by Katrina Cope
“But there must be a way that we can serve better. Something else we can do in the field to help.”
He tsks then huffs a short laugh. “No. There is not.” He turns to Heimdall. “How did she escape?”
The mighty gatekeeper tilts his head downward. “I was distracted by some kind of beast. It came and attacked me at the same time that she approached. It’s almost as though they were working together.”
When I gasp, Odin casts me a warning look before returning his focus to Heimdall. He rubs his chin between his thumb and index finger. “What kind of beast?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before. It had dragon-like wings and a furry body. It was hideous. It must be a creation—perhaps some kind of witch or god has been mucking around with the creatures of the world. The timing of her escape was too perfect not to suspect that they were working together.”
“Oh no.” I start to rise until Odin shoots me a glare, and I stop halfway and slowly return to a kneeling position and bow my head. “I was not working with the creature, mighty Odin. I do not know where it came from. I have only seen it once before when it was stealing dragon eggs.”
“Stealing dragon eggs, you say?” The eyebrow over his one eye lifts.
“Yes. The egg of the emperor dragon.”
“The rare, vicious breed that nobody can get near?”
I nod and ignore the disbelief in his eyes. “I managed to scare the creature off, and it dropped the egg. It also scratched me at the same time.”
Odin held his stomach and gave a deep, rumbling laugh. “A creature of some sort stealing the vicious dragon eggs, the golden ones. That is one game creature. What would it be doing with dragon eggs?”
Heimdall says, “I have seen some dragon eggs being traded on the black market. I believe they are being bought and raised as weapons of war, trained to fight, and the golden dragon would be the leader of the pack, able to control all the other dragons. If a commander were to get their hands on one of those dragons and tame it, then they would be in charge of all the dragon world. This could lead to a massacre.”
I look at Heimdall with disbelief. “Do they ride these dragons?”
“Of course they ride them. What else would they use the dragons for?” He looks thoughtful for a moment. “I guess other than their vicious fighting skills where they can demolish any being in no time, including giants, and turn them into a meal.” He shrugs.
“Then why don’t we use dragons to fight?” I look at Odin. “Couldn’t the wingless Valkyries join in and help fight for the good warriors alongside the winged Valkyries by riding the dragons? We have been trained as warriors. It would make sense if we were given the opportunity to ride something with wings to help fight for the time that Ragnarok comes. You will need us as well as the few Valkyries you have to help fight in Ragnarok for Asgard and Midgard. We could become protectors rather than servants.” A new sense of worth is flowing through me, and before I realize what I am doing, I have half risen to my feet again.
“Do not stand in my presence, Valkyrie. I have not permitted you.” Odin’s gaze turns vicious again. “You are being ridiculous. Wingless Valkyries are only good and created for what you are doing now. You are nothing more.”
A strong voice rumbles through my head. Do not listen to him, young Valkyrie. You have much to prove.
My head shoots up, and my eyes dart everywhere. “What?”
“What’s wrong with you, Valkyrie?” Annoyance is written all over Heimdall’s face. I am staring at him because he is the only other person in the room.
“Did you just say something?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Odin stamps his staff on the ground, and a crack echoes through the large room. “Your nonsense has caused enough trouble today, young Valkyrie. You must leave and clean the stalls. I have enough to deal with over the rumors of frost giants entering Asgard without permission.”
I look at Odin in shock as he points to the door of the hall. Heimdall grabs me by the shoulder and leads me out again. As I am escorted across Asgard, my eyes dart everywhere as I search for the owner of the voice. Who could have spoken to me, especially when it appears that the two men didn’t hear the voice?
- CHAPTER SIX -
Argh! The smell is disgusting. The potent odors of regurgitated flesh follow me around as I scoop it up from the floor of a dragon’s cave. The solid rock walls have successfully managed to trap the smell within the enclosure. Heimdall commanded me to grab my shield and get changed into my oldest clothes, and pointed to the dragon stall that I had to clean first. Naturally, it was the most potent. Without any extra hands, I sling my shield over my back and shovel up the muck and carry it toward the chasm. The dragon stalls are built within the solid rock of the mountains in chasms or cliff faces.
