by Cyci Cade
The coyotes attacked once more; the dragon screamed and moved fast back and forth. The situation became worse when a coyote grabbed his broken wing; tears dropped from his eyes from the excruciating pain. He took another lungful of air and then blew fire on the coyotes, his own body burned too. The animals went into retreat, yelping, trying to recover their senses. Meanwhile, he held his breath, drafted all the energy he still had, and ran, knocking the trees over, the ground shook under his claws.
It was a shame. A dragon was a predator, not a prey. Never again would he be in that position or make terrestrial trips, never again… The dragon didn´t know if he would survive, why should he worry about something else? Because dragons were indestructible creatures, nothing living on that planet could kill them; at least, that was what he imagined.
In the afternoon the green dragon collapsed in front of his cave, he wheezed, his body torn, covered by blood, and his theory about being indestructible collapsed. He had never considered how vulnerable he was. He thought there was only one person capable of hurting him, Jin Quan; however, he was wrong; that girl or whatever had occurred hurt him, stole his power and weakened him.
His mother found him almost dead; her tongue tasted her son´s harmed body and licked the wounds of the young dragon, removed the dried blood and dirt, and brought relief to him.
“What happened?” his mother was at last able to ask after hours of arduous care and attention.
“It´s hard to explain,” the young dragon whispered, remembering the girl. “I was in the lake, a girl arrived, I touched her, but first she shot me.” He spoke in disconnected words, his brain and entire body didn´t work properly. He tried to coordinate the sentences, but failed.
“Liu, I don´t understand.” The mother moved back and forth. “Make yourself clear.”
“As every day, I was swimming in the lake when I noticed a hurt girl on the edge. I was curious about her and, submerged, I moved toward her, but she saw me. I approached her, we made eye contact, then she shot at me before we said anything. The arrow hit my nose. That gesture increased my curiosity, and I continued in her direction. I didn´t understand why she wanted to hurt me. We stayed face to face, she was scared, but I´d like to think that she trusted me, so I touched her blooded shoulder to treat it.” He sniffed and tried to figure out a way to explain what had occurred, though, he had no idea what really occurred. “Then, I sensed like an electrical shock running through my body. I´m positive she had the same sensation. I swam away from her and when I emerged, my wings lost strength and my body weakened. I felt the girl´s misery; I lost altitude and crashed. Today I was attacked by coyotes,” Liu moaned, feeling embarrassed for allowing small animals to injure him, animals he used to hunt for breakfast.
“We cannot be in touch with humans; Jin Quan forbade us,” the mother reprimanded him. “What I don´t understand is your weakness, that’s nonsense. Nothing can hurt you; there is nobody capable of this, just Jin Quan.”
“I know.” He pondered over it a little, but he didn´t reach any conclusion. “It was the most unusual experience, my body burned mainly where the arrow hurt my nose,” the green dragon said sheepishly. “Do you think that arrow was poisoned?”
“Perhaps, who knows? Humans are afraid of us, they hate our existence, and I can swear they pray for our extinction every day.” Her tail whirled on the air.
“Why would they pray for our extermination? We had never hurt them; we hunt far away from their land, and…”
The mother cut off the young dragon. “We take their daughters. Did you forget? They won´t forgive us for their loss. You don´t have any idea how painful it is to lose a child.” A tear dropped from his mother´s eye.
“We are victims too…” He convulsed, his body shivered, throwing him to the ground with a violent rumble.
His mother tried to muffle his cry puffing fire. He gasped, a metamorphosis began, his fingers and then his toes retracted, his head spun, clicks came from his joints as if they were being broken and then, fixed, little by little the thick leather became a thin human skin while he rolled on earth. He crouched, his stomach lurched, and he threw up. He took a moment to recover his senses, and he felt still more powerless in that fragile human body. He glanced at his mother; she was in shock, her widened eyes didn´t blink, just peered at him with horror.
