The Keeper of Dragons: The Prince Returns

by J. A. Culican

  Jericho never broke stride as he walked right by me. It was clear he expected me to follow him without question, and by the man’s expression there was no way I was going too. With purpose he walked up to two guards that stood outside the main council room entrance.

  “Watch him,” was all he said before he headed towards the command center.

  Chapter Nine

  We walked to the command center in complete silence. Mere steps in front of me, Jericho vibrated with anger. I had so many questions but was afraid to utter a sound at the irate man ahead of me. The walk ended quickly. We reached a set of stairs that Jericho bounded up, I followed him up and we arrived at a circular glass building. It didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of Ochana. I stared at it in wonder until I realized Jericho had a glow in his eyes as he glared at me. He looked down at me over his shoulder.

  “The lesson continues. Don’t say or touch anything.” He didn’t wait for me to reply. Instead, he turned and stomped through the doors.

  As we entered the building, the chatter and murmurs in the backdrop completely fell silent. Every eye turned towards Jericho. I shrank away from him not wanting the attention placed on me. I gazed around the ginormous room, made to feel even bigger by the glass walls, there looked to be around fifty men and women scattered about as they completed their duties. I watched as the two Wolands closest to me typed away on one of the most high tech looking computers I had ever seen. They were almost completely surrounded by monitors that depicted a series of numbers and letters I had no idea how to read. A few looked familiar, I noticed the two men who left the council room earlier and my three guards from our lock down.

  “My office, now,” he addressed a fellow Woland, who seemed unaffected by Jericho’s sour mood. The Woland was taller than Jericho, with almost white hair and oversized red eyes. “I want every bit of information we have.” He turned to leave, but right before he entered what I assumed was his office, he turned and addressed everyone. “We will get Cairo and that girl, by nightfall. Alive. No excuses.”

  I ran after him before he closed the door, I still had no idea if I would be able to open it once it closed. As I entered, Jericho pointed to a chair while he scowled at the man in front of him. I took my cue and had a seat. No way did I want those eyes trained on me.

  “When did he return?” the glass walls shook with the strength of his voice.

  “He arrived right before the breach sir. With all that was going on, he slipped right past us.” The man never took his eyes from Jericho’s.

  “Unacceptable. He is a threat. You know that. How many eyes do we have on him?”

  “Four, as you commanded.”

  “Full reports, every hour. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir. I will check in with the team now.”

  Jericho waved the man out and impaled me with his eyes. I had no idea how the other man was able to stare him in the eyes without fear. I tried to understand what I had just witnessed. I figured they were talking about my Uncle Zane; however, I had no idea why, I knew nothing about him. I hadn’t even known he existed until a few minutes ago.

  “Speak, tell me everything.” His voice came off so much more calm, it took me by surprise.

  I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to speak about, there seemed to be an endless amount of things we needed to discuss. The breach, Cairo, the girl. Then there was the topic of my alleged uncle. Not to mention the hundred or so questions I had about everything else. I looked at Jericho for guidance, could he be more specific?

  “We will speak of all of it. First, the girl. Who is she?” He remained still, and I remained unfamiliar to this kind of behavior from him.

  “I think…I think she is my best friend.” I stared at the ground as I spoke. I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. I didn’t want him or anyone to hurt her. “She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, there is no way she was here to harm anyone.” I finally looked up at Jericho, I hoped he saw how honest I was being.

  “Do you know what she is?”

  “No, I’ve never seen her that way. I don’t know what happened to her.” As I thought about it, she would be just as surprised to know what I have become.

  “This girl, your best friend, attempted to enter Ochana, just a few hours after your arrival. Only the council was aware of your arrival until this morning. Think Cole, what could she want?”

  I was caught off guard, it was the first time he had called me by my name, actually it was the first time anyone had called me Cole. I had no idea why she would be here, she never said anything to me about being different, but either did I to her. Wait, I didn’t know I was a dragon until just last night, maybe she just found out about herself too. As the thought sprouted from my head, I looked to Jericho. He nodded his head in agreement.

