Double Dragon

by Lilly Wilder

  But then, I felt a rush of air sweep past me and then a blaze of heat. I turned as a dragon crashed to the ground beside me. This time it was William who had saved me rather than Thomas. I shrieked as I saw the red dragon still bearing down on me, rearing back for another attack. I glanced over at William. The green dragon was on the floor, flames licking his body, smoke rising from his charred scales. It was a miracle he was still alive.

  The air tasted like ash and my eyes watered from brimstone and smoke. I was sure this was the closest I would come to hell. I stood up, wanting to die defiantly. I planted my feet squarely and looked up at the monstrous sight before me, at the fangs and the beady eyes, the sheer hatred that bristled all over his body. The red dragon studied me for a brief moment, and then ran his slimy tongue over his jaws. Saliva dripped down from his grey tongue and he opened his jaws, but this time there was no fire burning inside him and I realized that he wasn’t going to try and burn me to death, he was going to snap my body in half and eat me. I almost threw up as his jaw jerked forward, and his fetid breath suffocated me, but his jaws snapped together inches before my face.

  He was pulled back by Thomas. The black dragon had rushed in and dragged the red dragon back, using all his strength to destabilize him. The red dragon was shocked, but regained his composure quickly. He spread out his wings and dug his claws into the rock, still trying to snap at me. Through his trunks of legs, I could see Thomas snapping and biting and slashing at the red dragon’s titanic body, and eventually he succeeded in biting off a chunk of his tail. The red dragon yelped in pain, a terrible sound that was like the choir of a thousand demons, and then turned to deal with his nephew, but the red dragon couldn’t account for the rage that fueled Thomas.

  The red dragon had wounded William and tried to kill me. He’d gone after the things that Thomas loved most in all the world, and there was no way Thomas was going to stand for that. The red dragon tried to attack, but Thomas was a whirling maelstrom of claws and jaws and tail, attacking the red dragon with everything he had. He slammed the red dragon into the side of the mountain with such force that it shook, and I was knocked off my feet. I watched them twist and snarl together, turning around like a whirlwind, both of them trying to gain the upper hand, just one opening that would give them the advantage they needed to cause the other grievous harm. Their necks twisted as they sought to avoid each others’ breath attacks. They were so close that any fire would have consumed both of them, but in time it seemed as though the red dragon was willing to take that risk. He opened his great maw once again, ready to let fly a smoking stream of hellfire and I prepared myself for the sight of another dragon being burned, and from such close quarters that I couldn’t imagine it being anything other than fatal.

  I should have had more faith in Thomas. He had been studying the dragon, of course, and knew that this was going to happen. As soon as the red dragon opened his jaw and that glow of fire appeared Thomas broke free of his grasp and slashed across his throat, opening a great gash from which a river of blood flowed out. The red dragon wanted to scream again, but it came out as a gurgle, and the fire dimmed. A look of surprise came across his face and then he attacked with vengeance. The two dragons looked as though they were dancing, as they twirled through the air and disappeared from view. I ran out to the edge, craning my neck out as far as I dared to try and keep sight of them, but they moved around the mountain, and when I looked down I was afraid of falling.

  I retreated inside and went to tend to William’s body. I was glad to see that he was still breathing, but his eyes were closed and he whimpered. The scales were tender where they had been burned. He had managed to adjust the aim of his uncle so that the flames hit harmlessly against the rocks and avoided me, but he had caught the tail end of the breath and it had licked his body.

  The mountain rocked as the dragons continued to fight outside, barreling into the side of the mountain. I could imagine how the battle was going, and while Thomas had dealt a wound to his uncle, I envisioned that it only served to enrage the older dragon. Despite Thomas having neutralized the breath attack, the red dragon was still strong, and could still put up a determined resistance.

  They smashed against the mountain so I could tell their position, and they were coming back around to my view. I rushed to the edge, wanting to see them again. Sometimes they went a long few moments without crashing into the mountain and I worried that something had happened to the both of them, but then they came back. I saw their shadows first and my heart filled with fear, worried that the red dragon had gained the upper hand. But I was relieved to see Thomas looking strong, while the red dragon looked tattered. There were holes in his wings and his scales dripped with metallic-looking blood. He looked groggy, and he was fighting purely on instinct now, swiping with what little breath he had left. Thomas grabbed him in his claws and smashed him against the mountain again. The red dragon’s skull cracked and Thomas held one of his wings in his claws, using all his strength to pull at it. There was a sickening crack of bone and cartilage as the wing was torn away. Thomas was filled with fury and knocked the red dragon into the cavern. He looked utterly defeated, but Thomas wasn’t ready to end the battle yet. He dragged the red dragon back outside with his teeth, and flung him into the air. With only one functioning wing, the red dragon couldn’t hope to save himself. He twirled helplessly through the air as Thomas flew out and followed his trajectory as gravity claimed him. I watched as Thomas opened his mouth and let fly a stream of his own fire, which encapsulated the red dragon and made him a smoking fireball that fell to the ground, crashing to his doom.

