by Bryan Davis
“Flint,” Bonnie whispered. “Can you hear me?”
Grimacing, he choked out gurgling words. “Valiant. You must help Valiant.”
Bonnie shifted to the other man and, with a heave, turned him over. Valiant’s dark curls waved in the warm breeze, but the rest of his body stayed motionless. He was breathing, but with multiple wounds in his chest and his belly oozing blood, he wouldn’t be breathing for long.
“I have to get you both to Ashley.” Bonnie slid her hands under Flint’s back.
“No.” Flint clutched her sleeve, pulling the arrow and sending a new shock wave of pain through her body. She tried not to let it show, but a grunt pushed through.
“Take Valiant,” Flint said, his voice slightly stronger. “You cannot take us both, so allow me this one sacrifice to make amends for my many sins against Abraham … my beloved father.”
Bonnie looked at her engagement ring. Sunlight made the red gem light up with brilliant sparkles. She pulled the ring off and slid it onto Flint’s finger. “Abraham gave this to you long ago, and he kept it with him, even as he burned. For some reason, he left it behind. I think he wanted someone to give it back to you.”
Flint drew his hand close to his face. He smiled again, then closed his eyes and let his head droop to the side. As his chest drew in a final breath, the companion settled there, and its light faded away.
Tears once again flowing, Bonnie shifted back to Valiant and slid her hands under his armpits. Using her legs and wings, she dragged him to Heaven’s Gate where Ashley sat next to Walter’s body. Yereq stood guard in front of the two Oracles, while Enoch knelt over Walter.
Panting, she nodded at Valiant. “No time to talk. Please take care of him.” Without another word, she flew to the western end of the field and joined Billy.
Goliath stood over Roxil, a clawed foot resting on her underbelly. Clefspeare and Makaidos stalked around him, apparently searching for a way to catch him off guard, but Goliath’s head rotated with them, and when his neck twisted beyond its limits, he snapped it back around and began following them again.
“You must stand down, son,” Makaidos said. “Even if you kill Roxil, you can never escape. Between Clefspeare and me, you stand no chance.”
“Give me my son back,” Goliath growled. “Allow me to fly away with him, and I will release my mate. I will never return to haunt your pathetic tribe again.”
Billy whispered to Bonnie, “This has been going on ever since I got here. The words have changed, but the standoff remains the same.”
Bonnie searched for Karrick. She spotted a splash of red scales surrounded by Thigocia, Hartanna, Legossi, and Firedda. She then scanned the field again. Two dragons were missing, Yellinia and Sorentine. Bonnie had guessed that Yellinia was Devin’s victim out on the battlefield, but what had happened to Sorentine?
Listener had dismounted Ember and was now standing near the ring of dragons, though she appeared to be back far enough to avoid danger. Gabriel and Shiloh stood behind her, while Elam and Barlow, both with swords drawn, watched from the opposite side of the circle.
“Karrick is under our protection,” Makaidos said. “He has seen your traitorous ways, your brutal betrayal of his mother, and has requested asylum among us. We will not give him over to you.”
“This is new,” Billy whispered to Bonnie. “Just keep your eyes and ears open and be ready for anything.”
A low growl erupted from Goliath’s throat. “You know our law. He is not of age, so he cannot consent to join with you. As his father, I decide his fate.”
“I know the law, and the king can overrule a father’s rights if a son applies for asylum.” Makaidos extended his neck, bringing his head close to Goliath’s. “And I am the king.”
Goliath spat a wad of fire on the ground. “The king of pride. The king of arrogance. You lord your authority over all your subjects, just as you did over Roxil and me. Your insane loyalty to corrupt humans incited us and other dragons to seek to protect our own kind.”
Makaidos snorted. “And you say this with the claws of death ready to rip open your own mate.”
“I am willing to sacrifice one for the good of many others. You did that yourself.”
