What was it doing to him?
He studied it for a moment longer, then closed his eyes, exhausted.
Release me.
His eyes opened, but there was no one else around. Then he realized the voice had come from inside him, but not inside his head in the same way they did when someone was speaking telepathically to him.
Hello, who said that?
A very pale shimmery white light appeared in front of him.
Daimon held still, not wanting to wake his charges, but also ready for anything, though the feeling he was getting from the ghostly apparition in front of him wasn't one of danger. What are you, and what do you want?
The light shimmered into what appeared to be a beautiful woman. She had long silvery-white hair and was wearing a long flowing white gown.
Daimon blinked as the shape wavered.
Release me, it said again.
How? Who are you? Where are you? Daimon asked, but she was already fading away.
He continued to hold still, waiting to see if she'd return, but she didn't.
After a long while he finally closed his eyes and let sleep take him, though his dreams were haunted.
Chapter 6
Saddle Issues
The next morning there was no sign of the ghost woman, or the red fog, and the angry clouds had all disappeared. The sun was steadily rising in the sky, bringing warmth and the faint sounds of wildlife with it. In the sky a V-formation of brightly hued birds with extremely long tails, flew by.
Daimon kept an eye on the winged aviary, prepared for anything, but they just kept going until they were out of sight.
Elan came up beside him. "It changes so quickly here in this realm," Elan said, gazing around outside, then leaning over the ledge to look down. "What do you think that was last night? It didn't feel like just harmless fog."
"If it was, I doubt the demons and killer MB's would've rushed off so fast," Caro said, joining them.
Daimon wanted to smile at her use of his term for the insects, but refrained, knowing it wouldn't go over well. "I set some wards that should keep you safe here while I go find us food."
Hands on her hips, Caro glared at him. "Do not think that you are leaving us here."
"You don't trust my wards?" Daimon asked. Though truthfully, he'd only ever practiced setting wards. It had always been his mother and father's wards that protected their home. Daimon's had never been tested, and he really had no idea if they'd keep the demons, or mutant killer flappy-flappies, or anything else planning to do harm, from getting in.
Caro raised her chin. "I don't know your wards, and can set my own, but I want to see this realm, so you are taking us with you, and not in your claws this time."
"They aren't claws, they're talons," he said again.
She raised an eyebrow, letting him know she clearly didn't care.
"And just how am I to carry you then?" Daimon asked.
She hesitated for a brief moment. "We can ride on your back."
"Caro," Elan gasped.
"You want to ride on my back?" Daimon asked. He'd never heard of anyone doing such a thing. "What if you fall off?"
"You'll fly carefully and won't let us," she said, a look in her eyes that dared him to defy her.
Right! Daimon could just imagine his siblings teasing him endlessly when a butterfly came after him and he lost his riders!
"Can you make us a saddle, or something to hold onto?" Elan was clearly the more cautious of the pair.
Daimon scowled. "I don't exactly have any rope or leather straps, so I’m not sure how I'm supposed to make anything."
"Well, I noticed that when you shift back into your human body you do so clothed. How do you manage that?" Elan questioned.
Daimon thought about it a moment. "When we're young, we shift into our dragon then back naked, but as we grow, our parents teach us how to concentrate on what we previously had on and we shift back wearing our clothes. It soon becomes second nature and we don't even think about it."
"So, can you do it the other way around?"
"I have no idea, I supposed it might work, like shifting into my dragon clothed, only with a saddle." He grinned, considering it. Older dragon shifters could conjure up all kinds of things like household items, but it took some skill, and they usually did it in their human form. Could he do it in his dragon form? If not, he could try in his human form and then have the twins strap the saddle onto his dragon once he shifted. And he could well imagine how easy—not, that would be.
Still, it was worth a try. Then images of them falling from the sky sobered him. "Are you sure you won't just stay here?"
"And do what?" Caro asked.
"Well," Daimon took in the bare cave.
"Exactly, we'd die of boredom, so we're going with you. Figure it out so we don't fall off your back," Caro said.
"Yup, life is going to be painful if we don't figure out how to leave this place," Daimon muttered under his breath as he moved away from the pair. He didn't mind Elan so much, but Caro might just be the one to make him rip his scales off one by one while fighting to keep his sanity. None of his siblings tested his patience this badly. Though, if he were honest, his annoyance could be due more to the fear that they'd never leave this place.
Daimon closed his eyes and concentrated on an image of a saddle made for two, and straps to hold the twins in place, then he drew on his power and let his dragon flow through him.
He shifted, his beast body taking over in a shimmering light, but when it faded, he realized something was wrong.
He couldn't see out of one of his eyes, it seemed to be covered by something heavy. Daimon growled, and shook his head, then realized he couldn't open his mouth.
The twins blinked, and Elan slapped a hand over his mouth.
Caro burst out laughing and a moment later Elan joined her.
Daimon shook his head again, and the saddle dropped to the ground, then Elan came over and unwound the strap binding his mouth closed.
"Thank you," Daimon said, chuckling when they both jumped back in shock. "What, you didn't know I could talk in this form?"
"No," Elan said.
Daimon drew on his power and blew a breath of magic air over his charges.
