“Can you understand – good people will die?” He tried one last time to appeal to Trevor’s honor.
“Cycle of life.”
“Jane will die.” She at least meant something to him. Dax hoped the mention of her name might stir some kind of emotional connection within Trevor.
“She’s not our kind.” He shrugged. “If she dies, it won’t matter much.”
“But you just said she was yours.”
“She is.”
“Just a treasure, I see,” Dax snarled, his inner fire burning with enough heat to rival the threatening mountain. “You’re no dragonkin; just a greedy little lizard.”
“Call me what you will. What has been set in motion cannot be undone. I will have my mountain and the island too.” Trevor turned and walked away as if he had not a care in the world. “And when the burning ceases, I’ll expect you to leave too.”
If not for the helicopter overhead, he would have shifted and gone after the bastard, but it hovered slowly, and Jane called down below using a voice magnification device, “Dax. Stay there. We’re landing.”
The metal beast slowly descended, blowing like a hurricane as its tiny wings swirled. Jane hopped out. “Where did Trevor go?” She looked around, confused. “He was just here a minute ago.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Dax snarled, still heated from his conversation. “You were supposed to leave this island.”
She jumped at the sharpness of his tone, but the look in her eyes was more shock than fear. “I gave Trevor the evacuation orders, and I’m on my way out, but I had to take one last look. These readings are off the chart. None of it makes sense. The whole eastern slope is boiling from underneath. An explosion last night collapsed the vent that blew up on us yesterday. I’m seeing tectonic activity as far over as Mauna Loa.”
“Jane, listen.” Dax had to interrupt or she’d keep rattling on. “Trevor gave no orders. You need to clear this island and get away from here, now!”
“Why didn’t he… We need to find Trevor.”
“Forget Trevor!” Dax shouted. “You need to protect yourself, and let people know to leave.”
Jane eyed him curiously. “What are you not telling me? Where is Trevor?”
The ground rumbled again, and in the distance, a cloud of dark smoke began to rise from the big mountain.
“I’ll find Trevor.” He would say anything at that point to get her moving. “You get back in that flying copter and go as far away as you can before this whole island goes up in flames.”
Jane’s jaw dropped. She nodded and lifted her hand. With a few taps of the screen in her little communication box, she began speaking. “This is Dr. Jane Calman, from the Observatory. We need a full evac, Kona to Hilo. Yes, I know, but it’s either that or loss of life. Let that rest on your head. I’ve given you what I know, and I’m leaving now too, for my own safety.”
Jane pulled the screen away from her face and stared Dax in the eyes. “And as soon as we both find Trevor, we can fly to safety.”
“No. I will not allow you risk your life. He left you to die before.”
“And I’m not going to return the favor,” Jane insisted. “That’s not how I operate.”
“You’re not letting him die. I’ll deal with him.”
“You mean, find him?” she asked suspiciously.
“That first,” Dax growled, his anxiety nearing the boiling point. He wanted to force her onto the chopper, but something inside him said she’d fight him to the death. She was a human worth saving, and at the same time she was throwing her life away over someone who wouldn’t care if she died. If only she knew the truth.
With the mountain threatening them again and fissures beginning to appear, spewing small chunks of rock, the helicopter lifted from the ground. A voice called down from the chopper, telling them to move further west so he could set down again on more stable ground.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me. Time for a little truth,” Jane demanded.
“I told you before. You wouldn’t believe me.”
She scoffed. “Try me.”
“I’m not like you, Jane. I’m not afraid of the mountain. I was born in fire. And so was Trevor. We will be safe. You, however, are not, so let’s hurry and get you to your helicopter.”
“Wait. What?” She put a hand out on his chest, stopping him from moving.
“I told you – you wouldn’t believe me.”
“I didn’t say that. I want clarification.” She gulped back the words. “You were born in fire?”
“I’m a fire drake. Dragonkin.” He opted for blunt honesty this time. Anything to get her to listen and move.
“Sure. Let’s go with that. And what is Trevor?”
“The same.”
“Right. Though I don’t see any scales or smoke coming from your nostrils.”
“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” Dax noted.
“Because I think you’re full of shit. Look, I went with the whole secret agent thing because it was hot. Dragons... that’s a bit far-fetched.”
There was no getting around it. She wouldn’t take him at his word, so before she could continue her rant, he stripped his clothes off and shifted to his natural form. As he fell forward onto his front legs and stretched his wings out, he ignited his inner fire with a breath and exhaled a small burst of flames.
Jane’s mouth gaped. Sounds came out, but they were not words. Her eyes widened like saucers as she stared up at his glittering armor of scales.
“Blue” was the only word she managed to say properly. The rest all came out garbled with sounds of “Oh, whoa, shit…”
“This is who I am, Jane.” Dax spoke as calmly as he could.
She nodded, still failing to form full sentences.
“I’m not a danger to you. And I’m not here to hurt anyone; but Trevor is. He’s been doing things within the mountain to alter the course of her eruption. I’ve been trying to warn you.”
“How did I not know Trevor?” she mumbled.
“If I had never shown you my scales, would you have known this was my true form?” Dax asked.
