Desert Born

by Dawn Chapman

  Shivers ran across every pore of my body. “What?”

  “I thought you knew. This is my time to pass on leadership. I choose you.”

  The thought was more than a slap in the face. “I can’t lead the Tromoal. I have a home, here.”

  She smiled at me. “You have nothing here, and you know that, as I know it. What you do have is a future filled with great adventures.”

  Though the idea of more adventures really was a pull, I would be leaving the Hog, the land, the only things I’d known.

  “You’re telling me I’d have command of all the Tromoal in your clan?”

  Riezella bowed her head. “We are more than a thousand strong, but this blow will knock the clan back for a while. It will take some steady planning, and work to come back from this. Maybe not next year even.”

  “No, they must return every year,” I exclaimed.

  “Then you have a lot to do as their new leader.”

  “I have a lot to do right now,” I said, and we carried on walking to my humble abode. I knocked on the door and went inside with Riezella behind me. Alex was in the kitchen making a drink. He turned to me and noted the lady at my side. “Alex, this is Riezella, Matriarch.”

  Alex dropped his head and put the kettle down, looking to me. “Good to finally meet you.”

  “There’s much we should discuss, Alex. If you’d let me.” She held out a hand to him, and he took it, but confusion crossed his brow. He looked more like a lost child than an adult. No matter the worry that filled me, I knew she had his best interests at heart. Or did she?

  I left them to it as they sat at my small table. I wanted to visit the egg, to see if anything had happened. I had an inkling that it had.

  I pushed open my bedroom door to see it on the bed, still wrapped in the blanket. I moved to the side and turned on a light. It glinted off the black crystals of the egg.

  I placed my hand on the surface, responding to every tiny bump and crack. Then I felt it, a push, and the egg shattered at the top. I peered inside and noticed one blue eye looking back at me. It blinked, then moved, and I heard a tap at the shell. I wanted to help but knew this was somehow something he had to do himself. To make them strong, all creatures had to crack their own eggs and escape, or they’d die trying. I didn’t want him to die, so I sat and waited.

  His frustration was evident as I heard the constant growling from within. When the shell finally gave way, a hole appeared, followed by a foul smell. “Gee, gonna have to get you to a bath.”

  The blinking eyes moved, and then his head appeared, followed shortly by two legs. This baby Tromoal’s skin shimmered and glistened. I was tempted to reach out and to help. But I waited until his back and wings emerged. They were almost translucent. I could see the veins as they pulsed his life energy around him.

  “Sakril.” I lowered my head.

  I placed a finger to his nose, and he nudged me. Thank you for my name, Mother.

  “Mother.” I sighed. “Not quite! But I do hope to maybe find her. Do you have any connections to anyone inside your mind?”

  I held out an arm, thinking he might cross over from the egg to me and he did. Heavy indeed, the size of a medium dog with wings. He stretched them out, and his tiny daggered teeth dripped with liquid. Was that venom?

  I stood, feeling the pull on my hip with the extra weight, and said, “Fancy a bath?”

  The Tromoal’s eyes continued to blink at me, and I moved out of the room into my small bathroom. The bath wasn’t very large, but it was fed by a local spring as were a few from around here.

  I let the water from the faucet drip into the tub, and Sakril hopped off my arm to bathe under it like you’d see a bird in a water bath. It was cute to watch.

  I heard raised voices from the other room and wanted to go and investigate the why. I hesitated at leaving Sakril on his own. He glanced at the door, though, and I nodded. I headed out to the corridor to see what was going on.

  Alex paced the small kitchen space with his head in his hands. He looked to me, pain evident and he asked simply, “You knew what she was going to ask of me. What that might mean?”

  I didn’t have to answer it. He knew I had. I moved closer to him, wanting to wrap my arms around him, but it was obvious he didn’t need me right now. His anger permeated the room in waves. He turned his back to me, staring out the one small window that I had.

  Riezella pushed her chair back and rose. “The young one is awake. May I go and see him?”

