Heir of Amber and Fire

by Rachanee Lumayno

  “Maybe if you hadn’t purchased so much, you wouldn’t have to carry so much,” Farrah pointed out unsympathetically.

  “All of it is necessary,” Rhyss said. “And as a gentleman, I couldn’t allow you or Allayne to be overloaded as we journey.”

  Farrah snorted. “Just admit you didn’t want anyone else to carry the food.” Her stomach grumbled loudly. “Speaking of food...”

  Beyan glanced up, assessing the position of the sun in the sky. “I think we can stop for a break.”

  We gratefully stopped, unpacking the food Rhyss carried and sharing a quick meal between us. Rhyss, Farrah, and I were glad for the rest, but Beyan seemed agitated and anxious. He bolted his food down and then paced around nervously until Farrah told him, “Go scout ahead, if you’re that skittish.”

  Beyan obliged and was soon out of eyesight, disappearing into a stand of trees.

  “He’s always like this when we get closer to our target,” Farrah explained. “Something to do with his seeker skills.”

  “He once described it like a waterfall, but in reverse,” Rhyss said. “You know how you can hear the water rushing, but faintly, when you’re nearby? And then as you approach it gets louder and louder until you’re at the waterfall itself? Beyan gets that sensation when seeking, but instead of the feeling getting louder, it starts loud, and only goes soft once he’s found the dragon he’s been trying to find.”

  “That doesn’t sound pleasant,” I said.

  “It’s not,” Farrah said. “He used to get terrible headaches because of it when he was younger. Through training and experience he’s learned to dampen the sensation, but once we’re near the dragon’s area, he can’t stop it.”

  “Seeking always sounded like such a glamorous gift, but from the way you describe it, I don’t think I would want that burden,” I said.

  “I agree,” Farrah said. Rhyss just nodded as he polished off the last of his meal.

  Beyan came back, moving quickly but quietly. “Come on, you lot of lazybones! We’re here.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  AFTER QUICKLY CLEANING up the remains of our lunch, we followed an impatient Beyan. The dragon’s cave, it turned out, wasn’t exactly “here” — it was still a good mile or so from where we had taken our rest. Beyan had discovered the cave, but had not seen any sign of Joichan. He had then hurried back to get us.

  As we neared the cave, I wondered what, if anything, was the plan. I hadn’t thought much beyond finding and talking to Joichan. But I couldn’t do that in front of the others, and I somehow doubted my companions would be fine just leaving me alone with an ancient dragon. One that had a fearsome reputation.

  One that Beyan would not leave alive.

  Beyan halted our group, motioning us to silence. In the distance, we could see Joichan’s cave, alongside a steadily flowing river in a clearing surrounded by the trees where we were now hiding. Although Beyan had seen no one when he had scouted earlier, this time there was now a man kneeling by the water. He seemed to be checking some traps in the river. Sunlight glinted off his golden hair.

  Remembering Beyan’s story about the strange man that his father Kye had encountered at the cave, my breath caught. Knowing that the dragon was a shapeshifter, and seeing this man at Joichan’s cave... could I be looking at my father?

  Beyan glared at me, putting a finger to his lips to indicate I needed to be quiet. I nodded, shifting my weight. Dry leaves crunched underfoot as I did so, and the man at the river froze and looked around. Rhyss and Farrah added their glares to Beyan’s. Sheepishly, I shrugged my shoulders at them in silent apology.

  As one, we looked back to the riverbank. The man had disappeared.

  Beyan pursed his lips in frustration. For a while longer, we stayed there motionless, waiting for the man to come back or the dragon to appear. But nothing happened.

  Beyan motioned for us to follow him and moved out of the trees, back toward the direction we had come from originally.

  Once we were out of the trees on the other side, I put a hand on Beyan’s arm, stopping him in place. Even though I was sure we were out of earshot of the mysterious man, I kept my voice low. “I’m sorry, Beyan. I didn’t mean to give us away.”

  “It’s all right,” Beyan said, although we both knew he didn’t mean it. “The dragon wasn’t there anyway. Strange, because I had been so sure.”

