Dragon Guard

by Devonnie Asher

  "One of the things that I was really upset about, was that I managed to lose this," he held it up. The stone shone brilliantly in the incandescent light from the bulbs above us. "I told you the story of it?"

  "A good luck gift from your mom." I said.

  "It was more than that," he looked at the necklace longingly. "She was already sick when I got accepted here. My mother, she..." he sucked in a deep breath. "My mother was from another country, and she came to Pyralis in search of a better life. She ended up selling every valuable item she had in order to get here. Everything except this necklace. I always theorized that it was worth a lot, but for whatever reason she never sold it."

  I hung on to his words, tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

  "It was when she gave it to me that she told me why she never did. It was a gift from my father. I had never met him, but she had always told me that he was really wealthy and powerful. The necklace was a marriage proposal. That's how they did things in their country," he seemed so close to tears, and I felt every bit as emotional as he looked. "She said that it brought her good luck, because the night he gave it to her was the night she got pregnant with me. She hoped it would give me good luck at the Academy too."

  I took a deep breath, stilling my trembling lower lip. I could feel Avek's distress oozing out of his pores, and I understood it. This necklace to him was what my knife was to me. Remnants of a life we desperately wanted to hold on to, reminders of a person who left us too soon. I had known that it was important to him, but the magnitude of its importance had been lost on me.

  "I kept it safe for you," I offered, reaching out to touch his hand that held the necklace. He seemed entranced by it, and it felt good to know that I had reunited him with something so valuable.

  "Thank you for returning it to me," he said. "But..." his intense gaze was now fixed on me. "I want you to keep it."

  Avek stood, slipping into the space at the back of my chair. I wanted to protest, to tell him that I didn't want it. But his cool fingers on my neck distracted me.

  "It was a gift from your mother," I began, my voice oddly warbled from the cornucopia of emotions. I couldn't tell where one feeling began and the other started. "I couldn't..."

  "For good luck, yes. I already made it through the Academy," he said, brushing my hair aside. "You could use some luck."

  The stone was cool against the hollow of my neck, sending a chill through me.

  "Avek, you should keep it, really." Something like guilt settled in my throat. "I don't want to take something so important from you."

  He finished fastening it around my neck, and leaned over my shoulder to look at me with those determined eyes. I already felt my resolve melting.

  "I'm giving it to you," he said slowly. "I want to keep the necklace close. That’s why I'm putting it on you. I want to keep you close too."

  All my resistance evaporated by the time those words left his lips. He pressed another fleeting kiss to my temple before returning to his seat. I took his hand. We sat in silence for a while, consumed by our thoughts. Both of us knew what this meant, as much as we didn't verbalize it. My heart felt like a stormy sea, bubbling with unsaid words.

  But in the eye of the storm, something became clear to me. It was something I had known for a while now, but had been too scared to admit.

  I wanted to keep Avek close too, and I would do it at all costs.

  Chapter 8

  Visiting Avek helped me more than I would have admitted to anyone.

  My weekly visits to him and Betheka, made my life at the Academy just a little better. Training was still hard, but at least I no longer felt defeated. I was even making headway with motivating Ignimitra as well. Things were almost okay.

  Almost.

  There was still a hole in my heart, and it was around the size of Irikai and Solra. But I wasn't going to be the one to extend the olive branch, not after they had chosen to make me into the villain of their story.

  Presently, Ignimitra and I were in the spot I had kept my nightly vigil for Avek. I didn't come here nearly as often as before. My back was against her side, both of us looking out at the expanse of the Administrative District.

  Darkness had descended, and it seemed like the entire settlement was asleep. Twinkling streetlights lined the roads, but the windows of most houses were dark. Every week, more and more soldiers were sent into the field. Some were sent to the front lines, others on missions too secret for us to know about, while others were dispatched to our colonies with the aim of quelling the dissent that news of the war had stirred up.

