by S. E. Smith
“Alice is still night-night,” she whispered in concern. “I don’t likes it. She not sleeping likes we do. She not waking when we shakes her.”
Zohar swallowed and nodded. He was feeling the weight of his decision to seek out the old dragon of the mountain. If anything happened to his friends, it would be his fault because he was the leader, the oldest, and so the others looked to him for guidance.
Maybe we’s should have just let the old dragon steal Christmas, he thought looking at Roam when he whimpered in his sleep.
Phoenix and Spring’s low cry of alarm startled him and he looked up as a dark shadow appeared in front of them. Their symbiots immediately shifted into small Werecats, hissing and growling in warning.
“Where are the others?” A husky, rough voice asked. “The twins said there were seven of you.”
“Who…? Are you’s the old dragon of the mountain?” Zohar asked in a frightened voice, standing up and holding onto the rock wall behind him as the mountain trembled.
*.*.*
Christoff stared down at the frightened, but determined youngling staring back at him. He nodded. It had been so long since he had listened to or spoken to anyone that it felt strange to be expected to respond. Instead, he just nodded and waited.
“Can’s you make the mountain quit shaking, please?” Another soft voice asked. “It’s scary.”
Christoff’s eyes moved to the little girl that had spoken. She had light blonde hair the color of the suns and dark golden eyes. His eyes shifted to her lap. Her fingers were tenderly stroking the small furry head of a Sarafin cub. He had seen images of them when he was a boy.
“He’s hurt?” Christoff asked, noting the cub’s bloody paws.
“Yes,” Spring said, rubbing Roam’s left ear. “He try to helps Jabir.”
Christoff glanced over his shoulder at the edge. Turning on his heel, he walked over to the side and looked down. Three more younglings were on a ledge about six feet down. A silent curse escaped him when another tremor shook the mountain. They had been occurring more and more over the last few months. Most of the quakes were so small, that no one would have noticed them unless they were on the mountain. He had decided weeks ago that it must be a sign that his time on this world was over.
“Stay here,” he ordered, glancing over his shoulder at the three younglings.
Focusing, he called his symbiot to him. A huge golden eagle appeared out of the clouds. With a silent message to it, the great bird landed on a rock slightly above the children and spread its wings outward, protectively covering them. The three small symbiots, recognizing one of their own, returned to lay beside the children.
Christoff glanced over the edge again. Within minutes, he had climbed down to the lower ledge. A smile pulled at his lips when the two young males growled at him when he knelt down next to the female. She looked so small that he was almost afraid to touch her.
“What happened?” He asked gruffly, looking at the two males.
“She saved me,” Jabir replied in a trembling voice. “It was too muches for her. She fell asleep and won’t wakes up.”
Christoff grunted in acknowledgement. Bending, he started to scoop the small figure in his arms. He paused when a small hand pressed against his chest. Staring into the dark, serious golden eyes gazing at him with a hint of doubt and a lot of warning, he felt his lips tug in an unfamiliar smile.
“You’s better not hurts her,” Bálint warned. “I’s Alice’s protector.”
“Rest easy, young warrior,” Christoff said. “I won’t hurt your charge.”
It took several precious seconds before the boy nodded and pulled his hand away. Christoff looked up at the ledge above them. His symbiot could heal them, but he needed to get them to safety first. Deciding that his cave was the closest, and at the moment the safest place, he turned to look at the boys.
“Climb onto my back and hold on,” he ordered before he shifted.
Bálint and Jabir quickly climbed onto the back of the old ruby and silver dragon. They clung to his short wings. Christoff grabbed the uneven rock surface and began climbing, using one arm, his back legs, and tail to steady him. He had spent centuries on this mountain and knew how to climb every section of it.
Reaching the upper level that was wider, he glanced at his symbiot. The huge bird shifted again, this time into a small transport. Christoff quickly placed Alice in the seat that formed while Jabir and Bálint climbed down his back and over the side next to her.
