Black Blood - 18. Chapter 18

18

The nearest town was Payan. Viko knew the way. The Nomads had fought the townspeople of Payan before; they were very anti-dragons, so much that they liked to produce plays of damsels in distress and brave heroes saving their lives by slaying a dragon, or so Viko had heard. He was certain that this was where Liham was headed with his army of zombies. If Viko and the others could travel night and day, technically they would arrive to destination before the vampires.

Viko’s body was failing him though. Ever since Charisma had told him that she had changed Liham into one of her creatures, Viko had been horribly anxious, unable to eat or sleep properly. And coming back to Efreyse, he’d had a bad feeling from the start, but it turned out reality was much worst. He’d known Liham was always a bit frustrated, envious and depressed, no matter how much their parents or friends tried to cheer him up, but he had never thought his little brother was capable of something like this.

Now he was weak, having lost blood from Liham biting his arm and neck like some wild animal. Micah was holding his good arm as they ran across the woods, darkness enveloping them again. That strange magical light from before was gone. So the vampires might come out of the earth and start running after them; they couldn’t afford to stop. Sheer will could only overcome physical strain for so long, though. The fact remained that Viko couldn’t go on. And Micah wasn’t much of an athlete. Viko could hardly picture him carrying anyone on his back while running on uneven ground.

“Guys, stop!” called Micah when Viko fell to his knees.

He cursed and tried to get back up, but it was no use. His ears buzzed and increasingly bigger spots of black invaded his vision. He felt sick, only there wasn’t anything in his stomach to throw up.

Skylar stepped closer. She seemed out of breath herself, but she held her ground. “I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to keep going, or the vampires will—”

Viko cut her off midsentence. “You think I don’t know that?” It pained him to talk, and the words came out weaker than he’d intended.

She just raised a brow and looked away, like she couldn’t be bothered anymore. For some reason, that girl really hated him. Viko closed his eyes for a moment. He felt disconnected from the world, like he couldn’t understand anything anymore. He just wanted to sleep right now. Already the sound of the wind rustling the trees was fading. He felt cold and numb.

But then he heard Micah’s voice, raspy and obnoxious, too close to his ear to be ignored. His eyes snapped open.

“Hey don’t pass out on me,” Micah was saying, “Airi will give you his blood, okay?” He was holding Viko’s shoulders so he wouldn’t collapse, knees on the ground next to him.

The one that looked like a Ken Barbie doll cut his wrist with a small dagger he kept at his belt. But Viko crawled away, putting a hand down on the leafy path.

“Is this gonna make me a creature like them?” Wasn’t this man the same race as Charisma?

“No it’s fine,” Micah insisted, putting his hand around Viko’s neck. The white scarf he had given him before was dyed crimson now. “Just drink it! I drank Mayrin’s blood; do I look like a vampire to you?”

Viko looked up in blue eyes so light in all this darkness, like it was his anchor. If Micah said so, then it was probably fine to drink it. Viko didn’t know about his acting skills, but in real life Micah didn’t lie much—except to his parents sometimes.

They really needed to keep going, so Airi practically shoved his blood down Viko’s throat. It had almost immediate effects. And it was definitely more efficient than a scarf to stop the bleeding. Staggering back to his feet, with Micah still holding him, Viko looked at Airi with newfound respect, as he realized he was indeed feeling better. Even his arm seemed healed. The blood had left a bitter metallic taste in his mouth.

“Thank you,” he said, “I owe you.”

After that they fled with no interruption, pushing their sore legs and feet to run—and sometimes stumble—across the forest with branches and leaves flinging at them. The moon and stars glittered above, unclouded, but there was no time to admire the sky. Viko led the way south-west toward Payan.

Viko was the kind of person who only believed in something if he had seen or experienced it himself. And he only respected others if he saw their worth or caught a glimpse of what was in their heart.

The night he had met Micah at some Manhattan gay venue, Viko had been attracted to him because he had been helping out a boy who was sick and throwing up. When all the others were whining and exclaiming that it was gross, Micah had helped him up and brought him outside so he could breathe some fresh air. It was a simple thing to do, yet no one else had done it.

And sure Viko had started seeing him because Blake had requested it, but he actually liked Micah for all sorts of reasons, some of which he couldn’t even explain himself, but maybe that was how it should be. Viko had never thought being with another boy could be normal. In New York, it had seemed perfectly fine, so he had just gone with it.

