Page 46 of Drakhana's Treasure
My hand falls away from hers as I shift. My dragon comes roaring out and I barely manage to stop myself from breathing fire all over them. The chamber shudders as my full size almost fills it up completely. Small rocks fall from the roof as I find my feet, bringing my heavy weight down on to my front legs.
“I will tear this fucking mountain down!” My voice roars around the chamber, more a vibration than a sound. Trickles of sand start to pour around the corners of the room. The elders shuffle closer to each other, looking up to the roof in terror.
“I swear by the eternal flame.” My voice makes the stalactites tremble. “If you try to separate Kirra from me or harm either one of us, I will smash this mountain to the ground and not a single dragon in this clan or any other has the power to stop me.”
Thirty-One
Kirralee
My laughter cascades around the deep, echoing spaces. It mingles with Rastus’ roar, creating a cacophony of noise that makes the elders cower.
Maybe they are just cowering from Rastus. He is looming over them, his massive size making them seem like insignificant bugs. I reach out almost casually and stroke his massive talon, right by my side. When he turns his big dragon eyes to me, I can tell that he is smiling, even through his long snout and fangs.
When I take a few steps towards the elders I’m surprised and still amused. Not one of them has attempted to shift. Maybe they can’t and that is truly terrible to contemplate. Has the fire died in all of us?
What have we become?
I walk forward a few steps until I’m almost level with their platform. Rastus stands over me, growling softly with a trail of smoke coming from his nostrils.
“Hear me, elder council.” I try to imbue my voice with the confidence I have learned from Rastus. “The ice dragons appear strong in the face of our weakness. They are well practiced, determined and have a firm grasp of their powers. One ice dragon was able to infect me with its icy touch and almost put my fire out. I wonder, would any of you have had the courage to soak up the desert sun, or bathe in lava, to break such a spell?”
The elders start to come up from their crouching positions, a couple of them still holding their hands over their heads in fear of falling rocks.
“The ice clan knew that we had become obsessed with success in the human world. Maybe they also knew that this led to us losing touch with our dragon soul. They were extremely well organized and they struck us hard, without any mercy. If it had not been for me, they would have won. As our army mobilized, it was as humans, not as dragons.”
The silence is only broken by the occasional clatter of rocks. Rastus tries to stay still so he won’t wreck the cave, but one flick of the wing could bring down half of the roof.
“Where is our pride?” I implore them, drawing their eyes to me. “Where is our dragon pride? Why can’t you feel it?”
The tallest of the men stands up straight, pointing at me.
“How did the ice dragons gather so much information about us? You seem to know a lot about it, Kirralee.”
His accusation actually brings a smile to my face. I’m amused by his desperation but also saddened. It’s a human trait, to try and avoid accountability through accusation. A dragon’s pride always demands the truth and the hard punishment of apology and setting things to rights. It’s considered weak to lie or to try and avoid consequences.
“I’ve been here, my entire life.” I say softly. “How did I communicate with ice dragons, Melchior?”
I’m taking a big risk here. We aren’t supposed to address the elders by their names. Only ‘mother’ or ‘father’ and occasionally a respected title such as ‘lord’.
He tries to glare at me but Rastus moves and he scurries away quickly. He actually pushes the others away from him, causing Helana to stand up. She shoves him away furiously and I have to stifle my laughter again. The elder council are acting like a bunch of bickering children!
“You can’t tear down thousands of years of tradition just because you are powerful!” Helana snaps. “You came here to submit to our rule and now you threaten to tear us apart! Whose side are you on?”
I bow my head at this, because I have always found our traditions beautiful. One of the reasons I didn’t want to go to the city was because I didn’t want to drift away from our peaceful, contemplative ways.
“I tell you now with a pure heart, I don’t want to break our traditions. I considered leaving the nation with Rastus. I didn’t know if I wanted to submit to your decision. We considered leaving, either before you could rule on us, making us fugitives or awaiting your decision and leaving if it did not please us.”
They look at each other in shock, obviously not having considered this before. I take a step closer, wanting to make sure they hear my next words.
“I have decided to stay because I hold the future of the clan. I will not be bound by you or your personal feelings. The fact that you cannot light the fire in yourselves is proof enough that I am needed here to show the others the way. I will not be bound and I will not be separated from Rastus. I do not wish to oppose you, but that is, ultimately, your choice.”
Rastus growls over my head, a trickle of smoke pouring down to spiral around me. I reach up and touch his nose and his big dragon eyes blink at me.
“See how fast the fire dies.” I speak absently as I look up to my lover. “All it took was for Rastus to suppress it once and then it became habit. There was barely a spark in him when I came along.”
With a final caress of his nose I turn and walk right up to the dais. They stand up behind it, all of them wearing looks of confusion and frustration.
“Can any of you shift? Can you reach the fire? Don’t you see that things must change? We may have learned how to survive in the human world, but we have neglected our dragon. What are we, if we are not fire?”
