Dragon Tamer

“Not necessarily.” Harry got up from his chair and sat beside me on the bench. He plucked the diary from my hands, opening it to the first page to see who’s diary it was. He grunted. “This is Joseph Dricino’s book. I have his son’s Jeremy. He mentioned Prince Archibald’s death in his diary. It shook Joseph. He was never the same after that. He was too young to know the details of his death, only that he was in incredible pain. I’m assuming Joseph described the same symptoms as Camden?”

I nodded, mouth dry. The symptoms were exactly the same, even the thing crawling around inside him.

Harry grunted again, peering up to Dad then to our other brothers who had put their books down to crowd around us. Not used to having everyone’s eyes on him, Harry ducked his head into his book and continued his synopsis: “Jeremy hated seeing his dad so torn up over something the Ackers had declared wasn’t his fault. It was just a genetic condition. Jeremy thought maybe if he figured out what it was that caused this illness in the Ackers it would bring his father peace of mind.”

“Did he ever find out what it was?” Kaden asked.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, a small sigh escaping his lips. “None of the princes that generation got sick, so he couldn’t study them. All he had to go on was the notes Joseph left behind. He was even allowed to read the Ackers’ books to see what the family had on this illness. They wrote it off as a genetic deformity and left it at that.”

Harry shook his head in incredulity. “You’d think a family with as much resources as they do, they would try to find a cure. Anyway, there didn’t appear to be a pattern in the illnesses. Sometimes it skipped a few generations, once it happened to two generations in a row; it was always the youngest son and they were in pain, feverish, and something growing inside them. He didn’t find much else on the illness, but he did discover how the Ackers got their magic.” He sat up a little straighter, taking on a more professorly stature. “A very long time ago, an Acker saved a dragon’s life--before we began taming them, that long ago--and in return the dragon cut himself and bled into a cup. That Acker wasn’t given any powers, but he did live to be a hundred and fifty years old. In this time, he bore three generations. His heirs’ powers grew with every generation. His first family could only communicate with dragons telepathically. The second could control fire. The third Bonded with one dragon each and shared their powers.”

It was an interesting piece of history, but everyone knew the Ackers got their magical blood from a dragon. I didn’t see what that had to do with Camden’s current predicament.

Harry turned to me, sensing my doubt. “You said Marco attacked him when he saw Camden’s dragon eyes, right? Maybe he can sense something we can’t in Camden and he’s afraid of him.”

“You mean, he’s, like, uber powerful?” Giles guessed, scratching his head. “Camden’s sick because his blood is too potent for his body?”

“It’s possible, yes,” Harry agreed. “That’s what Jeremy thought, as well. He thought that maybe if his father had taken him to the birthplace of dragons, Archibald might have survived. After all, for the longest time, the only place for a dragon to be born was in the lava of a volcano; they needed the heat to weaken the egg shell so they could break free. Of course, since all the volcanoes erupted, dragon eggs don’t need to be in lava to hatch-- as we witness every year.”

“So,” I said, my mind turning over and over at the possibility of saving Cam, “you think the dragon blood in him might calm down--in a sense--if we take him to a volcano and drop him in some lava?” I wasn’t the only one who thought that was crazy, right?

“You said he stood in front of a fireball and didn’t get hurt. The lava shouldn’t hurt him.”

It was the “shouldn’t” that worried me, but really, what other options did we have? We could sit here and let him die, or try to bathe him in lava and either watch him melt or he could get better and be the first Acker to survive this illness.

I stood up, decided.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dad demanded, noticing the determined look in my eye. He wore a wary gaze, wrinkles always more prominent when he looked at us this way.

“I’m going to take Camden to a volcano.”

“The only volcanoes are in the dragon lands.”

“Just as well I’ve been there before. I can fly there with Zellar and be back in a few days.”

My brothers, who did not know I’d been to the dragon lands, snapped their heads to me in surprise.

“Since when?” Casper demanded, sounding more like Dad than he realised.

“I go at least once a year with Elesor.” I waved it off. Now wasn’t the time to discuss the places I’d travelled--which, in all honesty, wouldn’t take that long--I had to save Camden. “The wild dragons won’t let you into their territory, but they trust me. Zellar and I will be fine.”

