Fragments on the Road to Death

The Dragons

Helena sat on the edge of the cliff. The black aura lay against her skin, a million times better than the best winter jacket, and yet never too hot. She tapped her heals against the rock face. She pulled a silver pocket-watch from her pocket and looked at the face. They should be coming soon. She closed her eyes, the aura growing and bubbling around her then rippling from black to blue to white. Then it settled against her skin. She pressed her palms together, then drew some runes in the air they sunk into her skin. 

She heard them down the valley. A thunderous roar growing louder, and louder, and louder. Then she saw the first ones. Dots of light that grew into red, orange, white, green, purple. Colors. Every single color she could imagine. They were small. She leaned forward and squinted a little. They were small. Very small. Juveniles. No, she squinted harder. It was a shame she was cloaking herself, she could use a telescope right about now. No they were babies. Which meant. She laughed as she saw the larger dragons round the corner at the end of the valley. The last stronghold of the Dragons! They hadn't been lying! She could see details now, the spikes and horns, scales and claws. The young twisted and danced, flying fast then falling back diving low only to catch thermals and spiral higher. She ducked as one passed above her ledge it's pail white blue stomach passing within inches of her. It's tail crashed into the rock-face and dust and stones fell down upon her. Then the adults came, flying steady and straight their great wings buffeting wind enough to create a gale. They kept growing larger, from ten meters to twenty and some close on thirty meters long. The skin of the old ones told a story, scars and scratches, shown by finer new scales, missing bits of wing and chipped horns. Helena reached into her bag and pulled out a camera. She leveled it at one of the great beasts and took a picture, then another. She would never see this again. Then the heard of dragons thinned, and a great crashing sound filled the valley. Helena picked up and stumbled backwards. She saw it coming from down the mountain. It was forty, maybe sixty meters long, it's head the size of a large car, the teeth... She shivered a little. What did this thing eat. The great green beast moved close to passing her. She raised her camera and snapped a photograph. The wind threw her off balance. She caved to her knees as the storms passed around her. She watched as the rest of the hoard passed. There had been maybe three hundred of them. Three hundred dragons. Only three hundred dragons... 

Helena sat back up and watched then raised her camera a final time.