At that moment, Tiqokh rose up from the depths on his powerful new wings, carrying the unconscious X’risp’hin in his arms. He landed and walked to the gate. X’risp’hin was dressed in golden garments, finer than even Lok’lok-sur-nep-dahé could have sewn. Then Davix understood where X’risp’hin had been.
His head was still spinning, but now he had a purpose. Climbing to his feet, Davix asked, “Is he all right?”
“Yes, but he needs to rest.”
“Of course. Follow me inside.”
Tiqokh lay X’risp’hin in the bed and sat beside him, feeling his forehead with his scaly hand. “As predicted, the transformation was considerably less traumatic this time. All his life signs are healthy. But he will sleep for many hours.”
X’risp’hin rolled over in his sleep. “His arm!” Davix said. “It’s healed.”
“It is the way of the transformation. When he came back to his human self, he was whole again. D’gada-vixtet-thon, if you have been assigned duties elsewhere, I can watch over him.”
“No, I’ll do that. No one wants to see me anyway.”
Tiqokh rose to his feet. “The way you are being treated by the dragons is not just. I believe you to be brave and loyal.”
Davix checked his impulse to reject the praise. “Thank you, Tiqokh. You are different from the mixed beings I have known.”
“Yes, I remain loyal to the Five.”
This made Davix smile. “Loyal you are, but not afraid to question their actions, nor those of Grav’nan-dahé.”
“True. I am not the same as before my time on Earth. Perhaps that is why I was spared when the other mixed beings fell.”
X’risp’hin moaned, and Davix bent to kiss his forehead. “I hope one day I can see the Realm of Earth,” he said. The thought had not occurred to him before. And now the desire to follow his fleshmate home made his heart ache.
Tiqokh left, and Davix lay down beside X’risp’hin. He was careful not to disturb him, but he was anxious to have their bodies touching. He felt a strange power flowing in himself, like he would cure his boyfriend of all his troubles if only they stayed in contact. For the first time in days, he felt at peace.
He awakened many hours later to find X’risp’hin on top of him, kissing his face—cheeks, ears, forehead, and finally his responsive mouth. The boy was naked, the golden clothes tossed aside, his hands inside Davix’s clothes, all but tearing them off in his desire.
“Where am I?” X’risp’hin asked, hands exploring, voice throaty with desire.
Davix could barely talk. “You are here…oh…” X’risp’hin’s probing hands had found their mark. “Here in…Sur’s bedchamber.”
“And who am I?”
Davix tried to slow him down. “Do you not know? Are you delirious? We should stop if you don’t—”
X’risp’hin would not be stopped. “Say it, tell me who I am!”
“You are X’risp’hin of the Realm of Earth. You are the Dragon Groom. You are my boyfriend, with whom I am tangled.”
X’risp’hin made a noise from deep inside himself, a moan and a growl, ancient and primal, and quintessentially human. His hands and mouth ranged across Davix’s body with no hint of shyness. He rolled them over and threw himself open to Davix’s hunger, his breath broken like sobs.
And Davix found in X’risp’hin a set of doors, opening one onto the other for him, and opening still, until there was nothing left to reveal.
…and Davix opened me piece by piece—pieces of myself I didn’t even know were in there—until I had nothing left to hide.
Chapter 49: Pulling at Tethers
The abode of Vixtet was about two-thirds of the way down the central core of Farad’hil. The spiral road widened out into a large outcropping, and Vixtet kept a small garden there, perfect and peaceful. That’s where we gathered for Sur’s memorial. In the middle of the garden was a flat-topped, polished stone of red shot through with green veins. On top were the jewels from Sur’s breast. White flowers were strewn so thickly around the base of rock, it looked like it was floating on a cloud.
The small garden was filled with mourners. Tiqokh was there, as were the fifteen or so humans in Farad’hil, dressed in the best clothes they could find for the occasion. Vixtet and Inby were standing behind the flat-topped rock, and we were all waiting for Renrit, who was waddling slowly down the road in our direction. We could already see him rounding the last bend, but it would still be at least ten minutes before he reached us. Queen Etnep wouldn’t be attending. She never left her caves except for her Cliffside flyover on Sarensikar. Not even for her daughter’s funeral.
