Empress Red

Chapter 3

Blaise held the eye of her late friend between her fingers, hardly minding the drying goo that coated her fingers. Even this high in the air on dragon back, with the wind pressing cold against her and Maimi. The cold blue iris stared back at her, reminding her dourly what had occurred the day before. Part of her wanted to throw it to the side, let it find its way back to the earth. The other part of her wanted to stick to the only rules she ever gave herself and keep it close until it became nothing.

With a sigh, Blaise tucked the organ back into the pocket of her leather pouch that locked onto the strap around her belt. With DragonVale in sight, she had no more time to dwell onto the recent past events.

Blaise hadn't wanted to come back here, but with Valor's betrayal and confession, she didn't have a choice in the matter. She needed a place to store her dragon that did not make her conspicuous and lead whoever had their eyes on her end right to her. DragonVale had a number of dragons and dragon riders, enough for her to blend in for the time being.

DragonVale had two entrances. The one below, near the ground, had a large stone bridge leading into the gates. Heads of dragons statues lined the stone wall railings with water sprouting down into a river of water along the edges of the bridge, leading all the way down to the gate. Over the top of the gate, along the wall that closed the city in, was a cave-like entrance. It was colossal, enough for the biggest of dragon breed to fit into. Glowing crystals from the volcano by Druke Lake hung from the ceiling of the curved opening to light the place.

Maimi flew right for the top entrance without Blaise's guidance. She knew it well, this being her home. She grew up here, watching dragons flying in and out with their own partners before Blaise appeared. Before they trained together and learned trust and will.

Maimi landed behind a dragon that was an ant compared to her. Blaise looked down to see an olive green dragon with a man nearly as tall as him. His beard grew just enough that it looked like a dead bush, and the scar across his face likely made the man think he looked intimidating. Blaise knew well that with that small of a dragon, this man was nothing short of "barely capable".

Blaise slipped down to the stone and hovered a hand over Maimi's scales as a man approached her. He wore a leather tunic with a glowing crystal brooch. He was small and scrawny, probably not best fit for dealing with dragon riders, but his face was stone as he glanced up at the looming black dragon behind Blaise. He held a long scroll in his hands with a quill. DragonVale was the only city to still use them. "ID and permit."

Blaise pushed back a hanging piece of fabric from her hood around her waist to fish out the little pieces of thick paper that allowed her in and out of cities so easily. Any other person would rely on a bribe or if possible, a merchant's permit. Getting to and from cities was not meant to be easy. The strict nature helped to keep the cities populations right where they needed them.

He marked a few things on his list before handing it back. "Stay out of trouble." He motioned them forward, where the man from before once stood.

Blaise put a hand on Maimi's calve as they began forward. They walked a few blocks, revealing the large dragon stables that towered over part of the city. They to came to the last block, and Blaise guided them down. The closer to the city Maimi was, the easier the departure if needed.

The stables were merely glorified horse stables. The only difference, the size of which allowed dragons to perch on shelving in the back of the block squared off with stone fencing. It was unfortunate Maimi was far too big to use the perches, but they were a nice touch.

Maimi hovered her face in front of Blaise's. While they couldn't communicate, Blaise could see in her eyes that Maimi was waiting for some type of goodbye from her. Blaise, having a softness for her partner, let a crack smile through. "I'll be back with a treat in the morrow." She scratched the scales between Maimi's eyes and then turned and left.