Dragonvein (Book Two) (22 page)

“Is that why you left?” he asked.

She furled her brow. “I left because of Kimma. But not because she could ever take Tam away from me. He hated her and blamed her for the death of his brother. So even without me there, he would never have accepted her.” She flicked a hand. “Anyway, watch on. You’re about to see why I left.”

Ethan returned his attention to the vision. Heather was still kneeling beside the shattered eggs, though she had now stopped weeping. She wiped her face on her sleeve and stood up straight, squaring her shoulders and forcing out a loud breath. With her resolve firmed, she set off over a high pile of rocks to renew her search.

After less than a quarter mile, she found her way barred by a sheer stone wall. The facing was smooth – unusually so for a natural formation – and she could find no hand or footholds to scale the obstruction. Just when she was about to give up and turn back, she spotted a small fissure at the base. It was just about wide enough to squeeze through.

Heather knelt to peer inside. The opening stretched back for at least ten feet, though a light at the far end told her she could make it all the way through if she wanted to. Pulling a flint knife from her belt, she crawled inside. It was a tight fit, and she could not avoid scraping against the surrounding rock faces. Dust and debris immediately began swirling around in the confined space, stinging her eyes and forcing a rapid succession of coughs and wheezes. But she had made her choice. There was now little option but to keep going.

Progress was slow, but at last she emerged at the other end, still coughing and spitting out mouthfuls of dirt. She tossed her knife aside to wipe furiously at her eyes and face. After blinking several times, she looked up to survey her surroundings.

At once, her jaw fell slack. She was inside a huge circular enclosure roughly one-hundred and fifty feet in diameter; its thirty-foot high walls were covered in millions of purple crystals. Caught by the sun shining down from directly overhead, their millions of brilliant facets rippled and twinkled like a sunset on a purple sea.

“Who could create such a thing?” she gasped.

A large object off to her left caught the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she scrambled for her knife, but her heart sank as she saw that it was now broken in half after hitting the ground. She looked up. Fear instantly seized her.

There lay a beast of such size that it could only be one thing. Her mind wanted to reject what she was seeing. Dragons were said to be long dead - cast into the realm of myth and legend. But her eyes were not mistaken. The creature’s silver scales shimmered from the rays of purple light reflecting from the encompassing wall. Nearly forty feet long, and with onyx spines running down the length of its back, it was every bit the monster the ancient stories had described.

Terror stricken, she bolted blindly to the opposite side of the enclosure, slamming her back hard against it. Dozens of sharp crystals dug into her flesh, but this was barely felt. In an instant she realized that she had just made a grievous error. The fissure through which she’d entered had been right beside her. Now it was fifty or more yards away. She cursed herself for her stupidity.

It was then she noticed that the dragon had not made any movements. Its eyes were shut, and as far as she could tell, it was not even breathing. As silently as she could, she tiptoed back toward the opening. Once there, she wriggled inside, feet first, until only her head was poking out.

For a time Heather remained in this position, her eyes fixed on the great beast. But it never so much as flinched. Eventually, she crawled back out and took a few tentative steps forward.

“I must be insane,” she whispered.

Ethan turned. “Why would you do that?”

Heather laughed. “Because I was a little fool. And in love with Tam. I thought that if I could bring back a tooth or a claw he would be pleased. And it would give him added status among our people. Dragon relics were quite valuable.

“So they were all dead?”

“Mostly,” she replied. “There were rumors that some still lived in distant lands. But no one I had known had ever seen one.”

“What killed them?”

She spread her hands. “Who knows? The world was changing. Perhaps they could not adapt. It’s a secret they’ve kept…even from me.”

Back in the crystal enclosure, Heather picked up the sharp end of her broken knife and approached the body of the dragon. For several minutes she simply stood there, scrutinizing the creature, then cautiously reached out to touch its scales with the tip of her finger. They were iron hard. She frowned. Even if she had an unbroken knife to use, cutting off any part of such a massive beast would seem impossible. The spines were far too thick, and she couldn’t build up sufficient courage to touch anywhere near its mouth.

