The dragon lord sneered, “It’s sickening just to look at you. I’ll kill you, and then your friends. No one will ever remember that you ever existed!”
As before, the flame was relentless and almost knocked Raiya from her feet. It was excruciatingly painful, but she faced it and did not scream. I won’t let you… hurt anyone… else!
Remembering what Dr. Castillo had told her, and observing dragons use flame, she immediately rolled back her tongue, tense the muscles of her mouth and dropped her lower jaw, “No!”
To everyone’s amazement, flame flowed in the opposite direction. The fluid that Raiya shot from under her tongue caught the dragon lord’s fire and ignited. It grew in strength as she opened her mouth wider.
Within moments, her flame rivaled that of the dragon lord. She was holding her own, despite being hurt. Her flame pushed back against the dragon lord’s with surprising force and power.
Eric’s eyes widened as he watched, “Holy shit…”
Raiya thrust her head forward, forcing the flame to go even further back towards her father. The dragon lord strained its neck as it pushed back against the unexpected force of Raiya’s flame. They were both getting worn down quickly.
Raiya quickly realized that she couldn’t hold her flame any longer. Her whole body still burned from the previous attack. She was spent and her strength was gone. The flame died out, leaving her defenseless. To her surprise, the dragon lord had been unable to maintain his either.
Raiya had one chance and only one chance; the scar on the dragon lord’s neck. The scales that used to protect it had fallen off when the injury healing, leaving a thin layer of skin that might be vulnerable. She used her last ounce of strength and lunged forward with her knife.
The blade plunged into the small scar, spewing blood in every direction. The dragon lord roared as it shook its head from side to side. It thrust its head out violently, trying to dislodge the dagger.
Raiya was knocked backwards by the force of the dragon’s head. She lay on the ground watching as her father made one more hard thrust and the blade came shooting out. It clanked on the ground and was immediately covered in blood.
A quick thrust of the dragon’s massive wings elevated him over a hundred feet off the ground, “You… you will not be so lucky when next we meet. Blood or no blood, you are not my child. When next we meet, I will kill you!”
Raiya breathed heavily as she watched her father fly away, “Coward…! Come back… I’m not… finished!”
Splash!
Cold water poured down all over Raiya. Her skin steamed as the water cooled her down. She looked up to see Jagger kneeling over her, “Thank you…”
………………….
Raiya’s eyes closed as she lost consciousness. Eric shook his head, “If I hadn’t seen it myself…”
Jagger picked her up and brought her back to the jeep. He placed her gently on the passenger’s seat, “I’ll never forget the first time…”
Andy carried Miranda over from the debris, back to the jeep. “That was the dragon we were looking for?”
Jagger lowered his eyes and nodded, “How the hell are we ever going to beat something like that? It took Raiya everything she had just to fend it off.”
Before Andy could say anything, Miranda slowly walked over to the passenger’s side of the jeep and looked at Raiya. She grabbed her unconscious friend’s fingers and squeezed them tightly in her right hand. Though there was no emotion on her face, it almost looked like she was trying to say thank you.
The rest of the group watched the bittersweet moment unfold as the sun slowly began to drop on the horizon.
Jagger didn’t want to interrupt, but he knew that there was little choice, “Raiya is going to need rest, and Miranda will need help. We need to get out of here. Likely that dragon will send more after us.”
“Where are we going to go?” Andy asked.
Eric beckoned to the group, “Come on guys, let’s head back to my place. You can rest up for the night and we can take Miranda to our clinic.”
Jagger looked at him oddly, “You guys have a clinic?”
Eric nodded, “Yeah… an old walk-in clinic from before the war. It wasn’t badly damaged when the dragons attacked. A lot of the equipment was left behind, so our medicine men use it whenever one of us gets injured. We had to relearn a lot of it, but most of the stuff still works. I’m sure it’ll have everything you need to help save Miranda.
“All right.” Andy replied. “I’d rather have a full clinic, but I’ll take what I can get. As long as they have the necessary equipment, I can work with it.”
“So, we’re heading back to Natick?” Jagger asked.
Eric jumped into the back of the jeep, smiling. “Yeah, sounds good. I could use some good food for a change anyway.”
Chapter 15
The jeep pulled up just outside of the nomad hideout just as night fell. Jagger got out and picked up Raiya while Eric spoke to the guards. He couldn’t make out what Eric was saying, but assumed that he was explaining the situation.
A few minutes later, Eric turned around and nodded to the group, “All right guys, come on inside. Jagger, you and Raiya can have the room you had before. I’ll take care of Miranda and Andy’s arrangements as…”
“We need to get her to the clinic.” Andy insisted. “Any longer and we risk infection or blood loss.”
“All right.” Eric replied. “It’s not too far from here. –Jagger, can we borrow the jeep?”
“Yeah, keys are still in the ignition. Just bring her back in one piece.”
“No worries, get a good night’s sleep… and keep an eye on our hero there.”
Jagger chuckled, “I’m sure she’d resent such a title, but I will.”
“All right see you in the morning.”
