*********************************

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

*********************************

Marg was an old dragon. She far older than the war of extermination that had taken most of her people from the continent. It was regrettable but necessary. She had awakened only a few times over the hundred years. It was usually to feed. She would take care of business and go straight back to sleep. Now she had opened her eyes again. She felt a new power. It was what she had been waiting for. The source was far away but waves of magical energy were washing over her, even now, high in the mountains. The cave in which she made her home was strangely decorated. The center attraction, at least for her, was an ornate four post bed.

Her own people had considered her an outsider and a hermit. Most of their disapproval came from her peculiar hobby. When she wasn’t an enormous golden dragon she wore the body of a beautiful elf. She actually seemed to prefer it. They had shunned her for it but she simply didn’t care. Her one mating had produced only two eggs. A boring and predictable Black and White.

She blamed the fertility of the male. He had claimed to be of good stock but not producing a metallic or even a blue, especially with her, involvement had obviously shown this not to be the case. She soon delegated the raising of the young she had produced to others, and returned to her elven form. Others were more than willing to raise the children of a Golden Matriarch. Only much later when her male child had sought out his actual birth mother did she learn the names of her offspring. He had somehow learned the location of her mountain lair and flown there alone to confront her. As luck would have it, he happened upon her in her dragon form as it was one of the times hunger had forced her to hunt.

“I claim hereditary parley” he said clearly and distinctly. Whoever had raised him had obviously done a fair job.

”What is your name?” She had asked.

"Vanador." he replied. "My sister Esmarilla and I are your children."

"I have no children" she retorted. "I laid some eggs once. That was a mistake. No male dragon is worthy of me."

"My father is dead." the white dragon said. "If you haven't noticed, there is a terrible war happening to the dragon kingdom. We are being systematically hunted down and destroyed by the elves."

She shrugged. "It is necessary. We will change and arise stronger and more powerful. I have foreseen this."

He could never understand. She could see the anger simmering in his eyes.

"What of me and my sister?" he asked angrily. "You have such great power! Will you not help us to survive?"

"I will give you some advice." she said. "Find yourself an elf and submit yourselves to bonding. The elves are both the destruction and salvation of the dragon race."

"I do know an elf that has asked me to bond" said Vanador. "He is the emperor Argent, but he smells terrible. I don't know if I can do that!"

"Find yourself another." she said. "Lothinex has some family members that might be suitable. If you do not, it will be hard for you and your sister to survive."

"You are going to let this happen?" he asked incredulously. "Your people are being slaughtered as we speak!"

"Our king, my father is arrogant as well as immortal." said Marg. "There is no other way to prepare our people for the changes we must make."

"What changes?" he asked.

"We must merge with them and become like the elves." she said. "A new hybrid race will be born."

Vanador hadn't understood what she meant but he had left. Later she heard that he had bonded with one of Lothinex's daughters.

"At least he will survive" she had thought.

Now all she could think about was the taste of this new magic, blowing towards her on a magical wind. The new power was delicious, even at this distance. Usually it was the need for food that stirred her from her slumber. This time she woke already sated. She was no longer hungry but she certainly wished for more. She climbed from her elegant four poster bed, dismayed to see that the sheets and pillows, though of the finest silk, had become faded and brittle with age.

She would find this magic. Its emergence was what she had been waiting for! She slowly turned in place. Yes! There it was. That direction. It made sense. That was the direction of the lake that Lothinex had chosen to raise his family. Their destinies of his family and the dragons were entwined. This strange new magic had likely sprung from his loins. Marg blinked and traveled thousands of miles. She found herself on a hilltop, staring down at the city of Delora Natine. The city was burning! Three dragons circled overhead. A blue, a red and a huge white. At first Marg had thought it might be her son Vanador, but looked closer with her elven eyes as he passed overhead. He was large but this dragon was far too young. He had obviously been feeding at the trough of magic the new Dragon Lord was providing. She smiled. All of these dragons were still quite young! Their rapid growth was impressive! She was certainly in the right spot. The one she was seeking had to be here somewhere! The blue dragon had finally noticed her and flew closer. Marg flared her power and shifted. She morphed into an immense Golden dragon. It was her true form. She shook out her huge wings and bellowed. The blue seemed to stutter in the air before rapidly turning and flying off.

Marg chuckled. "That ought to get someone's attention." she said to herself.

------------------------

Lothinar had brought the blue sword but realized that he didn't need it to cast the freezing spell. The powerful blue pulse exploded out in a semi-circle in front of him. Everyone collapsed, including his father and Cenderick. The fires that had lit the soldiers on fire, however, were still burning. So were the temple drapes. He looked behind him. Candasar and Firestorm were looking at him.

