by Rain Oxford
Chapter 2
Mordon
It was a fairly short trip to the desert once we arrived on Mokii, but since it was nearing dinner time for the boys, we decided to stop at a little town right outside the desert for the night. The sun was setting as we wandered through the nearly deserted streets. The buildings were small and a bit rundown, but they looked sturdy enough to hold up in a battle. Towns just outside of kingdoms in Mokii were known to be targeted because they made a good base from which to attack a nearby castle.
Since we were so close to my father’s kingdom, I took to wearing my hair back and covered with a hood. Dylan had disguised my eyes with magic to look dull brown, but he warned me that if I shifted my eyes, it would break his spell. It was our intention to look as forgettable as possible. I didn’t feel the need to drape myself in cloaks, because I was still on the slim side when I ran from my future. Having lived the last four years on Shomodii, I had become more built that I thought I ever would have, but still a fair amount less than Edward.
Rojan said it had a lot to do with latent dragon abilities; it was common for dragon children to be very small and then get much bigger when they reached a certain age. Rojan also told me that in about two more years, I would stop aging.
We found a restaurant that looked warm and went inside. The floor and walls were dark and wooden and all over the walls were paintings of battles, kings, and even dragons. Across the room was a large fireplace. The ten tables were small and each held a lamp. A waitress stood at one of the two occupied tables, serving their food. Nobody addressed us, so we took a seat by the fireplace. It hardly seemed like a place for kids, but both boys became the image of calm and collected.
The waitress handed us menus and asked what we wanted to drink. Seeing as how we were going into the desert, we all chose water. Sammy and Ron asked for fish and fruit while Dylan and I both ordered meat dishes. Mine was chopped up meat with noodles and vegetables and Dylan’s was glazed meat kabobs. None of us were really focused on the food. This was sort of a test run for the boys and neither of us knew what to expect.
Living on Shomodii, we were all fairly isolated and the boys had only left the island a few times, so they were not used to a lot of strangers.
“So, how do you plan to save this dragon?” Dylan asked.
“First, we need to find him and convince him we’re friends, not food. Second, we need to find out why he is going out in dragon form into villages and kingdoms. Once we know his motive, you come up with a plan and Rojan and I will follow it.”
“Once I come up with a plan?” he asked with wide eyes. “This isn’t that kind of mission. This is a dragon-related mission; your PowerPoint, your game plan.”
“What is PowerPoint?” I asked. He just stared at me. “You are a Guardian; you were born to solve problems and figure things out. I’m just a… I’m just me. I was raised to give advice and lead people… poorly I might add. Rojan is more likely to eat someone than help them. We’re going to face a possibly feral dragon and even though Rojan may be the most powerful dragon there has ever been… I’m just a wizard.”
“Just a wizard,” he scoffed. “There’s no such thing. If there is one thing I learned from the Doctor, it’s that there’s never been a person who wasn’t important.”
“Mom, if he’s talking about the Doctor, he’s already won the argument,” Sammy interrupted.
I glared at Dylan. “What have you and that wife of yours been teaching my kid?”
“He’s mine, too, and he’s a Whovian.”
“We discussed this; we would wait until he was old enough to decide for himself what to believe,” I argued. Yes, we really did have that discussion, but he had lied when he said he would wait to push the followings of the Doctor on the child. I knew he was lying at the time.
“He’s going to be a Guardian; he had to know the Doctor.”
Our waitress interrupted to ask if we needed anything. “Can you tell us anything about a dragon that was sighted around here?” I asked.
Her eyes widened and I noticed that she was pretty cute. She had long white-blond hair and hazel eyes. Her mouth was her only distinguishing feature; the rest of her face was a bit plain, but it was symmetrical and worked for her. Still, I could find only a passing interest in anyone who lived on Mokii, because this was a land I wanted to avoid.
