The Crystal Dragon Series Collection

by Katie Cherry

  “That should work,” Chester nods. “Just big enough that we can get away with no one knowing them, but small enough that no one would bother to question it.”

  “Keyon,” I repeat under my breath. This is all going to be a lot to remember. I wish I had my Gifts… at least the Gift of memory, like Ham. Then all these lies wouldn’t be all jumbled in my head with the new information I’m supposed to know by heart so I don’t stand out here- and therefore get killed by their paranoid king.

  “Don’t worry,” Hannah comforts, noticing the look on my face. “We can spend the rest of the day helping you to remember everything. First thing tomorrow, we’ll get the physical changes done with, and you can always come back here and keep practicing until you feel comfortable. Alright? No need to barge out there immediately and hope for the best,” she smiles.

  Smiling back, I nod, feeling a little relieved. “Thanks, Hannah.”

  <<>>

  When Nathan wakes the next morning, the foreign words they had been familiarizing themselves with the day before are still bouncing around in his brain, only loosely attached to the ideas they represented. Keyon, Davenport, senine, amnor, ezrom, seon, limnah, ScubaSpec. King Thayre, Prince Noran, Prince Savitri, the Watchers, ice rain… Nathan groans and rolls over, burying his head in his pillow. There’s just too much! How am I ever supposed to remember all of this? Especially the money system… gosh, that’s going to be hard to make stick in my brain. Sure, I finally got the names down, I think, but which coin is called by what and how much its worth… forget it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to fake it in case I can’t figure it out, he sighs. Maybe it’ll be easier if Crystal and I split the information needed to remember? One of us can figure out the monetary system, and the other… well, everything else? Except for the back stories. That we have to remember independently, of course.

  Finally sitting up, he opens his eyes and looks over at the other bed, where Crystal was just getting up as well, her hair going in crazy directions since she had gone to bed with it wet after her shower. “Morning,” she yawns, absently trying to smooth down the unruly strands.

  Smiling, Nathan repeats the greeting. “How’d you sleep?”

  “Pretty good, actually. I think trying to cram my brain full of all that new info helped to finally shut it down,” she chuckles, reaching into her Bottomless Backpack for her hairbrush.

  “Lucky you,” Nathan replies, running a hand through his own hair to straighten it. “My brain kept it going.”

  “Does that mean you have it all memorized?” she winks as she pulls the brush through her hair.

  “I wish,” he groans. “I think it got even more jumbled than before. Now instead of King Thayre, my brain wants him to be King Amnor,” he chuckles.

  “Yeah… I wouldn’t go around calling him a piece of money,” Crystal teases. Her fingers start to pull her hair back into a braid before she stops. “Oh yeah… we’re changing our hair today.”

  Seeing her reaction to the thought, Nathan moves to sit beside her on the other bed. “Hey. You okay? You don’t really have to do everything they say, you know. We can chance it. We’ll just tell everyone that you just really like your natural hair color. That it already reminds you of the sun on the water or something.”

  She smiles softly at him. “I appreciate that, but it’s safer to change it like she says. Besides, it’s an adventure, right? It’ll grow out and I can cut off the changed hair. My natural hair will always be there.”

  “As long as you’re sure about it,” he says, just before a knock sounds at the door, ringing strangely against the light metal.

  “I hope you’re both ready to go,” Hannah calls. “We need to get out before there are too many people around who will see you before you get your makeovers.”

  “Yeah, we’re getting up,” Nathan calls, grabbing the clothes Chester had given him the day before and heading into the bathroom to change. Crystal changes while he’s gone as well, and when he walks back into the room, he can’t help but smile. “It feels like we’re back in the Games,” he chuckles, fingering the waterproof material on his pants. “These are pretty similar to what we wore then.”

  Crystal nods in response, standing as she finishes slipping on her thin shoes. “I guess we’ll go see what the food is like now, although I doubt it’s anything like Zilferian food.”

  “Maybe it’ll be like what the mermaids gave us to eat?” Nathan suggests.

