The Lost Lands

by Jessica Khoury

  After following the maze of tunnels, the band entered the largest chamber through an arched stone doorway decorated with multicolored clamshells, whale bones, and spiky conchs. Usually dragons came and went through the watery tunnels that opened into the large pools in the chamber floor, leaping up out of the water like seals. But all fell still when Bellacrux entered and let out a roar.

  “ASH!” she called out, then continued in dragonsong, “We must speak.”

  The scaly heads of a few young ones lurked in the pools like waiting crocodiles, their wide, anxious gazes traveling from Bellacrux to Ash.

  The Blue Grand stood upon a high shelf of rock halfway up the great cavern wall, where he often reclined to watch the clan’s hatchlings gambol and tussle below. The hatchlings were gone now, hiding behind rocks and in the pools, not wanting to get caught up in the argument about to break loose between the two oldest dragons on the islands. In one far nook, several dragons curled protectively around the sacred clutch of eggs.

  “Bellacrux, leave me be. I have given you my final answer on the matter,” said Ash in dragonsong. Allie was understanding more of the language every day, and her fluency had improved by leaps and bounds. Behind her, she heard Joss quietly translating for Sirin.

  “And I told you,” continued Ash, “I would banish you all if you asked again. So choose your words carefully, Bellacrux the Green.”

  “Old friend, we don’t have much time,” Bellacrux said. “Tell us what we need to know before it’s too late.”

  “KATA!” roared Ash, and Allie recognized the dragonsong word for no. The Blue Grand’s voice thundered through the damp, dimly lit caverns. All the dragons in the cave—as well as the three young humans—cowered at the Grand’s fury. All but Bellacrux. She glared back at the old Blue leader, unruffled.

  Ash stared back, his nostrils flaring, but when he saw Bellacrux would not be cowed, he let out a huff of smoke and shook his great head. “I had second thoughts about granting you and your little band asylum, Bellacrux, but you saved my life more than once in the old days, and I owed you. But as I have told you a thousand times since you arrived, I will not share the secrets I vowed to keep. I can’t help you with your Raptor problems.”

  “Our problems are soon to be your problems,” pressed Bellacrux. “The Lennixes will come for your clan, Ash, sooner or later. Then they’ll defeat the Yellows and Reds and none will be left to oppose them. None will be left who are True to the Wing. Our survival is at stake.”

  “So is our freedom.” Ash’s talons curled over the stone ledge, sending a rain of rock dust trickling down. “The weapon you seek is dangerous. It attacks not flesh, not bone, but the very soul of a dragon. Even those with the best intentions are tempted by its power. And imagine if the Raptors found it first! No, it is too risky. We must lie low. There are rumors of dissent in the Raptor ranks, dragons growing weary of Lennix rule. If we wait, they will tear themselves apart. No need to go on wild hunts for old myths.”

  “The Raptors are on their way here now,” Bellacrux said.

  All the dragons in the cavern released surprised snorts and murmurs, while Ash went stone-still.

  “How could you know this?” he asked.

  “Because our Silver spotted one of their scouts this morning, not an hour’s flight from here. They’re getting close, Ash. It could be a matter of hours before they land on your beaches.”

  Ash stretched to his full height and spread his wings as his furious roar shook the cavern. He was nearly as large as Bellacrux, his dark blue scales rippling with his movements. In the gloomy light, he looked as black as obsidian, but his eyes were vibrant blue flames. Allie’s heart leapt into her mouth at the sight, and she was forced to clap her hands over her ears until Ash quieted.

  “You have betrayed us!” he snarled. “The Raptors would not even be scouting this area if they weren’t looking for you! And now your Silver has practically invited them to our cavern door!”

  Bellacrux bowed her head. “You know this day was coming. Tell us what you know of this lost weapon, this thing that can help us defeat the Raptors for good. No more delaying, no more excuses. Just tell us.”

  Spitting a jet of flame into the air, Ash turned to the older Blues clustered near his ledge. They listened raptly as he delivered a stream of orders, then they disbanded to prepare for the coming battle. As the cavern erupted into activity, dragons rushing every which way, Ash turned back to Bellacrux. He stared at her a moment, and it almost seemed he would keep shouting, or even challenge her to a fight.

