The Last Dragons, New Life, Old Threat
#4 of The last dragons
Alright, here is part four. As always, comments are appreciated. And, once again, no sex in this one. Hope you enjoy it anyway.
Story number fifteen!! Yay!!
Continued from 'The task...'
"Hello, Skye." I said, nodding to my best friend. His human name was Eric, but he had been the fourth dragon to rise. His scales were diamond shaped and the many, ever changing hues of the daily sky. You could spend a whole day staring into one of his scales and never see the same color in it.
"Hello Argil." He stated and I stepped aside to allow him to enter my family's house. My parents had been the most recent dragons to arise. The silver in my scales came from my father who glittered with the pale sheen of the metal. My mother was completely white, looking like a wisp of cloud. He took a seat in the living room and I realized he looked very agitated and nervous. "I wanted to talk to you about...that is if you aren't busy...If you are, I can come back another time."
"For heavens sake, will you relax Skye?" I asked, sitting down opposite him. He laughed nervously and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"It is about Beryl." He stated, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. Beryl was a green scaled dragoness that was part of our DnD group. I had noticed the way that my friend had been looking at her since his ascension. Now I understood his nervousness. He liked her.
"What about her?" I asked, not knowing what this was about.
"We have become involved and we want to become mates. I have come to seek your permission." He stated, his liquid blue eyes looking up at me. I hadn't expected that.
"You don't need my permission." I stated, looking at him in surprise.
"I know that if we were human, I would never be in this situation," he stated, "but ever since I have ascended, I have had this terrible apprehension about being with her. She has felt the same about me and Scarlon finally pointed out what it was that made us feel that way. We need to have our union sanctioned by the leader of our flight. By you."
I was speechless for a few moments. I had realized that my status as a Dragon Lord made me a leader, but it hadn't occurred to me just how much power and responsibility my position carried with it. However, once this realization came, instinct took over within me. I had no problem with the two of them joining in a mate bond and I knew what had to be done. "Skye, come with your desired mate to the Dragon Mountain in one week's time and I will give my blessing to you both." He nodded in relief and I let him out of the house.
***
A week later, I stood at the entrance to the cave at the base of the Dragon's head once more, filling my lungs with the sweet air of that familiar place. Beryl and Skye stood at my back and I placed a hand onto the stone of the wall, removing the spell I had laid upon it. The cave entrance appeared once more and I led the way inside, closing the gateway after my friends. When I entered the hollow middle of the mountain, I shed my clothes and assumed my true form. The other two did likewise and I beckoned them over before me.
"When dragons mate, they mate for all time. So has it been since a time before the lesser beings appeared on the earth. Two vessels joined, two hearts beating in harmony with a single soul." I stated in Dragonic, scratching curving, sinuous forms into the stone with my claws. As I had spoken, a picture had taken shape. It was intricate and nearly impossible to describe if you had no dragon sight, for magic flowed within the symbols, painting a mesmerizing image on the ground. But three bare spots remained, two of equal size on either side of the third, larger spot. When I had finished, I addressed my best friend. "Skye, oldest friend and comrade, you have proven your worthiness in your steadfast dedication to honor. If you are willing to take your place in a mate bond, then place your paw in the circle of joining." The smaller blue dragon placed his clawed hand within the left hand open area, his posture lowering as he leaned forward to do so.
He had folded his wings back on instinct, a gesture of submission. Then, with Skye bowed forward, I turned to Beryl. "Beryl, my friend, you have but to choose. If you are willing to take your place within a bond of mating with this dragon who stands bowed beside you, place your paw in the circle of joining." An arm clad in pale green scales pressed down in the right hand spot. With both dragons bowed before me, I reared up on my hind legs, resting a powerful forepaw on the bowed heads of my friends. "So it is decided. Heart to heart, soul to soul and body to body, the bond is forged. Now, go forth in union."
With that, I raised my hands from their heads and their paws slid along groves in the stone into the larger empty spot. The moment they touched, the pair looked up at each other and their mouths met in a kiss. They were not mates yet, but that time would come very soon. Returning my paws to the ground, I strode away, ignored by the pair who only had eyes for one another. Slipping back into human form and grabbing my clothes, I walked out of the mountain. It had certainly been an interesting day...
