Zahara's Gift

by A. J. Walker

  He let out a laugh as he stroked the dragon’s neck and it playfully nuzzled him back. All of a sudden the moment ended as fast as it started. The dragon pulled away from him. It raised its head; ears pointed upward on alert in the direction of Anders’ group’s camp. Anders heard his companions’ shouts as they called his name. He turned his head to see where they were. He looked back expecting to see the dragon still at his side, but it was no longer there. Only the slow movement of a low-hanging tree branch was proof of it having been there.

  Was that real? he asked himself, looking at the branch swaying among the otherwise motionless vegetation. He raised his hand to his cheek feeling a wet streak on his face. It was.

  Anders looked back toward the shouting as it grew louder. He turned his head once more to where the dragon had been and smiled. He rushed back to the others who searched for him along the tree line.

  “Over here!” he yelled when he saw them in the light of the moon.

  They came rushing to his side, blades drawn. Upon seeing he was okay, they began to question him.

  “What are you doing out here?” Ivan asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep and thought a walk would be nice,” he replied not lying but not telling them the whole story.

  “Why didn’t you let anyone know where you were going?” Max asked.

  “I didn’t want to wake anyone, and figured I wouldn’t go far and would be back before anyone woke up,” Anders said.

  “How is it that I couldn’t sense where you were?” Ivan asked.

  “I don’t know?” Anders replied. “I was walking along the edge of the trees.”

  “I have always been able to sense you, even when you were much farther away from us after the shipwreck,” Ivan said. “Just now when I awoke and noticed you were not in your bed, I reached out to sense your presence, but felt nothing. How could that be if you were just walking along this close to camp?”

  Anders shrugged and thought, The dragon must’ve blocked Ivan from sensing me. “I don’t know. I was just trying to clear my head is all, honest,” he said.

  Ivan looked at him strangely, “All right. I’m glad you weren’t devoured by goblins or something,” he said. “Let’s go back to sleep. We have a long way to go if we are going to make it to the statue tomorrow.”

  As they walked back to camp, Anders wondered if he should tell Ivan or Max about the encounter. He was finally beginning to feel that he could really trust them, but his heart was telling him to keep it a secret. Remembering the message Solomon had given him before he left Brookside, he decided to follow his instincts and keep it a secret for now. If he’d just seen the dragon off in the distance, the situation would be different, but this wasn’t your average run-of-the-mill dragon sighting.

  Back at camp, Anders lay on the blanket he’d laid out for his bed, though now he was even more wide awake than before. He couldn’t go to sleep, not after what had just happened. He rolled his head to the side and stared toward the tree line, peering through the moonlight for a glimpse of the magnificent creature with which he’d just had such an intimate encounter. As he watched, his eyes grew heavy and the next thing he knew he was lost in a dream.

  Anders cracked open his eyes when he felt the morning sun shining through his eyelids. He smelled fresh meat cooking and looked to see Ivan and Max preparing a rabbit leg breakfast. The sun was rising and he could feel the heat of the day beginning to warm the ground around him. Looking out at the plains, the grassland glowed in the golden morning light.

  “Not a bad way to wake up,” he said.

  “I prefer to wake up on an island beach, looking out at the ocean,” Red said sitting up from his bed.

  Anders didn’t really care for the Rollo Island warriors; they were stubborn and close-minded, at least Red and his two comrades were. Luckily, he didn’t have to spend much time alone with them.

  After they ate, the crew set off across the plains. They rode in their usual formation, Ivan up at the front leading the expedition, Red and his men following behind, and Anders and Max bringing up the rear. This way they had an experienced guide in the lead and some experienced riders behind the Islanders making sure nothing happened to them if they fell off or fell too far behind.

  “Come on. What were you really doing out there in the woods last night?” Max asked Anders once they’d ridden far enough to let some distance get between them and the Islanders.

  “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a walk along the edge of the trees.” Anders said sticking to his story.

  Max brought his eyebrows together with a look of suspicion, “Okay… You could’ve been attacked or captured by goblins; you know they’re in the area. We barely escaped them coming into Brookside the other day. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were roaming around out here as well.”

  “I know. Next time I’ll let you know,” Anders said. “What do you think made Ivan wake up?” He was curious why Ivan would notice that he was out of his bed. Up until now, Ivan had slept soundly through the night. Anders knew this because he often woke up in the middle of the night to relieve himself, usually making enough noise that anyone having trouble sleeping would wake up. Ivan, however, never even moved, remaining sound asleep.

  “I don’t know? He probably just had to pee or something,” Max said, still giving him a suspicious look.

  “I was just trying to relax,” Anders said, “honestly.”

  “Okay, well, you know you can trust me if there’s something you want to get off your mind,” said Max.

  “Thanks,” Anders said. While they were talking, they’d let their horses lag behind the others. Ivan had stopped his horse and the others to wait for them to catch up.

  “Everything all right?” he asked, concerned.

  “Yeah, Max was just telling me a funny joke,” Anders said.