  Hoping Beyan wouldn’t come to the eventual correct conclusion about the strange person at the dragon’s cave, I tried to distract him. “Well, you’ve done your job. You brought me to where Joichan lives. I guess... you could all go home now?”

  Beyan, Farrah, and Rhyss all gave me matching incredulous looks. “Are you crazy?” Beyan said. “We couldn’t just leave you here, by yourself. An unarmed girl? We’re not heartless mercenaries.”

  I bristled. “I’m not an ‘unarmed girl,’ as you well know from our bandit visitors the other night. I can defend myself.”

  “Even so,” Beyan argued. “We wouldn’t head back north without you.”

  “Fine, then. Why don’t you go back to Dennan’s inn and wait for me there?”

  “No. The dragon is dangerous. You need us here to help you, just in case.”

  “I don’t think your intention is to help.”

  Beyan, to his credit, didn’t argue with that statement. Instead, he said, “What are your intentions? You never told me that, not when you first asked for my father’s help, and not any time during our travels.”

  “I don’t think that really matters. Do you ask all of your commissions why they’re looking for the dragons they hope to find?”

  “No, but since we came all this way without payment, I think we’re owed at least that.”

  Our argument was cut short by Farrah’s unsteady voice. “Uh... you two...”

  A large shadow briefly blocked the sun overhead. The wind picked up, blowing leaves and dust around us. A heavy thud shook the earth as a magnificent gilded dragon landed just behind us.

  Massive amber eyes regarded us. The dragon’s mouth opened.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  BEYAN, RHYSS, AND FARRAH instinctively ducked to either side, anticipating an oncoming wave of fire. I remained where I stood, frozen in place.

  But instead of incinerating us, the dragon spoke.

  “I understand you’re looking for me.” His thundering, deep voice rumbled through my body.

  “How... how did you know that?” Instinctively, I moved closer to the dragon, mesmerized by his liquid eyes.

  “Allayne.” Beyan’s warning — and his hand on my arm — stopped me.

  “You have a seeker among you,” Joichan said. “And, dragons have excellent hearing.”

  I nodded. I seemed to have trouble forming coherent thoughts. No one else spoke for a few moments. We just stood there, humans and dragon, staring at each other.

  “Well?” Joichan broke the stalemate. “State your business, or be on your way.”

  Without thinking, my hand went to my neck and tugged the necklace out from under my collar. The moonstone gleamed, catching Joichan’s eye. Curiosity aroused, he turned his full attention on me.

  And then reared back, screaming in pain.

  Beyan’s dagger was lodged in Joichan’s side, sticking out under one of his golden scales. Blood dripped from the creature, pooling on the grass underneath him.

  I had been so focused on the dragon that I hadn’t noticed Beyan had moved from my side. While I had unwittingly distracted Joichan, Beyan had taken advantage of the moment to strike.

  Now Beyan had his sword drawn, ready to finish the job.

  “Beyan, no!” I spun, reaching out to grab his sword hilt. Beyan easily avoided my hand, swinging the sword away from me so he wouldn’t accidentally cut me.

  “Allayne, move away.”

  “Beyan, this is insane. You don’t want to do this.” I looked to Rhyss and Farrah for help. They didn’t draw their weapons, but they didn’t try to stop their friend either. I t
urned back to Beyan, trying to appeal to his sense of logic. “This will break your mind. Don’t go down this path.”

  With his free hand, he pointed toward Farrah and Rhyss. “Go join the others.”

  “Beyan! Stop and think for a second. Kye needs you.”

  Beyan paused. For a moment, he looked uncertain, and I hoped I had gotten through to him. Then his face hardened. “Some things are worth the sacrifice.”

  “No. You don’t mean that.” I stayed firmly in place.

  Keeping his eyes on the dragon, Beyan called over his shoulder to his team. “You two, quit standing around and get her out of the way.”

  Reluctantly, Rhyss and Farrah moved toward me. Panicked, I held out my hand at them, blowing them back with the force of my unexpected spell. Stunned, we shared equal looks of horror, but they continued to advance on me. I waved my hand, gluing them to the ground so they couldn’t move.

