The chaos told Nik otherwise. Above them, shots of fire lit up the darkness, as if two men floated above dueling with flamethrowers. A dark form moved overhead, much closer than the blasting flames. The breeze caused by the huge shape extinguished all but the torch held by his grandfather.
A shriek among the stars stunned the Maori, freezing most and drawing their eyes to the sky. The flamethrower fight above began anew— but something fell toward them. Something large.
“Pops get down!” Nik lunged for the platform, his heart throttling as his grandfather stood motionless, watching the object speed toward him.
He’d be crushed. God, no. He’d be crushed!
The remainder of the crowd scattered as the object, white and round, careened to the surface. The ground quaked as the projectile slammed to the Earth between Nik and the platform.
Nik skidded to a stop, choking on the rising dust. “Pops!”
The world slowed around him. The dull thud of Nik’s own heart throbbed in his ears. Pops had been his world, his everything for as long as he could remember. He’d taught Nik how to ride a bicycle, and how to drive a car. He’d been there for him through school and sports and a long line of failed relationships. Nik should have been out here, paying attention to the ceremony. He should have been close enough to get to his grandfather, to save the man who raised him before…
The powdery cloud settled, revealing first the still-blazing torch, then his grandfather’s wide eyes as he stood on the crippled, leaning platform. The old man’s gaze drew to the sky, and a horrified look overcame his consternation.
“The tarp.” Pops gestured to those who had not fled. “Quickly.”
A man wearing a traditional bright red, green, and blue mottled vest reached under the platform. A second joined him and pulled out a large, silvery-black roll. A third joined them as they struggled to unravel what looked like a thick blanket.
“Nikau, help them.” His grandmother parted the crowd gathered on the fringe of the spectacle and jostled him forward.
Blinking away his surprise, and the dust caking his eyes, Nik grasped an edge of the tarp and pulled with the others, surprised by the heavy weight of the fabric.
“What are we doing?” Nik asked.
“We need to cover it, quickly,” The man in the vest said.
Okay, not quite the depth of explanation he was hoping for, but Nik carried their burden toward the smoking fallen— Meteor? Boulder? Where in God’s name had it fallen from, and why was everyone acting like it needed to be hidden?
A roar filled the night sky. Maybe many roars. Shit.
Shit shit shit! What the hell was up there?
They unrolled the tarp, and the guy beside him helped Nik attach the corner of the fabric on the edge of a pole while another group had hastily assembled more poles around the smoking, white thing.
As he paused, the others worked as a cohesive unit, stretching out the tarp over the poles to cover the smoldering object.
What did these people do, train daily on the off chance that a giant rock would fall out of the sky?
A firm grip shoved him forward. “Come Nikau. Our time has come.” Pops lead him into the hastily made structure as the others pulled seams taunt from the outside.
The exterior lights went dark, leaving only the ghostly glow of his grandfather’s torch flickering against the tent walls. Pops checked the support poles, nodding as he pushed on each.
“Our time has come for what?” Nik asked.
Pops extinguished his torch, and the tent sealed shut behind him, leaving them in darkness. “Our Destiny.”
5
“Help.” Nikky wiped the tears from his eyes and struggled against the belts restraining him against his booster car seat.
His arms fell down toward the front of the car. His mother’s hand caught the edge of the moonlight.
“Mommy?” he whispered between tears, but she didn’t respond.
Nikky craned his neck to see past the back of the driver’s seat, but his father was hidden from view. Above, a bank of clouds shrouded the moon. He wasn’t afraid. He was a big boy. It was just the dark. Only babies were afraid of the dark.
A ball twisted in his throat as the sound of an owl carried through the shattered front windshield. “Mommy, please wake up.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “Daddy?” The darkness crept in from all sides. He sobbed into the fold of his booster seat until exhaustion overtook him.
* * *
Nik cringed as the stench of wet fireplace accosted his nose. He turned over and tried to grab his pillow, but his hands found nothing but dirt and stone.
