Wyvern’s Gold (The Ruins Of Men Book 1)

Chapter 33

Thirty-Three

Ayla

T he next day, things went about the same. I woke up to Kanik making breakfast. Rymar came in dressed for his job, ate while standing, and then left. Not long after, my lessons started. In the evening, Zasen returned home, took a bath and put on clean clothes, then invited me to sit outside.

"Sunset?" I asked, putting my new book aside.

It was one about a boy named Peter who refused to grow up. Kanik didn't have an English version of it, so if I wanted to follow the story, I sometimes had to sound out the words. That made reading much slower, but I found I liked the challenge.

Zasen saw the cover and smiled. "That's a good one, and yes, to see the sunset." He chuckled. "And to talk in Vestrian again. More this time."

"Practice," I said, turning for the door.

But Zasen headed for the kitchen. "Go ahead. I'm going to get us drinks. Kanik?"

"Nope, I need a long bath," Kanik told him. "It's too hot out there for me. You two have fun."

So I walked outside, closing the door behind me. Alone, I took the chance to look around. Every day, it felt like the light got easier to deal with. Not easy, but easier. My eyes had at least stopped watering, but was that because I only came out for the sunset?

Yet the pinks this time lit up the houses around us in a way that was beautiful. Smiling at it, I moved over to the same chair I'd used the day before and sat. To my left was the entrance to the town. They sometimes called it a gate, but there was no barrier across it. However, walls ran right up to the road there. The same wall also went behind Zasen's house and deep into the forest. I wondered if it went all the way around town.

To my right, there was nothing but houses. I could see another street. It went off towards the sunset, but was a few houses up. Even further, there was a cross street. I was pretty sure this was where we'd entered town that first day, but I'd been so blinded by the bright light, I wasn't positive.

Then I saw the most amazing thing ever. Swirling around in front of a larger house across the street was a little boy - but this one was teal. Or maybe he was turquoise? His color was a bit darker than Rymar's lines, but still incredibly bright, and it covered him all over. He also had a tail.

But the child was adorable! He had some toy in his hands. I couldn't make it out, but the thing had his complete attention. While I was watching - and smiling at his childish joy - the door opened and Zasen stepped out. He glanced at me, paused with two glasses in his hands, and then followed my gaze to the boy.

"Tamin!" he yelled. The child immediately stopped, jerking his toy down, and looked our way.

"Oh, don't ruin his fun," I said.

But the moment the boy's eyes identified where the voice had come from, he brightened again. "Zasen!" the kid screamed before barreling our way.

With a chuckle under his breath, Zasen passed me one of the drinks, set his own on the small table between us, and then sat. His rump was barely in the chair before the child ran up the stairs and onto the porch without shame, holding his toy out before him.

"Auntie Brielle made me a bird!" the kid bragged in Vestrian. Then he lifted it to show how the wood-and-paper wings moved like flapping. "It flies!"

"It does fly," Zasen agreed. "But why are you outside after sunset?"

The boy thrust out his lower lip and looked over to me as if seeking support. Then his eyes widened and he stepped back. His toy moved before him and the kid stepped back even more.

"A Mole!" he screamed.

Zasen lunged forward and caught the kid by the arm. "Not a Mole, just orin," he corrected. "She is my friend."

With Zasen holding his arm, the child couldn't run away, but he was clearly terrified. "No."

"Yes," Zasen said. "Her name is Ayla. Can you tell her hello, Tamin?"

The boy shook his head. "No!"

"Hello, Tamin," I said in the best Vestrian I could manage.

That made his toy drop a little as his arms almost relaxed. Then he looked up at Zasen. "She's not a Mole?"

"No," Zasen promised. "She's just orin. This one is too gold to be a real Mole. See her hair?"

Tamin looked at me again with suspicion on his face. "Are you a Mole?" he demanded.

"I am not a Mole," I assured him.

And that seemed to make everything okay. The boy immediately lifted his toy again and held it out to me. "Did you see my bird?"

"It's an amazing bird," I promised, glancing at Zasen to make sure I got all those words right.

He nodded in encouragement. "Ayla is learning how to speak Vestrian," Zasen bragged. "Can you understand what she says?"

"Uh-huh!" Tamin nodded his head as big as he could.

"Good," Zasen praised. "Now go home and go inside. Your mother is probably looking for you."

"She's feeding the baby," the kid grumbled.

"Which means you need to make sure she knows where you are." Zasen pointed back at the child's house. "And if you're good, then you can come back over to talk to Ayla again tomorrow."

That made the boy perk up. "Really?"

"I promise," I said, leaning forward so he could see me. "You can bring another toy to show me."

"Okay!" Tamin grinned, then waved. "Bye!"

And with that, he spun and raced across the street, running just as fast as his short little legs would carry him. Pressing a hand over my lips, I giggled.

"What's so funny?" Zasen asked, keeping to the same language.

"His tail!" I admitted. "It just..." I made a gesture with my hand because I wasn't sure how to explain the way it flowed behind him like a ribbon.

"They aren't as strong at his age," Zasen explained. "In a few more years, it will simply balance behind him, not bounce."

"Bounce," I repeated, because that was a good word for it. "So are Dragons born with tails and claws?"

"The tailed ones are."

I replayed that twice to make sure I really understood what he'd said. "Tailed?"

Zasen pointed at his own. "Tailed." Then he pointed at me. "Tailless."

"But I'm human," I said.

"We used to be." He waited until I looked up, then kindly switched to English. "Ayla, when the world warmed, a scientist thought he had a cure. Or she - I'm not entirely sure. Gene therapy, they called it. In those days, they mixed DNA from one thing and added it to another all the time. Bacteria genes into plants to kill insects, and things like that." Zasen gestured to his chest. "We got a wide selection of reptile genes, a few feline, and a bit more. It wasn't until the children were born that we looked any different from you."