  I shot her a glare. “No, he’s in the bath. You move when I say so.”

  I cringed realising who I was talking to, the giant creature who had almost, well, actually, had killed me.

  Riezella didn’t say anything. “Then I will leave you two to talk. Just know this. You don’t have long to answer. I will need it before the sun sets today.”

  I waited for her to leave, and then I moved to Alex’s side, touching his shoulder.

  He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in tight for a kiss so wonderful that the world around me melted into blissful oblivion.

  Chapter 11

  A growling sound brought my attention back to the real world. Sakril. I pushed Alex away, even though I wanted more.

  He stopped me from returning to the bathroom with a tug. “I am going to say yes to move my soul to her egg,” he said, but the furrows in his brow told me of his worry.

  “To be reborn in a way no one ever has before. I want to wish you well.” I lowered my head. I couldn’t see his pain or his hope. He tried to grab me, but I moved out of his way and went for Sakril. He still played under the tap. Alex and I laughed.

  “So tiny,” Alex said, moving to sit at the side of the tub. Sakril hissed at him. “Tiny, yet ferocious.”

  “Well, at least he smells better.”

  Alex sighed and reached out to pet the Tromoal. He, however, wasn’t having any of it and squirmed away. “I thought he liked you before.”

  Alex stood and shrugged. “This seems a different kind of like, like how he wants to eat me.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe he is hungry.” I noticed Alex’s health bar had dropped once more. “Yeah, let’s get him some food and take him out to meet the others.”

  “You think that’s wise for him to meet the Matriarch at this young age?”

  I didn’t know or understand any of their world, but it couldn’t hurt. “This little one had been taken, and we need to find out how and why.”

  “It is worth a try.”

  Alex tried to pick Sakril up, but he blew a puff of smoke in his face. I lifted up my arm, tapping it. The little Tromoal jumped right out of the bath and onto my arm. His wings were already taking on a different colour.

  Alex frowned. “Show off.”

  “No aptitude available for Tromoal taming?”

  “No, and doubt I could even dream of acquiring one.”

  That was good. No one should ever be able to train these wonderful creatures.

  I approached Riezella and Dalfol with the young Tromoal on my arm. He squirmed a lot but didn’t fall off.

  Riezella turned towards us, her wide glinting eyes narrowed, focussing on the youngster, and she froze.

  You recognise him?

  Riezella lowered her head, got to the ground and began that low keening. My whole body shivered, and Alex held me.

  “What the hell is the noise they’re making?” Alex asked.

  Dalfol and Fri also lowered their bodies and started with the same noise. The young Tromoal squirmed, then his wings flapped, and he belched his first blast of ice into the night.

  Maddie, this Tromoal is not just a member of another clan—he is King of all Clans.

  “Huh, what?” I said aloud.

  You have done us the highest favour. He was taken from us almost a thousand years ago. His egg was laid here with our Lady of the Skies. The wars and upcoming battles will be tough. We must return him to the homeland now. We cannot wait for the hatching.

  I was ab
out to stammer out the ‘what’ again when Sakril jumped from my arm landed on Riezella’s nose.

  She chuckled, her whole body shaking the ground, but she didn’t move. She allowed him to perch there, like a bee on the nose of a dog. The strangest thing I’d ever seen. Then I heard what Riezella said to Dalfol. I’d never heard their direct talk before. Was it because we were so close? Or was my strength to listen growing? Gather the clan. We must leave despite the consequences.

  I stood forward and placed a hand on her nose, near Sakril.

  There will be no consequences. I turned to Alex. “If the only way we can protect the Hatchlings is to go to war, then we will. Those incoming warriors from the Port will not get to them.”

  “My youngest cannot be moved, or there will be no place for Alex.”

  Alex stepped forwards, and he placed his hand on Riezella’s nose. “Do not fear, Matriarch of the Clan, I am ready. I will accept the gift of life that you chose for me.”

