by Lucia Ashta
I’d believed myself a mistake for so long that I hadn’t yet managed to absorb the possibility that I might be a blessing. My invisibility was no accident, as Dean said, but a gift. In all my seventeen years of life, I’d never considered it. I hadn’t seen much to be thankful for, and now I realized it was just because I hadn’t been looking the right way. It was all about perspective. This one act was sufficient to open an entire world of possibilities that I’d never considered before, but that I liked very, very much.
If I wasn’t a mistake, then I was special, and if I was special and could do special things, well, then my entire life had just turned on its head. I could be someone, I could do things. I might be invisible, but I wasn’t unimportant. And I’d realized all of this thanks to Dean.
Rosie and I were far enough away from where Dean was gathering the students as they arrived that I decided it was safe to stay. I pulled my feet from under her, and sat next to her, running my hands along her body, always avoiding her healing cuts. I couldn’t see Rosie, but I could feel her. She was just like me now. Well, not quite, she was a dragon after all, but I felt closer to Rosie than I did to my twin just then. She and I were the only invisible ones on all this great big planet. And I’d made her invisible. My face was starting to ache from all the mad grinning.
It was only because I was fascinated by dragons that I was able to force my focus onto Dean when he started to speak. Now, more than ever, I didn’t want to miss a word of this dragon charmer’s wisdom.
That morning, as the Suxle Sun broke the tall horizon of the mountains with a spectacular show of color and light, all of Dean’s students were seated and ready. They were early. I predicted they’d be early every day, no matter how hard Dean pushed them. It’s what I’d do if I had the privilege of learning from a legend.
When Dean began to speak, Rane was still looking for me, trying to be discrete about it, but failing. Every student followed every one of the dragon charmer’s movements, and hinged on every one of his words.
“Good morning, everyone. It’s good to see you all today. It appears that you’re as crazy as I thought you were. Every one of you returned after my warnings of yesterday. That bodes well. The crazy dragon tamers and charmers are usually the best ones. And by that I don’t mean to throw caution to the wind and not care about your life, but dragon training requires a certain—how shall I say it?—insanity. By showing up here today, you’ve confirmed you possess it to a certain degree or another. We’ll soon enough find out how much.
“As you can see, I asked Shula and Yoon to meet with their students at another spot so we can focus without distraction. Why? Because time is of the essence. We were out of time long before any of you were born. The faster you learn, the sooner I’ll be able to take you out to the dragon zone. The sooner we do that, the sooner you’ll be able to become active contributors to the efforts of the Dragon Force. We need the help more now than ever. You all heard the chieftain. We need to find a dragon rider among us—or somewhere else.”
My breath hitched. He was referring to me and my offhand comment that I might be the dragon rider. Clearly I couldn’t be, I didn’t know a thing about dragons beyond books. I’d spoken without thinking, as I was prone to do. I hoped the dragon charmer wouldn’t attribute too much importance to my remark. He couldn’t rely on me. I might have discovered I was capable of some degree of faithum. I hoped my ability to extend my invisibility was just a start, but I didn’t need pressure. My whole life I’d lived with enough of it to drown me. I needed to dig myself out from under all that weight—on my own.
Dean didn’t look behind him to where I was. He continued without giving anything away. “If it’s true that twins are going to come across those rock plains to try to take the dragons away, and that we need a dragon rider to defeat them before they can rain devastation on our people, then we need to prepare. King Oderon, as his ancestors before him, has been sending raiders to our lands for millennia. Every time, we’ve managed to defeat them. They never managed to take a single dragon to add to their army. But we’ve suffered heavy losses.
“We never know when another raider attack might come; we always have to be prepared. Every sunrise could deliver an attack, and every sunset that doesn’t is a blessing. I’ve said it before, you’ll need to train incredibly hard. And I want you to remember the reason why. It’s because your skills might be needed when you least expect it. The better prepared you are, the better your chances at survival, and I intend to keep every single one of you alive. It might be an impossible feat, but it’s one I’m going to give everything I have toward securing.
“You learn and train like King Oderon’s army marches toward Ooba as I speak. You train as if the dragons decided to attack us, and not the army that marches on us. You train because life is one big mess, and we need to find the way to live it anyway. And to that add the responsibility for all those members of our tribe who aren’t learning to fight. We’re the last and only hope of the Ooba people. We are the only force that stands in the way of defeat. Our enemy might be invisible now, but it won’t always be invisible.”
Again, my breath hitched. But there was no reason for it. Dean was earning my trust.
“Are there any questions before I move on? I realize I already said much of this yesterday, but I want to be sure you really comprehend the situation. The moment you entered the Dragon Force, you took on the responsibility not just for yourself and your fellow members of the Dragon Force, but for all of the Ooba people. So, questions?”
Corey, the boy who looked just like most boys in our tribe, with his shiny black hair, black eyes, and caramel-toned skin, spoke. “You said if the prediction that twins will come across the rock plains is true. Do you not believe the seer?”