He turned and walked over to where Phoenix and Zohar were standing next to Spring and Roam. Bending, he carefully picked up the young cub. He ran a soothing hand over Roam’s head when the cub whimpered and turned to look up at him with frightened eyes. He turned and walked back to the transport, nodding to Zohar, Phoenix, and the small symbiots to climb in as well.
“Take them to the cave,” he ordered, stepping back.
“What’s about you?” Zohar asked. “You’s got to come too.”
Christoff’s eyes darkened with emotion, but his face remained calm. He glanced at his symbiot that hovered near the edge. Looking up, he shrugged.
“My symbiot isn’t as large as most warriors,” he explained. “I will climb. It is not far. Go now.”
Christoff rotated on his heel and stepped close to the rock face. In moments, he was moving with confidence up the steep, uneven side. The climb gave him time to reflect on what he should do with his unexpected, and uninvited, guests. Before the mountain woke, he would simply have returned them to the village. Now, not even the villagers could keep them safe.
Pulling himself up onto the ledge, he stood and hurried toward his cave. He had silently ordered his symbiot to heal the injured younglings. He didn’t know if it could. Like him, it wasn’t as powerful as the other symbiots that lived among the villagers.
Stepping into the cave, he stopped and blinked in shock. Dozens of colorful lights were hung awkwardly around his cave, brightening the dark corners. A small, pitiful looking tree with round, colorful balls sat at an angle on the lone table he had in the center of the room. Beside it was a brightly wrapped box and a pile of… he sniffed… sweets of some kind. He hadn’t had sweets since his parents lived.
“What is this?” He asked, pausing at the entrance in confusion.
Jade and Amber grinned up at him. “We’s brought you Christmas so you’s don’t have to steals it,” Jade said with a smile.
Amber nodded. “We’s gonna be your friends so you’s don’t be sad and lonely no more,” she added. “Ours mommy baked the cookies. They’s not as pretty anymore, but they’s still tastes good.”
“We’s each took one of our presents from unders the tree and we’s giving it to you,” Jade explained, nodding toward the table. “We’s gots lots more and Santa’s going to bring us more if we’s been good.”
Christoff’s throat tightened with emotion as he stared at the colorful display and the hopeful look on the two little dragonlings’ faces. His eyes shifted to the others as they took a step closer. His symbiot had healed the young Sarafin’s paws and tail, but the little girl woke before it tried to help her. Now, a bright-eyed little boy and a solemn little girl with bright blue eyes stared back at him in silence.
“I don’t know what Christmas is,” Christoff whispered.
“Mommy says it’s abouts peace,” Zohar said, stepping closer.
“And’s abouts love,” Bálint and Alice said, holding hands and smiling up at him.
“It’s abouts accepting others, even if they’s different,” Phoenix explained in a quiet voice before she shifted to her dragon form to show him that he wasn’t the only one that was different.
“And loving thems for it, nos matters whats,” Spring said, coming to stand beside her sister and wrapping her arm around her.
“My mommy says it’s abouts not beings alone no mores,” Jabir said, glancing at the other younglings.
“And’s friendship,” Roam finally explained. “We’s all come to be your friend.�
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“I…,” Christoff started to say before his voice faded, unsure of how to respond.
“Alice!” A voice called from the entrance.
“Roam!” Another voice said in a harsh voice.
“Kids!” A more feminine voice desperately called from the entrance.
“Momma!” Spring cried out. “We’s in here! We’s in here!”
Trisha pushed past the two men standing in front of her. “Oh, thank goodness!” She said hoarsely, rushing into the cave.
Christoff stepped into the shadows as his cave filled with several males and one female. He watched as they each bent to hug the younglings that fell into their open arms. His heart twisted with sadness at realizing that his time with these magical dragonlings was about to end.
“Thank you,” the female said, rising up with a young boy in her arms.
Christoff started when he realized that she was speaking to him. Unable to answer, he shifted uneasily on his feet and nodded to her. He hesitantly watched as each of the males turned to him.
