Page 10 of Henry & the Dragon
The dragon lay with her long, spiked tail curled around Kai, snarling and showing a fang that was larger than Kai’s arm. Mother always was overprotective. He placed a hand on her scales, relishing the warmth once again. When she’d left, his body temperature had dropped slowly, until he was afraid he might freeze to that spot. He couldn’t believe Henry was here! Then again, perhaps it was all a fevered dream, but he couldn’t allow even this version of Henry come to harm.
“Mother, no. Don’t hurt Henry. He is the one I love.”
It was the first time he’d spoken aloud of his love. He hadn’t even told Henry yet. He wondered how he’d react. Would it be possible for Henry to return his love? Kai’s head swam and he tried to keep from passing out once more. He couldn’t recall ever being so weak or feel so ill as the waves of pain radiated through him. Damn Neron. Bad enough the bandits shot him, but to use poison on their arrows? The man truly had no honor.
“Move out of the way!” Henry cried, pushing at the dragon’s tail. When she moved it aside, he rushed in and dropped down beside Kai the placed a hand on him. At Henry’s touch Kai’s skin no longer froze. Now it burned with a heat hotter than his mother’s fire. He was being consumed from the inside out. Torn apart, sundered. It was far more painful than the arrow had been.
“Going to die,” he whispered harshly. “Tell Henry—“
“Shut up!” Henry shouted. “Just…” Henry’s face contorted, as if in pain. “Please, remain quiet. Let me work. I have not traveled all this way, have not killed Neron, have not abandoned my family, to have you die on me. Do you understand?” He turned his head. “Dmitra, I have need of your aid.”
The little girl Kai had noticed rushed over and took a spot beside Henry, ignoring mother completely. How incredibly brave she was.
“You must put your hands here and press as hard as you are able, do you understand?”
She murmured something, and Henry must have taken it as agreement. A moment later, fire roared through Kai as the pain returned, like stinging nettles raked over raw skin.
“Mother!” he cried out.
The dragon threw back her head and shrieked, the sound deafening.Clouds of dust were thrown into the air where they sparkled in the dim light as it billowed for a time. She began to stand, but Henry put a hand on her.
“Milady, please, I beg of you, don’t move. Kai is freezing, and I need you to warm him as much as you can,” he said to Mother.
Oh, Henry. His Henry. He faced a dragon, one of the mightiest of all, and he didn’t flinch. He took so much on faith, and he was the bravest person Kai knew. His hands were like magic as they—wait. This truly was Henry? How could that be? Mother had taken Kai leagues away. And he’d said he killed to find Kai.
“Henry? I—“
“Please, Kai. Don’t talk. I must concentrate.”
He rummaged through his bottles, pulling out stoppers, sniffing the contents, then discarding them.
“Why don’t I have my salve?” he growled, his frustration obvious. “I’m certain I packed more than this!”
His salve? “Henry, I—“
“Kai, I have to focus on what I’m—“
“No, you don’t understand. Your salve…. It’s… There are several vials in my bag.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “Why do you have–? No, never mind. It doesn’t matter. Where is your bag?”
Kai struggled to think of where he’d left his bag. He’d had it when Neron attacked him, and—no. “I lost it when they tried to kill me.”
“Nothing is ever easy,” Henry muttered. “I have to find that bag!”
Mother flicked her tail in the direction of the cave opening. A chuff rumbled from her, and Kai noticed Henry’s eyes flick toward the darkened corner, then open wide.
“Dmitra, can you go grab that satchel?” Henry asked excitedly. “I’ll do this until you come back.”
Small hands were gone, and then the fire returned as Henry pressed his palms to Kai’s flesh. Kai sighed. He would gladly be consumed by the heat, if only Henry would never stop touching him.
“Here it is, Henry,” came a tiny voice.
“Who is this?” Kai croaked out, trying to focus beyond the pain so he wouldn’t scream at the poison that flooded his veins.
“My daughter,” Henry said softly, hesitantly, as he pulled the stolen vials from Kai’s belongings. “’Tis a long story.”
“I look forward to hearing it. Hello daughter of Henry.”