  As they join their two helpers in the kitchen of their modest home, they find a strange assortment of food. “We tried to make it as close to what you’re used to as we could,” Chester says as he sets a plate of food before each of them. “We fried some seaweed and seasoned it to be similar to bacon… the rest is a fast-growing grain similar to… well, have you ever had grits? It’s like that… or oatmeal, I suppose. You can add whatever you want to it to make it less bland. That’s the main thing that’s grown for food since it’s filling, easy to grow, and doesn’t take up much land.”

  “Thanks,” Crystal says, hesitantly taking a bite of the seaweed. She winces initially, then turns to Nathan while Hannah and Chester are busy finishing their own breakfasts. “It’s actually better if you don’t think of it like bacon,” she whispers.

  “Thanks for the advice,” he murmurs back, reaching for the spoon in his bowl of brown mush. Dumping in sugar, he takes a bite. Leaning back to Crystal, he advises in a hushed voice, “I would add the brown sugar for this.”

  “Thanks,” she winks. Finishing their food, they find that they’re surprisingly full, and it wasn’t as bad as it had seemed initially. “I can get used to this,” Crystal decides with a smile.

  “I’m glad,” Hannah smiles. “Now, grab your money. Crystal, you’re with me, Nathan, you’ll go with Chester. Alright?” Glancing nervously at each other, they both eventually nod. “Wonderful. Crystal, honey, let’s go start with your hair.”

  <<>>

  Alyssa scratches at her leg absentmindedly. Glancing down, she notices she had carved tracks in the dirt coating her skin. Shuddering, she begins scraping it out from beneath her fingernails. This place is filthy. I should have known the dragons wouldn’t let me out to bathe. Honestly, I’m a little surprised I’m even still alive, she sighs, settling back against the rough cave wall. The red dragon by the entrance lifts its head and stares at her. After a few seconds of her staring back, it lays back down, comforted that she wasn’t going anywhere. Of course I’m not. I’m honestly not even sure where I am, but I do know it’s deep in dragon territory. There’s no way I’d be able to make it out of here alive. She wouldn’t even have a chance to try and brainwash one of the dragons. They had been keeping their minds connected and told her they would sense her reaching out and wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. Not that she was as good at it as Hunter was, but she had been trying and could control some things.

  But the dragons would kill her if she tried.

  Of course, that might be preferable to rotting in my own filth, she sighs, wiping at her face. It was unbearably hot in this cave, stuck with three dragon guards. “Hey,” she calls to the nearest dragon. It’s a small purple one, but still much larger than she. “I need to pee.”

  Rolling its eyes, the dragon heaves itself to its feet and ambles toward her. Alyssa forces herself to hold still as it does so. This was another system the dragons had worked out. She was only allowed to leave the cave if she remained in contact with one of them the entire time. Reaching out a trembling hand, she touches the scales of the beast’s hind leg. Warmth radiates from them, only making her sweat worse. They walk together to the entrance of the cave, the red one shifting to make room. Still, Alyssa is forced to walk right by him; her leg mere inches from teeth sharp and strong enough to cleave her in half with only a lazy movement from the dragon.

  The instant they pass him, the air drops in temperature. Panting from the need to breathe it in, she runs her hand along the purple scales as she walks faster. The dragon snorts at her and she
immediately stops. The muscles beneath her hand roll and Alyssa flinches, terrified. But the dragon just snorts again, shaking its head. Was that… did I just accidentally tickle a dragon? If the situation weren’t so terrifying, she might have laughed at the thought.

  After she relieved herself, the dragon begins to lead the way back into the cave. “Wait,” Alyssa pleads. “Can I just… stay out here a little longer? It feels so nice,” she hesitantly explains. The dragon doesn’t respond- they were all terrified to talk with humans with their minds since discovering Hunter’s powers- but she huffs and lays down in the thin layer of snow, instantly causing it to start melting. “Thank you,” she murmurs, carefully making her way down the dragon’s body to her tail so she can be away from the sulfur-smelling heat and enjoy the fresh, crisp air.

