Hatchling

by Toasha Jiordano

  “Looks like we got company.” Grandpa James slowed to a stop and Jimmy gathered his things. All the while, he sent silent apologies to Ash. “I know I said we’d train tonight. Yes I know you’ve been stuck in that bag all day. No, I don’t want to trade places. I’m sorry. I have to do what the grown ups say and you have to do what I say.” He hoped Ash believed that. The last thing he needed was an out of control dragon loose in the town.

  The truck lights went out, but not before Jimmy saw that whoever it was had driven over on a tractor. A large hay bale still hung off the rear. He also saw in the remaining light from the porch that their visitor was nowhere to be found. Grandpa James slammed his door, not from anger, but necessity. The old rusted hinges wouldn’t close otherwise.

  At the loud noise, Ash resumed his fight to escape the bag and Ridire-solas warmed against Jimmy’s hip. When there came a rustling of dry leaves at the side of the house, Jimmy feared they’d both break free at once.

  “Hang back,” Grandpa James whispered. He also motioned with his hands for Jimmy to stay still, as if he had to do either. Jimmy wasn’t going nowhere.

  Grandpa James clanked around in the back of the truck and reappeared with his rifle. Jimmy’s mouth dropped. He hadn’t even seen the old rascal put it in there that morning.

  There was another sound, a stick breaking this time, followed by the click of Grandpa James’s rifle being cocked. “Show yerself!”

  “Whoa, James. It’s just us,” came the reply.

  Jimmy recognized the wavering voice of Mr. MacLauren. He let out the breath he’d been holding.

  “Angus, why, I liked ta take yer head clean off.” Grandpa James clicked the rifle again to disarm it.

  “I’d rather ye not. This is my good shirt.”

  The two old men laughed. Jimmy started to head inside and leave them to their visit when Mr. MacLauren stopped him. “Son, I brought Rowan over for you to play. Didn’t know you’d be out so long.” He said that part to Grandpa James. “We was just leaving a note on the door.”

  Jimmy froze. He hadn’t made up his mind about whether to let the new boy meet Ash. If he hadn’t shown the dragon to Isaac, why would it be any different with this new kid? Now he was out of time. He had to think on his feet. And why had they been leaving a note on the back door instead of the front.

  But all those thoughts vanished when a mass of curly red hair stepped into the dim porch light.

  Rowan was not a boy.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Come, let’s awa inside.” Grandpa James unlocked the door. Jimmy stood, staring at Rowan. A girl. This changed everything. He couldn’t let a girl in on his secrets, could he?

  Everyone walked ahead of him, already in the house when the lights flickered on and Grandpa James cursed. “Ach, witch’s mark.”

  Rowan replied indignantly, “Witch?”

  “Aye, hair like fire, the mark of a witch as my grandsire used to say. Sounds better in Gaelic.”

  Jimmy caught up to them in time to see Grandpa James wave the comment off with a grin. Rowan was less inclined to dismiss it as a joke. “Ye’ve never seen red hair before? I thought ye were from the old country, ach no.” The girl made a spitting sound toward the floor. Hands on her hips, her face flushed to match her hair.

  It was a sight, to be sure. In the light, mounds of fiery curls fell over her shoulders like a proud lion’s mane. Her blue eyes shined with a fury that made even Grandpa James take a step back.

  Mr. MacLauren reached out a hand to her as Grandpa James smiled warmly and added, “What a pair these two would make, huh Angus. Got any cattle to sweeten the dowry? Seems as my boy here’d have his hands full with this one.” The two men devolved into riotous laughter.

  Rowan turned to storm out the front door but Jimmy was in the way. “Close that thing,” she said of his gaping mouth, and brushed past him. In her anger, her eyes never landed on the darkened birthmark stain on his cheek. Jimmy was quite sensitive to noticing these things.

  Grandpa James gathered himself enough to tell Jimmy to ‘run along and play in the back.’

  Jimmy did just that, leaving the old men to their visiting and Rowan to her tantrum. He hid in the barn with Ash, letting him stretch his wings and practice fire breath in the back corner. Ash had gotten a little better, but still couldn’t progress from smoke to flames. They needed to learn how dragon breath worked.

