Fang and Claw: Nocturne Academy, Book 2

by Anderson, Evangeline

  “What I think, Sasha, is that you’d better be careful what you say in the hearing of my husband’s Drake.” Ari’s mother gave her a level stare. “He does not take well to having his L’lorna criticized—nor does my son’s Drake appreciate your unkind words about the female he has chosen.”

  As she spoke, both Ari’s Drake and his Sire’s Drake turned to glare at the angry woman and I noticed definite clouds of smoke drifting from the senior Drake’s nostrils. The green Drake behind Sasha’s chair bared his teeth but edged ever so slightly back when the other two huge beasts leaned towards him. Clearly he wouldn’t be able to fight either one of them alone—let alone both together.

  “I believe you have offered insult, Sasha,” Ari’s mother said grimly. “I think you’d better make an apology to both me and my new daughter.”

  She nodded at me as I sat there, trying to keep my chin high and my shoulders straight. The other woman’s nasty words had hurt me—though not as much as I might have expected. She was angry about her son and now I could tell where Pedro had gotten his nasty attitude from in the first place.

  Sasha Sanchez gave us both angry looks but when Ari’s Drake and his father’s Drake both rumbled growls deep in their throats, the green Drake behind her nudged her chair rather forcefully, pushing her against the table until she exclaimed,

  “All right! All right!” Looking at Ari’s mom she said in the nastiest tone possible, “If I have offended, I ask your pardon.”

  “My pardon is freely given,” Ari’s mother said, a glint in her dark eyes. “But hadn’t you better ask pardon of my son’s L’lorna as well? I believe she is also waiting for an apology.”

  It was on the tip of my tongue to say, “No, no—it’s all right,” just to keep the peace, but I kept my mouth resolutely shut. If Ari and I stayed together and I wound up living in the Sky Lands, I would have to deal with this woman on a daily basis. I couldn’t start out by letting her think I was a pushover.

  So instead of letting her out of the apology she owed me, I did my best to imitate Ari’s mom’s cool, level stare as I looked at her.

  Sasha Sanchez looked like she would rather chew broken glass than apologize to me but her husband’s Drake nudged her again, so forcefully that her chair almost toppled over.

  “All right!” she practically shrieked, reaching back to slap him on his broad green snout. The Drake reared his head back with a snort and shook it vigorously. Apparently she’d slapped a tender part of his nose and it hurt.

  “Sasha? We’re waiting,” Ari’s mother said.

  Sasha Sanchez looked at me in such a way that…well, I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “if looks could kill.” Anyway, she was staring at me like she was hoping to turn me to stone just with a nasty look. When that didn’t work, she finally had to apologize.

  “Have I offered offense,” she ground out through gritted teeth with slitted eyes, “Then I ask pardon.”

  “Freely given,” I said, just as Ari’s mom had.

  “Very good.” Ari’s mom smiled genially at the seething woman. “See? That wasn’t so bad. You must treat your future queen with respect, Sasha. I won’t always be here to hold my son’s Drake back from making you sorry for your quick tongue. Now…” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s have some entertainment—shall we?” And she rang the golden bell again.

  The entire Feasting Hall had been watching the little show-down between Ari’s mom, Sasha Sanchez, and me. Everyone had been completely silent, as though waiting to see how the conflict would play out. But the tinkling tones of the golden bell seemed to break some kind of a trance and everyone looked at Ari’s mom expectantly.

  “Tonight,” she said, raising her voice and speaking clearly again, so all the Drakes and their wives could hear her. “We have one of our most famous bards to sing to us. I have asked that he would sing us the Ballad of how Drakes Merged with Men. I think it will be good to remind ourselves that we all came from the human world in the beginning.”

  She looked pointedly down to the vast open square between the four tables where a minstrel with brightly colored clothes and an instrument that looked a little like a guitar with a round, drum-like back, had suddenly appeared.

