by Karine Green
He used his tail to signal silence, and crouched down to wait. He pitched his ears forward as he heard Parana and Apis crying for Méi to feed them. Tears ran down Méi's snout, but Mack held his tail up and whispered, "We can't rush in without more information. If his madness is focused on being the Dragon King, I doubt he will hurt them. He needs them, alive. Both sets of pups represent all four elements as a complete set."
She nodded. "I am still going to kill him, even if he is dead, I am going to kill him, again."
"Arlen, you and Ridder head two clicks back toward the village, and lead the riders here. They have magic arrows that will find their targets, no matter what."
Arlen nodded, backing out, and flying out.
Dunia moved into Arlen's space next to Mack. "Do you think he is aware we are here?"
Mack shrugged his eyes focused on the Mad King's boulders. "Someone watch our six."
"I have it," Daphne whispered.
"Do you? Are you really Daphne, what about your involvement with...Wayne," Mack whispered. “Why were you really in the other realm? I checked one of those scrolls from Dunia – it appears that Water and Stone Dragons are very compatible both genetically and magically. You went there to set this up.”
Daphne shook her head. “I had to do something with him, he was going off the rails. So, I found him, no thanks to LaDeara. We can talk about this later."
Mack nodded, but this conversation was far from over or forgotten. "Daphne, how do you think Lahay would react to Belinda showing up?" He smiled, if he had a master spy, he might as well deploy her.
She sighed, "After I learned you came back and were training with Romayo, I went to Sea An'Tia to lead the Blue Valley brigade home. They were looking forward to relocating to their homeland. I have been AWOL since. I don't know how he would react."
"The Red Wizard said he loves you," Dunia whispered.
Daphne nodded. "I worked very hard at that.'
"How do you feel about him," Mack asked.
"He is crazed and destroyed everything. It was all I could do to keep from driving a stake through his heart while he slept. But I couldn't let Jabaob take over. He is an even match for me, always has been. The risk for me to go after him was far too great. I needed you."
"Do you think you can lead Lahay out of his hiding place?" Mack asked.
Daphne dismounted. "There is only one way to find out." She pulled her hair out of its bun and fluffed it up with her fingers, and then shook her head violently to make her hair look more like Belinda’s flyaway hair. She turned and headed down the hill.
Fifteen minutes later, their back-up quietly arrived. Misty took her place in Mack's saddle and leaned forward. "Mack, I am so sorry..."
"You don't have to apologize. You may care for your wounded mate. Even if you weren't with him, you would have been with me, away from the pups. Ready the magic arrows. Think about putting them through the Mad King's heart. Keep your eye focused there."
She nodded, patting his neck once quickly, which was body language for yes. He could feel her shifting her crossbow around as she loaded the max-three arrows-in it.
Suki also readied her bow. "I'll think about his heart."
"When you see him, shoot him. No prisoners, no talking, no finding out why, just shoot him," Mack said, hoping Daphne would keep the pups out of the way.
They nodded.
Forty-five minutes later, Mack started to worry that Daphne had betrayed them when both she and Lahay came out from the magically form rock cave. He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her, groping her like he missed her touch. She glanced up in Mack's direction, and pushed Lahay back, leaving him exposed.
All the riders shot arrows, but Lahay saw them. "Belinda!" He spun out of the way of all but Misty and Suki’s two magic arrows, which found their target. Lahay went down on the ground, bleeding with the arrows sticking out of his chest.
Daphne ran over to him, "Lahay!" She held him while he was dying. "I warned you to leave my dragons alone. Why couldn’t you do that? Why couldn’t you leave them be…."
"Belinda, you said you wanted..." He didn't finish before Méi landed next to them, nudging Daphne out of the way. "Now that the real King is back I'll thank you to stop impersonating him." She bit Lahay on the head, killing him faster than the arrows. She ran into the boulder hut upheaving it to get the pups.
"No," Daphne screamed, putting her hands over her face. "Lahay!" She leaned over him, crying.
Arlen snorted. "And you think I have a problem with the opposite sex? Mrs. Nutter-King?"