  I watched his eyes twinkle as he spoke. “Maddie wouldn’t let anything happen to the clutch or to me. Take me to the cave, let the passing of my soul to your empty vessel mean that I will be truly Desert Born.”

  “Don’t fear, Maddie,” Alex leaned in and whispered, “I have a great love for this world and for all that you’ve shown me.”

  Tears dripped down my cheeks, and he brushed them aside.

  “Let us not waste any more time,” Riezella said as she lifted her great head indicating we were to return to the cave now, without talking to the others.

  No, I need more time, I tried to say, but Alex had already climbed up onto her shoulder. I followed.

  Quickly, I reached into my mind and found Josh.

  “The Tromoal are leaving, all of them. Gather as many as you can and come down to the farthest point with the cattle and animals. We have but a few hours, they need to eat before they leave or they will die.”

  Josh responded, “On it. Be there ASAP. Talk after.”

  I reached out to take Alex’s hand to join him on the Matriarch’s back. She was so much larger than Dalfol and his sister, but Alex pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me. The sting of the rushing air caused more tears, but it wasn’t the real reason I cried.

  Alex held me, never once letting go. Sakril put his head on my knees, his tiny vibrating hum trying to settle my fears. I placed my hand on top of his spikes trying not to get nipped and silently thanked him.

  Once at the cave system, Riezella, Dalfol, and Fri moved quickly inside. There were wings everywhere, bellows of fire and ice into the sky in celebration and commiseration. They knew they had to leave, but some of the females weren’t happy at all. Their bodies were low to the ground, a rumble passing through them, and all of us. I not only sensed everything from them, their fear, their pain, but we could all see it.

  Alex took hold of my hand, and he followed the Tromoal inside their cave systems.

  How many are there? I asked.

  There are two hundred and forty-seven eggs, Riezella said. One hundred and seventeen females. They are hurting as much as their parents are, and they don’t understand the need for us to leave.

  Fri bowed her head and looked towards me. It is a must that we go, though, right?

  Riezella grimaced, looking towards the smallest egg of the bunch. Hers and Dalfol’s.

  She seemed to still, and then her essence formed. The swirling mist around us created a dust cloud. I tried to shy away from looking. I couldn’t. Her form seemed more solid like she really needed to be here. I watched, the taste of sand on my tongue, until I could make out her figure, her hair. She moved to Alex and took hold of his hands. “I must take you to the centre of the eggs, this will take some time, but I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it possible.”

  Alex glanced at me, and I could do nothing but hold his gaze. I wouldn’t be the one to let him see my pain. I knew the risks. He might live a few more days without them. Now he would live as a Tromoal. Free, flying. I hated it, but I also loved the idea. It might have been programming to start with. It was much more now. It could be much more. I had to believe.

  “Give me one minute to say goodbye to Maddie, please.”

  I felt the others move away from us, and he pulled me to him. I wouldn’t cry now. This wasn’t how I wanted him to remember me.

  “We will see each other again,” he said. “I know we will.”

  I tried to smile. Alex kissed me. I allowed all my feelings, hope, pain, fear to vanish, and I just enjoyed his taste and touch.

  “This isn’t the end for us.”

  When he walked away, I watched carefully as Dalfol’s and Riezella’s ghostly forms went with him. So did Sakril, which I was surprised about. Maybe he was going to somehow help with the transference. I had wanted to be there, but I also felt that maybe this kind of magic was too high level for me. I shouldn’t know how it was done, what they needed to do to complete it. So I could only watch from a distance.

  Dalfol’s human form pulled what looked like a satchel from thin air, he took out a silver pan. There he started to pour the contents around Alex and Riezella in a circular motion. I covered my mouth when Alex began to remove his clothes, his pale skin bright against the cavern’s blackness. Riezella pointed for him to sit, and he did so crossing his legs.

  The energy around the cavern sparked, red fire mixing with all the colours of the rainbow.

  Fri was the one who stayed with me. She placed her large head by my side, a look in her eyes that showed her concern for me.

