I
strode out onto the balcony adjacent of our bedroom, shoulders and jaw
fortified with the courage my father had taught me, a strength I did not
truly feel. When I turned to close the ornate glass doors, my own
shadow in the moonlight became eclipsed effortlessly in that of his as
he settled upon the ledge. He crouched low, low enough that we met
nearly at eye level, then dipped his head lower, an uncharacteristic
sign of respect for one of his kind. I nodded in turn.
“Thank you for heeding my summons,” I said.
He
then ignored me, casting his gaze over my shoulder, through the dense
curtains and into the bedroom. His vast eyes flickered for a moment, the
dark orbs now covered by amber veils. “She sleeps.”
“Yes. She will need her strength. Enough for her, and the child.”
He
bared his fangs at me in a grin. “Bold you are, man-thing. Calling One
to your home whilst your kin sleep less than half a wing-beat away.”
“I know well of your power and respect it so,” I replied. “This is why I have asked for your presence.”
“Those
of your kingdom do well to stay far from One’s mountain. When they
venture into One’s territory, they never tarry, nor fail to leave worthy
offerings. Even now, your courage before One is commendable. You have
One’s ear, man-thing. Speak.”
“I ask of you the impossible.”
His
eyes widened and I struggled to return his gaze. Even the most absurd
of requests, I knew his kind would consider, if we voiced them with
conviction. He opened his mouth, let his warm, foul breath roll over me.
“You know as well as One does, man-thing, that the impossible cannot be
done. That is why it is ‘impossible’.”
“You know what I truly seek. A joining.”
His eyes drew wider still, flickering again to amber hues as he focused on me. A test. I would not falter.
“I know that you have considered it too. The fact that you have not yet burned my kingdom to the ground is evidence of such.”
He
hissed, and drops of pitch fell upon the marble of the balcony. “Press
not your luck, mortal creature. One knows your fears. One has flown the
borders of your country. One has seen the armies of the north assembling
to bear down upon you. Why should One loan you One’s strength? Why
should One be damned among one’s own kind for the sake of a mere
man-thing?”
“You
knew my father. You knew my father’s father. My line is and has always
been committed to peace. Peace however, is no longer an option. The northern armies will not be content until they have claimed our
territories. If my people should fail to defend these lands, they will
come to conquer your mountain as well.”
He cast his great gaze to the north. “You know well, beyond the honor of your kind, the price to be paid for such a favor.”
I
glanced over my shoulder, felt his eyes watching as well, seeing what I
could not, what I knew only from memory lay amid the sheets within
the bedchamber. “I know well the price. As does she.”
“Very well.”
I
turned back to face him, but he had already fallen away from the ledge,
his great wings spreading to carry him off into the mountains.
***
Man-things
gathered in the dark, in valley at base of One’s mountain. A ring of
fires they’d lit, to guide One to them. One cared not; such guidance,
meaningless. Heat burned clear in the night- warmth of the manthing’s
bodies; Easy prey. Body tilting, shifting- fell into a wide
descending loop. Flames of the circle stirring, called by the stretching
of One’s wings- not like man-thing fires; man-thing flames shrink from
One’s presence. Timid, fragile creatures. Most man-things cowards. Hid
among the frightened creatures, squirming in thin plated shells, faint
flames poorly fanned, One found strength. A flame unlike the man-things,
yet of the man-things. A she.
Across
from her, One settles in the center. She stares into One’s eyes. Does
not falter. Rising, One bellows into the cold night. Many man-thing
fires flicker- not hers. One settles on talons again. Approaches. Female
flinch not. Tears stone with great steps. Female flinch not. One
circles, slow, deliberate, hissing. Flame of she only grow brighter -
intense, for mortal. In her swollen belly, another fire. Small
man-thing, youngling. Youngling fire bright also.
One gazed at monarch. “Once it is done, there is no turning back.”
Man-thing nodded.
One faced woman again. “What say you, man-thing?”
She draws close. Placed hand upon One’s muzzle. Fragile man-thing skin
burns against One’s scales. No noise, no flinch from she.
“I will join with you, dragon, for the sake of my kingdom.”