“What about Prince Camden?” Dad retorted, arms crossed. He wasn’t having this, but too bad for him, I was his daughter and when I wanted to do something no one could stop me. “When the dragons see him, they’ll attack, just like Marco.”

“Marco attacked him when he saw his eyes. Camden will be passed out the entire time. You can’t talk me out of this, Dad. I’m going. I’m a Dricino, remember, and I swore an oath to protect my prince. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” I nodded to Casper in thanks for reminding me of my job.

Dad’s eyes cut into his eldest son, and I swear if they were alone, he would have murdered him on the spot for talking me into this.

Casper swallowed then stepped beside me. “Let her do this, Da. Kal can do it.”

Dad’s face went red. “Kal is twenty years old, she’s too young to be running into the heart of dragon territory. There are dragon scavengers between here and there--and many, many other creatures that would love to snack on little girls.”

“Da,” Kaden said softly. He reached for his shoulder, then caught the venomous look, and dropped his hand. “She killed a swarm of goblins and a chimera last night by herself. She’s not a little girl anymore. We raised her to be as tough as one of us--and you’d let us go to save our prince.”

Dad winced at that, dropping his gaze. “I can’t. . . I can’t let her go. She’s. . . . Kali, you have to stay here. That’s an order.”

“Ma would want her to go,” Giles reprimanded him, flinching as he spoke. Mom had always been a sensitive topic, and right now, when Dad was like this, was definitely not the time to bring her up. “Kali’s just like her,” he went on; he’d opened his mouth now, might as well say what needed to be said. “She’ll go with or without your permission.”

I would. Just because Dad ordered me to stay, didn’t mean I was going to. Even if he locked me in my room, I’d climb out the window. He could lock me in the basement, and I would dig my way out. If he tied me up, I’d chew myself free.

“You trained me,” I told him, “taught me everything I know, showed me how to do things most people can’t do--I was born for this. Giles is right, I’m going whether you like it or not. Camden is my responsibility until he becomes a Dragon Prince. Would you really let me fail my mission because you’re too scared to let me go?”

All my life, I never felt like I was my mother’s daughter, that she was lost to us forever because of me, but that wasn’t true at all. I was exactly like the woman my father had fallen in love with, and that was why he couldn’t let me go. I was the only thing he had left of her, if I died, she would be lost to him forever.

Tears brimmed his eyes. “You’re as fierce as your mother was, Kali, and as tenacious. I know you can do it, but you better come back to us, child, or I swear to the seven Gods I won’t rest until every wild dragon that could have hurt you is dead.”

I gulped, not about to tell him there were a lot more dangerous creatures in the Randala Territory than wild dragons. Because Elesor and I were small, we were safe to avoid the phoenixes, hobgoblins, griffins, and trolls that roamed the lands freely beneath the thick canopy of trees, out of a dragon’s sights. Zellar was not so small.

