Chapter Forty – The Prime Dragon

Acalon strode ahead with Tara beside him. He was skilled in repressing his emotion, but he could not deny that Tara was nearly as adept at unbalancing his usual guard. It wasn't that she was particularly winning or impressive, he decided.

In fact, the opposite was true. Since he had met her, Tara had seemed guileless and impossibly naïve. Most of the time, she spoke her mind without thinking about the consequence. She acted as if she knew everything and then was immediately surprised by the facts she described. Worse still, she was too willing to trust others.

Acalon had no reason to doubt her friendship with the companions he had met. But the fey Kell, of all of them, had caught the dragon rider’s eye. If you are still willing to trust me, the elder-kin had said when he asked Tara if he could join their journey to Skorcrest. What had the fey done to suggest he was untrustworthy? And Tara had not mentioned him among those she described as her close “companions.” Why was he here?

But this was not what troubled Acalon the most. He still remembered how she had looked at him when they first met at Eoman’s Hammer, and how she had spoken after she recovered from their fight with the grimps. She seemed determined to befriend him no matter how resistant the dragon rider was, and her persistence was irritating. Her visions, he was convinced, were lies.

But there was no lie on her face when she had first arrived at the mountain, her eyes bright with the new morning. The childlike love and wonder he had seen on the young woman’s face for what he himself dearly prized, the cliffs of the Skor and the dragons circling above them, was nothing he had seen on anyone’s face before. It was too ridiculously open to be feigned, and it disturbed Acalon more than he liked to admit. It weakened him.

Matching his strides, Tara failed to notice the furrow on her companion’s dark brow. Even if she had noticed, she wouldn’t have thought it particularly surprising. Acalon’s temper was infamous among players, and his role as a potential romantic partner made his bleak humor and impatience all the more attractive to girls who saw his skepticism as a challenge.

Tara wasn’t interested in forcing anything. It was enough for her to walk beside him, and hear the familiar hollow ring of her heavy boots through the hall leading into the mountain known as Grim Syr.

This was nothing like Wanderer’s Bane. The hall was lined with bright torches and the walls were braced with powerful, carved bone.

“Is that dragon bone?” asked Tara suddenly.

“Yes,” said Acalon. “Most dragons do not live as long as the Prime. When they die, their bodies are honored and burned. We remember them in this way, binding their bones to the mountain itself.”

Tara couldn’t suppress a shiver. With the columns of bone around them, she felt strangely as if she were walking down the throat of a giant monster.

“And what about your people?” she asked. “Are the dragon riders’ bones bound to the mountain as well?”

Acalon’s pause was brief. “No.”

Tara was surprised. “But—that doesn’t seem right,” she said. “The friendship between you and them—”

“Ends with the death of either the dragon or his rider,” interrupted Acalon. “The mountain belongs to dragons. Not men.”

“I don’t believe friendship ends with death,” said Tara.

“Then you’ve never known a friend who died,” replied Acalon ironically. “Hush. The Prime Dragon is ahead.”

Tara swallowed her irritation. She forgot her annoyance completely when she saw the Prime Dragon.

Veraxyn’s arena was at the center of the mountain. Far above them was a rugged opening, revealing the sky. With no formal meeting summoned, only Fenryx waited on the platform where dragons could circle and listen. The seats where the dragon riders gathered were all empty.

In the stray light from sun and torch, the Prime Dragon was curled, resting. The albino drake’s filmy eyes were open as Acalon and Tara approached, but she made no sign that she was aware.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Acalon motioned for Tara to wait. “I will tell her you are here.”

“Acalon.” He didn’t expect the nervousness in Tara’s voice, but her gray eyes were not so direct as before. “Do you know why she wants to see me?”

“She believes you are the source of some power,” said Acalon quietly. “But it is as I have said. There is no need to be afraid.”

He is right. Tara felt the voice in her head. Her hands flew up in surprise, pressing over her ears. I will not harm you, Hero of Allerion. Come here so I can see you.

Tara felt slightly weak. She knew that dragons, when they communicated with humans at all, formed words through some kind of telepathy. All the same, the feeling was strange.

She stepped closer to the Prime Dragon. “Acalon said you wanted to see me.”

