by D K Drake
“Shhhh,” she whispered. “Don’t want to wake Javan.” She tiptoed around Starshade and placed the pillow with Azurrior on it at the foot of Javan’s bed. “Can you keep an eye on him for me?”
The dragon didn’t move and kept her gaze on Taliya as she snuck back to the door. Before she closed it, she peeked into the room. Starshade wandered over to Azurrior and laid down, placing her head on the pillow.
Taliya paused to savor the beauty of that moment. Two dragon babies. Both alive. Both safe. Both happy. To keep them that way, she headed to the basement to have a conversation with the Dragon Destroyer.
◊◊◊
Javan rolled over to his back when he thought he heard the door click shut. “Hello?”
Hello! Azurrior hopped on his chest, waving his tail back and forth.
“Whoa. How did you get in here?”
Taliya brought me. He spun around several times and settled himself in a ball on Javan’s chest.
“Umm, you can’t sleep here.” He picked the dragon up and put Azurrior back on the pillow Javan noticed at the foot of his mattress. “You have to keep your distance from me. You’re Taliya’s dragon.”
I’m nobody’s dragon. Azurrior marched back to Javan’s pillow and curled himself in the middle of it. I decide where I sleep. I want to sleep here.
“You can’t sleep there. That’s where I need to put my head.”
I like this spot.
“That’s my spot.”
Azurrior wiggled himself into a more comfortable ball. Not anymore.
Too groggy to argue with the dragon, Javan reached for the other pillow. He wasn’t fast enough, though. Starshade walked onto it and plopped down. Her head and tail hung over either end. “Oh. I guess you’re sleeping here.”
She didn’t respond.
“You can come onto the mattress, you know. Your whole body can fit up here.”
She picked her head up. Looked at Javan. Laid her head back down.
“Or you can stay right there. That’s cool, too.” Why couldn’t he connect with this dragon?
Taliya knew he was having trouble connecting with her. Maybe she had brought Azurrior in to help bridge the gap. How thoughtful. He would work on bridging that gap later, however. Right now he needed sleep.
Without a pillow to lay his head on but content to rest between two dragons, he snuggled under the fuzzy blanket and drifted back to sleep.
◊◊◊
Taliya walked lightly down the steps, careful not to wake Micah. He was sleeping on a cot in front of the door that led outside while the Destroyer remained tied in the chair he had tied to the pole at the bottom of the staircase. The Destroyer’s active eyes followed Taliya’s every step as she positioned herself in front of the Destroyer.
“I know you know how to get us back through the portal,” Taliya said, keeping her voice low. “Start talking.”
The Destroyer smirked but said nothing.
“We don’t have to take you back with us. It would be easier to leave you here, tied up like this. Then we won’t have to worry about you harming any dragons. Or Micah, for that matter. You seem to want him as dead as any dragon.”
Rather than respond, the Destroyer shifted her expressionless gaze to Micah, then back to Taliya.
“If you stay here, you’ll die a long, slow death. That can be avoided if you talk to me. Tell me how to get through the portal. If you prefer,” Taliya said, leaning closer to the Destroyer’s ear, “first tell me what you want in return for helping us.”
“Ah,” came the soft reply, “now you’re speaking my language.”
Taliya drew back, surprised at the sound of the Destroyer’s silky voice. She gulped and fought to keep her composure over the speedy beating of her heart. “What do you want?”
“A battle. A true Battle of the Bloodlines. Protector versus Collector versus Hunter versus Me.”
Her icy words froze Taliya’s blood. It took her a minute to form a response. “Absolutely not. I am not going to put any dragon in harm’s way.”
“Then good luck getting through the portal safely. Without my help, all of you are as good as dead.”
Taliya stumbled backwards and bumped into the green-topped table with holes along the sides. Her knuckles turned white as she held onto it and contemplated the impossible choice. Should she make a deal with the Destroyer or risk death upon reentry into the Land of Zandador?
