Dragon Guide

Chapter 16: Incomplete

My muscles are in a bunch and my calves feel so tightly coiled, at the slightest shift of my weight they may just spring loose and I would be running. My adrenaline is pumping and all I can think of is how to get Ryuu away from the danger. The menacing dragon continues a slow advance and unconsciously I take a step back, without even thinking I spin to run away. Before I have the chance to take another step towards the exit I am stopped in my tracks, frozen by fear. There behind me arranged in a scattered formation is a group of dragons, much smaller than the one coming for me but still impressive in size. Although their alignment seems random at first glance it is not. I look among them all trying to find a gap I can slip through but there is none.

A chill runs down my spine and the hairs raise on my entire body making my scalp prickle. Before I realize it, I am standing in a huge cloud of smoke and the sound of high-pressure air releasing is right at my side. Shakily I look from the corner of my eyes and I catch the sight of black scales ever so close to my face. My head whips to the side, facing the threat that is right on top of me. As I turn and take in the full view of the beast in front of me I shiver and stumble backward. The dragon is much grander than I had imagined, it is about the same size as Aoyun in dragon form. I squeeze Ryuu tighter into me and he whimpers in pain.

The dragon seems to respond to his cry and takes a step back. "I mean no harm to you child. I am the mother dragon of his line. My name is Akane, I am the dragon that will be alongside young Ryuu in his journey. You have nothing to fear from me," she says as she eyes Ryuu in my arms. I eye her apprehensively thinking to myself that if Ryuu has nothing to fear why is he crying and in this condition?!

I steel myself and straighten my back and I raise my head high. Looking at Akane straight in the eyes, I ask," What have you done to my child?!", my voice rising higher with each word as the adrenaline is still pumping through me. As I speak Ryuu peeks up at me and I quickly look down at him. To my surprise, his face is a beautiful egg shape, with pale milky skin, pink lips, crescent-shaped brown eyes, and long lashes. His face has completed the change but the rest... his body is still a mesh of dragon and human.

"Come with me and I will show you, there are many things you need to learn if you are to guide the young ones of such prestigious lines. There are others here that you must meet." With that, she turns and leads the way. I stand still contemplating if I should try to run and help him through the change on my own, it's not like I've not done it before, or if I should follow and see what she has to show me. Before I can make the decision for myself, my back is nudged by someone's muzzle and I stumble forward. I sigh heavily, clearly the choice is not mine and I begin to walk closely behind Akane.

We do not go far in fact we barely went forward a few yards around a few bends but what lay before my eyes is like nothing I could have imagined. Towers of gold line the walls, stalagmites no longer made of rock hanging from the ceiling but instead, they are now made of gold as well. Gems scattered across the mossy floor and other treasures like pearls mixed among them on the cold ground. I look at the huge rock-like formations of rare stones that grow along the walls and floor. I can make out emeralds, amethysts, rubies, and others I've never seen before either.

As my eyes continue further into the area I finally begin to take in the grand expanse of the place. I can't even say that it is a room, this place is like a valley! It continues on for as far as my eyes can see and probably even more. A huge river runs through the area and smaller creeks break off from it. To my surprise, there are more enormous dragons in here all as grand as Akane and another two that are even bigger! This is crazy! I have no way out and I must return to my children! Panic rises in me and my desperation shows clear as day when my breathing becomes shallow and quick. I try to calm myself and take a deep breath, the effort causes a sharp pain in my chest as it expands to take in the air. I am already here among these giants, I've got nowhere to go and according to one, I am guiding their young.

Moving further in, I make an effort to catch up to Akane as she goes along. The dragons that once lay lounging about the area have risen and are also making their way towards us. The ground shakes with the intensity of the motion and in the distance behind me, I can hear the stalagmites falling from the ceiling smashing to the ground outside in the area where they once found me. I silently thank the heavens for not having any fall on us on the way in here.

"Young Ryuu, you ran off so carelessly, you must be careful. my heart would ache if you were injured," says Akane tenderly. This surprises me, the thought of her talking so tenderly to him after the state I found him in earlier. There has to be more going on here and I intend to find out. "What happened to him that he is in such a condition. I am his mother and I deserve to know. Why is my child a big mush of human and dragon?! I was to be here with him, to walk him through the change!" I say in a rushed voice.

"Well, you were not here and it is to my understanding that you do not have the time to move slowly. I merely did what I saw fit for the survival of my lineage. Stop behaving like you laid their egg, you are merely a half breed that has no business interfering in the way I choose to guide the child. Don't let others see the way that you are behaving now or your soul will never see light again! I am being kind to you child. Do not make me behave any differently. I had intended to treat you as my own as well, but by the way you are behaving now, you don't deserve it," growls Akane, just low enough for Ryuu and myself to hear.

Her words take me off guard, there are some things that I cannot piece together. I came right after Ryuu entered, maybe five minutes in between at best. Her lineage? How significant is she to Ryuu's bloodline? She said that she was the mother dragon but that could be his grandmother or a few generations back, but the way she says it, I feel she may be talking about near the very beginning! And finally, me, a half breed?! What is she talking about? I am a purebred mage! My blood is as pure as it gets! Never mind that, though I can always clear that up later, the last thing she said did make sense. She was nice to me at the start. I was just blinded by worry. I still don't know what she did to Ryuu, but the further on we go the clearer it is to see that he is not afraid. It is easier to read his human face, his eyes are twinkling and there is the lightest rise at the corner of his lips, a smile.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to be rude. I know that I did not lay the eggs but they are still mine. I love them, I feel for them and I protect them with my life. Here in the spirit world, it is true I'm severely insignificant, but in the human world where they live, I am powerful and I can keep them safe. I beg you, please help me in their change," I say meekly to Akane. It's not the time to be proud. Over the years, there is one thing I have learned for sure, and that is to know when and where to pick your fights.

"Hello their child, you are the Dragon Guide that we have chosen ourselves. Don't mind Akane, she can be like two sides of a coin. Why have you come alone? We had expected that all the children would join you. We all wish to see the grand collection of all our offspring gathered together," says a pearl white dragon. Her blue eyes shimmered like sapphires, so enchanting, she reminds me of Andremeda.

I take a closer look at all the dragons present and it is only then that I realize it! They are all identical replicas of my children! No, it can't be. How is this possible? They have all gathered here, all the bloodlines of the whelps I have hatched! As this thought crosses my mind, the two largest dragons furthest in the back begin to growl at each other. One appears to resemble Armin, with golden scales and the other has silver scales and black eyes. This silver one throws me a bit; he can be a relative of either Carlisle or Gerald but there are already identical replicas of them here so who is this strange dragon.

As the thoughts cross my mind the silver dragon looks at me with wide eyes and says, " Sabina, it is me, Domitian! " As he says this he begins to walk forward and each step becomes rushed. Suddenly the golden dragon grabs him by the throat with his massive jaws and throws him across the field. I see the blood dripping from the side of his mouth as he turns his gaze to me and I shiver as a cold sweat runs down my spine.