11. The Scales of War

Dem stood with a hand on Egfor’s shoulder while Arrygg gently traced the lines of Egfor’s developing scales. He had noticed them last night; so far, it was not on his face.  She sucked her lower lip into her mouth. It was never good when she did that. He wanted to pace but knew Egfor needed his presence and touch.
Arrygg looked up, “I don’t need to tell you this is not good, but I will be honest, I don’t see how it could happen.”
Egfor whimpered. He did that when the dragon slept, it appeared, and he was himself and not becoming.
“Watch this, Mum.” Dem sand one of the soul songs he knew, putting forth the energy of a soul singer. The lines faded.
Arrygg gasped and then clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up. “That is indeed good news. It means we still have much hope if you can push whatever this is back by soul singing. If only there were more soul singers.” Arrygg grabbed and held Egfor’s hand, joining in with Dem’s bass voice and adding her alto voice. The two mixed and blended in perfect harmony, filling the house. The people in the sick beds below also reacting and finding peace at the moment.
The lines faded to almost nothing, but they could not banish them altogether. Arrygg let go of Egfor’s hand and started pacing. She talked to herself, but she spoke as dwarves tend to do, and that is to say louder than most humans. “We can keep it at bay but can’t push it completely away. Okay, keeping it at bay is better than nothing right now. Even if it is a bit disappointing. What else can we hope for? Simple a way to stop this completely. There has to be a way, but everything points to killing the dragon. That is not going to be easy. Okay, Dem has finished the ballista, and we need to have someone skilled in shooting it. My gut is saying it has to be Egfor that kills the dragon. My brain is saying it may be too late for him to do the job.”
Arrygg came back to the boys. “Do you ever want to push Dem away from you because he is not meant for you?”
Egfor blinked, “I love him. Why would I push him away? I am terrified he will leave me!”
“He won’t leave you. Do not be afraid. I know my boy.” Arrygg looked up at Dem then back to Egfor. “Has he tried to push you away?”
“He told me to Buck-off Mortal. So I told whoever was talking Egfor for mine.” Dem shrugged. I won’t let that dragon have him, Mum.”
“I know you won’t, son. My fear is not in either of your love for each other. My fear is how much control the dragon has and what it knows of what Egfor knows.” Arrygg motioned for Egfor to put his shirt back on and moved to one of her books. “Take him outside and have him practice on the ballista. I need to do some more reading.” She picked up her books and left the tower room with them.
Dem locked the door so no one could enter. He could feel Egfor relax when he checked to make sure the door was locked. Was Egfor losing his trust in Dem? It bothered Dem because he knew it meant the dragon was indeed gaining more control.
They stood at the field where they agreed to practice out of sight of the residents of Millshaw. Dem handed Egfor the bolts, Anndra ran to gather them when Egfor had shot them all. Egfor was indeed learning the siege machine well and quickly. The practice bolts were not what they needed for this mission, but he didn’t know what they needed. He thought they might need a mithril-headed bolt. Next, he should look up the information on how the dragons that were known dead were killed.