Chapter 37 a visit with Nixia

"Salem, why would you want to stop here?" The dragon asked, staring at him as though he had lost his mind.

"Don't you think we should keep going? Don't you remember the voodoo woman told us to stay away from here?" Continued the dragon, wondering why she needed to talk some sense into him.

"Perhaps you are right, let's get a few yards away from the swamp land." He replied, knowing she had been right.

By the time they had gotten no more than three feet from the swamp a huge puff of black and silver smoke appeared in front of them. The three of them stood there imobilized by curiosity and a hint of fear unsure as to what they were about to see. After what seemed like far too long the strange colored smoke cleared, and Nixia was standing before them.

"I think we're in trouble now." Whispered the dragon.

"Pandora, is it really you?" Squealed the voodoo queen of the swamplands, like a teenaged girl.

"It's good to see you too it's been far too long. I didn't know you lived way out here." Pandora responded with delight.

"Wait a minute, so you two know each other?" He asked with confusion."

The two giggled for a long moment before finally giving him a good explanation.

"Nixia here is my cousin." Pandora explained to him.

"You didn't see that coming, did you warlock." The dragon mumbled.

"That is definetly good to hear and a bit of a surprise." Salem replied, not really sure what he should say or how to react to it.

"Why do you think I let you go through the swamp so easily the first time?"

"I thought we had caught you on a good and forgiving day." He replied.

"No I over heard you say a rescue mission and my cousin's name. I wasn't sure if you were refering to my actual cousin or not but I'm glad I didn't bring any harm to you."

"Thank you for your kindness to us." Salem replied.

"You're welcome. Thank you for saving my closest cousin. If you need anything please feel free to ask." The voodoo queen replied.

"Thank you for your generous hospitality." He replied to her.

"You have got a kind heart and a good soul. I'm glad to know my cousin has someone so protective of her."

"My dragon is also very protective of her." He explained.

"Kadrid, dear could you come a little closer?"

The dragon nodded, doing as requested and stepped closer to Nixia.

"Thank you, such a brave creature." The voodoo queen replied. Then wrapped her arms around the dragon giving her a forceful hug.

" For you dragon I bestow my protection over you. Here on my land you shall always have a safe place to rest."

"You are very kind, thank you." Replied the dragon, glad to be welcomed.

"How long do you all plan to rest?" She asked more of an invitation than a question.

"We shouldn't be here too long, we have traveled for weeks now." The warlock admitted to her.

Please sit wherever you wish and stay as long as you like."

The three of them sat down not far from the voodoo queen. They sat together, Nixia enjoyed the company. She liked catching up with her cousin and was mesmerized by the dragon, quite an intresting creature. Nixia had really enjoyed seeing her cousin, it had been years since they had spent so much time together. She also enjoyed visiting with Pandora's friends, they were delightful and entertaining. They talked for hours, talking of life, magic and everything that had gone on in the past month. aiat had been so plesant that Salem hadn't noticed how much time had slipped away from them. Another hour passed before he had noticed. He didn't want to spoil the fun but the journey had been a long one for him as well as his poor dragon and his love, too.

"I hate to say it but I think we had better be going. It was great to visit with you, Nixia. We must do so again very soon." Salem spoke up, not wanting to sound too rude.

Kadrid quickly rose to her feet as well as the sorceress. They had enjoyed their time in the swampland, but knew that the warlock had been right, they had to get moving again.

"Thank you, I had fun and it was nice to catch up." Nixia replied, bidding them a fond farewell. Then within seconds, drifted back into the shadowed mist from where she had appeared to them hours before.

"I wish I knew how to do that little trick." Soke up the dragon.

The three of them hiked on for several hours until they were completley out of the swampland. They hiked another sixty miles until they came across a very small pond.

"I'm so incredibly tired, I can't believe it." Kadrid commented to them.

"Go on and rest, this is a good enough place as any other for us to stay tonight." The warlock told her.

"Thank you so much, wake me if you need anything." She replied to him. She then bowed her head bidding them goodnight before finding a soft patch of grass and curling into a ball. She was snoring within minutes.

Salem walked a few feet away from where the dragon slept and asked Pandora to join him.Pandora nodded and walked with him to go rest near the small pool of water. It gave her a very calming sensation being close to the water and watching the stars above them with her warlock. The two of them layed there together. She felt safe and protected, as if everything was right with her world whenever she was near him. She fell into a deep comfortable sleep as soon as she layed there against him. He watched her sleep. She slept soundly, breathing in a perfect rhythm . He smiled at her, glad he was able to save her before the demon shifter had a chance to do any real harm. He was glad the dragon had been such a big help in this quest. He was happy to have the dragon and the sorceress in his life. The only thing that could have made it any better would be if they were back home in his dungeon tower by the waterfall. This had been his last thought before he too drifted off to sleep.

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