EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter five

A strong smell of burning incense filled the cave where an ancient dragon was slowly dying. Deep down Ayre couldn’t help thinking that a dying dragon was a pitiful sight. With his mind and faculties gone, his father was nothing more than an enormous mound of decaying flesh buried beneath white flowers of lotus and jasmine as though their presence could hide the fact that there was nothing but a rotting and stinking carcass underneath.

Now Ayre understood why some elderly dragons threw themselves against the sharpest of rocks until they bled to death.

A low hum was drifting from the nearby cave where the leaders of other dragon clans had gathered to pay their respects and to say their goodbyes to their dragon lord. Only family members and servants were allowed to see him in his current state.

Ayre was grateful for that.

There was something unbearably ignominious about having others see his once great and glorious father like that. It filled him with the deepest shame he couldn’t explain. Death offended him. It repulsed him on a physical level. He could feel himself recoil from the sight. He averted his gaze from the motionless mound and looked down.

A mass of fallen scales littered the floor of the cave. Ayre bent down to pick them up. He studied them before placing the golden ones on one pile and the rotten ones on the other. Later, the golden scales would be preserved along with his father’s heart, brain, wings, horns, teeth, claws, and hide, while the rotten scales would join the funeral pyre along with his bones.

There was a belief that if the pile of golden scales was larger than the pile of rotten scales, the spirit of the departed dragon would find itself in the Golden Halls of Glory. However, if it was the pile with rotten scales that was larger, then the spirit of the dragon would instead find itself trapped in eternal darkness.

Ayre was glad to see that the pile with golden scales remained much larger.

After visiting his father or what was left of him, Ayre spent some time disciplining his mind and exerting control over his temper in the cool and calming waters of an underground lake. Feeling more in control of his emotions, he made his way to the upper caves, where his sleeping chamber was situated.

It was a simple cave with a stone fire pit in its centre and a number of recesses in its walls for his personal belongings. Ayre quickly changed into his sleeping tunic, shooed away a flock of lanthorn flies that provided meagre illumination, lay down on a simple bamboo mat, and went to sleep.

When he woke up the next day, he found Ayzu sitting cross-legged and pensive next to the stone fire pit with a bunch of scrolls on his lap. There was no fire in the pit even though caves grew quite cold during the night. However, dragon warriors were trained to sleep outside in their human form in all weather until they became completely immune to its changes.

“Morning, Phi,” he greeted his brother in a husky whisper as he sat up and crossed his legs just like his brother. “Have you been here long? Why didn’t you wake me?”

Ayzu didn’t reply. He was looking at him with so much tenderness and sadness that Ayre had to look away. That’s when he noticed a bamboo tray with jasmine tea already cooling off in shallow clay bowls. Ayre cleared his throat and lifted one of the bowls to his dry lips. He took a slow careful sip, so that small white flowers that floated on the surface remained in the bowl. He was so studiously focusing on his task that didn’t notice when Ayzu leaned over to ruffle his messy morning hair.

“Hey!”

Ayre glared at him.

Ayzu laughed.

“I’ll miss that.”

“I won’t,” snapped Ayre.

Ayzu sighed and took the other bowl. Looking at his brother’s face, Ayre wished he could take back his ill-advised words. They sat in silence, drinking their tea – and despite years of training, right now they were both stooped under the weight of their impending separation.

“I have brought you some texts,” said Ayzu when he could no longer pretend to drink tea. “Of course, they are extremely outdated as they were compiled centuries ago… Yet knowing their past cannot hurt. Study them before you take flight. Speaking about that, I have also found a map that might make your journey easier.”

“How?” Ayre frowned. “I won’t be able to fly and keep an eye on the map unless I attach it to my tail.”

“You won’t have to. I will spell it on your back with special ink – the magic will guide you in the right direction. You will also be able to make it invisible once you reach the human kingdom, so that no one can guess where you’ve come from.”

Ayre raised an eyebrow.

“Do you think I’ll be walking around humans with my back naked?”

Ayzu huffed. “I don’t know, do I?” he asked with a grin. “Maybe you’ll throw all caution to the wind and forget everything you’ve been taught once you find yourself in the wild?”

Ayzu winked.

Ayre snorted.

They both laughed.

Knowing that it was their last meeting before his departure, Ayre clung to its lingering happiness by squeezing his empty bowl between his palms, because he couldn’t cling to his brother. Even young dragons were taught to keep their emotions under control and prolonged physical contact was allowed only during training or between mates.

