He took my roughened hand in his own. He leaned toward me, face intense. “You are the first person to come through those stones in over two hundred years.”
I’d been burning to ask him what in the hell we were, but his statement chased the question from my mind. “Two hundred years? The portals in my world haven't been used in over a thousand years, as far as we know.”
He blinked. “It could be that time passes more rapidly there. I know that there's only one world we can enter through these portals.” He turned his head toward the stones. “The knowledge of the portals and how to create them is lost. Much of our knowledge is gone, dead with those who traveled to your world. I was given instructions for how to turn the portal off, but not activate it. There is much we do not know.”
“Stop. Before you go any farther, I need to know what I am!”
“You don't know?” He was clearly shocked by my lack of information about my heritage. “How are you supposed to save our people if you have no idea what we are? Are there none of our kind in your world?”
“I have no idea what I am. When I left my world I had skin like…well, like a human, if you know what that is. What are we? What’s your name? Where are we? Let’s get the basic questions out of the way, and then we can dig into the hard stuff.”
“I don't know what a human is. We’re dragons, young one. You are a dragon. You are a part of the oldest species we have ever been able to find. We call ourselves the Sárkány, and of the species that migrated to your Earth in years past, we never found another species that existed before we did.” My mouth gaped as I stared at him. His eyes twinkled. “What’s your name, girl?”
“Riley Effler.”
“I'm honored to meet you, Riley Effler. My name is Axoular. I'm one of the last Sárkány in any universe, and so are you.”
“Dragon. I’m a fucking dragon?”
“Sárkány.”
Here we go again. “Fine, Sárkány. Where am I?”
“You are in the land of Galdiart. This land was once populated by a host of Sárkány. When the portals were created, hundreds of us traveled to your land, and few returned.”
“Where did the rest of your—our—people go? The ones that never traveled to Earth?” I was confused how so many could be lost in only two hundred years.
“There was a war. Many of our brethren wanted to attack your Earth and conquer it. Our planet is largely empty. There’s never been much foliage and fewer and fewer wild animals to eat. Many here wanted to descend on your primitive world and take over.”
“Obviously you didn’t.”
“No, we won the war, but the consequences were terrible. Thousands died on both sides. Then, many died of starvation and exposure, as entire cities were razed to the ground in the war. We, who should live for centuries, surrounded by thousands of our own kind, were suddenly numbered in the hundreds. We destroyed the portals, except this one, out of fear of becoming extinct.”
“Why save any?”
“Because of the prophecy. Because we knew that one day you would come. That’s the worst part! When we began our journeys to the Earth realm, we were told in great detail what would happen. But nobody believed our prophet. He was laughed at.”
“You believed him, or you wouldn't be here.”
“The war was one hundred and seventy years ago. I was an infant then. I believe the prophecy because I grew up with the knowledge that a large part of it has already come to pass. And now, here you are, to fulfill the rest of it.”
“So, to summarize. The portals were created. Some of you went to Earth, not many returned. A prophet predicted it, but nobody believed it. Almost two hundred years ago, you had a great war that was also prophesied. Most of you are dead because of the war. You’ve been waiting on me to save you. Did Ye Olde prophet give you any indication of how I’d be able to save your people? I mean, I do okay for a human, but for a dragon? I don’t even have long life! I’ll die within another forty to sixty years.”
I looked down at his hand, still clasping mine. “That’s the biggest reason I came, to see if you could help me extend my life. My children, they'll live many hundreds of years as well, but I won't. And I’m in love, and my loves, they'll have to watch me grow old and die. I came here in the hope that you might have some way to extend my life, not to save an entire species.”
“You won’t help us?” he asked, terror in his voice.
“I didn’t say that. I’ll do anything I can for you. I just don’t know how much help I could really be.”