This was the fourth funeral of my life. A kid from my class died of leukaemia when we were ten, though we weren’t really friends. Then there was my mom’s best friend, who I used to call Aunt Sunny, and my grandpa two years back. That was the first one where the monumental cruelty of death really impressed me. I squeezed Davix’s hand, and he kissed the top of my head.
We had hardly let go of each other since we’d woken up, but we also barely spoke a word. Neither of us wanted to state the obvious. Now that my groom duties were done, they’d be sending me back to Earth. And sure, I wanted to get home to my family and eat a really big plate of double-cheese nachos, but the idea of leaving Davix was a knife in my heart. So was Sur’s funeral. The whole day was nothing but knives, one after the other. When I got back to school, I could tell my English teacher I finally got how Julius Caesar must have felt. School. The idea of walking those corridors was as strange to me now as riding on Sur’s back had been three weeks earlier.
Grav’nan had invited me to stand up front with him and the dragons, but it was clear Davix was not welcome to join me. I declined with a regally pissed-off look on my face. Hate on my boyfriend, hate on me.
Renrit was finally negotiating the narrow entrance to the garden when a kid called down to me from a nearby tree branch.
“Dragon Groom, do you recognize me?” I looked up at his smiling face and the unclouded freedom in his eyes. Maybe the war hasn’t killed everything good.
“Oh yeah, you’re the kid from the classroom, the one that stupid teacher was whaling on. Felix, right?”
“Fexil,” the boy said. “I have something for you.” He reached into his tunic and pulled out my wolf head necklace.
“Oh my God, thanks! Where did you find it?” The silver chain was broken, but other than that, it was none the worse for wear.
“After Great Sur flew away with you, a man from Stoneworks was showing it off to everyone. He said he found it lying in the square, but that’s a lie. Everyone says he pulled it off your neck deliberately.”
“So, how did you get it from him?”
With evident pride, Fexil said, “He put it in his pocket, and I, well, took it out.”
I was about to say thanks again, when Fexil jumped down from the tree and gave me a big hug.
“Dragon Groom, I am grateful you came to the Realm of Fire. We will miss you.”
I choked up. “Well, yeah, kid, I’ll miss you, too. And tell that teacher of yours if he messes with you, I’m going to come back with all the dragons of Earth and give him a piece of my mind.” The boy nodded with great seriousness, and I wondered for the first time whether there really were dragons on Earth. If so, what were they like? And where were they hiding?
The memorial service was spoken in the ancient tongue, with no eulogy or anything personal about Sur. Renrit did most of the reciting, but Grav’nan did a bit, too. His usual loud chanting voice got all messed up at one point, and I was shocked to realize he was crying, which set my own waterworks flowing.
When the chanting was over and everyone had sunk into silent contemplation, I called out from my place in the back. “Can I say something?”
Grav’nan, despite his red, teary eyes, managed to get bureaucratic. “There is no place for extemporizing at such a solemn occasion, Dragon Groom.”
“LET HIM SPEAK,” said Vixtet.
I came forward,
wiping my eyes on my sleeve, and handed Renrit a leather folder stuffed full of loose paper and tied with red ribbon.
“These are Sur’s poems. I don’t know if there’s any other poetry in the DragonLaw, but I think these have to be there. They’re important. They’re part of her.”
Renrit took the folder in his huge, dainty fingers and bowed his head to me, which felt kind of wrong, so I bowed even deeper.
I turned to look at the little congregation. “Sur was really amazing. She had a lot of personality. She could be friendly, or angry, or even funny, which is something I’ve never seen in another dragon.” Behind me, the dragons grunted and shifted, making the ground wobble. “Uh, sorry, no offence,” I said. “Maybe you’re all hilarious at parties. And Sur was brave. She saved me, maybe saved the whole realm from the Air dragon. She was my friend. Please don’t forget her.”
Everyone was watching me as I walked back to the wall to stand with Davix, and I made a point of putting my arm around him. I had done my duty to Sur, making sure her poems would be remembered, but I also had a guilty little secret. I kept Sur’s final poem for myself. Maybe this is total ego, but I think she meant me to have it as a token of our bond. And I also thought there was a message in it for me about the future: To the souls lost and scattered when came the flood/Come you together at the call of the blood.
