Teeth Of A Dragon

“Isn’t he great?” the mother asked amid clanging cymbals.

She looked down noticing that her toddler was no longer by her side.

The dragon who wiggled towards them, opening and closing its massive jaw, had danced its way into the crowd.

The mother searched frantically, calling out her son’s name. She passed grills barbecuing kebabs and performers playing folk music with pan flutes. In better times she enjoyed the ethnic celebration.

An intercom announcement prompted her to hurry to the admin office. Her child sat silently when she arrived.

“I got scared, Mommy. Did you see the dragon’s big teeth?”

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Call Of The Deep

It was his first and last voyage to sea. An escape ship. His duty; to scrub the decks. He watched as jellyfish gathered around the keel, unnoticed by the experienced sailors. A simple extra hand. Days passed, or months.

Brine burned his lips, rum quelled his pains.

The jellyfish still gathered.

In the moonlight glow their beauty morphed into that of a woman, her tail flowing along the starboard side.

She called to him, and the dragon uncoiled. Drunk with thirst and madness he dove into her arms, and the dragon swallowed him whole. Only the birds’ song remembered him.

From Guest Contributor Valkyrie Kerry

Worth

We knew that the Dragon was on the train, hired to guard the locked safe that held the payroll. Too many armed clerks had been lost. But in such a small space, the Dragon could not stretch his wings, could not swing his claws. If he used his fire, the wooden train car would burn. Yes, the safe would survive, but it might fall to the tracks and be subject to anyone with the block and tackle to retrieve it. No one knew it was the Dragon we were after. You would think they would have noticed the giant collar.

From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner

The Knight That Was Too Great

The Knight is known for fire and might. Day after day he proves himself worthy of his sword. His title. His name. Out into the world he rides, his demeanor like an armor around him. Many dragons he has slain, yet some refuse to die. His sword is covered with the blood of both his enemies and his own heart. He seeks to be noble, but in doing so becomes pathetic. He is invincible in battle, but hopeless in everything else. His armor is impenetrable, but forever clings to him. No dragon can hurt him. Only the soft flower can.From Guest Contributor Richard Snow

Richard is a student of creative writing and journalism at Pikes Peak Community College. Currently writing a fantasy trilogy set in the early 20th century.

The Guidance Counselor

Gerald Dansforth, the guidance counselor at Lakeview Elementary School, had already been growing increasingly disgruntled with his position in life by the time Ripley Harrington appeared in his office for what would be his 22nd meeting of the day.

"And what would you like to be when you grow up, Ripley?"

"I want to be a dragon."

It was more nonsense, and he didn't appreciate giving career advice to 7-year-olds.

"Why don't you pick something more practical, honey?"

"You mean like a dinosaur? I was thinking about it, but Mrs. Johnson said dinosaurs were extinct."

Dansforth sighed. He hated children.

The True Legend Of Santa Claus

Most people are familiar with the Christmas legend of Santa Claus and his reindeer. But only a few know of an alternative legend, about a time long ago in a place far away. That Santa Claus rode a bright red and green dragon. He flew across the countryside looking for those who displeased him. He would then torch their houses, leaving only the stone chimney still standing.

In order to avoid such a fate, the people would leave out offerings for Santa Claus, hoping their gifts would be enough to direct his attention elsewhere. Thus, the Christmas season was born.

Backfire

Betsy wanted to slay a dragon. All her friends had killed at least one and it was embarrassing to show her face at the academy.

Sadly, Betsy's father had strictly forbidden her from joining any quests. He kept telling her maybe when she's older.

Betsy's brother had resigned himself long ago to never slaying any dragons and he told Betsy she might as well give up too. "Dad's never going to change his mind. He's against all slayings. Mom says that it's because his grandfather was a dragon."

Betsy grew up to hate dragons more than any of her classmates.

While The Dragon Yet Lives

Sir Hadder rested against the boulder. He needed time to catch his breath after hauling his heavy armor and weapons up the mountain. Unfortunately, the racket had warned the dragon of his arrival, and Hadder heard the beast emerging from its cave.

One peek around the corner showed Sir Hadder a field littered with the charred skeletal remains of the many heroes who had preceded him on this quest. No knight could wed the King's daughter while the dragon yet lived.

It made him wonder if marrying the princess was worth it. After all, she was now over 40 years old.

An Undisclosed Location

Deep in the bowels of the Capitol, hidden in a shadowy maze of archives rooms and utility closets, there is a locked door. Most the Senators have never even dreamed of its existence. It is an undisclosed location.

Behind this locked door, a dragon sleeps. She is a decrepit old wyrm, fully withdrawn from the world of humanity. She is the mother of evil. She remembers the dawn of the world the way we remember breakfast.

Every six months, in this room, Dick Cheney comes to die. And every six months, in this room, a new Dick Cheney is born.

St. George

They always want the same story. I've more grandchildren than I can count, so I’ve told it who knows how many times. Spent most my life in married bliss, managing the estate bought with that black wyrm's treasure horde.

It’s been a song worthy life, any way you measure. I met the king. I have more money than I could ever hope to spend. More land than I can travel across in a day. I’ve got four healthy sons with families of their own.

But I can’t help feeling that life has never been that exciting since slaying the dragon.