Dragon War

by Shay Roberts

  For the next test, Rose wants me to throw one of the iron pieces at her, to see if the staff will protect her.

  I aim for the side of her leg, gently tossing a chunk of iron so that it won’t hit with the sharp edge. The iron smacks into her leg, not deflected in the slightest. Something obviously went wrong.

  Rose remembers she’s wearing the binding pendant that Villalobos gave her. Merlin said she shouldn’t be wearing anything metallic. The pendant itself is a dark gray teardrop stone, but it has a silver chain and setting.

  Rose removes the chain and puts it in my pouch. I use my crystal claws to break away the setting, and Rose tucks the stone into a seam inside the top of her boot.

  We repeat the test. This time, the iron shard bounces off without touching her skin. Wow, Snakehead is going to come in handy.

  Rose is fired up and ready to take on the Romans singlehandedly, but I suggest a less risky option. We could travel back to 384 CE, one year before the first battle, then warn the dragons about the approaching Romans. If we can wake up the dragons and relocate them, there doesn’t have to be a dragon war.

  Rose agrees with the idea. We join hands and I jump us back sixty-eight years into the past, exactly one year before Caratacus told us the first battle took place.

  As we emerge from the jump, I see not much has changed around the horse-head rock formation. There are a few more trees, but they’re still rare here. Rose tells me that when she was a child, there were never a lot of trees in the Highlands. Her people would harvest bog peat, dry it out, and use it for fuel. They called it turf fire, as opposed to a wood fire.

  Rose’s clan, the Draig, protected and served the sleeping dragons of the Highlands. But they never dealt directly with the dragons; they dealt with people like me, the dracoforms, the personal servants of the dragons.

  Rose says that when the Draig needed to speak to a dracoform, they made a signal fire and the dracoform would fly in. There were different smoke signals for different dracoforms. Rose doesn’t remember any specific signals, but we decide to go ahead and make a fire.

  It’s hard to find wood. It takes a couple hours to gather enough to make even a small fire. We haul the wood to the top of the rock formation and start the fire. Once it gets going, Rose heaps on wet grass and foliage to make white smoke. We use a blanket from one of the bedrolls to trap the smoke and then release it in timed bursts. The balls of smoke form a pearl necklace in the air that drifts away at an angle as the wind catches it.

  Looking out across the rolling green Highlands, I can’t see any sign of habitation. More than anything else, this gives me a sense of being in the past. This place looks pristine, untouched by human hands.

  The smoke doesn’t bother me, but after a while, Rosemarie starts coughing, so we end our signaling.

  We sit on a mossy stone, our backs pressed together, so we can observe the entire sky. It feels so quiet and peaceful here. I’m struck by a whimsical idea that I share with Rose.

  “This place is beautiful. And it seems so far away from the troubles of the world. When this is all over, we should come back here and build a castle.”

  She responds, her voice rough from the smoke. “What would we name it?”

  “How about Castle Rose? Or maybe Rosekeep.”

  “You flatter me, Tyler. What a lovely fantasy.”

  “We should do it for real. Maybe Merlin could help us get the stone. He—”

  My words are interrupted by Rosemarie’s excited shout. I turn to find her pointing at the unmistakable outline of a dragon in the sky. My heart pounds as I see the crystal scales of an Aido-Hwedo dragon!

  I remember Ayana telling me that there was a fifth dracoform of Aido-Hwedo. My teachers and I accounted for four of the dracoforms, but no one knew the whereabouts of the fifth. I think that mystery is about to be solved.

  As the dragon lands at the base of the rock formation, its crystal scales reflect the light, casting colored jewels across the Highland grass.

  The dracoform shifts into a human, revealing a nude black woman, slim and strong, with a shaved head. Feeling a strong sense of kinship, I walk out to meet her.

  She speaks to me, her eyes warm and bright. “Hail, brother. I am Mazaa. What brings you so far from the temple?”

  Because of the language bug, I understand her words. But I also realize she’s speaking the same Ethiopian tongue of Lagashan, my dragon mentor.

  I extend my hand. “Hello, sister. My name is Tyler. You too are far from the temple.”

