Dragon Force: The Complete Series

by Lucia Ashta

  “Why unfortunate?” I asked, even though the sinking feeling in my chest seemed to already know.

  “Because now we have to find a way to protect Rosie, and you—and fast. If Pumpoo comes to get her, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep her from him.”

  “But he won’t come, will he? The students said they wouldn’t tell.”

  “They did say that.”

  “You don’t believe them?”

  “It’s not that I don’t believe them, it’s that I know how well Pumpoo has taught his people to do as he wishes.”

  “And you think the students would tell?” I’d just seen them all agree to keep the secret.

  “I think it’s difficult to expect someone to do differently than they’ve been trained to do. Had the trainees been full-fledged charmers, then I’d say, without a single doubt, that our secret was safe, even with Yoon, who idolizes Pumpoo. We charmers have been through too much together, we understand we have to have each other’s backs no matter what. But the trainees don’t get this yet.”

  “They said they did. I’m young and untrained too, but I understand the importance of confidences. They can do the same.”

  “As little as I know about you at this point, I know your life couldn’t have been like anybody else’s. You’re nothing like them. Our experiences shape us. Chieftain Pumpoo has shaped them, most of them for sure. They might say they understand the need for confidences, for breaking the rule that any news must be delivered to Pumpoo immediately, but they may not feel the need for the confidence and rule breaking right here, where it matters.” Dean brought a palm to his chest. “Once you’ve been through what charmers have, you believe what your heart tells you is far more important than any man’s rules. But the trainees don’t realize this yet.”

  He turned his gaze toward where the students were still visible as they began the steep climb of the mountain trail. “Some of them might feel what we sense simply because they’re more open to it. But the others...”

  “You believe we’re in danger.”

  “I don’t believe it, I know we are.” He stood and faced me. “Unfortunately, I don’t know what to do to avoid it. As soon as Shula finishes with her class, I’ll confer with her.”

  “You don’t want to do that now?” He’d just said we were in danger. “Why wait?”

  “Because if I interrupt Shula’s class with an urgent matter, all her students will wonder. They’ll ask my students and Yoon’s if they know what happened. No, we need to wait. She’ll come see me as soon as she finishes. She’ll feel the urgency. She’ll know to come. You don’t get to be a dragon charmer for centuries without learning to feel the energy around you.”

  “So we just... wait?”

  “For now. Until Shula gets here. And in the meantime, I’m going to check out Rosie and hear all you have to tell me about yourself and your situation.”

  “You want me to tell you about myself?” My skin suddenly turned cold.

  “Absolutely. I need to learn all about you if I’m going to help you. I’ll do everything I can to protect you—”

  “You think I need protection?” The words felt rough as they left my mouth.

  “I know you do. Things have been set in motion, and they’re heading toward Pumpoo. I don’t understand much of what he’s doing, but I don’t trust him. So, do you think you need protection?”

  I nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see me. But he responded as if he had. “I’ll protect you with my life, but it would be helpful to understand who I’m risking my life for, and why.”

  “I don’t have the answers to those questions,” I said, with all the sadness I felt about it.

  “Then we’ll figure it out together. Start talking.”

  I hesitated for a moment, long enough to push away all of Mother and Father’s warnings, and then I followed my intuition. I started talking, and once I did, I wondered if I’d ever stop.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I’d told him everything I dared to, and probably far more than I should have—or maybe not, my intuition was humming along nicely. I stopped short of involving my family. I explained again that I’d been born into the Ooba tribe, and lived here all my life. But I omitted other details, and he didn’t press the issue. He still didn’t realize I was a twin, and Shula arrived just in time to prevent any questions I’d have to refuse to answer.

  Dean was the first to spot Shula, winding her way efficiently down the mountain trail. I only noticed her because his attention shifted from Rosie and me to the path. Some of his senses were honed far beyond mine, and my life depended on being able to feel people before they got too close.

  But Dean continued examining Rosie even after he noticed Shula. He’d demanded answers before examining the little dragon, even though I could tell he was anxious to make sure she was all right. He ran both hands along Rosie’s body, careful to skirt her injuries. “Wow, girl,” he said, “you were really lucky to survive that fall. That must’ve been really scary for you, huh?” Rosie looked up at him with those deep wells of eyes. “You must’ve fallen a really long way to get hurt this badly. Your tail almost came all the way off.”

  He addressed me. “Where did you find her?”

  “At the edge of the cliffs, the ones past the forest beyond the village.”

  “That makes a lot more sense than Rane’s story of finding her in the forest, though the cliffs are pretty far away.”

  I hurried to speak before he could bring up more about Rane—or Traya. “I like it there. Anyway, Rosie actually found me. I was sleeping when she licked my face.”

  Dean laughed when I didn’t expect him to. “I bet that woke you up nice and fast.”

  I laughed too. “It sure did. I almost pushed myself right off the cliff trying to scramble out of her way. Until I realized she was as scared as I was.”

