The Dragon's Sign

Chapter 10

"Loyalty is defined by more than mere words of honor. It is acted upon, whether it be the good times or the bad, never doubting for a second you would do it over and over again."
~Regina, Watcher of the nests~

She felt the rough scales beneath her cheek before raising her head, momentarily disoriented as to where she was. The blue haze on the horizon glowed softly, bobbing as Sapheria continued on her route.

"Where are we?" Fairwin yawned as she stretched her numb arms out.

"Almost there little one. You missed out on all the fun while you slept, there was a comet blazing a few hours ago," Sapheria chuckled in thought-speak while climbing higher to avoid the cloud coming towards them.

Groaning in impatience, Fairwin rubbed her eyes and let out a low growl. She wanted to be there already. There wasn't a lot of time that she could spare, and dallying with strange locals wasn't going to help any.

Sure, the elves were suppose to be extinct, but the evidence showed to the contrary. Which was still very fascinating considering someone had been protecting them for a long time.

Sapheria looked at the ground below, seeing the bulk of the trees protruding into the air. "Hold on!" she said before tucking in her wings.

"Whoo hoo!" Fairwin laughed, leaning forward into the spike and hugging Sapheria's neck with all she had. The wind whipped her hair around her, stinging as it lashed her cheek.

She loved the feeling of giddiness that overcame her as they descended a few hundred feet. There was a hard jerk as Sapheria straightened out, smoothing out her strokes as Fairwin looked down at the massive treetops below them.

"How are you going to get in there when we arrive?" Fairwin asked, noticing the tight space between the trunks.

Thrumming Sapheria replied, "There's a place cleared for me specifically. Queen Cassandril ordered it to be built nearly a thousand years ago. That's where we'll meet with your escort."

Escort? Oh joy, hopefully she wasn't going to break any unknown rules on the walk to the city. A forest city no less. The idea of everything being made entirely out of trees was rather fascinating.

"Wait, you won't be going with me?" Fairwin swallowed, clutching the book tightly against her chest anxiously.

Laughing in thought-speak, Sapheria tucked in her wings and dove into the clearing below. Fairwin let out a grunt as she clung desperately to the spike.

Leaves rustled as they landed, the ground shaking underneath them from Sapheria's impact. Wincing, Fairwin lifted herself up and climbed down Sapheria's leg.

The meadow looked so natural under the soft morning sun that she could hardly believe there had once been many trees within it. Redwoods loomed over them both, blocking out everything except the sky above.

Flowers and grass waved in the air, their movement most likely caused by the impact they had made. Fairwin stretched and took in the sight, trying to block out the rawness of her thighs. Dragon riding was not as cool as she thought it would be.

"Even though I cannot stay for now, know that I will return. There is...unfinished business I must attend to first," Sapheria purred, leaning her neck down to look Fairwin in the eyes.

They both turned as a group of five elves emerged from the shade of the trees, their feline movement giving them away first. Sapheria gave a short roar before nudging Fairwin with her snout.

Fairwin walked towards them, looking back as Sapheria gathered herself and leaped into the sky. She felt a small pang of loneliness at the absence of the old dragon, a small part of her attached to the mysterious being.

Turning back towards the escort, she made a quick assessment of each while closing the distance between them. There were four males and one female, all had pointed ears even though each had unique ear lopes.

The males were lanky and muscular, their skin colors varying from a pearly white to a sandy brown. She could tell they meant business and had spent at least considerable time in the modern world.

All of them wore dark leather, bearing pistols and AK-47's. The female made work of spiked high heels, making Fairwin wonder how in the world she was walking in them and for that matter in a forest.

"Greetings Mrs. White, I am Jerrol," the male with the little dash of a beard smiled as he gave a little bow.

Raising an eyebrow Fairwin eyeballed him and replied," I don't recall ever mentioning my last name to anyone."

"Obviously you think we are entirely entrenched in the dirt. We've done our background check on you Fairwin Fairchild. You're mother's last name does not change who you truly are," Jerrol snorted, frowning slightly at her.

The female slapped Jerrol hard on the head, unbalancing him for a moment. "Rudeness to guests and family members are not tolerated Jerrol. She has no idea about us and needs help, not blubbering, snarky idiots," she snarled.

Rubbing the sore spot he spat," You didn't have to do that Tihagi! That hurt like a bitch!"

The others laughed at him, shaking their heads. Feeling slightly uncomfortable and not sure what to do, Fairwin held out the book in her hands.

Clearing her throat she huffed," I kind of have an important mission and time is wasting."

"I agree. Before we go however, let me introduce everyone else. The one with the silver studs is Kevin. Conner is the bloke with long hair, use to be in a clan near London with me. Barris is the one with the scar on his eye, took a nasty blow from Lucian's lasers when he was held captive seven years ago-" Tihagi rambled but was rudely interrupted.

"Damn fanger is going to pay one day too. I don't let debts go unsettled," Barris growled, his deep voice raising the hairs on Fairwin's skin. Defiantly not a guy to mess with.

Looking back at him with a cold stare Tihagi finished," and this is Jasper. He's the oldest in the group."

"Nice to meet you all," Fairwin bowed slightly. "I apologize but we need to get moving. I've got a rescue mission to put together on top of figuring out everything that's inside this," she said apologeticly as she held up the book.

Grinning like a cat about to pounce on its prey, Tihagi waved her to follow and led the group back into the forest. "Stay on the trail and between Jasper and Barris. This forest protects us from all strangers and tends to kick non-eleven folk out on their asses."

Moving between the two as instructed, Fairwin glanced around to study the forest. She had never been to the famous Redwood Forest of California, and she found them to be as awe-inspiring as they were said to be. Squirrels chattered away in the tree branches above, scrambling up and down tree trunks in their rush to stash food for the winter. Birds chirped and twittered as they swooped in and out of the treetops, an echoing cry in the morning cycle of life. It was as if they were oblivious to the travelers as they passed by, heading deeper into the heart of the forest floor.

Tightening her hold on the book, Fairwin looked down and pursed her lips in thought. So much was happening and she couldn't keep up with the questions that needed answered. It was hard to believe that she had managed to escape death itself, furthermore becoming involved in such a journey as this.

Being the witch she was, she had always been facinated by the other Ethers in the world. While her mother had allowed her to see and experience contact with the milder species, such as weres and phantoms, she had been refused to see the ancient breeds of myth. In a way she was thrilled at the fact there were actual elves, but it also scared her that there was still secrets as huge as this in the world.

"Yep and I'm about to discover a shit ton more an't I," she muttered at the spellbook as it pulsed multipule colors.

"What was that?" Jasper asked, leaning towards her.

Embarrassed she scrabbled to reply and nearly tripped over a root in the process. "Noth-thing, just thinking out loud!"