by Jacki James
We mounted up and took off in search of the boat. It took us almost half an hour to get there, but there was no sign of the boat. “Okay, guys, we’ll use this location as the center and start a circle search. Be on the lookout for the target as well as any unusual marine activity.” We spread out just short of our dragon’s wings touching and began the canvas. We slowly circled out, expanding the search each time, until finally, Sindri spotted something. That is a human, she told me as she cut off to the right, pulling out of formation and heading for what looked like a small inflatable tube.
“Sindri spotted something; come on,” I said to the guys. They followed us over and sure enough, our target was in one of those tubes that people ride on as they’re pulled behind a boat. I didn’t see any possible way for us to rescue him without revealing ourselves, so we dropped the shield of magick surrounding us, preventing humans from seeing us. He sensed our approach and searched for the source. He cupped his hand over his eyes to block the sun and looked up at us. I couldn’t imagine what this looked like to him. Three huge dragons with men on their backs flying around you probably wasn’t anywhere on his list of possible rescue scenarios
“Dr. Gibbs,” I called to him. “We’re here to get you. Your wife called and said you didn’t make it home last night, and the coast guard got your distress signal.”
“Is that… a dragon?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yes, it’s a dragon.” I saw the wheels in his head spinning, and I imagined as a scientist he must have a million questions. “Let’s get you safely to shore and we can answer any questions you may have.”
“Shore,” he repeated. “That sounds like a marvelous idea.” Sindri’s head lifted and her ears perked up. I noticed Kesia’s and Itsaso’s did the same. “Are they with you?” Dr. Gibbs asked, pointing behind us. We turned and saw four dragon-like creatures fast approaching. “Zale, take Dr. Gibbs and go.”
Malachite flew up next to me and we prepared to fight. Zale swooped down and Itsaso took Dr. Gibbs and his tube in his claws, and they cut to the left and headed for shore.
“What the hell are they doing here?” Malachite asked.
“I have no idea, but I’m getting pretty freaking tired of them knowing where we are all the blasted time.”
“This is the third time this month,” he said. “There’s no way that’s a coincidence.”
“Nope, not a chance. I think Zale’s far enough away. You ready?”
“Yep, let’s go.” We took off up into the sky and farther out to sea, away from where Zale had taken the doctor. I looked back to make sure they all followed us, and they did. So the doctor didn't seem to be the target. That meant either one of us was or The Order of Amsel were fucking with us. We led them on a merry chase through the clouds. I noticed a small island ahead, and the timing was perfect because I’d had enough.
“Time to get answers,” I told Malachite and sent a message to Sindri to land on the beach.
We climbed off our dragons and watched as the four wraiths soared above as if they couldn’t decide if they wanted to land or not.
“If they’re smart, they'll keep going,” Malachite said.
“Yeah, but nobody ever accused The Order of being smart,” I said as I watched them descend. Wraiths were nasty looking creatures. They were dragons, but they weren’t. Their magick had been corrupted and turned dark. I had always thought they most closely resembled demons, all black and surrounded by smoke. The men landed on the beach and hopped off their wraiths, assuming a fighting stance. I shook my head and sighed. Malachite and I shared a look and prepared to fight.
“I’ll take the two on the left,” Malachite said. “And then if you need help, I’ll take one of yours.”
I laughed because he probably would. Where most people messed up when challenging Malachite was they assumed his size was his biggest advantage. They would be wrong. He was fast, and he was precise.
“Guys. I’m not really in the mood to do this today. How about if you just tell me what I want to know, and we skip the part where we kick your sorry asses?” I said.
“Kick our asses?” one of the men asked in disbelief. “There are four of us and only two of you.”
“Yeah.” I shook my head and sighed. “You should’ve brought more guys.”
The idiot roared and charged at me. When would they ever learn not to be goaded into attacking? I stood perfectly still until he got close, then I swiped my leg under his mid-step and flipped him back. I moved into a fighting stance and waited. He got back up and came at me again. He threw a punch with his right hand, as I raised up both hands to block the punch. I grabbed his arm with my right hand and spun to the left, hitting him in the face with my elbow. He stumbled backward and I dropped low to the ground, swinging my left leg around and sweeping his legs out from under him, again. But this time, he stayed down. I turned to look for the second guy, but Malachite already had him on the ground with his two. I raised one eyebrow at him and he shrugged.
I reached down and grabbed my guy by the hair, lifting his head off the ground. “What were you doing here?”
“Nothing, we were out flying and saw you guys and came to see what was up.”
“Bullshit. What were you doing here?” I asked, tightening my hand in his hair. He closed his lips tight and refused to speak. I heard heavy steps move my way, and then Sindri roared as she warned this guy’s wraith back. The last thing I wanted was a dragon fight. Those always ended poorly. I threw his head back down against the ground.
“Tell Liaphist I said to back the fuck off. I have no idea what the deal is, but it stops now. I don’t want to see a member of the Order anywhere near me or mine again. Come on Malachite,” I said, climbing on Sindri’s back and taking to the sky with Malachite right beside me.
