Strachana by Judy Colella (i like reading books .txt) 📕

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the human stepped inside and paused, blinking in the lower light.

Vorel, meanwhile, gave the intruder a brief glance, turning a spit on which a boar had been skewered.

“He’s here,” J’nah whispered, placing the bucket on the floor beside his sister.

“I know that. What do you think we should do?” She wasn’t whispering, but her voice was pitched softer and lower than normal.

J’nah shrugged. “I don’t know – you’re the older one.”

Lips compressed in annoyance, she ladled some water from the bucket into the small pot sitting on the coals under the boar, sprinkled in some salt from one of the boxes on a small table next to the spit, then tossed in a few herbs. “Stir that,” she said, “while I go take care of this.”

“Be careful.”

She rolled her eyes, faced the stranger, and stalked away from her meal preparations. When she was a few feet away from the newcomer, she noticed that he wasn’t much older than she. “Who are you?” She crossed her arms. “And what do you want?” She was being rude, but didn’t care at the moment. She knew no other way to deal with the sudden fear tightening her chest.

“My name is Kavin. I’ve traveled from Marclor and have nowhere safe to spend the night.”

“What is Marclor?”

“The country directly to the north of yours. You can see the border on the other side of the valley.” He gestured behind himself with a kind of backward nod.

“So why did you come here?”

“Direct young lady, aren’t you! I left home because my father has six other sons, all of them older than I, and he has nothing left to offer me. So I’m trying to make my own way in the world, perhaps find work.” He shrugged. “But tell me – why do you live in a cave? Is this how most of your citizens live?”

“Hardly.”

A sticky silence followed, during which Vorel could see him looking around in growing confusion. Finally, he shook his head. “What kind of place is this? It – it’s gigantic, yet there are only two of you…I don’t understand.”

“Since it’s no concern of yours, you don’t need to.”

“I see.” He bit his lower lip. “Look, I really need a safe, warm place to stay. For tonight only. I have no wish to intrude on your life or…is that your husband?”

Vorel choked back a laugh. “Er, no. My little brother.”

“Little!”

“He’s four years younger.”

“Good God! How, I mean, you’re…” He stopped, reddening.

That was all it took. All of Vorel’s exasperation melted, and she almost wished she could come closer, or even ask him to stay. But she knew that as soon as he saw her eyes, he’d probably panic and run. “My – my parents told us not to, um, not to entertain anyone we didn’t know while they were gone.” And we don’t know anyone, she added silently.

“Really? Surely you’re old enough to make your own decisions about such things!”

“No, I’m sixteen. My brother is only twelve and I have to keep him safe.”

“Twelve.” He looked past Vorel and shook his head. “That’s the tallest twelve-year-old I’ve ever seen,” he murmured. And then, as if making up his mind about something he’d been contemplating all along, he walked up to Vorel, stopping only a few inches away.

She looked down quickly. “Please go.”

“Why?”

“For your own sake.”

“You aren’t making sense.”

“Aren’t I?” She hated having to do this – she looked up, allowing him to get the full impact of her dragonkin silvery eyes. And then she smiled.

To her amazement, he only took two steps back. “Wha – what are you?”

“My father is a silver dragon.” Why isn’t he running?

“How is that even possible?”

“He can shape-shift to human form, and in that state he married my human mother. Several weeks later, she found she was with child, and nine month after that, I was born. That’s how. It happened the same way with my brother, in case you need clarification.” She was being rude again, but this time it was because she was angry. How dare he make her feel so uncomfortable! How dare he not flee in terror from her! And…and how dare he be so – so – so attractive!

He came back a step, but only one. “What is your name, beautiful dragon-girl?”

“Beautiful?”

He nodded. “You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. Your…strangeness makes your beauty even greater to my eyes. Please tell me who you are.”

“My name is Vorel.”

Kavin repeated it and smiled. “I’ve never heard a name like it, but it’s beautiful, too. Like you.”

“That’s what it means in the human tongue – beautiful.”

“You were named well, then.”

By this time J’nah, whose ability to hear so well had made him privy to this conversation, gave the spit another turn, then walked quickly to Vorel’s side. “What’s going on?” he demanded, glaring directly into the eyes of the stranger who was about the same height.

“Nothing. I was talking to your sister.” His gaze narrowed as he took in J’nah’s equally exotic appearance, glancing between J’nah’s eyes and his sister’s.

“I see. So you think if you flatter her, she’ll let you stay the night, right?”

“No, I was telling her the truth about how she looks. I can find somewhere else to stay, I’m sure. There must be other caves about, and it isn’t like I haven’t been sleeping out in the open for the past few nights anyway. I was simply hoping for someplace a bit warmer for a change.”