"Pa," Wren and Shway came running out.
Arlen took them on his back, as Ridder greeted them "I am so happy my little dragon niece and nephew are alright. We were so worried about you. He didn't hurt you?"
"No, he played fun games. Then the lady came and she was very beautiful for him, asked him for a baby, and then he put us in the carriers with warm dragon scale blankets covering us. But, he locked the door. I was getting scared when the twins cried," Shway said, with her tail wagging. "Can I have a baby too?"
"No!" Arlen frowned at Daphne, then lightened his tone. "Perhaps a doll, or some toys from your toy box at home?"
"Oh, toys. Yes." She ran over to the overturned boulders and dug out a small box, pulling it over to Arlen with her teeth. "He said the future was in here. He showed her, then she asked him for a baby to grow up with the dragons. Then she said she knew the future for the children and the pups, and wanted her child to grow up under the instruction of Sarnia. He didn't know who momma was. Thought she was another witch- a human. Then he said he would be happy to give her a baby. Maybe the baby is here?" She pointed at the box.
"I think the baby is in another box, Belinda carries a bit closer to her," Mack said, sniffing whoever this woman was. "The Red Wizard didn't lie to us, did he...Belinda. You are so good at being a double agent, you don't even know where you stand. You led him outside, where you knew we would kill him, but you lay grieving over his body like he was your beloved mate. Who are you, and more to the point, what are you doing?"
She stood. "I did what I had to-to save the dragons. You may be the dragon king, but I am the dragon mother. I will be in Sea An'Tia, with my dragons." Green smoke enveloped her and she vanished.
Méi sat next to him. "Let's get out of here. There may still be some of his troops around."
Dunia carried the box back to the encampment. They flew back in silence.
Mack landed next to Méi at their tent. "What just happened?"
"The Brown Witch tricked Lahay, and took his entire kingdom," she said staring and sounding like she was far away.
"You mean what is left of it. But the Red Wizard is right, she could have taken it anytime."
Dunia shook her head. "She was unwilling to risk her dragons. She needed you here if she failed. She needed to be assured someone would take care of the dragons and lead them back to health. She was as alone here as we were in the other realm."
"She didn't associate with anyone in the other realm. She was fully engaged in operation up my...rear end," Arlen said glancing at Shway and Wren. "Did you know that Sea An'Tia is less than a day's flight from North Dragons Ridge? It is just across the Sea Dragon infested Latoonia Ocean. That was how she snuck them out, by boat." Mack stared at Arlen, who looked blankly at him, shrugging. "What? I read a scroll or two in South Dragons Ridge. I was there a year, you know. I didn't stare at the wall. Rini taught me to read in this language."
Mack accepted a report from the Mountain Dragon patrol that, so far, the area seemed free of the Mad King's patrols. They only found two survivalist campers, who told them the few soldiers remaining in Lahay’s army were at Yellow Hollow, trying to help the few survivors.
"Break camp, we'll return to the village. We need to settle everyone into the lives they have fought and waited so long for," Mack said, sitting down. "Méi, take the pups to our tent. Arlen, will you get Sarnia, and stay with them both?"
Arlen nodded.
&nb
sp; "Misty, I need you to dismount and keep a sniper position on my tent."
"Yes, Mack," she said, dismounting.
"Dunia, if you would come with me, bring the box," Mack said, heading to the tent that held the Red Wizard. He could hear the beginnings of a large party in the distance. He smiled out at the happy villagers, both dragon, and human, and then he stepped into the tent. He leaned over to the Red Wizard staring at him while Dunia sat next to him.
She sat the box in front of him. "Why didn't Lahay take Sea An'Tia? It was so close to his stronghold."
"Stone Dragons wouldn't get in the boats." He didn't even open his eyes. "That made the trip there seem like it was on the other side of the world."
Mack huffed, overturning his bed. He groaned with pain, cradling the stump with his good limb. "Again, this time without the snark."
"Bone-quake?" Dunia asked, stepping toward the Red Wizard.
