by Willa Hart
Pain is a vague memory when they’re all so close to me. I’m blind to the suffering out in the world below us, and yet I still retain my emotions. I feel all kinds of them, but all pleasant. The bad stuff still lurks just around the corner, and I will return to it in time, but right now it’s a distant speck on the horizon. We might as well be on a rocket ship on to Mars — I would still feel the same sense of peace and belonging. They’re my comfort. My protection. My life.
All will be well as long as I can stay enclosed in the bubble of their love…
“Favor,” said a faraway, but familiar voice.
Not yet. I’m still dreaming.
“She’s still asleep, I think.”
“No, look at her eyelids. She’s waking up.”
“You all saw what she was doing, too, right?”
“Yeah, freaky.”
“Understatement of the year.”
Just let me rest. If I tune you all out, maybe I can dive back into the sweet ending of my dream. I want to be there again. Warm and protected. Full of hope and peace and joy.
“I wonder if she was having a vision.”
“Could be just a run-of-the-mill bad dream.”
“With everything going on right now, I’d believe either one.”
“Her uncle and her best friend are missing. Yeah, I’d say that qualifies as nightmare fuel.”
A set of large, warm hands gripped my shoulders softly and gave me a little prodding. I fought against it, hard.
Oh no. Please. Don’t make me open my eyes. I’m so safe here.
“Wow, she’s really out, huh?”
“Kind of concerning.”
“Why? She’s probably just exhausted.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if you all have noticed, but she hasn’t been getting a whole lot of sleep at night. When I was lying next to her the night before last, she was pretending she was asleep, but I could tell she was wide awake.”
“Tossing and turning,” said two voices at once.
“Yep. I don’t like it. I wish there was something we could do.”
“I’m sure trying to sleep in a totally foreign environment like this isn’t easy.”
“Not to mention the whole hiding-in-plain-sight thing we’re doing.”
“Yes, I think the uncertainty is the worst part. For her.”
“For me, too, honestly. I hate not knowing what to expect.”
“And this waiting game? Ugh.”
Someone leaned in close and whispered my name again. “Favor?”
I could feel his warm breath whispering against my ear as a hand cupped my cheek, stroking my face to wake me up. That’s when I realized there was no point in fighting it any longer. My boys clearly weren’t going to let me drift back into slumber, and even if they did, what were the odds I’d slip back into the good part of a very weird dream. With my luck, I’d probably just end up back in the upsetting parts.
I squinted against the soft morning light. Five faces swam into focus, looming over me wearing expressions ranging from worry to relief to curiosity. My boys were here, watching over me, like I had done something worth inspecting. I yawned.
“Babe, you awake?” asked Danic quietly, his gray eyes full of concern.
Ryen peered at me over Danic’s shoulder. “Her eyes are open, so I’d say that’s a yes.”
“You okay, Favor?” Hale asked from the other side of the bed.
With great effort and exaggerated groaning, I managed to pull myself up into a sitting position, despite feeling completely disoriented. My muscles ached and my nerves twitched, like I had just finished a hard workout, despite the fact I’d been in bed all night. The details of my dream still floated on vapors in my mind, like a movie on a projection screen over the waking world around me now.
“What’s going on?” I croaked, raising a hand to massage my throat. My voice sounded scratchy and rough, as though I’d been screaming for hours.
Kellum sat at the foot of the bed, his sharp gaze searching my face. “We were about to ask you the same thing.”
“Other than feeling like I got hit by an eighteen-wheeler, nothing much.”
They exchanged worried glances, which left me wondering what I was missing. Something had them worried, and I had to guess that something was me.
“Were you dreaming?” Ash finally asked as he lowered himself right next to me and clasped my hand in both of his.
“Yeah. Oh shit, did I wake you all up?”
Another one of those “boys only” glances swept around the bed, leaving me in the dark. Danic finally sat on the other side of me, a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.
“That’s not the issue. You seemed to be in some kind of distress.”
“Distress?”
“Another understatement,” Ash said, watching me closely. “You were moaning, and not in a good way.”
