by L. EE
“Wow! How’d they do that? It looks so real!” a boy next to Andy exclaimed to his mom. She probed the growing crowd for an escape route.
Andy walked closer, studying the creature.
Andy! There you are!
Andy looked around. No one looked at him or talked to him.
It’s me. Daisy. I’ve come to take you back to Oomaldee, the dragon said telepathically.
“Daisy?” Andy questioned, snaking his way through small openings in the mass of people.
He reached the edge of the crowd. An official held his arms wide, blocking his way. Andy ducked under and ran toward the beast. “Daisy!” he shouted.
“Stop, son! Stop!” the man yelled.
A collective gasp went up.
“Andy!” Dad called after him.
Andy reached Daisy and gave her large neck a hug. “It’s so good to see you again! Wow, you’ve grown!”
As have you, Andy. Are you ready to go?
“I just need Methuselah. It’s in the locker. Can you help me get it? Our locker’s over there. It might be quicker than me trying to get through this crowd by myself.” Andy pointed across the peopled path to a hut-like structure housing several hundred storage lockers.
I’d be delighted to, Daisy replied with a snort, causing a lady close by to shriek.
“Oh, wait! I need the locker key!”
“Andy! Come here! It’s not safe!” Dad scolded as he broke through the blockade of officials. “That’s my son!” Dad declared to the officers, worry etched across his face.
“Dad, this is Daisy. I’m going back to Oomaldee! I just need to get my sword.”
Never before had Andy seen Dad at a loss for words.
“I need the key to the locker.”
Dad stared vacantly, as if in a trance.
“Dad! The key!”
Dad robotically removed the elastic bracelet the locker key hung on and handed it to Andy.
“Stay back, folks!” another official yelled, trying to sound calm. He turned to Dad and added, “Sir, I need you and your son to move away from that thing.”
Andy rushed back to Daisy and hopped on as Dad snapped out of his unplanned meditation. His eyes found Andy and he yelled above the noise, “Go, Andy! Do what you’ve been called to do!”
Andy nodded. Dad believes in me… He hoped his expression communicated all he felt, for words escaped him.
“Sir! Now!” the officer demanded.
The dragon took several slow deliberate steps so as not to step on anyone, sending another ripple of panic through the crowd. When she reached the lockers, she lowered her head and Andy slid off her back, causing yet more panic from onlookers. Andy retrieved his backpack and remounted as police officers arrived, bearing weapons.
“Shoot the thing!” someone in the crowd yelled.
“They can’t or they might hit the boy!” another replied.
Daisy unfurled her wings and took flight as more shrieks erupted.
Once airborne, Andy could make out Mom and Madison in the crowd below, carrying water bottles toward the dragon ride. I’ve got to find a way to save her.
The noise of the crowd grew faint as Andy and Daisy flew.
I’m gonna see the King, Mermin, and everyone else again! Wait until I tell the King he’s my father!
Your father? Daisy questioned.
“Yeah. Oh, wait! The letter. I need the letter! Daisy, we need to stop by my house. I need something.”
As you wish. Which way?
“You don’t know where my house is?”
I was asked to find you and bring you back to Oomaldee from wherever you might be.
Andy held on with one hand and located his cell phone in his backpack with the other. Reading the compass, he instructed, “We need to go west, that way.” He pointed.
Moments later Andy spotted his house far below.
“That’s it! You can land on the driveway and I’ll run in and grab the envelope.”
To say the neighbors were shocked would have been an understatement. As he slid off the dragon’s back and bolted for his front door, he noticed their nosy neighbor across the street grab her cell phone and begin dialing madly.
Andy ran into the house and grabbed Mom’s gold envelope from the drawer of his nightstand. Glancing out an upstairs window, he saw Daisy waiting patiently, so he took a couple extra minutes to change out of his swimming trunks and into his black T-shirt and blue jeans. He put on the belt with Methuselah’s holster and stowed the pouch with the gold key under his T-shirt. From the last several minutes in flight he knew it would be chilly flying, so he grabbed a sweatshirt on his way out the door.
