Red waddles out into the forest, Drea and Ariadne trailing behind him. The white dragon beckons us with a flick of her clubbed tail. Cautiously, Marco and I follow them, but Red has no objections as he leads our group through the forest. I recognise the trail; it leads to their home. Red halts in front of the undergrowth Green came out of earlier, hesitating as he looks at Marco and me.
Purple sticks his head out, beckoning Drea and Ariadne in urgently. Marco and I wait outside as the four dragons disappear into the bushes. My boyfriend bounces on the balls of his feet, shivering in the cold air.
“You wanna create a little hot water bottle for us?” I suggest, pressing against his side as the breeze kicks up.
“I don’t want to piss them off again; I’ll start one later. When Patriarch is asleep, hopefully.”
“You better; I don’t want to freeze out here,” I say, my teeth chattering.
“Where’s your jacket?”
“I left it back at our camp. I didn’t expect this detour.”
Before we can speak anymore the bushes rustle and Drea steps out, holding a familiar spotted grey egg in her teeth.
Shit.
The Wyverns have laid eggs.
Ariadne and Red emerge with an egg in each of their mouths too, but these eggs are a perfect shiny cream colour. They’re not the same rank as the other egg.
Drea goes to nose the egg into my hands, but Marco pushes her cheek away. “No! If we touch them, they might bond with us.”
“Can that happen? Both of us are already bonded with dragons.” I step away from Drea, and the egg.
“I don’t want to find out,” he says worriedly. “We might have two bonds or lose our bonds with Aqueous and Drea. I don’t want to find out if either are possible.”
It would break my heart to lose my bond with Aqueous. He’s been my companion since moving to Aria. I don’t want to lose our bond just because I accidentally touched an egg. It might hurt one of us, or both. Did Mr Reedman have gloves on when he handled Aqueous’ egg? It’s so long ago that I can’t remember.
“You’re right,” I agree, taking his hand. “We won’t touch them. Why are they showing them to us anyway?”
Green and Purple emerge with eggs in their mouths, their eyes dull and tired. They look as if they can barely walk, let alone take care of a nest full of eggs.
“Eggs need heat.” Marco slaps his forehead as he gets an idea. “We have heat – enough heat to help the eggs hatch!”
“I guess that makes sense,” I murmur as Drea nods gently so as to not dislodge the fragile egg in her teeth.
“The only problem is Patriarch doesn’t like it when we start fires.” He furrows his brow in concentration.
Red and Purple look at each other before growling something to the two dragons. They all nod in unison, their eyes going steely. They seem to have some sort of plan.
“Come on,” I tug Marco’s sleeve. “Let’s make our way back and get everyone warm. We can deal with Patriarch when he shows up.”
The Wyverns keep some distance behind us as we walk through the darkening forest. Several Wyverns fly overheard, almost silent apart from the gentle flap of their wings. They must use the cloak of darkness to hunt. At least it means they shouldn’t be spotted by any nearby people. I keep looking behind me anxiously, expecting the Anthropomorphic Dragon to come bursting out at any second. We aren’t that far from the man’s cottage, and the creature has made its home somewhere around here. It probably already knows I’m here because of my markings. I bet it won’t be too happy to see me after last time.
“Put the eggs near the logs. I’ll start a fire,” Marco instructs, pointing to a small pile of firewood.
Gently, each dragon sets down their egg, nosing them together into one little pile. Green curls up opposite the firewood, curling her tail around them lovingly. She must be their mother. My boyfriend casts one last look at the sky before clicking his fingers, sending sparks onto the wood. A few seconds later, an orange fire starts burning, sending a column of smoke into the sky. Cries of fury echo around us as Wyverns burst into the sky coming from all directions. They start circling us, screaming at us from above.
“Do you reckon that will catch his attention?” Marco jokes.
“I don’t think we’ll have much trouble with that. I don’t know what to do from here.”
“Well, Patriarch knows he can kill us now.”
