Seraph of Sorrow

by MaryJanice Davidson

  “What is that?”

  The seraph held out its silvery palm. It held a small, liver-sized shape. A dragon, Jennifer realized. It was still, darkened, and torn. The wings were curled back and broken.

  Jonathan inched forward. “Liz, didn’t Glory claim she saw the ‘monster’ inside me?”

  Elizabeth nodded and reached out to touch the shape. “Incredible. I’ve done surgery on dozens of patients I knew were weredragons, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “We all must have one,” said Jonathan. “That’s what Glory saw, whenever she looked at me. Or Catherine. Or any of us.”

  “Can you fix it?” Jennifer asked.

  “Even seeing it now, I wouldn’t know how. I could stitch together the tear, but it would be like . . .” She paused and swallowed. “. . . like sewing up a corpse.”

  “What about you?” Jonathan asked the seraph.

  It shook its head, then pointed at them and moved its other hand up the front of its neck, out from under its featureless chin, and over the tiny body lying on its hand. They watched it repeat this motion several times before Jonathan finally cried out in understanding. “It wants us to breathe fire over it! Maybe if we can ignite it together, it will return to life . . .”

  He pressed forward, but the seraph suddenly straightened and yanked its hand away. A strange, unhappy humming sound washed over them, and the seraph pointed directly at Jennifer before repeating the fire-breathing gesture.

  “I think it’s up to you, ace.”

  “I think you’re right, Dad.” She looked at him regretfully. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted to show the Blaze . . .”

  He shrugged, but she saw his disappointment. “Catherine’s life is what matters here.”

  The seraph presented the cold, miniature corpse to Jennifer. She shifted to dragon form. Do I have one of these inside me, too? she wondered. And if so, who would fix me, if I lost it?

  Her fire washed over the glowing palm. Nothing happened at first, but the seraph motioned for her to continue. After a minute of sustained flame, she finally saw a change. The two halves cleaved together, sealing in a new glow. Afraid to stop, she emptied her lungs until her ribs ached and her throat tightened. By then, the transformation was complete.

  What the seraph held now was a shining, milky white color. Its limbs shifted gently.

  Before Jennifer could say anything, the seraph knelt and pressed the tiny, living shape back into the opening in Catherine’s back. When it was done, it gestured to Elizabeth, turned, and walked away. Moments later, it was back at Eddie’s side.

  “I suppose I can take it from here,” Elizabeth deduced. “But I have to admit, as many weredragons as I’ve worked on, I’ve never had to operate on one in actual dragon form!”

  Jennifer took in the sight of Catherine, still unconscious and still bleeding, but with glorious scales covering her, and glorious wings, and glorious claws! The Blaze gave exclamations of astonishment, and Jonathan reached over and squeezed Jennifer’s wing claw with his own. “The world’s about to change, ace.”

  One of the Blaze began to call out louder than the others. “A miracle from the Ancient Furnace! Hail to the Ancient Furnace!”

  “All hail the Ancient Furnace!” They were all shouting now. “All hail Jennifer Scales!”

  “Fickle bunch, aren’t they?” she muttered. She shifted back into her human shape, daggers in plain sight, hoping they might stop. They only got louder. Jonathan winked at her.

  “We should get her to the hospital.” Elizabeth reminded them of Catherine.

  It took no convincing at all to get several of the Blaze to volunteer their help in carrying the teenaged dragon’s body to Winoka Hospital. A few others offered to bring the body of Winona Brandfire with them, so it could be prepared and preserved until such time as they could take her to Crescent Valley and the stone plateau.

  Elizabeth naturally wished to arrive at the hospital with these dragons, and Jonathan offered to carry her.

  “Meet you there, honey?”

  “I’ll be right there.” Jennifer spotted a familiar figure hovering outside the barrier. Xavier Longtail smirked as she approached to a rising chorus of Bless the Ancient Furnace! and She is returned to us! from those dragons who remained.

  “Good to see you still alive, Elder Scales.”

  “Please don’t call me that. It makes me feel, like, seventy years old.”

  He waved the jab aside. “Your healing of Catherine Brandfire will make you a legend. All will follow you now, without question.”

  “Even you?”

  He coughed, possibly to hide a chuckle. “As I’ve said before: It’s your integrity that keeps me on your side, Jennifer Scales. Everything else is impressive, but unnecessary.”

  “You’ll go back and let the others in Crescent Valley know what’s happened?”

  “Yes. I expect most of them will come here to render whatever assistance we can.”

  “I don’t see the point.”

  “Nor do I. Yet they will come. It will do their hearts good, if you make yourselves visible now and again.”

  “We will.” She motioned to Eddie, and the seraph huddled over him. “I imagine he’ll be safe for a while?”

  “I’ll look out for him, once I return.”

  “He’s got nobody now, Xavier. And he’ll be looking for Skip and Andi. Please do what you can to stop him from looking for them.”

  Xavier bowed. “Far be it from me to deny the wishes of the Ancient Furnace!”