  I didn't like thinking about it, the war. Despite how difficult it was, I preferred to focus on my training. After what I had experienced the last time I was in the field, I knew speculating about what assignment we'd be given would bring back my night terrors-and they were just subsiding.

  When it happened, I would deal with it.

  I want to go somewhere tomorrow night. Ignimitra's voice shook, it felt like nervousness.

  I turned to look at her. She was staring off into the distance, her face set.

  Go somewhere? Alone?

  She bopped her head. Yes, alone.

  Aside from the fact that her request was strange, it made me feel hurt for some reason. But I ignored the twinge of pain as best as I could.

  Where do you want to go?

  She angled her head towards me, a frown on her mouth. A plume of ash burst from her nostrils as she sighed, like the question I had asked her was much too heavy for her to answer. What was with her?

  I want to see Zelkor and Titan, she began, her eyes looking everywhere but at me. I don't think a human squabble should keep us apart.

  The twinge of pain became a stab. I opened my mouth to protest, but decided against it.

  It isn’t a “human squabble.” Solra and Irikai rejected us!

  Ignimitra's eyes snapped to mine then.

  No. You felt like they rejected you, and they felt like you rejected them. None of that involved me, Zelkor or Titan.

  I narrowed my eyes, grinding my teeth.

  How did this plan even happen? Have you been to see them?

  Ignimitra nodded. Yes, I have. I went to see them while you were visiting Avek. All three of us think this thing is stupid.

  Well, that stung. Nothing like three dragons agreeing that your actions were stupid. I considered her request for a moment. Ignimitra had grown up with Zelkor and Titan in the same way I had grown up with Irikai and Solra.

  Despite my feelings, it wasn’t right to keep them apart.

  Fine, I huffed. You can see them, but next time don't sneak off like that.

  Ignimitra rolled her eyes. Thank you, Kaos.

  I was about to reach out and touch the side of her face when a loud shriek cut through the air. It was guttural, like an animal in pain. I shot to my feet, looking around to see where it was coming from. Not above us, not behind us.

  Look, down there! Ignimitra nudged me in the direction of the sound. I couldn't see anything at first, only black. Then my vision melded with Ignimitra's and I could see everything she was.

  A group of Dragon Guard soldiers were pulling a huge cart, laden with an animal that I didn't recognize. It was writhing and screeching against that bound it. Whatever it was, it looked heavier than they could’ve managed on their own. The soldiers must have been using the strength of their fusion bonds to pull it along.

  We watched them quietly until they came to a stop in front of one of the old, abandoned buildings near the infirmary. The soldiers looked around, almost as if to check that they weren't being watched, then the four of them disappeared into the building.

  When we saw them again, they didn’t have the cart.

  What kind of animal was that? I turned to Ignimitra; she was still gazing at the group of soldiers intently.

  It seemed like a dragon. She sounded far away.

  A dragon?

  That made little sense. Why would four Dragon Guard soldiers—who had take
n an oath to protect the Dragons of Pyralis—have one tied up in their wagon? And where did they even take it to? My mind was alive with possibilities.

  Are you sure it's a dragon?

  She bopped her head. I want to say that I am. We felt like kin, but...we also didn't.

  What do you mean?

  That the creature had the essence of a dragon, but it felt empty and in pain. Maybe it was because we were so far away, her voice sounded urgent now. I need to see it to be sure.

  My thoughts screeched to a halt.

  The thought of snooping around on those soldiers made a lump in my throat. Secrets seemed to lurk around every corner of the Academy, and I had seen first hand what happened when you defied the rules in place.

  But I could feel the sadness permeating Ignimitra's thoughts. My dragon had a heart of gold—and the thought of another dragon being mistreated was causing her distress. I couldn't think of any good reason to have a dragon tied up like that.

  I had heard the shrieks myself.

  It was the same sound goats made before they were slaughtered for dinner.

