She looked at Shoroko and shook her head. “Right. He’s as intimidating as a moskat.” She glanced at the survey. “MELISSA LONG, on a scale from one to ten, how would you rate your date with SHOROKO?” She clicked the pen, made a big X, folded the form and handed it back to her father.
Shoroko snatched it from his hand, opened it and said, “Nine? You only gave me a nine? I saved the world!”
“You stabbed me twice! Mandatory half point deducted for each. Hey, at least I overlooked your joy ride with Thedarra, or you’d get a five.”
Mr. Long produced another bag and handed it to the red-faced Shoroko. “Pass these around to your friends and I will collect them later. Jason and Ren can demonstrate.”
Melissa snatched the canvas satchel, reached in and pulled out a digital camera. “Thedarra!” she howled. “Help with makeup, stat! I found the only place in the universe without wedding photographers and now my dad is ruining everything!”
Her dad chuckled and brought out another bag. “So shall I return this?”
Her next maneuver was halfway between a snatch and a tackle. Tissue paper flew in every direction. “Bath and Body works? Sephora? Chanel? You remembered!” The hugs and kisses resumed. All was right in the world, because Melissa Long would smell pretty for her wedding.
* * *
The ceremony was conducted on a barge at the center of a pool beneath a waterfall. Its old name translated into something like “waterfall between homzhash orchard and third hatchery over pool safe to drink with tasty fish”. After that day it was called Wedding Falls. Melissa felt like she was at a sporting event. Instead of the Blue Angels, thirty thousand Claws flew over. Each one dove, dropped a single flower on the water and flew off. It continued until the entire pool was covered in petals.
The fragrance transported her. When she sighted a school of fish, Shoroko had to restrain her before she dove in, and pry his knife from her teeth.
“But they’d taste so good,” whimpered the ex-vegetarian.
Each couple recited their own distinctive vows. Silverthorn’s vow included no making unaccompanied trips to other dimensions, while White Talon swore off intoxicating beverages. (Melissa’s seeds produced a few peculiar plants. Blood was so last year.)
Shorassa promised to dye her hair black one month of the year. In return, Ecraveo promised he wouldn’t dye his hair red. It made no sense to Melissa, either. What did make sense was Shoroko’s promise to love her in sickness or in health, or in a lissine body or any body in which she might find herself. She promised not to go flying, with one exception. When the echoes from the cheers fell silent and the last sculpted flame died out, they brought in the balloons. White Talon (aka Melidessa, or Dessy for short) had acquired the same facility Melissa once had, the ability to hydrolyze water and inflate dirigibles. When the barge was fully strung with lines and loaded with ballast, a team of Greens led by Soomani hitched to the front and the barge glided into the air. The party boat became a party float.
“Do we throw the flowers now?” It was one of the few American traditions Melissa was able to squeeze into the ceremony. There were scores of giggling maidens below, craning their necks, tensing their muscles. Some had ditched their party shoes and were barefoot, for better maneuvering.
“Yes, now,” said Shorassa, before clapping her hand over her mouth to hide a smirk.
“Spill it, Shorascal, or I’ll have Shoroko dangle you over the side until you talk.”
Shorassa held her hand up and pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “Still a little dragon left, I see. Oh, here comes Jory. I told him to pass out the nets.”
Her little brother handed a sparkly pole with a loop of netting to each young lady, then beat a hasty retreat to the edge of the meadow.
“What are the nets for?” Melissa’s voice affected a suspicious tone.
“Thedarra once sang me one of Jessnee's songs. It talked about ‘nets of wonder’. I improvised. Here are the bouquets. Everyone set?”
The five brides lined up and tossed their bouquets over the side of the balloon cabin, and the frenzy began. As the floral arrangements fell, Melissa observed a peculiar thing: no one was trying to catch the flowers. I knew I should have issued the instructions! What a disaster!
When each bouquet hit the ground, a rainbow of color exploded from its heart as scores of utter-flies took flight. Melissa backed up. She was not going to get zapped by one of Shorassa's specials again. However, from the look on Thedarra's face... “You too, Darra?”