"Isn't there a way to be more selective with that spell?" asked Candasar. "Your father is lying next to an elf whos hair is on fire. You might want to drag him a little bit farther away!"

"It's pretty smoky in here too!" agreed Lothinar. He leapt forward and grabbed his father. He hoisted him into a fireman's carry and ran out the door with him. Running back inside he found Cenderick. His fellow co-warden had been farther from the flames. While he was lifting him up, Firestorm grabbed a young human woman by the back of her jacket. She hoisted her up and carried her like a mother cat carries a kitten. She started to head outside with her. The flames were getting higher.

"Who's that?" Lothinar asked. He coughed a little from the smoke.

"I don't know, but the bad elf lady tried to kill her with a spear. In my mind that makes her one of the good guys." said Firestorm.

"What about the white dragon?" he asked.

"I can't do everything Lothinar! She's a little heavy for me. Candasar should probably get her."

Candasar had been making her way through the bodies and trying not to step on anyone important.

"I don't see anyone else that I recognize among this bunch" she said. "The fire is going to take the building soon. We should probably wake up Cenderick and your father and ask them if anyone else in here needs saving before that happens."

She trotted over to the much smaller white dragon and, like Firestorm, lifted her by the scruff at the base of her neck. She continued trying not to step on the fallen and staggered a little as she took the unconscious white dragon out through the front doors. Lothinar and Firestorm quickly followed. They found Siophra outside hunched down over Cenderick. She looked dismayed.

"Don't worry He's not dead!" said Lothinar.

"Then use that sword and wake him" she said, looking peeved. "He looks like he has been stabbed several times."

Lothinar touched Cenderick with the tip of the blue sword, then almost immediately, his father who was lying next to the warden. The two quickly opened their eyes. Lothinar looked at the sword appreciatively.

"Using this gives me a lot better control." he said to Siophra.

"Don't get any ideas." she answered. "You know Ardwella is going to want that back."

"She doesn't even know I have...."

"Where are Heirwynn and Snow?" asked Albarad, interrupting his confession. He looked around with a worried face.

"If you are talking about the white dragon and the human girl with her," answered Lothinar, "they are over there."

Lothinar gestured over toward Candasar and Firestorm who's large size was obscuring his father's view. Albarad leapt to his feet.

"Are they alright?" he asked.

"I'll wake them in a minute. They are frozen like you were." Lothinar said.

"Is that your mother's sword?" asked his father peering at it.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Yes it is." he replied.

"I'm kind of surprised that she's not here." said his father.

Siophra reached out a hand to Cenderick and he let her pull him to his feet. "I'm glad you are ok" she said.

Cenderick nodded. "Thanks. I never want to have to do something like that again."

Siophra looked at his shirt full of holes and nodded. "Its hard on your clothes" she agreed.

The Dragon temple was seriously on fire now. Lothinar had to ask the question. He pointed toward the temple doors.

"Is there anyone in the temple that we need to get out of there? We don't have much time left before it's too late."

His father had an awkward look on his face, but shook his head. "No one redeemable. I'm afraid." he said.

"Burned to death while magically frozen" said Cenderick. "I suppose that there are worse ways to go."

Lothinar looked at Albarad. His clothes were in tatters. It looked like his shirt had been used on a sparring dummy. It was practically in ribbons. Cenderick didn't look much better.

"Where's Tundor?" Lothinar suddenly asked his bonds.

"Not all the warrior elves were inside. Tundor is out hunting them down." said Siophra.

"If everything here is under control, Firestorm and I will go assist him." said Candasar.

"Try to be careful not to hurt any of the town's humans!" he said.

"We will try to be careful, Lothinar, but I don't think we are going to find very many. I think the soldiers loyal to Argent's daughters killed most of them."

Lothinar watched the temple burn. Finally the roof collapsed burying the fallen under hot ash and debris. Before the roof fell and while it was still possible, Lothinar didn't even think about running back inside. Instead he went over to the white dragon and human girl that they had rescued. Albarad was protectively standing next to them. A young black dragon was standing there as well.

"So who's this then." Lothinar asked.

"My sister Snow and her bond Heirwynn." replied the black dragon in a clear voice, surprising Lothinar a little. "Thank you for your assistance in there."

"And you are?" asked Lothinar.

"I am Night-Sky. Your father's bonded dragon." said the black.

"My father's........"

"It's true." said Albarad. "Your mother will probably never let me live it down."

