Pulling my hand away, I gave my fingers a quick, clean lick, and then pulled the little dragon into my lap. Bracing him with my arm, I used my other hand to rub his stomach. The dragon chirped and squirmed with delight. I was astounded by how soft and unprotected his underside was. It was still scaled, but the scales were leathery instead of a polished shell.
I stopped rubbing his stomach when I noticed the dark scales that went up the center of his body. The little dragon whimpered when I traced the line. I stopped tracing the black scales and rubbed his head to reassure him. I didn’t judge Raikidan for being a half-color and I wasn’t about to with this dragon.
The little dragon perked up at my touch and flipped over. His next behavior surprised me. He rested his front legs on my shoulder and rubbed his face against mine like a cat did with its owner. Occasionally he’d lick my face and a small purr-like grunt would escape his throat. I wasn’t sure how to react to this behavior. He was happy, but that’s all I knew. A few quick glances at Raikidan told me he had no intention of explaining it to me either, at least, not with all these dragons watching us.
He was unusually quiet and cold. He tended to be distant when the others were around, but this was a new level with me. He almost seemed angry. I sighed mentally from the headache that was building. I didn’t understand him.
I grunted when the little dragon on my lap nearly knocked me out when he headbutted me. “Easy there, killer.”
A masculine voice chuckled above me. I looked up to find Pyralis perched above me on the knee of the dragon gem statue—a grin spread across his face and amusement shining in his eyes.
He jumped down from his spot and crouched next to me. “He likes you.”
“I kinda figured that,” I replied. “I see you’re enjoying your memorial.”
He smiled. “You put a great deal of spiritual energy into this. It’s rather impressive. Not many shamans with only partial training have such power.”
I grunted. “I was told I was a protégé.”
“You don’t believe them.”
“I think you know the answer to that,” I replied.
Pyralis chuckled. “Humility, an excellent trait to have, but with you it doesn’t seem to be humility, now, is it?”
I stroked the baby dragon’s chin instead of replying. The little dragon pulled away from my touch and looked at me with his head tilted. The dragon may have been young, but he wasn’t stupid. He could tell I was avoiding the topic Pyralis presented.
“I’m glad my son has found someone to like,” a feminine voice said warmly.
I looked up to see a sultry, red haired nu-human woman standing in front of me. She had spectacular light green eyes and freckles scattered across her light skin like paint on a canvas. She was beyond compare in every way and I didn’t feel comfortable being near her. It didn’t feel right for me to be near something so… perfect.
The woman smiled at me. “My name is Xaneth.”
“Eira.”
She continued to smile. “Beautiful name. It suits you.”
I looked down at the baby dragon. She was wrong but it didn’t feel right telling her that. The little dragon nudged my hand with his nose and I scratched his cheek in response.
“Thank you for being so kind to him.” I looked at Xaneth as she knelt down. “He doesn’t deserve to be hated for my choice. None of my children do. Looking more red dragon than black, Rimu even has a hard time getting along with his siblings.”
I looked past Xaneth and looked for these siblings she spoke about. On the far side of the clearing, seven small black dragons played together around a large oak tree and a massive black dragon I could only assume was their father watched nearby. Rimu was definitely different from them. I would have figured all half-colors would have similar coloring among siblings, at least within the same clutch.
Rimu looked over at his siblings and snorted. Obviously he didn’t like them much. They probably bullied him for being so different. I scratched Rimu on the cheek and he chirped at me. I was surprised by how vocal he was, but this was also the first time I’d been face to face with a baby dragon.
My brow furrowed in confusion when a red scale under Rimu’s eye fell off when I scratched it. I curiously touched the shiny black one that was revealed.
I looked at Xaneth, who looked as bewildered as me. “Is that normal?”
“Scale shedding allows growth, but you probably figured that out since reptiles do that same,” she said. “As for a scale to shed to another color, I’ve never seen it myself, but it seems it’s quite possible to happen during growth periods.”
I looked over at Raikidan.
“What are you looking at me for?” he muttered.
“Hmm, I wonder,” I replied sarcastically.
“Leave me out of this,” he said.
“Two faced ass,” I muttered.
“I am n—”
I glared at him and he looked away.
Xaneth giggled. “At least someone has figured out how to put you in your place, Raikidan.”
Raikidan looked at her. “How do you know my name?”
She smiled. “How could I not? My mate is a cousin of yours.”
I blinked. That wasn’t something I had been expecting to hear.
Xaneth stood up gracefully. “C’mon, Rimu. It’s time for you to take a nap and let Eira have some peace and quiet for a little while.”
Rimu grumbled and stayed put. His mother chuckled and shifted into a magnificent red dragon. Frills lined her jaw and two sets of horns grew from her skull, one set curling back toward her face, while the other pair grew in a wave behind her.
A mix of large and small plated spikes lined her back starting at her shoulders and boxed in a large frill that rolled down her back down to her arrow point spaded tail.
