by Resa Nelson
It felt good to work alone after the commotion earlier today. Astrid didn’t know if she believed what Lumpy said about the light coming from the stone in her hand. Fortunately, the brigands and the Boglanders met elsewhere to discuss their opinion of her and what the light meant.
Finally happy with her work, Astrid walked back into the village, closing and locking the main gate behind her. With a start, she saw Peppa hiding behind a tree.
Something about her reminded Astrid of the blue woman from Mandulane’s camp who infiltrated Guell. Could Peppa be a spy?
Nonsense.
Astrid rejected the notion.
Peppa is a Northlander. She’s had no opportunity to meet Mandulane or any of his people. She’s probably just curious about what Lumpy said about me and the beacon light in my hand.
“Peat sent me to tell you it's time for supper,” Peppa said, all the while staring at the lizard pacing on the other side of the iron fence and gate. For a few moments it seemed that she'd stopped breathing. “Is it safe now?”
Astrid noticed the faint aroma of rich herbs wafting in the air. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of Peppa's tree.
The lizard's claws clanged against the metal fence while the animal clawed at it.
“We're safe,” Astrid said. “The fence is strong, and the beast is chained to it. The only people who aren't safe are those who would try to hurt us.”
Peppa looked past Astrid, fixated on the lizard. “I didn't think dragons could find us here. Sometimes we'd hear of one nearby. But either it moved on or DiStephan killed it.” She glanced at Astrid for a moment. “Or you killed it. Now the dragons know where we are. How can we be safe if the dragons know where we are? More dragons will come. What if the next one kills us?”
“They aren't like that,” Astrid said. “They are solitary creatures. Each one wants its own prey to keep to itself. They keep their prey a secret.”
Peppa took a longer look at Astrid before staring at the lizard again. “So maybe we're still hidden? Maybe where we are is still a secret?”
“Of course it is,” Astrid said. “The only creature that found us is this one. And I made sure he's not going anywhere. He belongs to us now, and we control him.”
“We control him,” Peppa said as if trying to convince herself it was true.
“He can't hurt us or reveal our location. We are hidden and we are safe.”
“We are safe,” Peppa said, finally stepping out from behind the tree. “And the dragon will stay there while we sup? While we sleep?”
“Of course. He'll be in exactly the same place all the time. He can't get in.”
“The chains are strong?”
“The strongest I've ever seen.”
Peppa sighed in relief and offered a brief smile. “Then we should go eat.”
Astrid walked by Peppa's side, wondering if she'd told her the truth. The fence and chains were strong enough to keep one young lizard in its place but stood no chance against Mandulane and his Krystr soldiers. What if they were too strong for Komdra or the Iron Maidens or Randim and the other blacksmiths to defeat?
“How can you kill them?” Peppa blurted. “How can you kill anything?”
The question had lingered at the back of her mind during the past few years. “I don't like the idea of killing. I believe every living creature in this world has the right to a good life.”
“As do I,” Peppa said.
“When I find young lizards, I leave them alone. But the larger ones are likely to kill people, maybe even people I love, and I can't let that happen. When I kill a lizard, I am defending myself and other people. I can't stand by and let people die if I know I can do something to prevent it.”
Peppa nodded her understanding. “The world is a terrible place.”
Her viewpoint startled Astrid, especially because she realized she agreed with Peppa.
This world allowed people like the Scaldings to put little girls in cages with dragons for the sake of turning them into women who could produce bloodstones to protect men in battle.
Astrid bit her lip at the memory.
This world encouraged men to treat women as though they were beneath them, even to the point of patting a man on the back as the victor when he killed his wife in trial by combat.
Astrid tried to calm herself from that thought.
This world beat down Astrid’s own resolve until she killed a Krystr clerk even though the thought of murder horrified her.
Then again, this world made it possible for Astrid to feel compassion for the friend who betrayed her since childhood.