Jagger turned back and carried Raiya past the guards. The massive bonfire was once again lit. It was almost as bright as the flame from the dragon lord himself, but not quite. The low crackling sound gave the building a sense of serenity.
Raiya needed rest. Her body had no doubt been strained beyond reason and needed time to repair. Her skin temperature had thankfully returned to normal as had her breathing. She was alive, but she still hadn’t regained consciousness.
Jagger touched her cheek and then suddenly remembered the bullet wound in her hip. He quickly pulled back her pants to assess the damage. The bandage, gauze, and even the stitches were completely gone. The bullet wound was black, but not bleeding. Apparently, the intense heat from the dragon lord’s breath had instantly cauterized the wound.
“Getting a little familiar, aren’t you partner?”
Jagger immediately let go of the waste of her pants, letting them snap back into place. He looked up to see Raiya staring down at him. She winced as the waistband struck her skin, “Ow, that wasn’t nice!”
“Sorry.”
“I’m sure you are… had you been a little gentler, I might have let you stay down there a little longer.”
Jagger rolled his eyes, “Yeah right.”
He moved up and looked into her eyes, “How are you feeling?”
“Better now that I’m not burning up… I guess…”
“You guess?” Jagger asked.
Raiya rolled over on her side, refusing to say anything else. Jagger placed his hand on her shoulder, “Look, I think it’s time that you and I talked.”
Raiya didn’t move, “All right, what do you want to talk about?”
“You.”
“I’m not that interesting.”
“Even so…”
“Fine, what is it?”
Jagger sat back, bracing for an argument, “You’ve been moping around ever since we got to New Framingham. Something’s been eating at you.”
“Figure that one out on your own?”
“Very funny.”
“I thought so…”
“Come on!” Jagger shouted, getting annoyed. “Talk to me, we’re partners…”
“So,
what? You think that means that you automatically get access to my every thought?”
“Well no…”
“All right then.”
The room fell silent. At first it seemed as though Raiya had successfully avoided an annoying argument. Jagger didn’t move. He sat on the bed next to her and watched as she shifted, trying to get comfortable.
After a few moments, she sighed, “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No.”
Raiya rolled belligerently back over to confront him, “Fine… you want to know what’s wrong, buddy? I’ll tell you. I killed those people! I killed them all.”
“Who?”
Raiya gave him an annoyed look, “Don’t act dumb. Just because you look the part, doesn’t mean you can pull it off. I’m talking about the people of New Framingham. Jerry, Miranda’s family, Mariam… and the rest of your people… They’re all dead because of me. I stood up to that Dragon Lord and brought my father down on them. He confirmed it. I should have been there to protect them… Why wasn’t I?”
“They didn’t want you there.” Jagger replied. “They threw us out, remember? It’s their own fault, not yours. You could have been there to defend them.”
“I’m sure that’ll be a lot of comfort to Miranda…”
“It looked like she understood. She seems to have become attached to you.”
“If that’s true… then she’s a pretty stupid kid. She should hate me.”
“Raiya…”
“I can’t protect her, she needs to know that. What good am I?”
“You did a pretty good job of it.” Jagger said. “You kept her safe against the biggest fucking dragon I’ve ever seen.”
Raiya didn’t respond.
“Look, you can’t blame yourself every time a dragon attacks. You’re going to wind up carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. That’s no way to be. New Framingham was not your fault, Richmond was not your fault… your grandparents, and your mother were not your fault.”
“Wish I could believe that…”
Jagger frowned, “Well in the end, you’re going to have to come to terms with it. So, what do you want to do? We can keep going, or we can find you a place to hide away from everything.”
Raiya bent her legs and huddled herself together on the bed, “I’m getting tired, can we just get some rest now?”
“Sure, if you want…”
Jagger got up and walked over to the other bed. He slowly got comfortable and began to fall asleep as the mattress kneaded his skin. His mind was racing with everything they’d found out. It was all one gigantic mess that he needed to sort out.
“Jagger?”
He turned over to see Raiya looking at him, “Yeah?”
“Thanks… you’re a good friend… I’m lucky to have you around.”
That was all he needed. One weight had been lifted from his heart and it seemed like he’d finally gotten through to her, “You’re welcome… I’m glad you think so.”
“Good night.”
“You too.”
What is going on in there?
Eric was pacing back and forth in the destroyed waiting room. He and Andrea had arrived at the clinic about two hours ago. It was a small building, but it was of enough value that Mason kept it guarded at all times.
Eric stared blankly at the door. He wanted to go in and try to help, but what could he do? Did Andy need help holding Miranda in place? Given her reaction so far, he somehow doubted it. The sense of uselessness was infuriating.
That wasn’t Eric’s only problem. He’d seen what they were up against. Raiya barely survived the encounter. If she lost her fight, what chance did the rest of them have?
That dragon lord… her father, was the stuff legends were made of. He’d literally wiped out whole armies, destroyed major cities, and murdered countless innocent people without provocation and without mercy. What chance did they really have? All their hope rested with a single half-breed and a small scar on the dragon lord’s neck.