  Beyan growled and raised his hand — to grab me or attack me, I wasn’t sure. I sidestepped, narrowly missing his swipe. But while I was safe, this meant that I was no longer standing between him and Joichan.

  Beyan raised his sword, ready to thrust it into the dragon’s heart.

  I shouted and pointed.

  The hilt of Beyan’s sword turned a dull red. Cursing, he threw the hot metal down to the ground, shaking his hand. The skin on his right hand was beginning to blister from the slight burn.

  Beyan drew another dagger from his side with his good hand and charged the dragon.

  I yelled again, motioning at Beyan. He blew backwards, forced back by my magical wind spell.

  The natural wind began to swirl as Joichan launched into the air. He hovered over us, then grabbed me in his claws. We began to gain altitude.

  “No!” Beyan threw his dagger skyward, but thankfully, it missed both the dragon and me. As we flew away, Beyan’s screams echoed in my head and burrowed into my heart.

  “I trusted you, Allayne! I trusted you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  WE FLEW HIGHER AND higher, speeding away from my friends. A mountain loomed up ahead, and Joichan made a beeline for what looked to be a gray, unforgiving rock face. He didn’t slow as we approached. I screamed, the wind whipping away the sound. I turned my face away, squeezing my eyes shut as I braced myself for the inevitable hit of flesh against stone....

  And suddenly the air felt much, much cooler than it had moments before. Joichan had come to a complete stop, setting me gently on a hard rock surface. I opened my eyes, scrambling to stand up.

  We were in a cave, dimly lit from the outside of the mountain. Joichan was just in front of me, his wings tucked behind him. His solemnly regarded me with his big golden eyes.

  I whipped around to look behind me. I could see treetops, the bright sun, and the blue sky. Turning back to the dragon, I asked, “Where are we?” I knew we had flown a good distance from my group. And to the best of my knowledge, we were nowhere near his cave by the river.

  “You are in my true home. Come.” Joichan disappeared into the darkness.

  I followed the dragon, hoping I wouldn’t trip or get lost. The walls of the cave seemed to glow, illuminating each step I took farther in. I found the dragon near the back, curled up against a wall, his breathing shallow. The glow from his scales was gone, replaced by a dull tarnish. The knife was still embedded in his skin, and he lay awkwardly, trying to avoid further discomfort.

  “Let me help you,” I said, although I wasn’t entirely sure what I could do.

  “Are you able to heal?”

  “Uh... no.”

  “Then there’s not much you can do.”

  Feeling foolish, I unclasped the moonstone necklace and held it out to the creature. “Would this do anything?”

  He held out a claw. I placed the necklace in it, marveling at how small the piece of jewelry looked against his huge talon.

  “Yes. Yes, it does.” Sounding stronger already, he motioned to the opposite wall. “There’s cloth and some medicinal salve stored in a chest over there. After you get it, we’ll work on removing this dagger.”

  I hurried over to where he had indicated, locating the chest and the items Joichan wanted easily. I dropped my bag next to the chest, where it would be out of the way. When I came back, Joichan had already shifted to a position where I could reach the dagger. Carefully, I dislodged the weapon, wincing when Joichan groaned in pain. As quickly as I could, I smeared some salve on the wound and bound his side, hoping the blood flow would stanch soon.

  My ministrations done, I stepped back. “What now?”

  “Now, I sleep.”

  WHILE JOICHAN SLUMBERED, I attempted to contact Taryn. But even though I sent out a calling spell several times, she did not respond, nor did I feel any bounced back magic. It was like Taryn didn’t even exist. It worried me. However, there wasn’t much I could do, except get back home as quickly as possible to find out what was going on.

  I felt bad poking around a stranger’s home, but Joichan was deep asleep and I was bored. I walked around the cave, noting the human-sized furnishings in one section. Finding some books piled on the floor, I flipped through them, finally deciding on one that looked interesting.

  I was about a third of the way through the book when a deep voice said, “That one was always one of my favorites.”

