CHAPTER 17
As Drake follows Nick and Sparx through the large, redwood barn doors, he has to duck his head to clear the threshold. The giant tree stump is more than adequate in diameter; it was cut leaving clearance enough for its intended purpose. It was not designed to house dragons.
Drake makes a disgruntled growl as he notices the low ceiling skimming his already lowered cranium. His glowing red eyes darken in irritation and he compensates by lowering his head a little more.
"It's just til' tomorrow night, Drake," Nick explains to his cramped friend. "It's the biggest room they had."
You're not the one who's going to get a stiff neck.
"Beats being outside when the sun comes up. I think that might be a little more painful than a few sore muscles," Nick retorts.
Sparx is fluttering about the circular barn on the opposite side from the door.
Once Drake's massive body and tail are entirely on the inside, Nick moves to the large barn doors and peers about outside. He then proceeds to close and latch the protective barrier.
Drake finds a suitably sized pile of straw to the left of the doorway and against the circular redwood wall. He steps onto the relatively soft substance and kneads it with his front paws. Satisfied with the straw passing this test, Drake performs an odd walk in a tight spiral, trying to find the ideal position in which to lie. In doing this, his head catches up with his tail and the dragon settles down on his makeshift bed, resting his chin on the half-way point of his serpent-like tail.
Drake half hoods his eyelids and contentedly gazes upon Nick as the adolescent vampire turns from securing the door. He sees the determination in the boy and knows that he is lucky to have such a strong rider, despite the circumstances in which they were brought.
Happiness is a simpler concept for dragons. Having a rider - their life partner - gives them a constant sense of belonging. As long as they both shall live, a dragon will never know loneliness. Add to that a full belly and a warm place to sleep and a dragon will think it is in heaven.
Even being a vampiric dragon, Drake still tended to adhere to the draconic norms, the main difference being the thirst, which can be overwhelming when it hits.
Looking fondly upon his life-linked rider, Drake recalls his decision to have the boy transform him into a vampire also.
Drake had brought Nick to his home at Highland Den when he was very young. It had been highly unusual for a dragon to be hatched without its rider being born within Dragonkind. So, when Drake had developed enough to fly on his own, he had gone on his quest to find Nick.
All of Dragonkind had been ecstatic to see the young dragon return with the boy. Everyone welcomed Nick with open arms. The boy had been understandably distraught over being sent away by his mother. It took some time for him to take to these new surroundings.
The midwife of Highland Den, Hilga, had tried to fill the void for Nick. She was a large, plain looking woman, but she loved children. It did not take Hilga long to learn of Nick's special dietary needs.
Alarmed at first, Hilga nearly told the boy's secret. After all, vampires were the scourge of the world and dragonkind was sworn to destroy them. But one look in Nick's innocent eyes, and Hilga knew that she could not betray his newfound trust and dependence on her.
Drake had also been constantly by the boy's side, trying his best to fill the vacancy in Nick's heart. The young dragon kept a watchful eye on Hilga, not really understanding the full ramifications that would be incurred if Nick's true identity was to be discovered.
These had been relatively happy times for the pair. They were inseparable and often played all through the night while everyone else slept.
During the day they mostly slept – Highland Den providing constant shelter from the weak, northern sunlight.
The people of Highland Den had begun to murmur as to the unusual sleeping habits of Nick and Drake. Finally, somebody had mentioned it to Hilga.
"They've been through a lot. Besides, they are growing and they need their rest," Hilga had explained.
This had kept everyone's curiosity at bay for awhile.
This went on for years. Nick got to know the geography of Highland Den very well. Drake learned from the older dragons the purpose of their kind in the world and dragonkind's sworn protection of the humans against vampires. Slowly, Drake started to comprehend Nick's precarious situation.
Nick, no one here can know that you are a vampire. It would be very bad.
"I know, Drake," Nick had replied. An understanding resignation had shown in his brown eyes.
People had already been whispering whenever Nick passed by. The other children who used to love to play with him started to avoid Nick and would avert their eyes from his when he was around.
"It's summer and yet the boy still stays inside during the daytime," one dragon man had commented.
"I saw him riding his dragon at midnight in the full moon's light!" another had exclaimed.
There had been a growing grumbling amongst the people of Highland Den. It had become increasingly difficult for Hilga to come up with excuses for the boy that had been rapidly approaching puberty.
Then the day had come. The livestock keeper had long suspected that Nick was the culprit responsible for the dead carrion he had found occasionally in the paddocks. Dragons feasted on the does and stags but left little if any remainder of the beasts behind. These findings were different: entire deer corpses intact, with the exception of the bodies being completely void of blood.
The livestock keeper had been aware of Nick's nocturnal routine and had altered his own sleeping habits accordingly. One evening, in the dead of night, the animal keeper laid in waiting.
Nick's thirst had been quite overpowering that night. It had been all the boy could do to refrain from slaying the nearest human. He actually could envision himself serrating the dragon man's jugular vein. He had been that close to becoming a murderer.
But he had refrained. He snuck down into the dragon keep. All the other winged, magical creatures had been deep in slumber except of course, Drake, who had accompanied the boy. Nick had opened the gate to the paddock – the beasts waking and becoming uneasy. They could sense Nick's intentions – their instincts highly adapted to detecting predators.
Nick had closed the gate behind him, sealing the fate of the poor herbivores. Their ears had been piqued, all faces staring at Nick and Drake in terror. The uneasy herd shifted from one wall to the next. They had no place to go.
The livestock keeper had witnessed this unusual behavior from outside the paddock, peering around the corner of one of the stone walls of the dragon keep. He had watched in awestruck terror as Nick's canine teeth grew and sharpened – his fingernails mimicked the same process.
