Dust and Cinder (Rise of the Dragons Trilogy Book 3)

by N. R. Hairston

  Linton shook his head. “Not really, but we are brothers and sisters by clan law. As we are not blood, I could mate with you, if I wanted and it would break no laws. We mate within our own clan, to further the clan line.”

  “Seems incestuous,” I said before I could stop myself.

  Linton chuckled, looking at me, eyes shining. “I assure you it is not. Bloodlines are carefully checked. No one is allowed to mate if they have even a smidge of the same DNA.”

  Stax sat up, a vine of grapes clutched tightly in his hand. “There are over ten thousand families in our clan, more than enough to keep the pool clean I think.”

  Chapter 3

  My eyes bulged. “Ten-thous-” My head once again began to spin. If one clan had that many families tied into it, then their numbers had to be in the millions. People thought the dragons had died out, but in truth, they’d been multiplying daily it seemed.

  Stax came to a stand, grapes still tight in his hand. “Tell me, Alisa,” he said, voice low and mellow. “Have you learned to do this yet.” I watched in utter amazement as a hard, protective layer covered his skin, including his grapes and dreadlocks. It was the same color blue as him and looked hard and impenetrable.

  I blinked, not sure of what I was seeing. I wanted to touch it, and he must have known because he sighed and waved me forward. I looked to Linton for confirmation, and he nodded.

  I wasn’t sure what I expected, but the closer I got, the better I could see how his skin carried a hard, outer layer. He looked magnificent and I wondered if this kept would-be attackers from hurting him. “I can’t do that,” I said, as I reached out to touch his shoulder.

  His skin was smooth, dry, and gave me the impression of desert sand on a hot summer day.

  “Nothing can break through there.” Erain said. “Not blade, not power, not will of mind.”

  Linton walked to the corner of the room and pulled out a long sword. He went to stand behind Stax, while Erain and Arden went to his front. Linton plunged the blade into Stax’s back, and I gasped and jumped back.

  The sword broke to pieces and fell to the floor, causing a wide grin to spread across Stax’s face. Erain sprayed fire at him, while Arden shot ice, neither put a dent in his skin, or him.

  I watched the ice as it flew out of Arden’s mouth and wondered if that was something all dragons could do, or just a few. Once it was clear that nothing was going to happen, they stopped trying, and Stax allowed his skin to turn back to normal.

  “I can’t do that,” I said again, thinking of how handy it would have been when fighting the Yango.

  Arden pursed his lips. “Have you even tried? To do any of this?”

  “And how would she do that?” Linton asked, looking at him. “When she didn’t know these powers existed.”

  “She knew enough,” Arden said, and sat back down.

  I knew I could breathe fire and had wings on my back, beyond that I was drawing a blank. “So, what happens now?” I asked, almost scared of the answer but wanting to move this along. I was worried about Reid. They’d called him a dragon of poison and I still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad.

  “Let me see your porter.” Linton held out his hand.

  My breath quickened, and I wondered if this was the moment they took it from me. I didn’t want them to. I realized that now. I liked having it, like the power it gave me, like being able to hop in and out of a world as I saw fit.

  “We don’t use porters in that way,” Arden said, looking at me, his eyes filled with judgment. “We’d never allow ourselves to be that vulnerable.”

  “Then what do you use?” I snapped, tired of his “we are better than you attitude.” I’d seen the way that Linton and the others had opened their portals and I did want to know how they’d done it.

  Linton narrowed his eyes at me, and I got the feeling I was being sized up. “Put it on your arm.”

  I looked at him to see if he was serious and he nodded. None of the others in the room seemed surprised at his request. Though I thought it a bit odd, I did as I was instructed.

  “Now take a few deep breaths and close your eyes.” I did that as well. My right arm was held up in front of me and slightly bent to keep the porter in place. “Now take the power!” he yelled, and I almost jumped but was able to keep my balance.

  I waited for him to say more, but once nothing came, I figured he was leaving the rest to me. This was a test, I knew that now. A test to see if I was worthy of clan or maybe just to see if I was worthy to carry the name dragon.

  I thought about the porter and all it did, what it was capable of. I thought of the things that Edward had taught me about it and the others that I’d learned on my own. Each portal hop, each jump played through my mind as the image got clearer and clearer.

  My arm started to burn, and I opened my eyes shocked as I’d not been able to feel the heat from a flame since this whole thing began.

  “Don’t move!” Linton's voice sounded from beside me. “Let the porter merge with you as it ought. You are a member of the Pressive Clan, and we are not slaves to that which can be easily taken away from us.” I went stock-still as his words washed over me and my arm continued to burn.

  “Take the porter power as your own. Then the only way someone gets it is by plying through your flesh. Something your dragon shield would never allow to happen.”

  I didn’t have a dragon shield though, and I wasn’t sure how to make one. The porter burned an oval shaped hole into my arm, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming out. Showing weakness in front of these four would just set me up as fresh prey, so I tried my best to keep my feelings of pain and agony inside.

  The porter burrowed underneath, and I felt when it merged with my bones, went into my bloodstream, and spread throughout. It lifted me off my feet as sparkling blue light swirled around me. That only lasted for a minute before the light slammed into me, knocking me back.