“You speak as a fool! I sacrificed myself, not someone else.” Makaidos stretched out his wing and gently pulled Listener into his webbing. “This is the precious girl who asked to die for the sake of my daughters, but I could not allow her to pay the price of blood for dragon children she did not even know.” He touched the other wing tip to his chest. “Roxil and Ashley were bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. If they were to find deliverance in the ultimate Messiah, I had to be the one to give up my own blood to show them the way.”
“It is true,” Roxil said as she lifted her head from the ground. “I agreed with you during our days of foolishness, but when I saw our father burn in flames, his joy increasing with every painful moment as he gave his life for my sake, I knew that our rebellion was folly. Our father’s every act, whether we agreed with it or not, was fueled by love, and when I saw that love, I knew that his love for humankind was pure and righteous. He loved humans, corrupt and stupid as they were, just as he loved you and me, though we never ceased in our rebellion. It took his suffering and death for me to finally see past my hatred, but now I understand what love really is.”
Goliath blew out a stream of sparks. “He was grandstanding. He knew he would come back to life and lord his self-righteousness over us once again. But he cannot fool me. I am wise to his trickery. I can see—”
“My son!” Thigocia pleaded. “The Nephilim spirits are speaking these lies to you. Can you not see their schemes? No matter how great your father’s deeds of sacrifice, the spirits burn them into scornful ashes. He can do nothing good in your sight. Your controlling spirits will not allow it.”
Goliath’s eyes flashed. “There are no spirits! No one has control of me. I am autonomous.”
Listener broke away from Makaidos, ran to Goliath, and petted his scales as she looked into his eyes. “Daddy?” she cried out. “Is that you?”
Everyone stared, mesmerized. The little girl was now out of reach, beyond rescue.
“Daddy?” Goliath drew his head back. “This child is proving her madness once again. She who sought to die for her betters now wonders if one is her own father.”
“But Daddy …” Listener laid a palm on each side of his head as she continued staring. “I see you in there. I have not forgotten when you told Candle and me stories in front of the fire. We used to snuggle, and you would look at me with those same red and flashing eyes as you told of the dragons of old who would breathe fire instead of ice and help the humans battle against enormous angels called Watchers who had enslaved the world.”
Goliath’s words stumbled out like those of a stuttering drunkard. “Many know these … these stories. It … it wasn’t I who told them to you.”
“But you did. I will never forget the one about a great red dragon who spoke these vows to his new mate, the same vows you spoke to my mother, Angel.”
Listener folded her hands, and, looking up, she spoke in a singsong chant. “Sweet are the days of those in love, yet too short for the breadth of love’s endurance. When death comes to end our story, the words of love I write will find another page, for—”
“For our book of affection can have no end,” Goliath finished. His eyes now seemed glazed over, a duller shade of red.
She set her hands on his face again. As dragon and girl stared at each other, Listener added, “Those were the words of my father’s vow to my mother. He said he would love her even after death.”
A thin line of smoke rose from Goliath’s nostrils. Almost incoherently, he mumbled, “Even after death.”
She pulled his head closer, so close he could have killed her with a single puff. “Do you still love her?”
Goliath’s eyes rotated toward Roxil, then back to Listener. He seemed lucid now, though his tone was much gentler than Goliath’s norm
al tenor. “Your mother was your father’s mate, not mine. He died. She died. Why raise the issue?”
“Are you the great red dragon my father told me about, the one who spoke the vows?”
Goliath drew back again. “How did you learn these words of mine? I composed them, but I never spoke them to my mate. I chose a different vow.”
Roxil spoke up, still underneath Goliath’s foot. “Your vow was similar, but not exactly the same. You said, ‘When death comes to end our story, the words I write will find another page.’ You said nothing about love or affection.”
A scowl bent Goliath’s brow. He snatched Listener’s clothes with his wing’s claw and set her down next to Makaidos. “This is trickery,” Goliath said. “You are filling my mind with confusion.”
Thigocia pleaded again. “My son, Listener is reminding you of your true nature. When you were here as a human, you were kind and noble and good. When you are in your dragon form, the spirits of the Nephilim control you and tell you lies. Listen to Listener, for she has listened to you and learned of your integrity. Fight against the demons who have controlled you for all these centuries. If you truly want to think for yourself, then you must win this battle.”
