Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

“Do you?”

  The girl’s brow knit. “I – I don’t know. At first, it seemed that she was doing a good thing, but these days…” She rubbed at her arm. “She seemed so very kind at first, but now she isn’t. She snaps at anyone she sees, and I hear tell that she’s burned several fields when her fury was high. I – I wish that I hadn’t come here.”

  “I think that down in her heart, the very deepest core of her heart, Amber means well,” said Granite, turning away, and running a hand over the shelves. “She obviously doesn’t see the extent of her corruption. But corrupted she is. That dragon scale does more than just show her the future and give her the power to turn into a dragon. It controls her. It has for the last three thousand years.”

  “That … that’s a very long time,” the girl breathed.

  “Yes, yes, it is,” said Granite. “A very long time to have such a division between one’s self and one’s wife. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Oh, how I miss her, my sweet Amber, I miss those days when love was the language spoken between us, and I fear that I shall never see them again.”

  “Oh.”

  Silence sat between them for a few moments, each attending to the terrible thoughts of what the next few years held.

  Granite’s breath caught as a flash of burning pain shot through him, beginning at his heart and shooting quickly to his extremities. It was gone in a moment, and his heart now beat at a slower rhythm. He turned to the girl.

  “She’s returning.”

  “Who?”

  “My wife, who else?” He frowned. “She has received her surrender or refusal, and is returning here.”

  “How do you know?”

  “My wife and I, well, our bodies are connected,” Granite explained. “We always feel whatever pain the other feels. Our hearts beat in unison. Now, Amber doesn’t know this part, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell her, but I can also feel whenever she takes her dragon form. She just did.”

  “Oh.”

  “She was doing so well, went nearly six months without changing,” Granite continued. “I had almost begun to hope, but then she lost control, and Rizkaland has suffered. Now, return to your dusting, and I shall go to meet her.”

  His step was heavy as he made his way to the courtyard. He didn’t know which possible outcome he dreaded more: the knowledge that Rizkaland had surrendered to its greatest foe, or facing her wrath if she had been disappointed.

  As he stepped into the courtyard, her dragon shadow passed over, and a moment later, she resumed her natural form just a few feet away from him. The grin spread across her face meant only one thing: she had triumphed.

  Granite took a deep breath. “Was the king as foolish as you expected?”

  “That, my husband, is a loaded question, and you should know better than to ask that,” said Amber. “Yes, he surrendered, if that is what you are asking, but I do not call that foolishness.”

  “Anyone who gives power into your hands is a fool,” said Granite. “Did you reward him for cooperating?”

  “I did,” she admitted, her voice tighter, no doubt because of his comment. “I gave him back his life.”

  “I thought I heard you say something about there being no antidote for Ilysta potion,” said Granite.

  “None that I know of,” Amber admitted. “However, that does not mean that there is none in existence.”

  “Is there?”

  “I told you, I don’t know,” she shook her head. “Instead, I put him in a bit of a stasis so that he might someday be given the cure, should it become available.”

  “You turned him to ice.”

  She glanced away, a half-grin on her face. “You know me too well.”

  “After six thousand years, I should hope so,” cried Granite. “Amber! How is turning a man to ice in any way a reward? Especially when you’ve banished winter! I don’t even know what got into your head when you pulled that stunt.”

  “I can’t let the Tela Du have any advantage,” Amber hissed, and fire flared in her eye. Then she drew back. “But should she win, should she find a way to bring back winter, should she manage to reverse my ice, should she have some cure for the poison…”

  “Amber,” said Granite, slowly shaking his head. “Your logic is so twisted. Why couldn’t you just let him slip into Alphego’s Glory? You had already done the deed, why prolong his suffering?”

  “Ice feels nothing. It cannot suffer.”

  “He already lost his wife. Why couldn’t you let him join her?”

  “Humans have a remarkable ability to rebound from such a catastrophe,” said Amber. “From what I hear, they had only been together for perhaps a year when we came. Besides, aren’t you usually the one who pleads for me to spare life?”