“I have only heard of the dragon. My brother saw it while he was at school. It flies in the daylight, never fearing getting caught. Sometimes it damages something like a statue or tree, but never a house or shop. It never even steals food, so some people believe it is a prank, but my brother swears that he saw the creature. It changes its color.”
Dylan and I looked at each other. “Why would he fly in the day? Maybe he can’t shift into a person,” he suggested.
“Even if he couldn’t shift, he could still hide in the day. If he isn’t stealing food, he is either hunting at night, has food at his den, or is injured.” I turned back to the waitress. “Has anyone thought the dragon might be wounded?”
“No. Why? Do you know something about it?”
“The only reason I think he would be flying around outside is that he is trying to be seen,” I said. Rojan agreed.
“But he’s changing colors, trying to use camouflage.”
“Changing colors, yes. Trying to blend in, maybe, maybe not.” The ability to change the color of our scales was extremely rare and as far as I knew, limited to Rojan’s powerful bloodline. Using the camouflage skill incorrectly would be extremely noticeable and distinctive.
“Hunters have been called to the Ishte kingdom,” the waitress went on. Dylan sighed and dropped his head to the table, startling the waitress.
That was my father’s kingdom, so I immediately assumed he was the one who called a hunt down on the dragons. Honestly, he was a likely suspect, seeing as how he admittedly hated the dragons with a passion… but I was really hoping he would change.
“This is probably a big misunderstanding,” Dylan suggested. “When I last saw your father, the man wanted to repent. Surely he would not threaten the slight chance that he could see his son again.” He sat back and regarded the woman. “The king ordered a hunt on the dragon?” he asked.
“No, the king has been on leave for weeks,” she said. “It was his adviser who ordered the hunt.”
“On leave? What for? Why is Rojio not with him?” I asked. That was my protective instinct taking over. The king was prone to walking into danger and it was always me who got him out of it. There was a good possibility that we would have to go rescue the king after the dragon was safe. Unfortunately, I would duck out at the last minute and force Dylan to finish the rescue so that I would not have to face the man. I feared nothing more than returning to the throne, and Rojan was of the same mind.
The waitress knew little about the kingdom and offered nothing more helpful. We left and decided to head into the desert instead of finding an inn. Both moons were full so we had adequate light and my internal fire kept me from freezing in the cool night.
Rojan scented the dragon immediately in the sand. Odd… he thought. It is so easy to hide your scent in the sand, yet this dragon made no attempt to.
Do you recognize the scent?
No, it is familiar, but it was so long ago. This is definitely someone I know. It is possible that they have become senile and that is the cause of this erratic behavior. Or perhaps they are suicidal and want to be caught.
We followed the scent for several hours. The boys were very good and patient, even when we had to stop five times to dump sand out of everyone’s boots. Sammy did complain once that Ron was cold. I was used to this interaction between the boys.
“Do you miss Mokii?” Dylan asked out of the blue. I looked at him and he shrugged, causing Ron to stir. He was carrying his son, who slept with his arms draped around Dylan’s neck. “You always said you were more of a city person,” he whispered.
“Yeah, but I think living somewhere like Anoshii is asking
for trouble. I still think my father might find me and somehow force me to return. I’m his only child, and since my mother is dead, he will never get another one unless he meets someone else. It’s hard to believe he would just give up; he really wanted me to take his place.”
“He worked his entire life for it,” he agreed. “I doubt he would find another wife, because what happened to her and your sister was so violent. That kind of thing leaves scars on the survivors, like you. Luckily, you have Rojan to keep you sane.”
“And Rojan is definitely not a city dragon. It’s hard enough on him that he cannot fly, because I can’t shift. The least I can do is make our home comfortable.”
We could live in a cave… Rojan suggested, as he often did.
Living in a dark, warm cabin is close enough, I argued.
I was deep enough in conversation with Rojan that I nearly missed the soft thud. Dylan and I turned to find Sammy had collapsed in the sand. We were instantly by his side, asking him if he okay and what was wrong, but he waved us away. “It’s not me, it’s Ron. Vretial is talking with him.”