  Ivan shook his head and sighed, “You always have something to joke about, don’t you Max.” Then he turned his horse back around and continued on his way.

  The crew rode hard and only got off to walk their horses twice that day. By the time the sun began to set behind them, they could see the Statue of Old Kings protruding from the coastline. At its base a large, sandy beach swept down the crescent-shaped coast. Lining the beach were the Rollo Island Navy warships.

  “Look,” Red said, pointing to the statue.

  “The warriors, they got the message!” Max exclaimed.

  “I knew they would,” Red said proudly. “You can always rely on the Rollo Islanders.” He straightened his posture and puffed out his chest.

  As they made their way across to the statue, Anders noticed something out of the corner of his eye moving swiftly across the plains.

  “Wild horses,” he said pointing toward the herd galloping through the grass in the distance.

  “Hey, we did see some,” Max said, happy to see them at a distance. Anders watched as the herd ran freely across the open land.

  “It is truly a beautiful sight,” Ivan said, acknowledging their excitement at seeing the herd.

  The night’s darkness had descended by the time their small group reached the beach beneath the statue. Red and his two comrades hopped off their horses and rushed to greet the Rollo war party’s leaders.

  The Islanders embraced one another and one of the leaders said to them in a thick Rolloan accent, “I never thought I would see the day when my son would become a master horseman.”

  “He most definitely isn’t a master,” Max said leaning over his saddle and looking around for a laugh. Instead the warriors gave him cold looks that told him they were not pleased with his comment.

  “Tough crowd,” Max whispered to Anders, as he sat back into his saddle. Anders chuckled and shook his head, then dismounted to join the others.

  “Chief Jorgen,” Ivan said, bowing his head slightly, showing Red’s father more respect than Max had.

  “Welcome to our camp. We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Come, we
have much to discuss,” Red’s father said, taking Red under his arm and walking back toward their camp.

  Chapter Ten

  |||||

  Zahara

  DESPITE THEIR PRESENCE, ANDERS and Max were not invited into the tent where the Rollo Island leaders were discussing their next plan of action. Instead they went to set up their own campsite near the edge of the cluster of warrior tents. The size of the camp rivaled the size of most towns in Westland. Anders remembered reading in a book in Theodor’s library that in the Rollos’ culture anyone brave enough to fight was allowed to join the warriors. He passed men, women, and even children as he and Max walked across the sprawling camp. The youngest child looked to be about fourteen years old. Anders greatly respected the women who’d come on their journey. He did worry that the youngest of the children were too young to see battle and could possibly be a hindrance in a fight.

  After Max and Anders set up a spot for themselves, they wandered through camp in search of food. Many fires blazed, most smelled of roasted meat. They joined in with a group who were handing slices of lamb cooked over a spit roast. Anders introduced himself and sat down to soak up the warmth of their fire. Max and Anders enjoyed the savory meat.

  Anders struck up a conversation with a woman sitting next to them. She introduced herself as Britt. “I was surprised to see such young warriors with your party,” Anders said to her through a mouthful of lamb.

  “It’s common in our culture to go on your first war party when you’re very young,” Britt replied, the thick Rolloan accent Anders’ had grown accustomed to from listening to Red was nearly absent in her speech. “Most of us have seen battle by the time we’re fourteen. I went on my first raid when I was thirteen,” she added proudly.

  “Weren’t you scared?” Anders asked her, imagining what he would have felt going off to fight strangers to the death when he was only thirteen years old.

  “Fear is something that we do not see in battle,” she said strongly. “It is the greatest honor for our people to die in the glory of battle. We do not fear death in battle; we welcome it.”

  Anders was shocked at this thought. “Why is that?” he asked.

  “If you fight hard and prove yourself to be a brave warrior and die in battle,” she said, “the spirit within your body will leave this world and join the spirits of others of our people who have gone before us. All of the finest foods are waiting in a giant feast when your spirit arrives at the Great Hall. A giant goat sits at the head of the table and its udders produce endless amounts of brew…” she trailed off smiling up into the night’s sky. “If you live your life as a brave warrior you will be granted a seat at the table. If you cower from battle or fear being killed in battle, then you will be damned for eternity and spend your afterlife wandering the endless skies outside the Great Hall’s gates, starving and thirsty, but never able to die from starvation or dehydration. That is why we don’t fear death in battle, it’s far worse to die afraid.”

  Anders thought the feast and endless brew didn’t sound that bad. “That is pretty amazing,” he said and turned to Max. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah. The great hall sounds like somewhere I could spend an eternity,” he said jokingly.

  Anders and Max thanked Britt and the others for their hospitality and walked back to their campsite.

  “That whole not being afraid to die in battle thing is nuts,” Max said when they reached their campsite. “Do they really think that being killed in battle is the best way to die?”

  Anders shrugged, “It could be an effective way to form a mindset for some people to be fearless in battle, even in the face of overwhelming odds.”

  “I want to die old and in my sleep,” Max said. “Preferably next to a beautiful woman.”

