by Lucas, Naomi
Turning back around slowly, I do as she says, all while knowing what is about to come.
She lets go of my hand and cups my cheeks. Her voice lowers. My heart cracks. “I know we have hurt you, have dishonored you. I know having Leith taken away to be given to your sister is not an easy thing to accept, not when you’ve been told your whole life that he and you were destined.”
Unable to look away, I drop my eyes.
“I wish the elders could have spared you. I wish Delina had an ounce of empathy to show you, but don’t you see? Can’t you see why we decided to make Delina Leith’s mate instead of you?”
“You think she’s more fertile,” I whisper harshly, feeling a little jolt of anger rise within me.
“No, Aida,” my mother says, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. “You’re worth more to the tribe with all your strength, with your courage and tenacity. Delina… well, Delina can barely lift a spear or create an ointment for pain.” She lets out a little laugh. “Let her be weighed down in pregnancy for all the years to come, not you, my dear daughter. As I, your cousins, and the other dying families grow older, we will need your strength to survive. We will need you as you are.”
She’s trying to make me feel better, but instead, her words only make things worse. Mother was a great huntress and guardian, even while she was pregnant with me and my sister, and Delina is more capable then she’s saying.
I know Delina’s worth. As my sister, she is worth my life.
Yes, Delina lacks empathy, but she’s strong-willed, and an incredible cook. Her fingers are dexterous and she stitches the most beautiful shell jewelry and hide coverings. I love my sister and mother—even when she tries to cow me—as I love the tribe.
But this… I don’t need this, whatever this is.
Mother is focused on the tribe as a whole, and not the whims and wants of a single member, not even if that member is her own daughter. I can’t blame her.
It’s people like her that keep us alive.
“Yes, Mother,” I say, all I can say.
She smiles. “Good. Now, stop this nonsense and be the Aida I raised. The Aida your sister and Leith need, the tribe needs.” She lets go of my cheeks. “I’ll send Milaye to guard your sister and Leith while they bathe, but next time, I’m sure you will make the right choice.”
I watch Mother walk away, back toward the central bonfire where some of the other older women sit around cooking.
The clouds shift overhead, streaming red down upon the village in waves, shadowing sections in red and brightening the rest with sunlight as they move over the comet and sun above at different times. I catch the gazes of some of the tribeswomen, and they glance away at once. But I don’t feel shame knowing they heard everything my mother said.
No, there is only numbness in me right now. Numbness that allows me to think.
Instead, I look back up at the sky, out towards the ocean to my right and over the cliffs of my home. I notice darkness begins taking over the sky.
The clouds are not friendly puffs but one long miasma that shadows the usually twinkling blue ocean into a somber grey. It’s hazy in the distance, making the sky and ocean become one. It’s rain, lots and lots of rain.
I frown.
I hope Issa made it home to Shell Rock. I think of my friend who promptly left after delivering her brother here to return home. Thunder hits my ears.
And with it, an ear-splitting roar.
My muscles tense, and my palms slicken with sweat as a shiver streaks through me. Birds ascend into the sky, fleeing. Another scream assaults the air, one after another.
They’re closer.
So close, the screams vibrate my bones, my soul.
Glancing at my mother, she’s looking straight at me, her expression worried.
“Storm!” someone yells. The rest of the women get to their feet in a flash.
A drop of rain hits my cheek. Without another thought, I rush after Delina and Leith.
2
The Downpour and the Dragon
Drenched in rain, I race over the rickety wooden bridge that connects the cliff of Sand’s Hunters home to the jungle. From there, I stumble down the slopes to the west that lead to the springs.
Within minutes of that first raindrop, the tribe fell into chaos. The clear skies of the morning vanished under clouds that gusted over our home, bringing with them an angry and wild surge of wind.
