Dragonseed

part of who I am. I'm afraid I'll get lost inside my own head if I surrender to these thoughts.'

Shay squeezed Jandra's hand. 'I'll be beside you to help you find your way back.'

Jandra smiled. She took the bracelet off her wrist and slid it onto Shay's hand. 'Take this,' she said.

'You need it to turn invisible,' he said.

'I need you even more,' she said. 'It's all I have to give.'

Shay knew she had given him so much more.

In the dead tree near the waterfall, Lizard was still sound asleep, his limbs dangling from the tree branch. The bandaged tip of his tail twitched in response to dreams Shay could only imagine.

Jandra pulled her hand away, her fingertips lingering until the last possible instant. 'As wonderful as this moment is, we should do what we came here to do.'

'Lead on,' he said.

Jandra reached down beside her pack and picked up one of the three metal plates laying there. She handed one to Shay. It was remarkably light for a grooved steel disk a foot across and two inches deep. He'd watched as Jandra pulled these from the backs of the dead guards. The huge wings had folded into these compact shapes. Looking into the edge-groove, hundreds of delicate metallic feather tips could be seen, all packed up in neat rows.

'It should weigh more,' said Shay. 'It's as big as some cast iron skillets I've used, and they're pretty hefty. This weighs little more than a quill.'

'It's made of carbon nanofibers. It's like woven diamonds. The wings generate some lift with their shape, but an ion discharge provides the real thrust. That's why you can hover in these.'

'I have no clue what an ion or a nanofiber is,' said Shay.

'It's not important,' said Jandra. 'Just stick it between your shoulder blades. Hyper-friction will hold it. Then, think about the wings unfolding.'

Shay stood up and reached behind his back. He didn't see how it was possible to get the disk centered directly between his shoulder blades, but when he got the disk near, he felt a tug. The disk leapt from his fingers and grabbed onto his back. His skin tingled as the disk adjusted itself to the correct position. The tingling stopped abruptly. He turned, expecting to find the disk behind him, certain it had fallen off. Seeing bare ground, he reached behind his back and found the disk was still there.

He imagined the wings spreading. Instantly, they did so, growing outward in an intricate unfolding pattern until they stretched from his body several yards in each direction. The feathers chimed like tiny bells. To his surprise, he could feel the wings as if they were part of his body. The wing nearest the fire was warm-the wing extending out over the pool was cool, and he felt beads of water dripping across the surface. All the tiny breezes stirred by the waterfall ruffled the feathers. It felt as natural as the breeze playing with his hair.

Until this moment, he'd been skeptical that the wings would lift him, despite having witnessed the flight of the guards. Now, flight felt like it could occur with only the slightest flick of his wing tips.

He flicked.

The sensation of his feet leaving the ground was one he knew would remain with him forever. He rose three feet in the air and hung there, holding his breath as his heartbeat pounded in his ears. When he finally allowed himself to breath, he found himself giggling.

Jandra rose into the air in front of him, leveling out. They both hovered on outstretched wings. The air smelled curiously fresh.

Jandra tilted toward him and drifted over. He leaned forward to meet her. This resulted in a sudden acceleration. Their lips met with what could fairly be called a collision. They each jerked back.

'We, uh, should practice before we try that again,' Jandra said, her voice muffled by her hand over her mouth. She seemed to be checking for loose teeth.

'Scary birds!' Lizard screamed.

The little earth-dragon was awake on his branch now, looking ready to leap into the pool. His eyes narrowed when Jandra spun around in the air to face him. Shay had to duck to avoid her wings as they passed over his head.

'It's okay, Lizard,' said Jandra. 'It's just Shay and me.'

'Good boss?' Lizard asked, sounding skeptical.

Jandra floated toward him, her arms outstretched. 'Jump on,' she said. Lizard scooted further back on the branch. 'Don't be scared,' she said. Lizard looked down at his tail tip and changed the subject.

'Tail hurt,' he said.

'I know,' said Jandra.

'Eat soon?'

'Breakfast is the next item on the agenda,' said Jandra.

'New meat?' Lizard asked. This wasn't a question Shay had heard before.

'Same old beef jerky and hard tack for now,' said Jandra.

'New meat!' Lizard insisted.

Jandra cast a puzzled glance back toward Shay. Shay shrugged. Lizard looked perturbed. He leapt down from the branch and skittered across the rocks like a small green monkey, traveling thirty yards in the space of a few seconds, until he reached the mound of stones that Shay had used to bury the guards.

Lizard sniffed the rocks. 'New meat,' he said, looking up at Jandra. Jandra grew pale as she realized what was on Lizard's mind.

'Lizard, we can't eat those men,' she said.

Lizard cocked his head, confused. 'Smell,' he said, and drew a deep, whistling breath through the nostril slots in his beak. 'New meat.'

'Lizard, I wouldn't let the men back at Dragon Forge eat you. I'm not going to let you eat men.'

Lizard tilted his head to the other side. It was as if thoughts were physically shifting around in his skull. 'Lizard not meat,' he said.

Jandra lowered herself onto the rocks beside the little dragon. He looked up at her with a mix of hunger and reverence. He reached to the grave and picked up a stone that looked too heavy for his small frame.

'Put that down!' Jandra snapped. Lizard dropped the rock and hopped backward, looking alert as he studied Jandra's face. 'Who's the boss here?' Jandra asked.

Lizard lowered his eyes. 'You boss.'

'We eat hardtack. Any questions?'

'No boss,' Lizard said softly.

'Now jump onto my shoulders.'

The little dragon leapt as if gravity had no true claim upon him. He made it to her shoulders in a single bound and clung tightly as she glided back over the pond toward Shay. Together, they drifted down to a landing beside the fire. Her wings folded up with a soft, musical chiming. He willed his own wings to close and they did the same.

Lizard hopped down from her shoulder and sat before the pack with the last few bricks of hard tack, staring at it intently. Jandra glanced at Shay. The stern countenance she'd wore while bossing Lizard melted into a look of worry. Shay knew what she was thinking. If Lizard was hungry for human flesh now, with other food available, what would he be like if the food ran out?

THEY LIFTED INTO the air with a rush of ozone and the wind-chime tinkling of silver feathers. Jandra bent her head up to meet the wind. She closed her eyes, lost in memories. As a child, she'd traveled many miles with her face pressed against Vendevorex's breast as he flew with her strapped against him in a sling. She remembered the hard, smooth texture of his scales and the way his muscles had radiated heat as he beat his wings to soar across the miles. She remembered the sound of his heart, the powerful bellows of his lungs, and the whistle of wind whipping her hair against her cheeks.

She opened her eyes. Lizard clung to her coat, looking moderately terrified. They'd risen a hundred feet in the air and were now arcing out over the underground lake. Its waters were dark as crude oil. Ripples on the surface hinted at the monsters beneath. Lizard's fear was rational.

Yet, so was her happiness. All her life she'd dreamed she had wings. She'd wake in the night and ached at their absence. Her dragon soul felt as if it had reclaimed a birthright.

Shay was flying lower, slower. She curved and flew a broad, graceful circle around him. He flew straight and steady, his eyes locked on the island shore that was their destination.

'You look nervous,' she said as she slowed into a path parallel to him. 'Relax. The wings won't drop you.'