As they ran, Mayrin caught up. They stopped as she flew down and the sound of their heavy breathing and pounding hearts accompanied the chirping of the insects in the night. Viko could barely see her wings, like they were transparent, shimmering like water. And then they faded completely, as if they had never been there. Her powers were amazing, Viko thought. He did feel grateful toward Mayrin and Airi after all this. Those two had, after all, saved him from being devoured by his own brother. He supposed that was quite something. He still couldn’t get his head around what had just happened—not really. It was too painful to think about, and made his head throb. Something Airi’s blood couldn’t heal.

Mayrin said the vampires were after them. But she had lured them in the wrong direction for a bit. So they should be safe for a while. They were all exhausted, including Mayrin. So they walked rather than ran.

“Are you feeling better?” asked Micah. They lined up behind the others, dragging their legs with effort.

“Yeah.”

“What did your brother tell you earlier?”

“He told me enough. He told me what I needed to know.”

Micah looked confused and tired. And yet he had the energy to argue. “But why—”

“It’s too late for him,” Viko said, “this much I know.”

Micah glanced at him sideways, dry lips parted, light hair messily spilling over his forehead. “Are you going to kill him?”

“If I can.”

“Do you really hate each other that much? Why?”

“It’s a long story.”

Actually, it wasn’t that complicated. It was just a lot of things put together. Their parents had liked Viko better, because a dragon had already chosen him at the age of eight. Their parents had been dragon trainers. Now they lay dead in the deserted camp, turned into monsters before getting destroyed by the same dragons they used to cherish.

As kids, Viko had been the popular one. Liham had lived in his shadow. Looking back, Viko acknowledged this, but it was too little too late. The other boys wanted to be him, because he excelled at combat and won all the competitions. He was even good with writing and drawing—though he only drew dragons. Back then the girls wanted to be with him. There was one girl in particular. Liham liked her, but she just wanted Viko. Typical. Viko just regretted being too self-centered to realize all this at the time. But regret wasn’t very useful now, was it? Liham was already a vampire.

Micah was sulking because Viko wouldn’t answer his questions. It just wasn’t that easy for him to talk about. They walked rapidly to catch up with the others, the night engulfing them.

As dawn drew near, Viko led them somewhere safe. They could rest at least a little, while the vampires needed to stop anyway. Buried within rocks, in the middle of the forest, was a cave only Viko and one other person knew about. He hadn’t seen her body among the corpses back at that camp, and he hadn’t seen her with the crowd of vampires in the woods. He wanted to believe that she was safe.

After moving some rocks Viko found the narrow passage that led inside. He led the way. Kalan went in next, jumping down onto the stone with a thump, long legs bent into a crouch. The others followed. Micah jumped last, falling onto his butt as he did. He glanced up at them defiantly as he sprung to his feet, as if daring them to make fun of him. Silly Micah; they had more important things to worry about, really. Just below that passage were the remnants of a fire. Its ashes were still warm when Viko put his hand near, and it gave him hope. Skylar gripped a torch from the stone wall and lit it with her powers. Pushing back her long hair behind her ears, she looked at him with green eyes gleaming in the light of the flame.

“This cave is a secret hatching chamber,” Viko explained. “There were two dragon eggs here before.”

He walked past Skylar without glancing at her, wandering deeper into the cave. The stone walls were dripping slightly, and stalactites of a grayish white color adorned the low ceiling. Kalan and Viko had to bend their heads a little as they proceeded further in, Skylar still bearing the lit torch. Images of dragons painted the stone all over, and Micah was admiring them, his fingers extended to brush the wall slightly. Viko had drawn all of those himself, actually. They depicted dragons of all sizes, some resting, some in flight, some breathing fire.

They didn’t find any eggs. Instead there were some provisions, in an animal skin bag similar to those Kalan and Airi were carrying. There were some blankets, clothes and accessories, like a pair of sandals, a belt with a leather pouch, a cape for the colder days. Viko smiled, picked up the clothes and smelled them.

“Um, what are you doing?” asked Micah, stepping closer.

It smelled like her. She was safe, then.

Viko wrapped himself in one of the fur blankets and closed his eyes, curled up like a fetus.

