Dragon (A Histories of Purga Novel)

He dreamed again of the giant dragon. Its bright eyes filled his whole world and seemed to bear down on him. He cringed in fear, trying to back up, but there was nowhere for him to hide. Its mouth gaped open and he saw flame billowing far back in its throat. He tried again to run away but everywhere he turned, the dragon’s head was there and the fire was growing bigger and bigger.

Then he saw the fire coming for him, a giant stream of it as wide as a river.

“Wake up!”

Rone jerked awake with a sharp gasp. A rough hand was grasping his shoulder and shaking him roughly.

“Wake up!”

He opened his eyes and found Gar looking back at him. He looked worried about something.

“What is it? Did something happen to Keiara?” he asked, feeling a fluttery panic hit his stomach at the thought of her hurt or worse.

“No. She left for Vitari yesterday after she ran up here. Her and Asher both.”

That sense of abandonment hit him again and he felt angry with her, and betrayed. He forced his emotions away from his mind. Forced her away from his mind too.

“What’s going on then?” he asked. “Is it something with Yiawe?”

“No,” Gar responded, a faint smile tugging at his mouth. “She’s fine. She went back home.”

Rone was proud when he heard that and he felt good that he was able to do something to right some past wrongs.

“I don’t understand. What is it then?” Rone asked.

“I woke you because there is something coming over the desert. I can see them. They are just specks in the sky but they are moving too quickly to be birds. I was going to investigate and I thought you should come. If they are your people searching for you then I want to quickly show that we offered you no harm. That you are alive and well.”

“Sure,” Rone agreed. He didn’t want his people trying to attack the Terras because they thought they had abused or tortured him. He got up quickly and headed to the trapdoor. Gar followed behind. There was a quiet chitter and Rone looked up to see Fortun making his way to them. Gar stopped on the ladder for a minute and allowed the little monkey to hop onto his shoulders before he started down again.

They made it to the forest floor and quickly went into the desert. They stood there as the faint objects in the sky grew bigger and bigger. It quickly became obvious that they were indeed Rooks. Three of them to be exact.

“Can you see them?” Gar asked. He held his sword at the ready and his shield was strapped to his left arm.

Rone shook his head.

“No, they’re still too far away,” he replied. He concentrated for a moment and the vents on one of his mechpaks opened and nanos spread into the air. In a second, Bastion’s head floated there, his brown eyes gazing up at him.

“Your Highness. What can I do for you?” he asked.

“Three Rooks are heading our way. Can you identify them?”

Bastion swiveled and stared at the specks. They were getting rapidly bigger. As Rone looked, he thought that maybe one was only a child.

“Incoming targets have been identified as Tims, Zoie. Wife of Royal Infantry Captain, Quent Tims. Second target identified as Tims, Darvian. Son of Royal Infantry Captain, Quent Tims. Third target identified as Tims, Aeri. Daughter of Royal Infantry Captain, Quent Tims.”

A sudden bloom of excitement hit him and he looked at Gar.

“It’s okay. They’re friends.”

Without pausing to see if Gar would follow, Rone raced into the desert, making sure not to go too far. He stopped and started waving his hands. He watched Darvian and his family veer toward him and within ten minutes they touched down directly in front of him. A cloud of sand flew up into his face but he didn’t care. He shielded his eyes. When the cloud was gone, he put his hands down, ran up to Darvian and gave him a giant hug, even lifting his friend off the ground.

“R-rone?” Darvian asked, dumbfounded at first. Then his brows furrowed in anger and he pushed him.

Taken off guard, Rone stumbled back. The sand made his footing that much trickier and he nearly fell on his butt. Gar was there to catch him, however, and when Rone stabilized himself, the warrior pulled his sword and readied himself to attack Darvian.

Aeri screamed and their mother hugged her close.

Darvian looked at the Terraquois, fear showing in his eyes, but it was nothing compared to the anger he displayed toward Rone. That fire burned fiercely. He stood his ground and faced his oldest friend.

“You come out here making friends with the enemy while your people die?” he snarled. “We needed you and you abandoned us.”

“Darv, what are you talking about?” Rone asked, confused.

“Roanoke has fallen. Our people have been taken prisoner or killed. My f-father…” His voice dropped out suddenly and Rone watched his friend collapse to his knees, crying. Zoie and Aeri rushed to him, both of them putting their arms around his neck and hugging him fiercely. Then his tear-ridden eyes looked up at Rone, burning with accusation. “Where were you!? Where were you when we had to run? Where were you when we had to leave my father behind and h-hear…”

Rone put a calming hand on Gar’s shoulder and the old warrior lowered his sword and shield. Then he walked over to his friend and knelt in front of him. Darvian looked up.

“Where were you?” he whispered.

“Tell me what happened. What happened to Roanoke? What happened to your father?”

“The night of the gala, soldiers stormed the city. They call themselves the Blak Army. They planted so many bombs and people died. But not me. Imperial Guards found me and I escaped the city with them. We fled into the Duanti Forest and hid there. Blak Soldiers followed us in, but the Guards killed them all. Then the Royal Infantry came with thousands of people. They had been communicating with the Guards. My father was with them, and so were my mother and sister. But the rebels, they just kept coming. Finally, my father told me to take my mother and sister and come here. He wanted us to be safe. While we were leaving, something huge walked past. It was some kind of monster. It ignored us but it went to the camp where the refugees were hiding. When we heard the screaming…I…”

He couldn’t go on. It was too difficult.