The current occupant of this particular stall is a blue dragon that despite being smaller than other dragons, still towers above me. When I look at this specific breed, it is hard for me to believe that all dragons are classed as aggressive. The blue dragon has a smaller snout and lacks the horns of the other breeds, and its eyes have an innocent look. Its scales are a medium-blue color edged with white, making its overall color seem lighter than it is.
This young male’s blue eyes watch me intensely as I clean out his mess. Despite his look of innocence, I make sure I keep my eye on him. I have been warned to regard all dragons with caution at all times. As I walk toward the edge of the cave to throw the pile of trash over the mountain’s side, he runs at me, breathing out a plume of fire.
I dart forward and trip on a rock, dropping the shovel and falling flat on my stomach. My face narrowly misses the pile of manure that I just gathered. Something warm and gooey wraps around my arm, and I realize that my arm was not so lucky. “Yuck!” I shake my hand, trying to rid it of the horrible smelly slop.
A strange sound comes from the dragon. I managed to miss the plume of fire, and remembering it, I suddenly jump to my feet and turn to face the dragon, who has just proven that despite his looks, I must treat him with caution. The winged Valkyries are raising these dragons to be aggressive so that they can be fighting practice. Despite knowing this, I am curious as to why this dragon has had a go at me. Except when I face the dragon and meet his blue eyes, his head is jerking up and down, and his teeth are showing.
I blink a couple of times, trying to clear my vision, because I am having trouble believing what I am seeing. Cocking my head, I ask, “Are you playing with me?”
The dragon pushes his shoulders back and spreads his wings wide, showing off the decorative white dots that resemble stars across the blue membranous wings. He looks much larger than seconds before, and he wipes the smirk off his face and gazes at me with his big eyes. Suddenly, he narrows his eyes and shoots out a long plume of fire. I move aside with my back toward him, narrowly missing the edge of the cliff. When I spin around and look at the dragon again, he is doing the same thing as before, sitting on his butt, making a funny sound, bobbing his head up and down, and showing off his teeth.
I observe the dragon for a moment. “You are playing with me, aren’t you?”
He can’t come any closer to me because of the chain around his rear leg. I have not cleaned out this particular dragon’s stall before. In fact, I haven’t had much to do with the blue dragons, so I am surprised when this one stands up and starts to wag his tail.
“Okay. I will play. But can you stop throwing plumes of fire at me? I prefer not to be seared.” I stand ready with my legs shoulder width apart, braced for the next move.
The dragon’s eyes widen. He seems to realize what I am doing, and his tail wagging increases speed, knocking aside scattered bones behind him. My arm still stinks and feels disgusting, but I’m not about to turn my back, in case he throws another plume of fire at me.
I look for something on the ground that I can throw, so that maybe he will chase it like a dog. As I do this, I see a bright-orange light coming in my direction, and I dodge. I have no t
ime to grab my shield, and I block it instinctively with my arm that is covered in manure.
As I feel the searing pain from the fire, I curse myself for my stupidity, though it isn’t a direct hit because I dodged far enough away. Yanking my arm away, I stare at the damage. I am surprised to see that the manure has protected my arm from damage, and all that my arm suffered from was the extreme heat. I expel a breath. “That was close.”
Next time, I won’t be so stupid. The muck around my arm has dried, and I peel it away. The dragon seems to be laughing again, and his back legs jump up, and his tail starts to wag.
Instantly, I brace myself and throw up a hand while the other reaches for my shield. “Stop. No. Don’t do that. You’re going to hurt me. I would love to play, but I don’t want to be hurt.” I feel ridiculous talking to a dragon, but maybe he can understand me. After all, the emperor dragon I ran across a couple of years ago could. I can only hope.
