Young Writers Society

Chapter 11

First Encounter

The girl stood with her hands on her hips and spoke boldly into the darkness of the cave. “I have come in response to the summons you made for Jarid Drakoulis. He is elsewhere presently so I will aid you in his stead. My name is Airel Brineberg.”

Airel stood at the entrance to the cave waiting for a response. Tempest groaned and rolled over in her sleep but didn’t wake.

What was that? Airel thought. A flicker of doubt crossed her face as she leaned forward to peer into the dark cave.

Shadow wasn’t sure if he should show himself to this girl, but if Dain had brought her here, it probably meant that she didn’t pose a threat to them. He shuffled closer and watched her carefully. His black scales blended in with the dark of the cave, but his eyes reflected the glow of the torchlight.

Airel gasped as she noticed his blood-red eyes seemingly floating in the darkness, a shiver going up her spine. Those eyes! What sort of creature has eyes like that? It must be some kind of massive monster!

She took a fighting stance and slowly edged away from the cave.

Dain put a hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly at her. “No need to be alarmed. They won’t attack you so long as you don’t attack them. Especially that one. He’s probably the nicest of the bunch, and the one you need to speak with.”

“What do you mean, speak with?” Airel replied nervously, her gaze never leaving the glowing red eyes.

Shadow was still cautious about revealing himself, but he knew he would have to decide quickly. She seemed to know Jarid well, and if Jarid was not at the academy, Shadow needed to know where he had gone. With cautious steps Shadow slowly approached.

As the light revealed him, Airel’s eyes widened. It’s a dragon. But I’ve never seen one like that before. Black scales that reflect the torchlight like obsidian. Wait… Is that a Night Wing?! I thought they were all… but Jarid did say he had raised a Night Wing. Then this must be…

“Hello, Airel. My name is Shadow.” Shadow tried to sound confident, but it came out a little shaky. He still wasn’t sure how to feel about so many humans finding out about him, but it was a big relief to know that she was trustworthy enough for Jarid to tell her about him.

As Shadow drew closer, Airel noticed the bandage on his shoulder stained with dark blood. She relaxed her guard a little. He’s wounded. That must be why he asked Dain to call for Jarid. It’s strange though. I thought Jarid said he left Shadow hidden in The Forest of Denbark.

Shadow almost answered her unspoken question without thinking, but stopped himself just in time.

“Did you call for Jarid to help with your wound? I thought a dragon would be able to heal from something like this easily. Besides, I don’t think you got that wound from a monster around here,” Airel stated suspiciously.

Shadow was about to reply but Dain explained first.

“Actually, he did indeed receive that wound from a monster near this area. The basilisks make their nests in the caves near the old mines. He received that wound while trying to defend a little girl, and in part due to my own error in judgement.”

“A basilisk?! I heard their venom is so potent that dragon hunters and assassins use arrows dipped in it. How is he still alive?” Airel asked in surprise.

Shadow limped to the entrance of the cave and gave her a small smile. “According to Dain I have less than a month to live. Thankfully my friends are searching for the cure as we speak.”

Airel’s eyes narrowed. “Are your friends dragons as well?” Jarid never mentioned any other dragons.

Shadow rubbed his head sheepishly. “Yeah. I met them a few months after Jarid left for the academy. We went on a few adventures and when I returned to wait for Jarid the valley where I was hiding had been burned to the ground. That’s why I need to speak with him.” Shadow’s head drooped as he thought about Dragon Valley.

“I don’t know what to do, and I have no where to go.”

Airel finally relaxed and regarded Shadow with sympathetic gaze.

“I’m sorry for you, but Jarid won’t be back for a long time. In fact… we don’t know IF he will be coming back.”

Shadow’s eyes widened as his wings went limp at his side. It felt as though Hailstorm was breathing freezing breath over his heart.

“What do you mean, you don’t know if he will be coming back?”

“He had to go deep into the land of the Flame Wings. In fact, right into the heart of their capital city. No one has ever survived it before.”

Airel was interrupted by Shadow’s sigh of relief.

“How can you be so relaxed? Jarid is a human going into dangerous dragon territory!”

Shadow nodded with a reassuring smile. “Exactly. If my brother is going into dragon territory, then I’m sure he will be ok. Jarid is strong and smart. I’m sure that he can persuade the dragons to let him reach his goal.”

Airel sighed. “I agree that he is more capable than most, but still.”

