Dragon Guide

Chapter 7: Preparations Part 2

Armin's eyes take on a feral look and I feel the instincts engraved from millennia of ancestry rile up inside him. I look at him with eyes full of tenderness, and I speak to him.

"I will love you no matter what, you are mine, and I am yours."

My words seem to slowly bring him back to the moment and I see the look of shame flash in his eyes.

"Do not be ashamed. You are a dragon and this is your nature. You are strength incarnate. You are glorious." Armin listens to me carefully and as if in agreement he shakes his body and lets out a low rumble from his chest, almost as if purring. I don't have much time, and so I carefully watch Armin in his eyes and reach out to take his right claw. I push myself forward some more and once I have good leverage, I looked him deeper in the eyes and take the blade, moving it closer to him. I rest it atop his scaled arm and wait for his to settle a bit. When he stops moving, I press the knife into his harm, lifting the scales back as I make contact with his flesh underneath. He whimpers and pulls back. I let him go and soothe him gently, letting him know he did a good job and that everything I okay, I show him again my own hands, showing him that we are the same. He relaxes and I nudge him to lie down, he does as I ask and he lays himself down in the blood on the floor and closes his eyes as a restful sleep takes him. One by one the rest come and we do the same, until, near the end, Nova, Gram, and Merlin appear carrying the remaining four whelps on trollies. As they pass the entrance, they lift them off and walk over to me, setting them gently in the lake of blood that is now my whelps and my nest. My hand has already slowed the bleeding but that is okay, my blood has already mixed in with the rest. I make cuts on the last four whelps and blend their blood with all of ours.

Merlin looks at my disheveled state and I see the concern in his eyes, I give him a reassuring smile and he nods. "You do what you need to, Nova will be just outside the entrance if you need anything, and Gram and I will keep us all safe. Nova mentioned that you will be requiring the Black and Dragon councils to help us move them, yes?", asks Merlin and I nod to him weakly.

"Can I ask you with that Mer?" I ask meekly.

"Of course, you can. I was planning to anyways from the moment that Nova told me what your plan was", he smiles and says. " Here keep this on you, so that I know if anything goes wrong. I'll see you in a couple of hours when you wake up," he says as he gives me one last smile before he turns to leave with Gram. Nova watches me carefully and her eyes are sharp as flints, she is on high alert, scanning in her mind the landscape outside. "Nova, let Merlin take care of that, I have need of you here. Please take each one as they shift. You know the drill, I guide them to shifting forms in their dreamland, judging by the early stage that we have to change them I expect that they may have the physical appearance of a three-year-old. I could be wrong though and so just be ready, I cannot take the risk of them getting sick or any other complications. Nova, I am depending on you. My life is in your hands, if I don't make it back out, please tell my mother and father that I love them," are my last words before I rest my head on the stone floor and close my eyes.

Merlin

I walk out of the chamber with Gram but I am restless, fighting the need to stay with Rivia. This is a crucial time and as much as I would be of great use to her in there, I am of much more use to her and everyone else here, protecting the facility. I square my shoulder and shake off the feeling of worry. There is no room for that now, I have a task to do and I will damn well do it right. Gram heads towards the exit to inspect the barrier and I make my way over to the switchboard. I need to contact the Councils and have them send aid to help us securely move everyone. As I move about preparing to initiate communication I hear through the walls, the rolling of thunder, which means it's already raining outside. I look back absent-mindedly in the general direction of Rivia. She should be spirit walking with the whelps by now, guiding them along with the long-departed ancestors in the spirit world. I turn back to the task at hand and take a deep breath, I press several buttons on the dial pad and wait as the line connects to the other side.

"Hello", comes a woman's voice laced with a thick Russian accent.

"It's Merlin, I need urgent help! Get me through to Anatoly quickly" I respond in an urgent tone.

"Merlin! Yes, right away! Hold for me the line!", her English gone to the wind with the urgency of my message. I fight a smile as I hear her drop the phone and curse in Russian. I hear pencils and some other stationaries clatter to the ground. I huff of air escapes my lips as I fight the laughter. Finally, she manages to put the phone on hold and a soft tempo plays in the background, something that would make an emotional person feel like crying. Ugh! Can they really not pick anything else than this depressing crap. Anyways, I stay and wait, it hadn't been much more than a minute when the rushed voice of a man with a heavy rasp and thick Russian accent picks up the phone. "Merlin, I heard you had urgent matters to speak to me about. Speak quickly!"

"Anatoly, we are shifting the whelps ahead of schedule. Rivia is already in the spirit world. We need your help to move them quickly, please communicate with the Black Council to have them send personnel to help with the move too. I believe that we will be relocating to the Caribbean, where she can be in a more secluded area but still close enough to the headquarter. Can you help? " I ask apprehensively.