Yet his neck vibrates like he is about to send out another plume of fire. I dart forward, as is often recommended when attacking a larger opponent, and manage to duck under the plume of fire, then I grab him around the neck and swing my leg over him. I fling my arms around his neck and sit up straight with my legs bracing his torso and clasp onto his scales. “There. Now I’ve got you.”
He cocks his head and peers at me with one eye. At first, his eyes widen with surprise, then they seem to do that funny smile again, followed by the noise I have worked out to be a chuckle. Suddenly, my whole body tilts forward as the dragon rolls onto his back. I tumble quickly to the side, land on the ground, and somersault to my feet. The dragon lies on his back with his big eyes staring at me and that chuckle jerking his torso.
“You like that, do you? What about this?” I dart forward and sit on his belly, trying to tickle his underside. The funny gurgling sound continues, and he rolls from side to side. It must be a lonely life, living in this cave all by himself. He seems to be enjoying any interaction. I can never understand why they keep dragons. They don’t need them as fighting opponents. It seems like a waste, having them cooped up like a prize within these caves.
A deep, velvety voice bursts through my head. You seem to have a way with the dragons.
I freeze and sit up straight, looking around the cave for the source of the voice.
“Heimdall? Is that you?” I could swear it is the same voice I heard back in Odin’s hall. I search everywhere, except as I am doing this, I’m knocked off the dragon as he sits up straight, as though standing to attention, looking toward the entrance.
No. This is not Heimdall. It is a shame to see these dragons cooped up like this, with nothing to live for.
I continue to search everywhere for the source of the voice but find nothing. “Yes. It is a shame. This one seems quite playful. Who are you?”
A deep rumble sounds, and it almost sounds like a chuckle. I don’t know what to make of it–if I should be insulted or not.
Let’s just say I’m someone who’s been watching you for a little while. You treat the dragons with more respect than others. You do not mistreat them like your winged kind. They treat them as though they are nothing, disposable, like beasts to be pushed around and injured–something to practice their fighting skills with. For this, I shall reward you.
I’m confused, my feet rooted in place. I look at the dragon and notice that he has remained at full attention, almost as though saluting a corporal. “I don’t understand. Why would I treat dragons any differently than any other animal?”
They are higher than any animal, but you treat them with respect and friendliness.
A strange noise sounds at the cliff entrance of the cave, and I look but can’t see anything. My gaze darts to the blue dragon, and it is also looking in the same direction. So I start to search the area again, following the sound, only to see that the massive form of a golden dragon has appeared out of thin air right in front of me. Its eyes are golden and vicious and looking directly at me.
- CHAPTER SEVEN -
It suddenly dawns on me where I have heard this voice before. This is the mother dragon that gave me one chance to escape her wrath a couple of years ago, and I took it. I cannot for the life of me think why she has sought me out. As I look into her deep-golden-brown eyes, they feel as though they are boring into me. I try to swallow the lump in my throat. The dragon seems aggressive and intimidating, and I want to hide. I back up, ready to dart behind the blue dragon, when I realize that he’s also backing up to hide behind me, and whenever I try to dart around the back of him, he somehow moves quicker. I observe him and wonder what his deal is.
Right as I do this, the golden dragon commands, Bow!
I spin around. “Me?”
At the same time, the blue dragon shuffles behind me, and I turn to see him bowing toward the golden dragon. His front legs buckle underneath his weight, his chest touches the ground, and he casts his eyes down. He is in a complete form of submission.
I refocus on the mother dragon. “I-I disappeared as you commanded.” My fear rises when I feel her anger. “Why have you pursued me?”
I have been watching you.
“How?”
The emperor dragons have the distinct ability to become invisible, and after you caught my attention, I have been watching you. You have proven to be different from the others. And I have heard your plights to be great.
“Why would you be watching me?”
