Riverside City Chronicles | Book 1 | Riverside City [Capes & Cowls]

by VanDerHeyden, Paul C.

After the first loop shoots him out into the central part of the chamber, he figures out what he has to do, he increases his speed after mentally tagging each tunnel. He shoots directly across from his first exiting point, toward the opposite entrance. At the tunnel he exits, one of five lanterns above it is lit now.

  At some point Cinder passes him, but he’s so focussed on finishing that he doesn’t care. After a half hour or so, he ends up panting on another cushion that Cinder summons up for him when he starts to collapse and lose control of his flight.

  “Wow, impressive. I mean that, you have impressive endurance for a newly awakened Descendent of the Great Golden Dragon. Most of them are all about the flashy or bursty powers, but you’re made to go the distance,” Cinder smiles as she lays flat on her back on top of her big red cushion. Small amounts of smoke come from her ears, trailing up like small horns until they dissipate about six inches from her head.

  Theo sucks in big lungfuls of air, his chest heaving. “How big is this circuit?” He pauses, looking around for a drink of some kind. He spots a crystal bottle, about the size of a standard water bottle, in a golden holster attached to one corner of his cushion.

  Seeing him eyeball the bottle, Cinder nods her head and Theo pops the top of the bottle and tilts it back to take a drink.

  One drop hits his tongue and a cool wave shoots through his body. It feels like he just got eight hours of sleep, a good meal, and a full body massage.

  This has got to be the nectar of the gods. Ambrosia, I think, if we’re going Greek.

  “What is this stuff?” Theo asks, obviously impressed.

  “It’s a precious resource, called Tears of the Dragon. Unlike that softy Richter, I’m not feeding you with my qi. You have to eat and drink just like normal here, though with what you’ll be eating you won’t have to worry about the bathroom. That bottle and its contents are the only limit to your time here. It is the only source of nutrients or moisture in this place, the moment you would actually die without a drink, you’ll wake up. Don’t try to stretch it too far, I’ve seen some Children go back with half a bottle left because they went too hard and couldn’t make it back to the bottle. Most Descendents last a week, but I think you’ll do much better, seeing as you stopped drinking with a drop like you’re supposed to.” Cinder nods in approval.

  “Now, get back to training Loser. The tunnels will always be big enough for you to really open up, speed wise, so go for it. I’ll be here if you need advice. If you make it a week, I’ll stop you and we’ll have a chat about your powers,” she lays back on the cushion and starts snoring.

  I think I like her as a trainer. As much as I love Richter, he is a bit strodgy. Cinder seems like she might just be what I need in a trainer. Actual independent study, guidance if I ask for it.

  The next week goes by in a blur, Theo focuses on speed and control, he does the circuit so many times he loses count, or he would if he could, perfect memory and all. It seems like each full rotation takes a half an hour, despite him changing speed, one lap full out and one at a leisurely pace took the same amount of time.

  Theo settles back down on the cushion, grabs the crystal bottle and takes a drop onto his tongue. The cool sensation is just as good the seventh time. He looks toward Cinder to find her distractedly playing with a purple bubble, her teeth bared in a half snarl like a cat playing with it’s favorite toy.

  “What’s that?” Theo slides his legs out over the edge of the cushion, he starts to kick his feet gently.

  It’s got to be something amazing, like a fire soul or something from a Wuxia novel. I wish Kat was here to experience this. I guess she just didn’t make it in, I’ll have to tell her about it when I get out.

  ‘The...h...I...tired,’ a faint voice comes into Theo’s mind unbidden.

  What was that, I know I have some impressive mental wards, only Kat gets in that easily.

  ‘It’s me...idiot. I’m in a bubble somewhere, find me!’ Kat’s inner voice is clear this time.

  Cinder finally replies to Theo’s question, “It's an intruder, they’re rare, but they have happened. I’ve been playing with this one since it showed up a few minutes after your last fill up yesterday. I’m going to toy with it before I show you how to incinerate something properly using them as the target!” She holds up the purple sphere and a black figure slams into it from inside.

