I guess he had a point. With that thought I took off immediately after him. I felt a little better. The longer we flew, the more in control of my dragon I felt. It was like my dragon and I just needed time to bond and get to know each other. It was such a strange feeling, my dragon. I thought it would be like to separate beings, me and my dragon, but it wasn’t like that at all, he was a part of me, like an arm or a leg, I had a dragon. I noticed the snow was gone and there were city lights not too far off. Darkness began to creep towards us.
“Stay close, my mahier is protecting you from humans.” He paused, “I feel something else watching us.”
I flew as close as possible to Jericho. I noticed the other Wolands surrounded us in a protective circle. What could possibly be watching us that would make them all act this way? My eyes searched the space around me; all I could see were clouds and the city as we approached. We started to fly above the clouds, in an attempt to conceal us further. In silence, we flew the rest of the way.
My nerves were completely fried by the time we arrived to Clover. Surprisingly, the familiarity of home did nothing to sooth me. As we descended I realized I didn’t fear my landing as I had in the past. It was clear the longer I was in my dragon form the more comfortable I was with trusting its instincts. We landed quietly and shifted back into our human forms right on the outskirts of Eva’s grandparents’ home. The cabin wasn’t far from here; about a five minute walk. The Woland seemed to be scoping the area out.
“Cairo is here. Let’s go.”
Jericho took off into the woods. I had no idea how he knew where he was going or that Cairo was here. I felt nothing. The only sounds were the wildlife that encircled us. I could hear a pack of coyotes off in the distance howling at the moon, the sound matched the fear that surrounded me. The Wolands walked in complete silence. My feet were the only ones loud enough to hear as they crunched on the brush under my feet.
Our arrival to the cabin was swift. We stopped about twenty yards from the front door. Without words, the Wolands encircled the small cabin. Once my haven, this one-room, rickety cabin with no electricity or plumbing was the only thing that stood between six powerful Wolands and my best friend.
The front swung open with a loud creak, out came a large man with long brown hair, well past his shoulders and fiery red eyes. This must be Cairo. He walked straight to Jericho. He lifted his hands up in a show of peace. He stopped about three feet in front of him and bowed his head, awaiting Jericho to speak.
Jericho spoke slowly and evenly as he punctuated out three small words, “Who is she?”
“She is the one.”
“Be more specific!” Jericho’s hands rolled into tight fists. “I will charge you with the endangerment of all dragons who call Ochana home-”
“She is the one from Aprella’s premonition. The second will show himself soon.”
Jericho broke eye contact with Cairo and gaped at me, “Are you sure?” His eyes were still fixed on me.
“Yes, I spent two hundred years studying the book of Aprella before you recruited me to the guard. It was luck I came across her when I did. And you know neither of us believe in luck. I was meant to find her. No other Woland would have known what she was, they would have killed her on sight.” Cairo looked over his shoulder just as Eva poked her head through the door.
Jericho looked past Cairo to get a glimpse of her. “Why not come to us with this news? You knew how we would react to your breach.”
“That was my plan.”
Cairo stepped closer to Jericho and whispered something in his ear, I watched as Jericho’s body stiffened. Like a set of dominos, the rest of the Wolands bodies stiffened as they looked to each other. I figured some kind of clairvoyant communication had transpired between them.
“We must get back to Ochana immediately. It is not safe for the girl or the Prince to be out here.” Jericho stated with certainty.
“The Prince? I was unaware he had returned, why would you bring him with you?” Cairo seemed confused. “I agree, we need to leave. I had hoped you would come sooner.”
Jericho stepped back from Cairo and assessed him. “Why would you come here to an unfamiliar place I know nothing of, if you did not know the Prince was back?” Jericho stepped in front of me in a protective stance as he spoke.
“I called to you and told you where I was. What does the Prince have to do with my location?” Cairo shifted his body until it completely covered the cabin door, effectively blocking our view of Eva.
Jericho cocked his head to the side, “The Prince knows the girl. He identified her to me and brought me here.”