  She accepts my hand, but it soon turns into a hug.

  I’ve never met this woman, but it feels like we’re old friends.

  Rose approaches, addressing Mazaa. “It’s cold out here. We have some clothes, if you like. My school uniform ought to fit you.”

  Mazaa looks down at her nakedness as if noticing it for the first time. “Would that make you more comfortable?”

  Rose glances at Mazaa’s hardening nipples. “I just want you to be comfortable.”

  Is Rose jealous of my connection with Mazaa?

  Rose digs the uniform out of my pouch, and Mazaa puts it on. She looks ridiculous in the green tunic and leggings, but Rose says it looks good on her.

  Ignoring Rose, Mazaa addresses me. “Your smoke signal was ambiguous. But I happened to be in the area, so I answered.”

  I invite Mazaa to sit on the rocks with us, and I tell her the whole story. Her pleasant mood evaporates as she hears of the danger to Aido-Hwedo and the other dragons.

  When I suggest moving the dragons to another location, Mazaa tells me that’s impossible. Aido-Hwedo and the others came here because they are tired of this world and want to return to their ancient homeland, an otherworld they call Annwn.

  The cosmology class at the Academy didn’t say anything about Annwn. Is it possible the school doesn’t know about it?

  Mazaa tells us that the dragons can only achieve this move to Annwn through decades of focused sleep. They have chosen the Highlands because this area has the closest link to Annwn. And it’s not just the area, it’s the time period. At no time in history has Annwn ever been this close to the mortal world. For the dragons, it’s here and now, or never.

  So, it seems the only alternative is to fight. And a battle plan starts to develop in my mind.

  “Rose, in your childhood memories of the Romans, did they have that green gel on their armor and weapons, or just their skin?”

  She responds, already following my train of thought. “Just their skin.”

  I reach into the pouch and pull out the handgun we retrieved from the Roman on the beach. The steel weapon is smooth and clean.

  “They don’t put the green stuff on their armor or weapons. Maybe it’s corrosive or something. That means only their skin is protected from fire. If we rain fire from the air, while protected from gunfire by the staff, we can destroy their weapons and armor. Dragonfire will warp and crack steel. Once their defenses are gone, the dragons can get close enough to pick them off with claw attacks. The Nameless Legion will never make it out of Britain.”

  Rose nods. “That sounds promising.”

  “There’s just one problem. Their leader, Argyros, might get away. He’s a time traveler, and he has some sort of magical protection. When I fought him before, I wasn’t able to hurt him. If attacked, he’ll just jump away.”

  “An unfortunate outcome, but acceptable so long as the dragons are saved. My main concern is the staff. Will it protect us from bullets?”

  “We’ll need to test that. Might as well do that now. Give me the staff. I want you to shoot me. Maybe in the ass, where it won’t kill me.”

  She shakes her head. “No. You will shoot me.”

  “Rosemarie, that won’t work. We won’t know if it’s the staff protecting you, or your tattoos.”

  Rose frowns but eventually gives me the staff.

  I hand the gun to Rose.

  “Do you know how to use it?”

  She nods. “I took firearms training at
the Academy.”

  Mazaa watches with curiosity as Rose chambers a round.

  I strip down to my loincloth to assure I’m not wearing any metal. Then I slide the loincloth aside, exposing a butt cheek.

  “Careful. Just graze me a little.”

  Rose snaps back, “What did you think I was planning? To shoot off your buttock?”

  She’s angry at me for putting her in this position. But beneath that, I can tell she’s scared of hurting me.

  Mazaa steps back, not knowing what to expect.

  I clutch Snakehead with both hands.

  Rose extends the gun, squints, and fires.

  The gunshot cracks loudly.

  Mazaa jumps back, eyes wide.

  I flinch reflexively. “Hey, that didn’t even hurt!”

  Rose huffs. “I missed. Stand still. We have to do it again.”

  I feel like cracking a joke, but Rosemarie is really upset, so I let it pass.

  She fires again. The bullet feels like a blast of warm air on my ass.

  Rose exhales. “It worked, thank the gods. The bullet was deflected.”

