by Cyci Cade
“That is terrible! What happened?” Kate unpacked her backpack, found her coat, gloves and matches to light the fire.
“The boys were the dragon´s heart protectors and had failed in their mission. The dragon cursed the whole family changing them into dragons. I found Wei unconscious and took him with me, but I couldn´t find Liu or their parents.” Fu Chow sat down near the fire.
“Why did they fail?” Kate stoked the fire and then grasped branches, took a knife and started to sharpen them. She had a lot of queries, and it was difficult to choose just one.
“The boys are the Dragon´s Dynasty heirs. The Empire was in war when they were born, the only person who could say who was born first was the midwife, but she died before it.” Fu Chow stretched his arms over the fire to heat his hands and continued, “The Empire can have only one Emperor; the boys were raised disputing the throne, disputing everything; there was a great animosity between them. They had to prove that they were strong, wise, good men, and capable of keeping the dynasty. There was much pressure on them.”
The dragons returned and landed. They carried two big deer in their claws. Kate gazed at them while they morphed again. She felt her cheeks on fire; it was as if she spied them changing their clothes and it was so inappropriate.
She wondered in what kind of story she had landed. It began like a love story when she walked to the lake and met Liu, changed to drama when she discovered that he was the dragon she wanted to kill and met his forgetful brother, Wei. She hoped it didn´t move to a scary story where everybody died at the end.
In less than thirty minutes the animals were cleaned and ready to be roasted. Kate gave them the skewers she had whittled. Fu Chow´s words danced in her mind, her imagination gained wings and flew far from her small world in Dragon´s Valley. When it came back, it carried millions of new doubts and curiosities.
Liu sat down beside her during dinner; it was shocking how much the boys ate. They talked about funny things that had happened to them; Kate marveled, hearing about dragons´ stories. She realized how limited her life was, how many things she didn´t know and concluded that she was completely ignorant.
“What happened to your sister?” Fu Chow broke her thoughts. “You said that you had to save her.”
Kate glanced at Liu and told them the story. “The dragon took my sister ten years ago, and I promised that I would rescue her.”
“Why did the dragon take her?” Fu Chow gazed at Liu with a serious expression.
“Jin Quan forces Mom to take the girls to serve him.” Liu lowered his eyes; he seemed ashamed.
Kate continued to explain, “Centuries ago the village had harsh times. There was no food, water, anything. People were dying; there was starvation and sickness. One day, a woman tried to find water in a puddle when a dragon appeared and made a deal with her. Every first born daughter in every family should be handed to the dragons and then the creature would provide water, food, and health...” Kate stopped, looked at Liu, Wei and Fu Chow. “Wait a minute; it happened centuries ago, how could…? How old are you?”
Liu sighed. “I…”
Fu Chow interrupted him, “The boys were born more than two centuries ago. As I said, they changed to the dragon form as punishment by the Great Dragon. Wei lost his memory, Liu and the Empress were captured, the Emperor, I don´t know what occurred to him. They have lived as dragons since then, until Liu met you. When you exchanged blood they were able to come back to the human shape, but...” he lifted his index finger, always there was a ‘but.’ “…they cannot remain in a human form for a long time. What keeps them alive is the dragon´s spirit. We must return to China to accomplish the tasks and put an end to this punishment.”
“Which tasks?” Wei inquired.
“We will discover there. The dragon ordered to find Liu and return to China.” Fu Chow got up.
“Where do I enter into this story? You told me that I am connected to them.” Kate also got up and crossed her arms.
“All queries will be answered at the appropriate moment. Now it is time to sleep.” He walked far away from the fire. Wei followed him, glancing at her.
Liu got up and held Kate´s hand. “Let´s go; our travel will be harsh tomorrow.”
Kate gripped her quilt and walked with him to the opposite side, returning Wei´s glance.
“I prepared your place with leaves, you can wrap up in your quilt. I will change to dragon; my wing will cover and heat you.” He pulled her against him; his lips barely touched hers, probably fearing some kind of rejection. “I am glad you´re here. I was distressed because I thought I´d have to leave without you.” He stroked her face. Little by little his image changed, became green, big, with scales.