Dain raised his hand. “I am getting tired, and I still need to show lady Airel her accommodations while she is staying with us. Can you two continue this conversation at another time?

Airel nodded. “Sorry about that.”

Shadow reached out to pause her and she recoiled making Shadow hesitate. “Sorry, I just wanted to ask how long you will be staying here.”

Airel relaxed slightly. “Around a week. The rider who dropped me off promised to bring me back to the academy the next time they pick up an order from Dain. The classes are put on hold for now while they tighten security at the academy.”

Shadow made a mental note to ask about why security was being tightened at the academy while bidding Airel and Dain goodnight.

Shadow was startled awake the next morning by a human cry of alarm quickly followed by Tempest cursing in dragon. He scrambled to the cave entrance where he found Tempest and Airel in a standoff with both in fighting stances.

“Wait!!!” Shadow roared, first in dragon, then in human.

They calmed down once Shadow explained the situation to them, but neither looked happy about it.

“Well, why don’t you just tell all humans about us then?” Tempest hissed sarcastically. Why didn’t he tell me about her?! What if that human girl tried to attack us in our sleep? Huh?! Why can’t that idiotic Night Wing see that trusting humans is a bad idea?

Then Tempest got up with a huff. “I’m going to hunt for some breakfast. You have fun with your human friends. Just don’t count on me to watch your back.”

Shadow watched her go with a sigh. Now he wished that he had simply woken Tempest last night to explain things. At least then he wouldn’t be feeling so guilty from the hurt and betrayal he sensed in Tempest’s thoughts.

“Sorry about that,” Shadow apologised to Airel. Airel nodded, still watching Tempest disappear over the trees.

“I assume that was one of your dragon friends. I thought you said they were all off getting the cure.”

Shadow scratched behind his ears feeling a little embarrassed. “Yeah. She stayed, partially to protect me as I grow weaker from the poison, but also partly because she was wounded while fighting human slavers.”

“Why were you fighting human slavers? Was one of your friends captured by them?”

Shadow shook his head. “Did you see a little girl staying in Dain’s house?”

“Yes. A sweet girl, though she looked a little shy.”

“She was being held in captive in their camp, so we decided to rescue her.”

Airel frowned at the thought. Shadow could feel the anger and protectiveness swell inside her at the thought of Asrial in the hands of such cruel men. Then a worm of suspicion invaded her thoughts.

“Why would dragons care about that? I mean, I hate slavers and bandits as much as most others, but why would dragons risk their hides trying to rescue one little human girl?”

Shadow smiled at the question. She really must not understand dragons very much.

“Well, let me ask you this. If you saw a dragon being beaten and chained up. Would you not feel any desire to rescue them?”

An image of a small blue dragon wrapped in chains popped into Airel’s mind. Shadow was surprised by the vivid image and surge of emotion that came with it. He wanted to look deeper but worried that she might sense his presence in her mind if he tried.

“Fine. I understand,” Airel muttered uncomfortably. Then her eyes brightened as if remembering something.

“Right, I forgot the reason I came to see you this morning. I was thinking about last night and realised you were probably right about Jarid. If we assume he is coming back, I think the best plan is to have you wait here. The dragon hunters wouldn’t think to check around here for dragons, so you should be safe. Meanwhile, I’ll await Jarid’s return and catch him up on everything that’s going on. Does that sound good?”

Shadow agreed eagerly. He was grateful to have a safe place to rest while he waited for Jarid to return from the land of the Flame Wings. Assuming nothing went wrong again.

Airel smiled. “Good. I’ll just wait for my ride back to Dragon Rider Academy back at Dain’s house then,” she said, getting up to leave.

“Why don’t you stay and chat for a while? I’d love to hear about everything Jarid has been up to at the academy while I was stuck at home.”

Airel looked a little uncomfortable at the suggestion and continued edging away. “Sorry. I actually need to talk to Dain about something. Maybe later.”

“Oh. Ok. I guess I’ll just wait here then,” Shadow replied, disappointed.

Airel smiled apologetically as she started jogging away. Sorry Night Wing, but I’ve had enough of talking dragons for a while. I was hopping to use this chance to get away from Vapor and all that, but here we are.