"Yuck!" Caro snarled and moved even further away.
Daimon smiled inwardly and switched to telepathy. "What about now, can you hear me?"
They both paled.
"Y-yes, I can," Elan replied back tentatively, sounding shaken.
"How did ... do you do that?" Caro asked cautiously.
"All dragonkind can communicate telepathically," Daimon replied. "I made it so that we can as well. I just figured it would be easier to talk this way when we're in the air."
"You could have asked first," Caro snapped aloud, then straightening her spine, dragged the saddle over to him. "Now lay down so we can get this on you."
After a bunch of failed attempts to get the saddle on his back and strapped into place, the twins bickering started to get on his nerves. Caro wanted to zap the straps tight on him with magic, and Elan feared what might happen if she did.
Daimon shifted back into his human body. "Yeah, no witchy magic, please. But listen, I know I can do this, I just need to concentrate on where I want everything to go."
"Then do it already, I'm starving," Caro snapped.
Daimon inclined his head and after they both gave him some space, he focused on what he wanted, and how he wanted it all positioned. Then he drew on his power and shifted. He grinned deep inside when it worked.
Within moments the twins were up on his back and strapped in securely.
"Are you sure it's tight enough?" He really did not want to lose them. Well, maybe the girl ...
Then he felt a moment of shame. His father and mother would be disappointed in him if he purposely let anything happen to the pair.
They left the safety of the cave, and the twins let out a small yell, but then settled down as he gently glided through the air.
&
nbsp; Chapter 7
Giant's Toy Blocks
Daimon was careful in how he flew, still paranoid he'd lose his riders.
"Go that way," Caro's voice blasted him telepathically.
"You don't have to yell, I can hear you," Daimon said with a wince, but he arched his head to see where she pointed, then turned in that direction to fly east. At least he figured he was going east. Who knew with this realm, but at least his dragon senses thought he was going east.
A moment later they flew over the bleached bones of the panicked herd they'd seen fleeing the night before.
"You think the fog did that to them?" Elan asked.
"Don't know," Daimon said, though he was pretty sure it had been the fog. He just didn't want to scare Elan more than he already was.
Horror filled his gut as he continued on, only to grow worse at the sight of so many destroyed crop fields which were now covered in neon green butterfly goop.
"I see more crops, and they aren't destroyed," Elan said.
"Daimon, let's go check them out," Caro said, then yanked on the strap around his neck to indicate the direction she wanted.
Daimon turned to see a patchwork of color. Again, the sight of them left him stunned. The fields—crops where deep copper, yellows, golds, pinks, purples, and different shades of blue, all untouched by butterfly crap.
"Go down, land!" Caro directed.
"Why?" Daimon barely touched ground when Caro slid off his back and onto her feet. "Why are we stopping here?" A little distance away from each field was a large mound, and they all seemed to be connected, like a warren. He kept his eye on the one closest to them as he shifted into his human body.
"I want to know what they're growing," Caro said, and ventured into a row of bright yellow flowering plants. They came to past her waist, and when she bent down to see what they were growing, she disappeared from view. When she stood up, she had a large, oblong, pale blue object in her hand.
"What is it, a vegetable?" Elan asked when she came back over to stand with them at the edge of the field.
"Food?" Daimon asked.
Caro inspected it, then tossed it at him. "Tell us what it tastes like."
"Me? Why do I have to try it first?"
"You're immortal, so chances are if it's poisonous, you won't die. I think," she replied, though there was a twinkle in her eyes.
"Thanks, I think," Daimon said, and bit into the thing. A raunchy, bitterness filled his mouth. He spit out the skin, then smiled at the strange, yet sweet flavor of the pale pink pulpy insides. Taste buds ignited, he quickly peeled the thick skin away, and then devoured the rest. He dashed into the field and grabbed up a few more, then handed the twins each one. "Try it, it's really good, just don't eat the skin."
"Uh huh," Caro said skeptically, peeling hers.
"Seriously, it's sweet."
After he peeled his, Elan went to bite into the pink pulp, but Caro stopped him. She nodded at Daimon. "Wait a bit longer, I want to make sure he doesn't keel over or something."
"Thanks ever so much, I love being an experiment," Daimon teased. He opened his mouth to say more, blinked, and froze. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell over onto his back, eyes closed.
"Daimon!" The twins knelt beside him, panic in their voices.
Daimon opened his eyes. "Ha! Gotcha!"
"You jerk!" Caro swatted him, then sat back, and bit into the sweet juicy food in her hand.
Elan laughed, then bit his and moaned in delight.
Daimon devoured the second one, then looked around, gaze skipping past the still mounds. "What say we find out what the other fields hold?"
With nods of agreement they quietly raced over to the blue field. The plants bore many long, green items, one end bigger than the other. "I'll try one first," Daimon said. The skin on this one was edible, with a slight nutty taste, but inside it was a pale cream, and overall mostly tasteless.
Caro tried hers, a thoughtful look on her face. "It tastes a little like mora root, the stuff Aunty uses to make her special sweet breads."
Elan frowned, tried his, then nodded. "You're right, it does."
