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Chapter Seventeen -
Dueling with Dragons
It took a few minutes for Jahrra to realize why the sight of Jaax made her uneasy, and how long it had been since she’d seen him. Four years ago, she thought, when he brought her Phrym. Then it struck her; why she received a stabbing pang of distaste when she’d heard the dragon’s voice. For three years now she’d subconsciously been blaming him for the death of her parents. She’d forgotten her anger in time, just as she’d learned to deal with her sorrow, but seeing the dragon now had the same effect as throwing stones at a hornet’s nest.
Jahrra took a deep breath and forced herself to look Jaax in the eye. Cold, granite eyes, she thought with a shiver. “What are you doing here?” she finally said, her throat feeling constricted and her mouth feeling dry.
“I’m here on business,” the dragon said simply, his voice holding a hint of amusement.
Jahrra still found Jaax imposing, despite the fact she was sitting high atop Phrym, and she wondered how she hadn’t spotted him when they first approached. He must have been waiting for me inside the Ruin, spying, she decided with distaste.
She released a short breath and asked as pleasantly as she could, “Where’s Master Hroombra?”
“He’ll be out shortly. I couldn’t help but overhear you shouting so loudly at your friends, so I came out to greet you all.” He paused and then cocked his head to the side, eyeing her like a bug he was considering squashing. “Do you always take pleasure in deceiving your friends, Jahrra?”
The question took Jahrra by surprise, like a punch in the stomach. She glared up at Jaax, but he just kept looking at her as if she were insignificant. Jahrra turned her eyes away and suddenly felt the way she did when Eydeth or Ellysian looked at her. Who is he to judge me? she thought furiously. I don’t deceive my friends!
Gieaun and Scede shifted on their horses somewhere behind her. She moved slowly to look at them, reluctant to turn her back on her enemy. They’d noticed Jaax before she did and had wisely stayed put where they were. Now they were giving her a fragile look as she sought them out with desperate eyes.
“Hello,” Jaax said cheerily over Jahrra’s head. “You are Gieaun and Scede if I’m not mistaken? I remember you two from last time I was here. You’ve grown quite a bit.”
He smiled freely at them and they seemed to relax a little, both grinning sheepishly.
What?! Jahrra thought with her mouth hanging open. How can he be so nice to them and treat me like dirt?!
“Can you breathe fire like Master Hroombra?” Scede blurted, interrupting Jahrra’s thoughts and taking everyone by surprise.
The boy blushed slightly at his own outburst; clearly he hadn’t meant to be so forward. Jaax looked down at Scede and grinned, then took a deep breath and let out a huge burst of flame, blue in the center and green around the edges. Aimhe, Bhun and Phrym all backed up and pulled at their bits nervously, but Gieaun and Scede were ecstatic with joy.
“Whoa! How can you do that?” Gieaun remarked, not noticing the look of irritation on Jahrra’s face.
“I’m not quite sure Gieaun, but all dragons have the ability to breathe fire, steam or ice,” Jaax answered, as if discussing the weather. “I happen to be a fire-breather.”
He then began to blow smoke rings, which only encouraged Gieaun and Scede to jump from their horses in delight. The next minute they were laughing and coughing as they tried to leap through the giant loops of misty smoke.
Jahrra remained seated on Phrym, infuriated that the dragon should put on such a show for her friends while treating her with such disdain. It was almost as if Jaax had charmed them with magic. Why is he so rude to me but nice to them? she wondered miserably. Then she remembered that she hated him, so it really didn’t matter in the end.
“Gieaun, Scede, do you want to put the horses away now?” Jahrra said quite rudely as she finally climbed down from Phrym’s back.
“Oh, yeah, in just a minute,” Scede said shortly without stopping his game of dodging the smoke rings. “You go ahead, we’ll catch up to you.”
Jahrra shot one more angry look at Jaax before leading Phrym away.
“Is she always so bad-tempered?” he asked the siblings once Jahrra had turned away.
“What are you talking about?” Gieaun asked, allowing a stray smoke ring to pass through her.
“Never mind, it’s not important,” Jaax sniffed.
