Enchanting Scales

Enchanting Scales Will Continue

2008-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

As I have written in my Author Blog I will be writing Enchanting Scales still. I know that the haitus has gone on far longer than I said and it has been going on far longer than I intended. I am going to find a way to neatly wrap up what is going on so far. It will be continuing Serene and Pandora's story. Only instead of having the story limited to Pandora's point of view it will switch between several other characters. It will not happen all at once, however. I am going to to create another blog for it and put the link to it on the Table of Contents bar.

Thank you for your patience.

Amanda Cast

Chapter 53

2008-08-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Grizzle

Rubio trudged tiredly behind Pandora. The dimensional bag helped to ease the burden a great deal, but some things could not fit. Pandora carried the majority of the packs as well as the pelt. Rubio carried the blankets and smaller items that made camping easier.

It had taken Pandora longer to lure a bear to her than she originally intended. Usually the bears of Bear Valley were more than eager to wander to a human encampment and eat their fill. Pandora never had to wait so long before, and most people would not risk dealing with the natives to hunt there.

Pandora knew little about the culture, but she did know that it revolved around bears. Why? She could never guess. She would be sacrificed first thing if they saw her, and that was the last thing that she wanted.

“Mother, I’m tired,” Rubio whined again.

“I know, dear. We’re almost there and then Grizzle will let you rest for a bit.”

He kicked a rock and it skirted over the ground, hopping and jumping over the bumps in on the surface of the narrow trail. It struck the back of Pandora’s heel lightly and she craned her head back and gave him a stern look.

He sulked and adjusted his pack. This caused her to realize how much the straps were biting into her skin and muscle. She jostled the packs around so that the straps rested in different areas of the same parts of her body.

“See, look,” Pandora said and tossed her head in the direction of smoke rising up over the trees. “He’s home.”

“Thank cheese,” he said.

“Cheese?” Pandora said dryly.

“Sure, cheese. Gotta thank something.”

“You could thank me,” she teased with a gentle smile he could not see.

“You get thanked for everything,” he said, “I think cheese should get thanked, too. Do you think that Grizzle will let me have some cheese?”

“I don’t know,” Pandora said. “He might be feeling generous and he might not. It’s hard to say.” All she wanted was to take a load off her shoulders. Soon she would get her wish, but sometimes soon just was not soon enough.

Rubio sniffed the air. “Oh, it smells like bread!” he said. “You and Momma never make bread.”

“That’s because neither of us know how to bake,” she said. “And we can’t afford the flour.”

“Is that why we eat that weird nut thing you make?” he asked.

“It’s wholesome. Greg said so,” she told him. She frowned. “You should be grateful for what you do have. We all sacrifice every day so that you and your brother and sisters don’t go without.”

“And soon you’ll be leaving us.”

“We’ll be back,” Pandora said. “You should no worry so much.”

“You worry,” he counted.

“Yes,” Pandora agreed with strained patience. “But I worry so that you don’t have to. You’re just a child. I want you to be able to act like one.”

“Do you even know how children act?” he asked, incredulous.

“Like you are now,” she said sharply and he clamped his mouth shut and did not say another word the rest of the hike. They reached Grizzle’s cabin and Rubio dropped all of his things at the edge of the clearing and ran toward the door. “Grizzle!” he shouted.

The door opened and Grizzle stood in the door way wiping his hands on his apron. Pandora could see the flour handprints on the stained garment. “Hello, hello,” he said warmly. “I see you have another pelt for me, Pandora.”

She nodded. “I do. Can we come in and rest for a little bit?” she asked.

“Certainly,” he agreed.

“Rubio, go and get your things and bring them in,’ she said.

“But I’m tired, Mother.”

“Maybe I should have brought Emmy. She never complains,” Pandora said to the tree passed Rubio. His face turned beet red, but he stormed over to the pile he had left behind and started to layer it back onto his body.

“Did you need all of that meat?” Grizzle asked. “Nothing like a good bear meat sausage in the morning.”

“I’m sure we can work out some trades,” Pandora said. When she stepped inside she draped the pelt over her left arm and started to unload the right side of her body. The packs of dried, salted, and otherwise preserved meat dropped with a heavy thud onto the wooden floor.

“So, Claws,” he said, addressing Pandora. “Still hunting in Bear Valley? That’s dangerous.”

“That’s why I get paid so well. They’re pansy bears anyway. They’re so used to having food handed to them they don’t know what to do when it fights back.” She gave him a mild smile and finished dropping the other packs. “I came for some healing potions.”

“Healing potions, huh?” he asked. “The usual?”

“I have some deerskin and a couple of wolf pelts, too,” she said. “They’re not healthy ones though. Got them in the winter and they weren’t eating well.”

“Shame,” he said. “You know, I’d be willing to make a nice trade for that bag of yours.”

“I know you would, Grizzle, but my cousin would kill me,” she said. “Have you heard any news from the outside?” She watched as Rubio waddled into the cabin and chunked his burdens on top of Pandora’s. He scowled at her and went to go sit on one of the stools by the fire.

“How that kid can stand the heat,” he muttered and then turned his attention back to Pandora. “All I heard is that there is a new Empress,” he said. “Sweet young thing about your age, I’d reckon.” Grizzle was only middle aged, but he liked to pretend he was older sometimes. He scratched his head thoughtfully. “Her name is Liara. They’ve only been married for about two months and he’s already whining that she might be barren.”

“Only two months? And you heard about it already?”

“News like that travels fast. I heard it from the elves, actually. They don’t pay any attention to what they say to me. It’s almost insulting, but I imagine they thought they were doing well to wait a few weeks before telling me.”

“Probably right,” Pandora agreed. She only knew one surface elf in her life, and he was dead.

Grizzle shrugged his broad shoulders. “So, Claws, what else do you need for your little family?”

“I think that Shaggy would like a book to read. Do you have anything?” she asked.

“What time does that poor boy have for a book?” he asked. “You and your cousin are always leaving him to watch the little ones. Parenting is full time.”

“You did all right with your son, didn’t you?” Pandora asked. “Anyway, he finds his time, and the kids aren’t so bad.”

Grizzle gave the sulking Rubio a long stare and then directed a meaningful look at Pandora—eyebrow raise and all. “If my son acted like that I’d blister his bottom.”

“Oh, wait. Gold. Do you have any gold jewelry?”

“Gold? What is with you and gold? It doesn’t do you much good in the mountains, does it? Who are you showing off for?”

Pandora frowned at him. “Does it matter what I need gold for? I have good stuff to trade with you for. I just need gold.”

He snorted. “I had you in mind when I made this trade,” he said and went over to his bed. He kneeled down and pulled up a plank of wood and then pulled out a box. “It’s not pretty, but the girl and boy I got them from were running off to live happily ever after and left this behind. They’re nothing fancy, but they’re pure gold.”

“Rubio, come here,” Pandora said. “I need you to inspect this.”

“You don’t trust me?” he asked.

“Oh, I trust you, but not the people you might trade with,” she said. “I can’t afford to skimp on quality. I hope you understand,” she said and Rubio came up to her, sniffing the air. She could see the excitement in his eyes, but she hoped that Grizzle was not yet wise to the reason.

Grizzle lowered the box so that Rubio could get a closer look at it. He plucked out one of the pieces and examined it. After a long sniff, he said, “It’s the real deal. Those are real rubies too.”

Pandora nodded. “Twenty pounds for that.”

“Fifty.”

“Outrageous,” Pandora said, “But I’ll be fair and go up to twenty five.”

“That isn’t fair, Claws,” he said. “Forty-five is the best you’re going to get. Take it or leave it.”

“Well, unless you have some dragons passing by to trade scales, you’re never going to lose the jewelry here in this outpost. You might as well level at my twenty five and take the jar of bear eyes.”

“Bear eyes?” he asked. “You have bear eyes.”

“Yeah, I also kept the other organs.”

“Blood?”

“Some.”

“Fine, twenty-five and the eyes. I’ll reimburse the preservation jar.”

“Deal,” she said and they shook hands. Rubio took the jewelry and clenched the earrings and rings in his hands tightly until Pandora reached down with her open palm. He grumbled, but handed them to her. “Do you have anything else?”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “What do you need?”

Pandora shrugged. “How many healing potions do you have?”

“I only have twelve left,” he said. “Four for the pelt, usual deal, but if you want more you can always bargain with something else.”

“How about two more for a quart of blood.”

“Outrageous.”

‘Not really,” Pandora said. “I know a bit about magic. The mages that frequent your little hut would pay a nice gold or so for a few drops. A quart is near priceless.”

“And you only want two more?” he asked.

“I can be fair. Besides, it doesn’t do me a lick of good, and I can always kill another one.”

“Fine,” he said and he shook hands with Pandora. She could tell from the waver in his face that he did not believe her, but so far she had been honest enough with him, so he would take her word. “You said you wanted some books?” he asked. “I might have a couple.”

Grizzle had a small book shelf in the corner of his living room. It was usually bare, but occasionally someone would come by and trade a book for some wires or any other number of things. It was the elves that bought the pelts, and they brought the survival tools and sometimes delicate dishes.

Now there was one lonely little tome. It was dusty and smelled of wet leather, but Pandora picked it up anyway. She blew off the worst of the dust and wiped off more with the tips of her fingers. “Children’s stories,” she said. “It will do, I guess.”

Their trading went on well into the night and Grizzle offered to let them spend the night and they ate some of the bear meat along with some vegetables from Grizzle’s small garden. The next morning as Pandora was packing everything up Grizzle stopped her.

“Claws, I have been wondering…”

“Hm?” Pandora asked, preoccupied.

“Have you ever thought of marrying?” he asked.

She froze in mid action and then slowly turned to him. “Are you asking me to marry you?” she asked.

“Uh, no, not that I wouldn’t be flattered,” he said quickly, “But I was thinking more to my son. You’re like a daughter to me, really.”

“Oh,” she said, half relieved. “No, I haven’t thought about marrying,” she said. “I am usually very busy with taking care of my household.” She finished stuffing the potion box into her bag and tied it around her waist as she stood up.

“Well, would you think about marrying my son? You would make such a wonderful trade and a wonderful mother to my grandchildren. I think you’d make a wonderful wife.”

She took a deep breath, held it, and then sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Grizzle, but I can’t marry your son.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Why not?”

“Well, for one, he and my cousin were once lovers, and…that would be wrong. It would cause problems between my cousin and me. For another thing, I have four… I mean, three children to look after as well as Shaggy. I can’t get married and leave them behind. Your cabin would not fit us all. Plus, I am not cut out for marriage. I lack passion. Your son would cheat on me. I would kill him.”

“Why would you kill him?”

“Because he would insult me too much,” she said. “It is best that I never marry. I lack the passion to make a man happy. That is just the way I am.”

“Oh,” he said and his shoulders slumped. “Well, think about it. I think you would make a good tradesman’s wife.”

“I can’t promise even that, Grizzle. You son was a lover to one of my family. It is just too strange. Perhaps he and she would be happier. It is obvious that it is her he prefers.”

“There are women men sleep with, Claws, and then women they marry.”

“I am neither, Grizzle. I am sorry.” Pandora started to load herself up again. The items she now had were much lighter. “It is no insult to you, Grizzle, but I am not cut out for making a man happy. I’ll see you.”

Growing up

2008-08-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

This is a short story that I could not get out of my head. It might be inappropriate, but I wanted to show how innocent the two of them really are. Plus, I am still stuck on what I should do for chapter 53... Part of me wants to write about hunting a bear and part of me just wants to introduce Grizzle and get over with it. Being stuck is the lame, but it's what I get for writing on the fly.

Something uncomfortable, but not sharp or painful, settled under Serene’s skin and made her restless. She turned and rolled over until her sheets and thin quilt were twisted around her body. She itched, and her skin felt bunched and tight. After an hour of trying to fight it off she rolled out of bed.

The space between her legs was hot and wet. She went to the privy to wash up and found out that it was blood. She was bleeding.

She sat there even after her butt started to hurt. Her mind could not fathom what was happening to her, and the bleeding would not stop. Terror froze her and made her mind stop working.

It was Pandora’s voice that pulled her out of her mental funk. She called out to her cousin and when Pandora opened the door she stepped back, shocked.

“Serene? What is wrong?” Pandora asked as she looked away from her cousin.

“I’m bleeding, Pandora,” Serene said anxiously and then a sob escaped her throat. “It won’t stop.”

Pandora frowned. “Have you tried healing yourself?”

“I don’t know where the cut is,” Serene said, but now she was too hysterical to actually try.

“All right,” Pandora said with a frown, but her head was still turned away from Serene. Seeing her cousin on the privy was not her idea of something to see first thing in the morning. “Just calm down. I’ll see if it’s something Greg knows about.”

“Greg? You can’t go tell Greg!” Serene screamed.

Pandora was glad that Serene had taken the time to put more permanent charm on the doors and walls so that the hatchlings could not hear her. The last thing they needed was for them to know that something was wrong with Serene. “I’ll be right back.”

Pandora left Serene to her crisis and went to find the one person who actually knew things about the human body. Hopefully he would know what Serene was going through.

She found him wrangling up the hatchlings in the den. They were huge now and hard to get around. Topaz was still working on widening the hallways and rooms so that there was more space.

“Children,” Pandora said in the most commanding voice that she could manage. “I need to talk to Greg. Will you please settle down until we’re done?”

“What about breakfast?” Rubio asked. “I’m starving.”

“Me, too, Mother!” Star said and writhed on her belly for emphasis.

“I’m sorry, dears,” Pandora said, “But this is important.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked as they walked down the hallway to Serene’s room.

“I don’t know,” Pandora said and let him enter the room first. She stepped in behind him and closed the door. “But she’s bleeding and it won’t stop.”

“Where is she bleeding?”

Pandora frowned and shifted uneasily. “Between her legs,” she said quietly.

“How old are you two again?” he asked.

“Thirteen,” Pandora said.

He sighed. “Well, she’s starting a little later than most girls do. Your mothers and teachers never talked to you about that sort of thing?”

“What sort of thing?” Pandora asked.

Greg took a deep breath and turned away from her. His head was tilted back and he put his hand over his eyes. He said something in his native tongue. “I’m going to need the ring for this.” He left the room to retrieve his language ring and came back. “All right, I’m sorry, Amazon. Can you get her out of the privy?”

“I don’t know,” Pandora said. “Give me a moment.” She walked over to the door and cracked it open. “Serene, can you come outside?”

“No, there is blood everywhere. I can’t.”

“What if I got you something else to wear?” Pandora asked.

“No,” Serene said. “I’ll bleed all over that too.”

Pandora turned back to Greg and shut the door. “She won’t come out because she is afraid of bleeding over everything,” she said.

“I heard,” Greg said. He knew the mechanics of a woman’s body and he knew about their trip through puberty, but he had no idea what the subtleties where. “I’ll talk to her through the door. She doesn’t have a spell on that too, does she?”

“No,” Pandora said.

Greg walked over to the door and pressed the palms of his hands onto the wooden surface. It was rough and poorly done, but then they were not professional carpenters. “Serene, are you all right?”

“I’m dieing!” she screeched.

“This is going to be hard, considering she hates me,” he said quietly to Pandora.

Pandora pressed her lips into a line and shrugged. “You have to try.”

He sighed. He would do almost anything for Pandora. “All right, Amazon.” He turned back to the door. “You’re not dieing, Serene. What you’re going through is completely normal.”

“Normal? I’m bleeding and I’m not injured. This is not normal!” She was hysterically screaming at him now.

Greg gave Pandora what he hoped to be a pleading and pathetic look. It made his skin feel dry and too loose all at once. “It is, Serene. I promise. Pandora is going to go through it, too. It’s part of growing up. Congratulations! You’re a woman now.”

The door opened quickly and knocked Greg in the nose and on his chin. He fell back, holding his face. “Fuck, Serene.”

“Don’t talk to me like that!” she screamed. “I’m bleeding! This is not natural.”

Pandora stepped between Greg and the crack in the door with Serene’s face stuck in it. Pandora pushed Serene’s head back in and shut the door. She pushed her entire weight against the door. Serene beat herself against it but the door only hopped a little bit before resting back into its place.

Serene screamed a few hysterical obscenities and Pandora just shrugged at Gregs incredulous expression. “Sorry,” she said inadequately.

“I don’t know how I’m going to explain to her that she’s going to bleed like that for a week every month,” he said. “I was wondering why she was so cranky lately. I mean, more so than usual.”

“Why does she do this once every month?” she asked.

“I keep forgetting that you two are so incredibly sheltered.” He sighed heavily. “Look, this is awkward. I’m only sixteen. I don’t know what to say to you. This is a conversation mothers have with their daughters. This is a school lesson. Teachers dedicate at least a week once a year to preparing girls for this.”

“So what does it mean?” she asked.

“It means that Serene is now able to get pregnant,” he said. At her horrified expression he said, “It will only work if she has sex, and who is she going to have sex with? Me?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Please tell me you know what sex is,” he said. It had never come up before. It was something that Pandora and Serene had never even mentioned to him. His crude jokes always went over their heads and he only thought if it at night when he was getting ready to sleep and in his dreams.

Pandora looked uncomfortable and her feet shifted. “I…” Her mind worked furiously to try and connect the word with meaning, but she could not and she just shrugged.

“Oh, hell,” he said. “I don’t know if I have time to explain it to you. The hatchlings are waiting.”

“Serene isn’t going to leave that room until you explain what is going on to her. I don’t understand and neither does she. You don’t like her, but what if it was me locked in the privy.”

“You wouldn’t knock the door into my fucking face,” he said. Pandora’s narrowed eyed glare made his face turn white. “I’m sorry, Amazon,” he said. “I… look, I know I don’t have the patience for her. Maybe if I explain it to you, you can turn around and explain it to her.”

She just stared at him.

“Where do babies come from?” he asked.

“Uh… from a woman,” she said. “Her belly gets big and then out comes a baby.”

“Now it sounds like you’re joking,” he said. “Ok, when a man and woman feel a certain way about one another… they have sex. Sex is where…” he trailed off. How was he going to explain what a penis was? “All right, you have a vagina. That’s what’s bleeding on Serene… sort of… but not really. It’s where the blood ends up exiting the body anyway.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“There is nothing sick about the human body… ok, I’m lying, I guess, but this is natural and it happens to every woman who lives long enough,” he told her. “OK… a man has a penis. It’s what they pee out of and what something called semen comes out of.”

“What is semen?” she asked.

“It’s what men contribute to the process of making babies,” he told her. “It’s this sticky white stuff that has sperm in it. The sperm travels up the woman’s reproductive organs and can, potentially, find an egg and then babies are made.”

“That makes no sense,” she said blandly.

“What? Did you think they pop out of nothing?”

Pandora shifted uncomfortably.

“You know how dogs and deer and all that crap mate?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s the same freakin’ concept,” he said. “Only they don’t typically have a period because they get pregnant. The period means that Serene is not pregnant. Really, it’s good news. Could you imagine a pregnant Serene? Nine months of total bitchiness.”

“Well, I never thought of it like that before,” Pandora said, “And Serene is not bitchy.”

“Oh, yes, she is,” he said. “Now, maybe you can convince her that what she’s going through is better than the alternative. I’m going to go get pummeled by the hatchlings.”

“Greg, I don’t know if I can tell her all that.”

“You’re a smart girl, Amazon. Figure it out. I can’t handle her. she’s crazy.”

“But what’s a period?”

“It’s what she’s going through now. She’ll bleed for a few days and then it will stop, and then in three or four weeks it will start over again. It’s something like a twenty eight day cycle. She’s less likely to kill you than she is to kill me. You have fun with her. I’ll take care of the freakin’ flamin’ bunch.” He turned and walked away from her. There was nothing she could say to him about it.

Pandora took a deep breath and then sighed heavily. She eased off of the door and stretched her legs before opening the door. “You’re not dieing Serene. You’re just not pregnant. Get over it.”

“How can you say that to me?” she asked.

“Clean up, and we’ll find a way so that you can stay active through the day an not ruin your clothes,” Pandora said. “Greg is mad at you for almost breaking his nose. You should apologize.”

“I’d rather talk to Greg.”

“Well, maybe you should have thought of that before you treated him like that.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Greg is not someone you can just push around. He knows more about everything than we do. He even has a better understanding of the hatchling’s magic. You should be nicer to him.”

“I can’t stand him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but you should be nicer to him. I would appreciate it, and so would the hatchlings. It upsets them when you’re mean to him. They love him, too.” She took a step back. “Think about that.”

Stand alone 01

2008-08-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

I know I've been doing a lot of these lately. I'll probably have to drop my updating schedule to just five days a week and give myself thursday and friday off... or maybe sunday and monday. I don't know. Anyhow, this story.... well... I don't remember when I wrote it. It is obviously not finished, but it should amuse you well enough for now. I'm a littel stuck on the current chapter... I can't decide what I want to do and if I should skip something or not. Anyhow.... I hope you enjoy the pithy bitters and I hope I managed to get the name the same because apparently I decided to changeit somewhere in the middle...

“This has to be the most boring job in the world,” I mumbled to myself with my jowls firmly placed on my fists as I leaned over the counter of a Quick Fuel. The main color was red as it is with most convenience stores. The ones that used green or blue just don’t know what they're missing.

Mostly the hunger that gets worse by staring across the building at the red stripe of painted cinder blocks over the soda cooler and the beer. Science or psychology or someone with some credentials says that red, yellow, and orange make you hungrier.

The extra weight around my middle proves a point with some finesse, if I do say so myself. Also, the extra candy bars that make it to the registers speak volumes. Travelers are always hungry and thirsty it seems.

For eleven o’clock at night, it was horribly slow. Usually I had about thirty people running to the store to get their beer before midnight. All the liquor stores close at eleven or is it ten? I don’t remember exactly, but they close early, so Quick Fuel is used for getting beer.

I was almost thankful that I didn’t live in a dry county or town. I’m not exactly sure why they call them that, since beer is still sold, but whatever floats their boats—if they can do that, that is.

So there I was, leaning over a counter with my expansive butt up in the air because I can’t sit down and I have nothing in the world to do. You can really only dust the shelves so many times in one night before it becomes redundant, and I just know that as soon as I go to restock the Dr. Peppers I’ll have a customer come in.

I seriously hated my job with a mortal passion. The pay even sucked. What can you do though? Suck it up, that’s right.

Hum to yourself that you’re bored. That’s about it.

Seriously.

“I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored. I’m bored,” I reminded myself over and over again. “When the hell will one roll around so I can go home?”

Grumble, whine, bitch, and moan. That is a night in a convenience store wrapped up in one proverbial nut shell.