I felt my mouth falling open. "You're human?"

He shrugged. "About 80%, I think, but all of that happened centuries ago. In the process, they ruined our females, so the only way for us to have children?" He tipped his head at me. "Is with unaltered women. The children often come out like me, as a Dragon. Other times, they come out like you, as a Dragon."

"But I'm human," I said again.

He chuckled and reached over for his drink. "Tailless." Then he pointed at himself. "Tailed. And everyone in Lorsa is a Dragon."

"Lorsa?"

"Our town," he explained. "That's the name of where you are. The Reaper farms have names too. So do other Dragon towns."

"So what's the difference between a Reaper and a Dragon?" I asked.

"The culture," he explained. "Reapers are mostly tailless, but there are a few tailed among them. The difference is they live a nomadic life. As the seasons change, the Reapers move to the next farm to reap that harvest. When they're done, they plant for the next year."

"So, farmers?" I asked.

He nodded slowly. "Farmers. Like us, they hunt too, but they built their culture around moving from harvest to harvest. They also grow much more food than they need, so we trade with them for grains, flour, vegetables, and such."

"Trade what?" I asked.

Zasen's eyes flicked over to me. "Tools, mostly. Bows and arrows are popular. Because Dragons live in the same place - a town - we can make large amounts of things easier. So, we trade our tools for their harvest. Our excess for theirs."

"And there are many groups of Dragons?"

"A few," he agreed. "None close. It would be at least a week of walking to get to the next closest."

I nodded, taking that all in. "And everyone who lives here is a Dragon? Even the people without tails?"

"They are," he agreed.

"So am I a Dragon now?" I asked hopefully.

He paused with his mouth open, then slumped. "No. I'm sorry, Ayla, but no, you are not. To many people here, you are still a Mole."

"But you told Tamin - "

"So he wouldn't be afraid," he explained. "Ayla, Dragons are scared of Moles. Children should not have to be scared like that, so I told a small lie. It won't change the fact that everyone else will see your orin coloration and decide you are a Mole." He paused. "They do not like Moles."

"So how do I stop being one?" I asked. "I don't like Moles either - except Callah and Meri. How do I get to be a Dragon? I can't change the color of my hair and skin!"

But my words made his head twitch. "You hate the Moles too?"

"The men," I explained. "I hate all of the men. I don't know most of the women, but they never helped me. They aren't allowed to, but they still didn't even try. No, only Callah and Meri were my friends."

Slowly, he began to rock his head in a slow nod. "So you aren't angry that I shot people you know?"

"Men," I repeated.

"And killed?" he asked.

That made me pause. I knew hunters died, but I'd never stopped to think about the fact that Zasen could've been the one to make it happen. And yet my feelings didn't change at all.

"You killed them before they could kill us," I said. "Well, most of us. Some of those men killed a few wives before a Dragon killed them."

He sat up. "They killed their wives?"

I gave him a confused look. "That's how all women die, Zasen. We get married and we are fruitful. We bear our husband’s children until our bodies can't do it anymore."

"Is that why you're so thin?" he asked.

"What?"

He tipped his head at me. "I can see your ribs against your dress, Ayla. My mother told me to make sure you have enough food."

"But why would your mother care?" I asked. "And a woman should eat with intention so as not to steal food from the mouth of a man. Gluttony will make her unappealing and lazy. It is one of the deadly sins, you know."

"And will let the Devil in," he grumbled.

"Yes, but how does your mother know if I need to eat?" I asked again.

Which made Zasen twitch his head one more time, but this time he also began to chuckle. "Do you remember the doctor who treated your feet when you first got here?"

"So she is a doctor?" I gasped. "I wasn't sure. I thought so, because she had the white coat, but she could've been a nurse."

"She's a doctor," he promised. "She's also my mother. Her name is Naomi."

All I could do was stare at him. "The woman with skin the color of tea and hair that is silver and black..." My words trailed off as I took in his pattern. "Is that where you got the stripes?"

His reaction to my question was so emphatic it made me flinch. The Dragon I was told would be the most terrifying of them all leaned his head back and roared out a laugh.

"Oh, she'll love that," he finally said when he could control himself again. "But no. My pattern is from my father. Both myself and my sister got it, even if Jeera's version is solid grey."

"Grey?" I asked.

"Mhm," he agreed, a little curl twisting his lips. "I was told she laid on your legs."

"So the Dragon woman with grey hair, grey eyes, and grey skin is your sister?"

"She is."

I just gaped at him in surprise. "So how did a human woman have Dragon children?"

Which made Zasen chuckle again. "Because her husband - my father - was tailed. His body was colored similar to mine, but his tail was red instead of blue."

"Was?" I asked, catching that word.

Zasen nodded slowly. "Was, Ayla. A Mole killed him."

"Which is why you kill Moles now?" I asked.

"One of many reasons," he promised. "It is why I will even kill you if you try to harm anyone here."

I shook my head. "I don't want to hurt people." Then I paused, realizing that was a lie. "Except the men. I kinda want to kill them a little."

"Then help me?" he asked. "Tell me about what it was like in the base?"

"The compound?" I clarified.

"The place underground where you came from," he explained. "No matter what it is called, I need to know about it."

And I realized this was my chance. This was how I could prove myself. All Zasen wanted to know was something so easy? Well, I would gladly tell him every single thing I knew! Maybe then I'd be able to stay here. And if I could do that? Then hopefully I could figure out how to rescue Meri and Callah next!

So I nodded. "Okay, but can I try to do it in Vestrian? I want to make sure I learn all the words."

"You can do it in any language you want," he assured me. "I happen to think Vestrian is a good one."