Reluctantly, Ayre cleaned the bowls and put them away into one of the recesses. His insides were churning with hunger, but admitting that meant leaving the comfort of his cave and his brother’s presence and going to the dining hall. It was a common area, where clan dragons spent much of their time when they were free from their various duties and it was also the place where Aybo loved to flaunt his pretty and rich mate. Ayre felt sick just thinking about it. Of course, it could be hunger talking, but Ayre didn’t care.

Yet their time together was swiftly running out. Ayzu had to return to the training arena, because Aybo didn’t consider saying goodbye to his younger brother a good enough reason not to fulfill his duties. Ayzu took out a bottle of ink and some brushes from his leather bag and spread them on a low table that he had found folded in the corner of the cave. Then he prompted Ayre to bare his back and lie down on the bamboo mat. Ayre did as he was told.

“It might tickle a little,” warned Ayzu as he uncorked the bottle with black ink and dipped one of the brushes inside. “So try not to move if it does. Each line and curve that I will put on your back must match precisely those on the map. Even the tiniest of errors might take you off course or even lead you astray.”

Ayre tensed and held his breath, his fingers gripping the edge of the mat. He didn’t know whether he was ticklish or not and thought that now was probably not the best time to find it out.

“How exactly does it work?” he asked to distract himself.

“First, I will trace the map on your back with enchanted ink and brushes that I spelled to place each line with perfect precision. Once your skin absorbs the ink, I will say the incantation to activate the magic. After that all you have to do is imagine the map with your mind’s eye and the magic will guide you in the right direction.”

“Good thing you know so much about magic, Phi,” murmured Ayre gratefully before pressing his forehead against his folded arms and closing his eyes. Ayzu wasn’t a magic disciple and, strictly speaking, wasn’t supposed to know so much about magic, but his curiosity broke through every barrier put in place by previous generations of dragons.

The first touch of the brush against his naturally hot skin felt pleasantly cool. It reminded Ayre of water. He suppressed a shiver of pleasure and concentrated on his breathing, keeping it slow and even, so as not to disturb his brother’s hard work. He relished every brush stroke against his back, imagining his skin absorbing the ink in the same way that he soaked in his brother’s care, locking this moment inside his memories to relive it once he was far away from home.

“You don’t have to make it invisible – if you don’t want to. For an outsider it will look like an intricate tattoo,” explained Ayzu as he confidently painted different lines and curves on Ayre’s broad bronze back. “No one will be able to read the map unless you allow them to see it for what it is. I would not advise you to do so. We don’t want to attract any attention to our realm.”

Ayre fluttered his eyes open. He hadn’t even noticed when he had started nodding off. “I keep telling you,” he said with a yawn, “that I’m not going to walk around with my back naked.”

“We don’t know what humans wear these days,” pointed out Ayzu. “You might not have a choice.”

Ayre thought about it.

“Are they very different from us?” he asked after a short pause; he had been wondering about it for some time now.

“In the past, when we took on our human form, it was impossible to tell us apart,” answered Ayzu. “So unless they have developed some extraordinary appendages or abilities, they should have retained that similarity. I imagine you won’t have any trouble blending in. However,” he warned, “I would advise you to study their appearance and behaviour from afar – make necessary changes to your own looks and clothes – before approaching them. Also, think about what you will tell them if they ask you about where you came from or about your family.”

Ayre’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think of that.”

“You will have plenty of time during your flight to figure it out,” said Ayzu encouragingly.

Ayre sighed but nodded.

He comforted himself with the thought that pretending to be a human surely couldn’t be harder than becoming a dragon warrior.

TO BE CONTINUED...

GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING:

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter four

P’Forge from the Green Meadow Clan of earth dragons was P’Ayzu’s equal in everything but birth – he was also his greatest enemy. They belonged to the same generation of young dragons and were considered the greatest dragon warriors of their respective clans. Just as Ayzu was the pride of every dragon that belonged to the fire dragon clan, Forge was the pride of every dragon that belonged to the earth dragon clan.

Their rivalry and mutual dislike began when the two clans met in order to train their dragon warriors – that’s when they fought with each other for the very first time. As young and ambitious dragons, they were eager to prove themselves and to show that their clan had the best warrior in their midst. Yet they soon discovered that neither could get the upper hand. Ever since then their rivalry and dislike had grown in equal proportions and each new encounter inevitably led to a violent altercation.

