“He's so serious,” the ghostly young man said. The woman had called him Etz, so Mikko assumed that was his name.
The young woman put a finger to her lips. “Don't be rude. You're a distraction.”
“The best kind,” he winked and went back to kissing her. “I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He is a Terran. They're always all work, no play.”
Giggling, his wife tried to pull away. “Stop!”
“Mikko?” Teo asked. “Are you listening?”
Snapping her gaze back to Teo, Mikko shook her head. “I'm sorry, no.” She glanced at Ichi. “I want to read the prophecy today.”
Teo frowned. “Are you sure you're feeling well enough for that?”
“Yes, I'm feeling fine. It's nothing some sleep won't be able to fix.”
“Maybe you should do more of that first then.”
“Teo, I'm fine!” she protested.
Ichi held up his hands. “Okay, let's all calm down here. Getting worked up and fighting over petty things all afternoon isn't helping anymore. How's this for a plan. Mikko, you keep resting for a few more hours. Another nap might be a good idea just to give your body time to fight off the last of the poison. I'll go out and hunt for something to eat tonight. Then we can have some fresh meat. Teo, there's a garden outside. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find something in it still. I don't remember what all my mother planted, but there might be pumpkins, tomatoes, berries, or even corn. I'm not sure, but it's worth checking out. Gather what you can, clean it, and see if you can find something to make out of what's in the kitchen. We'll talk over dinner.”
“That's my boy!” Etz cheered. “Good job taking care of his woman.”
His woman? Mikko's cheeks began to flush with heat. “That's a good plan.”
“Mikko, you're pink,” Teo said and put a hand to her forehead. “I don't think you have a fever but…”
“I'm okay,” she said softly. “I promise. It's just the extra heat from the blankets.”
“You've embarrassed her,” the young woman said. Mikko could only assume that she was Ichi's mother.
Shivering, Mikko pulled the blankets up around her tighter. More ghosts. She had seen the ghost of her great-grandfather in the park. There was a resemblance to her father, which had been her first tip off. They had the same kind of build, the same blue eyes, and similar facial features. She recognized him from old pictures she'd seen at her grandparents’ house as well. The ghost hadn't said anything to her, and she preferred that to the vocal expressions of Ichi's parents.
She closed her eyes, hoping it would encourage the ghosts to leave her alone. Why do they keep appearing to me like this? What's the point?
“I'm going to try taking another nap. My head is starting to hurt again,” Mikko mumbled.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ichi didn't take long hunting. Food was never hard to find since he knew all of the right places to look. The more the humans expanded into the valley, the more the animals scattered, but he had a knack for understanding the creatures of the forest. He took his good sweet time all the same, wanting to give Mikko as much time to rest as she needed. Something about her seemed rattled and on edge. Hopefully, she'd open up about what exactly, but he didn't want to press for the time being. Teo also needed some time to cool off. If she was on edge, he was doubly so. Nothing productive would be accomplished if everyone was so tense they were at each other’s throats.
He killed a couple of small birds, enough for them to eat until they were full but not have a lot of waste. Dinner would not be gourmet, like his guests were probably used to, but food was food. Before bringing the birds into the house, he prepared them and washed them out by the well. If Mikko was up and about, he didn't want to traumatize her with all of the gore from the process. Once that was done, he went back into the house so he could cook the meat.
Twenty minutes later, he heard footsteps behind him in the kitchen.
“You find anything, T—” he glanced over his shoulder and saw Mikko standing in the doorway. “Glad to see you up and about.”
Her lips twitched into a beautiful half-smile. “I had to use the bathroom. Seemed like a good reason to try getting up for.”
“I appreciate that.” He laughed.
“Smells good, whatever you're making.”
“Old family recipe,” he said. “My mother had a perfect blend of spices and herbs that she'd rub the meat with.”
Mikko's smile widened. “You remember so much about your parents. I'm kind of jealous.”
He shrugged. “I had more time with them, that's all.”
“I'm jealous of that too.”
Note to self: don't talk about my family so much — even if it feels nice to. Maybe she feels the same way? I'm not sure how to approach this. There's so much about people I don't know. After a long moment of silence had passed, he cleared his throat.
Ichi took the meat off the hot stove so it could cool and walked over to her so he could give her a huge hug. He did it more for himself than her, but figured if he needed a hug then she might as well, so they'd both benefit from the action.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I won't bring it up anymore.”
She shook her head. “Please keep talking. I might be jealous, but I like it. Listening to you talk encourages me to do the same.”
“Okay, are you ready to eat?”
“Yeah, let's do that and then we can talk.”
Ichi returned his attention to the stove so he could serve the meat. That was when Teo returned with an abundance of berries and vegetables. In no time, their stomachs were full. It'd been a long time since Ichi had such a satisfying meal in his home. He couldn't tell which part of was the most gratifying: the food itself or the company. Once all of the dirty plates were collected, Ichi placed them in the sink to soak while they had their potentially long conversation.
