The Mythical Secret

Part 3: It Speaks

My heart raced, my brain was unable to comprehend. I glanced at Jake to see if he was seeing the same thing. Sure enough, the look on his face matched mine. Confusion, fear, bewilderment, shock, surprise. So many emotions at once. Nevertheless, there was no doubt about what we just discovered.

A dragon.

We quickly ducked out of sight. "I was not expecting that!" My voice was a harsh whisper. "What do we do now? Call the police? Animal services?"

He rubbed his chin deep in thought. After a minute, he spoke softly. "I'm not sure."

"What do we do?"

"Maybe we should wake it up."

He said it so hushed, it took a second for my brain to realize what he meant. "Are you crazy? What if it goes rampant and chaotic? If it breathes fire, it could burn down the whole neighborhood."

"Look, I know you don't agree with me, but I can protect us. Please just trust me."

My head was yelling NO! NO! NO!, but my heart was telling me to trust him. Going against my better judgment, I followed him back to the dragon.

It could not have been bigger than a full-grown horse with reflective, crimson and black scales that seemed to absorb the light. It looked deep in slumber, puffs of smoke coming out of its nostrils with every breath. I could not help but notice the long, sharp talons extending from its hands as Jake went and stood no more than three feet away from the body. He had discovered an old cooking pan and grabbed it.

Without warning, he slammed the bat against the pan releasing a remarkably loud bang. It echoed around the attic in waves. My palms were sticky with sweat as I gripped the golf club tighter. We waited and waited in suffocating silence until the dragon began to move. Slowly at first, then the eyes opened quickly and it jumped up in surprise.

The dragon watched us with great interest, stretching its wings out to their full length. The wingspan was at least ten feet from tip to tip. It stood up and I noticed spikes running along its back. Its head almost touched the eight-foot-tall roof. Then it let out a bone-chilling roar that left my ears ringing.

It sniffed the air, the intimidating green eyes settling on me. It tucked its wings back in and sat down facing us. "Well, well well. Who do we have here?"

It spoke!

The dragon had just spoken to us. I was in such shock that everything in my body shook. I would have crashed to the ground in a faint if Jake had not been there to catch me. The look on his face revealed that he had heard it, too. I was not insane.

My eyes never left the creature. It spoke again, a sharp female voice with an air of authority. "I asked a question."

I did not trust my voice to speak. Thankfully, Jake answered for both of us. "I'm Jake Alexander and this is my sister, Ruby." His voice quivered with every word which made the dragon smile.

"There is no need to be afraid of me, young Jake and Ruby. You may call me Syrax, the Protector. Tell me, how have you come to be here?"

Jake answered, "We live here. We have for five years." We slowly came out from our hiding spot but stayed close together. From our standing point there was a clear path to the stairs for a quick get-away should we need it.

She slowly came closer, nose sniffing our scent. "You smell familiar to me. Who are your parents?"

"Jane and Michael Alexander."

A look of realization raced across the dragon's face. "I knew them." We gasped in shock.

"How?"

"Your mother found me as an egg twenty-six years ago on a trip to Egypt. They had just gotten married and were on their honeymoon. When they arrived at a traders' market, a strange elderly man gifted them my egg. They had not known what it was until several months later when I hatched. They had tried to contact the man and find out who he was but failed to find any information about him. No one knew who he was. He had completely vanished."

She paused and waited for the information to sink in.

"Your parents raised me in secret for many years until she was with child. It was you, Jake. However, she forbade me to see you, not wanting to scare you or burden you with the secret of my existence. Your mother knew how people would react if they discovered me. So, she and your father moved away when you, Jake, were seven and had to leave me here to defend myself since I could not make the journey in secret. I have been hibernating for years waiting for her return. Tell me, where are your parents now? It would be wonderful to see them again."

My eyes stung with newly formed tears. Unable to meet her eyes, my voice came out in a whisper, "Our parents died five years ago in a car accident in Missouri. We moved back to this house soon after and have lived here ever since." Jake took my trembling hand in his and gave a comforting squeeze.

"I see," Syrax said, voice laced with sadness. She laid down again and put her face between her hands. "I have suffered many losses in my lifetime, but none were as important as your parents were to me. I will keep them forever in my memory as you children shall, too." Her focus went back to me. "You weren't born when your parents lived here."

"I was born in Missouri and grew up there."

"You both look so much like your parents." A tear appeared in the dragon's eye, but she quickly blinked it away.

That night as I lay in bed, my mind went over everything that had occurred. Syrax had decided to continue sleeping in the attic where she had been previously. She had found extra hay from a nearby farm and used it as bedding.

I tossed and turned, finding no way to get comfortable. Finally getting out of bed, I made my way to the attic not knowing if Syrax would be awake.