Dragonsong Book 1

Chapter Six

I woke up to the chirps of birds in the morning breeze. Though the birds were awake, the skies were still dark. When I sat up I cast a shadow over Nate, which made him stir in his sleep. I smiled.
Even though I have no idea why, I felt like I'm part of something big. Which I was, like Fajiro/Nathan said that I was the descendant of Merlin. I still needed more answers. I had been reading about dragons, and there were many legends about dragons, but no mention of what I was hearing. Could this all be some weird dream? No, it was too real. Nate needed to explain a few things. Tomorrow we were meeting Lithos. I needed to find out what was going on. Nate was muttering something about man-eating chairs in his sleep. I felt creepy watching him, so I went back to bed. A few minutes later, I heard a thud and a loud groan. I rushed back to Nathan's sleeping bag to find it empty. I couldn't call his name and wake up the neighborhood. I quietly crept through the house. I heard something behind me. I whirled around to find Nate on his hands and knees.
"What were you doing!?" I whispered.
"Trying to find water!" He said.
"This late at night on the floor?" I asked skeptically.
"I tripped. What were you doing, chasing away ghosts?" He asked. He had a point.
"I heard a thud so I came to investigate." I told him.
"Yeah, that might have been me..." he said, suddenly interested in his shoe.
"Why are you embarrassed?" I asked.
"I'm not normally like this, I keep tripping over my own..." he paused for a moment, looking at himself. "two feet."
"No one blames you." I said.
"This is too weird. I think we should try to get the weapons tomorrow night. Tell Lithos to guard them, then the next day we can do a bit of training before we leave." He said.
"Okay." I said. Just then I noticed my sister behind us.
"Why are you weaving?" My little sister said in a cute baby voice.
"Because we.." Nate cut me off.
"Because we're dangerous. We are leaving before anything bad happens to you." He said in an ominous voice.
"I don't believe you. You are going to kidnap my sissy!" My sister said in a hushed voice.
"It's true. I didn't want mom to know. I wanted to see you all one last time before..." I trailed off for effect.
"Imenos incantiamon irys." Nate muttered under his breath. I looked back at him. He had red glowing eyes. I backed away. I knew what he was doing. He took a step towards me, then pounced and tackled me to the floor.
"Run! I whispered to my sister. I pretended to be unconscious while Nate approached my sister.
"Ahh!" My sister squeaked quietly. She ran into the living room where she slept and put her head under her blanket. Two minutes later, she was asleep. Nate and I were about to go back to bed, but I yanked him outside.
"Who is this Lithos dude, and why is he afraid of you?" I asked.
"A dragon criminal. I was one of the ones who sealed him in there about a year ago." He shrugged.
"And what is this?" I said, holding up the necklace.
"I'll tell you once I'm me again." He said.
"You better." I told him.
"Can I go back to bed now?" He asked impatiently.
"Why not?" I said. We walked back to the house and tried to sleep. I couldn't. I dozed for about three hours before the sun had risen. I woke up to the sound of my sister Emily, the person I had scared last night, crying. I followed the sound. Play it cool, it was all a dream. If she says it seemed real, then tell her some dreams are like that. Assure her Nate and I would never hurt her. I walked in to the room.
"What's wrong?" I asked her. I hated to see my sister cry, no matter what the reason I always felt guilty, as if I was the one who made her cry.
"Sissy!" She hugged me extremely tight.
"I thought he killed you." She said darkly.
"What? Did you have a nightmare about Nate?" I asked. She nodded.
"I went to get water, when I saw you and Nate talking. You said you were dangerous, then Nate's eyes turned red and he killed you. You told me to run, so I ran into the woods where I saw Nate following me. He threw rocks at me. I went into a cave, where a giant bug ate me!" I knew only part of her dream was real.
"Oh, Emily. I would never hurt you, neither would Nate." I said.
"Your right, he's too clumsy to get me!" She danced around the room. He accidentally touched Nate, who was coming into the room. He tripped.
"See?" Emily said.
"See what?" Nate asked, looking around. He stood up.
"Nothing." I said before my sister could say anything.
"Tell me, please!" He said.
"She had a nightmare about you chasing her, and she said you were to clumsy to catch her." I told him reluctantly. He would probably find out anyway.
"Well, you are right." He said, brushing himself off.
"Your not mad?" My sister asked.
"No, it's true, isn't it?" He said. He exited the house, and I took my sister to my bedroom, since I felt guilty.
"He's weird." My sister said, plopping down on the bed.
"He's not from around here, but you're right." I said.
"He's so calm about everything. I can't believe I dreamt him being a monster." She said.
If only you knew I thought. I went outside and saw Nate tapping his foot in the grass.
"I'm putting Lithos back." He said.
"Why? I thought he was helping us!" I said.
"No time." Nate said. I knew he felt awkward, but why did we have to leave so soon?
"What's going on?" I asked. He could be so secretive sometimes!
"I heard that vampires have infiltrated the town. Other dragons saw them on the path. They are sworn enemies of dragons and humans alike." He shuddered.
"How many?" I asked.
"Two. A male and female."
"So when are we going to stop them?"
"What!? No, we Need to get the weapons now, then leave!" He said.
"What about my family? All the people who live here?" I asked.
"We'll leave them with a warning. Whether they choose to take heed of it or not is their decision."
"So when do we go?"
"Now. I'll get the weapons, you warn people."
"Okay." I shot off towards the house. My mom stood at the door.
"Some bandits followed Nathan and I, and infiltrated the town. No one is safe. Get out now. Trust no one." I went around to each house, repeating the warning. Everyone was scrambling to get their things, and at the same time looking for the bandits. As I helped, two people cornered me. One was a tall lanky teenage boy with black oily hair, and the other was a small muscular girl, her black hair in pigtails.
"We can't have you pathetic humans spoiling our plans!" The boy shouted. About three others emerged from the shadows, all of whom I knew. Mr. Miller the baker, Sally Saddler, and my own cousin Ferran.
"Do you know this girl?" The boy asked to the trio. My cousin stepped forwards.
"She's my cousin. I don't know how she knew of our plans... are you a werewolf?" He asked.
"What?" I asked. Werewolves? This was getting weird.
"Then how did you know?" Sally Saddler asked, stroking a finger on my cheek. I bit it, leaving a small but painful cut.
"What clans did we pass on our way?" The boy asked the girl.
"What did you do to my cousin?" I asked, testing to see if they were paying attention. None of them even glanced at me. I kicked the boy in the shin and tore off through the streets. Only my cousin pursued.
"What happened to you? You were so nice! Now all you are is an empty body."
I said, hoping to sway him.
"I saw the truth." He told me.
"That biting people in the neck and draining them of blood is kind? You used to have it right. You were always there for me. Now, you are just a painful memory." It worked. He looked at himself and then at me. He ran in the opposite direction. I stood in the town square and announced who was evil.
"Beware a teenage boy and girl, along with Sally Saddler, Mr. Miller, and my Cousin Ferran, who are now traitors!" I shouted. The crowd nodded in unison and continued to pack. Soon everyone trailed through the forest, except my family.
"Are you coming or what?" My mother asked, gesturing to the woods ahead.
"I can't." I told my mom.
"Why?" My sister asked.
"Because Nathan is a dragon and we have to save the world!" I said, assuming my mom wouldn't believe me. Instead, she gave me a look of horror.
"Tell a man in the woods that he is under orders to help you!" I said, and ran off to find Fajiro.