Eat your heart out.

And then a car claimed a pump and I watched it with a morbid fascination. Part of me was hoping the person would pay with cash so that I would have something to do. A credit card would most likely mean that the person wasn’t going to come in.

Another part of me was thinking that it’s probably a creepy old man and I’d much rather have them pay at the pump. I really didn’t like the idea of being robbed either. So, before my proposed hooligan crawled out of the Cadillac I was looking around for anyone who might be able to help me.

Everyone is suspect.

And then he stepped out. He was, for lack of a better description, the man on the romance novels. Every lady knows what I’m talking about: the perfectly sculpted hunk with a nice chest, narrow hips, strong limbs and probably packing.

Impossibly gorgeous.

I gave him an appreciative sigh and really hoped that he was simply paying at the pump so that he wouldn’t see me. I did not want to be seen by a hunk. It would make me die of shame. I kid you not.

Well, maybe I do, but that’s beside the point. I was wearing a red shirt that reflected off of my skin and made me look like I was having a fit, and I was never really one for make-up. I seriously doubt that it would have helped with the matter at hand, but it was too late to consider something like that.

My mother was right; if I didn’t start trying to attract someone I would be single until I died. It seemed to be a trend. It didn’t matter anyway, I reminded myself, because he was way out of my league anyway.

That car screamed money and so did his jeans—yes, that is possible—and the style of his shirt. He was, much to my abandon, not wearing those god-awful clothes that looked as though I wore them when I was an active child. If I had known that clothes that were tattered and torn were going to be in style around the time I was supposed to have children I would have saved them.

And not patched them up with the remains of their poor, fallen brethren.

Everything about him was crisp, clean, and a girl’s regular dream.

I sighed again. It was pointless. I reattached my head and pulled out Aristotle. Nothing like some philosophy to make you ignore stupid people and be able to pretend you’re actually paying attention to their moronic jabbering.

It was, of course, pointless. He came inside. I knew it had to be him when the annoying ding-dong or however you’d describe those annoying beeps sounded. I looked over the top of my book, closed it, and tucked it away under the counter.

“Good evening, sir, welcome to Quick Fuel,” I told him with my fake smile in place.

My fake smile is atrocious, just ask my mother.

His gaze moved from the display of Fritos to me and he looked startled. “Good evening,” he said with a smile that made my smile real in a heart beat. I could actually feel the difference.

I was then, as usual, at a loss for how to stand. I couldn’t pace, that would be rude. I learned that the hard way. I couldn’t lean back over the counter because that could be seen as A, mooning and B, being a slouch. Neither were preferable.

So I scratched my ear and looked like I was straightening up something or another. I think it was the cigar display. I glanced over at him and he was thumbing through a magazine. My gaze was drawn to my Aristotle as I wondered how long this man was going to loiter and make me feel uncomfortable.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn he stole a glance at me. I frowned as I looked under the counter, debating.

“I’m not going to rob you,” he said suddenly and he made me jump a little bit. Well, not jump so much as jerk my shoulders, but people always say jump.

“Huh?” I asked, looking up at him with a dazed expression. Why the hell would he need to rob a convenience store? That was for punk ass high schoolers who wanted to go to jail.

“Weren’t you eyeing a gun?” he asked and I found myself trying to place his accent. I couldn’t. He didn’t seem to have one.

“Oh? No,” I said and pulled out the book. It was thin, light, but had the main-man’s name written on it.

“Ah, Ethics,” he said with a nod.

I grinned, pleased that he seemed to know something about it. I opened my mouth to ask him if he’d read it before, but then closed it, opened the book, and tried to concentrate as Aristotle described the high-minded man.

“Have you read Nietzsche?” he asked me suddenly.

“Some, I have his Genealogy of Morals, but I’m afraid it doesn’t sink in well. He needs too much rumination, as his little preface or what have you, suggested.” I shrugged. I didn’t care for Nietzsche or his writing style. He said some things that made sense, but they were few, far between, and were contradicted shortly thereafter.

“Why is a girl like you working here?” he asked me and then I realized he was very close with his elbow on the counter.

“Oh, well, you know,” I rambled and then cleared my throat. I made a vain attempt to tame the wisp of hairs on my right temple and tuck them behind my ear. “Philosophy doesn’t leave much room for people. My mom is a teacher, and so are my Dad’s nieces, but I have no heart for teaching.” How do you tell someone you hate people, children, and everything else?

“Ah, I see,” he said with a small nod. “So you work in this fine establishment?”

“Well, someone has to, or you wouldn’t be able to get gas this late at night,” I said with a frown puckering at my lips.

He laughed. “Not everyone can have a great soul, hm?”

“Certainly not, but I’d hardly call myself an inferior either. I’m simply a brilliant failure.” I gave him a mocking bow and flicked my pony tail back behind my back.

“Ah.”

I shrugged. “I have my virtues though.”

“I bet you do,” he said with a glint in his eye that I found disconcerting.

I put a hand on my hip and raised one of my eyebrows. My mother swears I only have one though, so maybe it was only half of the eyebrow that supposedly makes its way across my forehead.

“Condoms,” he said without any warning what-so-ever. Not even an expression or a flick of the eyes. He was staring at me while he said it.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“I’d like to buy condoms. Apparently they’re behind you.” He gave me one of those self satisfied smiles.

“Which one?”

“The blue box with silver letters,” he said, not taking his eyes off of me.

I turned around to looked at the display of all the things someone would be most likely to steal should they be out. I thought it had to be embarrassing to have to ask someone for condoms, but I guess I would have seen it anyway.

People do not usually buy condoms from Quick Fuel. If they do, they buy one from the machines in the bathrooms. I don’t even really know how one acts while someone is buying condoms.

I always just pretend I’m selling a candy bar that doesn’t strike me as anything important. “Anything else?” I asked with a tight smile.

“Your phone number,” he said smoothly.

I was, for the lack of a better cliché, speechless.

But not for very long.

“I’m afraid that’s going to cost you,” I told him, my lips trying to twist into a smile while my mind was saying “Not yet.”

“Oh, what?” he asked, opening his wallet and looking at the nice, crisp bills.

Show off.

I waved my hand and shook my head. “No, no,” I told him. “Just a few questions answered.”

“Oh?” he asked and pulled out the money for the box of condoms. He handed it to me and I gave him his change and put them into a bag, one of the paper ones.

“One, what is your name?”

“Clark Little.”

“Are you married?”

“No.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Are you gay?”

He laughed. “No.”

I picked up the bag and moved my wrist so that it rested along the top of my forearm. “Then who, good sir, are these for? Your blowup doll? Or the random girl you pick up at the club in Austin?”

He stared at me for a moment, a bit shocked by my boldness, I’d guess. “Why so curious about who I have sex with?” he asked.

“Well, since you’re asking for my number, I think I have the right to know about how promiscuous you are.”

“Well,” he said taking the bag from my grip. I was hoping for a nice verbal spar to entertain me. “For your information,” he leaned closer to me, “I thought about getting these for you.”

It was my turn to gape at him. The gape quickly became a frown and my jaw clenched. “For me?” I asked indignantly. “I’m not some half dressed slut in bunny ears, Mr. Clark Little.”

He coughed. “Sorry if I offended.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m going to make one thing clear you, Mr. Little. I do not and have never kissed on the first date. Hell, I don’t even do that until the third. You’re going to have to go into the long haul for the use of condoms to be even a fleeting thought of having sex with me.”

He licked his lips.

I waited for him to turn around and leave. Such a gorgeous man, scared away by a prude such as myself.

“So… your phone number?”

I eyed him suspiciously and then hit the button on the receipt printer so that a blank roll of paper came out and wrote down my cellphone number. I then held it between my middle and index finger.

“You’re not a rapist, are you?”

“If I was, I wouldn’t tell you, now would I?” he asked and snatched for the paper. I drew my hand back quickly out of his grip.

“Pedophile?”

“Julie,” he said after a quick look at my name tag. “I’m not a criminal of any kind. I’ve never broken a law passed that of a traffic violation and a few parking tickets.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Well, just be warned, my dad is a very good shot,” I said as I relinquished the slip of paper. I just knew that I’d suffer in agony waiting for him to call.

I just knew that he never would. He was probably one of those guys that got numbers just to make the girls squirm. I knew that he had to be.

“When do you get off?” he asked.

“One,” I answered automatically.

He nodded and tapped his knee with his bag of condoms. It was a rather thoughtful expression. He then licked his lips and left the store.

An hour and a half passed of people randomly getting gas and buying sodas and candy. Some people bought chips. A great many bought their last second beer and even more bought tobacco.

And then Bill showed up. Sometimes I call him Willie because it annoys him. I really don’t understand where Bill came from. I mean, does William have anything to do with Bill? And what about Dick? How the hell did that come from Richard?

But I digress, I suppose.

Anyway, I mauled Bill when he showed up in my over enthusiastic gratitude. We took care of that pesky register business and I cleaned unencumbered while he took care of the few customers that came in.

During which we had a broken conversation. It tended to stop while people walked in and out of the store.

“So this guy came in,” I started.

“Guys tend to do that,” Bill said dryly, but there was a grin on his face.

We were swapping the register at the time so I was close enough to elbow him. I did, of course.

“Anyway,” I said with a malicious look on my face that dared him to interrupt me to be a smartass. “He was one hunk, tell me you.” I struggled with a couple of stubborn ones that refused to come apart. I was pretty sure I said that wrong anyway. “Came in here and started reading a magazine.”

“You know, Julie, I really don’t want to hear about some guy you just read a magazine.”

“That’s not all he did,” I said testily. “He bought condoms too.”

“Ooo condoms. Are you going to tell me what size they were?”

I frowned at him. “I didn’t look.”

“Women always look,” he told me as if I didn’t know what was expected of me. So I didn’t look. So what? I wasn’t really thinking about his crotch anyway.

“Well, I didn’t,” I told him with a frown. “Anyway, he asked me for my number.”

I know that Bill was wondering why he would do that. Of course, he was one of the many guys with a girlfriend who asks me why I’m single. I’ve never seen his girlfriend either. This leads me to doubt her existence.

Men can go to hell.

They probably do anyway.

“Are you sure you’re name isn’t Richard?” I asked. “Because you’re being a real dick.”

“Did you just make that up?”

“Yes, I did. Got a problem, Willie?” I asked.

He gave me a playful shove that had me wobbling for a moment to regain my balance. “Go mop the floor so you can go home,” he told me and, of course, I did.

We didn’t talk about Little anymore.

I actually forgot about him while grumbling about customers bringing their muddy shoes into the store while I was mopping. It’s typical, you know, for them to come in and track mess all over the place while you’re floor is wet.

Damn them all.

One rolls around and I’m ready to go. I stood in the doorway of the store and told Bill good bye while I prepared my car key so that I could make my paranoid mad dash to my car. Then I remembered Aristotle and got him before I really did make my mad dash.

I threw open the door, less than gracefully got into my car, shut the door, and locked it. Then my phone rang, playing a techno symphony that I use as my stranger ringer because it’s just freaking awesome. I think I almost hit my head on the top of the car, but I can’t really know because I don’t have eyes on the top of my head.

I answered the phone after a moment. “Hello?” I asked. I didn’t recognize the number. I was ready just to tell whoever that they got the wrong number.

“Is Julie there?” that accent less voice asked.

I worked my mouth speechlessly for a moment.

“Hello?”

“Um, yes, this is she,” I said with my ever proper English. Eat your heart out Dickens.

“You’re off work, right?” he asked, unsure.

“That I am,” I confirmed as I pulled my seatbelt over my chest and listened for the satisfying click. I feel naked when I don’t wear my seatbelt. I actually fell even more naked than naked. If that is possible.

“Will you meet me somewhere?”

I hesitated. I think I was silent for some time because he asked me if I was still there. Warning bells were going off in my head. I don’t tend to trust people that I haven’t passed more than a few words with. It’s one of the reasons why I never got a random date at the bookstore, I think. That and men just don’t read these days.

Unless you call Playboy reading material.

“Where?” I asked with a sardonic tone. “IHOP or Denny’s? Because the only other place open this late is Whataburger, I think.”

“Well, what about Denny’s?”

“Denny’s has shitty service in this town. I vowed never to go to the local one again. Three strikes and you’re out, sort of thing.” I by no means avoid other ones of the chain, but I do hate the local Denny’s. I still remember a time when it was good though.

“Well, then the first place you mentioned.”

“Do you know where these places are?” I asked curiously.

“Well, yes, I think so.”

“All right, but you’d better be there before I am. I don’t like being kept waiting.”

“Um…”

“I have my reasons,” I said briefly. “If you’re not there where I can see you I’m going home,” I told him. I wanted to go home anyway. I was tired.

I was letting a mysterious hunk get in the way of my sleep. This was not a good sign. Not to mention my unreliable warning bells were going off.

They never really seemed all that necessary anyway. My life was boring with or without them.

I had an unfair advantage for getting there before him, I thought. I wasn’t exactly sure where he was, but I was on a road not too far from the local IHOP, and all I had to do was drive on the access road for a while. It wouldn’t take me all that long. I decided to give him a five minute head start and realized just how hungry I was.

I pulled out my scrunchy and then ran my fingers through my hair to get rid of its horrid shape. That didn’t take me very long though so I ended up pushing the radio station button looking for a song I could stand instead of commercials.

This passed the time agonizingly slow because the local personalities wouldn’t shut up about some country music star or talking to callers who sounded like they needed to return to high school and pay attention in English class when they went over grammar.

I decided after three minutes that was enough of a head start for him and pulled out of my parking spot singing along to a song that I really couldn’t stand because it didn’t have a nice melody. The words were all right and even inspiring, but I hate songs where people talk.

It defeats the purpose of a song.

So, there I was driving. Boy, was I anxious. I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to be there or not. I really don’t trust people. There are way too many stories about bets and things of that nature that just roil up my insides. I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.

But there he was, looking as sexy as could be with his arms crossed over his chest in front of the door of IHOP. His eyes were scouring the parking lot, which isn’t very big, looking for me.

I felt my stomach tighten.

As I pulled into the parking spot off to the side of the building I coached myself on my smile and thought of any witty phrases I might be able to say during the salutations. I eyed my college book with anxiety and sighed. After one less hand through my hair I took a deep breath and scrambled out of my car.

There is no graceful way to get into a car or out of it.

End of story.

I closed the door, made sure that the door was properly locked, and then wondered what in the world I was doing meeting a stranger at IHOP who bought condoms from my convenience store.

Get a grip Rieda.

He caught sight of me and smiled. I gave him a nervous wave and grin. “So we meet again.”

“Yes, after less than two hours,” I said lamely and adjusted my purse under my arm. It was a lot nicer than what I would have bought. I can’t actually remember ever buying a purse, actually.

“Tommy Hilfiger?’

I blushed. I really couldn’t help it. “It’s just a purse,” I told him. “My grandmother always buys them for me.”

“It’s a cute purse.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Um, Thanks,” I said with a wide eyed, wondering expression that he couldn’t see. Hopefully.

He opened the door for me. I liked that.

“Ah, I see chivalry isn’t dead,” I said for probably the millionth time in my twenty-four years.

“It lives in, I’m afraid,” he said gravely as I stepped through the door. I had the strange feeling that he was trying to scope out my ass. Sadly, my pants were too big and were hardly flattering. Or maybe that wasn’t too sad. I didn’t really want him checking it out anyway. The Shame!

“Two? Smoking or none?” a server asked. He was scraggly, blond, and I really hoped that he wasn’t a server that served me before. The last one that looked similar to him did a horrible job and all I asked for was ice cream.

“None,” I said automatically. I never really went on a date before, and with friends I was always the one who told the host what we wanted. “I mean, that is unless he wants smoking.”

“No, no,” he said with a slight smile. “None smoking is fine.”

The server nodded slowly and eyed Clark. I wondered what he was thinking and hoped that my server was not gay. That way he wouldn’t flirt with either of us.

“My name is Mike and I’ll be your server this evening,” he said after he sat us down. It was an odd procedure, actually, because usually a host sat us. It didn’t really matter though. He handed us two menus for the late night. “Do you know what you want to drink?”

“Water,” both of us said.

“You can get something else, if you want,” Clark told me. “I’m paying.”

“I expected as much,” I told him bluntly. “I like water. Oh, and Mike, just bring a pitcher, will you? It’ll save you a lot of time if you just have to fill that up.”

Both men blinked at me.

“What?” I asked incredulously. “I like water and I’m thirsty. Seriously, a pitcher is a good idea. I don’t like an empty glass.”

The server nodded. “All right, I’ll give you a few minutes to decide what you want,” he said and departed.

“You’re serious about the water, are you?” he asked.

“Yes, Mr. Little, I’m serious about the water. When I was 18 I suddenly decided that water was my favorite beverage. After six years it still hasn’t gotten old. I don’t care for sodas, I hate coffee, and tea is a rare treat.”

“So you just drink water?”

“Yes, I just drink water.”

“Why don’t you call me Clark? I just call you Julie.”

I looked up at him. “Because calling you Clark makes me think of Clark Kent.”

He stared at me. “You know, Superman. The S man who wears red and blue with the undies over the tights.”

“Yes, I know,” he said waving a hand.

I shrugged and looked at the menu. I was pretty sure that if I looked at him I would die of shame for being seen with him. I just knew people thought he was dared to go out on a date with me, or that we were related or just friends or something.

“You’re embarrassed,” he noted. I could feel his eyes on the top of my head.

“Whatever do I have to be embarrassed about?” I asked, unable to look up at him. My eyes bore into a picture of pancakes.

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

I glanced up at him. It wasn’t the big mistake that romance novels make it out to be. It wasn’t a great triumph either. “Why in the world are you so interest in me?” I asked him bluntly.

“Why shouldn’t I be?”

“Well, for one, you drive a nice car, wreak of money, poise, and expensive cologne, and I work at a convenience store. You’re drop dead gorgeous and I am plain.”

He rolled his eyes. “Women!” he exclaimed. “You’re all the same with your stupid little insecurities. Where do you get them?”

“Men,” I said bluntly. “Who do you think we always aim to please, attract, and win? Do you think we wear tight clothes so that we can admire ourselves in mirrors? No, we wear them because we want some man to be interested in our figures.”

“You don’t wear tight clothes.”

“That’s because they all got loose,” I admitted. “And if you ask me why I’m single I’ll stab you with a fork.”

“Why would I ask that?” he asked, his eyes dancing. I always heard that term, but I never saw eyes dance with the light before then. I’m not really sure how it is possible.

“Because I am single.”

“Are you?” he drawled.

“Yes, I live, breath, eat, sleep, and shit single,” I told him crudely and he laughed. I thought it was funny, but it’s in bad taste to laugh at your own angry statements.

He shook his head in that amused way that people do and our server showed up and asked us for our orders. I, of course, went first. I ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs—scrambled, of course—with the griddle strawberry pancakes. Good stuff.

He ordered…a big fat nothing.

This made me feel embarrassed. “Are we sharing or something?” I asked. “You can have the floury stuff, but the meat is mine.”

He chuckled. I know some people that don’t like chuckling. Thankfully for me, I don’t mind it. “No,” he said after a moment.

“Ok then,” I said as our water was placed in front of us and I started beating the paper down to the base of my straw. It bent a few times. I wasn’t concerned. He looked pained.

“What?” I asked innocently as I pulled off the crinkled paper.

“Just looked painful,” he said.

“It’s a straw,” I informed him as if he didn’t already know it. To emphasize my obvious point I showed him the plastic device. “Rather ingenious, I think. I’m not fond of ice. It makes my teeth hurt.”

He just smiled and shook his head as he politely sipped at his water. I fully intended to suck my through a straw.

“You must be thirsty,” he mentioned as he watched me gulp down my sucked in water again and again.

I poured myself more water from the pitcher Mike was good enough to provide and grinned. “I enjoy water. It quenches my thirst better than anything else in the world and it’s far better for me.”

He snorted.

“What do you have against water?” I asked with a very serious expression on my face. “Did it bite you when you were a child or something?”

“Water doesn’t bite,” he informed me pointedly.

“I’m aware of that,” I said dryly. I ran my fingers down the side of the glass to wipe away the condensing water.

“Can’t you keep your hands still?” he asked as he watched the movement.

“No, not really.”

“Why not?”

“Why does it matter? You met me a few hours ago, you’re not going to learn everything about me in one night.”

He frowned. “Why are you so defensive?”

I frowned back. “Look, you’re a stranger to me. I don’t know you. You randomly walk into my store and buy condoms and ask for my number after alluding to buying them to use with me. I don’t know you. I’m suspicious of your motives, and I could have very well have walked into a situation where I get kidnapped, raped, and murdered.”

His frown deepened. “If you’re so worried, why did you come?”

“Because I didn’t have anything better to do other than sleep, and I haven’t done anything other than work, sleep, eat, and read for the two months. You only live once and I do more living through other people’s eyes than my own. Why not come and face uncertain fate?”

“Don’t you have any friends?” he asked incredulously.

“Of course I have friends,” I said indignantly. “They’re all just an hour or more drive away. Gas is expensive. I go to work, go home, and sleep.” I shrugged. “It’s my life.”

He stared at me for a long moment. “So you came here even though you knew there was a chance I was a serial killer?”

“Sure, why not? What would you do if you were bored and lonely to tears?” I asked, feeling close to tears at that moment.

He apparently sensed disaster crashing toward him with trumpets blaring and changed the subject. “What do you read?”

“Well, you know… Science fiction, regular fiction, romance,” I listed off. “Mostly Science Fiction, unless my mom has a romance I just have to read.” I shrugged. “And of course some philosophy, but I reserve that for work mostly.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, looking appalled by my reading list.

“Mainly to show the middle finger to Plato and Aristotle.” I rolled my eyes as I often did when I thought philosophers were full of the smelly stuff. “Plato was all over the democratic soul and people not born into a particular station.”

“What station were you born in?”

“Lower middle class,” I said honestly. “Though my parents have risen to lower upper middle class.” I shrugged. “I’m your typical American failure though. Maybe Plato had something going with people not being able to do everything.” I frowned. “Too many talents, so much knowledge, and so little time.”

“What are your talents?”

“You know, all I know about you is that your name is Clark Little and that you like condoms in a blue box and that you’re a self proclaimed model citizen.” I leaned back with my arms over my chest. “Who are you? What do you do?”

“You also know that I drive a nice car.”

“Oh yes, that too.”

“Why do you want to know about me? Apparently I am more interested in you since you’re the one invited here and getting a late night meal on my budget.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Who said I want anything?” he asked with a smug looking grin on his face that made me frown and want to smack it off of his face.

