Chapter 3 #2
“It only takes three generations for information to be lost.” Alric sighed, and with that sigh sounded a mountain’s worth of regret.
“After so many mage clans were lost in the Dragon War, we believe the mages who survived went into hiding, possibly fearful of being hunted down. Even generations later, I cannot say your great-grandmother’s attitude was unreasonable. ”
And that put it into perspective, didn’t it?
Cameron couldn’t remember what set the Dragon War off to begin with.
He wasn’t sure if his history class in high school ever covered the why.
Just the destruction it’d brought about to the world, and how they’d lost both dragons and mages because of it.
All he remembered was that when dragons and mages duked it out, things like the Sahara happened. Magic could be pretty destructive.
The rest of the conversation abruptly derailed as they ascended into the mountains. The Cooper climbed steadily, winding around the mountain road, and in between the evergreens, snatches of the castle revealed itself. Cameron almost put his nose to the glass trying to get a better look.
It stood like a fairytale, all white and pristine as it soared into the sky, the round towers at the top ending in conical tin roofs.
It looked like something out of a child’s storybook, and Cameron had to blink several times to convince himself his eyes weren’t playing tricks.
“Holy shit, Alric! That’s a stunning castle. And you live in it?”
“I do indeed, along with the rest of my family. It’s a very large building so it can accommodate all of us with ease.” His expression turned sad for a moment. “More than we currently have, in fact.”
Cameron sensed some tragic history behind that statement. He didn’t want to pry and reopen old wounds. So, he changed the topic a little to something else. “How long has the castle been standing? You said it was to replace the other one that burned down in 1300-something.”
“You’re correct. It was built late 1300 and finished in early 1400. So, some time.”
“The upkeep on this thing must be insane.”
“Oh, I have a little help on that. Fortunately.” Alric’s mouth grew in a smile that suggested he’d just told a joke, something Cameron didn’t know enough to get. “But there’s something up here that I want to show you—oh Schei?e.”
Cameron’s head snapped around to see what had caused Alric to swear. For a split second, he didn’t see anything and was confused. Then he saw it, soaring through the clear blue sky, angling down and toward their direction.
A dragon. In full flight.
“I told him not to do that,” Alric sighed, already sounding resigned.
Cameron wanted to say words. Many words. They garbled together, unable to release a single syllable; his eyes threatened to pop out of his head altogether. “Ashohjokjsdfronheeeeee—”
“Sorry, that’s Ravi. As I’m sure you’ve discovered, he’s impulsive.”
Not the question Cameron meant to ask, but crap on a stick, that was the same guy who’d glommed onto him yesterday?
! But the guy yesterday had dark hair and a sort of Middle-Eastern look, and the dragon above his head was a slate blue, and those colors didn’t really match up, and why was Cameron thinking about colors of all things when he had a dragon literally flying overhead, and wow, brain, can we focus a little here on the important things ?
Not good, Cameron was now babbling to himself in his own head.
Ravi the dragon landed behind them on the road and chased the car with a sort of joyful bound, like a puppy who’d been promised a walk.
The ground seemed to tremble and bounce under the wheel each time Ravi’s large feet landed.
Cameron twisted to watch him, jaw still dangling.
My god, but look at him move, so fluidly like that.
He completely missed it when they cleared the front gates of the castle and into the inner courtyard.
He only knew they had suddenly parked, and that meant getting out, and Cameron had absolutely no intention of getting out while a dragon hovered nearby.
“Cameron?” Alric’s voice was gentle, a hand on his arm with the lightest pressure. “Cameron, would you like to get out?”
Speaking around a dry mouth, he croaked, “You know, I think my knees left for a different continent, so if it’s all the same to you, how about I just sit here for a while? Say, the rest of the year.”
“If you need a minute, certainly. I’ll be back for you once I’ve dealt with a certain creature who doesn’t know how to behave.” Alric opened the door and got out, immediately commanding in a firm voice, “Ravi. Down.”
Ravi obediently plopped down in front of the car, wings tucked in. Sitting like that, he was roughly the size of a cargo van, sans the tail swishing back and forth. “Hoheit, why are you treating me like a dog?” he asked, voice a little louder than a human voice could comfortably maintain.
“You are worse than a dog. A dog, at least, would obey me. You’ve alarmed him so thoroughly he doesn’t want to leave the car right now.”
