Core

by Teshelle Combs

  “I can’t believe you really are this nice of a guy, Cale.”

  He smiled at her, red tinting his cheeks. “Trust me. I’m not that nice.”

  Cale scooted so that his back rested against the wall. The outskirts of Chimbote were quiet, but in the heart of the city, he knew that night meant the day was just starting. Ava lay back down, inching close enough to Cale that she could rest her hand on his leg. She had no clue how it sent a wave of comfort through him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

  “You saved my life today. Twice.”

  Ava was already half asleep. Her wet clothes had dried on her and Cale’s warmth made her eyelids droop. “We’re tied,” she mumbled.

  Cale reached out and rested his hand on her hair. Part of him hoped she wouldn’t mind, the rest of him knew she wouldn’t. Soon. Soon they would find their dragonstones. Then on to the red council to make their pact. And then, at sunrise at Great Nest, he would make the change at last.

  “Everything will be fine,” he said to no one but himself. It was easy to push the memory of the no-ir out of his mind when they were safe in Chimbote, when Ava was so close to him. Though he couldn’t relax enough to lie down, he kept his fingers in the tangles of her curls. When Ava slept, there was no worry in her features. She relaxed next to him, her lashes resting against her cheeks. “Everything will be fine…Sarai.” He didn’t know where the word had come from. It was red tongue, but Cale knew Ava would never approve of the name. He smiled at that and let sleep take him over.

  Ava and Cale awoke to Santiago slamming cupboard doors. Cale jumped up, his dragonblade in hand. It took a few seconds for him to realize that he was in Peru. Santiago only stared at him from across the room, his expression hard on his face until Cale put the weapon away.

  “I have put out breakfast for you.”

  Cale didn’t hesitate to rush to the table. He looked to Santiago first and once the old dragon had sipped his coffee, Cale swallowed all of his fried eggs without chewing. He even hurried to Santiago and took the ones he had in his leathery hands. The old man was about to crack them open into the pan, but Cale saved him the trouble, spilling the gooey contents right into his open mouth.

  “This is why I live alone,” Santiago grumbled. “Children eat too much.”

  Ava sat at the table and spooned the porridge he’d set out into her mouth. She ate the eggs even though she didn’t want to. She knew she needed protein at some point.

  “The porridge is good, Cale,” Ava said, her mouth overflowing with the warm cereal. “What is this, cinnamon?” She saluted Santiago. “Bad manners, good food.”

  The man fought back a smile, but Cale could see it, just under the surface. Cale picked up his bowl and sniffed the white, creamy contents. He dipped his finger into it for a taste. The disgust on his face made Ava laugh.

  “You eat this, Santiago? Que asco!”

  Santiago huffed. “Old bellies are not made for only meat. You will learn to like it.”

  “Never,” Cale said. He frowned, so hungry that he had to hold his tears back. His stomach grumbled, startling Ava. He dipped his finger into the porridge and tried it one more time before sitting back in his chair in resignation.

  “Stop sticking your hands in it, heathen.” Ava swatted him away. “I’ll eat it.”

  Santiago sighed and stepped outside for a few minutes. When he returned, he had a leg of lamb in his hands. He handed it to Cale begrudgingly.

  Cale shook his head. “I can’t take your meat, Santiago.”

  The old man pushed it to him again. “Too much like your father. Always smiling and saying no.” He wiggled the leg impatiently. “Take it.”

  Cale took the lamb in his hands and tore his teeth into it. He ate half and passed the rest back to Santiago, juice running down his chin.

  “Good?” Santiago asked as he took back the half eaten leg.

  “Perfect. Thank you.”

  “Now get out,” he said.

  Ava frowned, but Cale stood and pushed in his chair behind him. “We’re going.”

  He slipped the money Mac had given him underneath Ava’s empty bowl of porridge. Mac had warned that Santiago would never take it unless Cale left it in secret.

  “Wait,” Santiago said. He went into his bedroom and returned with two old t-shirts. He handed them to Cale. “Now…get out.”

