Snowden the White Dragon

by Raymond L. Weil

  Ashley looked at Todd thoughtfully. “Does your mother know you’re here?”

  “Yes; she’s the one who suggested I come.”

  “Todd says we have trouble coming!” Stephen broke in excitedly. “He came to warn us.”

  “Trouble,” repeated Katrina, motioning for Todd to sit down at the kitchen table. “What kind of trouble?”

  Todd sat down and then patiently explained to the three of them what was going on in Plainview. He knew the demands his father and uncle were going to make.

  “Ten percent of everything,” said Katrina, closing her eyes and frowning. “That won’t go over very well.”

  “But Dad may agree to it to buy more time,” responded Ashley, thinking about what her father might do. “It will allow Mason and Justin to develop their powers more.”

  “Don’t forget about me,” Stephen said pointedly, striding up to the table. “I’m a sorcerer too!”

  “Yes, Stephen,” Ashley replied, her eyes focused on Todd. “What else is there?”

  “Your father and uncles need to understand something very important,” spoke Todd, looking down at the table. He knew they wouldn’t like what he was going to say next. “My father and uncle will return next spring and then they will want at least twenty percent of everything.”

  “Twenty percent!” gasped Katrina, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. “Harmon and his brothers will never agree to that.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Todd replied with a distressed look upon his face. “They will bring Edward with them in the spring. If there’s trouble, they will turn Edward loose on the village.”

  Katrina, Ashley, and Stephen stared in shock at Todd. They couldn’t believe what they had just heard. Was there no way the two families could avoid a fight?

  “What exactly does your father and uncle want?” Ashley asked, even though she already knew the answer.

  “They want control of the entire valley,” Todd said, despairingly. “I believe they will do anything to get it, including using their sorcery powers to enforce their demands.”

  Katrina nodded her head in understanding. “Can you stay and talk to Harmon when he returns? I would like for him to hear this.”

  “Sure,” Todd replied with a nod. “I need to be gone by morning so I won’t be missed. Mom will cover for me, but I don’t want my father to get suspicious.”

  “Ashley, why don’t you and Todd go down to the barn and get his horse taken care of? I can finish getting supper started.” Katrina thought it would do the two of them some good to have a few minutes alone together, especially after the way her daughter had thrown herself at Todd when he first walked in. She smiled inwardly to herself. Young love was so wonderful.

  -

  Ashley and Todd walked slowly down to the barn with Todd leading his horse. Ashley knew her father should be back any time, and she hoped it was soon. After what Todd had revealed, it made her realize just how dangerous the situation was. She needed to have another long talk with Snowden.

  “I’ve missed you,” began Todd, reaching out and taking Ashley’s hand.

  “I’ve missed you too,” Ashley replied with a gentle smile. “It was a long winter, and spring wasn’t much better. Sometimes I wish we hadn’t been born into sorcery families.”

  Todd looked at Ashley in surprise. “At least you don’t have to worry about sorcery. Sometimes I think you’re lucky not to have any sorcery abilities.”

  Ashley was silent for a moment. “Would it make any difference if I did?”

  “Women don’t have sorcery powers,” replied Todd, giving Ashley’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Take my word for it, it’s better that you don’t.”

  -

  An hour later, Ashley’s father returned home. He was stunned to find Todd waiting in the house for him. But once he and Todd went to his study to talk, Harmon was very glad that Todd had showed up.

  “So this is all a ruse to take over our section of the valley?” Harmon commented, after listening to Todd and asking a few pointed questions.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Todd, shifting uneasily in his chair. “They will keep raising their demands until you agree to give them control of your section of the valley.”

  Todd was sitting in front of a large wood desk covered with books with Harmon on the other side, gazing at him. The desk and books looked to be extremely old, and many of the books were withered with age. Looking around the room, Todd didn’t know if he had ever seen so many books in one place. The last time he had been here, he had been invited into the study to talk, but Todd didn’t remember all the books.