By the time he made it back to his ride, police cars raced down the street, sirens screaming. Daisy danced nervously and Andy could hear her working up her fire bladder.
“Let’s get out of here!” Andy yelled over the commotion.
CHAPTER THREE
Dreams Do Come True
Andy looked back and saw his house and neighborhood now looking like the old Matchbox set he used to play with. Police cars and emergency vehicles littered the street. I feel like a convict running from the law. I wonder if they’ll send a helicopter after us?
No point in worrying about it. We’ll deal with it if the time comes, Daisy reassured.
Five minutes later, Andy saw the buildings of downtown San Antonio sail by off to his left. To his right, the distant skyline of Austin grew smaller with each mighty flap of Daisy’s wings. He breathed a sigh of relief. No one pursued.
Andy pulled his cell phone out of his backpack and checked their direction. They headed northwest. Where are we going?
Toward Denver, Colorado. Ever been?
Mom had mentioned Denver many times as he was growing up. She had lived there at one time.
No, but I’d love to see it!
We’ll be flying over, not stopping, but you can get an aerial view.
Andy immediately realized the wisdom of not stopping based upon the hullabaloo they’d just left.
Have you been to my world before, Daisy?
No, this is my first time.
Then how’d you know where to find me?
You have a very distinctive smell, Andy.
What? But I took a shower yesterday!
Daisy shuddered a laugh before continuing. It’s not that you smell bad, you just have a distinct odor. I remember it from the first time we met. Dragon’s have a very sensitive sense of smell. The one who asked me to get you told me roughly where I might find you and my nose took it from there.
Who asked you to come get me?
I can’t say, Andy. I never saw them. I received a message this morning on the whisper stream. It sounded important, so I left immediately.
Whisper stream? What’s that?
Yes, I guess you wouldn’t know anything about it, Daisy divulged. The whisper stream is a network of messages. Don’t take this the wrong way, Andy, but higher-level beings use it to communicate telepathically—dragons, centaurs, unicorns, griffins, the sphinx. Humans haven’t made it on…yet.
Andy wasn’t sure how to take that, so he let it pass.
Wow, there’s that many creatures that can talk telepathically?
And more, Andy. There are many more.
Andy thought about this revelation for a minute before responding. But you and I are communicating telepathically. You’re reading my thoughts.
Yes, Andy, I’m reading your thoughts, but you can’t read mine. I’m pushing my thoughts to your mind. It doesn’t flow both ways between us.
Andy tried to picture the whisper stream. It sounds kinda like the internet, but with thoughts.
I’m not familiar with your internet, so I couldn’t say, but the whisper stream is a flow of thoughts between beings that has existed for thousands of years.
Andy pondered for several more minutes until his stomach announced dissatisfaction at its empty condition.
Getting hungry, Andy?
Yeah. I ate br
eakfast awhile ago.
They had been flying for two hours according to Andy’s cell phone. The land they crossed at the moment was barren and largely uninhabited except for a farm here or a herd of grazing cattle there.
There’s a town not too far ahead, over there, Daisy announced. I’m a bit hungry myself. It took me five and a half hours to reach you. I saw some large pigs a minute ago. Perhaps I’ll have some pork chops on the rare side while you scrounge up something to eat.
Andy didn’t know much about the eating habits of dragons, but given the area of Texas they flew over, he guessed the pigs Daisy had seen were feral and dangerous based on TV shows he’d seen.
As Daisy circled for a landing, Andy saw a sign: “Welcome to Lubbock, The Giant Side of Texas.” She found an open field on the outskirts of the city with a row of trees separating it from the highway. A cozy diner stood on the far side of a scarcely filled parking lot, six hundred yards away.
Andy felt in his pocket. He was glad he’d grabbed the twenty from his allowance as he left. “I’ll meet you back here in half an hour, Daisy. Be careful. Those pigs are wild and vicious.”
Thank you for your concern. I’ll be careful.
