Legend of the Great Dragon (7 page)

A smile played on Mikko's lips. He wondered briefly what it would be like to kiss her. “You believe me?” she asked.

He sighed. “You're a female dragon. That fact alone already makes you special. You said you were born from two dragons? I'm sure that means something too. I've never heard of a pure dragon before. What little I know of the Great War was that it was caused because of the Great Dragon. The fighting started because everyone had some idea of what the prophecy was all about, and no one could agree on it.”

She frowned. “I'd been told that once upon a time. One of my cousins was talking to me about it, and my uncle Tyson walked in and ended the lesson rather abruptly.”

“Strange.”

“Agreed.”

Ichi grabbed her hand. “I think you need to look at the prophecy with your own eyes and decide what it means. And to look inside of your heart.”

“My heart says it's true,” she whispered. “But it's confusing.”

“Because you're letting everyone else confuse you. Your family seems to have their own ideas on what you should and shouldn't be doing with your life. No offense to them, but that's all I hear you talk about. How they fought over you, how there were problems because of past arguments over things that seem to be tied to
you
. Maybe you need a break from them
,
” he suggested.

Mikko didn't say anything for a while. In truth it was probably only a few seconds of silence, but it felt like an awful lot longer to him. He tried to keep his patience and focus on the warm sunshine falling on his face through the trees or listening to the bird song. He even tried to identify what types of birds were in the park and if they were the same species as in Aero. However, his mind kept wandering back to her and what she could possibly be thinking.

She glanced between him and her hands several times. “I think you're right. I can feel inside of me that I'm supposed to be going somewhere far away. There's something I need to find, no, someone. Part of my dream is there is a man…” He noticed her skin flush and his heart sank.

“You think he's who you need to find?” he asked, not wanting to hear the answer he already knew she would give.

Mikko nodded ever so slightly. “He's handsome, but something feels wrong about him too. Maybe I'm supposed to save him. I'm not sure. What I do know is I think I'm going to suffocate if I keep staying here.”

“So leave,” he said, a bit more shortly than he probably should have.

“I can't just leave them without saying a word.”

“Leave a note?”

She laughed. “You don't know my family.”

“No, I don't, but from what I gather, they're not going to let you just go and do as you wish. Your grandmother almost didn't let
me
leave, and she barely knows me. Has she always been so controlling?”

“I don't know, to be honest. Usually, I don't spend quite this much time with her. From what I remember, and what I've heard, is she's always been opinionated and when she sets her mind on something, she makes sure it happens.” Mikko shrugged before resting her chin in one of her hands. “Do you think I could just go?”

Ichi nudged her in the side gently. “Why not? You're an adult. Pack a bag and take off. I know you're more than capable of doing things for yourself.”

“I'll do it!” She lifted her head. “I'll pack, I'll twirl in a circle, pick a random direction, and—”

“And?” he asked. Mikko's gaze glossed over, her jaw dropped, and her lips began to tremble. He tilted her face so that she was looking at him instead of off into space directly in front of her. “Mikko, what's wrong?”

Her entire body began to shiver and she clung to his shirt as she buried her face into his chest once again. “I think I just saw the ghost of my grandfather.”

Maybe she's finally cracked from all of the pressure and drama.
He stroked her hair gently. “What is he doing?”

“Waving.”

“Then you should wave back.”

“Seriously?” She gasped.

Ichi nodded. “Perhaps if you indulge him, he'll go away.”

She raised one of her hands and gave a quick wave.

“Gone?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I wonder why I keep dreaming about this place. Is it to see the ghosts of the past?”

“To inspire you to break free and figure out the truth,” he said. “To heal.”

She looked up at him, giving his hand a squeeze. “Will I ever see you again?”

“I'll find a way to visit,” he mumbled.

“Can I get a hold of you in any way? Do you have a phone or an address?”

He shook his head. “No phone. Address is complicated. I'll find you. I'll always find you.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise. If it's an emergency, follow the wind, because that's usually where you'll find me.”

 

 

Deep in Mikko's heart was a hole. With Ichi gone, she was lost which was not like her in the slightest. She'd never let anyone impact her s
o strongly before, especially
someone she barely knew. Something about him was endearing and sweet. It all might have tied into the fact that he might be the only person she knew who understood her, and he had encouraged her to pursue the truth instead of holding her back.

He's right, I need to pack up and find the truth on my own. I just wish I knew where to start.
She grabbed her suitcase and started to throw all of her things inside.
How do I know? Where do I find that answer? Do I wait for some kind of divine revelation? If I really am the Great Dragon, then shouldn't I have some kind of special connection to God? Shouldn't I be told all of the secrets of the spiritual world?

