Dragon's Fire

Seven

    Kayden

I wake up around 4AM to Taryn crying and screaming, the bed around her on fire. I rush over to her trying to wake her. I touch my head to her forehead and use the technique Theodora showed me and enter her dream. She’s in a room filled with her own tears, drowning. I try to pull the water out but there’s too much, I create a wall around me on either side and walk to her. 

Holding my hand out to her I ask her if she’s ready to come home. She tells me she has no home, my heart cracks slightly hearing this. 

I explain to her that she needs to remember, her body is trying but her mind is pushing back. 

At this rate she’s going to die before I find a way to break the spell on her, blocking her memories. 

    I pull her from the dream and we are back in the present, she is shaking in my arms, she hasn’t actually woken though. Her breathing is heavy and staggered as her chest rises and falls with each exaggerated breath she takes. Her body still feels very hot, hot to the touch, if I were a normal person it probably would have burned me. 

    My powers give me an advantage over her, I can douse her flames with a single wave of my hand, but she’s getting stronger. She doesn't know how to control her powers, powers she doesn't even realize she has yet. I can’t even imagine what must be going through her mind every time she sees the fire raging around her. 

I need to find a way to explain it to her, a way that won’t scare her anymore than she already is. 

But how?

    I lay with Taryn until the sun comes up, she doesn’t wake when I get up. I need to find Theodora, I walk to the main part of the castle, surely she will be here already. 

I find her in the dining hall, 

“I need to talk to you Theodora” I sit down beside her, 

    “I’m assuming it’s about Taryn?” She doesn't even look at me, I should have known she would already be aware I’d come to her. 

“It is, she’s getting worse..” 

“You know why already. I don’t see why you’re coming to me...”

    “I need to help her, if she continues like this I’m afraid she is going to hurt herself badly.. She keeps setting everything around her on fire, she doesn't know what is happening and I have to help her somehow. With or without your help.” I fold my arms over my chest as I stare her down. 

    “You don’t scare me Kayden Stormborn… but I will help you… I had thought giving her more time would be all that is needed, but obviously that is not the case.” She sighs “ We know already why her powers are out of control, her body and suppressed memories can sense your presence. She’s clawing her way out but her mind is locking the door and holding it shut. The longer this goes on the worse she is going to get, if she cannot unlock that door...I have a few ideas” 

“I’ll try anything” 

    “Show her your true form, it might spark her memory, it could be all she needs to reconnect with herself. You could bring her to the lake, there’s a lot of memories there for you both… Lastly, you could claim her. It may kill her though… if her mind block is too strong, she may reject the bond and she will die” Theodora speaks so unaffected by her words. 

    Before I can say anything else a maid comes in looking frantic, “Excuse me my King but I think there’s a problem..” She rambles off. 

“What is it?” I ask, my eyebrows raising in annoyance. 

“Miss Taryn… I think sheathing is wrong with her.. I went in to change the sheets and I couldn’t wake her, she kept mumbling something but she won’t wake, I tried many times… I fear something is very wrong” 

    I jump up and run from the room, making it in only a matter of seconds to the bedroom. Taryn is laying in the bed, tossing and thrashing around. She is mumbling something, but it’s not English… it sounds like some kind of ancient language. 

    I walk over to her and the air around her is heavy, it makes it hard to breathe. My chest feels weighed down as soon as I stand beside her, I shove back the blankets and scoop her up into my arms. She is wearing my t-shirt and boxers. I still hadn’t had a chance to take her shopping. I walk out to the yard with Taryn in my arms. Theodora is walking behind me slowly, a sad look on her face. 

“Where will you go?” She asks

    “The lake, like you said.. I have to do something” I pass Taryn to Theodora and transform, I feel my body growing bigger until I am standing forty feet tall, I lower myself to my belly and allow Theodora to place Taryn on my back. I gently lift my body up, once I feel like she is not going to move, I take off. 

“Good luck” Theodora calls after me. 

    I fly slow, slower than I normally would. I am flying precious cargo after all, it takes me nearly half an hour to get to the lake, I land softly by the waters edge. Transforming back to my human form with Taryn on my back proves to be difficult, I almost drop her but at the last second I catch her in my arms as she falls through the air. Her body is burning up again, I bring her to the water and slowly walk in. Her muttering halts and she calms down suddenly. Her eyes flying open as the cool water engulfs her. 