This world made Astrid realize that she could love foreign people in the same way she loved Lenore and Randim and Donel, even though she'd once believed foreigners were good for little more than invading and harming her homeland.
This world revealed that a man who disappointed Astrid proved to be a man of great character by teaching everyday women to fight like fierce warriors.
“Sometimes the world is a terrible place,” Astrid said. “But sometimes it is a beautiful place.”
Peppa shook her head. “The only beautiful place I've ever known is the Boglands. I never want to live anywhere else.”
“I felt that way about Guell.” More than ever, Astrid wanted to return. Now that Lumpy had said such peculiar things about her, it might be a good idea to test the stone and its light. Once she could find herself alone again, Astrid would try stepping on the road back to Guell. Perhaps now the light would let her go home.
Astrid followed Peppa to the common outdoor hearth, circled by dozens of Boglanders. A large cauldron hung over the fire, and Peat ladled stew into each bowl handed to him.
Astrid noticed Lumpy, who waved enthusiastically at her and then pointed to a woman holding a baby who looked like the image on the carved leather he'd shown her earlier today. Astrid's heart warmed.
She thought of the peculiar journey she'd taken with Lumpy and Broken Nose and how oddly happy she felt to see them again, although she had a wariness about what might happen next. At the same time, what Lumpy said today made her wonder if the legend he mentioned bore some truth. The mere possibility made her realize she’d been more at ease with herself since Lumpy figured out she was a Scalding.
Perhaps, Astrid thought for the first time in her life, being a Scalding isn’t an entirely bad thing.
CHAPTER 23
Drageen stared in astonishment while the dragon Fiera walked away from him after wishing him well. The hem of her flame-colored gown danced around her ankles, and her hair glowed like embers. The acrid scent of smoke made his nose twitch.
The world went black for a moment. Drageen’s knees went weak, and he sank to them while the darkness swirled around his head. Suddenly nauseated, he reached for the ground and held onto it. Keeping his eyes wide open, Drageen steadied himself until the darkness cleared and the world emerged and came back into focus.
Am I really half-dragon?
For the first time, he recognized the irony of his name. Had his parents given it to him as a clue in case they died before they could explain what he was?
Taddeo took a few steps forward and sank to one knee, coming eye-to-eye with Drageen. “Perhaps,” he said with a lilt in his voice, “dragons are not the monsters you have always believed us to be. Perhaps the true monsters have been hiding in plain sight all this time.”
Drageen nodded, understanding Taddeo’s meaning. Drageen still pressed his palms flat against the ground to keep from collapsing. Shifting his weight, he sat on the ground before he fell onto it. “Why not just tell me? Why didn’t you explain yourself and your purpose to all the Scaldings instead of taking such strange tactics?”
Mirroring Drageen, Taddeo sat on the ground. “We came into your realm to learn, which requires observation and distance. Granted, you should have been told the truth by your father. When he died before the time came to reveal that truth to you, we recognized an opportunity to learn on a deeper level. Only dragonslayers and your im
mediate family—your blood family—knew about dragons and why we are here, which is the agreement we first made with your grandfather, Benzel of the Wolf.”
Drageen stared at Taddeo. On one hand, Drageen wanted to spend days asking all the questions that burned in his brain of Taddeo. On the other hand, Drageen wished him to be gone, willing and anxious to seek his fate. “You broke that agreement.”
Taddeo shook his head. “We spoke the truth to Benzel, and he agreed to tell only his oldest child who would in turn tell only his oldest child. We made no agreement for our kind to speak to the Scaldings again.”
Drageen’s vision blurred and his eyes watered. “But I am your kind.”
Taddeo’s eyes seemed to dim with sadness for a moment. “Not entirely. You are neither completely of them nor completely of us.”
Drageen’s head spun. He felt confused by his own past. “I thought I protected Tower Island by killing any dragon that attacked it. Now I learn that I led one half of my family to kill the other half. You could have stopped it by telling me the truth.”
“I attempted to do so.” Now Taddeo seemed to blink back tears. “You chose not to hear me.”