“Who paid you?” I asked.

“What?”

“I’ve watched a movie like this before, only it was the girl who was the hooker. Well, let me tell you something. I’m not going to fall in love with you in one night and go and shoot the balls of your pimp off.”

“What the hell, woman?” he asked with an expression that looked like he dropped something wet and cold in his lap. “Can’t you think that a man is taking an honest interest in you?”

“No, I’m not so vain,” I informed, sulking. “I will not be made into a bet, dare, or some paid excursion. I might not be pretty, but I do have my pride.”

“Not pretty?” he asked.

I held up my hand to stop him. “Yes, I know. I have exquisite eyes and beautiful hair. I have heard it a million times. I’ve also gotten the “why are you single?” question so many times I could snap someone’s head off. I’ve also been told by more than one male that if they weren’t in love with so-and-so that they would totally go for me, and I’ve been asked to be a fuck buddy more than once. So you’ll have to excuse me for being suspicious-dash-bitter.”

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I was single.

He stared at me. I hoped he was speechless.

I was ashamed of myself and looking in another direction. I just knew that half the people in the restaurant were looking at me with a queer expression and I also knew that I deserved it.

“Well, that isn’t the best way to start a relationship.”

“I find it best to get all the bitterness out at once,” I told him coolly. “Otherwise it’s just a seeping poison.”

“And what relationships have taught you this? Your personal ones?”

It was a barb. I knew because I could feel it.

I wanted to storm out but the food…

“And what about you, Mr. Drop-dead-gorgeous? What the hell do you want from me? What? To feel generous for gracing me with your presence. Well, I can do without the obvious future heartache.”

Chapter 52

2008-08-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Pancakes and Sausage

Pandora rose early and enjoyed the silence of the complex. After five years she grew accustomed to the noises of dragons playing and exploring their powers with Greg. In the early mornings Pandora did not get to hear the familiar sounds. Now she was left in her own little world with her own space. She longed for the moments as she longed for the company of someone other than Greg, Serene, and the hatchlings.

Greg helped Topaz form the kitchen more than Pandora or Serene did. It was a complicated work of cabinets and counter tops, and it was always warm. She checked the vents and then the ice box. It was not as nice as her uncle’s had been, but it served its purpose and they had unlimited space without dimension manipulation.

There was plenty of meat in it, but she was uncertain if it would last them long enough. She decided to dry the bear meat so that they could have something during the time she was away. She hoped it would be enough.

“Amazon?” Greg asked from the doorway. Pandora jumped and turned to face him. “What are you doing up right now?”

“What are you doing up?”

“I… had to use the bathroom and your door was open so I thought you would be here.” He walked over to the ice box and peaked inside. “We’re not doing bad. It’s still only the middle of summer.”

“I know,” Pandora said. “But I have to go away for a while, so I want you to be well situated.”

He was quiet for a while and then he quietly shut the ice box. After a tense moment he looked up at her. “Where are you going?”

“Well, first I’m going to go hunt a bear and get you some more potions as well as get some more meat and sinew. I’m sorry, Greg. Serene went out of control and I have to go take care of it.”

“Why can’t I go with you? Why can’t we all go?”

“Because it’s more than just your normal tight spot. She is now the Emperor’s Mage.” Pandora took a deep breath and turned away from him. She could not stand the thought of the realization of betrayal on his face.

“How the hell?” he asked. He said quietly after that, “How did that happen?”

“I don’t know. It was part of the plan, Greg, but we wanted to feel around it first before we came to you about it.” She sighed heavily and walked away from him. Her guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders and they slumped. “She ruined everything and now I have to go and help her.”

“She’ll get you both killed,” Greg said and closed the distance between them in a couple of long strides. He gripped her shoulders and then wrapped his arms around her entirely. She froze and stiffened instinctively. “I don’t want you to die, Pandora.”

“I don’t want to die either, Greg,” she told him and forced herself to relax.

“Then why don’t you let her get out of it on her own? The kids need you. I need you.”

Pandora broke free of him. “Don’t say that,” she said. “I need you to watch over them while I’m gone. I’m taking Topaz with me when we go to the city, but I need to take Rubio with me when I go hunting. Topaz is going to be changing the entrance and making another room today.”

“We are supposed to discuss everything, Pandora,” he reminded her.

“I’m sorry, Greg. There just isn’t time.”

“Why is she with the Emperor?”

Pandora licked her lips and looked away. “You know how we started looking for Uncle Lindal a few years ago after we got situated?” Greg nodded and Pandora mimicked the movement. “Well, we haven’t found him because he isn’t alive.”

Greg’s eyes narrowed and he jerked his chin to the side, but his eyes stayed focused on Pandora. “He’s dead? When did he die?”

Pandora took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. Her throat trembled. “Around the time we were fleeing he was being beheaded. The head was already delivered before we even left. They were going to show it to us in some dramatic presentation.”

He frowned. “And now you are going out for revenge.”

Pandora nodded.

“Your uncle was a criminal, Pandora.”

“So? We’re murderers. Seems like you’re surrounded by criminals,” Pandora said. “You would be surprised what you had to do to survive, wouldn’t you? Doesn’t matter now, does it? The Emperor made a deal and he broke it. He crossed the wrong twelve year olds.”

“So this is vengeance. You’re going to risk your lives for vengeance? What about the kids?”

“You can take care of them. You know how to and they trust you.”

“I can’t do this without you,” he said softly.

“Yes, you can,” Pandora said. “I leave you alone with them all the time. You’ll be fine.” She stepped farther away from him. “I’m going to make breakfast. Could you get the kids up?”

Greg sighed and gulped. His face was etched in deep emotion pain that made Pandora stop breathing. She did not want to hurt Greg, but she knew that she must. Greg needed passion that she could never give him. Simply caring about him would never be enough. He left her and hit the door frame on his way out.

Pandora squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the counter. She hated caring so much. Life was easier before she met Serene.

After a moment she started to make breakfast. She made pancakes created from nut flour and made syrup out of blueberries. To go with them Pandora fried up some venison sausage. Only two of the plates had the pancakes, but the other four were piled high with sausage and had little containers of blueberry syrup on the side.

By the time Pandora was balancing the tray through the door Greg already had them at the table and dressed for the day. Rubio was wearing his dark green and brown hunting tunic. There was a cap on the table next to him.

Greg helped her set the table and lay out the food. Pandora bent down and laid Topaz’s food in front of him. He started to gnaw on the sausage right away.

“When is Momma coming back?” Star asked as she speared a sausage with her fork.

Greg gave Pandora a meaningful look and thrust a big triangle of pancake into his mouth so that he would not have to say anything.

Pandora set down her fork and laid her palms on the table. “Momma won’t be back for a while,” she said. “She… um…”

“No, go on, Pandora,” he said with a steel edge in his voice. The children looked from one to the other in confusion. Greg only called Pandora by her name during tense moments, and they knew it.

“She is currently in the Imperial City. I will be leaving to join her.”

“Mother, no!” Rubio said. “What about our hunting trip. Greg said we were going hunting.”

“We are still going hunting,” Pandora said. “It’s just that I have to go help Momma out. Greg will stay here and take care of you. I want you all to watch out for each other. Emerald will be able to reach me in dreams so I can let you know how everything is going.”

“First Momma and now you?” Star asked. “Are you going to abandon us?”

“No, dearest,” Pandora said with shocked sincerity. “We would never abandon you. We’ll just be gone for a little while, and then… then we’ll be back. I promise.”

“Are you going to bring Momma straight home?” Rubio asked. His food was forgotten in front of him.

Pandora shot Greg a desperate look but he was unsympathetic and gave her a stone cold frown. Pandora took a deep breath. “Momma and I love you very much. We are just trying to eliminate a threat to your safety. It is a sacrifice for us because we want to spend every moment with you that we can. I don’t want to leave, but I must.”

“Is there anything else you want to tell them?” Greg asked bitingly. Pandora flinched at his tone.

“I will be taking Topaz with me when I go.”

Star and Rubio started shouting at once. Emerald looked upset for a brief moment but she quickly masked it and started eating without concern.

“Why does he get to go and we have to stay behind?” Star asked furiously.

“Yeah!” Rubio intoned.

Pandora sighed. “Because Topaz chose a form that is easy enough for me to explain having around. He can also get into places that none of us can get into. He’ll be ignored by anyone and everyone. No one will suspect him of spying.” She turned her gaze to Topaz who was gnawing contently at his food. “He already has the art of it down. You, Star, are a beautiful little girl that men would try and hurt and take advantage of. Then you would get all ice cold and blow your cover. Rubio… you should not have listened to Greg about your appearance.”

“What is wrong with his appearance?” Greg asked.

“He’s a half elf with red hair and red eyes. That is a big warning flag. I cannot explain why I have him running around with me in the Imperial City. Granted, most, if not all, humans are entirely ignorant about dragons, but they know that elves and humans do not come in those colors.”

“Well, why can’t Emerald go?” Rubio asked.

“I’m needed here for communication purposes,” Emerald said.

Both Star and Rubio glared at her. “You’re a freak, Emmy,” Star said. “You should be furious, too.”

“Topaz is not mad,” she said as she dipped a small bite in the syrup. “Why should I be mad?”

“Topaz gets to go with her,” Star yelled with an emphatic pointing of her finger.

“I am pleased to stay home,” Emerald said. “Greg is responsible and will take good care of us. It is Topaz’s loss that he leaves. He will not further his training.”

“We have a life time to train,” Rubio said.

Emerald shrugged. “Mother said she will come back to us. She will come back.” Her green eyes bore into Pandora with unfailing trust. “Mother always keeps her word.”

“What about with Momma coming home soon. She said she would come home soon,” Rubio said.

“That was just Mother trusting Momma to do what she said. You cannot blame her for misplaced trust.” Emerald stopped talking to pull the sausage off of the fork and chew it patiently.

Greg, Rubio, and Star seethed quietly for a long time. They ate very little, but Topaz and Emerald finished their breakfast without complaint or comment. Pandora forced herself to eat, but the pancakes stuck in her throat and the sausage tasted bland and dry.

Pandora did not want to leave her haven and return to a world that only wanted her dead anymore than the hatchlings wanted it. Why did Serene always get her into these messes?

Chapter 51

2008-08-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

My Bad

Greg and Pandora sat across from each other for several minutes, but to Pandora it was an eternity. Finally Greg stood up and sat next to her. “What is wrong, Amazon?” he asked.

She gave him a small smile and then it faltered and she sighed. “I met someone today.”

Greg blinked and his brow wrinkled together. “You… met someone?” he asked uncertainly. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. How did you meet someone?”

She sighed again and looked away. “It was a dragon. He was spying on me,” she said. “His name is Lisille.”

“Sounds girly,” Greg mumbled and scratched his ear. “But… what did he want?”

“He wanted me… us…to come and live with him and the dragons… I guess.” She sighed.

“Tokyo told us to stay away from the dragons. They can’t be trusted anymore than the elves can,” he said and glanced over his shoulder to check for the hatchlings. “We had better take this conversation elsewhere. We don’t want little ears to hear.” He tapped his ear.

Pandora nodded and took his hand as she stood up. “Let’s go to my room. Serene put some spell on the door.”

“Serene loves her spells,” he said and squeezed her hand.

She ignored the gesture and led him through the hallway and pushed her door open. She looked around cautiously before leading him through and shutting the door.

“I cannot get over how stocked your room is,” Greg said and went to one of the chairs in the corner. She claimed the other making certain that the ward was working.

“Topaz wanted to make me happy,” she said as she sat down. “I don’t know what to do, Greg. I was so angry…”

She reached into her belt pouch and pulled out the cloth she had found on the twig. She did her best to smooth it out and then handed it to Greg.

“What were you angry about?” he asked as he inspected the cloth. His thumb stroked it over and over again. “It feels nice.”

“I think it’s of elfin make,” she said.

“Looks like camo,” he said and handed it back to her. “Or some sort of it. Um… camouflage, anyway. Look, Amazon, was the dragon wearing that sort of cloth?”

She shrugged. “I honestly wasn’t paying much attention to what he was wearing. I was more concerned with him trying to seduce me.”

Greg blushed and covered his face quickly with his hands. “He was trying to seduce you? How in the world could you tell? No one has ever tried to seduce you before.”

She shrugged. “He thought I was amazing for a human. Immortals are quite frequently attracted to mortality. It makes them feel… something, I think.”

“So you think we’re like drugs to dragons and elves?” Greg asked.

Pandora thought about that for a moment and then nodded. “Yes, I suppose so. Anyway, I was more like a novelty item to him anyway. He had never seen something like me before.”

“Something like you? You aren’t a thing, Amazon. You’re a… fascinating young woman.” He reached up and pushed some hair out of her face. “You should cut your hair again or grow it out.”

“I should leave it for now,” she said. “I hope that Serene comes back soon. I hate that she is not here.”

Greg’s face twitched from a smile to a frown and back to a smile again. “Uh… yeah… that would make things interesting,” he said. “I like being a…”

“What?” Pandora asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said nervously. “What do you want to do about the dragon? What can we do about it?”

“I don’t know,” Pandora said and leaned back into the chair. The cushions gave, but stone did not. “He hasn’t been watching for too long. He did not mention Serene. He mentioned you and the children, but not Serene. She’s a bit hard to miss too.”

“That is true,” Greg agreed. “So he knows where we live. Should we move? Can we do it in time?”

“We can move the entrance and change it up a bit. That should make it harder for him to find us.” Pandora scratched her cheek and then squeezed her eyes shut. “He promised to leave and to let me find him when I want him.”

“When?”

“That’s the word he used. I don’t think it will happen. I hardly know him or his uses so I don’t see why I would.”

“Always so pragmatic,” Greg said dryly and then stood. “I had better go get some rest. No telling what a long day I’m going to have tomorrow.”

Pandora nodded and watched him go. She relaxed into the chair and closed her eyes. The day was not good. The traps were empty or destroyed and a dragon knew where they lived. Nothing was working right.

She then remembered Serene pushed out of the chair. She went to her stone chest and concentrated on it hard so that it opened. There was a mirror sitting on top of several layers of cloth. She loomed over it and saw her reflection, but when her hand touched it her reflection disappeared and Serene’s face took its place.

“Oh, thank the gods,” Serene said from the mirror. “What in the world took you so long?”

“I ran into trouble,” Pandora said and returned to the chair with the mirror held in front of her. “Anyway, where have you been? I’ve been waiting to hear form you for weeks.”

“Oh, well, you know… things got sped up a bit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know how I was supposed to change the records at the schools?” Serene asked.

“Yes,” Pandora said warily.

“Well, onethingledtoanotherandIhadtokilleveryone.” She took a deep breath and then smiled, but her eyebrows were drawn so low that half of her eyes were hidden.

Pandora frowned and raised an eyebrow. “You… did what?”

“I killed all the teachers… at all the schools.”

“Why?”

“It was all confusing, but it ended up working all right. There is no one to remember that neither of us completed classes or to even say we never went.”

“Did you kill the students too?” Pandora asked.

“No,” she said uneasily. “I did kill a lot of the journeymen though. I had to make sure that we could get our spots.”

“You weren’t supposed to kill everyone.”

“We can’t pussyfoot around this, Pandora. We’re out for blood, remember? We take down anyone we have to take down. And I hope that you remember that these people imprisoned us and tortured us. Do you remember that?”

“My old teachers never tortured me,” Pandora said. “Did you kill them, too?”

“No, but did tweak their records. I did have to take care of the ones that ran the camps though. It makes sense, I promise,” Serene said. “You’ll have to trust me.”

Pandora sighed and nodded after a long moment. “All right,” she agreed. “What are you doing now?”

“I… uh… I’m the Emperor’s Mage.”

“No,” Pandora said firmly. “This is too soon! You’re taking it too fast. We’re just kids.”

“We’re seventeen, Pandora. We have been through more than people who are immortal. I think we can handle one stupid, egotistical man.”

“And his army,” Pandora reminded her. “This is serious, Serene. You should have come to me first.”

“Well, I couldn’t. It came up. I had to enter the tournament, and they took all of my magical items away. It’s a good thing that glamour rings have wonder hidden enchantments. I’m sorry, Pandora, but you’re going to have to hurry back to the city and take your place by the Empress. You’ll like her.”

Pandora scowled disapprovingly at her cousin. “You were supposed to come back so that we could talk to Greg about all this and then leave. Now, not only have we lied to him, but you’re leaving me to deal with this alone.”

“It couldn’t be helped. You have to hurry.”

“I can’t just leave Greg and the children. I have to get them more potions, and the food stores could get down low… and Topaz isn’t ready.”

“I need you to hurry,” Serene said. “I can give you a month at the most, but then you have to be here. I don’t want to stay here any longer than I have to.”

“You should have thought about that before you went off on your own like that. We had plans, Serene. How could you go and change that.”

“Well, you know what Greg always says,” Serene muttered.

“He doesn’t even know what that means! Look at me, Serene. You’re making me lose my temper.” Pandora took a deep breath. “I have to talk to them in the morning, but just so you know I have a dragon stalking me. I don’t know what he’ll do to them when I’m away.”

“If he’s stalking you, he’ll probably leave the others alone. Don’t worry about it, Pandora. He deserves this after what he did to my father.” Serene’s voice hitched and she shook her head. “Just hurry, Pandora. I need you here with me. The children will be all right with Greg and Topaz will be a great help.”

“What if… what if they try to breed him? He’s only six; he can’t be... doing that with dogs.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Serene said. “Don’t’ worry about it so much. Get the potions from Grizzle and Greg and the hatchlings can take care of themselves. We’ve taught them everything we know.”

Pandora sighed and rubbed her forehead with her free hand. “How can you do this to us, Serene?”

“We planned this together. It’s just going a little different. The best plans of mice and men.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Mice don’t have plans.”

“Yeah, but men do, and they get laid to waste a lot. The plan isn’t demolished; it just had to change a bit. Everything will be fine. I promise. Get the potions and come to me. Same time tomorrow if we can manage it. I’ve been busy. Plus, I think that he is interested in me.”

“That isn’t good.”

“No, it isn’t. Not when you want to kill the man and… well, I have to watch what I say. Just hurry, Pandora. This is serious, and remember: We have to hate each other.”

Well, you’re not making it difficult, Pandora thought. “I’ll do my best. I’ll talk to you tomorrow and let you know.”

Pandora was too annoyed with her cousin for the usual loving farewell. She simply dropped the mirror into her lap and covered her face in her hands. The muscles along her skull tightened and she began to get a headache.

Pandora put the mirror away and left her room. She needed to talk to Topaz, since he was going to be going with her when she left. She knocked on his door and slipped in. He was sleeping on his pile of gold.

“Topaz, dear?” she whispered and edged closer to him. He opened his eyes and blinked at her.

“Mother?”

“Do you remember when Momma and I told you that we would be leaving the family for a little bit?” she asked.

He bobbed his head up and down. “Yes, Mother,” he said and stretched before hopping off of his pile. “Are we leaving now?”

She shook her head and opened her arms so that he could press his flank against her chest. She hugged him close and buried her face into his fur. “No, but Momma has sped things up a bit. I need you to do me a favor and craft another room and move the tunnel entrance a bit so that it cannot be found so easily. I’m going to take Rubio out and we’re going to go hunting bears, so I need you to take care of the others while I’m gone.”

“Does that make me in charge?”

“No, Greg is in charge, but he’s not strong enough to fight on his own. He’s only a normal human man. I might need the three of you to watch over him and make sure that no dragons or elves hurt him.”

“Why would dragons or elves try and hurt him?” he asked and sat down. He leaned into Pandora and she hugged him close.

“I don’t know, love, but I just want to be careful.” She kissed the top of his head. “There are too many people that have tried to kill Greg, Momma, and me.”

“I’m sorry, Mother,” he said quietly. “I will do my best to make a nice room and move the entrance before you get back. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for me?”

“I would love to, but I can’t. Momma sped things up too much and I have to act quickly. It takes too much time to travel. Get some sleep. I love you.” She kissed him on top of his head again and then gave him a good rub down before standing and leaving the room.

Chapter 50

2008-08-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

(un)Welcome

The morning was cool and inviting as Pandora wandered through the woods around the complex. She wished that Serene was there to share it with her. Serene always enjoyed a lovely morning in the dappled sunshine. Between the rich smell of green growth and rich soil it was intoxicating to her half elf cousin.

The thought of her cousin made her uneasy. Serene was supposed to be back earlier so that she and Pandora could make their plans, but she was late. It could be for any reason, and Pandora knew as well as any body else that Serene was easily distracted. Pandora hoped that it was neither danger nor a boy that kept her from home. Serene loved boys far too much.

Pandora massaged her stomach as if to ease the queasiness, but the knot did not go away. It tightened and she grimaced. Pandora halted and took several deep breaths with her eyes closed. A stray hair tickled her cheek and she pushed it back and shook her head. The short strands settled back into place and she sighed.

“Where are you?” she whispered and stared out toward the valley’s mouth.

After a moment Pandora started to walk again. She decided to ignore the purple sparrows that darted around overhead and watch the floor for any signs of animals. She was not hunting, but it was always good practice to identify any markings that she could.

She noticed something hanging from a twig and she moved closer to it. The fabric was unfamiliar to Pandora and she reached out and touched it. “Hmm soft,” she said and tugged it free. The fabric was primarily a dark tan, but there were darker spots dotting all through the fibers. She held it under her nose and gave it a sniff.

“Elves?” she said, perplexed. It smelled like flowers and freshly cropped grass. There was also the subtle suggestion of sandalwood. Pandora wrinkled her nose and crumpled it in her hand. She wondered what the elf was running away from when he lost part of his shirt and if he was still in her valley.

“Damn it,” she swore in Greg’s language and debated on continuing her rounds with the traps or going to warn Greg and have Topaz lock up the complex so that the elves could not get into it. “What if they already know?” she thought out loud. Moving was not something any of the members of the small group wanted to do.

Pandora’s mind was spinning in place as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do. Her children could be in trouble and she was away, but then they could still be safe and she could endanger them by going to them. Emmy? She thought and reached out for the dragon.

There was no response. Emerald had to open the connection. As long as she did not Pandora could only assume that they were safe. Eventually she would wonder where Pandora was and try and contact her. Then Pandora could warn her about the danger, but would it be too late?

Pandora kicked a tree and then hit it with the side of her fist. Anger and frustration welled up inside of her and she felt the urge to fight. She gripped the tree and pressed her forehead hard against the bark. Her fingers tore away the protective husk of the trunk and she rocked back and punched the tree again.