At the end of the service, most of the humans headed off to get dinner ready or whatever the dragons needed them to do. Renrit, Inby, and Vixtet were deep in conversation with Tiqokh and Grav’nan, and I thought what a big day for dahé it must have been, like a full-access backstage pass with his favourite band.
I wandered over to eavesdrop.
Vixtet was asking Inby, “IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE CAT SOLDIERS OF AIR TO REPAIR THE STRANDS?”
“¿¿IF THE MIXED BEINGS HAD THAT KNOWLEDGE,” Inby responded, “WHY NOT THE CAT SOLDIERS??”
Tiqokh said, “We cannot take that chance. The strands must never be restored.”
“Nor the cats allowed to live,” Grav’nan added, with a savagery that impressed me.
“THE PRIME MAGISTRATE SPEAKS TRUTH,” Vixtet said. “BUT RIDDING OUR REALM OF THESE BEASTS WILL TAKE TIME. THE DRAGON GROOM MUST BE RETURNED TO THE REALM OF EARTH FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE BLOOD.”
“I will take him across the strands to Earth immediately,” Tiqokh said, staring my way. My heart began to pound. I turned to look at Davix, who was talking to Stakrat, oblivious. If I left now, how long would it be before we met again? What would happen to him here, now that the dragons were being such jerks to him? Something rose in me, fierce and protective.
“What about D’gada-vixtet-thon?” I said to Vixtet, marching forward into their meeting. “Will you give me your word that he’ll be protected, too?”
Vixtet lowered her head until her face filled my whole field of vision. “WHY DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, DRAGON GROOM? THE HUMAN SLAYED A DRAGON. WE CAN HAVE NO SYMPATHY IN OUR HEARTS FOR SUCH EVIL.”
“Hypocrite,” I snapped at her, and Grav’nan gasped. “If it wasn’t for Davix, that Air dragon would still be around, maybe killing another one of you.” Vixtet raised her head and looked away, like I wasn’t worth listening to. So I shouted, “If you won’t promise to protect him, then I won’t leave. I refuse!”
Stakrat ran up to us, making a head and heart bow in Vixtet’s direction, though the dragon was still having a big sulk and not looking our way.
“Dragon Groom, what’s wrong?”
“They said I have to leave because of the stupid cats.” My voice was getting all high, and I felt the tears coming back. “But I won’t leave Davix alone if everyone here hates him.”
Stakrat’s voice was gentle. “We don’t hate him. I don’t hate him. X’risp’hin, there’s no safety for you here in the Realm of Fire as long as the cats are still prowling. You are too important to die.”
“So is Davix,” I answered stubbornly. I looked over at him, and he was smiling at me, with one long tear running down his high cheek. I walked around Vixtet’s body and back into her field of vision. “Davix is important to me!” For once in my life, I felt proud of myself.
Vixtet rose up on her hind legs, spread her wings wide, and roared so loud we all covered our ears. “THEN YOU CAN HAVE HIM! SEND THE DRAGON-KILLER TO EARTH! GET HIM AWAY FROM ME, AWAY FROM OUR REALM. NOW, NOW! I WON’T LOOK AT HIM ANOTHER MINUTE.” I wanted to freakin’ slap her. But then I realized what she had said. Davix was coming to Earth. My heart started thumping with excitement.
While everyone else was backing away slowly from the ticked-off dragon, Tiqokh stood his ground. “Great one, I do not know if the strands to Earth, delicate as they are, can support the passage of three. Such a strain might shatter their integrity and—”
But she was not in a listening mood. “I DON’T CARE. GO! GO! FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT VIABLE. DID WE NOT MAKE YOU MASTER OF STRAND MANIPULATION?”
Tiqokh bowed low. “Yes, Great Vixtet. Your humblest word is my law absolute.” Vixtet turned and jumped into the air, spiralling down into the core and out of sight. Without saying goodbye or thank you or anything, Inby and Renrit walked out of the garden together. If I had learned one thing in this adventure, it’s that gods can be total dicks.
“D’gada-vixtet-thon, approach,” Tiqokh called out. Davix stood next to me, and I took his hand. “Prepare yourself,” Tiqokh told him. “We fly to the Realm of Earth.”
“You mean me? You mean now?” Davix looked like he’d been hit with a brick.
“So has Great Vixtet decreed. We will climb the Stairwell of Lar’nak to the pinnacle of Farad’hil and there find the Garden at the Top of the World. From this holy site, we will launch ourselves across the strands when the realms are in alignment.”