  Granite had no response for that. She knew him far too well also.

  He took a deep breath and approached her. She didn’t even flinch as he put an arm around her waist and dug his other hand into that long, luxurious hair that he had always adored. Indeed, she wrapped her own arms around his neck.

  Their lips met, and it was a truer kiss than they had shared in a long time. She had achieved her goal. She had time for this.

  Oh, how he loved her!

  “Are you satisfied, now?” he asked, as she pulled away. “Now that Rizkaland will sway to your bidding?”

  “Oh, I think so,” she answered, smiling. But then the smile faded, and a frown clouded her brow. “No … she’s still coming. She’s still going to try to take all that I have earned away from me.” She pulled herself out of his arms and began to pace up and down the courtyard.

  “You still have forty-nine years,” Granite pointed out.

  She turned to him, lip curled in an expression of disgust. “What are forty-nine years when you’ve seen six thousand? No, my husband, and you know it, I cannot let my guard down for a moment.”

  “You will drive the people against you so that they will side with her when she comes?”

  “Who are they to stand against a dragon?”

  “We once stood before a whole nation of dragons, and prevailed,” said Granite.

  “We were their true king and queen,” she answered. “We had my magic and your sword. They were weakened from a battle in another world. Of course, they fell before us. But, perhaps you are right. Maybe I should find somewhere else to send my ire so that the people of Rizkaland do not fear me to the point of uprising, yet they do not grow comfortable thinking that my fire is cold.”

  “What are you planning, Amber?” asked Granite, not wanting to know, but knowing he must ask.

  “Oh, it’s worked for me in the past, and they know my excuse already.” Her lip twisted. “To further punish Klarand for the treachery and cruelty I suffered at the hands of the Ten, I shall declare war on that island.”

  “You really think that will work?” asked Granite. “Klarand is Rizkaland’s greatest ally. Do you think that the people will just stand by peacefully while you wreak havoc on Klarand? Do you expect them to march into battle with you?”

  “People,” said Amber, “can be surprisingly passive when they are promised peace at the expense of another. And I will force no one to join me in this war, not even you. I can handle it quite well on my own.”

  And at that moment, Granite could see almost nothing of the sweet girl he’d married so many years ago. The red dragon stood before him, clothed in her flesh, but a dragon just the same. And, yet, he could not turn away. As long as their hearts beat in unison, she was his wife. He suppressed a sigh.

  “Can you spare a moment?” he asked.

  Her eyebrow flickered, but she said nothing.

  “One moment of your victory, before you plunge into this new war,” he continued. He stepped forward and took her hand. “Can you spare a moment?”

  She stared at him, those amber eyes so rich and deep, and he thought he spied, at their very deepest, a glimpse of the Amber he knew and loved. She nodded. “I can spare a moment.”

  And he pulled her close, laid
her head against his shoulder, and breathed deeply of the glorious scent of her hair. She was a dragon, a snake in his bosom, but she was also his wife, and so long as they both breathed, he loved her.

  Part 2

  The

  Tela Du

  Chapter 1

  “Two years,” said Petra, setting a platter of pancakes on the table. “Hard to believe that it’s been two years since Ashley barged into our life unannounced.”

  “Petra,” said Mum, “can we not start this today? I get that your father and I should have told you about the adoption in advance, but we wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “Mum, I’m celebrating,” said Petra, refraining from rolling her eyes. She waved a hand over the table instead. “Notice: pancakes. I woke up early to make them.”

  “Thank you, Petra,” put in Dad. “I’m not sure what we would do if we didn’t have you in the kitchen.”

  “Is that a jab at my cooking skills?” Mum protested.

  “I rather think it is,” said Tyler. “You nearly burnt down the kitchen the last time you were cooking. And you were making popsicles.”

  “I panicked.”

