Misti and the Dragon Egg

Misti had to cover her eyes so as not to be blinded by this bright explosion. When the light was gone, she could finally peek through the furry fingers. Everything around her had been expelled away by the golden light. At her feet, the Siy still glowed. A sithrax guard behind her rose to his feet again. She heard him stampede the ground, charging at her. Misti turned around. With a wave of the hand, launched a column of light that expelled the guard again. The sound the light made was like thunder. She’d never felt such power before. It wasn’t magic. It was more.

“Get away from this place,” the voice in her head sang.

Misti was entirely sure it came from the egg. This was a confirmation. She turned to it and picked it up.

“You told me to come here,” Misti said to the egg she hugged. Now, she could finally make conversation.

“You have everything you need from this place. You must go.”

“But you said you’d hatch here!”

“Not here,” the Siy replied. “But where I come from.”

Of course! How could she have missed this? It was clear now! The egg didn’t come from Ailura. It came from where the gods came from.

Find the birdmen. Juniu’s words rang again.

Misti nodded to herself determinedly. She picked up her backpack from the ground, what was left of it at least. She could still carry it by the handle. She secured the dragon egg inside and turned around. It was time to get out of this place.

Up ahead was the market square. All people there were staring at the girl-cat. In the adjacent streets too. Lizards that had risen to their feet were also staring. It was as if they didn’t dare to move.

Behind the astonished crowd were pointy-eared beings, frail sindurs who didn’t dare to come close to where everyone else was. But they could see her, just as well as she knew they were there. They’d just seen a sindur child vanquish a platoon of sithrax with the power of the gods. Such sight should spark hope in anyone’s heart, even the most vulnerable.

Virgil, who was down on his knees at the nearest junction, looked up to Misti. She saw him in the corner of her eye. His leg was wounded. Should she give him the luxury of a glance? She would, because she wasn’t the person to withhold hate, no matter what this place had done to her. That anger she’d felt had faded, she’d been able to conquer it. If there was one absolute her schooling had taught her, it was the one of forgiveness. Every living being deserved it, whether she believed it or whether they did. Misti’s eyes met his, and she mouthed a silent goodbye.

Rushing past the square, Misti ventured down the street that led to the harbor. More lizardmen came her way but retreated in fear when she used the light to quell them. At the end of the road, Misti and the dragon egg were glowing as one.

Coming back home was like being wrapped in a warm blanket of long-awaited relief. Out of all the things Misti could have missed, the coolness of the low Gurdal air was what she’d missed the most. She’d only been gone a little over a week, but her short time in treacherous Ailura had felt like a lifetime.

As expected, Mother Superior Mi Lah grounded Misti, took the dragon egg, returned it to the vault, and gave the girl-cat a list of a hundred different chores. Misti did not complain. She only told Mother Superior she’d taken the egg on an adventure. She never mentioned Ailura. Was it lying? Was not telling the entire truth the same as telling a lie? Or was it simply...delaying? She’d eventually tell Mi Lah everything. She’d tell her about what she’d uncovered at the Holy Beacon, about the birdmen. But now was not the right time. She’d wait for the next moon and for the air to clear.

One day, still confined to her room, Misti spent the morning staring out the window. Her head rested on her paws, and she looked at the rising sun over the plains. It was almost spring. She was dozing off, still tired from her journey of a month ago, when a warbler landed on the windowsill. It was not the usual kind of warbler, green or yellow. It was pink and purple, with a white brow and an orange cap. How strange of a bird this was. Something was attached to its leg, a small piece of paper on a rope. The bird puffed its chest like it was proud to have brought this unusual gift to the girl-cat. In this particular pose, the bird looked like a rainbow ball.

Misti accepted the gift and untied the tiny rope. She unfolded the paper, and when she saw what was drawn on it, a strong feeling of joy bloomed in her chest. She rose to her feet and jumped up and down. On the paper, drawn in soft brown ink, was the outline of a coconut next to a buzzing bee.