Boelik

by Amy Lehigh

  “Well…” Bo began, lifting his eyes from the hat and gazing out at the forest. The sun filtered through the trees, the leaves bright green with it. The ground below was like an ocean with the flowing light and shadows as a gentle breeze made the boughs above dance. “The day will certainly be nice here in Ireland.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Kian agreed, gazing out at the forest alongside him with his warm brown eyes.

  “It’ll be a nice day to say farewell,” Bo said, not wanting to say it.

  “What?” Kian asked, stunned, flicking his gaze to Bo. “Today? Now?”

  “Not now. This evening. I want you to see me off. Then I want you to burn the cabin. Take whatever you want from it first.”

  There was silence for some time. “Okay,” Kian finally said. He then glanced down at the hat in Bo’s hand. “You know, I never saw you wear that hat once.”

  Bo finally looked at him then, his hazel eyes clear. “That’s because it was never mine.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It was a…a friend’s.” Partner doesn’t do him justice. “He died a very long time ago.”

  “Who was he?”

  “You remember that story your father said, when I asked him about his namesake?”

  “The boy with the ruined face? That one?”

  Bo nodded.

  “So the reason you looked like you’d seen a ghost…”

  “You remember it that well, huh?”

  Kian scratched his head, embarrassed. “I was worried. Anyway, was all of that story true, then?”

  “Every bit. The girl was an ancestor of yours. Ryan’s eyes were mismatched like your father’s. His human eye was the left one, and looked just like your father’s as well.”

  “His ‘human’ eye? Was he a half-demon too, then?”

  Bo nodded. “He was.”

  “Are you going to leave that behind?” Kian asked then, nodding at the hat.

  “I don’t know yet.”

  Kian and Bo both stared at the gray hat for a moment. “I think you should take it,” Kian said at last, just as Bo decided for himself.

  Bo shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Then…I’ll keep it for you. For the next time. Then you can take it back. Right?”

  “Right,” Bo agreed.

  With a sigh, Bo looked up into the trees and listened to the distant birdsongs. Everything felt so surreal, with the withering cabin behind, the peaceful forest ahead, a new country in the future, and a fully-grown Kian next to him. He glanced over at his friend and sighed, facing away again. “When did you grow?”

  “Oh, just about every night since I was born.” Bo gave him a baleful glare, and he laughed. “You’re always too serious. One of us has to crack jokes, at least once in a while,” Kian yawned, stretching his arms out. “Ah,” he sighed, relaxing and looking ahead. “It’s still so nice today, too.”

  “It is,” Bo agreed. Kian peeked at him and returned his gaze to the woods, stroking the brown stubble on his chin.

  “You know, I look older than you now,” he commented.

  Bo glanced at him. “You’re right,” he said, facing away again. “Old man.”

  Kian laughed.

  They sat there well into the afternoon, content to chat. As Bo looked up at the sky and saw fiery colors seeping through the leaves, he said, “It’s time to meet my transport.”

  “Already?” Kian asked.

  Bo nodded and stood, handing him Ryan’s hat. “Come on.”

  Kian took the hat, and they walked along the path, over the bridge and through the woods to the field. They waited for a few minutes, turning to look at the sunset over the trees. Then, in the distance, they heard something like thunder. Kian scowled up at the sky and said, “Well, it seemed like a nice enough day.”

  “It still is. I promise you, that isn’t thunder,” Bo said with a smirk, not taking his eyes off of the sky. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kian look at him questioningly.

  Before long, Dayo was in sight, and Kian was standing dumbfounded as the unicorn dragon landed in front of him. He closed his eyes and braced himself as the draft Dayo created nearly blew him away, then went back to gawking. Bo laughed.

  “Nice to see you again, Dayo!” Bo called.

  Dayo rumbled upon spotting Bo and then Kian’s face. “Boelik,” Dayo said.

  Kian started, obviously hearing him too. He stared at Dayo’s face, trying to determine if he heard what he did or not.