  But then he shook his head, his wings folded with weary resignation.

  “Very well.” He sighed. “Come, and I will tell you the tale of the Skyspinner, and the Banishing of the dragons.”

  * * *

  Ash’s private cavern was a spectacular sight. Its stone walls had been carved by centuries of talons, depicting detailed scenes of bygone battles and Blue Grands of the past. From the ceiling hung great, glittering stalactites and jutting white crystals. A waterfall splashed down one wall, into a clear pool glowing with luminous algae. On the floor were spread mats of palm fronds but little else; the Blues seemed to disdain the type of cushiony comfort Allie had seen in the Raptor Roost.

  Ash lay on the ground and waited for Bellacrux and Lysander to settle, while Sammi tumbled in the corner, ignoring Sirin’s shushes.

  “Tell us, Ash,” said Bellacrux. “Who is this Skyspinner?”

  The Blue Grand inclined his head. “She was the last of the great dragon queens who once ruled our kind.”

  Bellacrux gave a grunt. “I’ve heard of the old queens. They were of no clan, neither Red nor Yellow, Green nor Blue. They were hatched from stars and were the mothers of all dragonkind, as ancient as the world itself.”

  “Their scales were as black as the night,” added Ash. “And each one was endowed with a special, unique power. One could sing new islands out of the sea, another could quell the mightiest of storms with a lash of her tail. But one by one, they vanished, moving on to other worlds, never to return. Until only one remained: the Skyspinner. She pledged her protection over the Lost Lands, and for centuries was the highest authority among our kind. Those days were the great golden age, and we lived alongside humanity in peace and prosperity. We built great civilizations together, explored new islands and continents, and it seemed nothing would limit us so long as we worked together, human and dragon, Locked through the centuries.”

  Allie closed her eyes and imagined a dragon as black as night, older than the mountains. The Skyspinner. A queen of dragons, mightier even than her beloved Bellacrux. She felt her Lock imagining along with her, picturing the golden days of the Lost Lands, of a world prosperous and peaceful.

  I never quite believed in the dragon queens, Bellacrux told Allie. But perhaps I was wrong.

  “But those days were not to last.” Ash sighed. “For humans are ever greedy. Wars broke out, and kings rode dragons into battle, twisting their Locks to their own dark ambitions and turning them into weapons of death and slaughter. On dragonback, humans raided other lands, destroyed their neighbors’ cities, and spurred their Locks to feast on their enemies. Once the dragons tasted human blood, it poisoned their minds and they were driven to taste it again and again.”

  The beautiful images in Allie’s mind melted in a torrent of Raptor fire, and she could smell the smoke from the cities they had razed, see the flames leaping higher as they dived, roaring, onto their human prey. Shivering, she pulled closer to a grim-faced Bellacrux.

  “The Skyspinner knew the time had come to intervene. She led the true dragons and their human Locks in a great, final battle against the Raptors. But when she realized they would not be stopped, the Skyspinner conceived a last, most desperate plan. She concluded the two species must be separated, for each drew out the worst in the other. Therefore the Skyspinner drew upon her own special power: the ability to command her children, even those who had turned against her. She took control of their minds and—” />
  “She could control their minds. That’s—” Joss stopped himself, clapped his hands over his mouth, and whispered, “Sorry!”

  “Yes,” snarled Ash. “She could control their minds. And with this power she exiled the dragons and their human Locks with them, to this realm we now call home.”

  “Their Locks?” whispered Allie. “You mean …”

  Ash looked at her. “Indeed. Your ancestors were humans who chose banishment with their dragons. And after the Skyspinner exiled them all, she plummeted to her death.”

  “Wait a minute,” said Allie. “How can this dragon queen help us if she’s dead?”

  Ash curled his lip, as if she were being stupid on purpose. “Her heart, of course, her dragonheart forged in a distant star. Now it lies somewhere in the Lost Lands. For when a dragon dies, unless they are consumed by fire, their flesh turns to stone—and their hearts turn to jewels. And whoever holds the heart of a dragon queen also wields her power … and whoever holds the Skyspinner’s Heart may command all of dragonkind.”

