Zebulun woke with the sun in his eyes. It was directly overhead.
He sat up. Had he ever slept til noon?
"You’re awake!" said Quinn. "I’ve never seen you sleep so hard."
"Changing the weather takes a lot out of a man," said Zebulun. "Makes me respect Sarah even more."
Davion came over and sat down. "So, Zeb," he said, "what’s next? Stay here? Keep going west?"
Zebulun shook his head. "We need to go south."
"Why south?" asked Quinn.
"I dreamt of Ur," said Zebulun. "He told me to seek out a dragon in the mountains to the south."
"Ooh!" said Quinn. "Another dragon? Are we going to fight this one too?"
"I don’t think so," said Zebulun. "Ur said he would be our ally."
"That’s tough to imagine," said Davion.
"It is," said Zebulun. "but I don’t doubt Ur."
"Forgive me if I still have doubts," said Davion. "You obviously have power, and we did defeat that dragon, but… I don’t know. I can’t say I have a better explanation than yours."
Zebulun nodded.
Jed wandered over. "I couldn’t help but overhear. If y’all are headed south, there’s something you should know. As barren as this here scrubland is, it turns into real desert further down the way. There ain’t nothing to drink or hunt."
"Thank you for the warning," said Zebulun. "We’ll find a way."
"Well," said Jed with a grin, "I guess if you can make it rain…" Jed thought for a second. "That ain’t all, though. Tale is, there’s strange magic in those mountains. Animals grow to giant size. Cougars the size of hills."
"Have you seen these?" asked Davion.
"Not personally," said Jed, "but other folks have."
Jed wandered off. Zebulun turned to Davion and asked, "The name 'Amalek' mean anything to you?"
Davion furrowed his brow for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. "Yes. I seem to remember that the last emperor had a dragon named Amalek. He was supposed to be jet black, and one of the most powerful dragons in history."
Zebulun nodded. "That’s who we’re going to find."
"Really?" said Davion. "I’ve read nothing about what happened to him after the empire fell."
"He’s up on a high mountain to the southwest," said Zebulun.
"If so," said Davion, "I’m curious to find out why."
Zebulun and friends went south the next day, wearing hats given to them by the cowboys. "You’ll need them for the desert," said Cal. The trio traded silver to the cowboys for some bricks of chili for the journey.
Five days later, Zan and his cowboys arrived at the estate of the late Herod Wrathkinder. Guards assembled to oppose them.
Zan flew above his horse archers and bellowed into the mind of every man present, Guardians of this late idiot domesticated dragon’s estate, remember: I am a dragon, and you have no dragon to protect you.
The assembled guards suddenly found themselves on fire. They started to panic, beating at the flames, when the fire disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The men were barely singed.
That was a demonstration, said Zan. If you want to live, leave your weapons and horses and walk east. Now.
The commander of the guard looked left and right at his men. He saw tension and uncertainty.
Zan whispered to the commander alone, You know I can kill every man here with a thought.
The commander looked up into the eyes of the great serpent, looked back at his men, then turned back to the dragon and nodded.
"Men!" he shouted. "Do as he commands. We’re going east."
Good, whispered Zan to the commander. You value your men. So do I. Glad I won’t have to lose any for nothing.
The guards turned and walked away. Zan and his cowboys secured a massive mound of wealth, more cattle than they could handle, and rode off into the sunset.