He didn't want to be the one to bring up the topic of the prophecy or the Holy Book. Those were both things Mikko needed to do on her own time, as she felt ready. He couldn't imagine the amount of pressure she had on her shoulders. Whether she truly was the Great Dragon or not, he wasn't sure, but she believed it and it wasn't a position she enjoyed being in. For some reason that made the whole thing more real to him. A delusional person would like the idea of being the savior of the world; a sane one would dread it.
“Teo,” Mikko said in a voice barely more than a whisper. “Can you show me everything you've found about the Great Dragon?”
Nodding, Teo pulled out the Holy Book from his backpack. “So you've read the prophecy detailing the Great Dragon's birth. Where it talks about being born in Oceina City, and pure blood, and some of the things outlining your heritage and future?” Mikko nodded, but Ichi was completely lost on even that much. Rather than elaborate, Teo only continued and opened the book, handing it to Mikko. “This passage talks about what's supposed to be happening.”
She swallowed then licked her lips. “In the end days, the Great Evil shall be born. He shall live amongst the dragonkind, discreet and deceptive. His life shall mock the Great Dragon's; his motivation is to destroy the world. At the peak of his power, there will be six great displays of his magic. The waters will flood, the waters will freeze, the moon will die, the mountains will fall, brother will turn against brother, and the earth will swallow a nation.”
Ichi watched as her skin paled and her hands began to shake. “We don't need to do it all at once,” he said quietly.
“No, I'm fine. It's a lot to take in. With what happened in Inero, it's creepy. Watching these prophecies come to life is mind blowing. They were written at the beginning of time, thousands of years before I was even born.”
“I know,” he said, even if he didn't understand. He'd never had the faith to process deep spiritual things like an apocalyptic prophecy.
After a few seconds of quiet, Mikko returned her gaze to the Holy Book and continued to read. “The Great Dragon, with pure light, shall destroy pure darkness. He…” She scowled when she rea
d that word. “…will unite the tribes once more, and peace shall remain on the earth until His last breath. The humans will turn back to God, and the world will begin again.”
A small smile spread on Ichi's face at the mention of world peace. It sounded too good to be true, but it also sounded amazing. “Cool.”
Teo reached over and turned the pages in the Holy Book. “This section talks about the same things, but there's a mention of how the tribes unite within the Great Dragon. And in this book it mentions how the Great Dragon is going to be the exact opposite of the Great Evil. I think that's why you're female, that and in this book it mentions She instead of He.”
“Why do all of the others say He then?” she asked.
“One of three reasons,” Teo said. “The first might be an ancient writing style, you know, different rules and story-telling abilities. The second reason could be an error in the translation, and the third might just be because who ever did write it, or translate it, had a hard time fathoming the possibility of a female dragon.”
She nodded, but Ichi got the impression she still wasn't happy. Then again, if he was in her shoes, he wouldn't be happy either. Her whole life was being read to her, and she didn't have much say in what was going to happen.
Exhaling slowly, Mikko lifted her gaze to meet Teo's. “Does it say anything about what I'm supposed to do? You know, besides save the world?”
He shook his head. “The Holy Book was written to give us guidance, understanding, and hope when things feel unclear. Maybe a verse will stick out to you, but I think you just need to keep listening to your gut. Have faith. You've always been so in-tune with your spiritual side.” He looked down at his hands. “As your brother, I hope you let me continue with you to help figure all of this out. I know you have an independent streak to you and all, but we're blood bound. There's no way you can get rid of me so easily.”
“Blood bound?” Ichi asked, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.
“When we were about fourteen years old we did the whole blood brothers’ thing. I cut my hand, she cut hers, we mixed our blood. It wasn't the brightest of ideas, I guess, but Mikko wanted a real family,” Teo said in a soft voice. “I wanted her to have one too.”
Mikko wiped at her eyes with the palm of her hand. “I'd almost forgotten about that. It was so long ago. There was a warm feeling that soothed the pain, and then a gold light where our hands joined. I felt tingly for months. Sometimes I think the whole thing still impacts my magic, like I can feel the Earth like I can the water, or the fire.”
With a small nod, Teo gave her hand a squeeze. “That's what happens when dragons bond with one another. They share their magic for the rest of their lives. I certainly don't regret it, even if I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary.”
“Interesting,” Ichi said, his eyes narrowed as he mulled that over. She has the magic of three different tribes inside of her now. All of the tribes will unite within the Great Dragon. I wonder what would happen if she and I bonded too. It wasn't an idea he wanted to propose to close out their evening. Something told him any kind of blood letting would be a bad idea given Mikko's current condition. Even if she felt better, she was still weak, and she might still have a small trace of the poison lingering in her system.
Slowly, Mikko rose from the couch. “I'm going to get some fresh air, meditate, something to help me clear my head and figure out where to go next. God led me to here for a reason. I know it.” Her gaze went back down to the opened Holy Book in her hands. “The Great Dragon will be tested and tempted. The Great Evil is the king of manipulation because he is a coward. In the end, all must make a choice: follow God or follow the Great Deceiver. Even the Great Dragon must make this decision. There are two endings to Her trials: life or death. Have faith in God, for He does not lead anyone astray.” She swallowed, setting the book down on the coffee table. Without a word, she went outside.
Teo took a deep breath. “I don't know how else to help her.”