  “I guess that shouldn’t surprise me,” Harmon responded with a sigh. “I expected as much after listening to your father today.”

  “My father and uncle wouldn’t be doing this if not for Edward,” Todd added. “They think Edward gives them the edge they need to force you to give in to their demands.”

  “I’m pretty familiar with your father and uncle’s sorcery abilities, but what about Edward? Just how powerful has he become?”

  Todd looked down at the dark wood floor before replying. “He practices all the time. I’ve seen him knock large trees completely out of the ground. He can control the weather and almost everything else you can imagine.” Todd raised his eyes until they looked directly at Harmon. “If Edward uses his sorcery against you there will be nothing you can do to defend yourself. I should know; I’ve been on the receiving end often enough.”

  Harmon was silent for a long moment as he gazed at Todd. He could well imagine how Todd must feel having a brother like Edward. Harmon had been lucky; he had always gotten along well with his brothers. What Todd had told him was bad enough. He didn’t know what else to do other than to go and talk to Snowden. He wasn’t sure if he could make the dragon understand well enough what was going on. It might be very difficult to get the dragon to help. Harmon also knew that if his brothers and he faced Edward someone would probably get seriously hurt, and it didn’t sound like it would be Edward.

  -

  Ashley had gone to her room to turn in. Stephen and Todd were going to sleep down in the barn. Todd had promised Stephen they could work on some sorcery spells together. This had really excited Stephen and it had been difficult to pry him away from Todd the rest of the evening. Ashley was just glad they had spent a few minutes together down in the barn earlier.

  Undressing, she stood in front of her mirror and gazed at her figure. She had filled out a little bit more over the winter and spring. She had a good tan and her stomach was nice and flat. Everything else was exactly as it should be. She hoped that Todd found her attractive. That thought made her feel a little giddy inside. She had noticed him staring at her several times and not always at her face. This brought an embarrassed smile to her lips. She was beginning to understand why her girlfriends in the village were so infatuated with boys.

  Reaching to the top of her dresser, she pulled down the long, comfortable nightshirt she slept in. Turning down her bed, she climbed in and lay down. As she fell asleep, she fully expected to dream about Todd. Instead, her dreams turned toward a dragon. She dreamed of Snowden and Firestorm Mountain. In her dreams, Snowden was fighting Gilmreth. She was on the ground with two other sorceresses, watching the battle. They were using their sorcery to try to stop Gilmreth and help Snowden. In her dream, Ashley turned to look at the other sorceresses. One of them was Cathy Matheson!

  Chapter Twelve

  Ashley was in Snowden’s lair, lying comfortably on the floor. She gazed at the rocky ceiling above her, mentally preparing herself. Over the last several months, she had brought a number of thick blankets from home. She hoped her mother wouldn’t miss them. Ashley just needed to make sure she had them back before it turned cold. Once a week, she had been coming to visit the dragon. Each time, he would give her more of Cathy Matheson’s memories of the training the ancient sorceress had received beneath Firestorm Mountain.

  “This will be the last,” Snowden s
poke into her mind with a trace of sadness. “It is from the final time that Cathy came to visit me. Very soon after this, insanity struck all the dragons. My memories from that time are very confused.”

  Ashley nodded her head in understanding. Several glow bulbs lit up Snowden’s lair, and a small fire was burning to give some added warmth. It was starting to turn cooler up on the mountain. There had been several dead trees on the nearer slope to the cave, and Ashley had broken off numerous dry limbs and carried them into Snowden’s lair. If she was going to be inside for any measurable length of time, she wanted a small fire to keep her warm.

  These memory sessions with Snowden varied widely in length. Sometimes she would be unconscious for only a few minutes, other times it would be for hours. She felt the dragon’s mind enter hers, and then she was in another time and place.

  -

  “Cathy, this problem with Adam is getting extremely serious,” an older man with dark hair was saying. The man was very handsome and had beautiful and alluring deep blue eyes. A softly glowing blue amulet hung from his neck.