Kate wrapped herself in the quilt and lay down on the leaves. Liu crouched next to her; his wing covered Kate like a tent. His breath worked as a heater.
“Thank you, and forgive me for having screamed and accused you. What will happen to us? I am afraid of losing you, Sam, and my family. How can I travel to China without warning my parents?” An avalanche of questions filled her mind.
“Everything will be fine. I´ll take care and protect you, and I promise, we will come back, we will release Sam and you´ll see your parents again. Now, try to sleep,” Liu whispered.
How could Kate sleep terrified about her future and after that flood of information? She could die on that journey, in a strange, far away, unknown land and her parents would never know. How many challenges might she face? It was better if she reconsidered that journey, she couldn´t follow them just because a stranger said that her life was connected to them, even if she knew it was true.
Chapter 19
Phillip
Phillip slumped on the ground, both physically and mentally exhausted; he grasped a bottle and took a generous gulp of water. Kate was hiding from him; that was the only justification he had found for her vanishing. No one turned into smoke and disappeared without trace. He did everything wrong. He assumed that she loved him and wanted to be with him, after all, she looked out for him every day, although less this last month. They barely saw each other during the last four weeks, but he was too busy and he thought that was the reason. Now, he had to start to consider other options.
“We searched the whole village and surroundings. We should return, maybe she came back.” Mike sat under a shady tree, swatted some flies and sipped water.
Mike had a point; however, Phillip continued, bitter, “Kate disappeared into thin air, Mike. How is it possible? We have speculated about what happened, but nothing makes sense.” Phillip snorted. “Her parents are waiting for news, and we´ll return empty-handed. I don´t dare face them.”
“The sun is setting, we cannot do anything else today and our supplies are finished. Tomorrow we restart the quest. We must have missed a track, but at night we are limited and it is dangerous,” Mike argued.
Phillip leaped up and waved his hands; he wanted to disagree with his friend, look for Kate all night if necessary, and return to the village with her, though Mike was right.
“It is dangerous and Kate is lost, alone, in some place, maybe hurt, starving, scared, or unaware, but you are right.” He shouldered his bag and set off toward the village followed closely by Mike.
“Tomorrow will be another day; we summon other men and cover a larger territory. We´ll find her.” Mike tapped Phillip´s shoulder, trying to soothe him. Nothing in this world could make him feel better.
“I hope so because I love her. To be honest, I am afraid of losing Kate. I loved and lost Sam, you don´t understand how painful it is.” Phillip looked to the other side and hid the tears. It was embarrassing for a man to reveal his feelings so openly. “I stayed home all day. I didn´t say goodbye to Sam. Sometimes I feel sad because I knew I wouldn´t see her anymore. I saw when the dragon took Sam and flew away.” He sighed and wiped the tears. “I felt as if I´d die that day, my heart was pulled from me with her. Little by little, I approached Kate, first, trying to fill that void, that sp
ace. We became great friends; Kate missed Sam like me. And then I realized that I felt something deeper and stronger than friendship.”
“I know how you feel, my sister was taken too. My mother still cries. Actually, everybody at home still cries every single day. People say that it is a blessing. I disagree. It is a curse, only those who had a daughter or sister taken knows how distressing it is.” Mike rushed forward. “Kate´s house is lit up, do you think…?” He gazed at Phillip.
Phillip ran to Kate´s house, his hope grew fast. Could she have returned? He slowed his pace near the neighbors. “Kate…” He pointed to the house, didn´t finish the sentence; people shook their heads negatively.
Where are you? he inquired mentally. The situation was worse than he wanted to face. He had tried to fight against desperation, but inside he knew Kate was troubled, and he was unable to help. He was such a loser. Robert and Hannah had trusted him to find their daughter, and he´d disappoint them.