  Allie jumped to her feet. “We have to find it. We really could stop the Raptors! We could order them to never harm a human ever again!”

  This was the answer to the impossible question she’d been asking: How could she protect the ones she loved and save the rest of the world from the Raptors? Well, this was how. By becoming so powerful no Raptor could ever touch either.

  “Where is it?” asked Allie. “Where in the Lost Lands will we find it?”

  “That,” replied Ash, “I cannot tell you.”

  “Well, what good is any of this if we can’t even find the Heart?” Joss said.

  “We will find it,” said Allie. “Whatever it takes. Surely there must be some record of that battle, and where the Skyspinner fell. Sirin?”

  Sirin stared at her blankly. “Don’t look at me. It’s not like we’ve got some monument back on Earth that says, Here lies the Skyspinner.”

  Ash sighed deeply. “I can already see how you covet this power. It tempted me too, when I was young and foolish and did not understand its danger. You would be wise to beware. For great power comes at a great price. It is a terrible thing to turn dragons into puppets, even ones as foul as Raptors. And if the Heart should fall into the Lennixes’ hands, you six will be responsible for the ruin that follows. With the knowledge you now carry, the fates of this world and the Lost Lands both rest on your shoulders.” Ash considered them with a look of unmasked doubt, then heaved a mighty sigh. “May the stars keep you fools from dooming us all.”

  D’Mara Lennix was having a very bad day.

  First, she’d awoken to the sound of an argument in the Roost and had found Valkea at the heart of it. The ferocious young Red had been unsatisfied with the small, skinny sheep provided for her breakfast and had let the entire fortress hear her fury. Now she was demanding she be given the shepherd to snack on instead.

  D’Mara knew their food situation was getting worse. The fortress was already on a skeleton staff. But search as they might, there simply was not enough good stock left in this world. They were teetering on the brink of a crisis, and every day D’Mara had to scramble harder to keep the Raptors happy.

  After settling things in the Roost—or at least, by delegating the problem into Edward’s hands—D’Mara had returned to her tower to think. On the way, she’d stepped in dragon dung right up to her ankles. When she’d yelled for help, that shifty girl Carli had come sauntering over and D’Mara could swear she’d been laughing under her breath. D’Mara had simply stepped out of her boots altogether and proceeded to her tower in her stockings, humiliated and furious. She would send down orders later to have Carli punished for her insolence. It cheered D’Mara a little to contemplate what that punishment would be, whether a lashing or a finger cut off or the girl’s thick red hair shaved to her scalp. Maybe all three. Yes, all three would do nicely. And D’Mara would be sure to stop by later, to give a nasty chuckle of her own in return.

  But the anticipation of punishing Carli didn’t lift her spirit for long.

  As she gazed down at the landing yard, where Edward was still trying to smooth things over with Valkea, even bringing Decimus into the mix, D’Mara thought about which Raptor she ought to promote to Grand. Bellacrux’s old chamber had been sitting empty for too long.

  Usually, dragons elected their own Grand, and almost always they chose the oldest and largest of them for the job. But D’Mara wasn’t sure she could trust her Raptors, or at least not enough of them. If they voted for Valkea, D’Mara had no doubt the Red’s first order of business would be to roast every Lennix and feast on them through the night. No, Valkea would not do at all. It would have to be a dragon she trusted, one who would do D’Mara’s bidding without question. Krane would be ideal, but his scale fever was a sure disqualification. She considered Decimus but worried promoting him might make it look as though Edward were the new head of the Lennix clan. And that might feel even worse than being torched and devoured by Valkea.

  D’Mara was still brooding when a Red dragon came hurtling out of the mountains, straining for breath and flying clumsily with fatigue. She leapt up just as the Raptor crashed onto the landing yard and his rider jumped down.

  Kaan was back.

  He’d been on a routine scouting trip, nothing special. So normally D’Mara would barely have noticed the return of her younger son—only son, she reminded herself as she rushed down the steps of her tower in a new, clean pair of boots.