He is correct. The Prime Dragon raised her head, her neck stretching towards Tara. When the film slid back from one of her blind eyes, revealing the clear, silver eye beneath, Tara was startled. She didn't remember that detail from the game.

You are the one that is foretold. The Last Hero of Allerion. Is this not so?

“I don’t know,” said Tara, shaking. “I mean…that’s what everyone tells me. I know I’m different, but I don’t understand.”

I will understand for you, said the Prime Dragon. I am Veraxyn of the Grim Syr, and I will help you know yourself and the world around you.

Tara shut her eyes. She couldn’t face the Prime Dragon. There was something terrible about that fixed silver eye that she couldn’t define. She gripped her head again, conscious of another mind encroaching on hers. She hated this feeling as if there were two heads inside her one skull.

Don’t resist me, said Veraxyn.

Tara nodded, taking deep breaths. She tried to relax, but the discomfort had increased to pain. She cried out, digging her fingers into her skull.

STOP!

Tara didn’t think when she threw her mind against the Prime Dragon’s, forcing Veraxyn’s presence back. She only felt immediate relief. Opening her eyes, she realized she was on her knees. The Prime Dragon was standing over her, smoke curling from the dragon’s nostrils.

What is this? The dragon’s voice was astonished. How have you done this?

“Done what?” Tara’s voice was a croak. “I didn’t mean to do anything. It just hurt and I wanted it to stop…”

You are blocking me with powerful magic, said the Prime Dragon. How is this possible?

That silver eye was boring into Tara again. Tara covered her face and realized her cheeks were streaked with tears.

“Veraxyn!”

The Prime Dragon’s attempt to reach Tara’s mind once more was cut short. Tara couldn’t believe that Acalon was standing between them. In the pause that followed, the Prime Dragon must have been communicating to him directly, because she saw how rigidly the dragon rider stood, as if he were held by invisible power.

Tara wished that she could hear what the dragon was saying to him, and vice versa. Her desire was instinctive. The last thing she expected was that suddenly she did hear their voices, not inside her head but outside, as if their thoughts were as clear as spoken words.

What is this, Acalon? The Prime Dragon hissed. You know that I must understand her. This power that she wields could be as dangerous as it is great.

Tara saw Acalon’s shoulders tighten. I know. And you will. But she is not ready. She does not know you as I do. She does not trust you.

It should not be possible that a mere human can resist me, said the Prime Dragon’s thoughts, and the black smoke curling from her nostrils thickened. Make her trust me, Acalon. She loves you. You must make her love me as well.

A hiss escaped Acalon’s tightened lips. Tara was sure he must be in some discomfort. I will do what I can. No more.

You will obey me. This time, there was no mistaking the pain in Acalon’s drawn face. I must know this power. Do you hear me, fire blood?

Yes.

Tara had never been so afraid. That she could hear the Prime Dragon like this was remarkable, when clearly both Veraxyn and Acalon were unaware of her presence. More than this, the words said between them were alarming, and Prime Dragon or no Prime Dragon, she hated to see Acalon suffer.

“What’s happening?” she said loudly. Her heart was pounding. “Is something wrong?”

The last thing she wanted was for that silver eye to go to her again. She could have gasped with relief when the film slid back, and the dragon’s blind face turned towards her once more.

Nothing is wrong, mused Veraxyn’s voice. I am…very interested in you, Tara MacQueen. That is all. Tell me, young one. How did you come to us?

Tara moistened her lips. She couldn’t let on, not for an instant, that she had heard what was said between Veraxyn and Acalon. Even so, it was hard for her to hear Acalon’s slightly rasping breath and remain distant.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

You are not from Allerion, said the Prime Dragon. That much is clear to me. You are not of our world. So, who are you?

Tara searched for an answer. She knew now that the Prime Dragon was interested in her not as a person, but as a source of power. Perhaps even as a link to another world.

I was hoping that you could explain that to me, said Tara at last. I am very confused about everything. When Acalon brought me to you, I was delighted. I knew that at last I would see someone wise, someone who could help me.

The smoke in the dragon’s nostrils was gone. Clearly, the answer had pleased Veraxyn.

In time, we will both understand, said the Prime Dragon. I must think on this. Go with Acalon and rest, child. You are both exhausted from your journey. I will speak with you again soon.

Thank you, said Tara. I am grateful for your help.