Chapter 49
A World Without Dragons
The sound of clinking disturbed Micah’s sleep. He shifted on his cot and squinted through the darkness. He could hear the pool balls clanking against one another and see a figure leaning against the pool table facing the Destroyer. The black blob was too small to be anyone except Taliya. Why was she down here in the middle of the night talking to Jane?
Then he remembered the Silverspike incident. Taliya was probably lecturing Jane on the value of dragon lives and was happy to have a captive audience in the silent Destroyer. Sleep was more important than hearing any part of that conversation. He stretched and rolled away from the women.
Tomorrow night he would be able to sleep in that big comfortable bed of Kenton’s upstairs without anyone around to interrupt his slumber. The house would be quiet. The barns would be empty. And he would be free to start his new life on Earth.
He hadn’t told anyone he decided to stay. He would save that news until right before they left. That way Javan and Taliya wouldn’t have time to argue with him. Soon they would realize they were better off without him anyway. Eventually, he would be better off without them.
Across the room, the tone of the murmuring changed. That tone didn’t belong to Taliya and could only be coming from Jane.
He remained still and focused his attention on deciphering the words being exchanged between the Protector and the Destroyer.
◊◊◊
“Your terms are absurd.” Taliya had enough of listening to the Destroyer. Her plan for getting them back through the portal was solid, but her demands were too steep. She pushed away from the table and whispered into the Destroyer’s ear. “We’ll have the cover of darkness and three winged dragons to get us through the portal. We won’t be needing your help after all.”
“Darkness and dragons won’t be enough to keep you safe. My way will work, and fewer dragons will die. Think about that while you sleep.”
Taliya despised the idea of dragons dying, but she needed to end this conversation before she agreed to something she would later regret. “I’ll let Javan decide whether or not he wants to leave you here or take you back with us as our prisoner. You think about that while you sleep.” She patted the Destroyer’s head and crept back up the stairs into the kitchen.
Too tense to sleep, she turned to food for comfort. She tiptoed to the refrigerator, careful not to wake Kenton who slept in the living room. The door of the refrigerator opened with one tiny creak, and inside she discovered a piece of cheese, a cardboard box filled with half a pizza, a bottle of ketchup, and fourteen cans of Dr. Pepper. She didn’t know how to heat the pizza up in the earth oven and thus opted for the cheese.
“You should go for the pizza instead. It’s good right out of the fridge.”
She screeched, threw the cheese in the air, and bumped her head on the inside of the open refrigerator door. “Kenton,” she said, identifying the speaker of the words from the refrigerator light, “you scared me. What are you doing up?”
“I like to know what’s happening in my house.” He took two pieces of pizza out of the box, gave one to her, and bit into the other. He stared at her while he chewed, then asked, “What were you talking to our pal Jane about down there? It must have been good if you got her to speak.”
“Not really.” She closed the refrigerator and took a tentative bite of the pizza. She found the combination of the cold crust, cold sauce, and cold cheese oddly satisfying. “Mmm. This is good.”
“Of course it is.” Kenton led her to the table and sat her down. “What were you
and Jane discussing?”
“Portal travel. Dragons. Her freedom. Boring stuff.”
“Her freedom, huh?”
“Yup. She didn’t earn it. That’s why she’s still tied to that chair.” She filled her mouth with another bite of pizza and changed the subject. “What will happen to this place when you leave?”
He leaned back in his chair. She held her breath, hoping he would play along with her change of topic. It took a moment, but he finally said, “I’ll have it taken care of in my absence. That way you will have a place to come when you bring more dragon eggs to Earth in the future.”
“You won’t be here.” She relaxed now that she wouldn’t have to divulge what she and Jane had been discussing. She wanted to forget that conversation ever happened, and questioning Kenton helped her do just that. “How will you take care of it?”
“I’ve hired a cleaning service to keep the house clean and a lawn service to keep the yard looking nice.”
“You have servants?”
