by D K Drake
Water pounded the back of his head for three breathless seconds. Then a breeze rushed over his wet skin as Varjiek glided to a stop, and the sounds of the waterfall continued behind him. He opened his eyes and inhaled the surprisingly clean air of the vast, bright cave that splintered off into a handful of wide tunnels.
The ground consisted of hard-packed dirt while the jagged walls around and above them were made of the same reflective rock as the outside of the canyon. As Javan looked around, he could see a hundred images of himself, Taliya, and Varjiek glimmering off the walls and ceiling.
Welcome to Kisa’s home. She may spray you with acid if you startle her awake, so let me go find and wake her.
“Okay,” Javan said.
“Okay to what?” Taliya’s words echoed behind his own.
“Varjiek is going to find Kisa.” Javan spoke softly to minimize the echo effect. “He wants us to stay here and wait.”
“I want to explore the tunnels with him. I’ve never actually been in here before.”
“We can explore after Kisa’s awake.” Javan slid down Varjiek’s leg and reached his hand up to assist Taliya. “We may end up covered in acid if we startle her.”
“I guess you’re right.” Taliya zoomed down the other side of the dragon, completely ignoring Javan’s effort to help her. “I can see why Kisa likes it in here. She can stare at herself from every angle.”
Stay put, Varjiek said. I’ll bring Kisa to you. She may want to ask you a few questions before she’ll let you ride her.
Javan swallowed and patted Varjiek’s leg with his sweaty palm to let the dragon know he heard him. He was too excited and nervous to speak. The excitement came from the prospect of collecting another dragon. The nervousness arose from being left alone in a cave at midnight with a beautiful woman.
◊◊◊
Micah didn’t even try to bring Mertzer to the water’s edge. The last thing he needed right now was a paralyzed dragon, so he left Mertzer in the woods far enough away from the sights and sounds of the waterfall to keep the dragon from freaking out.
Why Mertzer feared water made no sense to Micah. It also made Micah a little sad because he had no one to share the beauty of this spot with. The walls of the U-shaped canyon drank in the moonlight and seemed to glow in the darkness. The glowing walls allowed him to see a myriad of colorful fish swimming in the clear deep water that filled the floor of the canyon.
The waterfall at the curved end of the canyon, however, proved to be the most striking aspect of the area. The cascading water mesmerized him as he sat under the cover of the trees on the land across from the waterfall, and he caught himself nodding off more than once.
Where was Javan? Why hadn’t he even tried to find Kisa? Surely between Varjiek and Taliya, he could figure out that the dragon lived in the cave behind the waterfall. He had figured it out yesterday afternoon without any help. Then again, he was a remarkable Dragon Hunter. He didn’t need help finding dragons.
A rough wind rustled the trees, and Micah looked up to see a dragon whoosh down and skim across the water. He heard Javan yell some incomprehensible words just before Varjiek flew them into the waterfall.
“Finally.” Micah rose to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pants. “It’s about time you started acting like a Collector.”
He began his short hike back to Mertzer, confident he wouldn’t lose Kisa to the Collector tonight. He wasn’t sure where the Dawn Stalker was, but he knew she would not be in her cave. A few well-placed crickets in her home earlier successfully exploited her natural fear of insects, and he doubted she would want to return to that cave anytime soon. Maybe not ever.
She would want to eat in the morning, and Micah knew where to find her feeding grounds. If Javan had any sense at all, he would also be waiting for Kisa there come dawn.
Micah’s trap would be ready for them both. If he worked efficiently enough, he might even have enough time to get a little sleep between now and then.
The lure of sleep caused him to pick up his pace. How things turned out in the morning would determine his future, and being well-rested would help ensure victory.
◊◊◊
Taliya wandered around the main room of the cave, tracing her fingers along the wall as she walked with her head down and shoulders drooped. She wiped her eyes a couple of times, and Javan wasn’t sure what he was going to do if she started crying in front of him.
“So…ummm…uhhh…” He tried to coax himself to speak, but no intelligent words came out of his mouth. Why had he lost the ability to talk?