She closed her eyes and a smooth warmth filled her stomach.
There's a lot you need to learn, child. Your truth must be found with faith.
It was a voice she could hear with her heart and not her ears.

“I need a copy of the Holy Book,” she mumbled.

And not just any copy, but
the
copy.
On the Council Island of the dragons, there was a massive library with ancient books dating back to the creation of the first four dragons. The countless translations of the book were all based on which culture they were written for. Terran dragons read a different copy than the Oceina, and even further changes were made as time went on. Some versions of the Holy Book were more traditional than others. For the Rules of Life, that didn't bother her in the slightest. When it came to finding the details of an ancient prophecy, however, she knew she had to find the closest thing to the original as she could get.

There was knock on her door. She glanced up and saw her Uncle Tyson and Teo standing in the doorway.

“You can come in,” she said and paused her packing.

Teo was frowning. Tyson on the other hand came in and sat down in a chair.

“Ready to go home?” Tyson asked with a small smile.

Teo's frown deepened. “We still have three more days to leave. You're usually a lot more last minute. Where are you going?”

It frustrated her how easily Teo could read her sometimes. She was pretty sure Tyson had caught on as well, but he was a lot more patient than his son.

“You know I heard you talking with Grandma Tai,” Mikko stated. Her gaze locked with Tyson's. She was satisfied with his slight nod for a reply. “I don't need to explain what I'm doing then, do I?”

“Uh, yes, you do,” Teo said. “Because I don't know what's going on. What do you mean you overheard a conversation between Dad and the Lady Oceina? Why are you packing?”

Tyson waved for his son to sit in the chair next to him. “Relax, because this is nothing to get your scales ruffled over.” He took in a deep breath. “Mikko, please don't be mad that I didn't tell you sooner. In fact, I didn't want you to hear about it through eavesdropping, but I'm kind of glad it did happen this way. It makes it so much easier to bring up. I've been struggling with this for so many years.”

“What is going on?” Teo exploded.

“Patience,” his father said. His eyes were wide and pleading at her. She couldn't stand it. Mikko walked over to him and gave him a tight hug.

“I'm not mad at you,” she whispered. “It can't be an easy thing to bring up.”

Tyson sighed as if in relief. “Thank you for understanding.”

“I have so many questions,” she said.

“You're not the only one,” Teo mumbled.

She laughed. “According to your father and my grandmother, I'm the Great Dragon.”

Teo's jaw dropped. “What? How is that possible? I mean, you're Mikko. How can you be
the
Great Dragon?”

“Sometimes I feel the same way,” she admitted. “But I don't fully understand what that means or the prophecies which make you so certain I am She.”

“I didn't want to get too in-depth with the prophecies because I was scared you would figure it out on your own before it was the right time,” Tyson said. “What do you know about the Great Dragon?”

“That he, she… I… will be the savior of the world.”

“Anything else?” Tyson asked.

Mikko shook her head. “No, I haven't been told much else. My focus on my previous study of the Holy Book
was
always on the commandments.”

“If you want, I can find you a copy of the prophecy that details everything more thoroughly. I'm not sure if you would believe me without seeing it with your own eyes. Teo can back me up, however, because he knows these prophecies inside and out.” Tyson gave a pointed look to his son. “What is the first thing the Holy Book says about the Great Dragon?”

“That he'll be born in the city by the sea,” Teo mumbled. “Which everyone knows is Oceina City.”

“What else?”

“That he'll be of Inero blood.”

Tyson nodded. “The Great War from back when I was but a baby started because the Inero believed they were to overthrow the Oceina people. If the Great Dragon was Inero blood, born in the city by the sea, that obviously meant there was some kind of a mistake in land territories. At the time, the Great Inero Lord was being led astray by a dark prophet as well. You already know about a lot of the suffering that happened during the days of the Great War. Oceina City was nearly destroyed, the Terran were disgraced. Those details are pretty standard in dragon history books.”

“But not about why the war initially started. Why didn't anyone say anything about the real reason Oceina City was fought over?” Mikko asked.

“Because I don't think the Great Inero Lord had any intentions of ever trying to bring the Great Dragon into being. The dark prophet was taking him down the wrong path to stop you from ever being born. He promised your mother to marry… me. It was a huge political mess. Besides, the books don't like to talk about the spiritual warfare aspects of the conflict. The world is fast becoming more spiritually dead. I'm sure you've noticed it with how humans and dragons alike are becoming more self-serving?”

Teo laughed. “We were just talking about that the other night at the funeral actually. Okay, so I could buy Mikko being the Great Dragon. It's possible. She is pure dragon.”