“I believe I can solve your problem of longevity. It is said that the savior will be only half Sárkány. It was foretold that the Sárkány lineage would lie dormant until one was born of a Sárkány female and—here’s where we're confused—the father would be ‘One-Who-Drinks.’ We have never known what that meant.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have a general idea. So my Sárkány genes were in some sort of a recession until I had a kid with Michael, a Supay. The Supay are descendants of yet another world, come through to Earth using your portals. They mainly drink blood.”
“That explains that part then. Yes, if you’ve had a child with One-Who-Drinks, then your heritage should take over your body. You’ll live a long life, as long as you aren't killed in an accident or murdered.”
My body shook in relief. I was free. Whatever the coming days held, however I helped these people, whatever Elias and Anthony found in their world, I would live with my children and my loves. I wouldn't be left behind, lonely and broken. I jumped to my feet and did a little wiggly dance. “I won’t have to drink blood!!” My euphoria came to a crashing halt. “Wait. What do Sárkány eat?” Please don’t say blood.
“Mostly meat. We don't eat much else, though we do spice our meat with different bits of foliage at times.” Axoular raised an eyebrow. “Why do you need to know our eating habits?”
“Nevermind. That’s a long story. I have to get back and let them know I’m safe. I’ll come back, okay?”
Axoular jumped up, agitated. “You can’t leave yet! You must come meet my clan, let them know that you are here and real. They would never believe me if I went home with a fantastic tale of The Jade.”
I hesitated, eying the portal stones. “My family will be worried. We’ve got to be quick. How far is your village?”
“Right at the base of the hill. Come, we'll hurry.” He grabbed my hand and lunged forward.
The sky opened before me as I stumbled out of the cave. The ground was illuminated by the light of millions of stars. They all seemed closer to the ground than the stars on Earth were. Maybe that’s why the planet was so warm. Being closer to their stars could mean they were closer to their sun as well.
My mind raced with questions. If I was a dragon, would I be cold blooded? How would I survive winters? I needed a thermometer. And a mirror. I wondered what happened to my makeup when my skin changed. Was there a thin layer of alabaster Mary Kay foundation covering my greenish-brown—brownish-green?—face? Holy cow! I wonder what my yahoo looks like?
The ground under my feet was dry and rocky. The starlight revealed a flat plain, though I couldn’t make out how much of it was rocky or if there was grass. Soon we came upon a primitive village of stone and mud huts. “Axoular, I was under the impression that your people were much more technologically advanced.”
He stopped halfway down the hill and turned to me. “We were, Riley Effler.” The cluster of buildings stretched out at the base of the hill.
“Just Riley, please.”
He bowed his head. “As you wish. We were advanced. We had electricity, transports, and large cities. But the wars destroyed the cities. And so much of our population was killed. We didn't have people to run our power stations or build our transports. Now, we're here in a village we built, to wait for you.”
“You built your village by the portal to wait for me? Why didn’t you start to rebuild your lives?” I asked. I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t begin anew.
�
��Because there are so few of us. We’ve traveled far and wide to bring any of our remaining people here. We leave notes in the abandoned towns, instructing them to come here. We’ve combed our entire land, but it took many years. It’s all we can do to hunt enough food to keep everyone alive.”
Tears came to my eyes as I stared in horror at what was left of a prosperous, proud civilization. How could I possibly help these poor creatures? Newly discovered genes or not, I was still just Riley Effler, coffee shop manager. I didn’t even know about this world a few weeks before. What could I do? Hopelessness overtook my thoughts, ripped away my confidence, and left me small inside.
“Take me to meet your people. I must get back as soon as possible, and I want you to travel with me and meet my family.” I started down the hill, utterly wretched.
“You want me to go with you?” He seemed a nervous sort.
“Yes. Is that okay with you?”
“Sure! But I’m one of the younger members of our elder group. I’m not really an elder in the traditional sense. Our elders used to be over three hundred years old. At half that, I'm still considered a bit of a youth. They may insist on one of the older members going.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Well, I insist on you. I met you first, you’ve been kind to me, and I like you. You’re going.”
