Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Almost there…
It had been several days of flying that involved exiting Canada then traversing the United States and Mexico, a journey that Shamash could have accomplished in half the time.
However, my stamina did not yet match his.
The bigger dragon always seemed to sense when my energy waned and would suddenly swoop for a niche that would keep us hidden during the day while we slept.
Keep me hidden, to be precise. My sire could move without notice amongst the humans and it proved hard to rein in the jealousy.
How freeing would it be to have such power? A power Shamash hinted could be stolen.
While we did speak during our flight, conversing via thoughts rather than aloud, I never outright asked how Shamash had acquired all his abilities.
Had they come with age or had he taken them from another?
The latter worried for, in a fight, he would vastly outmatch me.
At the same time, he did nothing untoward.
I went to sleep and woke each time, alive and unharmed.
I found myself intrigued by our kind’s history, a past chock full of violence, and not just by humans against dragons.
It seemed the inherited memories from my maternal progenitor hadn’t all been false. Dragons did used to go to war with each other, seeking to expand their territory, to become more powerful.
“It is a wonder our kind managed to procreate, given the power struggles,” I noted as we flew ever southward.
“Oddly enough, even the thirstiest for dominance end up eventually struck with an urgent desire to have heirs. As if it were engrained in our DNA.”
“You didn’t,” I pointed out. “At least, not intentionally.”
“Why do you think I met with your mother?”
“You rejected Tiamat, though. Did you ever seek out any other dragonesses?”
“I might have, had there been other dragonesses. However, between Tiamat’s quest for power and humanity’s rebellion against our kind, none remained.”
“Not true. There was Nessie.” A rare twin to Tiamat, who’d had her wings torn off by her sister and ended up exiling herself to Loch Ness to live out her days.
“The urge to procreate together never occurred. I think, after all we’d witnessed, we thought it might be best if our kind died out.”
It might have happened too, if not for Tiamat’s sly theft of Shamash’s seed and then the machinations of Malone to ensure those fertilized eggs hatched. Dragons once more walked the Earth, but would we suffer the same fate as our ancestors?
We wouldn’t be in as much danger if we could blend in with the population, I thought as I stared at my father’s broad back and expansive wings.
Did I dare try to steal that gift from Shamash?
If I failed, which seemed likely given our disparity in size and strength, I wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
Not to mention, I didn’t actually want my father dead.
Could there be a different way for him to share the gift with his progeny?
One that didn’t require consuming his dead flesh?
I hated that I thought of Malone in that moment. The mad scientist who would have gleefully sought a way.
The thrill of flight brought also the exhilaration of discovery.
While Canada possessed wide open spaces and excellent hunting, South America exhibited a lushness that immediately pleased.
The moisture in the air hydrated the membranes of my wings.
The wildlife, running in the open provided excellent snacks.
A territory worth possessing, only that would mean removing the lovely dragoness who’d laid claim.
As if reading my mind, Shamash murmured, “Remember this trip is about strengthening our alliance with the other hatchlings, not coveting what they have.” I almost grumbled until Shamash added.
“Have I ever told you about Typhon and Echidna? A mated pair who ruled side by side over most of Europe until their demise?”
Wait, a male and female sharing territory? What a concept, although… With me already laying claim to Canada, and Pollita South America, it wouldn’t be far-fetched for us to command the Western Hemisphere.
We would be the most powerful couple with the most land and wealth. And the hatchlings we would produce would be beyond compare.
An idea to mull that would also depend on Pollita.
Thus far, we’d only ever spoken—and flirted—via video conference.
Soon—too soon—we’d meet in dragon, and Pollita would be exposed to my great and majestic presence.
Hopefully, she could handle it. I needed a strong mate, not one too intimidated by my grandeur.
Although, a little bit of awe wouldn’t be amiss.
To not alarm possibly trigger-happy servants, I left Shamash gliding above to watch for threats while I landed in a clearing a short distance away from the coordinates for Pollita’s cavern palace. I bugled a cry to draw Pollita’s attention.
