Dragon Dreams

Chapter 37: Justice (2/2)

Ares made no answer. He stared at his son with a strange expression. Like he wanted to be angry, to deny and rebuke him, but the words would not come.

"I...I'm sorry," Alex said. "I just love my brother and I got angry. What I meant to say is that I know what it's like to be afraid, to lose hope." Her hands were relaxed now; one moved up to wipe at her face. "I was afraid that I had lost my brother forever and he wouldn't be the same. He was afraid too. But we didn't let our fears win in the end."

Scott was ready to jump in right after her. "I never thought I could befriend a dragon," he admitted. "I turned my back on my best friend because of what I saw on the outside. And it took some time, but I realized how wrong I was, how stupid I was by refusing to look for the friendship that was still there. I'm beyond happy to have my best friend back, dragon or otherwise. Trust me, humans can adapt if you give us a chance."

The black dragon's bladed tail lashed in anger. "You do not know what you are talking about!" He turned to his son. "Stolvir, you...you cannot do this."

The green dragon remained defiant. "Yes, I can. I think you know it's not right. I think, deep down, you know this isn't what she wanted."

Ares bristled, golden eyes shining and an emotional tremor creeping into his speech. "You have no idea what your mother wanted! She bled out right before my eyes because of human cruelty. Many others have suffered a similar fate. I don't...I can't let that ever happen again."

The mention of Eyliana shook loose a fragile thread of an idea in my mind. I grasped it gently, turning things over in my head, trying to formulate a plan.

"Eysri," I touched the shaman's spirit. "I—"

"Yes, I know," she interrupted, as was becoming her habit. Evidently, she had picked up on my thinking. "It might work, and we're getting desperate here."

"Let's try it then. We'll follow your lead."

"Listen up," Eysri said, reaching out to Stolvir, Tenaya, and Ferenor as well. "We need to try something drastic and possibly dangerous. Join your athkan with mine as closely as possible and follow me exactly." The shaman then sent a fragment of knowledge directly into my mind—and to the others as well—which clicked into place and instantly made her plans clear.

I vaguely heard my sister start talking to Ares again, but her words were lost as I concentrated on my spirit with all the mental effort I possessed. We would be going with Eysri on a journey to touch the ancestor spirits, and we were trying to find one in particular.

"We can talk to my mom?" Stolvir asked, excitement in his thoughts.

"Yes, with an incredible amount of focused magical power, we can," she replied. "Now, no more questions. It is likely we will have to push up against our limits to do this, even with my symbol magic, and we need her to be willing to expend some energy as well."

Without warning, the symbols that swirled over Eysri's black hide began to glow. Our athkan were tightly knit together, giving the five of us a shared experience. We all felt the real world slip away, colors of earth and sky running together like a dream. My mind became aware of an infinite constellation of whispers stretching out in every direction of this directionless place.

"Eyliana!" the shaman called out into the void. "Eyliana, please, are you there?"

"Mom?" Stolvir spoke into the vastness. "Mom, it's me. We need you!"

I felt a silent command from the shaman to focus more, to push harder. We didn't have much time, and we weren't there yet.

My talons flexed and bit into invisible turf, my muscles tensed, pushing as much of my will and effort into the athkan as I could. I felt Tenaya's gritted teeth as my own, and even Ferenor's little body was straining to increase our magic. Reserves of power trickled out of me from places I didn't even think possible.