The dragons were fascinated by the magical power radiating from Zollin. Brianna couldn’t sense it, but the dragons could, as if it were a delicious aroma from a finely cooked meal. They had questions and were insatiably curious creatures. She had to remind herself that they were really just newborns. Their instincts were incredibly strong and they were very intelligent, but so many of the things they were experiencing were brand new to them.
She pushed out a mental image of herself floating down to the burning tree alone. Immediately she was hit with several mental images from the other dragons. Some were mere emotional discharges, such as fear or just surprise, while others showed her being attacked, and some showed her surrounded by the pride.
She did her best to reassure them, but they were quickly approaching the area where Zollin and Mansel waited. She could see the light from the burning tree in the distance and she prepared herself to leap from Selix’s back. She sent one last message to her pride, instructing them to circle the area but to stay high in the sky until she called them down.
Selix was almost directly over the burning tree when she leaped from the large, golden dragon’s back. She flipped several times before slowing her decent. She could see Zollin and Mansel with her own eyes now. Mansel had his sword drawn and ready. Zollin was watching her with fascination, but he was also in a defensive stance. She swayed from one air current to another-most weren’t strong currents, but she was so buoyant in the air now that she could use almost any movement of air to lift herself up or slow her descent down.
She landed near the tree, close enough that she knew Zollin and Mansel wouldn’t be able to come because of the sheer heat. She saw Zollin’s face contort for a moment, then he was running toward her, shouting her name.
Brianna’s heart felt as if it would burst, and even though she was getting mental images of danger and worry from her pride, she ran to Zollin. He caught her in his embrace, swinging her around in circles for a moment before setting her down again.
“Are you real?” he asked. “Are you really alive?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m alive and well, Zollin. I’m so glad I found you.”
“What are doing here?” he asked.
“I came looking for you, but we were following Bartoom.”
Zollin looked confused.
“The big black dragon,” she tried to explain as a look of panic crossed Zollin’s face.
“You’re with the dragon?” he asked. “The dragon that tried to kill me?”
“No,” she said. “I’m not with Bartoom. It’s a long story, I’ll explain it all soon, but first I want you to meet my pride.”
Zollin looked dumbfounded and Brianna felt an icy stab of fear. She knew that she had as much to explain to Zollin as she did about Zollin to her pride.
“Look, a lot has changed, but I’m still the same girl from Tranaugh Shire,” she said, holding his arms and looking into his eyes. “I still love you, Zollin. I still want to be with you, to be your wife.”
“I want that too,” Zollin said, finally finding words.
“Okay, so let me show you what I mean,” she said, sending the mental command to her pride high above.
“The dragons are coming down,” Mansel said nervously. “We’ve got to find cover.” He was pulling on Zollin’s arm, but Brianna grabbed Zollin’s other hand.
“No, wait,” she said. “They’re with me.”
“The dragons are with you?” Zollin asked.
“Yes, they’re my pride.”
“Your pride?” he asked, incredulously.
“Yes, you know, like a pack of wolves or a pride of dragons,” she explained. Zollin and Mansel’s eyes went wide with wonder, and then the dragons touched down all around them.
Chapter 17
Zollin could hardly believe his eyes. The light from the burning tree illuminated the glistening scales of the dragons around them. His heart was racing with fear. They were beautiful, but even the smaller dragons looked ferocious, and every instinct was telling him to run, to get as far as he could from the dragons.
“This is Selix,” Brianna said, walking over to the golden dragon, who lowered its head in a sort of bow. Brianna patted the golden dragon’s neck.
“This is Ferno,” she said, and the dark green dragon growled menacingly. “They’re friends, Ferno,” she said firmly. “You can trust them.” A puff of smoke shot out of the big dragon’s mouth, but it didn’t move forward.
“You can put away your sword, Mansel,” Brianna said. “I promise they won’t hurt you.”
He shook his head, “Sorry, force of habit I guess. It’s not every day that I get this close to dragons.”
“These are Tig and Torc,” Brianna said, approaching the two smallest dragons. “And finally, Gyia,” she said, giving the purple dragon a scratch on the top of the head.
“How did you find them?” Zollin asked.
“I didn’t find them,” Brianna explained. “I made them.”
“Hang on,” Mansel said. “You made dragons? What am I missing here?”
“My power,” Brianna said, still speaking to Zollin. “You remember what the dwarves said?”
“I do,” Zollin said, with awe in his voice. “They said you were a fire spirit, and that dragons were the offspring of fire spirits.”
“Offspring isn’t really the right word,” Brianna said. “I made them using my power, but I’m not their mother. These five chose to stay with me, but we’re more like siblings.”
“I’ve got to sit down,” Mansel said. “If ever I needed a drink…”
Mansel backed away from the dragons, then walked slowly into the darkness.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Brianna said. “But I’ll do my best to explain it.”
“I know you will, but we have time. For now, we need to check on Nycoll and get settled in for the night.”
“Alright,” Brianna said, a little hurt that Zollin’s excitement had been replaced with uncertainty. She wasn’t sure what she had hoped for from him, but his attitude wasn’t making her fears any less pointed. “What would you like us to do?”
“I’m not sure,” Zollin said. “We found Nycoll yesterday. She and Mansel are close, but I’ll let him tell you that story later too. She’s had a difficult time lately. I’m not sure how well she’ll take to seeing dragons.”
“We’re not horrible creatures,” Brianna said.
“No, but I don’t think scaring her will help.”
“We won’t scare her.”
“You won’t have to,” Zollin tried to explain. “Let’s just give her some time, okay? I’ll check on her, and then I want the whole story.”
“Alright,” Brianna said.
It hurt Zollin to see Brianna looking so disappointed, but he was in a slight state of shock himself. He didn’t know how else to respond. He was fascinated by the dragons, but in the dark, as tired as he was, he had to admit they were frightening creatures. He wanted to make sure that Mansel was okay and that Nycoll didn’t need anything.
He walked away into the darkness, letting his magic flow out in search of Mansel and Nycoll. He felt a little guilty for keeping his magical shield up, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was going to roasted alive the second he let his guard down. All around the yard where Nycoll’s cottage had once sat were small hills. The hills were formed by sand and most were covered with thick weeds. Zollin found Mansel not far away. Nycoll had fainted and Mansel was trying to wake her up.
“She’s out of it,” he said. “You think she’s okay?”
“Yes,” Zollin said. He was letting his magic probe Nycoll to ensure he hadn’t missed anything physical. “She’s been through a lot, but physically she’s fine. She just needs rest. We all do.”
“Where do you suggest we do that?” Mansel asked.
“Here’s as good a place as any. I’m going back to talk to Brianna. You stay here and shout if you need me.”
“Alright,” Mansel said. “But be careful.”