by Eric Vall
Before I could respond, Chief Fiyero walked away and disappeared inside the tent.
“Excuse me for just a moment, Lord Evan,” Ravi said from my side as she stepped around me, “I have something I need to discuss with my father.”
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes!” she assured me with a frantic wave. “Of course. It’s nothing serious, just a few issues within the tribe I told some of my friends I’d talk to him about.”
“Okay,” I told her.
She smiled in return and followed after her father into his tent.
I walked around his and Ravi’s tents before I slipped inside my own. Then I pulled the maps from my spatial storage, unrolled one of them, placed it along the floor, and pinned the corners down with small piles of sand. I unrolled a few more and tried to figure out where the maps could meet. While I adjusted the parchments, I heard footsteps outside my tent, and the flaps were pulled apart.
Ravi stepped inside and looked at all the papers around me. She picked one up and studied it for just a moment before she rolled it back up and chose another. Then she glanced at the second map before she handed it to me.
“Here, this one continues the route along the left side.” She pointed at the map I had unfolded on the floor.
I looked quickly between the maps and realized she was right. So, I placed the second map next to the first one on the floor and lined the dark lines of the routes up. Then I weighed the corners down with sand and looked at Ravi.
“Thanks. You want to help me out with this?” I gestured to the two maps on the floor.
“I’d love to,” she replied with a beautiful smile.
She sat on the floor next to me, and we both picked up charts and examined them. My map matched with the top of the one Ravi had given me, and we set out to piecing them together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. We settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Ravi spoke again.
“I overheard my father and you talking while we walked back,” she said as she placed a map down. “Where will you and Valerra fly to tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure,” I told her and looked down at the maps. “I don’t want to go too far. I know we think the echidnas won’t be here for a few days at least, but I don’t want to risk it. I’m thinking we’ll just go to whatever’s closest to the tribe.”
“That makes sense,” she said as she placed another map.
Then her eyes narrowed, and she scrunched her nose as she looked at one of the pages. She flipped the map over and frowned.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
She looked up at me and blinked.
“Of course, why?” she asked with a small tilt of her head.
“You just seem off.” I shrugged.
“I guess I’m stressed about all of this,” she sighed. “We’re actually going to make a stand against the echidnas, which is great, but the last time this happened, things did not end well for us. I’m scared my people will be hurt.”
“What happened last time?” I asked her as I looked up from a map.
“My father hasn’t told you?” she questioned in surprise.
“No, he hasn’t really said much about the echidnas to me,” I said, and I piled sand on the corners of a map while we talked.
“Well, when the echidnas first arrived, they appeared suddenly and sporadically,” Ravi explained. “We had no idea how to stop them or even when to expect them. They just appeared out of thin air, and we were forced to run away.”
She curled her legs up to her chest as she grabbed another map.
“A few weeks after the echidnas first found us, I think it was their third attack, they came out of nowhere, and we were unprepared,” she went on. “They surrounded our village, and they attacked on all sides. My people were forced to fight through them to escape, and the echidnas killed a few of us. The beasts’ demonic presence destroys our pure essence, which in turn prevents us from being reborn. It was a dark day for us. It was the first time I had ever seen a phoenix die. That was part of the reason I knew I had to find help, no matter the consequences of doing it behind my father’s back.”
“I’m glad you found us when you did,” I told her gently. “I can’t believe they have enough intelligence to plan an attack like that.”
“Yes,” Ravi sighed as her blue eyes fell to the map between us. “We don’t know how, but somehow they are always able to move like one giant unit. It’s like they can communicate somehow.”
“Like they have a hive mind,” I mused.
“What does that mean?” Ravi questioned with a tilt of her head.
“It means they all have a collective consciousness,” I explained. “It’s a trait common to a lot of insects. They most likely have a queen that can secrete different pheromones to control the colony. If she dies, the hive will break apart until a new queen rises up to take the old queen’s place.”
“That seems like it could be true,” Ravi replied as she tapped her chin. “They all seem to be of one mind when they attack.”
“Ravi, have any of your people ever noticed if the echidnas swarm around any specific member of the colony?” I asked while my mind raced with different plans of attack. “If we could find the queen, we could easily take the colony down from the inside. All we need to do is find her.”
“I’m not sure,” Ravi replied with a frown. “I can ask around the scouts and see if they noticed anything while they patrolled the echidnas. Kiran is the one who usually flies over the entire colony once it is found. I can find and ask him. The morning patrol did check the progress of the colony today, so he will be our best bet for information.”
“I’ll go with you,” I responded instantly. “I don’t trust Kiran, and I don’t want you alone with him.”
As I spoke, I picked up another map fragment and quickly found the spot where it belonged. So, I slotted it into place and grinned. The complete map was finally finished, and I stared at it closely. I was thankful for my eidetic memory for things like this. Once I saw something, it would be nearly impossible to forget it.
