INFERNAL - 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

TWELVE

Standing suspended in midair without the use of wings was unlike anything Ndette could possibly have imagined. Heat from the fires far below set the enormous cavern at the perfect temperature, wrapping her in comfortable warmth while allowing the cooler air above to blow across her in gentle puffs. Around her, smaller rocks surrounded the large central stone she stood on like a belt of asteroids. The central rock was more of an island. It stretched nearly all the way across the wide cavern, leaving only a few spans of room on either end. Narrow and long, it was covered in a soft green moss. At the center, a long stone slab was loaded with food, and decorated with so many flowers that the cavern looked like a field that had somehow been encapsulated inside a granite egg.

Ndette marveled at it all. Beneath her the ground was steady and even, and yet it moved when she stepped, as if clouds cushioned each movement.

She would have continued to explore, but the rich, warm smell of the Ilkenbeast overpowered her senses, leaving her mouth watering in anticipation. She had never felt so hungry. Her stomach rumbled loudly.

"The Ilkenbeast will satisfy your need."

Ndette turned to find the dragon Xian had pointed out as Pelee, her greatmother. She was white, like Fayal and Farallon, but a blue tint seeped through the white as if the blue from her eyes had soaked into it, creating a mix that looked almost like the frozen ice mountains that floated near the caps of the world.

Ndette smiled at the older dragon. "It's very gracious of you all to greet me so warmly. We haven't eaten since we left."

The older dragon's eye glimmered as she looked at Ndette sidelong. "It's been much longer than that since you've truly eaten." She nodded as she said the words.

Ndette frowned. "You mean because it's Ilkenbeast?"

"I mean," Pelee corrected, "because it's hunted meat."

The old woman's stopped walking, forcing Ndette to stop with her.

"Have you not ever felt the need for the hunt, child?" Her watery blue eyes searched Ndette's face.

"We have the herds." Ndette tried not to let her confusion sound like anger, although it did feel as if the greatmother was implying that her way of life was somehow wrong. In truth, keeping herds of animals as stock for food had eradicated many problems, bringing an end to the starvation of colonies when food became scarce in the winter, and to the decimation of other species from over-hunting.

"Dragons are not farmers," Pelee said sharply. "We were never meant for such things."

It was thinking like this, mostly from the old ones that had caused the problems to go on for so many years.

"No," Ndette agreed, "but sometimes it is good to find new paths. Doing something one way just because it has always been done that way does not make it right."

Ndette was proud of what her father had done for their colony and all of dragonkind.

Pelee's lips curved in a smile, revealing teeth still sharp in spite of her age. "Come," she said. "Sit next to me at the table. I have a story to tell you."

Ndette took a deep breath, glancing at Fayal who was still on the other side of her, but who had been drawn toward the right side of the slab by his father. Feeling a bit reluctant, she followed Pelee to the left side instead. This was all part of it, she supposed. Part of being a leader's daughter, and part of integrating into a new family. She would just have to learn their customs and be prepared to make some adjustments.

"You have heard of the greatest of all Pendragons, the mighty Vesuvius, have you not?" Pelee said as the others began to gather.

"Of course," Ndette answered, her eyes following the movements of the people preparing the Ilkenbeast. "He was a mountain dragon, wasn't he?"

"In those days there were no colonies."

Ndette turned back to Pelee with a frown. The old dragon chuckled. Ndette glanced at Fayal, but he was still talking to Farallon, engaged in some intense discussion.

"How did they choose leaders without colonies?" She wasn't sure whether to believe Pelee's words.

"In our time," Pelee said softly enough that Ndette had to lean closer, "dragons had no leaders." She nodded at Ndette as if reading the surprise in her face. "It's true. Some lived in family groups, but many lived solitary lives. We were wild, and we were free."

Ndette felt a thrill at her words, but she was confused. "Aren't we still free?"

Pelee's eyes sparkled. "You tell me."

There was a bustle of activity as the rest of the dragons made their way to the large stone table.

"My friends." Farallon's voice rang out, bringing the throng to a hush. "Today we celebrate the future."

"The future!" The others echoed back.

Wings lifted in silent accord, creating shadows that lit against the curved ceiling of the cavern and turning the floating rocks into pools of shadow. When they finally lowered them, releasing the light again, it was as if the sun were dawning here inside the capsuled room.

Ndette felt a stab in her chest as she thought how much Pina would have loved to have seen this place. He had been stolen away, ripped from her life too soon by the wretched disease. Soon, hopefully, there would be an end to it all. If she was successful in learning the cure from the humans, countless lives might be saved.

Her eyes found Fayal's as he looked from his father to her.

Was that what they had been talking about so intently? Had he convinced his father to let her walk among the humans?

"May the future of dragonkind be as plentiful and as radiant as the stars, filled with plenty and free from the scourge that has stolen our loved ones from us."

Ndette's breath caught in her throat. His words seemed to confirm her suspicions. If she was right, she could be walking among the humans as soon as tomorrow. The thrill of it was almost too much to bear. If it weren't for the luscious scent filling the air, she might not have been able to eat at all.

Her moment was almost upon her. She looked around, needing to imprint this image to memory so that forever she would remember these moments just before she met her true destiny.

Pelee's wing touched her shoulders. It was leathered with age.

"Now," the old dragon said, "about that story."