“But you talk like… And you dress–”
He could see the struggle as she fought to maintain composure.
“He put on a good show. Who knows how long he’s lived among your people. But now he’s got to be stopped.”
She shook herself and nodded with a deep breath. “What do we do?”
“I must face him. You need to get to safety. Get the helicopter and get far away.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“Jane… I’m a dragon,” Dax laughed, with a puff of smoke rising from his nostrils.
“I mean, can you stop it?”
“I can stop Trevor from doing any further damage, but I can’t stop the mountain. She’ll still erupt. Mother Nature will decide how much burns when that happens.”
“Then go,” she said.
“Not before I see you to your helicopter.” He shifted again, taking on human form and pulling his clothes back on quickly while she watched in awe.
Together they ran west, looking for the helicopter. Behind them, the largest of the craters exploded with a roar that shook the earth.
Though it was day, the sky darkened with black smoke that choked out any rays of light. Dax pushed harder, taking hold of Jane and running with all the speed his human legs could give. But the helicopter was nowhere to be found.
Sirens went off in the distance. “Evacuation” Jane answered his unasked question. “They listened to my warning.”
“And you’ve missed your ride,” he responded.
“You too,” she said.
“It’s sweet the way you worry for me,” Dax said. “I have wings that can carry me as far away as I’d like.”
“Then let’s go,” she said.
“I have to face Trevor first.”
A roar in the sky came like an answer to his call. Dax spotted the mighty drake circling the smoking crater as
if dancing in the eruption. More than that, he was publicly revealing himself to all the humans within viewing range. “He must be stopped.”
“Go get him,” Jane said.
Dax shifted once more and took to the sky, beating his wings at a furious pace as he headed toward the mountain.
“Come to watch the show?” Trevor roared. “I’ll bet humans around the world are watching us right now. Our secret will be out. They will know. They will see…. and fear us!”
“This insanity ends now!” Dax shouted, over the mad ranting.
“You can’t beat the mountain.” Trevor turned sharply and aimed himself like an arrow straight at Dax.
“No. But I can beat you.” Claws out and ready, Dax allowed the drake to pass close and swiped at him the moment he was in range.
His talons missed by scant inches, and Trevor twirled in midair as he changed direction for a second pass. “And what good would that do?”
“Prevent more of your tampering. Leave humanity to their island,” Dax responded.
“You’re a fool to think the humans are worth your time. But since you’re determined to see a dragon die today, so be it.” He blew a spray of flames at Dax as he came in close again.
Dax angled himself and dove low and fast, avoiding the jet of flames. Flapping his wings hard, he put on speed as he lifted back up into the air, rising ahead of Trevor.
He caught his opponent with a swing of his tail as he passed, and rotated to blow his own stream of fire.
The red drake maneuvered quickly, spinning out of the way to change course, keeping Dax guessing which way he would move next.
Together, they swooped around the smoking crater, exchanging fireballs and raking their claws against each other’s scales as they made passes at one another.
Dax had never been the fastest of fliers nor the most graceful, but he had size and power in his limbs. He forced Trevor down to the ground, and they landed together in a heap, shaking the ground where they hit.
Claws raked scales. Dax gnashed his teeth, growling as he sought the soft underbelly of his opponent, the only truly weak point on their armored bodies.
Trevor matched him in ferocity, and his sharp claws found home in Dax’s right wing, tearing a nice long gash in the unshielded webbing between bones.
Dax howled loudly enough to match the roar of the threatening mountain.
Pumice began to rain down on them but failed to stop their feud.
Dax struck out with viper-like speed, aiming for Trevor’s neck. He missed by scant inches, nearly sending him off balance, and reared back to compensate while avoiding a similar strike from the red dragon.
“Give it up,” Trevor snarled. “You’re not strong enough.”
Taunting was a tactic of losers. As fiercely as his enemy fought, Dax could tell fatigue was setting in, and he refused to respond to the taunting. He threw his weight sideways knocking into the massive body of Trevor then whipped his tail around to strike.
His opponent failed to dodge the attack and wobbled, as if trying to regain balance.
A warrior like Trevor would be valued in the peacekeepers of his colony if not for his insanity. Dax almost felt sorry he had to put the mad drake down.
Trevor stretched out his wings and beat them in an attempt to rise into the sky, but Dax struck fast, snapping his jaws and taking hold of his tail, yanking him back to earth.
With his opponent stunned, Dax pounced, striking hard at his enemy.
Blood flooded his mouth, and as the coppery tang bathed his tongue, Dax jerked his head sideways, snapping the dragon’s neck with one loud crack of bones.
Dax released his jaw and backed away slowly.
Twitching a few times more as the last embers of his inner light died, Trevor’s eyes darkened, and a cloud of smoke rose up from his nostrils. Scales that had burned red with his molten heart faded to a dusty brown, losing all their magical luster.
Death was nothing to celebrate. Though Trevor had been his enemy, Dax still lowered his head reverently and said a silent prayer to Mother Earth to take him back into her belly. Perhaps when his spirit returned, he’d be less troubled and appreciate the gift of life.
