Chapter Sixteen
“Dekani, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re safe here. Why go back to where you could die?” Nym honestly didn’t understand. Dekani was safe; she had food, a place to retreat to when danger threatened… Why leave a place of comfort?
“I don’t care. My people are not safe. And I must return to take care of my people.” Dekani looked at the two dragons, and smiled. She was still unused to the movement of her face, but if she thought about it she could make her lips move upwards.
“Dekani…” Nakomii shook his head, lips slightly lifted above his teeth. The barest points gleamed, and Dekani rolled her eyes. It was a habit that Nym had when Nym was annoyed, and Dekani used it now.
“Nakomii, Nym, they are my people. I have to help them. I have a plan.” Dekani didn’t whine, nor did she plead for the two to understand. She didn’t know how. Instead, she simply stated the facts. “They will become no more if nothing is done. I can help them, and I will. But I will need your help, if I am to succeed.” She almost mentioned the ‘game’, then didn’t. She didn’t understand it, and she wasn’t sure if they would either.
“What plan?” Nakomii was starting to snarl, Dekani knew, and her ears twitched. Worry stirred in her heart, but she thrust the emotion away. Her hand clenched.
“I will lure a single dragon into a place where my mother died; it has closed in sides so the dragon won’t fly. Then my people will fall onto the dragon and kill it. The dragons that don’t chase me will not die.”
“Dekani, I’m not sure that will work. Anosan forgive me, but your people are weak and need tools to work with. Healers use them, rarely, but we know of them. Perhaps you should know of them too, so that your people will stand a chance.” Nym raised her head, looking towards the sky. Dekani thought about it, and nodded.
“What? Nym, you will use Anosan’s gifts for war?” Nakomii pulled away from his mate, jaw dropping. His wings flared, and Nym looked over.
“They’ll be used one way or other. Why not help the people who’ve been killed time and again? Nakomii… we have caused such destruction… I don’t know, I just… it won’t bring the lives back but it might, well, ease our crimes. The Dark One may decide to make our sentence less severe.” Nym looked down, and closed her eyes. “I’m going to help, then, Dekani. Nakomii, you should too.”
“But… Dekani, you lost an arm! And now you want to go fight? I just don’t understand.” Nakomii sagged, looking at Dekani, who still sat against the bone.
“Nakomii, safety makes me uneasy. I have always fought, I do not understand how you can lie around and smile and say everything is well. I have to go. I just… don’t remember why.” Dekani snarled, hand lifting to her head. Her pale eyes blazed because she didn’t like not remembering something important, and she had a feeling that ‘why’ she had to go back was important.
“All right … Can we wait until next summer?” Nakomii lifted his head, hopeful. Pity Dekani wasn’t going to indulge him.
“No. We go tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow! Dekani, I don’t think you’re ready for that!”
“Tomorrow, or I go alone.”
“Fine…”
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Dekani breathed deep, satisfaction in her soul. Behind her, Nym carried meat from the mammoth, piled over her shoulders and back. Above them both, Nakomii flew in search of large prey. Dekani herself had caught a fox, adding the skin to the collection of pelts she carried over her shoulders and wrapped around her.
The mountains rose in the distance, a blur to Dekani’s eyes. But already, it seemed as if she could smell the sharp tree scent, the smell of rotting leaves and dead animals, the fragrance of her home and her people.
But she couldn’t. What she really smelt was the dry grass of the plains; even though they were higher up then they had been at the bone pile.
They’d been walking for three days already, a trip that Dekani could remember taking less time before. Warm wind had been their constant companion, and in the distance the pale woman could smell rain.
“There will be a storm tomorrow, I think.”
“Perhaps. Or late tonight.” Nym glanced into the distance, where clouds built high above the horizon. A heavy weight in the air, almost oppressive in nature, made the female dragon want to run as fast as she could and take shelter. Instead, she looked back at the Chosen of Dekalagh, who continued to walk. Her scent was neutral, no emotion warping it. Confused, Nym sniffed the air again. But still, no emotion came to light. Strange.
Dekani was feeling emotion, but she did not show it, nor did she let it be anything more then a small ember burning inside her. When the time came, she would let that emotion consume her, but not until then.