The Tanaan dragon narrowed his emerald eyes as he watched Jahrra march away across the pasture. So, he thought with a scowl, that’s how it’s going to be, is it? He’d been testing the girl, searching for weakness, knowing now she wasn’t going to accept him back so easily after his long absence. What had happened to the young girl he met four years ago? She’d been impressed and eager to make friends then, now she seemed guarded and distant, a slow anger burning inside of her.
What’s causing this anger? Jaax wondered, absentmindedly blowing another dozen smoke rings in Gieaun and Scede’s direction as he watched Jahrra lead Phrym away. He wondered if it might still be the effect of Abdhe’s and Lynhi’s deaths. After all, it really wasn’t that long ago . . . His brow furrowed and his mood darkened for a moment. That could be it, but not all of it. She was cheerful until she saw me.
He sighed and realized that he would have to figure this out in due time, but for now he was going to make good use of this opportunity to check in on Jahrra’s progress. The business of the outside world had kept him away from this task for far too long, and though his time here would once again be short, he was going to make good use of it.
Jaax smiled wryly as he continued to watch the fuming girl kick irritably at stones and swat at the swaying grasses as she moved closer to the stables. Yes, this will be interesting indeed . . . he mused.
“Ugh!” Jahrra puffed angrily as she pulled Phrym up the sloping field alone. “He thinks he’s so clever! They only like him because he can breathe fire!”
Phrym whinnied softly, as if voicing his agreement.
“I’m glad you’re on my side Phrym,” Jahrra said dejectedly, reaching over and pulling his head into an appreciative hug. Phrym just nickered cheerfully and shoved Jahrra softly forward with his nose.
Once they reached the stable, Jahrra let out a tense sigh. She was grateful to be away from that stupid dragon and her credulous friends. She looked over at the small yard attached to the enclosure and smiled as Phrym trotted around, trying to con Jahrra into playing with him.
“Not today, boy, maybe another time. I’m not in the mood.”
Jahrra grabbed her pack from the saddle bags and turned to walk back to her traitorous friends and their unpleasant visitor. Phrym watched as Jahrra trudged back towards the Ruin, then shook his head and occupied himself with eating his oats.
As she moved closer to the crumbled building, Jahrra saw that Hroombra had finally joined the crowd. Master Hroombra won’t let Jaax be so rude! she thought hopefully with a tiny smile. Once she was within a few yards of them however, she noticed that both the dragons were watching her intently and her two friends had their eyes to the ground. They all seemed like statues, standing stark still and rigid. Something that felt like an icicle slid down Jahrra’s throat and settled in her stomach. Why is everyone so quiet? What has happened? she thought with a twinge of uneasiness.
“What’s wrong?” she asked warily.
“Scede here was just telling us about your day,” Jaax answered, his face for once without expression.
Jahrra glanced over at Scede, who looked as guilty as a fox in a henhouse. She then looked to Gieaun, who happened to be giving her brother a nasty look.
“What did he say?” Jahrra asked carefully.
“He said that you’d seen the most amazing thing today, and just as he was going to tell us he suddenly stopped talking, refusing to go on.”
It was Hroombra this time, but his tone sounded more curious than accusing.
Jahrra looked daggers at Scede, and he cowered
even more. Great! Now what am I going to say! she thought furiously. I can’t tell them I chased after a unicorn into the Wreing Florenn! Master Hroombra will kill me, and for Jaax to know too! He already thinks I’m a trouble-maker! Jahrra fished around for an excuse in her head, and decided that the best method was to tell the truth, at least part of the truth.
“Well,” she began delicately, “we were riding in the fields between here and Nuun Esse on our way back from Wood’s End Ranch, and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked towards the forest and saw what I thought was a herd of deer. But they weren’t deer; they were unicorns Master Hroombra, real unicorns!”
Jahrra barely heard the gasps of relief, and disbelief, coming from her two friends. Jaax looked taken aback and Hroombra just gazed at her, as if trying to comprehend what she’d just said.
Jahrra continued after a while, “When they saw us, they went running into the trees, so Gieaun, Scede and I decided to see if any of their hair got caught in the brush they were grazing near. And it did, look!”