  I looked up. The dragon still lay in his corner, looking much better. The internal radiance was back, like a small sun lighting up the cave.

  “It’s entertaining so far.” I put the book down, stood up, and walked over to Joichan. “How are you feeling?”

  “See for yourself.”

  Cautiously, I pulled back the bandages. The wound had already closed over. Gaping, I looked at the dragon.

  “Thank you for returning this to me.” He held up the necklace carefully in his claw. “This made my recovery much faster.”

  “How — ?”

  “Do you know how soulstones work?” When I nodded, he continued, “Part of my magic is stored in here, from my link to it and all the times I’ve used it in the past. I tapped into that magic to help me heal.”

  There were so many questions I had, so many things I wanted to say. Of course, my brain stopped on the most inane of these. “I have got to get one of those.”

  He laughed. “You had one of those. You had mine. Most people would never give up such a treasure. Why did you?”

  I took a deep breath, fearful and hopeful all at once. What would he say when I told him?

  “I had to,” I said. “It was yours. And you’re my father.”

  Chapter Thirty

  FOR A VERY LONG MOMENT we just stared at each other. In the depths of his mesmerizing golden eyes, I could see my image, dimly. It felt like not only was he seeing me, but he was seeing in me and through me.

  “How...?” Joichan’s voice trailed off.

  “Queen Melandria of Calia is my mother,” I said.

  “Melandria.” The dragon seemed to grow bigger and brighter. “How I’ve missed her. She’s never far from my thoughts, even after all these years.”

  “Twenty, at least.” I chuckled. The dragon joined in, a snort of smoke curling from his nostrils.

  “Forgive me...”

  “Jennica. My name is Jennica.”

  “Your friend called you by a different name.”

  “Yes. I couldn’t give my companions my real name. It’s not safe for me to use right now.”

  Joichan nodded gravely in understanding. “Forgive me, Jennica. I find this all quite hard to believe.”

  “I know. It was a shock to me too.” Remembering something, I gasped. “Wait. Let me show you something.”

  I hurried to my pack, rummaging around until my hand closed on a packet of paper buried at the bottom. Returning to Joichan, I held out my mother’s letter to him. “Here. My mother — Queen Melandria — wrote this.”

  Joichan gingerly took the papers from my outstretched hand. Belatedly, I thought perhaps maybe I should have waited until
he was back in human form. But no, the dragon before me was avidly reading the pages, holding them with a single delicate claw.

  When he finished, Joichan turned his great amber eyes on me. There was a watery sheen to them, and I realized that the great dragon was about to cry.

  “My daughter,” he breathed. “I am truly sorry. Had I known you existed, I would have returned to Calia a long time ago to find you.”

  “Mother made sure to hide the truth from everyone,” I reassured him. “She was worried what the king — her husband Hendon, not her late father — would do if he found out I wasn’t his child. Although we think he suspects it anyway.”

  Joichan’s countenance darkened at the mention of Hendon. “So, that thief is now the ruler of Calia. And married to Melandria.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry.”

  “I should have gone back, even without my soulstone. Hendon was able to use my magic against me, but I would have figured out something. Or died in the attempt. But it would have been better than leaving Melandria alone with that man.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just kept silent. His anger spent, Joichan fell silent in his own brown study. His tail twitched, keeping time with his thoughts, and kicked up some dust in the cave. I sneezed. Joichan blinked, remembering that I was there with him.

  “No use in regretting the past,” he said. “You’re here now, that’s what matters. Speaking of which...”

  The creature in front of me shimmered, and the air in the cave grew thick and opaque. I looked around blindly, but no amount of blinking or straining would let me see anything.

  When the air cleared, there was a man standing in front of me.

  He was tall, at least a foot taller than me. He looked like fire in human form, from his golden brown skin to his dark honey hair, which changed from light brown to red to gold, depending on how the light from the cave walls caught it. He was dressed in a homespun shirt and trousers, and I idly wondered how he included the clothes in his transformation, since the dragon hadn’t been wearing anything.