“No,” he laughed. “No servants. Contracted employees. I use that computer in my office to pay people money, and they come work for me in exchange for the money.”
“Money?” She paused with her pizza in midair. “I don’t understand.”
“The economy here uses money to buy things rather than dragon scales or bartering. Knowing that, I brought a hefty load of gold with me from Zandador and spent a bit of time when I first arrived learning the art of investing. I used a little bit of gold to make a lot of money. Soon that money started making me money. My accountant calls me a billionaire or something like that. I’ll have him look after my accounts in my absence.”
“What is money? How does gold turn into it?” She forgot about her pizza leaned forward. “You have to show me how this money thing works.”
“Sure. Tomorrow.” He stuffed his last bit of pizza in his mouth. “Right now it’s late, and this old man needs sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.” He returned to the living room, leaving Taliya alone in the darkness at the kitchen table.
Learning about Earth’s money system would keep her mind occupied tomorrow, but tonight all she could think about was the danger that awaited them on the other side of the portal. Was it wise to face that danger without the assistance of the Destroyer? Probably not, but there was no way she would ever agree to the Destroyer’s terms.
◊◊◊
Javan stretched but refused to open his eyes. He hated this waking up thing and intended to avoid it for as long as possible. As he rolled back on his side, though, he sensed something was wrong.
The dragons.
He couldn’t hear the breathing of the dragons.
He threw his blanket off, stood, and surveyed the room. The door was closed, but the dragons were gone. Had they learned how to open and close doors? If so, they could be anywhere by now. “Don’t panic,” he told himself. “If you panic, everyone else will panic.”
He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. “Who are you kidding, Javan? You lost two Dusk Stalkers who are facing certain death unless you get them back to Zandador tonight. This is the perfect time to panic!”
He rushed down the hall and tore through the open door of the other bedroom. “Taliya! We’ve got a problem. The dragons…” His words trailed off as he realized he was talking to an empty room. “Taliya?”
A quick tour of the vacant upstairs kicked his panic level up three notches. “Where is everyone?”
“Down here.”
Javan followed Micah’s voice to the basement. He stopped on the bottom step when he saw Micah sitting directly across from the Destroyer. He and Jane were the only ones there, and they seemed to be locked in some sort of staring contest. “What’s going on? Where are Taliya and Kenton?” He chose to keep the missing dragons to himself for the moment.
“Out.” Micah never moved his eyes from Jane’s, and she never moved her eyes to look behind her at Javan.
“Out…where?” Did they know the dragons were missing? Were they searching for them? Or had Taliya talked Kenton into letting her drive one of his cars? “Details would be helpful.”
“Here’s a detail for you.” Micah looked at Javan and pointed at Jane. “She had a conversation with Taliya last night.”
“That’s not possible. I’m sure Taliya had plenty of words for her about the proper treatment of dragons, but the Destroyer doesn’t speak.”
“She’s perfectly capable of speaking. I couldn’t quite make out the words, but I definitely heard her talking to Taliya. She of course won’t tell me what they talked about. Taliya’s being cagey as well. When I approached her about the conversation, she told me she couldn’t talk because she and Kenton had to take the Dusk Stalkers for a walk.”
“Oh, good.” An immediate calm washed over Javan. “She has the dragons.”
“She also has a secret she won’t share.” Micah stood and pulled Javan to the other side of the room with him. “Before you go back through that portal, you better find out what Taliya and the Destroyer were discussing. They could be plotting against you, and I won’t be around to watch your back.”
“First of all, Taliya is on my team. I trust her. She wouldn’t be plotting against me with a Destroyer. And second, what’s this about you not being around? You’re on my team, too. That means we stick together.”
“Those days are over.” He plopped down on his cot. “I’ve decided to stay.”
“Stay? Stay where?”
“Here. On Earth.” He waved his arms around. “In this house. I’m not going back to the Land of Zandador.”
“That’s crazy.” Javan nudged Micah’s shoulder. “You belong in Zandador more than I do.”