  While Ash blew smoke at random objects around the barn, Jimmy swung Ridire-solas wildly in the air, fighting off various forms of imaginary beast. Each time he pictured some giant hairy monster with fangs and claws, it morphed into the creepy shadow man from town. Jimmy’s magic sensing abilities pulsed with impending doom.

  As his body went through the motions on its own, Jimmy’s mind worried on his more pressing problems; the lurking shadow man that could talk in Jimmy’s head, the looming mountain that spewed electric clouds, and most importantly, finding Ash’s mom.

  He thought about inviting Isaac over, although the boy clearly couldn’t see what was going on in his own town. They’d had a nice afternoon, though, once the awkwardness passed. With all that heavy reading, he had to be a wealth of knowledge about random things, some of which could come in handy. Maybe Isaac could teach him how a dragon breathed fire, or what they ate. Jimmy still worried about why Ash got so lethargic that morning. He needed answers if he expected to keep Ash alive long enough to find his mom.

  Besides, having a sparring partner would be a good idea, especially one bigger than himself. Yes, he thought Isaac would be a great help.

  Jimmy did not, however, want to think of the girl with flaming hair and temper.

  “What’s that?”

  Jimmy threw Ridire-solas across the barn and spun around to see Rowan standing in the doorway. The sword’s pale glow was the only light in the large building, but it couldn’t dull the flicker of excitement in her eyes.

  “Um, nothing!” His voice squeaked. He sent a silent warning to Ash, who returned a flash of black terror. Jimmy smelled smoke. He waved it away as inconspicuously as possible, but did a terrible job of it. Rowan gasped.

  She went straight to Ridire-solas and picked up the sword. Its usual bright yellow glow darkened to almost green. He could hear it buzzing all the way over by the doorway. How was he going to explain this?

  Rowan laughed and swung the sword through the air as if she’d done it all her life. “You’re playing with swords,” she said.

  “I’m not playing!”

  “What then? Training?” Her eyes shined as she looked at him. Him, not the glowing sword in her hand. He wondered if she was just as unobservant as Isaac and the adults.

  Then his hand went self-consciously to his birthmark. Of course that’s what she was looking at.

  “What for?” she asked. Her gaze never fell upon his cheek at all. Was she blind?

  To fight that creepy man and whatever’s on that mountain so I can find my baby dragon’s mother… was what he couldn’t say. So he shrugged, “Fun.”

  “Yes, fun.” Rowan made some expert-looking flourishes with the sword. “I want to have fun,” she said.

  “But you’re a…” Jimmy swallowed the last part and sucked his lips between his teeth to shut his piehole but it was too late.

  Rowan flicked her wrist and the sword swiped the air within an inch of Jimmy’s face. “A better swordsman than you.”

  True, Jimmy thought, and opened his mouth to ask for her help, when Rowan doubled over clutching her stomach. He reached out to help, scared that the sword’s magic hurt her, when he heard a wheezing laugh erupt from her lips.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Knight Light.” Rowan could hardly get the words out.

  Jimmy stared at her.

  “You named your sword Knight Light.”

  “I what?” Then it hit him and he snatched Ridire-solas from her. “My father named it!”

  That shut her up and she stood, straightening her shoulders and relaxing her face into
a look of pity that was worse than the teasing.

  Ash sent an icy wave of sorrow through their bond. Jimmy realized at that moment that Ash didn’t have a father either. He was all the little guy had in the world.

  Jimmy kicked the side of a rusted wheelbarrow and put the sword back in his belt. He wanted to kick her out of his barn, his yard, the whole world. Pretty girl or not she —

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. Is your father gone, too? Is that why you’re training?”

  Jimmy held his breath. He didn’t know what to say. All this time planning how to find Ash’s mom, he never admitted to himself the true reason for wanting to train so hard. Maybe, just maybe, if he became a strong enough fighter, he could find Ash’s mom and make his own dad proud. Make him come home.