Everyone knew how matters stood between them. Aybo couldn’t be ignorant of their rivalry and hatred, which could only mean one thing: he was doing it on purpose. Ayre didn’t understand why Aybo would do such a thing to his own brother – why would he mate Ayzu to someone he clearly couldn’t stand? But then there was a reason why Aybo was often referred to as The Cold One – some even said that he didn’t have a heart and that was why he didn’t have any tender feelings towards his own father or brothers.

Aybo was the first dragon who was not conceived but magically created after a terrible disease had completely wiped out the entire female dragon population and there were persistent whispers that the magic formula used for his creation had been flawed. Looking at his brother’s cruel mouth and vicious eyes, Ayre didn’t doubt that it was so.

He was aware that he was no longer bound to the ground of the cave by Aybo’s horrible spell, but he remained kneeling as Ayzu raved and raged against Aybo’s decision. Ayzu was pacing back and forth, his arms in the air, yelling. Ayre had never seen Ayzu in such a state before.

“I refuse! I will not mate with him nor with anyone else! I will not help you ruin everything our father has built! I will – !”

“You will do as I say.” Aybo spoke slowly and clearly. “Unless, of course, you wish to have your wings clipped and your flesh stripped off every single scale that covers it. Don’t test me, Ayzu. If you dare to disobey me, don’t think that I won’t enjoy seeing you punished and humiliated – just because you are my brother.”

Ayzu came to an abrupt halt and stared at his eldest brother as though he had never seen him before. Ayre had a distinct impression that until that moment Ayzu hadn’t taken Aybo seriously. He obviously hadn’t realised how dangerous and deranged he had become. Or had he always been like that? Ayre had always kept his distance, knowing that Aybo loathed him and wishing to avoid antagonising him with his presence. But it seemed that even Ayzu – clear-sighted and perceptive – had been unaware of Aybo’s true character.

“That’s better,” said Aybo, indicating Ayzu’s frozen attitude. “I have chosen a perfect mate for you and with time you will see that. He is the future head  of his clan which happens to have the biggest garrison of highly-trained dragon warriors in the realm second only to that of our own. So when he comes, you will welcome him into our lands with open arms and you will make sure that he is happy here. Do not try to kill him with your glare or start a fight. This alliance is very important. Do you hear me?” 

Ayzu jerked his head down.

“Good.” Aybo smiled. “Now,” he said and his expression instantly changed when he looked at Ayre.

Ayzu followed his gaze and frowned. “He is too young to mate,” he said in a bleak manner that smelled strongly of resignation and defeat.

Ayre’s skin crawled under Aybo’s glare and his heart made a violent jolt when he realised that Ayzu wouldn’t really oppose his mating if that was what Aybo had in store for him as well. It appeared that the threat of being publicly clipped and scaled had broken his spirit of resistance. But would getting mated be so very bad? Ayre decided that he really wouldn’t mind having someone other than Aybo around now that Ayzu was getting a mate and starting a new life that wouldn’t include him. The thought that he was on the verge of losing his favourite brother who also happened to be his best friend, closest confidant and biggest supporter horrified him.

“It doesn’t matter,” replied Aybo. “I wouldn’t burden any clan with his presence.”

“Aybo,” said Ayzu with a shake of his head, “Ayre is your brother – ”

“ – a brother I didn’t ask for,” interrupted Aybo. “Everyone knows that our father decided to have him as a companion for you because he thought that the age gap between us was too big to overcome.” His voice was bitter and his eyes were filled with resentment he had been carrying around for years. “Get up, Nong Ayre!” he snapped. “You are no longer under my spell, so stop playing the martyr!”

Keeping his head down and his eyes fixed on the ground, Ayre stood up. Though why did he even bother? It was clear that as long as he was in Aybo’s line of sight, he would provoke his ire and showing respect or humility wouldn’t change anything. Aybo had spent years cultivating anger, jealousy, and hatred towards him and now that their father’s invisible wall of protection around Ayre had fallen it was all spilling out and filling the cave as though with poison. He was surprised that Aybo hadn’t lost his temper and incinerated him yet.

“In order to put my plan into action,” continued Aybo into the tense silence hanging over them, “I need to know as much as possible about the humans who live on the other side of the Mountain of One Hundred Corpses. We haven’t had any contact with them for centuries and it would be foolish to enter their kingdom without knowing precisely what they are about and what they are capable of. I’m sending Ayre down there to collect information about them and their military capabilities. What form of government do they have? What is the state of their warriors and weaponry? What system of fortifications do they use? Are there any hidden entrapments, tunnels or obstacles we should be aware of? Have they truly forgotten about our existence? Are they still using our caves to enrich themselves? I hope that Ayre will prove himself useful.”