“As you say, Riley. As you say.”
We entered the village via a well-beaten dirt path. The buildings around the outskirts of the village were homey. Windows were adorned with curtains of varying colors and little baubles. Forgotten, hand-carved toys laid in front of doors alongside the occasional discarded tool.
Axoular led me to a large, two-storied building. “This is where we hold meetings and village-wide dinners.”
He stopped and indicated I should sit in a wooden chair by the front door. I sat gingerly, conscious of the feel of my scaly skin against the rough chair. When I sat on the rugs in the cave it wasn’t as noticeable. Axoular walked over to a small bell and pulled the cord. I jumped, surprised the instrument put out such a loud noise.
Lights flickered on behind curtains in the various homes. Dragons in a rainbow of colors poured out of their homes, panicked.
“Axoular! What’s wrong? Why did you ring the warning bell?” demanded a female Sárkány with deep blue scales.
“My friends, she has come!” He turned to me and whispered, “Stand up, Riley Effler.”
I stood beside him, gazing out at the growing crowd. I couldn’t wait to see the beautiful people in daylight. Their skin would be mesmerizing. I spotted one lady in the back of the crowd with hot pink scales.
“Hello.” I gave a small wave.
The Sárkány with pink scales pushed forward and in a deep voice demanded to know exactly who I was. Whoops. That wasn’t a lady dragon!
“She’s our savior. She came through the portal not an hour ago. She’s told me some of her story, and she’s the one we have waited for! She’s here to save us!”
“Now wait, Axoular,” I whispered in his ear. “I told you, I don’t know if I can save anyone. I’ll do what I can, but I’m no savior.”
He shrugged me off. “Can the elders please come forward? We have much to discuss.” He walked into the building, leaving me standing alone, staring out at a sea of rich color.
I raised my voice, “People of Galdiart! I'm no savior. I come from the land of Earth, and I came here to seek help from you, not the other way around.” The crowd mumbled among themselves, upset.
“Wait! Please, don’t be upset. I see your struggles. I see your plight. I will do anything in my power to help, but you'll need to be patient. I don’t know yet how I can help, but I won’t leave you here to starve and die. We’ll all work together and figure out a solution. Don’t lose heart yet.” I guessed I’d have to find a fucking way to be their savior. I couldn’t leave them like that.
A young child with scales of brown and green, like mine, came out of the crowd. I crouched down. “Hello, little one. What’s your name?”
“I'm Kohbi, Savior.” My heart melted at the tiny voice coming from such a beautiful little creature.
“It is nice to meet you, Kohbi. I need to go in and talk to the elders. I hope to see you again soon, and meet your family, would you like that?” I touched the soft scales of her face and wondered how my children would appear in this world.
“Yes, Savior. I would like that.” She pulled a ragged doll from behind her back and held it out to me. “Savior, this is Rinta, my baby. Will you keep her safe for me?”
I drew Kohbi into a hug and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “I will keep her as safe as I would my own child, Kohbi. Go to your mommy now.”
“My mommy and daddy are dead,” she said. “They died a long way from here. Some grown-ups found me and brought me here. I live with other kids like me that don’t have a mommy or daddy anymore.”
Oh fuck me, she lives in a fucking dragon orphanage. I can’t handle this shit.
“I will be back, Kohbi. I’ll be back, and I’ll find you and your friends. I promise you, sweet girl.” Her face was delighted as she ran into the crowd.
The dragons standing in the front of the crowd grabbed her and one put her on their shoulders. The crowd cheered and pressed close to touch the child that was kissed by their savior. It was overwhelming, knowing that they put so much faith in my kiss that they needed to touch that orphan.
Chapter Seventeen
I turned toward the building to find Axoular staring at me through the doorway. “Riley Effler, you are crucial to my people.”
“But, I’m just…me! I’m nothing special.”