I spread my cloak down in the sand and Dylan gently laid his son on it. Dylan tried to wake him, but the little child would not stir. I shifted my eyes to see what was going on. Ron’s soul was intact, which meant that the god hadn’t pulled him away to speak with him, as was the normal means. Dylan’s green energy filled the air and when Ron didn’t react to it, it started crackling and sparking. The Guardian was a threat to the entire universe when he was desperate. He proved that when I was in danger… and this was his son. He was building his energy, but the sparks were just a warning to Vretial to let his son go. As long as Vretial had Ron, it was easy for my friend to track him.
Before Dylan went any further, Ron’s eyes snapped open and Dylan let his energy die down. Sammy hugged Ron as if his arms could keep Ron safe. “What did he want this time?” Sammy asked.
“This time?!” Dylan demanded. “Ronez, has Vretial talked to you before?” Dylan asked.
Ron nodded. “He can’t talk to Sammy, so he talks to me.”
Dylan turned to me and I shook my head. I knew that look; it made my blood chill and my internal organs shrink in on themselves. He wanted me to watch the kids because he was going to kill Vretial… again.
“Wait! Dylan, I know you want to kill, more than anything. I know. I get it, but use your head. Think.” His energy flared up again and he would lose control of it if I couldn’t calm him down. “He was powerful enough to survive Divina’s attack. The only way you can beat him is by outthinking him.” Lightning cracked across the cloudless sky. I grabbed his shoulders and poured my fire into him, not burning him, but to bond with his furious magic.
His magic took my fire and adapted the weapon… but my fire was calm and the magic didn’t know what to do with it. I leaned my forehead against his and thought soothing thoughts, focusing on my breathing. At first, I tried to think of sitting by a campfire, but it wasn’t calming enough. Rojan took over, remembering his days of flying. I felt his wingtips skimming the surface of the warm ocean as he glided over. He recalled the feel of diving in and out of the clouds at night. The clouds would glow brightly in the moonlight. In the dawn, the clouds would glow with yellows, oranges, and reds until it looked like he was flying through fire, but it was cool and wet instead of hot and dry. My fire and Dylan’s energy calmed enough to get through to him. After a few minutes, he sighed.
Crisis averted for now.
“Daddy, Vretial said that we need to get out of here,” Ron said. We both turned to him. “He said we’re being hunted.”
Dylan looked at me for my input, but Rojan growled. No one could hunt me. There is no one in this desert but the dragon we are tracking.
“Rojan says there is no one here but us and the dragon we’re looking for.”
“I am more inclined to trust Rojan than Vretial,” he said.
Rojan was pleased with Dylan’s confidence in him, but Ron smelled of worry. We continued for another twenty minutes before Dylan stopped suddenly.
“Something’s wrong.”
I sniffed and scented nothing but sand and dragon. “I can’t…”
“Look around. I feel magic. Really, really old magic,” he said.
I shifted my eyes and saw what he was sensing. There was a fog ahead of us, which was invisible to the normal eye. “How could I not smell that?” I asked. I breathed deeply and still smelled nothing. Dylan grabbed my arm and drew in some of my fire.
“Wow. That looks like something we don’t want to walk into.” My fire rushed back into me, along with a bit of his magic. All of a sudden, I could smell the danger we were in. “Does that help?” he asked.
Somehow, something was blocking my senses. There were dragons everywhere in that fog and it was soaking with anticipation. “It does, thank you. We need to get out of here.” I let my eyes shift back to normal for just a moment to see that the fog and everything in it was still invisible.
“We’d never make it on foot,” Dylan warned. He picked Ron up and pulled Sammy closer. I backed up to their side and Dylan put a shield over us. “Want to stick around and find out what’s going on, or flash out?”
“This is a trap set specifically for a dragon, by dragons. Let’s go.” The fog reached out for us in the span of a blink and I shifted my eyes back so that I could see beyond the magic.