Xaneth grunted at her son before heading for the far end of the field where her family resided. Rimu grumbled to himself and followed her with his head low. I had to resist the urge to laugh. I couldn’t lie to myself; he was cute.
He stopped abruptly and ran back to me. Before I could scold him for not listening he picked up the small scale that had shed from his face with his mouth and dropped it into my hand. I looked at him with a smile and rubbed his head. He chirped at me and then ran off to catch up with his mother.
“Eira.” I almost jumped at Pyralis’ voice. I had forgotten he was still kneeling next to me. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You don’t breathe,” I stated. “It makes it easy to forget you’re there.”
He chuckled. “I suppose that’s true. But I do have a request I’d like to ask of you.”
“Depending on what it is, I might agree to it,” I replied.
“I’d like to speak to you in private,” he said.
I nodded. I knew what that meant. I’d just be speaking with him on his plane. It couldn’t hurt, right? Besides, I was curious to see what he wanted with someone like me. Pyralis faded away before I had the chance to change my mind.
Clutching the dragon scale in my hand, I closed my eyes and centered myself. Slowing my breathing, I pushed my spirit through the threshold of the spiritual plane. I opened my eyes slowly when the pressure around my body disappeared. I was greeted by Pyralis, who sat rather close in front of me.
“Uh, do you mind? Personal bubble here,” I said as I tried to move away a little.
He chuckled. “That’s right, I forgot. I apologize.”
“So, why did you want to talk to me?” I asked, cutting to the chase.
He looked me over. “I’m trying to understand why you did it.”
“Did what?” I asked.
“Use the one of the dragon’s eyes to make a memorial for me,” he clarified. “They’re powerful gems; only the gods can remember where they ca
me from or how they were made. Very few are able to use them, and even fewer are willing to use them since once they’re used, they are gone forever. The power of these gems is remarkable. They can give the user almost anything they want, power, riches, happiness. But you didn’t use it for those reasons. You didn’t use it for yourself. Why?”
“Because the only thing I want, can’t be given by these gems,” I said. “And… and it was the right thing to do. For what you did for everyone… it… it just… seemed right.”
“No one knows I’m out here,” he said.
“I didn’t do it to show off. I did it because I wanted to. I did it…” I looked away from him. “…because you deserve it.”
“You’re a very selfless human,” he complimented. “Even Raynn wasn’t this selfless, and knowing him on a personal level, that’s… well I think you get it.”
“Yeah… I get it,” I mumbled.
Pyralis laughed. “And horrible at taking compliments. I can assume it annoys Raikidan.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
He chuckled. “I can see through his uncaring façade. I wasn’t born yesterday.”
“Or died yesterday, for that matter,” I jested.
Pyralis laughed raucously. “You have such a crude sense of humor. I see why the boy is willing to put up with you.”
I sighed. “Why are you asking me all this? What’s the point? Or are you just bored and trying to pass the time?”
“I’m trying to understand you,” he admitted.
I snorted. “Good luck with that. Raikidan has been following me around since early spring. Go ask him if he’s learned anything.”
“Even if the boy did know anything, he wouldn’t tell me. He’s at that age where he likes his privacy—his solitude. Well, unless you’re involved.”
“He likes all that even when I am around,” I said. “And I like it too.”
Pyralis smiled. “He cares about you. Even now, as you sit on this plane with me he has moved to sit by you. He’s noticed your slowing breath and his concern grows each time. He’s completely ob—”
“Stop. Just…” I sighed. “Just stop. Please.”
“Why, child?” Pyralis asked. “There is nothing wrong with wanting kinship. There is nothing wrong with any type of closeness with another. Tell me, what are you afraid of?”
“I fear nothing.”
“He doesn’t know what you are, even though it’s obvious.” I eyed him suspiciously and he chuckled. “Yes, I know exactly what you are, and Raikidan is too thick-headed to figure it out on his own.”
I snorted. “And that’s how it’ll stay.”
“There is nothing wrong with what you are.” Pyralis stood up. “You must let go of all your fear in order for destiny to move in.”
“I know my fate!” I spat.
“You do, do you?” He chuckled. “Are you sure? Or do you only know one side of the fate you were told?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Destiny—Fate—Neither is truly set in stone. They are woven in with time and as time branches infinitely by choice, so does destiny and fate.” Pyralis began walking away. “It’s time to end our little chat. I don’t want you dead. You have my thanks, Eira. I am in your debt for what you have given me.”
“You owe me nothing,” I said.
He looked back at me. “You’ve given me the chance to walk with my family once again. You’ve shown Zaith there is still good in this world.” He smiled. “You have proven to my colony that what I and the other five achieved so long ago hasn’t vanished completely. I may have helped save lives with the other five, but you… you have done so much more in one gesture. And for that, I am in debt to you.”
I looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “If I ask a question, would that fulfill that debt?”
Pyralis smirked. “Not likely, but you should ask anyway.”