“But my friends, my fellow students, and my Master Tix-etnep-thon-dahé! He is sick, Tiqokh, I must stay and care for him.”
“There is no time. We obey the orders of the great dragons.”
Davix’s hand was shaking in mine. I turned and hugged him hard. “Don’t worry. This is fantastic. And you’ll love Earth.” I could barely process what was happening. There wouldn’t be any heartbreaking separation. I was going home, and my wonderful boyfriend was going with me.
But he wasn’t celebrating like I wished he was. “Tiqokh, please, no! Cliffside is the only home I’ve ever known. I don’t want to leave.” He pulled out of my arms and went to Stakrat.
She ran her hands through his hair and then held his face in both hands. “Trust that this is your path, my brave friend. Hold your head high and experience Ekdahi. This is how you will serve the balance.”
“But what good can I be in a world where I can’t read the DragonLaw? Where I don’t understand the weather? In a world where I have no one?”
More hurt than I had a right to be, I said, “Well, you have me.” He looked my way, ashamed, and I put my little wounded ego aside. “Davix, come to the Realm of Earth. I’ll show you everything. I mean, I don’t know that much of the world yet—it’s pretty big—but we can discover it together. It’ll be great, honest.”
His eyes were wide and shiny, and in one big flash, I suddenly got how hard this was for him. He was supposed to leave his world, his religion, everything and everyone he had ever known, and just fly into the unknown. There wasn’t even time for a goodbye party and dorky, sentimental gifts.
“D’gada-vixtet-thon,” I said, heart pounding, “I’ll take care of you, I promise.” I felt the promise settle on my shoulders, and its weight frightened me. What would happen when he got to Earth? He didn’t know how we did things there. He didn’t even speak English. I didn’t show Davix my fear. I held out my hand to him and smiled. But it was Grav’nan-dahé he walked to.
“You were my mentor,” he said. “But you banished me, reduced me.”
“You broke the law, D’gada-vixtet-thon. It was my job to correct you.”
“I know I did wrong, Grav’nan-dahé, but so did you. Your temper clouded your reason, like the sheep fog l
ately passed.”
With all the world-shaking stuff that had happened in the last few days, this moment still seemed huge.
The old man straightened his spine, and I thought he was going to tell Davix to get lost, but he said, “I fear you are right. I let childish feelings cloud my judgement. I am old enough to know better than that. I accept your rebuke, Apprentice.”
A sob escaped from Davix, but he didn’t look away. Tears running down his cheeks, he said, “Grav’nan-dahé, Teacher, grant me your blessing as I depart this realm.”
Grav’nan got that broken look I had seen on his face after the cat’s first attack, like the extra hundred years he’d lived were all catching up in an instant. He put a hand on Davix’s shoulder, leaning on it for support. But then he stood up tall and Davix dropped to one knee.
Grav’nan-dahé said, “D’gada-vixtet-thon, as you travel to the Realm of Earth, remember the balance of our holy realm goes with you, embodied in the teachings of the DragonLaw that live within your heart.”
“Teacher, I am scared.”
“As anyone would be. But you are also clever and curious. You will meet the challenges with a clear and probing eye, and you will not flinch. And someday—may the day come soon—Reunification will be upon us, and we will all dance together in the One Realm.”
It was a good blessing. I almost asked Grav’nan to give me one, too, but there’s only so far you should push your luck. Davix returned to me. He took my hand. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Stakrat insisted on walking with us as security detail, bow at the ready, but I don’t think there was really any danger of a cat attack. She just wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. We walked the spiral road until Tiqokh led us up a narrow, winding side path that ended in front of a rough door cut in the wall of the rock.
“The Stairwell of Lar’nak,” Tiqokh declared. I caught myself rolling my eyes. All of a sudden, I’d had enough of weird names with magical histories and the rest of the fantasy crap. I was done and ready to be back in the world of Wi-Fi.
Taking torchstones from the wall, we began the long climb up the stairs, which snaked up through the rocky guts of the mountain. My thighs were aching by the time we reached an ancient door, almost rusted shut. If it hadn’t been for Tiqokh’s super strong arms, we would never have been able to open it at all.
The Dubious Gift of Dragon Blood Page 34