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She smiled and I felt better for having this effect on her. She seemed like a real sweetheart, and I was glad Buck had brought her back here. But I soon felt the smile on my face begin to waver. It wasn’t going to be easy to stop Ilvar. The very thought of using the Earth’s core to get back to Drakon was unimaginable, and yet, the theory behind it was sound. I couldn’t believe that anyone could bring themselves to go through with it, though. I had never met Ilvar in person, but from what I inferred from Kadie, he seemed like the embodiment of the worst impulses of dragons.
Although Ilvar would likely think of these qualities as virtues.
I spoke with Kadie for a while longer as we shared tea. I enjoyed seeing her relax in my company, and she even told a joke or two. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about Buck and Brett though. I hadn’t felt a great tremor in the Earth, so perhaps they had been able to keep their tempers in check. I still braced myself for that feeling though, thinking that they might have taken to the skies and were just waiting to crash to the ground.
Chapter Twelve
Buck
After all this time, Brett was still maddening. It hadn’t been hard to remember why I had left in the first place. I marched through the winding tunnels after him, emerging into the cool night air. He was a shadow moving through the ruins, out towards the edge of the cliff.
“Brett!” I called out. I needed to speak to him, but he wasn’t interested. I watched him take shape, his body lengthening, his flesh turning to scales, a majestic and sleek being slipping through the air with little effort. His tail flicked and his wings spread wide as he arched to the left, soaring away. Maybe I should have let him leave, waited for him to work through whatever grim mood he was in and come back when he was ready to talk about things sensibly.
I had never really been the type to do that though.
I sprinted towards the edge of the cliff and then jumped, shifting in midair. I felt the air wrap around me, the currents buoying me and supporting me. I felt strength return to my limbs as I gave myself to this beast inside me, to this creature that was borne of ancient blood and ancient stars, this thing that was not of this world. I thought about the flicker of horror that was displayed in the eyes of the people who had seen me. I was faced with the solemn knowledge that we would never really belong in this place, that we would always be seen as monsters, and yet it didn’t stop me from wanting to try to fit in.
That was the difference between Brett and I; I hadn’t learned to give up yet.
I trained my beady eyes on him and surged forward, rushing through the air as I sought to close the distance betweenus. He turned his head and I saw the snarl on his face. His body snapped like elastic as he increased his pace, rising higher and higher as he tried to catch the wind. I followed him. I’d already flown a hell of lot with Kadie, and I wasn’t sure how much stamina I had left, but I was damned if I was going to let Brett escape me so easily. I strained my muscles and summoned whatever reserves of energy I had left to keep up with him, and this only served to enrage him more deeply. He moved to the rhythm of his anger, sinuous and slithering through the sky.
Then, he realized that I wasn’t going to stop chasing him. He turned suddenly and faced me. Then there was an onslaught of heat as he scorched the air with his breath. I just about managed to halt my advance. I felt the lick of flames caress my scales. I turned my head away to protect my eyes, and then hissed towards him as he flew off. Now it was a point of pride, and I wasn’t going to let him get away. I continued my pursuit, and it only took a short while before he turned around again. He came straight at me, and I prepared myself for another hot lash of fiery breath, but instead he kept coming and coming and barreled into me, sending the breath rushing from my lungs. I went spinning through the air, the world tumbling all around me. Then he kicked off me with his hind legs, sending a thumping tremor through my chest as he used it to propel him away. I gritted my fangs and righted myself. The canopy of the trees was just below me. Ahead was a vast mountain, towards which he was flying. I shook off the pain and went after him again. I wasn’t about to let him get away now.
Sure Brett, be angry. Attack me if you want, but we need to talk.
I caught up to him as we flew across a lake. Our reflections were little more than shadows against the dark water. I roared to get his attention. I could feel his frustration. It emanated from him in a deep aura, and maybe a little part of me was happy thatI could still have this effect on him. It reminded me of old times and maybe, just maybe, I had missed him and Mason.
