Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (13 page)

"Hello, Mrs. Drake."

"You boys have a long trip ahead of you this
evening. You really should get some rest." She swiveled back toward
Danny. "You, too, Danny, there are more blankets and pillows in the
closet for you," pointing to a white door behind her. "There should
be enough for two more. There is one more coming, right?"

Danny nodded, "Yes, Mrs. Drake."

"Call me, Moon," she said with a smile.

"Yes, Moon," said Danny, his voice unsteady.
"Where's Sabrina?" he asked before Moon could return to the
kitchen.

"She's upstairs in her room doing the same
thing that you should be."

"Yes, Mrs. Drake. . . I mean, Moon."

Moon disappeared beyond the swinging door of
the kitchen.

Danny walked to the closet and grabbed a set
of soft blue blankets and a pillow. Picking a spot between Doug and
Matt, he plopped down on the floor, took his shoes off and sprawled
out. After a few moments of silence, he whispered, "I don't know if
I'm going to be able to fall asleep, I'm too excited."

"Are we driving there, or what?" Matt asked
in the same hushed tone.

"We're definitely not driving."

"Then how are we going to get there by
tomorrow if we aren't leaving until tonight?" Doug asked.

"Beats me," said Alonso.

Danny was about to say something when the
front door squeaked open. Chris walked through the threshold and
closed the door behind him. Danny waved in greeting.

"Hey, man," Chris said in an unrestrained
tone.

Danny put his finger to his lips, signaling
Chris's silence. "We're supposed to be resting."

"Yeah, Mr. Drake mentioned that," said Chris,
matching Danny's hushed voice. "Something about a long trip
tonight, right?"

"Yeah," said Matt, pushing his glasses up
again.

"So . . . are we going to be driving?"

Chris's question caused a fit of nervous
laughter to erupt from the four boys on the floor, unsure of the
answer themselves.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No, man," said Danny, stifling his
snickering, "we were just wondering the same thing."

"Oh," said Chris, unconvinced.

"There are more blankets and pillows in the
closet," said Danny, pointing to the door. "If Tyramear suggests we
get some rest, it's probably a good idea."

That was explanation enough for Chris as he
walked to the closet, pulled out a pillow and a set of matching red
blankets, and found a spot on the floor next to Danny and Doug.

A couple of hours later, after a lot of
nervous chatter, boredom and suggestion gave way to sleep.

"Wake up," Danny heard someone say, drifting
through his dream, stirring him to consciousness.

"Wake up," the musical voice called again;
Danny's eyes opened a crack. Above him stood the most beautiful
girl he'd ever seen, her long black hair draping delicately around
her head like a waterfall.

"Beautiful," Danny said to himself, with only
one eye halfway open.

"Wake up, Danny," Sabrina called for the
third time. "It is time to leave."

Wide awake now, Danny's face flushed as he
realized what he'd just said.

"Smooth," said Alonso, standing just to the
left, laughing.

Looking around, Danny found Matt, Doug, and
Chris with the same stupid smile on their faces, his romantic
blunder having been witnessed by almost everyone, except Sabrina,
he hoped.

"Come, Danny, we have many leagues to go and
a limited time in which to travel across them," said Tyramear from
somewhere behind Danny.

Even more embarrassed, Danny propped himself
up on his elbows and turned to see Tyramear looking at him with a
widening smile.

"Yes, sir," said Danny with a sigh. Standing
up, he noticed that everyone was dressed in warm clothes, long
pants and sweatshirts.

"You remembered to pack some warm clothes
right, Danny?"

Danny nodded.

"Good, go and change. The bathroom is down
the hall, first door on the right. Meet us in the backyard when you
are through."

Eager to get away from accusing eyes, Danny
grabbed his bag and darted toward the bathroom. He changed slowly,
hoping that his friends would quickly forget his recent slip-up.
Once he was done, he exited the bathroom, made his way to the patio
door and walked outside.

Near dusk, the sun lingered just over the
horizon, shedding the last amber rays over the nap of the
countryside. Danny noticed a large red barn with white trim a short
distance from the house. Tyramear, along with his wife and the
others, stood in front of the barn waiting for Danny.