  “Ah, Lords and Ladies, Drakes and L’lornas,” he began with a flourish. “How honored I am to be among you tonight! Please be so kind as to grant me your attention as I spin for you the tale of our first beginnings…”

  86

  Kaitlyn

  I sat forward in my chair, eager to hear the bard’s tale. And I couldn’t help thinking how smart Ari’s mom was. She was reminding everyone that all of their ancestors had once been human with not a drop of Drake blood. Also, how had people merged with dragons in the first place? There had to be some kind of magic involved, I thought. I was curious to find out.

  The bard made another sweeping flourish that caused the long sleeves of his colorful robe to billow and then he began strumming his instrument with one hand while tapping its rounded bottom with the other. It was almost like he was playing a guitar and a drum at the same time—the gentle notes he plucked from the strings blended with the soft, rhythmic thumping and created an almost hypnotic melody.

  I waited for him to start singing, but instead the bard began to speak in a kind of chant which somehow went with the music better than if he’d tried to sing.

  “Long, long, long ago,” he began. “In our grandfathers’ grandfathers’ time, we lived in the world of humans. A world without magic—a world without Drakes.”

  All around the room, people shook their heads at this awful thought but no one broke the spell the bard had created. Softly, he continued to chant.

  “Then, one day, a simple farmer of the human land called Espana, found the first rift. And through it he saw a Drake flying—but then, of course, the Drake was just a dragon. For they had not yet merged with men.”

  There were snorts from the assembled Drakes and I saw some puffs of smoke go up.

  “This farmer, he was brave—the courage of a Drake had he,” the bard chanted. “And through the rift he came, to see this new land so wild and free.”

  I wondered privately if I would have had the courage to step through a hole in the fabric of reality to a whole different land—a land where I had seen a huge dragon flying—and wasn’t sure.

  “The man met the dragon,” the bard went on. “And his courage was rewarded. For rather than frying him for supper, the dragon invited him home. But a sad home it was—for the dragon had no mate. He told the man his sorrow—the sorrow of all his kind. For the she-dragons had all died and none could save them.”

  How sad! I couldn’t help thinking. To have half the species die and not be able to stop it! To lose the ones you loved most and not be able to save them.

  “The man felt deeply for his new friend,” the bard went on. “He thought it wrong that a race of such noble creatures should die out and fly the skies no longer. Also, he greatly admired the dragon’s power of flight and the flame of his breath. They spoke long and agreed to meet again.”

  I wondered how that simple farmer from Spain must have felt—going home in a daze after meeting a dragon and spending the day with him. He must have thought that he was going crazy—he must have wanted to bring someone with him to see what he had seen—to be certain he wasn’t losing his mind.

  “When next the farmer came,” the bard continued. “He brought with him his love—a simple peasant girl, true—but she had a heart large in love and the understanding of a queen.”

  I was sure this must be a nod to Ari’s mom’s humble origins. This bard definitely knew which side his bread was buttered on but he was making a good point—you don’t have to be rich or come from a fancy family to be a worthwhile person. I was betting that was something a lot of the noblewomen at the feasting tables had forgotten—if they ever even knew it in the first place.

  “When the lovely peasant girl met the dragon, there was instant love between them,” the bard went on. “
For she seemed to him a treasure greater than any in his hoard. She became the first L’lorna.”

  Hmm—I wonder how her fiancé felt about that? I thought skeptically. Would any guy I knew be fine sharing his girlfriend with a dragon? Honestly, I couldn’t think of one who would—but what did I know? Apparently this farmer had been okay with the strange arrangement or the Drake people wouldn’t be as they were right now.

  Anyway, I could certainly understand the “instant love” part. It had been like that between me and Ari’s Drake when I finally got over my fear and got to know him. Reaching back behind me, I found his soft muzzle and caressed him tenderly. He snorted very gently, his warm breath blowing up the long sleeve of the robe I was wearing, and sent me a feeling of love and protectiveness that filled my heart to overflowing.

