Dragon Kiss (10 page)

Bending his neck until his eyes were level with the bird’s, the young dragon said, “How are you doing, little fella?”

“Mama!” said the bird, gazing at Audun with a look of adoration.

Audun jerked his head back. “I’m not your mother. My name is Audun and I’m going to rescue you.”

The little bird bobbed its head up and down as if in agreement. “Mama!” it said again.

Audun was about to protest, but he felt a growing tightness in his chest. The air in his lungs was almost gone. If he didn’t do something soon, he might actually die down here. Glancing up, he saw that the water level had dropped by a third. While the baby bird continued to swell, Audun swam above the water and took a deep breath. The air smelled like fish and seaweed, both of which Audun liked. At least he could breathe while he tried to think, but he still didn’t have long. If they didn’t go soon, the baby bird would be too big to fit through the tunnel even if it wasn’t blocked. And the sea witch was bound to discover that he’d taken the instrument and freed the snakes. He was sure she’d come back then, but if Audun had his way, he and the bird would both be long gone.

Ten

L
eaving the baby desicca bird on the floor of the cave, Audun slipped down the tunnel to see if it was truly blocked. He was able to get past the point where the angle of the tunnel changed direction, but only a few feet farther he ran into a plug made of boulders. Knowing that the sea witch’s word was worthless, he tried to use his magic to move the boulders aside. Try as he might, he couldn’t budge even the smallest pebble. He was still trying to make the boulders move themselves when the sea snakes arrived.

“What are you doing?” asked the first snake to wriggle through a crack between the boulders.

“Trying to get out,” said Audun.

Another snake appeared, and another and another until a mass of squirming bodies filled the water around Audun and he couldn’t see his talons in front of his face. “Why don’t you go between the rocks like we do?” asked one of the snakes.

There were too many snakes to tell them apart, and the way they kept sliding over and around one another would have made it impossible, so Audun didn’t even try. “I’m too big. Now get out of my way so I can see what I’m doing.”

“We want to help you,” said a snake.

“How can you . . .” Audun stopped when he began to feel the tightness in his chest. Knowing that he didn’t have any air to waste, he shuffled backward until he reached the cave behind him. By now the baby bird was nearly as big as he was and the water level was so low that the dragon had only to stretch his neck to breathe. When he dropped his head again, the water around him was once more filled with sea snakes.

“Why are you here?” he asked them.

“To help you,” said one.

“We have to,” said another. “We tried to go home, but the witch’s magic won’t let us.”

“We have to protect the flute, no matter where it is.”

“You have the flute, so we have to stay with you.”

“What can we do to help?”

Audun sighed. He knew that a magic compulsion could be very strong. Even if his magic was working, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to break it. If he didn’t want the snakes getting in his way, he’d have to give them something to do, although he doubted they could really help him. “Why don’t you go see how many boulders the sea witch put in front of the opening?”

“We can do that!” said a snake, and they all turned and swam into the tunnel in one apparently solid mass.

“Are you all right, little one?” Audun asked the baby bird. He couldn’t see its legs at all now under its grossly engorged body.

“Mama!” cried the baby bird, rocking toward Audun.

The dragon looked up as the first sea snake returned. “How many boulders did you see?”

“A whole lot!” said the snake.

“Can you give me a number?” Audun asked. “You can count, can’t you?”

“What does that mean?” asked another snake.

“Never mind,” Audun said. “You just stay here and keep your eyes on the bird. Don’t let anything happen to it.”

“But we need to stay with you!”

“Not this time,” said Audun. Rising up on his toes, Audun filled his lungs with air until he couldn’t hold any more. After giving the baby bird a gentle pat, he backed down the tunnel so his tail would be toward the boulders. When he reached the plug, Audun moved his tail to the side, rested his weight on his front legs and kicked hard with the back ones. One kick shifted the boulders, making debris swirl around him. It took two more kicks before the boulders shot out of the tunnel, startling a school of orange and white striped fish.

Some of the sea snakes had followed him despite what he’d said. They cheered, writhing in joy. “Now you can get out!” said a snake, twining around his ear.

“Not yet,” Audun said, and he hurried down the tunnel. There was very little water left in the cave when he arrived and Audun wasn’t sure he’d be able to get the bird out, but when he touched it, the water in its belly sloshed around, changing the bird’s shape enough that he thought he might have a chance.