Silence fell over the two once more.
Nakomii broke it by landing. “There’s nothing close by. We’ll be closer to a herd in a few days, but until then I might as well walk, right?”
Nym nodded. Dekani didn’t seem to have heard. She was looking up at the sky, even as she stepped over rocks and avoided twisting her ankles.
Finally, “What is it like to fly?” Dekani looked over at Nakomii, who’d stopped in his tracks. “I’m just wondering, because you seem to enjoy it so much.”
Nakomii looked over at Nym, but his mate had a strange expression on her face. One of… amusement? Glaring over at the Healer, Nakomii looked back at Dekani.
“Well… it’s… I mean… I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Oh.” Dekani looked back at where she was walking, and, almost unheard, sighed.
Nym heard it, and glanced over at her oblivious mate. “Nakomii, why don’t you take Dekani flying? We have plenty of time, and you are the best flyer on the mountains.”
Nakomii swallowed, and looked at his wings. By that time, Nym and Dekani had stopped as well, waiting for his answer. Take his little one flying? Up in the air? He was about to say no, but he looked at Dekani first.
He’d expected a blank look on her face, as was the norm for her.
He had not expected raw longing as she looked up at the sky.
“All right.” Sighing, he walked over to Dekani. “Er… how should we go about doing this?”
Nym moved over, and tapped Nakomii between the shoulders. “First, lie down. She can’t climb onto your back, you halth.” Then, to Dekani, she said, “Try sitting with your legs in front of his wings.”
Dekani nodded, and scrambled up. Her nails slid over Nakomii’s scales, until she grabbed hold of his mane. Points pricked her hand, drawing beads of blood, but she ignored the discomfort as she settled herself between Nakomii’s wings. Her feet dangled at his shoulders, and she sat stiffly, unsure of herself. She’d expected an explanation of words, not… this.
Nym smiled, her outside gleeful, while inside…
She felt pained. Despite the obvious awkwardness, the two looked… right. And it hurt. It hurt a lot, but she wouldn’t mention it. What would be the point? “All right. Nakomii, fly.” Prodding her mate with a claw, Nym walked forward until she was out of the way, then waited.
Dekani felt Nakomii’s muscles tense, and her seat shift as he spread his wings. She squeezed her knees together, taking a better grip on his mane. Then, with a jolt that sent her backwards, Nakomii jumped into the air.
He couldn’t feel her weight on his back. The tugging on his mane was only slight, and his wings weren’t encumbered by her legs. Dekani was almost nothing on his back, and, as he flew, Nakomii looked down, almost shocked that Dekani wasn’t still on the ground. Turning his head, he grinned at his little one’s face. Looking back to where he was going, he chuckled, and locked his wings, looking for a thermal.
Dekani felt her stomach clench in fear as Nakomii went up… and up… and showed no signs of stopping. Her mouth opened, a scream just starting, when she swallowed a bug. Choking, she swallowed and gasped. Eyes wide, she looked down.
It didn’t matter that everything below her was a blur, that she couldn’t smell the scents of the earth anymore. What mattered was that she was free in the air; though it was Nakomii who kept them aloft, it was Dekani whose soul soared.
Laughing, the woman let go of Nakomii’s mane, and lifted her arm to the sky. Nakomii caught a thermal, and they started to spiral up it.
“Hang on!” Nakomii shouted to Dekani, but didn’t do anything until he could feel the slight pressure of her knees, until he could feel the tug on his mane.
And then he dove.
Dekani screamed in fear. The sound was ripped from her throat, wild as an eagle. Indeed, it sounded almost like an eagle, but it had a harsher sound, similar to the wild cats of the mountain.
Her fingers spasmed, and she gave a brief, fierce wish that she had two hands, the better to grip onto Nakomii’s mane.
Finally, after an eternity, Nakomii spread his wings and they glided at a soft angle to the ground.
Dekani tumbled off Nakomii’s back, and dug her nails into the ground. Gasping, she looked over her shoulder. “Never again!”
Nym laughed, and started walking towards them.
Nakomii smiled, and looked back up at the sky.