She gave him the most dazzling smile as she took a cloth from the satchel and swiped it over Kai’s head. He knew to his heart that this girl was special. She would become his daughter as well, he was certain. If only he would tell Henry of his feelings.
“Henry, I love you.”
“And I you, so please take what I’m about to say with that love in mind. Be still and remain quiet.”
Kai grinned. “Yes, my dearest one.”
As Henry ministered to the wound, his hands dextrous and nimble, he gave Dmitra several tasks, which she attended to quickly and without complaint. Mother, meanwhile, blew gentle breaths of fire onto the rocks that Kai lay upon, heating his body. She’d been doing that since she snatched him from Neron. Kai had been unable to tell her that Henry could save him. In fact, he wasn’t certain if he had spoken to her at all. Until this very moment, he wasn’t even sure she was real.
“They poisoned me,” he gasped out.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Henry replied, never ceasing his ministrations. “I’m trying to flush it out of your body. I wish I could bloody well kill him again.”
“You truly killed Neron? I thought it was only my imagination.”
Henry reached into his pocket and withdrew the medallion he’d received before he left on this, his twentieth excursion. He lay it reverently on the furs Kai’s head rested upon.
“He had what belonged to you. He kept me from my family for far too long based on a series of lies. He… he….”
Angry tears slid down Henry’s cheeks. Kai wanted to take them away, to see Henry smile, but he was so weak. Henry swiped at them with a growl, but still he toiled. Dmitra leaned in and put her head to Henry’s arm. That seemed to give him the strength to continue.
“When I saw him with your medallion, I couldn’t understand the anger that poured into me. I knew only that he had touched something of yours. Made it impure, tainted. With every lie he told me, my father’s blade—“ Henry jerked his head around, then scrabbled over and retrieved his sword. “Father, I know you wouldn’t allow me to attack this dragon, because you knew she was Kai’s mother. Is that not so?”
The blade glowed a brilliant blue, bathing everyone in the purest of lights. Henry continued to fascinate Kai, and he hoped they had forever to surprise and delight each other.
“I’ve applied salve to his wounds, but the poison still is within his body. I’m uncertain if my ointment will be enough, and I fear I don’t have the time to wait and see. Kai is weakening, even as we speak. Please, father, don’t let my love perish.”
The sword flared so brightly, Kai had to avert his eyes, and he’d stared directly into dragon fire. What was this sword that Henry clutched in his hand?
“I understand,” he murmured. He turned to Kai, his features pinched. “I fear this will hurt,” Henry said, a moment before he placed the blade over the wound. Like so many other times, Henry was right. The blade seared Kai’s skin—or so it felt—and he screamed. His mother roared, echoing his pain, shaking the entire mountain. Still, Henry knelt by him, doing his best to soothe and comfort Kai, while Dmitra ran her tiny hands over Mother’s scales, obviously trying to keep her calm. When Henry finally removed the blade, Kai sank back onto his mother’s side, exhausted.
“What did you do?” Kai asked, his voice weak.
“I did nothing. My father did. In truth, I know not what he did, only that it appears to have worked, and I am forever grateful to him.”
The brilliance of the blade dulled, leaving only a soft glow that cast shadows about the cave. Henry scrabbled to gather some clothing strewn about and handed it to Kai.
“I can barely move,” Kai said as he struggled to sit up.
“Then don’t. Lie there and rest.”
“There’s something I should tell you, Henry.”
A bushy eyebrow quirked up. “There are many things you must tell me. First and foremost, how is your mother a dragon?”
“That is but one of the things I must share with you.” Kai pushed himself up, his muscles screaming with every movement. “Please, I beg you to not be afraid of me. I would never do you harm. You know this, yes?”
Henry grabbed Kai’s hand. “Yes. To my very soul.”
“Then know that, no matter what, I will guard and keep you.”
Kai tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Before, after Neron had him poisoned, Kai hadn’t the strength to protect himself. His mother heard his cry and raced to him, arriving in time to keep the bandits from taking everything and leaving Kai for dead. She lifted Kai in her claw, doing her best to keep him from being jostled too much, then launched herself skyward to find a place for Kai to rest and heal.