“Impossible!” Drageen whispered.
His mind whirled. He remembered a voice like Taddeo’s shouting over the determined cries of Scaldings when they fought against dragons.
Drageen thought it through: once the Scaldings gained control of Tower Island, peace reigned while Drageen’s father lived. But after his mother died, his father followed her in death soon after.
From that point on, Drageen led the Scaldings. His heart sank, and he remembered the strict rule he laid in place: anyone or anything not belonging to the Scalding clan that attempted entry onto Tower Island without permission would be killed immediately.
Drageen realized his rash action had made it impossible for any dragon to reason with him, even if that dragon decided to go above and beyond the original agreement with Benzel of the Wolf and his kin. Lost in his own realization of all the wrong choices he’d made throughout his life, Drageen repeated what Taddeo had told him. “I belong nowhere. I am neither completely of the Scaldings nor completely of dragons.”
Taddeo’s voice softened. “Despite that, you do have a place in this world.”
Shaken, Drageen nodded. He understood Taddeo’s words because of what Fiera told him. By telling Drageen about his own fate, she’d given him a reason to accept it. She’d given him a reason to rise up inside his own skin and claim his rightful place as a Scalding and as a dragon.
She’d given him a way to look for his place in the world.
“Go find it.” Taddeo stood and walked inside the tower, leaving Drageen sitting alone on the courtyard of the complex that had once been dominated by Scaldings.
Drageen gazed around the courtyard, noting everything he wanted to remember about it. The ducks and geese squawking and nibbling the edges of the outdoor ovens in search of crumbs of bread baked inside them long ago. The sight of cattle grazing in the distance. The shadows cast by the carrion birds that circled the high tower out of habit. He stared at the iron figure of a woman holding a sword on top of the tower.
With a start, Drageen realized it had to be the remnants of the cage that had once held Astrid, now wracked apart and forged into something wholly and completely different.
Astrid. She came back to Tower Island. And this is what she left behind.
“Taddeo asked me to give this to you.”
Drageen looked up to see the alchemist Bee approaching, trailed by her sisters Fee and Glee. Standing, he realized Bee offered a sheathed sword to him.
“Taddeo calls it the Magenta,” Bee said, handing the weapon to Drageen. “Because of the stone in its hilt.”
Feeling calmer, Drageen stared at the dark red stone decorating the hilt. “Is that a bloodstone?”
Bee shook her head. “No. Just a red gemstone.”
Drageen accepted the weapon from her outstretched hands and drew the sword out of its sheath. He held it up in the sunlight and gazed at the blade. “This is a dragonslayer’s sword.”
“Of course it is!” Glee piped up.
Fee added, “The sword is forged to be strong but flexible. It will never bend or break in battle.”
Glee beamed. “What more could you want?”
Indeed.
Drageen relished the weight of the sword in his hands.
What better weapon to kill Mandulane?
* * *
Kikita transformed herself from a strong sea breeze into mortal form, stepping out of the air and into the tower on Tower Island. Glancing outside, she recognized Drageen holding a sword, surrounded by the alchemists. She wondered if her fellow dragons had succeeded in opening up the passageway back to their realm. “Taddeo!” Kikita’s voice echoed around the winding steps rising inside the tower.
“You’re late,” Fiera said, stepping into sight from behind the stairway.
“Something kept me.” Kikita smiled, happy to see Fiera. “Astrid. The stone of darkness, it made her fertile, and—”
Small flames danced around the hem of Fiera’s skirt, a sure sign of her anger. Crossing her arms, Fiera said, “We are done with Astrid. We are done with all mortals. Had you come earlier, we’d be home by now.”
Kikita’s heart sank. She thought the other dragons would be excited to hear about Astrid. “She needed my help. How else could she rise from Dragon’s Head? How else could the stone of light make its way to her and guide her? How else—”
“Enough,” Taddeo said, emerging from a darkened doorway near the base of the winding stairs. “I suspect the point Fiera attempts to make is that we would have preferred your help to that of a Scalding.”