“Yeah,” I grab his hand for comfort. “But I’m kinda hoping that the dragons have some sort of plan.”
Ariadne dips her head to me in confirmation, her eyes blazing with determination. She’s a lot like Isaac, calculating and focused.
We don’t have to wait long before Patriarch lands in front of the fire, flapping his wings in fury. He spots Green with her tail curled around the eggs, and hisses at her. She nips at his feet when he gets too close to her babies, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to stomp on them.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I cry out.
Marine quickly steps out of Patriarch’s back. “Vermin. Not us.”
“The eggs?” I say. “You had a right go at us earlier for ‘stealing’ your children and now you’re trying to kill them!” I fume, Marco pulling me back.
She rolls her eyes and snorts. “Children taken. No more.”
“So instead of them being taken you’d rather have them dead? What sense does that make?”
“No more questions.” Marine flicks her hand dismissively.
“I’m questioning your logic. You can’t preach about how awful we are and then try to murder innocent eggs. They haven’t started cracking yet and you want them dead? Why?”
She glares at me, small blue Wyrms starting to form on her face. “Not us. Vermin.”
“So, because they might hatch as Western Dragons you want to kill them? But they’re your children too!”
“Vermin.”
“Fuck me, they make absolutely no sense,” Marco says, rubbing his jaw in frustration.
I shake my head. “How dare he have a go at us for stealing eggs when he wants them dead? What part of that makes any sense?”
Green hisses as Patriarch smacks her with his wing. I raise my hand to shoot a ball of water at him, smacking the back of his head. He whirls around baring his fangs, but he doesn’t scare me. He’s an old, hypocritical man.
“Fuck off,” Marco snarls, forming a fireball in his hand.
Patriarch looks at everyone nervously before throwing his head back in a screech. Wyverns drop out of the sky like rocks, trapping us in a circle.
“You can’t seriously agree with his methods?” I address the Wyverns, who glare at me with their beady little eyes. “He wants to kill your young!”
Many Wyverns growl back at me, but I can’t understand until Marine speaks up: “Vermin, die.”
Many of the Wyverns howl in agreement, baring their teeth in excitement. This is wrong, so wrong.
I might have to try a different tactic.
“Look, I understand that you’re angry because of what happened to you,” I switch to a gentler approach. “And I’m truly sorry that you had to go through all that. But this isn’t a way to live,” I continue as some Wyverns quieten down. “You can’t live in hate all your lives. By no means am I saying that you should forgive, but you shouldn’t hate. Hate consumes you, it tars your life and leaves a shadow of who you used to be.” Some of the Wyverns cock their heads, as if they’re starting to listen. “Don’t hate your own children because of what species they were born as. Feel blessed that they don’t have to go through what you did; they are born free. No matter what, they are still your children. When you are old and sick, if you kill the children, then who will care for you?”
The Wyverns fidget in their circle, looking at each other with a mix of quizzical and guilty glances. I think they’re starting to listen.
“Egg stealers!” Marine screams behind me. “Manipulator!”
Some of the Wyverns growl in agreement, but many are silent.
At least I’ve got them to think about what they’re doing. I know they’ll regret the decisions they make now in the future; I want to make sure they don’t regret this one.
Marco gives me a thumbs up sign and mouths ‘keep going’.
“I know it’s hard for you to trust me,” I continue as Patriarch turns to growl at me. “I don’t expect to gain your trust straight away, but I want you to know that we are here to help. We can offer you warmth, water and help you catch food. We don’t have to be enemies.”
Red stands next to me and growls in agreement, ducking his head to me in gratitude. Some of the other Wyverns step forward as well, bowing their heads in respect.
Oh my God. It’s working.
“No!” Marine screams in fury, the Wyrms pulsing on her face brighter than I’ve ever seen before. “No listen!”