Only it didn’t help. Now that he was no longer in agony, his memory was coming back. He’d asked her to find Henry, but she refused to leave his side until he told her she had to, or he would die. Then she made several sojourns to find Henry, but each proved futile. She’d never laid eyes on him, so she had no idea who she was looking for, but still she tried. For Kai.
“I am not as you see before you, Henry. Well, that is not all I am. My people are ancient, but still very new. We are what humans will call a paradox. Neither one thing or another, but a melding of both.”
The stretch of bone and sinew had been too long in coming. Though Kai’s body protested, it also craved the blessed change. His arms grew thick with heavy muscle, his body following immediately afterward. When the golden wings he’d always been so proud of erupted from his back, he cried out, not in pain, but in utter bliss. It had been far too long since he’d done this, felt complete. Only lying with Henry had come close to this feeling. When the transformation was complete, Kai rose up, still dwarfed by his mother, to his true form.
“You’re… a dragon!” Henry cried out. “How is this possible?”
Kai reverted to a human form, then stumbled slightly, still dizzy from the toxins. Fortunately, the shift had started his body healing. It would take time, but the change, alongside Henry’s amazing salve, would have him better in a few days.
“That is a story that is older than time, and would take nearly as long to tell. I am a member of a species called the Hodac. We are dragons that can walk as man or soar as birds.”
Being this near dragons, Henry and Dmitra should be near wetting themselves, but instead they stood in awe as they took in the beautiful dragon his mother was. Her iridescent scales picked up even the slightest of lights, shimmering like a rainbow. It was her hues that Kai’s father so loved, it made him ask her to be their queen.
“Our majesty—my mother—bids you welcome.”
“Your mother is… So… You’re a prince?”
Kai bowed deeply. “Prince Kaithyn Dellamar at your service.”
Henry flushed, and it seemed that he was near collapse. Only Dmitra stood between him and the floor.
“What bothers you most, Henry? Is it the fact I am of the Hodac?”
Henry peered up, his eyes unfocused. “What? No. I have always loved the tales of dragons. I knew they could not possibly be the corrupt beings people claim. They seem far too noble.”
“No, we most certainly are not evil. It is difficult to explain, but we come from another plane of reality. Our people are scholars, healers, teachers. Good and noble people all. I am still vexed by what worries you most.”
Henry peeked down at Dmitra, then his gaze slid toward… oh. Now Kai understood. Henry worried that he’d touched the genitals of a royal. No doubt something like that on this world would mean death. Many things did, apparently.
“Is it because we have lain together?”
“What? No, of course not.” His cheeks reddened. “Okay, yes. You’re a prince!”
Kai reached for Henry, and stroked a thumb over his cheek. “And you are the most beautiful soul of any being I have ever seen. The first day we met, you did your best to save the Virbolg, not knowing if it would end your life. When its mother arrived, did you demand I destroy it? No. Why?”
Henry’s cheeks flushed. “All living things have a dignity about them. They have lives they do not wish ended. Why would I want to hurt them?”
“You are a rare human, Henry. So very rare. You are like a precious flower; one that must be cared for, tended to, and allowed to blossom fully so that everyone can behold its wonder.”
Those cheeks Kai loved pinked as Henry averted his gaze. “Why does your mother not take a human form? Is she unable?”
“Oh, she is quite capable. However, no one is allowed to see her in her nude state except my father. He’s rather… adamant about that.”
“Oh!” Henry grabbed his bag and removed Kai’s cloak, which he handed over. “Will this help?”
Kai couldn’t help but smile. “You are aware that if you’d sold the cloak you could have fed you, your family, and every person in the town for the rest of your lives.”
That made Henry frown and pull the fabric closer to him, clutching it tightly to his chest. “I would never give up something that is precious to you.”
“Now ask yourself again why I love you. Where Neron only saw the cloth as a path to riches, you hold it close as a remembrance.” Kai turned and held the cloak out as his mother transformed back into her human form. She was tall, radiant, and regal, with striking red hair and eyes the color of new blades of spring grass. Kai loved her more than he thought he could ever love another, until Henry.
She pulled the cloak around herself, then stepped out into view. She graced Henry with a smile, then held out a hand to Dmitra, who reached for it.
