Dragon Dream

by Elena Van Peborgh

  “What were you doing near my house?” he asked.

  He sounded gruff. I made no effort to answer. I couldn’t say anything but didn’t even want to answer the questions of the humans at all.

  “Actually… What were you doing inside my house? We saw you leaving it with your friends.”

  I wondered if he’d mention the dragons. I pretended like I didn’t understand him. I considered pretending I was deaf, but it’d be hard to not react to any sound at all.

  “You and your friends have freed the dragons. Why? How did you even know they exist and that they were here?” The man started to get irritated. He let his hands hang next to his body. “Answer, goddamn it!”

  The man clenched his fist and hit me in my face, making it turn to the side, but I didn’t react in any other way. He hit me again.

  “I’ll make sure to get answers from you.”

  He grinned evilly. My face burned, but I still didn’t react. I wondered how he’d get me to talk since I didn’t have a voice. He hit me so hard this time I fell off the chair and landed sideways on the ground. The man pushed his foot against my back, rolling me on my stomach.

  “The dragons have even wounded you, but you still choose their side. Why?”

  Stupid humans. They had no clue. They didn’t realise dragons had a human form. They didn’t realise I was a dragon. I heard a loud crack. What was he doing? He pulled up my shirt, so my back was bare. Suddenly, he put something sharp into one of the wounds on my back. I couldn’t stop myself from screaming. I opened my mouth to scream from pain, but there was no sound.

  The man immediately stopped and moved a little backwards. I could only imagine how astonished the expression on his face would be.

  Do you finally realise I can’t say anything? I thought internally.

  The man left the room and returned a bit later. He threw a notepad and a pen next to me on the ground and then quickly untied my hands.

  “Good. You might not be able to say anything, but you can write your answers down,” he ordered.

  I didn’t move. I made sure to lie as still as possible. I would never answer their questions.

  “Write!” he yelled, and he put the stick in my wound once more.

  I screamed again without making a sound. He could torture me as much as he wanted to, I wouldn’t cooperate. I wouldn’t tell them anything. I would always protect the shape-shifters and the dragons. He decided to put the stick in the other wound and pain shot through my whole body. My blood burned inside my veins. The man kept poking me with the stick. I wanted it to stop. I couldn’t hold it much longer. I still wouldn’t betray the dragons and the shape-shifters, but I just wanted the pain to end. I was actually just waiting for the end. I’d eventually bleed to death.

  Please. Just let it end. Just let me die, I prayed in silence.

  Hold on. I’m here, was the answer in my head.

  What? Who had said that? I was confused and startled. I was so taken aback I moved and rolled around. I rolled away from the man who had been torturing me as the door flew open. Three guys stormed into the room. I was lying on my side now, so I could see them and even recognised them. The two tallest and oldest were Corneel and Jon. I didn’t know the third one; he was smaller than the others. However, he resembled Jon, sharing the same blonde hair. He was probably Marc, Jon’s brother.

  Corneel and Jon immediately flew towards the humans and started fighting them. Marc tried to avoid the fights and came towards me. He extended his hand, which I accepted, and he helped me to stand up. He wanted to say something to me, but he didn’t have the time to do that as one of the humans flew towards him. Marc fought the man, but he was younger and therefore weaker than Corneel and Jon were. I quickly glanced at the other two guys. They seemed capable of handling the humans. They had already floored two of them and were fighting two others now. I decided to help Marc fight the man who had attacked him and, together, we could floor him.

  When all the humans were unconscious, Jon came towards me.

  “Are you alright?” he asked.

  Did I look like I was alright? I was pretty sure he had felt my pain. I shook my head.

  “We need to get out of here. We don’t have much time. I’ll carry you.”

  I first wanted to protest but then noticed my own legs were unstable because of how badly they shook. I felt weak and dizzy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he picked me up. He was careful not to touch my wounds.

  “Hey, Avalon. Can we drive the car? I think I’ve found the car keys,” Corneel said, and he bent over to pick something up.