Cairo eased up a bit, “Is he-”
Boooom. A loud crash interrupted Cairo. It came from the east, in the exact direction of my parent’s house. I started to move to where the explosion occurred, but was stopped short by a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Jericho, who nodded to his guards and they all took off towards the crash.
“We must go. Now. Get the girl.”
Jericho pulled me forward and together we bolted towards the main road. Faintly, I could hear Cairo and Eva tread not far behind us. Finally, we broke through a line of pine trees. Jericho and Cairo promptly morphed into their dragons. I followed their lead. This time, the shift into my reptilian state was brisk. I barely thought about it. I rotated my head to look at Eva. She had already shifted too. My initial glimpse of dragon Eva was only through security cameras back at Ochana. Now, I could see the intricate details of her golden scales. They gleamed a magnificent gold and practically covered her entire body. She was a vision with her golden wings with amber gold feathers.
“We must fly fast, straight to Ochana. Do not stop for anything.”
Jericho’s eyes blazed a fiery glow as his voice bounced around in my head. I think he expected a fight from me, and I almost put one up, until I heard another loud crash that sounded nearby. It felt like the large pine trees were being uprooted from the ground and catapulted into the distance. Whatever was causing the noise, I knew I was no match for it. I hoped the Wolands ensures my parents were safe, and kept them that way.
“Their first goal is to keep you safe. Only then will they check on your parents. They aren’t here for them, they want the two of you. Let’s go.”
I hoped Jericho was right. If I brought any troubles to my parents, I couldn’t live with myself. Eva stood close to me, she placed one of her golden-scaled hands on my shoulder, almost like she didn’t believe I was real. I knew how she felt as I took her in next to me. Everything felt surreal.
Jericho led us into the sky as Cairo positioned behind us. We traveled fast, much quicker than we did on our way here. Eva seemed to have no problem keeping up with us. She was so small next to us, almost like a pixie amongst giants. Only, we were dragons, and she was...?
Chapter Eleven
I landed on Ochana with a bang. As soon as my feet hit the ground, my entire body thrust forward and my upper half smacked full force into the hard terrain. I was exhausted. In a flow of delicate grace, Eva made a light-footed land next to me. I was jealous at her ease. Almost immediately, we were encircled by over twenty Wolands. Jericho and Cairo puffed out their chests and positioned for battle. Their dragons were much larger than the Wolands that surrounded us. Jericho and Cairo’s dragons frightened the guards, they took a few steps back in horror. Jericho crouched low, ready to pounce at the slightest threat. Every time any of the guards made any kind of movement, both dragons bellowed a deep warning growl.
As exhausted as I was, I scrambled to my feet and stood as tall as I could muster. I shielded Eva with my wings, but she stepped out from my protection. She spread her wings and prepared herself to fight. Without notice, the two guards parted in front of me. Rylan stepped through. He gave me a quick glance, then turned to the Woland guards.
“Your Prince has returned, his mission was to bring Cairo and the girl back. He has completed his first mission with success. Is this the greeting you meet him with? Show your respect. Now.”
Rylan growled at the guards until they relaxed and bowed their heads my way.
The guards started to shift back to their human forms. Once the Wolands had morphed back, Jericho and Cairo did also. They had waited for all threats to banish first. Cairo stepped up to the other side of Eva, sandwiching her between us. Once Cairo was in place, Jericho turned to Rylan.
“We need to meet with the council immediately, and have Councilwoman Jules bring the book of Aprella.” Jericho turned and gestured to the three of us. We morphed back into our human state and followed Jericho through the streaming waterfall.
I was surprised Rylan let Jericho speak that way to him. He didn’t ask, he told him what needed to be done and Rylan had accepted it with no question. It either showed that Rylan trusted Jericho, or feared him. The four of us took a seat around the large, polished stone table as we waited for the council to arrive. I watched as Eva inspected the carved images on the wall. We had yet to speak to each other about what was going on. I assumed she was just as confused as me the first time I sat at this table.
“Both.”
