by Tygati
Promise's face scrunched up in unhappiness. "I do not know. Human behavior often does not make sense to me."
Feeling very lost and alone, Jeremey moved closer to Promise, needing the reassurance that someone was with him and he wasn't completely on his own. Promise's arms came up around him, encircling him like a protective shell, as though he could single-handedly keep away all the bad things in the world. For a moment, Jeremey let himself believe it. Wrapped in a cocoon of the spicy scent of dragon was the only safe place in the entire world, just like it had been after the deaths of his parents.
Only then, the dragon had been Zorevan.
Jeremey pulled away, the bleakness draining away as hope took its place. "Zorevan," he breathed, looking up at Promise. "And Charlie." There was no force in the universe that could make Charlie Colcord turn traitor, Jeremey knew that with all of his being. Even when Jeremey had been at his worst, Charlie had never been anything but fair.
"We need to go to Deadwood Gulch."
Promise nodded once and took Jeremey's hand, leading him through the twisting corridors of the Vek ship back to the hatch they'd entered through. It was shut now, but Promise got it to open after a few tries at the controls.
The bright light of Noman's twin suns was blinding after the artificial lighting of the Vek ship. Jeremey winced and pulled his hat down further in front to shade his eyes, pausing a moment to let them adjust. Promise seemed to need no such adjustment period, ranging ahead a short distance to check for danger.
"There are no more Vek," Promise announced. "Wait here. I will get my saddle."
He was gone before Jeremey had a chance to nod, moving quickly for the hillside where Jeremey had left him before heading into the Vek ship with Harry. It seemed so long ago, yet the angle of the suns told him it couldn't have been more than a couple of hours. Just long enough to make one dragon anxious enough to come in after him.
A shadow made him look up, and Jeremey stared in amazement as Promise glided down from the hillside, still in his dragon-human form. He stumbled slightly as he landed and made a rather disgusted face in response.
"Clearly I need more practice in this form," Promise muttered, dropping the saddle to the ground. "Come, we will go find your friends."
As Jeremey watched, Promise leaned forward—and kept going. Everything lengthened, stretching out into the familiar form of his dearest friend. After nearly a year together, he had thought he knew his dragon as well as he knew himself, but now Jeremey found himself studying Promise anew. There were more similarities than differences between Promise's two forms, despite one walking on two legs and the other on four. Now that he could see it, he wondered how he could ever have missed it in the first place. All this time he'd suspected just how smart his dragon really was; now he knew why.
After Promise shook out his wings and then subsided, Jeremey carefully settled the saddle between the dragon's shoulders and made sure all the straps were snug and wouldn't rub. When he was certain that it wouldn't cause any discomfort but still remain tight if Promise pulled one of his abrupt about-faces, Jeremey scrambled astride and nudged Promise in the proper direction.
"You'll probably want to glide," Jeremey told his friend. "Deadwood Gulch is pretty far and it will likely be dusk before we get there."
Promise made a snorting sound and gathered himself, giving just enough warning that Jeremey knew to hold on tight before he took off running at the nearest bluff high enough to glide from. The initial glide was very brief, just long enough for Promise to get to a taller hill, then again to a hill with an even better launch point. From that spot they caught a thermal up into the sky and rode the winds all the way to Deadwood Gulch.
SEVEN
The gates were closed when Jeremey and Promise arrived at Deadwood Gulch, the protective fence powered up for the night. Jeremey wasn't worried. Deadwood Gulch, like Fair Valley, always had at least one rider posted as watch during the night. Usually, in the case of Deadwood Gulch, there were three. Charlie Colcord believed in always being prepared for anything.
Before Jeremey could whistle to catch the watch rider's attention, Promise made a series of yipping sounds that drew the attention of the watch dragon, who yipped back. Its rider peered over the edge a moment later, his expression impossible to make out in the rapidly fading light.
"Who goes there?" he called.
"Jeremey Jasper," Jeremey called back. "I need to talk to Charlie."