What the hell?
He bolted upright, squinting in the haze around him until his grandfather’s smiling face came into focus.
“Pops?”
“Morning is finally here. Are you ready?”
“Pops, I told you last night, I have no freaking clue what you’re talking about.”
Nanna had insisted on Nik drinking some kind of cider as soon as she and the rest of the elders had been sealed inside this weird tent with rockus-giganticus. Three sips and he had a vague memory of someone catching him. He rubbed his aching temple. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he’d been drugged.
Pops tapped his shoulder. “Come, let us begin.”
Nanna approached and handed her grandson another mug. Nik stepped back, eyeing the dark drink.
She smiled. “Coffee this time. Extra shot. This will wake you up in two snaps of a dragon’s tail.”
His eyes narrowed. “You drugged me last night.”
She shrugged. “Nothing new. How do you think I got you to stay in bed as a toddler?”
The dusty air dried his tongue before he shut his mouth. Despite her smile, Nanna wasn’t the joking type. She probably wasn’t kidding.
His head spun again, and he grabbed the coffee and chugged it down in three gulps. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he stood beside Pops as two of the men from last night drew a light sheet from the boulder. The surface of the object sparkled like uniform shards of glass hard woven into the outer facing in a flowing pattern of veined ridges.
The boulder twitched.
What the…?
Nik stepped back, but reset himself, realizing he was the only one who reacted. His grandfather stepped toward the boulder.
“Pops, wait.”
The older man raised his chin. “We’ve waited far too long already.”
Nik’s breath hitched as Pops ran his hand over the surface of the— God, what? He gaped, measuring the awestruck expressions of those around him.
“You don’t realize what this is, do you?” Nanna stepped beside him.
Nik shook his head. “I sure wish someone would fill me in.”
Pops placed both hands on the object. “Dawn rises, Great One. The battle is done. Let daylight and your people protect you from those who may do you harm.”
The stone rumbled and broke apart on one side. No, it didn’t break apart. It shivered and unraveled, like it was alive.
The rock groaned, and the left half draped along the ground like a thick, veined sheet. A jagged rip sliced through what looked far too much like a wing. A giant, shimmering, white wing!
Nanna squeezed his arm. “Yes, dear one. It’s is a dragon.”
Nik flinched. She’d spoken so matter of fact, like saying, “Yes, Nik, the sky is blue,” or “Rain falls from the clouds.” Didn’t she have any idea what this meant?
She turned to the man beside her, a middle-aged bloke sporting a thick, dusky beard and worn jeans. “What do you think, Tyler?”
He scratched his mustache, dropping to his haunches beside the unfurled wing. “He’s hurt pretty bad. He’s small, even for a crystal dragon.” Tyler brushed his fingers beside the torn edge. “What were you doing out there, young buck? Those big dragons nearly made a meal of you.”
He drew his fingers closer to the wing bone, and the closed part of the boulder rippled with a flash of white light. A huge snout filled with gleaming t
eeth appeared, growling and hissing in Tyler’s face. Nik stumbled back as the creature’s icy blue eyes lanced each of them.
Tyler remained on his haunches, still. Maybe not even breathing. After about five seconds, he eased his head down and bared his neck to the mythical monster. Was he out of his mind?
Nanna had held her place despite the monstrous alligator-shaped jaws pointed at her. She spread her hands. “We are your people, Great One. We have waited long for the opportunity to serve. Please, let us help you.”
A rumble manifested deep within the beast’s throat.
She took a step forward.
“Nanna, don’t,” Nik said.
“Hush.” Another step, arms still splayed and palms showing. “Let us prove ourselves to you. You are hurt. We have supplies. Tyler is a veterinarian. Let us heal you.”
Tyler slowly elevated his head as the white snout sniffed his hair.
Nanna pointed at the injured wing. “Do we have your permission?”