He cowered away from Dunia. "Earth extinguishes Fire.” He chanted a spell. “I swear I did not know the dragons were there, or I would have gone to Sea An'Tia myself. Lover or not, if Lahay knew, he would have gone there, if for nothing else but to get the pups. He is obsessed with them...Now call her off. By all the Holy Power behind Elemental Magic, Earth-based bitches are the worst!"
Dunia smiled and snorted at the ground under the Red Wizard causing his own personal earthquake. He scrambled, falling flat onto his back to avoid sinking into the dirt.
Mack shook his head. With his tail, he scooted the box toward the now cowering wizard. "You know, for a notorious, evil wizard, you are a bit of a pussy."
Dunia glanced over at him. "Arlen is having a bad influence on you."
He glanced from Mack to Dunia, and then back to the box.
"What's in the box?" Mack asked.
"I honestly don't know. I just know that he kept it with him all the time."
"Open it," Mack said, pointing with his tail from the wizard to the box.
"What? It could be cursed."
"Yes, that is why we are having you open it, and not, oh say, the pups," Mack licked his chops, "Or perhaps, I need a snack? I could relieve you of your other arm since you can’t even open a box with it."
The Red Wizard leaned forward and tried to flip the latch. "It's locked. Was there a key?"
"Try the one around your neck," Mack sighed, blowing the wizard's robe open, and revealing a key on a chain.
"This is the one to my Book of Spells. This isn't a box, it's his Book of Spells." He pointed at Dunia, "She's Earth, Lahay was Earth...Maybe she can open it since dragons are the most powerful and purest form of Elemental magic."
"Where is your Book of Spells?" Mack asked. This thing needed to be buried, far away, where no one would ever find it.
The Red Wizard sighed and looked at the ground. "Look, I know you're going to execute me. Just get on with it. I'll never betray magical humans to you. Frankly, if Belinda was with you, I am surprised she let you keep it."
Dunia drew in a long breath. "We have been duped." She sniffed the box and then flipped the latch up with her claw. It was a beautiful book with wooden sides. It folded open to a blank book. She flipped the pages. It was blank.
The Red Wizard laughed.
Mack smiled. "It's encoded. I can see the faint impressions of the writings." He closed his eyes; time to try some of his dragon magic. "Air shapes the land." He drew in a deep breath and gently exhaled through his nostrils. The lettering appeared, and then disappeared.
"It's Belinda's handwriting. Not Lahays," The Red Wizard said, giggling a giggle that Mack found to be disturbing.
"Guards. Take him to the main Jail back in the valley. He'll stand trial in two weeks."
Two Mountain Dragon guards and their riders took the Red Wizard away.
"What did it say, Dunia, did you see it?"
She nodded, "It said, I am sorry, but I took Lahay's Book of Spells. It once belonged to the Blood King's rider. She was the last magical person allowed to be a dragon rider." He gently blew again. "There is a map on the last page, this is my territory, my nation. The rest is yours to rule as you see fit. You keep to your borders and I will keep to mine. The dragons in Blue Valley returned to submit to your rule. They are no longer citizens of Sea An'Tia. If you are the Dragon King, then I am their Mother. Arlen may choose, but once he has chosen that is the nation he will be part of."
"She took his Book of Spells. She was the scary one behind the scene, not Jabaob," Mack said, still trying to examine the book by staring at it.
Dunia shook her head. "No way, Mack. Look at what she has done for the dragon community. She is right, you are the Dragon King, but she is the Dragon Mother. We have no choice but to honor that she has never walked against the dragons. Let's enjoy the celebration and hope that in several months we have a new generation of dragon pups, followed in nine months by a new human generation. We have other things to concentrate on. For the moment, all we can do is pray that she will live in peace in her own nation."
Mack nodded and went to find Méi. He didn't want to party. He just wanted to go home, and play with his pups, if they were awake, and Méi would allow anyone around them after what happened.
Blood King Rising
One year later, Mack, Dunia, Méi, and Arlen were camping, as much as the Royal Guard would let them, with a small diplomatic group. This was an official celebration trip, not a vacation.