Jericho’s deep voice caught me off guard. I wasn’t sure what he meant by both, but he looked at me while he said it. He nodded his head at me and turned towards Cairo. He didn’t say a word to him, just glared. I wondered if Jericho was probing through Cairo’s mind as he often did with me. I thought about what he’d just said to me. It had to be my thought on Rylan, I wondered how Jericho had earned his trust, he was always telling me not to trust anyone.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the council room. Both Cairo and Jericho stood as the whole council barreled into the room. Everyone took their assigned seats, I was already in my seat next to Rylan’s, with Eva next to me and Cairo on the other side of her. Jules, the Galian with sapphire eyes, placed a large book in the middle of the council room table. The room fell silent as each attendee gazed at the old and bulky book.
Rylan interrupted the silence. “Explain to me what is going on.” His eyes pierced Jericho then flew to Cairo.
“I believe the golden dragon prophecy, is coming true, My King.” Cairo bowed his head towards Rylan and nodded towards the book.
“Why now? The prophecy was to come at a time of great fear.” Sila questioned.
“What makes you think this girl is the golden dragon?” Rylan challenged as he tilted his head at Eva and squinted as he observed her.
“Aprella’s prophecy affirmed that the golden dragon would encompass humanity, therefore they would not take the true shape of a dragon, but one of a human...” Cairo paused and turned to Rylan. “My King, she can wield mahier as only dragons can, but her shape is that of a human.”
Jules cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “It would explain the Prince’s coloring.” She nodded towards me. “A warrior that is comprised of the four dragon founders would fight by her side.” It sounded like Jules was reciting the prophecy from heart.
“We must know for sure.” Rylan looked at Jules. “Your Galian Meka, is the Keeper of the Book of Aprella. There must be a way to know for sure.”
“It has been many years since I studied that prophecy. If it is true, it means we are in a time of fear. I will speak with Meka.”
“You must look into it now and report to the council tomorrow. If it is true, we need to act fast. The last time we were in a time of fear, we lost a great warrior as punishment.” Rylan’s voice wavered a bit. “Jericho, check in with each Woland guard, we must know if they have encountered anything during their rounds that will back this book’s claim.”
“Yes, My...”
Cairo interrupted Jericho. “Tonight, My King. We were under attack. The Woland guard that was with us, have we heard from them?”
The whereabouts of the other Wolands completely escaped my mind. Between prophecy, and Eva the golden dragon, I was distracted. I heard the part about the loss of the great warrior during the previous time of fear, and completely sidetracked. I looked over to Jericho, who had somehow found himself a tablet, in which he pressed at irritably. He must know the fate of the other Wolands.
“My King, they are on their way back. The attack had come from a pack of;” his eye brows scrunched in confusion, “Carnites.” He turned the tablet screen towards Rylan so he could see the video that played.
Jericho looked up from the tablet, he had a muddled look on his face. I had never seen that much emotion from him. Everyone looked around the table in disbelief. What were Carnites?
“You would know them as a mix of trolls and giants, my son. Large beings, highly destructive, though not to bright. We haven’t had a sighting of them in many years.” She seemed perplexed by the news.
Eva abruptly stood up, causing her chair to skid behind her and tumble to the floor. “Can someone please start from the beginning, I am having a really hard time following all this. What is the book of Aprella, what is the prophecy about and what am I?” She stared confidently at Rylan as she spoke.
Cairo chuckled beside me, “This one is a spit fire, no fear whatsoever.”
Sila gestured for Eva to sit back down. She rose and began to pace around the room. “Let’s start from the beginning. Not your beginning, but the beginning of all.” Sila paused and gazed at the images on the wall. “Aprella was the first ever known dragon. No one knows where she came from or how she came about.”
“Most dragons believe she was born from the four elements, with fire being the most dominant.” Rylan added.
“My King, this is true. Aprella carried the mahier of all the dragons of today. You could imagine the amount of strength it gave her. She bore four dragon sons, legend has it, she broke off some of her mahier in order to create them. A Galian, a Sien, a Woland and a Leslo, the four founding dragons.” Sila gestured around the room at the images that surrounded us as she spoke. “She shared her mahier with her sons in a way that each dragon born would also carry her mahier.”