The beast lowered its nose before tucking its snout back inside the other wing, like a bird snuggling into its nest.
Now he’d seen it all. That thing had actually listened to her.
Tyler returned his attention to the wing. “Elaina, fetch my bag.”
“On it.” A young blonde girl who couldn’t be more than sixteen skirted to the other side of the tent.
“Will you be able to help him?” Nanna asked.
“Sure,” Tyler said. “It’s just like working on really big, winged cow.”
She smacked his head. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. I have no clue.” He rubbed the back of his head where she’d slapped him. “I can clean out the injury and stitch up the ripped wing, but the histories of the dragon healers were lost. I’ll only be guessing.”
“And your guess is?”
He stood. “In my opinion, it will be days before he can shift, and weeks before he can fly again.”
Nanna grimaced, sharing a glance with Pops. Neither of them looked happy with that response.
Elaina returned with an old-fashioned black leather doctor’s bag. “Here, Dad.”
The vet grabbed the satchel. “Thanks, Sweetie.”
Pops gently levied the injured wing off the ground, and Elaina held the ripped edges of the thin membrane together as Tyler poured water over the tear and painstakingly stitched the jagged edges together.
The dragon only twitched a few times before Tyler puffed out a relieved breath and eased away from his patient. “There you have it. For now, that’s all I can do.”
Everyone exchanged glances. A huge so-now-what stare bounced between them. The silence bled into the air before a whimper rose up from within the still-folded wing; not a deep, menacing sound, but a frightened, high pitched…
“Hello?” A small voice called from within. “Is someone out there?”
6
Pops returned his hands to the side of the dragon.
“Could it be possible?” Nanna fell to her knees beside her husband.
Pops closed his eyes, pressing his hands on the dragon’s outer hide as if listening through the touch. “There is an extra heartbeat. Not Draconic.”
Nanna reached up and caressed the point where the dragon’s head had disappeared. “Do you have a prize, Great One? Is that why the others attacked you? Had you won the game?”
“Please be careful,” Nik said, but he couldn’t bring himself to do more than stand and watch. Were they both out of their minds? That was a giant reptile, teeth and all.
Sobs carried up from within the dragon’s folded wing.
Nanna continued her stroking. “We have been taught that the crystal dragons were the oldest and wisest of the Draconi. They ruled when our land was free and pure. If you have a prize, we welcome her and rejoice with the great Sky Father, Rakinui. Let us make sure she is unharmed for you.”
Rakinui? She was spouting ancient gibberish when there was a giant, wounded animal inches from her, ready to lash out at any moment.
“Please, help me,” the girl’s voice pleaded.
Nik shuddered. The voice seemed so small and alone. His heartbeat quickened. His breath came in slow, staggered gasps.
* * *
Nikky rubbed his eyes as the sunlight shone through the car window. His arms ached, sore where his seatbelt gripped him to the car booster seat. The back of Daddy’s hand on the dashboard came into focus, then the back of his mother’s head, leaning against the broken windshield below him.
“Mommy?”
She didn’t move.
“Mommy!”
He struggled, shaking his seat until the car moaned and creaked. The metal frame shifted and the car jolted forward— or down.
Nikky’s grip hardened on this seatbelt. His breath stuck in his throat as the side of the mountain spread out before him, and the meadow, miles away, seemed to laugh at him from so far below. Afraid to breathe, let alone move, his head spun.
Voices sounded from above. “Help,” he whispered, but the sound barely squeaked from his mouth.
“Is anybody down there?” someone called.
Nikky trembled, clinging to his seatbelt.
The meadow, so far away.
His parents, why didn’t they answer?
Why was the big window broken?
Who were those people?
All the while, the meadow called, waiting for Nikky to fall.
* * *
Nik straightened, taking in a slow, deep breath. He, better than anyone, knew that no one deserved to be alone and afraid. “We need to get her out of there.” He stomped toward the shimmering mound and grabbed the edge of the fold where the head had disappeared.