  Ava and Cale stopped behind his house and changed their shirts, leaving the old bloody ones in a garbage bin. Cale walked along the dusty streets of Chimbote as though he knew exactly where he was going. It was already near noon, and the town was filled with goats, chickens, and people that Ava suspected to be dragons.

  “How often have you come here?” Ava asked as Cale took a left.

  “Just twice. For the red festivals.”

  “But this is where red dragons come from?”

  “No, this is where my tribe first formed. Reds are all from Ireland. The Great Nest is there.”

  It was like taking sociology all over again. Nests formed herds, then herds made tribes, and tribes made up races. “So is everyone in Miami part of the tribe here?”

  Cale shook his head. “Onna and Myra. Sean. Vincent. A few others from our herd.”

  Ava nodded. It made a little more sense that Cale and the O’Hara twins were close. “So where do we buy the dragonstones?”

  “You can’t buy dragonstones, Ava.” Cale turned right this time, so they walked toward the city's white stone pillars. “That wouldn’t be very much fun.”

  ***

  “I’m dying,” Ava said. She plopped down onto the ground, letting the sweat run into her eyes. Her arms were getting tired from constantly wiping her perspiration away. “I’m dead. It’s too hot.”

  Cale frowned. “It is a little warm.”

  “It’s burning my skin.” Ava knew she was being dramatic, but she didn’t care. “And I can’t find anything.”

  Ava had searched the mountainside for hours with no luck. Cale found his dragonstone almost instantly, but he wouldn’t let Ava see it. She grunted as she kicked the loose stones, glaring at Cale, who seemed to find amusement in her suffering. She pouted. I don’t even understand what I’m looking for. “What is it supposed to look like, Cale?”

  “I can’t tell you, Ava. You’re the only one who knows.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” she shouted.

  With both the heat and her frustration rising, she was glad that Santiago’s medicine had helped in mending her back. It was still numb, and Ava knew that if it had been hurting, she would have given up hours before. She sifted through the pebbles at the bottom of the mountain, letting them run through her fingers. “There’s nothing down here.”

  “Down here, huh?” Cale shielded his eyes as he looked up the mountain at the much larger boulders.

  Ava looked at Cale in terror, shaking her head. “No, I didn’t mean ‘down’ here like at the bottom. I meant around here. Like in Peru. We should check back in Miami.”

  Cale pulled her up. “Come on. We’re climbing. If there’s nothing good ‘down here’, we’ll find it up there.”

  Ava sighed as she lumbered over her first boulder. The two of them climbed the side of the mountain together, Cale offering Ava a hand whenever she got stuck. The higher they got, the cooler the air became.

  “Okay this feels so much better,” Ava said, gathering up her hair to let the wind cool her neck. “I’m a genius.”

  Cale rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of one of the gray boulders. “We can take a break,” he said.

  Ava climbed just a bit more, until she was standing on top of one of the rocks. She shielded her eyes to look out at Chimbote. The crumbling white buildings almost hovered over the sea. It’s much prettier from far away. She spread her arms as the ocean breeze swooped up the mountainside. The fishy odor of the town was swept away by the smell of salty-sweet ocean air. She almost wanted to close her eyes and taste it.

  But just as she was about to, something caught he
r eye, something wedged between a rock. She bent down and picked it up. It was a feather, black and white and small. She held it between her fingers as it fluttered in the wind.

  “What have you got there?” Cale asked.

  Ava stuffed the feather into her pocket. “Nothing special yet.”

  Cale hopped over the rocks until he was at her bolder. He crossed his arms over his chest, balancing on the point of the rock like the laws of gravity didn’t matter to him.

  “Show me,” he said. “I bet you found it.”

  Ava shook her head. “No, it’s not even a rock.”

  “So?”

  “So it’s not a dragonstone.”

  He held out his hand. “Then let me see it.”

  She took a step backwards. “No.”

  “Fine.” Cale grinned. “Let’s go for a swim.”

  He tugged on Ava’s arm pulling her toward the sea. Where the rocks left off, the sand took over, white and gleaming under the late afternoon sun.

  “What if sirens find us?”

  Cale smiled. He didn’t buy her diversion. “We’re too close to Chimbote.”