Goliath looked at Thigocia. Again his eyes turned dull as he whispered, “Mother, I … I cannot fight them. … Help me.”
“Father!” Ashley ran into the gathering, her eyes wide and streaming tears as she reached her arms around Makaidos’s neck. “Walter is dying. Enoch says that only another sacrifice will allow the birthing garden to restore him.”
Chapter 19
Another Sacrifice
Makaidos nuzzled Ashley’s cheek. “But there are no remaining bones. How will the garden be energized?”
Ashley dug a bone from her pocket, the finger bone she had found at Abraham’s wall of fire. “There is this one. Maybe it will be enough.”
Makaidos lifted his foreleg and looked at a gap in his clawed hand. One appendage was missing.
He let out a long sigh. “It will be enough.”
“Makaidos?” Thigocia spread a wing toward him. “What do you intend to do?”
“I intend to save another life.” He turned toward Heaven’s Gate. “If my son-in-law dies, a valiant warrior will perish, and my daughter will be heartbroken. I cannot allow it.”
“You have already given so much,” Thigocia said. “You have died thrice. Will you be able to cheat death again?”
As he shuffled toward the garden, he shook his head. “No, my love. There will be no more bones, for the ones that fill my frame now have no resurrection power.”
She dipped her head. “Very well, my darling. I shall not try to persuade you to turn against the love in your heart.”
“It seems that our reunion is short-lived.” He stopped and looked at her. “But when we meet on the other side of that gate, we will never be apart again.”
“Let it be so.” As Makaidos continued his march, Ashley at his side, Thigocia turned back to Goliath. “Is it grandstanding you perceive now, my son? Do you see a charlatan, or a loving father?”
Goliath wagged his head back and forth as if trying to cast off a spider’s web. “I … I cannot see. I cannot hear.”
“Concentrate!” Thigocia set her wings on each side of his head. “Look at me and focus on my eyes.”
Goliath’s eyes flashed back to their more vibrant color, but his manner stayed calm. “I am focusing.”
Now speaking softly and slowly, Thigocia continued. “Release your mate.”
Goliath lifted his foot. Roxil rolled out from underneath and rose to her haunches.
“Good, my son. Now listen to my words. Your father loves you. He has always loved you. Just as you love your own son and do not want to lose him, so your father never wanted to lose you. You know the pain you suffered in your heart when Karrick chose to leave you. Oh, my son, it was ten times worse for your father, for instead of his wise teachings, you chose to listen to the foul song of demons. His firstborn, the crown prince of the dragons, decided to follow the Prince of Darkness, and how great the darkness has become. Because of your rebellion, his life has been but one death after another, each one a result of a series of events you set in motion. Yet, he has borne these sorrows and suffered these deaths willingly, for ever since you left his loving embrace, he died in his spirit every time he awoke from slumber to find that you were still a rebel.”
Sparks drizzled from Goliath’s nostrils. “How will he die now? Who will kill him?”
Sudden pain shook Bonnie from a trance. Billy had brushed against her arm and the still-protruding arrow. Since he was also mesmerized by the dragons’ conversation, he hadn’t even noticed the pain he had inflicted.
Bonnie studied Makaidos’s shuffling gait as he closed in on the garden. Goliath’s question was valid. Who would kill him? Every enemy had been vanquished.
She looked at Excalibur, the hilt still clenched in Billy’s grip. Would he have to do it? Could he bring himself to take the life of a king in order to save Walter?
“Come,” Thigocia said. “We shall see what the king of the dragons has in mind.”
Still encircling Karrick as he walked, the female dragons half shuffled and half flew to the garden. Goliath and Roxil trailed them, while Bonnie and the other humans followed, Elam in the lead and Gabriel bringing up the rear.
Bonnie sidled up to Billy and whispered. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I think so, but I can’t see how anyone here could kill him.”
From his other side, Sir Barlow spoke up. “Nor I, William. It is a terrible task indeed. Perhaps it will fall to the duty of the warrior chief.”