“We owe you more than we can ever repay,” a male he recognized as a Curizan said.
“I… They have already repaid any debt,” Christoff said stiffly, waving his hand toward the table and presents. “They offered a gift no one else has ever given me.”
Creon held Phoenix in his arms. She was still in the shape of her dragon. His trembling hand ran down over her silky black feathers.
“The mountain is unstable,” he said. “We need to evacuate.”
Christoff looked out of the entrance of the cave at the clear sky. He could smell the acidic smoke rising from the mountain. The male was right, it was time that they left.
“The villagers?” He asked in a thick voice. “They have been warned?”
“Yes,” the Sarafin said, holding the young boy that had been injured. “Now it is time for us to leave.”
“I…,” Christoff started to say before his voice died again as the mountain shook more violently than ever before. “Go!” He ordered, turning as rocks began to collapse over the entrance. “Hurry!”
“Daddy!” Alice whimpered, burying her face into Ha’ven’s neck. “I’s scared.”
Christoff rushed for the entrance of the cave when he saw the large boulder start to fall across the entrance. He called for his symbiot to help him as he shifted. The boulder rested on his massive shoulders as he and his symbiot strained to hold an opening for the others to get out.
*.*.*
“Go!” Ha’ven ordered, moving to help Christoff. “Creon, get Alice out of here.”
“Ha’ven,” Creon said as he pulled Alice into his arms with Phoenix.
“Daddy,” Alice whimpered, trying to hold onto Ha’ven.
“Go, sweetheart,” Ha’ven ordered in a soft voice as he pulled in the power around him.
He swayed as it poured through him. The energy the mountain was displacing was enormous. There were some things a Curizan learned when he or she discovered which power they could harness, it was to be careful to keep it in balance with the world around them. Nature’s power was far more volatile than most species realized as it was in its purest form.
“Hold on, my friend, you are not alone,” Ha’ven said, drawing in a deep breath and focusing on building a shield around the opening of the cave. “Go, even I can’t control what is about to happen,” he gritted out.
Trisha grabbed Bálint and Jabir in her arms while Kelan scooped up Zohar and Spring. Vox had Roam on his back and Amber and Jade in his arms. They swept out under Ha’ven and Christoff’s arms and onto the wide ledge that was beginning to crumble.
Ha’ven turned his head, making sure that the others were clear. He could feel his body shake as the power swirled around him, greedily seeking a way past his self control.
Ha’ven, Emma’s voice reached out to him. Let me help you.
The energy… Ha’ven whispered back to her.
I have you. Her sweet voice washed through Ha’ven and he could feel her calming force as she shielded him from the swirling bands of energy.
The boulder above them suddenly shattered into thousands of pieces as Emma added her strength to Ha’ven’s. Both men fell to their knees with the release of the weight. Ha’ven shook his head when Christoff looked at him in astonishment.
“Let’s go,” Ha’ven said, pushing up off the ground with his hand and striding toward the air bike.
Christoff started to follow him, but turned back to the cave at the last moment. His eyes catching sight of the small gifts on the table. Looking back at the entrance, his lips tightened. Hurrying back inside the cave, he quickly grabbed the two gifts off the table and reached for the small leather bag he kept near the end of his bed. In it were the few items he had taken from his home down in the village centuries before.
He turned just as his symbiot surged toward him, knocking him back onto the bed as a large piece of rock from the ceiling caved in where he had been standing. Breathing heavily, he gripped the frame of the bed as the mountain emitted a soul-shaking shudder. He heard Ha’ven’s shout of warning before everything grew dark as the rest of the entrance to the cave collapsed, sealing him inside the mountain that had shadowed his life.
“Give me light, my friend,” he whispered.
His symbiot shook, exhausted from the trails of the day and Christoff’s own tired soul. Rising from the bed, he stepped around the large piece of rock that had fallen and made his way over to the entrance of the cave. Resting his hand on the rock, he released a tired sigh. There was no way he could escape in time. Turning to look at his symbiot lying next to the bed, he slowly climbed back over the debris and sat down on the edge of it. Using the faint light of his symbiot, he reached for the two brightly wrapped gifts.
