Within the Shadows (Complete, Savage Series #1)

Epilogue

Wake up. You have to wake up.

My conscience calls to me, she beckons me forward from my slumber. I yawn, but allow myself to awaken. Why am I awake? Who disturbs me at this time of night? I stretch out my long, thick legs and shake away the last remnants of sleep. My stomach begins to tell me of her hunger, so I turn to my fresh kill, sad to find none left for me to snack on. I stretch out my wings, difficult in the confinement of this cave, and take flight, looking down at the trees thousands of feet below. I watch a mother falcon feed her chicks and a brown bear teach her children how to catch salmon in a stream.

What on earth is that? I focus down onto a moose, attempting to kill his brethren who’ve already chosen to surrender. I dive down and with a ferocious roar take the beast in my claws, severing a main artery and allowing his death to be quick. May you go peacefully, my friend, and thank you for giving your life to prolong mine. I perch myself on some rocks, allowing my wings to relax in the darkening moon. I sniff at the moose, once angered in his life, and begin to feast upon his body.

“What are you doing up so late?” A Brazilian Claytongue asks, sitting near me atop the cliff.

“Something woke me from my sleep.”

“What was it?”

“I’m unsure, but I am certain that I will know soon.”

“I see you’ve become hungry.”

“A girl has to eat, you know.” He chortles at my response and wishes me a good night before returning to a lower cave, and his family. I take my time with my meal, savoring the thick flesh and warm blood flowing from his body. After I’ve finished and picked the bones clean, I bring them down to my home and add them with the others, using the striped hide to stop drafts from coming in through holes near the back of the cave.

I attempt sleep once more, but something out of my control leaves me restless. For dragons’ sake, let me get some rest. As if my prayers have been answered, sleep crashes into me and I finally give in to my unconscious desire.

__________

A few days later, that same nagging feeling I once felt on a cold night seems to fill me again.

“I seem to be having estranged thoughts.”

I tell my elders, yet they laugh at me.

“Nonsense! You may be older than time, Lachrimae, but your mind works in the same way as our own. Whatever wakes you at night is your own fault, and nobody else can control that.”

“Elders, we all know the lasting effects of magic, do we not? Could this not be a trick of the Immicus?”

“I doubt it, for one as wise as you would never fray with such a weakness.”Agreeing with the elders, possibly more wise than myself, I let these thoughts subside and focus on the more important things at hand - like hunting with my fellow dragons.

I gather up some Savages as well as some Claytongues and Bloodspines and take them on a hunting patrol. “I need a few of the Bloodspines to ask the water dragons to collect fish for us.” A few of them leave and the others begin to slaughter bears and moose, while leaving us to large birds and ox off in the distance. Once we’ve gathered enough food for one meal, I let out a mighty roar that alerts the dragons of the feast.

Within moments, thousands of dragons emerge from nearby caves and trees, all of them taking part in the merriment of the feast laid out before of. Thank you for allowing us to live another day on this beautiful planet, for allowing our children to flourish, and allowing these animals’ lives to be a sacrifice for the greater good. I thank the earth once again for the gifts she has given and begin to feast as well, watching over my sons and daughters to make sure all of them get along. I glance over at the water dragons in the nearby river, then up to the trees where many ground dragons have perched themselves to get a clearer view of the territory.

Chatter of border patrols and hunting trips as well as newborn dragons fill the air and I make a small sound of approval, noticing the kind of peace and tranquility we have.

At least, for today, that is.

For years, we’ve been awaiting the call of a Caregiver. The Immicus have been trying to destroy us for years - not that their feeble attempts will ever amount to anything. We have been waiting for our savior, told to me long ago in a secret meeting with the forces of the universe; there will be one who changes the way all dragons live. He or she will warn us of the war, and we will forever be under his or her command. He or she will lead us to victory, if given the ability, which we’ll of course grant him or her without question. The universe has never lead me wrong before, and it won’t lead me wrong now.

There are times when I question the Caregivers’ actions, but I never oppose them; they are our allies, from now on.

Night soon befalls us and many dragons are sent home, while others watch for enemies or give the border a longing glance before heading home. I, myself, go home but keep an eye over our territory, our home.

I try for sleep but that odd feeling begins to nag at me once more, soon getting on my last nerve. I prepare to show it my inner rage when suddenly, dragons stir below me. Their thoughts become jumbled and they roam, looking up at the clear sky at the new moon above us, some speaking of ancestors and others of the Immicus.

“Calm yourselves, my children. What is it that disturbs you?” I ask, flying down.

“Do you hear it, Lachrimae?”

“Hear what, my daughter?”

“The voice speaking to us. She’s calling out to us.”Has the Caregiver finally spoken? I attempt to listen but the murmurs of fellow dragons drown out her voice.

“Silence.” I ask, and all is still.

“Come to the Caregivers. We need you now. I know you don’t trust us, but you must prepare. The time has come to fully reunite with the Caregivers. The Immicus have warned us. They have warned me. The war… The war is here.”

The message plays over and over in the skies above us, and I know deep in my heart that this is what I’ve been waiting for. I speak when the voice has gone silent and the whispers begin.

“My children, the time has come. We must find the Caregivers and we must train ourselves for the war; we must also teach them our ways.”

“Who was that speaking?”A dragon asks from the crowd, and I chortle. I think about the wording of my sentence before answering the young dragon.

“She is our savior, the chosen one, and she alone will end this war.”