“I’ll come back with Cam. I promise.”

~~~

Within the hour, I was armed to the teeth. Dad took me down to the basement and loaded me up with belts to hold a plethora of knives, armour, and a shortsword. A whip coiled around my leg, looking almost decorative with its shimmery blue scales wrapped around the leather center. The barbs were as sharp as a fresh scale on a dragon’s back and just as strong; there were a few times I wished I knew this beauty existed while climbing and exploring the jungle. It would have come in handy many times. Also, it was pretty to look at. I could coil it around my body anywhere and people would think it a funky accessory rather than a deadly weapon--not that I needed to worry about accessorizing where I was going. Camden and I would be the only humans to have gone so deep in the dragon lands and it wasn’t like he cared what I wore, especially in the state he was in right now.

Feeling possibly overconfident with my many weapons and flexible armour, I pushed the healing hut door open. There were a few more healers around now that it was midday; they all stopped doing whatever it was they did in between patients and scowled at me. Amber marched through the curtain, Camden’s steaming form only visible for a moment before the curtain concealed him again, and stood in front of me, arms crossed. “He doesn’t want to see you. Get out.”

After I let her walk over me the last time we spoke, I wasn’t about to let her do it again, even though it thoroughly surprised me that he’d talked to her. However, it wasn’t so surprising that he didn’t want to see me again; I tried not to convey the sting the words left on my heart.

“I don’t care what he wants, I’m taking him.” I let my hand fall onto the hilt of my sword in case she misunderstood me.

She scoffed a laugh, golden eyes following the movement of my hand. “You’re not going anywhere near him. You’re going to kill him.”

“I found a cure for him, but I have to take him someplace. You’re going to let me take him.”

Despite the fact I was ready to draw my weapon, she stepped closer to me, her face inches from mine. The faint smell of mint wafted off her breath as she spoke. “There’s no way you found a cure. You’re good for nothing, Kali. Go fuck a dragon and live in his den, where you belong. I’ll take care of the prince. He’s mine.”

“I don’t care what he is to you. He needs help and I’m going to do everything I can to do just that. You two can plan your little wedding when I bring him back.”

Sneering, she moved her hand to slap me. After years of training with brothers who loved sneak attacks, I was much faster and caught her hand. I twisted it around her back and shoved her face into the nearest pillar. She cried out, and I’d never felt so good. For once I could hit her pretty little face and not get in trouble for it.

Camden’s illness is good for something.

I kicked the back of her knee; it buckled and she went tumbling down onto the hardwood floors. I stepped around her for Camden’s bed. He was covered in damp towels, steam rolling off him like nothing I’d ever seen before. His complexion was red when I removed the towels, as one would expect from someone so hot. His skin burned the exposed flesh of my neck when I draped him over my shoulders. Dear Gods, he was heavier than the last time I had carried him. It didn’t help that I hadn’t slept since then, either. Still, I half-dragged him out of the healing hut, glaring at any healer who looked like she might want to intervene. After what I did to Amber, they felt less inclined to see what I would do to them for getting in my way.

I met Zellar in the nearest field. He lowered himself nice and low to make it easier for me to haul Camden up into the saddle. The prince groaned, tossing his head back against my shoulder. “Kali?”

“I’m here. I’m going to make everything better, all right? Just hang on for me, Cam.”

He moaned in response, squeezing his eyes. I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, probably “Gods, please let someone else make everything better,” but I tried not to think about it too much when I readjusted his head and leaned him forward on the saddle. I slipped my feet into the stirrups and stretched around Cam to grab onto the handles.

“Let’s go, Zellar--to the dragon lands.” The large red dragon only needed to flap his wings once to get us airborne. We flew south, riding an air current through the valley. The further we went, the wind grew, but with Zellar’s massive size, his wings caught it gracefully, not struggling in the least, as most of our tamed dragons would with these winds. It was why I asked him to take me. He was big enough to ward off most predators and have no troubles in the winds. Plus, with Camden’s growing weight, I would be hard pressed to find a dragon who could hold both of us up for more than a few hours at a time.

We made it to the valley’s southern exit in good timing, veering west as soon as we passed the last mountain. The world opened up to a vibrant forest, filled with deciduous trees; the smell of fresh mist and a hint of citrus reached me from up here, and I stole a deep breath. If I had never gone to Histero and been introduced to the ocean, the smell of this forest would have been my favourite. Sometimes I flew over here with Elesor just to enjoy the pleasures of the forest below. However, as we continued our flight path, the trees thinned out, giving way to gravelly sand and siltstone. Instead of lush trees soaring high, the tallest tree was maybe ten feet--barely noticeable at the height we flew--and the bushes were far in between. The vibrant colours of the forest turned into grays, greens, and terracotta. The land was barren of creatures, a stark contrast to the plains east of the valley. The heat rose up, scorching the back of my neck. Zellar slowed down so I could flip the collar of my jacket up to protect my neck. There was no point in taking layers off, Camden was so hot before we left the forest, the heat of this dry land was nothing in comparison, and by the time we reached the dragon lands I would have to put my layers back on again.