  “You were making popsicles,” Petra pointed out. “Honestly, we were lucky to survive until I was old enough to take over the kitchen. Now, that said, the pancakes are best eaten while they’re hot, and the butter will melt. Also, Ashley cut strawberries for us.” She gave her brother a sidelong glance. “Tyler, don’t take them all. They’re for everyone.”

  On cue, Ashley emerged from the kitchen bearing a bowl brim-full of the delectable red berries. She set them on the table, and hastily took her chair.

  “They’re beautiful, Ashley,” said Dad. “What we would do without our two wonderful cooks?”

  Petra frowned as she took her own chair. She knew it was petty, the way she resented sharing the spotlight with Ashley, but the girl wasn’t even her proper sister. She was merely an imposter to be tolerated, and only because it was clear that she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

  “It’s also been two years since Sarah disappeared,” she mentioned as she picked up her fork and stabbed a pancake for her own plate. “Not that any of the rest of you remember that part.” No one did, except for her and Reuben. No one remembered Sylvia or Richard, either, but she didn’t see the point of making the issue larger than it had to be.

  “And there we go,” said Tyler, throwing up his hands. “I knew your moment of sanity was too good to last, especially today.”

  “Reuben and I are going to explore the woods in her memory,” Petra continued, ignoring him. “But I was thinking that maybe we should take Ashley with us. It’s her day, too, so if she wants to come, she can. Far be it from me to force her, though.”

  “Is this a mad attempt to get rid of her?” asked Tyler. “Maybe people disappear in your head, but this is reality. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be messing with criminal charges.”

  “Ha ha, very funny,” returned Petra. “No, I just … I woke up this morning and felt like I ought to take her. Just like I felt that I ought to take Sarah to help babysit Alyce two years ago. That ended horribly, I’ll grant you, but…”

  “I’ll go,” Ashley spoke up.

  “You trust her?” asked Tyler, giving Ashley a sidelong glance.

  “Reuben will be with them,” said Dad. “He’ll keep Petra under control. Now that we have that settled, let’s pray and leave the topic alone for the rest of breakfast; does that sound good?”

  “Sounds fine to me,” said Tyler.

  As Petra had no further reason to continue forcing the subject and bringing further condemnation upon herself for the memories she had that didn’t line up with everyone else’s – honestly, how her parents could forget two of their daughters was beyond her – she stayed silent for the rest of breakfast. She’d be on her hike with Reuben soon, and he, at least, remembered their true past.

  Most of the rest of the breakfast conversation was actually Dad quizzing Ashley on small, obscure facts of history. She had a knack for absorbing and retaining almost anything she read.

  It was cut short when Dad received a call.

  “The Lianos,” he said, stepping out of the room. “This should be interesting.” He reappeared a few minutes later with a shake of his head. “Their power is down again. I need to go check it out.”

  “Again?” said Mum, her brow creasing. “Isn’t that the third time this month? Theirs didn’t use to go out like this.”

  “And it’s never a normal fix,” Dad agreed. “Well, would you like to come with me to fix it, or should I ask my other assistant?” He nodded at Tyler, who glanced up eagerly.

  Mum gave a half-grin as she leaned back in her chair. “An electrical mystery is certainly tempting,” she admitted. “But as Petra said, there’s something about today that just feels important, and I really think I ought to stay home. Besides, I have paperwork to deal with.”

  “Sounds fair enough,” said Dad. “Tyler, let’s go. We didn’t give the Lianos our personal number so we could dawdle with getting their power back to them.”

  When the men were gone, Mum turned to the girls. “So, hiking in the woods, wasn’t it?”

  “Yep, shortly,” Petra agreed. “We have to clean up after breakfast first, but that shouldn’t take long at all.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to clean up for you two, so you can go ahead and hit the trail?”

  “No,” said Petra, picking up the platter of pancakes and handing them to Ashley. “I used the glass dishes this morning, and I would rather not see them broken or you badly cut. Go get started on the paperwork. I promise you that I won’t kill Ashley while you aren’t looking. She’s too valuable a dishwasher.”