We flew to the beach where Zale waited with Dr. Gibbs. “This is astounding. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!” he exclaimed. “Dragons, real dragons. Except not real dragons at all, magic dragons. I’m speechless. It’s just astounding.”
“Are you okay, Dr. Gibbs?” I asked.
“Am I okay? I’m amazing. A few hours ago I thought I was shark bait, and now I’ve seen dragons.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed meeting Itsaso. I’m sorry you didn’t get to know her longer,” I said, and I meant it. There were so many good people who would be excited to learn of their presence, unfortunately, we couldn’t allow that to happen.
“What, what do you mean?” he asked confused. I walked to him and gripping the back of his head with my right hand, I brought his forehead to mine.
“Mirsta, forget,” I said, and the same waves of energy that preceded our dragons’ appearances enveloped us. The three dragons took their places back on our arms as I carefully and respectfully searched his memories, making sure to only erase the ones that involved us. Taking a deep breath, I released him. He stepped back looking baffled, almost like he was sure he should remember something but couldn’t.
For a moment I thought he might panic, but he shook his head to clear it and looked around taking in his surroundings. “What happened? Who are you?” I watched as he tried to put it together, but I knew all he found was a blank space.
“I’m not sure what happened, sir,” I said, sounding sincere. “My brothers and I were out enjoying the beach, and we found you floating off the shore in this.” I pointed to the round inflatable tube lying on the beach. “You seemed to be unconscious. Are you okay?”
He squinted his eyes trying to remember how he got here, and then they flew open. “Yes, my sailboat sank. I was sailing along and I hit something just under the surface. I’m not sure what. She started taking on water, so I sent out a distress signal. I waited as long as possible, but she took on water fast. I grabbed the tube that my wife likes to use to float on and jumped in the water. I spent ages dog paddling and blowing up that damnable tube. Finally, I got enough air in it for it to be buoyant; I was exhausted, so I climbed inside. That’s the last thing I remember.”
/> “Well, that’ll be a story to tell your friends now, won’t it? I’m just glad you’re okay. Can we call someone for you?”
“Yes, please. I need to call my wife. She must be worried sick,” he said, and I handed him my phone. He made the call, and we insisted on calling the coast guard to tell them he’d been found. They sent someone over and we turned him over to them.
We walked along the beach until we were out of sight and called on our dragons. We needed to get back home. It was past time for Eeli to be home from school and I needed to think. What the hell was Liaphist up to? Why send his men to meddle in our business? It was almost like he was doing it just to be irritating. But why would he do that? It made no sense. Ever since he had taken over The Order they had become more intrusive. We flew into the hanger and climbed off. All three dragons shrank to house size and ran up the stairs and into the house. I was sure they were looking for Bo.
I followed them up and called for Eeli, but he didn’t answer. I checked the family message board where we posted notes. Mine from earlier telling him we’d been called out was still there, but there wasn’t one from him. The dragons seemed anxious, making twittering noises and chattering to each other. I scooped Sindri up in my arms. What is it? I felt her shaking in my arms. Something is wrong. We can’t find Bo or Eeli, but we can feel Bo’s panic.
I looked up to meet the worried gazes of my brothers who’d all got the same message from their dragons. “Split up and try to find them. Hopefully, the closer we get to Bo the better the chance they’ll find him.”
We headed out the door when Zale stopped and listened. “Bo says he’s near the ocean, but higher.”
Malachite and I looked at each other. “The cliffs,” we both said at the same time, and we rushed to the edge of the cliff behind the house. As we neared the edge, we heard Bo making twittering and growling noises from over the edge. I got down on my stomach and looked over. Eeli was motionless, lying below on a ledge about fifteen feet down. His eyes were closed, but I saw his chest lifting and falling with each shallow breath.
“He’s alive,” I said, calling on Sindri to grow to full size. I turned to Malachite and Zale. “Malachite, you go get his bed ready and get me what I need to take care of him. Zale, you head to town and get the doc. I don’t care what he’s doing, get him back here to take care of Eeli.” I jumped on Sindri and we flew down to get our brother.
Chapter Four
Tobias
My first morning in Dargum's Cove I’d stumbled on a diner that made the best breakfast. The waitress, Elsie, was warm and friendly. She asked me how long I’d be in town, and what my plans were. When I told her I came there to see the tide pools, she got really excited. She explained how her family had been going there since she was a child, and now she took her own children. She also shared a bunch of tips about the best places to go to.
She’d asked me my name and without even thinking, I’d said Toby. Maybe because I was feeling nostalgic after hearing her talk about going to the tide pools as a child, maybe because I was here to remember who I was when I wasn’t Dr. Tobias Wells, or maybe because I just wanted to be a regular guy having fun. Whatever the reason, it felt good to be just Toby again.
I walked along the sidewalk trying to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my day. I had nothing planned and didn’t need to be anywhere particular; it was a wonderful feeling. I’d been here five days, and between the salt air and the lack of commitments, I was both relaxed and invigorated at the same time. I thought back to the last time I felt this at ease, but I couldn’t pinpoint it.
