Dragon Dreams

Chapter 24: New Lessons, Old Fears (2/2)

I looked at the four deer laying in the grass, wondering how we could fly with such a load. My question was answered almost immediately when Rofar came up and said, "I'll help with this part. We use a bit of magic to make the weight more manageable." He placed his paw on my kill and whispered a few words as the others did the same.

When he was finished, I lifted my deer experimentally and discovered that it really did weigh much less, as if it were full of stuffing rather than flesh and bone. "Nice trick," I thought.

Moments later we took off again with the deer clutched in our forepaws. On the way back, I heard from the others about different types of hunting. While deer could be taken down by one dragon, they told me a moose or bear sometimes required the whole group to take down one animal. I was glad we had started with an easier target.

When we returned to the village, we hauled the carcasses to a building near the great hall where they were stored to be butchered. I didn't stick around for that.

"We have much to do, Ayreth," Rofar said, leading me back through the village after we separated from Brilyk and Tagal.

"Yes, master." I walked beside him, totally unsure of what was in store for me next.

"I have some business to attend to, so I will soon be placing you in someone else's capable claws for a little while. Ah, we're almost there."

A hut came into view through the trees. It was made completely of layers and layers of flat stones arranged in a dome shape that rose from the dirt. Smoke curled from a hole in the center of the roof. Rofar and I approached the gray structure, and he called out as we approached an arched entrance in the side.

"Enter," came a familiar voice from within. It was Eysri the shaman.

Rofar held back a little and let me go in first. I was a little anxious at the thought of being left alone to talk with someone who was essentially a stranger. This kind of thing wasn't my favorite activity. I understood, however, that being here in the clan meant that I had better get used to being outside my comfort zone, which wasn't such a bad thing. I tried to remind myself of that as my heart pounded in my ears.

The interior was darkened by the lack of windows in the impenetrable, stone walls. A fire crackled in a pit in the center of the space, which was a simple room with sparse furnishings. I saw something moving on the far side of the room that turned out to be the sole dragon occupant.

She paced back and forth, a few steps at a time, all the while staring into the flames. The light from the fire threw her spiky silhouette against the stone wall behind her. The bits of shiny metal in her necklaces and piercings reflected the warm light much like they had the previous night.

Just inside the doorway, I quickly turned and looked back at Rofar lingering outside. "Um...I..." I mumbled, not knowing what to do.

"Eysri, you can speak with our new arrival for a while, can't you?" the blue dragon prompted. "He might have some questions about athkan you could answer."

"Yes. Welcome." The shaman didn't look at me. Her voice was as deep and distinctive as I remembered. She had a command of the language that was hard to describe, as if every word she spoke expressed exactly what she wanted it to.

"Be back in a bit," Rofar breathed almost apologetically and slipped away.

"I...Hello," I stammered, turning to the black dragon. "I'm—"

"I know who you are," she announced. The pacing stopped. Her eyes now stared into mine. After she had stood for a long moment in frozen silence, slow steps brought her closer to me. Her limbs moved like a great cat, all smooth sinew and compact muscle. Dancing firelight played across the gold markings on her face and body. "The question is," she stopped a few feet from me and bent her back legs to sit. "Do you know who I am?"