  “Okay….” She chewed on her lips as she eyed the blue-green waves.

  “Your back will be numb for another twelve hours. No worries.”

  He didn’t blame her for imagining how much the saltwater would sting. He reached into the backpack and pulled out a flat leather pouch. “Here. I’ll close my eyes and you put the dragonstone in.”

  “It’s not–”

  “Just cooperate.” He held out his hand even further.

  With Cale’s eyes closed, Ava placed the feather into the leather pouch and tucked it carefully into the backpack. The second she rested the bag on the boulder, Cale rushed at her, hoisting her into the air over his shoulder. She shrieked as he jumped from bolder to bolder, almost losing his balance. When he reached the sand, he raced for the water and dived in, Ava still laughing in his grasp.

  The water was like ice as they surfaced. Ava jumped on Cale’s head, pushing him back under the waves. He blew bubbles and Ava laughed as he grabbed her ankle and hauled her under. She swam toward the sky again, but Cale jetted upward, tossing her into the air so that she landed a few feet behind him.

  Under the water, she heard Cale’s laugh die.

  Cale? Panic gripped her as she pushed herself upward. She could see the sun dancing above the waves. How could something terrible happen in a place like this? Her arms and legs pumping, she broke through the surface of the sea.

  Cale was treading water, staring at the shore. But he wore a huge smile on his face. Ava breathed, relief flooding her as the waves pushed and pulled against her. On the shore stood a girl. Ava couldn’t see much of her, except for dark hair and tan skin, but Cale’s eyes were locked onto her.

  “Come on,” Cale shouted to Ava, although she was only an arm’s length away from him by then.

  She followed him as he raced for the shore, his long arms propelling him through the water faster than Ava’s ever could. By the time Ava reached the sand, Cale already had the girl wrapped in his arms. Ava couldn’t help but notice how easy it was for him to rest his palms against the girl’s waist. She squealed, rattling off to him in Spanish, kissing his cheeks again and again. When Cale released her, her jean shorts and bright yellow top were nearly soaked through. She didn’t seem to mind, though, as she shook a hand through her impossibly dark, wavy hair.

  Great, Ava thought. One of those girls whose hair looks even better when they mess it up. Ava wrung out her own thick curls. She shuddered to think of what would happen when the sea salt dried in her crazy hair.

  “So this is her,” the girl said, her Peruvian accent heavy.

  Ava eyed the girl suspiciously. The last time she met one of Cale’s red dragon friends, they’d exchanged blows.

  “Who’s this?” Ava asked Cale, trying not to sound unfriendly, and failing.

  But the girl rushed forward and hugged Ava without reserve. Ava pushed her away in self-defense, confusion in her green and red eyes. “What was that?”

  “A hug,” the girl said. She smiled as though Ava had given her the warmest of greetings in return for her embrace. “My grandfather told me you were coming. You try to visit Peru without seeing me?” She nodded at Cale, her white teeth blinding in the afternoon sun. “It’s been too long.”

  “Who is she?” Ava asked Cale again, unwilling to hide her impatience.

  Cale put one of his arms around the girl again, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. Ava wasn’t sure why she felt so uneasy, so out of place as Cale held her.

  “This is Lena,” Cale said, still beaming at her.

  She was devastatingly beautiful, from her bold curves to her chestnut eyes. She smiled without hesitation, as though she’d never been sad a day in her life.

  “Cale and I have been friends since we were very young. But he does not come and see us enough.” She pulled away, turning her attention back to Ava. “Have you had luck with your dragonstone?”

  “I don’t know,” Ava said, squishing her toes around in her soggy sneakers.

  She still wasn’t sure what to think of Lena. It wasn’t easy for Ava to like strangers, but that was what she wanted to do. It was almost as if she couldn’t help it. She felt a little giddy even, as though she wanted to smile whenever Lena did, but for reasons she couldn’t understand.

  “She’s got it,” Cale said. “She just doesn’t believe me yet.”

  Lena nodded, a mischievous smile in her eyes. “You should come for dinner,” she said. “You must be very hungry.”

