Obsidian (The Dragon Kings)

by Kimberly Loth

  “Of course.”

  On the way to the road, Aspen thought about what he told her. He couldn’t have been here longer than a month or two.

  “You know, I’ve lived here for years and never found a spot where dragons land regularly, and I’ve been actively searching. How is that you just happened to find one?”

  She turned to see his reaction. He just shrugged. “I like hiking and finding new trails. Yellowstone is one of best parks in the world. A few days after we arrived, I wanted to get out and explore. I found this trailhead and got lucky. I like dragons, and so I came back a few days later to see if I could spot him again. Sure enough, there he was. I’ve probably been out here four or five times since then, and he’s always been there. Though I’m not quite as crazy as you. I didn’t actually try to get close to him. You’ll need to be careful.”

  Aspen grinned, and before she could stop herself, she asked, “Do you want to come with me?”

  Sid froze. He looked like he wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll pass.”

  Aspen was confused. He’d been chasing after her, and the second she mentioned spending time with him, he bailed. Maybe he was one of those guys who just liked the chase. Poor Tori. She didn’t stand a chance.

  Back at the gravel lot, Sid’s car was not alone. Matt’s car was parked behind him.

  “I wonder what he’s doing here,” Aspen said.

  They walked around Matt’s car, but didn’t see him. “Maybe he hiked a different trail,” Sid suggested.

  “There’s no other trailhead. And Matt’s not the type to go wandering in the woods.” He must’ve stopped because he recognized Sid’s car. Did he see her leave with Sid and follow them? He had a crush on her, but that would be creepy. Aspen looked out into the field and spotted a blue bag of some kind. “Do you see that out there?” she asked, pointing to the blue lump.

  “Yeah, what do you think that is?”

  “It looks like a backpack.” She walked toward it, and Sid followed. As they got closer to the blue spot, the field was torn up like it’d been plowed.

  The blue spot was definitely a backpack, or what was left of it anyway. It looked like Matt’s. Aspen found the piece that had the Jansport logo. Most of the backpack was scattered in the field. She picked up some of the smaller pieces, and Sid went over to the biggest piece. She heard him gasp and turned to see him fall to his knees.

  Aspen ran to him. “Sid, are you okay?” she asked, kneeling down next to him.

  He pushed her away and jumped up. His face paled, and he spun in circles as if he were looking for something.

  “Get away from there,” he yelled, pulling on her arms. She’d been so busy worrying about him that she’d forgotten why they were in the field. She looked down where Sid had knelt. There on the ground was a freckled, severed arm.

  Matt’s arm.

  The stench of blood was burned into Sid’s nostrils. He rolled his windows down and allowed the cold night air to rush into his car, hoping to rid himself of the smell. He raced through the forest toward home, away from Matt’s arm, away from the sirens, past blurred trees. Matt was dead. He was only seventeen, a child. When Sid died, it would be on purpose and hundreds of years from now. Matt had no choice, no way to defend himself from the mouth of the monster that had killed him. He would never come back.

  Sid desperately wanted to forget what he’d seen. Instead, his mind kept rolling through the scene. The arm, the broken pack, the distinct smell of sulfur, the deafening silence as he fell to the ground. And the strange footprints. Footprints only he would notice and recognize. Footprints of a dragon. Humans saw them occasionally but didn’t realize what they were. They tore up the land, but they didn’t look like footprints.

  Sid flung his car up the driveway and slammed on his brakes in front of his home, spraying gravel in the flowerbeds. Not a single light in the house was on. He flew up the stairs and into Theo’s room, flipping on the lights. The bed was neatly made up. He listened to the house breathing, the quiet hum of the air conditioner, the tick of the branches hitting the window.

  A scream interrupted the quiet house. Sid raced down the stairs and paused, unsure of which direction to turn. Curse this gigantic house. A woman screamed again, this time to his right, and began yelling incomprehensible words.

  Sid tore off through the library, past the Picasso his mother had bought, and into the east wing. His heart beat furiously as he tried to think of why someone would be screaming in his home.

