Dragonsong Book 1

Chapter Four

I found myself on something soft under me and realized I was sitting on grass. Then everything rushed back to me; the dragon cave, the cracked ground, the fall into this place. I saw the dragon curled up near luminescent crystals.
When I got up, I puzzled over the grassy floor. I called softly over to him." Dragon wake up."
The dragon stirred and blinked his eyes at me." I see you have woken up. You may call me by my name, Fajiro."
I nodded and let him get up and stretch his magenta wings. I started walking towards a sound like rushing water. There was an end to the stone floor which fell away to a sheer cliff down to a deep sea. Then a heard the thing I came here to listen to; the dragon song.
I realized that Fajiro wasn't singing, instead it came from the sea that stretched out before me in endless waves. I thought I saw a soft blue glow in the shallows but it disappeared quickly. I narrowed my eyes and caught it again, swirling around in the water.
Then with one leap another dragon splashed water as it dived back in. And I was all drenched. Guess a way to get a shower down here.
Fajiro came up behind me and dived in the water.
"Um.. what am I supposed to do now if you leave me here in this place."
Fajiro surfaced and said," Come follow me."
"Is there any other way to get around the water?" I asked, a bit impatient.
"Are you telling me you can't swim?"
"No, I can swim. But..."
"You can breathe underwater. Come on, the dragon is getting away!"
I glanced unsteadily at the water. I can breathe underwater? Whoa! But I wondered if there'll be more of the water dragons in these depths. I made my decision of following Fajiro wherever he was taking me to. I dived in and got a stunned feeling as the cold water took me in.
I got to my senses quickly and followed Fajiro's gem-embedded tail which looked like an electric eel as it through the water.
I first swam to the shallows and tried the water breathing thing Fajiro said about. If he turned out wrong I could quickly reach the surface. I let out my air and closed my eyes. I kept my mouth open for a few seconds, waiting for the cold water to start choking me, but nothing happened and I realized that I could keep my eyes open too.
I started paddling my legs for a swim and followed Fajiro towards an underwater cave which was also lit up by the crystals.
I kept a lookout for the water dragon messenger and noticed the light again and followed Fajiro towards it.
When I reached the corner where the cave turned into a tunnel, I heard Fajiro's voice talking to someone.
"It's me, Fajiro, the dragon King Ronoro sent you to see." He was saying.
The dragon had a turquoise scaly skin with blue sapphires around its eyes and tail, just like Fajiro had his.
"This is Zimrys, she's new to this since this is her first time out from the palace hatchery and she's never met a grown dragon except of her mother and the king."
I looked Zimrys up and down and then she spoke for the first time, "Hello human companion. I didn't think I'd see another one in years."
'Human companion' sounded a bit weird when I didn't even introduce myself." Actually I'm Isabell." I said a bit impatiently.
Zimrys nodded and started paddling away. Fajiro did the same and I followed. I couldn't see anything in the pitch-black of the tunnel but then a snake-like thing came from ahead." Grab on." Came Fajiro's voice in the gloom.
I gripped his leathery tail which was a bit spiky and it took me a few moments to figure out where to hold on so I don't get pierced from the spikes.
Fajiro started as soon as I got on, almost making me loose my grip and fly off. This was like faster than the ships that go underwater. It was more like riding a freight train in the water.
We swam until we reached another cavern lit up with the crystals, this time purple. But what was beyond the cavern entrance was legendary. Not that all of this was legendary but even better.
There was a wall of seaweed covering the view, but after that we saw cliffs with openings carved out, probably dens for the dragons to sleep in, not that I know how many more there are but the way Fajiro described it, this was something I didn't imagine.
I, so awed by this place, accidentally let go of Fajiro's tail and touched the seabed with my leather boots, walking towards the way Zimrys was headed with Fajiro on the rear behind her.
I moved the patch of think seaweed out of my way and saw an amazing palace made of quarts pillars. The windows were open to the water except that it was barred with seaweed like a prison cell.
I saw large sea horses with harnesses on and dragons were pulling the creatures behind them.
Fajiro led me toward the palace. "The king wants to see you, meet me up in my cave." Fajiro told me. I nodded. I took a deep breath of the strange water and entered. The room was a giant air pocket. I climbed out of the water and walked down the long hall, examining all sorts of weird objects. On the opposite wall to where I entered sat a simple golden throne that was the size of a tool shed. I approached it. I touched the velvet cushion resting on the seat. I noticed carvings in the sides of the chair. They were all fantasy creatures, werewolves, vampires, mermaids, fairies, elves, brownies, manticore, unicorns, phoenixes, sirens, and many other creatures I didn't recognize. Featured most was the noble dragon. I touched one of the unicorns. It looked so real! I heard a deep booming voice behind me.
"Hello, young Isabell. Fajiro told me about you." I whipped around, startled by the stranger. The dragon had scales that seemed to glow and change color slightly like fire. He had golden horns and spines. His bat-like wings were encrusted in all sorts of jewels. He had kind and knowing eyes. Instinctively, I bowed. The large dragon used a claw the size of a toaster to move me into a standing position.
