Lightly hitting the fruit along the hairline fracture, she carefully worked her way around the fruit. Once the crack was larger and more defined, Maija pulled the shell apart and ripped it in two. The sap spilled as she fumbled to hold each half upright. Using the oblong shell as a cup, she slurped down the sap, draining it in several minutes. The tan husk’s innards flaked off at the lightest touch and Maija scratched away at it until there was enough to take a mouthful. The husk wasn’t as sweet as the sap inside, but eating something more solid was welcomed. She repeated the process with the other half of the fruit and again on several lower-hanging shells. Once she’d had her fill of butterscotch sap, Maija felt energized and eager to set out in search of the dragon. It was late in the day, but her need to continue this search overrode making camp in daylight.
Maija could still feel the pull of the dragon, though the sensation had faded after she’d ignored it for so long. Closing her eyes and focusing all of her mental energy on the dragon’s call, she was able to locate it again. She started out, running through the grass, the thrilling sensation of elven speed and agility arising again. She welcomed it as it urged her faster. Losing sight of any specific destination, she began to allow the draw from the dragon to take over. The grazing animals scattered as she ran by. Within a mile, an enormous shadow distracted her, pulling her out of her trance. She looked toward the figure. The thrill turned to fear when she realized she was running past an enormous dragon feasting on several smoldering hump-backed cattle carcasses. She had to dodge the burning grass. If she hadn’t noticed the dragon’s shadow, she would’ve run directly into the burning grass. For a moment she wondered if the fire would burn across the entire grassland, but the lush greenery quickly snuffed out the flickering flames.
Maija didn’t slow her pace as she ran past the feasting dragon, its dark purple scales reminiscent of a raven’s feathers shimmering in the afternoon sun. She kept her eyes on the beast and felt it watching her as she sped by at an inhuman pace. Once she’d made it beyond the dragon, she glanced back, hoping she wouldn’t see the winged predator choosing to pursue her. To her relief, the raven- scaled dragon remained in place, devouring its meal.
Once more returning to her focus on the call, Maija allowed the thrilling sensation that drove her toward the scarlet dragon to envelope her mind, this time resisting its trance just enough to allow her to be aware of her surroundings and recognize whether a dragon was hunting her. She didn’t want to be blind to Nagano’s predators but needed to maintain the animalistic connection if she wanted to follow it. She held back on sprinting headlong and settled into a more desirable pace for long-distance running. As night approached, Maija noticed the absence of dragons from the sky as they returned to their lairs to rest. Though she was worn out from the day’s events, Maija determined it would be safer for her to run across the open expanse at night. Continuing her pursuit through the darkness, she searched for the scarlet dragon by the light of the stars and moon.
In the coming days, Maija spent her evenings and most of the night searching for the red dragon. With the variety of fruit-bearing trees in Nagano, her food source was plentiful. Clean, flowing water also was easy to come by. Aside from other dragons hunting during the day, Maija perceived Nagano to be a utopia and found it hard to imagine that the Dragon Wars had occurred here. Hiding among the trees, she spent the daylight hours napping and resting before the next evening’s search. She found the dragon’s position had changed each night, bringing her to the conclusion that this dragon didn’t have a nest it frequented like the dragons in her homeland, the Everlight Kingdom. These wild dragons of Nagano lived as predators do, nomadic and always hunting for their next meal.
After following the dragon’s lure for several nights, Maija became aware of its absence. As hard as she tried, the dragon’s draw that had pulled her before had disappeared. She began to panic, wondering if she’d come all this way and spent all this time only to have the dragon disappear from her forever. Days passed with no sign or pull from the dragon; Maija struggled to maintain her faith in its call. She longed to return to the elves and Anders, knowing they would understand if she came home empty-handed.
One afternoon she was napping in a butterscotch sap tree when the dragon’s sensation woke her. Her heart sprang to life and pounded rapidly, sending the familiar tingling sensation through her limbs. The scarlet dragon had returned. Not wanting to risk losing the dragon’s pull again she dropped to the ground and started running in plain sight of numerous hunting dragons. To her surprise, the predators flying overhead paid her little attention. She wasn’t going to let the red dragon elude her any longer; she would run all day and all night if she had to. It had been ten long days since she’d left the comfort of family and friends and she’d searched relentlessly, hoping to find the dragon. She had nearly given up.