“Like you were frightened,” Hale finished.
“Then your body would tremble,” Kellum said. “Violently. For a minute, I thought you might be having some kind of seizure. Then you’d go completely rigid.”
Hale leaned in close, past his brother. “You know that dumb game kids play at sleepovers? What’s it called?”
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” Ash answered.
“You had the stiff as a board part down pat,” Ryen said with a smile. “We didn’t test if you were light as a feather, but I think we all know from experience you are.”
I couldn’t help returning his smile, even through my alarm. Ryen felt it was his duty to always lighten the mood and I loved that about him.
“Just now, before we woke you up, you were grinning like a mad woman,” he continued. “As if you were having the best dream ever. It was about me, wasn’t it?”
“Actually, I was.” When he flashed the others a cocky grin, I quickly added, “It was about all of you. Before that, it was simply…weird.”
Kellum’s keen blue gaze never wavered from me. “Dream or vision?”
I had to think about it for a second. Sometimes my dreams felt like visions and my visions dreams, but in the end, I knew. “Dream. It felt all too real, but it was definitely a dream.”
“Feel like sharing with the class?” he asked.
“Okay,” I said, searching my mind for the remaining scraps of the dream. “I was riding on a dragon’s back…”
My fingers are wrapped under the dragon’s scales like they’re reins. My legs grip her sides as tight as I can manage. I feel secure on her back as we soar through the sky. The air whipping through my hair is cool, verging on cold. Goosebumps prickle along my arms and legs as I gulp down mouthfuls of powerful air. We’re moving fast and smoothly, her leathery wings beating the air with a rhythmic, almost comforting whoomp, whoomp, whoomp.
The sun is low in the sky, a mere sliver peeking over the rippling line of the horizon. The glowing white face of a full moon is rising over mountains opposite the sunset, gleaming down on us with borrowed brilliance. We’re skimming over dark water, the last rays of the sun combining with the moon’s light to illuminate the diamond sparkle of choppy waves. We’re close enough to the surface I could easily slide down and drag my toe through the lake’s waters, but I don’t want to risk my safe position on the dragon’s back.
The experience is exhilarating. My entire body rings and thrums with pure, unfettered freedom. I grin broadly as my hair stings my face, uncaring that it will be a massive rat’s nest by the end of my unexpected ride. Nothing else matters except this flight. Fate placed me here, and I want to enjoy every second of it. This is who I’m meant to be.
“Who’s the dragon?” Danic growled in what sounded like a jealous tone to me.
“Don’t go all dragony, bro,” Ryen teased. “She said the dragon was a ‘she.’”
Kellum scooped his hand through his dark hair. “There aren’t a lot of female dragons around anymore. Are you sure the dragon was female?”
I grimaced my uncertainty. “I dunno. It was a dream. I
thought of her as female, so I assume so.”
“Hmm.”
Ash jumped in. “Strange that you said it felt right, like you were meant to be there.”
“Why?”
Hale answered. “Because keepers don’t ride their dragons.”
“Neither do their mates,” Ash added. “If they do, it would be under pretty unusual circumstances.”
“Guys,” Ryen huffed, giving us all an exasperated look. “It’s a dream. It doesn’t have to make sense. One time I dreamed I committed a crime and was sentenced to a lifetime of walking around in a giant hot dog costume. Complete with ketchup, mustard and relish. Maybe we should lay off scrutinizing the nitty-gritty details, eh?”
“Point taken,” said the twins in unison.
“You were saying?” Danic prompted.
“Okay, so I was riding some mysterious female dragon…”
We’re skimming over the lake, the tips of her wings gouging black marks on the surface with each flap, then the image splinters like a mirror shattering. The setting sun, the glowing moon, the dark waves, and the scales under my fingers disintegrate, leaving me nowhere at all. A total void.