“I know you two don’t get along, but Kiran is harmless,” Ravi defended and pulled my thoughts away from the maps. “He’s just aggressive with his words. He is very loyal and dedicated to his people.”
I clenched my jaw and remembered his words from earlier.
“Ravi, please, don’t talk to him alone anymore,” I said after I took a deep breath to calm my voice. “He’s a creep.”
“Okay, fine, but when do you want to find him?” she asked as she stood up, but then her eyes trailed over the maps as well. “Also, do you want me to ask Nix to draw you a smaller version of the complete map, so you don’t have to put all of them together again once you’re home in Hatra?”
“Nah, I’ll be okay,” I told her as I also stood from my spot on the floor. “I have a photographic memory. Once I see something, I can remember it almost perfectly. I can also draw this myself once I’m home and hang it up somewhere so everyone back in Hatra can use it.”
“What does photographic mean?” Ravi asked with a curious furrow to her brows.
My mind went blank. I knew I’d just talked myself into a corner, and I froze. Now, I could either make something up, or come clean to Ravi. I sighed and ran a hand through my dark hair. It was dangerous for too many people to know where I really came from, but when I glanced over and met the phoenix’s curious blue eyes, I felt myself smile. I knew I could trust Ravi, but I still sat there for a solid minute before she finally broke the silence.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she murmured.
She wasn’t angry or disappointed like I’d expected. Instead, she sounded like she had already accepted the fact that I wouldn’t answer. She toyed with a fraying string on her robe, and I knew right then that I no longer wanted any secrets between us.
“Ravi,” I began, but then I suddenly remembered about all the different phoenixes here. I didn’t actually know if they had superio
r hearing. “Do you want to go fly with me?”
She looked surprised for a minute but slowly nodded. “Of course.”
“Okay, follow me,” I said as I stood up and led us outside.
We walked to the desert beyond the village, and I transformed into my dragon body. Then I saw a pillar of blue flame as Ravi shifted, and we both took off into the sky.
“Where do you want to go?” Ravi shouted as she flapped next to my massive head.
“Somewhere private,” I called back, and she took off ahead of me.
We flew toward the sun as it began to set. Ravi tried to stay within its rays but quickly gave up when the sun started to vanish along the horizon. We flew around for another half hour before we stopped on top of a sand dune and shifted back into our human forms. Then Ravi sat on top of the sand, and her orange hair blew against the wind and around her head. We watched the sun silently as it finally set across the desert. The coolness of the night began to settle in, and Ravi inched closer to me, so I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to share warmth.
“Why are we out here, Evan?” Ravi asked as we sat together.
“I need to talk to you about something, and I don’t want others to hear it,” I told her honestly.
Her eyes grew wide as she looked up at me. “What is it you want to talk about?”
“It’s about where I’m from,” I answered hesitantly.
“You mean Hatra?” Ravi asked with a confused frown.
“No.” I shook my head.
“But that’s where you live? And your parents are the Elders of the village, right?”
“Ruslan adopted me, so him and Julia technically are my parents now,” I explained, “but I’m not from Hatra. In fact, I’m not even from Inati.”
Ravi cocked her head in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense, Lord Evan. How can you not be from Inati?”
I took a deep breath and explained everything as quickly as I could. When I was done, Ravi sat in silence as she absorbed all the information.
“So, you’re from an entirely different world called Earth,” she stated after the silence, “and on Earth, you were a human healer and not a dragon. Magic didn’t even exist on Earth and yet you put on a mask and somehow ended up in our world. You also have no idea how you got here.”
“That’s basically it, yeah.” I nodded. “I also need you to keep this a secret. Obviously, the people of Hatra know about me and so does Alyona and King Rodion, but we don’t want too many people to learn the truth about my past. We don’t know how or why I was brought here, and people could use that to turn the world against me.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Ravi promised as she looked into my face, and her blue eyes burned with fierce determination. “It doesn’t matter where you are from. Hatra is your home now, and you would die to defend it. That’s all that should matter to anyone. If people want to judge you by where you came from, that is on them. I know you are loyal to Rahma, not because you were born here but because you have shown yourself to be. You could have easily ignored all the problems Hatra faced to find a way home, but you didn’t, you stayed to help a broken city become even greater than it has ever been. You could have also ignored my plea for help, but you didn’t. You are a good man, Evan. A great one, in fact.”
“Thank you, Ravi,” I replied with a smile. “You are also a good, no great, person, but we are just concerned about the other nations within the world. So, we need to keep it quiet. You can’t tell anyone what you know about me, not even your father.”
“I won’t, I swear it,” she vowed with a solemn nod. “You can trust me.”
“I know I can,” I murmured as my eyes roved over her beautiful face. “That’s why I knew I could tell you.”
She smiled at me and curled her head into my side.
“I do still have a question, though,” she said a moment later.
“What is it?”
“What is a photographic memory?”
I laughed as I pulled her close, and I could smell the ash and faint scent of fire on her skin as she made herself comfortable at my side.