"Jasper?" came the startled response. "No shit? And with a dragon. Well, fuck me sideways. Never thought I'd see the day. I can still remember the look on ol' Frank's face that time you shaved his head while he was sleeping. And oh man, I thought Miss Starr was going to paddle your behind off after you…"
The rest of the watch rider's ramblings faded as he moved away from the fence. Jeremey waited patiently and was rewarded a short while later as the fence powered down and the gates slid open. He and Promise slipped through, and the gates swiftly closed behind them to keep out all the dangers that prowled Noman's night.
There was a hum as the fence powered back up, then the watch rider peered down at them from overhead, barely more than a human-shaped blot against a twilight sky. "Reckon you still know where Sheriff Colcord lives, yeah?"
Jeremey nodded. "Yeah."
"Good." The watch rider chuckled. "Means I don't have to leave my post." Even through the deepening gloom, Jeremey could have sworn the man was grinning. "Been awful quiet around here since you left, Jasper. Welcome home."
Jeremey's breath caught in his throat. He wasn't a little kid anymore. He was a rider. He was officially an adult. He would not cry over something as stupid as being welcomed back by someone he likely used to terrorize.
"Thanks," he managed, urging Promise down the dimly lit street before he completely lost his composure.
Not much had changed in Deadwood Gulch since he'd had to leave. There was the schoolhouse he'd tried very hard never to be in. There was Mayor Burke's place with its easy backdoor access for pie stealing. The blacksmith's. The tavern. The shed he'd set on fire once accidentally—and twice on purpose.
Charlie Colcord's house was right where he remembered it, with Zorevan's barn right beside it. Part of him ached for the remembered safety of that barn, but he had a duty to the people of Noman, and that meant his own personal comfort would have to wait.
Jeremey slid down from Promise's back. "Charlie!" he called, rapping hard on the door. "Charlie, I need to talk to you!"
It seemed to take ages before he could hear footsteps, then the latch slid back and the door opened to reveal a scowling Sheriff Colcord, Jeremey's childhood nemesis and the man he trusted most.
The scowl fell away as soon as Charlie saw who stood outside his door. "Jasper? What in the…?"
"Can we come in? Please?" Jeremey interrupted, itching to be inside and away from other eyes.
Charlie's brow furrowed. "We?" he asked, peering over Jeremey's head at Promise and the night beyond.
"Um—" Jeremey started, trying to figure out how to explain Promise, but then Charlie's eyes widened. Jeremey turned around just in time to catch the tail end of Promise's transformation.
"He knows," Promise announced without preamble, hoisting his saddle over one shoulder and striding into the house as though he owned it. Charlie barely got out of the way in time, looking much as though someone had hit him, and Jeremey took the initiative to lock the door behind them.
Charlie Colcord hadn't changed much since the last time Jeremey had seen him. He still towered over Jeremey, a mountain of a man with flaming red hair that was completely at odds with his gentle nature. There were a few more lines in his face, small evidence of the passing of time, but otherwise he was the same Charlie who had been such an integral figure in Jeremey's misspent youth.
Although Jeremey had never seen him wearing nothing more than his trousers before either. That was slightly strange.
"Jeremey," Charlie began, running a hand through his already-mussed hair,
"What—?"
"Where is your dragon?" Promise interrupted, looking around. "He will want to hear this."
Charlie stared at him for a moment, then sighed and raised his voice. "Zorevan."
There was a slight creak as someone came down the stairs. For the second time in one day, Jeremey's world seemed to go sideways as he had to reevaluate everything he'd ever known.
It was clearly Zorevan. There was no mistaking that silvery-indigo color, or the jagged scar running down his leg. But it was Zorevan the way Jeremey had never seen him before: walking upright like a human man. Like Promise. Almost.
Jeremey's brow furrowed and he looked over at Promise. "He has hair. Why don't you have hair?"
Promise blinked and looked curiously at Zorevan. "I've never tried. Would you like me to?"
Jeremey looked over to where Zorevan had positioned himself at Charlie's side, considering. If Promise didn't have hair now, but he could if he tried, then did that mean that dragons could choose their shape when they transformed? It was a fascinating thought.
