by Jensine Odom
“Oh. Makes sense.” I nod agreeably.
Suddenly one of the Thunderbirds lets out a loud, predatory shriek, and the other answers the call. Both birds dive, wings folded until they’re nearly to the ground where they spread their wings once more to catch the air and land in front of us with a booming shockwave.
The larger one, a female, cocks her head to the side, looking right at me. A crest of feathers stands on her head like a harpy eagle and she shrieks again, the smaller male echoing her cry.
Caedryn moves to stand in front of me, hand on his sword, but I stop him, laying a hand to his shoulder. He looks questioningly at me, brows drawn together.
“They know what we are,” I tell him. “They want to ensure we’re no threat.” I let Caedryn go, looking pointedly to everyone who’s a dragon, then step forward, taking a knee and bowing my head.
Uncertain, Caedryn follows suit, kneeling beside me, then Turhion and Kerric. I look up to find Tristin still standing defiantly and glare at him. He glares back for a moment then chuffs and takes a knee.
The female Thunderbird calls again, this time a soft, almost chirping sound, and I know we can stand. She shakes her body, ruffling all her feathers, and preens her right wing, her head coming back around with a small feather in her beak.
She drops it at my feet, the silvery feather curiously not blowing away in the wind, and looks at me expectantly, blinking her large eyes. Understanding what she wants, I pick it up. It transforms instantly into a metal wrist cuff in the likeness of a feather, shining like lightning and gleaming with the rainbow that always follows the storm.
I squeeze it on my wrist and an electric energy shoots up my arm, spreading out in my chest. “Thank you.” I nod to the great bird.
She chirps again, bowing her head to me, her intention echoing in my mind. I caress the surprisingly soft chrome feathers between her turquoise eyes and an image floats through my mind; me, using the bracelet to call on the Thunderbirds.
“Thank you,” I say again, this time barely above a whisper, and press my forehead to hers before stepping back beside Caedryn.
The Thunderbird spreads her massive wings as lighting dances across the sky, and thunder rumbles as she takes off, followed by her mate. I watch as they spiral once more over us then soar off over the valley below, taking the storm with them.
“What just happened?” Caedryn asks, lifting my hand to view the cuff that now adorns my wrist.
“I was just given a gift.” I meet Caedryn’s curious gaze, and that of everyone else, a grin taking over my face. “We just gained some allies Drustana will never expect.”
“How did you know what they wanted?” Caedryn asks now, sounding a little suspicious, and there’s a sudden pang of fear in my heart that isn’t mine. He’s afraid of my answer, because I might be an Esper, and Turhion’s sudden rigid posture tells me he’s not the only one who suspects this.
“I just… knew.” I shrug. It’s the truth. I’ve always just known what animals want. The reason behind that is a little more complicated.
The simple answer works for Caedryn, his relief washing over me, but Turhion’s still unconvinced. He doesn’t act on his suspicions, but instead walks over to help Mary, relighting the fire with a simple snap of his fingers. That wasn’t a threat. That was a promise. Until I’m a full dragon I’m still highly flammable, and if I show signs of being Honorless he’ll just turn me to ash.
“Ooh,” Tristin squeals excitedly, running for the magical fire. “Teach me how to do that?” He looks to Turhion with adoration.
“Not all dragons can manipulate fire like Turhion,” Caedryn tells him, frowning at Turhion for more reasons than one, and walks to the fire, joined by Kerric and Zebulon.
With a breath, I hang back for a moment, watching Caedryn and Turhion run Tristin through a few drills to see if he’s what they call an Agni. That was close. A little too close, actually, but if I hadn’t told the dragons to show their submission to the Thunderbirds, they would have all died.
Caedryn can’t see it, his soul’s too entwined with mine, but Turhion knows. Maybe only subconsciously, but he knows my secret. The secret I saw in a few of my relived memories. The reason Drustana picked Allowyn out of the entire sea of dragons around her on the night she was exiled. I’m an Esper.
Our society calls us Empaths, but I’ve always had a little more than a knowing of other people’s feelings. I can see their thoughts, and sometimes even influence their decisions, but never mind control. Even though that would have come in handy on a few occasions.