Her chest heaved as she pulled in the air and pushed it out again. She took a step back and collapsed down onto her knees. Pandora hunched over so that her torso was bobbing over her thighs. Her fingers gripped the back of her neck and she fought to bring her temper under control. She did not want her children to see her in such a state. It frightened her that thoughts of danger to them could put her into such a frenzy.

She took several deep breaths and slowly calmed herself. She whimpered quietly and then lifted her head and sat back so that her bottom was on her heels. She rubbed her palms on her cloth leggings and then stood up.

Pandora pushed her hair back and out of her eyes. Elves in her valley were not a good thing, but she could not lose her good sense at the wrong time. She took another deep breath and continued to check the traps. Some of the more obvious ones were broken.

She kneeled down beside one of the snares. The vine rope was severed in two. She looked up at the tree tops. The purple sparrows were staring down at her. She stood back up brushed her hands off on her leggings. “This is not good.”

The leaves behind her rustled and she spun on the ball of her foot to see if someone was there. “Nothing more than the wind,” she muttered.

“No, not really,” someone said from behind her. She turned back to see a man with white hair and startling blue eyes several feet away from her. He was leaning casually against a tree as though he had always been there. He had long pointed ears just like her Uncle Lindal, but something about him told her that he was a dragon. Tokyo’s warning rang in her ears.

“What do you want?” Pandora asked in Draconic.

“Ah, just as I suspected,” he said. “I can’t say that I’m surprised and that I’m not.” He pushed off of the tree trunk and sauntered over to Pandora. “You are brave, and I appreciate that in a Speaker.”

“How long have you been watching me?” she asked and squared her shoulders. He stood taller than Greg.

“Long enough to know how dangerous you are,” he said. “Now, what is a human like you doing in a dump like this? You could be an elite soldier for the Emperor… yet here you are.” He waved his hand as if to encompass the whole valley.

“It’s beautiful,” she said and set her jaw. She watched him warily.

“Not beautiful enough for a woman like you,” he said with a smarmy smile.

Pandora sneered despite herself. “You must not have watched me long enough,” she said. “I suggest that you leave this valley and forget anything you have seen here.”

“Or what?” he asked.

“Or I might kill you,” Pandora said boldly and he laughed at her.

“You’ll kill me?” he asked. “Have you ever even killed anyone before?”

She leveled him with a look and his expression changed several times in a few seconds. It settled on a disbelieving smile. “No,” he laughed.

“You don’t have to believe me,” she told him. “It only matters if you don’t leave.”

“I don’t think I want to leave. I am intrigued by you and your little family,” he said.

Her blood ran ice cold. “You stay away from them,” Pandora said in a quiet, controlled voice. Her fists clenched at her sides.

“Oh? Are you worried about four little dragons and a human male?” he asked. “I won’t harm them, don’t worry. I’m interested in you, not them.”

“And why are you interested in me?” she asked.

“Because you are a human Speaker,” he told her. “You are a rarity… if not a first.” He chuckled softly. “I would like for you and yours to come and live with me.”

“We are doing just fine where we are. We’re quite happy, actually.”

“How can you be happy here? You are setting traps to catch animals for food. How do you hope to take care of them?”

“We’ve lived here for five years with no difficulty,” Pandora said. “If you’re curious, I was twelve at the time. This is our home. We are not leaving. You leave.”

“You were twelve when you settled this little valley?” he reached out to touch her face and she jerked away and stepped back. He curled his fingers in and dropped his hand. “So you are only seventeen years old. You are…so young.”

“I am,” she agreed. “Go back to your home and forget about us. We want nothing to do with the dragons, elves or humans. We want to be left alone.”

“You can’t be left alone forever,” he told her. “Eventually you have to come out and play with the rest of the world.”

“That will have to wait until the children are older and able to take care of themselves.”

“But you won’t live that long without help,” he told her and touched she was so petrified by what he said that his cool fingers actually did touch her cheek. “I can see the flame eating away at you. It is devouring your very being. Without bonding your soul to a dragon you will die tragically young.”

“That is a risk I must take,” she said. “My death does not concern me.”

“Who will watch after your little dragon children if you will not be around to protect them? The little human whelp?” He shook his head. “You should be with the dragons.”

“No,” Pandora said. “We will take care of our own problems. Please leave.”

“My name is Lisille,” he said. “When you want to find me, just say my name and elves and dragons will point the way. I will leave for now though, since you asked so nicely.”

Pandora watched him turn to leave. Part of her wanted him to stop and talk to her longer, but the other part of her was afraid that he, too, would try to take the hatchlings away and force them to be something they were not. She stood and watched the woods for him, and did not leave the clearing until well into night. Even Emerald’s thoughts could not compel her to leave.

Chapter 49

2008-08-04T04:23:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Dragons Fly

“Mother?” Rubio called from another part of the complex. Pandora took the opportunity to turn away from Greg and leave the den. She was glad for the reprieve. She did not want to hurt his feelings.

“Yes?” she asked.

He peeked his head out of the room. His hair was spiky and red with a bit of orange and yellow. Greg hand talked him into the color and the style. It was one that Greg adopted when he had the products. “Mother! Did you find anything?”

“No, dear,” she said and kneeled down and held her arms out for him. He ran into them and she hugged him tightly. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, I’ve been reading,” he said. “Do you think that you could trade with Grizzle for some chickens?”

Pandora frowned. “What do you want chickens for?” she asked.

He pouted and she quickly changed her expression. He smiled at her and said, “I want to try and make another dish, but it requires a lot of eggs and chickens. Do you think we can start raising chickens?”

“You know that we can’t afford to keep anything domesticated,” she said. “Greg says we have to have corn and grains and other things to feed them. We would have to keep them somewhere and we can’t keep them near our home. It will attract trouble.”

He pouted again. “But Mother… I really want some chickens.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry, dear, but I can’t promise anything. I’ll talk to Momma when she gets back and we’ll discuss it then. This is too big of a decision for me to make on my own.”

“But you’re not alone,” he said. “Greg is here and so am I.”

Pandora shook her head. “Chickens is a serious decision. All three of us need to be involved. Momma would be very upset with us.”

He pouted and tried to give her the puppy dog eyes that worked so well with Topaz, but red eyes were disconcerting no matter how long you looked at them. The children only had their secondary forms for a couple of months.

“I’m sorry,” she said and stood up. “I need to talk to Topaz. Can you put this back into my room?” She handed him the vial and he nodded excitedly. He darted around her and she turned to watch him disappear around the corner in the hall.

Her boots echoed as she walked down the hall. Since Topaz had decided that he could better serve the family as a dog they had to rethink how to form the door. He could not open anything with a complicated latch. They simply decided on a crudely enchanted cloth that would block out most of the sound. She pushed it to the side and stepped in.

Topaz was curled up in the corner of the room with his nose pointed into his body and his tail covering his head. His ear twitched when he heard her approach, but he did not look up at her.

“Greg says it was his fault that you bit him,” Pandora said. “Aren’t you happy to see me, Topaz?” she asked.

He raised his head and looked over at her with dark brown eyes. His gray, wiry eyebrows were incredibly expressive and he did a good job of looking pitiful. “I’m sorry, Mother,” he said and then buried his face again.

“What is wrong, Topaz?” she asked.

“He didn’t step on my tail,” he admitted. “I… I was having a nightmare during my nap. He came in… and I… I’m sorry. He isn’t mad?”

“No, he isn’t,” she assured him. “do you want to tell me what you were dreaming?”

“You and Momma were in trouble and there were the dark elves… and… the dragons.” He snarled despite himself. “They were trying to kill you and then they… they tried to take Emmy.”

“Ah, darling,” she said and sunk down next to him. “Did you tell Greg about this?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t mean to bite him. Is he all right?”

“Yes, he is,” she promised. “Now, why don’t you stop hiding here and we can all go out for a little bit for a walk.”

“Really?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded. “Yes, we can.”

“Mother, when is Momma coming back?”

Pandora shrugged. “She’ll be back before we know it. The more you fret over it the longer it is going to take. Come on, I know you want to go for a run.”

He scrambled to his feet and stretched. He was a large hound that was the about the size of Greg when he was on his hide legs. Serene had brought a book back home with dog breeds in it. Royal hunting hounds were his favorite and had chosen them for his secondary form.

No one knew until he turned up as one.

He licked Pandora’s hand with his spotted tongue. “When is Momma coming back?”

“When she usually comes back,” Pandora said.

“What did she leave for?”

Pandora suppressed a sigh. She hated it when Serene was gone. She hoped that her cousin had to go through this nagging as well. “She needed to get you more books as well as get some other nice supplies.”

“Why can’t any of us go with her?” Topaz asked.

“Because, dear,” she said as they exited the room, “You are not trained in the ways of Shadow Magic and you lack subtlety.” She patted him on the head. “You’ll learn though with some practice.”

“Do you think so?”

“You only have eternity to learn,” she told him. “For now you have to learn here, and you have been doing an excellent job.”

“When is Master Tokyo going to visit us again?” Topaz asked.

“I don’t know, dear. Only you and Emmy can talk to him.” Pandora kept her hand on Topaz’s back. “I still don’t understand the stones as well.”

“But you can turn yourself into it,” he said. “Momma can’t do that.”

“That’s because Momma is more of a flashy mage and I’m more of a prudent fighter. I can use what magic keeps me alive and easily melds into what I already know. I can mold my body because I have better control over what it does than Momma does. She works outside of herself and I work from within.”

They entered the living room where Greg was sitting and looking miserable. When he noticed that they were there he smiled at them and then called Topaz to him. Topaz went hesitantly and Greg rubbed him down hard. One thing led to another and they were wrestling on the stone floor.

“Still want to run?” Pandora asked.

“Oh, yes,” he said and Greg and the dragon disengaged. “Do you want to go, Greg?”

Greg chuckled and ruffled the top of his head. “Well, I guess. I’ll go round up the others. There was plenty of room in the den, but he still managed to brush against Pandora as he entered the hallway that led to the private chambers.

“He likes you, Mother,” Topaz said.

“Of course he does, dear. We’re friends.”

One of his eyebrows and ears perked up and he tilted his head to the side. “Mother… for someone so… you… you are naïve.”

Pandora sighed. She knew what Topaz was talking about, but had hoped to dissuade him of his belief. Sometimes children were far too observant. “Don’t let it concern you, dear. I am too engrossed in you four to be of any use to anyone else.”

“Mother, can we get in dragon form and do some flying?” Rubio asked as he entered the room.

“Of course, dear,” Pandora said. “Are your sisters on their way?”

He nodded and bounded across the den at her. He flung his arms around her middle and squeezed as tight as he could. “Ok, ok,” she said, adopting Greg’s common word. “You’re going to kill me if you keep that up.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said and beamed at her. “I’m just so excited that we get to go flying. I can’t wait until we get our scales too.”

“Oh, don’t grow up too fast on me,” Pandora said with a warm smile. “You’ll out grow our caves here faster than Topaz can shape them up.”

Rubio eyed Topaz and then shrugged. “I don’t care. I just want to fly!” He grabbed a hold of Pandora’s hand and dragged her to the exit of the complex.

“We have to wait for the others, Rube,” she said and planted her feet. He tugged and then jerked back. They were strong for children their age, but they were still no match for their “Mother”.

He huffed and went to the stone couch and sat down hard on it. The cushion hissed as air was forced out faster than usual.

“You’re going to rip the seams if you treat it like that,” Pandora said. “We have to work very hard for everything here. I wish you would appreciate it more.”

He looked away from Pandora and Topaz sat down and let his spotted tongue loll out of his mouth. His long hairy tail swept across the floor.

“No,” Pandora heard Greg say, “Put your shoes on. We’re going outside.”

“But Greg, I don’t want to,” Star said. “Can’t we just stay here and play games.”

“Mother is going to let us fly,” Rubio shouted.

“Really?” Star shouted back.

“Yes,” Pandora and Rubio said together, but Pandora continued alone, “Now hurry up and get out here so that we can leave. Emmy? What are you doing?”

“I’m getting my bag, Mother,” she yelled, but was in the den before Star and Greg were. “We’ll need some place to put our clothes when we get to transform.”

Pandora nodded and touched the little dragon’s head affectionately. “You’re very right,” she said.

“I’m glad I’m a hound,” Topaz said. “I don’t have to wear clothes.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky,” Star sneered as she entered the room with Greg following behind her. He already looked exhausted from fighting with her about leaving. “But you don’t get to look as pretty as us either.”

“Please don’t antagonize him,” Pandora said.

“Come on, kids,” Greg said and clapped his hands together with false enthusiasm. “Let’s get this party started.”

The kids whooped and sidled through the tunnel. Topaz waited outside and widened it a little so that Greg and Pandora did not have to do the same, but it was still too narrow for them to go side by side.

When they were outside, Topaz sealed it shut. There was a constant fear from all of them that they would be discovered while they were out.

“So, who is making dinner tonight?” Greg asked as they slid and hopped down the path that led to a small meadow. It was surrounded by trees on all sides, but for some reason it was simply a field of grass and flowers.

“I might,” Rubio said. “I’m the fastest at it, after all.”

“Do you think we could have tea, Mother?” Emerald asked. “I do love your blend.”

Pandora smiled fondly at her. “I don’t know. We might not have anymore sweetener left.”

“We don’t need any if you just use a few more sweet berries,” Greg offered. “I think we might have some stored still.”

“That changes the flavor though,” Topaz said and shook his wiry head vigorously. “It does not need sweetener anyway.”

Greg frowned at his back but did not respond. The young man reached back and pulled his hair off of the nape of his neck. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Pandora jerked him back before he could walk into a low hanging branch and he gave her a shy smile. She simply nodded to him and looked away.

When they reached the meadow Greg took Rubio to get undressed and Pandora took the girls for modesty’s sake. The girls handed Pandora their clothes for her to fold and put into the bag that Emerald had provided.

It did not take them long to change back into dragons, but they did take time to test their wings and stretch them. Pandora sauntered over to her usual spot under the largest tree in the line to fold the clothes and watch the dragons fly. Greg joined her shortly with Rubio’s outfit.

“They are impossible sometimes,” Greg said as he watched Star take off, “But they are beautiful in their true form.”

“They’re beautiful no matter what form they take,” Pandora said as she smoothed out the fabric of Star’s dress.

“So, how do you think their training is going?” he asked and leaned back to watch her.

Pandora turned her gaze onto her children and then shrugged. “It is hard to say, but I think that by the time Serene dies that they will be ready to take on anything. They are raised by humans and near humans, not dragons or elves. They should be able to adapt better than anyone else of their race.”

“Do you think so?” he asked. “I mean, the dragons I’ve met other than them aren’t that great, but they’re pretty scary.”

“We haven’t fought dragons yet,” Pandora said, “Only other Speakers and mages.” She paused and reviewed the sentence in her head, “Only Mages and other Speakers,” she said and then nodded, pleased.

“Do you think we’ll have to?” Greg asked.

“We’ve fought everything else so far,” Pandora said, “Dragons are only a matter of time. I imagine that Serene and I will find a way to kill them should the time come.”

“Yeah, but what if Serene isn’t around. She hasn’t been around a lot lately. She’s always running off.” He looked away from Pandora with his head bowed and brow creased. “I know you worry about her every moment she is gone.”

“Of course,” Pandora agreed. “She is my cousin, and I love her dearly. I have faith in her though. She is a very determined half elf. They have all the great things humans and elves have to offer. Only another half elf speaker who has the use of Shadow magic and Fire and Ice could possibly hope to defeat her.

“What if the Emperor finds her? He’s after you two.”

Pandora frowned and wished that he had never gone with Serene into the cities to gather news. He knew more than either of them wanted him to worry about. “He will not harm her, or I will kill him. I might simply kill him on principle.”

“When do you intend to do that?” Greg asked.

Pandora bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I don’t know yet, but when I find out… I’ll let you know.” Maybe, she thought, but knew that the thought and words were a lie. Serene and Pandora were already formulating a plan to not only kill the Emperor, but to destroy him as well.

Chapter 48

2008-08-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, everyone, thus begins part 2 of Enchanting Scales. Everything is going to be going through a few changes, but bear with me and everything will be just fine.

by Amanda Cast

The Healing Potion

Birds chirruped and whistled in the trees. Little purple birds darted between the branches and the leaves. Their scissor tails sliced through the air. Pandora whistled to them, but they did not respond in a favorable manner. They hopped and flew away from her. She smiled to herself and took a deep breath.

For now, she had no one to worry about but herself. Greg was watching the children and Serene was off stealing something. All Pandora had to do was check the traps they used to catch rabbits and the snares they used for the deer. So far everything was empty so she just walked on by them and listened to the birds sing in the shade of the valley forest.

As far as valleys went it was a small, but it had a strong enough ecosystem to support three humans and four growing dragon hatchlings. There were plenty of fruit bearing trees and vines to give them nutrients that meat and roots could not provide. With Greg’s help they had learned how to dry the fruit and meat so that it would last them through the sketchier months. He had also schooled the hatchlings on how to use their magic to help.

Mother? Emerald’s mind-voice touched Pandora’s thoughts.

Yes, dearest? Pandora allowed the dragon to continue contact with her mind.

Mother, I think Topaz might have bitten Greg.

Pandora frowned and stopped walking. “Why did he bite Greg?” Pandora said aloud. She always forgot to keep her mind link silent when something like that happened.

He stepped on his tail. I don’t think Topaz meant to do it, but Greg is upset and bleeding. I think you should get back.

Since Pandora hated hearing the sound of an anxious Emerald, she turned around and headed back for the cave complex. She discovered shortly after settling into the caves of their valley that deer trails were not the safest way to travel. More than once she and Serene had run into predators. Luckily the predators had learned where they belonged on the food chain and left them alone. Greg was never to walk the trails alone, so he spent most of his time with Pandora, Serene, or two of the hatchlings.

Twigs snapped under her feet and the bushes rustled with startled animals. She sped up and was glad that she was not hunting. The noise she was making disturbed even her.

Emerald was waiting outside for her with Star. They were in their secondary forms. Both of them had chosen human bodies and were pale, but the similarities ended there. Emerald was taller and sturdier. Her hair was long, black, and straight. It shined white when the light reflected off of it and separated in sections at her shoulders so that some flowed in front and the rest was in the back. Greg had convinced her that straight bangs would make her look perfect. Pandora thought she looked a lot like an exotic and creepy version of herself, but she was a beautiful sort of creepy.

Star patterned herself much after Serene, but chose human because Rubio had decided to model himself after his concept of a half elf and she could not stand being like her brother. She was blond with blond hair loosely curled. It bounced and moved like a living thing crafted from spun gold. Her eyes were the color of sapphires and ringed in silver and were crafted out of angles subtle curves. She appeared delicate and frail, but she was just as sturdy as her sister.

“Mother!” Star said and ran up to her with her curls bouncing wildly on her back. She was huffing when she reached Pandora. “You need to punish Topaz. He shouldn’t have bitten Greg.”

Pandora sighed and kneeled down. She picked up star with a grunt. “We will see what Topaz and Greg have to say before we talk about punishing anyone,” she said. “It could have been an honest accident.”

“Greg always lies to make you happy, Mother. He knows you don’t want to believe anything bad about Topaz. We all know that he’s your favorite,” she said with a sullen frown.

“Don’t say things like that, Star. It’s unbecoming. I love you all equally. Topaz just needs more attention than the rest of you,” Pandora said and balanced the dragon on her hip and held her with her left arm. She pushed Star’s hair back and tucked it behind her round ear. “You’re a good girl, and I know you’re fond of Greg, but that doesn’t mean that Topaz is bad.”

“He almost killed a girl, remember, Mother?” Star insisted. She reached up and pushed Pandora’s hair back. Pandora had cut it short so that it would be easier to maintain. It fell right back into place when Star removed her hands. The little girl looked frustrated.

“Mother,” Emerald said at Pandora’s free elbow. Pandora’s heart jumped and her muscles twitched, but she made no outward sign of being started.

“Yes, Emmy?” she asked, adopting the nickname that Greg had given her. She set Star down after brief, but tight hug and then kneeled down to hug Emerald.

“I think you should hurry,” she said. She took Pandora’s hand and Pandora took Star’s. They walked the rest of the way together. Pandora walked quickly, but the girls kept up with her just fine.

The opening to the cave was kept small unless there were special occasions that demanded a bigger opening. They unlinked and had to squeeze in by waddling in sideways. Pandora’s chest rubbed against the stone all the way.

“Oh, thank God, Pandora,” Greg said. He had long since taken the ring off and spoke on his own. Emerald had figured out how to recharge the ring, but they kept it in a box to use when needed.

“Are you all right?” Pandora asked and walked over to him. The cave was kept lit by light stones mounted in fixtures formed from the cave walls and ceiling. At first Topaz was satisfied with smoothing everything out and carving out rooms for everyone. After he had made the bed frames and furniture, he decided to be a bit more artistic.

Serene and Pandora agreed that education was very important for the hatchlings, but they lacked books. Within a year Serene and Greg were leaving Pandora and the hatchlings in the valley to go and find some. There were always different books to interest, but Topaz always enjoyed pictures and architecture books. Anything could inspire him, and his room was the most elaborately designed space in the complex.

With Pandora’s help he edited his idea for the living room and with Greg’s, he found the perfect colored stone to decorate the floors and walls. The floors were currently white marble and the walls were made of obsidian. Pandora did not like it, but she had no heart to tell Greg or Topaz that.

“I’m fine, it’s Topaz and Star I’m worried about,” he said as he pressed a pile of bandages against his legs. “Do you think I could have a sip of the healing potion?” he asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Pandora said, “But I’ll have to kill another bear in order to afford to get more if we run out.”

He frowned. “Look, I’m sorry, Pandora. I wasn’t paying attention. I stepped on his tail and he just reacted. Why the hell did he have to pick a goddamned hunting hound? Shit… damn… I’m sorry, Pandora.”

“Girls, will you please go to your room?” Pandora asked. She looked over her shoulder.

Emerald complacently left, but Star looked at Greg like he had just betrayed her and shook her head. Pandora lowered her eyebrows and dipped her chin. Star’s face wrinkled into a frown, but she turned violently on her heel and stormed off.

“Maybe we could try capturing some purple sparrows,” Pandora said, “And sell them.”

“Or Serene could steal some,” Greg offered. “I don’t think we should try and sell the birds. They belong here.” He started to get up but Pandora waved him down.

“Don’t move, I’ll get it,” she said and went to her room where the bottles were kept. She was the most frequently injured of everyone and needed them the most. She opened the cabinet and looked inside. There were only three bottles in it. She picked up one and popped the cork. She sniffed it and then swished it around.