"No need for that. I am here to tell you why." The dragon said, smiling. I figured this must be the dragon king Ronoro.
"Why what?" I asked, confused.
"Why you are here, young Isabell." The dragon said.
"The twenty seven clans used to live in peace. That..." I cut him off.
"What twenty seven clans?" I asked.
"Each represents a different magical creature. Anyway, war broke out. Humans and dragons fought. Greed had contaminated the human race, and they wanted our power. This fractured the world. Ever since, the clans have not spoken. Humans have forgotten magic. Clans go missing every day. Bandits pillage some of the few safe places. But now you are here. You are the last companion. You and your dragon are destined to unite the world." The king finished.
"Companion?" I asked.
"Sometimes, the soul of a human and a dragon are exactly the same. They, essentially, are twins. The human and dragon will eventually be drawn to each other. Together they wield unspeakable power. You may be wondering what the amulet Fajiro gave you has to do with this. The amulet is a different story. It is bound to you and you alone. Only a descendant of Merlin can harness it's power."
"Merlin? I don't even have magic!" I answered. This was crazy! I must have still been dreaming.
"Have you ever met your father?" Ronoro asked.
"No. He died when I was little. My mom doesn't talk about him."
"She wanted to shield you from magic by not telling you. She didn't want you to get hurt. Your father and I shared a soul as you and Fajiro do. He told me that his father, Merlin, had told him a prophecy as he had died." Ronoro told me, "one of his descendants would unite the clans against a greater evil. That descendant is you."
"In other words I have a brother who is a different species and I am destined to do crazy stuff." I said.
"Yes." Ronoro said, "it is time for you to meet with Fajiro." Ronoro lead me to a stone tunnel that shot straight upwards. The floor had a spiral design painted in blue on it. A few seconds after I stepped on it, I shot upwards. I started to feel really sick. The world seemed to be spinning. I closed my eyes. The spinning and sickness died away. I opened my eyes to find Fajiro staring at me with his big black eyes.
"You ready to go?" He asked.
"Where?" I asked groggily.
"Your village." He said. I snapped out of my trance.
"What? They'll kill you!" I shouted at him.
"Not if I'm human." He flew up to the ledge that I was beginning to suspect had everything ever invented in it. He retrieved a large bottle. He unscrewed the lid and dipped a claw in. He licked the substance off his talon and flew back up to the ledge. He disappeared for about ten minutes.
"Are you okay up there?" I asked.
"Fine." Something was wrong with his voice. It didn't have that majestic quality to it. A few minutes later, I saw the figure of a boy appear on the ledge. He had messy sandy hair and tan-ish skin. He had big brown eyes and dark eyebrows. He was, as much as I was embarrassed to say, very handsome. He was wearing a white shirt under a leather jacket. He wore tan shorts and sandals. He lowered a rope and climbed down awkwardly. After he was about a yard from the ground, he dropped. I pretended to be playing with my boot, while I was actually retrieving my knife that I always kept in case of trouble. I grabbed the handle and rushed at the boy. I put my knife up to his throat.
"What have you done with Fajiro?" I screamed in his ear. Who was this creep? What had he done to my dragon?
"I am Fajiro, but right now I need a human name." He said. His voice did sound similar to Fajiro's, so I decided to trust him.
"How about... Nathan?" I asked. He nodded. It was weird to see Fajiro as a human. He didn't seem so mighty as a human. He seemed unfamiliar with his own body. Fajiro, now Nate, gestured for me to follow him down the passageway I originally entered. We discussed a cover story. As I had been going to get drinks, I was captured by bandits. Nate, who was also a prisoner, helped me escape. Since his village was so far away, he would have to stay with us for a while. Nate started describing his fake village. It had a bunch of stone houses and an ominous tower. When he was little, he would explore the tower. Now, he was a scientist and explorer like me, and he had followed a stream of smoke to the bandit camp. He was so detailed in his description, you would think he had actually been there.
"How is that?" He asked, finishing his story.
"Very convincing." I told him, giving him a thumbs up as we ventured through the cave. He seemed puzzled.
"Me sticking my thumb up is a sign that I am pleased. You don't have to react to it. If someone sticks their hand up in the air, like this and says, high five, you have to slap their hand." He nodded like he understood.
"You people are so confusing." He said. I giggled. I kind of had a crush on the human Fajiro. It wasn't weird; Fajiro had told me he was the same age as me. His egg hatched fourteen years ago. As I looked at him, he seemed uncomfortable.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I forgot the antidote. I probably will have to stay like this for a really long time, anyway. Don't worry about it. When we leave I can grab it." He said.
"Don't worry about it, you look good as a human." I teased.
"Whatever." He said, smiling.
"Why are we going to my village, anyway?" I asked.
"To let your parents know you are alright and to raid your weapons supply."
"Oh..." I said. We exited the cave and I hopped on Dawn. Dawn didn't want Fajiro on her back, but I convinced her with a few apples. Soon, we were riding towards home.