My heart did a strange twist when I realized she would have to stay here with her people when all of this was over. It was the same sort of twist I’d feel when Alyona or Laika would do something dangerous, or when Valerra and I fought. I knew I had grown to care for the phoenix, but now I started to realize how deep my affections for her truly went. She was beautiful, but she was also smart and brave. I wanted to ask her to come back to Hatra with me, but she was obviously dedicated to her people, and I couldn’t ask her to choose between me or her family. I wasn’t that cruel.
So, for now, I just wrapped my arms around her and pulled her as close as possible. Then I quietly explained cameras and photography to her, and she listened intently with her blue eyes wide in amazement.
Chapter 11
When we returned to the village, I bid Ravi goodnight with a small kiss on the cheek as she retired to her tent. Then I went in search of Valerra.
The crimson dragon wasn’t outside, I had looked for her when we flew back, but she also wasn’t inside her tent. I peeked through the flaps and saw the empty hammock before I returned to my tent, which was where I finally found her. She was alone as she stood over the map that was still splayed out in the middle of the small room, and she seemed to be lost in thought.
“Hey,” I said as I walked inside my tent. “What are you doing in here?”
Valerra turned her head to look back at me.
“What does it look like? I’m going over the map.” She turned her head back around and walked the length of the pieced together parchment. “Do you know where we are right now?”
“I didn’t ask Nix, but if you follow the path of the ‘x’s, we’re somewhere over here.” I pointed to one of the small ‘x’s on the bottom left corner of the map.
Valerra hummed and narrowed her eyes as she studied the image of the desert.
“The lines along the maps are the old caravan routes,” I explained. “I wanted to fly across one of them in the morning and see what I could find. Care to join me?”
“I suppose it would be nice to spread my wings for the day,” she responded after she thought for a moment.
“We should still have a few days until the echidnas arrive, but I want to stay close to the tribe, just in case something happens. Other than that, we can go wherever. The chief has given his blessing for us to be gone for the day.”
“I see you have gained Chief Fiyero’s favor,” Valerra commented with a quirked eyebrow.
“I have earned his trust,” I corrected. “He knows he can trust me, so he offered me the chance to leave because he knows I’ll come back.”
Valerra laughed.
“I’ve never seen a dragon care so much about others outside his own family.” She crossed her arms and smirked. “What do you hope to gain by earning his trust? A certain daughter of his, perhaps?”
“I’m not trying to gain anything.” I rolled my eyes. “I gave my word that I would help them, so that’s what I will do. The phoenixes could be powerful allies if we can create an alliance. Hatra needs as many allies as she can get before I leave.”
“You plan to leave Hatra?” Valerra asked with narrowed eyes. “I thought that human city was precious to you.”
“I won’t leave forever,” I replied. “King Rodion wants Alyona and I to travel around the country and persuade other nobles that I’m a good fit to rule alongside Alyona one day.” I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be gone forever, I know you’d miss me too much.”
“You flatter yourself,” Valerra scoffed. “I will finally have peace again when you are gone. I will count the days until you leave.”
“I’m sure you will,” I joked.
“I’ve grown tired of this conversation,” Valerra stated, and her voice was tinged with aggravation.
“Okay, sorry,” I chuckled. “You said you were looki
ng over the maps, right? Was there something specific you wanted to find?”
Valerra’s posture relaxed as I changed the topic.
“I’ve never seen the entirety of the desert from the ground,” she said. “It’s different to see everything drawn out versus flying above it. I was curious to see how it looks.”
“Well, since you’re here, you can help me pick where to go tomorrow. I’ve narrowed it down to these three routes. The first one is here.” I pointed to a dark line that ran horizontal on the map. It was close to where we currently were stationed and ran parallel to us. “The second one is here. It is close to the first route, but it runs vertical across the map. The last one is here.” I gestured to the final point. It was the farthest away, but the route ran vertically across the entire desert in one single line. “I think the last one will be where we find the most treasure. It seems like the best option for travelers since the other routes feed into it eventually, but I’ll leave it up to you.”
Valerra tapped her clawed index finger against her porcelain cheek and pondered over the different routes.
“The last one,” she finally answered. “If we want to find the most treasure in the least amount of time, that’s the path to use.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Then I guess we’ll head that way in the morning. I want to leave at dawn to give us the most daylight.”
“Fine, just don’t be late,” she warned me. “Your time management skills leave something to be desired.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I mocked.
She rolled her golden eyes before she spun on her heel and marched out of my tent. I watched her go with a shake of my head and a smile on my face.
The next morning came quickly, and before I knew it, Valerra and I were ready to go. Ravi and Chief Fiyero were also awake and saw us off.
“I had some food and water prepared for you,” Ravi said as she handed me a burlap sack. “I wasn’t sure what either of you liked, so I made sure to pack a variety of things. I packed one for you too, Valerra.”