When it would normally take Elesor four hours to pass over the dry land, Zellar did it in two. The land began to roll in endless hills, forever growing higher until the hills turned into mountains buried within the clouds. When we had first come here, I’d mistaken the thick rolling clouds as ash looming over the sky, but then Elesor took me through one to show there was nothing to fear, the clouds only looked ominous.

They rumbled with no flash of warning. They were seemingly permanent, always coiling around the mountain tops to protect the peaks from prying eyes. The mountains lined up single file, walling off anyone who had survived the desert from passing any further. Zellar increased our altitude to match the height of the jagged mountains.

By this time, the sun was on its way down. On the same wavelength, Zellar landed on the side of one of the mountains splitting the land in two and found a large cave for him to nest in. Even though Zellar was the one who did most of the work, I was exhausted from holding Camden on the great dragon. I pulled him off Zellar’s back, forgetting how heavy he was; he slipped off the saddle easily enough and flopped on top of me. I gasped for the air forced out of my lungs. Dear Lord, he was getting heavier every hour. What kind of genetic condition did this to people?

He was so heavy, I couldn’t push him off me. Zellar caught him between two claws and pried him off, laying him beside me. I stole a deep breath, inhaling the scent of ash and rock; it wasn’t the most pleasant of smells, but it would get better once we crossed the mountain line.

I grabbed Camden’s wrists and dragged him deeper into the cave so Zellar could lie down properly; he blocked the entrance completely with his body, only allowing the last of the sunlight through the gap between his wings and the roof of the cave. I scavenged some wood and tossed a piece of Dragon Vain into the pile. The light filled the rest of the cave, revealing no other exits or creatures living within the space. Perfect.

While Camden lay on his back, moaning and groaning, I went into the motions of unpacking my saddle for food and sleeping bags. Given the heat of his skin, I didn’t think he needed it tonight, but if he wanted it, it was lain out beside him, open for him to slip into whenever he needed to. I laid mine adjacent, my head near his, and beside the fire. With a pot and some ingredients Kaden packed for me, I made a simple stew.

The sun was completely gone by the time the stew was done and I was grateful to have something warm in my belly. Now the only light was my fire, but thankfully, between Camden and Zellar’s body heat, I didn’t have to worry too much about keeping warm. After I’d eaten, I shuffled over to Camden’s side and tried to get him to eat. However, he only opened his mouth to convey his pain. Giving up on the stew, I soaked a cloth through and wiped the sweat away from his face, doing my best to let him keep some dignity. His eyes flew open as soon as my hand touched his cheek; they were gold and slitted, far too different from the mossy green eyes I had gotten used to. I jerked my hand away, but he caught it and growled at me, a low, deep sound in his chest, more animal than human.

What the hell is happening to you, Cam?

Swallowing, I gently pried my hand away from his face. “Sorry if I hurt or scared you. It’s only me.”

“Female,” he grunted in such a primal way, I started.

And Amber accused me of being a caveman.

“Some would argue that statement,” I told him, doing my best to brush off how different this thing had made him. The worst thing I could do right now was freak out on him. Once I dipped him in some lava, he would be fine, back to his normal self.

There’s nothing normal about any of this.

He stared at me, pupils widening the longer he regarded me. He wore no expression, only the intensity of his gaze told me what he was feeling, but even then, I could be wrong. I hoped I was. He looked hungry--and I was his dinner.

“Cam, why are you looking at me like that? Has this sickness changed your appetite, by chance? Like maybe meat. . . human meat?”

It was my duty to care for him, but I was not going that far. He could starve if it was my flesh he wanted to eat.

He cocked his head to the side, a motion I’d never seen him make before. He reminded me of a bird getting a better angle on its prey before it struck. “You’re scared of me.”

And then that predatory gaze was wiped off his face, replaced by one of agony. He curled up into a ball and shuddered violently. I went over to steady him while he shook, a hand on his shoulder, the other on his knee. It wasn’t until I was leaning over him when I saw it; two things rolled down the length of his back underneath his skin. Exactly like how my ancestor Joseph described. And yeah, I felt like I might faint. It looked incredibly painful and just the thought of something crawling under my skin like that made me shudder.

“Oh, God, Cam, I hope my plan helps you. I don’t know what to do if it doesn’t.”

He cried out--nearly a roar--in response, clutching his arms to his chest and rocking. The sweat worked harder on his back than ever before. He went apple red all over.

And then he passed out.

“Cam?” I poked his shoulder. Nothing. He was utterly slack under my hands. Thankfully, his chest rose and fell, but it was at a fast pace I was sure meant certain death for any ordinary person. I peered over to Zellar, hoping somehow he could do something for Camden, but the dragon was fast asleep.

Poor guy had worked hard to bring us here before sundown. As much as I hated the thought of being alone, he deserved a good rest and I wouldn’t dare to disturb him. With nothing else to do, I rolled into my sleeping bag and got whatever sleep I could.