  You're too big to go see it, I said. Her resistance was strong. But, I'm much more inconspicuous.

  I gave her a smile.

  You'd do it? Her words were tinged with disbelief.

  I nodded. My leg is all healed now. I'm sure I could.

  I believe you can, she offered.

  My heart rate picked up as I gazed at the abandoned building. Silently I hoped that Ignimitra's instincts were off and we had been overthinking this.

  I LEFT IGNIMITRA PERCHED on the rock face.

  Hopefully, our fusion bond would still work from this far, but I wasn’t hopeful. I was on my own with this.

  By the time I made it to the street that led to the abandoned building, I could feel my pulse in between my eyes. My skin was stippled with goosebumps and the air felt ridiculously cold.

  Instinct told me to turn around and run, but I forced myself forward. Despite the knot in my stomach, this was something I had to do. Something wasn't right, and I had to figure it out. More than that, I had given Ignimitra my word.

  Derelict buildings lined the narrow street. Nature had begun to reclaim their crumbling stones, vines wrapping around the exposed columns and gate posts. The streetlights hummed overhead, casting bright incandescent light on this run-down part of town. I hugged the shadows, using collapsed columns and forgotten garbage receptacles as my cover.

  The eeriness of it all parched my throat. There was an innate feeling that I didn’t belong in these parts, and I couldn't shake it. My hand traveled to the cool stone pressed against my neck. I squeezed it lightly, hoping that whatever luck Avek's mother had imbued it with would help me through this.

  With light footsteps, I hopped the low gate that encircled the building. It was so rusty that it would’ve either squeaked or fallen apart if I tried to open it.

  There were no lights in the yard. Just unruly shrubs and parasitic vines, and a forest of gnarled trees that obstructed most of the building from view. Silently, I padded through the knee-high grass following the fresh tracks the soldier's wagon had made. The farther inward I walked, the more the building's true form came into view.

  It wasn't nearly as small as it looked from the road, in fact the plot of land it sat on seemed to stretch all the way back to the cliff that fell off into the Artisan District.

  What was this place? Nothing had ever brought me to this side of town before. From the cliff, it had seemed like just another abandoned building, a vestige of Olde Pyralis like other parts of the mountain.

  I had been so wrong.

  My path wound beside the building that was little more than a pile of stones. The thick trees provided good cover, and every now and then I crouched behind one to check if I was being followed. Each time, I continued when the coast was clear.

  Up ahead, I could see lights.

  At first, I thought it was the light from a nearby streetlight or an occupied building next door. But as I got closer, it became clear that the lights originated from this building, even though it didn't look like it had electricity.

  Electricity meant inhabitants.

  Deftly, I scaled the nearest tree, opting to get as close as I could under the cover of the thick branches. Instinctively, I unsheathed my dagger from the scabbard strapped to my leg. I had left my sword at home, so this would have to do. I approached the light slowly, vaulting from branch to branch until I was perched above a clearing in the tree cover.

  At first, I couldn't understand what I was looking at.

  The clearing looked freshly made. The maroon-colored earth was exposed and devoid of the knee-high grass that I had waded through to get here. A transparent tarpaulin was draped over the entire area, bunching up at the roots of the trees along the perimeter. Light bulbs were tied to every other tree, creating a ring of light. There was a huge tub of some strange liquid in the clearing, as well as five large wooden tables loaded with glass vials. Potions, they looked like. A man stood, tinkering at one of the tables. The cart I had seen earlier was cast off to one side.

  But I couldn't tear my eyes away from what lay in the middle of the tarpaulin. It was the same animal that I had seen from the cliff. Now that I was this close, I saw it for what it was.

  Ignimitra had been right. It was a dragon.

  The creature was smaller than Ignimitra by at least three tail-lengths. It was as small as a Suneye—a small, swift dragon breed usually used to carry urgent messages between Dragon Guard battalions. But this dragon definitely wasn't a Suneye. Instead of golden scales, this dragon’s were such a deep black that it felt like I was staring into an abyss. Even its eyes seemed black and pupil-less—almost like it was soulless.