There was something different about the dragon’s call with this renewed search, though. It grew much stronger as she followed it. She could sense the connection deepening in her consciousness. The sensation led her to the shore of a large lake that extended along the base of the Ridgeback Mountains. The thrill she felt became overwhelming, like a bright light blinding her. Coming to a halt, she frantically combed the lakeshore. The draw from the dragon had never been so strong before; it pounded through her body with force. She knew the dragon was here, he had to be.
A shadow swept over her and Maija craned her neck to search the sky. A giant red dragon glided low overhead, circling and then landing gently in the shallows of the lake just a few hundred yards away. Maija’s heart skipped a beat when she saw him. The dragon she’d been searching for was standing right in front of her. She watched intently as it lapped up water with its large forked tongue.
Maija stepped hesitantly toward the enormous creature as she’d done before on Mount Orena. She walked gently, careful not to spook the wild beast. She wanted so badly to call out to him, but she didn’t know his name or if that would startle him and scare him away. Closing in on the dragon she came within fifty yards of the winged creature. The dragon stopped drinking and swept his head around in a wide arc to stare her. Maija stopped dead in her tracks, wide-eyed and wondering what the dragon might do.
The scarlet dragon shifted its weight, letting its hind legs bear the brunt of its bulk while he ruffled his wings. Maija almost shouted for him to stay, but managed to hold her tongue as he folded them tightly against his body once more. He walked toward her, splashing through the shallow water as the he neared. She remained perfectly still, scared, but thrilled to have him choosing to come closer at last. He stopped directly in front of her. The dragon lowered his vast head to observe her at eye level. Flaring his nostrils slightly as he exhaled, the scarlet dragon snorted, washing Maija in a blast of sulfuric heat before he started sniffing at her. Maija shook uncontrollably; she had no idea if the dragon was deciding whether he wanted to befriend her or devour her.
The scarlet dragon pulled his head back, lifted it high, and then turned his side toward her. Standing broadside in the shallows, he lowered his shoulder and beckoned her to climb on. Maija’s eyes bulged as she realized what he wanted her to do. Shaking with fear and excitement, she approached him. First, she touched him by resting her trembling hand on his shoulder. Instantly, she felt a warm electric energy shoot through her body, tingling her senses. Next, she gripped one of the many spiked protrusions sprouting along his back and hoisted herself up. She had to climb several steps, while grasping the spikes to get on top of the enormous creature.
Searching for a place to sit, Maija wondered, How does Anders sit on Zahara? She cringed at the sharp bone spurs poking up from of the dragon’s back. She tried to recall whether Zahara, Anders’ dragon, had any spikes along her back. She didn’t think she did. Maija stood on the scarlet dragon’s shoulders gripping its neck as it rose to all fours again. When the dragon shifted, Maija was nearly thrown off his back, but luckily, she held tight around his bony protrusions.
I need to sit down, but there isn’t anywhere without spikes, she thought.
Suddenly the spikes along the dragon’s back where it met his neck retracted and flattened as if responding to her thoughts. She sat down with her legs straddling the large dragon. She found his scales were hard, but warm and surprisingly comfortable. Suddenly, the dragon crouched. Caught off balance, Maija grabbed a bone spur protruding from the dragon’s neck with each hand. The red dragon readied its wings and leapt into the air, flapping hard to lift its large body off the ground. Soon they were climbing into the sky, the dragon spiraling, letting its wings catch the thermal rise along the mountain front. Maija shouted with joy. With the wind in her amber hair and the sky all around her, she felt truly alive.
From her perch, Maija surveyed the land. She could see the enormous cliff wall stretching across the Eastland Mountain front. She saw dragons flying at varying heights around them and the herds of hump-backed cattle roaming the grassy expanse below. She could see everything from up here and she realized that together they could go anywhere.