"Well, congratulations, I guess." said Lothinar. "Let me wake these two up."

He lightly touched the blue sword to the pair. Snow opened her eyes first. She looked at him.

"You must be Lothinar." said the white dragon.

"Lothinar?" said the girl groggily. She opened her eyes.

"These days, I'm considering her as one of the family, son." said his father. "Her brother was killed fighting for us on the way to this town."

Lothinar blinked. That gate guard. He suddenly remembered the girl from the funeral.

"Then I can't wait to introduce her to my newborn son." Lothinar said with a smile. "His name is Harvey!"

"Lothinar! We've got trouble." sent Candasar. "A huge golden dragon just appeared on the hill outside of town!"

"Did. you try to talk to it?"

"No way!" Its bigger than Vanquish ever was!"

"I'll be right there." Said Lothinar.

Suddenly there was a pop. A beautiful elf appeared directly in front of Lothinar. She had golden eyes. She looked at him.

"I thought you'd be better looking." she said. "Have you ever thought about shaving your head?"

-----------------

Ronni had stepped into the house and shut the door.

It was suddenly very quiet in the yard.

“So, sister, what have you been doing since we last talked?” Vigilant asked Zinariya.

“I’m really glad you’re back!” Constance chimed in before she could formulate an answer.

"Killing bad elves mostly." said Zinariya. "Ardwella taught me a few things."

"That seems like a hard job." said Cinnabar. "All the elves I know are pretty nice."

"The nice ones seem to be in the minority, I'm afraid." replied Zinariya.

"Well, it's probably a disproportionate sample." commented Vigilant. "The bad ones seem to be naturally drawn to conflict with dragons."

"The elves have been told that dragons are evil for generations." said Zinariya. "There is a lot of prejudice to overcome."

"What was it like being an elf?" asked Cinnabar.

"Remember, I actually started out that way." Zinariya reminded him. "I'm really just getting used to being an actual dragon!"

"Did it hurt? Squeezing. yourself into an elf body?"

Zinariya laughed. "No, but I think I might have been going about it the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" asked Constance.

"Nothing. It's just something Vanquish started to tell me."

“I’m thirsty” said Salt. ‘We just had to fly pretty far.”

Cinnabar thought Salt being thirsty seemed funny, but agreed with her. He was thirsty too.

“The creek is almost dry” said Vigilant. “One of the elves usually pulls water from the well for us.”

”I think they kind of forgot about us hard working dragons” said Cinnabar. He sent out a request through the bond. He tried to ask Ronni to come back outside to turn the well crank, but she was completely fixated on her current conversation. With Ronni it always seemed to be about babies.

Zinariya suddenly got a strange look on her face. She walked over near the well and looked up at the handle. She was breathing hard. Cinnabar actually thought that she was about to bite the well crank and try to operate it with her mouth, because that’s what he was about to try. Instead the golden dragon seemed to shimmer. There was a bright burst of light. When Cinnabar’s eyes cleared from the flash, a beautiful young elf was standing by the well. She laughed giddily and began to slowly began to pull up water.

The other dragons were flabergasted.

“How did you do that Zinariya?” Asked Constance.

"There must be something in the water." she smirked.

Vigilant looked alarmed. "No! Seriously. What just happened." he asked.

"She obviously just turned into an elf." observed Cinnabar. "Nice trick. Can I try?" He suddenly looked concerned. "I would be a boy elf wouldn't I?"

Zinariya got a thoughtful look on her face. Then she shook her head. "That's a whole different subject, and I'm not entirely sure."

"Is it something only golden dragons can do?" asked Salt. "White dragons are good healers."

”It’s actually not that hard, compared to teleporting.” She answered smugly. “I could probably teach you.”

”Can I learn too?” Asked Constance. “It seems pretty useful.”

”Sure! Said Zinariya. “I have time because mother made me stay here. In fact, I will try to teach you all!”

---------------------------------------

Enderline was taking his turn walking the deck when he saw a speck in the eastern sky. He waited a while, leaning on the ship's rail until it grew larger. It was a red dragon. Someone was on its back. It wasn't that long before they began waving at him. He couldn't make out exactly who it was, but he waved back. Others had noticed and started to join him at the railing but he waved them back below decks. The dragon would need somewhere to land. In an impressive display of skilled flight the dragon turned into the wind and slowed dramatically, almost hovering in the stiff breeze before setting down lightly on the deck. It was Lothinar's smaller dragon Firestorm. On her back was the last person Enderline expected to see riding a dragon. Courtney's daughter Michelle jumped off and onto the deck. She gave him a mischievous wink.

