Dragon Wish

by Judith Leger

  burned the back of her eyes.

  Once more, her son reminded her of his presence with a

  harder kick.

  She patted the spot on the increasing mound. Her baby

  grew. Much faster than what she was accustomed to. She

  liked it, too. His activity amazed her, but also sent thrills of

  joy through her heart. She no longer feared his death. Since

  her pregnancy with this child, the gnawing emptiness inside

  her had filled with the knowledge of a new child growing

  inside her. Leo’s reassurances of the strength of dragonseed

  children helped alleviate much of her fear so that it dwindled

  to only an occasional worry. She had a new chance for a child

  of her own, one sure to survive and outlive her.

  A knock on her bedroom door brought her attention to

  the white portal.

  Leo spoke quietly through the closed barrier. “Ms. Seren,

  breakfast is ready. Come on and eat.”

  “I’m almost finished dressing. I’ll be down in a bit.”

  God, he didn’t understand what she felt like. She wanted

  to see Paladin, touch him, and make love to him. A wave of

  worried fatigue came over her. She sat on the edge of the

  mattress, wanting so much to crawl beneath the covers and

  not come out again until Paladin returned for her.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. More tears stung behind her

  lids. She didn’t want to need him this much. It’d leave her

  open to heartache which was the one thing she’d had too

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  much of in the past; first with Mandy’s death, and then with

  her ex-husband filing for divorce. If she was truly honest, the

  latter had been mostly her fault. She’d grown cold and

  empty, unable to come to terms with her grief. Dealing with a

  husband who didn’t seem severely affected by the death had

  made her pull further away from him. Strange that now she

  was expecting another child, those past memories returned

  with such clarity. She hadn’t expected to realize them and in

  the end accept them as truth.

  When she opened her eyes, a ray of strength grew inside

  her. He wouldn’t want her to react like this. Seren searched

  her mind for something to keep herself busy while she waited

  for Paladin’s return. What were the other psychics here on

  Avaris like? Did they see into the future? If so, maybe she

  could find one and discover if Paladin was all right.

  She forced her body to move off the bed and march across

  the room. Her hand trembled as she lifted it to turn the door

  handle. She gritted her teeth, jerked the handle down to tug

  the wooden portal open.

  Leo stood on the other side, waiting for her. She yelped

  and took a step back, not expecting to see him still there. She

  lifted a brow. “Did he tell you to watchdog me like you’ve

  been doing?”

  Ivory teeth flashed. Leo’s deep chuckle echoed in the

  empty hallway. “Now, why on earth would you think such a

  thing?”

  She shook her head and moved past him. “You’re getting

  on my nerves.”

  He continued to laugh while he followed behind her.

  Further along the wide hallway, she came to a broad, curving

  marble staircase. Below, an atrium spread wide, overflowing

  with an abundance of flowering plants. The scent of sweet

  perfume filled the air. Seren closed her eyes, savoring the

  aroma. “You know what, Leo?”

  “What’s that?”

  She started down the stairs, speaking over her shoulder.

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  “I want to find something to keep me busy so I won’t worry.”

  The tall black man moved to her side. “What do you have

  in mind?”

  “I’m a psychic on Earth. A lot of people used to come and

  want me to read their fortunes. Do the people of Avaris have

  something similar here?”

  Leo stopped. When Seren reached the atrium, she turned

  to look up at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Uh, I don’t

  think it’d be a good idea.”

  Puzzled, she asked. “Why not? I’m a great medium. That’s

  what everyone told me.”

  He shook his head and hurried to join her, hands

  stretched toward her. “These folks take their soothsaying

  seriously, just like they do their magic. You don’t want to go

  messing around with something that has so much power.”

  She started to argue, but he grasped her hand and gave it

  a little squeeze. “I’m telling you the truth. Think of

  something else to do. Anything short of diving head first off a

  cliff.”

  “Now you’ve made me curious. Take me to one—a local

  medium.”

  He stared hard at her. “I don’t know.”

  “If you don’t take me, I’ll find a way of going on my own.”

  She grinned and tapped him on the chest. “Come on, what

  could it hurt? I can find out firsthand how powerful they

  are.”

  Reluctant, Leo nodded. “Let’s feed you first, and then

  we’ll head out.”

  Seren rushed through her meal of fruit and a tall glass of

  milk. She couldn’t seem to get enough of the pale cream

  liquid. It tasted like regular milk, but was sweeter, a little

  thicker, sort of like eggnog. She’d asked Leo about it and he’d

  grinned, saying it had dragon’s milk added to it. She’d eyed

  the first of many glasses she’d consumed with wariness.

  Now, she drank several during each day, preferring it over

  the telee.