Nym reached them, and Dekani stood up. Her hand was wet, she finally realized, and looked down to her fingers.
Red blood stained her flesh, and she blinked. “Who’s…?” But she knew. She looked at Nakomii’s mane, where splashes of red glistened where she’d gripped in her panic. And in the back of her hand, she found the pock marks that the spines had made. “Nym, my hand is bleeding.”
Nym took her hand, and hissed. “You won’t fly again, not if this happens because of it. Nakomii, your mane tore her hand up!”
Nakomii sighed, and lowered his head. “Sorry, Dekani.”
Dekani blinked, and pulled her hand away from Nym. “I don’t mind. It was fun.” She started to lick the blood from her fingers.
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The next day, it rained. It was more of a mist, and it lasted the entire day.
Two days later, they ran out of the mammoth meat, and Nakomii caught three herd beasts. They weren’t sure just what the creatures were, with their heavy coats and horns and two hooves per foot. But they tasted good, and were carried by Nakomii and Nym. Dekani continued to hunt for herself, and guarded the herd beasts when Nakomii and Nym went hunting.
The herd beasts were for Dekani’s people, not for Nakomii. And not for Nym.
Dekani knew for certain now, though it had only been several days. Nym carried inside her. Dekani watched the female dragon often, usually staring at the Healer’s stomach. And though Nym became uncomfortable with the attention, she ignored it, and started collecting rocks.
Finally, the first scent of the mountains reached Dekani, and she threw her head back and screamed. The sound wasn’t fearful, as it had been the first time she had done so, but triumphant.
Animals went quiet as the last sound died away, and Dekani, grinning, led the way up the ridge to her home.
It was different then she remembered, but it was also similar.
She had to pick a way for the dragons to go without them getting caught between the small border trees that grew close to the plains. If she didn’t, then they’d have to pull the dragon through the trap, because neither seemed willing to back up.
Dekani could understand it. Backing up was a possible danger, since you never knew where your feet would land.
They ate animals of the border woods, they slept, they found streams to drink from. The entire time, Dekani led them.
Summer was ending when they reached Dekani’s old lands, only to receive a shock. Strange, two leg scents came to the trio. Dekani growled, hand clenching slightly. Her eyes narrowed, while she shifted her stance. Only the balls of her feet landed on the ground as she hunted the intruders in her land.
A muscle in her jaw twitched, because she was grinding her teeth.
The dragons followed.
And then, Dekani saw them. They were huddled in one of those strange, clearing-like spaces that were hidden beneath the trees, small children huddled closer to the trees then the adults. All of them looked and smelt fearful.
Dekani turned to the two dragons, and held up her hand. “Stay here.” Her tone was stiff, anger and confusion warring inside her mind.
What were her people doing here? She’d thought she’d have to hunt them down, talking to small groups at a single time. She’d seen a few of those groups, usually while hiding with her mother. She could remember that, but she couldn’t remember seeing a large group like this.
Stepping out into the clearing, Dekani glared around at the group. It took a while, but finally the first few noticed her, and fell silent. Then others would look to see what had kept the rest from hissing to each other, and fall quiet. And so on until the whole group was soundless.
“What,” she finally asked, “are you doing here?”
Someone hissed at her to be quiet and lower her voice. Dekani ignored the person.
“This is my land. You are not supposed to be here.” Several other people hissed at her, looking up at the leaves that provided a scant barrier against the dragons.
“They’ll hear you. Be quiet.”
Again, Dekani ignored them.
“Well? Aren’t you going to answer my question? What are you doing here in my lands. You are supposed to be elsewhere, outside my land. Not here.” She was starting to repeat herself, but Dekani didn’t want to yell. She well remembered the dragon that killed her mother; even though Nakomii and Nym were her friends, other dragons weren’t.
Her people were supposed to be wandering the far side of the mountain around now! Only when passing through had she ever seen them before… She had expected that she would have to look for them. It was a surprise to have them all, or most at least, gathered here in her home. She’d fought tooth and nail for the right to hunt here, and though she was glad to see them she was not going to let her home go without a fight.