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Dmitra, daughter of Henry.”
Dmitra smiled up at Henry even as she clutched his hand with her other.
“And you, Henry, I owe a debt which can never be repaid. You have saved the life of my son.”
Kai groaned. “Mother, I am one of eight boys. And I’m adopted. We all are.”
“You are,” she admitted, placing a hand on his shoulder, “but that does not make our love, our bond, any less true. You are precious to your father, as you are to me.”
Henry crossed an arm over his stomach and bowed. “The pleasure is mine, your majesty.”
She laughed at that, the sound not unlike the loveliest of birdsong. “You must call me Arissa, Henry.”
“But… you’re a queen.”
“And my husband you will refer to as Harramir. We do not stand on ceremony, you see. At least not with our people. We are a family, and Harramir is like the father of us all.”
“This is all too much,” Henry said, shaking his head.
“Mother and Father take in the orphaned children of dragons who….” He glanced at his mother, uncertain if this was his tale to tell. She nodded. “We are explorers, Henry. We travel to many worlds, seeking knowledge. Oh, the wonders we have beheld. You could never imagine the sights, the sounds, the emotions. Then there are places like your home? They are too violent, and many of our people lost their lives during their sojourn. At one time, we visited often, but those visits came less frequently as the years went on and your people learned better ways to kill.”
“After this visit, I do not think we shall come to this time again,” Arissa said harshly. “I had no idea Kaithyn would be in such terrible danger. After we return home, the portal that leads to this era will be sealed permanently.”
Sealed? “Mother, no!”
“I have made up my mind, Kaithyn.”
He drew in a breath. “Then you must allow me to remain here. I won’t leave Henry. I can’t.”
She cocked her head. “What? Leave Henry? Why would you—? Oh, I see.” She smiled at Henry. “My apologies, Henry. I seem to have forgotten my manners for a moment. Henry, as Kaithyn said, our people are explorers. We have a way to travel to many worlds, to seek out life and knowledge. When we discover something that is of singular beauty, we return home with it, and keep it for others to see, to learn from, and to grow. If there are many, then we may bring back several pairs to mate and populate.”
“You keep them in cages?” Henry asked, and Kai could feel his discomfort.
“What? No, not at all, child,” Mother said. “We have the ability to create environs that suit them perfectly. There are no boundaries to hold them, no people to hunt them. Each has a vast range they can travel, and if they do happen to reach the edge of it, they simply come back in on the other side to start the journey anew. They are cared for, allowed to live out their lives in peace, and when their natural time comes, they are immortalized in their zone with a statue of light that our people may visit and learn about, even thousands of years later.”
There was so much confusion, and it was easy to read on Henry’s face. “Ours is a world of the future, Henry. Things that would seem as magic to you, are called science by us. Your people tell the stories of a dragon’s hoard. We do have our collections that we love, it’s true. They aren’t gold or jewels that we sleep upon, though. It’s knowledge that we pass down from generation to generation, so that even if people on other worlds or in other times have forgotten, we never will.”
And that, at least as far as Kai believed, was worth fighting for.
Kai’s words made sense to Henry. How many creatures had disappeared, and never thought of again? The very idea that the Virbolg could simply cease to exist saddened Henry.
“We have as many as we could collect,” the Queen said. “Millions of years ago, creatures that will be called dinosaurs roamed your lands. A great cataclysm wiped them out, but we rescued some. On our world, they live in comfort, doing what comes naturally. Some are predators, others prey, but they also don’t have to worry about going extinct. Our people watch them very carefully, ensuring that none of them die out. Yes, we could go and collect others, but our people love the ones we have, and we want to keep them as long as they are alive.”
“I know it doesn’t sound like anything you’ve heard before,” Kai said, reaching for Henry and Dmitra’s hands. “It’s a very overly simplified way to explain it.”
“And you would return home?” Henry asked, his stomach fluttering at the thought.
Kai turned to face the Queen, his sadness evident. “Mother, I cannot leave Henry here.”
“And you should not, Kaithyn. He’s obviously someone of great import to you, so you should bring him home.”
Henry stumbled back. “I’m to be part of your collection?” he asked, horrified.