  It was over. The dragon had been defeated. We were safe, we were alive, and their father had been avenged. Thomas hovered in the air a few moments, watching his uncle plunge to his doom, and then turned and flew back into the cavern, transforming back into a man as he landed.

  18

  Thomas rushed over to me and held me tightly. I was trembling with so many emotions I have no idea how I even managed to stay standing, all I know is that I loved being in his arms. I felt safe, as though no harm could ever come to me as long as he was around, and I was also in awe of his display of strength.

  We sank to the floor as he held me. He kissed me all over. I was a mess of hair and whimpers, but I kissed him back eagerly.

  “It’s done, it’s all over now. I watched him die,” Thomas said. I nodded, and then looked over at William. We held hands as we walked over to him and knelt by his side. Thomas nudged William and the green dragon opened his eyes, although they were just slits. He closed them again, and then nothing happened.

  “He’ll have to stay as a dragon for the time being. We heal faster when we’re in that form,” Thomas said, although he sounded concerned. He touched his brother’s burns and cursed. “Our uncle couldn’t help but hurt us,” he spat.

  “Do you think everything he said was true?”

  “I don’t think he had a reason to lie to us,” Thomas said. “But he’s never going to have the chance to hurt us, or anyone else, again. But there are more like him out there, and we’re going to have to expose them.”

  “What do you intend to do?”

  Thomas turned to me a grinned. After the intensity and the heat of battle I was glad to see him smile again, and it reassured me that everything could return to some semblance of normality. “You’re the leader of the expedition, you tell me.”

  Amazement flickered across my face. “Well, I mean, I’d love to share these findings with the world, but I don’t want to encroach upon your secrecy. I know that you and your people have been hiding for a long time, and for good reason. I wouldn’t want to make you vulnerable to greedy people or people who would seek to take advantage of you. Really, the only person that knows the truth now is me, and I promise you, I won’t say anything.” I looked at to the horizon, at the storm that roiled around the island. “It seems that it’s going to be difficult for anyone to get to the island anyway. So far both planes that
have tried to come here have fallen victim to the storm, maybe it’s better that this place remain a secret. We can fly away, like you said, and pretend that we’ve washed up on a distant shore, and we don’t have to ever tell anyone about this place.”

  Thomas considered my words for a few moments. He breathed deeply and looked in the same direction as I did. “When we came to this island, I thought that’s exactly what was going to happen. William and I were always afraid that at least one of you would discover the truth, and we didn’t know how we were going to cope with it when you did. We wanted to keep the secret, just as we had always been told to do, wanted to keep the knowledge between our own people, but after everything we’ve learned on this expedition, I’m not sure that’s the best option. The dragons here, they wanted to keep to themselves, and the ones who left killed them because of it. Our past is littered with secrecy and shame, and I don’t want that to be the legacy we leave behind. It seems to me they were ruled by fear, but I’ve seen people risk everything to help us. Not just you and the others that came with us, but your parents too. My father trusted them. He would have had to have told them at least something of the truth, and they wanted to help us. They paid for it with their lives, and that reflected much sorrow upon you. I think it’s time we stopped keeping this place a secret. I don’t think we need to tell everyone about us, but they should know this place existed, they should know that once dragons really did walk the earth and if that happens to change dragon society for the better, then so be it. I think we could all use a reminder of where we came from.”

  “Are you sure? Because once you tell people about this place there’s no going back. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

  “I’m sure Amber, and I know that William would be too. This is what our father wanted, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent your parents here. And it means that you can finally do what you came here to do and finish their legacy. You can prove that they found this place first, that they weren’t just following a myth.”

  “Thank you Thomas,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. The thought of presenting these findings to the academic and archeological community filled me with a feeling of triumph. For so long, I’d had to endure the scorn of people who claimed that my parents never should have gone off following a fairytale, and now I could offer vindication for them. But there was one more problem that remained. “What about the storm though? I don’t want to risk bringing other people here. I can’t have this place claiming any more lives.”

  “I have a theory about that, but we’ll need to wait for William to wake up.”

  While we waited for William to regain his consciousness, Thomas and I relaxed in each others’ arms, and breathed deeply, trying to process everything that had happened. My mind was in such turmoil that I couldn’t think straight. Revealing this place to the world was so huge. When I came to Dragon Island, I never thought I’d find what I had found here, and yet all of that seemed to pale in comparison with the fact that I had fallen in love with the two most wonderful men in the world. Although calling them mere men didn’t seem to fully encompass their souls. They were more than men, they were dragons.

  19

  I wasn’t sure how much time had passed before William stirred. I had fallen asleep on Thomas’ chest, but I awoke as he nudged me and pointed to William. The green dragon shifted back into his masculine form and he looked dazed and groggy. He touched his side, and I was amazed to see that it was almost fully healed. I ran up to him and hugged him, being careful not to squeeze him too tightly.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “I’m just glad I got there in time, although I wish I had avoided the flames. I take it you ended it?” William said, looking to Thomas.

  “I did,” Thomas said. We explained our thoughts on how to return to the world and how much information we should disclose, and as Thomas anticipated, William was in complete agreement with us. I went on to talk about the storm and William agreed that he didn’t want to bring anyone here if there was a risk.