I guess the Night Wing is a bit better though, since Jarid raised him. I suppose I can trust a dragon Jarid tamed. I just have no idea when those wild dragons might decide to turn on me, especially that Storm Wing friend of his. It’s not friendly at all. Though I suppose that’s not too surprising after being wounded by slavers. But why would it try to…

Her thoughts faded away as she left the ranged of Shadow’s powers. For a while Shadow simply sat on the cool grass as the sun rose over the mountain peaks, thinking about what he had heard in Airel’s mind.

She didn’t seem to dislike me, and I don’t think she’s afraid of me. Why did she seem so eager to leave? Why did she say that she had enough of talking dragons? We only spoke for a few minutes. I guess that’s better than her being afraid of me though.

It had hurt a little when Airel mentioned Jarid ‘taming’ him. Shadow wasn’t Jarid’s pet. He was his brother and best friend. Most things didn’t really bother Shadow that much, but her thinking that he was Jarid’s pet really irked him for some reason.

Fine then. If Airel is stuck here for the next week, I’ll use that time to show her that I’m more than just Jarid’s pet. I’m a better friend to him than she could ever be. If words don’t work, then I’ll just show her how awesome being friends with a dragon can be!

Wait. I can’t really fly right now. I’ll have to get Tempest to show her. But that will mean getting Tempest to take Airel for a ride. How can I make that happen?

Shadow thought it over for the next few hours, trying many different options in his head, but none of them worked. Eventually he simply decided the best option would be to help them get to know each other while looking for an opportunity to get Airel some flying time. He was confident that simply flying on a dragon’s back would be enough to convince Airel of his worth as a friend. It worked for Jarid so why not for her?

Shadow smiled happily at his plan, not realising that his original goal had shifted slightly. Instead of trying to show Airel that dragons could be friends with humans, he was now trying to prove that he was a better friend for Jarid than she was.

Tempest arrived a little later with some mountain goats for lunch. She took her portion into the cave without a word. Shadow didn’t have to read her mind to know she wasn’t up for idle conversation. Instead, he decided to visit Dain’s forge after finishing his meal. Recently, Airel had been hanging around there a lot and found that she enjoyed engraving.

Shadow peaked his head in the door and saw Asrial sitting on a stool next to the work bench, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated. He sat patiently until she leaned back with a sigh, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. She must have been in the hot forge for a while.

“Hello Asrial.”

Asrial jerked slightly before sighing with relief as she noticed Shadow in the doorway. “Oh! Hi Shadow. I was just trying to engrave a crest into this scrap breastplate. Want to see?”

She hopped down from the bench with a small, flat piece of metal in her hand. Shadow looked at it and was amazed at the quality of her work. Her design wasn’t perfect, but he could easily tell what the crest was meant to look like. He remembered Jarid trying his hand at engraving for a few days before giving up when his designs looked more like random scratches on the metal rather than real pictures. Dain must have trained her well.

“That looks amazing Asrial. I’m impressed with how far you’ve come.”

Asrial giggled happily with a big grin.

“Is Dain around?” Shadow asked as he stuck his head inside the forge to look.

Asrial shook her head as she hopped back on the bench. “He went to go get some firewood. I think that dragon rider girl went on a walk or something. She said she needed some exercise and time alone.”

Shadow nodded absentmindedly. He really wished he knew more about her. She said she was Jarid’s friend, but she seemed almost scared of him.

“Asrial? Do you know anything about the dragon rider girl?”

Asrial paused and put her finger on her chin thoughtfully.

“I know she is nice for a noble lady. She even played with me for a while before she left. She’s also really strong. Her muscles were like, this big!” she gestured to her arm while making a hill shape with her other hand. “It was kind of strange though. When I was telling her how amazing you and your friends were she got this weird look on her face. Then she said she had to go for a walk.”

“Thank you Asrial, and don’t worry. I think we will all be good friends soon.” Shadow smiled encouragingly.

Shadow returned to the storage cave after chatting with Asrial for a while. He didn’t see Airel for the rest of the day and thought about what he would try talking to her about. Perhaps he could share some stories from Jarid’s past or ask about what Jarid had been doing at the academy all this time. For some reason, the thought of trying to start a conversation with Airel out of the blue gave him a twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Whatever. I’ll figure something out,” Shadow muttered to himself as he curled up to sleep.

Author's note

In the next chapter I was thinking of sharing a bit about either Jarid's or Airel's past. I wasn't sure what readers would want to hear more about so I thought I'd ask here. 

Also, on a side note, is there any other characters you want to know more about or feel need to be deepened in any way?