  “That sounds like a better way to go than being sliced open by a sword,” Anders said, settling into his blanket at their campsite.

  “Yeah, that is much better,” Max mumbled as he closed his eyes with a grin across his face.

  Anders was extremely tired from his lack of sleep the night before and then traveling all day, but he couldn’t stop thinking about his encounter with the young dragon. He decided to wait until Max was sound asleep and then go for another walk. Maybe the dragon would find him again. Anders wanted to feel the warming sensation the dragon gave him once more. He was desperate enough to wander away from camp to have a chance at finding it again.

  He dozed in fits, nodding off to sleep and catching himself before he was all of the way out. He again stared up at the washed out stars hoping the attempt to find constellations he knew would keep him awake. He found himself thinking back to the girl from the competition again, Maija. He replayed their kiss again in his mind. Just then he heard a rustling in the grass nearby.

  There isn’t any wind tonight. Maybe the dragon is letting me know that the coast is clear to come and meet with it, he hoped.

  For the second time in as many nights, Anders slowly climbed out of his makeshift bed. He could tell from the quiet snoring that Max was asleep, so he snuck off into the tall grass toward the rustling sound.

  He heard it again and moved closer. When he saw what it was, he dropped down out of sight. It wasn’t the dragon. It was Ivan.

  I knew there was something weird about him being up in the middle of the night, he thought.

  Surely if he was going to the bathroom, as Max suggested he was doing the night before, he would have stayed closer to camp. Anders made sure to keep his distance, but kept a visual on where Ivan was going. He followed him as he continued away from camp. Anders hoped that the number of people in the camp would be too overwhelming for Ivan to sense Anders trailing behind him. From a distance, Anders watched as Ivan walked to a pile of boulders scattered on a small hill.

  Ivan crouched down behind a rock and pulled something small from his coat pocket. A bright light shone, illuminating his silhouette against the darkened night. Ivan began to talk to it. He was too far away for Anders to hear what he was saying, and after the last time he spied on Ivan having a secret conversation, Anders decided it was best not to listen in on whatever he was doing.

  Instead, Anders decided to take a different route back to camp. He didn’t want Ivan to catch him out of bed again on his way back to camp. He made sure to stay low out of sight, creeping toward the beach through the tall grass. He wondered if he should continue to look for the dragon. Anders decided to find a place to sit and watch the waves. The last time the dragon found him, he was enjoying his natural surroundings. Solomon told him dragons could sense things in people and thought if he did it again, perhaps the dragon would return.

  He walked until he could no longer see the glow of the campfires still burning along the beach. The sound of the crashing waves reminded him of being back at home at Highborn Bay. He found the repetition of the waves relaxing. He sat down on a log to enjoy the peacefulness of the coast. Looking down, he noticed baby sea turtles on the other side of the log crawling out of the sand. He smiled as he watched them use their paddle-like flippers to push themselves through the sand to the ocean’s breaking waves. Anders had never seen this phenomenon before. He felt happy seeing the baby turtles make it from their nest all the way to the water, where they could begin their life’s journey.

  As he watched the last of the hatchlings crawl out from behind the log, he heard a swooshing noise behind him. He swiveled around to see the dragon gliding just above the ground, coming straight for him. He ducked behind the log, but the dragon made a soft landing next him instead of swooping over his head. Anders peeked out from behind the log and saw the majestic creature sitting back on its hindquarters and looking down at him with purple eyes.

  Feeling a little bit foolish, he propped himself back up on the log. He looked over to the dragon. It watched him intently. Anders reached his arm out slowly toward the dragon. It bowed its head to meet his hand. He rubbed its forehead and the dragon purred. He felt the warmth of the dragon coursing like
liquid fire into his veins. The feeling was electrifying and charged his body in a way he’d never known possible. It brought a newfound sense of rejuvenation to him, making him feel as full of energy as he’d ever felt in his entire life. Then he heard a voice come from the dragon. It was feminine, gentle and kind-hearted.

  I followed you from the edge of the forest all the way to this beach, she said. Anders could hear the voice in his ears yet the dragon’s mouth didn’t move.

  “How are you doing that?” Anders asked.

  Well, I made sure not to leave until your group was far out of sight… she began.

  Anders interrupted, “No, I mean talking to me. I can hear your voice, but I don’t see your lips moving.”

  Oh, said the dragon. I can’t use my mouth to make words like you humans, but I can use my mind to make you hear what I have to say.

  “That’s amazing,” Anders said.

  Thank you, the dragon said, and purred.

  “Why did you follow me?” Anders asked.

  When I first saw you walking along the edge of the trees, I noticed something within you that I have not seen before. You were completely in love with what was around you. I could feel your love for the earth and nature, so I followed you. I was so drawn to you that something within me made me show myself to you, the dragon said. When my body did that, I got a little scared. Your love for nature seemed to disappear when you first saw me. I wasn’t quite sure, but I trusted my instincts and when we touched it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before, almost electrifying, but filling me with a strength I’ve never had.”