  The thing seemed to be made of metal, and it shone in the light.

  “Do you think that’ll be faster? First, you’ll need to figure out how to drive it,” Jon replied.

  Corneel shrugged. “I don’t think it’ll be that difficult, and you can’t take her on your back. It’s also more difficult to ignore the order of the alpha when you’re a wolf.”

  “That’s true. Let’s go,” Jon said.

  We left the house and headed to the car. Corneel jumped in the front behind the wheel while Jon and Marc carefully put me in the backseat.

  “I think it’ll be better if you sit on the passenger’s seat in the front,” Jon said to Marc when I was settled.

  Marc nodded and went to sit in the front while Jon sat next to me.

  “Do you want to lie down? You can put your head on my lap,” Jon offered.

  I did indeed want to lie down. I was very tired. I had almost no energy left. I went to lie on my stomach and put my head on Jon’s lap. It wouldn’t be a good idea to lie on my back; it bled heavily again and hurt too much. Jon absently stroked his hands through my hair. It was good to feel him so close. I felt safe.

  The drive wasn’t very pleasant. Corneel hadn’t driven before, so the car suddenly stopped a lot. By the time we left the city of the humans behind us, Corneel’s driving skills had improved; it seemed like he had finally figured out how to drive. But he drove way too fast now. We were moving over the uneven forest ground, and each bump and pit caused pain to shoot through my body.

  “Corneel, you’re the worst driver I know,” Jon noted.

  “I’m also the best driver you know because you’ve never had someone else drive you before,” Corneel answered.

  Their short, silly conversation had made me smile. We stopped again a bit later which I thought was weird. I felt like Corneel had improved by this point, so why had he stopped so abruptly?

  “Corneel? What’s wrong?” Jon asked worriedly.

  “It… The alpha is calling me.”

  Corneel’s voice trembled. He was probably trying to resist and ignore the alpha’s orders with all his willpower.

  “Tat… Can you sit up for a bit?”

  I obeyed as fast as possible. Jon moved to put his hand on Corneel’s shoulder. “Look at me, Corneel.”

  Corneel immediately obeyed. He turned around so he was facing Jon. The pupils in Corneel’s eyes had dilated, and his eyes were wide open. “Listen to me. Ignore Anton’s orders. Bring us as far as possible.”

  Jon’s words calmed Corneel down a little. Corneel turned around again and continued driving. I noticed his hands shaking when he put them on the wheel. He could drive a bit further for a while, but he couldn’t last very long before he stopped the car and jumped out. Jon immediately followed him. I tried to move so I could see what was happening, but I needed to do so slowly. I could hear Corneel throwing up.

  “I’m sorry, Avalon. I have... I don’t have another choice,” I heard Corneel saying when he had stopped vomiting.

  “It’s alright. I know. It’s okay. Just obey Anton’s orders,” I heard Jon answering.

  A little later he came back into my line of sight. He extended his arms to help me get out of the car.

  “Marc, you need to take Tatiana to The Capitals. Search for Flora. Tatiana knows her. In which Capital does Flora live, Tat?”

  I held up three fingers.

  “Third C
apital. I must go back as well. It won’t be long before Anton calls me too. It’ll be alright.”

  Jon quickly kissed my forehead before he ran away. Marc came to stand next to me. “You can lean on me.”

  I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and leaned on him. Together, we walked through the forest. I wondered why Marc had come with Jon and Corneel and why he was helping me. I was pretty sure Anton was irate at this point, which was probably why he had called Corneel. I also wondered how we would get inside The Capitals. We needed a badge to use Line Two, which rode between The Seventh and The Third Capital.

  On our way to The Capitals, we encountered Bernardus. Apparently, he was still wandering around the forest and didn’t want to return to the mountains. He walked back and forth. Marc abruptly stopped and froze. Oh, right. I had forgotten how much Bernardus resembled a human. Marc probably thought Bernardus was a human. Bernardus noticed us now and stopped pacing. He narrowed his eyes a bit.

