't they be mad you took the key we got from the Dragon Temple? Won't they be angry you killed the dragons who came after us? What about Celebrant?"
Gavin chuckled. "We'll be long gone before any of them really know what happened."
"But Celebrant is supposed to be the toughest dragon alive," Kendra said. "Aren't you worried he'll want revenge?"
Gavin shook his head. "Celebrant is the one who should be worried. After I open the demon prison, I'll be able to descend on him with an army of such power as the world has never seen. Trust me, there will be a new king of dragons before long. Kendra, you're staring way too obviously again."