She closed the cabinet and then went back to Greg. “There is only dose left in this one,” she said. “I might have to go to a neighboring valley.”

“Are you going to go with Topaz?”

“No, he’s needed here to maintain the cave,” she said. “And to protect the lot of you.” She smiled. “I might take Rubio or Emerald with me. Star needs to stick around and keep the food stores.”

“I think you should probably take Emerald. Rubio cooks.”

“Oh, well, you’re generous,” she said with a small smile and he produced a pleased smirk.

He took a sip out of it and closed his eyes as he felt the magic healing him. “There is one thing to say about this world,” he said, “Magical healing is the best. If we had it back home we would really have a population crisis.”

“Humans are seen as a population crisis anyway,” Pandora said. She sat down on one of the stone and cushion chairs across from him. “Are you going to stay with us forever?” she asked.

He frowned and blinked at her before looking away. “Do you want me to leave?” he asked.

“Well, no. You’re good with the hatchlings, but I’m afraid that you might be unhappy. Don’t you ever get lonely?” She clasped her hands together and hung them between her legs.

“How can I get lonely? I have four kids that need watching and two very lovely young women with me.” He smiled, but his eyes were strained and the smile did not show.

“You are not happy,” she said and held out her hand for the vial. He handed it to her and she pushed the stopper back into place.

“I guess I miss home,” he said. “I think of my parents every now and then.” He shrugged. “I missed graduating from high school.”

“Were you supposed to be graduating this year then?” she asked.

“No, actually,” he said with a wrinkled brow. “It was supposed to be about two years ago. Usually well, people graduate from high school when they’re about your age.”

“When they’re seventeen?”

“Well, around that time. Usually it’s eighteen.”

“Oh.” She shifted uncomfortably and then stood up. “If it makes you feel any better… around this time I would be completing my final tests to become a member of the Empress’s Guard.” She shrugged. “Life comes at you fast, and sometimes it makes you move.”

“Well, it more like jerked me from my belly button,” Greg said and then sighed. “I’m sorry, Pandora. I don’t know where else to go. You, Serene, and the kids are all I know and trust here. I can’t go to the humans. I can’t go to the elves, and I can’t go to the dragons. The UD is out of the question.” He shrugged. “I’m safe here and well fed. I’m happier here than I will be anywhere.”

“Don’t you miss having…” she trailed off. It was foolish to be worried about if he missed being able to fall in love with someone. She was doing just fine without it, and so could he.

“Miss having what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know… other normal people to talk to?”

He chuckled and stood up. He stepped close to her. Too close. Her instinct was to back away, but she thought it would be rude. “After so many years with you, you’re all the normal I know.”

She had to tilt her head up to look at him. Even with her height he was still taller than her. Over the five years they had been hiding in the caves he had grown a great deal more than Pandora had. “I am nothing like you.”

“But I’m not normal for here either,” he said. He dipped his head closer and Pandora took a deep breath in preparation.

The Gold Mine 2

2008-08-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2
March 15, 193
Naomi Dallas

“Oh, Naomi,” Sarah Wiese, Naomi’s assistant, started as she saw her walking up. She had her palm pilot ready to go and the little plastic spear ready to go. “You are running a little late.”

“I’m actually walking, Sarah, and I’m here the same time I am every day.”

“Yes, but the producer is here now. You know you are supposed to be here before him,” Sarah said in a pathetically rushed way. Naomi hated that Sarah always felt she had to rush. It took away from the beautiful things in life.

“Well, Sarah, they should send me an email before two in the morning letting me know that they’re going to be here. I don’t have time to check my inbox when I wake up in the morning. I work to do what is far more important than producers.” Naomi showed Sarah her hands, fanning out her fingers so that she could observe every nail individually. “Do you think I should get another manicure during lunch?”

“I think you should eat during lunch, but yes, you need another one. Should I get your usual?”

“No, let’s spice things up a bit,” Naomi said. “I would like an apple instead of a peach and I want a turkey sandwich instead of ham.”

“And the soup?”

“Keep it vegetable. I need the detox.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. Naomi could not see it, but she could definitely feel it. She let it slide though. Sarah had the right to be annoyed with Naomi’s obsession with the word “detox”. Naomi used it too much and it was only an abbreviation anyway.

“Edgar is ready for you when you are.” She paused. “I can’t get over his name.”

“Yeah, can you believe he gave it to himself?” Naomi asked with a distasteful twist of her lips. It made her pert little nose scrunch and twist as well.

“Oh! I almost forgot…” She poked like crazy at the device in her hand. “Edgar and his partner are celebrating their fifth year together. What should I get them for a present?”

“Oh, Sarah, I wish you could talk to my mother for me too. How about…” She trailed off as her brain furiously went through all the gifts she could possibly give. All the items that Edgar and Mark would die over were all too expensive for her to buy for herself or they already had and died over it previously. “You know what, use your better judgment. A nice statue of a naked man might do.”

“But something tasteful,” Sarah stipulated. “I know just where to go for that. Are you sure you don’t want to give them a roll of fabric. You know how Mark just loves cotton.”

“No, I want to get them something they can both enjoy. Oh, I know… could you go to that little shop and get…” They were too close to the salon for her to finish but she made a few crude gestures and Sarah nodded. “You are a life saver. Anything else?”

“Your mom called my cell last night,” Sarah said.

Naomi’s stomach dropped to her feet and her heart felt like it would stop pumping blood in. “What did she want?”

“She told me to remind you to ask for some time off to go see your brother. She also wanted me to email her and tell her if you’re a lesbian or not. Are you a lesbian?”

“No,” Naomi said.

“Shame. I’d date you,” Sarah said dryly, but she could not help but give Naomi a wicked grin. Her reward was an eye roll.

“If you were a lesbian I’m sure we’d make a smokin’ couple.”

“Oh, you would,” Edgar said from his chair. He was dressed in appropriately punky and classy clothes. He was the only man that Naomi knew that could make a mussed up suit look stylish. It might have helped that it was pink and blue. “You look fabulous, darling.”

“Of course I do. It’s my job to learn fabulous,” Naomi said.

“Please don’t take too long, Edgar,” Sarah said. “I need her in make up soon too.”

Edgar rolled his eyes as he opened up a protective cover for Naomi to keep the hair off of the clothes she was about to change out of. “Why haven’t they dressed her yet?”

“She’s going in with those clothes on, I guess,” Sarah said.

“What?” Naomi asked, stunned. “I never wear my own clothes. They’re hideous on camera.”

“Well, something happened at wardrobe anyway.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask, and you were going straight to Edgar anyway. I thought you already knew.”

Edgar rolled his eyes. “Naomi knows nothing unless you tell her, Sarah. You are her only ears and probably her brain too.”

“Hey!” Naomi said and pinched his arm playfully before sitting down in his chair.

“Hey now,” he said with a waggle of his index finger. “You know better than to mess with the man with the scissors.”

“Yes, sir,” Naomi said with mock submission. “What are we doing today anyway, Sarah?”

Sarah gave Edgar a “be good” look and then said to Naomi, “We are going into sector three on Starlet Street to talk about the Grammies,” she said. “I think you’re supposed to put in a little bit of speculation about who is going with who and what not. They’ll have cue cards for that.”

“Even if I don’t read them,” Naomi said.

“Well, they like for you to have them as a guide line. We all know you like to improvise. Also, one of my contacts told me that Jessica Retson is dating Farmer Gordon’s son, Michael.”

“Oh, wonderful. Gordon must be pleased.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sarah said with a smug little smile. She deserved it. This was scandalous. Farmers didn’t mix with Starlets. “They’ll make beautiful babies though.”

“Right, if he doesn’t have her off’d first,” Edgar said and started messing with Naomi’s hair. “But at least it’s a girl he’s messin’ with.”

“Oh, Edgar, you and your bright sides,” Naomi said. “Really, the more scandalous the better.”

“Well, if he had two sons it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but you know how Farmers are about sons. They need the heirs to their franchise.”

“Lucky bastards,” Naomi said. “Do you think I should change shampoo and conditioner?” she asked.

“No, you’ll be good for another week. I’ll give it to you when you need it,” Edgar said. “Girl, this stay in is doing wonders for your hair.”

“My hair is always impeccable.”

“Thanks to me.”

“Thanks to you,” Sarah and Naomi said in unison.

“We’ll have to touch you up tomorrow, I think,” he said sorting the hair and inspecting the parts carefully. “Your roots are starting to show. Gold Mine is so lucky to have found me.”

“Right you are, Edgar. I’d be lost without you,” Naomi said and smiled at him from the mirror.

He winked at her and then started grabbing hair products. He was the best hair dresser in the business as far as Naomi was concerned and a close personal friend after the years of working with each other. No one else even touched her hair. He would even do her hair before her dates if she asked nicely enough.

Sarah rattled on about more scandalous starlet stories. A starlet was never off the job. Not even the TV starlets could rest. They were always in the public eye. Every time they smiled at someone there was someone else trying to determine a romantic interest. If they spent too much time with someone there were more rumors. Pictures were taken. Videos were made.

Naomi could be a target at any possible time, but she dated outside of the Starlet circle. She dated in the corporate circle. No one was interested in the lower class billionaires. So long as they did not have billions in the upwards they were safe territory. They were also socially acceptable when it came to dating. Politicians were also a possibility and would earn only a small blurb on a rival network.

Sarah came from a family of farmers and politicians. Naomi and Sarah had met in a bar while Sarah was dating someone her father did not approve of in the low end corporate world. She was strapped for cash and in a bind. Naomi, always the sucker for a good sob story, took her in and gave her a job and found her a place to live. Even after the relationship ended and familial ties were repaired Sarah stuck around.

Her contacts were the best in the business.

Naomi was a lucky woman to have found her.

“All right, girl,” Edgar said and stepped away from the chair. “You are ready to go to the makeup artist.”

“Wonderful,” Naomi said and checked the sculpted waves from every angle. They shined like gold in the studio’s light. “You are absolutely fabulous.” Naomi slid out of the chair and the two exchanged kisses on the cheeks and parted ways. Sarah was following after Naomi.

“I am not dressed for Grammy talk,” Naomi said.

“Well, if we put some heels on you it will dress it up. I think we can also get some good accessories. Then you’ll look perfect. What your wearing is pure classic. We can make it look perfect for the Grammies.”

“You are the life saver I’m so glad I have,” Naomi said. “If I was a lesbian I would marry you. Swear to God.”

“Well, I don’t think my mother would like for me to marry a Starlet. She would be scandalized and I would be disowned.” Sarah sighed. “I don’t want to be disowned.”

“What? Are they going to arrange a marriage between you and a farmer?” Sarah couldn’t answer her because at that moment Naomi had to say, “Mitch, darling, there you are. Am I late?”

“Naomi, you sweet thing, you can never be late. Get in my chair! I need to see that perfect skin of yours,” Mitch said. Mitch only acted gay. He was actually a very happily married man to a brilliant engineer wife that worked for farmers to come up with new innovations. She worked more in Hollywood to be with him than in the out reaching farmdomes.

“You are such a doll, Mitch,” Naomi said. “How is your lovely wife?”

“Oh, honey, she is as precious as usual. I have never, in my life, met a woman so brilliant,” he said. “She said the most mind blowing thing the other night. You wouldn’t believe. The things she can do with a ruler.”

“I don’t think we need you to go into what she can do with a ruler, Mitch,” Naomi said playfully.

Mitch blushed and opened Naomi’s personal make up case. She had a few shades of foundation and every imaginable color and shade of color that went with her skin. Mitch could make her look fabulous and on the spot with any choice.

“Is that the outfit you’re going to be wearing, honey?”

“Sadly they wanted a homier look for Grammy talk. This must be a warm up. Tomorrow I’m going to have to go all out.” She rolled her eyes. “Total waste. Anyway, do you have any idea what I’m wearing tomorrow?”

“Well, I know that it was specifically tailored for you.” He gave her a wink.

“I’ve seen it,” Sarah said. “It’s kind of multi-colored. It starts off a really pale pink for your complexion, turns sorta purply, and then ends off as a pale baby blue. Gorgeous and perfect for you and that blond head of yours.”

“I bet you’d look better in it.”

“I picked it out for you,” Sarah said. “Next year you should do that fashion show. You know… the one with the models and fashion designers. You would get to pick from some one of a kind dresses.”

“Everything has been done, Sarah,” Naomi said. “After thousands of years of wearing clothes and playing with fabrics there are only so many things that designers can do.”

“I’d like to see men wearing robes,” Mitch said. “Keep your eye open for me, honey.”

Naomi screwed her eyes up so that she would not see the pencil edging around her eye. She hated the liquid eye liner. Sometimes it ran into her eyes. It was a mess.

“I don’t know about that,” Sarah said. “It sounds girly. I would love to see them wearing coats that go down to their thighs but still let you get a peak at a promisingly scrumptious butt.”

Mitch pulled away to sharpen the pencil.

“Oh, Sarah, we should totally go out tonight. That would rock, don’t you think?”

“Oh, certainly,” Sarah said. “Should I let it leak for a little bit of publicity?”

“No, let’s just have an us night and do a little dancing. We haven’t been able to enjoy Hollywood for ages.”

“Oh, are you going to go to sector five?” Mitch asked.

“That sounds promising,” Sarah said. “Corporates like to keep the press away. Bad for business and they’re always doing something shady and they’re not nearly as snoody as farmers.”

“I like your thinking, Sarah.”

“Eye,” Mitch said and Naomi had to be quiet and concentrate on not twitching her lower lid or moving. Making the make up smudge was horrible to Mitch.

“I’ve been needing to get out. It is a good thing you don’t have to be at work until three tomorrow. Gives you plenty of time to do your beauty thing.”

“You know, that beauty thing is probably the reason scrumptious here can’t keep a man.” He gave Naomi a meaningful look.

“You like my perfect skin, don’t you? And Edgar loves my well conditioned hair. You have to make sacrifices for the job.”

“No talking. You need lipstick.” He stared at her for a moment and she gave him several expressions for him to choose from. He rolled his eyes and she gave him a saucy look. “Oh shush,” he said. “I know just the color.”

He picked out a hot pink that usually wouldn’t work, but with the dark shirt and jeans it would break up the monotony perfectly.

Chapter 47

2008-08-01T04:16:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Tokyo

“If it is, it’s really crowded,” Pandora muttered. The air moved and murmured with the breathing of everyone in the cavern. If the room was open, Pandora felt nothing of it.

“I can’t see a damn thing,” Greg said. “Oh, they want us to be quiet.”

Pandora frowned and Topaz moved closer to her. The lack of light was disconcerting. They could have walked Pandora around in one big circle and she never would have known. There was a group of the lizard men breathing as one in front of them. Their escorts hissed and the line that connected Pandora to the lizard man went taunt and then lax.

The air pushed back her hair and tugged at her clothes in a noisy exhale. “Greetings,” a large, deep, and very ancient sounding voice said. “I see my friends bring me Speakers.”

Pandora bowed to the sound of the voice. It was where the group was breathing. Then it dawned on her. It was a dragon that was breathing. She blushed at the realization. “Greetings, Dragon,” she said.

“It has been a long time since I have seen humans,” he said, “And I have not seen hatchlings since my own children.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “It is good to see the youth of today.”

“Hello,” the hatchlings said.

“Such respectful little ones,” he said approvingly. “Your parents must be proud of you.”

“We are,” Serene said.

“Oh? A half elf girl and a human boy are your parents?” he asked the hatchlings. “What is the human girl then?”

“We only have mothers,” Emerald said. “Momma is Serene, and Mother is Pandora. They adopted us when we were eggs.”

“How is it that two girl-children come to possess four dragon eggs? These are Septum Hatchlings.” He ho-hummed thoughtfully. “You are very blessed and cursed all at once. How can children hope to protect such precious beings?”

“They are actually pretty good at getting out of tight spots,” Greg said. “You should have seen them back at Varanar.” There was a quick chirrup. “Oh, sorry, man.”

“Getting out of tight spots and protecting are two different things,” he said. “These hatchlings are not even a quarter of the way to their first year of life and already they have seen things that no other hatchling sees until they are at least five.”

Pandora’s hair stood up on end. Her shirt was pulled toward the dragon’s nostrils as he sniffed her. “You smell of death and of stone. You smell of magic. Perhaps I am wrong in assuming that you are a human. No human smells as you do.”

“How many humans have you smelled?” Topaz asked.

The adult dragon chuckled. “I have not smelled as many as you, young one,” he said. “But I know what she smells of. She smells of dragon kin.”

Serene snorted and then choked. “I’m sorry,” she said with sincerity and then cleared her throat. “I don’t think Pandora is dragon Kin. She’s human as human can get. Little boring though.”

“Only she does not touch magic as humans touch magic. It flocks to her. It hungers for her.” His head moved from Pandora. “It hungers for you as well, young one. I can feel my own magic being drawn to you. Perhaps that is why the Shadow and Dream dragons of Varanar were so threatened by you. They felt an attraction that they cold not bear.”

“Surely Speakers are not that rare,” Serene said. “Two stand before you and we’re not even a year apart in age.”

“For many centuries I have locked myself out of the world. I enjoy the people here. Their memories are long and transcend death, but they are refreshing compared to the immortals of the world. They have the mortality that we all crave, but they have memories that we find comfort in.” The dragon chuckled again and then sighed. “They have told me that you are in distress.”

“We are,” Pandora confirmed.

“You have been exiled from Varanar for defeating their leader, who was a Speaker, in combat. Is this true?”

“Yes,” Serene said. “We killed her, and we would do it again. She would not stop until we were dead. She wanted to enslave the hatchlings.”

“I do not think that enslave is quite the word. Indoctrinate, maybe, but not enslave.” He yawned. “What is it that you need, young ones?”

“We need to get somewhere safe to raise the hatchlings,” Serene said. “So far everyone wants to use them for their own gain.”

“You would be safe here,” he said. “You could raise them as you see fit, but ones such as yourselves will grow sick and troubled in the world of darkness. I can already feel madness scratching at your skulls for welcome and succor.”

Pandora wished she could look at her cousin. There were some expressive eyebrows she wanted to share. She rarely had an expression she wanted to share. She gave a quiet sigh.

“Well, I don’t mean to sound short or impatient,” Serene said, “Though, honestly I am both.” The dragon and girl chuckled at the joke. “But I think we would love to get back to the surface. Is… there any safe place for us up there out of the way from the main world but close enough to make it useful?”

“I might be able to find something for you,” he said. “Would you like to be near some natural caves? They will serve well enough for living space until you can craft something better.”

“That sounds great,” Serene said. “Maybe temperate? Nothing too cold or too hot? The hatchlings are very demanding.”

“I like the idea of a nice scorching desert,” Rubio said and Star agreed.

“I think there is a nice little valley that might do you well enough,” he said. “You are lucky that the empire of the human race has not spread there, though how long it is safe from the countries of the surface is beyond me.”

“Uh… Dragon, sir,” Pandora said uncertainly.

“Yes, young one?”

“I was… I was wondering… why do you live here with… uh…the people of the underdark?”

He chuckled again. “Because I am old and tired. I have seen the human race rise and fall many times. I have watched their memories become nothing but ashes and dust. The people here are misunderstood by the other races. They are indigenous much like the dragons. They are what originally inhabited the dark places, and they remember back to when the septum was created.” He sighed. “But the elves will not accept them, and Humanity would not either. They do not accept dragons, so they could not accept something with no capability of looking like you.”

Pandora nodded and said, “You are probably right. Humanity has not accepted me and I am human.”

“It is a shame. You seem like such a wise and likeable child. Perhaps when you are situated I will visit you and your brood. It would please me if it would please you.”

“You will always be welcome in our home,” Pandora said.

“That is all I ask in exchange for helping you,” he said. “I would love to see how these little ones grow.” He paused. “Stay away from the dragon kingdoms. You will be close to the elves, but they should leave you alone because of you, half elf. It is a shame. Come, my young friends. I shall take you to your new home.”

~*~

Time was hard to track without something to track it with. There was no light to tell them how long they had been walking through the dark tunnels. They moved so they could not track it by drops of water or even by the shifting of rocks, not that they could see anyway. Time was tracked by sleeping and steps. Pandora counted steps a lot.

“Mother,” Topaz said.

“Yes, dear,” Pandora said.

“I’m tired. Are we almost there?”

“I don’t know,” she said, and she heard the familiar shuffling of Greg stumbling. “You all right, Greg?”

“Oh, yeah, I just can’t wait to get back to the surface. This dark thing is killing me. I don’t want to be blind. Ever,” he said.

“We are almost there,” the dragon said. “I can hear it.”

“Uh… dragon.. sir…” Serene said tentatively. Pandora had skirted around asking him for the time they had been together.

“Yes, young one.”

“What is your name?” she asked.

“Ah,” he sounded. “I have no name that has lasted. Many call me Master. Some call me friend. If I had a mother I do not know what she would have named me. Name me what you would be pleased to name me. For centuries I have simply been ‘The Dragon’.”

“How about…” Serene trailed off thinking.

“You sound like one of the old Japanese guys on TV,” Greg said. “Maybe if we called you Tokyo just to cover all grounds.”

“What kind of a name is Tokyo?” Serene asked.

“I like it,” Pandora said. “Do you like it, Master Dragon?”

“If Greg thinks that it suits me from his world then I cannot complain. I will be Tokyo. Does it please you?” he asked agreeably.

“It does me,” Greg said and then mumbled under his breath for a little bit. “I mean… it pleases me. It reminds me of home even if I wasn’t from Tokyo—sounds better than Japan, too.”

“Agreed?” Serene said uncertainly.

Tokyo said something that Pandora did not understand and then cloth was shoved into their hands. “We are about to start, but I want to make certain that the light does not hurt your eyes. While they are here with you, you should get your blind folds on over your eyes. It will hurt you if you do not.”

Pandora reached up with the cloth and tried to tie it to her face. It was thick where it was supposed to go over her eyes and the straps were thin enough to work in her fingers, but she felt clumsy. Her escort helped her tie it and assisted her in making sure that it would keep the majority of the light out of her eyes. He spoke to her, but it came to nothing for Pandora.

She took his hands in hers and turned to face him. She could not see his face, but she could imagine from the faces in the stone palace in Varanar. “I wish I could have learned more about you all. Perhaps we can come and visit your people and learn from you,” she said in draconic.

Tokyo translated for her and then said, “He would be pleased to teach you about their culture, and would be pleased to teach you how to speak their language. That is a great honor.”

“I take it as an honor,” Pandora said. “I am sorry for how others treat them, Tokyo. I wish they could be better accepted.”