  I bent my legs and hunched my back, so I didn’t fall, and I only slid a little. Power rushed through me, and I could see millions of worlds swimming around in my head. I needed only pick one, and hold out my hand and a portal would take me there.

  I exhaled deeply, shocked, elated, and scared at the same time. I thought back to the porter being taking away from me on Graven, of my fear every time I’d thought I’d lost it, and realized it had made me weak, I just hadn’t been able to see it.

  “Now what?” I asked, because at this point I was eager to learn more. Anything that would give us a leg up in the coming battle with the Yango.

  Arden looked me over, he didn’t seem all that impressed. “You are of the world Cyphen, a member of the Pressive Clan. You are an ice dragon, yet you know only fire.”

  “Then teach me!” I said, tired of his shit. “I wasn’t born to this as you were. Teach me what I don’t know!”

  “It should come naturally!” Arden said, his eyes blazing as he looked at me. “We kill the weak here! Our clan is our land, our life, and our blood. If you can’t represent that properly, then you will be snuffed out!”

  I let out a deep breath and took a step back, looking at the others and wondering if that’d been the real reason I’d been brought here. “Give me time,” I said, wondering if Reid was facing the same thing or if he was even still alive. My insides clenched at that thought, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

  Stax rolled his eyes and went to stand behind Arden. He put his hands on the other man’s hips and began to whisper softly in his ear. The more he talked, the more Arden seemed to relax, but that did me no good.

  What if they were thinking of new and creative ways to get rid of me? What if—my wings flapped out from my back and I immediately went on alert. I closed my eyes and tried to bring a shield around me, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work.

  It made no difference, I reasoned. I refused to go down without a fight.

  Linton looked amused as he stared at me. A single finger stroked the blue goatee on his
chin. “No one’s killing anyone. Arden just gets a little high-strung sometimes.” He looked to Stax, who’d led Arden to a settee and lay him down, while he sat on the edge. “Control him, or I will,” Linton said to Stax.

  Stax’s eyes went hard as he looked at Linton, but he never uttered a word.

  “What are you going to do with me?” I tried to hold my head high, but my body trembled as I waited for an answer.

  “You are to meet with the three Dragon Lords in two weeks’ time. You are of the Pressive Clan, and everything you do has our name on it. We will not allow you to appear weak in front of them.”

  “Which means what?” I asked, my mind again going to Reid and wondering what he was going through.

  It was Stax who answered this time. “Which means that life as you know it is over.”

  Chapter 4

  I’d been on Cyphen two weeks now, and this was the day I’d meet the three Dragon Lords. I hadn’t been allowed to call my family since I’d been here, and I still didn’t know how Reid was or if he was okay and to be honest it was driving me mad.

  I guess I’d find out more after today, but the uncertainty was like nails on a chalkboard. I wanted this to be over, and I wanted me and Reid to be back home where we belonged.

  I’d trained all morning, and though I was better with bringing forward ice, and using it, I still couldn’t activate my shield.

  Linton kept saying it would be alright, but even he was starting to look worried, which made me wonder exactly what happened to one who went before the three Dragon Lords lacking in power. It was a lot to think about.

  Ren, a dragon who looked to be about thirty, with blue skin and olive colored hair set a plate of food down in front of me. I was still in the house that Linton had first brought me to, and had found out that quite a few of my clan members lived here.

  Right now, about a hundred of us sat in the lunching hall, a big marble table before us. Ren and a few other dragons did most of the cooking here, and I noticed that he was always happy when we complimented his food.

  On my plate was roasted hen, baked chicken, and ham. I noticed that most of my clan ate meat only, but because a few liked vegetables as well, bowls of corn, squash, and peas sat in the middle of the table so that such dragons could help themselves.

  I added the corn and the squash to my plate, as well as poured myself a tall glass of dragon nectar. It came from a fruit called peen, that only grew on Cyphen. It reminded me of a peach because of its size, but it was blue in color and tasted thick, strong, and sweet.

  It was good, and I found myself eating them daily as Ren made sure that a fresh bowl was placed in my room each morning. I cut off a piece of hen and began to eat, knowing that when I finished, it would be time to train again.

  It seemed that everyone in the Pressive Clan was concerned with how I would represent them once I went before the three Dragon Lords.

  Stax sat beside me, going through his food so fast, I wondered if he thought someone would take it away from him. Then I remembered that he’d been eating that way since we’d had our first meal together so maybe that’s just how he enjoyed his food.

  Linton sat more toward the head of the table, but his eyes would stray my way every few minutes and I figured he was checking to make sure I was okay.

  I bit off another piece of hen and tried not to think too hard about it. After lunch, I was allowed thirty minutes in my room before I was expected back on the training field. When I got up from the table, Stax was still piling more food onto his plate.

  I walked down the long ice hallway until I came to the sleeping quarters. This place was so big, it was easy to get lost, but each day I got a little better with my directions. The door to my room was shaped like a blue fire dragon, and I pushed it open, happy to get away from everyone for a while.

