Facing the Dragon A Novella

by Linda K Hopkins

  “You have no idea what James is,” he said. “He is no angel, he’s a monster.”

  “No. That’s the second time you’ve said that. Why?”

  “Because it’s true,” Max said.

  Suzanna stared at him for a long moment. “Tell me,” she finally said.

  Max sighed. “You will be horrified,” he said.

  “I love you son,” she said. “Do you really think you can horrify me?”

  “Yes.” He leaned forward. “Look at my eyes,” he said. He closed them for a moment, and allowed the flames he usually kept tempered to flare up slightly. He opened them and looked at Suzanna as she drew back and stared at him in shock.

  “Max,” she whispered. He closed his eyes, and forced the flames back down again. “How did you do that?”

  “It’s what I am,” he said. She stared at him for a moment, then reaching for his hand, smiled at him. “Do it again,” she said.

  When Ellen came later that day to visit, Max excused himself and left the house. He walked away from the village to a place where he could change without fear of being seen, and took to the air. He circled around the village a few times, listening to the murmurings of muted conversations, then headed towards the woods a few miles away. He needed to hunt, and even more, he needed time to think. When he returned a few hours later, Ellen was gone. “Did you have a good visit?” he asked as he walked into the house.

  “We did. Ellen wanted to know why you look so young.” Max grimaced. “It’s because you are different, isn’t it?” she said.

  “You didn’t tell Ellen that, did you?” he asked, suddenly concerned, but he relaxed when Suzanna shook her head.

  “Of course not,” she said briskly. She paused a moment. “But I am curious,” she said.

  Max took a seat across from her. “I’m not the same as you,” he said. He glanced down at his hand. “Look,” he said, opening his palm and held it towards her as a flame rose from his skin. The shock soured her scent as she stared at the flame. He closed the hand, dousing it, and she looked back at him.

  “What are you?” she said.

  He smiled grimly. “I’ve already told you, Mother,” he said.

  “No! No!” she said. “You told me you’re a monster, but that is not so. You’re just different. Is there more?”

  “Much more,” he said. “But one thing at a time.”

  The next morning when Max woke up, he was not surprised to see his mother sitting on the stool near his bed. “Show me more,” she said.

  Max nodded. “Not here. We need to go into the woods.” Suzanna frowned slightly. “I’ll carry you,” he said. She glanced up at him, and he grinned. “You can hide under a blanket, if you like.” Suzanna snorted, and Max laughed. “You sound just like a –”

  “A what?”

  “Never mind. Give me a moment to get dressed, and I will meet you at the door.”

  A few minutes later, Max looked furtively down the street, then stepping back into the house, swept Suzanna into his arms. He was surprised at how little she weighed, and he looked down at her in concern. “You’re not eating enough,” he said.

  “Where are we going?” she said.

  Max sighed. “There is a small clearing a short distance away.”

  “And you will show me everything?”

  “Yes.”

  They reached the clearing a short while later, and Max carefully helped Suzanna to a log where she could sit. She looked tired, he noticed, and he wondered whether she had been sleeping. She grimaced slightly as lowered herself, but when she looked at Max, she smiled. “I’m ready,” she said.

  Max stared down at her. “I’m not,” he said.

  She lifted her eyebrows, and after a moment, Max started tugging at his tunic. “What are you doing?” she said, glancing around.

  “You will see in a moment,” he said, “and there’s no-one about.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I can smell people,” he said.

  “You can smell people.” She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Very well. Then show my why you have taken off your tunic.”

  He dropped down to his haunches before her. “Did you ever notice the ridges that James has on his back?”

  “Yes.”

  “I have them too, Mother.” He rose to his feet. “They are wings.”

  “Wings?”

  “Yes. Like this.” He watched her closely as he slowly unfurled them, stretching them to their fullest extent. Her eyes widened, and he heard her heart start to race. “Mother?” he said, “Are you alright?”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, before nodding. “Yes,” she said. “Why do you have wings?”

  “Because I’m a dragon.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Max took a step towards her, then stopped. “I’m a dragon, like James.”

  “A dragon?” she whispered. “That’s why your eyes ..?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how you can breathe flames ..?”

  “Yes.”