“Perhaps they will one day, young one.” He took a deep breath and held it before he said, “It is time to begin. They will be leaving you now. They cannot stand the light. It has been too long since their race has seen it.”

They all said good bye to their escorts. Greg had the longest good bye. He hugged them all and his voiced hinted at waving. He sighed heavily as he took his place next to Pandora.

“I’m going to miss them,” he said.

“I don’t know… I just wish I understood what they were talking about. It’s different than Draconic, you know? I just hear and know Draconic. I can speak it…”

“Yeah, but on the bright side your mouth is already made to speak their language. That’s pretty sweet. When this ring runs out I’ll never get to talk to them again.”

“Well, you can at least learn how to understand them,” she said. “You’ll probably learn some draconic while you’re at it.”

“How could I not living with four dragons and two Speakers?” He nudged her playfully and she had to regain her balance.

“It would be nearly impossible, I’m sure,” Serene said. “You’re lucky Pandora likes you or I’d kick you to the wolves.”

“I like him too, Momma,” Star said.

“No accounting for taste,” Serene said.

“Oh, so you can steal my phrases, but I’m lame,” Greg said.

“Whatever,” Serene said.

Tokyo sighed. “I forget sometimes that you are still children. Now, if you will come and join me, Topaz? Perhaps I could teach you through this experience.”

“May I, Mother?” Topaz asked.

“Yes,” she said and patted him on his back. “Behave and don’t do anything before Master Tokyo tells you to.”

“Yes, Mother,” he said excitedly and followed the sound of Tokyo’s heavy breathing.

The ground moved, but the stone made no sound. Serene’s stomach growled and she moaned and thumped her belly. Pandora became more aware of the beat of her heart and the pulsing of her temples at every pump.

Then light began to seep under the bottom of Pandora’s blindfold. Her eyes were both hungry for it and hurt by it. She hissed and pressed the bottom of it closer to her keeps. She squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could.

“Yes, the light is bright,” the dragon agreed. “I wonder what the world looks like now.”

“What?” Serene asked. “Are you blind?”

“I was not so lucky as you, young one. When I was much younger my eyes were gouged from my face. The surface is just as dark as the underdark. I am not bitter though, I have learned to cope, and my other senses have heightened beyond anything you could comprehend.”

“That is amazing and sad at all the same time,” Greg said. “Um, how long do you think it’s going to take us to get used to this?”

“It varies. Serene will probably be the first to adjust. Mind the hatchlings,” he said. I will speak to Topaz later and instruct him on how to contact me when you are ready for guests.” Tokyo yawned. “There should be some caves that will fit the seven of you well enough. Fair well.”

“Good bye, Tokyo,” they said and stumbled away from the rock he was using. Pandora waved after him and listened to Topaz tell them how wonderful the experience had been.

The Gold Mine 1

2008-07-31T04:33:00.000-07:00

So, I wasn't exactly pleased with how it turned out and with my work schedule like it is I did not have time to go back and work on it before I had to be in bed. So here is a little something that I am working on other than Enchanting Scales. Since I don't have a chapter a day deadline that I put on myself I get to spend a little bit more time paying attention. Don't doubt that there are still mistakes and typos and things.

Chapter 1

March 15, 193

Naomi Dallas

It was a peaceful awakening greeted with languid stretching and a soft groan of irritation. It could not be morning already. Naomi Dallas turned her head to look at her alarm clock. The red numbers told her it was 3:30 am. In thirty minutes her alarm was supposed to go off and she was supposed to go for a run around the park outside of her apartment complex.

She sat up and turned the alarm off so that she would not have to hear it. The sound that emitted from it made her entire body feel ill. In truth, she was glad that she woke up before it.

Naomi paused and took a moment to enjoy the feel of linen sheets on her skin. It was 1000 thread count. They had cost her a small fortune, but they were worth it. She slept far better between them than she had in any through her childhood. Synthetic sheets were miserable in comparison.

When she decided that she needed to get up and brush her teeth her long, shapely legs slid out from beneath her decadent sheets and her feet hit a woolen rug. It was not the loveliest thing in the world. It was just a plain gray rug on a white linoleum floor, but it was made out of real wool. It was a gift from a farmer who was a fan of hers—it was nice to have sugar daddy fans.

The feel of the cool linoleum made her shiver. She wiggled her toes and headed for the bathroom. It was nothing more than a sink, a toilet, a shower, and a small space for her to fit her body in. If she had been any bigger she probably would not have made the fit.

Habit guided her to flip the switch and study herself in the mirror. She searched for any blemishes or lines. She then pulled the mirror back and took out her toothbrush and toothpaste. Some things never change.

She shut the mirror again after putting a sliver of paste onto her brush and putting the tube back in. She stared at herself as she brushed her teeth. She made faces, practicing the movements of her face as she did every time she looked into a mirror when she was by herself.

When she rinsed out her mouth she smiled brightly into the mirror. “It’s going to be a lovely day,” she said to her reflection. She put the brush back and turned off the light and reentered her bed room. She dressed into some cotton shorts and a cotton shirt. Some would say it was too nice to work out in, but it was what their ancestors had used, so why should she be any different?

She picked up her identification bracelet and slipped it onto her wrist. It had all of her information on it, but it was useless without her finger prints. When she shut the door behind her she stuck the end into the door to prove that she had her chip and set out into a jog down the hall. It was white and metal. It made her eyes hunger for color.

In the elevator she stretched and bounced on her toes. Usually there were a couple of men and women in the elevator worried about their weight. People on television had to be three times more careful than the average citizen.

When she reached the ground floor she jogged out to the sliding glass doors. The complex had its own life support just in case the dome was to crack open, but the doors that sealed the heat and oxygen in and the cold and argon out were hidden in the walls waiting to be needed. Once every week they were checked to make sure they worked properly. Parts were changed or oiled on need.

It made Naomi feel safer about living on a planet that was not exactly hospitable to human beings.

The morning was chilly as it was every morning. Goosebumps rose on her flesh making the tiny hairs stand up straight on her arms. Her legs felt that familiar prickle of goose bumps that could not happen because the hairs had been pulled out.

What women sacrificed for beauty!

It felt good to run. She felt free. She could feel the air mixture filling her lungs, powering her movements. For a moment she felt as though she could be on earth running down the gravel paths in stories. The thick glass domes did not exist. The sun was closer and there was only one moon. Just like in the stories.

Sweat was running down her body when she was finished. She walked back to the complex to cool down her muscles. When she was approaching she saw more people running outside. They were all perfectly fit, but their skin was not as good as hers. Their hair was wrong and ill tended. They were not fit for the camera.

Naomi stopped to examine the flowers outside of the complex around the doors. It made her smile to see them there flourishing as the people who tended them were flourishing. She refrained from touching them. Her teachers in school always told her that touching petals made them wilt. If it was just with roses or other flowers Naomi never knew. Plants were precious.

When Naomi entered her room her personal phone was ringing. She never took it out on her runs, but everyone at work and in her family knew that she was awake. She looked at the name on the belt device and stuck the microphone and ear piece into her ear. “Answer,” she said.

“Hey, Mom,” Naomi said and placed the phone onto her night stand. “Little early for you to be calling.”

“Oh, hush,” she said. “You got up early.”

“I did. Did you need something, Mom?”

“Oh, I just wanted to say hi to my baby girl. You never call your poor mother,” she said with a sigh at the end.

Naomi could almost feel the eye cut. Naomi learned from the best after all. “Oh, Mom, you know you sleep more than you’re awake, and I work more than sleep.”

“You are your father’s child,” she said. “Actually, I wanted to remind you about your father’s birthday. You know it’s coming up.”

“Yes, Mother, I know.”

“Now don’t take that tone with me,” she said playfully. “I call my mother Mother. You call me mom. That is my name to you.”

“Actually your name is Susan.”

“To you I am Mom,” she said in the same commanding tone she had used when Naomi was four and called her mother Susan.

“Of course, Mother,” she replied with the same playful tone. “Do you want to take a shower with me?”

“What? I haven’t given you a bath since you were three,” Susan said. “Why would I want to join you now?”

“Well, I have to take my shower, condition my hair, detox my face, eat breakfast, brush my teeth again and whiten them.” She check her nails. “I also need to get my nails done today. I think the pain is about to chip.”

“I don’t know how you’re my daughter,” Susan said regretfully. “I never paid so much attention to my nails.”

“And that is why you’re a computer engineer at Face Base, Mom,” Naomi said. “I am paid to look flawless and make it look easy. If only my public knew what you knew. I’d be ruined.”

“I think I should tell them just to get you to come home. You know we miss you. Do you think you could get here before the baby is born?”

“I don’t know, Mom. I could probably see if I could make some good work excuse… as excited that I am that my brother is giving me a niece I might have to settle with spoiling her from afar.”

“That’s a real shame,” Susan said. “Do try though? It’s a two day tram ride and I know you won’t fly here. You know, storms don’t actually hurt the ships.”

“They can say that all they want, Mom, but I’m not flying. It’s unnatural.”

“Everything about our lives is unnatural. Oh, this is a waste of your time. You go take your shower. Call me when you’re on your way to work.”

“Will you still be up?”

“Yes, you smart ass. I’ll talk to you in a bit. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mom. Tell Dad I said hi,” she rushed before her mom could hang up.

“I will. Have a nice shower in that coffin of yours.”

“Mom!” But she had hung up. Oh well.

Naomi took the piece out of her ear and took her shower. She enjoyed her time in the steamy space. She could feel it cleaning out her pores. She always felt lighter when she stepped out of a shower even if her head felt ten pounds heavier.

Naomi never looked entirely polished when she left to go to work. Someone did her hair and make up at the office. She learned a long time ago that it was easier if she went with a clean face and clean hair. Nothing other than cleaning and conditioning products touched her skin. She dressed in a comfortable pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt as well. They dressed her for the camera. Naomi only had to make sure her body was in top form.

She called her mom as she was leaving her apartment. “Hey, Mom. Miss me?”

“Dreadfully,” her mother said. “When are you going to start dating again?”

“Mother, not his again.”

“You’re a lesbian, aren’t you? It’s all right, darling, I swear. The government loves Lesbians. They keep the breeding crisis down. You know that.”

“Mom, I am not a lesbian. I love men. I love penises. I just am not in love with one right now.”

“You’ve loved plenty of dicks, honey.”

“Mother!” Naomi exclaimed. “Please, don’t say things like that. What if someone hears you?”

“I’m talking to my daughter. I can say what I want.”

“You’re not a farmer, Momma. You can’t just say whatever you want.”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not a politician,” she said. “I’m just concerned, dear. I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy, Mom. I married my job. Remember?” She gave the air in front of her a patient smile. “My job treats me better than a man would anyway.”

“Your job is more likely to dump you when you’re old and wrinkly than a man is. If you wanted a job that would keep you through beauty and crow’s feet you should have become an engineer like your good old ma.”

“You are not a ‘ma’,” Naomi told Susan with a classic eye roll.

“You’re right, I’m not. I’m your Mom. You should really listen to me, honey. You need to find yourself a good man.”

“Good men don’t have money, Momma,” Naomi said. “Good men would cream themselves just looking at my room.”

“That’s vulgar,” Susan said. “Who taught you to speak like that?”

“John,” her daughter answered. “Anyway, it’s not important. Look, I’m not a lesbian, all right?” Naomi received a dirty look from an old woman with a purse dog. She quickly looked away. “I’m just single right now. It’s a dry spell.”

“What does that mean anyway?”

“I think it was an earth term. Rain, I think it was. You know… where the water falls from the sky?”

“I wish I could see it rain,” Susan said wistfully. Her mind was in a place that no one had been to in over two hundred years.

“Me too, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. That comet did one world of a wonder on the surface.”

“It will heal, dear. Just give the old planet a few years and we can go back.”

“Maybe our kids will be able to,” Naomi said thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, Mom, but these deep conversations are going to mess up my skin. Can we talk about something less depressing?”

“Talking about Earth is not depressing. It is hope and the one thing we have to look forward to.”

“Mom, we live in a glass eco-something. We’re Martians now, get over it.”

“I will not,” her mother said huffily. “I’ll believe in Earth even if you don’t.”

“Whatever Mom, I’ve got to go.”

“Oh, you’re just going to hang up on me like that.”

“Let’s see, Mom… we’ve covered my sexual orientation and we’ve discussed our demolished home world. I think we just might be done here. What do you think?”

“You can’t be done with your mother,” Susan said. Naomi could hear water running in the background and her father grumbling something about caffeine.

“I am for right now. Will you be up tonight?”

“Depends on whose night we’re talking about,” Susan said.

“Err… around ten my time?”

“Well, I’ll be up, but I’ll still be at work. Your father wants me to go back to bed. You take care.”

“All right, Mom. I love you. Give dad a kiss on the cheek for me.”

“I’ll give him a kiss all right,” Susan said devilishly.

Naomi rolled her eyes. Her mother was such a pervert.

The rest of the walk to work was uneventful and usual. People were already out to tend the gardens and mind the trees. Even the irrigation systems were being checked. The soil was being scanned and analyzed for nutrition and worms. Everything was carefully maintained in Hollywood and everywhere else on Mars. Even the human beings.

Chapter 46

2008-07-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

In the Dark

Pandora could not hear the hissing for minutes more. It was quiet and subtle in the way it seeped into the air. It tickled the fine hairs on her ears. Then there was the smell. Pandora could not place it other than to say it smelled similar to the hatchlings, only it was fishier.

Topaz was still in the stone. Pandora kneeled down between him and their path. Her eyes could only see as far as Serene’s globe allowed. Whatever was out there would see them first.

“You know,” Greg said quietly. “That sounds… sort of like draconic.”

“It’s not draconic,” Serene said. “I don’t understand a word of it.”

“Well, right now I can’t make anything out of it. I have to actually hear it better. But it’s hissing and… well… it sounds a lot like Draconic.” He shifted and crouched down in front of Star and Rubio.

Serene moved to the front and raised a barrier around both sides. “Well, let’s see what we are dealing with out there.” The globe of light flickered.

“Can you put something into that?” Serene asked Pandora.

Pandora frowned. “How do you want me to do that?” she asked. “It’s your spell. It’s a spell.”

“I know that,” Serene hissed.

“Dragons,” Greg murmured.

“What?” Serene asked.

“They said, ‘dragons’,” he told her. “They think we’re young dragons. Of course, they understand and hear what I am saying. They are intrigued because I understand what they’re saying.”

“So they’re close?”

He nodded. “They have good hearing too.” Greg had no weapons and he was not a good fighter, but he tried to shield Star from whatever was to come anyway. His body was slight as an adolescent boy’s body is prone to being, and he did nothing to cover her length, but it was kind of him to try. Pandora smiled fondly.

“Do they eat them?” Serene asked. “No one is eating my children.”

“They might,” he said. “How the hell am I supposed to know?”

“I’m scared, Greg,” Star said and craned her neck to butt him anxiously in his side. “Can you ask them to leave us alone?”

“How about you ask them who they are,” Serene said.

“Well, that’s fair enough,” Greg said. “Who are you?” There was some hissing and he strained to listen to it. There was little fear that they could hurt him with Serene’s barriers up. “They say they are the people of the Underdark. They are not elves or dragons. Oh, I’m sorry, they’re not human either. There is nothing wrong with being human…yeah well… all right, I’m sorry. What did you want?”

Pandora shifted uncomfortably and tried to shake Topaz awake, or at least back to where his body was. It did not work. She moved closer. It was taking a long time for Greg to answer.

“I don’t understand,” he finally said. “What was it that you wanted? You wanted the Stone Singer?” He whispered to Star, “What is a Stone Singer?”

Star shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Stones don’t sing.”

“What do they want with this Stone Singer?” Pandora asked.

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” Greg asked.

Pandora sighed and rolled her eyes in frustration. “Just ask the question. What do they want with the Stone Singer?”

“What do you want with the stone singer? Oh, they want to take her to the stone dragons that live in the underdark.” He frowned. “No offense to the dragons present, but I have a problem with seeing more organized groups of people. I think we should find a cave, make Topaz get it pretty and then chill.”

“What will their leader do?” Pandora asked.

Greg repeated the question. “Oh, they just want to hear the story. They have heard of it, but the elves killed the dragon that made the song before he could bring back the tale. Oh, that’s… well… I shouldn’t say it. Anyway, what do you think we should do?”

“Do they mean us harm?”

He asked and then said, “They will not harm us if we will not harm them. They ask if we are armed. What should I tell them?”

“Tell them that between the seven of us we only have one dagger,” she said.

He nodded and relayed the message. “They promise that they will not hurt us. They mean to help us. You won’t try and take the hatchlings from us, will you? No? All right. I guess… I’ll have to ask the others.”

“So long as they mean no harm or to take the hatchlings,” Serene said.

There was more hissing and then Greg nodded to Serene. She stared at him. He rolled his wrist and his fingers flicked emphatically. “Drop the barriers.”

“Oh,” Serene said and dropped them. “I hope they have food and water.”

“Well, I’m sure they do. I just hope they’ll share,” Greg said. “Oh, I don’t think they like the light very much.”

“Well, we can’t see in the dark,” Serene said.

“Um… they don’t want us to be able to see, I don’t think. They fear that the elves and dragons will hunt them down. They think it best for everyone involved. They sense our fear and anxiety.”

Pandora stood up. “We cannot leave without Topaz. He is still in the stone.”

“Maybe one of them can get him out. Serene turn off the light,” he said.

“What are you… oh fine. Your dialect is strange,” she told him and the light went out. It was impossible to see, and Pandora did not leave Topaz’s side.

“Hello?” Greg said. The hissing was louder, and Pandora could make out some subtle chirrups and clicks, too. “Oh, there you are. Your hands are kind of… hard… and cold. Oh, well, that makes sense. Don’t touch the elf. She’s a racist. Haha, yeah, I know.”

“I am not a racist,” Serene said angrily. “What are they?”

“I think they’re the people that were getting slaughtered on the building,” Greg said. “It’s hard to say sense I can’t see them, but you can imagine.”

“They’re reptiles, Serene. They’re intelligent reptiles.”

“Oh, well, that’s cool. They’re like dragons only not as pretty. I get it.”

“I don’t think I’d revere dragons around them,” Greg said. “They only like the stone ones. Oh, that reminds me. We… um… well… that is to say. We have a stone dragon with us, and he was looking for a way out for us. I think he might be stuck.”

The hissing was angry and something ran into Pandora. She teetered a bit and then hard, scaly hands reached out to steady her. He said something and Greg told her not to worry. She could feel the cool tips of his claws on her skin. His breathe was short and smelled of decaying things.

“He needs you to move.”

“He can go to the other side,” Pandora said sternly. “I won’t leave him.”

“She’s not going to move,” he told the lizard man. “You’re going to have to go to the other side…yes, she’s only twelve. Me? Oh, I’m only fifteen. We are going through some rough times right now. Yeah, I know.”

“Great, small talk,” Serene said.

“No, we’re not dragons… neither are the girls. The only dragons here are the hatchlings. Yes, we had some problem in Varanar. It was nasty business. Amazon there almost died.”

“Greg, I don’t know if you should be telling them all of this,” Serene said.

“What is it going to hurt?” Greg asked. “Besides, they seem friendly enough.”

“Yeah, and so did the elves before they tried to kill us in some round about way that would stop them from starting a war or something. So, whatever,” Serene said. “You’ll have to forgive me for not trusting any person who came along offering to help me.”

“Well, this isn’t all about you.”

“Will you two just kiss and shut up already?” Pandora asked testily. “Topaz could be in serious trouble and all you care about is bickering with one another.”

“It isn’t me!” Greg said defensively. “She’s the one that started it.”

“Mother?”

“Topaz?”

“Mother!” he said and leaned heavily into her. “I’m sorry I took so long. Issricra said you were worried about me. I just… I think I got carried away.”

“He said that you are too young and unpracticed to try things like that,” Greg said. “I’m sorry I even mentioned it.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I agreed to do it,” Topaz said. “How could you know the limits of magic anyway?”

Serene snorted and Greg let out a quiet groan of frustration.

“What did you find?” Serene asked.

“It’s going to take years for us to get out on our own,” he said. “I could probably make short cuts though.”

“We’ll see when it comes down to that. Right now we have an invitation,” Pandora said.

“Invitations never end well,” Topaz said warily.

“You’re telling me,” Serene said. “But Greg insists that it’s all right. I guess it’s better that we go. Hopefully we can feed you there.”

“I am hungry,” Topaz said seriously.

The lizards tied ropes around their wrists or legs (respectively), and led them through the dark tunnels. Pandora tripped, bumped into things, and swore under her breath more than once. It was better when her muscles and bones were completely lubricated with movement, but for quite a while she waddled more than walked.

Pandora’s feet hurt from all the walking and bumping before she finally crashed into the back of one of the creatures escorting her. “Sorry,” she said as it stabled her. “Thank you.”

“Are we there then?” Greg asked. “Ok, but can we find some way to see now? I know you want to keep your secret but I think I’m going to get vertigo if I can’t see. Well, I’m not blind and this is disconcerting. All right, all right.”

“What?” Serene asked.

“They say that if the dragons approve they will help us get to the surface. They know a place where they can easily let us out, but we have to stay in the dark for now for their safety,” Greg said.

“That is ridiculous,” the half elf said.

“It is fair,” Pandora said. “If they help us get to the surface then I think we can bear with their paranoia.”

“I agree,” Greg said.

“Well then,” Pandora said, “Hopefully they’ll be kind and place us where we are in and out of the way all at once.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Serene said.

“Well, we don’t have much by way of options,” Greg told her. “Look, we have gotten out of sticky situations before. If this is sticky, we can get out. I have faith in you.”

“I wish we had stayed at the academy longer,” Serene said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Pandora apologized. “They were convincing. I did not suspect that they would try and kill us.”

“I don’t think they intended to until they found out you saw the story.”

“I saw blood,” Pandora said. “They did not even ask me what it was a saw. I wish I could go back and look at it again. It was very grabbing. It was emotional.”

“It looked kind of hideous to me,” Serene said, “From what I could see of it anyway. Daddy always said that underdark elves were vulgar.”

“I don’t think Uncle Lindal should be judging what is vulgar or not,” Pandora said uncomfortably. She thought his taste was rather vulgar in the gaudy direction.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing,” Pandora said and moved closer to the lizard man.

“Momma,” Star said softly. “I’m tired. Can we rest?”

“I don’t know,’ Serene said. “We’re here though. We have to meet this group of dragons and then we can see.”

“I really hope he’s not homicidal,” Greg said. “I’m getting tired of al this crap.”

“Well, let’s not mention where you come form and we might be all right,” Serene said.