Dean stared at Corey for several beats before scanning the rest of his audience. Finally, he said, “Whether the seer’s prediction is true or not isn’t the most important question. The fact is that it might be true. Just as danger might arrive from a different direction in a different form. Those possibilities are enough for us to train as if they are true, because at the end of the day, it makes little difference. We must be prepared because there is a chance—a good one—that the seer’s prediction is true. That’s all we need to know.”
Dean didn’t answer Corey’s direct question. If Dean could divert the focus from his own beliefs so smoothly, then maybe I could trust him with my biggest secret yet. I ached to tell him I was a twin, mostly because now that I’d shared some of myself with Dean, I wanted to reveal all of it. I was fed up with the shadows I’d been forced to live in all my life. I wanted to fully step free of them. But I remembered how my actions would affect Mother, and Rane and Traya and Marie. Until now, I’d risked only myself—at least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Once I revealed myself a twin, I involved my family.
“Are there any more questions?”
“Aye,” Brune, who’d already snuck a few glances at Traya, said. “How long does it usually take a student to prepare enough to begin working with the dragons?”
“That depends. Are you intending to be an ordinary student?”
“No, sir.”
“Good, we have no need for ordinary students. We need those who’ll do what’s never been done before. We need at least one of you who’ll have the guts to ride the beasts that will do this to you—” he pointed to the large scar that ran the length of his neck “—when they don’t even mean to. A friendly dragon did this to me, when I was still too inexperienced to realize that you should always be wary of a dragon, no matter how much the dragon appears to accept you. We can’t change their nature, nor would we want to. They are how they are, and that’s precisely what makes them the majestic beasts we’ve sworn our lives to protect. Back to your question. It’s Brune, right?”
Brune looked surprised. “That’s right, sir.”
“Good, well, while we’re at it, my name isn’t ‘sir,’ it’s Dean. I like my name just fine, so use it.”
“All right, Dean.”
“Brune, there’s no good answer to your question. Students need anywhere from a month to a year to be ready to work with the dragons. It all depends on you. I evaluate each of you on an individual basis. I only take you out to the dragon zone if you’re ready for it. If you’re not ready, I don’t care if it’s been a century, I’m not bringing you there. Because all it takes is one mistake.” He gestured to his neck scar again. “And you can end up with an injury far worse than this. You can end up dead.”
He waited until his warning settled across the students. Their eager faces became a bit less so. I had the feeling we’d hear warnings of the danger of working with dragons every day. I also had the feeling that every student there would keep showing up, day after day, warning after warning. The children of the Ooba tribe grew up in the shadow of the threat of dragons and invading raiders. Our skin was nearly as thick as the dragons’ scales.
“The best you can do is work hard, learn even harder, and you’ll get to see those fantastic, scary beasts sooner. Keep your focus and apply yourself, Brune, and all of you, and you’ll make it out where the real danger is faster.”
Serious nods swept across shiny heads of hair, mostly black.
“All right.” Dean clapped his hands, making Rosie startle. I leaned closer to her, petted her head, and whispered soothing sounds in her ears. “Let’s get started with the real stuff.” I was amazed at how quickly Dean’s emotions shifted. “Who’s with me? Who’s ready?” he asked with enthusiasm.
“Hell yeah, I’m ready.” I distinguished Rane’s voice from the rest. He wasn’t looking for me any longer. He’d seemingly all but forgotten me under Dean’s spell.
“Good. Now, who brought something to take notes with?”
Hands shot up across the group.
“Excellent, good thinking. I like that. Thinking ahead and anticipating needs.”
Rane’s face fell, and I knew he’d brought nothing.
“I want you to put your materials away and never bring them to class again.”
“Really?” Corey asked.
“Really. I need your attention fully focused on me and the information I’ll be giving you. We can’t afford to have you half here and half in your notes. We’ll go over the material enough times that if you’re sharp, you’ll learn all you need. And then all you’ll require to survive is luck.”
A few students exchanged looks.
“Okay, materials away, and stand up.”
The dragon trainees shuffled to their feet.
“If you have anything in your hands, put it down. Good. Now, what’s the first thing you should do when you see a dragon?”
“Run!” someone from the crowd shouted.
Dean chuckled. “That’s a very smart answer. That’s exactly what you should do now, and what every person of the Ooba tribe who isn’t trained to deal with dragons should always do. But remember, you’re going to be dragon tamers, maybe some of you will even be dragon charmers. What should you do when you see a dragon as a trained member of the Dragon Force?”
A hand shot up from the crowd. I was surprised to see that it was gentle Traya, the one who never spoke up in a crowd—until now. “Well, wouldn’t we need to know what our purpose in interacting with the dragon would be on this hypothetical occasion to decide what we would do when we see a dragon?”
Dean appeared surprised by Traya’s question as well. “That’s exactly right, Traya, is it?”
“Aye.”
“It’s a good question because it very much depends on what we intend to do with the dragon when we meet the beast. Do you all know some of the ways in which you’ll interact with dragons as members of the force?”
More hands shot up.
“You,” Dean pointed to Dram. “The one who barely survived his last encounter with a dragon.”
Pink colored Dram’s caramel cheeks while trainees around him strained their necks to see him. They didn’t seem to know of Dram’s close call.