“Maybe when Kisa’s gone, I can make this my home.” Taliya sniffled through the words, and Javan just let her talk. If she was talking, she wouldn’t be crying. “It’s cool and dry. It’ll keep me safe from storms and wild animals. Plus it won’t rip apart if another wall of white winds blows through here.”
“Yeah.” Clever response, Javan. She’s gonna think you’re super smart and compassionate now.
“Unless you’re a dragon who can teleport or fly, this cave isn’t the easiest place to get in and out of. That could be a problem.”
Javan wanted to tell her to stop moping and just agree to return to Zandador with him, but she had already turned down that offer. He didn’t want to be rejected again. So he strode over to the entrance of the middle tunnel that Varjiek had taken and changed the subject. “How big is this cave? Surely Varjiek should have been able to find Kisa by now.”
“That’s what you’re thinking about?” She marched across the room and turned her misty blue eyes on him. “Haven’t you heard anything I’ve said?”
Trouble. He sensed trouble. He didn’t know how to talk his way out of girl trouble! “Umm. Well. I just thought--”
“What? What did you think?”
“Varjiek is lost. I need to go find him.”
I am not lost. Heavy dragon steps reverberated through the cave as Varjiek poked his head through the tunnel left of where Javan and Taliya stood. Why is the girl crying?
Javan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know? What is Varjiek saying?” She lost the tear-stained edge to her voice and sprinted to the front of Varjiek’s tunnel. While trying to look down the tunnel past Varjiek, she continued. “Did he find Kisa? I don’t see her. Is she okay?”
“Calm down. If you give me a minute to talk to my dragon, I’ll let you know what I find out.”
She huffed. Crossed her arms. Bit her bottom lip. And finally walked away.
I was only gone for a few minutes, Varjiek said. What did you do to upset her?
“Nothing.” At least he didn’t think he did anything wrong. He would do a mental replay later to uncover any potential mistakes. At the moment, he wanted to focus on Kisa rather than Taliya. “Where’s Kisa? She change her mind about talking to me?”
I am uncertain how to answer those questions.
“Why are you uncertain?”
I was unable to locate Kisa. All I found were crickets.
“Crickets?”
“Oh, no.” Taliya returned to Javan’s side. “If crickets found their way in here, Kisa won’t be back anytime soon. She’s terrified of insects.”
“Great. How are we supposed to find her?”
“We wait until morning. She loves dragon fruit and always makes that part of her meal. I can take you to her feeding grounds before dawn.”
It’s a good plan, Varjiek said. Trying to find her in the dark would be a waste of energy.
“What about Micah? If he gets to her first…”
“He doesn’t know where she is, either,” Taliya said. “He’s also still weak from his injuries and is going to need to sleep tonight. He’ll probably try to capture her at dawn. He knows where her feeding grounds are located.”
Javan clenched his jaw and looked back and forth between Taliya and Varjiek. “Then we better make sure we beat him there.”
Chapter 42
Dawn
Micah wanted to s
tretch. Loosen up. Walk around. Yet he didn’t dare move from his perch under a tree halfway up a hill overlooking Kisa’s feeding grounds. The dragon was already overdue, and he needed to remain perfectly still until she showed up to keep from spooking her in any way. That was also why he had ordered Mertzer to stay away.
The faint light of the predawn sun exposed the cluster of dragon fruit trees at the bottom of the hill a few miles west of the canyon. None of the trees with their thick trunks, curvy branches and long, skinny leaves grew higher than ten feet tall, and that had made it easy to dust them all with the debilitating powder while riding atop Mertzer through the trees earlier that morning.
The fruit itself dangled from every branch in the form of blue buds, tiny green dots, or fully ripe yellow balls the size of his head. The ripe fruit hung from the branches by jagged red leaves that looked like flames shooting toward the sky. The leathery exterior was too tough for a human to peel or bite into, but dragons had no problem ripping the fruit open and devouring the juicy contents.
Micah hoped he had used enough of the powder to keep the Dawn Stalker from teleporting but not so much as to damage her organs. He would find out soon enough. A sudden flurry of birds flying away from the middle of the trees signaled the dragon’s appearance. Not all of them got away.