They were by the Shallow Lake about two hundred miles north of Yellow Hollow. It was officially named that because it was only about twelve to fourteen feet deep. Except the northwest end, where a deep underground spring-fed the lake.
He smiled, and enjoyed the early morning. Summer sun shone on his scales. I love this lake. It is so peaceful here. If I weren’t king, I would live here. He sniffed the air, it smelled friendly as the scent of happiness filled his nostrils. Maybe, I feel this way because it is the first fun time I had with Misty and Méi in this world where nothing terrible was on the horizon.
He looked around at the thick reeds on the south side of the lake. A group of humans was there gathering them for basket making later. The crystal-clear water rippled as the Water dragons swam around. It had been reasonably clear before they swam in it. Now I can see all the way to the bottom. It became clearer and clearer as they swam.
Misty and Zeke were still in their tent with Timothy, their two-month-old son. She will be upset I didn’t wake her to officially guard me, but the entire Royal Guard is on duty. Someone should be able to sleep in, and it may as well be a new mom. So says the King. Mack thought, continuing to smile and allowing contentment to sweep over his whole body.
Later today, there would be a blessing in the lake for the human children. There had been a baby boom; eighty-nine infants six months or younger, would be blessed in the waters. Timothy was the only human nobility, one was Secular, and the rest were from Spiritual villages – mostly Blue Valley. They would all be allowed into the healing waters as part of a blessing into the Nation of Shestafa.
Normally this blessing was an Elemental Dragon pups’ only event, but both Mack and Dunia had argued against such exclusive events.
On the dragon side of the population, fifty-three dragon pups were blessed; twenty-one of them were Stone dragons, ten were Mountain dragons, and much to Mack shock, one Sand Dragon. He was here with his parents, Wintu, the Sand Dragon Ambassador, and his mate. Their look creeped Mack out. Sandy golden scales made them look more like gold statues than real dragons. They also had shark-like black eyes that seemed to mesmerize anyone who dared to stare into them. Two sets of horns on their heads also added to their formidable look.
Despite all that, the Sand Dragons were not as terrible as everyone said. According to Ambassador Wintu, they simply wanted to be left out of the terrible, divisive politics of the old days, so they let the terrible rumors about them go undisputed.
Mack could understand that. It had probably saved them from the genocide that swept through the land’
The rest
of the pups were Elemental, with seven hybrids.
This is a good first event for both dragons and humans. A true reason to celebrate. He smiled. He decided to enjoy the peace while it is here, for it would not last forever.
It was easy to declare this day a state holiday; a five-day rest, for playing and meeting with friends and family; traveling to other villages, and welcoming new citizens. He continued to smile at everyone who was awake and out of their tents. It wouldn’t be long before this place was a hopping party.
There had been debates and bumps within the government over the last year, but mostly everyone and everything had seemed to move forward with a new sense of unity.
Another thing that pleased him; Families were returning to Blue Valley and it was quickly becoming a small city. Even the small surviving population of Yellow Hollow was rebuilding, closer to Blue Valley. This time, with a team of Guardian Dragons to keep them safe from invasion by neighboring Secular villages. Two attacks had been repelled already, and the villagers no longer complained about the Remembered King’s troops.
Remembered King. Odd that they call me that, maybe it is because of the Forgotteness Blessing.
It was the first documentation of the dragons lending their protective magic to a Secular village. Only time would tell if Yellow Hollow could move forward in peace with Blue Valley – in particular, with Mack.
The fact that a Yellow Hollow family was in attendance today was a good sign. Hopefully, there would be more next year and not just the one family with a terminally ill baby. They should all feel welcome to come to Shallow Lake; desperation wasn’t a requirement. He nodded to a group of humans setting up tent with pottery for sale.
“Ladies.”
“Majesty,” they nodded back to him.”
He looked around for Arlen and spotted him in the center of the lake.
Arlen had kept his position as the Water Minister of South Dragons Ridge. He was also the National Water Dragon in Mack’s Royal Cabinet. Although he did regularly visit Daphne as the official Shestafa Ambassador. No one could sweet talk the Dragon Mother like him.