Chapter 26 #3
“The is fed by the Waters of Life from a sole sacrifice when the beloved river that sustained their village showed signs of perishing. I suspect she will be more like the river that birthed her, and she will peak and wane as is nature’s way.
But she will forever flow even in the summer.
The water levels will just drop. And those who do not know better will have no idea there is anything other than a spring located by ambitious dragons wishing to engage in acts of archaeology.
” The black dragon lifted her head and laughed. “It is a thing of beauty, truly.”
“Is it offensive to ask how old you are?” I asked, staring at the black dragon, who had a sheen of gold to her scales.
Delilah shook her head. “Jesus of Nazareth was my grandfather,” she informed me with a draconic smile.
“I never met him, as he returned to the flames when my father was young and not yet ready to mate. I am descended from his eldest son, Joseph, named after my great grandfather. My father is in Europe enjoying his retirement, as he worked within the church for most of his life, continuing my grandfather’s work.
I ultimately joined an obscure branch of Christianity, and I work to ease the violence many humans embrace.
A hundred years ago, they were terrorists much like those who destroyed this beautiful land.
They have changed their ways, and I work to bring honor back to them.
I prefer to be subtle, not taking high positions within any of the churches, but I do my part all the same.
For a time, I abandoned them when they had embraced full evil. I cannot tolerate such things.”
I struggled to imagine anyone who could, but the landmines were all the evidence I needed to know evil was alive and well in the world.
It still thrived, but I would do my part to eradicate as much of it as I could. “I consider that to be a good thing.”
“As do I.” Delilah laughed. “I look at you and see your father, but I see you, and I question how these old wyrms could have brought forth such sweet fruit.”
“Carefully and with zero remorse,” my mother replied in a rather proud tone.
“We will have another little one sooner than later, for Kinsley has always wanted a little brother or sister to dote upon. And we’ll end up with another just like her; Kinsley will set an excellent example.
We will simply repeat what we did with her and hope for the best, although we strive to have the next one be a little more inclined to ask questions. ”
I shrugged. “You could have thrown me at your families. Of course, I probably would have started to cry once they started to fight.”
My father burst into laughter. “You really would have. You’ll meet your relatives soon enough. Everyone is curious about you, and you are going to shame them all into behaving a little better, or so we can hope.”
I sighed at the mention of having many relatives I hadn’t met yet. “I supposed if I can survive Erik’s family, I can survive mine.”
“I’ll protect you,” my husband promised.
“You better,” I muttered.
Delilah stretched and shook out her wings before focusing on the distant dust cloud marking where the dragons worked at purging the land.
“I have six brothers who are attorneys now, and they mooch off the rest of the family so that they can represent the innocent free of charge. We quite love our mooching brothers, for they do great work for the people. And as we can hear the truth, we can work to make certain our innocent clients do not face punishment for crimes they did not commit. My sisters, who do not mooch and often fiscally support the moochers, enjoy making certain the world knows the guilt of the sinners they prosecute. The others either work within religion or take on charitable causes. One of my sisters, who enjoys charitable causes, may be interested in safeguarding this site.”
My father lifted his head, joining the black dragon in staring off into the distance. “Having a Child of the Christ helping to safeguard her might be wise.”
“I’m trying to talk my father out of it, but I would not be surprised if he shows up. Worse, my great grandfather might show up. If my great grandfather shows up, I wish you the best of luck getting rid of him for a while.”
My mother snorted. “If anyone of the faith finds out he’s still kicking around, they’ll lose their minds. And Mary?”
“Where my great grandfather goes, she follows. This would be an excellent respite for them.”
“The decision is ultimately yours, Kinsley. While I’m running the project, this project exists because of you,” my father said, and he shook himself off.
“If that’s the spot you want for her, I’ll start digging while your mother fetches the dragons we’ll need for this.
Are you willing to give your blessing, Delilah? ”
“Absolutely. This is exactly the sort of thing my grandfather died for, and little would please him more than seeing this once beautiful land returned to its former glory.”
“Then let us begin.”
* * *
Thursday, June 11, 2167
Uruk
Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq
As the sun crept over the horizon, casting the ruins of Uruk in a golden glow, my father opened the girl’s casket.
Water spilled out and splashed into the hole he had dug, now filled with a chamber meant to serve as her final resting place.
Dragons of every shade had contributed to her vault, creating a work of art only we knew about, all in honor of her sacrifice.
One day, I hoped her melody rejoined the symphony that was life.
With reverent care, he lowered her into the layered chamber, which featured numerous pipes that would allow her waters to escape. Magic would keep the metals and other materials from deteriorating, and I looked forward to witnessing the future.
“It is for the best if it is your hand that keeps her in place until she is fully submerged in her waters,” my mother said, crouched in human form along the broad lip of the vault.
“I would do so as a dragon. Your father can help you if needed, but this task is for your hands alone. It was your choices, your determination, and your compassion that led to this moment.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure who had brought them, but I had both Krikolios’s and Marmariatta’s claws with me, which I handed over to Erik. Then, concentrating on what both ancient dragons had strived to teach me in their final moments, I shifted.
It hurt a little, but all things worth doing in life did.
After some consideration, I popped my knees so my build was more like that of a hunting cat than a horse, perched on the edge of the vault, and joined my father in holding the girl’s body upright while her wrist streamed water.
Several iron dragons hauled one of the drums of her Waters of Life over, opened it, and began pouring it into the vault while Delilah spoke ancient prayers in Hebrew over her body.
The waters splashed onto me before touching the girl, and the flow from her wrist strengthened.
The rays of the rising sun breached the vault, and the ancient corpse burst into golden radiance.
