The Awakening (6 page)

“You don’t have to worry about the river cats though,” Nerrid interrupted. “They’re only interested in fish.”

Jahrra shivered, half worried about the daunting list Kerra had just given her; half eager to see the animals she’d named. Hroombra had told her about them, of course, and showed her pictures that she’d copied into her journal. But seeing them in the wild would be a rare treat.

“We already encountered a boarlaque,” she said and watched the eyes of all the children grow wide with wonder. “But we only heard it at night.”

“You are lucky then,” an older girl, Orella, murmured.

She was the closest in age to Jahrra, just a few years older, but she was extremely shy.

Little Phaea squeaked and wrapped herself around Jahrra’s arm.

“Don’t worry, Phaea. I had Jaax to scare it off if it got too close.”

The conversation then turned and everyone began asking her about the Tanaan dragon.

“Have you ever flown with him?” one of the boys asked.

“What color fire does he breathe?” Kerra begged. “I hear the different dragon kruels each breathe a different kind of fire.”

Jahrra answered each of their questions patiently and to the best of her knowledge, for some of the things they asked she didn’t know.

“How old is he?” Little Phaea wanted to know.

Jahrra paused. How old was Jaax? She never really thought too much about it, as strange as that seemed. She furrowed her brow as they climbed down from the tree branch.

Once everyone was safe on the river bank she crossed her arms and said, “I’m not quite sure. Not as old as Hroombra was, and he was very old, but older than me.”

That seemed to satisfy Phaea’s curiosity and the next thing Jahrra knew they were hauling her off to see the next wonder of Crie.

The children next took her to a grove of trees they called tofah. Jahrra was surprised when she spotted not only new leaves and buds covering the branches but clusters of deep purple fruit as well.

“They produce fruit all year round,” someone said. “You must try some, Lady Jahrra.”

Ignoring the honorific, she accepted a handful of the fruit.

“Careful, it stains,” Nerrid warned.

She took a tentative bite and the flavor of plums and cherries flooded her mouth.

Once they had their fill of the tofah fruit they climbed deeper into the hills.

“Aydehn said we can take you as far as the falls,” Kerra puffed as she climbed up a steep canyon, “but no farther. He says there are Red Hunters about.”

Jahrra paused, breathing hard with the rest of them. They’d been climbing this narrow canyon for a good half hour and despite the heat of the relatively warm day, she felt a sudden chill. It could have been the result of the mist being churned up by the narrow creek flowing past them, but Jahrra doubted it.

“Red Hunters?” she asked when they noticed she had stopped walking.

Kerra nodded solemnly. “They come around every now and again, though we haven’t seen them since I was newborn.”

“They are the bad men who killed my mother,” Orella murmured quietly, her eyes cast downward.

Jahrra didn’t have to press further to guess as to who employed the Red Hunters. Red: the Crimson King.

“But don’t worry,” Kerra piped, “we haven’t seen any since that last time. Aydehn is just being cautious.”

They continued on with their trek, Jahrra doing her best to shake the sudden feeling of foreboding that clung to her like a bad smell.

Luckily, fifteen more minutes of climbing brought them to a sight that dashed away all dreary thoughts. The narrow trail and creek abruptly ended and before them, in the bowl of the canyon, stretched a deep and wide pool, a healthy ribbon of water streaming into it from the top of the ridge. The hidden gem was surrounded by old growth oaks and rocks blanketed in thick moss. Jahrra felt her mouth drop open.

“Brave enough to jump?” Nerrid asked, his skinny arms crossed over his chest, his head inclined towards a shelf of rock some twenty feet up the side of the fall.

Jahrra felt her mouth tug into a mischievous grin. She plopped down onto the nearest rock and started to remove her boots. The day was warm enough that her clothes would dry on the way back to Crie so, still fully clothed, she held out her arm and grinned.

“Lead the way,” she said and the pack of eager children began the final climb up to the rock shelf.

By the time they arrived back in Crie it was early twilight and Jahrra and her companions were still damp from their swimming. Jaax was waiting when they finally showed up, his every muscle wound tense, his jaw unyielding and his eyes like stone.

Jahrra had been laughing, sharing a joke with her new companions, but when she spotted her guardian glaring at her from the edge of town, her merriment vanished and she froze. She had had such a good time that she had almost forgotten everything they’d been through in the past few months. When she looked her guardian in the eye, however, he seemed to warm just a fraction. Despite that tiny improvement, Jahrra had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the coming encounter with her guardian. Taking a deep breath she started walking once more, ready to face whatever it was the dragon was about to throw at her.

Jaax had returned a few hours earlier, only after he was completely satisfied they hadn’t been followed this far yet. Aydehn had told him Jahrra went exploring with some of the other children and although he was irritated at first, he controlled his temper and nodded. It would do her good to discover some diversion while they were here. But as the day drew to a close and darkness began to set in, it took every ounce of his self-control not to leap into the air and begin searching for her. Didn’t she realize how dangerous it was to be out in the wilderness alone?

Aydehn and his fellow villagers had reminded Jaax that Jahrra wasn’t alone but it hadn’t done any good. If he wasn’t careful he would end up burning Crie to the ground in his anger. It was only a few minutes ago that he’d made up his mind to go looking for his lost ward. Of course that was when she finally decided to return, laughing and looking completely at ease just as he reached the edge of town. His anger boiled hotter and the only reason he kept himself from demanding answers from her was because he knew his words would release themselves in the form of fire.

Reining in his rage, Jaax took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak but before he could he took note of what he had noticed about Jahrra. She was laughing. She was laughing and an aura of happiness was pouring from her like water through a sieve. Just like that his anger, his fear, his irritation, all melted away. But not before she caught sight of him, towering above her like a thundercloud seeking out some wayward tree to strike with its lightning.

