by Resa Nelson
But last night’s storm left behind something entirely different, and Killing Crow didn’t understand what he saw.
This had to be the message of Brother Hawk he had received many days ago. The warning of invading strangers.
At first, Killing Crow thought he must be looking at a great stretch of driftwood littered along the stretch of beach. He recognized large pieces of wood the width of his forearm and the length of a long house, curved and cut cleanly on all sides. Long planks had washed up, some of them broken, some of them looking intact. They appeared perfect and polished, like the way rocks in a river become smooth to the touch over the course of time.
He squinted, staying behind a wall of tall grass and crouching to keep himself hidden in case an enemy came searching for these peculiar wooden remnants.
The more he studied the scene, the more Killing Crow realized he failed to recognize something especially peculiar that lay upon the soft, white sands. At the ocean’s edge, it appeared half submersed and half grounded in the sand like a new turtle hatching from its shell and digging its way out of the sand.
But this thing was no turtle.
Small shore birds with long legs ran across the sand, dodging among the broken pieces of wood in search of stranded shellfish.
They ran in circles around a wooden image embedded in the sand, seeming to climb out of it.
Today is the day I prove myself. Today I will find the enemy, kill however many I can, and then alert my people so we can stand side by side to drive them away from our land.
He rested his hand on the stone knife by his side, reassured by its cool touch.
Killing Crow stared at the tall, carved wooden neck and head of a dragon rising from the sand, its gaping mouth showing sharp, dangerous teeth.
CHAPTER 53
In Astrid’s dream, she strolled with Taddeo along the edge of Dragon’s Teeth Field, looking out to sea. Waves crashed steadily onto the shore, leaving behind the pungent scent of rotting fish. High above, carrion birds circled. The birds dropped bones onto the sharp rocks below to break them open in order to eat the marrow.
“I believe Kikita spoke to you,” Taddeo said.
A wave of excitement washed through Astrid. “Kikita is a dragon!”
Taddeo nodded. “She believed she could best accomplish her task by joining the Iron Maidens because they would lead her to you.”
“She said she met my grandfather, but that’s impossible.”
“Benzel of the Wolf.”
Astrid stared at Taddeo, who kept his gaze on the sea. “My grandfather was very old when my father was born,” Astrid said. “My grandfather died many years ago. Kikita can’t be older than me. How could she have known my grandfather?”
Taddeo smiled. “You forget we are true shapeshifters. Kikita has the power to assume whatever form she desires.”
Astrid wanted to smack herself in the head. Of course! Kikita was a dragon choosing to take a mortal shape.
“Kikita is your grandmother.”
Astrid laughed. “That’s impossible. I’m not a dragon.”
“No, you’re not a dragon,” Taddeo said. “Nor are you mortal.”
Astrid stopped, startled by his words. “Then what am I?”
Taddeo turned to look at her and laughed. “Part of you is dragon, and part of you is mortal. But you are fully neither. You are a mixture of both.”
Suddenly light-headed, Astrid dropped to the ground and reached out to sink her fingers in clumps of grass to steady herself. “I can’t be part dragon. I’m a dragonslayer.”
Taddeo knelt next to her. “You are a slayer of lizards, not dragons. You never killed your own kind, only animals whose overblown opinions of themselves led them to believe they are dragons when they are truly not.”
Feeling dizzier by the moment, Astrid clutched at the grass harder and the world went black before her eyes. “But I’m a Scalding.” Panicked, she breathed fast and hard, desperately seeking air.
She felt Taddeo’s comforting hand on her shoulder. “That you are, in a way of speaking. Kikita married Benzel of the Wolf after Tower Island was gifted to him, and she bore your father, who in turn married a dragon of fire. Your mortal blood comes from Benzel and his kin, but your dragon blood comes from air and fire. Your grandmother and your mother.”
“I’m a blacksmith,” Astrid said, breathing even harder. “I’ve prayed to the goddesses of air and fire sometimes in my smithery.” The world seemed to spin out of control, any moment threatening to fling her from its surface into an unknown place she couldn’t imagine.
Taddeo squeezed her shoulder. “Of course you are a blacksmith. What else would you be?”
Taddeo placed food on her lips.
Astrid recognized the sharp, hot taste of sing root.
“Here,” he said. “Eat this.”
Within minutes, the sing root cleared her head and her vision.
“We are kin,” Taddeo said, staring into her eyes. “As are you and Norah, which is why your being caged with her created complications. This is why the sacrifice of your arm to her saved her life and why she had the power to restore your arm. It has always been the blood of kinship that binds you to her, even though neither of you knew of your shared bloodline.”
“Is it magic?” Astrid asked, fully aware she’d never believed in magic. Not completely. “That I helped her live and she restored my arm?”
“It is the nature of this world,” Taddeo said. “The same nature that makes it possible for a red fox to change the color of its fur to white during winter so it can hide among the snow. The same nature that makes it possible for a caterpillar to become a butterfly.” He paused and smiled broadly. “The same nature that makes it possible for a starfish that has lost an arm to grow a new arm that replaces the lost one.”