  Dean nodded. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but dragons are incredibly resilient to injury. They can take a beating, by a dragon, and still walk away mostly unscathed. Now, with Rosie this is a little different. She’s young and her scales haven’t fully developed yet. She has less protection than most dragons. Even so, her mother must’ve pushed her off from very high up, because even with her wings underdeveloped as they are, she probably was able to use them to break her fall somewhat at least. Dragons are able to fly shortly after they’re born. Skill at flying comes with time, but they can do the basic almost right away. I think Rosie’s wings are a bit stunted. Again, remember, we’ve never been able to study dragon babies up close, and barely from far away. Mother dragons are vicious when their young are with them. There’s no way to do it.

  “Based on my calculated guess after working with dragons for... well, let’s just say a very long time, I think Rosie’s development in all areas is stunted. Beyond her injuries, which look like they’re already healing remarkably well, she looks healthy. But she isn’t like other dragons. She never will be.”

  I was thankful he hadn’t said she was deformed. Rosie had already been made to feel bad enough for her differences. There was no greater price to pay for them than intended death by her mother. I’d do everything I could to shield her from any more.

  “You’re going to be just fine, Rosie,” Dean said to her. “You’ll be recovered from your fall in no time.” He shifted his gaze to where he thought my head was. “Assuming dragons don’t hold on to trauma. If it were me, I’d be a bit sore about being launched from my family to my death.”

  Aye, as I would be. Lucky for me, my family didn’t consider that option. I might have been stuck with my own ‘differences,’ but at least my family had always wanted me as a part of it, no matter what the risk. “I’ll help her get through it even if she does. I’ll take good care of her.”

  “You’re really serious about taking care of her.”

  “Hell yeah I am,” I said, then blushed. That was a pretty forceful statement to someone who was not only my elder, but also a dragon charmer legend.

  But he chuck
led, and the heat began to recede from my invisible cheeks. “Well I’m glad of your determination, at least. I could use more of that among the dragon trainees.”

  “Can I be a dragon trainee?” I spit the words out, which revealed a deep, secret desire, before thinking.

  My question surprised Dean too. He ran a hand along Rosie’s back again, and stood. “You want to train dragons?”

  Since my desire was out there, along with almost all of my other secrets, I figured there was little additional risk in complete honesty. “More than anything.” I couldn’t tell him that it was in my blood, that my father was a dragon charmer, one of the best.

  He studied me, which I imagined must be a difficult task when he couldn’t see me. But that didn’t stop him from bringing his hands to his waist, narrowing his eyes, and looking as though he could read everything about me from sharing space with me. Finally, he asked, “Do you think you could do it?”

  “I know I could.”

  “Is what you said earlier, when you let me believe you were a dragon spirit, true?”

  “Uh, what part of it? I’m sorry for leading you on with the dragon spirit thing, but you understand why I couldn’t tell you who I really was, right? Especially before deciding to trust you.”

  “I understand. I would’ve done the same thing, I suppose. And I’m asking you about when you said you might be the one who could ride a dragon.”

  “Oh. That.”

  “Aye, that. Do you think you could do it?”

  “I don’t know. It was just something I said without thinking.”

  He studied me some more. “Sometimes the things we say before thinking are more of our truth than anything else.”

  I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I didn’t say so. There was no way I was going to be the one to ride a dragon. It took dragon tamers years to be able to touch the beasts, and dragon charmers far longer than that to develop a relationship with one dragon who wouldn’t kill the charmer on sight.

  Shula was traversing the trees that separated the mountain path from the sacred pools. Dean didn’t turn to watch her approach, but he realized. I could tell by the way he hurried to ask his next question before she entered ear shot. “May I share your secret with Shula?”

  My heart thumped. I had a lot of secrets. My heart thumped again. I’d decided to trust Dean, but nearly seventeen years of habits didn’t realize that. My body was tightening as if I were about to run. I forced myself to breathe and calm myself. “Are you sure she can be trusted?”

  “Completely. She’s the person I trust most on this entire planet. I promise you, because I know her so well, that she will guard your secret and your life, as well as Rosie’s, with her own. And she’s tough, trust me on that.”

  I didn’t have to. She looked tougher than tough. She looked like she could be the one to ride a dragon, simply because she might intimidate the dragon enough that the beast would submit to her.

  Shula was walking fast and with purpose, as I imagined she did everything. She’d reach us soon.

  “May I? It will be really helpful for her to understand the full picture of what’s going on. If she doesn’t, it’ll be harder for her to help us. And I—we—need her help. If Pumpoo tries anything, there’s no one I’d rather have on our side.”

  “She’d stand with us against Pumpoo?”

  “Aye.” Absolute certainty colored that single word. “You have to tell me now. Shula doesn’t miss much.”

  Meaning, she’s almost here, and she’ll either hear us or read body language or whatever else a kick-butt dragon charmer could do.

  “What’s your decision?” Dean pressed.

  “Okay.”

  “Good,” Dean said, and turned to welcome the dragon charmer, who looked like she ate small diplomats like Pumpoo for breakfast.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “What’s happening?” Shula, woman of succinct expression, asked the moment she entered Dean’s hearing range.

  “You finished class early?” he asked.

  “Aye, I sensed you needed me.”

