CHAPTER 7
Everything seemed to happen way too fast after that. Kergot quickly shifted, his massive body pushing the front wall outward and then knocking it completely down as his powerful tail swung around, striking it down. Men ran screaming from the dragon that had suddenly appeared before them, some had already waited too long as they became pinned under the heavy stones that had fallen from the front wall.
“I cast you out, Satan,” Peter began to chant in unison with the men that remained steadfast.
Penelope felt an odd sensation as something seemed to be pushing into her thoughts, invading her in some sense. It was a voice, not one that she was hearing around her, but one that seemed to form in her head without origin beyond that point. It was Kergot’s voice, and she had to wonder if she was imagining it, but was quick to heed its word. Whether he was actually communicating with her somehow or it was her imagination, she knew she needed to do as it told her.
As Kergot distracted the men, she ran forward, passing through them and into the recesses of the house, now teetering haphazardly on its own foundation as the mighty dragon within its walls tore it apart at the seams, along with the men inside. She hastily dug through every place she knew Peter liked to hide things until she came across what she presumed she was looking for.
Holding the small vile upward against a flickering lantern nearby, she observed the dusty, brown bottle, corked and waxed shut. On the side was a writing that she couldn’t understand. Affixed to the neck of it was a small note, also written in an unknown hand and language. She remembered seeing similar bottles in the home of the witch on nearby shelves.
Tucking the bottle into her pocket, she ran, but not before tossing the lantern against the far wall. It exploded in flames, the small one catching fire on the excess fuel that expanded along the wall and the covers of the bed nearby. Penelope ran back into the living room, only to find herself cornered by a large man with an axe in one hand.
Just as quickly as he had appeared, he was removed by a mighty swish of Kergot’s tail. It sent him flying sideways, where he bounced against a wall and was covered by falling rocks from the outer shell of the home.
Get out now, she heard Kergot say in her head, and she did just that, running for the opening that used to be the front wall of the home. Nearby, she could see Peter lying on the ground, his legs bent into an awkward angle. He stretched his hands out toward her as she ran past.
“Help me, Penelope,” he begged of her.
“I’m afraid it is much too late for that, Peter. You’ve brought yourself to this place, and you must now reap what you’ve sown. May God have mercy upon your misguided soul.”
There was a mighty boom as something in the house exploded, and then the whole thing went up in flames. Penelope’s heart dropped into her stomach as she saw no signs of Kergot, but then, there he was, his heavy body exiting through the wall of flames that seemed to be all around him. He appeared untouched by the fire. She breathed a sigh of relief as his voice once again flooded her head.
We have to go. Get on.
If there was any doubt that it was him somehow communicating with her, it was laid to rest by his stretching his neck downward toward the ground for her to climb on. His large snout stopped just short of Peter, who lay glaring at him, even in his disadvantaged condition. Kergot said nothing, but now Penelope found that she could feel him, his heartbeat kept time with her own, and his anger flooded her thoughts.
“Kergot, no. Please. Leave him. Let him live with what he has done to me, to these men.”
“What I have done?” Peter spat back at her? “You are the one that has brought death upon these men. You and that thing you’ve brought with you. How many more like you must we find and extinguish?”
“Is that what you had planned for me, Peter? You planned to kill me?”
“No. I only planned to save you from what you were. The witch took your powers, didn’t she? We thought she had tricked us. Her death is upon you too.”
“You killed her because you thought she gave you a bad potion? Then why did you take it from her, Peter?” Penelope retorted, pulling the bottle from her pocket and holding it up for him to see.
His eyes narrowed, taking in the bottle, but Penelope wasn’t sure about his reaction beyond that. Instead, she became aware of a mob of people running down the street toward the commotion. Several screamed when they caught sight of Kergot, and others ran faster toward him. She hurried to get in place on his neck.
Just as he was taking off, a shot rang out, causing Kergot to turn and release a ball of fire across the crowd of men that had gathered around with torches. Penelope could see that among the charred figures left in his wake was the one lying on the ground with mangled legs. She knew she should feel something for the loss of a man she had loved, but she did not.
Kergot took to the skies, disappearing into the darkness as the people below shouted and screamed behind them. Penelope felt dizzy, but she clung to Kergot with all her might. Everything was blurry as they sailed through the waterfall and landed back on the ledge, with Kergot shifting back into his human form. He didn’t bother with clothes, this time. Instead, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her inside. Then, everything went black.