“No. I don’t. Not anymore.” Micah sighed. “I want to live in a world where there are no dragons, no evil father, and no people like the Destroyer over there who want to kill me. Life is easy here. Adjusting to Earth is much more appealing than being a shadow of my dominating self as a Hunter in the grand Land of Zandador.”
“You have to come back, man. If not for me, for Mertzer. You’re his master. He needs you.” Javan shrugged. “I need you. You’re the closest thing I have to a brother.”
“Yo, boys.” Taliya and Azurrior burst through the basement door, interrupting the Hallmark moment. “Off the cot. Starshade needs it.”
Both men obeyed without a word, and Javan watched in shock as Kenton entered and placed the limp body of Starshade on the mattress.
Chapter 50
Worth the Risk?
Standing helplessly by the pool table with Kenton, Micah cringed at the pitiful scene before him. Taliya’s eyes and cheeks were red and puffy from crying. She sat on the cot with Starshade’s head in her lap begging her to eat the purple leaf of life Javan brought to her. The dragon ignored Taliya’s pleas, and her sides struggled to rise and fall with each breath.
Azurrior seemed anxious as well. With his leash still attached to his neck, he alternated between lapping the bedroom and laying his blue body on Starshade’s pale skin.
Javan added to the pitifulness when he dropped to his knees in front of the cot and stroked Starshade’s neck. “What can I do to help?” His green eyes practically glowed from his desperation to find a way to stop Taliya’s tears.
“I wish I knew.” Taliya rubbed the dragon’s ears. “Her breathing has slowed. She’s struggling and won’t take the medicine. We have to leave now, Javan. We have to get her back to Zandador.”
Alarm bells sounded in Micah’s head. Even though he wouldn’t be accompanying them, he needed to speak before Javan had a chance to agree with Taliya’s request. “You can’t go in the middle of the day.” He stepped forward and continued adding logic to the emotional situation. “You’ll be too exposed when entering Zandador, and no one would be in any shape to defend themselves thanks to the effect portal travel has on people.”
Taliya’s misty eyes bore into Micah’s. “What’s this ‘you’ talk? You’re coming with us.”
�
�About that…” Why was telling Taliya he wanted to stay harder than telling Javan?
“About that nothing. You’re coming with us, and so is she.” Taliya pointed to the Destroyer. “She knows a way to get us safely through the portal no matter what time of day we travel.”
“Really.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that what you were discussing with her last night?”
“Of course.”
“Have you forgotten that she is a Dragon Destroyer?” He shook his head in disbelief over Taliya’s misplaced trust and fought to find the words that would inject some sense into her. “Whatever plan she has will result in dragons dying. Guaranteed.”
“This dragon is going to die if we don’t. And I guarantee she will get us through safely. There’s something she wants, and she can only get it if we all return to Zandador alive.”
Micah turned to face the Destroyer. “What is it you want?”
Her eyes twinkled and her lips spread into a grin, but still she said nothing.
“Untie her.” Javan’s commanding tone startled Micah. “If she can get us through the portal, we’ll give her whatever she wants in return.”
“No.” Micah shook his head. “You don’t know what her plan is or what she wants.”
“Taliya obviously does, and I trust her judgment. Starshade doesn’t have enough time left to quibble over details. Let’s get packed and out of here as soon as possible.” He picked up Micah’s sword from under the cot and offered it to him hilt first. “All of us.”
As Micah’s fingers wrapped around the leather of the handle, he knew his dream of living in a world without dragons had officially died.
◊◊◊
Taliya clung to Starshade throughout the flight on Varjiek from the farm to the portal. Part of her worried the dragon wouldn’t survive; the other part shook in terror at the prospect of having to follow through with the agreement she made with the Destroyer. To keep the worry and fear from causing her a premature heart attack, she focused on Starshade’s slow but steady heartrate throughout the flight. By the time they made it through the tunnels that led to the cave, though, her heart was barely beating.