  “You could very well be right. But that doesn’t answer the question as to why she was here and why she was with a loyal Woland.” He stood and started to pace the length of the room.

  Again, I wished I could read minds like most of the other Dragons. I could only imagine the thoughts that were inside Jericho’s head at the moment, as I watched him pace from one side of the room to the other. He stopped by the large glass wall that overlooked the edge of Ochana. The view was a picturesque setting of endless clouds, clouds for as far as you could see. He stood there for what felt like forever in silence.

  “Your friend, what is her name?” His words expelled in a thoughtful tone.

  I didn’t want to tell him, I was scared for her. “I-”

  He turned to face me, “Her parents, what are their names?”

  “Umm, I don’t know. I met her when she moved in with her grandparents. I was only ten or so.” Truth is she never spoke of her parents, I don’t even know what happened to them, if anything.

  Jericho was quiet for a bit as he processed this bit of information. “Do you know where she would go? Some place she would feel safe?”

  I knew exactly where she would go, where we both had gone many times whenever we needed to get away. It was our place. But if she knew I was here, would she go there? The thought popped into my head before I could stop it, I still didn’t trust Jericho completely and I didn’t want him to hurt her. I peered up at him and held my breath as I waited.

  “Good, trust will be earned. I will not hurt your friend. I want her alive, I am very curious about her and need to know why she came here. Now, tell me about this place.” Again, his eyes pinned me to my seat.

  “It’s silly.” I paused to look out the wall over Jericho’s shoulder, I knew I didn’t have a choice, but I didn’t want to tell him. “When we were around ten we found an old hunting cabin between our houses. It looked like it had been abandoned for years.”

  “Tell me more, why would she go there?”

  “It was our safe haven of sorts. Whenever we needed a break from the real world we would go there. No one else but the two of us knew of it, at least no one ever let on that they knew about it.” Memories sped through my mind. When we were younger we spent all our free time there. Once we got older and busier, we would go, but not usually together.

  “We will leave within the hour. You will bring me to this cabin of yours.”

  Jericho left no room for argument. I just hoped she was smart enough not to go there. If she knew I was here, she would know that the first place I would look for her was there. Unless she wanted me to find her. I paused with that thought and peeked over at Jericho, he tapped on some sort of screen on his desk, he was completely engrossed and paid no mind to me. Did she want me to find her? Maybe she was in trouble.

  Another thought popped into my head and before I could stop my mouth I spit out the question to Jericho. “Why don’t you trust Zane?”

  His eyes flashed from his screen to me, “You will find that there is much for you to learn. Like I told you before, everyone is your enemy.”

  “You included?” Darn my mouth, though Jericho didn’t seem phased by my question.

  “Everyone.”
>
  He punctuated the word in a way to end my questions. His eyes once again found the screen, putting a halt to any further conversation. What would happen when we got to the cabin? What if she wasn’t there? Based on Jericho’s expression, he seemed sure she would be.

  Jericho stood from his desk, throwing the screen he had in his hand down onto his desk and walked to the door. He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. “I don’t believe in coincidences. She will be there. If she is truly as close to you as you claim, she will know that is the first place you will have thought about. She wants us to find her and she knows you won’t hurt her.” He walked out the door and headed towards the same Woland he had yelled at before.

  I followed behind him. In my head, I replayed what he had just said to me. Did she really want me to find her? He was right, I would never hurt her, no matter what she was or what her reason for coming here was. I had tuned out everything around me until I heard a loud crash and Jericho’s voice as he yelled at a group of Wolands.

