Quest for Trust

by Jacey Ward

  She should be worried, he thought. But not for him – for herself.

  “Did you break into the medi-centre last night?” Hunter blurted out, his tone flat.

  “What? No, of course I did not! What are you talking about?” Zahreena asked, visibly paling before him. She grasped the edges of the delicately embroidered sweater she wore, wrapping it around her so tightly, he could see the outline her small shape beneath it.

  “Liar!” he spat, glaring down at her as he held up the three-inch length of embroidery thread. While it didn’t match the colour she currently wore, he had seen any number of these garments on her body, so there was no denying she had been there.

  “Valluna discovered this near the fridge in the clinic, and she sensed you outside of the building before she locked up for the evening.”

  Zahreena was still staring at the string he dangled mere inches from her face. He watched as her brows lowered in a frown, all the while staring at that blasted string.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” he demanded, pulling the luminescent segment away from her and throwing it on the table.

  “The fridge?” Zahreena finally seemed to clue into what he was saying.

  “Yes,” he growled at her. “Where you stole all the stores of dragons blood Valluna had there. Why the hell would you need to steal dragons blood – my blood??” he demanded. “Just what kind of game are you playing here, Zahreena?”

  “No wait. Hunter, please!” she cried out. “I stole no blood, I swear to you! Please just listen to me.”

  “Why?” came his angry retort. “Why should I listen to anything you have to say?”

  “Just, please ... I did go to the clinic last night, okay? Yes, I was there, but I did not go anywhere near a fridge and I most certainly did not steal any blood!” Hunter looked at those glittering eyes, now swimming in unshed tears. More of her damned illusions he wanted no part of.

  “I was trying to learn more about a curse—” she started to explain.

  “Curse?! What do you know of our curse? Is that why you need our blood? That damnable curse isn’t enough for you? Gabe in so much pain, he can hardly stand…me burning up and nearly going out of my mind with excruciating headaches I barely survive every month. Now you need our blood to what? Try to poison us, finally put an end to our race?” he all but roared at her.

  “No!! Never! Hunter please listen to me ... I went to the clinic to try to learn more about this curse. I took no stores of blood. When I went home for the long weekend, I overheard my aunt talking about a strong spell that had been cast long ago. I was only trying to learn more about it. I didn’t even know who it was cast upon, only that it was debilitating. That’s when I realized when I saw your brother, and the pain he’d been in—”

  “My brother?? You didn’t just ‘realize’ his pain! You went rooting through his mind, didn’t you? What happened to your ‘high regard for privacy’? What a bloody crock! It’s as I thought, nothing about you can be trusted.”

  “I was only trying to figure out who the curse affected,” she pleaded desperately. “You would have known right away, so I couldn’t read you!”

  He just scoffed at her, his disbelief apparent.

  “When I started to see who had been latecomers to the school, I realized they were likely shapeshifters—”

  “Not mere shapeshifters, faery! Dragon shapeshifters. Your curse was only directed at dragons, fire breathing dragons!” He gritted out ominously, a billow of dark smoke emerging from his nostrils.

  “I have not been lying to you! I did go to the clinic, but only to try to learn something more. When I got there, everything was locked up tight, so I teleported out, almost right away. I didn’t find anything else out.” He watched her eyes visibly widen at another plume of smoke escaping his nostrils.

  Hunter felt his dragon stirring, wanting to come to the forefront. Part of him was willing to let go but he still held on to some semblance of control. He couldn’t hold him back for much longer.

  Hunter retrieved the fossilized scales he had found at the site from his pocket and thrust them at her.

  “I went back to the site alone” he told her flatly, determined to give her all the information he had gleaned and completely be done with her.

  “I found these at the site of the ruins. They’re dragon scales. As children and young men, we shed them. Our bodies replace them with larger more permanent armour. Along with these, I also realized that only two of the faeries lying dead,” he deliberately blurted that out harshly, “had died from the fire. The third had been nearly sawed in two, by what I suspect were dragon claws.”

  He watched as Zahreena’s hand flew up to her mouth and she stumbled back on a chair. A tiny part of him was tempted to soften the blows, but then he saw her sweater glittering like fireflies in the dark and he went on with his findings, reminded of that damn thread Valluna had found in the clinic.

  “I observed from the sky, that the charred patterns resembled direct blasts of heat, expanding outward in broad circles of smoke and ash. I believe that younger dragons had frequently flown over that forest, just letting loose with fire and whatever else a young dragon’s got. I have no idea why they would have done so, only that the evidence points to that being the most plausible scenario.

  “I have no intention of investigating any further, faery. You now know what I know. Do with it what you will. Put all blame on us, I don’t care! I am done with this game. I am most definitely done with your games and I quite frankly don’t give a damn how this all turns out any longer.”

  “Hunter, please – I’ve discovered some more news, as well. Please come back. It’s about the chancellor!”

  Hunter hardly registered her words as his dragon burst forth – his wings expanded to their fullest span as he took to the sky before he gave in to temptation and went back to listen to more of her pretty lies.

