by Crymsyn Hart
Chapter Seven
Kestrel pulled back from the scrying bowl, and the water cleared so it no longer reflected anything. The surface became flat, black, and still. Her head spun at the effort to push her consciousness outward. The last time it had happened when she was in the library with Andrik and Dravik. She had been caught up in the landscape, and it felt as though she had been flying. The water, the cliffs, and the chill of the world around her, along with the heaviness that had accompanied her, had shocked her system. When she explained it to Ralag he told her she had linked to another dragonkin in need.
She had been having dreams of the woman she had seen the first time she had flown over the scene. The woman had been thrown over the side of the boat and caught by the water. Now she had connected to this woman once more.
“You did well.” Ralag patted her shoulder.
“Thank you. I’m not sure how many more times I’m going to be able to do that, though.”
“I know, but if what his mother said is correct we can bring him home. You are the only one who can bridge the gap.”
She sighed, not sure she wanted to hear that.
“I never asked to be what I am,” Kestrel said, remembering the time she was dead. The Great Spirit that had called itself the Great Dragon had held her soul so she would not pass on. After being dead for three months, she had been reunited with her body. Powerful magic brought her back, healed her wounds, and transformed her into an old myth within the dragonkin world. They called her drakin. It meant dragon warrior. The Great Dragon had told her that dragons and dragonkin were a dying breed, but she hadn’t seen that. Births had soared. The hatchlings emerged from their eggs, went to their mothers and then to her. Even the women in human form who gave birth let her hold their infants. Kestrel didn’t feel any different. Sometimes strange things happened, and she asked Ralag about them. However, he had said this was beyond him, so they ventured to the ancient mystic.
She had existed for eons beyond any dragon known alive. Yet Kestrel would never have known it looking at Orlana. She was beautiful and appeared young, but the magic about her was so powerful that Kestrel could taste the tang of it. She thought back to the time they had entered her cave.
* * * *
Inside the entryway a large carpet extended the length of the floor.
“Who has come into my cave invading my rest?” the woman had asked.
“Forgive me, Old One, the queen seeks your guidance,” Ralag called into the darkness.
“Does the queen wish to know what she will birth or how her reign will be? Those are silly questions that can be answered by any other mystics. Go to them.”
Kestrel had thought it was a little smug, but she would not be driven away without meeting the woman. Dravik had wished to come, but they thought it was best for their son to stay with his father. Their son was dragonkin, but she didn’t know if he had inherited any of her spellcaster genes. When it came to ‘casters’ the power appeared anytime from the ages of four to fifteen. She had been the one of the youngest to be chosen and was considered one of the most powerful that the Athenaeum had seen.
“The queen doesn’t need to know about her progeny, Old One. The queen may have information about your son, Meruke.”
“Meruke is dead.” The voice came from behind them. She turned and saw the ancient queen. Her hair was white and long, braided over her shoulder and caught up with blue jewels. Her skin was alabaster. Her eyes were completely black, as were her fingernails. When she got closer, Kestrel realized that the train on her dress was a tail, and her white skin was scales.
“Meruke is not dead. He’s someplace else. Where he is I don’t know, in a place that is separate from us. I saw him.”
“Impossible. Leave.”
Ralag bowed his head before the older woman. “Majesty, you who are descended from the first of us. Who remembers the first one, the woman that stands before you is the drakin. She has passed through the Great Dragon and returned. She is the one you had prophesized. We need your help so we can open the doorway to bring him back.”
Orlana walked closer Kestrel. She flicked her tongue and it caught the side of Kestrel’s face. It was wet and slimy, but she didn’t flinch. The woman was testing her. She did not break eye contact. The old queen’s face rippled from reptilian to human. How the woman was still alive she did not know, because it made her tens of thousands of years old.
“You do taste different than the others. However, drakin is only a myth. My prophecy was false.”
Not many believed Kestrel when she said she was drakin. Kestrel closed her eyes and summoned the spark of fire that resided within her. She was dragonkin, spellcaster, and a third part, the other that she alone had. It was something of a beast, pure primal power that she didn’t tap into all the time. Even if she didn’t, the power came through and did what it needed to do. If the Great Dragon was correct and she was supposed to watch over the other dragonkin, she was playing her part and finding a way to bring Meruke back so he could be reunited with his own kind. Power flowed through her. Wings extended from her back, and their heat surrounded her. When she opened her eyes, she felt her own features shifting, and her teeth were sharper. Her face was a bit more elongated. She glanced at her hands and saw claws. Her flesh had thickened into scales. When she opened her wings, they were fire. Holding the form taxed her, because she didn’t do it all the time, and being pregnant she wasn’t sure how it affected the baby.
“Do you believe it now, Majesty?” Kestrel said. The woman’s tongue passed over her cheek once more. The queen pulled away and said something in a different language. A look of shock crossed her expression. A tear slipped down her white cheek. “Forgive me. There have always been rumors, and so many have thought it was a myth. Me as well. If you are true, then that can only mean one thing.”
“What does it mean?” Kestrel asked. She willed herself to settle back on the floor so that her feet were firmly planted and returned to her normal human form.