“It’s for the party favors, silly!” Thedarra crossed her arms. “You catch an utter-fly, press it to your forehead, and – look, Zocrita’s got one. Go Zo!” Within minutes, ladies were dancing about holding rings, brooches, necklaces and tiaras from Makri’s shop.
“So the utter-fly leads them on a treasure hunt?” said Melissa. “Where I come from the only treasure you get is the superstitious pleasure that you might be the next girl to get married.” She leaned over the edge. “Why’s your brother running, Shorassa? Did he snatch an utter-fly, too? Bad form.”
Jory was running, but not to find treasure.
“Now that Shoroko’s turned out so well, I thought baby brother could use a nudge.” Shorassa cupped her hands to shout. “Yeah, Samada! Use those legs! Who needs a diamond ring? Darda just gave Jory twenty fandrels of well-watered land, and forty head of cattle.”
“You're giving away your brother as a party favor? How many memora worms did you whisper his name to?”
Shorassa grinned. “Did you see the size of that colony of memora worms in the rotting tree outside White Talon’s cave? I only talked to one. You don't think the others overheard me?” She waved and shouted at her brother. “Have a sweet summer, Jory. You’re my new project.”
He stopped and shook his fist. “SHORASCAL!” The distraction was fatal.
Swoop! One girl snagged Jory’s head with her net of wonder while another swept his legs with a good kick. He went down. There was a pawg-pile, then hugs, kisses, and desperate sobs as a dozen lasses pleaded with their elusive butterfly of love. Fearing for his life, he spotted a rose bush, plucked a branch heedless of the thorns and handed the flower to the girl with the strongest arms, which happened to be Samada. She chased the rest off, then looped her arm through his and walked away, whistling.
“That’s one way to hold a rose ceremony,” said Melissa.
* * *
The wedding balloon touched down at every town and settlement along the Faithful River for a new reception. It was a week (and two inches on each of their waists) before they reached Four Rivers and a second week before they made Redbridge. While they flew, there was music, but only one singer was asked again and again to sing her newest song: Thedarra.
No one ever savors the cook,
Who eats the tasty game;
No one ever sees the candle
For the dancing flame;
No one hears the poet,
When her song is sweetly sung,
From the highest needled branch
By the warbler's tongue.
And when the evening rose
Within the thicket
Offers up its scent,
No one knows
About that rose,
No one knows,
About that rose.
You banged around
With pots and pans,
But you could never cook;
You hopped and strutted
Round the fire,
But you could never dance;
And stammering you tried
To sing of love and true romance;
But when you risked your life for me,
I took a second look;
You reached out,
And oh, your gentle touch,
How you showed me,
That you saw me,
Invisible me,
Yes, you saw me,
Invisible me,
And when lonely one
By opened eyes
Bloomed into happy two,
Then I saw
Invisible you.
Naturally, 'twas Callyglip doing the asking.
At Melissa’s insistence, they picked up Skandik when they reached his farm, because Ren Fa demanded a rematch at Hornskoffle, and Melissa now had her deft, surgical fingers back and was getting tired of boringly beautiful scenery. They didn’t have a chance.
At least once a day, White Talon apologized to Shorassa, and Shorassa forgave her. Finally, she got exasperated. “Don’t you realize that this was the way it was supposed to be? Cousin Sun gets jealous and chases Sister Moon away, and believe me that smelly mineshaft was very far away. Then Sister Moon gets help and returns, and&rdquo – she poked Shoroko in the ribs as he passed by – “Brother Moon gets all the credit, just like always.”
When the Census Stone came into view, they left the Silverthorn River and steered north. Her dad and R.J. had to go home. They moored their craft in a tree and lowered a rope ladder. She lay aside the joy of her wedding and walked with her father to the tunnel entrance that led to the gateway to Nehenoth.
“I miss mom,” said Melissa. “I never asked how you were feeling. How do you spend your time?”