Only moments after my announcement, the flap of wings drew my gaze upward to the pinkish dragon circling overhead.
Once more, I uttered a noise which led to the aerial watcher diving.
Pollita, whose servants informally called her Polly, landed hard and gaped at the sight of me. “Abaddon! What are you doing here?”
“I flew to see you,” I declared, giving her my finest, most majestic pose.
“Without giving me warning?”
“Are you not happy I came?”
“Of course I am,” she trilled. “But had I known, I wouldn’t be such a mess. My horns weren’t due to be polished until tomorrow. And my scales would have been scrubbed.”
“You look perfect,” I stated. The truth. Pollita had some weight on her bones, indicating servants who kept her properly fed. Her pastel scales gleamed with health and her horns… I wanted nothing more than to tangle mine with hers.
“And you look even larger in dragon,” she crooned.
Before I could preen at the compliment, Shamash alit, and Pollita hissed. “You brought a stranger to my domain!”
“Calm yourself, daughter,” Shamash soothed. “I mean you no harm.”
Pollita blinked. “Father? Is that you?”
Of course, she wouldn’t recognize him since their previous conference calls had Shamash in his human shape.
I swept a clawed paw. “Pollita, meet he who fertilized our clutch. The mighty Shamash.”
“How many times do I have to tell you I go by Allistair these days?” the dragon asked while he transformed into his man shape, causing Pollita to waver.
Seeing Shamash morph for the first time had that effect. Lucky for Pollita, my fast reflexes allowed me to catch her.
“Be not afraid,” I grandly declared.
“I’m not scared,” she exclaimed, pushing away. “More like insanely jealous. I mean, it’s one thing to hear about our father’s ability, but to see the ease with which he can change shape… How marvelous.” She clapped her paws in glee and her eyes shone with admiration.
For Shamash. Not me.
“Daughter, it is my honor to meet you.” Shamash offered a half-bow, but Polly shuffled forward and grabbed him in her arms for a hug.
“I cannot believe you’re here. I shall have my servants prepare a feast for you at once. Oh, and a room.” She didn’t even glance at me as she gushed.
“We shan’t be staying for long, and we hope you will join us once you hear our reason for coming.”
“Join you, why? To go where?” she asked, setting Shamash back on his human feet.
“To gather the others,” he stated, digging in his satchel for clothing.
“Because of the dream,” she murmured, bobbing her horned head.
Her words had me stiffening. “You’ve seen the mountain covered in snow?”
“No mountain for me, but rather a cavern of ice,” she replied, glancing briefly in my direction.
“Tell me more,” Shamash demanded.
Polly waved her paws as she spoke. “The dream began about a week or so ago. I find myself in a huge cave covered in ice, which I didn’t understand at first. After all, I’ve never seen ice that doesn’t come as a tiny cube.
When I described the walls as refracting light and looking like melted candles in spots, Mathias explained what I saw. ”
“Anything else?” Shamash inquired, showing her way too much interest and attention.
“This is boring,” I interrupted, displeased by the attention the inseminator paid her. “Who cares about a dream featuring a cave? Me, I’ve had visions of a mountain shaking.”
“So what? Mountains shake all the time, especially right before a volcano blows,” was her tart riposte.
The retort had me recoiling. So much for Pollita leading in my affections. Guess I’d be concentrating more on Persephone from now on. She would know how to treat someone of my mighty stature.
“Tell me more about this cave. Did it have any defining features? Maybe a symbol carved in the ice?” Shamash asked.
“There is one oddity. One of the walls isn’t like the others. It’s more grayish in hue and not as slick. Almost textured.”
“Like, say, scales?” Shamash prompted.
“Only if the scales were as tall as me, and even the dinosaurs never got that large,” she tittered. “Do you know why I’m having this dream?”
“No but I’ll wager it’s related to the one Abaddon keeps having and why Astaria insisted we meet.”
“Seems like we’ve much to discuss. Let us do so over some refreshments,” Pollita offered.