  She searched his tone for irony and found none, so she smiled. “Thanks. Also, could you do me one more favor?”

  He cocked his head.

  “Take Winona Brandfire’s place, as Eldest of the Blaze.”

  It took a while before he was done coughing. “Elder Scales, I don’t think the Blaze—”

  She turned to those dragons still assembled on the bridge. “I hereby name Xavier Longtail our new Eldest of the Blaze! Who’s with me?”

  “HURRAH!” they cried. “All hail Xavier Longtail, Eldest of the Blaze!”

  Turning back to Xavier with a flip of her platinum hair, she flashed him a sweet smile.

  He scowled back at her. “Ned Brownfoot is technically older than I am.”

  “So is Smokey Coils. I doubt either of them will care.”

  “I don’t suppose my being Eldest will make you any more inclined to listen to me.”

  “Unlikely.”

  “Take care of our people in there, Elder Scales.” Xavier’s golden gaze turned more serious. “Take care of Gautierre. And take care of yourself.”

  She saw it in his eyes. He doesn’t think we’ll last. “Once the barrier’s down, I hope you and Gautierre will join me and my parents at our house for dinner.”

  “I’ll see you soon, Ambassador.”

  At the hospital a few hours later, as nighttime slowly shifted into morning, Jennifer and Jonathan sat in the waiting room outside surgery, each of them squeezing their legs and arms into separate oversized chairs. They were tired, but neither could sleep.

  “What do we do next?” she asked him.

  “You mean, after your mother’s done with Catherine? I imagine the first order of business will be to find a place where the Blaze can stay. I mean, besides stuffed into the extra beds of this hospital.”

  “Whatever we find, I don’t think they’re going to be happy for very long.”

  He nodded. “It’s going to get hard, quickly. As time goes on, this town’s supplies will dwindle, and tensions will rise. Both dragons and beaststalkers are going to need a leader.”

  “The dragons have one,” she pointed out. “Xavier’s our Eldest now.”

  “I think you’ll find from now on that most dragons are interested in following you.”

  “I doubt Ember Longtail is in that fan club.”

  “No, she and a few others have disappeared for now. I imagine they’ll start trouble soon. They will want to provoke the beaststalkers into the war
they came here for.”

  “Which leads us to the leader of the beaststalkers. Do you think it could be Mom?”

  “There’s a small group of them who appear impressed by her. That could change. She’ll need protection.”

  “Um, Dad. You saw her on the bridge, right?”

  His gray eyes narrowed. “Yeah. I still have to have a chat with her about that.”

  “Chat all you like. I don’t think she’s going to apologize. You should be happy that beaststalkers can’t hurt her now.”

  “I’m thrilled. But she’s still not fireproof.”

  “So we stay close to her. What dragon or beaststalker would take on all three of us?”

  “She’s only one person. There’ll be other allies. We can’t protect them all.”

  “Dad, are you trying to depress the hell out of me? We’ll do the best we can.”

  He laughed. “Right, ace. I know we will. And I know we’ll come out okay.” Clearing his throat, he gave Jennifer the terrifying signal that he was about to get emotional. “You know, I was on that bridge tonight, fighting and ‘letting the dragon out,’ as they say—”

  “ ‘Letting the dragon out?’ Sounds like something a pervert would do.”

  “As I was saying, I was fighting, and I saw glimpses of all these people: Winona Brandfire, and Glory Seabright, and Hank Blacktooth, and Skip Wilson, and all the others. But no matter how many people came to fight on that bridge, I knew I was going to be all right. I knew it. Because I had something none of those other people had.”

  “What’s that—an embarrassing, overprotective approach to your daughter’s welfare?”

  “I had your mother. And I had you.”

  “Dammit, Dad . . .” She couldn’t help it; he was winning the battle. She wiped her eyes.

  He spotted the opening and went for the kill. “With you two in my corner, I feel anything’s possible. Not even Eddie can feel so protected, with that seraph looking over him.”

  “Okay, enough!” She sniffed and waved an arm at him.

  “Speaking of protection, have you seen Susan? I thought I saw her on the bridge earlier.”

  “Yeah, she was there. With Gautierre.” Jennifer heard him chuckle. “What?”

  “I’m glad Susan has someone to look after her. And I’m glad Gautierre found her.”

  “I wonder what she was up to in the first place,” Jennifer mused.

  EPILOGUE

  Susan Elmsmith

  WCMA CHANNEL 7 VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

  MINNESOTAN MORNING WITH BOB ANDERSEN AND KELLY NELSON

  Aired November 30, 06:30 CT

  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, USE THE SECURE ORDER FORM AT WWW.JENNIFERSCALES.COM.

  BOB ANDERSEN, MINNESOTAN MORNING: Good morning, everyone. And good morning to you, Kelly!

  KELLY NELSON, MINNESOTAN MORNING: Thanks, Bob. Good morning to you! Today on Minnesota Morning, we’ll visit with a local herpetologist, a sixth-grade girl with a knack for ancient Chinese weapons, and a piano-playing penguin!

