by Karine Green
He nodded. "Méi, you really had no idea? I mean weeks isn't long to absorb all this."
She shrugged. "I just thought it was the food."
"It's been a year. We only were physically intimate a few months ago, when our tail horns grew in. The food would have bothered you before now."
She looked at the floor. "Mack, I love you so much. I want to have a family, but like you, I was so afraid that they would be alone, that maybe I decided not to believe that we could have a family. But, we can."
He head-butted her gently. "They won't be alone. We'll find a way to manage. How is Wren now that he has eaten?"
"His normal black sheen is already returning. LaDeara said the eggs were just the right size for being three weeks from the cracking." She started crying. "Mack, my darling, I am so scared."
He wrapped his neck around hers. "Don't be. It will be all right, especially since we know for sure there are other dragon villages."
"A village that sounds like it needs liberating." Mei drew in a deep breath. "There is a war coming. And, we will have three hatchlings."
"You don't know that."
"I know you well enough to know that you will do what needs to be done to secure our pups' future. You will not allow the Mad King to continue the Great Losing." She looked him directly in the eye. "There is a war coming."
He nodded. "Hell will freeze over before I let the Mad King take our pups."
She rubbed her cheek on his. "If you don't mind, can you send my apologies to the villagers about the meal tonight? I don't feel very chatty."
He nodded. "I'll go downstairs and get ready." He headed downstairs.
At the welcome-farewell dinner, Makani sat on his hindquarters at the table next to LaDeara with Misty sitting on the other side of him. Suki stayed in the barn in case Méi would let her approach again. He had also learned to curl his tail around his hind legs to avoid it being stepped on, again, by one of the many well-wishing villagers.
He watched LaDeara eat. She was so poised and elegant. Then it dawned on him; she really was magical, White Witch wasn't just a title, and her magic was based on Air, just like his. But what about non-magical villages? Misty said there were magical people born there, and that they usually moved to Spiritual villages. Why couldn't they stay home? Why didn't dragons live in the Secular villages to begin with? Surely not all of them are devoted to the Holy Elemental teachings. "I know the Mad King's role in all this, but what was in it for the Seculars? Were they just the King's Rubes? Why did the Seculars come after the dragons in Spiritual villages?"
"Power and resources; no dragon has ever consented to serve with a Secular rider. However, I don't think the dragons stayed away from the Seculars' villages for the reasons they think. They think the dragons wish them harm by denying opportunities to prosper. Dragons are spiritual creatures because of their abilities and found themselves repelled by the Seculars' lack of faith that the elements do indeed work together. Your mother's statement that their belief in elemental unification isn't a requirement for it to exist- hurt matters. It came off as condescending, and made the Seculars more determined to rail against the dragons. To the dragons, it was a requirement if a Secular wanted to be a rider they had to accept the way the powers worked together. That would be any dragon, not just the Elemental ones." LaDeara stabbed a vegetable on her plate.
"Is it really all that important to have a dragon in their village?" Mack asked.
Misty nodded, setting her spoon down. "Having a full set of Guardian Dragons to bring stability to a village is almost equal to having an unlimited amount of money. So much so, that without them there was no way for the Secular governments to hold the level of legislative power the Spiritual side did on the Human Council. Not only that, but military options were off the table if a rogue dragon took a Secular village, say nothing of a rogue dragon gang that could only be vanquished by other more powerful dragons. However, the dragon government would not go after these rogues, leaving some villages as nothing but a human corral for a dragon feast."
"Really, why wouldn't they stop that?" Idiot, your mother was queen. She was the embodiment of the dragon government. It was your own family that led the world to this with their naively onerous dragon-only policies.
Thankfully LaDeara didn't mention Queen Parana. "For the most part, dragons are solely and wholly united. Rogues are extremely rare. Do you know the level of evil the Mad King and the Seculars committed to bring down the Fire Dragon homeland of Red River? You saw what one young adult Fire Dragon could do to an army, yet the Seculars were presumably successful in their genocide. Over seven thousand fire dragons once lived there; families, civilians, not just troops."