  His footsteps echoed through the hall as he leapt up the short stairway. He stopped abruptly at the entrance to the movie room. On the wall on the far side, a masked man waved a machete at a woman. The woman turned to run, and the man grabbed her by her hair. Pearl squealed from the couch.

  Sid bent over, breathing hard, his heart slowing. In front of him, Theo and Pearl were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Sid crept up behind them and rested his hands on the cool leather.

  “We need to talk,” he announced.

  Pearl jumped again, this time spilling popcorn over her lap. “Geesh, Sid, don’t do that. Come, sit down. It’s a great movie.”

  “We need to talk,” he repeated.

  “About what?” Theo asked, shoveling a handful of popcorn in his mouth, not taking his eyes off the screen.

  “After the hike today—”

  The woman on the movie screeched again, and Pearl covered her eyes. Sid was getting nowhere with the movie on. He grabbed the remote and pushed the pause button just at the man plunged the knife into the woman’s heart, bathing the wall in a gruesome red.

  “Hey,” Theo attempted to wrestle the remote back.

  Sid held the remote high above his head. “Look, I need to talk to you. You can go back to the movie in a sec. Will you just listen?”

  “Fine.”

  “A friend of mine was killed today.” Sid searched for the right words to express what he’d seen.

  “Oh, Sid, I’m so sorry. What happened?” Pearl put down the popcorn and turned to face him.

  Theo rolled his eyes. “Okay, can we get back to the movie now?”

  Pearl glared at him. “Seriously, Theo, this is the first human he has known that died. Have a little more patience.”

  Sid rubbed his sweating palms on his jeans. He still couldn’t believe a dragon had done this. Pearl brushed her hair away from her eyes.

  “Go on, Sid. Tell us what happened.” Pearl grabbed his hand and stared at him like an overly concerned mother.

  Sid wasn’t sure if anything could convey what had happened. Nothing brilliant appeared in his head, so he simply stated the facts.

  “He was eaten by a dragon.”

  Pearl pulled her hand out of his and looked away. Sid waited for a response, knowing it wouldn’t be a good one.

  “Did you actually see who ate him?” Pearl spoke slowly, as if speaking to child.

  “No, I didn’t see the dragon.” Sid paced in front of them.

  “Because there wasn’t one.” Theo snorted. He picked up the bowl of popcorn again and ate, anger pouring off him.

  Pearl’s emotions were indifferent as her ice-blue eyes shifted back and forth between Sid and Theo.

  “What makes you think it was dragon?” she asked.

  “The only part of Matt we could find was his arm, surrounded by dragon footprints.”

  Pearl rubbed her eyes. “Impossible, we don’t eat people.”

  “I know,” Sid said. He sat on the floor and dug his fingers into the carpet. “But, Pearl, I know what I saw. It couldn’t have been anything else. What are we going to do?”

  Pearl didn’t move. Theo continued eating and didn’t bother to look at either of them. Sid waited, hoping Pearl’s answer was the right one, or he was about to break a few rules and take care of it himself. Pearl finally spoke.

  “You aren’t going to do anything. I’ll deal with it.” She stood and her brilliant red hair flowed behind her as she swept from the room. He chas
ed after her and found her in the driveway, her back to him.

  Her transformation took seconds. Her hair disappeared, and her neck elongated. Fingers became gigantic claws, and a tail sprouted from her back. Sid blinked, and she looked normal. His own skin itched; he wanted to join her. His human form was too confining and weak. He couldn’t do anything like this and wanted to be out there helping Pearl find this monster.

  “I should come with you.”

  She faced him. No, you are not allowed to become a dragon right now. You know that.

  Sid hated that she was always right. If he showed up to the council with her, there’d be hell to pay.

  Well, what am I supposed to tell the humans?

  Do they suspect us?

  No. When I left Aspen, her parents had arrived, and they were talking about searching for a bear or wolf pack.