The bird was so big now that Audun could no longer get a grip on it. Instead, he rolled it toward the tunnel, letting the little bit of water left in the cave support some of its weight. When he reached the entrance to the tunnel, he had to push and squeeze, pinch and shove the bird through the narrow opening. He thought the bird was stuck at the point where the tunnel changed direction, but a little more pressure on one side and its round, spongy body squished through.

Audun was relieved when the baby bird popped out of the tunnel like a cork out of a bottle. Although he was no longer afraid that the bird might drown, he was worried about what would happen to it out in the ocean where the volume of water was so huge. He didn’t have much air left himself, after working so hard to get the bird out of the cave.

There hadn’t been enough space in the tunnel for the sea snakes to help him much, but once in the open ocean they gathered around, waiting to be told what to do. “You can help me push it to the surface,” he said.

With the snakes pushing alongside him, Audun was making good headway when the fish with the pointed face appeared from the direction of the sea witch’s wreck. Audun wasn’t afraid of the fish, but he could already feel the tightness in his chest from lack of air.

“Shark!” hissed the snakes, moving away from the bird to place themselves between the dragon and the fish.

“I know you want to protect me,” said Audun, “but I need some of you to push the bird to the surface while the rest go find my amulet. It’s a piece of gold on a chain that the sea witch took from me.”

“We can find it,” the snakes replied, and a moment later half of them were swimming back toward the bottom of the sea. Audun watched to make sure that the remaining snakes were indeed pushing the bird, albeit more slowly, before he turned to face the shark.

“Why are you here?” Audun asked, trying to ignore the tight feeling in his chest.

“I’m hungry,” said the shark. “I want to taste that thing you were pushing. Get out of my way or I’ll eat you instead.”

“Just try it!” Audun snarled, baring his fangs.

Suddenly, Audun felt the overwhelming urge to inhale. His air was gone. He’d have to surface or drown. Either way, he wasn’t going to be able to help the baby desicca bird any longer. If only . . .

And then the shark was there, jaws snapping and teeth grazing the scales on Audun’s neck. The dragon fought back in a desperate frenzy. His fangs pierced the rough skin of the shark even while white lights exploded in the darkness.

The shark writhed, its tail whipping the water as Audun released his grip and bit again, deeper and harder, only to feel his jaws grow slack as he began to lose consciousness.

“We got it!” a snake’s voice whispered in Audun’s ear as the shark broke free and turned to rip at the dragon’s side. Something cool settled around Audun’s neck while the shark snapped at him, trying to penetrate the rock-hard scales. Within a few seconds, the dragon was able to breathe. He could feel the scrape of the shark’s teeth even as he started to come around, and then the dark fog was gone and he was back. With one swipe of his tail, Audun knocked the shark spinning through the water.

The shark shook itself and turned to charge at the dragon again. When it was only a few yards away, Audun threw back his head and roared. Ripples of sound hit the shark like mallet blows to its snout, forcing it to turn aside. Audun was preparing to fend off another attack when the shark shook its head and sped away.

The sea snakes cheered, their tails slicing through the water, but Audun wasn’t ready to celebrate yet. All the while he had been fighting the shark, the baby bird had been soaking up more water, becoming wider and harder to move. It took all of the young dragon’s strength and that of the sea snakes as well to shove their charge to the surface of the water, and even then the bird grew heavier and heavier as they propelled it toward the nearest island. When they finally rolled the baby bird onto the sandy beach, Audun was so tired that he was close to collapsing.

“Get rid of that water!” he told the bird, and gave it one last shove. Then, while the sea snakes watched from just beyond the surf, Audun lay his head on the sand and let the darkness overwhelm him.

Eleven

I
t was morning when Audun came fully awake, although he seemed to remember more than one sunset since he first lay down. The baby bird was nestled against his side, muttering about being hungry. It was back to its normal size. Audun raised his head and saw that he was only a few yards from a pool of water that hadn’t been there before. A deep channel had been etched into the beach where the excess water had drained into the sea. Apparently the baby bird had rid itself of the water right where it landed.