Danny's eyes drifted from the imposing form
of Tyramear to the elegant shape of Sabrina.

Sabrina turned and regarded Danny with a
curious glare, accented with a simple smile.

"Good of you to join us, Danny," said
Tyramear as Danny entered the circle of friends. "I was just about
to explain our means of transportation."

Danny's head perked up, this was something he
wanted to hear. He kept his silence, hoping that his lack of
questions would urge Tyramear into a quicker explanation.

Tyramear turned, regarded the double doors of
the barn before him and pushed them inward. A huge contraption
complete with two rows of eight cushioned seats and a carriage
compartment in the rear sat in the middle of the barn. Made from
wood, polished to a sheen, the device contained etchings that
seemed to resemble the scales of a dragon.

"What's that?" Alonso asked.

"This is my saddle carriage, it is a harness
of the Dragonic, perfectly fitted to my back, so that I may ferry
humanoids, like yourselves, through the heavens."

"So this long stretch of land behind the
house is…" Danny allowed his words to trail off to prompt a
response.

"… My runway," said Tyramear with a straight
face. "You will be my passengers and I will be your transportation.
The winds in the upper atmosphere can get quite cold. This is why I
asked you all to dress warmly, as well as the reason for your
needed rest. We will be traveling most of the night."

"But won't we be seen?" Matt asked.

"The cover of the night shall hide our
passage," said Tyramear, an unwavering confidence in his tone.

"That's not what I meant," said Matt, pushing
his glasses back into place snuggly upon his nose. "Most airports
use radar to detect aircraft, not to mention the military,
right?"

Tyramear produced a slight smile. "In my
Dragonic shape, my scales act like a natural form of stealth,
deflecting and preventing any radio waves that might give away my
position. Trust me, we will be invisible to any type of modern
tracking systems."

Matt looked impressed as well as convinced.
He kept any other questions to himself.

"Are there any other questions before we take
off?"

"This is going to be epic," Chris said,
looking at Danny.

Too excited to say anything, Danny nodded and
smiled.

"Good." Tyramear picked up a heavy tapered
rope attached to the front of the harness and pulled it taut.
"Please, stand clear."

Danny followed Sabrina’s lead as she stepped
to the side, far out of the way. Matt, Chris, Doug and Alonso
walked over to stand behind Danny.

Tyramear's muscles bulged beneath the fabric
of his jacket as he grunted and pulled the saddle carriage free of
the barn.

Amazed, Danny estimated that the harness must
have weighed at least as much as a car; he couldn't fathom the
amount of strength Tyramear must have used to accomplish such a
feat.

After pulling the saddle a good twenty feet
from the barn, Tyramear released the corded rope, causing the front
of the harness to thud back to the ground.

Danny watched without blinking, still stunned
by the act.

The sun dipped below the line of the world,
sending a final ray of light to reflect off the cobalt-blue
atmosphere.

"It is time," said Tyramear, marking the
dimming of dusk, which would soon give way to the dark of the
night. Striking out in a prideful stride, he walked thirty paces
from the harness. His body began to glow with a comforting light,
rivaling the last beacon of the setting sun.

Danny blinked once, when his vision returned,
he swore he could see metallic scales forming across the exposed
skin of Tyramear's hands, neck, and face. Danny watched,
mesmerized, as the rest of Tyramear's body transformed. Seeing
Sabrina's transformation was one thing, but seeing Tyramear, a
full-blooded Dragonic, merge into his mighty form was something
else altogether.

Tyramear loosed a furious cry as his neck
stretched to impossible lengths. The wail continued but it changed
as it distorted into a guttural roar, louder than any Human could
possibly yell. His five fingers merged to become three wickedly
long talons, and a thick-scaled tail sprouted from his back,
whipping back and forth. The clothes he had been wearing
transformed into the sparkle of scales as his body grew and grew,
larger than Danny could fathom. His silver Bonded melded with the
silvery scales of his back, affixed as if it had become a natural
part of his body. Tyramear swelled in size, growing larger and
larger until he rivaled the sizable red barn or the two-story house
behind him. Vast, leathery wings sprouted from his shoulder blades,
extending high into the air, then folding back behind him. Thick
barbs, long and serrated, jutted out from his back, while a pair of
spiraled horns extended from his elongated head.

