Treasures and Ghosts
“So, where’s this dragon?” Livy says, wandering around the seemingly empty dark room. She was smart enough to bring a flashlight, and we all huddle around her as though we’re moths. Though, all we see are graffiti tags and a couple of scattered cans.
The moon looks down at us from the top of the tower as though we’re at the end of a microscope.
“Dragon!” she calls. “Dr., Mr., Mrs., Miss., or Mx. Dragon!”
I want to hush her—it’s my job as older brother after all—but with Xavier and AJ standing by, it’s hard. Anything I say might become a weapon to them.
“Where’s the treasure?” Xavier asks, as though Livy knows the answer.
“Maybe it’s already been cleared out.”
“No, that can’t—”
“Why not? The door was unlocked.”
Sometimes, I wish I was as brave as my sister.
Livy trips over something and my heart stops. Already, I feel trapped in this cage. If anything happened to her, I’m not sure if I would survive.
“Livy?” I ask, trying to make my voice sound like I don’t care as much as I do. Not only do I want Xavier and AJ to not know how much I love her, but I can’t have Livy teasing me about it later.
“I’m fine,” she says. “I think I solved the puzzle.”
While Xavier and AJ look at her confused, she stands on a platform and it sinks to the floor. Torches flare up all around us, and a pile of treasure rises up in the middle of the room.
Xavier, AJ, and I gasp. It isn’t just a few gold items here and there, but a huge pile the height of all three of us stacked on top of each other. Gold-plated cups, belts, helmets, swords, jewelry, and more.
“Woa,” AJ says. He runs to it.
Xavier turns to me. “If it’s still alive, the dragon is here. Signal for us when it’s here, or you’re toast.” He drags his finger across his throat and mouths, “Toast.”
I gulp. He smirks and sprints off to where his friend digs.
“So,” Livy starts. She’s still standing on the trigger that activated the torches and raised the platform, but she grabs old spray cans and rocks as she talks. “What are you gonna tell Mom this time?”
“Nothing.” I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “And you won’t say anything either.”
Livy smacks her lips like she’s considering the offer. “I dunno. I feel like, for me to keep a secret this big, you have to give me something I want.”
“No.” Sometimes I hate my sister.
“No? Guess when we get back, I’ll go wake Mom up and tell her how you endangered not only yourself but also your sweet little sister by going to the dragon’s lair with your ‘friends’.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
We stare at each other for a moment. I debate pushing her, but then remember she’s the only one giving us light and I really don’t like the dark.
After a few seconds though, her face softens.
“You know, Dev, you could have told me about them. I don’t like seeing you hurt.” She nods to Xavier and AJ who are scavenging through the gold like a pair of thieves.
I feel my stomach drop. “It’s not like you could do anything to stop it.”
“Maybe. But sometimes telling someone makes you feel less alone. That, and I’m really good at pranks.”
I try to come up with a retort, but before I do, the pile shakes at the top, pieces rolling down to my feet. Xavier and AJ scream and run back us.
“We should leave,” AJ stammers. “Before, the, uh, before the…”
“No,” Xavier says, clearly regaining confidence. “We can’t. We haven’t found it.”
I feel Livy look at me as though I know what ‘it’ is. She doesn’t realize I’m as clueless as her. Always clueless.
Always clueless and therefore always left behind, left out, left as bait for the dragon.
I know I should run, but somehow my feet stay firmly placed, my eyes on the collection. Gold items fall down the pile like an avalanche. A golden cup hits my toe, then a chained necklace. Before I know it, I have a little wave at my feet.
But I’m staring at the gold helmet floating from the pile.
It keeps going, getting higher and higher until it’s almost a quarter of the way up the tower. Its movements are chaotic, going up and sideways, down a bit, then up again, as though something is trying to shake the helmet off. Finally, the helmet stops, hovering above us on an angle, as though it’s hanging on a wing.
A dragon’s wing.
I can’t truly see the dragon, but it doesn’t take much for my imagination to fill in the shadows. The wing folded right up against the wall; the long, tall neck reaching up the tower; the other wing expanding and contracting in anger. It might be invisible, but it’s there. The helmet proves it.
I back up until I’m right against Livy. She grabs my hand and squeezes it reassuringly.
“If we all back slowly toward the door, it might not notice us,” she whispers to our group.