“We all descend from Aprella, she created Ochana. Aprella was gifted with sweeping prophetic visions. She is the only known dragon to possess such power. She could see what would be.” Jules seized the book from the center of the council table. “Everything she saw is inside our book of prophecy. It has yet to be wrong.”
“So, what did she write about me?” Eva still sounded strong and sturdy, though quite eager.
“If you are who we think, you are a draman. But a true draman. Other dragons have been described as such, but they are not. They are not like you.” A smirk spread across Sila's lips. “You are the golden dragon, the one who will stand by a great warrior and save all that is true. Aprella wrote about you, a girl who was half dragon and half human. She would come in a time of great need, and soon after, a special warrior would be born who embraced the essence of the four founders. Together, the half-dragon girl and great warrior would become The Keeper of Dragons. They would save us all.” Sila sat back down with that last sentence, her voice much softer.
I could picture Eva as the girl from Aprella’s prophecy that they spoke of. She had always been strong and confident. She picked up new skills with ease. In school, classmates from various groups and cliques flocked to her. She had such a way with people, they all trusted her. I never understood how we became friends, or why she chose to stay my friend through the years. I was nothing like her.
Eva studied me as my thoughts rambled. Her eyes seemed to smile at me even though her mouth didn’t move a muscle. “You are much stronger than you think, Cole. When I first moved to Clover, you took me in as a friend. I was an outsider, no one moves to that small Texas town, they are born there. But you, you accepted me from the beginning. That took a lot of guts. A lot of heart, and a lot of true care.” She placed her hands on my forearm and smiled. She then turned back to Sila. “What are we saving you from?”
“Everything.” Sila looked to Jericho.
“We have been protecting this world from the beginning. Creatures always want to conquer and capture Ochana. For some time, it has weighed heavy on
the dragons shoulders to protect the land, and all that is true. If you both are now in Ochana, our two key fighters, and the prophecy is coming to light, there must be uncovered forces working in darkness. Creatures, like the Carnites, are preparing for war.” With each word, Jericho’s voice had grown stronger, as if he became more confident as he matched prophecy to the recent events of mine and Eva’s arrival to Ochana. “Since the beginning, it has been the Wolands job to protect the land.” Jericho bowed towards us. “We will stand alongside the two of you. We will protect you as you protect us.”
A warrior. They think I’m the warrior who will save them. Who will protect humans from creatures I don’t know anything about? I felt like the time was now to explain to them how weak I was, I mean I failed Jericho’s first test. How was I supposed to protect anyone when I couldn’t even protect myself?
I also wondered how Eva deciphered my thoughts earlier. Suddenly, I heard a loud giggle. It was Eva. I turned to her. ''How?”
“I don’t know, it felt like you were screaming it to me. It resounded in my head.” She shrugged. ‘’Also, you’re wrong about being weak. I promise you.”
“She’s right. You come from a long line of warriors.’’ Rylan reassured me. ''One day, you will see what we all know, what the prophecy has revealed to us.” Rylan exhaled, then addressed Jericho and Cairo. “We must meet with all the Wolands who have fought the Carnites. As soon as they land. Stop them.” Rylan then turned to face the rest of the council room. “As for the rest of you, you need to rest. We will meet first thing after rounds in the morning. It seems dire times are ahead.”
Everyone nodded to Rylan’s command. They begin to file out of the council room. I stayed behind with Eva, I wanted to know if my parents back in Texas were alright, and more about the Carnites. Jericho walked over to me. From over my shoulder, he began to press along the screen. On it, a creature made from stone, who was almost as tall as the trees ran through the woods near my house. With slight ease and great strength, he pulled trees from their roots and chucked them at the Woland guards. I wondered how a creature with such a colossal size could go unnoticed. It would surely be all over the news the next day.
The Keeper of Dragons: The Prince Returns Page 8