When the transformation was complete,
Tyramear's body towered high into the air, while his head, on the
end of a lengthy neck corded with muscle, extended far above. His
mighty wings fluttered outward, reaching beyond the tops of the
trees and across the surrounding cornfields before coming to rest
at his side.

"He's huge!" Danny said with his mouth agape,
now staring at a fully-formed full-blooded dragon. "And he's
beautiful," he added, as the low light reflected off the shimmering
silver scales that lined Tyramear's entire body.

"Epic," said Matt. He removed his glasses,
cleaned the lenses with his shirt, and then placed them back upon
his head, as if the act would reveal the sight as false.

Tyramear angled his long head down to peer at
the smaller humanoids, letting out a soft grunt and a snort of hot
air.

"What now?" Danny asked.

Tyramear hummed, causing the ground to
vibrate. Opening his mouth, he revealed an array of sharp, silvery
teeth as he leveled his head over the harness. Like a crane, he
closed his massive jaws over the saddle and hoisted it into the
air. The wood creaked from the clench as Tyramear maneuvered it
over the back of his body, his neck twisting into angles only a
dragon could accomplish. Lowering the saddle into place, he slipped
it into the middle of his massive shoulder blades, on top of a
silver spike protruding from the spine of his back. The harness
slipped into place, the spine held it secure as it adhered to the
curvature of his back. A series of metal clasps and latches dangled
over the slope of his body, clanging as they met beneath him.

"Come," said Sabrina's mother, addressing her
order to Sabrina alone.

Sabrina, without question or comment, as if
this was an everyday occurrence, followed her mother beneath
Tyramear's behemoth body.

Eyeing their approach with his silver, saucer
eyes, Tyramear hunkered down, lowering his belly to the ground,
giving his wife and daughter the reach required to fasten the
harness to his body.

Reaching upward, Sabrina and her mother
worked with practiced precision as they attached and tightened the
straps above them.

Tyramear watched their work with curiosity as
his massive head hovered just above them.

Finished, Sabrina jumped up and grabbed a
hanging piece of leather. Pulling it down, she brought with it a
rope ladder that unraveled before her. Preparing to climb up, she
placed her hands on wooden toggles and stepped up with her right
foot. Pausing for a moment, she turned, "You guys coming?" The
question seemed more of a challenge then a query.

Danny was the first one forward. He watched
Sabrina ascend with an experienced grace. Stepping before the
ladder, he looked up, more than conscious of Tyramear's head
hovering just above him. With an encouraging growl from the dragon,
Danny ascended the wobbly ladder, one unsure step at a time. Once
at the top, he found Sabrina sitting contently in the first row of
seats.

"You can stow your bag in the back storage
compartment."

Slinging his pack from his back, Danny
secured it in the rear compartment, it rivaled the trunk of the
most spacious car. He returned to the front and claimed the spot
beside Sabrina.

He watched as Chris came up next, followed by
Matt, Doug and Alonso, all four placed their belongings in the
back.

Chris and Alonso sat in the second row while
Doug and Matt settled for the third.

"Well, are we ready?" Sabrina asked,
swiveling in her seat, looking at each one of them.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Doug asked, his
voice trembling.

"I can assure you that Father is unmatched in
his aerial ability." As if her words not be convincing enough,
Tyramear's horned head maneuvered into a supporting position just
over her right shoulder and he growled his affirmation.

"I see," said Doug, not altogether convinced,
but forced into agreement by Tyramear's intimidating stature and
stare.

"For starters, I suggest we all strap
ourselves in," said Sabrina.

Danny found two thick leather straps behind
him and one beneath him with sterling silver clasps. Pulling the
two behind him over his shoulders and the one beneath him between
his legs, Danny buckled himself in. Leaning over him, Sabrina
looked over his work and decided that it needed some improvement.
She pulled the straps tighter. Danny grunted as the tightened slack
forced him taut, pinning him to the back of the soft seat.