  Are you seeing this? I called out to Ignimitra. The part of my brain that was usually alive with her feelings had gone silent.

  There was no answer. It seemed our bond wasn’t strong enough for me to hear her here.

  A bubble of panic rose within me then, but I quelled it. Now that I had seen this, there was no going back. I had to figure out what was happening here. I owed it to myself and Ignimitra, even to this black dragon.

  Who did it belong to? Why was it bound here?

  Thick silver chains wrapped the dragon's body from neck to tail. Its feet were pressed against its body, and even from this distance the bindings looked painful. It reminded me of how I found Ignimitra in the Astraphotian camp—pressed to the ground by a heavy chain net.

  How could this be happening in Pyralis?

  The man who had been busy at one of the tables drew my attention when he walked towards the dragon. He was thin and caramel-skinned, with thick brown dreadlocks that stretched all the way to the small of his back. He was going grey at the roots, despite the fact that his face looked almost youthful. I held my breath as he moved closer to the creature, my grip on my dagger tightened.

  He walked around the dragon slowly, as if surveying it.

  "How far did you make it?" He asked the creature, leaning down to touch it. The dragon shuddered away from him. "It's a good thing you're back. All our research would've been lost."

  Research? My stomach churned, but I took care not to make a sound.

  He had a vial in his hand. Without warning, he poured it onto the dragon's skin.

  Skreeeeeyaaaaaaaaah!

  A heart-rending scream echoed through the clearing, chilling my blood. Tears pricked the corner of my eyes, and it took everything in me not to jump down and do something to make that monster scream in the same way.

  He seemed totally unfazed by the dragon's cries. If anything, he seemed pleased, for he said, "Marvelous,” jotting down something on a notepad he retrieved from his pocket.

  It was when he stepped away from the dragon to retrieve something from one of the desks that it all became clear. Whatever he had poured on the dragon had burned some of its skin away, leaving a patch of smoking, blistering flesh in its wake. But the dragon seemed bigger—its muscles
had expanded, rippling under the burned flesh.

  The cruelty of it all made my skin itch. I covered my mouth to stop my screams.

  The wicked alchemist returned with another vial. This time, he hesitated.

  "You know, it isn't polite to snoop around," he called out, turning on his heel to face me. The pair of rimmed spectacles he wore glinted in the light, but I could tell he was looking in my direction.

  I didn't dare breathe. I was certain that I was shrouded in the leaves of the tree, and my grey uniform only added to my stealth. There was no way...

  He took one, two steps in my direction.

  "I suggest you run away," his voice was oddly calm for someone who thought he had been discovered. "The soldiers will be back soon, and they won't be as lenient as I am."

  Then, he just turned his back on me.

  His warning had done little to dissuade me—he clearly didn't know who I was, or that I was one of the very soldiers he had used in his threat. He seemed easy enough to overpower, and maybe I'd be able to free the dragon before the other soldiers returned.

  But, then what?

  Ignimitra couldn't hear me, and though the creature was small, I surely couldn't carry it on my own.

  Ignimitra, are you there? Still nothing.

  With a heaving sigh, I decided to do the one thing I absolutely hated. Retreat. It felt like cowardice. But cowards get to fight another day, and maybe one of those fights would make them a hero.

  I put my dagger in its scabbard and made my escape to the gut-wrenching screams of the black dragon. Then all of a sudden, they ceased. Had he killed it?

  My heart was heavy. How would I explain this to Ignimitra?

  IT WAS ON MY ASCENT to the ledge where I had left Ignimitra that I saw the four soldiers returning. They didn't have a wagon this time.

  I scowled at the sight of them, marching in formation, acting as if they were on their way to some official duty when they were accomplices to whatever the hell that madman was doing.