  Before we get to those guests, we have a breaking story, courtesy of some amateur video shot in the town of Winoka. It’s less than four hours old, and if it’s real, it is truly stunning. Let’s check in with Christy Paulson, standing by live at Winoka Bridge this morning. Good morning, Christy.

  CHRISTY PAULSON, WCMA CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Before we show you that video, I wonder if I can get a wide shot of the scene behind me—thank you. Okay, Kelly and Bob, we’re standing on the eastern end of Winoka Bridge. This bridge has a rich history behind it and the State of Minnesota designated it a historical landmark back at the turn of the century. As you can see, about halfway up the bridge is some sort of wall. We’re not sure what it is, but nobody outside Winoka’s been able to get through. If I can get the camera to pan across . . . and up . . . okay, Bob, as you can see, this wall surrounds the town.

  NELSON: That’s amazing.

  ANDERSEN: It sure is. Christy, have we been able to make contact with anyone inside the town?

  PAULSON: Not yet, Bob. This bridge was apparently the site of some violence last night, and local authorities have imposed martial law. Our sole official contact was a terse statement from the police, stating no one should approach the barrier from either side until they can learn more.

  NELSON: So what do we know about what happened last night? Was anyone hurt?

  PAULSON: There were casualties, Kelly. Authorities won’t put a number on them or confirm or deny any names, despite some troubling rumors. We’re hearing rumors that Winoka’s mayor, Glorianna Seabright, is dead, along with several town residents.

  NELSON: How did the mayor die, Christy?

  PAULSON: Kelly, that is the question this morning. Mayor Seabright has been a political fixture in this sleepy river town for several decades—an incredible streak dating back to the town’s incorporation sixty years ago. She’s an incredibly popular figure in this somewhat isolated town. Why she or anyone else was on the bridge is difficult to say now. But if this video is real, it is possible, as inconceivable as it may sound, that Mayor Seabright was killed by (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

  NELSON: I’m sorry, Christy. Did you say (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

  PAULSON: That’s right, Kelly. Now as you said, the amateur video you’re about to see hit the Internet a few hours ago. It’s only a minute or so long. It contains some images our viewers may find disturbing. We’re grateful the girl who shot the video—Susan Elmsmith, a resident of the town and a sophomore at Winoka High School—appears unharmed, despite obvious danger. Let’s start that video.

  Okay, here it is. There’s no sound at the beginning here and she appears to be holding the camera herself. She’s taking shots of her surroundings, some of this is dark. Bear with us. Here you can see the glimmer of the same barrier we see this morning, so it was up before she began shooting. Okay, it’s dark again. Bear with us. Here you—you can see right there, that shape, that’s one of several—Okay, here comes another, and right there!

  ANDERSEN: That’s fire.

  NELSON: That’s incredible.

  PAULSON: There’s more, if you look. Okay, down on the right side of the video, you’ll see—

  ANDERSEN: Is that a woman fighting that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

  PAULSON: Not even a woman, Bob. A girl, maybe in her midteens. And that’s not even the most amazing part. In a moment, you’ll see her change . . .

  NELSON: Did she just do what I think she did? Is that her? That (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right there?

  PAULSON: Yes.

  NELSON: So the girl that was fighting a (UNINTELLIGIBLE), is now a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fighting . . . who, exactly?

  PAULSON: That’s not clear at this time . . . Okay, I think the audio comes on in a moment, and Ms. Elmsmith speaks. Once she’s done, the video ends.

  ANDERSEN: Christy, seriously. Is this video for real?

  PAULSON: Our viewers will have to decide for themselves, Bob. Okay, you can see Ms. Elmsmith enter the shot now as she holds the camera out in front . . . Here we go.

  SUSAN ELMSMITH, WINOKA RESIDENT: Hi. My name’s Susan Elmsmith. I’m here tonight to document proof, once and for all, that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) exist.

  It may not look like it, but these (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are actually people! They don’t always look like this. A lot of the time, they look like you or me.

  Mayor Seabright and others in this town used to call these people “monsters.” They fooled my mom into believing that. So my parents brought me here to Winoka, to keep me safe. Soon after that, my mom died anyway, but not from anything the mayor was worried about.

  Anyway, I got to know a few of these (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Just like anyone else, they love, and they hope, and they learn, and they make mistakes. Tonight, some of them are trying to fix some big mistakes. They need help from our generation—people like my best friend, Jennifer Scales, and my boyfriend . . .

  UNIDENTIFIED: Boyfri
end? Really?

  ELMSMITH: Yeah, sweetie. You just saved my ass from an angry flamethrower. That makes you my boyfriend. That okay?

  UNIDENTIFIED: You bet!

  ELMSMITH: Good. Anyway, it’s up to us to look out for each other and keep each other safe. I’m really glad there are (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The rest of the world should be glad, too. We can learn a lot from each other. And to think: I never would have met them if it hadn’t been for my mom. So I guess she did the right thing, after all.

  Thanks, Mom.