Right on schedule and with a full stomach, Andy broke through the trees lining the open field, but Daisy had not yet returned.
She must still be hunting, Andy thought.
I’ve nearly rounded up these pigs. I’ll be with you shortly, came Daisy’s telepathic reply.
Andy smiled. Communicating with thoughts definitely had its advantages. I wonder how far away you can be and still have it work.
Andy sat down with his back against a tree. He didn’t have long to wait. Within five minutes, terror-filled squeals shattered the calm as three huge feral boars came barreling from behind a substantial clump of trees in the middle of the field. Andy bolted up. He saw the glint of the sun off gray scales as Daisy emerged in pursuit.
The tusked hogs rushed forward, and Andy turned and scrambled up four feet to the lowest branch of the tree. From experience, he knew Methuselah would not extend, for it only did that in Oomaldee. He looked out, estimating the time to impact. Daisy scooped up the unlucky beast closest to her and two bites later resumed the chase. The next boar succumbed seconds later. The fastest pig charged like a bullet toward Andy’s tree. Andy searched for branches to ascend higher but knew the twigs further up would never support his weight.
That thing’s at least four feet tall and has to weigh over 400 pounds! he estimated, bracing for impact.
Daisy put on a burst of speed and nabbed the beast just five feet from Andy. He breathed a sigh of relief then nearly retched as he watched her consume the creature up close.
WTMI, he thought. Way too much information!
Daisy belched loudly. Sorry. Serves me right for eating too fast.
Andy cracked up, releasing the tension of terror he’d felt. Nothing like waiting til the last second.
Daisy chuckled. You need to trust me, Andy.
Two hours later, towering snowcapped mountains rose to their left and Andy checked his compass. They’d changed to a northward course.
How much longer?
Andy’s behind and inner thighs grew sore from the constant rubbing against the dragon’s tough scales, and his teeth chattered. Even though he wore his sweatshirt, it didn’t repel the wind, and the constant gusts had chilled him to the bone.
If you lift the scale in front of you a bit, it should shield you from much of the breeze.
He did so and the tempest slackened considerably. That combined with heat from the dragon’s body began to warm him up. He couldn’t see what approached this way, but the ride became bearable.
So much better! Thanks!
That’s Pueblo, Daisy narrated twenty minutes later as they flew over a city. The rays of the sun began to lengthen.
How do you know?
That’s what the sign said.
They flew over Colorado Springs fifteen minutes later, and Daisy told Andy, Denver’s just ahead.
He peeked over Daisy’s scale and saw an army of skyscrapers standing at attention as they approached. They passed over a golf course; the people playing looked the size of grasshoppers.
They crossed a busy highway and Daisy veered left toward the mountains. A passenger jetliner passed close by, preparing to land at the nearby airport. Andy could see the eyes of the pilot and co-pilot grow large. He smiled and waved.
Five minutes later, an ice-covered mountain towered in front of them. Daisy continued forward, not altering her course or her pace.
Uh, Daisy, shouldn’t you turn so we don’t crash?
Daisy didn’t reply but kept flapping her mighty wings.
Not satisfied, Andy tried again. Daisy? Shouldn’t you turn?
Still no response.
Andy pounded on the skin under the dragon’s scale. Daisy! You need to turn. We’re gonna crash!
Nothing.
Yards from the sheer face of the mountain, Andy screamed, “Turn, Daisy! Turn!”
He braced for impact, but the collision never came. Daisy continued beating her wings, and brown and gray rock replaced blue sky. The farther they flew, the darker the tunnel became.
Wha… What just happened?
Daisy roared with laughter that reverberated off the hard walls and assaulted Andy’s eardrums.
Welcome to Oomaldee, Andy.
Oomaldee’s inside the Rocky Mountains?
Not inside them, through them. At least, that’s one entrance.
Whoa! This is wild!
Daisy chuckled again. Like I told you before, you need to trust me, Andy.
Andy thought about that.
Not much longer now, Daisy reassured ten minutes later.