  Lifting her head, she watches as snow begins to fall from the clouds once more. Breathing in deep, she revels in the cold sting of her lungs and holds it until the air inside her warms. Blowing it out, she watches the white mist float back toward the clouds before disappearing, taken in by the frigid mountain air. Reaching out with her free hand, she scoops up some soft, clean snow. A few crumbles escape as she lifts it to her face. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, she begins to rub it in. The dirt comes up, but it takes another couple of handfuls for her to feel clean again. Repeating this with her arms and legs, she sighs with relief. It wasn’t a proper bath, but it felt so good to at least improve a little.

  Now shivering from the intense mountain cold, she stands and makes her way back up to the dragon’s leg. “Thank you,” she says. The dragon stares at her for a moment before bowing her head a little in response. As Alyssa follows her back into the mountain, she thinks about Hunter once more. I hope he doesn’t come for me. He needs to stay safe, to lead the Dragon Hunters to glory.

  I mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

  <<>>

  Dexter sighs impatiently as he waits for his partner for the day to join him at the border. Waiting with the Dragon Hunters has to be the worst assignment I’ve received for years, he sighs, his fingers tapping out a rhythm against the rock he reclines against. Honestly. Bryce can report to me on Hunter’s choices and progress just fine without all this. And now, putting me to work patrolling the border! I know the boy gets anxious with me around constantly, and it gives me an excuse to get out and stretch my legs, but Hunter insists I have a partner. To make sure nothing happens to me, like happened to his girl. While that’s touchingly considerate of him, it’s mostly just a nuisance. Especially since it’s just some random soldier. What is some guy with one Gift, if I’m lucky, going to do if a dragon did happen to attack us? I mean, I guess he could be a sacrifice.

  Finally, he senses the appointed man approaching, panting from running. “Sorry, sir,” he gasps as he rounds the corner. His hair was unruly and looked like he had just rolled out of bed. “I… um…”

  “You are Scourge, I presume?” Dexter sighs, standing. “Pull yourself together, boy, and follow me. I don’t have all morning to wait around for some kid, okay?”

  Scourge’s face drops. “Sorry, sir,” he mutters, trudging along behind Dexter as he strides forward. Ignoring the boy, he turns his attention to the area around him, heightening his senses with his magic. Unfortunately, his focus is continually drawn back to the boy behind him, whose breathing seemed to be unnaturally loud and obnoxious.

  “Scourge!” he finally shouts, spinning on his heel. The surprised boy falls back a few steps from the sudden change. “Please. Be a good boy and don’t follow me so closely.” Not waiting for a reply, he stomps away. Satisfied as the boy falls behind, he takes a deep breath, letting his senses extend once more. Walking with his eyes closed, he can feel the trees around him, so proceeds without stumbling. The few birds that still remain in this area of the forest chirp and dance among the trees, unaware of their presence. Which is how he knows something is coming as collectively, they grow silent and still.

  Turning back to face the boy, he finds him very far behind. Groaning, he quickly retraces his steps. Just as he’s about to shout at him that something was coming, he notices his eyes dart to Dexter’s left, across the border. Spinning quickly, he pulls out his sword, nicking the pouncing werewolf. Whimpering, it scrambles away. Dexter is about to pursue it when he hears a scream. His head snaps toward the sound. Finding a werewolf with its jaws clamped onto one of Scourge’s hands, Dexter advances, sword in hand. Swinging down toward the snout, he hits it, but not with enough force to cut through it. Snarling, the beast continues to tug at the boy as its pack circles around them. I don’t have time to play games with this creature.

  Swinging his sword with finality, once, then twice in quick succession, the boy screams, louder than before, and the werewolf whimpers one last time before crumpling to the ground, bleeding from its head. Grabbing the boy’s uninjured arm, Dexter pulls him into his chest before narrowing his eyes at the beasts before them. Putting his arms down by his sides, he closes his eyes. “Erif!” He barks, lifting his arms and sending a huge wave of fire pouring around them in all directions. As the wolves’ fur begins to catch, they race back the way they came, whimpering, growling, and snapping at Dexter as they run. He doesn’t move until they’ve all vanished. Finally turning back to the injured boy in his arms, Dexter sighs. “Come on. Let’s go get that hand looked at.”

  Looking down at the blood gushing from the wound, the tear-drenched face looks back up at him and nods.