Audun was stiff and sore when he stood, but he had one more trip to make before he could return to King’s Isle to present the flute to the council. Picking up the baby bird, he carried it past the island’s tree line to the underbrush, where insects would be easy to find. While the hatchling ate, Audun returned to the ocean for a quick breakfast of fish, then retrieved the bird and rose into the sky. The oasis where he’d found the egg was at least two days’ flight away, but he had to return the little creature to its mother.

Audun had been gone for over a week by the time he returned to King’s Isle with desert sand still grating between his scales. Finding the mother bird hadn’t been easy, but it had been well worth the effort to see her joy when she finally saw her hatchling for the first time. Fortunately for Audun and the baby bird, the mother had accepted it back, although the baby still seemed to think that the dragon was its mother, too.

The first dragon Audun ran into when he set foot in the king’s stronghold was Frostybreath. The big ice dragon seemed happy to see him, patting him on the back so hard that Audun nearly lost his footing. “Welcome back, young dragon. You were gone so long that we thought we’d never see you again. The king and his councillors are going to be happy to see you. And so is Loolee. Make sure you ride the chute with her. It’s all she’s been able to talk about since you left the last time.”

“I will,” said Audun. He didn’t want to disappoint the little dragoness again.

“I’ll go on ahead and let the king know that you’re here, but you might as well go down to the antechamber. I’m sure he’ll want to see you right away.”

Audun was on his way down the ramp when he passed a gaggle of dragonesses going the other way. They all seemed happy to see him, but it was Hildie who stopped to talk while her friends continued on. “What have you been doing?” she asked. “You look different.”

“I’ve been in the desert,” he replied, thinking that she must be referring to the sand he was still shedding as he walked.

“Hmmm,” Hildie said, looking him up and down. “I didn’t know a desert could do that to you.”

Audun excused himself and continued down the ramp, but somehow he knew that she was still watching him.

Audun had never thought much about his appearance. He’d always been the average length for whatever his age happened to be and he’d always kept his scales fairly presentable, but he’d never preened the way some dragons did, or paid someone to burnish his scales to a semi-sheen. It came as a surprise, therefore, when he paused long enough to see his reflection in the ice and it wasn’t at all what he’d expected. True, his scales were the same blue and white they’d always been, but now they gleamed in the torchlight like well-polished metal. He also looked older; he’d lost the rounded cheeks of a teenage dragon and acquired a more angular, adult look. Although he hadn’t grown any longer, he seemed bigger, with well-defined muscles and broader shoulders. When he turned this way and that to see himself better, it was obvious that he had been working hard and eating little. Perhaps that was what Hildie had meant.

Frostybreath was waiting for him on the ramp. They nodded once at each other, then the older dragon ushered him into the audience chamber and left, shutting the door behind him.

Audun felt uncomfortable as he stood before the king and his councillors, waiting for his turn to speak. He wasn’t happy with them for sending him on a mission that had endangered an innocent life. It was hard to think of a diplomatic way to tell them this, though, while they talked among themselves. Their voices were too quiet for him to hear except for a few phrases like “. . . not at all what I expected,” “. . . couldn’t have been nicer . . . ,” “. . . someone will have to go . . . ,” and “. . . know that you have fish eggs on your chin?”

Finally King Stormclaw turned to the young dragon and said, “I’ve been reminded that I haven’t properly introduced my councillors to you. You’ve met Frostweaver and Wave Skimmer, and of course you know Song. This,” he said, indicating the gray-and-white-scaled dragon seated beside Audun’s grandmother, “is Vision Seeker, a truly gifted dragoness who is sometimes able to see into the future.”

Audun dipped his head in respect, but the old dragoness just snorted and said, “Did you get the flute?”

“I have it here,” he said, holding it up so everyone could see it.

“Did you have any problem with the sea witch?” asked Wave Skimmer.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” said Audun. “She wanted the egg so she could make it hatch and use the baby bird to suck the water out of a cave. Did you know why she wanted it before I went? Did you know that she wouldn’t care if the hatchling lived or died?”

Wave Skimmer shook her head. “We didn’t know what she wanted the egg for, although we had a good idea, considering the nature of the bird. What happened to the hatchling?”

King Stormclaw leaned over the edge of his slab to glare at Audun. “Did you leave it with the sea witch?”