"How did they do that? It doesn't make sense. The dragons would have, should have crushed them without breaking a sweat. Two weeks ago, Méi and I took out about five thousand well-trained troops like it was playtime. An army of dragons could wipe the entire human population out." The world would become a dragons' only place. He couldn’t let that happen.
If Sea An'Tia has an Elemental dragon hoard, I have to do more than hope they aren't vengeful dragons. They'll burn, sink, drown, or blow everything out of the way. Dragons need humans as much as the humans need dragons.
Misty patted his shoulder. "If they were united. I am sure they would have. But the political times were very polarized at the time."
"You have to understand this happened over years, if not decades. I am well into my nineties now, I was a small girl the last time I saw a dragon pup of two separate Elementals. They were all such elitists toward the end. Lahay picked up and ran with the seeds already sewn by generations past. Then before anyone knew it, there were no hybrids, only so-called pure ones.”
“How could they get that way?” He was genuinely confused. It simply did not make sense that this could happen.
“First, he reignited a campaign of fear so strong that the Elementals began to distrust each other, and once that happened the humans in the villages, both Secular and Spiritual, were easy to win over.”
“The Slaughter Battle. The sleeper spies…” It was starting to make sense.
She nodded, sipping some wine, "I pray thanks to all that is Holy, Méi was old enough to sustain herself. You know, the villagers here would never make such a mistake again. They would welcome a pup of any type of dragon as a blessing. As it is, they do not even want the Stone Dragon pup sent away, but he needs to be with his family in his homeland. Blue Valley has so many rivers and lakes that a dragon based so heavily in fire might find it uncomfortable here."
"Don't they drink water? What about Méi, she is a Fire Dragon?" Mack was sure he watched her drink it every day. Maybe Stone Dragons were different.
"Méi is an Elemental Dragon, she has control of fire and everything attached to it. Stone Dragons work within the element, as part of it, not in control of it. And, they do drink water, but just a little bit, and certainly not from giant two-tiered lakes featuring waterfalls so magnificent that they draw pilgrimage from humans and dragons alike...Well, they once did anyway."
Mack nodded. He still had a lot to learn. He wondered if Méi was uncomfortable here in Blue Valley with all the water and just not telling him. He didn't think so. She would have surely said something if she were. She wasn’t shy about expressing herself.
"Do be careful, though. As I said, the Stone Dragon village, of Pumice Plains is just outside of North Dragons Ridge, which is the Mad Dragon King's capital. And you have your own Air/Fire pups on the way."
"Ye...yeah, are there some sort of directions to Pumice Plains, aside from over-there?" Mack asked, darting his eyes at Misty, whose ears nearly fell off the side of her head, trying to listen. He had not spoken to her directly about Méi being pregnant.
LaDeara smiled. "Yes, I will have a couple of packages for all of you in the morning, including a map. Meanwhile, let's enjoy the feast," she said. She smiled as she watched him pilfer meat bits into a sack on his saddle. "It is good to be around dragons ag
ain."
Mack turned his attention to Misty while she ate dessert. She had blueberry pie, while he had a minced meat pie, and an extra one to take to Méi. He missed blueberry pie, now anything, not meat, or meat based gave him the runs, really bad. He had learned the hard way to avoid fruits and berries, even a scavenged three-day dead deer was preferable to that.
"I am sorry everyone. I think I am exhausted by all the attention today. I will have to excuse myself." He flew up to his home and took dinner to Méi. She fed Wren first, then ate her pie. He curled up on the floor in front of her, standing guard while she finished eating, and they both went to bed, exhausted from the events of the day.
In the morning, the entire village was in the square while the dragons prepared to embark on their journey. LaDeara brought a little bag of scrolls. "Here, it's a family history, maps, and a couple scrolls I thought you might find interesting. I know you must have many questions about why I did, what I did, and hopefully these will help clarify things." She tied it to a strap on his saddle.