A rich voice came from behind me. “You better hope you are something special. You are The Jade, and you’ve come to save us.” I whirled around to see an elderly Sárkány woman with scales of white and silver being helped up the porch stairs. She wore a rough dress of what appeared to be burlap, no shoes on her feet, and she leaned on a wooden cane.
“Riley, this is our eldest surviving Sárkány, Boudicca. Boudicca, this is Riley Effler.” Axoular bowed to the elderly dragon and took the place of her helper, escorting her inside. I followed behind them to a room straight out of a fantasy movie.
An enormous wooden table was in the center of the room, complete with benches made of halved logs. There was a massive fireplace on either side of the room. On the walls were the heads of strange creatures mounted as trophies. One resembled a bear with a big pig snout. Another head, like an elephant with tusks and big ears, but the nose was more like a dog’s.
Axoular walked Boudicca over to the head of the table, and helped her into a chair. Three other Sárkány walked in behind me and sat on the benches on Boudicca’s left. Axoular and I sat across from them.
“Savior,” began Boudicca, “This is Drest, Maedoc, and Morcan. Along with myself and Axoular, we make up the Elders of the Sárkány.” I inclined my head at the two men, Drest and Maedoc, and the woman, Morcan. I was beginning to be able to tell the women from the men. Drest and Maedoc’s heads were more angular and larger than Morcan’s or Boudicca’s, or, I assumed, my own. Morcan was advancing in years, by the color of her scales. They look like they’d once been gold mixed with browns, but they were fading. Some had turned white and silver.
Drest and Maedoc were twins. Their scales were the same bright shades of orange and yellow. Their eyes and noses mirrored each other and their eye color, a pale yellow. I asked them if they were related and they confirmed they were twins, which was incredibly rare among the Sárkány. It was difficult to tell how old they were.
“It’s nice to meet you all, but I can’t stay long. I came here with no knowledge of what sort of world I would be entering. I’ve got to return to Earth, and reassure my family that I’m safe. Plus, Axoular closed the portal, so my family, who are visiting their own ancestors through the portal, will be stuck in other worlds.”
Maedoc narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve only just arrived, and you’re already leaving?” He turned to Axoular.
“How do you know this is the savior?”
Axoular became defensive. “Two hundred years we’ve waited! The prophecy says, ‘When a female of jade and jasper appears in the night, the Sárkány will be saved.’ Well, here she is, prepared or not. We were never promised our savior would come through with a grand plan, it simply said that she’d be able to save us.”
Maedoc grunted and looked me over. I raised my hands in front of me. “I will do anything to help you. I have certain resources in the other world that might help you here. I want to take Axoular back with me to meet my family. My husbands will be able to help us come up with a plan.”
Boudicca raised her eyebrows. I raised my finger to feel my own. Damn it, I want a mirror.
“Husbands, child? More than one?” asked Boudicca.
“Oh, well, sort of. I’m married to one man, but his two best friends, we…well, we're one family. It’s sort of new…” I trailed off in a small voice. “I take it you don’t typically take on multiple partners here?”
“No. We don't,” said Morcan, voice dripping with condescension.
“Ah, well. We do.” I couldn’t help but throw her a little attitude. “And now, if you'll excuse us, we must go. We’ll return as soon as we possibly can. Hopefully, it'll only be a few hours.” I backed away from the table and gave a head bob to Boudicca. My butt bumped into the door and I stopped, waiting for Axoular to join me.
He jumped up and bowed deeply to the table full of elders. Axoular scurried over to me and tried to crowd me out the door. “Stop!” commanded a voice from inside the room.
Axoular cringed with wide eyes. “I didn’t think we’d actually make it out the door.”
“We can hear you, Axoular,” said Boudicca.
Axoular let out a long-suffering sigh, and turned, “I know, Boudicca. I meant for you to hear me. I suppose you have issue with Riley taking me and not someone else?”
Hers From The Start: A Collection of First In Series Reverse Harem Page 61