Genesis (Cain and Abel #1)

Chapter One

They were small, frail creatures, the humans, Eve always thought. But dragons, for all their magical powers, couldn't compare to humans' will to survive.

Cain and Abel wore the skins of their kills, careful tanned under Eve's watchful eye-though she knew very little about the process, truth be told. She had learned from them as much as they had learned from her since she had taken guardianship of them.

"Fresh tracks, Eve!" Cain excitedly said as he outran Abel towards Eve. Even for ten summers, he was small-spindly, even. Both the boys were too thin; animals to hunt were getting more and more scarce as the ice crept closer. Nor was there much to gather any more, as the cold forced the plants into dormancy. She had, on occasion, used her power to force one of the hardier plants to bear fruit so the children would not starve, but she hated to do it. The plants needed everything they had to survive this long winter.

"It must be another tribe, making its way to the other side of the world," Abel thoughtfully added.

Cain was Abel's younger brother, but they had been born so close together that most people mistook them for twins. While Cain was always bursting with energy, Abel was reserved and thoughtful. From her observations, Eve thought he was quite mature for his age. It made sense, she supposed. Unlike the dragons in Eden, who spent nearly their entire first century as children, the harsh world of the humans forced them to grow up quickly. In a few years, Abel would have been considered an adult by his tribe, and a few years beyond that, he would have been expected to take a wife and begin rearing young of his own.

"Well done, Cain, Abel," Eve replied, drawing the boys closer, embracing them like an affectionate mother. Eve was drawn to their warmth, surprised that such small, frail bodies could feel so warm.

Then Eve noticed a scratch on Abel's arm, the scent of blood teasing her, bringing her into alert mode. "What happened to your arm, Abel?" Eve asked, her voice laced with worry.
Abel looked stricken; he had been hoping Eve wouldn't notice. He looked flustered, fumbled for an answer, but before he could find a satisfactory explanation, Cain stepped forward and told the truth.

"It was my fault, Eve," Cain said remorsefully, his eyes fixed to the ground, scared out of his wits to say something Eve might hate him for forever. "We saw a dragon while we were following the tracks, and I chased it. The dragon was aiming for me, I think, but Abel pushed me away. We both fell, and Abel fell on a sharp rock."

Eve was mortified, but her smooth, placid face registered none of the turmoil inside. "Cain, why did you chase the dragon?" she asked, almost certain the children were talking about Amos.

"The dragons killed our parents," Cain replied reluctantly, knowing Eve would not settle for less than the real reason.

"Cain, you know that's not true," Abel said. "Our parents left because they protected the dragons. We don't know they're dead at all. The tribe thought the dragons, with their magic and intelligence, would be a threat to our kind and hunted them down. Our parents-"

Eve, a dragon most anchored in reality, thought for the first time of destiny. Standing before her were Jaco and Iris's children. She knew the boys' parentage with absolute certainty because during the rise of humans against dragons, only two people had stood between an outbreak of war: Jaco and Iris. And I shall repay you by protecting your children as you protected me and my kind, Eve vowed solemnly as she regarded the children.

"Well then," Eve said as she walked to the foot of a tree, gathering medicinal leaves, "let's get that cleaned up so we can follow the trail."

Eve cleaned Abel's wound with the sap from the leaves of a nearby tree and water from a brook. She had to trickle a thread of power into the leaves, awakening their potent medicinal properties. Luckily, they were far enough away from Amos that the edge of the ice wasn't upon them yet. Just the bitter cold winds that blew off it. Once the paste was packed onto the scratch, she let Cain lead them to where he had found the tracks. They'd been following the trail for nearly an hour when Eve thought of something.

"Abel, how did you get away from the dragon?" Eve asked curiously.

Cain suddenly blushed.

"The dragon was circling back, but Cain hit the dragon's right eye with his sling," Abel replied, smiling proudly at the thought while Cain continued to blush scarlet. The younger boy mumbled something unintelligible, but he touched the long piece of leather tucked through the thong around his waist. A pouch of stones hung next to it, and she knew he had good aim. More than once, it had been only Cain's quick reactions and excellent aim that had kept the boys from going hungry. A squirrel wasn't much of a meal, but it was something.

Serves you right, Amos, Eve thought mischievously, for underestimating these children. She laughed. "That was very brave of you, Cain," she said affectionately, ruffling Cain's shock of brown hair.

"It was nothing!" Cain insisted.

"You saved me, Cain," Abel said as he smiled at his younger brother. "It was my duty to protect you, and I would do so even if it means losing my life. But you're not under such obligation, and yet you didn't run. That was brave."

"Yeah, whatever," Cain replied noncommittally. Then he shoved Abel's shoulder and stuck out his tongue at him. "And of course I have to protect you too! You're still my brother, even if you are older."

They took shelter after crossing a river, and the night crept by in silence. Eve sat sentry, watching the boys with fresh eyes. Whatever happens, Eve swore, your children, my children, will survive. A pang of sorrow that nearly doubled her over with grief she had tried so hard to bury. Eve had never borne a child with her own body. She, a dragon of life, could not bring life into this world.

Slowly, Eve drifted off to sleep, the heat from Cain and Abel's warm bodies throwing off her senses so that she did not notice when the fog thickened, the stars were obscured from the sky, and, faster than ever, Amos's curse devoured the land they'd just covered, stopping short of their feet.

When Eve woke up, stretched over her head, glittering with cold beauty. She stretched out a hand and gently swiped her fingers across the ice, only to jerk them back quickly from the biting cold.

"What's that?" Abel asked, roused from sleep when Eve moved her arms from around the boys. He stared at the towering ice, but Cain simply rolled over beneath the pile of leaves that had formed their blanket.

"It's dragon magic," Eve replied, suddenly feeling trapped. She pushed herself. Even in their skins, the two boys shivered.

Abel stood and joined her. "Why do the dragons hate us, Eve?" Abel asked sadly, kneeling to lay a frozen flower to rest. His fingers scraped up a little of the loose dirt to cover it.

"The dragons are dead, Abel," Eve replied, the lie reverberating in her ears. "All of them except Amos."