“Well,” Dean said, “are you going to answer my question?”
“Aye, uh, we protect the young dragons from the males who try to kill them.”
“Correct. That’s a very important responsibility. If not for our interference, the dragonling numbers would dwindle to hardly anything. We keep the males from the young, and we keep the males and mothers from killing us in the process, something not always possible.”
“Dean,” Rane said, ignoring the hands raised around him.
Dean faced my brother and arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Before we move on from this point, will you please explain how it is that dragonkind survived before our involvement? I mean, if the males regularly kill their young without our interference, then how is it that dragonkind survived before us?”
“That is another good question. You and Traya are siblings, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Hunh. Do you have any other siblings?”
Rane hesitated only a beat, but it was enough for Dean’s intelligent eyes to narrow onto Rane’s face. Rane noticed and hurried to answer. “No. Shean was a member of the Dragon Force, but died.”
“Of course I know Shean. What happened to him and your father is a great shame. Your father was one of the best dragon charmers the Dragon Force has ever seen.”
“Thank you.” Rane kept his words clipped. I knew how much emotion talking about Father stirred up in him. In me too. It’d been a couple of years, but the wound felt as raw as if Father and Shean had disappeared just yesterday.
“No other siblings to perhaps inherit your father’s skill, huh? That’s a shame.” Dean’s comment was odd enough to make me wonder. Did he discover my connection to Rane already? “Anyway, back to your question, Rane. The dragon numbers were much lower when we left Origins for the mountains. It’s due to our interference that the dragons have flourished. Before us, the males and mothers would fight, the males to prove their dominance and kill the young, the mothers to prevent it. The battles were bloody and deadly, and it was a tossup as to which of the dragons would win. Remember, the females with young are as fierce as any dragon alive. We work to keep the males from the young, and so this doesn’t happen as much anymore. With the growing population of dragons, we never manage to prevent all the fights, and so a few dragonlings die every decade. But what we do makes a huge difference to prevent avoidable loss of dragon life.”
“But with us unnaturally interfering with the dragons’ ways, isn’t there a danger that the dragons will overtake all animals beneath them in the food chain in the entire area?” Rane asked.
Again, Dean studied Rane for a long while, making it clear that little escaped him. “Yes, there’s a faction among the Dragon Force that believes that we interfere too much, and that we risk throwing off the natural balance of dragonkind. Because dragons are the greatest predators, the theory translates into our interference throwing off the balance of all nature.”
“What are your thoughts on this theory?”
“I think you’re better off not knowing my thoughts on this so you can make up your own mind. I’ll tell you, however, that through the involvement of the Dragon Force over the centuries, I’d estimate that the population of dragons has multiplied at least tenfold.”
Scattered whistles dotted the group.
“But remember, we’re sworn dragon protectors.”
“Why?” Traya asked.
“Why?” Dean asked.
“Yes, why? Why are we sworn to protect the dragons when they seem to do a pretty good job of taking care of themselves? Why do we protect them at the risk of our own lives?”
Now I understood why Traya had decided dragon training was more important than helping Mother. I’d had no idea she was this perceptive when it came to the ways of the Dragon Force.
“That’s an insightful question. Wait, weren’t you supposed to be in Shula’s group, Traya?”
“Uh, I was yesterday.”
“Then you should be wi
th Shula.”
Crap. Traya was here because she’d accompanied Rane to hand off Rosie. She didn’t have time to go to wherever Shula was meeting her group.
“My apologies, Dean. I didn’t realize I had to remain in the group I chose yesterday.”
Dean crossed his arms. “You know what? You don’t. I’d like you to remain in my group for now.”
“Aye, thank you, I’d like that.”
“So, Traya, why do you think we protect the dragons when they can protect themselves?”
“Honestly?”
“Always. You’re safe here. This goes for all of you, what’s said here remains here. Am I clear? You are now brother and sister with every trainee of the Dragon Force. You keep private what is said in sessions of the Dragon Force. It’s dangerous to repeat what is said, especially out of context. We don’t want Chieftain Pumpoo or his emissaries misinterpreting things.”
By that he meant we didn’t want Pumpoo to hand out punishments for treasonous talk. I was right there with him.
“You all take a vow of confidence by being members of the Dragon Force. Am I absolutely clear on this?”
A chorus of affirmation rang out. With the piercing eyes of a dragon, Dean glared at everyone who hadn’t said yes. How he’d singled out those who hadn’t agreed, I had no idea, but he’d done it. Those who hadn’t spoken before hurried to do it, and it looked as if they’d realized they weren’t going to be getting away with any crap.
“You learn to keep confidences, or you’ll be dealing with me directly.” It was a threat, plain and simple.
Nods dotted the group, and dragon trainees shifted on their feet as they saw their teacher in a different light. Dean hadn’t become the legendary dragon charmer he was for handing out cookies.
“With that settled, Traya, go ahead.”
“Well, I can’t say that I really get why we protect the dragons at such a great cost to our people. I realize what Chieftain Pumpoo says, that one of the great ancient seers saw that this was our sacred purpose, but I’m not sure I understand the reasoning beyond this.”