“It means that the line of dragonkin will be ending. It means that dragons are soon to follow,” the older woman replied.
“We don’t know that. I have seen only growth. However, that’s another issue. Can you help me bring Meruke back? You’re the only one who has the knowledge, because you were there when he was sent into the storm. If I’m finding him now, there has to be some reason for it.”
The other woman nodded. “Come into the cave, and I’ll share with you the knowledge that I have.”
Kestrel followed behind her, careful not to step on the woman’s tail. “Thank you, Majesty.” Ralag came behind her slowly. The older dragon had survived for a long time, and she knew he would pass on soon, but she didn’t know exactly when.
“There is no need to thank me. I know you’re wondering how have I lasted this long? How is it I can be so old and have not passed on?”
“It crossed my mind,” Kestrel said.
Ralag touched her elbow. “You shouldn’t anger her. She has secrets, as you do. As we all do.”
“She isn’t angering me, nephew. She is the only one who has the right to ask me. Being drakin she can ask me anything she wishes, and I am compelled to tell her.” They walked further back into the cave. The atmosphere thickened. The magic nearly choked her. With every breath she took the magic imbued and strengthened her.
“This place is charmed and spelled. The closer we get to the core the more the incantations crisscross,” Kestrel observed.
“Very good. The magic is nearly invisible to those who don’t know it. But you can taste it, and that is my secret. I don’t leave this place. The farthest I go is to the outside of the doorway so I can take in the air. Spellcasters have come here over the years from the local tribe, as well as other dragonkin, laying down enchantments to keep me from aging. I get my news from the ones below. Some have forgotten what I am. Others think I’m a goddess, but the spells have taken a toll.” She gestured to her appearance. “As you can see, I am somewhat changed, a
mixture of dragon and human, both shapes at once. I don’t think I can switch between them any longer, but one gets used to it. Although the tail was something I never bargained for. Please sit.” She motioned to the chairs.
Kestrel helped Ralag down into one of the sumptuous chairs. The whole place was furnished as though she was in the palace. In her own right, Orlana was a queen. The ancient queen ran her fingers along the bookcase and pulled out a small book.
“Did you see anyone when you soared above the sea?”
She nodded. “Yes. The first one I saw was a man. He stood on a balcony looking out over the sea. Then your son. Then a woman sprawled on the rocks.”
“The man, did you sense anything about him?”`
“Not exactly. I didn’t really know what was happening at the time. But I knew your son was one of us. The woman. I’ve seen her in my dreams. Sometimes when I look in the mirror it’s her face I see, and not mine. And there are times when I am in her living quarters. It’s rather strange, almost something of a bi-location.”
“She is the one you must seek out. She is the one you must make the bridge with. The other man, he is important as well. All three are connected, or you would not have seen them in your journey to this other place.” Orlana held the book out to Kestrel.
She took it and read it over.
“This talks about alignments and planets, about being able to communicate with other witches over great distances. If you can see her in your dreams, then she is a spellcaster in some way. Maybe she’s a witch in this other realm that Meruke now resides in. You have to breach the divide, gaze into the darkness, and speak to him. It will not be easy. If this works, then we can tell them what to do on their end as the planets align here. I will look toward the heavens to determine when the alignment is right. If this works, I will be in your debt. I will send word once I have the exact date. Take the book with you.”
“Thank you,” Kestrel said.
“I will stay and speak with her majesty. I’ll be along soon,” Ralag told her.
She squeezed the old man’s shoulder and left the cave for the dragon that waited for her to take them back to the mountain.
* * * *
“Did it work, my queen?” Ralag questioned her once more.
Kestrel sighed. “Yes, but there wasn’t enough time.”
“Next time the connection will be longer. Is this woman you have connected with powerful?”
Kestrel wasn’t sure how to answer, because this other woman seemed so different than what she was used to. “She has power, but it is of a different sort out in her world. Maybe here it would be equal to a spellcasters’.”
“Do you think it will work?” Ralag asked.
Kestrel stared at the flat, black water, contemplating his question. A small flame of warmth from the baby filled her and made her smile. “She seems to think it will.”
“Do you know what she’s thinking or if she is dragonkin?”
“I don’t know her thoughts, just feelings sometimes. She will follow in the family being a dragon. But I think there’s more to her. For now, we have to focus on Meruke and getting him home.”
Chapter Eight
Wyeth stared at the lighthouse, hoping to glimpse Drake, but he had not come by. After three days, he was still processing all the information he had learned. Wyeth had come to the conclusion the man was a shape shifter. He touched his lip and his cheek. Drake could throw a mean punch. His thoughts turned to Savanna. She might not have been his type, but he found himself fantasizing about her luscious lips and her round breasts. He’d never been with a woman with curves, but maybe there was something that the skinny girls didn’t know about. He was tired of trying to live up to the expectations others held him to, especially the women he dated. They all assumed he was an obnoxious prick who used his money for going to fancy parties, the most expensive restaurants, and buying fast cars. All he wanted was to keep his dented pickup, pull a beer from the cooler, and shoot the shit with his crew. Image didn’t matter to him. His family might have built and owned half of the town, but that didn’t mean anything to him. He wanted a good woman to settle down with, who loved him regardless of his money.