    I think she is awake but she seems to be unconscious still. “Taryn?” I call her, trying to reach her. I know she is in there somewhere, waiting to see me. 

    She stares at me blankly before looking up to the sky. She starts to mutter something again and I feel her body lift out of my hands, I’

    I'm not sure what is happening. I stand back and watch as she starts to levitate above the water. Moments later she is ten feet above the water, dangling like she’s tied to a string on her waist. 

 “Taryn?” I call to her, 

    I watch as her body starts to contort, like she’s about to transform, my breath gets caught in my lungs. I have never seen her Dragon before, I feel giddy. She gravitates towards the center of the lake, her body looks like it’s glowing.  

    Next thing I know she is falling back into the lake, her body hits the water hard, and she starts to sink. I race towards her and dive under to pull her back up, she has sunk like a rock. I watch as she hits the bottom of the lake, unsettling the floor of the lake. I grab her and yank her body to mine, dragging her back up to the surface. 

    I swim to shore, she’s not breathing. I gently lay her down on the grass and began doing CPR on her, as soon as my lips touched hers I felt an electric shock run though my body. She must have felt it too because she shot up and stared at me with wild eyes, coughing up water. 

“Are you alright?” I ask her as I push her hair out of her face. She looks terrified. 

    “I have to tell you something. I have been waiting for you to remember… but that doesn’t seem to be happening..” I sigh, pushing my own wet hair back, “Maybe it would be easier to just show you?” I ask

She looks at me strangely for a moment before nodding slowly. 

“Just try to stay calm, okay?” 

    She nods again, I stand up and take a few steps away from her. I give her one last look before I transform. 

    I hear a gasp escape her lips, I look back at her in my Dragon form, I can see her heartbeat pulsing around her. My senses are heightened in Dragon form, I can sense a deer in the forest fifty miles away. I look into her eyes, seeing the fear, but also something else too, curiosity maybe? 

    I stay perfectly still as she stands to her feet and takes an extremely hesitant step towards me, she lifts her hand and goes to reach for me, but pulls back. I make a small grunt and nod my head at her, encouraging her. She slides her hand along my leg, I realize I’m too big for her to really touch  anything else. I settle onto my belly and she touches my wing. I like the feeling of her hand sliding up and down my scales, other than Theodora, no one has ever been allowed to touch me before. Even then I only allow it when I am injured and need healing. 

    Taryn is the only person whom I’ve ever let touch me, even when she was a child, she was fascinated by my Dragon. 

“Kai…” She whispers suddenly. I hear the word and transform back immediately, She stumbles backwards at my sudden movement.

“You remember?” I ask as I catch her from falling. 

She nods, “Not everything... “ She whispers. Hearing her voice for the first time in reality, it’s angelic. 

I sweep her up off her feet and hug her spinning her around. 

“What do you remember?” I ask excited 

“This lake.. and you saving me.. my name.. It’s cloudy…” She puts a hand to her head and closes her eyes as if she is in pain. 

“It’s okay.. It’s a start.. We will figure it out together okay?” I assure her. 

She looks up at me, her clear eyes look so scared and helpless. 

“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you again okay?” I whisper. Her expression softens and she smiles at me, a smile full of pain and despair. 

    I hold her to my chest and walk us over to the cabin. We stayed here every summer for a week when she was a child. I set her down and start a fire, it’s getting chilly out, nearing September. 

Once I have the fire going I walk back over to Taryn on the couch, she looks drained. 

“Are you alright?” 

“I’m just so tired.. I feel as if I have no energy” She says 

    “I’m sure it’s because your body is trying to break the spell on you.. It’s working.. You just need some more time” I sit down next to her and she crawls beside me, placing her head on my arm. I enjoy the moment before she speaks again. 

“What happened to my parents?” 

    “They died, the day we lost you… The attack was too strong for your dad to counter, they didn’t see it coming.. We thought you were killed along with them, but there was no body... I always had hope” I tell her, I can hear her sniffling softly. 

    “I’m sorry... They loved you very much Taryn” I say as I wrap my arm around her shoulders, bringing her into my chest. I feel her damp tears landing on my shirt. I feel like my heart is going to break, I never wanted to cause her any pain.