Page 13 of Drakhana's Secret
I can no longer feel my legs. The ground no longer seems solid beneath my feet. “The ice dragons attacked you too?”
“Why would they do this to us?” She grabs my arms, searching for answers on my face.
Nine
Sapphire
There are three things that I’m thankful for. One, that I got back to the remains of our village just in time to gather everyone and hide them. The ice dragons attacked without knowing that we were even there.
Two, that last of our warriors arrived in time to give us a chance to escape. They merely served as distractions, pointing the ice dragons in one direction so that we may leave via the other. We may never return to our village and mountain ever again.
The third thing I’m thankful for is the bravery of the young ones. They held it together until we were far enough before crying in earnest. Being attacked by two powerful clans in the span of one day is certainly a shock for them.
We all went from peaceful lives to fleeing our home without any hope of ever returning. We took as much as we could carry. Mostly it’s the food the whelps and fledglings gathered and whatever is left of our tonics and salves for the wounded.
Arthur promised me that he would try to catch up with the rest of the warriors as soon as they are sure the ice dragons will not follow. I pray for their safety. If they all parish, there will be no one to protect us.
As for a home, we figured we would be safe in the city while fire and ice fight over our territory. There are many earth dragons in San Francisco that can take us in while we figure out our next move. It boils down to: do we fight back and regain our ancestral home or do we resettle elsewhere?
One of the boons of being an earth dragon is that we can live anywhere as long as there is soil beneath our feet. That is our connection to Mother Earth. But, of course, it hurts to leave a homeland that’s been with us for generations. We don’t even know why it was taken away from us in such a brutal manner.
Even the elders can’t hide their shock and worry. They expected to live their lives quietly in their tunnels. Tilling the soil and contributing their talents and wisdom to their community.
Instead, we’re all thrown out of our land. The only consolation that I can give my people is that we are alive. If we stayed, we would have all surely perished. At least the legacy of the earth dragons lives on.
We can always rebuild. We may be peace-loving but that doesn’t mean that we’re weak. In time, the earth dragons will rise again and the young ones will place this ugliness behind them. The attacks will one day become bitter memories that they can learn from.
Since we’re travelling with a fairly large group made up of young, old, and injured, we have to stop often. Everyone needs a rest. And when we do stop, I focus my efforts on tending to the injured. There seems to be more now than after the fire dragon attack.
When the sun finally began to set, we stopped for the night. Arthur and some of the other warriors managed to escape and join us. We assessed that we have travelled far enough away that we can light fires to ward off the cold of the night and to cook our food. We also need to boil water to aid in sterilizing the wounds of the injured.
“The ice dragons flew away after they realized that there’s nothing left of Purple Mountain and the surrounding villages,” Arthur says. “I think we’re safe to rest here for the night.”
“Despite the circumstances, that’s good to know,” I say, feeling my exhaustion catching up with me. But I have hours yet before I can rest.
I tend to Arthur’s wounds as he gives me a rundown of what happened with the ice dragons and how they managed to escape. I apply pepper salve to the ice burns on his arms and aloe vera ointment to the fire burns on his shoulders. Thankfully, he didn’t have any open wounds that need stitching. I give him a dose of a nerve calming tonic before I move on to tend to the other wounded.
The forest is a bloody mess. Baba and I have our hands full. Some of the fledglings who I’ve given training to are helping too, but it doesn’t seem enough. The elders are focusing on cooking and keeping the whelps distracted.
Along the way, we met up with earth dragons that came from the city. From what Baba tells me they were on their way home to our village, not knowing that it has been attacked. They have been injured too.
Bringing my healing tools with me, I approach a dragon in what once looked like an expensive suit. He’s tall and has the most brilliant red hair. He’s sitting by the fire, looking the worse for wear.
I sit beside him on the log, but he doesn’t notice me. He’s too busy staring at the fire. We’ve all had a shock, so I completely understand where he’s coming from.
There’s a scratch on his neck that needs tending to. Without him removing his jacket, I can’t tell if he has wounds underneath the tears. The fabric is obscuring everything.
I bring a damp cloth to his neck and begin dabbing at the wound. It needs to be cleaned before I can apply any salve on it. Still, he pays no attention to me. That’s fine. All the more I can concentrate on helping him.
Only when I’m sure that the wound is clean do I bring the cloth with disinfectant on it. The sting is what brings him back to life because he pushes me away with a grunt. His surprise brings with it enough force that I barely stay on the log.
He reaches for me and captures my wrist. It’s my saving grace or I would have embarrassed myself if I fell to the ground. It’s not a tall log so it wouldn’t have hurt, but to be honest, landing on my ass is the last thing I want to happen after the day we’ve had.
We lock eyes. There’s a long pause. He searches my face.
Then he finally says, “Sapphire?”
I search his face as well. His brown eyes look familiar. The only reason I didn’t recognize him earlier is because he looked different. More mature.