A dinner that did much to mollify. For one, Pollita’s servants fawned over me.
They obviously recognized greatness. Two, the food offerings proved delicious.
Roasted chicken seasoned with spices and dripping with fat and juice.
Plump fruits to sweeten the tongue after, and a potent nectar Pollita called Pisco—a grape brandy—that had me blinking as my vision doubled and my step wavered.
“Fabulous feast,” I slurred as Polly led me through the network of tunnels that honeycombed her cavern hideaway.
“My servants are most excellent,” she agreed. “If you don’t mind, I took the liberty of housing you with me since the other chambers lack proper accommodation for our kind. The previous inhabitant never received dragon guests, hence why I only have the one suite.”
Share a room? With Polly?
Gulp.
I quickly sobered. “I shall be a perfect gentledragon,” I promised.
“Well, that would be a shame,” she cooed, “seeing as how we’re finally together.”
Double gulp.
Wait? Dragons didn’t canoodle like humans. Or did they…
I soon got my answer.
The next morning, Shamash eyed my strutting steps and the equally saucy Pollita but said nothing about the night we’d spent together. Instead, he chose to circle back around to the reason for our visit.
“These dreams you and Abaddon are having appear to be a portent.”
“I figured as much. Are we in danger?” Pollita asked.
“I believe so, seeing as how even Tiamat was concerned. While unclear what she knew, Tiamat called the threat The Destroyer, and her fear of it is why I suspect she used subterfuge to fertilize a clutch.”
“She wanted loyal allies to stand by her side,” Pollita wrongly assumed.
Shamash shook his head. “To steal your strength.”
Pollita blinked her beautiful, jewel-like eyes, so pretty I wanted to pluck them for my hoard. “What do you mean, steal?”
I cleared my throat. “Apparently, it is possible for a dragon to consume the flesh of another to acquire their gift.”
“It doesn’t always work, though,” cautioned Shamash. “And the attempt has resulted in more than one battling duo both dying due to grievous injury.”
“Wait a second. Our egg layer was going to eat us!” squeaked Pollita. “How rude!”
“Tiamat wasn’t the maternal sort,” Shamash offered with an apologetic shrug.
“I would never eat my hatchlings,” huffed my beauty.
“I should hope not.”
Then Pollita dared to ask the question I hadn’t. “How many dragons have you consumed to have so many gifts?”
“A few, but I never sought them out. They came after me and suffered the consequence.”
“Your shifting ability…” she further queried.
“My own as are my refractive scales that hide me when I fly. The command voice I can use was also naturally inherited, but not until I’d reached a millennia in age.”
A thousand years? I didn’t know if I had the patience to wait that long.
“Interesting,” Polly mused aloud, “But I’m thinking our focus should be on this thing Tiamat called the Destroyer. What is it?” A question directed at Shamash.
“I’m not entirely sure, but when I ran into Malone in Scotland, he mentioned something about a dragon, one asleep for so long it’s been forgotten.”
“Which would make it much older than you,” posited Pollita.
“And I am already eons in age.”
“Malone must have lied,” I interjected. “If a dragon went to sleep that long ago, then it likely died of starvation. I doubt I’d last a week without food.” I struggled going a few hours.
“Your hunger is normal, since you are both growing hatchlings; however, a mature dragon doesn’t need to feed as often. I can go years without sustenance if needed.”
“Years isn’t millennia,” I scoffed.
“Hold on a moment,” Pollita canted her pretty head and horns. “You think our dreams are related to this sleeping dragon Malone spoke of.”
“I do.” A theory I already knew about—and didn’t want to believe. And this despite the dream I’d had showing Malone by my shivering mountain.
“If true, then that wall seemingly made of scales taller than me would make this sleeping destroyer beyond massive.”
“Aye,” Shamash agreed. “Which is why I wish for us to gather and seek out this dragon before it fully awakens.”
“To do what?” I asked.
“Whatever it takes.”
A statement that really deserved ominous music.