  Cale frowned. Hungry? My insides are eating themselves. “No, Lena, I think Santiago has had enough of us.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Do not listen to that old man. Besides, he sent me to get you. Said he has found enough money for real food.” She winked at Cale. “He wouldn’t tell me where he got it.”

  Cale’s frown deepened. “He wasn’t supposed to spend it on us.”

  Lena shrugged. “Too late. If you don’t come eat it, it will go bad. Also, you will hurt his feelings. And we both know they are not easily repaired.”

  Cale and Ava followed Lena back into town and into Santiago’s hut of a house. Cale almost fainted at the smell of the food. By the time he sat at the table, he was actively slurping the drool back into his mouth.

  “You think you can fool Santiago,” the old man said to Cale, his face hard set. “I am no fool. Now you will eat what you gave me.”

  He set the food out in front of them, but no one touched it. Even Ava knew they’d wait until Santiago had taken the first bite.

  The dragons heard a gentle click of the fence that kept the chickens in the yard and they fell silent, listening. Then Lena leapt to her feet and ran for the door, just in time to pounce on the boy who opened it.

  Dark hair and a strong chin, stubble spreading across it. He was as tall as Cale, just a little thicker. The only smile brighter than his was Lena’s.

  “Javi!” she cried, arms spread wide.

  He dropped his bag to the floor in favor of scooping up the giggling girl. He spun her around, then placed her back on her feet, pressing a deep kiss on her full lips. When she stepped back, his eyes danced with hers, as though they were sharing secrets.

  Santiago lifted the iron cast pan he had in his hands and smacked it down against the stove. The noise rang out, startling the couple. They both blushed as they looked away from each other and to their guests.

  “Hermano,” the boy said to Cale with a grin.

  The two dragons embraced, and Javi lifted Cale into the air, spinning him around as he had just done with Lena. When he put Cale down, he leaned in, his eyes closed, lips puckered. Even Ava couldn’t help but laugh as Cale put his palm between his and Javi’s faces, smothering his friend and rejecting his mock advances.

  “So this is the one,” Javi said once he had released Cale. He crossed the room and put a hand on Ava’s shoulder as she stood up. “I am a bit jealous,” he
said to her.

  “Well, you can have him,” Ava joked.

  Cale grinned at her, a bit of surprise in his light brown eyes. She’s warming up faster than I thought. He sat next to her, close enough for their knees to touch under the table. Ava sighed. Just his touch chased the awkwardness away. I belong here, she thought, trying to convince herself. I belong here because Cale belongs here.

  “Javi and Lena got married during the festival last summer,” Cale explained to Ava.

  Javi slapped Cale on the back. “Cale was my…how do you say it in English?”

  “Best man,” Cale offered.

  “Except he and his big mouth brother got half the village drunk,” Javi laughed heartily.

  Lena sat down next to Ava and stretched her legs out, leaning back on the chair so that it balanced on just two legs. Javi and Santiago both glared at her.

  “Be careful,” Javi scolded, pushing the back of Lena’s chair so that the legs plopped down onto the floor.

  Lena crossed her arms and pouted as she turned to Ava. “Is Cale so protective of you?”

  “Well, we’re not married,” Ava said carefully.

  She still had her guard up. It was too easy to relax in red dragon families. Even Santiago seemed at ease, flipping a giant hunk of some unknown meat in his pan.

  “She is not pregnant, either,” Javi added with a click of his tongue. “And if she was, she would not be so reckless.”

  Cale’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes alight. “Pregnant?”

  Lena’s smile could have caught the whole world in it, it was so huge. She patted her belly, which was still as flat as a board. Cale shouted something in red tongue and rushed to her, planting a kiss on her cheek. He planted one on Javi’s too.

  “Congratulations,” Ava said. She sighed at how cheerless she sounded compared to Cale.

  Not like it matters. She was sure no one heard her amidst the shouting and laughter. She had the feeling that she couldn’t keep up with the joy the three of them emitted. It was almost blinding. Quietly, Ava slipped out of her chair and walked over to Santiago. His shoulders were hunched over his food, his back turned to the dragons at the table.