  That night Jimmy awoke, sweating, in the middle of the night. He had dreamed he and his mom were trapped inside a burning house. It wasn’t their house, though. It was somewhere different. He couldn’t find his way around in the dark. The smoke-filled rooms were alien to him. He could hear his mom screaming, crying for help, but he couldn’t get to her.

  Before his eyes opened, the smell of sulfurous smoke choked him fully awake. The room filled with thick smoke. At first, he thought he was home, and tried to get off the bed his usual way. He slammed his head into the wall and gasped in pain. That sent more smoke down his throat and he wheezed. He couldn’t get a full breath to clear his lungs. Smoke just kept pouring in.

  Remembering he was in Grandpa James’s house, in his dad’s old room, his mind oriented itself to the still unfamiliar layout. The door should be a few feet to his right. But where was Ash?

  The he heard it. A low mournful moan from under the bed.

  Jimmy fell to the floor and felt around for Ash, while trying to figure out an escape route. Was the fire farther in the house? He needed to get to Grandpa James. The poor old man had bad knees.

  Finally, after stretching as far as he could and pushing his shoulder against the bed frame, he felt a wing. Jimmy pulled Ash out from under the bed by the fraction of wing he had in his fingertips.

  Ash yelped and climbed up Jimmy’s shirt. He clung to Jimmy, wings wrapped around the boy’s neck, yellow eyes wide with terror.

  Jimmy climbed back on the bed and yanked the window. It wouldn’t open. He covered his face with the neckline of his shirt and tried again. Still nothing. Running his fingers along the windowsill, he found no latches or locking mechanism.

  He couldn’t breathe. Minutes had already ticked by with nothing more than shallow gasps. When his vision started to go black, he gave up on the window and turned toward the door. He strained his watering eyes, searching for an orange glow or anything that would warn him not to touch the door.

  Finding none, Jimmy crawled across the floor. The smoke began to clear as he got farther from the bed. He took a deeper breath through his shirt. Reaching tentatively for the door handle, Jimmy was relieved to find it cold to the touch.

  Before opening the door, Jimmy glanced back at his bed, expecting to see a raging fire. But there was nothing. The smoke had already dissipated, swirling toward him in thin wisps. The strong odor of sulfur made him cough.

  Though his mind screamed at him to run, Jimmy waited a long second. He felt no heat coming from any part of the room. Saw no flames licking his dad’s prized possessions.

  Jimmy stood. He pried Ash’s wings from his neck and held him like a baby. Smoke still poured from his nostrils. “Did you have a bad dream?”

  Ash nuzzled Jimmy’s chest. A moment later he hiccuped and a plume of smoke blew in Jimmy’s face.

  The smell of sulfur was so intense it reminded Jimmy of… of the night his dad disappeared.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “How did you get so good at this,” Jimmy panted as he ran through Rowan’s instructions again. His arm wanted to fall off. Even Ridire-solas was exhausted, its glow faded to barely a flicker.

  Ash had been pretty upset when Jimmy asked for Rowan’s help that morning. He wasn’t sure why, but he woke up with an urgent need to fight.

  Still, Jimmy felt bad for making him stay hidden — the poor thing had only been born a couple days and his entire life revolved around hiding — but it was for his own good. Jimmy didn’t know if he could trust Rowan yet, or anyone. Eventually, he felt their bond go quiet as Ash fell asleep.

  “I had four older brothers,” Rowan shrugged, but Jimmy caught the ‘had’ instead of ‘have.’ The look on Rowan’s face said not to dare ask, so he didn’t.

  Instead he said, “Sorry about my grandfather. I don’t know why he said that about your —” He looked up at her hair which clung to her face from sweat. He hadn’t even realized he’d been thinking about it.

  “It’s fine. I get that sort of thing a lot. The witch thing. Redheads have no soul. We turn to vampires when we die. So many of them.” She waved the comments away in the same hand gesture Grandpa James had used. “Keep going,” she commanded, forcing Jimmy to lift the heavy sword high again.

  “Sometimes I have no idea what he’s saying.”

  “You get used to it. I grew up with it so I don’t notice. The superstitions, though.” Rowan shook her head. Again her face said no further explanation would be given. “You going to the Corn Festival?” She changed the subject.