Ravi’s large head ducked low, sinking toward his massive shoulders as if he was ashamed or embarrassed. “Oh. That’s my bad. I thought show was better than tell and it would convince him faster.” Tilting his head, Ravi addressed Cameron directly. “Sorry, Cameron. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Cameron found his knees. Or his courage, or whatever it was.
When Cameron was very young, maybe five, he’d been so excited about dragons.
Everything he owned was dragons. When he’d finally learned at eight they didn’t exist any longer, he’d been so disappointed, he’d cried about it for days.
Watching the blue dragon move, actually seeing the proof of it with his own eyes, he felt that giddy wonder of his five-year-old self spring up with a vengeance.
No way could he sit still when a living, breathing dragon stood right there in front of him.
He got out, his motions on autopilot, all of his attention on Ravi.
Dragons were real .
He nearly shook with the need to touch, wanting that tactile sense. His eyes roved over Ravi’s sleek form, taking in every detail. Ravi had his head canted invitingly, encouraging Cameron closer to touch.
Ravi was very much the western style, four-legged dragon, his body covered in a sleek hide-like tough leather with the slate blue of his skin darker in places, like near the juncture of his legs and under his chin.
His head was small and slim, meaning it was probably the length and width of Cameron’s torso.
Keen brown eyes observed him carefully. He kept very still, as if to not spook Cameron further.
Cameron couldn’t help but reach out, and Ravi put his nose squarely into Cameron’s hand.
It startled him further, the texture of the leathery scales, the heat of him.
A warm hand settled at the base of Cameron’s spine, and it settled there in support. “Cameron?”
“My god,” Cameron breathed, mind whirling as he slotted what he knew against what he was seeing with his own eyes.
“The illustrations we have in the history books really don’t do dragons justice.
” Another fact careened through his brain, ping-ponging about and demanding attention.
Had Ravi addressed Alric as ‘Hoheit?’ It sounded like a title.
For that matter, hadn’t Alric said from the very beginning that this castle had always been the home of the Fire Dragon Clan? And that Ravi was part of his family?
The realization hit him like lightning. Was he actually surrounded by dragons right now?
Turning his head, he looked at Alric as he never had before. Alric watched him with perhaps a hint of nerves in his eyes, but with that calm he always seemed to possess, body oriented toward Cameron like a stalwart bastion. Who was this man, really? “I’m sorry…Hoheit? What does that mean?”
Alric smiled a little. “I believe the nearest English equivalent is ‘sire.’” His expression became solemn as he bowed his head to Cameron. “I am Alric Burkhard, King of the Fire Dragons. You, sir, are in the heart of Fire Dragon territory.”
“Well,” Cameron’s mouth irreverently spat out, “I can see why you’re so sure dragons are still alive.”
Alric barked a laugh, his eyes crinkling up in an adorable way. “Indeed. Why don’t you come in? I still owe you a tour, and I think you want to sit down again.”
“Yeah,” Cameron agreed faintly. “Sitting down. Great idea. Let’s do that.”
“This way, please. Ravi, if you’d put the car away?”
“Sure.”
Cameron went where Alric led, turning toward a side door that he could see on the opposite side of the rather massive courtyard.
Well, that made sense, didn’t it? The courtyard would have to be huge in order to accommodate a dragon’s wingspan, or several dragons coming in and out all at once.
Cameron felt like he’d stepped back in time, seeing the little nicks and claw marks in the grey paving stones from where claws had dug in.
Striding along with the dragon king at his side, who was dressed in modern clothes, didn’t seem to dispel the image much.
Oh damn. Alric. King. That was just now really sinking in, and really?
The man who had charmed him into taking a tour and eating dinner with him was a king?
Cameron couldn’t really wrap his head around it.
Alric didn’t act kingly—not like you saw in the media, at least. Alric was entirely too. ..was human the right word?
There was a suspicious sound behind them that may or may not have been a car being physically lifted off the ground.
“You scratch my paint, you buy the car!” Alric called over his shoulder.
Ravi didn’t even sound concerned. “Pfft, like I’ve ever scratched your paint.”
Cameron couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder. Ravi had literally lifted the car up, hauling it like an oversized toy toward…the garage, he assumed. So, dragons were insanely strong. Check. Don’t piss off a dragon.