I laugh involuntarily, catching Caedryn’s attention, and he smiles at me, thinking I simply found Tristin’s struggles funny. Which they are. He’s currently staring at a small log, eyes comically wide, trying with all his might to get it to do anything but just sit there.
The wood twitches, and Tristin gives a triumphant exclamation, but Zebulon loses his composure, giving away his trickery. Tristin scowls and punches his brother then goes back to staring. Caedryn just shakes his head humorously, then gestures for me to join them.
I make a stop at my tent, grabbing my bow, the special made meteorite blades from my old bow, and one of my many rolls of parachute chord. After rummaging around in my bag for another moment I finally find my Swiss Army knife.
The camp has gone quiet by the time I step out of the tent, and Zebulon gives a low, even whistle, the one we use to casually get the persons attention. I glance at him, and he gestures with his chin towards the meadow behind me.
So as not to spook whatever it is that’s out there, I turn slowly, quietly dropping the blades and chord to pick up my quiver of arrows just inside the tent. I draw one, making sure it’s not one with a meteorite tip. Nocking it, I peer out over the grasses.
My breath catches in my throat, and I have to force the air out. It’s just deer, having come out to graze in the dying light of day. There’s a tug in my chest, and Caedryn’s behind me, the natural heat from his body permeating the small space between us.
“That one there,” he whispers in my ear, pointing to a small buck grazing apart from the herd, unusually close to our camp.
It has a bad leg, most likely broken by a car and long since healed; the deer moves like it has had this problem for a while. I know we don’t need any meat just yet, but this is too good an opportunity to pass up. If I take it, we can make jerky.
I stand fully and draw back on my bow, careful to not make a sound, and sight down the arrow. The deer steps broadside to me, giving a clear shot for its heart. I take a breath, aim, and let my arrow fly.
The deer steps again, just in time to take my arrow in its shoulder, which does nothing but spook it and the rest of the herd. I curse silently and nock another arrow, stepping out to quickly take another shot before the damn deer can make away with one of my arrows; I already lost three on that Beast the other day.
Aiming for where the deer will be this time, I take another breath, but before I can loose my arrow a purple mass streaks by. Tristin slams into my deer with a loud thud and disappears in a cloud of dust. The other deer bleat in panic and scatter into the trees.
The dust settles as I reach Tristin, revealing my deer in his clawed hands, dead as a doornail.
“I got you,” he says, lowering his head to wink one large draconic eye at me.
I laugh, pushing his face away, and he gently lays the deer down before shifting back to human. The rich, metallic scent of fresh blood fills the night air as the crimson liquid flows freely from the dual puncture wounds in the deer’s neck.
“Well done,” Caedryn commends, joining us in the center of the meadow.
Tristin beams and pulls out his hunting knife, kneeling to begin dressing the deer.
“Hold on!” I stop him just before he pierces the hide, sitting beside him, and lay a hand to the deer’s heart, where my arrow should have pierced.
“What are you doing?” Caedryn asks, curiously tilting his head.
“Releasing its soul,” I
reply, and close my eyes. You have served your purpose, Brother. Thank you for this sacrifice. I release your energy back to the Universe.
My fingers tingle with a quick vibration and I open my eyes. That’s never happened before. The vibration slows and the energy flows out of the deer like a sigh. A white wisp appears, floating just above the carcass, then vanishes like it was never there. That’s definitely never happened before.
Caedryn’s watching me with surprise, but says nothing, and Tristin just looks annoyed. I don’t think either of them saw what just happened.
“Are you done yet?” Tristin asks impatiently.
“No…” I scrunch my face at him, then laugh, yanking my arrow out of the deer’s shoulder. The tip is done for; it nicked the shoulder bone. “Alright. Go ahead.” I wave my ammo turned wand at the dead deer.
Tristin makes the initial cut, expertly exposing the guts, and with the help of Caedryn and me, we make short work of the deer. Surprisingly, Tristin didn’t bruise too much of the meat, and while he drags the carcass away for scavengers to eat, I use my already bloody overshirt to carry the cuts back to the fire.
