The Beginning (41 page)

Jaax knew that his mentor was right, but he wasn’t in the mood to admit it. He needed to focus on Jahrra right now. She was the one who needed guidance at the moment, and she had to be coaxed into cooperating, not himself. The easiest thing to do would be to give in to Hroombra’s cajoling, but Jaax was far too proud for that. So he did what most would do when cornered with a truth about themselves they were too proud to admit. He turned on Hroombra, bringing to light his own faults.

“I’m glad you are able to sit back and navigate the lives of others, Hroombramantu. We both know that you’ve always been good at that,” Jaax said acrimoniously. “You may come off as unassuming and wise, but you never have been able to keep your opinions to yourself, have you?”

Hroombra looked slightly taken aback by Jaax’s words, and the younger dragon felt a small pang of guilt. But he was irritated by Jahrra’s behavior and the last thing he needed right now was the same old lecture he’d been getting since his first lesson with the old dragon so long ago. His usual biting replies had been falling short on Hroombra for years now, and Jaax finally found it necessary to speak his mind.

“I didn’t leave Jahrra with you to let her get away with whatever she wished. Your job was to keep her safe and teach her what she needed to know to survive in a world where she’ll have far more enemies than friends. In the past seventeen years, every time I returned to check on your progress with her, she’d grown worse. And each time I suggested that you be a little firmer with her, but obviously you haven’t been listening. You know what dangers await her, yet you’ve done a terrible job in preparing her.”

Jaax felt his anger being displaced onto Hroombra, exactly what the old dragon had warned him against a few minutes ago. He didn’t care, however. He’d grown more and more frustrated with his old Korli friend, and in Jaax’s anger-distorted opinion, Hroombra deserved everything he got.

“Jaax, I have taught her everything I know, and I hope someday she’ll prove that to you. I wished to tell her more of the truth, something that would have left her better prepared, but you insisted that I not, and I understood and respected your reasons though I disagreed with them. And you should know from personal experience that one cannot bottle up a spirit, especially that of Jahrra’s. Do not blame her disdain for you on me.”

Jaax bared his teeth in fury. “She has disdain for me because she has no discipline! She should have learned to respect her elders long ago, and that includes respecting you, or did you not notice the way she speaks to you as well? I’m finished with this conversation, Hroombra.”

Hroombra started to say something in reply to Jaax’s harsh comment, but the young dragon turned and faced him with blazing eyes, and in a cruel whisper added, “You are not my father Hroombra, and you never will be. You’ll never replace her parents either, so stop trying.”

Jaax stood steadfast and tall, refusing to let Hroombra see the shame that was brewing in his heart. His words had been formed by passion alone; he hadn’t at all thought them through. Hroombra had angered him, hitting a raw nerve, and Jaax had wished to return the ill favor.

Before the guilt could overcome him, Jaax continued, “I should have left her in Crie.” Then he added stoically, “The elves there would have done a much more adequate job in training her. I now wonder if age has played a part in your inability to deal with a simple child.”

Hroombra lifted his head and gazed directly into Jaax’s eyes. In a calm and eerie voice he replied, “I never wanted to be your father Jaax. I of all dragons know I could never be that. I never wanted to be Jahrra’s father either, she had a good father and I wouldn’t want to displace those memories. As for Jahrra being undisciplined, you are very wrong. She has worked very hard to become the person she is, and forgive me for saying this, but you were never there to see her grow and mature. She has a spirit and a mind that no one can tame, and my only wish is that some day you will be able to appreciate and understand that.”

Hroombra continued to gaze at Jaax with those all-knowing eyes. The old dragon was good at hiding emotion, but the pain of what he had just experienced couldn’t be masked. Jaax turned to leave, weary of arguing and wishing for nothing but to be alone, to allow his flaming anger to burn out.

“One more thing Jaax, please,” Hroombra sounded frighteningly desperate, forcing the Tanaan dragon to turn despite his irritation. “Know that I forgive you, both you and Jahrra for what was said this day, and know that I love you both very much.”