Following the path, I see the small waterfall up ahead that pools into the basin in the rocks, water that will eventually lead into the gulf. But it’s the deep cave beneath the pool that makes it a spring, and the water fresh and unsalted. A private, beautiful place hidden by large rocks and tall trees with sweeping leaves.
Branches shake and lower with the rain as Delina and Leith come into sight. Naked, under the falls.
Delina is against the rocky wall as Leith thrusts into her. My mouth drops.
I come to a stop next to Milaye, the tribeswoman guarding them.
“We need to go!” Milaye screams from the shore, but neither Delina or Leith hear her. Milaye flinches when she sees me. “They can’t hear me from under the falls,” she huffs.
Rain plops down on both of us as she says it. “I’ll get them. Go back to the tribe! They need help getting everything inside.”
She nods and jogs up the path. I pivot back to my siblings…
“Delina!” I shout, waving my hand, getting no reaction or notice from my sister.
A streak of lightning sparks through the canopy and without waiting, I dive into the water and swim to them. Under the falls within seconds, I grab Leith’s shoulder and tug him back.
They meet me with muted screams and one boyishly shocked expression.
“What are you doing!?” Delina cries, shielding herself. Leith wades back. I keep my eyes high.
“There’s a storm! A bad one. If you heard Milaye shouting for you, you would know. We need to get back to the village now!” My voice strains under the din of the water. I swim back to the shore without waiting for them to argue. Grabbing one of the hide towels they brought with them, I wipe myself down once. When I turn, Delina’s behind me tugging on her clothes, Leith doing the same. My eyes don’t stray because it’s apparent he and Delina didn’t finish.
“It was so nice a little while ago,” Delina whines but grabs her basket.
Leith picks up his spear. “It’ll be nice again. Let’s go. The tribe will need us,” he says. And with that, we head back.
When we get to the bridge, my mouth drops in horror. It’s thrashing from side to side, and on the other end, anything not bolted down is blowing in the wind.
Leaves from the trees fly everywhere, the rain has turned into a full-on downpour, and the lift is crowded with people as they head down with supplies and animals. Below us on the beach, there are others rushing inward to the sea cliffs bordering the jungle, and to the caves a short distance inland that becomes our shelter in emergencies.
“We need to get across!” I scream, looking back up. Milaye is on the other side of the bridge, facing us, with her sisters Ola and Panyia.
Thunder resonates.
“We’ll hold this end. Leave the basket behind!” she shouts across, wind chasing her words.
“Delina, you go first,” I say, taking the spear from her. “Leith, you follow close behind. I’ll go last.”
My sister gulps and nods, and I see her shake through the rain gathering in my lashes. She grips the rope handles with white knuckles and takes a step forward.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Leith tells her. Delina nods and slowly makes it across.
“Go,” I tell Leith when Delina reaches the end.
“You should go first.”
I shake my head. “No. You are far more important. You are needed—our salvation. I’ll hold the ties on this end. You have to go first.”
“Aida…”
Forcing a smile. “If you die, I’ll die anyway,” I say lightly. “The tribe would never forg
ive me.”
He nods stiffly but his brow is furrowed, worry in his eyes. He turns to the bridge and grips the handles, white-knuckled like my sister. “You’ll be right behind,” he calls to me.
“Yes.” I hold the ties.
Leith nods again and makes his way across, stopping whenever a gust shakes the bridge. When he makes it to the other side, I sigh in relief.
My turn.
Grabbing the rope for myself now, I hear snapping as a single fierce gust swings the bridge. Taking a step onto it, I’m immediately thrown to the side.
I hear a scream but don’t look up, trying to remain calm. Holding strong, I ride out the shift, focusing. When it levels, I move forward, one step at a time.
Another crack slices the air, joined by thunder. I halt, waiting.
Glancing outward, my mouth dries up. I’m midway. Only midway. The bridge sways side to side. My feet shift and part.