He turned to face me, apparently realizing that there was only one way he was going to get rid of me tonight. He beat his wings in a rhythmic manner, hard and fast, and sent a whirling wind towards me. I had to fight against it to stay airborne, expending more energy just to stay in the same place. Then, Brett stopped this and put his wings flat against his body, darting towards me with all his force. I just managed to evade the blow in time, shifting my body so that he only clipped my legs. He twisted around and came in for another attack. This time, I was prepared. Our limbs clashed and we wrestled in the air. Our tails whipped each other, and we each tried to find a weak spot. He tried to smash his head into my collarbone, while I tried to graze him with my teeth. We soared up and up as we vied for advantage, scrambling and clawing wildly at each other, before we both realized that it wasn’t going to happen. We were too evenly matched.
I let go of him and lost all momentum in my wings. I slipped down his body and only then did I stretch my wings out, moving to his rear. I wrapped my limbs and tail around him, trying to subdue him so that we could talk. I had my hands around his throat, and he had descended into a panicked frenzy. He whirled his head from side to side and gnashed his teeth, trying to get hold of a finger. I even had to wrap my tail around him, but every moment was filled with his coiled strength pressing and throbbing against me. It was taking all I had to keep him contained, and I knew it couldn’t last. His wings were seeking to break free, and then I reached my limits and could not hold onto him any longer. His wings broke my grip, and I was pushed back. He snarled and turned around, whipping me with his tail and his wings, and then he caught me in his arms. I was dazed and exhausted. I could do nothing to escape him. He hadme and he was driving me down. I flapped my wings to try and halt the descent, but I was powerless to stop him.
Then we were surrounded by murky water. Silence engulfed me as we plunged below the surface, and only then did our vast bodies come apart. I twisted around in this dark world and searched for the surface, slithering through the water like a serpent. It wouldn’t have been beyond Brett to try and hold me down and make me lose consciousness. Desperately, I made my way to the shore and shifted back into a human to pull myself up. Water clung to every part of me. I was utterly drenched, and as I looked across at the other side of the lake, I saw that Brett was doing the same thing. I heard him cough and splutter. I staggered around the lake and held up my hands.
“I just want to talk to you!” I cried out.
“I have nothing to say,” he snapped back. He had been striding towards me as well. We met in the middle.
“Really? Because you had plenty to say back there,” I gestured behind me with one hand in the vague direction of home. Funny how I still thought of it as home after all this time.
“Yeah, well, I think I’ve said all I need to say to you. Why did you have to come back, Buck? After all this time… things were finally starting to settle down.”
“Well, I’m sorry for ruining your little party. Unfortunately, I thought that you might want to hear what Kadie had to say. Maybe if I had known you were in charge then I would have thought twice.”
“You would have known if you bothered to check in with us,” Brett said.
“It wasn’t as though I was welcome,” I snapped back.
Brett gave me a sneering glance. He shook his head and then turned his gaze to the skies. “You just don’t understand, do you? You’ve only ever thought of yourself. I have nothing to say to you Buck. Just leave me alone. For once in your life, leave mealone,” I knew he was about to shift, but I wasn’t going to let him off this easily. I grabbed his wrist, trying to keep him tethered to the world.
“Don’t do this Brett, don’t keep running from me. We’ve got to sort this out. I know you’re angry with me, and maybe you think that I don’t care about anything else, but that’s not true. I came back because I’m really worried about what Ilvar is planning and the only way we’re going to stop him is if we work together. I’m sure that Dad would have told us to try and put our differences aside for the greater good.”
Brett wrestled his hand away from mine and took a pace back, turning his back to me. He did not try and take flight though.
“He probably would have, not that it would have made much difference. You never listened to what he said.”
I winced, knowing it was true. “That’s not fair,” I said.
Brett whirled around. “Well life isn’t fair,” he hissed. “I learned that particular lesson a long time ago.”