Mike stopped beside Phillip. “They said that only Robert and Hannah are inside the house. We did all we could and we won´t give up, tomorrow morning we´ll restart the search.” His friend reaffirmed their commitment. At least, Phillip wasn´t alone.
Phillip nodded and swallowed. They moved quietly to the door in the same deathly silence as people attending a funeral. Phillip signaled for Mike to wait outside, then entered the house, closing the door behind him.
Hannah´s eyes gleamed when she saw him. “Tell me that you found her,” she begged.
Phillip felt a knot in his throat that prevented speech. He just lowered his head when he saw the hope in her eyes disappear and heard her sobs. A solitary tear rolled down, wet his face and died on the floor. He dodged her glance, he didn´t have courage to stare at her.
Robert approached him, his thick fingers touched Phillip´s shoulders and Robert hugged him tightly. “You did your best, it isn´t your fault.” Robert cried too, and Phillip realized how desperate Robert was.
“I don´t give up. Tomorrow morning, Mike and I will restart the searches, we just returned because our supplies have run out,” Phillip stammered; he made an effort not to weep and reveal how frantic he was because if he started, he wouldn´t be able to stop.
“I appreciate your dedication, thank you, you are a good man. I´d like to go with you, but Hannah is inconsolable. I am afraid of her doing something silly.” Robert glanced at her; eyes full of tenderness and love.
Phillip cleared his throat. “I thought about forming rescue groups, then we can cover a larger territory in less time…” Phillip started to explain his plans. Robert nodded, but his mind wasn´t there so Phillip stopped his speech.
Phillip remained silent and left the house. Robert was wrong; it was Phillip´s fault. He was the only guilty one for Kate´s vanishing. If he hadn´t been so hasty, she would be among them. He had to fix it or never more would he sleep well.
He darted home figuring out the next step. Mike ran quietly behind him for half way, maybe giving him a moment to recover his senses because Mike never stayed quiet for so long a time.
“Where are you going? What did Robert and Hannah say? Are they fine?” Mike bombarded Phillip with all the queries he had kept during the short way they walked.
Phillip stopped and clenched his fists. “They are devastated and do you know? It is my fault.” Phillip confessed in a rough voice. He couldn´t hide that secret any longer, he had to talk with someone.
“You are delirious. How could it be your fault? You weren´t together when she disappeared. “Mike tapped his lips with his index fingers and his eyes rolled up. “If I remember, you spent that day looking for her in the feast,” Mike told him in a sarcastic tone.
“I kissed her,” Phillip whispered, grabbed Mike´s arm, pulled him far away from people, looked to the sides and continued, “I talked about marriage, children, and those kind of things. She said that she wasn´t ready and disappeared. I pressed her too much because when I kissed her for the first time in her room she seemed interested, but after then she avoided me. When I found her walking home alone, I took her to that trunk hidden in the forest.”
Mike laughed. “I didn´t know you had reached that point in your relationship.” You gave the impression to be so… respectful. Do you think she ran away because she is pregnant? Why didn´t you elope?” Mike nudged him.
“Don´t be a fool. Nothing happened; you are imagining things,” Phillip reprimanded Mike.
“She wouldn´t disappear because of this or anything else. Are you sure that nothing else happened or you just want to protect her?” Mike shrugged.
Phillip considered Mike´s point for a moment. “Kate always said that she would release Samantha. I thought it was a way to keep Sam alive in her mind. I never took it seriously.” He paced back and forth scratching his jaw.” Do you think the dragon kidnapped her?”
“Or someone else,” Mike added.
He stopped in front of Mike. “This is the plan, we’ll meet here at 4 a.m., bring weapons and everybody who can help. We´ll split up in small groups and look for a pathway to the Dragon´s Mountain,” Phillip commanded. He didn´t wait for Mike´s reply, he just walked home and left his friend behind. He would work on the rest of the plan later.
He couldn´t avoid a smile at Mike´s comment. How had his friend thought about it? Kate being pregnant would be amazing. The last year he had considered this possibility and after he had kissed her, well, he couldn´t focus on anything else except having Kate in his arms. Unfortunately, that wasn´t the reason for Kate´s disappearance but she could have been kidnapped by the dragon. He´d kill that abominable beast and rescue Kate and then they might marry and have children. That was his will.