***
In the coming weeks, two more pairs would request to be sanctioned as mates and I performed the ceremony for them as well. I finally accepted my role as a flight leader. My instincts told me that because I was the only dragon lord still alive, I was the technical leader of the entire dragon race. The prospect threw me for a loop. I had never really been comfortable with being a leader, but I always led well because I set a good example for others to follow. And now, here I was, the leader of my entire species. But, that is the way that life is I suppose.
In the dojo, I was always careful around Master Juno; careful never to show magic skill to him again. He never challenged me to a sparring match in that time, so my hand was not forced. But I still was worried that I would face a situation where I would be forced to use magic again. Using meditation, I found that I could dampen my instincts to use magic and thus keep myself safe. But I didn't know how long that would last. And to top it all off, I began to notice a change in my mate. She had been more and more distracted in the last few weeks and I had noticed that she was growing thicker in the middle. It wasn't much, just a little bulging in her underside, but it was enough for me to notice.
One night, I decided to speak to her about it. She had become very moody and she was getting irritated quicker than before. That night, while we lay together in bed, our limbs intertwined, I brought it up, edging into the issue sideways in order to keep her from getting angry at me.
"Pyre," I began and she looked up at me. "Is there something bothering you?"
"Why do you ask?" She answered and snuggled up to my chest once more.
"I have noticed that you have been very distracted lately; distracted and moody." I stated. "I was just wondering if there was something the matter."
"No, there is nothing wrong." She said and something in her voice told me she was evading the question. "I just haven't felt very well recently."
"Can dragons even become sick?" I asked, and she chuckled. "I thought our magic kept us healthy."
"It does and you are right, we can't get sick." She answered and rewrapped her arms around me. "I have just been feeling out of sorts that's all." I decided not to pursue the matter further. However, I kept an eye on her. She was even more distracted and the thickening around her midsection kept growing in the next several weeks. I worried about her. My instincts had no answer for it and my human knowledge had nothing to compare it to. But then, one autumn day, she spoke to me.
"Alabaster, I am going away for a while." She said and I gaped at her. We hadn't spent much time apart since our joining as mates and I couldn't understand why she was going now. I of course couldn't stop her, that wouldn't be right. "Don't worry, I just need some time alone. I will call you if I need you." And she left.
For the next few weeks, my heart ached terribly and I waited for her to contact me. Instead of sitting and moping, I threw myself into the task of finding the dragon descendants and that was a task and a half because I couldn't just fly over the city and use my magic senses to find them all, though that would be a simple solution. For one thing, though I could make myself invisible, it took a lot of energy, energy that I would need to find the descendents. While I wandered all over the city, guided by my magic, I pondered if it would be worth it to try. Before I knew it, two more months had passed. The nights turned cold and winter came upon us. When I finally took some time to think about my love, I found an ocean of longing waiting for me. I lay down to sleep that night before the sun had set and found that my heart was aching all the more fiercely because of it. Troubled, it took me a while to go to sleep. When I at last slept, I dreamt of dragons flying above a proud human city...
***
Juno sat in his office and meditated. He was trying to take a break from the problem that troubled him since he had been beaten months ago. Because of his magic, he hadn't been beaten in many years and he was trying to find an explanation besides the obvious one. It didn't take a genius to figure out the connection between a youth with incredible magic strength and a story that told of how magic was accessed from the same area. It couldn't be him, it just couldn't. The boy couldn't be a dragon. It shouldn't have been possible. But the answer was there, staring him in the face, contradicting his desire for his guess to be false. The problem he was having was that he knew that if he had found a dragon, he was bound by the family oath to tell his brother. And yet, he desperately hoped it wasn't true. Though he wasn't supposed to pick favorites, he had to admit that he liked the kid. He was indomitable and that trait was hard to find in this day and age. He was woken from his thoughts a moment later by three sets of foot steps, two of which were girded in heavy boots.