“Which is another requirement of the Great Dragon,” Tyson said. “Your mother was the first dragon female to be born, making her a miracle. So much hope rested on her shoulders. It's why she was sold out in the Great War to the Terran. She was the bargaining chip for the Inero to possibly win the war. Your great-grandfather Lord Taylor, however, knew in his heart that it was wrong. He didn't support the Inero any more in the war. The Oceina were able to defeat the Inero, and for a while there was peace.” He smiled. “I loved Dani in all of the ways that you love Teo. I couldn't have been luckier than to be engaged to my best friend.”

Tears formed in Mikko's eyes. So much of her family history was being laid out in front of her. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Some of it she'd heard before, the basic details, but it broke her heart to think anyone from her bloodline could have been deceived by the Devil. She'd heard about the old Great Inero Lord once. Grandpa Matthias had been so tense at the mention of him over dinner on one of the nights she had been visiting. One of her uncles on her mother's side had been picking a fight. Mikko didn't remember the words that had been exchanged, only that they had made her grandmother cry.

She watched her Uncle Tyson curiously. “I didn't know you and my mother had been engaged.” She glanced over at Teo and thought about what it would be like to marry her brother.
They'd have been peaceful, happy even, but Mom would have been restless.

Tyson laughed quietly. “It was another thing we had all agreed to tell you kids about when you were older. We didn't want it to cause any weird animosity between you, and it's a little bit of a sore subject with
Carrie
… er… your mother, Teo.”

“I can see why,” Teo said.

“Keep in mind, this wasn't something I had chosen for myself. It had been arranged on a political table when I was a year old. My grandpa, Lord
Taylor
, kept the arrangement because both my parents and Dani's parents had liked the security behind it. Dani and I were best friends. It made sense, but love can't be forced. She loved Ethan, and I knew in my heart that my
soul mate
was still out there.” He put a hand on Teo's knee. “So trust me, I love your mom with everything inside of me. The feelings I have for her are unlike anything I've ever had before.”

Teo's gaze went to his hands, but he nodded all the same.

“When Dani and I decided we didn't want to get married, there was some drama. Why? Because the leader of the Terran government wanted the Great Dragon to come from
our
people. I think there was more spiritual warfare going on as well. The Great Terran Lord was working with a strange man who attacked Dani. He was manipulative, evil, and talked about how her child, you, Mikko, would destroy his spawn. I hate to think of any person in such negative terms, least of all an innocent child, but this man was pure evil. He tried to gut your mother.” Tyson closed his eyes, and his fists trembled.

“It's why I became a doctor to begin with. After what he did to her, I never wanted to be helpless like that again.”

Mother's scar.
Mikko had seen it several times when she was younger. Of course, her mother had tried to hide it, but she didn't always succeed. Mikko knew better than to ask about it. That was a grown-up thing, and she would learn about it when she became an adult herself. Ideally, her mother would have been the one to tell her, but at least now she knew.

She shook her head. “So you're telling me that I am going to be destroying another… person?” The thought made her stomach churn.

“I don't know,” Tyson said, his gaze intense. “That's what Dani had told me he said when he had attacked her. The fact that you were still conceived is a miracle. I'm positive it's part of why it took so long for your parents to have you. They were a lot older than most dragon couples, nearly forty years old. It's also why they never had any other children. Then again, they may have been destined to have only you.”

“This is a lot to take in,” she said. “I still don't know if I understand what I'm supposed to do.”

“Outside of save the world?” Teo asked.

She laughed sourly. “Not a task I'm ready for and I don't even know who my enemy is.”

“No, you don't,” Tyson said. “But I think you're on the right track with the packing. It's time for you to find out what your true destiny is.” He sighed. “I have an early version of the Holy Book. It might not be the original copy, but it is close to an accurate translation into our more modern dragon tongue. This book is over five hundred years old, so you'll need to be gentle with it. I'll make sure to bring it to you in a few minutes. It should help you find what you're looking for.”

Mikko shook her head. “I'm so overwhelmed.”

“One thing at a time,” Tyson said softly.

“I'll help you,” Teo added. “I refuse to let you leave alone.”

“No!” Mikko protested. “What about Rashanna? What about your plans?”

“Saving the world is a lot more important. I know she'll understand.”

She hugged Teo close. “If it gets dangerous, I'm sending you home.”

He rolled his eyes. “I'll be fine.”

Mikko didn't say anything and only continued to hold onto him as if her life depended on it. She couldn't be so sure that he, or anything for that matter, would be fine. From what she
understood, the purpose of the Great Dragon was not only to bring peace to the world but to save it by vanquishing the Great Evil.