Micah silently made his way toward her as she chewed a mouthful of birds. The row of spiked scales down her back had turned a dark red, her stomach burned a pinkish color, and more than half of the white scales along her legs and sides had changed to streaks of purple and orange.
This dragon was hungry. He drew his sword and paused about twenty feet away from her, not willing to get any closer until she took a big whiff of the powder he had left for her. He also wanted to lure Javan out of hiding. Although Micah hadn’t seen Javan, he was certain the Collector was around and about to make a daring attempt to collect Kisa.
At least he better be around and try to collect Kisa. Micah’s plan depended on it.
◊◊◊
“There she is.” Taliya’s whisper barely registered in Javan’s sleepy state, but her tap on his shoulder caused him to look in the direction she pointed. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
Javan shook his sleepiness away and focused on the orange and purple-streaked dragon standing among the trees. They were close enough to her to hear the bones of the birds she crunched in her mouth. The sound made Javan cringe and reminded him to proceed with caution, especially since Varjiek wasn’t around. Javan had tasked his dragon with making sure Mertzer didn’t interfere with the Kisa collection process.
Nevertheless, not knowing where Micah and Mertzer were made Javan nervous. Keeping his voice low, he asked, “Do you see Micah anywhere?”
“No. That doesn’t mean he’s not here, though.”
“Right.” Javan checked his black and gold sword. Varjiek’s scale was in place, so as long as he kept a hold of the handle and Taliya stayed in contact with him, they would remain invisible. Once he made his move toward Kisa, however, Taliya would be exposed.
Still hungry. The dragon swallowed her snack, sat up on her back legs and plucked a yellow ball off a tree with her front claws. Now for my real meal.
Kisa brought the ball up to her mouth and opened her jaws. She lingered before biting into it. Cocked her head. Turned the fruit over and over in her claws. Then sniffed it. What is that smell?
She tossed the fruit away, plucked another one, smelled it, and tossed it away.
“What is she doing?” Taliya asked.
“She’s confused about the smell of the fruit.”
“Dragon fruit doesn’t have an aroma.”
“Apparently it does today.” Javan picked a yellow ball hanging in front of him and took a whiff. It reminded him of breakfast on Christmas morning when the whole house smelled like cinnamon rolls. “Smells sweet. And spicy. Like cinnamon.”
“Cinnamon?” Taliya snatched the fruit and put it up to her nose. “Micah must have found my cinnamon trees. This is bad.”
“What is bad about cinnamon?”
“It will mess with her mental synapses. She won’t be able to teleport for several minutes, longer if she eats the fruit. You have to go ride her. Now!”
Taliya pushed Javan toward the dragon whose thoughts had become too jumbled to make sense of. Reasoning with her wasn’t going to be an option. How was he supposed to collect her if he wasn’t an invited rider?
When he stumbled to a stop under her upraised front legs a second later, he realized he wouldn’t have time to talk to her anyway. Because Micah was standing at the other end of her body. In front her back leg. Beside her tail. With his sword raised.
Javan had one shot to save Kisa. If he missed, he would lose the dragon forever. So he better not miss.
He pulled a stun ball off his belt and fired it at Micah.
Chapter 43
Stunned
Could it really be this easy?
Micah lifted his sword over Kisa’s tail and smiled. All those hours of peeling the cinnamon bark, drying it out, crushing it, and sprinkling it on the dragon fruit trees proved to be a brilliant plan and well worth the effort. Rather than recognize the smell as harmful, Kisa just kept inhaling more and more of the powder. She didn’t even notice when he walked right up to her tail.
Nor did Micah have to contend with Javan. A battle with the Collector would have been the ideal scenario, but he could make this alternative work. One slice of this disoriented dragon’s tail, and he would be halfway to fulfilling his dragon-hunting mission.
So why was he hesitating when he should be slicing through those red and orange and purple scales? He had a job to do and had to stop allowing his conscience to get in the way of taking action. “Now, Micah. Just do it.”