I blink and am suddenly in the middle of a medieval village, stone houses similar to the one we’re living in scattered about. I follow the line of a path up to a craggy cliffside, where a dark figure stands, cloaked in shadows. I can’t see his face, but I know who he is. When he raises his arms, the wide sleeves of his robes hang low. He mumbles words I can’t understand in a deep voice that sends shivers skittering across my flesh. Dread and doom fill me all the way to the soles of my feet, and I’m powerless to stop whatever’s about to happen.
Worse than his words is what comes after. The screams and cries of dragons, both human and beast, fill the air like a killing fog. Infinite torment, pain and grief pierce the very sky, creating a discordant chorus that breaks my heart and brings me to my knees.
“Vazha?” Danic asked, looking to Kellum for the answer.
He shrugged in response. “Could be. Favor, did you get a look at his face?”
“No, but I feel like it was him. Thankfully, the dream morphed after that. I couldn’t have taken much more of the screaming.”
“What happened next?” Hale asked.
“One second I was clamping my hands to my ears, the next I was lying on a white sand beach.”
Ryen lit up like a chandelier. “Ooh, do tell.”
The day is stunning, and it appears everyone else in the world had the same idea to hit the beach. Bodies are everywhere, lying prone to soak up every last ray, strutting their stuff to show off their perfect bodies, or playing in the water. The sand is a pearly white and it’s soft as silk, squeaking under my feet as I dig my toes deep into it.
Yet another body walks past, but this time I look up to see who. A stunning, statuesque woman with long brown hair and a hypnotizing smile. No matter how hard I squint, I can’t seem to grasp the details of her features. She’s gorgeous — but it’s not something I see, it’s something I sense. She radiates beauty, drawing every eye toward her as she walks along the shoreline. The crystalline waters rush up to her toes, then back out to sea, only to regain strength and momentum and come hurrying back to her, as if the waves themselves are drawn to her brilliant beauty, desperate to touch her, begging her to come closer.
Everyone within view — families with little kids, couples slathering lotion on each other, women and men alike — all fall silent as the brunette sweeps past. She oozes sexuality, her hips swaying from side to side, her glorious hair undulating with each step, almost like a mirage. She’s oblivious to my presence as she passes by, heading for the surf.
Water splashes around her slender legs as she wades deeper and deeper into the crystal blue water. A male voice says something and she whips around to laugh at him. But she looks different now. It’s impossible to say why since I can’t make out her features, but something has changed inside her. This new version fills me with confusion and wariness, if not fear. I want to put as much distance between me and this woman as possible.
“This woman doesn’t look familiar to you?” asked Hale.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t really see her face, I just got a feeling.”
“What happened next?” Danic asked.
“From there the dream morphed to something completely unexpected. I was in a European pub.”
The smoky space is dim and cloudy and crowded with ruddy-cheeked, working-class men, crammed six to a table. They all seem to be of good cheer, laughing with crinkle-cornered eyes and tossing back pint after pint of dark ale. I feel completely out of place, an outsider in a room full of locals. As my eyes flit around the pub, they land on three familiar faces.
Lazlo, Rufus and Almeric are sitting in a back corner of the pub. What a relief! I push my way through the crowd, struggling to reach my friends. More than friends — family. I can’t help smiling that I’ll no longer feel sad and alone in the crowded pub. But when I reach their table, Lazlo is missing. I take his seat and look at Rufus and Almeric, but they don’t say a word or even acknowledge my existence.
A faceless waitress appears out of nowhere and sets a frosty pint of very dark beer in front of me. I wrinkle my nose at the look of it. I normally go for IPAs, not these dark brews. Regardless, I pick it up and take a sip. It’s acrid, bitter, painful to drink. It smells of sulphur that stings my nose and hurts like hell to swallow.
“You like IPAs?” Ryen scoffed. “I had no idea you were a hipster.”
“Congrats, Ryen,” Kellum said with an exaggerated eye roll. “You’ve somehow managed to fixate on the least significant part of Favor’s dream.”
“Hey, you never know what’s important when it comes to dreams.”
“Ignore them, Favor,” Danic said. “What else happened?”