Dragons surrounded us in all colors, shapes, and sizes. I felt the pressure build up in the shield in preparation for Dylan’s flash. He was curious; there was no other reason it took him so long. The dragons parted to let one through and as I looked at the midnight black dragon, Rojan gasped.
“Wait!” Rojan’s plead burst from my mouth and the pressure released.
We were at a standoff for the next few moments as the dragons landed. Dylan strengthened our protection but didn’t flash us out. “Why are we waiting?” he asked.
“I know this dragon. I mean, Rojan does,” I said in his mind. The dragons probably understood Sudo and I didn’t want them to hear Rojan’s name or know we were talking about him. “His name is Marnd, and he is Rojan’s childhood friend.” I had to know what was going on. “This is the part where you come up with a plan, right?” I asked.
“No, this is the part where I do something insanely stupid, nearly get us killed, then get us out of it at the last second, and everything turns out for the better.”
“I call that a plan.”
“Oh, good, then I have a plan.”
“What’s that?”
“This.” He dropped the shield.
Marnd roared, opened his jaws wide, and blew fire… but it was warm. The fire was his way of scenting us, not hurting us, and it was lukewarm at best.
“Don’t shift your eyes. Play sago for a few minutes,” Dylan suggested. Ron squirmed around to get a better look at all of the dragons.
Marnd shifted in front of us. He was a mess of contradictions. His hair was dark brown and long, and his eyes were light green with flakes of dark green and brown. Most dragons were born to live in a certain ecosystem. Marnd was an abnormality because his eyes and scales were those of a forest dragon, as his mother was, while his dragon shape and wing design were those of a mountain dragon, as his father was. Because of his shape and wingspan, he could never live in the forest, but because of his coloring, he could never blend in the mountains. Unfortunately, he also didn’t inherit the adaptation of mountain dragons to withstand the cold. He suffered the worst combination possible, so he spent his childhood in person form. His family was ashamed of his decision, but no worse than his genetic misfortune.
Other dragons shifted around us, some of which Rojan recognized vaguely, some he had never met.
“Is this the part where we nearly get killed?” Sammy whispered.
“No, honey, not yet,” Dylan answered.
“Then can Ron have some water?” he asked. Dylan pulled a bottle of water out of one of the bags and handed it to his youngest. The little child calmly
drank some water before handing it to Sammy.
I could not have been more shocked when Marnd bowed to me… Not even when the other dragons followed suit.
“You broke them,” Dylan accused.
“We have waited a long time for your return, Rojan,” Marnd said.
Rojan stirred inside. He wanted to talk to this dragon, so I let him take over. My eyes and claws shifted, but my teeth stayed normal because it was difficult to speak with sharp teeth. All of the dragons stepped back. “What is this about, Marnd? Why have you resorted to cheap tricks and traps?”
“How else could we find you but to draw you here? We nearly got you when you vanished from that kingdom.” There was a slight irritation as I tried to scent him, though I could tell that he only felt relief and anticipation. I detected no lie or malicious intention, but my senses could apparently be deceived by magic.
“You know about Mordon, then?” Rojan asked. He didn’t like this; he didn’t like dragons knowing too much about me. Dragons all shared a dominating instinct; protect. Many protected their family and territory. Rojan protected me, Dylan, and the boys.
“Of course. We know the sago was born sick and you gave up your life so that he could live. We know that his mother did some kind of spell on him so that he could become a dragon and you both could live mutually.”
Okay, so they aren’t very accurate. They don’t know that I cannot shift, I thought.
No, but they know far too much. “How did you get this information?” Rojan asked. “Not even the king’s servants know of me.”
“Your sister. She scanned the mind of the king’s adviser. The dreadful sago did not let us see you and tried to suppress you. Your sister explained that they failed to subdue you, but you decided to stay in that kingdom until the sago child was old enough.”