The dragons have become factious due to this pact with the Valkyries in which we give over one of our clan every year to seal our alliance. It has caused great distrust amongst the dragons, and it is time for the emperor dragon to rule again and unite the dragons. You can only hear my voice because I have allowed you to. Nobody else can hear what I am saying except for the dragon beside you because I have chosen it to be so.
“What do you want of me?”
I am going to lend you this. Beside her, another dragon appears. The dragon is almost identical to her, only smaller. It is young, but its body is at least the size of the blue dragon behind me, and stockier. I stare at the dragon with an open mouth.
“You’re going to lend me a dragon? Why?” I can’t hide the surprise in my voice.
This is not any dragon. This is my daughter, the egg that you saved from the creature and that you saved from being enslaved in the black market. For as long as you respect her and treat her well, I will lend her to you.
I frown. “Is she a slave to me? Because that is not how I work.”
The scowl from the mother dragon’s face lifts, and I think it is the closest expression she has to a smile. No. My daughter and I have discussed this, and she has agreed.
I look at the smaller dragon, and she nods slightly.
But mark my words—I will be watching you, and she will be reporting back to me. She turns invisible, and I hear the push as she takes off, followed by the flapping of her wings fading away. She has left before I can react.
I call to the empty space, “Thanks.”
As I look at the dragon, I’m not quite sure what to do. She studies me with her golden-brown eyes in return. Her horns point menacingly out of the top of her head, and her size is intimidating, even if she is smaller than her mother. Her scales capture the sunlight, and it sparkles off the yellow gold.
Um, hello, Kara. I’m Elan. Her voice is uncertain and sounds much younger than the mother dragon’s.
My mouth drops open. I can’t believe that they even know my name.
She continues with the uncertainty still in her voice. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. Please excuse my mother. She is rather a stick-in-the-mud. She chuckles slightly then stops abruptly. Oops! Don’t let her know that. You know, because I’m supposed to show her respect all the time. After all, she is the leader of the dragons.
“You’re nothing like what I expected.” I frown, thinking.
Yeah, no. I’m not like what my mom would expect, either. I do tend to chat a bit–just as a warning. Sometimes I drive
my mom crazy. I hope you don’t mind. It gets rather lonely out in the fields as a dragon. I see you met my friend Naga. She nods toward the blue dragon. It was my idea about him playing with you. Sorry about the plumes of fire and all. He doesn’t seem to understand that they can hurt you. She looks at him affectionately. He’s not the brightest of dragons. But I know that he had fun with you.
I spin around and raise my eyebrow at the blue dragon. He’s now sitting up straight and looking eager, not intimidated like when the mother was here.
He’s only young, like me. He was the one that the blue dragons sacrificed this year for the treaty with the Valkyries.
“What is this treaty with the Valkyries?” I ask.
Don’t you know? She looks dumbfounded.
I shake my head.
Hmm. That’s odd. I would have thought that they would have taught you in Valkyrie school. She cocks her head.
“Sorry, I have no idea.”
She folds her legs and lies on her stomach. The Valkyries and the dragons used to be at war all the time, and the Valkyries made weapons and managed to kill off many dragons, and the dragons used their many gifts to retaliate against the Valkyries. As numbers diminished on both sides, they made an agreement. The dragons would hand over one baby of each clan to the Valkyries as a peace treaty for the Valkyries to stop attacking the dragons. Because of this, the dragons have increased in population. But recently, the dragons have caught on to how the Valkyries are using these sacrificial dragons, and much distrust is building within the dragons and they are becoming factious.
“Why?”
Because they don’t like how the Valkyries are treating their babies, and the dragons selected are not chosen by their own tribes. Another tribe chooses them, with the final decision coming down to my mother. She doesn’t say much, but I know it tears her up inside to have to give away the baby dragons. It is also unfair, as we don’t have to give up one of the emperor dragons. This is because we are the leaders and our breed is seen as rarer than the other breeds, as we do not have as many eggs. But our breed is known to be more vicious and have more talents. The sacrifice of an emperor dragon is not written in the agreement.