Lightning fills the sky in vibrant flashes. A spark of heat whips through the wind when a terrible erupting boom fills my ears. I see one of the trees in the village sizzling, split in two. Milaye covers both Delina and Leith with her body, forcing them to the ground.
Screams ring in the air.
They look at me with wide, horror-filled eyes.
“Go!” I shout, “Get to the lift. I’ll be right behind! I promise.”
Milaye nods resolutely and I’m thankful. Delina starts fighting but Ola grabs her and forces her away. Leith lingers another moment, catching my gaze, and I take another step forward. He turns away and runs after Delina.
Only Milaye remains to hold the bridge for me. Now, swinging back and forth, I’m practically hanging on, using my feet as leverage as my arms do all the work.
I see some of the tribe staring up at me from below on the beach.
“Aida! Don’t stop,” someone yells, and I drive forward, pain ripping my shoulders, jerking my arms this way and that to get to the end.
I miss my final step, but Milaye grabs me, pulling me into her arms, and we tumble to the ground together in relief. But we have no time to celebrate.
In the next instant, we’re running to the lift. Delina and the others are below. We begin cranking it back up as Ola and Panyia run with Leith and Delina down the beach, under the gape where the bridge swings, and toward the caves.
As we wrench the lever, I realize Milaye and I are the last ones left in the village. The rest have already fled to safety. The underlying scent of burnt wood floods my nose.
And then I hear it, a different sort of roar. Not like the screeching one from before…
It’s so loud, so much closer than any other, so terrible it nearly stops my thrumming heart. My hands stop cranking, and Milaye takes over as I peer out to the east, down the coast, over the turbulent waves where the sound resonates from.
In the direction of Shell Rock and Issa’s home.
But it’s so much closer than that, my thoughts tangle, fearful. It’s right there.
Right there.
Coming through the veil of rain.
It goes on and on, over the thunder, joining with flashes of lightning, pounding my eardrums, taking me over, solidifying me to the spot. I can’t tear my eyes from the horizon, knowing it’s growing ever closer. My heart lodges in my throat. My fingers twitch.
“Aida! We must go!”
Milaye says something and grabs my arm, pulling me onto the lift. My eyes tear away from the horizon. The roar continues.
“Aida, what is happening to you?” she snaps. “Help me with the lever. It’s sticking.”
It’s enough to shake me out of my reverie. Just as the dragon’s roar ends.
Together, we release the sticking lever and loosen the ropes for our descent. The lift starts lowering, but Milaye rushes her side, and we jerk down at an angle. Catching up to her, I straighten us out, knowing it’s fear that’s driving her.
It should be driving me too, but it’s not. My veins are full of the lightning that’s in the sky, of wild adrenaline, and not even the aching pain in my wrenched muscles can overpower the thrill surging through me.
A dragon made that sound. I steal a glance back to the horizon.
I see a shift, a giant shadow.
Before the lift hits the beach, Milaye jumps off and runs toward the cave, vanishing around the rocky outcropping that makes up the base of our home. I take a step to follow but stop, staring down the coast. I cannot resist.
Something dark moves in the rainfall, something large, menacing, and far more astounding than anything I could’ve imagined. It’s not coming from the sky or the land, but from the water, emerging like a tidal wave to curve downward and disappear a moment later.
Water rushes over my feet, the waves building higher and crashing, moving farther inland than any storm has taken them before. Still, I’m rooted to the spot. But the shadow vanishes and it’s enough to bring my senses back.
Run! My body urges me suddenly. Go!
I pivot to the lever and yank it until the lift is above my head.
And when I turn back around, the shadow is no longer a shadow, but a dragon in all its beautiful, frightening glory coming straight for me.
3
Zaeyr Surfaces
Yes.
The hollow cry resounding in my watery cave makes me alert. A femdragon is in heat, is in need. And she’s close to my abyssal territory where I horde my treasures. I hear her, though she is above the surface, crying for a male to seed her and give her a dragonling.