  <<>>

  I can’t help but feel nervous as I follow Hannah down the narrow streets. I’m about to become a whole new person. Honestly, Nathan may not even recognize me at first… Clasping my hands together, I try to draw my thoughts away from such silly fears. It’s fine. It’s just a new hairdo, a temporary tattoo, and an upgrade to the device I already have that just makes life easier under the water. Nothing to worry about. …Really the only thing I should be worried about is how I’m going to manage to pay for it all with my limited amount of money that I don’t even really understand yet. Beryl seemed to think it was a lot, though, so hopefully it’ll be enough to support Nathan and me through our venture here. I guess it’s a good thing we’re only looking in Davenport, so we don’t have to factor in everything in the other cities.

  Hannah glances back at me as she slows, a brightly colored building before us. “Ready?” she asks.

  Taking a deep breath, I nod, telling myself that I am. Nodding back, she leads me into the building. Trying to not look too curious as I look around, I take in the scene and instantly relax. It looks like a normal hair parlor kind of place, but with tattooing as well, judging by the person in the chair in the back corner with a needle to their arm.

  “Hannah! What a pleasure to see you,” a woman greets, walking up to us. I try not to stare. She looks like a pink… serpent lady. Her hair, her skin, everything was dyed pink. Her hair was up and stuck together to look like a dorsal fin as it cascades down her back as well. Her skin had the same kind of scales etched into it as Hannah had, but much less subtle. Even her eyes were off-putting, although I’m not quite sure why. Her fingers are webbed as well, I notice as she reaches out a hand to me. I hesitantly accept the handshake, relieved to find that her hand felt normal rather than slimy or scaly. She turns back to Hannah and puts her hands on her hips with a smile. “I hope you’re here to take me up on finally doing something with that plain hair of yours.”

  “Not today, Ariah,” Hannah says, returning the smile. “But I do have someone else who needs an upgrade to their hair,” she adds, gesturing to me.

  “Wonderful!” Ariah exclaims, turning back to me with a more intense stare. “Beautiful,” she murmurs, letting the strands of my hair run through her fingers. “I’m pleased to have this opportunity! No one’s ever touched your hair before, have they?” she asks me, fingering my hair still.

  “No,” I murmur. “I liked to just leave it natural.”

  “But you’re ready for a fresh change!
I love it! I’ll do it myself,” she announces, turning back to Hannah. “It is rare for me to find hair in such good shape as this, and I would be thrilled to be the first to upgrade it.” Turning back to me again, she beams, her teeth showing. I try not to shudder as I notice they’re pointed like a mermaid’s. “Do not worry, my friend. I am the finest hairdresser in all of Quagon! You will love your hair by the time I’m done with it!”

  *****

  Well, it’ll take some getting used to, I muse, staring at myself in the mirror as she finishes drying my hair. But I guess I don’t hate it. Objectively, it’s beautiful. It’s just… not really me.

  “What do you think?” Ariah squeals, clapping her hands together in excitement behind me. “I have to say, it’s one of my best for sure.”

  “It’s stunning,” I honestly reply, tilting my head to watch the colored bits catch the light. It was a gorgeous blue that shimmered in the light, similar to the River Bird feather I had discovered back in the Games. The green that glittered from the blue was a rich, clear color, and it made the entire thing feel much brighter and happier. I’m happy that she kept much of my hair the same blonde color, opting to balayage the blue onto it rather than doing the whole thing. She also cut off a good foot of hair, so now rather than it falling to my hips, it goes almost midway down my back. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it that length, but it feels nice. I especially love the sheen that she was able to add to the whole thing, making it shine like in hair commercials back on Second Earth and feel unbelievably silky. “Honestly, it’ll take some getting used to it being… mine, but it’s really beautiful work.”

  Ariah beams at my praise. “I’m so glad you like it! Don’t worry, soon enough you’ll be itching to get it done even more,” she winks. “You’ll get used to it in no time.”

  “You’ve surpassed my expectations,” Hannah says, standing from the seat beside me. “Now, what do you have for temporary tattoos?”

  “Ooh! I love it! I’m so excited you’re thinking about tattoos as well!”