  Theo’s face pales. “You’re not incinerating that! My girlfriend is inside!” He lunges toward Cinder, only to find her behind him when he gets to where she was.

  “What does she look like? I want to make sure you’re not just some softy trying to get in good with a Cowl, I think that’s the current term for a villain?”

  Theo scowls, “Latina, sky blue eyes, brunette, small scar under her chin from a bad fall off of the playground slide when she was four. How close am I? I’m guessing dead on, seeing as she’s asking me to get her out right now telepathically.” His voice at this point is cold, angry, and lethal. Unbidden to him, he’s generated a ball of flame in both hands.

  “Yup that’s her, come on out!” She takes a fingernail, forms it into a claw, and pops the bubble.

  Kat, dressed in a black gi, falls into Theo’s arms and starts sobbing into his chest. The flames in his hands disappear the same way they showed up, unbidden.

  “I’ve been calling for you since I got here yesterday. That woman,” she glares at Cinder who waves lazily back, “trapped me in a bubble and spent the better part of the day spinning it! I did some very unlady-like things in that bubble and I’m not proud of that, but she’s evil! She didn’t even listen when I tried telling her who I was. She just said that ‘intruders won’t be tolerated,’ and how she was going to enjoy incinerating me.”

  “Cinder, is this true?” Theo glares at Cinder, his eyes glowing red.

  “I didn’t bother…” Cinder begins, then she notices Theo’s eyes. Like the flip of a switch, she changes tacts and sits up properly, “I couldn’t hear her, she was trapped in between the astral plane, where we are, and the material plane you come from. Until I popped that bubble, there was no way to hear her.” Cinder looks at Kat and inclines her head slightly, “My deepest apologies, any being cared for by Theo here must be special indeed.”

  Theo looks down at the shaking form of Kat and meets her eyes, seeing that the fear he saw before is gone, his eyes go back to their normal hazel, but not before Kat sees them shining bright red.

  Cinder sees Kat’s reaction and shakes her head, “Theo, give me a few laps so I can get your lesson ready. I’ll take care of Kat here.”

  “Is it okay if I go?” Theo asks Kat worriedly.

  Kat forces a smile, “Go ahead, I’ll be fine for a while.”

  “Awesome!” Theo jumps up, leaving Kat seated nicely on his big cushion. He gives her a kiss on the head and then flashes away with a “Woo hoo!”. A muted boom can be heard as he breaks the sound barrier before he leaves the central chamber.

  Chapter 37: The Deal

  “How much do you know about Theo’s heritage?” Cinder asks, her cushion floating toward Kat until their cushions touch.

  “Next to nothing, I know his powers come from something called a ‘Draconic Awakening’ but that’s it. I haven’t been able to find anything about it in any book or archive I have access to. I’m assuming you know more?” Kat says guardedly, her arms crossed below her chest.

  “I know more than he does, but I can’t give him all that information unless he asks the right questions. Bother, I hate the old ways. Too much cloak and dagger for my taste. However, with you here, I have a unique opportunity. I’m forbidden from telling Theo about things, but there’s no rules about telling his lover. Then I can’t stop you from transferring the memories to him, capiche?” Cinder’s face is plastered with a foxlike smile, a small cackle escapes her before she catches herself.

  “Lover…” Kat’s face flushes as she thinks about it, “I may be his girlfriend, but I can’t be called his lover, not yet at least.”

&nbs
p; “Wow, he must really love you,” Cinder whistles a bit.

  Kat cocks her head like her namesake, “How so, because he didn’t make me his lover yet?”

  Cinder laughs, “You’re dating a literal dragon, the fact that he didn’t take you right where you stood the first time he kissed you for more than a few seconds says something about his level of control. I’m going to unpack a bit here, is that okay?” She starts making small flame paintings to use as visual aids for this conversation.

  “Go ahead, when you said I was dating a literal dragon, you caught my attention.” Kat goes into a lotus pose and leans in toward Cinder.

  “Well, it’s like this. Theo and I share a mutual ancestor, he is referred to as the Great Golden Dragon, when you think of it, trust me, all caps for the GGD. He was that powerful, he ruled all of China and most of the rest of Asia. He’s secretly the reason China survived the First Great Meta War.”