Unable to think of anything else, she bent down beside its front claw and dug her blade into the surrounding flesh. At first it was like trying to pierce stone. She pressed harder, and then her hand slipped, slicing a gash across her palm. The suddenness of the pain drew a loud hiss.

She clenched her fist as blood trickled through her fingers and onto the silver flesh of the dragon. She considered tearing a piece from her shirt to bind the wound with, but after a moment rejected the idea. Clothing was far too difficult to make just to damage it over a minor cut. Instead, she shook her hand loosely and then wiped the blood on her trousers until the worst of it was stemmed.

Still determined to claim her present for Tam if at all possible, she delved into the satchel attached to her belt and found another, much smaller knife, with which she continued digging into the dragon’s hide. Although this blade seemed even less suitable for the task than its big brother, at least it had a dull end and there was no risk of further injury.

“Just one scale, damn you,” she grumbled.

Finally, through sheer perseverance, her efforts paid off and she felt the tip of the flint sink in slightly. Grinning with satisfaction, she began sawing and pulling to make the incision bigger. The creature’s blood seeped out and was soon covering her hands. But then, just as she felt she was really getting somewhere, a terrible awareness dawned. Heather stopped short. She backed away, trembling and with eyes wide.

“You’re…you’re still alive,” she stammered. She raised her palm and looked where the dragon’s blood had entered her wound. “What did you do to me?”

The dragon’s eyes peeled open, revealing two emerald green orbs. As it lifted its head to face her, a blast of hot breath issued from its nostrils, blowing her hair back and searing her face red.

She clenched shut her bloodied hand. “I can…hear you.”

The creature let out a low gurgling growl.

“I’m sorry,” Heather said. “I didn’t mean to…I mean, I thought you were…dead.”

In response, the dragon closed its eyes and, with an obviously supreme effort, rolled its massive bulk over to one side. Beneath her belly was a hole carved into the surface of the ground, inside which were a dozen, fist-sized, powder blue eggs.

In utter shock, Heather took a step back. Her hands shot up to cover her ears and she doubled over, screaming at the top of her voice. “No! It’s too much! Stop! Please!” She fell to her knees, shaking her head violently. “Please!”

Heedless of her distress, the dragon lifted its head skyward to let out a tremendous roar. The sound reverberated back and forth within the confining walls with ear-splitting intensity. All Heather could do was squeeze her eyes tightly shut until the sound had fully dissipated. Only then did she slowly remove her hands from her ears and stand up. The dragon’s eyes were closed and it was no longer moving.

After a few moments of hesitation, she walked up and touched it on its snout, bowing her head. Tears began to flow until her whole body was shuddering from the sobbing. Then, after a few minutes, the emotional release was complete. She wiped her eyes and knelt beside the eggs.

Ethan was transfixed. Only when the vision blurred did he turn back. “What did it say to you?”

“I wish I knew,” she replied. “It was too confusing. When our blood mingled, a part of her went into me. But I wasn’t ready for it. All I could understand was that she was desperate to protect her young and begging for my help.”

“So did you help her?”

She looked at him with a guilty expression. “No. At least, not at first. After the dragon died, I ran home as fast as I could to tell Tam what had happened. He made me promise not to go back.”

Ethan frowned. “Why? Didn’t you say that dragon relics were valuable?”

“Indeed they were. But he was afraid for me. Dragons were looked upon as evil creatures and bad omens. It was said that to even dream about a dragon meant someone close to you would die. You see, Kimma was right about one thing. The people of my tribe didn’t want me and Tam to be together. They saw her as a much better match. Tam feared that word of my encounter would give them an excuse to drive me away.”

“So what did you do?”

“Nothing at first. But every night after that, my dreams were troubled. All I could hear was the spirit of the dragon calling for me to return and rescue her young. After a few days, I even began hearing her when I was awake.”

Ethan nodded. “I know what that’s like. I used to hear the same thing before I got here. It nearly drove me insane.”

Heather laughed. “Yes, they are certainly persistent. And needless to say, I eventually did go back.”