  “I love you, too,” I sent back and then the bard was chanting again.

  “At first the farmer worried that the dragon would take his female,” he went on. “But then the dragon proposed a deal. He and the man would merge—two forms sharing one body. In this way, they could both love the same woman—though in different ways, since the female had no dragon of her own to merge with. Together they became the first Drake. The man gained the powers of flight and fire and the race of dragons would not die out and be lost from the Sky Lands forever.”

  There were snorts of approval from all the assembled Drakes and murmurs from the ladies.

  “And so we are Drakes!” the bard declared. “The proud ones who walk on both two legs and four—who take to the air—who breath fire hotter than the sun…” The bard seemed to be winding down his tale for the music was getting softer. “But still we have one sorrow—that no female Drakes exist,” he went on in a mournful tone. “For though we love our L’lornas deeply, none of them have wings of their own—none can change form to fly beside us and feel the wind in their talons or the sun on their scales.”

  I supposed that was kind of hard on the dragon part of the Drakes. The men could kiss and cuddle and…do other things with their shared L’lorna, like every couple in love wanted to do. But the size and shape difference made such physical displays of affection impractical between the dragon and the L’lorna.

  Though I loved Ari’s Drake completely, beside him it was like I was the size of a small kitten compared to a full-grown adult. I could ride in the hollow of his neck but I could never fit my arms around that same neck to give him a really substantial hug. And as for doing…other things, well, we were completely mismatched so none of that would work, even if I was ready for it, which I most definitely was not with either him or Ari.

  I had thought the bard’s tale was done, but it seemed he had one last thing to add to his origin story of the Drake people.

  “And yet some say that one will come,” he continued mysteriously, still strumming and drumming. “A female with the heart of a true Drake—one who can take both human and dragon form. One who will be the mother of a new people. She will bear daughters upon daughters and all of them will be as she is—dual-natured with a Drake inside. And then, how we all shall rejoice for at last—”

  But we didn’t get to hear what would happen “at last” because just at that moment the old Blind Crone came tapping her way into the large square between the four vast tables and pushed him aside, just as though she could see him standing there.

  The bard—who was clearly not expecting any interruptions to his tale—stumbled and stopped his strumming and drumming abruptly. He had an indignant expression on his face and looked like he was about to say something but the old Blind Crone started speaking first, her cracked and broken voice carrying surprisingly well in the stunned silence.

  “She is here! She is here! The one the foretelling speaks of has come among us!” she screeched.

  And pointed directly at me.

  87

  Kaitlyn

  I sat there, stunned, not knowing what to say. Every eye in the Feasting Hall was suddenly fastened on me, which was the last thing I wanted. They were all looking at me like they expected me to turn into a dragon and fly up to the domed glass ceiling at once, which of course, was impossible.

  “My dear—is it true?” the noble woman beside me—who hadn’t previously bothered to say a single word to me the whole meal—asked excitedly.

  “Uh, no!” I shook my head rapidly. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

  But the Blind Crone wasn’t done yet.

  Still pointing directly at me, she began to recite in a strange, hollow voice that boomed and rolled through the Feasting hall:

  “Marked by The Fire

  Claimed by Desire.

  With the heart of a Drake,

  Dragon form she may Take.

  Drake Flame cannot Harm her

  Drake Fire will but warm her.

  She cannot be Burned

  When her Lesson is Learned

  Though she comes from Abroad

  And her visage is Scarred

  If you look you will Find

  She is one of our Kind!”

  At the end of this startling speech, the Blind Crone raised both arms and spoke in the cracked and broken voice which was her usual tone.

  “At last! I have lived so many long and weary years waiting to fulfill the onus placed upon me. But now she has come and my duty is done!”

  Then she fell down and began having some kind of seizure, her head and heels drumming on the polished marble floor. The bard—who was closest to her—threw down his instrument and tried to help her. But almost before he touched her, the old woman went suddenly rigid and still…then collapsed in a heap.