In the distance Maija saw a bright flash, an orb of white light appearing and vanishing in an instant. She squinted, focusing on where it occurred. A dark mass lay on the ground in place of the flashing orb. The dragon had seen it, too. They rocketed toward the disturbance. As they flew closer, Maija’s heart skipped a beat and she felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Where the orb of light had flashed lay an iridescent dragon and on its back a hunched and ragged rider.
Anders!
Chapter 47
Kirsten
“What do we do now?” Thomas asked, his frightened tone telling Max what he couldn’t see through the darkness.
Max could feel everyone’s eyes fall on him. Racking his brain, he attempted to conjure up a solution to their predicament. Damn it, why isn’t he here the one time we really need him, Max thought. Aloud, he attempted to calm their collective fears, “Um, I think, I mean I know Solomon has books about magic and magical creatures. Maybe we should start there?”
“Let’s get some light in here,” Britt said and Max could hear her rummaging for a candle.
Finding a candelabra tipped over on the table, Max grabbed it and walked to the chair where old Solomon always took his pipe. Further touring the house built into the trunk of a tree based on his memory of prior visits, Max stumbled over obstacles he didn’t recall being in his way. When he reached the chair, he felt for the side table and discovered that it had been knocked over. Rummaging through the mess, he found Solomon’s flint and steel and hurried to the fireplace built into the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. Tossing kindling into it, he struck a spark, igniting the dry grass Solomon kept on hand for kindling. Taking one of the burning straws, he used it to light the candelabra.
Rising with the candlelight in his hand, Max saw the wreckage in Solomon’s home. The living room was a mess, more so than usual. The stacks of books and maps had toppled and were strewn across the floor. With the chairs and table knocked over, only the couch remained in its natural place near the door. Someone had turned over almost everything in the room, clearly searching for something.
“There’s got to be something in here that can help us,” Bo said as he grabbed books from the floor.
Max pushed past his worry for what could’ve happened to Solomon. He needed to focus on Kirsten right now. Joining his brother, he lent light on the scene as they searched through the mess. Slowly Britt added wood to the fire and lit more candles so Max could see the room more clearly.
“How do I know which books are about magic?” Britt asked, joining them on the floor.
“Look for the ones that have this insignia on the side,” Max said, showing her the golden ampersand stamped on the spine of one of the books he clutched.
“So what exactly are we’re looking for in these?” she asked.
“Anything to do with goblins,” Max said. He saw Britt thumbing through the pages of a thick text and shaking her head.
“Bo,” Max said. “You go to the table and start scanning these while Britt and I find you books, papers or anything relating to magic or healing.” As he spoke, he made eye contact with Britt and she nodded.
“I’ll make sure she doesn’t get any worse,” Thomas said while attending to Kirsten on the couch.
“Excellent,” Max said.
As they gathered the contents of Solomon’s library from the living room floor, Max and Britt organized the collection by piling any book bearing the magical symbol in front of Bo. In a separate pile, Max placed anything that appeared to deal with medicine or healing. In short order, Max and Britt had cleared the floor of books, stacking those that did not fit either category along the walls. They joined Bo in his search through the stack of those focused on supernatural literature.
“Check the ‘G’s’ in the index and thumb through for any drawings or depictions of goblins,” Max said to Britt.
“I know; it’s not the first time I’ve opened a book,” Britt responded tartly.
Max felt a warmth creep into his cheeks as he realized he’d embarrassed himself by assuming she would need help. “Sorry, it’s just that Landish is your second language and…”
Britt cut him off, “All captains must keep logs and, therefore, have to learn to read and write.”
Max refocused on his own search, opening a book that was written in a language he didn’t know. After what he’d said to Britt, he realized it was foolish of him to assume Solomon only had books written in their native language. Struggling to make sense of it, he flipped through the pages searching for anything with a drawing. After reaching the end of the book and starting on the next, Max continued to scour the pages for any mention of goblins or goblin venom. Time passed and as the candles burned to stubs, Max closed the last of the books.