He began to bring his sword down, but a familiar whirring noise followed by a prick in his side instantly paralyzed him.
Stun ball. Javan. Defeat.
Excellent. Now he could follow through with his original plan.
◊◊◊
Javan didn’t sheath his sword until the stun ball lodged securely in Micah’s side. Then he wasted no time by running past Micah onto Kisa’s tail and past her hind legs. She must not have liked the feel of his human footsteps on her scaly body, because she roared, stood straight up on her back legs, and flopped her tail.
He latched onto her red spikes with both hands, kept his feet firmly planted on either side of the spikes, and began climbing straight up. “Settle down, girl,” he yelled as he climbed. “If you don’t let me ride you, he’s gonna cut off your tail!”
Cave. Home. Waterfall. Beach. Mushrooms. Flowers. Lake. Ahhh! Still here. Strange smells. So hungry. Can’t move. What’s on me? Must get it off!
She twisted her body back and forth, and Javan lost his grip with his right hand halfway to the base of her neck.
“I’m a Collector. Your friend. I can help you.” Javan fought to get his right hand back in place.
“Let him help you, Kisa.” Taliya’s voice stilled the dragon. “Just put your legs down and walk away from these trees as fast as you can.”
Taliya? Sweet Taliya. What is happening?
“I’ll explain everything to you,” Javan said. He took advantage of the stillness and scurried upwards. As he nestled into a smooth spot at the dragon’s neck, he continued. “Right now you have to get away from these trees and Micah. Go!”
“Listen to him. Get out of here.”
Yes, Taliya. Kisa dropped her front legs and staggered on all fours out of the cluster of cinnamon-covered dragon fruit trees. She trampled several bushes and zigzagged her way toward a lake.
“Why don’t you stop here, take some deep breaths, and see if that helps clear your head?”
Water. Thirsty. Hungry. Hot. Swim.
“Swim? No. No swim!” But she wasn’t paying attention to him. She dashed across the field and charged into the lake.
Javan managed a deep breath before being submerged in the water. He wanted to bail but
couldn’t. He had to stay on the dragon until they forged a bond. He just wasn’t sure he had enough air in his lungs to make that happen.
◊◊◊
Kisa’s tail whacked Micah’s tender ribs and sent his immovable body to the ground. Unfortunately, the fall did not loosen the stun ball from his side, so he had to listen helplessly from the grass floor as Taliya and Javan convinced Kisa to let Javan ride her.
Micah felt relieved when the dragon finally sauntered away. Her back leg had come close to crushing his head several times. Being stomped to death by a dragon would have been a humiliating death for a Dragon Hunter.
“I’m not sure I should let you get up.” Taliya pried his sword from his hands and pointed the tip at his throat. He stared at her through unblinking eyes, wondering if she had it in her to finish him off. He hoped not. Death by his own sword wielded by a woman Protector was a far more humiliating end than being stomped to death by a dragon.
“You had time to cut off Kisa’s tail,” she said, “but you didn’t. It’s almost as if you were waiting for Javan to come collect her. I don’t know if that makes you a good guy or if that means you have a far more devious plot in place.”
The whirring stopped. The stun ball released, restoring Micah’s ability to move. He didn’t. He simply blinked and kept his eyes on Taliya.
“Remember what you’ve seen here in Keckrick. The famine. The fighting. The destruction. Your father is an oppressive king who needs to be stopped. I think you know that. I think that’s why you hesitated when you had a chance to cut off Kisa’s tail.”
Is that why he hesitated? Did he think Javan would make a better leader than Omri? What kind of son did that make him? How could he live with himself if he turned against his own father? He wouldn’t have to live long because Omri didn’t allow traitors to live.
“I see the good in you, but I’m not sure you see it in yourself. So you and I are going to travel to Nahat together. I’m going to make sure you go through that portal and plead with your father on behalf of the people of Keckrick.” She leaned a little closer, making sure the point of his sword touched his skin. “And if you so much as look at Javan or his dragons the wrong way, I will make you wish Javan had left you to die in the clutches of that sea monster.”