“Viko?” Micah insisted.

He didn’t open his eyes. “Be quiet. I need to sleep. I brought you somewhere safe so be grateful. Now leave me alone.”

“I could use some sleep myself,” he heard Kalan say, just before his mind and body gave up, letting him slip into a world of blackness.

***

Viko was woken up a few hours later by a soft and familiar voice speaking in his native language.

“Wake up,” she said, shaking his shoulders a bit, “and tell me why you’ve brought so many strangers in our cave.” Her voice was so little and melodious yet held so much authority. She hadn’t changed.

“Pandra,” he said before opening his eyes, “I knew you were too smart to let them taint you, too.”

They embraced fiercely; two survivors that had lost almost everything. The others watched in silence, most of them still lying on their blankets. Mayrin was whispering something to Airi. Viko didn’t pay attention to them. Shining light spilled through small creaks in the stone above, and Viko could see her face. She looked well even though she had clearly been living a recluse and solitary lifestyle for a little while now. Her eyes were hazel and her hair was raven, falling in long waves on her strong shoulders. Her skin reminded him of the mocha coffee he’d had in New York. She wore worn leather sandals, shorts and a tunic laced with strings at the sides, in shades of beige and tan. Pandra was the girl, the one Liham had wanted because he could never have her—because she was Viko’s.

“Where were you?” she asked with tears in her eyes. “We needed you. I needed you.”

“I’m sorry,” said Viko and he meant it. “I didn’t know. And Fraya was dead.” It took a lot out of him to keep the emotions from shattering him into a million pieces.

“It’s okay.” She wiped at her eyes with the rough hands of someone living in the wild, alone and without tools. “You’re here now.”

They all went to sit in a circle at the entrance of the cave. Pandra started a fire with expert hands, getting a spark from two rocks and blowing on it, almost as fast as Skylar would’ve done with her magic. She roasted the prey she had caught. They were two fat rabbits, actually. Viko was so starved that he could barely even feel the hunger anymore.

Pandra also had some rain water that she’d collected in big clay made pots. Lastly she had an impressing amount of wild berries in a woven basket. Everyone started eating with appetite. There wasn’t quite enough so they had to share. Viko felt moody; he would’ve liked to have all the meat for himself. Micah was the only one not eating it. He just chewed on berries and some energy bar from Skylar’s bag, claiming to whoever was listening that he was vegetarian and that killing animals was wrong.

No one was really listening, actually.

“Who are these strange people?” asked Pandra quietly.

“They are from far away.” Viko pointed with a greasy finger, feeling better after putting some nutrition in his stomach. “These four can do magic. They can help us against the creatures our people have become. And the other one is just…a friend.”

“What did he say?” Micah leaned closer to Skylar when he saw that Viko was looking at him. She didn’t reply, but her glaring eyes were drilling holes through Viko’s skull. How could she even understand what he was saying?

“Ask her to explain what happened exactly,” Mayrin suggested after enjoying a handful of berries. Her fingers were stained red. It was more an order than a suggestion, really.

Viko didn’t even need to ask Pandra to explain anything. She just started on her own; the words had to come out.

“It was so horrible, Viko. With Fraya dead and you gone our people had lost hope that we could fight or even defend ourselves. Liham started telling people that he had found a way to be feared and respected forever. He had found some kind of strange power, and he was able to share it. At first it was just a few people. Then the others saw what they were capable of; they were so fast, and so strong. Liham became so confident after you left. The dragons abandoned us, but he said it didn’t matter. He said we didn’t need their help anymore. He started going from family to family, talking to everyone, like a preacher.” Pandra swallowed hard. “He convinced so many people. He even convinced my father. We became divided. Some people were on my side. I told them to keep believing that you would come back and bring the dragons back to us. But weeks passed…” She let the sentence trail off and fade in the air. Skylar and the two blonde dolls seemed to understand most of what she was saying, even though they didn’t speak the language—those weirdoes.

Viko thought of Pandra’s father, and of how they had fought over him being a proper partner for his daughter. Pandra’s father had just been acting overprotective, really. Viko had always loved her. He could never hurt her. Of course, he had won the fight, putting him in his sick bed for weeks.

“So Liham changed everyone? Did he try to change you?”