Jaax furrowed his great scaly brow, perplexed by Hroombra’s fraught tone. The great Korli dragon looked very old at that moment, like any animal does when he knows that his time in this world is drawing to an end. Jaax hesitated for just a moment, just long enough for Hroombra to remove the sadness from his eyes. At first he felt sympathy, even fear for his one-time mentor, but then he remembered how angry he was and shook off his small moment of exposure.

The young Tanaan dragon sighed deeply and fought against the headache that was growing beneath his skull. He would have to find Jahrra eventually and try to smooth things over with her, but for now, while his fury was still fresh, he needed to confront someone else, someone he was not looking forward to visiting. Jaax stepped out of the Castle Guard Ruin and headed east, following the Danu Creek towards the forest while Hroombra retired to the common room to wait.

***

Jaax decided to walk through the Wreing Florenn instead of flying over it. He figured that if he walked, perhaps he could have the element of surprise.
Ha
, he thought bitterly,
nothing surprises
that
woman.
He walked cautiously between the great trees, feeling like a thief sneaking through a grand fortress. All was quiet except for the sound of the treetops moving occasionally with the wind. Jaax walked on until he found himself looking down into the tiny hollow that was the Belloughs of the Black Swamp.

The dragon blinked up through the treetops into the dimmed light of the black and gray morning. It had rained last night, but he knew that those swollen clouds hadn’t finished their job quite yet. He let out a sigh that held a mixture of guilt and frustration. Perhaps he had been too hard on Hroombra. After all, Jaax had to admit to himself, he had spoken in anger. He would have to go back and apologize later, but first, he would deal with the Mystic.

As quietly as he could, the dragon crept down the small slope and onto the flat ground in front of the moss-shrouded cave. He sniffed the air and immediately detected an aroma of oak smoke, sauteed mushrooms, some kind of wild incense and the tang of sweet tea.
Nothing too surprising.
He folded his wings and sat down regally, allowing his changeable scales to blend somewhat with the grim colors of his surroundings. He took a calming breath, released a stream of scorched air, and waited for Denaeh to sense his presence. It didn’t take her very long. Within five minutes, the haggard woman came limping over the top of the hill that rose above her cave.

“Who goes?”

It was the crackled, raspy voice of a very old woman, the guise she always wore when strangers came into her part of the woods. But Denaeh knew who had come to visit her, even before she’d seen him. She had been expecting him ever since Jahrra had last visited.

“You know exactly who it is, now come down from there. We need to talk.”

The stern voice of the dragon Jaax sounded strange to her, like an old song playing once again that she hadn’t heard for a very long time.

“Raejaaxorix! Could it really be you?” she said in a sweet, grandmotherly way.

“That’s enough, Denaeh. You’ve been expecting me for some time now, so don’t try and play coy with me,” Jaax replied shortly. “Furthermore, you have some questions to answer. What are you doing in Oescienne, and what is your business with the young girl Jahrra?”

Denaeh chuckled. This dragon didn’t waste any time with petty sentiments, even going as far as dropping the required politeness for meeting very old acquaintances.

She clambered down the hill, and once she reached the bottom she said pleasantly, “Just allow me to slip into something more comfortable.”

And just as quickly as the light changes beneath a passing cloud, Denaeh became her younger self.

“You’re looking mighty well for your age,” Jaax commented drily.

“Aah, and you too, dear Jaax.”

The dragon sneered in disgust, and Denaeh’s smile faded.

“But you’re not here to chat and pay compliments, now are you?”

Denaeh no longer promoted her sunny demeanor, and she could tell an uncomfortable conversation was on the horizon.

“Why are you here, in this province?” Jaax repeated the question, unsmiling and severe.

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is a rather lovely part of Ethoes,” Denaeh waved her arm around pleasantly, “and the swamp provides ample cover . . .”