  Mazaa nods, impressed.

  I’m more than a little relieved. “We’ll test it again when you’re mounted on a dragon. And that will probably be me. We need to make sure the protection will extend to something that massive. Oh, and we’ll need to make you a riding harness.”

  Mazaa raises her hands, gesturing for me to slow down. “Aido-Hwedo has such a harness. But first, he must approve this plan. Follow me, and I will wake him.”

  It takes several hours of hiking to reach Aido-Hwedo’s lair. The huge cave mouth is set into the base of a rock formation halfway up a hill.

  Below the entrance lies a river of solid rock. The great dragon used his fire to blast out a cave for himself. The liquid rock ran down the hill and hardened.

  Rose and I are sitting on a patch of dirt made glassy by dragonfire. Mazaa went inside the cave over an hour ago and still hasn’t returned. I suspect the cave is deeper than it appears, and Aido-Hwedo is difficult to wake.

  Rose, impatient, taps the hardened earth with the heel of her dark staff. “How long does it take to wake up a dragon?”

  I shrug, trying to hide my nerves. This is Aido-Hwedo, the big boss. His blood runs in my body. He made me what I am today. As far as I know, no one in the temple has ever met him personally. I will be the first. What if I disappoint him?

  As the sun settles into the western sky, I look out over the landscape, admiring the location of the lair. We’re in a curved box canyon between two adjacent hills. This place would be hard to spot unless you were standing on top of it.

  Rosemarie suddenly turns toward me. “Can you hear that?”

  I listen, but don’t hear anything.

  She frowns. “Riders. Coming in fast.”

  I can hear them now, approaching from around the bend in the shallow canyon.

  Rose stands, cradling the staff inside her left arm as she draws her bow and nocks an arrow.

  This isn’t a good situation. We could retreat into the cave, but we haven’t been invited in. Also, whoever is coming could follow us inside.

  We could time jump to avoid trouble. I haven’t rested long enough to jump, but Rose could do it. The problem is, we’d be abandoning Mazaa and Aido-Hwedo to the approaching threat.

  I draw my buckler and axe. It’s tempting to pull out my crystal claws, or even the gun. But I need to maintain appearances if this turns out to be a friendly encounter.

  I relax a little as a group of silver collars come into sight. Rosemarie lowers her bow. When we encountered them before, she said these elite Pict horsemen were not our enemies.

  Did they follow us here? If so, why?

  I think this is a different group of men, because the leader has darker hair and looks older. As before, none of the riders wear shirts, despite the chill. I wonder if they’re trying to show off their tattoos.

  The leader stares at Rose, puzzled. “Lady Broicc?”

  She nods. “Greetings, First Horseman.”

  He looks at the massive cave entrance beside us, and his face darkens.

  The other men are also looking at the cave. They seem antsy, their hands squeezing their lances. Their horses shuffle nervously, and their four war dogs hang in the back.

  I don’t like this.

  The leader frowns at Rose. “You are far from your territory.”

  Ignoring him, Rose points to one of the riders in the back of their group. “You there, why are you unmarked?”

  The man avoids eye contact. He’s dressed like the other horsemen but has no tattoos. He’s the only man carrying a sword. The weapon is short and wide, resting in a leather scabbard dyed blood red.

  The First Horseman responds casually. “Easy, my lady, he is Caledonian.”

  Rose lifts her bow. “He smells like a Roman. What is he? A spy? A scout?”

  I see the gears turn in the leader’s head. He’s assessing his odds in a fight. They’ll have to dismount, because the horses will be uncooperative. And the dogs will be no help either. Still, it’s thirteen against two, and one of those two is a woman.

  “Lady Broicc, please lower your bow. We mean you no harm.”

  Rosemarie speaks to me without taking her eyes off their leader.

  “It’s no accident the silver collars were at the beach that day. They were there to meet the Romans on the ship.”

  The First Horseman shows indignation. “The Romans are our enemy. Surely you know this.”

  Rose scowls. “I know that King Talorc resents the rising power of the Draig. He fears the dragons our people protect and would welcome anyone who could kill them. Even the Romans.”