  “I know, Jason,” Ashley heard Cathy reply with worry in her voice. “I have tried talking to him, but he won’t listen. Many of the students from his age level are taking his side. There are others that are slightly older and younger doing the same. His group is growing larger each day.”

  “They’re afraid our government is going to shut us down,” Jason responded in understanding. Jason’s eyes took on a worried look. “Adam has told me several times recently that he is afraid the government is going to quarantine everyone involved with the project.”

  “It was the psionic suppressors that set him off,” Cathy replied. “He feels those devices are a direct threat.”

  “They inhibit our abilities,” sighed Jason, shaking his head in frustration. “I tried to stop them from being installed but was overruled by the civilian authorities.”

  “I’m afraid Adam is going to try something drastic very soon,” continued Cathy, sounding concerned. “I’ve seen him and several of his closest friends talking to a number of the others. When I walk by, they become silent and wait until I am out of hearing distance before they resume talking. They’re trying to turn as many to their side as they can.”

  “If this rebellion with Adam continues to grow, it could turn into an open conflict,” Jason replied with unease showing on his face. “I never intended for our powers to be used against one another.”

  “If the government hadn’t threatened to close us down and installed the suppressors, I don’t think this would have happened. Adam is just extremely frightened by all of this. He’s letting his fear of the government overrule his common sense.”

  “Sometimes I wonder if that boy has any common sense,” replied Jason, exasperated. “Since he found out how powerful his abilities are, he has been using them to coerce others into doing his bidding.”

  “What are we going to do, Jason?” Cathy asked in a troubled voice. “We can’t let this continue.”

  Jason was quiet as he gazed speculatively at Cathy. “You’re the next most powerful after Adam. In another year or two, I believe you may be even more powerful. The scientists who have studied your abilities are astounded at the potential magnitude of what you may someday be able to do.”

  “I don’t feel that powerful,” Cathy replied in a soft voice. “Sometimes my abilities frighten even me.”

  “That’s what makes you so special,” Jason responded with a caring smile. “You don’t use your powers for anything but to help others, which is very admirable. Even the young ones look to you for guidance and protection from Adam and his group.”

  Cathy was silent as she gazed at Jason. Ashley knew this was extremely important. This conversation gave a good clue as to what had transpired beneath Firestorm Mountain and the reasons why Adam and Jason came into open conflict.

  “I am going to meet with Adam and a few of his closest supporters tomorrow,” Jason spoke in a tired, almost desperate voice. “I will try one more time to make them listen.”

  “What if they won’t?” Cathy asked in an uncertain voice. “What will you do then?”

  “Then the government might step in,” Jason replied with worry in his eyes. “If that happens, the entire situation could explode. Adam’s group has to be controlled, even if it takes force. The civilian authorities have made that extremely clear.”

  “We could end up fighting each other,” Cathy said apprehensively. “People could get hurt.”

  “At the very least,” responded Jason, taking a deep breath. “Cathy, there will be no training classes tomorrow. I want you and the others to stay in the commons while I speak to Adam. I am depending on you to watch over the younger ones in case something goes wrong. You must keep them safe!”

  -

  Ashley woke up with a start. Her right hand went to her forehead, and she gently massaged it. As usual, she had awoken with a splitting headache. She slowly sat up and reached for her canteen. After taking a few refreshing sips of water, she reached into her backpack and took out a bag of dried apple slices. She quickly ate several of the slices and felt her headache begin to fade. She had made it a habit to bring some dried fruit with her whenever she visited Snowden. She also carried an extra canteen of fresh water.

  “Are you okay?” Snowden asked in Ashley’s mind.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” replied Ashley, thinking about what she had just experienced. This conflict with Adam came up in every session; in each one, it had steadily gotten worse.