"Dragons," Charlie muttered, dropping into a large easy chair that looked to have been specifically made with him in mind. "Would someone like to explain what's going on and why I have two shifted dragons in my house? I thought you all were hell-bent on keeping this thing secret."
Promise grimaced. "My apologies, Sheriff Colcord. Recent events forced me to take action. We are here because Jeremey felt that you could be trusted to aid us. I can see that his faith was not misplaced." He nodded briefly to Zorevan, who nodded back.
Charlie frowned. "Recent events?" He pointed at Jeremey. "Jasper, sit. Start talking."
Obediently, Jeremey sat, Promise joining him on the faded settee. He explained about the crashed ships, the firefight, the Vek, Harry, and the horrible truths that he'd discovered on the second Vek ship. When he was done, it felt like a weight had been lifted from him, one he hadn't even known he'd been carrying.
Charlie slowly shook his head. "Jasper, only you…" He sighed. "Guest bedroom's upstairs on the left. Get some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."
*~*~*
When Jeremey awoke the next day, Charlie wasn't there. Zorevan was, however, and Jeremey wasn't quite sure what to say when he and Promise came downstairs and found the indigo dragon in the kitchen. 'Thank you for not eating me when I was an annoying kid'?
Zorevan waved them over, sliding a plate with a slice of cornbread and two sausages on it in front of Jeremey and another which looked like a chunk of raw meat in front of Promise. "Eat," Zorevan ordered. "Charlie's gone out to talk to the riders. When he gets back, we'll get moving."
"Where are we going?" Jeremey asked, cramming half a sausage into his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd been until food had been set in front of him.
Zorevan looked sideways at Promise, who grimaced. "Home, I suspect."
Jeremey frowned. His first attempt at a follow-up question came out muffled, so he made an effort to chew his sausage and swallow. "The dragon valley? Why?" The words had barely left his mouth when he knew. "Wait, can all of you change shape? Why do you let us ride you? Are Charlie and me the only ones who know you can look like this? Why—?"
Promise cut him off with a finger adroitly placed. "Eat," he ordered, and wouldn't say another word until Jeremey complied.
"Yes, all dragons can change their shape. It takes practice, and we have gotten lazy in recent times, but the most skillful of us can assume several different shapes." He paused to take a bite of his own breakfast before continuing.
"Our Former-Leader made a deal with the human called Daniel Sullivan. We would fight beside you, and you would never seek to do us harm. This arrangement would be beneficial to both species.
"Daniel Sullivan felt that our shifting abilities would cause unease among your people, and having experienced something of the kind before, our Former-Leader agreed. So it was decided that only one human per generation would be told the truth, in order to maintain communications with the current Leader. Daniel Sullivan would select the best candidate from his heirs, and when the time came, that candidate would do the same. So it has been, until this generation."
Jeremey frowned, looking between the two dragons. "So I know, and Charlie… but Charlie isn't a Sullivan."
"Charlie is of the blood of Daniel Sullivan," Zorevan rumbled, his voice slightly lower and of a different timbre than Promise's, "but you are correct in that he is not this generation's chosen candidate."
"Then who—?" Jeremey stopped. "No way. Is it Jack? Is Jack the chosen one?"
Promise nodded. "Jack Sullivan is this generation's chosen candidate, though perhaps the choice was not the wisest. He is uneasy with his knowledge and dislikes his role as keeper of secrets."
"Huh." Jeremey grinned at his empty plate. "Guess that's why he's so surly all the time."
Both dragons laughed. Zorevan reached out to ruffle his hair and take his plate in the same motion. Promise finished off the last of his own breakfast, and Zorevan placed both plates in the sink.
"So, if Promise showed me to save my life," Jeremey wondered aloud, "is that what happened with Charlie?"
Zorevan smirked and shook his head, darting a quick glance at Promise. "I had my reasons."
Jeremey snorted. "Fine, don't tell me. Be that way. I'll just—"
The front door swung open and Charlie Colcord walked in, kicking it shut behind him. Unlike the previous night, this Charlie was every inch the sheriff, and he made Jeremey feel safer just looking at him.