It is what I have been waiting for. A female to bring to my nest, to covet and protect. Offspring to raise and expand my domain.
Though listening to her cries, so far away, I soon realize they are from above the surface, and not the yowls of another water dragon like me. I had always planned to breed with another of my kind, to share my sapphire and pearl caves with her, but no matter, a rare female is nearby, and she will be mine.
Mine. The word is strange in my mind. Mine…
Slipping through my underwater system, seeking one of the exits to the sandy bottom, another, more infuriating cry reaches my sensitive ears.
A male roaring in response to my female. A male who does not know better. I am an alpha water dragon! An alpha of ancients, king of this trench, ruler of the turquoise depths, and guardian of the deep! Any alpha or beta male within miles will know of my stirring, as I sense theirs. They should be afraid.
This femdragon is mine. I have claimed her. Even if the other alpha dragon gets to her first, I will fight him off her—slice him open with my talons, and take his place mounting. I have waited too long for a femdragon in heat to enter these lands just to lose her to another!
Clawing my way from my glittery caverns, my patience flees, discovering cave-ins where I have failed to maintain the area over the years. A serpent like me does not leave his home on a whim, I snarl, baring sharpened teeth at the rocks.
The male’s roar echoes, fueling my frustration, my longing to breach the surface and inhale the femdragon’s mating pheromones that are sure to bloom the air for miles in every direction.
I wonder what she smells like…
Turning my head to the side, I peer through one of the many holes from which light streaks from far above into my caves, contemplating the barrier holding me back. My tail overturns shells, rocks, and jewels as it scours the bottom of my deep cavern. A low growl escapes me, releasing stores of oxygen in my gut and forcing bubbles up through the hole. Watching them rise, I see a shadow swim overhead, and then another, and another.
Mermaids.
More bubbles escape me in surprise as a boulder is moved over the opening, right before my very eyes.
Quiet accompanies my shock, as one by one, all the holes that give my dwelling light are closed off. I twist around, making the ground tremble. I peer up through the last one left until that too closes off.
The mermaids are trying to trap me in!
Sea snakes, villainous wretches!
This is how they r
epay me? For leaving them alone, allowing them to settle within my coral reefs and valleys? For protecting them from vicious, hungry deep-sea monsters that would love to dine on their flesh?
Worst of all, the echoing yowls of my future mate and my competitor are gone. I’ve waited centuries for this. Loss hits me harder than it should. Loss and anger—rage ignites.
How dare they? I dig my talons into the stony floor of my domain and pull my wings inward, upward, shelling my back. They think they can keep me trapped?
My body fills with lava-like heat, erupting with my quaking emotions.
Nothing will keep me from what is mine. NOTHING!
I ram my back upward.
The ceiling cracks and stones and dust falls around me, polluting my cherished home. I ram my back again, and more gives way. Terrible, hollow sounds fill my ears, eclipsing even the thunder of my furied heart.
I do not stop, and even when the rocks and sand bury me within, I keep hitting the cave ceiling with all the might of my body. Pain tears through me. The weakest parts of my wings scrape and rip as my body becomes compressed. But each time I thrust up, cracks form—it is working. The trench terra shifts, and slowly, far too slowly for my liking, the pressure on me gives way.
Hours turn to days, and my body is nearly empty of all its oxygen stores. My limbs are numb with exhaustion. I need to surface soon. Desperate, giving a final shove, the ground below me loosens. The remaining rock and sand fall upon me, around me, under me where a deep crater forms. Renewed with the seabed’s movement, I slam my tail up and break through. My wings and body quickly follow.
Sunlight—red light—fills my view.
I am free! I open my long mouth and roar. My body revels and shakes with ferocious delight.
The ground sinks beneath me, caving in. I swim upward into the open water. The once mountainous seascape crumbles and vanishes around me. Water whooshes past my hide and under my scales, falling into the terra below. Coral reefs collapse, and colorful schools of fish scatter every which way.