“What happened?” Liu inquired while he considered his new condition, a muscular body, hands, feet, and long-black-straight hair. “Has the Great Dragon forgiven us?” He smiled without knowing if it was good or not.
“I don´t think so because I am still dragon…” she concluded looking at her body. “We need to be careful until we figure it out. You must hide from Jin Quan or change to the dragon shape, can you do this?”
“Possibly, but I don´t know how.” Liu gazed at his mother. “Maybe the process continues and you´ll change to human too, then both of us can escape from Jin Quan´s hands.” He snorted as always, but that time nothing happened—no fire, no smog, in his human shape he lost the dragon´s abilities.
“I don´t think it will happen now, the most important thing is to find your father, he might know what to do.” Her eyes glittered full of hope.
“If he is still alive, he won´t allow my presence in the palace, the guards will refuse my entry into the boundaries.” He shook his head and moved his unsettled legs away.
“You must try.” She followed him.
Liu threw his hands up. “It´s unfair, you should receive this blessing, not me. It is my fault we’re here, not yours.”
The dragon shoved him inside the cave. “You´ll have many opportunities to fix your mistakes, don´t worry. First, we´ll find a way, you´ll run away and discover how to help us; this is your mission. I´m certain you will win this battle and release us. I believe in you.”
“How will I do that if I don´t know where to start?” He teetered, he had forgotten how to use his feet after centuries stuck in a dragon shape and living in a quadruped position.
“Step by step, first you´ll run away.” She grinned and walked to the cave’s darkness.
Liu leaned against the rock and rubbed his hurt nose. He couldn´t feel that girl anymore. Did she die? Would he know if she was dead, right? He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. What really occurred? Who broke the punishment? Did the Great Dragon give him a second chance? No, second, third, no, it was impossible to remember how many times he disobeyed the dragon and his father´s orders. He wasn´t a good son, and now he condemned a girl. She was dead, he guessed.
Chapter 6
Wei
Belukha Mountain, China
The glacial air made the blue dragon blink several times during his flight, his tail´s tip was freezing and dragging him down. The dragon blasted fire onto his tail, melted the accumulated frost and continued his long journey to find food, to hunt.
The dragon flapped it’s powerful wings strongly to cross the clouds, casting, rippling shadowy figures as he passed, his paws helped him to keep balance while he flew in that distant, strange, and cold region. He had lived there for centuries, but had never become accustomed to the wild, icy territory. He didn´t belong in that place.
His unique shape allowed him a silent and camouflaged flight, almost. During the day, his blue scales didn´t help him very much. The wings distinguished the dragon from all other creatures, they were a colossal stringy appendage, many times larger than the dragon´s body to enable the unbelievable force required to lift, fly, and carry him everywhere.
He went around the mountain toward the valley. Despite his dissatisfaction with that isolation, during the hunting season he could fly freely, he could be himself, without regrets or worries. His mind was free to think anything he wanted or just to not think about the past, the present or the future, nothing else, only the prey, the hunting and the survival.
He glided for several minutes, paying attention to the trees and the animals many feet below, small black spots broke the white blanket of the snow. The dragon l
ooked for a better place to hunt, lost animals were the easiest to capture but some adventure and challenge might be reinvigorating.
The dragon lost altitude in a free-fall until almost touching the ground and then rushed upward with the first victim. That freedom was a sensation he could surrender; he could never live tied up to anything, any place, or any people. Maybe it was better to live far apart from civilization. Who would live with a dragon? No one of a sound mind. He was cursed to live with one person, his master and protector. End of story.
The dragon found it effortless to locate hidden prey. The blue dragon could even hunt in complete darkness using only the sound to guide him to a successful kill. He was the biggest predator in that land, his unique weakness in that mountain was his blue color contrasting with the white snow. His prey could see him approaching before the lethal attack; therefore, speed was essential. In the air he was unbeatable, on the ground his arms and legs didn´t allow quick movements or long journeys.