Her response to his prayer was swift. A giant fissure opened up at Dax’s feet, swallowing Trevor’s body whole.
Dax attempted to take to the sky, but he struggled with his injured wing to gain altitude. Slowly he found the strength and pushed past the hurt, lifting higher and higher, rising above the treetops, and headed toward the spot where he had left Jane.
He landed in a heap at her feet.
“Trevor is no more.” Dax panted with exhaustion.
“But you?” She lifted her hand and gently placed it on his scaly neck. As if he’d burned her, she pulled away sharply and her eyes hunted for his.
He craned his long neck and gazed at her, hoping she would not be repulsed by what she saw. “I’ll be fine. We need to get you out of here.”
She kissed his nose, an innocent gesture that somehow gave him more strength than he could have hoped for.
“Climb on my back,” he said gently.
She hesitated for a moment, but as the mountain rumbled in the distance, she took a determined breath and climbed up onto his back.
As soon as she was secure, he took off and headed for the far side of the island.
Saying Goodbye
News reports covered the eruption, and as Dax had feared, cameras had caught glimpses of strange creatures flying amongst the smoke and flame. Some called them illusions, while others swore there really were dragons.
Jane and Dax sat in a coffee shop laughing as they listened to the conversations all around discussing the events.
The volcano’s eruption had been spectacular, but thankfully, no major cities had been wiped off the map. The observatory and the volcano park were buried under a fresh layer of rock, and some of the outlying town and homes had been destroyed, but a lucky shift in winds and the natural path set by previous eruptions had kept the lava flow on the eastern ridge of the island.
“So what happens now?” Jane asked, as she took a sip of her coffee.
The question he had most dreaded. “I go home,” he said solemnly.
“Will I ever see you again?” she asked with sadness, as if knowing the answer already.
“I hope so,” he lied, knowing it would be another hundred years before he was granted leave again.
She smiled, but the light of it never reached her eyes. Perhaps she understood the truth on some level. They were two different breeds. Never meant to cross, though by chance they had. If nothing else, the time together had been special, something Dax would treasure for the rest of his days. He also had new knowledge he could take with him to the Elders. Not all humans were savage. A special few like Jane were just the sort of people that could usher in a new age of peace if ever given the chance. He’d at least make the argument to his people and use it to plead for the chance to visit her island again.
“How long until you have to leave?” Jane asked.
“I might stay another day or so.” Dax forced a smile across his face to hide the sadness of reality. “You busy?”
Jane’s eyes shifted upwards as if she’d seen something strange. Before she could answer Dax’s question, a man cleared his throat, drawing their attention.
Dax turned to see his friend Ramos, and jumped up from his seat excitedly. “You said you’d never leave our island.” Dax pulled his friend into a hug. “How? Why?”
Ramos’s face spoke volumes before the drake could utter a single word. Whatever news he had come to bring was not going to be pleasant. “May I join you?”
Dax offered the chair he had been sitting on and took one next to Jane.
“I bring news from the Elders,” Ramos began.
Dax understood immediately. The Teevee. His people had to have seen the news, along with the rest of the world. He’d revealed himself. Rule number one: broken. “Please. Let me explain. Let me plead my case.”
Ramos shook his head. “Their decision is final.”
“What else could I have done?” Exile was to be his punishment. He’d be banished from his own kind. As much as he had dreaded returning home, because it meant he’d have to leave Jane, he’d never expected to be cut off from it completely.
“You should have just come home,” Ramos said.
He could never have done that. Where was the honor? What happened to doing the right thing? The arguments were there in his mind, but when he tried to put a voice to them, Dax found himself speechless.
“I’m so sorry, brother.” Ramos looked close to tears, matching the sorrow Dax himself felt.
Jane opened her mouth to speak, but Dax found his voice before she could utter a word.
“I couldn’t let Trevor destroy the island and reveal himself to the people as he had planned. I had no choice in how I acted. He wouldn’t have stopped until he’d let the whole place burn.”
In spite of all his pleading, Ramos just shook his head. Not that Ramos could have changed the outcome by himself; they two were brothers, still considered the youth of their people. They held no sway in the decisions of the Elders.
But still, Dax needed to make his case to someone.
Ramos sighed. “I’m not saying it’s fair. I know you wouldn’t have exposed yourself if it weren’t for a good cause. But the Elders’ word is law: exile.”
“So this is goodbye, old friend? Will you not come and visit me sometimes?” Dax asked, knowing the members of the Air Guard were granted leave to fly where they wanted.
Ramos nodded his head and smiled. “I have requested that, since you’re exiled because of your efforts to protect the people of the island and remove a dangerous threat, you be allowed contact with our kind, to prevent you from losing touch completely. So when new dragons are given permission to visit, they will have to check in with you.”
Dax could always count on his brother, and he appreciated the consolation prize that was his offer.
“But I can never go home?” Dax asked for confirmation.
“No.”
“Understood.” Dax blew out a breath.
“You are warden of these islands, and since I am captain of the air guard, I will check in on you from time to time to ensure you are not causing trouble for our people.”
A Plague of Dragons (A Dragon Anthology) Page 13