  Then tell them nothing. No reason to let them think that one of us can’t control his appetite. It would cause too much drama.

  I am the king. Don’t I get some say in this?

  King or no, you don’t have the right to rule until you finish this wretched experience and take your queen. Right now, the council decides what will be done about this renegade dragon.

  Sid clenched his fists. She was right again. But that didn’t change the fact that more could die if the dragons didn’t tell them. They could at least warn them to close down the parks until the dragons took care of their own problem.

  I still think the humans should know. Wouldn’t it be better to tell them than to let them witness it firsthand? I don’t think this is the first human that has been eaten by him. He’s not going to stop.

  That’s not your decision to make. Give me two days, and I’ll come back and let you know what we decide. Can you wait until then?

  No, Sid said, sulking.

  Pearl spread her wings, spanning the width of the driveway, preparing to take flight.

  I am only looking out for you. You need to make it out of this alive. Take care of yourself. This isn’t the first emergency we’ve ever dealt with. Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.

  She took off and air rushed around him, smelling of the pine trees from the yard. Sid watched her retreating back and continued worrying. He worried for his human companions who were in danger, he worried for the dragon that was doing this because he knew his fate, but most of all, he worried about his ability to be a good king. He didn’t know how to handle any of this.

  The house behind him was silent. Theo hadn’t come outside. Sid sat on the edge of the pond and whistled, summoning the eagles. After a few moments, Talbot came into view, his wings opened wide and his bright yellow beak sticking out in contrast to his white head. Sid sighed, relieved it was him and not one of his brothers. For this task, he trusted only him. Talbot was Sid’s eagle, assigned to him the moment he became king.

  You called, Your Majesty. Talbot landed on the ground in front of Sid, bowing his head. Sid stroked the feathers on his neck, and Talbot looked up.

  “There is a dragon attacking the humans. I need you to keep your eyes open and report anything you see to me. Have the other birds help you. I want to know who is doing this.”

  Of course, Your Majesty. I will report anything the birds have seen. Will there be anything else?

  No. Let me know what you see.

  Talbot leapt and flew into the night sky. Sid watched until he became as small as the stars, breathing a little easier, glad he could at least do this.

  Tori showed up at seven on the dot. Aspen had forgotten she was coming over. Clearly, she hadn’t heard the news. No one was in the mood for games.

  “You okay?” Tori asked, pushing past her into the house.

  Aspen shook her head. “Something happened today.” Aspen didn’t know what to tell her. Matt’s parents had been notified, but Aspen didn’t know who else knew.

  Aspen followed Tori into the living room. Her parents both looked up.

  “I forgot I invited Tori to game night.”

  Aspen’s mom, Stacey, smiled a tight smile. “It’s okay. Come sit.”

  Tori threw herself on a bean bag chair. “What happened? Everyone looks like death.”

  Aspen’s dad, Jason, started to talk, but Aspen knew she had to be the one to tell Tori.

  “Matt died today. I found him.” Aspen almost said, “Sid and I found him,” but she knew Tori would take that the wrong way. Even in the midst of death, Tori would find some way to make it about her.

  Tori’s eyes widened. “What? How?”

  “I was out hiking, and when I came back to the main road, I found his body. Well, sort of.”

  Tori dropped her eyes. “What do you mean sort of?”

  Jason spoke up. “His arm was the only part of his body they found.”

  Tori’s eyes narrowed. “Dragons?”

  Rowan nodded. “That’s what I said too. But Aspen won’t hear of it.”

  Aspen threw her arms up. “That would be your first reaction.”

  “Because that’s the only explanation.” Tori stood and started pacing. “Is there evidence the body was dragged away?”

  Jason shook his head. “No. But that doesn’t mean anything. It could be a wolf pack or bears. For all we know, it’s a human. Whatever it is, it’s dangerous. That’s the second body in two weeks. Aspen, I want your keys.”

  “What? No.”

