Fire Realm

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By the time I walked back across the camp Mekka had already packed what belongings wehad strewn around our bed. I reached down to grab the satchel so he wouldn't have to carry it again but he grabbed it out of my hands with a jerk.

"I don't need your help, *master*" he said with a sneer.

"Mekka, I-"

"Don't start that with me. I know what you meant, you meant exactly what you said, and I don't need you to explain anything."

I didn’t know what compelled me to say what I did next, but I did.  

“You know I love you,” I said quietly.  I knew it was a lie.

He spun around violently and anger burned brightly in his eyes,

“Don’t lie to me, Callie!” he shouted in my face, “You and I both know that you don’t.  I had hoped you would change your mind, but you haven’t.  I’m done playing games!” he finished.  

I held him where he was with my own angry and teary eyes.  

“How are you so sure that I know?” I asked, tears in my eyes.

His anger burned more dimly now as he thought through the question.

“Because thats just it.  I don’t know, Mekka.  Thats why I introduced you as just a friend,” I said, “Forgive me for being so hesitant in my decisions.”

He stood there staring after I had walked away.  I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck watching my every move.  I decided to look for Serafim, someone to console me.  

I found that the two new dragons were standing alone and I asked them if they knew where he went. They replied that he had gone off to scout the area for nearby fairies who could be tracking us.

Heavy wing beats from overhead told me he had returned. He growled lowly at the people already scattering to make room for his landing and alighted gracefully on the ground. But there was no time for warm greeting; something was wrong. He roared loudly and everyone hurried out from their tents, including my family and the newcomers.

"We must leave! Now!" he roared, "There are several troops following our tracks and they're not very far behind."

“We can lead the way, but flying would be much faster than walking,” the white dragon said.

My mother nodded briskly, “Alright, everyone hurry and gather your things.  Those of you with dragons, please allow those who don’t to ride with you.”  

A figure approached me from the corner of my vision.  I turned around and met Jase’s eyes.  

“Are  you alright, princess?” he asked, “You look like you’ve been crying.” he said.  

“Please call me Callie, and...” I glanced at Mekka, seeing his anger radiate off of him again, “yes, I was.  I’m just... upset, thats all.”  

He nodded his understanding, “You’re welcome to ride with me if you like,” he said, looking briefly at Mekka.

“Thank you,” I smiled, “that would be nice.”

I tried to ignore Mekka's hot anger burning me from behind and followed Jase over to the gold and blue dragon he had arrived on. As the dragon turned its head at our approach, I inhaled sharply at its gorgeous eyes; the left eye was blue, and the right was coffee brown. The difference gave an accent to the creature that was stunning.

"This is my dragon, Blythe," he said, laying a hand on her long neck. As he did so the flattened quills on her neck rose up a bit, revealing heavily marked webbing between each. Her long, elegant face also had a horn on either temple which curved toward her neck and bent upward at the tips.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Callie, princess of the Mountain Realm," I introduced myself.

"Hello, dear," she smiled sweetly at me. Her voice was soft and melodic, perfectly matching her beauty.

A voice called from across the clearing, "Everyone ready?" I assumed it to be my mother.

"I guess we'd better get on," Jase said, climbing on top of the great dragon and offering me a hand up behind him.

I swung onto the dragon and watched as Aylec mounted his own dragon and Mekka scrambled onto Serafim.

The dragons at the head of the group began to take off, and the others behind them followed. We were once again near the end of the group so we took off last. Blythe spread her beautiful gold and blue wings and took off from the ground with a short run and a few powerful wing beats. I had nothing to hold on to so I wrapped my arms loosely around Jase.  The air soared through my hair once we reached enough speed, and I took the moment to look around at the scenery.  

Below me there were meadows, and to the west there were the mountain peaks, rising out of the meadows like jagged teeth.  

“Wow,” I breathed.

“Aren’t you a dragon rider?” Jase asked.

“Well, yes, but I haven’t ridden much,” I glanced behind us and gasped slightly as I saw the fairy troops that Serafim had reported.  

"What's the matter?" Jase asked, looking behind us like I was.  His brow furrowed when he saw that the troops were still following us closely, "Don't worry, we'll lose them when we go over that mountain.  They might have magic but they're not that good."

I nodded and turned to look up ahead.  The peak of the jagged crag was engulfed in mist and cloud, making it that much more mysterious.