Zebulon and Mary slice the meat further, making thin strips for jerky, while Kerric makes smoking racks out of fresh aspen branches. I steal a small piece of raw meat from Mary as I walk by, tossing it in my mouth and savoring the warm, salty juices.
“Savage,” Tristin says in mock disgust, eating his own piece of raw meat.
“Freaks.” Mary wrinkles her nose at us.
I just give her a guilty smile and continue on my way, grabbing my blood-soaked shirt.
Once at my tent I clean my skin off and throw on some fresh leggings and a new overshirt, then rub my bloody clothes in the dirt, hanging them with Tristin’s on a makeshift clothes line made from parachute chord strung high off the ground between two trees. By morning the dirt should have absorbed most of the blood and dried, making it easier to clean our clothes when we eventually find a stream.
After double checking the line, I make my way back for the fire, but stop just out of sight to watch everyone. Mary’s sitting at the fire with the cooking meat, curled in on herself, resting her chin on her knees and staring blankly into the flames. Zebulon and Tristin are out sparring with Turhion and Kerric—well, more like exasperating Turhion and Kerric with their antics— while Caedryn supervises.
Alarr’s nowhere to be seen, but I know he’s in the trees beyond our meadow, most likely finding his own food for dinner.
What do draquus eat? I easily send the thought to Alarr.
Whatever we desire, be it plant or animal, he replies. What troubles you, Xerxia? he asks suddenly.
What makes you think I’m troubled?
Earlier, after your encounter with the Thunderbirds, you were worried about something. Can I help with whatever it is?
I take a deep breath and walk to the ledge, staring out at the red orb of the sun as it slowly sets behind smoke clouds. Only if your allowed to keep a secret.
I am a draquus. I answer to no one.
I’ll take that as a yes. I’m an Esper, and Turhion and Caedryn almost figured that out earlier. It feels pretty good to confide in someone.
Alarr’s taking a long time to respond, though. Maybe that wasn’t a yes. What if he’s telling Caedryn? No. He’d have to be telling Turhion. I don’t think Caedryn could kill me, no matter how bad I fuck up.
Alarr appears from the trees a few yards away, walking up to nuzzle me gently, putting my fears to rest. You forget, as they surely have. I am your draquus; I can see your heart. An Esper you very well may be, but you are not evil. You are not Honorless. I will support you, when you decide the right time to tell everyone.
Thank you! I throw my arms around his thick neck and hug him tight.
You are welcome. Now go. He nudges me towards camp. Eat your supper and rest. We have much farther to go yet.
Yes, Dad, I tease, and head back for camp as Alarr disappears back into the trees.
“Is everything all right?” Caedryn asks as I come to stand beside him at the fire.
“Yeah,” I answer, pulling his arm around me. “I was worried about the future, but Alarr has reassured me.” I smile and give him a quick kiss.
Caedryn smiles in return, my happiness infecting him. “Good. We were just discussing sleeping arrangements.”
“Oh?”
“Us Knights will sleep in dragon form around the camp, to deter any predators,” Kerric answers.
“Sounds good to me. We also need to discuss where we’re going tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future.” I take a deep breath, looking at everyone. “Thanks to that giant split, we have to go northeast. We’ll skirt the backside of these mountains, giving us as much time as possible under cover, then we’ll travel across the plains to the Pecos wilderness, making our way to Pecos Baldy lake after that.”
“The northeast is where you sent Baldure and Alivia, yes?” Turhion asks, already knowing the answer.
“Yes, but we’re hoping they will have moved off by the time we reach the plains, or that Sitrian led them astray.”
“You are placing a lot of faith in hope,” Turhion comments.
“Well, it’s all we’ve got, and it’s gotten us this far, so…” I finish the sentence with a shrug. “On that note, let’s eat something and get to bed; we’ve a long day ahead of us.”
Zebulon and Tristin dash for their packs, laying abandoned at the edge of camp, and I grab the deer jerky from my bag. Footsteps approach from behind me, and a bright blip enters the edge of my awareness. When I find Mary walking up to me, I’m a little surprised.