Although most of the Wyverns are still on Patriarch’s side, at least some have listened to my little speech. The large Wyvern glares at me in fury, advancing on me, but Red and another Wyvern block his path. This is a fight he doesn’t want right now. He leaps into the sky, most of the Wyverns following suit. Some choose to stay, like Red, Green and Purple. A few others do as well, a pair of blue ones, a stripy white one, a black one and an orange one. They look at me expectantly, as if I was lying about what I had promised them.
“Are you thirsty?” I offer my hands, creating a ball of water in my palms.
Their ears prick up as they step forward and begin slurping at my little ball. I don’t think Patriarch is sharing any water with them.
“Well done, Haze.” Marco wraps his arms around me from behind, whispering in my ear.
When the Wyverns are done and begin to mingle with the others, I look up at him. “I didn’t get all of them, though.”
“You did pretty well for a speech you made up on the spot.” He kisses my forehead. “You did really well.”
“Thanks.”
“The WPS is already making good progress,” he muses.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, and very little time.”
He winks at me. “We’ll do it. You and me, the dream team.”
“The dream team?” I chuckle, putting my hands on my hips. “Is that what you think we are?”
“Oh yeah, definitely. You’re the leader and I watch your butt.”
“Is that what a dream team is made up of, though?”
“This one is.”
* * *
The next morning, I’m surprised to see that all the Wyverns have stayed with us. Green and the striped dragon, who we’ve nicknamed Stripy, are relaxing in the bright sunshine while the rest of the Wyverns are milling around our makeshift camp. I was scared that some of them would have changed their minds in the night and left.
“Mornin’,” Marco yawns, stretching beside me.
“Morning, sleepy head,” I push him playfully. “The whole forest heard you snoring.”
“Pfft,” he waves his hand. “No-one is gonna mess with us if they think a giant bear is sleeping next to them.”
I form a pool of water in my hands for him to wash his face with. “What’s the plan for today, then?”
“Keep making cool speeches so more Wyverns will like us?” he suggests, water dripping from his chin.
“I don’t think that will work anymore. I think they need action, not talk.” I watch Ariadne and Drea converse with the new Wyverns. “They had a plan last night; I wonder what it was.”
“I think their plan was to kill Patriarch,” Marco sighs. “I saw the look in Drea’s eyes. The Wyverns want him ousted.”
“We can’t kill him!” I protest. “He’s hurting; they all are.”
“I think Red and Purple are keen to usurp him. You should have seen the dirty looks they were giving him last night.”
“He did try to crush their eggs. I don’t blame them for not being happy with him,” I sigh, watching Green nuzzle her eggs lovingly.
Marco taps his lip thoughtfully. “You know that dude’s house? Maybe we should go there.”
“Why?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Some of them last night had a few cuts and bruises. If that guy has medicine, maybe we can treat some of the sick to get them on our side.”
I’m reluctant to go back to that house. Not only does it feel wrong knowing that the people who lived in there are dead, but I don’t know whether that Anthropomorphic is hanging around. It found Braith and me easily last time. I don’t want to give it another opportunity for it to chase me through the cottage.
“I dunno…”
He shuffles towards me, taking my hands. “I’ll protect you. That dragon won’t get the drop on us. Not like it can anyway; it’s pretty hard to miss.”
“It’ll be very angry after what I did last time,” I argue, knowing that he will counter it.
“But we know it doesn’t like your water. It might be too scared to get close to you again. If it does, give it a little shower.”
Seeing that I’m still hesitating, he pulls me to my feet. “Come on, it’ll be fine. Dream team, remember?”
“That’s so stupid.” I’m unable to hold back my laugh.
“Drea, Ariadne!” He beckons the two dragons over. “We’re going to check out the guy’s house, can you come?”
Drea nods, but Ariadne still looks confused, so I explain. “Last time we came here there was a guy and his wife living in the field the Wyverns had chosen. The Anthropomorphic killed them both.” A lump forms in my throat. I was to blame for their deaths. I didn’t know we were leading a hungry dragon straight towards them.
