Chapter 6: The Stolen Coin

Story-Complimentary Comic [6/12] Written by D.M. Rhodes Artwork by @5enketsu

“It’s gone!”

The roar shook the mountain, reverberating through stone and marrow, followed by the deep rumble of thunder rolling across the peaks. Rain hammered against the obsidian gateway, a torrential downpour that turned the world beyond into a wall of water and grey.

Veliah jolted awake, her heart pounding. She stumbled from her bed and pushed open her door to find chaos in the main chamber.

Barjuchne tore through her hoard with frantic energy, scattering coins and candlesticks, overturning silk and throwing aside Sir Malwas’s scarred armour. Her movements were manic and desperate, her thick tail lashing wildly behind her as she dug through pile after pile. Its wild swings threatened to bring the cave down every time it crashed against a column.

“What’s gone?” Veliah asked, rubbing her tired eyes. Her voice came out hoarse from sleep.

Barjuchne spun toward her, and in three strides the dragon crossed the chamber. Her palm slammed against the wall beside Veliah’s head, and Veliah pressed herself back against the stone in startled surprise, suddenly very awake and very cornered.

“My three hundred fifty-seventh coin!” Barjuchne’s voice was fierce, her pupils contracted to slits. “I counted everything twice! It’s missing!” She leaned closer, her face inches from Veliah’s. “Did you take it?”

“No!” Veliah replied quickly.

Before she could say anything else, Barjuchne pressed her nose into the side of Veliah’s neck, inhaling deeply. Veliah let out a surprised exhalation, her hands coming up instinctively but stopping just short of pushing the dragon girl away.

“W-What are y-?”

Barjuchne pulled back abruptly. No nervous sweat. No elevated heartbeat beyond the normal spike from being startled. She wasn’t lying.

She released Veliah and spun away, clutching her head with both hands, her claws digging into her scalp.

“Somebody stole my coin!” she yelled. “A thief!”

Veliah stepped forward, sighing as she rubbed her tired eyes again. “Why would anyone steal just one coin? That doesn’t make any sense.” The elf gestured to the rest of the treasure scattered across the chamber. “It probably rolled off somewhere. I bet you kicked it while you were asleep. We’ll find it.”

But Barjuchne wasn’t listening. She dropped to all fours and bolted toward the cave entrance, her claws scraping against stone; her breathing was ragged and uneven. The greed in her chest had taken over completely, drowning out every rational thought.

She skidded to a stop at the obsidian gateway, which stood slightly ajar. Rain poured through the gap, creating a small puddle just inside the threshold. She looked outside at the storm, at the forest beyond turned into a blur of grey and green.

Then she looked down toward the glade below the cave’s entrance.

Footprints.

Small ones, pressed into the mud just beyond the gateway, already filling with rainwater. Fresh. Recent. They were leading down the mountainside toward the forest.

A visceral and consuming heat flooded through her body. Someone had been in her cave. Someone had touched her hoard. Someone had stolen from her.

Barjuchne screamed.

The sound tore from her throat and thunder answered from the clouds above, no less quiet than her own desperate roaring.

“Hey. Easy.” Veliah’s voice came from behind her. Veliah approached slowly, one hand extended. “You can’t go out there. The mountain’s dangerous in a storm like th-“

She froze.

Barjuchne’s head turned, and her shining, red eyes locked onto Veliah’s gaze. They were wild. Feral. The shape of the dragon’s pupils was contracted in a tight slit, barely recognising her.

“I’ll kill them,” Barjuchne growled. Each word was sharp and cold. “I’ll eat them alive.” She flexed her claws, and blood-red rage coloured everything. “Stay here. Lock the door. Stay in your room and lock it too.”

“Hey!” Veliah snapped, and there was steel in her voice now. She gathered her courage and stepped closer, meeting those dangerous eyes head-on. “Please don’t go out there. Wait until the storm passes at least.” The elf held out her hand. “Okay? We’ll figure it out.”

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They looked at each other. Rain hammered against the gateway. Thunder rolled overhead.

Slowly, Barjuchne stood upright. Her breathing was still ragged, her body still trembling with barely contained fury, but she reached out and took Veliah’s hand.

For a moment, it seemed like she might listen.

Then her other arm swept around Veliah’s waist, lifting the elf clean up and off the ground.

“Ah!” Veliah shouted in surprise as she was carried back into the cave and deposited unceremoniously onto the treasure hoard, the quilt cushioning her landing.

Barjuchne turned and strode back toward the entrance. “Stay here until I’m back,” she ordered.

“Hey!” Veliah scrambled to her feet, but the obsidian door swung shut before she could reach it. The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed through the chamber, followed by a heavy thud as something locked into place from the outside.