He sighed and didn’t see anyone coming into the lighthouse. The walkway he had never noticed before was precarious now that he could see it. He wouldn’t walk on it. The crew worked in the background, pulling down a couple of walls. He had other crews laboring around town, and he wanted to check on his guy in the hospital. Wyeth left the house and made his rounds, heading to the hospital first and then the other jobsites. Forty guys worked for him, and he knew them all by name, their wives, and their kid’s names. He made it a point to be friendly and hang out with the crew so they would feel he was more than just their boss. Most of the guys liked him. After checking on Thomas, he made a note to call his accountant and his lawyer to make sure that there was money set aside for him and a trust setup for the man’s kids. It was the least he could do and make sure that his worker’s comp insurance claim was filed. The last job led him downtown where they were restoring one of the old mansions near the center of town.
As he walked down to one of the many restaurants on the strip his stomach grumbled, and crammed between the little tourist traps a sign for a spiritual advisor was chained around a lamppost. Savanna had said she was sandwiched near Main Street, but not on it. The scent of pizza enticed him, but Wyeth turned down the alleyway to find Savanna. The outside of her little shop was nothing he expected. There was no flashy window display, just a door with a simple sign that could be flipped to say Open or Closed. The glass in the door had been darkened so no one could peek in.
Chimes went off as he entered. A beaded curtain separated the tiny storefront from the back. He heard Savanna talking behind the beads. A small bookcase with an array of books stood on the wall next to him. Another next to it had a few crystals of various colors. Underneath the cash register and the credit card machine she had a display case with the jewelry and tarot cards. These were the things that he understood.
The beaded curtain separated and a woman came out. She was tall, blonde, and dressed in a green business suit. When she looked up, her cheeks were streaked with black mascara. Beside her, Savanna stopped talking when she saw him. She smiled and motioned for him to sit in one of the seats nestled in the corner. As the woman left, Savanna flipped the sign to Closed.
“What are you doing here?” Savanna’s cheeks reddened.
“You said that I could come down sometime, so here I am.”
“Did you need a little bit of spiritual advice? Maybe some words of wisdom on how to deal with what Drake told you?”
“Actually, I was wondering what he told you after I left.”
She chuckled. “I thought he was supposed to show you more about who he was in the caves below your house.”
“I haven’t seen him since the other night. Have you?” Wyeth asked.
“No. He left and, well...that was it. I haven’t had a chance to go by the lighthouse and see if he was there. I’ve been swamped with readings. It’s been kinda crazy. This is the first break I’ve had in three days. At least I’ve made rent this month.”
“Is it difficult for you to keep up with your bills? I can help you out if you...” He wasn’t sure why he had offered this woman money.
“No. I wouldn’t dream of it. Thank you, though. I’m okay. What really brings you here today?”
He shrugged, surprised she had turned down his money. “I was going to get some lunch, and I recalled you were down here. I thought it would be nice to come and see you. Dinner was good the other night, and we all gotta eat. Would you want to get lunch?”
Her eyes widened. “Ahh... yeah, I guess. Just let me close up.” It took her a moment as she switched her lights off. His muscles tightened, and his heart picked up a few beats as her hips swayed. Dear God, I’m falling for her. She returned with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step. She was a few steps ahead of him before she turned around. �
�Where did you want to go?”
“Anywhere is fine. Where do you like to eat?” Wyeth asked.
“Lucia’s is good. Have you been there? They’re fairly new.”
“Sounds good. Lead the way.”
They went a couple of blocks and arrived at a small café with tables outside and people chatting. The wind blew and wrapped him in a chill. Autumn was in the air. Soon the tourists would leave and he would pick up a few more jobs. It was his favorite time of year. Colors splashed across the trees. The mountains were a backdrop against the dark ocean and the browns of the cliffs and the rocks. His father always had a leaf viewing party, and Wyeth enjoyed those. I wonder if Savanna would appreciate something like that. We haven’t used the yacht in a while.
They got a table inside Lucia’s and perused the menu. He glanced over the laminated print but kept peeking at Savanna over the top of the menu as she worried her straw, sipping on her water. What did she think of everything that happened the other night? What did happen the other night after I left? He sipped on his cola and something nagged at the back of his brain. “Did you sleep with Drake after I left your apartment?”
Savanna went to put her glass down, but it slipped and spilled all over the tabletop. She coughed the water she had drunk. He grabbed a few napkins and sopped up the liquid. As he did, he realized what an idiot he sounded like.
“I don’t see where that’s any of your business.”
“Sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have even...”
She took a few more napkins. “No, you shouldn’t have. Did you show up at my doorstep to ask me if I slept with Drake, who I barely know any more than I know you?” She threw the pile of disintegrated napkins closer to the edge of the table and went to get up.
Wyeth grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving. She struggled a bit, but he tightened his hand and stood so he was closer to her. He didn’t care about the scene he was making. Wyeth pulled her to him. Savanna thrashed against him.
“Let me go, or I’m going to scream,” she forced out.