“Come on. If it shows up then at least we’ve got back-up.” Marco comforts me and takes the lead through the forest.
I look around anxiously the entire walk, expecting to see those empty white eyes staring back at me. I don’t want to encounter that thing again, but I’m a beacon so I probably will. It will chase me forever. I don’t even know what it wants from me – whether it wants to kill me or eat me. I don’t know whether it would evolve like the Wyrms will or if it just wants a snack.
Trees turn to wheat as we step into the field. The crop is starting to wilt in the cold without someone to harvest it. It seems a waste to leave it all here to die. Marco pushes through the strands of dry wheat, spluttering as one smacks him in the face. The cottage soon comes into view, the front garden filled with massive footprints and claw marks from our last visit to this place.
“Looks pretty empty to me,” Marco says matter-of-factly.
“I don’t think it’s living inside the house.” I roll my eyes.
“Could be. It might like to kick back and watch a bit of TV.”
He drags me towards the front door, pushing it open. “Hello?”
“Stop acting like it’s in the house!”
He answers me with a smirk. “I love winding you up!”
I lead him tentatively towards the kitchen, which is still covered in a blanket of shattered glass. We start sifting through the cupboards, looking for anything that might be of use. I manage to find a few cans of food that Braith didn’t get last time, and some dragon bandages, but not much else. Marco shoves a few pill bottles in his back, but whether they’ll be useful for the Wyverns or not, I don’t know.
Nothing happens as we exit back into the garden, making me sigh in relief. The dragons wait for us, their ears pricked up to catch the slightest sound.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
Marco scans the garden. “Maybe a bucket?”
“A bucket?”
“For you to fill with water. So when we’re out the Wyverns will have something to drink from. If you remember to fill it up every once in a while.”
“Can’t we just dig a hole? This place gives me the creeps.” I shudder as I think about the couple going about their daily lives until we showed up.
“It’ll take two minutes, come on.”
With a groan I give my backpack to Ariadne and start hunting for a bucket. Marco seems to have the front, so I wander
around to the back, making sure to avoid the piles of rubble and footprints. A wooden shed seems like the best place to start, so I carefully swing the door open, peeking inside. A single yellow eye stares back at me, making me slam the door in shock.
Backing away quickly, I try to dash around to the front, but the door creaks open. Out steps a navy-blue dragon with a single hate-filled yellow eye. The other is just a bloodied socket. Its body is covered in gashes that are slowly starting to heal over. I think it met the Anthropomorphic. It must be the other dragon that was living here, the wife’s dragon. I never thought how strange it was that only Weir was around.
The dragon growls at me, baring a set of chipped yellow teeth. It slowly limps toward me and I take a step back for every step it takes forward.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I say, finally finding my voice.
I slowly put my hands up to show I mean no harm, but the dragon keeps advancing on me. It looks furious. I suppose I would too if my family were killed and someone was trespassing on their land. Thankfully Ariadne comes around the corner, freezing upon seeing the blue dragon.
The two of them stare at each other for a few seconds before she storms in front of me, lashing her tail. The blue dragon hisses at her, but she silences it with a sharp bark of disapproval. They both flatten their ears and the blue dragon turns away, limping towards the trees behind the house. It looks back to glare at us every so often before it disappears into the sea of foliage.
“You didn’t have to banish it from its own home,” I sigh, but Ariadne shakes her head sadly. Maybe it thought its companion would come back.
Uncomfortable with ousting the poor thing, I dash into the shed to look for a bucket. Among sacks of mulch and rakes a blue metal bucket sits underneath a shelf. As I pick up the handle my hand meets dried mud and something sticky that I don’t want to know about.
“Come on. I’ve had enough of this place.”
20
Chapter Twenty
The Wyverns lap eagerly at the bucket, scattering droplets of water everywhere. It won’t be long until I have to fill it up again.
“Told you they needed it,” Marco says proudly, handing me a steaming hot can of beans.
Glass and Ice (Elemental Dragons Book 3) Page 13