The Final Storm (Part 3)

The Return of the Dragoness

As Jaydon cried, he could feel the world start to swim around his exhausted body. The flames turned into a pool of bright colors, leaving burn lines across his eyes and imprinting in his vision. As he felt consciousness flee, he saw a boy start to walk through the fire towards him. No, Jaydon wanted to say, Don’t come any closer! But his chapped lips refused to move, his voice unwilling to answer his call. As the boy tread closer, the colors started to sharpen, puddles of light spreading around his body to create a background of dark oak trees and tall grass that the boy seemed to be struggling through. “Aren?” he called, laughing, “Aren, come on out, I give up!”

            The scene was familiar, but Jaydon wasn’t sure when he had seen it. As he watched, the boy almost tripped before stumbling behind a tree. “Aren!”

            A swift movement in the forest, a dark shape mingling with the shadows. The world shifted so that he was staring at the boy from the backside, seemingly behind a bush. Huge, bushy shoulders rose up in his vision, and a long snout pulled up into a smile, displaying fearsome yellow teeth. A Werewolf! Jaydon wanted to scream, to say something, to tear the werewolf apart, but he was powerless. The boy, oblivious, traipsed on. The werewolf padded closer, its footsteps almost as quiet as a cat’s. Golden, hungry eyes were intent on its prey. Now ten feet away, it had only to jump over the bush and latch its jaws around the boy’s neck and he would be dead.

            The werewolf bunched its hind legs before rocketing over the bush, its mouth wide.

            BAM! A silver wind current came out of nowhere and the werewolf yelped as it was propelled into a tree. The boy turned around, his eyes wide, and then the whole forest went up in flames.

            Just as soon as Ralem’s young face disappeared, another version walked out of the flame. This time he had the startings of a beard, his long, wavy hair wild. He was gawky and tall, at least a head over the other young men that were emerging around him. They were laughing, practicing their swordplay. Ralem was good, but his friend was better. Ralem dealt a backstroke to his friend’s shoulder, who then ducked and his sword swung to Ralem’s neck. A sliver of light deflected the blow as if it were bouncing off metal and it ricocheted to slice off a strand of black hair, completely bypassing Ralem’s head. “Woah, Tyler,” Ralem laughed, “Take it easy there, friend!”

            The scene vanished and another one rose up, then another… Ralem being shielded from a fall off his tree fort, A stray arrow miraculously changing direction mid-air, the killer bird, the Julnor, just missing Ralem’s heart with its huge talons, the harpy’s spit arcing just over his shoulder… It had all been Jaydon.

            All this time, I have been protecting him… Jaydon thought, and suddenly memories exploded into his mind, dormant memories that were shaken awake. He remembered waiting in that egg for thousands of years, waiting for the one destined to be his. That was all he had thought about, was aware of, that human that would grant him life outside of his cell of an egg, the one that would grant him a body and begin his life. He hungered for the day when he would meet his other half, the soul that would complete him. He remembered the day when Ralem was born, how he had delighted when his Rider had opened his eyes for the first time and Jaydon was finally able to see. It had been shaky because their connection wasn’t existent yet, but he could see random pictures, feel sharp emotions, and hear murmurs of thought. Back then, his thoughts had been in emotions, of a simple yearning for something he couldn’t even name. But now he had found it, found what he was looking for and he wasn’t going to let go.

            Ralem.

            Ralem had always been his. From the very beginning, Jaydon had chosen him. He was all that the dragon had ever wanted. There was a reason Ralem was tall, that he had not a single scar, that he happened to be escorting the carriage that held Jaydon’s egg. I have everything I ever wanted now, Jaydon thought, I have a body. I can feel, I can talk, I can feel the wind underneath my wings, I can run and breathe. My heart beats within me. And I have found my soul brother. Surely there is more for us than to die now, at only six months of living in the world?