The boy had pounced upon the nearest doe, shredding the side of the creature's neck as he grappled his victim and sunk his impossibly long fangs into the already inflicted wounds. The deer yelped in agony as its knees buckled and it fell to the ground.
Accustomed to feeding on Nick's schedule, Drake also pounced upon one of the terrified beasts, dragging the fleeing stag down from its hindquarters, much like a lioness overcoming a gazelle.
The livestock keeper had silently gasped at the spectacle before him. Then his face had sharpened as his suspicions had been verified.
So! He had thought to himself. The boy is a vampire! I knew it.
He had scurried off to the stone steps, ascending them two at a time, eager to share his revelation with the others.
The council will surely kill the foul abomination of nature, he anticipated, and a sneer formed on his lips as the first beads of perspiration dotted his forehead.
And, sure enough, Nick had been brought before the council. Drake and Hilga had been at either side of the boy as the council members glared down upon his awkward form with severe scrutiny and judgment.
The decision had been made. If it had not have been for those who had sympathy for the boy, he most assuredly would have been executed.
Purged by Dragon fire! – was the verdict many had hoped for.
But in the end, it had been decided that Nick would be exiled – never to return to Highland Den again.
Drake had anticipated that this would have been the very minimum of punishment and had come to Nick in the middle of the night on the eve of the boy's judgment.
Nick, I want to be like you. I want to know what it is like for you first hand. If you are banished, they will tear us apart. I couldn't stand that! If you make me into a vampire then they will make me leave with you.
"You don't know what you are asking!" Nick had exclaimed. "My true nature is a curse! I don't want you to have to live in exile, too. It's too much to ask," the boy had pleaded.
Drake rubbed his muzzle against Nick reassuringly. His ruby eyes swirled with emotion.
We are to be together for life. I don't want to be the only dragon without a rider.
Finally at his wit's end and no longer having the strength or the will to argue anymore, Nick had dropped his head and wept, embracing the warm dragon's hide with his pale arms. After a while, Nick had begun to slowly nod his head in resignation.
"Okay, Drake. I'll do it," Nick had agreed quietly.
And so it came to pass. Nick had been allowed to take what few possessions he had. Hilga had bawled her eyes out and had smothered the young vampire in her massive bosom. The dragons of Highland Den had all gathered about the Upper Bowl Terrace to see Nick and Drake off. They bugled their farewells to the pair below them as the star-speckled night glittered behind their massive forms.
The dragons had tried to reason with the humans of Highland Den. They saw no need to punish Nick and Drake as the boy had peacefully existed among their kind for several years.
But people were more judgmental.
The council members and the Highland Den Guard had stood in the Bowl Terrace, glowering at Nick and Drake and frowning at the plethora of dragons perched on the bowl's upper rim.
Drake's riding gear had already been fitted and Nick had been sporting the thick, wool-lined riding jacket worn by the Dragonmen in their northern climate.
Nick had taken to Drake's saddle and waved a forlorn goodbye to Hilga, who had been restrained by two of the Guardsmen as she had fought through bitter tears to hold on to the boy.
Drake had emitted his own strange croon of a salutation and with that, had combined a powerful stroke of wings with a forceful leap of his well-muscled legs. The duo had rocketed past the rim of the Bowl with Drake's first burst of effort – all dragons perched around, following their progress with admiration of Drake's incredible display of super-draconic strength.
And then they were gone...
Drake regards Nick with partially hooded ruby eyes – gazing at the young man that the vampire boy had become. A toothy grin forms on the dragon's immense jaw, a rather ridiculous display on what most would find a normally ferocious face.
"What's got into you," Nick says accusingly as his attention turns from the latched barn door to the goofy look on Drake's face. "Are you all right? You look like you've been smoking magweed," Nick proclaims, screwing up his face in mock imitation of Drake's.
The dragon tilts his head to the side and makes an odd whining sound; much like a dog would regard its master when something strikes it as unusual. Then Drake sends his telepathic reply.
Huh?...Oh nothing. Just daydreaming, I guess.
Nick puts his hands on his hips and regards Drake with consternation. "Well, snap out of it, will you? We've gotta figure out how we're going to handle this...er, what did Sparx call him?" Nick asks looking inquisically at the pixie who has just buzzed over when she heard her name.
"Zz-twirp!" Sparx gibbers enthusiastically.
Crow Master he interprets.
"Right. Crow Master," Nick repeats while watching the little pixie engage in her erratic flight about his and Drake's heads. She never could seem to just settle in one spot. Nick wonders if all faeries are as energetic as she – it's like she is on a constant sugar rush.
"Phsst! Bzz! Screach!" Sparx says with enthusiasm. She is adding hand motions and dramatic facial expressions now.
She says that she saw him earlier during the day while we slept. Something about unloading earth covered coffins...
"Vampires!" Nick concludes. "This Crow Master must be transporting them during the day!"
"Tttttt – zzzzz – scritchity scratch," the excited pixie goes on. When Drake does not translate to Nick right away, Sparx fumes and glares at him, pointing furiously at Nick.
Oh...This Crow Master has some kind of pet crow with blood for eyes.
Drake looks confused and makes a dragon's attempt at shrugging his shoulders. It does not translate as smoothly as the human equivalent.
"Hmmmmm," Nick says, drawing his face in deep thought. He fidgets his index finger and thumb against the tip of his chin. "Weird," he finally says, shaking his head and splaying his arms and hands in an act of exasperation. "Never heard of that before," he admits.
Just then, multiple human screams split the silence of the night from outside. Nick flinches at the unexpected sound. Drake lifts his head in alarm, only missing the ceiling because his body is still lying on his straw bed. Sparx's frightened reaction to the sudden, terrible disturbance is to disappear in a cascade of sparkling pixie dust.