  “And who is this young fellow?”

  “Uh, I’m, er…Kian,” he stammered. “Nice to…meet you, I guess?”

  “And you,” Dayo said, his rumbling laughter coming again.

  Bo laughed with him for a moment before turning to Kian. “Well, Kian, I’ll be seeing you,” he said, hazel eyes shining.

  “I hope so,” Kian replied, giving another quick glance at Dayo before turning to Bo. “I’ll visit you sometime. Where’ll you be?”

  “I’ll be-” Bo started before Dayo interrupted.

  “In America. I’ll come back and get you some time and take you out there,” Dayo offered.

  Kian stared for a moment at the dragon before nodding. “Thank you,” he said. Dayo dipped his head.

  “Then I guess I’m off,” Bo said.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Kian said, pulling him in for an embrace. Bo patted him on the back.

  “All right, but only if you don’t crush me first.” Kian let go and Bo gave him a smile. We will see each other again.

  Dayo rumbled for Bo to hurry. “It’ll be worse if you dally,” he warned. Bo nodded to him, then grabbed his sack of supplies where he’d stored food and his cloak.

  “Good-bye,” Bo called, mounting Dayo. He waved at Kian from above, and Dayo leapt off and away.

  Kian waved as he shrank to the size of an ant, and Bo guessed that if he’d had Ryan’s vision, he’d have been able to see him waving still long after that.

  “Do you regret leaving him behind?” Dayo asked as they flew.

  Not at all, Bo replied. I know I’ll see him again. I only regret that I didn’t know how to reassure him of such like Olea could have.

  “He’ll be fine. Maybe now he can find a woman to spend his time with instead.”

  Bo snorted. I fear he may be a bachelor forever. He hasn’t talked of women since he was young.

  “He may be taking after you.”

  Dayo.

  The dragon rumbled beneath him, flapping his great wings as they rose above the clouds. “Sorry. You did fall into that one, however. Anyhow, I’d be more worried about getting some sleep if I were you. We’ll be passing over an ocean. I hope you packed food.”

  I did. How long will this take?

  “About a day in whole.”

  Are you sure you can still go that long without stopping?

  Dayo snorted. “Positive. Now sleep, and by the time you wake I will probably be at the other coast.”

  If you say so, Bo replied, cozying into Dayo’s fur before falling fast asleep.

  ***

  Dayo ended up being more than right; Bo actually slept for most of the ride. When he awakened, they were soaring over a large body of water. The sunset shone over it, turning it into liquid gold, the waves glittering. Bo asked if they were in America.

  “We’ve been in America the last few hours,” Dayo replied, amused. “This is the lake called Superior. Michigan is surrounded by five of the largest freshwater lakes in the world.”

  Oh.

  “There is this, Superior, then there are Michigan, Erie, Ontario, and Huron.”

  I get it, Dayo. A lot of water. I don’t really believe that I need a geography lesson. Except maybe as to where to find these dragons of yours.

  “Fine, I’ll get to that. After we land.”

  On the ground at last, Bo sat cross-legged on the forest floor. Dayo had carefully landed in a grove of trees and lay next to Bo like a giant cat. “So,” Bo asked, “where are these dragons of yours?”
>
  “Well, they won’t exactly look like dragons, typically,” Dayo said, peering at Bo from the corner of his eye.

  “Changelings?”

  “All that remains of the species of dragons. Besides me, of course.”

  “How exactly am I supposed to find them, then?”

  “Generally, they will be cold and rather factual, and less social with others. What may be more helpful, though, is the fact that fire-breathers will be the most common to receive information.”

  “How is that helpful?”

  Dayo snorted, as if the answer were obvious. “Fire-breathers stink of sulphur, even as humans. So either they will continue to stink like rotten eggs, or they will wear a false scent strong enough to mask that.”

  “So I look for humans with an overpowering scent?”

  “Yes. Hang close to them and eavesdrop.”

  “Where should I search?”