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  Once she finished, her excitement over wandering

  through the city had increased. She was excited about

  looking at exotic sights and unique people. She needed this

  distraction, anything to help keep her thoughts away from

  Paladin.

  They departed the house, heading down the bricked

  walkway which led across a walled front garden. Once

  through the gates, Leo guided her into the maze of adobe

  buildings.

  The stone houses were built in a staggered fashion from

  the center of the city to the wall surrounding the entire place.

  Stairs along with ladders led from the narrow streets to the

  entrance doors. Terraced gardens overflowed over walls,

  adding splashes of brilliant greens, reds, yellows, and

  purples to the smoothly finished, dull beige buildings.

  Everywhere she looked, she spied smiling faces, along

  with new and strange clothing. Here and there, she noticed

  animals that were similar to those on Earth, but different in

  one way or another here.

  Some of the people she passed stopped and stared at her,

  some even bowed in reverence. Self-consciousness flashed

  through her, but she held her head high and continued on

  her way. She didn’t understand why they were doing this

  unless they sensed a greater level of power about her. Did

  they know she carried the dragon king inside her?

  A little further ahead, Leo touched her arm. She came to a

  stop. He met her look with a small smile and said, “Wait

 
here. I’ll be right back.”

  He disappeared through the front door of a shop. Seren

  clasped her hands behind her back and glanced around.

  Across the way, a fruit vendor with a melodious tenor voice

  sang out with the news of a unique berry, sure to cure any

  illness. She snickered at the absurdity of the announcement.

  Not many people even looked in the vender’s direction.

  At the sound of Leo footsteps, Seren faced him. He

  frowned as he spoke. “I found a place. It’s not too far either.

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  Come on, this way.”

  He took her arm and steered her down the walkway. They

  came upon the entrance to a narrow alleyway which

  branched off to the right. Leo nodded to it, and they entered.

  The alley’s narrowness forced him to walk behind her.

  “Straight ahead, last door on the left. There’s an old

  woman who reads fortunes from the cards.”

  “The cards?”

  He kept his voice so low she had to strain to hear him.

  “There’s only one type of seer cards on Avaris. All fortune

  tellers use this deck for their business.”

  After several moments of walking around barrels and

  stepping over buckets, they came to a bare plank door. Leo

  reached around Seren to tap on the wood.

  No one answered. Seren glanced over her shoulder at

  Leo. He shrugged and knocked harder. A few seconds later,

  they heard shuffling from inside just before the door cracked

  open.

  Wiry black hair escaped from a crimson turban. Course

  strands stuck out around the edges of the woman’s pale,

  wrinkled face. Her watery blue gaze flickered over Seren then

  Leo. “What do you want?”

  Confident, Seren answered, “My fortune told.”

  “Cannot do.”

  Seren lifted a brow. She looked at Leo. “Are you sure this

  is the place?”

  He shrugged. “That’s what the shop keeper told me. Said

  her name was Luci.”

  She faced the woman once more. “Do you tell fortunes?

  Are you Luci?”

  “I do and aye, I am.”

  Surprised, Seren asked, “Then why won’t you tell mine.”

  “Dragons.”

  Before Seren could respond, the woman continued. “Now

  if ye wanna tell mine, I would be honored.”

  Understanding came over Seren. “You knew I would

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  come here.”

  “Sure, read it in the cards this morning.”

  Seren shifted her weight to her rear foot. She studied the

  woman, trying to decide what to do. She wanted so much to

  believe this strange woman had the true ability to read

  fortunes, but she knew how the game worked. Of course,

  here on this planet nothing was the same as it had been on

  Earth. Coming to a decision, she nodded. Luci swung the

  door wider to allow them to enter.

  A rush of cinnamon aroma flowed over Seren. She

  stopped, closed her eyes and inhaled, enjoying the scent.

  When she opened her eyes, she watched the woman wobble

  to a lone wooden table in the center of the small room. Two

  chairs, opposite each other, waited for them. On the table’s

  roughened wood surface, a stack of cards was placed in the

  center.

  Doubts sprang in Seren’s mind and rushed through her

  abdomen. What was she doing here? She had only wanted a

  distraction from her worries. Leo’s words sprang to her

  mind, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to follow through with

  this.

  “Sit, my Lady,” the woman motioned to one of the empty

  chairs. “Come now, this is yer desire.”

  Seren, who wanted nothing more than to turn and flee

  the way they had come, moved to the chair. With a large

  amount of trepidation, she sat down, wondering if she was

  right to be here. Did she want to see Paladin hurt or dead?

  Maybe he was standing on his ship, on his way to meet her

  here. Leo leaned against the wall inside the doorway. What

  had she gotten herself in to by insisting on coming here? She

  glanced at him, not comforted by the worried frown pasted

  on his face.