He set one down on his lap while he carefully opened the first one. A glitter of light caught on the delicately carved images of two dragons. He lifted one of them. Each hung from its own chain. When he picked up the other, he realized that the two could connect together. His eyes flashed down to a folded piece of paper. Picking it up, he carefully opened it and tilted it toward the light.
As long as you hold your family and friends close to your heart, you will never be alone.
Tears burned Christoff’s eyes as he carefully slid the dragons together and clipped both chains around his neck. Setting the box down, he picked up the other gift with a slightly trembling hand. Carefully opening it, his throat tightened when he found a beautiful water-filled glass dome. Inside was a dragon and what looked like a symbiot in the shape of a Werecat standing in front of a brightly colored tree like the two little girls had given him. When he tilted the dome, white flakes floated down around the two figures. He saw a small lever on the bottom of it. Twisting it, the delicate sounds of music filled the dark, cold cave.
Swallowing, Christoff turned the lever until it wouldn’t turn any more. Holding it against his chest, he turned and laid down on the bed. He patted the bed next to him. Within seconds, the symbiot was lying beside him.
“Rest, my friend,” he whispered. “My dragon and I are tired, too. I think it is time to move on to the next world, what do you think?”
Warmth engulfed him. He slowly stroked his symbiot as the light faded from it. He drew comfort from knowing that he had lived a good, if lonely, life. He had done what he could to soothe the mountain, and in the end, he had discovered friendship in the smallest, pure form.
Closing his eyes, he felt the mountain draw in a deep, calm breath before the storm. A golden wave of warmth engulfed him as the mountain exploded outward. Finally, he could rest.
“Not yet, my warrior,” a soft voice whispered through his consciousness. “I hope you accept my Christmas gift to you.”
Chapter 14
“Daddy! Mommy!” Amber and Jade cried out when they saw Trelon and Cara standing in the makeshift medical unit set up for the villagers.
Trelon and Cara turned as one, their eyes widening in relief when they saw the girls shift into th
eir dragons so they could run faster. Cara bent down and scooped Jade up while Trelon lifted Amber into his arms. They moved together, sandwiching the girls between them as they sought the solitude of their little family while they fought for control.
“Oh, sweethearts,” Cara whispered, holding Jade tightly against her while she pressed her lips to Amber’s temple. “Why did you run away?”
“We’s didn’t,” Jade whispered. “We’s was saving Christmas.”
Amber nodded and sniffed. “We’s gave presents to the old dragon of the mountain, but the mountain ate him,” she sobbed, wrapping her arms around Trelon’s neck and burying her face against it as she cried.
“Oh, baby,” Cara whispered, looking at Trelon with haunted eyes.
“The volcano has always been an active one,” Trelon murmured. “Our scientists knew it could erupt at any time, it was merely a matter of when. It was a minor eruption, but the villagers will have to be relocated.”
Cara nodded, stroking her hand over Jade’s hair and down her back. She leaned her cheek against her daughter’s dirty hair, just thankful to have her back in her arms.
“Mommy,” Jade murmured in a sleepy voice.
“Yes, sweetheart,” Cara murmured softly.
“Amber’s and I’s don’t mind taking naps no more,” she mumbled as she rubbed her cheek against Cara’s shoulder. “We’s decided we’s like them now.”
Trelon chuckled and bent to kiss Jade’s cheek. “All it took was an adventure that made me age a few centuries to get them to finally agree to take a nap.”
“Trelon!” Cara chided with a soft giggle, snuggling closer to him and Amber.
*.*.*
“Roam!” Riley breathed.
She pushed through the crowd of people in her way, determined to get to Vox and her son. They were standing near the air gliders talking to Ha’ven. She picked up speed until she was almost running by the time she threw her arms around Vox and Roam.