  “Hm…” Dayo rumbled in thought. “Well, I thought you should try the small mountain area. Arvon. It’s to the east of here. We tend to like meeting in high places, and as remote as we can get is all the better.”

  “Why didn’t you land there?” Bo asked.

  Dayo snorted and shifted his large head to better stare at Bo. “And cause suspicion? Among dragons? Bo, their eyesight is keen. They would have spotted you on my back immediately, and it would be clear to them that you weren’t one of us the moment we landed. No, the more I can make it look like a passing dragon, the better. You shall simply have to deal with the run.”

  “All right, I understand,” Bo sighed.

  “At the very least, I can tell you that we are creatures of habit. And the habit around the ones you are looking for is to have a meeting every season. The next one of which just so happens to be in two night’s time.”

  “Dayo! Why didn’t you start with that?” Bo chastised. Dayo rumbled a laugh.

  “Because it is somewhat entertaining to frustrate you, my friend.”

  Bo groaned. “You’re rude.”

  “I’m an old dragon who enjoys his few pleasures.”

  “I see harassing me is one of them.”

  “Naturally.”

  The two bantered onwards into the night, when Dayo at last bade Bo farewell and flew off under the blanket of darkness. Bo stood, stiff, and looked to the east, trying to find the peak of a mountain. Seeing nothing, he sighed and leapt into the trees, heading off anyway.

  Mount Arvon was a rather large hill, Bo realized, arriving at last. It was certainly an extreme compared to the plains he’d been living in within the last couple of centuries. It was the second sunset since he’d arrived in America, and he crouched in a tree and watched it as it painted the mountain with its light.

  Bo waited at the mountain’s base in his tree until night fell, when he began to hear something like thunder. He looked up into the moonless night sky, and saw a dark silhouette only discernable by the absence of stars it created. It landed higher on the mountain, and Bo detected a strong smell of sulphur. After the first came four more, each varying in shape and size, and Bo followed the five onto the mountain.

  When he got up to the dragons, they were already changed and putting on their clothing. He couldn’t see very well, so they looked rather like dark shadows that moved without hosts. Still, Bo managed to sneak closer and open his ears to the conversation.

  “So, Droka, seems one of your friends had a little secret,” said one voice, a gruff male who growled the word ‘friends’.

  “What would that be?” The responding voice sounded much younger, like a young-adult boy. He seemed to be acting intentionally relaxed.

  “Oh, just that he was a half-demon.” This one was an older woman, with a voice like ice.

  “Do explain,” came another man’s voice. He sounded middle-aged and matter-of-fact.

  “Well, one was attacked by the demon Oni. He then proceeded to rampage and turn into a demon himself. I had a raven friend flying overhead who saw it all. Then the boy turned back to his human self after his friends took him down. It seems he managed to take down a white she-wolf before it ended, however,” the first voice said.

  “Did she…die?” Droka asked. Bo had to strain his ears to hear.

  “No clue. My friend came straight to me with the news after the boy turned back. I haven’t sent anyone back to check since then. By the sound of it, however, it did not look good.”

  “Which one was it? That turned into the demon?”

  “The one with the dark hair. The black wolf,” the woman said. The dragons were quiet for a while.

  A fifth voice spoke then. It was another young-adult, this one female with a gentle lilt to her voice. “At least no one else saw, right? After all, they are in the middle of the woods.”

  “True,” the middle-aged man replied. “But we cannot afford to forget that the Sault is only twenty some miles north of there. Several thousand live there in close proximity. If he were to do that, there, then…news would spread like fire. Humans couldn’t handle it, or him.”

  “We would have to remedy the situation as best we could,” the older woman said.

  “You mean kill all those people,” Droka replied, lowering his voice.

  “We would do what was necessary.”

  “You couldn’t!” the young woman’s voice came again, appalled. “We’re supposed to protect people, remember?”

  “It would be for the greater good.”

  “She’s right,” the gruff voice agreed.

  “I don’t think she is,” the middle-aged man said.