  She drew in a deep breath, then stretched out her hands towards him. “Help me to my feet, Max,” she said. “I want to get a better look at you.” She pushed herself off the log, and Max quickly stepped forward to help her. She smiled up at him, and stretching out her hand, touched his cheek. “I still love you, son,” she said softly. Max stared at her as tears gathered in his eyes and silently rolled down his cheeks. “Did you think I wouldn’t?” she said. “How could you doubt it?”

  Max wrapped his arms around her as the tears spilled into her hair, and pulled her gently to his chest. “I love you, too, Mother,” he said. He felt her smile before she feebly pushed him away.

  “You had better show me the rest,” she said. He smiled, and gently turned her around. “You need to look away for this part,” he said.

  “Oh? Why?”

  “Well, first of all, I need to take off my breeches, and since I’m a grown man that is not something you should see.” He smiled when she glanced over her shoulder, startled. “And your eyes need to be protected from the light,” he finished. He stripped off his breeches, and stepped back, pushing the flames outward in a bright burst. He felt himself exploding as his body shifted and changed form, stretching into the huge beast that was his natural form. He stared down at Suzanna’s back, and drew in a deep breath. “You can turn around,” he said.

  She turned slowly, and he could smell the fear rising from her, sharp and bitter. It was what he most dreaded, and he felt his fiery heart constrict tightly within his chest.

  “Max?” she whispered.

  He smiled grimly. “Yes, Mother, it’s me. This is what I am.”

  “Oh, Max.” She took a hesitant step forward and slowly reached up her hand. He stared at her for a moment, then dropped his head to her level as her hand touched his thick hide. She looked into his eyes as she ran her hand up to his head, and the scent of her fear faded, replaced by something sweet and beautiful. Love, pure and maternal. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered.

  Max pulled himself away and lifted his head. “I’m a predator,” he said. “A wild, savage beast.”

  “No,” she said, “you could never be that.”

  “I already am,” he answered bleakly. He glanced away as she stared at him.

  “Sally,” she said after a long moment.

  “Yes.”

  “Is that why you left?”

  “Yes.”

  “And do you … do that often?”

  “I don’t randomly attack people, no. A dragon only loses control that way the first time they change. But I am a monster. There are certain things a dragon has to eat to survive.” He saw her blanch, and plowed on. “We do it as little possible, with as much consideration we can offer, but it doesn’t change what I am.”

  He watched as she turned away, her shoulders shaking. He wanted to comfort her, but he was the reason she was crying. “I never knew,” she whispered. “How could I not know? I should have been there
for you.”

  “What?”

  She turned around slowly, her hand trembling slightly. Tears streaked her cheeks, and she smiled sadly. “My son,” she said, “I love you. You should not have walked this path alone. I wish I had known.”

  Max stared down at her in shock. “You’re not horrified?” he said.

  “Horrified that my son is a dragon? A little shocked, maybe. But you are my son no matter what you are, and nothing could ever stop me loving you.”

  He stared at her, wanting desperately to believe her, even as he waited for something that would give lie to her words, but instead she reached up, and pulling him closer, kissed him on his snout. “Now take me home,” she said. “I think I need a strong drink and a little rest before I face the rest of the day.”

  He smiled. “Turn around,” he said. He waited for her to turn before changing back to his human form and hurriedly pulling on his clothes. He stepped around Suzanna and faced her. “Are you really that accepting?” he said.

  “As I said, I need a strong drink,” she replied dryly.

  The next morning, Max was surprised that his mother was not downstairs when he awoke. He lay in bed, listening for sounds of her moving, but all he could hear was quiet groaning. Pulling on a pair of breeches, he carefully headed up the stairs and into her room. “Mother?” he said softly. She was lying on her bed, her back to the door, but she rolled over slightly with a painful sigh. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Can I get you something?”

  “No, son, there’s nothing to be done. Leave me to rest awhile, and the pain will start to subside.”

  “But there must be something I can do?”

  “Ellen might have something to ease the pain. If –”

  “I’ll be back in a moment,” Max said, turning from the door. Ellen lived in the same row as Suzanna, and a few minutes later he was banging his fist on her door. She pulled back when she saw who it was, then crossed her arms and glared at him

  “What do you want?”

  “The potion for my mother. Do you have some?”

  Ellen stared at his for a moment, then stepping back, slammed the door in his face. He heard movement within, and a few minutes the door reopened. In Ellen’s hand was a small bottle which she handed to him.

  “Thank you.” Max turned away, but Ellen’s voice stopped him short.

  “Suzanna’s dying.”