“It’s okay.” Zoie tried to reassure him but Darvian wouldn’t listen. “You couldn’t have done anything. None of us could’ve.”

Darvian glanced up with hatred in his eyes again.

“Where were you?” he asked, acting as if Rone being there could’ve stopped what happened.

Rone quickly told him everything. The flight. The electrocution. The EMP pulse. The Terras and their hospitality. What happened with his leg. Everything.

Darvian’s eyes widened and then filled with shame.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Zoie asked. She laid a gentle, motherly hand on Rone.

“As good as I can be,” he told her, grateful that she was there. Zoie Tims had been like a mother to him ever since his own had died when he was little. “The leg healed fine and the prosthetic feels more or less like a real leg. I just get phantom twitches here and there.”

“Can I see it?” Aeri piped in, glancing at his left leg with childlike curiosity. For the moment, her fear of Gar had dwindled.

Rone smiled at her and gently pulled up his pant leg. The sun shone off the bright silver.

“They tried to kill you?” Darvian asked, shocked.

“They did. They would’ve succeeded too, if it hadn’t been for Keiara.” There was a wistful note to his voice. “But that doesn’t matter anymore. The fact is, Roanoke has been attacked and I have to do something about it.”

“They’ll kill you the minute they see you,” Darvian said, matter of fact. “They already tried once.”

“I don’t care. I have to do something.”

He turned to Gar, his heart torn and filled with hundreds of different emotions. He didn’t want to leave without seeing Keiara again. But he didn’t have a choice. He was the Prince and it was his duty. He activated a blueprint. His mechpaks opened and nanos flew into the air, coalescing into his flightpack.

“I’m going with you,” Darvian suddenly said, a flightpack materializing on his own back. “I want revenge. They….my f-father.” He stopped talking, his eyes narrowing to slits and his hands clenching into fists. Darvian turned to Rone. “I don’t want mother and Aeri coming, but they can’t stay here. I don’t trust them.” He looked straight at Gar, but the old warrior didn’t let the words sting him.

“I will watch over them,” Gar said suddenly. “I owe Rone a debt. Protecting your family will help even us. I will make sure no harm comes to them. That I promise.”

Darvian hesitated but Rone put a hand on his shoulder.

“They’ll be fine. Trust me. Not everything we heard about them is real. In fact, most are flat out lies. I’ve spent a lot of time here. He won’t let anything happen to them.”

Darvian clearly didn’t want to believe it, but he was left with little choice. He got right in Gar’s face, never backing down. It was an uncharacteristic move on his part. He wasn’t much of the fighting type. He was more of the try to work things out without resorting to violence type.

“If you hurt them, I’ll kill you,” he said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

Rone was shocked to see his friend like that. Darvian wasn’t usually so…menacing. He wanted to intervene, and was about to, but Gar motioned him away. The old Terra warrior got right back in Darvian’s face.

“On my honor, no harm shall come to them,” he replied. Then he drew his sword.

Darvian saw it and stepped back, but the warrior’s other hand snapped out and grabbed Darvian’s shoulder, holding him in place.

Fortun, previously ignored, chittered loudly. Zoie drew in a frightened gasp. Aeri tried to run to her brother but her mother held her firm.

Then Gar grabbed one of Darvian’s hands, opened it so the palm was face up, and quickly drew a shallow cut with his sword across it.

Darvian never moved. He just stared at his bloodied palm, slightly dazed.

Gar drew the sword across his own palm and then clasped his hand with Darvian’s. Blood oozed between their intertwined fingers.

“What is this?” Darvian asked.

“A blood-oath,” Gar responded. He would never have uttered one with a Rook. Ever. But Rone clearly thought of the boy as a brother and cared deeply for his family as well. Because of Rone, his daughter was whole again. He had harbored so much hate for them, for what they had done to Yiawe, but then Rone had come and healed her. That was a huge debt, and this, at least, would help balance the scales. He knew others would be angry with him, but he didn’t care. He had his daughter back! “It is the highest pledge we make. Nothing will stop us from fulfilling one. Nothing.

Darvian considered that, but finally backed down. He nodded.

“Thank you,” he said. Then he turned to his mother and Aeri.

“Stay here. Stay hidden. You should be safe.”

“Don’t go,” his mother said. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I have to,” he responded. “Be safe.” He kissed her on the cheek and she cried softly. Then Darvian went to Aeri, kissed the top of her head and gave her a big hug. She squirmed but didn’t try to get away. “Look after mother, kid. I love you both.”

Gar came up to Aeri, shimmered, and then turned into a golden furred monkey. She immediately started laughing and clapping her hands. Fortun joined Gar and Aeri was practically rolling on the sandy ground as she played with the two monkeys, getting the stuff in her hair, clothes and shoes. Zoie watched and she actually seemed to look less afraid if the Terra. Darvian smiled at the scene. The monkeys turned, nearly as one being, and gestured for the two girls to follow them. They were leading them back to the forest. Back to safety. Rone saw Darvian’s smile fade as he watched them leave.

Rone came and stood next to him.

“Gar!” he yelled. The golden monkey turned, peering at him curiously. “Tell Keiara…,” he paused for a minute. “Tell her I’ll never forget her.”

With that, the two of them rocketed into the sky, heading for Roanoke.