“As much as you want to fight by her side through all of this, I don't think you can. Neither of us can. We have to keep supporting her, remind her what life is. This is consuming her and choking her,” Ichi said.
“Because it's important,” Teo insisted. His passion was clear in his wide eyes and closed fists.
“Yeah, but what's the point of saving something if you don't believe in saving it,” Ichi muttered. “Promise you won't push her. She has to come to her own conclusions.”
Shaking his head, Teo stood. “If she asks me for my opinion, I'm not going to deny it.”
“That's not what I'm asking.” Ichi also rose from his seat. “Just make sure you keep treating her like Mikko instead of some kind of fragile, divine relic. Don't take away her humanity.”
“And you don't try to keep her from her purpose,” Teo snapped. “I can tell you're skeptical along with being confused. Don't make things worse.”
Ichi rolled his eyes. “I wasn't planning on it. Now I think I need some air. Don't worry. I have no plans of bothering her while I'm out there.”
Also rolling his eyes, Teo mumbled something about going to bed, leaving Ichi to do as he pleased. Air did sound nice to Ichi. Being a wind dragon, there was always something calming and freeing about a soft breeze. When he stepped outside, the first thing Ichi saw was Mikko in the middle of the clearing. Her gaze was fixed on the sky, and when he looked up he realized why. The moon was the color of blood.
“Whoa,” he whispered. Mikko spun around to face him, tears streaming down her face. He walked over to her and put his arms around her. For a few minutes, he let her cry in his arms, hating that she was crying, yet liking that he was being the one to comfort her. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with her.
Eventually, the tears stopped dampening his shirt and she raised her gaze to meet his. “Sorry, I shouldn't have used you for a tissue.”
“This shirt was due for a wash anyway,” he said, offering a smile in hopes of encouraging her. “Are you okay?”
“I don't know,” she said. “Because do you want to know what I realized as we read from that book? That none of this is set in stone. I could screw it up by making one wrong choice. This is too much pressure for one person to bear.”
“You're not going to screw it up. I've never met anyone with as pure a heart as you,” he insisted. “Secondly, you're not alone in this.”
She didn't believe him, he could tell by the way her eyes filled with more tears. “Sometimes I wonder what would be different if I had known my whole life instead of having this bombshell dropped on me.”
“You'd have lived your life a lot differently. Actually, I'm pretty sure you would have never lived.”
“Which is what my parents would have hated,” she whispered.
He nodded. “I wouldn't want any of my kids to grow up knowing they were some kind of heavenly sent savior of the world. They might get a superiority complex.”
Laughing, she relaxed in his arms, but never left them. She belonged there, so Ichi wasn't about to protest. “I've always known,” she said. “Deep down in my heart, I knew God was going to use me for something big. After all of the bad things that have happened to me, we got kind of close, He and I. Which sounds kind of crazy, but there's no other way to describe it.”
“Makes sense to me,” he mumbled. In a louder voice, “Surround yourself in love and life. That's what you should do next. Everything will be clear. This Great Evil guy, he's going to do what he's going to do because he hates the world. Remember why you love it, and you'll know how to save it. Keep enduring the bad things and the tests, and then kick his butt.”
“I just wish I could skip to the end part and not have to go through all the other stuff,” she said with a giggle.
He shrugged. “Easy way out.” I'm sure there's a reason for all of the tests. You need to train and grow stronger so you can win, but if I told you that, would you believe me? I can't influence how she views the world. She has to find her own answers so that they mea
n something.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Mikko was climbing a mountain. Not something she would normally do, but that was her first tip-off that she was having another dream. The second was that the air wasn't thin, and the temperature wasn't cold even though she was on a snow covered peak. As she grabbed hold of the protruding rock wall above her, she felt a subtle heat and her lungs took in the fullest breath she'd ever experienced in her life.
The red and blue roses were back. Instead of following her around, blooming on the ground as she moved, they were tied together in a corsage she wore on her wrist. Knowing her parents were with her gave her a new kind of strength. If only she could take the courage from the dream world into the real one.
“Mikko, you down there?” The unmistakable, smooth voice of Lee called down to her.
Grunting rather than replying, she hoisted herself up onto a large ledge overlooking the land of Aero below. Lee was there on the ledge with her, his body seemed to melt into the mountain face behind him. He took a step toward her and a shiver ran down her spine.
His pretty, blue-eyed gaze wandered over her body. “You look more amazing every time I see you. Feeling better? I heard you were sick.”
“You know a lot about me, and somehow I know nothing about you,” she said.
“Nah, you know stuff. I'm an open book. You just need the courage to read. I've noticed you've done a lot of that today — reading, I mean.”
She narrowed her eyes. “The Great Evil.”
“If you believe in fairytales, yes, that's me. But I'm just a guy trying to impress a girl. Normal, but different, just like you. We're practically the same. Both of us born pure dragon, both with unimaginable power. And most importantly, we both know what it's like to be alienated wherever we go and not have a real family to help us along. I'm an orphan too, an only child, and shunned by my people. I'm sure all of this is sounding familiar.” Lee folded his arms in front of him, a smirk formed on his lips.
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