Soul Bound

Chapter 3

My abdomen burned. Gasping, I clutched it--and then was surprised to find no wound. In fact, the incredible pain I'd experienced earlier was now all but a dream.

Am I. . . dead?

The fog cleared from my eyes slowly. A dragon's face hovered over me. For a moment, I thought it was Aries, and my heart skipped, but then the haze moved away from my mind, and the dragon was not green. It was utterly black, as dark as the storm clouds outside. Apart from its eyes. Its eyes were crystal blue--and cradling tears. One of those tears slipped out of the corner of its eyes and slid down its muzzle onto my stomach. It burned at the touch.

Erika threw herself at me. "You're okay!"

"I am?" I was pretty sure I was dying last time I checked.

It was still dark out--apart from a fire that had been lit a few feet away from us--and the wind was still howling. Not much time had passed. But enough time for my wounds to miraculously heal. I stared at the dragon as it retreated deeper into the cave, watching me closely. He curled his tail around himself, folding his gigantic wings against his back. I knew enough about dragons to know that was their most relaxed position--and a dragon wouldn't relax around us if he was a threat--which gave me some ease. We were safe with him tonight.

"He healed you," Erika explained, wiping her tears. Gods, she looked like a mess. Covered in mud and my blood, with twigs and leaves in her hair; she looked like she'd just gone through all seven hells. But I suppose I looked like I came back from the dead. There was almost a meter radius of my blood pooled on the ground and my clothes were soaked with rain and mud.

I blinked at the dragon, surprised. I didn't know they had any healing abilities. But what shocked me more was the fact that he did it in the first place. He could have let me die, but here I was, alive and well.

Maybe not well. Every bone in my body ached and heavily protested any movement I made.

"He said you were special," Erika went on, desperate for any response from me.
Apparently that was the dragon's cue to leave, because he receded even deeper into the cave. He blended into the darkness. Except his eyes. They glowed, watching us dispassionately.

Clearing my throat, I turned to Erika. The dragon had kindly let us stay here the night, better not to bother him anymore. "He spoke to you?"

He was very quiet now.

She nodded, wiping at her tears. "I asked him to help you. I told him everything you've ever done for me, that you're the best sister in the world. He made us a fire! It was really cool, so many pretty lights. You should have seen it--but you fell asleep."

I wish I was sleeping. I could use some rest right about now. "Come on," I said, still muddling through tonight's events.  I pulled her towards me and the fire. "Let's get some sleep, we have a long hike ahead of us tomorrow."   

°•° °•°

I woke up to the sun's blinding light shining in through the sheet of water, aiming straight for my eyes. The sounds of birds working quickly to rebuild their homes was loud enough to pass through the roar of the waterfall. That was a good sign.

Yawning, I looked around the cave for the dragon, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was amazing how something so big could move so silently. I had to poke at my stomach in case I'd dreamt it all up last night. My wounds were definitely gone, but they'd left their mark on my skin: three scaly--literally like dragon scales--scars raked parallel across my ribs from under my left breast down to my right hip.

More eager to see my family than to know the whereabouts of the dragon, I got Erika ready for the day. We scavenged some berries for breakfast then began our hike back to the caves everyone was hiding in. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but once I found the body of the lion I'd killed last night, it was easy to find the rest of our trail and follow it out of the forest.