“Scalding?” Kikita knew he couldn’t be talking about Astrid. Since helping Astrid emerge from Dragon’s Head, Kikita had watched over her, making sure the stone of light did its work properly. A new realization hit her. “Drageen.”
“His essence allowed us to perform the task you should have done yourself.” Fiera snorted to express her displeasure. But after a moment she softened. “Drageen is my kin, too. You’ll be pleased to know the boy’s determined to stop Mandulane.”
Kikita couldn’t help but swell with pride to know both of her grandchildren offered the Northlands its greatest protection. Of all the places in the world, Kikita had a soft spot for the Northlands, where most people tended to believe in her and worship her. “Then I’ve come in time to stand by you and help them.”
Fiera laughed.
“Aiy yah!” Taddeo said. “The time to help mortals is over.” He gestured toward the doorway inside the tower. “The time has come to go home.”
“Except for you, of course,” Fiera said, gesturing with a careless hand toward Kikita. “It’s easy for you to want to help. You never had to leave home like us.”
Worry gnawed at Kikita. She’d always been different from the other dragons. They lived in a realm beneath the world’s surface, while she lived in the air surrounding the world like an invisible blanket. She’d been the one to beg them to come to the surface and meet the mortals they’d come to hate.
One hundred years ago, Kikita had convinced them to get to know mortals with the hope the other dragons would change their minds about them.
“Astrid can use our help,” Kikita said. “She transformed, but she believes it was a dream. She doesn’t understand she has left an egg behind, and if it hatches, if the dragon inside survives, it has the power to keep the world peaceful, which will resolve your concerns about mortals.”
Fiera’s face screwed up as if she’d swallowed something distasteful. “Horrible creatures.”
“They’re not,” Kikita argued. “Not all mortals are awful.”
“You’ve become as awful as them,” Fiera said. “Fighting among them! Spilling blood! Tainting the world as much as any of them!”
“We agreed I would walk among them.” Kikita flushed, ashamed at the lengths to which she’d gone, all the whi
le knowing she’d allowed herself to get swept away with her allegiance to the men and women she’d come to care about. “I had to act like them. Otherwise, they would have seen me as weak. A hindrance. I couldn’t have kept up with them if I hadn’t played along.”
Taddeo looked at Fiera. “Gather Wendill and all the others. It is time.”
Fiera walked past Kikita with a satisfied smile. Moments later, her voice rang through the courtyard, calling all dragons.
“Taddeo, please,” Kikita said, desperation edging into her voice. “What do you want?”
He gazed steadily at Kikita. “To do whatever is necessary for us to go home and restore its well being.”
Kikita worried. “Please, reconsider. For Astrid’s sake.”
“We have been away from our home for 100 years. In that time, our kind has been slaughtered and shunned and misunderstood. Had these people succeeded in killing us all, they would have nowhere to live, no food to eat, no way to survive. Had they killed us all, they’d be dead themselves. They have not yet learned that killing us is the same as committing suicide.”
“But Astrid is different. Her people deserve our help.”
Dozens of dragons, including Wendill and Fiera, streamed through the tower and walked though the passageway.
For a moment, Kikita wished she could go with them. She wished she could belong. Living in a world full of mortals had always been lonely, and more than ever she longed to be with her own kind.
But if Kikita were to make such a choice, the blanket of air surrounding the world would go with her, leaving everyone and everything on the world’s surface to suffocate. If she made that choice, how could she live with herself?
Minutes later, only Taddeo remained at the threshold of the passageway leading back to his realm. “The mortals must forge their own fates. As we have already made clear, we will help them no more.” Vanishing into the passageway, he said, “And neither will you.”
Kikita doubled over, suddenly feeling ill. She looked down at herself.
It had begun. The dragons had crossed back to their own realm, closing the passageway behind them. Completing their pact with Kikita and releasing her from the mortal form that pact had given to her.