“Before you do anything, I’m going to explain it to them first, okay?” I said. I didn’t know how much Eggs understood me, but if I was going to somehow keep them inside that garish necklace. I didn’t want them to go in afraid.

  “Of course, Tullen, you tell me when you’re ready.” The Doctor said, holding the necklace in her hand reverently. I nodded and looked at the others. Sayo and Sila each gave me a smile, which reassured me, while Gertha took a slow, deep breath inward. Eggs was looking at me, head cocked to one side. They had sniffed me a few times, and I think they could tell I was unsettled. It marvelled me how intuitive Eggs was; if you’d met just them, you’d be hard pressed to understand how their…cousins could be so bloodthirsty.

  I guess some people probably thought that about me, but they didn’t know the full story. Perhaps we didn’t know the full story about the bastard lizards either. I certainly got that impression from the strange council meetings we’d been a part of. I approached Eggs and cupped the side of their face, they leaned in and we pressed our foreheads against each other, their hot, smelly breath blowing over my neck and chest. In an instant, I was relaxed.

  “Just don’t click your teeth, Eggs. Burning alive would put a downer on my day.” I chuckled.

  Eggs’s frill opened and closed, and I brushed my fingertips across their soft skin, pricking my finger on the end of one of their horns. They had grown in the last few days and were as sharp as any blade.

  “Look, the Doctor is going to use a magic necklace to contain you. You’ll be hung around my neck the whole time, and it’ll be like blinking, one moment you’re here, the next you’ll be wherever I let you out. Just can’t have you being spotted and hunted in Cemfyllen. I have to keep you safe, okay?”

  Eggs pulled their head back slowly and looked me deep in my eyes. We stood for several moments just staring at each other. Eggs reared up, inhaling deeply, and for a split second, I thought they would actually talk.

  A roaring belch emanated from deep within Eggs, and the hot, vile breath washed over me, and my eyes immediately watered. I swallowed back a gag as the others roared into laughter, mingling with the chuckling that had started at the edge of my hearing. A rough forked tongue ran up the entirety of my neck and face as Eggs sat back, opening and closing their frill.

  “Let’s take that as agreement then,” I said as the others continued chuckling. Wiping a tear from her eye, the Doctor walked to my side and handed me the necklace.

  “Put it around your neck, then with one hand on the gem, place your hand on Eggs.” She said, her voice as soft as the skin on her bald head. Or so I imagined.

  “Simple as that?” I asked

  “Simple as that.” The Doctor confirmed.

  I nodded and curled my fingers around the necklace, making sure to touch the gem. Then, with my hand outstretched, I approached Eggs. They chirruped, moving their nose toward my hand, sniffing it.

  “I don’t know when I’ll bust you out of this, Eggs, it might be some time…for me. Just be ready for a fight, alright?” I said.

  Eggs licked my hand and vanished in an instant. The necklace buckled, and I felt a warmth course through it, making my skin glow.

  “Whatever you do, Tullen, don’t crack the gem unless you mean to, because Eggs will appear in an instant, and a necklace worth a small town will be nothing but scrap.” The Doctor said.

  “Don’t you worry, while my Eggs are in here, I’ll guard them with my life,” I said, meaning every word.

  “Good. Now. To deal with the other Black Wyvern.” She chuckled at her own joke. I huffed, but it didn’t deter her. I was pleased, however, as I said before, it was a nice noise.

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  She opened the pot and dabbed a finger in.

  “So how does this work then? Is there some kind of incantation for it to take?” I said. I’d been around magic enough now to pick up a few fundamentals. I’d heard Gertha use words for a spell once.

  The Doctor poked me under the eye, right where my tattoo was. I blinked rapidly, and the Doctor just wiped her finger on a cloth she’d produced from her sleeve.

  “No, just dab a bit of this powder over the tattoo, and it won’t be visible. Just don’t get it wet.” She laughed and handed me the small metal pot.

  “Is that everything?” Gertha asked, wringing her hands.

  “Anxious to go into the Wyrms den are we?” I asked.

  “It’s important we get in, then out before things escalate too much, wouldn’t you agree?” She said, raising an eyebrow at me.

  “That is everything, apart from these cloaks, travellers should always have cloaks!” The Doctor threw us each a cloak, which we wrapped around our shoulders. “Leech will handle the rest.” The Doctor bowed her head and walked to the moving floor.

  “You are ready.” Leech’s voice said from behind me.

  I damn near jumped out of my skin. How did that creep get the drop on me? That shouldn’t be possible. I whirled around, my temper hot, “Where did you bloody crawl out fr—”

  Yellow light enveloped us.

  #

  I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve. Whatever magic that creepy bastard used to move us all across the land needed bloody fine-tuning, and whoever had created the damn spell publicly flogged. I left my pile of vomit where it lay unceremoniously on the ground and offered Gertha a helping hand up. Sayo and Sila were already up, Sayo rubbing her brother's back as he continued to empty the contents of his stomach.

  “Everyone okay?” I asked.

  A chorus of groans and yes’s told me that everyone was indeed okay, but it would serve us well to get our bearings and move on from here.

  We were on a road, flanked by sparse clusters of trees, which felt strange to me because I could see past them, in the distance, a large stone fortress with many towers and platforms, and strange wooden machines similar to those I had seen through the Glance Glass. Its walls were similar to Avandun’s, completely enclosed, but the loosing slits were wider by at least three times. Say what you like about Leech, he’d saved us a walk at least.

  “Cemfyllen awaits us. Let’s get going.” I said, leaning on my new stick and stroking the necklace holding Eggs.

  “I’ve never seen inside a fortress before!” Sayo said.

  “More secure than a camp, but staying in one place that long? Don’t they get bored?” Sila asked.

  “You’d be surprised what people in fortresses can get up to for fun,” I said, smiling fondly at memories of going to the tavern with Ulther, gambling or giving the occasional green String Guard a scare in training.

  “You’ll have to educate us, Tullen. I didn’t have as much fun as you in Avandun.” Gertha said, her voice quiet and low.

  I walked to her side and placed my hand on her shoulder, “I’m not going to let any bastard indenture you, Gertha, okay?” I wore my most reassuring smile possible, although if she hadn’t known me, she would have probably recoiled.

  “I know, Tull, just some things can be out of our power.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to be careful and watch each other's backs, yeah?”

  We made our way together toward the fortress over the next half an hour or so. As we got closer, we rounded a corner and could see people lining up, waiting for the gates of Cemfyllen to open.

  The gate itself was impossible to miss; it was at least twenty feet tall and coated in gleaming steel. A huge S was inlaid on each gatedoor in Gold. It was the very definition of glinted. The sight took my breath away, and I felt for the sword I no longer wore at my hip as my body began to panic. That amount of shine? On the outskirts of a fortress was a sure-fire way to attract a big bastard lizard to your walls. How could this be allowed? How come none of the people lining up cared?

  “Fuck me.” Sila whistled.

  “What mad bastard glinted the gates?” Gertha gasped.

  “I think the same one that put their initials on them,” Sayo said, her voice in awe.

  “Let’s see what other bright ideas he’s had then.” I spat.

  We walked onward and joined the back of the line.

  Minutes later, the gates swung open, and black-clad soldiers came forth.