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“O, O great dragon!” someone in the back of the burrow shouted while crouching to prevent his body from being seen. People wanted to shuffle to the side to reveal the man that had spoken, but it was too cramped to make space. “It wasn’t our plan to shoot your daughter! We were leaving the continent, but a holy dragon noticed us and forced us to become a part of her plan. The holy dragon broke down our minds through torture, and only stopped when we promised to help it ambush the first cursed dragon that showed its face.”
Grimmy raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is that so?” He pointed at the nearest human. “Look me in the eyes. Is what he said true?”
The man that was singled out by Grimmy gulped. He stared the cursed dragon in the eyes and took in a deep breath. His heart pounded, threatening to burst out of his chest. However, he still managed to hold his head high and speak in a clear voice, “Yes. It’s true.”
Grimmy nodded. “I can tell you’re not lying,” he said. “In that case, all of you are forgiven.” He took a step back and swept his gaze over the burning farm. The flames came to a halt, and the ashes stopped rising, slowly settling towards the ground. Grimmy took a step to the side and gestured for the humans to leave. However, none of them dared to take a step out of the burrow.
“We’re forgiven?” someone asked before glancing at the few mangled people Grimmy had deposited at the entrance of the burrow earlier. “Just like that?”
“Yep,” Grimmy said. He gestured with his paw again. “Go on.”
The mercenaries exchanged glances with one another. Eventually, one of them mustered up the courage to step out of the crowd. He stared at Grimmy as he walked out of the burrow, and when he saw the cursed dragon wasn’t going to do anything, he took another tentative step forward. His brow furrowed. Where was he supposed to go? Although the black fire had stopped, the trees were still smoldering, and the ground was still hot. The living quarters they had been given on the farm were definitely gone, and he was still cursed with being unable to leave the area.
“Grimmy!” a voice came from afar. The sound of wingbeats followed, and ashes were kicked up into the air as a large holy dragon landed in front of the burrow. The man who had just exited was knocked to the ground from the impact. Kondra glanced at him before opening her mouth, shooting a pure white light at the stunned fellow. When the light faded, the man was gone. Kondra cleared her throat and glanced at Grimmy, not daring to look at him head on. “I see you’ve cornered the humans.”
Grimmy raised an eyebrow. “I have, yes.”
Kondra nodded and scratched her neck. She cleared her throat again. “They didn’t say anything … weird, did they?”
“Weird?” Grimmy asked, his eyes slightly narrowing as a faint smile appeared on his lips. “What do you mean by weird?”
Kondra ignored Grimmy and glanced inside the burrow. Half of the humans violently shivered upon seeing her face. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads, and they couldn’t help but drop to their knees. Kondra coughed and sat in front of the burrow, blocking the interior from view with her body. “Did they say anything about why they attacked Gloria?”
Grimmy chuckled. “Oh, they said a lot of things.”
“You can’t believe them,” Kondra said, her eyes widening. She glanced down at the humans Grimmy had squeezed. “Information you find out through fear isn’t reliable. They’ll say anything to avoid being hurt. Why don’t you go back and comfort Gloria? You’re Gloria’s father; your presence will soothe her more than mine. I’ll take care of these humans for you. By the time I’m done with them, they’ll sorely regret ever harming my granddaughter.”
Grimmy let out another low chuckle as he spread his wings. “Alright,” he said and leapt into the air. “I’ll leave these humans to you.”
For some reason, the unease in Kondra’s stomach grew larger despite the fact she had sent Grimmy away. When the cursed dragon was out of sight, Kondra stood up, unblocking the entrance of the burrow. She turned around and brought her head down to look inside. “Speak. What did you tell him? Did anyone say it was my plan?”
“He did!” someone said and pointed at the curled-up man on the ground. Luckily for him, it was too crowded for Kondra to see him. Unluckily for him, the crowd was looking for a scapegoat. They manhandled him, and soon, he was transported to the front of the burrow despite his kicking and screaming.
Kondra trembled, and she glared at the man. “You told him I was responsible for his daughter getting hurt?”
“No!” the man shouted. “I didn’t say anything! I swear!”
“He’s lying,” the crowd of mercenaries said. “He told the cursed dragon about how we were planning on leaving and how you turned us into your believers and how you had us set up the ambush outside to shoot the first cursed dragon we saw.”
“You snitches!” the man said, glaring at the people who he thought were his companions. “I spoke up to save us all from the cursed dragon, and this is how you treat me!?”
Kondra’s expression darkened. It was clear Grimmy knew about her role in Gloria’s injury. If he told Leila, what would she think? Kondra’s daughter would blame her and possibly never speak to her again! What if Grimmy told Gloria? Not only would Kondra’s daughter hate her, but her granddaughter would hate her as well. Kondra’s eye twitched. There were only three things she could do: deny, deny, and deny harder! As long as she eliminated all the witnesses, it would be her word against Grimmy’s. Even if Leila and Gloria became suspicious of her, without proof, would they really cut off all contact? Holy dragons didn’t kill humans without a reason, but what better reason was there than keeping one’s family whole? A dangerous glint appeared in Kondra’s eye as she stared down the burrow, and a bright white light leaked out from between the gaps in her teeth.