“Hey, ghost dragon! I got some questions for you!” Xavier screams at the helmet.
We all freeze. Livy clutches my hand. The helmet flies toward us.
I almost feel the hot breath against my face as the helmet gets close. Maybe the helmet isn’t caught on the wing but rather the nose of the dragon.
I swallow. In the moments before I swear we’re all going to be charred to dust, I sidestep in front of Livy to save her the best I can.
“I have questions,” Xavier says. His voice quivers.
The helmet tilts from side to side.
Xavier looks back at AJ, who gives a reassuring nod, even though it’s clear he’s equally afraid. Xavier turns back toward the dragon ghost.
“My dad… he used to hunt dragons when there were more of you…” He throws his hands up in apology when the helmet shakes a little in anger. “Not me! Him.” He looks back at the floor. “He, uh, he died near here. And when we found his body, he no longer had his lucky golden compass.” Xavier kicks some of the treasure at his feet. “I know you collect gold things and I just want to see it one more time. Please.”
The helmet flies straight for us. My sister and I duck. She lets go of my hand. Xavier belly-flops the pile then starts scrambling through the jewels. AJ just stands there, dumbfounded, until the helmet hits him. He crumples to the ground.
I don’t know why the rest of the dragon didn’t trample us, or why it didn’t use fire, but I don’t know ghost rules. I was never the smart one, according to Xavier and AJ.
The ghost dragon, clearly upset now, turns back around and starts flying around the room so chaotically that I have to lie down for safety. The floor is cold and dusty and I know that if I make it out alive, Mom will make some snide comment about how I’d better take good care of my clothes.
I push those thoughts away and crawl to AJ. The helmet whizzes around fast and faster, making the sound that a frisbee might make when it’s tossed at warp speed.
I want to check for a pulse but don’t know how, so I just hold my ear in front of his mouth and listen for his breath. Between the helmet whizzing and Xavier moving the pile around, I can’t hear anything.
We need to get him home. Now.
I’m not religious, but I say a small prayer to whoever is out there. As I finish, the whizzing stops with a loud clank. I look up.
The helmet has hit a wall and fallen to the floor upside down. I hold my breath, unsure how to take this new information, when a small bright light flies out.
A fairy.
I almost laugh. If AJ wasn’t unconscious, I might have. This whole time, we were worried about the ghost dragon and trying to ask it questions, when it was just a fairy stuck in the gold.
The fairy tries to fly up to the hole at the top of the tower, but only makes it about halfway before falling. It must be hurt. It attempts again, and again, and again.
A dark shape flies over the moon.
The pile shifts. Xavier comes out with a chain in his hand, attached to a gold compass.
“Ah! I found it! AJ, I found it!” He shouts and turns to where I kneel, AJ unconscious next to me. “You!” he screams. “You, you killed him!”
He tries to climb out of the pile but it acts like quicksand, making his steps slow and sinking. I grab AJ and start to drag him to the edge of the wall with me, ignoring the part of my brain that wonders if you’re supposed to move someone who is knocked out. He’s heavier than I expected.
“He isn’t—“ I start.
“He’s dead!” Xavier yells louder than me. I cower. I was used to him being rude, to him picking on me, but this anger rattles my whole body and makes me feel weak.
He must understand what happened, he must understand that I didn’t do it, that by picking AJ up, I’m saving him. That they can make fun of me for everything else, but not this. I open my mouth to respond when a huge roar vibrates the tower.
“The dragon,” I whisper. A gust of wind knocks Xavier back into the pile. The torches flicker. The dragon sweeps toward us, dark as midnight itself.
My back aches from hauling AJ’s limp body, but I swear I see AJ’s chest rising and falling. Livy is nowhere to be seen—the platform is replaced with a pile of spray cans and rocks.
I find her by the door, pulling at the handle while the fairy hovers around her.
The dragon breathes fire. I drop AJ and just manage to dive out of the way. Heat fills the room.
We might be able to make it out. If we can get to the woods, the dragon might not be able to see us in the trees, and it might leave us alone.
I look down at AJ, slumped against the wall, tips of his hair singed. Before the dragon can breathe fire again, I pull him out of the way and we make it a few more feet. Almost at the door.
The dragon opens its mouth to attack us again, until there’s the sound of clatter.