The foot steps stopped in his office and he opened his eyes. He found himself looking up at Jason with two soldiers wearing Marine insignia flanking him. Jason was staring at him intently, his eyes glowing with power and Juno couldn't resist that glare. He met it and his brother stared harder at him. He felt a mental probe from his brother twist into his mind, jabbing him roughly. He barely managed to throw up barriers around his recent thoughts before the probe reached them. For a moment, the wills of the two brothers strove against each other and Juno won the contest.
"Why brother, where ever have you been?" Jason stated, his voice as pleasant as honey, but at the same time, as foul as poison. "I have requested that you join me in the lab several times and yet you continue to avoid me. Why would that be?"
"I have been busy." Juno stated and his brother's smile twisted into a snarl.
"Don't lie to me brother. You know I hate it when you lie." He stated and then grabbed his brother with one arm, lifting him off his feet. Juno could see the magic flaring behind his brother's eyes. Though Juno was physically stronger than his brother, he could not match him in magic. He considered using his martial arts training to remove his brother's grip, but he knew he shouldn't. "You know something and you don't want to tell me what it is. Tell me now or so help me..." he let the threat trail off. Juno could imagine the rest of the sentence. He gulped and spoke at last.
"Three months ago, I was beaten in a match." Juno stated and his brother shook him slightly until he continued. "The student that beat me was only a boy. He used magic, magic much more powerful than any I have ever seen. There can only be one explanation for that kind of strength in one so young."
"He is a dragon." Jason stated and set his brother on his feet. "At last we have a clue. Come brother, we have work to do." With that he strode out of the dojo, the soldiers hustling Juno along between them...
***
I sat up in bed quickly. It looked to be early night, just after sundown. I had been in a sound sleep, but something had awoken me. 'Alabaster.' The mental call came again and I cast my eyes around. The room was empty of the form that I half expected to see. The voice was my mate's and it was speaking into my mind like the day we had loved in our true form for the first time. 'What is it Pyre?' I replied, letting my thoughts speak to the voice in my head. 'Come to the Dragon Mountain my love, I have a surprise for you.' She stated and I felt the mental link cut off. I got up out of bed and eagerly slipped out of my clothing. I made myself invisible and stepped out into the street, assuming my dragon form as soon as there was enough room. I stretched once more and grinned to myself. It was a fine night for flying. I spread my wings and leapt from the ground, my wings beating hard to keep me aloft. The familiar joy of flight filled me and I rose from the earth. For a time, I flapped above the city, searching for the one thing that I needed to get to the mountains. Over a shopping mall, I found it.
The thermal rising from the hot pavement caught my wings and I shot upward, my face to the stars above. I loved the feeling of complete freedom that came with flight; it was always a delight. I couldn't remember all the times that I had seen a bird of prey flying high and wished that I could do that. You never quite got the same feeling inside a plane. I had always loved flying, but now that I had the wind in my face as I flew, I knew that I would never look at flying in a jetliner the same way again. When I got high enough, I ducked into a cloud and let the invisibility fall away from me for a while. I swam through the cloud like it was water and felt the cloud stick to my scales, then freeze into a thin shell around me. The cold of it didn't bother me, for my scales preserved heat better than anything human made. I heard the roar of a jetliner nearby and I flew near it inside the cloud, looking at the windows through the thin veil of mist that was the upper edge of the cloud. Most were covered by shutters, but one had a young child looking out of it. His face was lit with a look of pure wonder and I smiled to myself. I would reward his wonder this night. When he was still looking out of the window, I snaked my head out of the cloud and looked at him straight on. I saw his eyes grow wide as he spotted me in the moonlight and I winked one eye at him before ducking back down into the cloud. I grinned to myself as I imagined the conversation that the child would be having with his parents later.