"Thank you," Mack said, smiling. He had been avoiding asking her, out of fear he would bite her, and he was determined not to do that. There needed to be a rule: no biting humans unless it was self-defense.
She leaned over to Mack's ear. "It's both of your family histories; I don't want to get too close to Méi. The protective instinct will last a few weeks, so it is best to avoid strange humans. Pregnant dragons have also been known to bite their riders, so keep an eye on Suki. Méi loves her, and would be very upset if she accidentally hurt her by snapping at her."
Mack smiled and nodded. The truth was that he was also having a hard time not growling at anything and everyone who came around Méi and Wren. It was taking a great deal of will power to remind himself that the villagers were friends and would also protect the pup.
Méi is right. I need to stay focused on winning the final battle of the Great Losing and promote a baby boom, or rather a puppy boom! The populations of both humans and dragons must heal. Otherwise, the young would be born into a world left worse for them, and I will not have it as long as there is breath in my body.
~~~~
In the morning, just outside Mack’s barn.
"This is for you two." LaDeara handed Misty and Suki each three arrows. "They will never miss their target; even if you fire in another direction. You need only focus your eye on where you want them to go when you fire them. It's one of my air magic specialties, to manipulate the currents to the will of the archer. Save them for when you need them. They can be retrieved, but the magic is only good for one shot, after that they will be just a regular arrow."
"Thank you," Misty said, stowing them in one of her quivers.
"And this is also for you," she said, she handed Suki a monoscope.
"What is it?" she asked, taking the arrows and the scope.
"It is bewitched. Spies will show as green because green is envy, friends will show as yellow because of its warming sunshine, and aggressors will show as red for their anger. As a bonus, you can also see even greater distances with it than you could normally see with a telescope. Essentially it gives you the sight of an Air Dragon, which will compliment your Fire Dragon's ability. Sorry, Misty. I don't have Fire Magic to make an opposite one for you."
"I understand," Misty said, nodding.
"That's amazing," Suki said. She opened the scope and looked through it before packing it away on her belt. "Everyone's yellow here."
"Thank you," Méi said, keeping her distance.
LaDeara covered her mouth and giggled. "Oh thank you, I could have only hoped to nurse him to a less painful death, but with you, he has a chance at life."
"Thank you for staying to protect my new home," Méi said.
Mack smiled, she had told him earlier that she was no longer sure she wanted to take Wren home. He could stay right here and be part of their family. He also found himself tempted. No. If there is a village where an aunt or uncle may still be alive, then I should see Wren home. I would have given anything to be raised with my own family and if my own parents couldn't have done it, then an aunt or uncle would have been fine.
They finished their goodbyes and took off flying toward the far southeast.
Pumice Plains
On the fourth morning of their journey, Mack noticed Wren had doubled in size and was eating more. They had stopped for a break on a high plateau to feed him.
"Breakfast is served." Mack dropped a deer in front of Méi. He had been lucky enough to catch it on the way up to their hideaway on a high cliff. It had panicked when it had seen him and had run into a tree, making itself easy prey to grab.
"Thank you." Mei immediately sliced the prime cuts for Wren, then cut steaks for the riders.
"Look, it's the foothills of the Great Volcanic Mountains," Suki said, looking through her scope. She didn't sound as excited about the mission since she found out Méi was pregnant. Sending Wren home would not improve her mood, if anything, Méi would become more aggressive with anyone coming around her own pups.
Mack smiled at her as he took up his sphinx pose to sniff the air for any danger; it smelled earthy and emotional.
Must be Suki still upset.
Poor Suki was trying hard but had told him last night she felt like she was failing as a dragon rider. But the truth was that, of all the villagers, she was probably the only one who could handle a mother Fire Dragon. Méi had even growled at Mack twice and he was her husband, and the father of her eggs.
Méi waited for Suki to dismount before sitting up on her hind quarters and dropping meat in for Wren. Her scales bumped around as he played with the pieces of meat before eating them.