It may have been because I was a late in life child for them, but whatever the reason, my relationship with my parents had never been what most would consider normal. They’d been good parents, but they were both academics and had no idea how to relate to a small child. Once I’d gotten older, our relationship had improved markedly, and we’d became close, but more as friends than as parent to child. My mother’s grandmother had been the only source of nurturing I’d had. Luckily for me, she’d watched me while my mother worked, so I’d spent a lot of time with her. She was the only one who had called me Toby. My parents had insisted it was a child’s name, and people should use my proper name. She had scoffed at that and continued to call me Toby. It was like the day she died, fun, curious Toby had died with her, and all that was left was serious Tobias.
I walked into the diner to get some pie and was pleased to see Elsie still at work.
“Toby, how’re you doing this afternoon?” she asked as I took a seat at the counter.
“Fantastic, Elsie. Fantastic. I don’t know if it’s the sea air or what, but I don’t think I’ve ever slept so good in my life. There’s something special about Dargum’s Cove.” I’m sure I was being fanciful, but it was the truth. From the moment I saw the name on the map when I was deciding where to go on this little vacation, a sense of rightness had settled over me.
“Well, those of us who live here think so. Most people grow up wanting to escape the small town they grew up in. Not me, I grew up here and I never want to leave. Well, not permanently, anyway. I really want to see Ireland.”
“Me, too. It’s on my list. There and I’d like to go to Spain someday,” I said.
“So I assume that means you aren’t tired of our little town, yet.”
“Heavens, no. I spent the day shopping. I wanted to go to all the unique shops on Main Street.”
“Did you make it to all of them?” she asked.
“No, I got distracted and spent way too long in The Overlord’s Lair.”
She laughed. “Yeah, that shop’s different. Between that one and the junk shop up the street, I could get lost for hours.”
“I did, and now I need pie.”
“Of course, you do. Everyone needs pie. What kind you want this afternoon?”
“A slice of coconut cream, if you have any. That and a cup of coffee ought to do it.” While I waited for her to bring my pie, I took a few minutes to post a couple of photos on my social media so everyone would know I was still alive. Then I closed the apps and returned the phone to my pocket. That was about as much interaction as I wanted with the world outside of Dargum’s Cove right now. It wasn’t long before she put my pie and coffee in front of me. “That looks so good. If I’m not careful, I’m going to gain twenty pounds on vacation. But if I do, it’ll be worth it.” I sat there eating, trying to decide what to do with the rest of my vacation when a beautiful young man rushed into the diner. He had long blond hair and was on the smaller side, but I could tell he was muscular.
“Elsie, do you know where Doctor Evans is? I went to his office, but it’s locked up.”
“He’s out of town this week, Zale. He has a doctor from the city coming over and covering half days, but they’ve already gone back for today.”
I saw the panic in his eyes and felt sorry for the young man. “Eeli’s hurt, and Az sent me to get the doc.” And with that one sentence, my anonymity flew out the window.
“I’m a doctor. If you take me to him, I can try to help.”
He looked at me with more suspicion than I would’ve expected in someone so young. “You're really a doctor? Like a medical doctor, not like a doctor of geology or something?”
“I’m a for real board certified physician from the state of Maine here on vacation. Do you want my help or not?”
He glanced to Elsie, and she nodded yes. I had no idea why her approval meant I was okay, but he let out a deep breath and said, “Okay, come with me.”
I followed him around the corner of the diner to the back where he stopped and turned to face me. “What’s your name?”
“Tobias Wells. But you can call me Toby.”
“Okay, Toby, my name’s Zale and I need you to listen to me. My brother needs your help and I don’t have time for you to freak out. I’m about to show you something that’ll seem impossible, but I need you to trust me.”
“Okay,” I said cautiously. I didn’t know what I’d got
ten myself into, but I wanted to believe that Elsie wouldn’t have sent me off with the young man if he wasn’t sane. He closed his eyes and mumbled something that sounded like aroko. The air around him shimmered with a strange blue energy, and a huge blue dragon appeared beside him. I took a couple of steps back, and the dragon’s long neck turned and followed my movements.
“Don’t run,” Zale said. “She’s much faster than you are, anyway.”
I froze and stared at the creature. She was a beautiful iridescent blue color with a long tail and magnificent wings. She had powerful limbs and a long back. Basically, she looked like a dragon. She turned her head toward Zale and they seemed to be having a conversation without using words.
“She says we don’t have time for you to freak out. Eeli needs your help, and you need to come with us.”
“Come with you how?” I glanced around the empty parking lot for a car, but didn’t see one.
“Itsaso will take us there,” he said hopping up on the blue giant’s back. “Come on.” He held a hand out to help me get up onto the back of a freaking dragon.
“Oh, hell no. I’m not riding on that thing. How do I even know it can really fly?”
The dragon huffed at me like she couldn’t believe my stupidity, and I took another step back.
Zale sighed. “I really didn’t want to have to do it this way. Are you sure you won’t climb up? It’ll be a much more enjoyable ride.”
“More enjoyable than what?” I asked.
“I don’t have time for this shit right now,” he said in an exasperated voice. “Let’s go,” he said to the dragon, and for one foolish moment, I thought they were leaving. The dragon flapped her enormous wings and rose into the air. She flew around the parking lot, picking up speed, and then flew right at me.