  Chapter 17

  Zahreena clutched the dragon scales, staring at the now empty sky in disbelief.

  The transformation she had just witnessed had been one of the most stunning and beautiful things she had seen in her life. Hunter’s entire back had been covered in the glittering scales, all an exquisite mixture of ambers, golds, chocolate browns and coppers. In mere seconds he had shifted from the handsome man she had come to know to one of the fiercest, yet majestic looking creatures she had the fortune to see.

  She sat for what seemed like hours, trying to piece together the information Hunter had given her about the site. That he had gone back without her did not really surprise her. That he actually shared his belief that dragons had been responsible for the destruction and the murder of one of her ancestors did surprise her.

  Why would he put his own kind in the role of villain? He could have withheld all of that information, he could have lied, as he believed she had done.

  As much as she had been searching for hidden agendas lately, she finally realized something very flawed in her aunt’s comment to her.

  It was true that at times, evil was masked by goodness, but the opposite was also true. Under all of his hatred and mistrust, Hunter was a good person. He knew how to look at both sides of an issue – not many people could actually do that.

  Lilithe’s implication had always been that if things weren’t as they appeared, they must be bad. Hunter was bitterly angry with what he thought she had done and yet he couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. As disillusioned with her as he was, he still believed in finding and sharing the truth, no matter what that might be.

  Zahreena grabbed the thread from where he had thrown it on the table.

  Aunt Lilithe what have you done? This thread is not mine.

  Zahreena completely understood why Hunter had jumped to that conclusion. The evidence against her was definitely damning.

  She needed to resolve the case study first, then she could deal with whatever her aunt and the elders were all about. A visit to professor Kamberlin was in order.

  Zahreena teleported to a
new set of coordinates that professor Kamberlin had given her. She had told the professor what Hunter had revealed to her about the dragons.

  “I don’t believe we have all of the evidence we need to draw conclusions in this case, professor. There are simply too many unanswered questions to hold the dragons solely accountable for what transpired there all those years ago.”

  Zahreena had explained to the professor.

  “What is it you think I can give you, Miss Daely?”

  “You provided Hunter and I with coordinates to go to the scene as it was after the destruction had been done. I am hoping you might provide me with some coordinates prior to the mass destruction. I require more information to be able to develop a fair trial for either side. If I knew the dragons’ motivation for destroying our land or for killing my great, great grandmother, I would be better able to discern where fault lies.”

  At the new coordinates, Zahreena heard voices. She made her way opposite from where she had seen the woodland creatures walking out from the brush, the direction the voice seemed to be coming from.

  “Be free ... fly, my beautiful boy! That’s it – you’re doing fine. Stretch, now, let your wings soar.”

  Zahreena returned to her home hours later. As broken-hearted by what she had seen at the coordinates the professor had given her, she now knew exactly what she had to say for her case. So many wasted years had passed.

  She lay in her bed and wept. She cried for what she had seen, she cried for what might have been with Hunter. He mistrusted her so much now, she had no hope of repairing the damage he believed she had done.

  And she cried for Aunt Lilithe. She could only hope that once this mock trial was complete, she could help her aunt see that the dragons may not deserve their wrath. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late to repair whatever damage her aunt may have inflicted with that dragon blood.

  Zahreena made her way up the steps of the clinic. She knew she was taking a risk coming here again, but she needed to speak with Valluna about that missing blood.

  “Valluna?” Zahreena called out, in the front office. “Are you here?”

  “What do you want this time, Miss Daely?” Valluna was absolutely stunning. Jet black hair and eyes of violet. Her skin was pale, and yet, she looked the picture of health.

  “I merely wish to talk.” She replied.

  “And what might we have to talk about?” Valluna asked her.

  “Dragons blood,” she replied, “and more to the point what qualities it has that might entice someone to steal it.”

  Valluna looked at her, as though trying to figure out if she could be trusted.

  “If you believe Hunter, I can’t be trusted. I have absolutely no proof that I was not the person who stole blood from this clinic, but I was not. I believe I know who did take it. However, before I supply that information, I would like to know more about why anyone might want it or what they might do with it.” Zahreena was as forthcoming as she possibly could be.

  Valluna’s eye colour intensified as she held Zahreena’s gaze. Before long Zahreena began to feel as though she were in a fog, not sure what was happening to her, but aware enough to know it was Valluna who was making her feel like this. After a few moments her mind cleared again and she wondered if she had just imagined that odd sensation.

  “Dragons blood has a great many qualities that make it extremely valuable. Those qualities are particularly beneficial to individuals who have no paranormal blood. Dragon’s blood is magical and increases the connection between the dragon and anyone who may require a transfusion. As an example, should you, as his lover, become ill and receive a transfusion from him, the bond between the two of you would be nearly unbreakable.”

  Zahreena blushed at the example Valluna chose to use.