Sure enough, Andy saw light at the end of the pitch black tunnel and moments later Daisy flew out into dense, foggy skies. He couldn’t see the dragon’s head.
Yep, this is Oomaldee alright, he thought, then yelled, “I’m back! I’m really back!”
No sooner had he celebrated than Andy heard a familiar voice, like Dad’s, in his head: “Gotcha!”
Huh?
“Headquarters found out about your coming and dispatched me,” replied Andy’s inneru.
Oh, it’s you.
“Of course. You know I’m duty bound to rejoin you when you’re in Oomaldee.”
Are you going to introduce me? asked Daisy.
What? You’re telling me you can talk to my inneru? You said humans aren’t evolved enough to be part of your whisper stream.
They’re not, but innerus aren’t human. And yes, they communicate in the stream.
Oh, bother! You’re telling me you hear everything innerus think about humans?
That’s right.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Daisy,” announced Andy’s inneru.
Likewise, Daisy replied.
Would you two stop! Andy objected.
The inneru and Daisy shared a snicker.
“I got a quick update from your conscience, Andy,” the inneru continued. “It told me you’re maturing some. It said you’ve started respecting your dad. That’s commendable.”
Thanks, I guess.
“It also reported you’re very concerned about saving your mom from what you perceive as injustice.”
Well, it’s not fair! My mom didn’t do anything wrong, and unless I can find a way to prevent it, she’s going to die if I break the curse.
“Andy, these thoughts and feelings are welcome news. You’re growing up.”
They flew on in silence for several minutes.
You do know where you’re going in this fog, don’t you, Daisy? Andy questioned several minutes later.
What did I tell you earlier, Andy?
Andy saw the outlines of shop roofs through the fog and the sun’s fading rays as Daisy circled for a landing several minutes later.
Where are we?
We are in the city square of Oops. The message this morning told me to bring you to
meet the King. He’s here. I smell him.
He’s here? But I’ve never seen him outside the castle. No sooner had Andy thought it than understanding dawned on him. Of course! He’s got the Stone of Athanasia. Now he can go anywhere. Awesome!
Andy could hear heavy barrels being scooted across wooden walkways and bells on shop doors jingling as merchants closed up for the night. Although it was hard to see, it had the same feel as the square in the town of Ooggy, but bigger. Just before they touched down a woman screamed as she caught sight of them through the haze. Several other shoppers echoed their alarm, and Andy and Daisy found themselves quickly surrounded by a garrison of the king’s soldiers with swords drawn.
“Freeze!” came a gruff command.
Andy and Daisy complied.
A beefy officer dressed in the blue uniform of the Oomaldee army stepped forward and questioned, “What’s the meaning of this? Who are you?”
Andy remembered the skirmish he’d had with army officers the last time he arrived in Oomaldee and hoped to avoid the ordeal.
“I’m Andy Smithson, sir, and this is Daisy. She brought me—” Andy stopped himself as he remembered the added trouble he’d gotten himself into the last time when he told the truth about coming from his world.
“I’m supposed to meet the King here,” Andy corrected.
The soldier shifted his weight and his eyes darted to the door of a tavern a stone’s throw away. Clearing his throat, he growled, “Why would you think the King’s here? Who are you anyway?”
“I told you, I’m Andy Smithson, and Daisy tells me he’s here. She can smell him. She’s got a good sense of smell, sir.”
The man was clearly at a loss for words. How do you contradict the sniffer of a dragon?
Andy interrupted the officer’s thoughts. “If you’ll just tell him I’m here, I’m sure everything can be easily cleared up.”
“Sergeant Goodman!” the officer rumbled.
“Yes, sir!” responded a wiry uniformed youth, bounding over.
The beefy man turned his back toward Andy and Daisy and whispered orders to Sergeant Goodman. The junior officer bobbed his head, eyeing them as his superior gave instructions. When the huddle broke, the wiry soldier cut through the circle of fellows and headed straight for the drinking establishment.