Legacy of Dragons- Emergence

by T D Raufson

  “Your assistant checked in this morning to make sure everything was ready. She is waiting for you in the conference room.”

  “Assistant?” he asked.

  “Yes, she’s waiting for you,” the woman answered, a little disturbed by his question.

  Nethliast smiled at her even though he had no assistant and had not sent anyone ahead. His pulse was racing. Who was messing with his plan? Was this Melissa causing problems? He turned away from her and faced Valdiest. He needed to see what was going on and needed the king somewhere else.

  “I’m going straight to the meeting room. I want to make sure everything is set up before everyone arrives. Would you see him to the rooms and help him relax before we get started,” Nethliast said to Gerliast before he took his own bag and turned toward the meeting rooms.

  Valdiest reached out to stop him. “Nethliast, I know you were placating me back there. Think about what I said. Don’t underestimate her and how she can help us... How she can help you.”

  He didn’t need this distraction now while someone was pretending to be his assistant. This meeting was critical, and he had to make sure some human spies were not seeding his destruction. What could Melissa be up to? He had to get the old dragon out of his way so he could focus on the rooms. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure everything will be fine when we get back. If she’s as interested in our welfare as you say, I have nothing to be concerned about, do I? Go with Gerliast. Freshen up in the room and relax a while before the meeting. It was a long flight. Stretch your legs and let me take care of everything down here.”

  He didn’t wait for a response. His agitation was building, and he had to identify this assistant. If Melissa’s father had anything to add, Nethliast had missed it as he walked away.

  Down a hall that indicated it held the meeting rooms he was looking for, he found the double wooden doors with the place card in the slot that indicated there was a meeting of The International Brotherhood of The Dragon. He grinned at the card. Since he had succeeded in quieting the unrest of the partials and getting most of them behind him, the odd news about them had stopped. Humans had an amazing ability to ignore what they didn’t think possible. So long as they believed dragons were mythical, he could act right under their noses. No matter how many centuries passed, they never changed. He grabbed the door handle roughly as he flirted with forgotten memories threatening the headaches he wanted to avoid.

  With more force than he had really intended, the doors slammed open as he charged into the large ballroom. A noise, a gasp perhaps, at the back of the room drew his attention to a small woman in a tailored business suit. She was standing at the single large conference table in the center of the room. Her blonde hair dropped to her shoulder in simple waves. The style was last popular in the 40’s, but it looked quite alluring on her. She looked like she had stepped out of a promotional video for Germany as the delicate but strong beauty for which the country was famous. She held his disapproving stare. He relaxed his face a little when she didn’t react and prepared to address his assistant.

  “Can I help you, Miss?”

  “Probably.” She appraised him quickly with a sweeping glance over his suited body, which made him suddenly feel very exposed and out of control of the conversation. “But, I think it is I who can help you.”

  “I do not recall needing any help.”

  Especially not from a human woman, he thought, but held back.

  “You’re obviously not my assistant, but you announced yourself at the desk as such. You knew I would know, and come to find you. What do you want?”

  “You should watch your emotions. Contempt is not pretty.” She smiled at him and whispered a word as her hands flashed in front of his eyes. “If any of your guests try anything, they’ll know your secrets. Your face shows it clearly. Can you afford that? You need to control this meeting. Emotional outbursts will not help you.”

  She was a witch, and she had spied him out. He backed up a step and braced for her attack.

  “I didn’t come here to hurt you. I came here to help you. If you don’t want my help, I’m sure I can find someone else here who can use my skills or what I have learned about you since last week.” She turned away from him and headed for the maintenance entrance to the room.

  “Wait!” he commanded. He couldn’t let her get away. She could ruin his plans. He hated meddling humans who didn’t know their place. “How long have you had these powers?”

  “All my life,” she answered as she stopped to look back at him.

  Liar! his mind cried and he was sure his face showed it.

  “I’ve been a witch from birth, but most of my more powerful abilities have only emerged in the last few weeks.”

  He smiled. She smiled back at him.

  “You can’t be here.” He shook his head at her and looked at the door. “They’ll not allow a female in the room and certainly not a female human.”

  She whispered another chain of words and vanished before him. An instant later, she was whispering in his ear.

  “So, I won’t be here.”

  “They can still smell you. I can.”

  “Maybe, but isn’t the knowledge worth the chance?” she whispered. “I’ve been here all morning. My fragrance is all over this room, anyway. No one will know I’m here if you can control your emotions.”

  He considered her point and made a decision quickly, but kept it from her. He couldn’t afford a mistake, but she did offer him a spy among them that he lacked. He sat down at the head of the table to wait. Her invisible hand settled on his shoulder, and a smile spread across his face.

  “This will work,” she whispered into his ear.

  “Only if you are quiet and very careful. What’s in this for you?”

  “If I prove myself to you, and you succeed, how can it not be good for me?”

  “How do you know I’ll need you? How do you know I’ll honor this deal?”

  He could sense that she was smiling when she replied, “I expect you’ll find several uses for me.”