The blue dragon noticed a wolf, it seemed disoriented, marched in circles, and hadn´t noticed the dragon´s eyes over it waiting for the best moment to attack. The dragon hunted the wolf while it looked for its pack. A lonely animal didn´t survive, that was the law of nature.
The dragon kept his head in line, swooped down with open wings cutting the chilly air. With claws stretched forward, he adjusted the route according to the wolf´s movement and dropped on the target. At the last moment he pulled his head back, thrust his feet forward with the claws spread wide, his hands and tail keeping his balance. When the dragon caught the wolf, the only sound was a yelp; the impact was strong enough to stun the prey. The dragon ascended, the wings waved strongly to carry the prey to a safe place.
The blue dragon landed, dropped his prey on the ground, and kept an eye on the surroundings to be sure that there weren´t other animals. His pointed teeth tore the flesh; he swallowed the meat without chewing it. In a short period of time, there was only fur, bones and the red of the blood against the snow.
After the meal he took off, scanning the place below him for another target. Miles ahead, a leopard chased a small rodent. He fluttered his wings slowly, in silence, keeping his distance for a while until swooping near the target and repeating the attack procedures.
He put his head in line, swooped down with open wings, the claws stretched forward, heading toward the prey in a low flight. At the last moment the leopard ran and veered to the right; the dragon gained altitude and restarted the approach procedure. The target was evasive, always changing its direction and running fast; at last, an opponent worth fighting.
The dragon spat fire sporadically, making the prey run to an open space and then increased his speed. He flew toward the leopard with fury, no hesitation. His claws grabbed the prey, and he carried the animal to his home where his master waited. In pain, the leopard screamed and twisted, but the dragon buried his sharps claws in the soft tissue until the animal was dead.
They could run and hide, but not to escape from the dreadful blue dragon, the great killer, the most powerful warrior. Strange thought because he had never fought anybody or he had done so a long time ago and now forgot? Never mind.
The blue dragon landed on the porch and spat the leopard on the table. “Here is the meal, Fu Chow. It´s enough for two days.”
Fu Chow considered the prey, rubbed his jaw, and gazed at the dragon. “You hunted far away from here little dragon.”
“Changing the menu.” He walked around the table breaking eye contact with Fu Chow as if his master could read his mind and he had lots of things to hide.
“What is bothering you?” The voice sounded kind; the man knew what was going on, the dragon´s fears, but he always asked the same question and the dragon wondered for how long they´d play that game.
“How do you know that I am bothered?” The dragon tried to gamble with that game of questions and answers, so he asked another question.
“Did you forget that I saw you grow up? First, you called me by my name, second, your sarcastic humor.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and blinked.
The dragon snorted. “Fine. Why do we live here, far from everything and everyone? Dragons like hot places; I burned my tail again.” He showed his red tail contrasting with the blue scales.
Fu Chow laughed. At the same moment he noticed that the dragon wasn´t in the mood for jokes, he stopped. “I´ve explained, here is a sacred place, no one will discover you. We are safe in this house, hidden in the mountain.” He took a knife and started to clean the prey. “Don´t you have a flash of memory? Doesn’t anything I´ve told you make sense?”
The blue dragon shook his head in denial. “I cannot make head nor tail of this. I´ve tried, but I get just a big empty space in my brain. Why is it so important that I recover my memory? If you explained the full story, it would be easier.”
“Some facts you must remember by yourself. I´m not allowed to reveal the full story.” Fu Chow slashed the flesh. “Aren´t you curious about your past, family, and former home? There is much more than this besides this blue leather.” Fu Chow pointed at the dragon; he seemed a little frustrated with the situation; after all, his effort was in vain. The dragon continued to deny his memories.