  Mum gave something akin to a smile and shook her head. “I guess I’ll have to take you at your word.”

  Dishes were done quickly and quietly, as neither girl had anything to say to the other. Petra found her old pair of hiking boots for Ashley since the girl didn’t have a pair of her own. After letting Mum know that they were gone, they headed across the street.

  Petra knocked at the Eaglechasers’ door. Summer answered.

  “Well, well, isn’t this an unexpected sight,” said the girl, glancing between Petra and Ashley. “Who bribed Petra into being nice?” The way she leaned against the doorframe was ridiculous – her legs were perfectly capable of holding her upright. Some days, Petra could see why strangers often had a hard time believing that she was Reuben and Robert’s sister, and it wasn’t just the fact that she took after their Cherokee heritage and the boys didn’t nearly as much.

  “Cut it out. Where’s Reuben?” said Petra, rolling her eyes. “We’re going hiking and don’t have time for you to make fun of us.”

  “Ah, well, this is a lovely conversation, but you know, I really ought to go get my brother – he’d never forgive me if I didn’t tell him that his girlfriend was here.” Summer gave an annoying grin. “He was just telling me that the two of you were going on a hike, though he didn’t mention Ashley.”

  “Last minute decision that I haven’t had a chance to tell him about yet,” said Petra. “I’m not his girlfriend. Go get your brother.”

  “Too late, I’m here,” said Reuben, pushing his sister out of the way. “What’s this about a last-minute decision?”

  Petra nodded towards Ashley. “She’s coming with us.”

  Reuben glanced Petra’s adopted sister up and down and then gave a sharp nod. “Sounds great. Let’s go.”

  “You really think that’s a good idea?” asked Summer. “Ashley and Petra do not have a reputation for getting along. It’s beyond me why people think it’s a good idea for them to live in the same house.”

  “Same here.” It was the one thing that Petra and Summer could agree on.

  “Would you like to come with us, too?” Reuben offered.

  Summer shook her head. “Much as I’d like to see how this goes down and make sure there’s someone with sense who’ll stand between those
two, I’ve got to finish reading that biography of Cleopatra for school. I’m going to just have to sit here and hope all three of you come back alive.”

  “Fair enough. Now, let’s go,” said Reuben.

  The woods behind the Eaglechasers’ house were incredible. They’d been exploring them for years and still didn’t know every inch of them. Today, however, they had a specific destination in mind, though Petra wasn’t entirely certain that she could find her way back there from this side of the woods. Mrs. Withawie, and her daughter, Alyce, whom Petra used to babysit, had lived on the other side of the forest. Or they had until they abruptly moved away the same day that Sarah disappeared and Ashley was adopted out of the blue. Petra hadn’t heard from them since. To be honest, she missed the kid.

  “So, just curious, what is with the change of heart and the decision to include Ashley on our adventure today?” asked Reuben.

  “It’s her birthday,” said Petra.

  “No, it’s not,” Ashley protested, frowning. “Not for another few weeks.”

  “You don’t have to take everything I say literally,” said Petra. “Give it a few moments of thought, Ashes, and I’m sure you’ll work it out.”

  “My mother used to call me Ashes.” Ashley’s voice was thinner even than normal.

  Petra paused as she glanced back at the girl. “Not surprising. Ashes is a natural nickname for Ashley.”

  “No,” said Ashley, slowly. “I remember so little about my mother, but when you said that, I could almost hear her voice. Almost, but not quite.”

  “How old were you when she died?” asked Reuben. It wasn’t often that Ashley spoke of her past life, and to Petra’s knowledge, this was the first time she had ever mentioned her mother.

  “I don’t remember,” said Ashley, shaking her head. “I – I don’t remember.”

  “You must have been pretty young,” commented Reuben.

  “Maybe,” said she, “but my father…” She trailed off, her brow knit. “It doesn’t really matter. Why don’t we talk about Sarah? I’ve always found it so interesting that she disappeared the same day I came here.”