“She talked about the world. Kikita said we walk upon the skin of something as alive and aware as we are.”
Taddeo laughed long and hard. Strangely, the waves seemed to boom in unison with every laugh. Finally, he stopped, wiping tears from his eyes. “Kikita spoke about us,” he said. “Dragons are the spirits of the world. We live in every rock, every blade of grass, every gust of wind.”
“Gods?” Astrid asked, suddenly feeling meek and small. “And goddesses?”
Taddeo shook his head. “No. Just as your spirit inhabits your body, so our spirits inhabit the world.” Taddeo paused, mulling over his thoughts. “Dragons are the world, and mortals walk upon us.” He stood, offering a hand to help Astrid on her feet.
She took his hand, holding on tight while he hoisted her up. She let him slip her hand around his elbow so she could steady herself against him while they walked.
“I once told you about the difference between man and animal,” Taddeo said. He guided Astrid onto the wooden walkway built across Dragon’s Teeth Field long ago by the blacksmiths. “Animals claim whatever territory they need to live, no more and no less. They are not greedy—but men are. Man is the only animal that will join forces with other men to take what is not theirs, all for the sake of having more than they need. In doing so, they leave blood in their wake. They leave fields and plains and forests covered in blood. They leave shores and lakes and streams drenched in blood.”
Astrid’s heart sank in shame. “I’ve done it myself. I killed a Krystr clerk on the shore of an island where he lived.” Astrid kept her voice steady. “Because of them I lost a friend. They killed her family and entire village. The Krystrs killed the Keepers of Limru.”
“I know,” Taddeo said. “And we learned a great deal from you.” Their footsteps thudded against the wooden planks for several moments before Taddeo spoke again. “Dragons live under the skin of the world. The blood spilled by the greed of men has become so great that it now threatens to poison us. It is tainted with selfishness and ill will. And if we are poisoned by it, the world will die. And if that happens, everything needed by mortals to stay alive will vanish.”
“But I’ve seen Kikita kill,” As
trid said, confused.
Taddeo nodded. “She is the one of us who lives above the world’s surface, not below. Kikita’s proximity to mortals changed her, although I believe she can regain who she used to be. Like you, like everyone, she has the power to choose.”
Clearing his throat, Taddeo continued. “Many other dragons chose to travel to the surface of this world and walk among mortals because we wanted to understand them and why they allow their greed to lead them astray. It is why dragons married into your family. Your father and mother died before the time upon which we agreed they could tell Drageen of the dragons in the Scalding family. It is why we fought to reclaim Tower Island, because we believed once we defeated Drageen we could convince him of the truth.”
Reaching the end of the walkway, they stepped onto the sand and walked toward the ocean. Ahead, Dragon’s Head emerged from its depths. “We came to the surface of this world by creating Tower Island. It was our passageway. But men discovered the island and took it away from us. When we fought to reclaim our passageway, they hired your grandfather to rid the island of us.”
“Benzel of the Wolf,” Astrid murmured.
The ocean waves around Dragon’s Head churned and crashed at its base.
“Benzel met and befriended Wendill, who spoke the truth to him. They conspired to stage a fight and make it look as if Benzel emerged the victor. Their fight carried them to Dragon’s Head Point, where they plunged into the water and Benzel cut off Wendill’s arm for proof of death. But witnesses aboard ships followed this battle. Rising to the surface, Benzel and Wendill knew they were seen and realized they must do more to establish Benzel’s reputation as a dragonslayer. They climbed upon Dragon’s Head. Being a dragon of the earthen spirits, Wendill transformed himself into rock with the promise to remain there until the day a Scalding took his place.”
Taddeo laughed. “Wendill believed that promise would keep Benzel and the dragons safe. Wendill has always had far more faith in men than the rest of us, and he believed his action would bring peace among dragons and mortals.”
Astrid remembered Drageen’s attack against her years ago, and how the spirit of a woman whose friendship she’d held dear forced Drageen and his alchemist into the rocky embrace of Dragon’s Head, setting Wendill free. “But there is no peace between dragons and men,” Astrid said. “And as long as Mandulane leads the Krystr soldiers, there never will be.”
Taddeo nodded, and they watched Dragon’s Head sink back into the ocean, disappearing forever. “Once we came to that realization, we knew our work here was done. We learned what we came to learn, and we left the surface of this world and have no plans to return.”
“But you’ve helped me before.” Astrid frowned. “And you’re here with me now.”
“This is but a dream. Your dream. You are my kin, which allows me to reach you this way. As for help, Kikita already explained there will be no more help from us. We do not serve you.”
Taddeo hesitated. “You should know that although you have been a mortal woman for many years, at the same time you were a dragon girl who had not come of age until you released bloodstones. They marked your passage into adulthood as a dragon. And what happened next surprised us all. When Kikita discovered the severity of Mandulane’s plans through your experience with him, we believed our only choice lay in destroying all mortals in order to save ourselves. But because of you, another possibility has emerged.”
Stunned, Astrid turned to face him. “What are you talking about?”
“You will learn of this possibility soon enough.” Taddeo smiled. “You will soon face a choice. You can choose to live under the surface of this world with us, your kin, as a dragon. Or you can follow your mortal friends.”