Chapter 20
Wei
Wei got up, shook his body, and returned to his human form. Fu Chow mumbled something, but Wei was concentrating on Kate and Liu´s conversation many feet away. They were arguing. It wasn´t right, however, impossible to avoid. Wei used his precise hearing to listen to their talk. They argued about the trip.
“It is simple; you mount my back and hold tightly onto my scales,” Liu explained.
“I won´t ride you, this is… I don´t know… weird,” Kate objected.
“It is the only way to travel, we don´t have papers, tickets or money to travel by plane.” Liu tried to convince her.
“You are my boyfriend, I don´t feel comfortable being so close, it might be as we… you know.”
Wei laughed hearing that.
“I understand your point, but don´t be afraid, it´ll be completely different from what you think, nothing that you have imagined will happen, not while we are flying but when we land…”
Wei snorted.
“It´ll be as if we were holding hands, you hold onto my scales thinking you are holding my hand, embracing me…” Liu continued to try to convince her.
Fu Chow nudged Wei breaking his concentration. “Let´s go; there is a long journey ahead.”
Wei grasped Fu Chow´s arm. “We need another way to travel, she won´t be happy with this flight,” he protested.
“Since when have you been worried about Liu´s girl?” Fu Chow scowled at Wei; his words indicated what Wei really felt.
Yes, he worried about her, but the true reason he couldn´t reveal. Wei opened and closed his mouth a few times before he retorted, “She saved me.” He pointed to Kate. “We know the challenges we faced to get here, Liu doesn´t. I don´t believe she´d survive a cyclone or a sandstorm.” He tried to persuade his master. Wei had a good point; he hoped it was enough to convince Fu Chow.
Fu Chow tapped his shoulder. “Don´t be concerned about her, boy; our trip will be easier and shorter.” He moved to the fire.
“Great,” Wei mumbled and followed his master; his plan had failed.
They sat around the fire and ate breakfast. Liu and Kate continued talking, but in a different tone, they were laughing. Liu had convinced her to ride him. Wei sighed, bit the meat and chewed it; he kept an eye on the couple.
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“Did you sleep well, Kate?” Fu Chow asked.
Wei wasn´t so sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
She grinned. “Perfectly. I was so tired; Liu prepared a nice bed of leaves, I wrapped up in the quilt and didn´t notice the hard ground; he heated me during the night.” She blushed.
What else had happened? Which way did Liu find to warm her? Wei thought, stared at Kate and noticed that Liu frowned looking at him. He lowered his head feeling uncomfortable under Liu´s threatening glance, which sent the message ‘stay away from her.’ If Liu knew his girl had kissed Wei...
“I´m curious. You are always wearing the same green clothes with a different kind of fabric and design, now Wei is wearing the same design, but blue. You change to a green dragon and Wei to a blue dragon. Why does that happen?” Kate asked Liu.
Wei glimpsed at his brother interested in his explanation because he had never thought about this and didn´t know the answer.
Liu glanced at Fu Chow and waited permission to speak. When his master nodded, he started. “These are the clothes Wei and I wore when the dragon changed us. They form our scales when we morph; because of this I´m green and Wei is blue. We were …”
Fu Chow interrupted him. “There is a long journey ahead and you have much time to talk; now we must leave.” He got up, collected his belongings, and made clear that the explanation wouldn´t continue.
What didn´t Fu Chow want Wei to discover? Liu would say what occurred that day. Liu stared at him, willing to reveal the truth. Should Wei talk with Liu privately and ask him to disclose this secret? Should he disobey their master and find a person to tell him about his past? What would occur if he did it?
Wei got up, kicked snow on the fire, and observed Liu helping Kate with her stuff. He kissed her and morphed. Liu crouched for Kate to mount him easily; when she touched his scales and closed her fingers around them Liu smiled smugly. That scene was what he did not want to see.