I shrugged. “After that bit of weirdness, I woke up on Lazlo’s private jet, with all of you lying with me in that massive bed. Remember? I felt so…complete, so whole. Like everything would be okay after all. I’ve never felt so happy and relaxed and safe. Nothing could harm me, as long as you were all there with me. Then I woke up with all of you jokers staring at me.”
“Must have been why you were smiling toward the end,” Ash said, hope sparking in his eyes.
“At least we can comfort you in your dreams,” Kellum said with a chuckle. He grabbed my foot, and the simple touch sent a rush of warmth through my body.
A sharp knock sounded on the door and we all jumped a little. Danic frowned and stood, ready to kill whoever dared approach. Tamar poked her head in the old door, her face flushed and her eyes wild with excitement.
“I am sorry to come so early,” she said, panting slightly, “but I knew you’d want to know. My brother has caught a melot and he’s ready to talk.”
Chapter 6
The seven of us climbed the short set of steps to the front stoop of a plain boxy two-story house, which stood mid-block on a dreary street littered with potholes. It sat crowded between other identical boxy houses that stretched out as far as the eye could see in both directions. The community looked like one of those old Soviet-era neighborhoods, where they jammed as many people as possible into the most depressing housing ever imagined.
Laundry hung from ropes draped across the street. A few tiny, rusting cars were parked along the curb, and I wondered if Danic — any of the guys, actually — could fit inside. A mangy old dog trotted down the cobblestones as if he had someplace better to be, and who could blame him?
Most big neighborhoods like this were full of life — kids playing in the street, old ladies gossiping on their stoops, old men gossiping over a game of chess — but not this one. It was too quiet. As we gathered in front of a faded and peeling wooden door, I glanced around. Several thin or tattered curtains fell back into place as curious neighbors hid from the group of strangers.
“It would be best if we all speak in Balaur here,” Tamar said quietly. “Not everyone speaks English.”
Tamar rapped on the door, which quickly cracked open an inch. A sliver of a man’s face appeared, one dark brown eyeball staring out at us, looking Tamar up and down. When he finally spoke, it was in Balaur, the ancient dragon tongue.
“Who’s there?” the gravelly voice demanded.
Tamar slapped her hands on her hips and gave the lone eyeball an exasperated look. “Alek, don’t be an ass. I used to babysit you. Now open up.”
Alek the Eyeball swiveled to take in the rest of us, fixing on each one of us for a second before moving on to the next. His gaze rested on me a few seconds longer than my boys, then shot back to Tamar.
“Who are they? Why have you brought them here, Tamar?”
Tamar sighed heavily and stepped aside to gesture to each of us in turn. “Alek, I’d like for you to meet the Novak brothers — Kellum, Ryen and Danic — and their cousins, Ash and Hale Campbell. The human is Favor Fiske, a dragon keeper. Lazlo Aurelia sent them. Now open the damn door.”
Alek’s eye narrowed with deep suspicion, then the door slammed shut. For an impossibly awkward moment, I wondered if the hour-long drive into the town of Turdzi had been a waste, but the sounds of sliding latches and tumbling locks reached us. Alek opened the door just wide enough to let us edge through sideways, his hot glare on each one as we passed.
Tamar ignored him and led us through the small, modest interior to a small dining table sitting just off a tiny, shabby kitchen. It felt like the kind of place that might be home to an elderly man, one who can’t quite keep up with the work necessary to make it a home, but none of the people seated around the table were old.
One of the men bore a striking resemblance to Tamar, both in age and in facial features. His hair was a warm brown, instead of Tamar’s auburn, but if I had to guess, I would have bet money I didn’t have they were siblings. The woman sitting next to him looked nothing like the others. She’d won the genetic lottery with her classic Eastern European beauty — sharp features, catlike green eyes, long flowing dark hair, and a body that wouldn’t quit — and I had to wonder why she was sitting in some dingy house when she could have easily been strutting down a Parisian runway. The two other men at the table were burly and scruffy, with intelligence gleaming in their eyes. Their sheer size and smarts reminded me of Danic. Alek stalked in and joined his team in scowling at us.