  I was amazed by what I was hearing. Shula was referring to a connection like the one I shared with Rane, the kind that I’d believed was reserved for twins.

  “And I do,” Dean said. “I need your help.”

  “Tell me,” she said, arriving at the scene, her eyes registering everything about it, including the petite dragon who remained at my feet, but who’d raised her head to look at the newcomer.

  Dean opened his mouth to start, but then shut it. Shula turned to look over her shoulder. He said, “We don’t have a lot of time. Those two will be upon us fast.”

  “Those two” were Rane and Traya, but I didn’t know whether I should tell Dean that or not. I’d already taken too many risks that might end up involving them. While I deliberated, the dragon charmers moved on without me.

  “Yoon?” Dean asked.

  “I don’t know. He wasn’t with my group,” Shula said.

  “All right. Let me get through this before those two arrive. We have a baby dragon named Rosie. From what I can tell, her mother probably pushed her off a high cliff because Rosie’s development is stunted and deformed.”

  There was that deformed word I hated. He said it with kindness, but still.

  “She probably flew some to prevent the fall from killing her, but not enough. She was found on the lower cliffs beyond the village with severe injuries, but none deadly. The worst to her tail, but she’s recovering well.”

  Shula nodded once, her eyes, green like Dean’s, sparkling with intelligence. “Who found her?”

  “Well, that’s a story right there, one I’m still figuring out. But for now, let me introduce you to Anira.”

  “Anira?” Shula looked confused, something I doubted she often was.

  “Aye. She was born into our tribe, but she’s remained hidden since birth.”

  “Where is she?”

  My voice broke as I said, “Here.”

  Shula’s head snapped over in my direction so fast I thought the woman might hurt her neck. Instinctively, her hand went to her sword. Shula looked to Dean, her expression demanding immediate explanation.

  “It’s okay. She’s one of us.”

  I couldn’t help it, a warm sort of feeling spread through my entire body, starting in my chest and ending in my extremities.

  Shula relaxed her hand from the pommel of her sword, but moved it only to her hip. “How come I can’t see her?” she asked Dean.

  I answered. “Because I’m invisible.”

  “Invisible?”

  “Aye, invisible. I always have been, I don’t understand why.”

  “Faithum,” she said, as if the answer were obvious and I the only dense one not to have arrived at the conclusion earlier.

  While I recovered from hearing such a simple explanation of my condition, Dean answered her. “Yes, I believe so too. It makes sense.”

  Shula’s shiny black hair reflected an errant beam of sunlight as she nodded. “Are you always invisible?” she asked me. “Or can you turn it on and off?”

  “Hunh. I, um, have never tried to turn it off, actually. I assumed I would always be this way.”

  “Because you didn’t realize you had faithum?”

  Shula was smart. No wonder Dean counted on her.

  “Yes, because I always believed I was a mistake without reason.”

  Shula simply harrumphed, but her hmph spoke volumes. If only I’d revealed myself to them sooner, I might not have suffered my assumption that I was a universal error for so long.

  “The two are almost here,” Dean said.

  Shula asked, “Should we hide Rosie?” I liked how the woman already referred to Rosie by name.

  “Unfortunately, there’d be no point to it. All my students already saw her.”

  Shula looked at Dean with alarm.

  “I know,” he said. “It wasn’t how I would have planned it, but it’s what happened. Now we have to deal with things as they are.”r />
  “They’re running down the trail, that doesn’t bode well.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Dean drew up next to Shula. Together, they formed a human wall of protection around Rosie and me. “I have a feeling we’re not going to like what arrives with those two.”

  “Me too. I have the sense that whatever they deliver will change things in a way we can’t undo.”

  I had that feeling too. But my apprehension was different than theirs. Because I realized whatever news the two were running to deliver was likely to be bad for me, specifically.

  They were still too far up the trail for Dean and Shula to recognize, but not for me. I’d recognize them anywhere. “The two trainees are Rane and Traya, and they won’t harm us.”

  Dean and Shula both turned to look at the space I occupied. Dean asked, “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely. They’d do anything to protect me.” I might have revealed too much, but I didn’t think it mattered any more. Whether I wanted it or not, Traya and Rane were smack dab in the middle of things. And at the rate they were tearing down the trail toward us, things weren’t looking good.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Rane arrived several moments before Traya, but they both arrived out of breath.

  “What is it?” Dean asked them before Traya came to a full stop. They were both bent over at the waist, hands on their knees, breathing hard.

  “Chieftain Pumpoo,” Rane said. “He’s coming. He found out about the dragon.”

  I could tell Rane and Traya were trying hard not to look over at Rosie too long, trying not to give away my existence.

  Rane and Traya would freak out if they realized Dean and Shula knew about me, but I had to tell them. I couldn’t allow them to be the only ones there not to recognize what was really going on. It wouldn’t be fair, not after all they’d sacrificed to keep me safe.

  “They know about me,” I said, but then hurried to clarify before they said something that revealed that Rane and Traya were my family, and that they’d been harboring me in secret. But I wasn’t sure how to fix it without giving it all away. “I told them I was born into the tribe, and that I’ve been invisible since birth.”