Jahrra reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of the hair the three children had collected in the meadow, hoping this proof would distract the dragons from questioning her honesty. She knew she shouldn’t have lied, but at least this way she’d told them some of the truth, and she wouldn’t have to tell them she’d been in the Wreing Florenn. Hroombra was the first to step forward, with Jaax looking over his shoulder. Both dragons stared down at the unicorn hair as if in a trance, even Jaax, who always seemed to keep his true feelings hidden.
“Jahrra, did you happen to sketch them in your journal?” Hroombra asked, sounding like he could barely hang on to his excitement.
“Yes.” Jahrra smiled and pulled out her journal. She opened it up to the pages where she’d drawn the stallion and some of the foals.
“Incredible!” Hroombra proclaimed, his multitude of wrinkles bunching around a huge smile.
Jaax, however, wasn’t as enthused. He sat back on his haunches after looking at both the silky hair and the sketching. He glared at Jahrra as if she were someone untrustworthy, his usual cool gaze back once again.
“Jaax! Do you see this?” Hroombra asked, his voice still filled with awe.
The other dragon looked at Hroombra and said simply, “Has she seen drawings of unicorns before?”
Hroombra’s expression went from complete joy to slight confusion. “Why, yes,” he answered, his brow furrowed. “I’ve shown her many sketching and drawings of the creatures of Ethoes. Why?”
Jaax took a deep breath and said, “Isn’t it possible she is making this all up? She could’ve drawn these from memory or copied them from your manuscripts.”
Hroombra looked rather befuddled, and Jahrra gaped blankly at Jaax.
“What?!” she breathed, her blue eyes turning storm-cloud gray. “I didn’t copy these from any other drawings, I saw the unicorns just today, I swear it! Here, I even have their hair to prove it!” Jahrra thrust out her hand, clutching the unicorn hair. “What more proof do you want?”
Jaax looked down at the hair wadded in Jahrra’s hand. Then he moved his cool green eyes up to Jahrra’s angry ones, saying quietly and calmly, “Some horses have fine hair. Your friends told me that their parents breed palomino horses. You could’ve taken the hair from them.”
Jahrra couldn’t believe that Jaax was accusing her of lying. She was severely tempted to kick him as hard as she could, but knew it would hurt her more than it would hurt him, not to mention give him one more thing to smile about. Alright, Jahrra thought miserably, I did lie about where I saw them, but I saw them! And how can he tell I’m not being truthful anyways? She knew it shouldn’t bother her that Jaax didn’t believe her. She hated him, so why did it matter? But for some reason it did.
“I’m telling the truth!” she demanded. “They were gold and copper and silver, they had one long horn that curved back over their forehead, and when they whinnied, it sounded like chimes!”
Then she added weakly as her shoulders drooped, “It made me feel very happy.”
Hroombra, who’d remained quiet and pensive for the last few minutes, shot his head up immediately, his yellow eyes blazing.
“You heard them Jahrra? I never told you what they sounded like.” His smile returned once again. “Jaax! There’s no question about it, she did see them! She might’ve known what they looked like, but she didn’t know what they sounded like!”
Hroombra was as giddy as the children had been the second they found the unicorn hair.
Jaax looked unnecessarily unhappy with this information and Hroombra’s reaction to it, but for some strange reason, Jahrra didn’t think it had anything to do with her.
“Jaax! Unicorns!” Hroombra said once again, wondering why the younger dragon was staying so calm.
Jaax turned his gaze to Hroombra and said simply, sternly, “Unicorns have not been in Oescienne for . . .”
“Nearly five hundred years.”
Hroombra finished the statement with both a tone of wonder and revelation. Jahrra just stared back, not knowing what to say, not understanding the relevance of this fact.
The young dragon looked back to Jahrra, trying hard to read her expression. There was a glimmer of truth in the young girl’s eyes; he couldn’t deny that. But there couldn’t be unicorns in Oescienne, it just wasn’t possible . . .
“Hroombra, you and I know that what she claims is impossible!” Jaax snapped, growing irritated with his own thoughts.
He was no longer concerned with whether or not Jahrra was telling the truth. He was just concerned with what it meant if she was telling the truth.