  “Meta War? What’s that? Nevermind, keep going, I’ll ask later,” Kat files that question away for later.

  “All right, I’ll keep going then. So our mutual ancestor had a great many good traits, though one that could be considered not as good was his proclivity to sire children with anyone willing to lay with him. Now, he treated his children very well, I’m living proof of that, but over time his children grew so numerous that he had to do something with them. He made us into his army.”

  “I was a member of the Fire Corps, a general in fact, I led all but my older brother Bolganone. He was great, until he died at the hands of The Darkswarn. They almost killed me before GGD saved me. He couldn’t save my body, but he saved my soul and gave me a purpose, to train his descendants who have power over fire. I’ve been doing that ever since.”

  “Now, back to why I’m surprised to hear about Theo’s restraint. He has the most pure strain of our ancestor’s power that I’ve ever seen. You’ve seen his scales, I think you call it his Suit, yes?”

  Kat nods, enraptured with the flame paintings that Cinder is creating to help describe things to her.

  “It’s pure gold, by the way, that’s actually his natural scales, not a Suit. A few bits get a bit of extra scales covering them when he’s in combat, but he’s basically naked when he’s like that. Anyway, that color doesn’t happen. The most pure color I’ve ever heard of is someone with silver scales, Yinlong is his name. Theo is going to be frighteningly powerful if he survives until his 21st birthday.”

  “Anyway, his restraint is even more surprising given his similarities to our ancestor. If it was the GGD, he would have taken you somewhere private and impregnated you right there. Consensually of course, he was nothing if not just, but very few women refused a man as powerful as that. On top of that, if you bear a Child of the Dragon, which is what we’re called by the way, you gain a trace of their power. If you already have powers, you get even more power from it. That’s what drew most, if not all, of those women to his bed. Some nights he would have a dozen women in there for him. Any woman leaving his bedchamber did so pregnant, his children notwithstanding.”

  Kat recoils at that, “So he was a huge man whore? How is that great?”

  Cinder’s smile fades. She snarls, “You’re speaking about my father, watch your tongue, mortal. I am treating you so well because of Theo’s wishes, but if you continue to besmirch my father’s great name. I’ll be forced to take other measures.”

  Kat can see and feel the waves of anger roll off of Cinder.

  If I don’t watch my tongue, she’ll kill me. I can feel it.

  “My apologies, it must be my modern sensibilities, of course, the most powerful being creating more offspring makes sense. It makes the world a better place,” Kat says very formally.

  Cinder smiles a little bit. “Your empathic powers are no joke, I haven’t been read like that since I got here, good job adjusting. That was a test, mostly… I want you to understand one thing. Theo loves you. Our kind loves deeply, as long as you don’t betray him, he’ll love you forever. That’s a big deal, he’s so young, usually we don’t find mates until we’re well into our second century.”

  “Second century? How long do Children of the Dragon live?” Kat asks nervously.

  Without missing a beat, Cinder replies, “Oh, at least five or six centuries, for the single element Children, once we get three elements...I don’t think any of them died of old age even thousands of years ago.”

  Kat blanches. “What? So Theo is immortal now? I mean… I know he has the body of a god.” She blushes deeply, in stark contrast to her fearful expression. “But now he’ll live forever? How am I supposed to deal with that?”

  Cinder stares Kat deep in the eyes. “Yes, Theo is immortal until he is killed, he will never grow old and die. He’ll be around for the rise and fall of the world for all time most likely, if I’m correct about who or what he is.” A ball of fire appears in Cinder’s hands and she moulds it into a smiley face.

  “What should you do? Be glad to have the time with him that you will, he’ll never forget you, I can promise you that. I still remember my first spouse, she was a mage who loved water magic. I held her in my arms as she passed away after living with her for 75 years. She smiled and told me to love again, so after a few decades, I did. My second spouse was obsessed with martial arts; he actually lived almost three centuries, wily as he was. I had a dozen children with him. I wonder how many of our descendants are still out in the world. I only got to meet one, and she was here just a few years ago.”