She nodded, lowering her gaze. “Some of us resisted. It was so chaotic. I think some others escaped when I did, but I don’t know where they went. The only place I could think of was here.”

“What about the dragons? What is becoming of them? What about the eggs?”

Skylar was translating some words here and there for Micah and Kalan. Viko found it rather annoying. He felt like she was probing at his mind and private thoughts and it was giving him a headache.

Pandra’s expression changed completely. Her smile was heart-warming. “The dragons still recognize me as one of their own. Lord is still faithful to me. And the eggs have hatched. There is a boy and a girl, and they look just like Lord and Fraya. You should come meet them. They’ll love you.”

Viko perked up at this and immediately rose to his feet, stretching his lean back and arms. Pandra fumbled through her things and her fingers closed around a rope with a hook made of stone at its end. It was easier to jump down into the cave than to jump back out, so that device was needed, especially for Pandra who was shorter than Viko. She threw it with precision and it stuck in between some rocks. Pandra tugged at it to make sure it was solid. Then she climbed up the rope with unfaltering strength.

“Can I come too?” asked Micah enthusiastically. He was already on his feet, wriggling around the fire and stepping closer to Viko with timid joy. “I want to see the baby dragons.”

Viko couldn’t help but smile at him. With a hand, he motioned for him to climb first. So Micah did. When he closed his long white fingers—so different from Pandra’s—around the rope Viko noticed he had scrapes and cuts on his hands. Actually he seemed to have them all over, some on his face and some on his body, through rips in his flashy jeans and white sweater, which wasn’t so white anymore. It was probably from running around in the woods so much; clearly that wasn’t something Micah was used to. He had fallen quite a lot, stumbling and tripping on branches or tree roots. But every time he had gotten back up, and he hadn’t complained much. Viko had heard Skylar calling him a rich spoiled brat at some point. But Viko knew that wasn’t true, otherwise he wouldn’t have helped convincing Mayrin to let him come in the first place.

He helped Micah to climb up by holding one sneaker in his hand, and Pandra took his arms to pull him out. Skylar came to climb after Micah, but she glanced at Viko surreptitiously, like she expected him to forbid her to follow them.

“I want to see the dragons.”

Viko shrugged. “Okay.”

“I don’t need your help,” she said.

“I wasn’t offering,” he replied flatly.

Kalan also got up with a light chuckle. “Eh, what the hell.”

Skylar climbed up with stubborn difficulty, but without requiring any help, then Kalan went after her. Viko glanced at Mayrin and Airi, but they didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out. Mayrin was eating the last of the berries from the woven basket. They were discussing in their language in a low voice. They could understand him when he spoke in his language, but it didn’t go the other way around. Viko had no idea what they were talking about, and he didn’t care.

Outside they could see everything. The blinding midday sun was a welcome change from the darkness. Some autumn plants surrounded the rocky ground above the cave. Mixing in with the tall trees and shrubs were chrysanthemums, blue hydrangeas and cinquefoil with its small yellow petals. A sweet smell was carried by the cool wind. Warmed by the sun, Micah and Skylar were shedding superfluous layers, revealing short sleeved shirts. Micah’s t-shirt was purple leopard print. He looked about as out of place as would a dragon dallying around in the lobby of that fancy Manhattan condo complex.

The baby dragons weren’t really babies anymore, actually. Those creatures sure grew fast. Well, they did have Fraya and Lord’s genes, and those had been the two biggest dragons out of all those associating with the Nomads. They trotted timidly, zigzagging around shrubs and flowers, growing claws clumsily gripping at the earth with each step. Their scales were a bluish green, gleaming in the sunlight. Their eyes were a blazing amber shade. They were about the size of ponies.

Bringing his hand to his lips, his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe this was really happening, Micah made to step forward and go see the dragons. But Pandra thrust a hand out to stop him.

“You mustn’t,” said Viko calmly. “The father is near.”

Pandra’s dragon Lord was as tall as the maple trees when he got up on his back legs, wings spread, roaring threateningly like he was just about to fly and launch at them.

“Whoa!” Micah stumbled back, fear overcoming curiosity now.

Skylar and Kalan stayed farther, stepping closer together like they wanted to protect each other. Their stares were the same; eyes big with the astonishment of those who had never seen such creatures before.