“Nikky, no!” Nanna and Pops shouted in unison.
The warm, rough hide shifted, and a puff of hot, smoky air blasted across Nik’s face. He froze, staring into two white nostrils the size of fists hovering mere inches from his eyes. A low grumble rumbled from somewhere below.
“Don’t move,” Pops said.
He wasn’t planning on moving. At the moment, breathing wasn’t top of his list, either.
“He means no harm, Great One.” Nanna’s voice was soft, placating. “He only wants to make sure the girl is all right. We want her safe, just as you do.”
Nanna stroked the lizard’s scaly snout, mere inches away from teeth longer than Nik’s fingers. Why was everyone acting like this godforsaken thing could understand them?
The creature reared back and roared in his face. Nik fell, and the vet dragged him back, slamming them both to the dirt floor.
Tyler wiped his brow with his sleeve. “Life lesson, kid. Don’t piss off a dragon.”
Nik pushed him off. “No shit.” He stood, but the dragon stretched his long neck, fierce gaze meeting Nik’s.
“Get on your knees,” Tyler said. “Lower you head in submission.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
The dragon growled.
Nanna kept her hand on the beast’s neck as she turned to him. “He thinks you are challenging him for the girl. This is a fight you cannot win, Nikau. You must show him you acquiesce.”
Heat and smoke spewed from the creature’s mouth. Dragons breathing fire, that had to be myth, right? But the idea of dragons, in itself, was a myth.
The creature’s growl deepened. Its eyes narrowed— such a human response, so knowing.
“Please, Nikky,” Nanna said. “For once in your life, listen to reason.”
Reason? There was no room for reason in a world where Nikau Smith was staring down the gullet of a dragon.
The beast moved closer. Maybe she was right. Picking a fight with something five times his size was not smart. But they had to save that girl. If he had to bow to a stinking animal to make that happen, so be it.
Nik dropped to his knees and lowered his head. “Is this enough? Maybe I should just distract it so someone can snatch the girl.”
The dragon roared at the sky. The hidden girl screamed from w
ithin its furled wings.
Pops dropped to his knees beside Nik. “Please forgive, Great One. No one is going to take her from you. You have my promise in this.”
“Why do you keep talking like this stupid thing can understand you?”
A puff of hot air blasted his face again.
“Because this is not a dumb lizard,” Pops said. “This is a living, breathing, sentient dragon lord. Our dragon lord. The new king, if we can help him take the throne.”
The dragon leaned back.
Pops stood slowly, hands splayed to the dragon. “We are here to serve. My grandson is young, arrogant, and unschooled in our ways. I take the blame for that. The world has changed innumerably. If you are here to restore balance to your island, you will face many challenges. Please, let us help you.”
The dragon rustled, shaking its glowing white mane and growling like a dog asking to be fed. Nik hoped it wasn’t really asking to be fed, because right now these crazy old people looked pretty darn pissed at the only young, arrogant kid in the tent.
Nanna moved between Nik, Pops, and the dragon. The creature lowered his head to meet her eyes. “We don’t understand, Great One, but as you know, there is a way we can communicate.” She looked back at her husband.
“Carolyn, No,” Pops whispered.
She held up her hand. “There is no other way.” She turned back to the dragon. “I am a Kotahi, the last of my line. I am, and always will be, your servant.”
The dragon tilted its head.
“Do you know what the Kotahi are, Great One?”
It lowered its head to the ground and craned its neck away from her.
Tyler placed his hand on her arm. “Carol, this is insane. The Kotahi were all taken young, and even then, half of them died.”
“Never at the strike of a crystal dragon. Deaths are recorded from the reds and the grays.” She slid her hand along the dragon’s head. “We need to talk to him. We need to give him a voice.”
Nik sighed. “Would someone please explain what the hell you people are talking about? There is a girl hidden in there.” He pointed to the dragon’s wing. “We need to get her out.”
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