"I understand you have several boats full of dragons heading back to Sivantra." she said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come with you."

Enderline closed his jaw and coughed into his hand, clearing his throat.

"A ship at sea has a duty to pick up people lost at sea, especially if they are beautiful damsels in distress. Are you lost at sea Michelle?"

"So you do remember my name." she said, still smiling.

"Of course." he said. "You caught my attention at the party. I'm sure you remember that we spoke at some length."

"I remember it very fondly." she said. "But I have a confession to make."

The king blinked. "A confession? Have you committed some crime that I will have to pardon?"

"No, nothing like that, but I have brought a dragon stow away on board with me."

The king turned his attention to the red dragon on the deck.

"You are Firestorm, Lothinar's dragon." stated the King. "Even though you are larger than I remember, I would know you anywhere. Are you our stowaway? Do you also wish to return to Silvantra with us?"

"Oh, not me!" said Firestorm. "I'm just her ride this far. Lothinar's expecting me back soon. He needs my help. He has a lot going on. I hope we meet again Vanquish! Be safe!"

The red dragon ran towards the ship's railing and vaulted into the air. She rapidly began climbing into the sky.

Enderline suddenly blinked. It had taken a moment for the words the red dragon had spoken to soak in.

"Did Firestorm just call you Vanquish?" he asked with some confusion. "Is Vanquish somehow the dragon stowaway you mentioned?"

"I'm afraid she is." the girl said somberly. "I'm hoping you won't turn me away because of it."

"If we are talking about the same Vanquish, then she's a dragon goddess. She's probably one of the few dragons I actually respect, perhaps even love." He started to choke up. "She gave me back my wife Pricilla and is a treasure trove of knowledge. She would be a great help to my kingdom."

"What if I told you that the dragon Vanquish was accidentally trapped in the body of a young human girl. A girl from your very kingdom?"

"I would be concerned about how that happened, but truth be told, I would consider myself most fortunate." he said. Is that what you are telling me?

Michelle nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid it's true."

"Does Courtney know?" Enderline asked, suddenly concerned.

"My behavior before leaving was somewhat suspicious." said Michelle awkwardly. "My father did know that I was coming to see you. He encouraged me to do so in fact."

"I'm sure he did." said Enderline with a laugh. "His political aspirations have been obvious for some time."

Michelle smiled guiltily. "I'm actually not here for the reason he suspects." she said honestly.

"I assume Lothinar was somehow involved?" guessed the king.

"Lothinar and I have an understanding." said Michelle, but Vanquish is concerned that the young dragons that you are bringing back get a proper education."

"If Vanquish helps, then I can make sure that happens." said Enderline.

Her eyes turned from blue to green. The young girl suddenly performed a formal curtsey.

"Then Courtney's daughter Michelle is officially applying to be the headmistress of your dragon school." she said. Her voice seemed somewhat higher and it had more of a Silvantran accent.

"What have we here?" said Pricilla walking up behind him. "Is that Courtney's daughter Michelle? What is she doing way out here?"

Michelle laughed. "I'm applying for a job." she said.

"What kind of job?" said Pricilla flatly.

"She is to be the headmistress of the new dragon academy that I will be building in Silvantra." replied Enderline.

"As long as that's the only job she is applying for!" said Pricilla stiffly. She turned around and headed for the doorway leading below deck."

"She seems agitated." said Michelle.

"I'm told morning sickness and sea sickness is a terrible combination." the king said somewhat guiltily. "I'm sure she's quite relieved."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Other than knowing a lot about magic and dragons, the only other skills I have are pretty useless. My father gave me etiquette lessons and made me study how to run a royal household. What a waste of time!"

"Trust me, for the job she thought you wanted, you are more than qualified." chuckled the King. "I'll keep that in mind in case a job opens up in the Capitol."

Suddenly their came a cry from above. The king looked up to see someone in the crows nest gesturing wildly to the west.

"SEA MONSTER AHEAD!"

"What do you know! A follow up interview! " said Michelle smiling. "It sounds like you have need of a pretty young girl that can perform magic like an ancient blue dragon."

"Apparently, I do." he said.

"It's probably just a sea serpent." said Michelle. "Don't worry, I've dealt with these guys before. Hey, do you have any snacks?"

"How about a bear meat kabob? I think I've got a couple of those left. You will have to eat them cold if you are in a hurry. I've got them on ice."

"That sounds perfect." she said. "I'm suddenly starving."

----------------------------------------------