Again, the haze cleared. Heather emerged from the crack in the rock face and moved across the enclosure to where the dragon’s body was still laying. In her right hand she held a leather bag. Her face was tortured, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

She half stumbled a couple of times before plopping herself down beside the eggs. For nearly half an hour she sat motionless, staring at them. Eventually, an exasperated grunt slipped out.

“What am I doing here?” she hissed angrily. “I should have listened to Tam.”

Despite her self-recrimination and doubts, she reached down to pick up the first egg. The instant her fingers made contact, her back straightened and she let out a tiny gasp. It was amazing. She could feel the life dwelling within. Feel its tiny heart beating fiercely. Its very essence clinging to life - fighting for survival.

“I knew you were up to something,” came a voice from behind.

Heather jumped with surprise and turned her head. So mesmerized had she been by what she was feeling, she hadn’t noticed Kimma entering the enclosure. Her rival was now watching her every move with arms folded tightly across her chest and a smug grin on her face.

“You…you followed me?” Heather gasped. As quickly as she dared, she placed the egg back with the others and shifted her body, hoping to block them from view.

“They’ll make you leave for sure now,” Kimma said, venom dripping from each word.

Heather’s hand slid to her belt where she kept her knife.

Kimma sneered. “You think I’m stupid? My brothers are waiting just outside.”

A short, tense silence followed as Heather listened for any sound of the two men drifting in through the opening. None reached her. So there was a chance that Kimma might be lying. But if she wasn’t, and something bad happened to her, Heather knew she would certainly be killed and the eggs destroyed. And now that she had felt the life inside them, there was no way she could allow such a thing to happen.

“What do you want?” she asked, trying hard to keep her tone steady.

Kimma gave a sarcastic laugh. “You know full well what I want. You…gone from our tribe.” She leaned to one side to peer around Heather. “And I’ll take those eggs.”

Heather sprang to her feet. “You can’t have them!”

“Is that right?”

Kimma strode confidently forward to collect her prize. But Heather blocked her path and shoved her hard back.

The furious woman glared at her. “Get out of my way,” she demanded. “Or would you rather deal with my brothers?”

“You’re not having them,” Heather repeated, her voice hard as steel and her hands balled into tiny fists. “I’ll leave. But you’re not getting those eggs.”

Once again Kimma tried to push her way past. This time, Heather’s fist shot out, landing solidly on Kimma’s jaw. She staggered back, holding her chin.

“You’re possessed,” she cried out, her voice trembling with fury. “The dragons…they’ve possessed you. You’ll burn for this. I swear it.” Spinning on her heels, she started back toward the opening.

With a feeling of desperation, Heather knew she was right. Kimma could easily convince the tribe that the dragon had possessed her. And if Tam came to her defense, they might easily kill him as well. The decision was made in an instant. Reaching for her knife, she chased after her.

Kimma heard the rapidly approaching footfalls and burst into a dead run. But the crack in the rock face was too low, forcing her to stop and drop almost flat. This gave Heather all the time she needed.

Grabbing Kimma by the ankle, she raised the knife. But Kimma wasn’t going without a fight. Rolling quickly over onto her back, she kicked up with her free leg at Heather’s face. Heather managed to shift her head out of the way, but the kick still caught her on the shoulder, sending her back and forcing her to release her grip.

Kimma again scrambled desperately for the opening, screaming out the names of her brothers as she went. But Heather was already resuming the attack. This time she didn’t bother grabbing hold of her opponent. Instead, she simply fell forward with the knife outstretched. The flint blade sunk in just below Kimma’s left buttock, causing her to jolt violently.

By now, the escaping woman had managed to get her head inside the opening. But it was too little, and much too late. Heather struck again, this time sinking the knife deep into the center of her back. At once, Kimma stopped struggling. Her shrill cries turned to weak whimpers as she lay face down and helpless.

Heather rose to her feet and pulled her fully back into the enclosure.

“P…please…” was all Kimma could manage to choke out

Regret and fear seized Heather’s heart. What had she done? Her hands were shaking so badly, she was barely able to retain her hold on the knife. But she had gone too far. There could be no turning back now.