  I’d not once thought of the pain in my hip, but I leaned against her cool scales and rested my head on hers. Do you think it will be painful for him?

  She didn’t answer, and we continued to watch.

  The area now rich in energy, hummed, the ground vibrating with it. A silver mist gathered, swirling in like it was being pulled from everywhere, even the different dimensions Riezella talked about. The ground lit in beautiful sandy golden colours, and the walls turned their dark energies also to the mix.

  Riezella moved around Alex as he stared towards a central white light. That light started out small, then grew the more she spoke. Her words turned into chanting, and I didn’t understand any of it. It was Dalfol that took over from her chanting, turning her words into a wondrous song, one this time that I understood.

  Then I heard her words to Alex.

  For the universe is one, to understand her, you become one. Where souls and energy meet, there’s a space to cross over, cross over you must. The energy you are, can become desert-born, need it, feel it. Where there’s strength, there is energy. Where there is hope, life. Feel your life, feel it moving, free.

  Her movement around him grew faster. The light appearing before Alex, and I knew his soul had become much brighter.

  Know where you wish to go. Focus, Alex.

  The twirling and mesmerizing dance stretched on for what seemed like hours.

  Sakril then joined them, flying around and around, gaining speed like he was the one actually doing this transformation. His energy sparked brighter than all. He swooped in, sucking in the ball of white energy.

  Alex’s body twitched and then stopped.

  Sakril continued to fly around the circle until the energy around them was so intense, I couldn’t watch much longer.

  Then, with tremendous speed, he dived towards the egg. Stopping a fraction of a millimetre before it. He puffed out that white energy, and it vanished inside.

  Was that his spirit? Sakril then sucked in once more, opening up his needle-sharp mouth to bellow fire at the egg.

  A bright light flashed.

  So bright I had to shield my eyes. I couldn’t see any of them anymore. I panicked.

  What’s going on, Fri?

  But when the light faded, and I opened my eyes, there was no twirling of colours. Riezella and Dalfol’s humanised forms had gone, and so had Alex. There was nothing there anymore.

  I rushed forward to where the eggs were. The smal
lest of them now seemed to have a faint glow about it, but other than that, there was no other difference.

  I screamed, and I didn’t stop. The pain deep within would never be dissipated.

  Sakril was the one who appeared to me, his small cute form landing before me. Come, his voice said to me. There is no time to mourn what you do not know you’ve lost yet.

  I stood to obey the command of a leader, as small as he was. I knew what he was. As Lady of the Skies, he was technically my Master, but he didn’t act like it. He acted like someone who genuinely cared and who wanted the best for me.

  The cattle are here, and the Clan is feasting. Thanks to your Runners.

  I looked at him as he hovered effortlessly by my side as I walked back to the edge of the water.

  Once outside the caves, I could see the huge turmoil from the cattle and Tromoal as they devoured them. The sounds of crunching bones and beating wings loud enough for me to want to cover my ears and eyes from the devastation.

  Yet, inside, I heard the glee, the happiness from the Tromoal. I shivered, trying my best not to throw up.

  Josh stood watching with horror on his face. He saw me and moved towards me. With him were Candice and her crowd with the bikes not far behind as well as Abel’s men, the horses, and Ebolos.

  Dresel’s voice came from behind me. “That’s some feat these guys just performed for you.”

  I smiled at him. “Amazing. How did you do it?”

  “We did what you said. We used Dros Grass.” Candice stood forwards and grinned. “We then glamoured the animals into thinking this was a field full of their favourite foods. They came here with what they thought were empty bellies and got what they wanted most in life—food and sex. They wouldn’t have suffered when they died, too high. Even though it looks horrific, believe me, it was as painless as possible.”

  I really was glad of this. No animal should suffer for the good of others.

  “Thank you, all of you.”

  The Matriarch screeched up above, and all heads from the Tromoal turned.

  The ground itself seemed to quiver as they started to lift into the sky. There they circled and waited until everyone was ready.