“Speaking of which, we need to start teaching you how to speak our languages without the ring,” Pandora said. “It is going to run out before long.”

“I know,” Greg said. “It is useful though.” There was some hissing and clicking. “Oh, I think we’re here.”

“Does this space feel open to any of you?” Serene asked.

Chapter 45

2008-07-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Exiled

There was singing. It was a humming song that vibrated throughout Pandora’s entire being. It spoke in a whisper and caressed with the wind. Only there was no wind. It was just the song. It told a story. It was told with her blood. It told of her death.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath as if she had just emerged from a pool of water. She really did hate her subconscious.

“Pandora!” Serene said and pawed at her arms. “You’re awake. I thought you’d take longer, but thank the gods you didn’t.”

Pandora blinked and felt several hard, but tiny things poked into her back. She was still on the arena floor. Sand was sticking to her hands. It itched. She held it up and looked at how dirty it was. Pandora rubbed her fingers together and the red, clumping sand was dislodged.

“You need a bath,” Serene said, “But I am so glad that you’re all right.”

“Mother?” the hatchlings said one after another. They waved their heads over her body.

“We were worried, Mother,” Emerald said.

The others agreed.

“I hate to break up this little moment,” Greg said. He was standing to the side. “But we have a little bit of an issue right now. You have to get cleaned up, dressed, and on your way. We can’t stay here anymore.”

“What?” Pandora asked.

“I’m sorry, that’s what they said,” Serene told her. “The new Lady was kind of nice about it, but after all the damage we did they don’t want us around.”

“Plus you called her a bi—um…” he stopped and looked over at Pandora anxiously. “All right, kids,” he said to the hatchlings, “Your mother is just fine, but she can’t get up with you over her.”

Their heads drooped, but they backed away without argument. Greg hesitantly held out his hand to help Pandora up. When their hands touched he flinched, but he his grip was firm and he pulled her up easily enough.

“I’m sorry I’m dirty.”

“Yeah, um, just please get dressed, both of you. I don’t want to be here anymore than I have to be. These elves are freaks.”

“I don’t know, surface elves can be pretty bad too,” Serene said. “Not that I’ve met any other than my father, but he doesn’t like them much.”

“Ok,” Greg said. “That’s interesting and all, but you see we have this problem where we have an entire city kind of mad at us, and we need to get out. So if you’d get dressed we can talk about this all while we’re walking in the dark.”

“Are you mad at us?” Serene asked.

“No, I’m mad at you,” Greg said. “Why did you have to go and challenge her? What kind of dumbass move was that? I mean… damn it… augh!” He tangled his fingers into his hair and pulled back. “Motherf-…”

“At least I don’t have to cuss every five seconds,” Serene said.

“You cussed at her.”

Pandora groaned. “I should have just dealt with my subconscious for a little longer.” She brushed herself off the best she could. At the gape mouthed, wide eyed expressions she received Pandora said, “Come on, Serene. We need a bath and our clothes.”

“I don’t like this,” Serene said. “I think we’re just going to die in the tunnels. They’re not giving us any food or water or anything.”

“We will find a way,” Pandora said. “Just believe in that.” Pandora wished that she could.

~*~

Serene stumbled and sighed. Light spells were not part of the magic that she could wield without consequence and she was exhausting herself as they walked. They were lost in the tunnels deep below the earth’s crust and there was no one willing to help them find their way.

“Does anyone know anything about the…this hell hole?” Greg asked. He ran his hand over the stone. It was a creamy color. Topaz had called it living stone. His fingers left a lasting mark.

“They could have at least let us have weapons,” Serene mumbled and lost her balance again. Pandora reached out and steadied her. Serene felt frail.

“Mother, Momma,” Emerald said, “I am tired. Can we rest?”

“Yes,” Pandora said and helped Serene so that she could sit down on the unforgiving floor. “I wish we had a light stone.”

“I could light the way,” Rubio offered.

“No,” Greg said, “You would burn up the air… unless you can just glow. Can you glow?” Pandora listened for sarcasm, but it was a genuine inquiry as far as she could tell.

“He could a little bit when he was in the sun, but I don’t know if he can without it. Even then that light would be really dim…” Pandora trailed off.

“Well, our eyes would adjust,” Greg said and sat down on the floor. Star curled up next to him and put her head in his lap. He stroked her soft hide absentmindedly. Star closed her eyes and her sides heaved with a satisfied sigh.

“I don’t know…”

“We need some light,” Greg said. “We can’t go stumbling around the dark.”

“We are stumbling around in the dark. These tunnels aren’t marked in any language I understand. Everything is in underdark,” Pandora said. “If it was in draconic we would be in better shape.”

“Maybe we could ask for directions?” Greg offered.

“Traveling is dangerous. We’ll be lucky to find someone who won’t kill us for being human and having dragons with us.” Pandora sat down as well and leaned against the wall of the tunnel. The contours of the tunnel jutted into her back and lacked support where it was needed. It was still better than nothing.

“I’m thirsty, Mother,” Topaz complained and lay down next to her. He pressed as much of his body against her leg as he could. His warmth gave her some comfort.

“I am, too,” Pandora told him and rested her hand on his side. She patted him gently. “As soon as we find a stream you can have something to drink.”

“How long do you think that will be?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Pandora admitted. “Everyone gather close. I want you all touching me.” The hatchling gathered close to Pandora and Greg and Serene pressed against the growing hatchlings. “We should get some sleep and then we’ll try and scavenge for something.”

“What can you scavenge for down here?” Greg asked. ‘It’s not like we can eat a cactus or an insect or even blades of grass if we’re desperate.”

“That’s gross,” Star told him.

“Well, it’s what people and animals do when they’re desperate to survive,” Greg said. “I don’t know how you dragons survive trying experiences if you’re not willing to do something considered gross.”

“Less talking, more sleeping,” Serene said.

“Whatever,” Greg said. “I don’t see why I should listen to some punk twelve year old.”

“Because I can kick your ass,” Serene said.

“Momma said ass,” Rubio whispered.

“Enough!” Pandora said sternly. Her voice echoed down the halls. “Stop bickering and no swearing. Go to sleep. We’ll worry about everything when we wake back up.”

In the darkness Pandora could not be certain if she was sleeping or just dozing. Her butt and her back hurt from the hard floor. Her skin was the only thing giving, and her body had just gone through a near death experience.

“Mother,” Rubio whispered. Apparently she hadn’t been sleeping.

“Yes, dear?”

“I can’t sleep. Can I have a gold coin?”

“Momma has all the coins,” Pandora said. “I don’t even have my gold ring on. I’m sorry, dear.”

She felt and hand on her shoulder and it was pushing her. She opened her eyes and felt miserable. Every muscle in her body ached from a mixture of lack of sleep and hard stone poking her in the back.

“We should get moving,” Greg said. “I’m sorry. You get to wake up Serene.”

“You know,” Pandora said, “I’m more dangerous to wake up than she is.” Pandora groaned and realized that she was surrounded by hatchling bodies that were bigger than her. “Time to move everyone,” she said. “We have to get moving.”

“Where are we going?” Topaz asked.

“Well, I have an idea,” Greg said.

“How is it that the guy who didn’t believe in dragons always has an idea,” Serene asked as she started to cast another light spell.

“Well, I know how to adapt and over come. Magic makes you guys so weak and complacent,” he said. “You never think of other ways to use it.”

“Whatever,” Serene said.

“What is your idea?” Pandora asked.

“Well, Topaz is a stone dragon, right?” he asked. “Well, maybe he can ask the stone where to go or follow it in his head until he finds the way out. That might work. What do you think?”

“I can try,” Topaz said.

Pandora wondered at how many hatchlings were forced to explore the extent of their powers. Guilt grew in her belly and chest. She had to find a safe place for them so that they could grow up healthy and strong.

The spell that Serene cast was weak and dim, but after hours in complete darkness it hurt Pandora’s eyes. She could see everything.

“Perfect,” Serene said. “When we get to the surface we’re going to be blind.”

“We’ll just have to cover our heads and keep our eyes closed so that we can slowly adjust,” Greg told her. “It’s not rocket science.”

“What is rocket science?” Serene asked. Disdain poured from her words like a waterfall.

“You know, it’s not my fault y’all could meld two beautiful things together and be awesome and didn’t. I’m so glad there is no magic in my world. Otherwise we’d be useless like you.”

“I am not useless,” Serene said.

“Do I need to separate you two?” Pandora asked. “Will you please behave?”

Both of them shuffled their feet and looked away from Pandora. It did not prevent them from giving each other nasty looks though. Pandora sighed. It was useless. She was surrounded by children.

She decided to stand beside Topaz while he had his head against the stone. His eyes were closed and he appeared so peaceful to her, but she knew that his mind was straining. It had to be. Figuring out how to use magic that was beyond you two moments before was a stressful thing.

What if he gets lost? She thought. Please don’t get lost.

“Mother, how long is it going to take?” Emerald asked. “It smells bad down here.”

Pandora sniffed. “I don’t smell anything.”

“I smell it,” Star said. “It smells like wet lizard.” She swung her head and looked from one dark continuous direction to the other. “I think it’s coming from where we’re headed.”

Rubio sneezed. “I wish I hadn’t tried to smell it,” he said.

“Is it that bad?” Serene asked.

“It’s pretty bad,” Emerald said. “I wish Topaz would hurry up.”

Pandora frowned and wondered if he was lost in the stone. Would it be possible for him to get stuck? Were their dead ends? She touched the top of his back gently. What are you seeing?

“Is the smell getting stronger?” Star asked. “It smells like it’s getting stronger.”

“More importantly,” Emerald said with her head cocked to the side. “Do you hear that?”

Chapter 44

2008-07-28T02:03:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

A Bad Day

“I am tired of this,” the Lady of Varanar said. “Finish them.”

“That is enough!” Serene yelled before the hatchlings and Greg could open their mouths in protest. “I am tired of everyone trying to kills us. I am tired of people trying to take the hatchlings away from us. Get your black ass down here and fight us yourself if you find us so unworthy. We’ll kill you just as easily as we will these three.”

“Bold words for a foolish little child,” the Lady of Varanar said.

“Bold words for someone who is afraid of children,” Serene said.

“Just kill them,” Varanar said.

“That is murder if not execution,” Serene said and stamped her leather clad foot hard into the sand. “We are challenging you, you bitch. It is as official as I can make it with as little as I’m wearing. You are being challenged by children in front of Elves and Dragons alike.”

Pandora was uncertain if she liked where this was going or not.

“I have nothing to prove to you,” she sneered. “The challenge is not over.”

“That is a lie,” Serene shouted. Light flashed in her eyes as she bowed up.

She shouted something to the paralyzed guards but they shook their heads and sheathed their weapons. The woman in charge shouted something back and then the three left the arena.

“Well, that was easy,” Pandora said. “And you shouldn’t have called her that so that the—“

“Will you just stop it already?” Serene asked. “Cussing is the worst of their worries for bad habits,” she said. “They just saw us kill four people.”

“Manners and decorum…”

Serene rolled her eyes and looked away from her cousin. “What do you have to say to that?” she shouted to the Lady of Varanar. “Either to relent and admit that we’re strong enough to do what we must do or you come down and fight us. You were all about strength earlier. Apparently courage is not part of qualities your people value.”

“There is no courage in fighting children,” she replied.

“I agree with the half-breed,” the leader of one of the Dragon clans said. “They have fought to the death. If you still believe they are unworthy then you should fight them.”

Pandora watched her face, but she could not see the subtle transition in it. She could feel it though. It was as if two children were pulling on the rope that were of equal strength. Both were unwilling to give in to their competitor. Both would pull until they were exhausted, but then Pride chose a side.

“Fine, I will kill you,” she said and left the balcony.

She did not take the time to prepare as Pandora and Serene had. She walked right down to them in her robes. She pulled out her sword and did not wait for the metal gate to close behind her before she lunged for Serene.

Serene flashed up a barrier and she fell back. The hilt jumped back in her hand and the woman swore. Pandora had allowed her claws to fade back into her normal hands. She took the opportunity to reform her claws and then she rushed into the Lady of Varanar.

Pandora was passed the primary useage of the blade, but she could still be hammered by the pommel. Her claws found the armor but could not get passed. She called the acid too late. It fell uselessly onto the sand and fizzled as she was thrown back. Her arm hurt from the blow.

She turned back to Serene, but Serene was not there. Serene was beside Pandora when she turned back around, helping her cousin to her feet.

“Children should not fight adults,” she said and pulled back for a slice that could possibly cut through both of them in their unarmored state.

Pandora shoved her cousin down and jumped back. She lunged at the elf while she was attempting to recover. Again, she managed to get passed the blade, and again she was struck by the pummel. This time it was her other arm. She also felt something side into her shoulder. She stumbled back.

“Fine, I’ll kill you first,” she said to Pandora and turned to her.

Pandora tried to move her right arm, but something stopped her. The electric shock of pain struck her torso and she reached up to find what was there. It was a dagger. She gripped it, but the action hurt her even more and she let it go and backed away from the woman.

“What? A little pain is going to stop you?” she asked and held her blade out at a point. Pandora got to her feet and her right arm stayed limply at her side. “Shame power was wasted on a weak human.” She jerked and her eyes widened before she stumbled forward.

The blade slid easily into Pandora. Pandora blinked. She was uncertain if it had actually happened, but she could still feel the intrusion. There was no pain, just an uncomfortable sensation of something intruding into her body.

“Not how I planned it,” she said, “But it will work.

Pandora frowned and then threw up her hands and dug her fingers into the elf’s skull. Something snapped in her shoulder, but she was dieing. The pain meant that she was alive. Her death would not be in vain. She could feel the acid dripping off of the tips of her claws and into her killer’s brain.

“You will not touch my children or my cousin,” she said quietly and both of them collapsed into the sand.

“No!” Serene screamed. “Pandora?”

She heard her name higher up and turned her head to see the hatchlings. They were moving away from the railing and Greg was staring down at her. He was saying something. She concentrated on his voice. He was calling her name. She smiled faintly.

“Pandora,” Serene said again and landed on her knees beside her. “We have to get you away,” she said and started to tug on her hips. “Oh, gods, she… she… oh god,” she cried. “Don’t die Pandora. Please, don’t die. Don’t die.”

“Serene?” Pandora said softly. “Please, get the hatchlings out of here. I don’t want them near our children. Don’t… please… don’t stay here.”

“Stop talking. You’ll rip something else. Gods look a your shoulder. I’ll need your help. Don’t pass out. Please don’t pass out.” She gripped the hilt of the dagger in her shoulder and jerked it roughly. It did not come loose. It only hurt. Pandora screamed in pain, but pain was good. It meant she wasn’t dead yet.

“Serene please.”

“No, you’re not going to die, damn it,” she said. “you can’t die. You can’t leave me. I love you, Pandora.”

“That hatchlings.”

“Oh, thank the gods, Greg, you’re here,” she said, but Pandora could not see him. She could not see.

“I’m dieing,” Pandora told them.

“No, you’re not,” Serene told her. “Greg, pull out the sword.”

“What? She’ll bleed to death,” she heard Greg say.

“Just pull the damn thing out,” Serene screamed.

She felt it slide out. It hurt worse than when it went in. She groaned. She could feel her blood all over her midriff. It was hot and smelled of salt and iron. “I love you, Serene.”

~*~

“Well, you did it again,” a familiar voice said in that familiar sarcastic way. “Do you want to die?”

“Hm?” Pandora opened her eyes. She was in the white room again. No, the white space that stretched on into eternity. She ran her hands over her torso and shoulder. There was no pain. “Am I… I mean, are we dead?”

“No, not yet anyway. What in the world were you thinking?”

“I didn’t challenge her,” Pandora said defensively and got to her feet. “Serene challenged her.”

“Serene is crazy and needs to get her temper in control,” her subconscious said, “But then you already knew that. We knew it was a bad idea from the get go, but you know how she is. I can’t blame her though. She was infuriating.”

“Yeah, she didn’t do that reputation of the underdark elves any favors.”

“They are a bunch of freaks,” the subconscious said. “Can you believe that whole cat thing? Fuh-reaks,” she said and sat down right into a chair that suddenly appeared. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take Serene to revive you or even if she will. You were pretty heavily injured.”

“I guess.”

“Well, you were. There is no guessing to it.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her legs at the knees and her foot bounced up and down.

Pandora sighed. “I really do hate myself,” she said.

“Obviously. You never let me come out and play. You have to try and kill yourself for me to even get to talk to you.”

Pandora looked away from her subconscious. “Why do you have to be so annoying?”

“I’m no more annoying than Serene is. Actually, I’m a lot like her. I bet her subconscious is a lot like you. Oooo, conflicting.”

Pandora sighed again. “And we were talking about the UD elves being freaks,” Pandora said, though she had not really intended to do so. She sighed heavily once again.

“We really aren’t that strange, I’m sure. Plenty of people have subconsciouses.”

“So, what did you want to tell me this time?”

“Oh, I just wanted to slap you and call you an idiot. I can’t believe you get yourself into these messes. If we survive this, I swear to God that I am going to kill you and take over.”

“The thought of that makes me feel sick.”

“Oh, that’s just you waking up.”

“Great. Time to get away from you.”

Her subconscious rolled her eyes.

Chapter 43

2008-07-27T04:11:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Stuck

In the center of the preparation chambers there was pool of water for bathing. It was cool and the feel of it on Pandora’s skin refreshed her. She wore the light gray robes provided for the combatants while they rested and bathed. The fabric was like nothing she had ever seen before. The fibers that crafted the thread were fine and smooth unlike anything Pandora had ever seen on the surface. The water from the pool slid off of it or collected in perfect little droplets as it did on an oiled surface.

Serene washed her hair and face from the side. She made it look graceful and easy as she sat on the edge. She was on her hip with her legs folded at her side. The robe complimented her slender form and crafted an angelic portrait of the fiery half-elf.

“I was told to come and help you pick out your armor and weapons since you own none,” a woman’s voice said from a shadowed portal.

Pandora and Serene both turned their heads to see who was speaking. What stepped out of the shadows was startling, to say the least. At first she was reflecting eyes of yellow and red. Then she was white fangs and a flat nose and furry face. She resembled a cat and a human mixed together. She had a long tail that swished behind her and long limbs and long fingers. Instead of two breasts like a human, though, she had six nipples running down her belly. They were flat and unused.

“Have you never seen an experiment of these barbarians before?” she asked with a sly purr at the end.

Pandora blinked.

“I am a creation of theirs. I cannot earn my freedom. I am Kit, the only of my kind and you are Speakers of the Surface world.”

Serene nodded.

Kit slipped in and out of the shadows cast by the dim lamplight. Her fur was a deep charcoal gray, but it was not enough to make her simply meld. “What weapons would you use?”

“I would like a knife,” Serene said. “Something small and well balanced.”

“And you?” Kit asked Pandora. Her feline face turned to the tall girl and the slit pupils gleamed red.

“I don’t use weapons,” Pandora said and looked away. She dipped her fingers into the pool. “When can I get back into my clothes? I want to get this over with.”

“You are in a rush to die?” the feline said. “You should enjoy the last tranquility you will ever know.”

“We will not die,” Serene said and twisted her hair so that the water fell into a drain.

“Then you will kill the other?” the woman asked. She was leaning against a pillar. “You are bold and brave, but you are only children. You cannot hope to defeat anyone that resides here. Now, what will you wear? What is your preferred armor?”

“We don’t wear armor either,” Serene said.

“Ah, you really are going to die,” Kit said and pulled at her whiskers. “You cannot fight without armor.”

“Why not? Kids do it in the school yard all the time,” Serene said. “When I went to school I saw it all the time.”

“It was not life or death, I’m sure,” Kit told her and the tip of her tail flicked just like the hatchlings did. “You are both dead. You might as well get dressed.”

“How did you learn…”

“How to speak like you?” Kit asked. “I have lived here my whole life. You would be amazed what sorts come here and there have been plenty of humans kidnapped from your surface world and sold for whatever price. All must have someone who can translate what is needed for them.”

“So you learned?” Pandora asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Now get dressed.”

“Where are our clothes?” Serene asked.

“You’re not wearing a dress into the Arena,” Kit said. “The clothes you will be permitted to wear are in those boxes. I don’t know if they’ll fit, but they’re there.”

Serene scowled, but she walked over to the boxes anyway. She opened it and peered inside. Her lips curled and the tips of her ears turned red. “They’re rags.”

“Well, you’re supposed to wear armor. The rags are supposed to protect your skin from it.”

“How are we supposed to put them on?” she asked and pulled out the dingy cloth. It was made of cotton. “I guess they trade for cotton, too.”

“They trade for many things,” she said. “I will help you.”

~*~

The sand squished under Pandora’s feet as she entered the Arena with Serene. She was wearing something to protect her feet from the friction of the sand, but it was more like a leather wrapping than a shoe. It slid over her feet and was uncomfortable, but she knew that once the fighting started she would not notice it.

For the passed two hours Pandora was both anticipating and dreading the battle to come. Now she felt as though the rags covering the more private areas of her body was enough to make her want to die of shame. Her face was flushed with embarrassment when she was greeted with silence from the onlookers. There were many onlookers.

“No one seems excited,” Serene said and picked at the rags that covered her chest. Her ears were red and her cheeks were flushed. “This is humiliating. I wish we’d worn armor. It would cover more.”

“Barely,” Pandora said. She had actually looked at the armor after what she found out what the rags looked like on her. It was far worse or far too big. “I wouldn’t be able to move in the armor that could actually cover something.”

“I don’t need to move,” Serene said and tried to cover her belly with her hands. It didn’t work.

“At least their not perverts,” Pandora offered.

“I think they’re shocked that we’re not wearing armor,” Serene said. “Or um… they’re doing whatever it is boys do…”

“That’s sick,” Pandora said and scanned the crowd. She found Greg and the Hatchlings on a balcony overlooking the area. The hatchlings had their heads poking out between the stone rails.

“Oh this is too much,” Serene said and turned to get out of the sight of everyone, but the gate had swung shut behind them. “Damn it.”

“Don’t talk like that. The hatchlings might hear you,” Pandora said and stared down at her fingers.

“We’re about to kill someone and all you ca think about is protecting the hatchling’s sensibilities?” Serene asked.

The Lady of Varanar stood at the rails with her long dyed hair up in a series of braids and knots. Her face was a blur in the distance except for that her lips stuck out on her face. They were painted white. “It is time to meet your challengers,” she told them. It was not stressed or loud but it reached Pandora’s ears none the less.