  The double doors opened, and Valdiest followed by Gerliast, entered the giant hall. They walked to the table, and Valdiest looked at Nethliast as if he was in his seat. Gerliast looked away as if he was embarrassed by his son’s actions. Nethliast slowly stood up and moved one seat to the right.

  “Here you are. Everything is prepared, my liege.” He motioned to the seat he had vacated. “The others will be arriving soon. We should greet them together.”

  Valdiest nodded and placed his briefcase on the table. He opened it and exposed the ragged edges of an old document laying on top of an ancient map of Swabia. Everyone had a handle. Some Nethliast had to search for, but others carried them around in their briefcases.

  Gerliast bowed to his king and waited for his approval to leave the room. When the king nodded his approval, Nethliast watched as his father followed a protocol that Nethliast had no intention of following. Gerliast gave him a questioning look as he stepped backward out the door. A disapproving stare was the last view Nethliast had before the doors closed between them.

  “It’s good to be here, again, isn’t it my king?” Nethliast asked once they were again alone.

  “What?” Valdiest seemed to come out of some trance, “Yes, it’s a nice conference center. I’ve never been here, though.”

  “No, sire. Here, back in our land. It’s nice to be here again.”

  The older man’s face danced with the truth, but he refused to submit to complacent belief that the fight was over. He had probably stood in the window of his room staring out at the landscape.

  “Yes, I had forgotten how beautiful it was. I remember it differently, but those memories are a mess right now. I can’t trust them.” He winced. “We’re going to get it back,” he said and asked at the same time. Nethliast nodded to reassure him. The years of fighting for a cause settled into the lines of Valdiest’s face and made him look older than he was. He brushed the old folder with his hand and stared down at it.
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  “Our dream is close, sire. If we can force the humans who’ve taken it from us to relinquish it, you will rule here again. I promise that.” The ruling the old country as it had been before was symbolic to Nethliast, but his desire reached far beyond old lines on a musty map. His promise was not a lie, he really did intend to let Valdiest rule his legacy here when it was all over. It would keep the elder king out of his way.

  “One step at a time.” Valdiest smiled even though Nethliast could sense he was repositioning. “We have to be sure what we do is right. We cannot act with our memories of the facts so clouded. As the king of our kind, I can’t act rashly, no matter what my heart says.”

  “Of course, sire,” Nethliast chewed on his tongue, “That’s why we’re here. Don’t fight with your heart. We know enough. We remember what is important. The conclave will act appropriately.”

  “I hope so.”

  They nodded together as the door opened again and a medium height Chinese man in a black silk suit with a yellow tie stepped into the room. He looked around and then stood very still in place. A moment later the door opened again, and a very old Chinese man in a ceremonial blue robe decorated with emperor dragons stepped into the room. He was carrying a small pearlescent orb in his left hand. A matching pair of black suited guards surrounded him, and a fourth closed the doors behind him staring at every corner as if something was going to jump out of the shadows. When the formation reached the vanguard, they all stopped. The older man’s head was all that could be seen over the wall of black suits surrounding him.

  “Wy Li,” Valdiest said with respect and bowed to the formation of men.

  The old man in the center bowed slightly in return before stepping out of the wall of guards. When he broke through the formation, each guard moved with serpentine grace to new positions around the room. One circled his master as if he was wrapping himself around him and then stayed exactly two steps behind Wy Li. The guard seemed to vanish into the shadows cast by the leader. The last Nethliast saw of the shadow guard was his head over Wy Li’s left shoulder.

  Valdiest observed Nethliast as the first greeting of the conclave began, and Nethliast bristled internally at the obvious sign of distrust. There was no reason for him to be concerned; Nethliast was prepared for this event. He waited for the ancient emperor dragon to reach his place before them. Although Lung Wy Li and Valdiest were peers, it was important to maintain the respect each dignitary deserved, and Nethliast would make sure they followed every protocol. Wy Li stopped at the end of the table and placed the small orb into a fold of his robes before he raised both hands together in an overlapping fist at his heart. Valdiest mirrored the honor, and they bowed the formal greeting. Nethliast mirrored his king even though the Asian emperor was ignoring his presence.

  The magic of the Asian dragons was legendary, more so than even human myths could describe. Nethliast hoped to have that power aligned with his cause, but he would be lucky if Lung Wy Li didn’t condemn their plans outright. Wy Li selected a place at the far end of the table nearest the door. Nethliast recognized that action for what it was; he did not plan to be here very long.

  “Emperor Lung, we had hoped you would join us at the head of the table.” Nethliast pointed at a chair beside Valdiest as Wy Li started to take his seat.

  “The head of the table is often debatable, don’t you find?” Wy Li answered, waving his hand over the opposite end. “Only once have I seen a table of true equality used in this form, and I miss the time I spent with that young king.” The ancient Asian dragon grinned at something in his past, but Nethlist could only guess what humored him. He refused to tempt his memory to hurt him. “It is a shame that humans let their desire for control affect even the way they furnish their rooms.” He sat down and looked up at Nethliast.