“Jahrra, you may go and play with your friends now, we’ve detained you three long enough,” Hroombra said, sounding serious all of a sudden.
Jahrra turned to Gieaun and Scede, grateful to be free of her small ordeal but wondering what had turned Jaax’s mood so quickly. She shook her head in annoyance. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to untangle the inner workings of the mind of the great Raejaaxorix. Instead she began walking with Gieaun and Scede as they led the other horses up to the stables. When they were far away from the dragons however, Jahrra began chastising Scede for mentioning the incident with the unicorns.
“I’m sorry! I completely forgot. Those smoke rings were distracting!” he said between tight teeth.
“I’m sure they were,” Jahrra answered sarcastically.
“Oh, it’s alright!” she continued after seeing the crestfallen look on Scede’s face. “We didn’t have to tell them exactly where we went, so there was no harm done, after all.”
They trudged along uphill in the warm afternoon sun, too busy chatting to pay any heed to the two dragons watching them carefully.
As soon as they were out of earshot Jaax immediately cut into Hroombra, “What could you possibly be thinking?” he snipped.
“Jaax, unicorns,” Hroombra breathed dreamily, unaffected by the Tanaan dragon’s shortness. “You can’t ignore this. The return of unicorns to Oescienne was foreseen in the prophecy.”
“You mean an amendment to the prophecy. Don’t forget who it was that claimed to have foreseen unicorns returning,” the young dragon growled. “The girl has a great imagination, you’ve told me so a number of times. She most likely saw a deer and let her thoughts run away with her. And that nonsense about hearing them, that was a coincidence. She could’ve heard about a unicorn’s voice anywhere. She might’ve stumbled upon the description in one of your books.”
Jaax forced out this last remark with a finality that stated the conversation was over. He turned aggressively and started walking more briskly toward the Ruin in what appeared to be a fouler mood than was necessary.
“Besides,” he shot over his shoulder, “we can’t follow the prophecy word for word. It’s still possible that it’s only a way to give us poor creatures hope in a time of hopelessness.”
“There’s always hope, Jaax,” Hroombra retorted, “and I believe more than anything
in this foretelling, I must. I’ve waited too many years and have seen too much suffering.”
Jaax answered Hroombra without turning around this time.
He merely spoke louder so that the older dragon could hear him, “I’m through with this conversation Hroombra. The prophecy is and always has been simply a code to give false hope. I’ve spent hundreds of years trying to decipher its meaning and message to no avail. There’s nothing absolute about it. Every claim and every statement within it can have a hundred different meanings. I’ve spent too many years getting my hopes up when I saw the signs, only to have them dashed away. I wouldn’t rely on it if I were you.”
“If that’s the truth,” Hroombra said with renewed determination, “then why did you bring Jahrra here to begin with? Why did you spend so many years looking for her? Admit it Jaax, we all cling onto hope, even if we have to wait centuries for our hopes and wishes to come true.”
Jaax couldn’t see Hroombra smiling, but he could hear it in the old dragon’s voice, “I don’t know what has happened since I last heard from you to bring you to say such things, but I know it’s only a passing phase. You’ll trust in the prophecy again, I know it.”
The younger dragon eased a bit and nodded stiffly before he stalked off to go and rest in the main room of the Ruin. His journey had been long, and he’d been traveling farther and more frequently than usual. He’d flown to Oescienne almost non-stop from Nimbronia, the great city in the Hrunahn Mountains to the north. The king of the Creecemind dragons was still refusing to choose sides in the festering turmoil that could boil over any day now, and Jaax was beyond frustrated with him and his people. Did they not realize the magnitude of the threat in the east?
It was this frustration that had put him in such a dire mood just now, and he regretted it. He now took the anger and disbelief he’d aimed at Jahrra and focused it on those who refused to help with the resistance of the Crimson King, especially the dragon king of the north. Jaax had been told to return only when he had the chosen one with him. He couldn’t see how presenting an eleven year old girl to the Creecemind dragons would sway their allegiance to his side, and there was no way he could take Jahrra on such a long journey without telling her the truth. All Jaax could do was forget the north for now and hope the Tyrant remained inactive until Jahrra was older.
The Finding Page 26