“Your name is Kavin?” J’nah raised an eyebrow.

“How did you know that?”

“I could hear everything you two were saying, that’s how. Dragonkin can do that, you know.”

Kavin shook his head. “Well, I do now.”

Vorel sighed. Something had occurred to her while her brother was speaking. Her parents were off risking everything to find her a consort, and here she was considering this Kavin person as someone with whom she could possibly become attached. How silly of her! “Okay, listen. Kavin. As you noticed, this is a very large cave. You may spend the night over there – ” She waved toward a spot near the woodpile. “It’s far enough from the opening to be warmer than being outside, and far enough from where my brother and I sleep to keep you from getting any, um, any ideas…whatever.” Her silvery skin turned rosy as she said this. “And anyway, my parents wouldn’t want a stranger to get too near their personal…belongings.” Now she was referring to the pile of gems and magnificently-wrought objects that made up Neri’s bed, but didn’t think it would be very wise to get specific about that.

“I promise to leave you both alone.” He readjusted the pack on his back, a lumpy sack made of coarse green cloth. “Something tells me you’re both capable of inflicting considerable harm on anyone you believe to be a threat, so since I wish to live a long, happy life, I’m going to behave myself.”

Brother and sister exchanged a quick glance and a nod.

“Are you hungry, then, Kavin?” Vorel asked.

“In truth?” He chuckled, nodding. “I’m starved.”

“Go find a place to sit by the edge of the pool, then, and I’ll bring you a plate so that you may eat with us.”

With a big grin, Kavin went off to the pool, Vorel went back to the spit, making it there only seconds before the side of the boar closest to the fire turned black, and J’nah went to a large wooden cabinet behind her to fetch the plates.

And thus began an unusual friendship that would have unforeseeable repercussions, but that would last for a very, very long time.

CHRI

 

Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith had three sons: Cayosin-Gul, Siyanc-Altiui, and I’gra-Nar. The first two were dragonkin, both the children of Chalamar. The other was a full-blooded dragon, and was the oldest; his mother had been a Silver who had been murdered by a black dragon centuries earlier. Apparently she wouldn’t leave Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith for him, and in the kind of jealous rage common to all unstable individuals regardless of race, the gargantuan black dragon had killed her, taking her life with a single blow.

Other dragonkin and regular offspring existed in this mountain community, but none of their parents seemed too happy at the idea of a liaison with some dragonkin girl living so far to the south. The exception was Neri’s old nemesis, oddly enough, but they’d both grown out of their more foolish attitudes long since, and the older dragon said he’d talk to his sons and see if any of them had an interest.

While he was doing that, Chalamar invited the couple to participate in one of their gatherings at which news of things outside their cave was related by those who had been hunting or traveling.

To make his wife feel less outnumbered, Neri had shifted into human form, and now they sat, Zela leaning back against her husband’s chest, his arms about her, in the vast circle formed by the cave’s denizens. The humans who lived there were far fewer in number than those of draconic origins, but appeared perfectly at ease sitting among their gigantic spouses and in-laws.  Accustomed to their lives there, this wasn’t surprising. For Zela, however, the experience was somewhat disconcerting. Neri sensed this right away, and as they took their place in the circle, he’d given her a reassuring hug.

From the reports being given, they learned that winter had begun earlier than expected on the lower slopes, forcing many of the grazing herds into early hibernation. This would cause a problem in terms of food supply, but several of the older dragons volunteered to extend their search for prey into other areas. Some protested, saying they shouldn’t encroach on the territories of other dragons who might also be experiencing shortages, while a different faction insisted that in times of difficulty, all should share whatever there was to be had. The one thing they all agreed upon was that no one would be selfish enough to disturb the animals that had gone to ground, but would wait for the springtime thaw when the beasts emerged again.

In the meantime, they decided by a majority to send several of their elders to speak with the dragons living in softer climates about sharing what they could. In return, the Silvers would provide help in any form needed whenever it was required for a specified time.

Zela knew little about politics, but from what she’d overheard (when she was supposed to be asleep) in her grandfather’s house, she learned enough to realize that dragons and humans had far more in common than she’d ever imagined.

Much later in the day, Isthasy Di-Wer Xarzith approached Neri and Zela when they were standing by the community firepit; this had been dug and kept aflame for the benefit of the purely human population. Even with thick robes of animal pelts, most of them had a hard time staying warm. Zela had been loaned one of Chalamar’s, and was finally starting to feel sensations in her fingers and toes again.

The older dragon had shifted, and presented himself as a regal-looking gentleman in fine clothing. He sported a trim white beard and straight white hair that fell loose past his shoulders. Beside him walked another, much younger, individual whose