Rise of the Dragons

Chapter 15

Wow. Chapter 15 already. The story is winding down. Sigh. Oh well. It's not finished yet! Anyway, read, comment, add to reading list etc etc. The usual. You'll make me smile on this not so happy day!

Oh and the cold weather, is because it is freezing where I am. So yeah. Useless bit of info for ya there. Anyway...

ENJOY

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Chapter Fifteen

A few minutes later the dragons and I were back at my apartment. I had the dragons look at my arm, and they told me it was a clean break. Now it was just in a sling.

 We needed to talk, but it was freezing – and hail was poring down. The dragons were fine, as the cold and hail didn’t affect their hard scales but I, on the other hand, was not.

“There has g-got to b-be somewhere e-else.” I stuttered, shivering. I was standing on the roof, covered by all the dragons’ wings, and I was still cold.

We needed somewhere that was warm, but was also big enough for the four dragons.

Suddenly, Callaina spoke up with words that made my heart lift.

‘That is it! I can’t believe we forgot that! Do you remember that cave! The cave halfway between the Dragon Kingdom and Earth? We can take her there can’t we?’ She asked us enthusiastically.

The other dragons all ‘Ah’ –ed in remembrance. I could see them nodding their heads in my minds eye.

‘That’s perfect Laina!’ Ruber told her.

‘Indeed. Shall we?’ Argentum suggested.

As soon as the dragons had removed their wings from around me, I was shivering like crazy. The cold whipped at my face and my coat. Over the black long-sleeve, jeans, and converse I had put on earlier today, I had another woollen long-sleeve, a red woollen sweater, and my big black puffer coat. I had exchanged my thin jeans for plain black trousers. And gloves. And my fluffy blue hat. And I tell you again – I was STILL cold. NYC was meant to be warm. I PRACTICALLY HAVE ICICLES HANGING FROM MY HAIR!

Anyway, I stiffly got onto Viridus’ back, and we took off into the sky.

We flew up, higher, where the air is thinner, but it didn’t bother me. Viridus was warm, and I leaned into her as we soared through the sky. Occasionally we had to go through a cloud, and I would always wince. Clouds are cold. And wet. Not really as fun as they are in dreams.

However flying… Flying is amazing. The wind whipped my hair around, and I smiled. The view was beautiful, when the clouds weren’t in the way. The rolling green hills and the deep blue ocean. We passed them all.

Even through the roaring wind and rain, I could hear Viridus’ heartbeat. I smiled, and my last thought before I drifted off to sleep was that it wasn’t cold anymore.

I woke to the sound of thunder. I opened my eyes groggily, and looked around. I was confused, at first, before yesterday poured back to me. I smiled. I often woke wondering whether this was all real, or just some dream. But the dragons were around me, with soft smiles on their faces. I yawned and stretched, looking around the cave. I couldn’t see the entrance, so I assumed that we were quite a way in. It was big – big enough to hold the four dragons and still have room for 4 more. I stood and walked around a little, getting feel back in my legs. I pulled off my hat and gloves, walking over to one side of the cave. The walls were cold and hard under my small hands. The right wall was bare, but the other side was covered in drawings, and a strange language I wasn’t familiar with. The drawings were of dragons, I discovered under closer inspection. In the four colours of the clans – Red, Turquoise, Emerald and Silver. They seemed to be at a meeting. Four dragons were seated around a table – one for each clan and colour. (I immediately thought of the four dragons behind me.) Others of these colours were scattered around them, sitting on their haunches and staring at the table. In the table were strange runes.

“What do these mean? And what language are they in?”

Argentum walked up behind me.

‘They are in the Dragon Language, Loquela Draconis, translating to The Speech of the Dragon. Those runes translated to your tongue mean Meeting Of The Most High.’

“What is the ‘Meeting Of The Most High’?” I asked, my brow furrowed in confusion.

‘It is a meeting where the four clan leaders come together to discuss what must happen when we have a… problem. Sometimes, a few of the common dragons are invited to come along.’ He explained.

“Did you do that when Von Hue stole the Power Stone?” I asked him quietly.

‘Yes.’ He answered simply.

A question fleeted across my mind, and I briefly debated asking Argentum. I finally decided on ‘yeah, why not.’

“Hey Arge?” I asked him. He chuckled at the nickname, before replying. ‘What is it Cy?’ I smiled at the use of my own nickname, before continuing.

“If you know the English language – my tongue – then why do you not just speak it?”

‘Well, it is all to do with the way our jaws are made.’ He began. ‘They are not made to speak around any of the tongues on Earth. It is simply impossible for us to twist our jaw around it. We can only speak in our own language – Loquela Draconis.’

There was silence for a moment, before I said softly, “Say something in your language. Please.”

He pondered it for a minute, before nodding, opening his mouth, and saying something in the most beautiful language I’d ever heard.

“Equesa jii zaque, Cyrissa.”

I breathed out a sigh. The words flowed, like gushing water. There was no other word to describe it. Beautiful.

“What did that mean?” I asked him.

‘You are special, Cyris.’ He told me softly, if you can speak softly through a mind link.

I blushed in embarrassment.

“No I’m not.” I mumbled. I wasn’t used to people giving me compliments. I was just average. I wasn’t ugly, and I wasn’t beautiful. I was… in between.

I kept my hair down as a curtain of red and black, so no one could see my blush.

‘Yes you are.’ Ruber joined in.

I could feel my face heat up even more.

I mumbled incoherently under my breath, but Viridus and Callaina stepped toward me too.

‘You stood up to Gridlo Von Hue. Not many have done that.’ Viridus informed me.

‘And you survived a whole week with him. That is amazing! Plus, you resisted the temptation of the Stone. No one, dragon or human alike, has ever been able to do that.’ Callaina told me with a grin.

“Really?” I asked them self consciously.

‘Yes.’ They all chorused in my head.

I gave them all a smile. “Thanks guys.” I said.

And then we were all in a group hug again, my broken wrist tucked into me so it wouldn’t be squashed.

My wish had come true. My wish had been for a real family. And I had thought that was Bob. And he was my family – I would never forget him.

But right in the here and now, the four beings around me were my family.

I smiled.

I had a family.