The Power and the Glory

Book 4 Chapter XVII: The Dragon and the Phoenix

Lian went to the window. "Did you see any monsters heading this way?"

"No. But I thought that if there are any around, it would be better to call them here than let them wander around the city. We can kill them as soon as they walk in."

"Good idea," Lian said, to Irímé's horror.

"What do you mean, good idea? Shizuki's here!"

"But we can barricade him into this room so the monsters can't get anywhere near him."

"I don't wanna be left out!" Shizuki complained. "I can kill monsters too!"

"You most certainly will not," Irímé said grimly. It looked like Shizuki was still going to protest, so he added, "Just think of what your father would say." Shizuki fell silent, but he still looked mutinous. Irímé continued in a resigned voice, "I still think this is a terrible idea. But if anything will dissuade the monsters from attacking at all, it'll be a dragon. And I might as well turn into a dragon now."

Shizuki brightened up at once. "Take me flying?" he asked hopefully.

Irímé considered this, realised he had to learn how to fly at some point and really couldn't get out of it, and nodded wearily. "But only around the spaceport, and not very high."

~~~~

Turning into a dragon this time was easier than Irímé feared. In his snake form Shizuki wrapped himself tightly around Irímé's neck. To make absolutely sure he wouldn't fall off, Irímé shook his head gently. Shizuki stayed firmly in place.

Lian stared up at Irímé in bemusement. "Huh. I've never seen a blue dragon before. All the others have been black or red."

Until now it hadn't occurred to Irímé that there were any other dragons on Vanerth. No one had heard or seen of any since the last one flew away centuries ago, long before Irímé was born. If there were any other dragon immortals around, they kept it very quiet.

Abi voiced what he was thinking. "You've met other dragons?"

"Not on this planet," Lian said, to Irímé's mingled relief and disappointment. He felt nervous at the idea of meeting another dragon, but at the same time he would like to meet one. "On another planet in a different galaxy."

Shizuki hissed in Irímé's ear. "Come on! Let's go!"

Irímé opened his wings then paused. How was he supposed to fly, anyway? More to the point, how would he keep from falling?

Abi guessed what the problem was. "You don't know how to fly, do you?" Irímé shook his head. "I'll show you. Just follow me, and try not to think too much about it. If you think too much you'll fall."

How reassuring, Irímé thought sarcastically in Abi's general direction.

She turned into a phoenix again and took off as if she'd known how to fly for all her life. Irímé intently studied the way her wings moved as she circled overhead. Very warily he attempted to move his own wings in the same way. He was so intent on trying to copy her that it took him a minute to realise he was flying -- though slowly and less than a foot above the ground. Then he panicked and landed abruptly with a thud.

Shizuki gave a disappointed hiss. "Fly again! Higher this time! You can do it!"

To be honest Irímé would have preferred to do it without an audience trying to encourage him. He grimaced but tried again. This time he managed to fly higher and for longer. Abi literally flew circles around him and made weird chirping sing-song noises that she probably meant to be reassuring.