One nods. Wings extended, great sweeps. movements coaxing flames
higher, now even man-things flames grow brighter. Valley lit by flame.
One lifts away from ground. To she,
“Your fire burns so brightly. You could almost be a dragon.”
***
A great bellow tore him from his sleep, and he clung to his father.
Bleary eyed, he looked around. It was almost as though he’d been borne
into a storm. It was a dark storm, one absent of lightning yet rife with
fires. Even clutching his father, he remained frightened. There came
another bellow and then he noticed the large dragon hovering before him,
its great wings hurling gusts of wind in all directions as its talons
raked the flesh of...
“Daddy, what’s happening? What’s happening to mommy?”
His father did not answer, did not look at him, ignored the small hands
tugging at his garments. In the firelight, a stream of tears glistened
as it slid down his cheek.
The child, receiving no response, wormed his way out of his father’s grasp and ran toward his mother. “Mommy! Mommy!”
A pike crossed his path and he crumpled over it, winded by its sudden
appearance. he could only gasp helplessly as he was carried back to his
father. He began to howl then, screaming as loud as he could, trying to
be heard over the ominous thundering of the great dragon’s wings.
The monster paid him no attention whatsoever, pressing its wicked
talons into the back of the woman, forcing her skin apart, settling
close against her body.
“Daddy!” he cried again. “Please, Daddy! It’s hurting Mommy!”
Blood splattered across the earth as the dragon peeled at the mother’s
skin, and yet she did not scream. She remained, half crouched as the
dragon bled her, and bled into her. Finally, she toppled slowly to the
ground, and the dragon lifted away, hovering a good distance above the
earth. A foul, black substance fell from its jaws, a substance that
hissed and steamed as it fell upon the mother’s back.
“It is done,” the dragon said. It watched the king’s eyes for a moment,
then with a mighty flap that extinguished the flames, it shot high into
the air and disappeared.
“Daddy... what’s going to happen to Mommy now?”
Once the beast had flown away, the soldiers hurried into the ring and
draped a cloak over the woman, still sitting upon the ground. His father
made his way over to his mother, and when she looked up at them, her
eyes shined with a little bit of amber.
“She did this for us,” his father said. “Not just you and me, but our whole kingdom. Someday you’ll understand.”
***
A man and the child he carries stare down at you. You stare up at them
with the feeling that you should know them, but you can’t quite recall
their names, or where you’ve seen them before. Absently you pull the
thin fabric tighter around your shoulders. Your body still throbs with a
dull pain. Your back and thighs feel sticky, your hair is matted to
your face. Your eyes drop down to your belly. it is swollen, ripe, and
somehow, it seems to glow. Maybe it’s just the light of the moon...
No,
there is a faint, almost golden glow crawling beneath the skin, and you
feel movement within your flesh. Movement that isn’t yours. You can’t
figure it out, so you turn your attention back to the man and the child.
He calls you a name that doesn’t sound familiar. The child just cries.
There
are others now, pulling you to your feet. You watch them carefully,
unsure of what to expect. They just want to help you, it seems. The
cold, hard ground is slick with fresh blood, and you remember how much
your back hurts, but nothing more. You stumble once as you move toward
the edge of a circle, but before you can fall, others catch you and help
you along. The man and his child are close as well. They seem worried.
Everyone seems to be making a fuss over you.
The
outline of the circle is marked by several braziers. You know that they
were recently lit because they still smoke, and the scent of burning
lingers in your nostrils. You feel cold suddenly. The warmth that had
been with you previously seems to have disappeared. Instinctively, you
look to the braziers. You see one of them has toppled over; there are
still some faintly glowing embers burning among the otherwise dull
ashes. The concerned expressions and voices dim in comparison to those
embers, the brightly gleaming bits that call to you in a way you’ve
never experienced, yet one that feels so natural. You make your way over
to the brazier, and scoop up a piece of coal. The searing pain that
attacks your skin is nothing compared to the sudden immense hunger you
feel and the delight that the coal provides. Before you can shove it
into your mouth, however, others have grabbed you and drag you away.