The dragon approached and leaned into wards Fu Chow. “Who gives you orders? Ask permission from that person and end this torture soon. You ask me about recollections, but refuse to give me the answers I´ve been looking for. My brain is an enormous question mark, how can I recover my memory in a strange place far from everything I know?” The dragon fumed, smoke surrounded them.
Fu Chow shook then lowered his head. “Sorry child. I´ve failed to fulfill my duties. With no memories you are an easy target, your enemies could find, approach, and kill you. You cannot be found, I don´t have enough power to protect you, so I hide you.”
“Tell me who my enemies are. I can protect both of us.” The dragon begged, hoping that their conversation might get anywhere.
“You only can fight your enemies when know why you are fighting or against who you are fighting, otherwise you´ll die. Please, just trust me.” Fu Chow looked pensive, his serious expression revealed his fears.
This man had spent his life protecting him; he didn´t figure out how a man was able to survive for centuries, however, Fu Chow had been with him for as long as he could remember. “If it is so important, surely I´ll recover my memory. Let´s eat, the hunting has left me starving.”
After a few steps the dragon slumped on the floor. His body shook violently, he brought the last eaten prey up, and his tail sent the furniture crashing against the wall. The metamorphosis was fast, painful and scary; it transformed the blue dragon into a man.
Fu Chow darted to the dragon’s trembling body. “How are you feeling, Wei?” He helped him get up and go into the house.
Wei convulsed, threw Fu Chow against the door and rolled on the floor. Fu Chow hurried to hold and protect his head until the convulsion stopped.
“Strange, unusual, cold, weird, lost, with many more questions than answers… a mix of sensations. What happened?” Wei mumbled and shivered while his shaky legs moved toward the sofa, his head spun.
Fu Chow grabbed a blanket and covered Wei. “It is time to come back home, the beginning of the end, when everyone will meet and fight to recover what was lost centuries ago.” Fu Chow uttered random words, his eyes fixed on something distant from the house, from that world. He dragged his feet to the room, leaving Wei alone without any answer.
That strange man always spoke in riddles. How could Wei recover his memory in that way? What was so important that he had to remember it by himself? How many secrets did Fu Chow hide from him? Why was it crucial that he recalled his past first? Who commanded Fu Chow? Who wanted to kill him? Who were his enemies? Who was responsible for his return to the human form after so many years? He couldn´t do it before. And who was Wei? Fu Chow said it was time to come back home, he wondered where his home was and who he would find there. Did he ha
ve family? Father? Mother? Siblings? A woman who he was once in love with? What could he expect from his old and at the same time new home? Would he remember his past when he stepped onto his homeland?
Chapter 7
Kate
Kate burned with the fever as Phillip laid her on bed. She could hear whisperings, screams and many voices coming from nowhere and everywhere, all around. She was delirious, her mind bewildered, and her body uncontrollable. In a second, Hannah pulled Phillip aside, knelt beside the bed and asked a lot of questions, but Kate couldn´t understand what her desperate mother said.
A mixture of voices continued to invade her thoughts. After hours of agony, her body became numb, and the oddest thing was, she wasn´t suffering alone; other people had the same scary, painful and inexplicable affliction. She had a connection to them without really knowing what it meant.
Little by little, Phillip, Robert, and other onlookers left the bedroom, only Hannah stayed, holding Kate´s hand and mumbling a kind of prayer. Kate wished for those voices to disappear from her mind; the torment became unbearable, dragging her to the middle of a confusion of feelings… love, hate, fear, guilt… she didn´t understand why, she just had one thought, did people feel like this before death?
Kate fought bravely against the pain, many times, until she sensed they were safe, she and the others. They survived as well as her. Kate sighed in relief. She didn´t understand what was going on, she only knew that she had a connection with those people, an unbreakable tie that would keep them linked forever no matter what she did, her future changed from now on.
She touched the hurt shoulder and examined her fingers looking for blood, nothing; she touched again, a sharp pain ran through her arm; the scar was smooth.
“Impossible,” Kate whispered. How could she heal so fast?