Elam shook his head. “After all we’ve been through, I would rather die myself.”
“Billy, you’ll probably be called upon to energize the bone,” Bonnie said. “I think Sapphira’s still unconscious.”
Billy nodded. “I can do that, but let’s see what Enoch says.”
When they had all crossed the garden and drew near to Heaven’s Gate, Billy weaved through the crowd, stepped ahead of Makaidos and Ashley, and dropped to one knee in front of Enoch. “I have brought Excalibur.” He laid it on his palms and lifted it up. “A few years ago, Professor Hamilton traveled from Oxford to a little town in West Virginia. His faith in me led to the salvation of all dragonkind, and without his guiding hand, I would never have had the spirit or the courage to give my life for a race that spawned a few traitors who tried to kill me. So now I cannot dishonor the professor by lifting my hand to destroy the great king of the race for which we both sacrificed so much.”
“Well spoken.” Enoch grasped the hilt and lifted Excalibur. Then, touching Billy on each shoulder, he said, “By the power vested in me by the Majesty on High, I dub you a Knight of Heaven, for although a few precious souls might be willing to die for a friend, anyone who gives his life for those who hate him surely possesses the spirit of the ultimate Messiah.”
Billy looked up at Enoch. “I will do my best to wear that title with honor and integrity.”
Enoch gestured for him to rise. Lifting Excalibur high, Enoch spoke with a commanding voice that seemed to echo throughout Second Eden. “When Billy energizes this final remnant from the bones of Makaidos, the birthing garden will have the power to regenerate all who stand on its soil, including Gabriel, who lost his physical body in the earthly realm. As before, when the dragons passed in front of the Great Key, all who have dragon traits will be able to choose their form, a state they will keep for the rest of their natural lives, but this time, they must bear witness to that choice before we begin. Each of you will speak the words that God’s spirit will reveal to your hearts.”
He pointed the sword at Billy. “Take the hand of your fiancée, for the two of you will speak first. Have no fear that the wounded are in travail, for God will watch over them until we are finished.” He looked at Bonnie’s arm. “We will tend to that arrow very soon.”
Bonnie joined hands with Billy. As
he looked into her eyes, Billy said, “I choose to stay as I am, the way God made me. I will breathe fire and sense danger for all my days.”
She pulled their clenched hands close to her chest. “And I choose the same. I will be content to be hounded by the media and to be called a freak.” Breaking into a big smile, she added, “I will be a freak for God.”
Gabriel raised a hand. “I’m with you. Being a winged wonder is very cool. I never really wanted to be anything else.”
“And now you, Ashley,” Enoch said as he shifted the sword toward her.
Ashley knelt beside Walter’s body. As blood drained from the gash on his head, he heaved shallow breaths.
Enoch leaned down and touched her shoulder. “Fear not, my child. God will sustain him.”
A hint of a smile broke through. “I agree with my brother and with Billy and Bonnie. I would like to stay as I am.”
“Very well.” Enoch moved the sword’s point from dragon to dragon.
“I will no longer be Irene Silver,” Hartanna said. “I will be Irene Conner, for my husband has returned, and he has restored his good name. I am proud to wear it again.”
Clefspeare bowed low. “I will again be a husband to my dear Marilyn and a father to my noble and courageous son. I hope soon to take a daughter-in-law under my proverbial, if not literal, wing. I choose to be human.”
Legossi lifted her head high. “I was born a dragon, and I will stay a dragon. If humans continue to despise my form, then so be it. I will show them the spirit of true integrity as I guard their backsides whether they like it or not.”
“I am sorry, my old friend,” Firedda said. “I was never very skilled at being a human, but I wish to return to Earth as a human to continue searching for my youngling.”
Enoch shifted the sword and pointed it toward the sky. Everyone turned and looked. Another female dragon flew toward them, carrying two wriggling bodies. When she landed in the garden, she kept a foot planted on each one.
Bonnie grinned. It was Sorentine! And she carried Semiramis and Mardon in her claws!