  “A dragon’s blood, particularly one who is ancient, can repair tissue damage, failing organs, dying cells. While it cannot bring the dead back to the living, it can be a strong enough life-giving force, that it would save someone near death.”

  “Why would anyone need the quantities that were taken? Hunter mentioned you had taken blood from those affected by the curse. No doubt, that added up to a lot of dragon blood, since every dragon in this academy is afflicted, right?” Zahreena asked the medical student.

  “As I said, the blood, when ingested, can produce many paranormal-like qualities. Unfortunately for the user, it also tends to act like most drugs, as the body using it adjusts to it, higher doses are required to maintain the desired qualities. It would stand to reason, if someone were relying on dragon’s blood for any length of time, they would need copious amounts of it, in order to achieve that paranormal ‘fix’, for lack of a better word.”

  “Valluna, I thank you.”

  “Be very careful, my little Tinkerbell,” Valluna warned her. “Whoever has been using this blood will be extremely dangerous and very volatile. There is no telling what they might be capable of.”

  Chapter 18

  A smartly dressed Zahreena stood up from behind the table where she had gathered her closing notes. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid with sparkling embroidery thread woven through the strands. Zahreena proudly stepped out to address the court.

  She had been devastated when Hunter had accused her of stealing the dragon’s blood to try to prolong this horrific curse placed on the dragons. He really didn’t know her at all if he honestly thought she could ever be a part of something that would cause that much pain and suffering to anyone, human or paranormal.

  She’d been terrified that he would bring his accusation to his mother and that she would get expelled from the school immediately – before she even had a chance to make her plea to this court.

  She began to relax after speaking to professor Kamberlin and receiving the coordinates that ultimately helped her to close this case. When no one told her to start packing, she began to hope, and then to write.

  She had known almost from the moment she had found out that it was foolish young dragons who had destroyed her ancestral home, what her stance would be. She stayed the course, watching the entire scene play out.

  Her great, great grandmother had been killed, not by a juvenile, but by an ancient dragon, as she had finished casting the curse that would follow them through eternity. A punishment every dragon would bear for the careless acts of their young.

  That ancient dragon, a mother, who had witnessed her son catapulting from the sky to his death, because a faery had cast a spell that distracted the fledgling from his first flight.

  “I stand before you today, acting neither as defense nor prosecution. The facts as Mr. Kamberlin and myself have discovered through the course of this year, cannot conclusively define who is at fault or who should be punished.”

  She paused, glancing quickly at her aunt in the crowd as she spoke.

  “‘Centuries ago, a foolhardy decision was made to allow children to mindlessly destroy what was believed to be surplus land. Unknown to those who had made that decision, woodland dwellers lived in that very land that was repeatedly fired upon.

  “No one from either side made any attempt to learn or understand the other’s plight. Children had to learn, after all, how to shapeshift and take to the skies and yes, learn to breathe fire. But the faery creatures had to live in that land too.

  “Rather than try to learn to live together, the dragons continued sending their children out for target practice and the faeries, finally, could no longer take the devastation wreaked upon their lands.”

  Zahreena paused again to glance at professor Kamberlin, stoically sitting in the crowd next to Gabe. Sadly, Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

  “In a final act of revenge upon all of those who had hurt them, albeit unknowingly, a wiccan faery cast an eternal spell. That every young dragon who officially made his twenty-first year, be stricken with a debilitating illness, robbing them of their strength, their freedom to soar to the clouds, and more importantly, the ability to protect themselves with fire for a full harvest month.
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  “It is my speculation that this curse was crafted to rob the dragons of all that made them strong and powerful, as their foolish decision had robbed the faeries of all that made them strong.

  “But the curse was cast as an eternal loop, one of the most powerful and unbreakable curses a faery could conjure, one that would never end. And I submit, after years of experiencing this exhaustive curse ravaging their bodies in one devasting way or another, the dragons too, sought to find blame. But not on that one elder faery who had chosen to avenge her people and her land by casting a spell, for she had already been destroyed for her deed.

  “Instead, in an ironic pattern often seen in history, rather than trying to better understand those from the Faery Realm as they tried to rebuild their clan and maybe request that the spell be somehow removed, the shapeshifters perpetuated a hate for the species throughout the paranormal realms.

  And every year that the curse wreaked havoc on them, another generation of shapeshifters were added to those haters until finally, the Faeries were outcasts in all the lands.

  “I do not presume to give the court a history lesson. What I submit is that each side in this case assume blame for a situation that could, and should, have been resolved before it had even started.

  “In conclusion, should it please the court, I submit, as retribution, each side of this case, begin to work together,” Zahreena again glanced at Professor Kamberlin, her nine friends, and the nine academy students poignantly.

  “We must begin to learn what the other has to face in life and we must learn to trust that we are all trying to reach the same goals, regardless of the gifts or curses we face. Why would we ever want to carry on in a war that was never ours to fight?” Zahreena paused for a moment. “Thank you.”

  Zahreena resumed her seat, not daring to look at the reaction on the faces in the courtroom.