  The First Horseman spits. “That is a vile accusation, Broicc. You have offended me.”

  As the horses shuffle around, the man with no tattoos disappears for a moment behind the others.

  This is going bad. I drop my buckler and ax and reach into my pouch for my claws.

  When the man with no tattoos reappears, he’s lifting a gun.

  My timesight kicks in, and I see overlapping images of the gunman. The darkest image is him in the present, and the brightest is where he will be a second later.

  I can see he’ll be aiming at me.

  I’ve got my claws on now. Rose drops the bow, holding her staff with one hand and reaching for me with the other. She intends to jump us out of here.

  Suddenly, a sun explodes in front of us, burning our cheeks and scorching our retinas.

  I squint, catching a glimpse of the mounted men. They are nothing but skeletons, riding on the backs of skeleton horses. The gun, and their steel lance tips, collapse like melting wax.

  My eyes water in the intense heat as I hear bones crackle and explode. The whole group of men and animals collapses into a glowing, charred heap.

  Fuck! It’s like a nuclear blast.

  I turn to face the source of the fire. At the entrance to the cave crouches the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen. His glowing eyes pierce me. Light from the burning bones dances across his crystal scales.

  This is the great Aido-Hwedo. No one needs to tell me that. Power radiates from him, so strong I can taste it. The sound of his breathing hums through my bones. He is a fiery god.

  I drop to my knees, bow my head, and pray he recognizes me as his own.

  Rose follows my lead.

  Risking a peek, I see him cock his head and flick his tongue at me. The gesture is snakelike and frightening. Under his gaze, I feel like a mouse.

  I get dizzy and realize I’m holding my breath.

  The great dragon suddenly squeezes out of his lair and launches skyward, covering us with a cloud of dust and ash. In a few beats of his mighty wings, he disappears over the hill.

  Mazaa emerges from the cave and approaches me. She’s still wearing the green class uniform but also has a pair of steel claws. She eyes my crystal claws with a mixture of awe and sadness.

  “I was unable to earn those cla
ws. The power of time travel eluded me. But even if I had them, I couldn’t bring myself to wear them.”

  I rise to my feet. “Why not?”

  “Because as long as you have them, it means that Aido-Hwedo has died.”

  That hadn’t occurred to me before. If we can prevent Aido-Hwedo’s death, my claws will probably disappear. After all, they are his actual claws.

  I’m okay with losing them. It’s a small price to pay to save the life of such an important creature.

  I point to the sky. “Where did he go?”

  Mazaa’s gaze follows my finger. “Out to scout for Romans.”

  “The first battle won’t take place for a year.”

  “Good. That gives us time to prepare. I am pleased to inform you that the master has approved your plan, with only one change. He himself will make the attack, while Rosemarie shields him with her staff.”

  “How much of that superfire does he have? I only have a few blasts before I have to rest and recharge.”

  “He is a true dragon, not a dracoform. He is capable of many fiery breaths, perhaps a score or two a day. Enough to destroy a legion.”

  Mazaa turns to Rose. “We should go inside now. You will eat, and our followers will adjust the riding harness for your needs.”

  I interject. “Hey, can you modify the harness to fit two? Rose and I need to stick together.”

  Mazaa nods. “Of course, Aido-Hwedo can easily bear the weight. But is it necessary for you both to expose yourself to danger?”

  Rose squeezes my arm. “There is no reason for you to be there.”

  “If something bad happens, you’ll need an exit strategy.”

  She looks miffed. “I can jump myself.”

  “But not to an anchor. You could emerge in midair and end up falling. And what if you’re distracted, or hurt? Look at it this way, would you let me go up there alone?”

  She frowns, unable to counter my arguments.

  I give her a hug. “We’ll be great together. It’ll go fine. You’ll see.”

  She kisses me, still unconvinced.

  Mazaa takes us inside the cave. As my eyes adjust, I see there are actually two tunnels here. One is huge, maybe thirty feet high. It’s perfectly smooth inside. I’m guessing it leads to the great dragon’s lair. The other tunnel is small and looks like it formed naturally.