Xavier. He’s still trying to get out of the pile of gold, pieces flying everywhere as he scrambles.
I hear the dragon inhale and brace myself for Xavier to be turned to dust.
I could just leave AJ on the floor and run the last couple feet to Livy. I could keep going, I could go to school without any fear. Both my bullies, gone. Never again harassing me.
I could let them be the bait, the sacrifice.
I could become the bully.
The world around me flickers in the torchlight. As Xavier tries to run away, the dragon approaches him like a cat.
The dragon’s foot knocks a golden cup and it circles on its rim over to me. With an almost silent thud, it hits my shoe.
I can’t become my bullies.
“Hey, Dragon!” I shout, my voice less confident than I want it to be. “Hey!” I yell again and it seems more realistic, more powerful than how I feel.
The shadow turns toward me. I grab the cup and hold it up like a trophy.
“I’m stealing this! I’m taking your gold!” I yell, running into the middle of the tower. Livy takes the hint and grabs AJ, pulling him out the door.
I just need to keep distracting the creature until Xavier is out.
I glance over at Xavier, who hasn’t moved an inch. Instead, he’s frantically searching for what I presume is his dad’s compass.
The dragon breathes fire. I dive to the ground, but not before getting some flames on my shirt. Using my stop, drop, and roll, techniques I’m glad I learned every year of school, I’m able to get the flames off, at the expense of my shirt of course.
I don’t think Mom will care about how dirty it is anymore.
“Dev,” Livy whispers. “Come on!” She has the door open and is waiting for me.
“But—” I glance at Xavier, who is still looking.
“He made his choice.”
Xavier finds the compass again and frantically runs through the pile as fast as he can. I glance back at Livy, who is waving at me in desperation.
I can’t just leave him there, but I can’t sacrifice myself instead. So, I go for a happy medium. I throw the cup in my hand at the dragon, hoping to hit it in the head. I miss, but the cup hits the wall and the dragon turns its head in shock.
I slip to the door and watch Xavier. He’s made it out of the pile and is now running around scattered pieces of gold on the floor. I motion for him to fun faster. In the chaos, he accidentally kicks the spray cans. The torches go out, and the platform starts sinking.
I try to see Xavier’s shadow in the darkness, but there’s nothing.
And then, everything lights up with fire. Xavier is closer, running as fast as he can but tripping more and more now that he can’t see.
Livy pulls on my arm, but I can’t leave him here, not like this. I start to walk back in to help him when the dragon breathes fire again. Livy yanks me outside and I let her, but not before leaving my shoe stuck between the door.
We hobble to the edge of the woods, Livy and I each holding part of AJ. As soon as we make it, I hear the door close behind us.
“Run!” Xavier yells and I do as he says.
Livy and I each grab one of AJ’s shoulders and run into the woods. It’s challenging running this way, but somehow, with the dragon in hot pursuit, we find the strength to get far enough into the trees. And maybe it lost us, or maybe it doesn’t want to destroy a forest, but the dragon growls but leaves us alone.
As though the dragon can fit through the trees, Xavier runs ahead, the golden compass around his neck.
But right before he gets out of sight, he hesitates and turns to us. He sighs, and comes back, picking up AJ’s legs. AJ stirs. Xavier keeps going, helping us hold his friend.
“Thanks,” I say.
“Don’t mention it,” Xavier grunts back. “Seriously.” His compass swings back and forth like a medallion as we walk.
After a few minutes of nothing but our footsteps, Xavier drops his friend and turns toward me. “I can take him from here. Let his mom know,” he says.
I try not to catch my breath too much from him having an actual conversation with him.
“Okay,” I say. Livy and I put down AJ, and Xavier picks him up from his shoulder. As he hauls the almost-awake AJ away, he turns back toward me.
“See you Monday, Dev.” He looks at me for a second longer, gripping his necklace and AJ tight. He looks like he wants to say something else, but then closes his mouth, and turns around.
“See you,” I respond. Livy squeezes my hand. Come Monday, they might resume harassing me, but I’m confident I can stand up to it. After all, I escaped a dragon.
Camden Rose is a queer author who loves seeking out magic beneath the everyday world. She can often be found at the ocean's edge taking notes on the local mermaid population. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse, black cat, and collection of books and board games. You can find her online at www.camdenscorner.com.