* * *
The Third Month, 4020 BCE
Uruk
Sumeria
Time stood still the moment the girl sliced her wrist with Marmariatta’s claw. I sucked in a breath, aware we stood frozen on the brink of her life and her death. Her spirit, which I’d missed when I first beheld her, overlaid her body.
While her corporeal form remained still, her incorporeal form beheld me with wonder, drifting towards me.
We may as well have been mirrors, reflecting our awe of each other in a moment that would echo through the ages.
“Do you bless me?”
If I ever saw Krikolios in the whisperways, I would thank him for the gift of knowledge allowing me to communicate with the girl from so many years ago.
As I didn’t wish to lie, I said, “You are the blessing. I just wanted you to know that you will, one day, bring life back to this land once the sun reclaims it for a while.”
My words would change nothing: she died, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Her blood already transformed into the waters that would become an oasis and then be part of Madam Merorie’s madness.
But her reasons were pure and true, and I would celebrate her and all she was.
“Dragons are real,” she whispered in awe.
I bobbed my head, grateful I could navigate the whisperways without those around us aware of my presence. “We are. What is your name?”
“Adeatin,” she replied. “The day I was born, the floods came.” She paused, and I recognized the moment her spirit recognized and acknowledged she died. “I die with the floods, but I will be the only one. Life will be preserved.”
Yes, it would. “You will be the only one to perish here today,” I confirmed, careful to keep my tone gentle. “And you will be a great beacon of light in future days for what you do here now. I am Kinsley.”
“What an unusual name, but it’s beautiful.” Then, with painful hesitancy, she asked, “Do you think I made the right choice?”
The truth could hurt to say, but I bowed my head to her. “I know you did, for yourself and for your family and loved ones. Because of you, they will live.”
The relief on her face would haunt me, but I would be grateful I had been able to offer her anything at all during such a pivotal moment. “Thank you.”
Time resumed its course, Adeatin’s blood finished its lethal transition to life-giving water, and her body pitched into the Euphrates to continue its journey to the oasis, where she would one day be discovered, sold, and desecrated before finding her way back to the place of her birth and her death.
* * *
Thursday, June 11, 2167
Uruk
Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq
Rather than float as expected, Adeatin’s body suspended in her waters.
Her fragile attire should have dissolved upon exposure to the water, but it somehow remained intact, and its movement revealed the flow from her wrist increased and created a current.
Once the water covered her head, I released her, careful to keep from damaging her with my claws.
She stayed down.
As I still had a great deal of growing left to do, my father plucked me off the ledge of the vault, set me to the side, and went to work with the other dragons to seal the vault.
While it took me a few minutes, I managed to shift back to human without help, pleased I’d made the transition without losing or damaging my clothes.
The lid went on with a thump, and then every color of dragon came to contribute, working with their element to complete the sealing.
The mercury dragon participated last, as a human, and she removed all traces of mercury from the vault so that the waters would remain pure and pristine.
She contained the traces she had found around the site, put them into a metal vial, and offered them to me.
“I will be doing the entire riverbed and the former oasis, but please accept this as a symbol of our good will. We all cope with the madness of our element, but had we known what was happening in Dragon Heights, we would have been at the front of the line to stop it.”
I accepted the vial. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“If we could do more, we would. We will be taking greater care to monitor our clans so that this does not happen again.”
“I truly appreciate that.”
She smiled, transformed, and took off, headed in the direction of the oasis.
My mother herded me and Erik up the hill.
“We will pour all her waters back into the ground here to begin the process, and then we will bury her vault with the wet sand. After that, we will wing our way to Baghdad, where we will enjoy the president’s hospitality before heading to Europe.
We are not going to be staying for the cleanup process.
We will get in the way. In three days, we will head to the boarding school hosting the girls in Switzerland.
The boys are taking their exams and will be headed to summer camp in the next few days, so it’s best to leave them alone until the start of the school year.
The girls start their exams in early July, and they will likewise be going to a camp until the fall.
” My mother pointed at the collection of drums the dragons had flown in.
“Don’t be surprised that we don’t see much this early in the process.
It could be months until she produces enough water for even a stream to flow.
But once she settles into her vault, the quantity of water should increase. We’ll find out soon enough.”
Dragons of all colors came, and they worked the drums in pairs, carrying them to the vault and pouring them into the ground. The vault settled, and my father used his bulk to make certain it stayed upright as the parched land soaked up the moisture.
A pair of iron dragons flew over my father, turned their drum upside down, and drenched him, earning a roar. The pair whistled their amusement and made off with the empty vessel. Before my father could take flight, another pair joined in, opting for the route of efficiency and soaking my father.
There was only one thing I could do: I pointed and laughed at their antics. “Don’t you let her tomb topple over, Dad.”
He hissed at me.
I graced him with my sweetest smile. “Someone has to make sure the vault doesn’t fall over. That someone is you.”
“You will pay, my pretty little princess.”
“That’s what you think, old man.”
As the other dragons figured out my father was defenseless against them, they went to work emptying the drums in record time.
The vault sank an additional five or so feet into the ground before my father got off it and began the tedious process of burying it and its precious cargo.
Everyone helped, and in a matter of an hour, we’d restored the riverbank to its original state.
“Now we will dig out a channel to the oasis so that the waters will flow in its intended path,” my mother announced.
“Then it is but a quick flight to Baghdad, where we will rest until it is time to finish this journey and go home. Should the river begin its rebirth faster than we expect, the dragons staying here will let us know. Now, let’s get you two shifted, because we will all contribute to digging the channel along the way.
But today is the first day of her bright new future.
Life returns to her birthplace, just as she intended when she sacrificed her life so long ago. ”