  “I agree. If we missed even one, for example, it would give them the opportunity to see us,” Droka said. “And then we would be seen as monsters just as much as demons. Besides, how would we make it look like a human action?”

  “Droka?” the young female hissed at him.

  “I have to put it into their terms, Opal. I apologize,” he replied in a low voice. The man with the gruff voice snorted.

  “Your point is made. But what, then, do you intend for us to do? Sit idly by while this new development rages on and ruins centuries—no, millennia—of secrecy?”

  “Of course not.”

  “I vote we kill him,” the icy female said.

  “I vote not,” Opal and Droka said at once.

  “I agree with them,” the other man agreed. The woman snorted.

  “What, then?” asked the gruff man.

  “Just give them more time,” Droka replied. “I promise, we—they—can handle it.”

  “They’d better be able to,” the woman said. “Or else I will.”

  “Don’t worry. They’ve got it,” Droka replied. “So, what else do we have?”

  Bo snuck away from the dragon’s meeting then, melting into the darkness and fleeing until he was well out of hearing range. Once he felt safely out of the way, he looked up into the dark sky, the stars glittering above him. “So I should find this ‘Sault’ to start with. Then what? Run around the forests?” he thought aloud. Bo shook his head, closing his eyes and sighing. He stood like that for another moment before an idea came to him.

  “They mentioned some friends,” he muttered, putting a finger under his lower lip in thought. “And a white she-wolf. Wolf changelings, then? I would assume that would narrow it down, but only to someone familiar with those around here.”

  Bo turned his gaze back to the sky as he heard the dragons leaving. “Well, I certainly won’t be asking them.”

  ***

  It was another week before Bo found where he needed to be. He managed to get directions in a town not too far from the mountain and from there found his way to the Sault—Sault Sainte Marie, as he discovered, was its proper name. Then, from there, he traveled south. He ended up in a small town called Pickford at some point and decided that he’d gone too far.

  Bo backtracked to the north and checked in the woods by the main road. He wandered through the summer shade, watching carefully for any signs of wolves or people. The forest got quite dense for a
while, and Bo thought he might have to find another way before the trees began to thin again and he emerged into a much more traversable area.

  He only had to walk a little further to discover a pair of teenagers walking across his path. The boy stopped first, turning to face him and glaring at him with brown eyes as he lowered his head warily. Bo raised his right hand non-threateningly, keeping his left still under his cloak. The girl with scarlet hair that reminded Bo of Ryan’s, turned to look at her companion as he changed into a black wolf and snarled at Bo.

  She looked at Bo with marble-colored eyes, only a little greener than Ryan’s. What Bo had to say, however, was aimed at the boy. “You must be the demon.”

  “What are you doing here?” the girl snarled, changing into a white wolf before Bo’s eyes. She stepped out of her clothes just like the boy had and stepped up to be on par with him, mimicking his stance.

  “I’m here to give you a hand with that,” Bo answered, nodding to the black wolf, hand still raised. He was trying to be as abstract as possible about the black until he had a feel for how the she-wolf perceived her companion. Come now, I’ve been searching for a week. Give me a rest, he thought, exasperated as the two continued to bristle.

  “That happens to be a friend of mine, and I’d appreciate that you’d at least acknowledge his gender,” the girl snarled. Apparently, she saw the boy in a good light, even though Bo was certain this was the white she-wolf the dragons had spoken of. Though she seemed to be in good health, if a bit stiff.

  “Calm down, girlie,” Bo tried to say calmingly, a bit distracted with how she still seemed to be speaking English to him, “I just said—”

  “Don’t call me ‘girlie’! And I heard what you said,” she growled back, thrashing her tail in a cat-like manner. This is what I get for trusting the tongue of a present-day bachelor, Bo thought as Kian crossed his mind.

  While Bo was trying to find different words, the boy piped up. “What do you mean, give us a hand? Looks like you’ve only got one yourself.” He spoke coldly to Bo who glanced at his left side before returning his gaze to the two wolves.