  No pictures hung on my walls, and the only thing in my room was two black marble dressers and a bed made of the same material. Like everyone else here, I did have my own bathroom, which I was eternally grateful for. My bed was huge and set in the middle of the floor. It was as soft as a feather, and the pink silk sheets didn’t hurt.

  Dragons, I found liked extravagance. Many rooms, including my own, had a separate chamber set up for gold, jewels, and rubies. I’d made the mistake of walking too closely to Erain’s once, and she’d thrown me to the ground and almost taken my head off.

  I even noticed Linton, Stax, and Arden, tense up when I got too close to their treasure rooms, or kelch as they called it. I opened the door to my own and looked at the three items placed there, a gold chain given to me by Ren, my fifth day here just because I’d kept complimenting his food.

  A ruby ankle bracelet that Erain had given me sat beside it. I’d done well in practice one day, and that had been my reward. My last gift was a twenty-four-karat diamond necklace that Linton had proudly placed into my hand the first day I’d learned to shoot ice.

  My chest swelled when I looked at it all, because each piece sought to make me feel more a part of the Pressive Clan.

  Knowing I didn’t have much time, I closed the door and went to lay on my bed. My stomach was in knots thinking of what would come later today. I had to activate my shield at the next practice. Somehow I had to find a way.

  I closed my eyes and focused on the fire in me, and then parted it away and went deeper until I found the ice. I blew a small winter ball onto my hand and marveled at how it was almost second nature for me to do that now.

  It’d taken a full week, but I’d finally gotten it, which was why not being able to activate my shield frustrated me so much. Unless not being a natural-born dragon had something to do with it. Maybe I just didn’t have that power, something the others hadn’t bothered to consider.

  I sat up on the side of my bed, fear running through me. Today was the day I met the Dragon Lords, and if I was found lacking, it was possible I’d be terminated on the spot.

  Chapter 5

  I walked onto the training field, my feet slow, as I knew the weight of the entire Pressive Clan was on my shoulders. It’d been three hundred years since someone from our clan was called before the great ones, and the fact that it was me, someone who didn’t even know how to activate a shield, left a sour taste in the mouths of many.

  The field was a few thousand feet from the house, past a tennis and basketball court. The dragons, I’d found, liked exercises in all forms. The training field was enclosed in fire, and the ground was made of pure ice.

  Usually when I trained, there were anywhere from ten to twenty people watching and participating, today there seemed to be hundreds, maybe even thousands. My hands shook as I took in the sheer magnitude of dragons here today, and my eyes searched desperately for Linton.

  “You can do this,” a voice behind me said, and I turned around to see Stax standing there. His eyes roamed over the crowd. “This is serious for us. For a clan member to be called before the Dragon Lords is a great honor, and you represent us all.”

  I swallowed but didn’t say anything as I didn’t believe he knew how much undue pressure his words caused me.

  “Just breathe and reach down inside yourself,” Erain said, coming up on my other side.

  I smiled at them, as I’d gotten to know them both well my two weeks here and found that I liked them a lot.

  Arden walked toward us, his brows furrowed. “I just got wind of what’s ready to happen.” He ran a nervous hand down his face. “You’ve got to get your shield to work. They’re not leaving you much choice now.”

  I had no idea what he meant, and though we’d become a tad friendlier since I’d been here, I still wasn’t as close to him as I was to Stax, Erain, or Linton. His fear frightened me, and made me even more wary about what they had in store for me today.

  I didn’t have long to wait. I walked to the middle of the field as I always did, and Linton came to stand in front of me, a grave look on his face. My heart began to pound the moment his shoulders slumped.

  When he spoke, it was th
rough gritted teeth. “For the record, I voted against this.” Then he pulled me into a fierce hug and squeezed me tight.

  I held onto him, my arms not wanting to let go and face whatever reckoning I had coming. Linton had done nothing but help me every step of the way, and I knew without doubt that I’d miss him the most when I left here.

  He pulled away, gave my hand a squeeze and then disappeared into the crowd. I watched him go, panic making my heart speed up. I took a deep breath, trying to calm it, but realized I’d never been so scared in my life.

  A large horn blew and the sound of about a hundred swords being unsheathed sounded in my ear. My head whipped around, yet everywhere I turned, dragons from my clan stood with swords in their hands.

  My eyes widened because they couldn’t mean too... Surely they were not going to...

  “On the count of three, all swords are to hit the target,” a loud voice shouted, and all swords were raised and pointed my way.

  My eyes watered as I searched frantically for Linton, Erain, anyone who could stop this. These people had lost their damn minds! What in the world made them believe this shit was a good idea?

  “One,” the voice called, and I felt my soul shake. Tears fell down my face, but there was no running, no getting away. They had me in a circle, where was I going?

  “Two.” A low rumble started in my stomach and worked its way through my whole body. Fire shot from my hands, ice from my mouth, as the need to protect myself grew stronger with each passing second.

  “Three!” Hundreds of swords were thrown straight at me, and I went down to a crouch hoping to avoid them. It didn’t work, as they changed trajectory midair, many aiming straight for my head.

  The rumble in my stomach intensified and the only thing running through my mind was survival and making it out of this alive. I closed my eyes and let every protective instinct I’d ever had take over.