  “Yes. I’ve already talked to your principal. School’s been cancelled for the rest of the week. You’re the only one rash enough to go hiking. The park is closing for tourists for a few weeks, but you know how to get around. Keys.”

  “Tori’s not the only one who’s going to suspect the dragons. I need to prove they’re innocent. I can’t do that by staying cooped up in my room.”

  Stacey laughed. “And exactly how are you going to do that?”

  “By getting close to them. If I can prove they are friendly with humans, then maybe jumping to this conclusion every time someone dies in a national park will stop. This isn’t the first time.”

  Jason frowned. “Girls. Sit down, please. You’re making me nervous.” Aspen and Tori glared at each other and sat. “I know people unfairly accuse the dragons of a lot of things, but this is one of those situations where I think Tori might be right. These are the most unusual park disappearances I’ve ever seen. I’m usually the first one called when there is a death, so I’ve seen a lot. The areas around the body parts were clean, and we couldn’t find any animals tracks. Truthfully, I think this is either the work of a dragon or a serial killer. You tell me which sounds more probable.”

  “Serial killer,” Aspen said at the same time Tori said, “Dragons.”

  Jason shook his head. “Either way, it’s dangerous. You’re staying home.”

  Aspen dug her keys out of her purse and tossed them to him. This would blow over. Besides, she was more resourceful than that. She could find a way out. Her bigger problem was the dragons. There had been times over the years where people decided the dragons needed to be taken out because they were dangerous, but never in Aspen’s lifetime. As far as she knew, nothing ever came of those instances. She didn’t want to witness the first dragon killing in centuries. She had to prove they were friendly. That meant she had to get close enough to touch one again.

  Everyone sat in silence for a few seconds. No one was talking about the real problem. Matt was dead. A knot formed in Aspen’s chest. She hadn’t been interested in him, but he was still her friend. Finally, Stacey spoke up.

  “Do you all want to play Skipbo? It will take our mind off things.”

  Everyone murmured their assent, and within fifteen minutes, things were almost back to normal. There was still an air of sadness, but Aspen and Tori spoke to each other like the fight they had never happened. Dragons weren’t mentioned again.

  Getting out of the house proved difficult. The next afternoon, Aspen knocked on Rowan’s bedroom door.

  “Come in,” he yelled. Aspen cracked his door open and peeked inside. With
the exception of the gaming chair, his room looked like a stark hotel room. No pictures hung on the walls, the desk spotless, and his bed was so tightly made up that a military general would approve. His messy blonde head bobbed in tune with his music, and he stared intently at the video game on his TV.

  After a few minutes, the screen flashed game over, and he turned to look at Aspen. Square spectacles covered his eyes that were green like hers, but bigger. Why did boys always get the pretty eye gene? It wasn’t fair.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m going stir crazy. Wanna go for a drive?”

  “No.” He got up and thumbed through a book of DVDs.

  “Come on. Please.”

  “The last time we went for a drive, I ended up standing at the bottom of a mountain for three hours praying you wouldn’t fall off. They had to up my anxiety meds by 200 milligrams for the next month. I’m not interested in experiencing that again.”

  “You never told me that.”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to feel guilty.”

  Rowan had been slightly off kilter since they were young. Aspen wasn’t the only twin to meander off in the Everglades as a toddler. They were both adventurous. Something happened one day when he wandered off by himself. They were six. When Rowan came back, he was paranoid. He never talked about it to anyone. Not even Aspen.

  The rest of the time they lived in the Everglades, he only went outside if an adult was with him, and if Aspen ever went exploring on her own, he would rock back and forth in terror in his room until she got home.

  For a while her parents tried to get help for him, but nothing worked. Eventually they accepted Rowan’s odd behavior and medicated him. Aspen was the only one who still remembered what Rowan was like before he became a pussy cat.

  In spite of that, they were still got along pretty well. They watched geek movies and played video games together but never talked about his issues. Aspen did her best to respect them, but sometimes she pushed him a little because she wanted him to be normal. She had no idea the day she went rappelling she had hurt him.