“Follow?” Astrid tried to tighten her grip around his arm, but he slipped away from her grasp. “What do you mean?”
Taddeo gazed at her steadily. “Mandulane, his men, and all those who believe they are entitled to whatever they desire simply because the desire strikes them are like biting flies that we must stop before they cause us any more harm. But you are a dragonfly that alights upon our skin. You had a day when you caused harm like men, but you realized your mistake and never made that mistake again. In the nearing hours, where you go and what you do is a decision only you can make.”
Taddeo placed his hands together and bowed slightly toward her. “You and I have had a most satisfying companionship.” He backed away until waves slid around his ankles. “I thank you,” Taddeo said, “for your work.”
When he walked far enough so that the waves came to his knees, Taddeo’s body turned to water and splashed into the ocean, carried away with the retreating waves.
CHAPTER 54
Kikita called upon her remaining strength to fill the sails of the ship and speed it to the islands of the Far East, her favorite place in the world because of its charming and interesting people. In mere hours, the ship sailed a voyage that normally would have taken several days. The island greeted them with gentle hills, lush forests, and a climate far warmer than most summer days in the Northlands.
After docking, Kikita stepped onto land in her ghostly form. The dragons bounded from below the ship’s deck and joined her on land. She gestured to all Northlanders onboard to come toward her. They stared at her from a distance and then made their way closer.
Beamon assisted Kamella, her belly swollen with their first child. Other neighbors from Guell, including several blacksmiths and their families, walked onto land.
Kikita called them to surround her, although they kept a cautious distance from her ghost-like figure. “Take this place as your new home,” she said. “And live in peace with these creatures.” She gestured toward the dragons and then spoke to them. “Smoke, Fire, and Slag. You are free to roam this island and make it your own. You will find others of your kind here, but you must do as I say. Keep the peace with these people. You must not bite them. You must not eat them or harm them in any way.”
Giving their full attention to Kikita, the dragons stared intently at her.
“Go,” she said. “But remember what I said.”
Spittle hanging from their open jaws, the dragons looked happy and trotted toward the forest.
“This road must travel both ways,” Kikita said to the people surrounding her. “Just as I’ve warned the dragons to let you be, so must you let them be. Do not eat or harm them in any way.”
Beamon piped up. “But dragon’s meat—the blood. It’s what lets us control our shape.”
Kikita nodded, considering the dilemma. “Then perhaps you will need to sacrifice your desire to control how you look.” She offered a slight smile. “Unless, of course, you can find the belief in yourself some other way.”
“I suppose we’ll have to,” Beamon said. “Not a one of us is a dragonslayer or cares to become one.” He stared at her openly. “Although we all seem to have a sudden case of ghost sight.”
Kikita simply smiled.
While the Northlanders explored their new home, Kikita drifted along the beach, gazing out to sea. She felt better now that she’d brought the dragons here.
She kept one secret from Astrid. Just as the spirits of the world once took mortal shape and mated with mortals, they sometimes mated with lizards when in their dragon forms.
And just as Astrid and Drageen were mortals with diluted dragon blood, some lizards had that same diluted dragon blood.
Kikita smiled. Smoke, Fire, and Slag were special little dragons. She hoped their blood would be strong enough for them to remember Kikita’s words and live by them.
She also had encouraged the remaining Guellites to name the island in honor of the man who dreamed up the plan to protect the Northlands.
Komdra Island.
She liked the sound of it.
Kikita no longer experienced loneliness as the only spirit to remain in this realm.
Wendill returned to his place below the earth’s surface. Fiera traveled back into the element of fire. And Taddeo and Nor
ah and their fellow water dragons seemed to be finding their way back inside the heart of the world’s oceans, lakes, streams, and wells.
The other dragons could not tell Kikita what to do because they needed her.
Fiera could not exist without air to feed her flames. Wendill’s earth could grow nothing unless he mixed with air. And nothing could live inside the waters of the world without Kikita’s blessing.
None of the others needed each other.
She needed none of them.
But they all needed her.
Kikita enjoyed her walk, happy to remain on the world’s surface. Finally happy to be free of her mortal body and unencumbered by her entanglements with the people who inhabited this world, although she planned to watch over them from time to time. Happy to look forward to the next many years.
If mortals could learn to share their home with dragons here on Komdra Island, perhaps they could learn to share the world with other people.
CHAPTER 55
Astrid sat up from the dream like an underwater swimmer breaking to the air’s surface, gasping for breath.
She had a history of dreams that seemed to be more than dreams. Based on past experience, she believed Taddeo and his fellow dragons—her kin—used dreams to talk to her. To explain the world to her and guide her through it.
People are like biting black flies on the skin of the world, she remembered Taddeo saying in her dream.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
People who murder others for the sake of taking what doesn’t belong to them are like biting flies.
People who have all they need to live well and happily but fail to be satisfied with their lot in life. People who believe they have the right to take what they want from the rightful owners. People who justify taking whatever they want because they think themselves smarter or stronger or more deserving.
Biting flies, all of them.
But then there were dragons.