“I used to sit for hours staring at her picture in sadness,” said her father. “Then I remembered how she was at the end. She wasn’t afraid; she wasn’t sad. She was staring at something, too, but it made her happy. So now I look at what she looked at, and am content.”
As they crossed the sunlit site of a terrible battle, she remembered the disquieting urgency in her soul, the call of the stone that refused to let her go until she overcame it. Within her heart she felt a new call arise, just as powerful, but sweet. “Let’s walk this way. I think there’s something we’re supposed to see.”
They tromped through tall grass to a rocky outcrop, while Shoroko and the other newlyweds followed a ways behind. The mesa stood to their right a mile away, dazzling with all its intricate carvings, testimony to the diversity of life that Kibota sheltered.
“I know,” said Melissa. “This is where the memorial is to be built, where I was buried. Dragon-me, that is.” They stopped at the foot of the mound. “After everything I fought for, suffered through and learned, I want more. I wish I had that contentment you have, dad. I tried enlisting a Claw to teach me, but I’m not a good student.”
“What do you want to know?”
“A name and a treasure. The Caller was happy to be known. It told me its name. There was another voice, but it never told me its name. I thought the two were the same, but now I know they weren't. It called me to this spot today, but I still don’t know its name. I know it has to do with doctors and healing and humility. I was so mad at mom for not calling me when she found out she had cancer.”
“She loved you.” Her father put his arm around her waist. “She knew you were a good doctor, but she needed a different doctor for her disease. What is the second mystery you want solved?”
“The Lissai are getting back their wits, but they still don’t know what they were supposed to protect. They lost it long ago, and their sadness is a huge impediment to their recovery. I hoped I might find it in Nehenoth, but it wasn’t there. What was it? And is it lost forever?”
Her father said nothing, let go of her and kneeled.
She was puzzled by the gesture but copied him. Only on her knees did she see a tiny sapling poking its head through the ground. She felt a tingle in her arm. Reaching forward, she wrapped her fingers about the tiny trunk.
Unless a seed dies…
It was the voice, and she understood. As a dragon, she had merely been a fruit. Inside her had been planted the seed, that powerful, unconquerable seed. Dead and buried, the seed was free to grow into what it was meant to be. All those strange abilities, power and wisdom that it had given to her were not for her at all, they were given to her so she might bring to safe completion its essential transformation.
“You know what to do,” said Shorassa from behind. “Let go.”
Melissa remembered how it began. She leaned close and kissed the sapling, then had the good sense to stand and take a dozen steps back. In an hour, the sapling grew a thousand rings. For that hour they stood silent as the fulfillment of all their dreams bubbled up and overflowed. Shoroko held her tight, and sorrow and suffering were banished away. The bark was smooth, then rough. The branches were bare, then budding, then bursting with leaves.
Shorassa walked up and plucked the first two fruits to ripen, turned and handed them to Orokolga and Kilgain. They ate, and in an instant were transformed into a golden, shining woman and man, each with a flaming sword in their hand. They walked up to the tree, embraced, then walked to spots on either side of the tree, holding drawn swords, at their post once more, and remembering who they were.
Then the roots of the tree, having plunged with abandon into the rock below, split the ground. A geyser erupted, dousing them with water. In minutes it cut a channel southward, toward the Silverthorn. The roots ran along the banks of the new river and every so many yards a new tree shot up, and another, until its banks were shaded by a stately grove.
Silverthorn and White Talon bowed before the tree. “We receive the gift again, Grantor, and your forgiveness. This time, we will not neglect it to seek our own glory and build idols to our knowledge and power.”
Ecraveo took a spot beside Shorassa and plucked a branch. She bent it into a leafy crown and placed it on his head. He kneeled before the tree. As if answering an unseen person he said, “This day I promise, with these leaves I will heal our nation.”
On hearing the word “heal”, Melissa stumbled. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
“He is waiting,” said Shorassa. “Call on him.”
Melissa did know his name, the only one who could heal the things that Harvard Med School grads could not. “Are you… Are you the Great Physician, the one whom my mother trusted to heal her?”
