Midnight Spy
My name is Aaron, son of Isis and Freon, brother to my younger sister Catherine. We are the last dragons, and we have hidden from the outside world for the last three hundred years. My family has had the same hunting grounds in the mountains for most of that time, and when our kind was hunted to near extinction, my many-times-great grandparents were the only ones to survive. Over the centuries other dragons have found their way to our hidden vale, but they we far-between and few in number. Thanks to the new arrivals, our bloodline stayed strong, preventing us from becoming weak from inbreeding. But that all changed just before I was born, the world was new and exciting, and most of our relatives had never been outside the valley. They left in twos and threes, wanting to get a taste of the new world outside the mountains.
They never came back.
From that moment on my father Freon decreed that no dragon was to leave the valley, but by that time only he and my mother Isis were left besides old Sava. The old dragon had no wishes to leave our sheltered valley, and stayed in a cave not too far from our own. He told stories of when the world was young to my sister and me, painting wonderful pictures with his words about men in metal armor fighting upon horses and within mighty stone fortifications. He spoke of how our kind was both feared and beloved for our gifts and power. It was said that only the mightiest of warrior could kill a dragon, and that only the greatest of kings could earn our trust.
All was peaceful in our valley, and no man ever ventured into our hiding place, for we had chosen our home well. Only by flying could you find your way into our valley, or you would become lost in the maze of passes that lead out of our home through the thick mountain mist. No man had dared enter our home in the last hundred years, hearing tales of terrible beasts that lived in the mist. My father had always left one man alive, so that he could return home and pass the next chapter into our myth on to his followers.
That all changed when one night we heard a deep thrumming noise coming out of the south. My father went to investigate, and soon after he came running back into the cave, panting with great rushes of air.
"They've found us." was all he could pant out.
"Who's found us dearest? More dragons?" mother asked.
Father shook his head no, "Not dragons, humans. They came over the paths in some kind of flying machine."
My mother cocked her head in confusion, "Flying machine? You must be mistaken my dear. Humans cannot fly."
"Then how have they come into our valley?" he asked, "I saw through the mist a vehicle that had rotating wings on its top. Once it landed people with smaller machines came out and started to pitch tents." his voice took on a worried tone, "I fear for our safety and I suggest that we leave immediately."
"My dear you are getting worked up over nothing." my mother said with a much calmer tone, "I have seen people before pitching tents in the valley below ours. They stay for a few days and then leave, taking everything with them but some garbage. I do not think we have anything to fear from our visitors."
Father sniffed, but otherwise said nothing, then replied in a warm tone, "Your instincts have never failed you before, my love. Let us hope you are right."
The next ten days marked a very boring time for my sister and me, knowing that we could not leave the cave in case we were spotted by the humans. Humans? In our valley? I had never seen a human before, knowing that it would be many days' walk to reach the first small town. Now that they were within a couple of hours from our cave, the want to find and see them was almost insatiable. I asked one time to go and look at the humans, but father had refused.
"If they see you they could fallow you back to the cave and find all of us." he had said, "They would then kill your mother and I and take you to someplace to be kept as pets. No. Absolutely not. You cannot see the humans, for I fear they would see you as well and that could be the end of us."
And so I spent my time in the cave waiting around and chasing the few bats that dared to stay in our cave. But all the time there was the same thought bouncing around my head, "One quick look couldn't hurt. If I'm quiet and stay in the bushes they'll never even know I was there." So one night, while my family slept, I snuck out of the cave and looked around to see if I could spot their camp. My sister and I had played outside the cave for many months, and so we knew every hiding place that existed. I knew that there would be at least one that I could use to spy on the humans without letting them see me.
I followed the main trail away from our cave, and almost immediately smelled something burning. I looked in the direction the wind was coming from, and saw the glow of a small fire coming through the mist. I split off from the main trail and trusted my senses to lead me to them. The way was rocky, and I took care to step between them in case they might hear tumbling rocks in the mist. As I neared the camp, a large shape loomed out of the gloom, and I expected to see a big siege weapon like what Sava had told my sister and me about. Instead, as I got closer, the shape turned out to be the flying machine my father had spoken of. It had smooth sides and a gaping hole in one end. On top were eight wings, still, but almost as long as mother's when she spread her own. I climbed into the thing, but stopped as my claws clicked on the floor as I took my first steps. I quickly sheathed my claws in order to stop the clicking and keep silent. As I explored the vehicle, the overwhelming smell of metal made my muzzle itch. I had to stop several times to stifle a sneeze, and I quickly left before one made it through and woke up the nearby humans.
I walked past the vehicle, taking advantage of the cover my sister had used against me on more than one occasion. I found that the camp consisted of three tents circling the now-cold fire. They didn't seem to be made of animal skin like I remembered Sava telling us about, but rather of some kind of smooth material similar to that of the vehicle, only thinner. I sniffed the containers that were placed a bit away from the main camp, and smelled the faint aroma of food. I pawed the covers, but they had been latched with some kind of clasp. It didn't take long for me to figure it out, and I lifted the lid to find all kinds of food that I had never seen before. There were fruits and roots that were sweet and crunchy, and inside a cold part of the container were large pieces of meat that tasted far better than the raw animals that father brought to us. I ate slowly, and loved the explosions of flavor that filled my mouth, but then a small sound caught my attention. It had been a small click, coming from behind me and inside the camp. I turned around and saw a female human kneeling to one side of the nearest tent. She had a small object in her hand, and as I watched she lowered it from her face and slowly got to her feet. I watched warily as she slowly took one step, then another, coming towards me with an outstretched hand. I took a small step back, and she froze, as if in fear. I took one step towards her and she kneeled again, still holding out her hand. I took a tentative sniff, and detected the smell of food coming from her palm.
"She's trying to bait me like a common animal!" I thought to myself, "As if I would fall for that old trick!" I stood taller and turned my back to her. I then kicked some earth in her direction with my back legs and walked off into the mist. I could hear her trying to follow me, but I stepped to one side of the trail and watched with glee as she stumbled past my spot and stopped in the mist, apparently confused at my disappearance. I crept off to a side-trail and made my way back to the cave, hearing her walk back to her camp and climb back into one of the tents. I had seen my first human, and she had looked far more like a calm and curious creature than a terrifying warrior like the ones from Sava's stories. I couldn't wait to tell Catherine all about my adventure, away from father's prying ears.
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Dragon Lost (Book One of the Dragon Insurgent Series)
FantasyAaron is a dragon, or at least a hatchling. His family has hidden in a secluded mountain valley for the last several hundred years, hoping to be left alone by man and his endless bloodlust. That all comes to an end when a group of scientist find t...