  “Am I imagining things or is that really you, Tatiana?” he asked.

  I nodded. I was still alive and had returned. Bernardus was surprised and confused. He probably hadn’t expected to ever see me again.

  “I thought you were gone,” he said softly.

  I didn’t how to respond to this.

  “Do you two know each other?” Marc asked.

  “I’m a mountain druid. Mountain druids are responsible for the dragons. What are you?”

  “I’m a wolf.”

  Bernardus narrowed his eyes even more. “What?! Why...?” he started, but Marc interrupted him.

  “That’s a long story. I just want to help. Tatiana is hurt and she urgently needs medical assistance. I have been asked to bring her to Flora. She lives in The Third Capital.”

  “I know Flora, but you can’t just enter The Third Capital. I know a detour though. That way we can get inside The Third Capital.”

  Bernardus turned around and guided us. I could walk under my own steam for a short while by leaning on Marc but after a while, I was too tired and dizzy to continue. Marc noticed I wasn’t feeling well.

  “I’m sorry but can you carry Tatiana maybe? I can support her, but I can’t carry her,” Marc said to Bernardus.

  Bernardus stopped and turned around. He came over and picked me up. I wasn’t happy about needing to be carried. I didn’t like being dependent, but there wasn’t much choice. Bernardus carried me while he continued walking. Marc followed behind him. I wondered if it wouldn’t be better if Marc returned to the wolf community. But he probably wanted to be certain I arrived safely at my destination.

  We had to make a huge detour. We walked over the fields between The Capitals and the mountains. It took a long time before we reached The Third Capital. Apparently, Bernardus knew which house Flora lived in because he led us right to it.

  Twenty-nine

  Marc knocked the front door and Flora immediately answered. She was very surprised to see us.

  “Bernardus? Tatiana? And who are you?”

  “My name is Marc. I’m a wolf. I’ll explain everything, but Tatiana urgently needs medical attention.”

  “Tatiana is injured, and she isn’t healing as well as she should. Something is wrong. I need your help to heal her, Flora,” Bernardus added.

  She let us enter and quickly cleaned up the table so Bernardus could lay me down on it. I lay on my stomach, and Flora pulled my shirt up to examine my back.

  “She isn’t healing well. She should heal faster. What the hell has happened?” Flora asked.

  “I don’t really know. I’ll tell you everything I know later. Do you think my magic would still help?” Bernardus answered.

  “We may be able to partially heal her if we combine our magic. I have some objects you might be able to use.”

  “I’ll quickly gather some things,” Bernardus reacted and instantly left the room.

  “Can I do something to help?” Marc asked.

  “There’s a towel in the kitchen. You can dampen it.”

  Flora placed both of her hands on my lower back while Marc did as she had asked. Her hands felt ice-cold. Marc returned with the towel.

  “Thank you, Marc. Carefully wipe the blood off her back.”

  Marc obeyed and gently wiped the towel over my wounds. Bernardus returned but I couldn’t see what he was doing, and it took some time before he was done with it. He started to dance around and pronounce words I didn’t understand. Flora hummed and muttered some words from an unknown language. I felt the energy running through my back towards my shoulders, I felt how my wounds healed. I didn’t think I was bleeding anymore. The two druids went silent, and Bernardus stopped dancing and jumping around.

  “This should help a lot already. You’re no longer bleeding but it will take a long time before you’ll be fully healed and before the scars will no longer be visible. I don’t think you’ll be able to transform during that time,” Flora informed me.

  I nodded. The two druids helped me get off the table and sit on the couch.

  “It’ll be better if Tatiana stays with me so she can rest and heal properly,” Flora said to Bernardus.

  “Of course. I’ll take Marc with me later so he can go back home. I’ll first tell you what I know, and maybe he can add things.”

  I didn’t hear anything after Bernardus had answered because I fell asleep.

  I slept restlessly. I dreamt I was in a basement. I could clearly sense I was underground, tied with my arms and legs to the wall. My body hurt. My back and face burned from pain. I had a few bruises on my side, and a few marks ran over my chest and stomach.