They tried the large golden tubers, but it was almost tasteless.
"I bet this would taste better cooked," Caro said.
Daimon took one and held it up, then let out a breath of fire. He turned the tuber over and over, then broke it open. He bit into a piece. "Would be better with nutty butter." Then he handed the twins each a piece.
"It's still good," Caro said.
In the cooper field were small purple berries that were tangy, and in the purple field was a very lumpy pink vegetable with sharp little spines on the outside. Daimon did a half-shift, and using his talons, scraped the spiny skin away to reveal a segmented pink inside, with small green seeds.
"Sweet, yet salty," Elan said, then frowned. "No, it's actually spicy." His eyes grew wide and his face red. "It's very spicy, my mouth is on fire."
They heard a shout, and turned to see a handful of Irod demons emerge from one of the ground pods.
"I knew it!" Daimon said. "Time for us to go." He shifted fully and lowered his belly to the ground, and the twins scrambled up into the saddle.
Then they were airborne.
Arrows flew past him, but this time none got him, though he still had a bruise from the last one that did get him. He'd have to be careful in the future.
Daimon looked at the rest of the crops and wondered what sort of food they produced, but didn't stop to find out. Instead, as he turned to continue in the direction they'd originally been headed, the portal energy lit up and flooded him.
It had him turning again, and going in a south-easterly direction.
A few minutes later he spotted a massive arched structure. It appeared to be made of gray rock and rose high into the air.
At first glance, it made Daimon think of a large stone city. It slowly tapered to a point which disappeared into a fluffy white cloud. But Daimon found his focus riveted on the very interesting structure. It was comprised of both large and small arched boulders, one over top of the other.
"What is that thing?" Caro asked.
It looked like some sort of game. "You think there are giants here?" Daimon asked instead.
"Giants?" Elan squeaked.
"I hope not," Caro said. "That's the last thing we need, I heard they can be cranky, temperamental creatures, why do you ask?
"Because that thing there looks like something a giant constructed it with arched rock-blocks," Daimon said, just picturing a big old giant stacking his toy blocks one atop the other.
"It does kind of form a weird, rounded beast castle in a way, I guess," Elan said.
"Should we land and check it out?" Caro asked.
Daimon cautiously began to circle the structure. "I don't think that would be wise," he said, noting the thousands of tiny beady eyes peering out of small holes all over the stone.
"Is that ...?" Elan didn't finish the sentence.
Elan’s unease matched Daimon’s. "Yes, we're being watched." He flew away from it, intending to head back north, but once again the energy drew him back to the course it wanted.
"Why are we going this way now?" Caro asked.
"Just seems like a good idea," Daimon said, not wanting to admit some strange energy inside him, that came from the portal, was leading him by his nose holes.
He flew quickly over miles of green goop that lay draped over the land.
“Think all that used to be crops at one time?" Elan asked.
Sadly, Daimon thought exactly that.
"Maybe we should start back now," Elan said.
"No, let's keep going," Caro said. "We need to learn everything we can about this realm and fast if we're to survive here."
Daimon didn't dispute that, the need—a drive to keep going—was getting stronger by the minute. Though the idea of having to stay and survive here was a dismal thought, and one Daimon had put off thinking about.
As the sun rose high
in the sky, and the clouds thinned out, it grew unbearably hot.
"We need to find shade and water," Caro finally said.
Daimon agreed, but when another hour passed with nothing but flat land in sight, he began to lose hope they'd find what they needed. He tried to turn back, but the pull kept him going.
Chapter 8
Spider-Monkeyville
The scent of fresh water drifted to Daimon on the air currents.
"Over there, to your right," Elan said. "I see something blue."
"I see it as well," Caro said.
Daimon prayed it was drinkable water and not another blue field, then let out a sigh of relief when his prayer were answered. A lake—that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see—came into sight, bringing with it a slight breeze.
Daimon landed at the edge, and the twins slid down him and rushed over to get a drink.
Daimon shifted and did the same, immensely grateful to find that the water was clean, fresh, and not salty, or poison. Well, so he hoped anyway. But none of them dropped dead, so he took that as a good sign.
"What do you think that is?" Elan asked, pointing to a glittering speck of white flickering on the horizon over the water.
Daimon wasn't sure, but the pull to go over there was very strong, to the point it was almost like a vibration inside him. "Don't know, but we've come this far, shall we go check it out?"
They both nodded.
Once more in the air, Daimon flew over the lake, barely skimming the surface. Then he went even lower so that the tips of his wings raised a spray of water that arched over them.
The twins shouted with happiness as the water hit them. It was cool and refreshing, and felt so very good.
As whatever they’d been looking at grew closer, Daimon called out to the twins. “Hang on.” Then he rose high into the air.
It was an island. Though from the air it appeared to be a lumpy, yet soft-looking carpet of white. As they got close, he realized it was a tree island, covered with towering white trees that rose sky high. At the top their canopy stretched out with long, white fronds that looked like giant feathers. It was the silky white strands swaying and sparkling in the sun that had originally caught their attention. In the very middle, one tree rose above the rest, the canopy disappearing into the clouds, just like the rock-block fortress had.
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