Yes, and she is healed.
“Great Physician, you said you would help me if I called on you by name. I didn’t know your name until now. I didn’t call on your name and still you helped me. Why?”
That is who I AM.
Glossary of Characters, Creatures and Curiosities
Agotaras Springs – Village southwest of Four Rivers near Shoroko and Shorassa’s farm. It is home to the largest quagga racetrack outside Four Rivers.
alchemystical – Portmanteau of alchemy and mystical meaning magical.
aliosha – Rare plant which enables Lissai to breathe fire without liosh and extends their life.
Aliosha Mountains – Volcanic mountain range to the northwest where Blaze Klatch is located.
alissaren – Lissien word for dinosaurs.
Analek – Late husband of Thedarra.
Andok – Son of Skandik and a huge fan of Hornskoffle.
annadurite – Strong yet malleable metal alloy that Lissai use in decorative construction.
Anspark – Red Lissai who is hlissak of Blaze Klatch.
Azureana – First Healer Azureana was a Blue Lissai and the last scribe able to read and write after the cataclysm. Together with Vermillion Weld she created the machine which rescued the dinosaurs.
balmroot – Tuber with healing properties.
Bannirah – A Brown Lissai from Menagerie.
Bittersweet River – River running west from Lisstear Lake in the north, then south to Four Rivers. The frequent deaths of people operating the ancient locks during migration years give the river its name.
Blaze Klatch – The home of the Red Lissai is situated in the Aliosha Mountains to the northwest.
bonejiss – Wood that has been petrified by the application of jiss-paste, made from the sap of the jiss tree, or the paste itself. Such wood is rendered fireproof.
Borgash – Mining town on the eastern edge of the Aliosha Mountains near rich supplies of liosh, marble, and other metals and gems.
brona – Striped brona are the most plentiful fish in Soulfish La
ke and a favorite of the Lissai because they put up a fight.
Brother Moon – The larger of Kibota's two ancient moons and the one that remains in orbit.
calissatail – Plant growing in marshy areas that resembles a cattail, but spreads its seeds by bursting into flame and exploding.
Callyglip – Timid, young farmer besotted with Thedarra. Lightning knocked sense into him.
Cawley – Claw city in Menagerie Klatch.
Census Stone – Mesa with animal images carved in its side to which all creatures are drawn every seven years, causing the migration.
Charis the Brown – Ancient Brown Lissai that interpreted the dinosaurs' cry for help, prompting their rescue.
charrospon – A fruit tree.
citrabrada – A thorn tree whose sap smells like oranges, commonly used as a scratching post by Claws.
Claws – The dragon-like Lissai, as contrasted with Hands, who are human.
Clawtill Plains – The grassy plains that occupy much of the land between the mountains, so named because the ancient Black Lissai ploughed it with their claws.
clutch – A group of six Claws on a combat mission or to fight the migration. Any multiple of six Claws is also a clutch, unless that multiple is divisible by seven.
clutch-wing – A group of thirteen (six plus seven) or forty-two (six times seven) Claws whose mission is to make a critical choice of whether to pursue war or peace. A diplomatic team.
coilangi – Sea serpents with legs whose leader is the River Lord. These long, coiled monsters can snap a ship in two.
Cullatalak – White Lissai nicknamed Talc, emissary to the Hands.
dactylarry – Kibotan word for pterodactyl.
daggersmites – Aggressive, spiny, porcupine-like creatures.
darda – Kibotan word for daddy.
doublenipper – Looks like a huge dragonfly, bites like a mosquito.
dryzerdops – Kibotan mispronunciation of triceratops.
Ecraveo – Nephew of Metookonsen and fiancé of Shorassa.
Elek-Mouton – A Red Lissai whose hide is reddish brown. A member of Anspark's guard. His favorite means of attack is charging on foot.
embraniss – Any work of art created by a defendant in a criminal case. It is studied by a judicartist to divine the disposition of the heart.
A Most Refined Dragon Page 46