  There was no doubt that the meeting with Adam must have gone horribly wrong. There had to have been conflict between the sorcerers shortly afterward beneath Firestorm Mountain. It must have been so bad that it spilled out into the neighboring countryside, igniting the Worldfire. Sometime during the conflict, something had happened to drive the dragons insane. Later the dragons had escaped from the mountain and began preying on what was left of humankind. She wondered if Snowden, in those days of insanity, had fed on humans. She hoped not.

  “I did not,” responded Snowden, sensing Ashley’s thought. “It was wrong, and I only fed on animals. Even during those days of insanity I never completely forgot Cathy.”

  Ashley was silent for a long moment. “Thank you, Snowden. You have taught me a lot,” she said finally.

  “Would you like to fly with me today?” Snowden asked.

  Ashley smiled. “Yes; that would be fun.” She knew the dragon liked her to fly with him.

  Over the summer, Snowden had allowed Ashley to go flying with him numerous times, as he flew low over the mountains and the surrounding countryside outside the valley. They had been very careful to make sure no one saw them.

  The two made their way outside, and Ashley put a special harness she had made around the dragon’s neck. It gave her something sturdier to hold on to. The feeling of flying with Snowden was exhilarating, and Ashley loved it. It made her understand why the ancient sorcerers had created the dragons.

  Snowden lowered his neck and Ashley climbed on. Grasping the harness for support, she told Snowden she was ready. With a powerful beat of his wings, the white dragon took to the air.

  What Ashley didn’t know was that someone else was watching them from the safety of the trees where they couldn’t be spotted. He had been watching them for quite some time now.

  Ashley had her knees wrapped tightly around Snowden’s neck as the dragon rose up into the air. She felt the excitement building inside her as they rose up above Beaver Mountain. She looked down and could see the valley spreading out below her. They went over the mountain and down the other side.

  Snowden was careful not to make any sharp turns or sudden moves; he didn’t want to unseat Ashley. They had been flying together at least once each week recently since Ashley had started coming to visit Snowden more often. Ashley’s confidence in Snowden’s flying ability was very high, which pleased the dragon immensely. He had always dreamed of flying with Cathy, but over the summer Ashley had become a ver
y close friend; the first real friend Snowden had found since leaving Firestorm Mountain and Cathy so many long years ago.

  Ashley took a deep breath, feeling the wind on her face. She wore a light jacket as the air up high was much cooler. As they descended down the face of the mountain away from the valley, she was still amazed at how everything was so desolate. Snowden had shown her numerous old ruins and even traces of vanishing roads that had been built by the ancients of the Golden Age.

  In some areas, the ruins seemed to stretch for miles. It was difficult for Ashley to comprehend that so many people could have lived so close together. Then again, she had lived some of Cathy’s experiences beneath Firestorm Mountain. She knew that, under the mountain, there had been several thousand people in the massive complex that Cathy Matheson lived in.

  Snowden flew low over an old ruin that was little more than a pile of rubble. A few carved stones were still visible, but the rest were slowly giving way to time and the weather. Ashley knew that if it still rained as much as it had in ancient times, few of the old ruins would even be visible. For an hour, they flew across the arid wasteland as Snowden made a large circle, which would eventually bring them back to Beaver Mountain.

  Snowden kept a vigilant watch. Only that one time had he sensed another dragon. Somewhere, Braxam was searching for food. Snowden hoped the other dragon didn’t find the sheltered valley or the ocean side village. Braxam didn’t frighten Snowden; he felt he could handle the brown dragon. Snowden’s biggest fear was that Gilmreth would return someday. If Braxam had been in the area, there was always the chance that Gilmreth would return, searching for the brown dragon to feed upon as he had Fireheart.

  “This is wonderful,” Ashley spoke, her eyes sparkling with the excitement of flying. She wondered what Stephen would say if he could see her now.

  “I am glad you enjoy flying,” Snowden replied in her mind. Over the months, Snowden’s thoughts had become more coherent as she better came to understand the images and concepts he used to communicate. The dragon spoke few actual words.