  He turned slowly and faced Ellen. “Dying? Pain in the joints doesn’t kill a person.”

  “Her heart has been touched by the gout. She will just get worse and worse.” She placed her arms akimbo and glared at him. “You had better not hasten her death.” Max grimaced and turned away as the door slammed behind him.

  The potion made Suzanna sleep for the rest of the day, but the next morning she was back on the stool in the kitchen. “Show me again, Max,” she said as he awoke. “I’m having troubling believing what I saw. I’ve been wondering if it was all a dream.” Max smiled and loosened the flames a little as she watched him, a slight smile on her face. “My son is an angel,” she said.

  Max sighed. “I’ve told you already, not an angel.”

  She smiled, then her expression turned serious. “You said that James could have stayed if he wanted to. Is that true?”

  “I’m sorry, Mother, it is.” He sat up and pulled the blanket around himself.

  She nodded. “Tell me, have you met someone that you want to stay with? Or are you like your father?”

  Max glanced away. “There was someone I thought … But she sent me away.”

  “Why? Because of what you are?”

  “She …” Max stopped. Anna had called him a monster. But with sudden clarity, he saw that it wasn’t because of what he was, but because of what she had thought he had done. And he had been too angry to notice. He continued slowly. “She thought I had betrayed someone’s trust.”

  “Ah! And did you?”

  “No. It seemed that way, and I didn’t deny it at first, but when I tried to explain, she wouldn’t believe me.”

  “You allowed her to think you had betrayed someone?”

  Max sighed. “I did. It was for her own safety.” Suzanna glanced away with a sigh, and Max looked at her sharply. “What?”

  “Perhaps she felt a little betrayed that you didn’t trust her with the truth.” Max stared at Suzanna for a moment, then pulling himself to his feet, went over to the window. “What was she like?” Suzanna asked.

  Max was silent for a moment. “She was young, and rude, and very stubborn.” He paused, then smiled a little ruefully. “But beneath that, she’s caring and compassionate, especially for those she loves.”

  “So when she sent you away, you went?”

  “I did. And I stayed away.” He leaned his head against the wall. “I’ve been a fool, haven’t I?”

  Suzanna smile gently. “Only you can answer that. But perhaps you need to go and find out.”

  Max shook his head. “It’s too late. It was years ago, and she’s moved on.”

  “Are you sure, son?” Suzanna asked. She pushed herself painfully from the stool, and hobbled over to the fire, but Max was there first, and using his hand, he stirred up the flames. Suzanna watched him in amazement, then grinned. “An angel!”

  Ellen had been right about Suzanna’s health, and as the weeks passed, Max saw that she was slowly wasting away. He remained with her as the spring sunshine warmed the air, taking flight during the day and roaming the countryside, and returning in the evenings. When the heat of summer arrived her pain grew more intense, and he stayed closer to home. By the time winter arrived, she was completely bedridden, and he knew that she did not have much longer. Even just sitting up in the bed left her panting and out of breath. He told her about the city, and the places he had visited, and when she could catch her breath, she asked him many questions. But one morning when Max went to her room, she had fallen onto the floor, and when he carefully laid her back in the bed, her words were slurred and incomprehensible. He didn’t leave the cottage again, but sat at her side as she moaned in pain until, mercifully, her heart gave one final splutter, and she passed into her eternal rest.

  The funeral was three days later in the village churchyard. The weather was cold and wet, with soaking rain that forced the mourners to hurry their graveside farewells. As Max stood at the open grave, he felt a burst of heat behind him, and a slight tug on his heart, and he knew that he was not the only dragon paying their last respects to Suzanna. He waited until the other mourners left, then turned to face his Master.

  “Aaron,” he said.

  Aaron grasped Max by the shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “How did you know?”

  “I heard from Leif Drakson. When he said you had come to see your mother, I started keeping an eye on you.”

  Max snorted softly. Of course Aaron would know what was happening with his dragons. “She knew what I was,” Max said. “I showed her.”

  Aaron nodded. “I thought you might. Was she horrified?”

  “No,” Max said slowly. “I thought she would be, but she told me she loved me.”

  Aaron laughed softly. “Of course she did. You were her son!”

  “Are you going to punish me for revealing myself?”

  Aaron shook his head. “No. My mother knew me, too. But I do have a task for you.”

  “Yes?”

  “I want you to return to the city.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have a feeling I’m going to have need of your services very soon.”

 

 

 
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