One of the two leg people walked towards her, standing as she did; chin lifted slightly, with an air of command. “Silence,” she hissed. “Unless you want the killers upon us.”
Dekani snorted, and looked over her shoulder. Her neck was stiff, as it always was when she tried to look behind her, and waved her hand.
“What killers?” She asked, as Nakomii came out to stand behind her, and then Nym. “Do you mean the dragons? Because if so, I do not fear them.”
“But we do.” The strange woman eyed the two dragons, as her people shifted and muttered. She hissed, and looked over at Dekani. “What is this?”
Dekani spread her hand, and shrugged. “They are my friends. This is Nakomii, and this is Nym. She is a dragon Healer.”
Nym winced, and hunched her shoulders. The herd beast on her back shifted, and, growling, she turned her head and pulled it off. Nakomii, a moment later, did the same to the two on his back.
The strange woman eyed the beasts, then looked at the dragons. “They do not kill us, though they are the right species for it.” Her voice remained low, but she didn’t hiss. “Explain, please.”
Dekani nodded, and looked upwards. “I am here to help. I want to help. The dragons have been killing us for too long. Nakomii does not hunt us, nor does Nym. Nym helped me when my arm was useless. Nakomii has cared for me for a long time.”
“Why should we believe you?” One of the males, this time, stood up and walked over. His shoulders were hunched, black nails held in front of him as he stalked over. “What if you are a traitor to us, wench?”
Nakomii shifted, and growled. The male stumbled back, eyes wide. Dekani hissed at Nakomii over her shoulder, causing the dragon to hunch his wings and look away. Dekani’s people all froze, then, almost as one, breathed again. Dekani eyed them, and decided to pay it no mind.
There were sounds of rocks hitting the ground behind her, and mutterings and hissings in front of her. Dekani could only guess that it was in response to Nakomii. And that one strange woman standing there, watching her, studying her, as if holding her to something. Dekani met her gaze, challenging. Still, she couldn’t help but compare herself to her.
The other woman was tall, dark-haired and dark-skinned. She had two arms, and the furs wrapped around her seemed… better, somehow. Dekani was small, pale and with only one arm. And her furs seemed substandard in comparison.
And, still, Dekani didn’t look away.
Finally, the other woman moved. Her hand touched between her eyes, on her lips, and her chest. “I am Uma Daemia, leader of the draconians. And you are?”
Dekani blinked, then looked down at her own hand. Once more, she noticed, the rest of her people had fallen silent. Hesitating a moment- she wasn’t quite sure of what she was going to do- she touched her head between her eyes, on her lips, and finally upon her chest. “I am Dekani… chosen of Dekalagh.” Dekani blinked for a moment, then smiled. “And, as I have said, I have a plan to fight the dragons and teach them to leave us alone.”
Hisses ran through the group again, and Uma Daemia looked at Dekani, then turned her head slightly to look at the group. Then she looked at the dragons, Nakomii who was standing still and trying to be invisible, and Nym who looked like she was chipping away at rock.
“I see.” Uma Daemia smiled slightly, and her hand moved towards Dekani. “Perhaps… we should talk.”
Dekani nodded. “Perhaps we should.”
Uma Daemia waited a moment, and then the two walked together. The group of draconians parted for them, and Uma Daemia turned to Dekani for a moment, her hand moving again. Dekani stopped. “For who are those beasts for? The ones the dragons brought.”
Dekani turned to look at the herd beasts, and blinked at Nakomii. He was watching them with narrowed eyes… Dekani hissed at him, and narrowed her eyes. He looked away.
“For you. For us. The draconians. But… it appears that there are more of my people then I had expected. Perhaps for the children?” Dekani looked around, and Uma nodded.
“Very well then. The prey that we have been brought is for the children.” Uma looked at her people, and then she and Dekani walked towards a large tree at the other side of the clearing. “We can talk on the other side.”
Dekani just nodded. Finally, the draconians were hidden from sight by the tree, which, Dekani was pleased to notice, was hollow and was vaguely familiar. It wasn’t where she’d gone when the lynx had bitten her shoulder, but it might have been one of her storm hideaways. The hole rather gave it away, she thought. And the claw marks.