But Viko wasn’t scared. “Long time no see.” Lord recognized his voice and calmed down right away. But he was still glaring at Micah, kind of like how Skylar always glared at Viko.

Lord was one of the elite ancient dragons that could breathe fire. His scales were a mix of bluish and reddish in crisscrossing patterns. His big round eyes were reddish black. He breathed out smoke through his nostrils loudly, like he was annoyed.

“Why doesn’t he like me?” asked Micah, worry creasing his brow. “Is he going to eat me?”

“Relax. He just doesn’t know you yet,” Viko replied.

Behind them, Kalan was stepping away. When he cleared his throat and spoke, uneasiness was obvious in his tone. “I’m going to head to the stream we passed last night to clean up a little.” He indicated vaguely toward the north. “Good luck getting better acquainted with the dragons, you two!” He was addressing Micah and Skylar.

But she wasn’t staying either. “I’ll come with you.”

Before walking with Kalan she tapped Micah’s shoulder and said, “Be careful.” Her eyes were still big but there wasn’t only fear in them as she glanced at the big dragon. Viko saw respect and admiration in her expression. He appreciated that; maybe she wasn’t that bad after all.

Micah just watched as the couple left together through the woods. Viko followed his gaze, and wondered if those two liked each other or something. Then he remembered he didn’t care.

He brought his attention back to the small dragon family. The female was hesitantly approaching Micah, sniffing the air. Lord was tolerating it for now.

“I wanted to wait for you to name them.” Pandra glanced at Viko sideways and smiled with emotion she couldn’t hide.

“What did she say?’ asked Micah softly.

“We should find names for the dragons. That one is a girl,” he indicated the one stepping near Micah.

He thought for a moment, blue eyes scanning their surroundings. He scratched his lanky hair. “Oh, I know. We should name her Chrysanthemum.”

Viko thought of his cats, Clover and Leaf. Apparently Micah thought plant names were best suited for animals.

“That’s an awfully long name,” Viko chuckled, “how about Chrysa?”

“Chrysa,” echoed Pandra, “I like it.”

“And this one,” Micah pointed at the male, “should be Viko Junior.”

“Yeah, right.” Viko shook his head in disbelief. His lack of creativity was dumbfounding.

But Pandra actually liked that name too, so they left it at that for now. Lord didn’t mind Micah anymore. He rested his heavy body lazily against the forest ground, enormous wings folding, long pointed tail curling around himself and stomping shrubs and flowers in the process.

Viko was petting the male while Micah played with Chrysa. She was chasing him around, and Micah was laughing. At some point she pushed him down and jumped on him, looming over him on all fours. Micah didn’t seem to mind.

“Look Viko!” he laughed. “She’s not hurting me! I think she likes me!”

Chrysa jumped up again and started running away, and Micah got the hint. Still laughing musically, he chased after her and they disappeared somewhere between the trees. Pandra took in the sight with a tilt of her head.

“Who the hell is he?”

Viko sighed. “Just an idiot from the magical land called aspiring actors. Probably thinks he’s in a movie. Never mind that. Where are the other dragons?”

“Not very far,” Pandra answered confidently. She stood straight and unwavering as she glanced over at her dragon. Her long raven hair was ruffled by the wind. “If I send Lord calling for them, they will come.” The dragon gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Good,” Viko said. He looked down at the pony-sized male. “Can you fly?”

Viko took his wings and forcefully spread them out. Lord looked up, but didn’t protest. Viko was just trying to give the dragon a little boost of confidence. He used to watch his parents doing that while training the smaller ones.

“Come on,” Viko encouraged. He started walking, faster and faster, still holding the tip of the young dragon’s wing. Then they ran together, passing the cave’s entrance and going in the same direction Micah had disappeared to.

With a rasped caw the dragon pushed the air with his wings, and found his strength after a few more quick steps of his back legs on the ground. He took off flying past the tall trees and into the air, defying the wind. Viko smiled, almost forgetting about everything else—almost.

He realized Pandra stood next to him. She was smiling, too. Tossing dark hair behind her shoulder, she glanced at him sideways.

“That’s his first time flying. He was always too scared before.”

She brought her hand closer to his and their fingers touched. They held hands, looking up at the young dragon twirling in the high winds. It was never too late to stop being scared.