  “What do you mean gone? Where were you?” He turned towards the poor Woland that he seemed to always be mad at. “Garrik find him. Now.” He took off towards the door we had entered earlier, at least five Wolands chased after him. Once back outside, Jericho raced towards the castle, the Wolands hot on his heels. I ran after them, not knowing exactly what was going on. I guessed they had lost track of Zane, he seemed to get the most heated when it came to him. Jericho stormed through the front entrance, the guards parted in his wake without hesitation. He continued down the long hall. Unlike me, he knew his way around the castle. I was lost.

  Finally, we turned into a familiar room, the throne room. Jericho continued to stomp his way to the front where Rylan and Sila were seated. He had no care for the dragons around him. His entourage of Wolands stayed close behind him. When Jericho reached the front of the room, he bowed to Rylan and Sila. I was too far away to hear what was said between them. Rylan stood suddenly and stormed to the exit behind the thrones, Sila and the Wolands followed. I ran to catch up with them.

  Once the door shut behind me, Rylan bellowed with anger, “What do you mean gone?” He looked between everyone present. “Find him.”

  “My King, I can promise you we will find him.” Jericho held Rylan’s attention. “We have a lead on the girl. Prince Colton is needed in order to capture the girl securely. I ask that you allow him to join us on our mission.”

  Rylan swung his eyes in my direction. I could see the indecision there. “His safety is in your hands Jericho. Bring my son back unharmed.”

  “You have my word, My King, I will protect him with my life.” He bowed to Rylan and Sila and gestured to the rest of us to follow him.

  As I passed by Rylan he stopped me, “Be safe my son, trust Jericho and do as he says.”

  I nodded as I trailed behind the Wolands. Once outside, Jericho started to bark orders at everyone. It seemed these were the Wolands that would join us on our journey. He expected us to arrive to Clover by nightfall. I thought about the trip I took with Rylan and Sila, I hadn’t flown the whole way, I had hitched a ride on the back of Rylan. It was the only time I had flown, and it was a much shorter trip than the one Jericho had planned.

  We headed to the exact spot we had landed my first night in Ochana, when the council had accepted me. The Wolands around me started to transform into their dragons. I stood still, evened out my breathing and attempted to call for my dragon. I was way too nervous around the others to change, I didn’t even feel a twinge.

  “Men, go ahead, we will follow behind.” Jericho shouted to his men as he walked towards me. He looked down at me with a slight frown. “You need to shift, the men are gone. They are aware that you have just found your dragon. There is no reason to be nervous.” He turned and shifted rapidly into his dragon. If I had blinked, I would’ve missed it completely.

  Jericho was massive, and even bigger than Rylan, though much leaner. His scales were a dark red, almost black, his eyes were the same menacing red that glowed when angry, and right now they glowed deep red my way. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I needed to find my dragon and fast. I pictured myself in my dragon form, with my colorful scales, wide wings, and frightening claws. The shift started unexpectedly, it seemed much quicker than before, but still much longer than Jericho’s. The wind was taken from me as my wings broke free, pushing me to the ground. I looked up to see Jericho, his eyes were no longer glowing, but he seemed unsettled.

  “Stay close.”

  The vibration from Jericho’s voice shook me as I watched him propel from the ground and take off. I exhaled as I followed his lead, praying I’d make it to Clover in one piece, and that Eva would be found safe when I got there.

  Chapter Ten

  The wind whooshed around me as we flew over the Lincoln Sea towards Ellesmere Island. Thanks to the light and the time of day, I was able to take a better look around me, than the last time I took this journey. The scenery was something out of a fairy tale. The clouds were smooth and crisp as they floated around me unbothered by the mammoth sized dragons speeding through them. The sea was a light shade of blue almost white and frozen in most areas, I had never seen anything like it.

  Jericho stayed close to me as we flew, I could feel the impatience radiate off him with how slow our pace was. I tried to fly as fast as I could; however, no matter how much I was able to pick up my speed, they all flew faster. It was clear by how easy the flight seemed to be for everyone else that they were used too much quicker speeds. I finally got into a good groove when I realized the Wolands ahead of me started to descend. I followed their lead. As I neared the ground I sent a silent prayer up that I wouldn’t tumble when I landed like the last time. The dragons around me were fierce warriors, I paled in comparison. Even though I was knew to being a dragon. If I crashed and burned, there’d be no way they’d think high of me.