  Wait a minute… I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I was only wearing my trousers. I tried to look down, but my head didn’t obey. Was this even my body? This wasn’t me. I panicked. I tried to move to get out of here, but nothing obeyed. I could feel my panic and my desire to escape, but those feelings and emotions weren’t the most dominating ones. I mostly felt regret and dismay. What was this?

  What’s this? Are you just giving up? Fight. You can’t just quit, I reprimanded myself.

  Tat? was the answer.

  What? Who had said that? I tried to recognise the voice, but I couldn’t think clearly. The door in the room opened, and Anton entered. Anton? What was he doing here? He held a belt in his hands. He shifted his weight and then whipped me with the belt.

  I immediately woke up from the hit and pain shooting through my body. I was disorientated for a moment and scanned my surroundings. I wasn’t underground. I was in Flora’s house. I felt another sting of pain shoot through my body. Each sting followed faster after each other. I quickly inspected my body, but I didn’t see any marks. The pain was inside my head; it was a mental pain. It felt like I wasn’t experiencing this pain.

  Jon…, my mind whispered.

  I had seen Jon in my dream. No. I was certain it hadn’t been a dream. I was convinced what I had seen was really happening to Jon right at this very moment. I immediately jumped off the couch. The others – who had remained inside Flora’s house – heard me.

  “What’s going on?” Flora asked.

  “Jon,” I said without making a sound.

  No one seemed to understand that because the three of them all looked in confusion at each other. I didn’t have time for this. I staggered when I felt the next wave of pain. I quickly ran upstairs to the attic and opened the window in the roof. I climbed onto the roof, undressed myself, and tied my clothes around my leg. I started to transform into a dragon, but I didn’t transform immediately like I usually did since becoming a dragon. I had to concentrate hard; it was agony to transform. My back burned.

  I clapped my wings a few times when I had finally transformed. My wings had healed but the scars on them were visible; they ran over the whole width of my wings. The pain shot from the tips of my wings to my shoulders and over my back. I would be able to fly, but it wouldn’t be a painless flight. I didn’t care. I vaguely heard someone calling my name as I flew away. I didn’t listen. I flew in the direction of
the wolf community, where Jon was.

  A bit later, I flew over the houses of the wolf community, specifically over Anton’s house and made contact with the earth through my mind; it began to shake. I decided to make it even more noticeable, and the earth obeyed. The ground shook and vibrated. Anton finally came out of the house, dragging Jon with him. Anton immediately looked up, staring right at me. The pupils in his eyes had widened and he looked like he had gone insane. I noticed the blade of the knife he held. The metal sparkled in the sun.

  “I dare you to do that again, dragon,” he challenged me.

  I didn’t dare to respond. I didn’t want to risk it. I didn’t want him to stab his own son.

  “Well? Just land. We’ll see how strong you are then,” he yelled at me.

  I felt the knife pressing into my side. I knew Jon was bleeding lightly. I landed behind the house. Again, it took some time before I transformed. I quickly got dressed and walked to where Anton and Jon stood. I felt the knife pressing even deeper into my skin. I saw Jon’s blood dripping on the ground. I put my hand in the air as a sign I surrendered. Anton first tried to figure out if I was being truthful and meant it. Someone screeched and jumped on my back. I fell flat on the ground.

  “You’re mine, bitch,” Chrystal hissed.

  I would always recognise her voice anywhere.

  “Chrystal?” Anton asked, taken aback. He hadn’t seen this coming. Apparently, even he didn’t know how insane she was. “Chrystal, get off her.”

  “Why? She’s a dragon. She’s nothing. She must die.” She quickly stabbed the knife she held into my side before she stopped in her tracks.

  “Chrystal!” Anton yelled.

  I could hear the order in his voice. He pulled her off me. The knife was still stuck in my side. I tried to move as little as possible.

  “Do you even know what you’ve done? This is treason! Dragons are sacred!” I was pretty sure he shook her. He had shouted so loudly at her.