  “My brothers were luckier, when their spouses gave birth to their children, they took on some semblance of the power of their husbands. My eldest brother was a silver, his wife was almost 3000 years old when my astral self was transported here. She started out as a simple farmer and ended up with even more power than me. They had just three children, triplets in their first year of marriage.”

  “Dragon, it's a word that instills fear here in the West, but in the East dragons mean plentiful harvests and good weather. That’s the kind of dragons we are. We bring life into the world, both directly through offspring, and indirectly by protecting those we care about so they can do the same. Our rage is mighty, but our love is deeper and mightier.”

  Kat's mind reels at this revelation for a few moments, Cinder gives her time to process the information that she just dumped on her shoulders.

  THEO’S A DRAGON!!! Okay, now that I’ve screamed that into my mindsphere, I need to think.

  Does this change who he is? No, he’s always been a dragon, he just didn’t know it.

  Does he love me still? Yes, even Cinder says so and I don’t think she likes me.

  Do I still love him? More than anything in the world.

  Good talk me, we should do this again sometime.

  “All right, so I’m in love with a dragon. That’s news, but it only means that I get to love him even longer now, so I’m good there. You said there’s some kind of organization hunting down the Children of the Dragon. Why are they doing that?”

  Kat pauses in thought for a moment. “Also, is there anything I have to worry about when he finishes puberty? Dragon spikes from anywhere odd that he won’t notice?”

  Cinder stares at Kat for a moment and then bursts out laughing. After a few minutes, Cinder recovers. “Oh, please stop, you’re making my sides hurt. Puberty, that's what you're worried about? Oh, that’s just too good!” She holds her sides as she rolls on her cushion for a few moments.

  “Well? I’m in uncharted territory here, how do I know he isn’t going to just instantly spout face spikes like you see in pictures of Chinese dragons? I kiss that face! I need to know!” Kat’s face starts out serious, then devolves into giggling along with Cinder.

  They lay there laughing as Theo speeds by, one quarter of the way done with his laps. He sees Cinder and Kat laughing together and smiles.

  I’m glad they’re getting along, it would be a rough few years in here if they weren’t getting along. Oh crap, I wonder how many drops Kat will need each day. The bot
tle holds 10,000 drops. I only need one a day, but she probably needs at least two or three. I’ll ask Cinder when these laps are done.

  ___

  Kat and Cinder sit together for the next 20 minutes or so, Cinder promises that no big pointy things will come out of Theo that aren’t normal for a teenage boy, she winks and Kat blushes again. She describes draconic puberty as a time of intense emotion, but the physical changes happen over the course of a couple nights, so Theo probably already went through the first stage of it. He probably has one more to go, but that will affect his draconic form, not his human form.

  She advises taking Theo into the mountains for that, so he doesn’t hurt anyone while he writhes in pain. She also mentions calling Yinlong and asking for his assistance with that last task. “Yinlong will know when it’s time”, she says certainly.

  Finally, they exchange stories about their respective relationships. Cinder describes how her first spouse, Shui, was her childhood best friend, just like Theo and Kat. She goes on to explain how she almost drowned but her friend saved her at the last second after hearing Cinder floundering in the pond near their village. After Shui pulled all of the water out of Cinder’s lungs she took the initiative and kissed Cinder on the lips. They were a couple from then until the end of Shui’s life.

  Kat describes her first kiss with Theo in vivid detail, but when asked about a first date she gets defensive. “I was planning on taking him on patrol next week, then out to dinner to celebrate his Awakening and us becoming a couple, but our lives are so busy now. I don’t know what to do. Do you have any ideas?”

  “You’re asking an ancient draconic astral form for dating advice? Are you kidding me with that? While I can see the world you live in, I only get it in moments of intense emotion, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, stuff like that.”

  “I’ve seen more proposals than any other event, they’re always charged with either happiness or dread, both very powerful emotions. First dates are usually tentative until the end, then they go one of two ways, either very intense, or dull. I only see the first of those and I’m not comfortable discussing that with a minor.”