“Is there any way I can talk you into letting me sleep in there tonight?” she asks, gesturing to my tent. “I don’t feel so good and don’t want to disturb Zebulon if I need to get up in the middle of the night.”
“Umm,” I mumble somewhat incoherently, staring into space while my head and heart have an argument.
“Let her stay in your tent, Xerxia,” Caedryn says, joining us and ending my internal bickering. “You can sleep beside me. I’ll shelter you with my wing.”
“Sounds good to me.” I grab my bedding and set it just outside the tent for easy retrieval in a moment.
“Thanks,” Mary says. “I’m just going to go to bed now.”
“Alright. See you in the morning.”
“Yeah,” is all she says, disappearing into the tent.
Zebulon’s at the fire, watching curiously, and I shrug, walking back with Caedryn. We eat in relative silence, the crickets filling the night air with music.
Eventually, one by one, everyone goes off to sleep. The last awake, I pack up the fresh deer jerky, hanging it on the line with our dirty clothes, then grab my bedding before walking for the black dragon in the field.
The moon reflects off Caedryn’s scales in a soft halo of light, but as I get closer, I realize he’s actually glowing a faint silver. The other dragon’s glow, too; Turhion a soft blue, Kerric a faded purple, and Tristin the green of a lightning bug. How cool is that? What color will I glow?
Caedryn lifts his broad wing as I reach him, folding it on his back, and I lay out my bedding. Plopping down in the nest I’ve made, I revel in the absence of all the aches and pains that usually accompany a long day of trekking. It’s like all my old sports injuries never happened.
The now waning gibbous moon hangs just over the horizon, and a multitudinous of stars twinkle just out of reach of the hazy golden light, the milky way blazing a path across the sky. Caedryn begins to cover me, the silver membranes of his wings fluttering in the breeze, but I stop him, laying a hand on his warm, scaly side.
“No, leave it up. I want to sleep beneath the stars.”
“As you wish,” Caedryn replies, curling up and surrounding me with his amazing warmth.
I roll onto my side and kiss his cheek, surprised to find it not scaleless, but covered in millions of small scales, glittering like gemstones in the moonlight. Absently, I brush my fingertips across his
cheek, smiling to myself. “Goodnight, Caedryn.”
“Goodnight, Xerxia,” he returns, and closes his large silver eyes. His breath leaves steam hanging in the cool mountain air as it begins to come in a slow rhythm, joining the chorus of crickets and lulling me to sleep.
The Descent
CAEDRYN nudges me awake sometime in the very early morning, and I lazily roll over.
“Hmm?” I mumble, opening one eye.
“Mary has gone into the forest,” he tells me, his concern niggling in my mind.
“Mmhmm.” I close my eye and roll back, not as worried as he is.
He nudges me again, impatient. “Alone.”
“Yeah.” I roll onto my back with a sigh. “She said she wasn’t feeling good.”
“Will she be all right alone?” he asks. “I could follow her, just to ensure her safety.”
“Nah. She’ll be fine.” I drowsily sit up and look at Caedryn; he’s watching where Mary left. “If it makes you feel better, we can stay up until she comes back.” He makes an agreeable noise. “Alright.” I twist and lean against his scaly side, taking in the beautiful scenery.
The moon still sits fairly high in the west, playing peek-a-boo behind the clouds that now dot the sky, and beads of dew wink in the tall grasses, mimicking the stars above. A satellite passes through a break in the clouds, one of the last remnants from our world before.
A mountain bird sings a chorus somewhere off in the trees, and I begin to hum a tune in unison, smiling at the memories it conjures. Caedryn suddenly shifts behind me, and my legs kick out spastically as I fall back with the loss of my support.
Chuckling, Caedryn catches me and pulls me against him, kissing my temple. With a contented sigh, I lay my head back on his chest, melting into his warm embrace.
“What was that song you were just humming?” he asks softly against my ear.
“The lullaby Mom used to sing to me when I was a child.” I look down, blushing. “I sing it when I’m happy, or when I need to be, and to remember.” Tears blur my vision and I look up, blinking them away.