"All right," Charlie announced. "Riders are off to warn the rest of the settlements, including Fair Valley. Katy will make sure Jack is brought up to speed. The four of us—" he looked pointedly around the room, "—are headed for dragon territory. Saddle up."
Still smirking, Zorevan crossed the room to join Charlie by the door. They looked at each other for a moment, then Charlie opened the door just enough to stick his head out and look around. "Clear."
Charlie pushed the door the rest of the way open and Zorevan squeezed by him to slip outside. Jeremey exchanged a look with Promise and then the two of them moved to follow Zorevan out the door.
They regrouped in the barn, where Zorevan and Promise shifted back to their dragon shapes and were saddled. Charlie swung up easily into his saddle and waited while Jeremey did the same, then led them out of the barn and through the city to the front gates. The two watch dragons peered down at them as they waited for the gates to open, and one of the watch riders waved. Jeremey waved back.
"Keep your eyes out," Charlie called up as they passed through the gates. He used his wrist remote to close them as soon as both dragon tails were through.
The terrain around Deadwood Gulch was flatter than that of Fair Valley, but Charlie and Zorevan knew where to find an outcropping high enough that even Zorevan—still the biggest dragon Jeremey had ever seen—could easily get airborne. They caught thermals all the way up to the cloud layer before leveling out and turning toward dragon territory.
With the wind in their ears, it was almost impossible to hold a conversation, so Jeremey didn't even try. His thoughts ran in circles, not of the Vek, for he trusted Charlie to know what to do about that, but about the dragons and all the secrets which had been revealed to him. Why did Charlie know the dragons' secret? Why didn't Jack like knowing? How did the dragons even do it? Why did they? And what, exactly, awaited them in the dragon valley?
At last Zorevan began to descend, Promise keeping pace with him as few others could. They glided downward in what seemed like an easy dive until suddenly the ground seemed to be approaching very rapidly. Jeremey hung on tight as they just barely skimmed a jagged cliff, then the dragons backwinged hard as they settled in to land.
When the dust cleared, they were surrounded by dragons of all sizes and colors. Jeremey and Charlie dismounted, and first Zorevan and then Promise shifted to their humanoid forms.
There was a chittering amongst the dragons before several of them moved out of
the way of a large, deep red dragon that was very nearly the equal of Zorevan in size. The red dragon regarded them for a long moment, then shifted as well.
"Pritejna, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
Promise stepped forward, meeting the red dragon's eyes. "Father, the blood enemy means to harness the poison bite and use it against the humans."
Immediately a clamor arose among the dragons, a cacophony of inhuman noise punctuated by lashing tails and gripping claws. Several of the nearest dragons even shifted to humanoid, to Jeremey's surprise, although it didn't seem to cause any reduction in the noise level. He clapped his hands over his ears.
Promise turned toward Zorevan, who shifted back into his dragon shape. The enormous indigo dragon threw back his head and roared, the sound echoing through the valley and cutting through the collective noise. When the last of the echoes died away, there was silence.
Jeremey uncovered his ears.
"Thank you, Zorevan," Promise said as Zorevan assumed a humanoid shape once more.
"Wasn't that a bit much?" the red dragon commented, though he sounded more amused than annoyed.
Promise shrugged.
Zorevan grinned. "But effective."
The red dragon snorted. "I see you haven't changed a bit. Come, then, Bejalii will wish to be a part of this."
They followed the red dragon through the circle of watching dragons, across the valley and through a series of jagged rocks sticking out of the earth. Beyond them lay a large body of water with dozens of dragons lounging around it—all of them silvery white in color.
One of the white dragons got up when they entered, making its way around the edge of the lake to meet them. When they'd gotten close enough, the dragon transformed.
It was female.
"Sangkhara," the female dragon greeted. "What have you brought me?"
The red dragon stepped forward to gently touch foreheads with the female. "Trouble, I am afraid. Pritejna has brought news that the blood enemy has come seeking the poison bite to use against those who defy them."