“Your clan takes the shape of nu-humans. I would expect that of them, in order to blend in easier, but I didn’t expect that you, too, would take the shape of a nu-human. Why is that?”
Pyralis chuckled. “Fair question for someone as observant as you. Nu-humans came about in the last years of my life, and I came into contact with many of them enough that I became attached to them and found myself liking their form, and it stuck. This then trickled through the clan and before I knew it, most took the nu-human shape, even after I had passed on.”
I thought about this. “How long have you been dead?”
“Not long,” he admitted. “Roughly five hundred years.”
I stared at him. Only five hundred? The War of End had been two millennia ago. “How old were you?”
He laughed, and I could only assume it had to do with some weird facial expression I’d made. “I was only two centuries old when I helped the others bring peace to Lumaraeon. Reckless and uncaring of danger, it made me the ideal candidate for the job. That would place me just a few centuries shy of two millennia. A decent age for a dragon.”
I laughed. “Decent? That’s ancient!”
He snickered. “So little you know, young Eira.”
My head cocked as I looked at him funny, but before I could say anything, I was pulled back to the living plane. Not experienced enough yet, I couldn’t stay on the spiritual plane as long as I’d have wanted to. I breathed deeply as air filled my lungs.
“Eira?” Raikidan asked tentatively.
I looked at him from the corner of my eye in acknowledgement. Pyralis hadn’t been lying. Raikidan had moved closer. He grabbed my faced and turned it every which way, as if he were looking for some sort of wound.
I pushed him away from me. “Don’t touch me.”
He fell back and looked at me with confusion. “What did I do?”
“Where is my bag?” I asked, ignoring his question.
He lifted it up. “Right here.”
I went to reach for it but he pulled it out of reach.
“Tell me why you’re angry with me and I’ll give it to you,” he bartered.
“If you’re really this stupid, you don’t deserve to know why,” I hissed. “Now give me my bag.”
Before he could react, I snatched my bag from him and rummaged through it. I could hear low growling from the trees and figured it was the dragons talking, so I ignored it. Finding the bag that once carried the red dragon’s eye gem, I dropped the red scale Rimu had given me in the bag and tied it up. Rummaging around some more, I found the other bag that contained the green gem. Opening it up a little I attempted to stow the bag containing the scale into it without Raikidan seeing the gem, but I failed.
Raikidan snatched the gem from the bag and looked at it. “You weren’t lying. You do have another one.”
All of the dragons turned their attention to me and I didn’t like it. “Yeah, I was telling the truth, now give it back!”
“How the hell did you get two?” Raikidan demanded. “And don’t tell me they were both given to you. No one just hands these off to someone.”
“It’s none of your business,” I shot. “Now give me back my gem!”
“Not until you tell me—”
“Give it back now!” I half shouted, half growled.
Now I knew everyone was watching me. That growl hadn’t been human. I snatched my gem, and Raikidan flinched as my nails sliced his fleshy hand. I stuffed the gem into its bag and buried it deep inside my pack. I stopped when I noticed my hand.
My nails were elongated and my hand was getting close to transforming like that day in the Underground. Taking a deep breath, I slowly exhaled and my hand went back to normal. I didn’t understand why this was happening. I put a great deal of energy into hiding that side of me, and had succeeded in keeping a secret for this long. But now I was losing control so
easily, as if I wasn’t trying at all to hide it anymore on some subconscious level.
“Eira, what—”
“We’re leaving,” I stated as I stood up. “At least I am. You’re more than welcome to stay.”
I bent down and grabbed my cloak and veil. I was already walking away before I even had my cloaked clasped.
“Eira, you’re going the wrong way,” Raikidan informed me.
“I’ll go where ever I dam well p—” I stopped dead and looked around.
“What is it?” Raikidan asked.
I shushed him and stood still—sniffing the air. Fear. I turned when my ears caught the sound of someone running. Raikidan moved closer to me and looked in the same direction I was. Suddenly, a young woman with mocha skin and a trihawk burst into the clearing and looked around with fear stricken eyes—visibly exhausted from her run.
“Tla’lli?” This confirmed it, we were in the Velsara wilds.
“Laz’shika!” Tla’lli looked at me with relief. “Thanks the gods I found you.”
She took a few steps forward but lost her footing due to exhaustion, and I dashed over to her to catch her. “Hey, take it easy.”
She shook her head. “There’s no time.”
“Tla’lli, what has you so shaken up?” I asked her.
She looked me in the eye. “Soldiers are marching to the village and they’re not making a friendly visit.”
“How do you know?” I asked her. “Did you see them?”
She nodded. “I almost ran into them on my way here, but we knew about them sooner. About a week ago they sent us a message telling us we had broken the pact but never stated what we did wrong. No one believed the message since we figured it was a way to scare us, but then a few druids from the neighboring village spotted them marching and they came to warn us.”
I swallowed. “What city are they from?”
Pieces Page 42