“How could you stay out so late?”

Jaax had meant for it to be a demanding question. Instead it came out as a harsh whisper.

Jahrra gaped, the small crowd of Resai children stone still and silent as death. After a while she managed to compose herself. Tossing back several strands of wet hair, she crossed her arms and stood up tall, head and shoulders above her newfound friends.

“You left this morning without so much as a word about when you would return,” she said, her voice steady but tinted with anger.

Jaax snorted. “Did you think I wasn’t coming back?”

Jahrra’s face flushed with anger and annoyance.
Arrogant dragon!
She didn’t appreciate the sarcasm in his voice but instead of continuing to argue, much as she wished to, she sighed and let her anger flow away. It would be inappropriate to bicker with her guardian in front of the entire village, for now half the town had gathered to witness this confrontation.

“I know you’re a dragon, Jaax, but has it ever occurred to you that I worry about you sometimes?”

The look that crossed Jaax’s face was so alien to her that she almost didn’t recognize what it was. He was absolutely dumbfounded, she could tell, for the stone and steel had left his eyes and even his wings, so regally perched above his back, seemed to wilt.

“Yes, I do worry because I know now that dragons are not invincible.”

She almost choked on the words as a lump of emotion rose in her throat. It was mostly due to the memory of Hroombra but part of it, Jahrra had to admit to herself, was the side effect of letting go of her pride. It was difficult to admit to Jaax that she harbored such weakness; to concern herself over a dragon and this dragon in particular.

Jaax released his pent up breath and took several steps forward, his rigid continence fading completely once he reached Jahrra. The village children, not wanting to get between them, shuffled their feet and slowly dispersed, seeking their own homes and parents.

Lowering his head to her level, Jaax spoke so that only Jahrra could hear him. She stiffened, thinking he was going to dish out another angry rebuke but to her surprise his eyes softened even further as he said, “I’m sorry Jahrra.”

That was all she needed to hear. Keeping her arms crossed, she nodded stiffly, acknowledging his own sacrifice of pride. It was a step in the right direction. It wasn’t a big step, but it was a step just the same.

Aydehn must have deemed it safe to approach them for his genial voice sounded closer than the noises of the village.

“Come now, everyone is back home safe! Jahrra, you must come dry yourself by the fire and Jaax, would the two of you like to join the village for dinner?”

Jahrra allowed herself to be led away and before too long she and Jaax had joined a large group around the communal fire. Jahrra’s friends braved Jaax’s presence and came to sit beside her, laughing and telling the great dragon about their activities that day. Jaax seemed pleased to hear Jahrra had had a good time. After their meal of wild boar, turkey and early meadow greens several of the villagers brought out flutes and other wind instruments and started to play quiet melodies while others told stories to the backdrop of the crackling fire. The river, only yards away from them, slurred and chuckled in the background.

By the time Jaax and Jahrra were once again settled in their campsite it was well near midnight. Jahrra murmured goodnight to Jaax, then curled up on her bedroll and fell fast asleep, both her mind and her body exhausted from the excitement of the day.

***

The next few days were, in one way or another, a repeat of that first full day in Crie with Jahrra taking breakfast with Aydehn and Thenya then wandering off to play with the children or help with chores. Their games were similar to the ones she played as a child; hide and seek, tag, skipping rocks. She had great fun, despite the fact that she was perhaps a little too old to be playing such games.

One morning she collected Phrym from the stable before he could be taken to the middle pastures. That day, her young friends took her to a relatively open meadow where she could gallop Phrym without worrying about low branches or stray rocks. When Jahrra offered to give everyone a ride she became an object of worship once more.

“Really?!” Little Phaea asked, her brown eyes wide with wonder again. “A real ride on a semkin?”

Jahrra grinned. “Yes, and you shall be the first to have a turn.”

She reached down from Phrym’s saddle and pulled the tiny girl up in front of her. When Jahrra had first led Phrym out for everyone to meet he’d eyed them all with curiosity, giving each of them a nudge with his nose as he sniffed around for treats.

Now, as they went trotting through the sun-bathed meadow, the sound of Phaea’s delighted squeals met with the pounding of hooves and cheering of children. It was a fine day and Jahrra didn’t want it to end.

On the fifth night of their stay, as they gathered around the large bonfire, Aydehn cleared his throat and said to Jaax, “I have received word today that there is a shipping barge coming through in two days’ time. It belongs to a cousin of mine who makes a living trading goods between Lidien and the cities of the Lake Islands.”

Jaax listened intently, the orange glow of the fire playing against his sharp features.

“It’s a rather sizeable barge and my cousin has written that the trade has been light this run. He always makes a stop here, for often times we have a few items to barter with and he is always glad to visit me and I him. But what I’m trying to say is would you be interested in hitching a ride for the remainder of your trip? The barge goes directly to Lidien from here.”

Jaax was already shaking his head. “No. It’s too risky. If trouble should arise we would be confined to one spot. A moving target, yes, but from what I know of freight ships they are very slow, especially on the Saem. Maneuvering past all the sandbars and islets would delay the trip considerably.”

“Yes, I understand,” Aydehn continued, fiddling with his shirt. “But you see the advantage would be your trail would end here. If the Crimson King hunts you this far, his men will not know where to go from here.”

Jaax actually looked like he was considering it but Jahrra couldn’t say for sure.

“A barge would never hold my weight,” he finally said.

Aydehn just grinned, the light of the fire glinting off his teeth. “Oh no, you are wrong my old friend. As long as you don’t thrash around in your sleep and you don’t pick up the habit of walking around the deck, then this boat should carry you well.”