There was no way around it, she’d need all the help she could get. If he left and she wound up getting killed, he would never forgive himself. Every city, every settlement, every person that died would be on his conscience. He couldn’t live with that.
“Eric, can you give me a hand in here?”
Finally.
Eric ran into the next room. Miranda was sitting on the table, completely motionless. The wound on her head was now clean and held together by steri-strips. Her eye was now covered by a makeshift patch.
Eric saw small pieces of flesh on the table next to where Miranda was sitting. He recognized it almost immediately. This was what was left of her left eye. It was a grotesque site, especially given the amount of damage. Even in one of the cities, there was no way that could have been saved.
Andy brought new gauze and bandages over and dabbed the wound on her forehead. Once the blood was gone, he wrapped the bandage around her head. He tied it tightly and stepped back, “That’s it… we’re done. I can’t really do any more. It’s not exactly a work of art or anything, but it’ll heal.”
Eric nodded, “I think it looks good, she’s in a lot better shape than she was when we found her.”
He looked at Miranda and smiled, “What do you think?”
Miranda just stared blankly at him. Eric couldn’t be certain, but he could have sworn she’d smiled at him just a little. Maybe it was just in his head, but he didn’t care. He liked to think that he’d gotten through to her in some way.
Andy stepped out in front of her, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure. –We’ll be right back, Miranda.”
Andy took Eric back out to the lobby where Miranda couldn’t see them, “Eric… there’s more that we didn’t know about.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s… sick…”
“What?”
“I tested her blood for infection. Thank God you guys kept this equipment up. I’m not sure how it happened, but she has dragon’s bane.”
Eric’s jaw dropped, “What?”
“Yeah… it’s in its early stages, but it’s definitely there.”
“So that means…?”
“It means she’s only got a few months to a year at most… then she’ll start to deteriorate. It’ll be painful.”
“But there’s something you can do, right? I mean there has to be. We have treatments for this kind of thing now.”
Andy frowned, “Sorry… no… there is no treatment after the infection takes place.”
“Nothing?”
“No… everything Dr. Castillo created was to prevent the disease. It’s too late for that now.”
Eric scratched the back of his head. He didn’t quite know how to process it, “So… what do we do? Do we tell her?”
Andy shrugged, “What good would it do? I’m not even sure she knows where she is right now. I think maybe our best bet is to tell Raiya.”
“Why?”
“She seems to have attached herself to Raiya. Maybe she can help.”
“Or maybe she’ll claw our eyes out for the trouble.”
“Also possible,” Andy admitted with a faint smirk, “but I’d rather not be the one to destroy what little life the poor girl has left.”
“Yeah, I can understand that… all right, we’ll tell Raiya. God help us…”
Eric turned and headed back into the operating room where Miranda was waiting. She hadn’t moved an inch. Her body was like a statue, watching over the messy floor of the clinic.
Eric leaned on the table next to her, “You look tired, ready to get going?”
No response. Miranda got down from the table and looked up at him. Eric nodded, “Well that’s something. Come on, we’ll get you a bed back at the main compound.”
“…”
“Maybe get you some food?”
“…”
“Yeah I think that’s a good idea too. We could all use some food.”
“�
��”
God, this guy never shuts up. Andy thought to himself.
The black and red dragon lord landed on his roost atop Mount Whitney. Using their intense flame, the dragon lords melted the rock into a defensible fortress and meeting chamber. To the eyes of a human, the fortress looked like a burnt ruin, but it served the dragons’ purpose and was easily defended from any attack.
Large black spires of dried molten rock sprung up from the ground. They served as citadels where younger dragons could perch and launch fireballs at incoming armies. There was no wall surrounding it. The dragons didn’t see the need for it.
Below the fortress, the woods parted to reveal crashed jet fighters, bombers, and a few scattered vehicles that had attempted to scout the area. They were little more than skeletons on the scorched earth.
He let out a mighty roar that shook the entire mountainside. Immediately, four other dragons appeared around him and landed on the other spires. Each one had distinct scales of various colors. The first to land had long gray scales, “You summoned us, my lord?”
The black and red dragon nodded, “I did Entharis. Thank you for responding so quickly.”
The massive dragon spread his wings and roared as the others touched down, “The rumors are true!”
The yellow dragon lord hissed, “You have found the girl who wears the skin of a dragon, Eutherys?”
Eutherys hissed, “This girl doesn’t wear dragon’s skin at all… it is her own skin! The blood of a dragon runs through her veins… my blood!”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, Amzer’ial. All I know is that Raki’Agr’s insane ramblings were proven right after all.”
Eutherys looked around quizzically, “Where is he anyway?”
The all-black dragon lord spoke up, “Brother… it would appear that he is as unreliable as you thought. We don’t know where he went, but he was rambling about the end of our kind.”
Eutherys lowered his eyes, “It matters little… we need to take down this girl. I’ve seen what kind of a threat she possesses.”
“Is that allowed?” His brother asked. “You would be killing a member of your family… our laws forbid such…”
Drakin: The Story of Raiya Page 19