“No, no, not at all,” the Queen said quickly, obviously trying to soothe Henry. “You would be Kaithyn’s mate. He who my son loves.” She gave a sad smile. “When he lay there, feverish and near death, he spoke of you. He said you were gentle, kind, and sweet. He told me how much he loves you, and how he couldn’t bear the thought of the two of you being separated. I will not allow my child to suffer. If you make him happy, then he must be with you. I would prefer it not to be here, but if that’s what he wishes, then—“
“No,” Henry blurted out. “Kai has already said he’s not fond of the people, and I wouldn’t want him to suffer them… us. The problem is that I can’t leave my family. We’ve only just discovered each other again, and I can’t lose them. Dmitra needs to be around them, to learn and grow, to live among those who will love her.”
“Then your family should come with us as well,” the Queen said. “We will create an area that is to your liking. You can stay there as you learn about our people. In time, we hope that you will integrate into our society, but if that isn’t the case, we will respect your choice and allow you to live and grow your own.”
“Do you really want to remain here, Henry? With odious people like Neron? And now that you say you’ve killed him, what will happen if you are found out?”
Henry hadn’t given that much thought. His only concern was for Kai and ensuring he continued to live. “I would be put to death, if I’m lucky. Otherwise, I would be thrown into the dungeon, and left there to rot.”
But to leave Innernook? To venture to another land? The thought excited Henry, but he wasn’t sure if Mother and Merry would agree. And how would he explain to them that dragons are real? “Dmitra? What say you?”
Her eyes alight, she nodded. “Yes! This is the dream I’ve held in my heart for years. A grand adventure away from this place. Please, Henry, say we can.”
Kai stroked a hand over Henry’s shoulder. It was warm, comforting. “Your family will understand, I promise you. And though it might take years, they will come to love our home, our people. Your family will flourish in a way they could not here.”
“Henry,” Dmitra whispered. “My mother said this would come to pass! She told me I would experience wonders no one had ever known.”
“Your mother possessed a gift?” Kai asked, his eyes kind and his smile luminous.
“Her mother, Constance, had the gift of sight,” Henry explained. “She knew I would rescue Dmitra, and that together we would find you. ’Twas she who told me where to begin looking, and Dmitra helped when we were closer.”
“Then we are forever in her debt as well,” the Queen said. “We shall build a monument in her name so that all of our people will know of Constance, who helped to save their beloved prince.” She reached for Henry’s hand, and took it in both of hers. “Henry, we must away from this place soon. Kaithyn needs to heal at home, where people will tend to him.”
“Why did you have my salve, Kai?”
He flushed. “Where I come from, we have nothing like this. I took it in hopes that our people—the doctors—would be able to duplicate it. You have made something ingenious, Henry, and it should be shared.”
And therein lay the problem. “If I leave here, I am abandoning the people who need my help. And now with Neron dead, they have no one who will care for them.”
The Queen sighed. “Henry, please don’t think me callous, but this time in which you live? It is coming quickly to an end. Soon there will be a plague that sweeps through your lands, and tens of millions of people will die. If you remain, you and your family may number among them.”
The thought of all those who would perish, perhaps even people Henry knew, sobered him. “But I might be able to stop it from happening!”
She gave a soft smile. “I wish that was possible, but it isn’t. It will be known as the Black Death, and it will lay waste to this country, as well as many others. By the time it has run its course, your people will be forever changed, but from this they will grow smarter, stronger. I’m afraid even your miraculous salve will not stem the tide. You see, we know what has already come to pass, and we have seen the future of your world. There will be so many trials and tribulations. Wars, famine, and disease will be constant companions. Through it all, though, they will triumph.”
“Henry, please. Return with us.” Kai grinned. “I will be able to take you places you’ve never imagined. Show you plants that don’t exist on Earth. Assist you in creating unguents that will help so many. In fact, we could travel to your Earth, but in the future, so you could see how things progressed. Think of the knowledge you could gain.”
So many things went through Henry’s head. He could be with Kai. With his family. Plus, there was the fact that Henry really did like knowing how things worked. And the opportunity to see things he might never otherwise have the chance to?
“If my family says yes, then I will too.”