“Don’t try and lead me on with that rubbish,” Jaax interrupted with a snap of his teeth. “There are plenty of places in this world to hide, better places. Felldreim is far more appropriate for your needs, I should think. You came here for a reason.”

Denaeh simply stared at the dragon, knowing that he was right. She only hoped that she wouldn’t have to reveal all of her secrets.

“I have only been doing what you and many others have done.” she said, beginning to lose what remained of her cheerfulness. “I’ve been hiding from the rest of the world, yes. What does it matter where?”

Jaax was becoming irritated once again, and they were getting off track of the main issue.
I can question her motives later
, he thought,
but right now I need to get to the root of all this.

“Listen, where you decide to live really isn’t what matters here,” he stated. “What I want to know is why have you entangled yourself in Jahrra’s life? Why have you been manipulating her?”

The question was simple, but Denaeh felt its cruel intent like one feels a dagger at their back.

“Manipulating?” Her calm voice burned and her golden eyes flared. “Far from it. I have been guiding her ever since she first wandered into my realm five years ago. You and Hroombramantu have kept the truth from her for her entire life. I have simply been helping her.”

The fire in the dragon’s eyes seemed as real as if he had just breathed it.

“What have you told her?” he growled. “You had no business and no right! And now, because of your meddling, she’ll be even more difficult to deal with when the time draws near for her to continue her education in the city of Lidien. She is my responsibility, not yours!”

His nostrils were smoking, but Denaeh wasn’t going to let a little thing like dragon smoke intimidate her.

“Is that so?” she asked with a little more gumption than one facing an angry beast should have. “When did she become your responsibility, Jaax? When you dropped her at the feet of the old Korli dragon, or now, now that the hard work of her upbringing is over with?”

Jaax was definitely piqued, but he brought his anger down to a manageable level.

“You have no say in this matter, Archedenaeh,” he said quietly, his jaw set firmly. “In fact, you should have never interfered in the first place.”

The small woman stared Jaax down for a few minutes before she responded. When she answered, her intentions were made very clear.

“She
found me
Jaax. I did not go looking for her. She answered a dare from her classmates and wandered into the Black Swamp on her own.”

Denaeh paused when she saw the fury building in the dragon’s eyes once again, but she continued on nevertheless, “Yes, I knew she was coming, but it was of her own accord. Don’t be angry that I influenced her, I couldn’t help it.”

Jaax narrowed his eyes, taking in every inch of this woman he did not trust. She seemed sincere, but she was leaving something out, something that was important. It didn’t take Jaax long to realize what it was.

“You knew she would show up here in Oescienne someday, didn’t you?” he almost whispered. “That is why you came to this particular province, not just to hide out, but because Hroombra was already here. Somehow, you discovered that he was in Oescienne, and that made your decision easy, didn’t it?”

Denaeh said nothing; she only stood still as stone, her flame-red hair the only thing moving in the damp breeze.

“You knew that if the human child was ever found that Hroombra would be directly involved with it. So you came here, and waited. Waited until you knew the child was present, only to lure her into your trap.”

Jaax wrinkled his horned nose in antipathy and curled his lip back into a disgusted snarl. “You can stand there and tell me that Jahrra came to this swamp on her own accord, but I don’t buy it. You drew her to you, the way a burning flame draws an ensorcelled moth.”

Denaeh rubbed her arms as if she were cold and took her time to answer.

“You can draw your own conclusions if you want to,” she finally said, her eyes lowered. “Nothing I say will change your mind. Furthermore, I didn’t “lure” her, as you claim. She came to me like I said, and I told her and taught her what I could while she was here.”

A look of fear flashed across the dragon’s severe face and Denaeh chuckled. “Don’t worry. I only gave her clues, and she hasn’t yet figured out the truth yet. She is convinced that she is Nesnan, and she only knows what you and Hroombramantu have told her about her past. I only hope you tell her soon. Believe me, time is growing short.”