The gate to across from them opened and Kit slinked through, but she was not alone. Three others were also crosses of beasts and humans. Their eyes were slits on their heads and they had snouts rather than the flat face of Kit. Chains with barbs of lead dangled from their hands that were tipped off with black nails.

“They look like… dogs and lizards,” Serene said. “I think we were better off with the mages.”

Pandora took a step back. “I think you might be right.”

“I have an idea,” Serene said. “Turn to stone.”

“You don’t just turn to stone,” Pandora hissed. “It isn’t that simple.”

“Yes it is.”

“Take the runt first. She’s the mage,” Kit said and the other three fanned out behind her.

The wheels were turning in Pandora’s head as they moved and then there was a click in the gears. Her eyes snapped wide open and her fists clenched and then her fingers flew part into a wide spread. The claws began to form and she could feel her skin changing. No one would touch her cousin.

Fire rose up between Pandora and the deformed experiments of the underdark elves. One of the dog men caught fire and howled and yelped out in pain. The others did not notice or at least pretended that the incident did not happen.

Kit hissed angrily and flew Pandora. She wielded a knife. Pandora crouched and waited until she was almost on top of her before falling back and throwing Kit to the side with her own momentum. Pandora scrambled to her feet and hurried to get closer to her cousin. “Burn them,” she said.

“Mother!” Rubio cried out desperately from the balcony and received a kick in the side from the woman threatening to take him from his mothers.

Pandora looked to her side and saw the jagged knife of Kit plummeting down at her. She did not try and bat it away. She would have to trust in the stone skin to make the blade skirt off of her. Her claws gleamed wickedly in Arena’s light. It was yellow and bright.

All the better to see the carnage with.

Kit was wearing armor on her belly and she had a kidney belt, but there was a space under her armpits that armor could not go. Pandora found that spot with the tips of her fingers and dug in. “How are the hounds without their brain?” she asked as the blade scraped over her skin. She could feel it and it hurt, but there was no way for her to know the damage.

Kit stared at her and then tried to jerk away, but Pandora’s claws were stuck. She tried to dislodge them, and Kit let out a cry of pain. Oh crap, oh crap, Pandora thought over and over again. Something hard and cold ripped across her shoulder and it was her turn to cry out.

“Mother! Momma!” the hatchlings cried out and pressed against the stone.

One of the hounds stood over her and lashed out at her again. This time it went around her neck and he jerked it back. Even the magic did not protect her entirely from the bite of the metal into her skin. It cracked and blood dropped onto the sand at her feet. Kit’s corpse slumped to the ground and her blood was everywhere. She still could not get her hand free.

Oh crap, she thought again and turned her head to make sure that Serene was all right. She had a shield around her. They were too close for spells. “We are!” Pandora yelled and hoped that her cousin would understand.

Her breath was stuck in her throat and her lugs burned. Black dots floated and drifted in her eyes. She thought of Emerald and dug the claws of her free hand into her attacker’s thighs. He grunted and tried to kick her off and jerked his chains upward. Emerald, she thought dimly and then the chain was lax and Pandora’s fingers were wrenched free of the hounds leg.

Pandora pulled at the chain and took a deep, gasping breath that made her lungs feel as though they would burst. She then managed to get her fingers loose. Kit’s body really was dead weight.

“Serene,” she whispered as the hound man fell into a heap of fur. Acid was eating out of his skin. Pandora wrenched at the chain as hard as she could and it snapped loose as gold chains always did in the stories of bards. She tossed it to the side. The blood stopped flowing from her skin.

Serene’s shield spell burst out and the remaining two combatants flew back. “Are you all right?” Serene asked. “You’re covered in blood!”

“Not all of it is mine,” Pandora said and lifted up her hands. She looked down and saw that the rags she had covering her chest were decorated with trains of blood. Then she realized just how wet and sticky it felt. The blood felt cold against her skin though.

“I don’t see anything wrong with you.”

Pandora shrugged. “I think we have company. Freeze the in place?”

Serene nodded and a sudden heat enveloped them. Sweat beaded over on Pandora’s brow. She watched as the air outside of their hot little globe crystallized into ice and drifted down to the sand. The hound men hesitated. The entire arena was snowing and Pandora thought she was going to die of dehydration.

The houndmen started to shiver and then they collapsed onto the cold sand. Their eyes were desperate as they looked at Pandora for help, but Pandora would not help them. She could not. They froze in place and then the heat whooshed out into the rest of the arena. The rustling of cloth and hair filled the room as everything was lifted up by the magical breeze.

“Wow,” Serene said.

“That was awesome,” Pandora agreed.

“We could freeze the bitch,” Serene said.

“How much did that take out of you?” Pandora asked.

“I’ve never felt stronger. You?”

“Same. Don’t say that word.”

“Pandora, seriously, you’re going to try my patience with your obsession…”

The iron gate swung open again and three underdark elves entered the area. They had their weapons drawn.

“Finally,” Serene said. “Can we go get dressed now? This outfit is humiliating.”

Pandora touched her cousin’s shoulder. “I don’t think they’re here to escort us back into the preparation room.”

Serene blinked and looked back at her cousin. “Oh, you can’t be serious,” she said and then looked back at the three elves that were waiting for the Matriarch’s go-ahead.

“I am.”

Chapter 42

2008-07-26T04:48:00.001-07:00

by Amanda Cast

And Something Else

Arenas always have the same concept in mind when they are built. The arena of Varanar was no different from that of Vestron except for that instead of being built upward it was dug down. Black and green stone were prominent, though the floor was covered in sand. There were no columns and arches. It was just a flat surface all but perfectly vertical. There were three entrances made of metal bars and magic.

Pandora inspected it and began planning how she was going to fight and attempted to imagine all that she could fight. The sand would slip under their feet and could possibly cause her to lose her balance. She pondered on what could make the occurrence rare if not unlikely, and to make it far more likely for her opponent.

“Mother,” Emerald said cautiously and Pandora turned to look at the green dragon. “I have something to tell you.”

Pandora kneeled down so that Emerald could easily whisper into her ear. Emerald’s breath was hot and smelled of iron rich blood. “What is it, dearest?”

“You and mother are different from that other Speaker,” she said. “We do not know if she is normal or not.”

“What do you mean?” Pandora asked quietly and motioned for Serene to come over to them. The half elf rested on her knees and the other hatchlings stuck their heads close to their mothers’ faces.

“She does not have magic the way you have magic,” Emerald said.

“I felt it, too,” Star said quietly and looked over her shoulder. “I think it might be important.”

“We all do,” Rubio said.

“What are you talking about?” Serene asked and held Rubio’s head in her cupped hands. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Topaz’s hide was wrinkled around his eyes and they swirled all the colors in the world that were set in stone. He rubbed his head against Pandora’s neck and cheek. “Mother, you will kill for us, won’t you?” he asked.

“I will do anything for you, my love,” she said. “You are all precious to me.”

“Mother, Momma,” Emerald said, “I think we can help you win.”

“Why is that?” Serene asked. Star was wrapping herself around her Momma.

“It’s more of a how,” Rubio said and fidgeted.

“We did not tell you, because you wanted to protect us from the mages,” Emerald said.

“They’re so ignorant about dragons,” Star interjected.

Emerald shot her sister a stern look. “We need to tell them,” she said and then turned back to her mothers. “You can use our magic.”

The center of Pandora’s forehead wrinkled. “I can’t…”

“Yes, you can, Mother,” Topaz said seriously. “It’s not a spell. We don’t cast a spell when we use our magic. We just use it.”

“It’s as natural as breathing and sleeping and eating,” Star started.

Topaz said without missing a beat, “And shitting.”

“Don’t be crude,” Star said. “It’s rude.”

Topaz snorted. “Just trying to lighten the mood,” he said against Pandora’s stomach.

“You’re just as worried as the rest of us,” Star said testily.

“It’s not like we think you’ll fail,” Rubio said hastily, “But if they make you fight kids, I don’t know if either of you could go through with it.”

Serene and Pandora exchanged uncertain glances.

“In fact,” Emerald said quietly, “We don’t know if you can kill at all.”

“Or if you will,” Topaz admitted and his entire body drooped closer to the floor.

“How are we unlike the other Speaker then?” Serene asked.

“Oh,” Emerald said and then coughed, “She can touch the magic and she can use it. She is an elf and a magical creature by nature, but she can only touch the magic of the dragons she is close to.”

“So we can touch the magic of other dragons?” Pandora asked.

Emerald’s face wrinkled in thought, “I think you can use ours.”

“But what is your magic?” Serene asked. All of the dragons and girls were now leaning so far into each other that their heads were touching.

“Fire and Death,” Rubio said.

“Ice and Soul and more,” Star said.

“Dreams and Memories,” Emerald said.

“She also spits acid,” Rubio interrupted and Emerald pulled back just to glare at him.

“I am Stone and… Renewal?”

“What do you mean?’

“Some of our abilities are new to the world, I think,” Star said. “The magic has no name and we don’t know the extent to which it goes. Rubio is fire and he exudes warmth when he uses magic. I absorb it.”

“She consumes it and is going to get fat,” Rubio said.

“I thought we were having a serious moment,” Emerald said.

“We are, but—“

“All right,” Serene said, cutting them all off. “What else can you tell us?”

“Em and I are war dragons,” Topaz said. “And I think I want another name.”

“Now is not the time to get a new name,” Star told him.

“Since when did you start calling Emerald ‘Em’?” Serene asked, digressing right along with the others.

Pandora sighed. “Just tell us what we can do, if you please. They won’t give us much longer to talk.”

“Oh, sorry, Mother,” Star said.

“You can take on stone skin, for one,” Topaz said. “It will protect you from blades, but I don’t know what it would do against a mace.”

Pandora nodded. She could just see skin shattering off of her body. The thought was unpleasant.

“You can resist the effects of Dream magic,” Emerald offered.

“That’s good to know,” Serene said earnestly.

“Some other things could hurt you greatly,” Star said. “Rubio and I don’t know the extent of what we can do, and we don’t know what you can do. I think we should just try and go an easy fire and ice route.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Pandora said.

“Are you going to use a weapon?” Star asked.

“I am a weapon,” Pandora said. She closed her eyes and focused on a single thought. She was stone so hot that it was malleable. It shifted and changed at every movement, but the form always stayed the same. Her fingers changed from round, useless nubs with fragile nails to claws that could rival a dragon’s in strength and durability. She looked down at her hands and saw claws at the tips of her fingers. They were hard and sharp. Relief rushed over her. It had worked.

“How did you do that?” Topaz asked.

“I am the stone,” she said. “I hear it sing.”

Emerald licked her mother’s cheek and then breathed her blood scented breath against her face and into her nose and mouth. “You should use my acid to get into their very blood,” she said. “Think of me when you cut. Think of it.”

“You do not need spells to wield the fire and the ice, Momma,” Rubio said. “You just have to think about it and it will come.”

“The same with you, Mother,” Star said and rubbed her cheek against Pandora’s face. They laid their foreheads together. “I love you, Mother.”

“I love you, too,” Pandora said. “They will not take you from us. Behave for Greg. If… if we fail… you all do what you think is best, but look out for Greg.”

“We will not stay here if you die,” Emerald said. “We will flee to another place. We will take Greg back to the surface. Maybe he could live with the tribes or the surface dragons will take us in.”

“We won’t fail and we won’t die,” Serene said. “But mind Greg and your manners.” She cut her eyes at Topaz. “You mind your mouth, too, young dragon.”

“Yes, Momma,” he said sheepishly.

Pandora and Serene kissed the hatchlings on the tops of their heads and pressed foreheads with them. Each time their eyes closed and Serene’s eyes were watery when they finished exchanging their “I love you”s. The cousin’s stood up and took each other’s hands and walked away from them towards the awaiting dragons.

“Are you scared?” Serene asked.

“Yes,” Pandora admitted. Her heart weighed heavily in her chest.

“Are we going to die?” she asked as Pandora’s hands faded into their natural shape.

“Not if I can help it,” Pandora said and stopped and pulled her cousin close. She took her other hand and looked down at her cousin. Serene was too short for Pandora to press their foreheads together as they had with the dragons. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Serene. I won’t let anyone hurt those hatchlings. I’ll find a way to consume everyone in here with Rubio’s fire if I must. I won’t let you die.”

“I won’t let you die, either,” Serene promised. She started to pull away but stopped. “Pandora, I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For what I said to you at the Academy,” she said. “I’m sorry that I took their side instead of yours. You mean more to me than they ever could and I know you love me more, and I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Pandora said and hugged her cousin. “We can do anything together, Serene. We’re family and we’re Speakers. They will not defeat us. They can’t. Fate will not allow it.”

“Are you sure?”

“No,” Pandora said. “But I can believe it. It gives me strength and courage. No one will take our family from us. No one.”

Serene nodded and then they broke apart and continued to the dragons who had allowed them to have their discussion in peace. For safe measure they had spoken in their native tongues.

“Are you done saying your goodbyes?” Hannin asked.

“Why is it,” Serene said idly, “That everyone is out to kill us in one manner or another?”

“Well,” Pandora said, “I think it could be because we’re irreverent.”

“That could be it,” one of the dragons said with a nod. The jewelry that dangled from his ears shivered as he moved.

“Or it could be because they know we’re more powerful than they are,” Serene said, “And they’re worried we’ll try and take over the world with four hatchlings.”

“I think we could, but I’m not up for the work,” Pandora said to her cousin.

Serene glanced at Hannin to see his reaction. Pandora looked back for one last look at the Hatchlings who were now crowded protectively around Greg. Greg looked worried, and he pet Star absently as he watched Pandora and Serene entered the entrance to the preparation chambers.

Chapter 41

2008-07-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

by Amanda Cast

Skirting the Line

Everything was carved with dragons and elves killing creatures of the underdark, or at least it was assumed that it was the underdark. Pandora wished she could stop and inspect them. The artwork made her feel something of which she had no familiarity.

Serene pulled her along and Greg pushed her forward. The hatchlings stayed close to her.

“They like killing things,” Topaz said in a hushed whisper that bounced against the stone and magnified.

The guardian dragons glared at him for silence, but he gave them his normal defiant expression. Pandora wondered if he could hear the stone’s story and see its maddening patterns. She touched his back. Emerald was at her other side.

Rubio flanked Serene and Star flanked Greg. Both of the humanoids touched their escort’s back. Serene stroked Rubio’s back. Her fingers traced around the ridges that were forming along his back.

“We are here,” Hannin said and the door opened on its own.

Pandora’s first thought was of the arena temple in the Temple District. Everything was red and black. There were statues of the black Shadow dragons that were the size of the hatchlings set in different poses with their wings spread or folded as the pose demanded. Scale patterned necks were arched and craned for battle and for vanity.

Red was pooled at their feet and pedestals.

The black skinned elves were crafted out of obsidian. Their head was made of a red stone that was the color of freshly welling blood. They held obsidian weapons with scarlet hilts and ruby pommels.

It was ostentatious. It made Pandora’s stomach hurt and her mind became jumbled in a chaos of red and black. Topaz pressed closer to her. Were the stones still talking to him?

She rubbed his hide, but the comfort she was trying to give felt lost.

On a black stone throne with rubies shining in the dim light sat a woman with hair died red. It looked like blood was raining from her head and cascading down her shoulders.

“Welcome, Speakers and boy of no tongue,” she greeted. She was lounging on the throne with her legs crossed at the knees. Her dress was white and slit high up to her hips so that all of her long, slender legs were showing. “Welcome dragons of Stone, Dreams, Fire, and Ice. My home is your home, my city is your city. May you be at peace and sleep satisfied and in comfort.”

“Greetings, Lady of Varanar,” Pandora and Serene said together and bowed. The hatchlings echoed the greeting and touched their noses to the black floor. No one had ever told them how dragons were supposed to bow.

Her eyes went passed the girls and the dragons and settled on Greg. “It is customary for the Lady of a City to be bowed to in her thrown room.”

“My people only bow before God,” Greg said with a deep, powerful voice that Pandora had never heard him use before. It echoed and vibrated throughout the room.

“You are with my people,” she told him.

One of the guards drew out his sickle blade, but the Lady of Varanar raised her hand to stop him. She said something to him in their Underdark language and he retired the weapon.

“My people bow only before God. For generations we have had no need for such movements. I ask that you respect that.”

Pandora’s brow knit together. “May I make a request from you, Lady of Varanar, from one Speaker to another?”

The elf looked at her with a raised, red eyebrow. Her lips were pursed together in irritation. “That depends on the request, Speaker.”

“It is Greg’s religion that prevents him from bowing to anyone other than his God. To ask him to do so is against the tenants of free faith that those of the cloth have long held dear to prevent more wars between the peoples of this world. I would ask that you allow him to keep his back straight and his culture strong. He is the only one of his kind in this world. He has a culture that should be explored and respected.”

“You are a child. You cannot imagine the importance that there is to bowing,” she said.

“In our world we bow in respect to those we view as our betters, Lady of Varanar. People such as myself have many betters and bow frequently. Bowing is empty to us. We do it out of habit, not out of respect or love,” Pandora said. She was uncomfortable and felt like an idiot, but she knew that Greg would not bend and did not want him harmed for his stubbornness.

“You do not respect me?” she asked.

“I do,” Pandora said, “You are a leader of a City of great wealth and power. You live and thrive in a world that is harsh and unforgiving, but I do not bow out of respect. I bow because it is customary to do so. It is not customary for Greg to do so. In the time that I have known him he has not yet bowed once.”

She narrowed her eyes at Pandora and then said to Greg, “What is your position in your world?”

“I am a king, a lord, a noble, a freeman, and the lowliest of peasants. I am all things because I am nothing and everyone else is the same,” he said.

She snorted. “A pretty speech,” she said. “For the Speaker I will allow you your straight back.”

“I am grateful,” he said and Pandora gave a soft smile.

The Lady of Varanar’s attention was grabbed by Hannin. He was speaking in the language that the elves used instead of draconic. Greg whispered a paraphrased translation to the girls.

“He is saying that Amazon here has heard the story that the stones tell.” The matriarch’s red eyebrows pulled together and she replied. “She says that it is disturbing news. No elf has heard the story since her grand mother. Only hearts that sing as a stone can hear it… I don’t know they aren’t making much sense.”

Serene agreed with a silent nod. Her right eye lid twitched.

“Hannin is upset because the dragons have been denied the tale. No one understands it who has not seen it. It is impossible to explain.”

“Is that why they’re so upset?” Serene asked.

“It has to do with a measure of a heart. None have had the heart who have approached the palace of stone. It has lain silent and still,” Greg said, but his face was wrinkled with concern.

“She doesn’t believe?” Serene asked.

“She does, but she is not so concerned. It is a sign of weakness and magic all at once.”

“Pandora is not weak,” Serene said dismissively.

“Will you let me talk?” Greg asked. “Anyway, I think they mean sympathy. Having sympathy and empathy for their enemy is a weakness of soul and spirit to them. They are a warlike people.”

“They can believe what they want,” Pandora said.

Greg’s eyes narrowed, but they were directed at the floor and through the hatchlings that were gathered at their feet. His expression was so intense that Serene began to lean closer as if to read his thoughts.

The dragon guards moved closer at the last thing she said and Greg said, “No,” in the same voice that he had used earlier. The guards hesitated. “They don’t want to be with anyone else.”

“What did they say?” Serene asked as the hatchlings began to hiss and spit angrily at the grown dragons.

“They want to take them away from you because you are not strong enough to raise children here,” he said.

“That is not their choice to make,” Star said. “It is ours.”

“You are not even six months old yet,” the Lady of Varanar said. “You do not get to choose what it is that happens.”

“They do not want to be apart from us,” Pandora said. “We are their mothers. We have accepted the task and will be their mothers until they decide that they will no longer have us.”

“That is not for other children to decide. You are not even in your monthly flow. You are weak in spirit and soul, Speaker. To raise a hatchling one needs to be strong and stern.”

“You don’t even know her,” Topaz said angrily.

“Look at them, they have no respect. No manners.”

“How many two month old dragons do you bring here and insult?” Serene asked and shook her hands hard at her wrists. She squared her shoulders and braced her legs apart.

The woman said nothing to this. “They will be put under the control someone older and wiser. Each will have their own ‘parent’.”

“No!” Rubio said and wrapped his body around Serene. “You will not separate us. You will not!”

“They are our mothers,” Star said. “They love us. We won’t leave them.”

“While you are with us—“

“Then we will leave,” Emerald said and everyone turned to stare at her except for Pandora and Serene.

“Why would you leave here?” she asked Emerald. “You belong in the Underdark. You belong with us. You are a dragon of Dreams and Mysteries.”

“I will not be separated from my brothers and sister. I will not be separated from my mothers. You are weak in spirit, not them. You have no idea what they have given up for us and what they have lost.”

“They are here with the dragons of Dreams and Memories to give them food and shelter. They are not forced to earn their keep in this harsh world. They have given up nothing.”

“That is a lie,” Serene said with her fingers stretched out taunt. “I have no idea where my father is. He could be dead and he is all the family I knew before I met Pandora. You know nothing about us or our spirit or our strength.”

“Perhaps I should test you,” she said. “You have heard the story. You are weak and your spirit is poor.”

“You know nothing of my cousin,” Serene yelled and Pandora put a hand on her shoulder.

“And what would your test be?” Pandora asked. She could feel the familiar anxiety pricking at her finger tips and gripping her heart and releasing it at every beat. She took a deep breath and felt the air fill her lungs with every nerve.

“Perhaps combat to the death,” she said.

Pandora frowned. “Why to the death?’ she asked.

“Is there no more strength than in taking a life?” she asked.

Pandora was not a killer, though she would kill to protect those that meant the most to her, she did not want to go out of her way to take a life. “The weak must kill their enemy to ensure their survival,” Pandora said, remembering something she had read once, “One of strength can spare their foe and fear not for their life.”

“Your foe uses resources you and yours could use,” she told Pandora.

“My concern in this is small,” Pandora said. “If you are unhappy with my family then we shall take our chances in the caverns and leave.”

“You would disrespect me and face a chance of execution?” she asked. “It will not be pleasant.”

“I would leave. If you would not let me then I suppose I will have to fight to the death if need be. I would rather not have it come to that. Life is a precious thing that should not be taken lightly.”

“Do you think we take our lives lightly?”

“I think you hunger for mortality,” she said simply. “You fight and kill because you can die and gain peace in no other way.”

“I have given you one boon, Speaker, and I will give you no other. If you wish to keep your children and your friend then you and your cousin must prove that you deserve the right to raise them.”

“Then we will,” Serene said. “I’ll take out an army of dragons for my children.”

“You are a child,” the Lady of Varanar said, “And you will die a child.”