Ancestral Dragon

Chapter 5

Last night came rushing to the forefront of Jak's mind against his will. He clamped his eyes shut and rolled over on the couch as if he could get away from the memory. The old couple had not said another word after his outburst. There was no reason to prolong the journey home but he could have brought up his concerns with more tact. Instead, Agatha had isolated herself in the bedroom while John had silently cleaned up.

Jak felt uncomfortable in his own skin as he opened his eyes. He sat up to find a bowl of stew on the table next to the couch. He lost his appetite at the sight of it not being deserving of the old couple's generosity. The bowl went untouched as Jak threw his blanket to the side and stood to find an empty cabin. Where could they be?

The stale air in the cabin made Jak long for the mountain breeze, so he stepped out outside to find a quiet forest. He rubbed his arms trying to figure out where the old couple could have gone. John was supposed to be taking Jak to the nearest town on horseback so they must be saddling up the horses. Jak made his way down the trail to the barn.

The giant sliding door was already open when Jak arrived. He hesitantly walked inside remembering the prank John played on him with Jorjin. The stillness of the barn was a perfect scene for a repeat of that day. Jak dismissed the idea at once as he remembered the pain he had caused the old couple. They were probably just avoiding him.

The horses stood in their respective stalls with bridles and already packed saddles. John had been out here.

"John," Jak said loud enough for his voice to carry throughout the barn with no response.

Jak rubbed the jaw of each horse before moving into the sparring room. Still nothing. Before closing the door, he spotted a staircase at the other end. It was covered in fabric that Jak had previously disregarded as décor. It was the one place in the barn he had not checked.

"John!" Jak yelled up the stairs.

There was no answer but Jak's curiosity pushed him to climb anyway. When his head cleared the floor, he found a cluttered loft. The little light that came in through a small open window showed a room half the size as the one below with two desks along the far wall. Jak walked over to them and found old books of unusual titles: The Evolution of Dragons, Royal History of Kaolin, and Ancestral Dragon: Fire or Ice?

The titles sounded like his English teacher collaborated with the biology teacher to write a series of fictitious books. Papers splayed out across the table couldn't be deciphered because they were littered with unfamiliar symbols. It seemed to be a language from the order in which they were written, maybe even letters. Each paper ended in the same arrangement of symbols, as if someone signed his or her name.

A hand painted map hung on the wall above the desks. It showed a large land mass with many islands lining the entire southern coast. Pellegrasia was written in the top left corner, Tokuntusa was written above the right half of the continent and Chytridia was written near the many islands in the south. Above it all was one word written larger than the rest; Kaolin. None of what he saw looked or sounded familiar. Jak had to remind himself that under the circumstances with the meteor shower, he could be anywhere in the world, though.

"Keeeeyyyyuuuurrrr!"

The loud screech nearly knocked Jak off his feet. On the window sill sat a dark colored hawk with a black spotted chest. It stared at him as if it were waiting for something. Jak froze in place for a moment as his pulse slowed and then walked closer. There was a small carrying case strapped to the bird's leg. He reached for it, hoping not to get pecked. He undid the case and pulled out a letter. The hawk left as soon as its burden was lifted.