  Nethliast smiled at him and nodded without really understanding his answer, but the message was clear. Wy Li had drawn a line. As the others arrived, they would know which side of the line they stood on as they picked their seats. Nethliast would have to trust that Valdiest could handle Wy Li and keep this conclave from falling apart.

  Once he was in his place, Wy Li took out the sphere, sat it on the table in front of him and stared into it as if nothing around him was important. Nethliast felt a sudden urge to leap across the table and behead the insolent dragon. The disrespect he was showing the king and the conclave by watching whatever was so important in his scrying orb would have ended his life ages before. Nethliast was so angry that he could feel the non-existent spines on his back standing on end. Valdiest, apparently recognizing his agitation, placed a hand on Nethliast’s arm. When Nethliast looked at him, he shook his head so slightly that even Nethliast wondered if he had actually seen it. Whether he saw the movement or not, the message was clear. There was no reason to react to the blatant insult.

  A few moments later, the others began to arrive as if they had been waiting for the Asian delegation to enter. Nethliast and Valdiest suddenly became very busy greeting each new member. Nethliast continued to measure the arrivals as they took their places around the table.

  Two South American representatives in very colorful robes sat next to Wy Li, making their stance very clear. The North American, a red-skinned man who looked uncomfortable in his ill-fitting basic brown suit, sat across from Nethliast, leaving the seat next to Valdiest open. He was oblivious to the conflict drawn out around the table. Nethliast had no idea how he would side.

  An African in an immaculate white suit arrived and sat on Nethliast’s left. They shared a nod of greeting before he showed his respects to any of the other dignitaries that were already seated. Bida’s skin was nearly as black as his scales in dragon form. Nethliast had found the similarities between their dragon coloring and their opinions interesting when they had first met, but the camaraderie had blossomed into full-blown conspiracy before that meeting had ended. Bida’s presence at the meeting and his position next to him at the table cemented Nethliast’s resolve.

  A rough looking man in a rougher looking brown suit entered the room. His air of relaxed confidence countered the rather stifling formality that filled it. Nethliast recognized the Australian by description even though they had never met. As far as Nethliast knew he could be in Wy Li’s pocket; he was a wild card. When he sat down next to Bida, Nethliast looked over at his compatriot. Bida slanted him a quick, knowing nod and continued his conversation with one of the South American delegates. A short dark skinned man followed the Australian into the room. He looked Inuit and sat between the Asian and Australian. He seemed uncomfortable in the room as if it was a little too warm for him, and he spoke with no one else.

  When all of the seats around the table were filled, Nethliast stood. He chose to make very small movements because of historical conflicts that had existed between some of those at the table. No need to start a fight immediately after everyone arrived. There would be plenty of time for that when the voting started.

  “Greetings, I am Nethliast, Crown Prince of the European Dragons and, on behalf of the European dragon king, Valdiest, I welcome you all here. Thank you for the effort you made to come here. I know, for many of you, it has been a long journey.” Nods from all of the other dragons told him they were at least not going to eat him. “You all know why we asked you here. We are concerned that we have all been badly abused, and I wish to end that abuse. We are suggesting that we all band together like never before in dragon history and exact retribution from the species that has chosen to attack us this way. We have all awakened from a slumber forced upon us. Now that we have emerged, we cannot allow that race to ever get the better of us again.”

  “And which race do you wish to condemn today?”

  Wy Li was looking over his crystal ball. The whiskers of his mustache and beard wiggled about his mouth after he had finished his question. He looked to either side of him. Nethliast knew the old wyrm was weighing the audience. His question would unsettle anyone who was at all concerned with what he was suggesting; Nethliast h
ad to be careful how he answered, but Wy Li did not give him a chance. “And, youngling, how could you possibly know that this is the only time in our long history that we have joined together to face an evil?”

  “I have not come here to condemn any race. I am here for justice for our kind, yes, but that does not require the condemnation of another. Before we can open this conclave to our other brothers and discuss this in an open forum, we, the leaders, need to agree.”

  Nethliast ignored Wy Li’s second question.

  “But you come here with war in your eyes and heart, do you not? You come here with the fire of vengeance about you.”

  “I will admit that I harbor anger at those who enslaved us. But who here doesn’t?”

  “Who here was enslaved? Who here was tricked? And, who here can be sure of anything they represent?” Wy Li paused and looked at the other delegates. “How many of you have mastered your memories? I think, to take any action now, before we know enough, is unwise. Of course, I had an advantage of traveling directly here, so I could take more time to calm my charges and to review what we know, rather than acting on what we feel. I would recommend we all go back to those who look to us and find out what we really know before we venture into a pact and take actions from which we cannot return.”

  Nethliast felt the bile in his throat rise. He wanted to blast the arrogant wyrm out of his seat, but he needed him. He needed him to help sway the others. He looked at the Asian, wondering if there was any way to reach him before he teleported back to China. Just behind the Asian’s head, a yellow tie bobbed, and the suddenly very visible guard’s head followed Nethliast’s movements exactly. Nethliast stood very still and looked around at the delegates, trying to ignore the threatening bodyguard.