Dekani sniffed the air, and looked at Uma Daemia. Odd. She smelt angry. Dekani wondered why, since she did have a plan. She was here to help Uma Daemia! So why was the other woman angry?
“What do you want to talk about, Uma Daemia?” Dekani said and looked at Uma. Who, she saw, was looking away, ears pressed against her skull.
“Why is it that outside of a certain area, we draconians are hunted down and ripped apart? Why is it that only here are we safe? We cannot stay much longer, the prey is almost all gone. My hunters look, but they do not find. So. Why is it that we are safest here, Dekani, Chosen of Dekalagh?”
Dekani looked towards the trees beyond them, thinking. “I don’t know,” she said finally. She wanted to appease Uma Daemia, but wasn’t sure what she said would. “This place wasn’t safe for my mother, she was killed here. Or close to here.” Dekani waved her hand in a vague direction, then continued. “But… why is it my mother died, while your people stay here in safety? To that, I cannot answer. I do not even have the beginnings of an idea. It seems… frightening, to me.” Dekani looked over at Uma, and smiled. “I am sorry I do not have an answer for you, Uma Daemia. My apologies.”
Uma smiled, and shook her head. “It is just Uma. Safety frightens you, does it? As it does for many of us.” She appeared to grow thoughtful, and looked at Dekani. “Safety… it is just the calm before the storm. We who have grown up in danger are much too used to it. Answers are like safety, I suppose. You stop questioning things once you have them.” Uma waved her hand at Dekani. “You were not here when we came at the beginning of the spring, Dekani. Where were you; with your dragon friends?”
Dekani nodded. “Far from the mountains, yes. There, I was safe. We had food, a place for shelter, my arm had been taken care of. They were surprised when I said I wanted to come back to help you and the rest. They could not understand. It is not just that I am used to danger, but that I feel alive when I have to… to…” Dekani shook her head.
“Fight for every claw hold you can get?” Uma smiled. “Me too.” Uma lifted her hand slightly. “I had hoped… But there, I am wandering. Dekani, you say you came back to help us. How? You say you have a plan, what is it?” Uma lifted clasped hands to rest before her chest. Her eyes narrowed. Despite her relaxed position, Dekani could feel the need to step carefully. It was like crossing a river, one misstep and then you were done.
Dekani looked out at the trees again. She had never verbalized her plans before, not completely, not even to herself. What she had told the dragons… what she had said was raw, unformed. It had started with a vague notion, hazy as mist, as she watched Nym bump her wing into the bone of the mammoth pile; as she watched Nakomii stretch his wings wide before jumping into the air. And then, it had grown and changed. And still, it was uncertain, but she knew it and so she would tell it. She just hoped that Uma would stop staring at her like that.
“Well… dragons need their wings to fly. If you block them from flying, they cannot come at you with surprise. I have seen what happens when a dragon comes upon draconians who are unprepared, and I have wondered what would happen if a dragon is unprepared for a large group of draconians who call for blood.
“Nym says the dragon Healers know of tools which can be used for harm or help. Nym says she will give us these tools, in hopes that their Dark One will be kind when they die, in repayment for what the dragons have done to us. I believe that these tools will help us.”
“Tools?” Uma had stopped staring at Dekani as if she were prey, and now lifted an eyebrow.
“Like the rocks you smash on a skull to get at the stuff inside. Only, special, I suppose. Armed with these tools, I think the draconians would have more then an edge. Nakomii knows how to kill another dragon, and can tell us the weakness. The only problem is to get one dragon into a position where he cannot spread his wings and we can hide in wait.”
“Well,” Uma said, her voice dry, “we’re in a forest, that shouldn’t be too hard.” She gestured around at the trees.
Dekani forced her smile back. “Yes. I have even thought of a perfect place. It is where my mother died. It is, perhaps, fitting that where she died, the dragon that killed her may end up.”
Uma nodded. “Yes, it is. Well, Dekani… that is a good idea. If you have any more, tell me. I think it will be very important.”
“Very well. I suggest you find your best runner, someone who’s fast and brave. Who can have a dragon chasing him and not worry.”
“I think I know of someone…”