  “I don’t know.” Jimmy finally started feeling comfortable in this house, well — this barn. The thought of going back out there… and of leaving Ash behind or having to stuff him into the bag again. It just didn’t seem right.

  “You not good at anything?” Rowan teased. She grabbed his weakened trembling arm and shoved his elbow back, locking it in place. Her hands burned against his clammy skin. He thought of fire raging from her hair all the way down to her fingertips. His cheeks warmed.

  “I… I’m fine… I can run I guess. But, I don’t know anybody besides Isaac, and we just met. And he doesn’t seem like a runner.”

  Jimmy thought of the gaggle of boys in crisp new clothes staring at him as he rode through the town in the back of the truck. His very own one man Poor Parade. The last thing he wanted was to run into them again.

  “You know me. And if you run anything like you fight, I’d really enjoy watching you try.” She began swatting at him, both hands flying toward his face, his chest, everywhere he didn’t have protected.

  Jimmy swung Ridire-solas back and forth, trying to block her assault without actually hitting her.

  But she didn’t let up. Slaps, punches, and soon kicks, all at once. He couldn’t keep up even if he had wanted to hit her with the sword.

  When she finally stopped, every part of Jimmy’s body hurt as bad as his arm. He fell over and sprawled out on the dirt floor, unable to catch his breath.

  Rowan leaned over him and kicked his shoe as if checking to make sure he was still alive. “Don’t worry, this isn’t one of the events.” Her voice held steady. Her chest wasn’t heaving at all… not that he was looking.

  Still, Jimmy’s eyes shot over to the back corner of the barn. Taking a baby dragon into a crowd of strangers? That hadn’t worked out well for him so far.

  He leaned up on his elbows, then fell back. His sword arm crumbled under his weight. Could he really leave the house again, just to be closer to this girl? “I don’t think…”

  Rowan turned to leave. “You can bring your dragon if you want.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “You can see him?” Jimmy jumped up from the floor and chased after Rowan. “How? Oh, wow, I thought I was the only one. Mom and Grandpa don’t see anything. Isaac walked right through the shadow.” All of this blurted out of Jimmy’s mouth before he made it to the barn doors where Rowan had stopped.

  She opened the double doors, much easier than Jimmy could, and leaned against one side. Jimmy took up his spot leaning against the other side and waited. After what seemed like forever with a thousand thoughts fighting for attention in his head, Rowan spoke. “Do you think he came from there?” She pointed to
ward the blackened sky where the mountain had last stood. It was hidden by the night, but the swirling energy cloud still crackled often with blue lightning.

  Jimmy exhaled. She could see the mountain too. It felt good not to be the only one. Then he remembered Grandpa James’s comment about witches. Her hair did seem to glow like a raging fire, sucking in every drop of light around her. He shook his head. No, silly old man and his superstitions. Just like Rowan had said.

  She nudged him hard on his arm. “Quit staring.”

  His cheeks warmed. “Sorry, I wasn’t… well, I was but… I’m just happy someone else can see this stuff. The grown ups -”

  “Well, they’re old,” she said as if any idiot should know that, and it made sense. “That has to be where it came from, right?”

  “Sure hope not.”

  “Scared?” Rowan shoved him again on the arm. She was slightly bigger than Jimmy, and her horseplay hurt more than he’d care to admit. He told himself it was from the intense training he’d been doing. He was sore. Yeah, that was it.

  “No, of course not.” Jimmy puffed his chest and flexed the arm she kept punching to tease him. “But,” Jimmy hesitated, trying to come up with a good reason not to go near that mountain besides crippling fear. “I’m from Georgia.”

  “I won’t hold that against you,” she chuckled. “Explains why you sound weird.”

  “I sound weird? You sound —” He stopped when another fist flew at him. This time he moved fast enough to dodge the blow. But when he celebrated with a smug grin, she caught him under the ribs. The air oofed out of him.

  “I sound regal,” she said.

  When Jimmy caught his breath, he choked out the rest of his response. “I meant that I found Ash in Georgia. That’s far away.”

  Rowan seemed to consider this for a moment, then threw up her hands. “Like a shipwreck.”