  The loss of Declan, for all his meekness and cowardice, was an open wound in D’Mara’s soul. He had betrayed her and flown off on that foolish Blue, Ramon, without a single look back at the life he was abandoning. Now there was a gaping, ugly hole at the dinner table each night and at muster every morning. Worse, she knew the Raptors were whispering about it, and Valkea and her followers were laughing behind her back just like that brat Carli. Everywhere D’Mara went these days, she heard low, mocking laughter in the shadows.

  She was a little worried that she might be going mad.

  Angry at letting her mind be distracted by Declan yet again, D’Mara resolved—for the hundredth time—that she would never think of him again.

  He’s dead, she decided. He died in battle, serving the clan. We mourned him and he is gone.

  Some lies were easier to swallow than truth.

  Now it was her remaining son who demanded attention. Literally. He furiously waved his red sash in the air, the signal for big news, which was why she’d run down from her tower rather than waited for him to come to her. D’Mara marched through the loggia, masking her anticipation with an annoyed expression.

  “Yes, we all see you,” she snapped as she stepped into the landing yard. “Put that thing down. You look like a fool.”

  Kaan lowered his sash, grinning. He was breathing hard, just like his mount, the newly promoted Zereth. The Raptor was so winded he could barely stand. A crowd was beginning to gather. Valkea and a few other Raptors had stuck their heads out of the loggia, and Tamra crept in on cat’s feet, her sharp eyes intent on her brother.

  “I hope you have a very good reason for pushing Zereth so hard,” D’Mara said.

  “I saw the Silver!” Kaan blurted. “It was off the south coast, near that old burned-up village. It took off to the southeast, so there must be something out there—islands, maybe.”

  “The Blues?” asked Edward, who’d approached from the left.

  They’d sent a raid to an island on the western coast three nights ago, thinking it was the Blue clan stronghold. It had been the same night the Lennixes had chased down Bellacrux and Lysander, and lost Declan. The next day, Raid Flight Blue had returned with bad news: The island had been home to only a few vagrant Blues, and no Grand or eggs at all. They’d then launched scouts in all directions, hoping to locate the real Blue hideout. Honestly, D’Mara hadn’t expected to get lucky so soon.

  “Did you give chase?” she asked Kaan.

  He shook his head. “I didn’t want to spook the
m, and if it is the Blue clan they’re staying with, I knew I wouldn’t get close without them attacking me in greater numbers.”

  D’Mara blinked. This was a surprisingly acute move on her son’s part. Perhaps Kaan was not the dunderhead she’d always thought him to be.

  But then he proved her wrong again by sticking his tongue out at Tamra, gloating for his sister’s benefit. Tamra rolled her eyes.

  “Enough, both of you,” said D’Mara. “Whether the Blues are there or not, it’s the Silver who is the real prize. Raptors, assemble! We’ll take the First, Second, and Third Flights.”

  Edward stared at her. “D’Mara … that’s nearly all of them. And there’s a storm brewing in the south. That’s no weather to fly in.”

  “That’s exactly what they will be thinking.”

  Edward swallowed and nodded.

  “We let the Silver slip through our hands three times already,” she went on. She pulled her black leather gloves from her pockets and tugged them on; they sealed to her wrists with loud snaps. “This time, there will be no mistakes. No more bargains.”

  For the first time in weeks, D’Mara was feeling good.

  She looked around at all the dragons who had gathered and said in a loud, clear voice, “This time, when we take the Silver, we take him alone. As for his friends—and especially that brat he’s Locked with …” She gave a thin, tight smile. “Well, let’s just say no Raptor will go hungry tonight.”

  Allie couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned on her bed of woven palm fronds. They’d been sleeping in the great main cavern with the majority of the Blue clan. All around them, dragons were piled over one another, talons and tails sprawled across the stone floor, their snores and chuffs and smacking lips echoing endlessly through the dark. The storm raged outside, the thunder so loud it could be heard even through the cave’s stone walls.

  Every time Allie shut her eyes, she saw a dark sky bristling with Raptors, felt the heat of their fire blistering her skin, smelled the burnt-metal scent of melting dragon scales. Opening her eyes again, she stared into the darkness and felt sweat running down her neck.