“I couldn’t,” Audun said, straightening his back and returning the king’s glare. “I took it back to its mother in the desert.”

King Stormclaw looked satisfied. He glanced at Song and nodded. “You were right about him.”

Audun glanced from the king to his grandmother, confused.

“I told King Stormclaw that you would not only get the flute from the witch, but also keep the baby bird safe,” said Song of the Glacier.

“We needed the flute,” said the king, “but we had no intention of hurting the baby.”

“You could have told me,” Audun muttered.

“Yes, and we should have,” said his grandmother. “You must excuse us. We’ve had other things to worry about of late.”

“Tell him!” said Wave Skimmer. “If you don’t, I will!”

King Stormclaw nodded. “There’s something else you should know. We’ve had a most unexpected visitor in your absence. Princess Emeralda, the Green Witch, came to see us. It seems that her daughter is pining away. She refuses to eat and doesn’t sleep, so her mother came looking for you. I didn’t know how powerful the witch’s magic was until she said that she used it to trace you here.”

“She says that her daughter swears she loves you so much that she will never love another,” interrupted Wave Skimmer. “I must admit, the girl sounds like a true dragoness. When I was young, I had a number of friends who swore they would rather die than give up the one they loved. I think it’s so romantic!”

King Stormclaw cleared his throat. “The Green Witch is a much better human than I expected. And a much better dragon,” he added, at a small sound from Song. “Word of the war between East Aridia and Aridia has spread. The Green Witch has heard of our ties to Aridia and understands our concern. She explained that she doesn’t care about jewels, and that Greater Greensward has had difficulties of its own with the East Aridians. She came to the stronghold to offer us a pact of alliance should we need it.”

“I thought it was so nice that she asked,” said Wave Skimmer.

“We told her that we would discuss it and send her word of our decision when it had been made,” said the king.

“What about Millie?” Audun asked anxiously. “Is she all right?”

“I’m sure she is now,” said his grandmother. “Her mother said that she’s going to withdraw her objections to her marrying you.”

“Imagine a human objecting to her daughter marrying an ice dragon!” snapped Vision Seeker. “She should be grateful an ice dragon wants to marry her!”

“Can I go see Millie?” Audun asked, suddenly so excited that he found it hard to stand still.

“Actually, we have another task for you,” said the king. “The girl’s mother understands that we’re in the midst of a difficult time and will tell her daughter as much.”

Audun held the flute out to the king. “What should I do with this?”

“Take it with you,” said King Stormclaw. “We need you to deliver it to a family of giants traveling on the Eastern Sea. They have been friends to ice dragons for many years and we are happy to help them when they find themselves in need. Frostybreath will give you the directions.”

Frostybreath was waiting for Audun outside the chamber, but he wasn’t alone. Loolee was there, wriggling with anticipation and talking nonstop about sliding down the chute. Hildie was there as well, along with another dragon that Audun had never met before. Unlike Ice Rider, the dragon Hildie had introduced him to during his last visit, this one was much older and not nearly as athletic. He looked closer to Audun’s father’s age than to Audun’s, and his ponderous belly was encrusted with jewels, a typical dragon way of showing off wealth and protecting his more tender regions.

“Audun,” said Hildie, pushing herself in front of the others, “this is—”

Loolee grabbed hold of Audun’s leg and clung to it. “I’m ready to go down the chute,” she cried, her eyes wide with excitement as she gazed up at him. “Can we go now?”

“Loolee!” Audun had never had a younger sibling and neither had any of his friends, so a playful little dragoness was new to him.

“Audun, I wanted you to meet—,” Hildie tried again.

Loolee began bouncing up and down, crying, “You promised, Audun, remember?”

Audun sighed. “I can go with you one time today.”

Shrieking with delight, the little dragoness took off up the ramp. Audun was about to follow her when he remembered something. “You have some directions for me, Frostybreath?” he asked, turning to the big dragon.

“You go ride the chute,” the big dragon replied. “I’ll meet you at the door and tell you how to get to the islands.”

“But, Audun,” wailed Hildie. “I need to talk to you!”

“Sorry, but I’m already short on time. It will have to wait until I come back.” Audun may not have had a lot of experience with young dragonesses, but he did know that he didn’t want his name added to Hildie’s list of suitors.