  “But I think there is a way to make a path, if you’re up for it,” Thomas said. “It is going to involve a lot of strength.”

  “You know I can handle anything,” William said, smiling at the good-natured teasing. It pleased me to see that they were back to our old selves, although there was still an edge to their words.

  “Do you two have anything you’d like to talk about? I know he wasn’t a very nice man, but he was still your uncle. It must have been difficult for you to fight him,” I said.

  The brothers glanced at each other. “It would if we were men,” William said, “but we’re dragons, and this is what dragons do. He has betrayed our people. He killed our father, and he sought to sabotage our efforts our entire life. He may have been family by blood, but not in spirit, and the world is a better place by his absence. Besides, he sought to hurt you. In a choice between him and you, or indeed you and anyone, there is no choice. You are the final link that completes us.”

  As William said this, he reached out and cupped his hand on my cheek. I was filled with a warm glow and smiled at him. I knew it was true as well. I completed them and they completed me.

  “So how exactly are you going to stop the storm?” I asked.

  ***

  We ended up flying away from the mountains and back to the beach where we had initially set up camp. It felt strange being here, as even though only a few days had passed, so much had happened that it felt like such a long time since we had washed up on the shore. I looked back to the cavern where Vincent had been sitting, and I mourned his absence. I looked to the water and thought about how Daniel and Duncan were settled at the bottom, having been swallowed by the whorls. This expedition had costed us so much, but I reminded myself that everyone on this mission had known the risk. When I looked out to the horizon, I thought about the others out there who were searching for us, who were worried and I was filled with anxiety about seeing Bobby again.

  We had promised to pick up where we left off but after being with the dragon brothers, I realized that what I’d felt for Bobby was nothing in comparison with real, deep love. I knew I wouldn’t be able to lie to him about it either. I had seen firsthand how devastating secrets could be, but I hated the thought of breaking his heart.

  Of course, to do that we had to open a path to the island in the first place, and I wasn’t sure what Thomas had in mind. He was keeping it a surprise. Although we didn’t know exactly what caused the storms it seemed as though they had been formed by the dragons who had left to prevent anyone from finding out the truth of what they had done. Somehow this meant that only dragons could undo it, but I wasn’t sure how because neither Thomas nor William had mentioned anything about them having access to magic.

  I stood on the beach and watched as they shifted into dragons and took to the air, flying out to meet the storm. I had to squint to make out what they were doing, but they were just about close enough that they were still within my sights. I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the sun and watched as they flew into the storm. I thought it was madness to want to get that close to such tempestuous nature, but they seemed to know what they were doing, working in tandem as always as they beat their wings powerfully and caused gusts of air to blow into the storm. It took me a while to figure out what exactly they were doing, but then it became clear to me. They were actually seeking to disrupt the storm using their own strength, creating enough force to dispel the swirling mass of clouds. I gaped at the impossibility of it all, and immediately dismissed the idea, but I should have known better than to think these men were incapable of the impossible because, slowly but surely, the storm began to thin.

  It happened so gradually that I wasn’t sure of what I was seeing at first, and it seemed so unlikely that I couldn’t believe they were actually succeeding, but these dragons were using the force of their wings to subdue nature itself, and I wondered if there was anything of which they were not capable of. I gazed in awe
as they sent a barrage of air into the storm, trying to disrupt the air currents. It took a lot of work and I couldn’t imagine how much they were going to ache. Their stamina was incredible. Their spirit indomitable, and eventually I saw the black clouds disperse as blue sky came pouring through. They moved around, sitting in the gap they had created to push the storm further and further back. They had their backs to each other and were each pushing away one side of the storm. The black clouds roiled and threw a tantrum, but the dragons would not be defeated. They continued to fight and it wasn’t long before they had one. The ring of storm had been broken and an opening had been formed, a path linking this ancient place of mystery with the outside world.

  I clapped as they flew back and settled on the beach, shifting back with triumphant grins on their faces.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” I exclaimed. Both men came up to me and wrapped their arms around me.

  “I thought by now you’d have a little more faith,” Thomas said, grinning. He flashed me a lazy smile, and I could see desire swimming in his eyes. I bit my lower lip and let me gaze linger between the both of them. We had been through so much in a day that we all needed a release.

  “After that fight and all that effort you two must be so tired, and aching all over. You want to see if there’s anything I can do about that?” I asked.

  “You don’t have to ask twice,” William said. I took their hands and we walked into the cavern. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon now and the sky bled red. We sat near the crystal pool, the water was still warm from where it had been bathed in the sunlight that angled through the cave opening. Words disappeared as we settled into each other and stripped each other of our clothing, peeling it away slowly, exposing our flesh. Our hands roamed around each others’ bodies. I was still in awe of how powerful they were. A thrill ran down the middle of my body as I dragged my fingers along their rippling muscles. William didn’t show any sign of the wounds he had sustained. There were still so many questions I had about the relationship between their dragon halves and their human halves, how all the biology mixed together and created sustainable life, but these questions could wait for later. My mind was becoming deliciously hazy and all I wanted was to enjoy their bodies, and for them to enjoy mine.