"Look, he is starting to hunt already, the dear," Méi cooed over him. He was no longer hidden beneath her hind quarters. There was an obvious telltale bulge of an infant, and he was bored. He wanted out to play. "Oh no, sweet Wren." Méi patted her pouch. "We are too far away from home to get out and run around." Apparently, he would not have any of her overprotecting. He climbed out quickly, nipping and wrestling with Méi's hind paw.
"Wow, he has really grown," Misty said, moving to stand behind Mack. “He no longer looks emaciated. In fact, he looks like he might be getting a bit fat.”
Suki also moved closer to Mack. "You know, I think he has horn and wing buds? His scales are deep blue-black and not jet black. I don't think he's a run-of-the-mill Stone dragon."
Mack was about to comment when the earthen scent became stronger.
A voice came from just over the edge of the cliff: "Don't burn me."
~~~
Dunia could smell the other dragons, and prayed it was the ones mentioned in the message she received from the White Witch. She dug her claws into the side of the cliff, and peeked an eye over the edge.
A red dragon quickly stuffed a small pup back into her pouch, and blew flames out over the entire area. She ducked to use the edge of the cliff to shield herself. What if they wouldn’t allow her to come with them? She couldn’t stay out here by herself anymore. The isolation was eating away at her.
She pulled herself up to peek again. It appeared like a blue dragon had barely been able to shield riders from the flames. “You really are a Fire Dragon. I was hoping I wasn't the only Elemental Dragon left. I am Dunia. May I come up? I won't hurt your pup. I am a girl too."
The red dragon hissed. "Same-sex means nothing in regard to the ability to do harm," she said, arching her back up like she would pounce.
The blue dragon stepped back and nipped the red dragon’s tail. He must be her mate. "Here, get behind me. I will talk to her. We have been looking for the Earth Dragon. If she tries anything I will take care of it. You get Wren out of here. Just take him back to Blue Valley."
What did he just say? Take care of who? Me? They surely don’t think I would hurt them let alone a pup.
The red dragon moved behind him. "Get your bows ready," she whispered to the riders. They did as they were told, but they looked like they wouldn’t shoot
her. They just glanced at each other, the taller one rolling her eyes.
“I swear I won’t hurt you.”
"It's okay to come up now, just remember wind shapes earth," The blue dragon said, repeating a spell. He appeared ready to blow her off the cliff.
"I am Dunia," she repeated, as she poked her whole head over the edge of the cliff. "You're an Air Dragon. You both have riders. Civilization still exists!" She climbed up and locked necks with him. Tears formed in her eyes. She had horns like his that curled down her head slightly like ram.
"Uhm," he said, untangling necks with her. "I don't think my mate wants me doing that with other girl dragons"
He heard a low growl from behind him, along with a dangerous-sounding “No” that barely sounded recognizable as a voice. He wrapped his tail around hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze before turning his attention back to Dunia.
"I am Mack. This is my wife, Méi, and our riders Misty and Suki.
"I was at the gym playing volleyball. I finished showering. I tried to go into the coaches' office and I ended up here. When I arrived, the Blue Wizard told me stories. At first, I couldn't believe I was a dragon." She pointed to her horns, using her tail. "But then he made a tea. It was foul, but not bad with a bit of sugar. Apparently, the White Witch hid me in another realm...I am sorry, I am rambling like a scared little pup," she said, barely taking a breath. She hadn’t realized how much she hated being alone until this moment. Her throat burned with emotion and she choked back the idea of bursting into tears. Her long isolation was over, but the battle was only beginning.
"Okay, slow down. I am not far off from that." Mack nodded. "I experienced the same type of situation you did, except my friends forgot me while we were camping. I was lucky, though. I had Méi and Misty from the beginning." He nudged his head against Méi. She almost purred at the touch.
Suki came out from behind Mack. "Where is your human? The Blue Wizard?"