  Finally, my feet hit the ground with a powerful thud, my firm claws dug into the snow which kept me upright, I exhaled in a sign of relief. The Wolands all gathered around Jericho and I, some had shifted to their human counterparts, while others stayed as dragons. Jericho was in his human form, and luckily he didn’t seem angry anymore.

  “You have fifteen minutes. Eat and meet back here.” With no question, the five Wolands took off in search of food with Jericho’s words. “Have you hunted in your dragon form?”

  I was the only one left so it was clear Jericho was speaking to me. I’ve done a whole lot of nothing besides fly to Ochana in my dragon form.

  Jericho shook his head. “This ought to be interesting. Let your dragon lead. Use your instincts. Follow me.” He mouthed to me.

  Jericho swiftly morphed into his Woland. It amazed me how fluid and inherent his shifts were. He pushed off the ground with ease and started for the tree line. I was able to follow, but my moved were much more chaotic. I swayed back and forth, and had no handle on my position. I began to wonder what we were going to hunt. Last time I was here, I didn’t see any animals, but Rylan did feed us some kind of meat. Back when I lived with my actual dad, he would take me hunting every year, deer season being his favorite.

  “Muskox, to your right.”

  I shifted my head and saw a herd of something. The animals had thick black coats, curved horns that bulged from their heads and a horrible odor emitted from afar. Muskox. I had never seen anything like them, we definitely didn’t have these back in Texas.

  “Descend quickly, grab one and keep going. The ox expect to be hunted by dragons, so they will run if they catch you.”

  I watched as Jericho swooped quickly towards the herd. He snatched one of the muskox with his large jaw and kept flying, as he circled back around to where we had originally landed. Somehow I thought my experience with hunting would be helpful in this situation, but I couldn’t be more wrong, hunting with a bow and hunting with my mouth were two completely different tasks.

  I braced myself for the inevitable and took off towards the herd. One muskox was off to the sid
e alone, he was occupied as he nibbled on a piece of plant sticking up through the snow, I targeted on him. Just as Jericho had, I swooped down towards the muskox. Right before I reached him, his head popped up and looked directly at me. He took off at full speed, he moved much faster than I had expected. His rapid movement caught the attention of the rest of the herd and they all took off. Out of my peripheral, I saw what looked like the biggest muskox of the group. Abruptly, he started to charge in my direction. I wasn’t in the mood to fight him off, so I swooped back up and headed towards Jericho, empty-handed.

  The five Wolands stood by Jericho and watched me return. I could see the laughter in their eyes as I approached, but none of them said anything to me about what they just witnessed. My feet hit the ground. Thankfully I didn’t fall forward. Jericho walked towards me.

  “Good, I’ve never met a dragon who successfully caught a muskox their first time. You were close.” He gave a quiet chuckle, a laughter so faint, I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have even heard it in my human form. “Help yourself to the leftovers, we are leaving in five minutes.”

  I wished he had warned me about that little tidbit of information before I attempted to catch a muskox, maybe then I wouldn’t have felt like such a failure. It seemed these dragons were all about making the new dragons feel foolish, or maybe it was just me. I walked over to the remains of the leftover muskox. It smelled putrid. I wrinkled my nose and gave it a go anyway. I’d never had raw meat before, but I guess a dragon always ate that way, based on what I saw of the other dragons around me. It actually tasted good. So good, I finished off the rest of the scraps.

  The Wolands began to snicker at me. I was just about to open my mouth in defense, but they briskly shifted into their dragons. It was probably better off that way. I felt the rumble of Jericho’s voice before I actually heard it.

  “There is always a first time, why not get it out of the way. Next time you’ll be ready.” Without waiting for a response he took off towards the sky.