Having had my fun, I dived down into the cloud and peeked out of the bottom. I was over the mountains by this point and it took me all of ten seconds to find the mountain I was looking for. When I spotted it, I dove out of the cloud like an arrow, my invisibility restored. The wind whipping past my head in the dive was an incredible feeling and I grinned, tucking my wings tighter to my body and quickening the dive. A few hundred feet above the ground, I snapped my wings out to the side and flared them wide, slowing me down suddenly. I set down easily in the meadow outside the cavern entrance. The entrance was open once more and I stepped inside, not bothering to seal it behind me. Inside the chamber where my mate had lived for millennia in her lonely vigil, I found the red dragon I loved laying on her side, curled up around something that I couldn't see, her back to the door.
"Pyre, are you alright?" I asked, approaching slowly. She looked back at me and I was surprised at the look on her face. She was smiling in a slightly silly, and yet utterly contented way.
"Yes, I am fine." She said, her voice dripping with happiness. "Come look." I approached where my mate was lying and stopped short when I realized what she was curled around. In a shallow depression in the stone were eight eggs, each one the size of a small boulder. Two of them were a creamy sort of red. Three more were bright white, but each had a sheen of a different color, red, gold and silver. Two were bright silver and the last was golden. I stared with my jaw agape for a long minute while my brain tried to reconcile what I was seeing. When my brain got everything in order, I realized that this was the answer to all the strange behavior. My mate had been pregnant. But with this came a realization that hit with all the force of a bullet train. These eggs contained my children. That realization took my voice and twisted it into knots so I couldn't speak.
"Wha...hu...uh" Was all I managed to say. Pyre smiled at my reaction and gave me a gentle kiss.
"You have it right my love, these are our children." She stated and I finally was able to untangle my voice.
"Wow." I said and lay down opposite my love, our unhatched dragonlings between us. "I can't believe it. I'm a father."
"Yes, and I have no doubt that you will be a wonderful one as well." Pyre stated and we kissed, laying our heads down next to our brood.
***
Word of this event spread like wildfire through the dragon community. The first dragon eggs since dragonkind went into hiding had been laid. My parents were ecstatic for me, as were all my friends. However, powerful new instincts awoke within me the moment I knew I had children. I spent most of the next week casting protective wards all over the cavern and on the mountain nearby. I was taking no chances with my progeny.
My mate was staying with the eggs because they needed tending while they developed, so she was one protector. At my request, one dragon would always serve as a watcher over the nest. When the protection was in place, I spent a week with my new family. I spent hours curled with my mate, listening to my offspring shift within their eggs. They were developed enough to be moving around, but their scales had not grown hard enough to ensure that they would live yet. After that week, I would have to return to the human civilization because I would be missed, but for that week, I was happier than I had ever been.
When the week ended, I returned to my search for the few remaining descendants that I hadn't found. Few enough of them were left and my task became even more difficult because I often had difficulty concentrating. My thoughts were constantly inside the mountain with my family. But, my obligations to my dojo were the most worrisome thing I had to deal with. I had taken a short leave of absence that was swiftly coming to an end. I was going to go into my martial arts school the next day and I was worried that Juno would force me into a sparring match with him. He often challenged me after I had been away for a while because he liked to catch me when I wasn't prepared. At this critical time, I really didn't wish to reveal my powers to him again. But little did I know that it wasn't going to be an issue...
***
Juno stood reluctantly next to his brother before the large computer screen that had the map of the world on it. Only a single dot remained lit on it. The dot was a mountain an hour or two outside of the city where Juno taught. He did not want to be there and he especially did not want to be hunting down his student and friend. But, he was bound by the oath his family had sworn to hunt down the dragons and that was that. His brother's eyes held a manic glint in them and he knew that his brother was totally mad. More and more, he felt that this was wrong. But, he couldn't just walk away.
"General, welcome back." Jason stated and Juno looked back to find the generals waiting there. "We have good news."
"You found them at last?" The General asked and Jason nodded.
"We will need a company of your best soldiers. I have no doubt that the dragons will be on guard." He stated and the general nodded.
"You will have them." He said. "We will be ready in twelve hours."
"Good." Jason stated. "All that you wish will soon be within your grasp general..."
Keep an eye out for part five, it is about half way done. It will be submitted sometime soon.