  Once the woman sat in the other chair, Seren looked at

  the deck of cards. A simple pink diamond pattern covered

  the back of the top card. No different than the decks of

  playing cards Seren had owned on Earth. She touched the

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  cards, half expecting a surge of power to flow into her from

  the soothsaying tool, but nothing happened.

  “Ye know the way. Three cards, past, present, and future.

  This is what I desire to know.” The woman rested her back

  against the chair. She studied Seren from under half-lowered

  lids. Eyes focused on the cards, Seren swallowed, battling the

  growing uneasiness inside her. She lifted the cards and

  shuffled. When she had finished, she laid three cards face

  down on the table. She glanced at the woman. A slight smile

  shifted the wrinkled lips up at the corners.

  Refusing to consider why this woman wanted Seren to

  tell her fortune, Seren flipped the first card over.

  Past.

  A bright kaleidoscope of colors swirled over the face of

  the card. Instead of a six of wands or high priestess, no solid

  figure graced the face. Caught by the hypnotic whirls, Seren

  stared, concentrating. Pictures formed in her mind.

  A much younger, carefree Luci sashayed down crowded,

  unknown streets, laughing at the many men who followed

  her. Mental thoughts touched Seren’s mind and she spoke.

  “Past, you wanted to live free, unattached. You desired to

  succeed in your powers of soothsaying, not caring who you

  hurt along the way.”

  “Aye, aye, that is correct.” The woman leaned closer to

  the table, excitement brightened her eyes. “Verra good, my

  Lady.”

  Seren turned the middle card.

  Present.

  She waited for the message from the cards. When she

  received the meaning, she hesitated to speak. She met the old

  woman’s eyes and waited until she nodded for her to

  continue. “Present. You have regrets. Many regrets.

  Foremost is the one of leaving your family—your lover and

  children. You feel they are lost to you forever.”

  The woman’s lips formed a straight line. Her head

  wobbled up then down. “There is more. One card to go.”

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  Hoping this card revealed the woman would reunite with

  her loved ones, Seren flipped the last one over.

  Future.

  Caught in the circling colors, she bent closer, trying to see

  clearer.

  Roars erupted in her mind. The sky, blackened by smoke

  and ash, stretched out above her. Screams, along with

  terrified pleas, echoed across the city. She hurried, half-

  running, half-waddling, down the street, seeking refuge, even

  escape. The beat of mighty wings drawing nearer brought her

  gaze over her shoulder. Slit pupil eyes, flaring red in the light

  of the flames eating at the
buildings, stared at her. The

  dragon opened it jaws and released its breath.

  Terrified, Seren jerked away, her chair falling back from

  the table. She managed to twist and catch a solid footing so

  she landed on one knee. She gasped, sucking in deep breaths,

  trying to calm her frantic heart. Leo knelt beside her. She

  looked up at him. He opened his mouth to say something,

  but she shook her head.

  She had witnessed the woman’s death.

  Death by dragon fire.

  The woman’s raspy words came to her. “So, ye know my

  fate.”

  Leo’s gentle hand wrapped around Seren’s arm. He

  helped her stand. “Told you not to come here. This ain’t play

  like it is on Earth.”

  Pulling away, Seren faced the woman. “Is it definite or

  just what may happen?”

  Wiry hair shook as the woman tilted her head. “May

  happen? The cards dunna lie. What they foresee will be.”

  A resigned expression flickered across her face, revealing

  the unseen hope things could change.

  This was enough for Seren to continue. “Has anyone ever

  defied the cards? Tried to change the outcome. On Earth, it is

  only what may happen, not what will happen. Humans

  decide what their fate will be.”

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  The woman’s eyes widened. “Earth? You choose...so it is

  true what I see in my crystal. You are from the cosmos.”

  “That doesn’t matter. Tell me, is your family here, in this

  city?”

  Luci tilted her head. “No. They be far to the south.”

  Relieved, Seren nodded. “Good. I want you to leave.

  Today. Go and join them. The vision I saw happened here.

  Maybe if you leave, your future will be different. Do you have

  the funds to travel?”

  With a shake of her head, the woman stood. “No. So you

  see this will not be.”

  “Oh, yes it will.” Seren looked at Leo. “We’ll give her the

  money to go. Paladin won’t mind. I want to see her aboard

  an outgoing ship before the day is over.”

  Leo, his face shining with a thin coat of perspiration,

  nodded. He glanced at the woman. “Gather what you want to

  bring. We’ll take you to the docks.”

  For the first time since Seren had stepped into this small

  dwelling, a flare of true hope appeared in the woman’s eyes.

  She glanced around her, and then went to a curtain-covered

  doorway at the back of the room. Several minutes later, she

  returned with a small bulging sack.

  “This is all I’ll take,” she murmured, stopping at the table.