  I watched as he lifted her head and peered into her face, his own features a study in horror and shock.

  “Well?” Ari’s mother demanded as the crowd waited breathlessly. “Speak, bard! What’s wrong with her?”

  The bard looked up, his eyes stricken.

  “Forgive me, my Queen,” he said, his voice breaking. “But…she’s dead.”

  88

  Ari

  In the general confusion that followed, my Drake plucked Kaitlyn neatly from her seat at the table and brought her to the back exit of the Feasting Hall, where there were fewer people. There I changed back to my own form, grabbed a spare robe hanging from one of the many hooks, and led her quickly back to her room.

  Poor Kaitlyn seemed to be in a daze. She followed me without protest as I pulled her down the back hallways of the palace until we reached our destination.

  I got her seated on the round bed, draped in turquoise bedclothes and knelt before her, taking her hands in mine and looking up into her eyes.

  “Kaitlyn,” I said anxiously. “L’lorna, please talk to me! Are you all right?”

  Kaitlyn looked at me with a troubled expression.

  “Why would she say that? I don’t understand,” she asked at last.

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head. “Please believe me—nothing like this has ever happened before.”

  “Well, weird things just seem to happen around me,” she remarked and gave a bitter little laugh. “I mean—losing my family in The Fire, getting turned into a Nocturne, getting adopted by a chimeling…” She nodded at Mr. Seahorse who was sitting on her shoulder chiming anxiously. “But usually they only affect me. Now, though, everyone in your kingdom is caught up in the weirdness.”

  “It’s not weirdness,” I said uneasily. “That was a prophecy, Kaitlyn.” A prophecy which had apparently killed the prophetess who delivered it—though I didn’t say that.

  “A prophecy?” She stared into my eyes directly for the first time. “Ari, it was a lie. A promise I can’t live up to.” Pulling her hands out of mine, she got up from the bed and started pacing back and forth across the elegantly woven carpet in front of the bed.

  “Kaitlyn—” I began but she cut me off.

  “Ari, don’t you realize that everyone who heard her speak is going to expect me to be able to become a dragon—a Drake?” she demanded. “But I’m not a
nd I can’t. I can’t just…just sprout wings and fly!” She gestured at her back distractedly with one hand. “I mean, what are we going to do about this?”

  “Stall,” I said firmly. “We tell the people that your Drake can only come out during the full moon. Or we say that she’s shy and only appears when she’s alone with my Drake.”

  “What?” Kaitlyn rounded on me. “What are you talking about? That’s a lie and you know it.”

  “I know,” I said grimly. “And everything in me revolts against it. But the Blind Crone is believed by everyone—we cannot go against her word without risking the wrath of the people.”

  “So they take everything she says as the gospel truth even if it’s crazy and we just have to go along with it?” She shook her head. “No, Ari—no, I want to go back and tell them the truth right now. They need to know that ‘prophecy’ she just laid down out there was a load of crap!”

  “We can’t do that, Kaitlyn—it would cause a riot,” I explained patiently.

  “But what’s going to happen when they find out it’s not true?” she demanded. “When they’re disappointed because I’m not going to be the mother of a new race of Drakes? What then, Ari?”

  I wasn’t sure, to tell the truth, but I knew I couldn’t publicly go against the word of the Blind Crone. She had a unique status among our people and was both revered and feared for her unfailing accuracy.

  Of all times for her to be wrong, I thought. This has to be the worst!

  But there was nothing we could do about it now but try to dodge the consequences until the whole thing blew over.

  If it ever did.

  “We’ll think of something,” I told Kaitlyn. “And whatever else happens, my Drake and I will keep you safe.”

  I only prayed to the Goddess I could keep my word to her—I would rather die myself than see any harm come to my L’lorna. Within me, my Drake roared agreement.