Ayre looked wide-eyed at Aybo. It wasn’t happening… He was dreaming, right? Aybo wasn’t really sending him away… beyond the mountain… to spy on humans…

Ayzu cast him a worried look before turning his gaze back to Aybo. “Let me go in his stead,” he pleaded. “Ayre is too young to be sent on such a mission.”

“Not in human years, he is not,” replied Aybo dismissively. “He will do just fine. Maybe he will even enjoy being a human, seeing as how he is barely a dragon.”

“Aybo, that’s enough!”

Aybo laughed. “Yes, I agree. I have had quite enough of you two for one day. Go and make necessary preparations. P’Ayzu brush up on your knowledge of our courting customs and rituals. Nong Ayre, get ready for the journey. I expect you to leave within the next week.”

Ayre and Ayzu left the Silent Cave with their heads bowed and their hands behind their backs, both knowing that there was no arguing or reasoning with Aybo, especially once Khun Pring had draped himself around Aybo’s broad shoulders and started crooning softly in his ear.

Ayre was walking as though in a dream. He was only vaguely aware of his surroundings and didn’t hear Ayzu calling his name until Ayzu slapped the back of his head with his hand.

“Ow!”

“Get a grip, Ayre!” snapped Ayzu. “You are a dragon warrior – not a spineless worm, for fire’s sake!”

Ayre let out an unhappy snort but didn’t say anything. Today he had already been humiliated in all possible ways by Aybo and being compared to a spineless worm was almost a kindness.

“I don’t know anything about humans,” he said dejectedly. “How am I supposed to go and live among them? Spy on them!”

“I read about them when I was younger. I will bring you some of the scrolls I might still have lying around.”

The thought amused Ayre despite his dejection. He wasn’t really surprised to hear that. Ayzu was called The Curious One because he always wanted to know everything and when he wasn’t in the training arena, he usually spent his time in the Cavern of Many Scrolls, where their clan kept all their written records.

Ayre nodded. “Thank you, Phi.”

Ayzu ruffled his carefully arranged hair.

“Hey, you’re ruining it!” yelped Ayre, batting his hand away. He didn’t want to confess how much time he had spent on it or that he had used a mix of natural ingredients as well as a few spells to make it look the way it did and survive during flying and fighting in the training arena. He didn’t want to know what Ayzu would say.

Ayzu laughed. “Come on.”

As they walked along the many cavernous tunnels of their underground compound, Ayre furtively studied Ayzu’s face in the uneven shimmering light coming from lanthorn flies fluttering about, but he could find no signs of distress or even anger. Ayre wondered whether Ayzu had really accepted his fate or whether he was simply shielding him from the truth of how he actually felt.

He was about to ask him about it when they reached the common area with tunnels branching out in all directions like tentacles of a giant squid. Ayzu clapped Ayre cheerfully on the shoulder and dove into one of the tunnels, telling him that he would visit him later with the scrolls.

Ayre watched him disappear with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

TO BE CONTINUED...

GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING:

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter three

Ayre quickly glanced at Ayzu. His brother nodded and they both knelt on the strip of rice. Ayre was determined not to show how uncomfortable his knees felt. Aybo, naturally, took offence upon catching the sight of his stoic face, interpreting it in his own twisted way.

“Nong Ayre,” he snapped, “I would strongly advise you to control that arrogant facial expression of yours or I will change my mind about the leniency of your punishment. You should know that I was contemplating flogging you for your disgraceful conduct in the training arena. However, I’ve changed my mind – mainly because I need you intact.”

“What do you need him for?” asked Ayzu.

“Patience, Ayzu, patience,” chided Aybo.

Ayre couldn’t believe his ears. He was horrified that his brother had actually considered flogging as an appropriate punishment for him. Flogging was a humiliating punishment that was usually conducted in public and usually bestowed upon those dragons who had been caught doing something truly despicable. Ayre was sure that shedding a few tears over one’s dying father didn’t fall into that category.

As pain shot through his knees and struck his bones, Ayre tried to shift slightly to change his position, so that he could relieve the pressure on his burning kneecaps – only to realise that he couldn’t move an inch. His head shot upwards and he stared in horror at his eldest brother, a short aborted sound of distress escaping his lips before he could stop himself.

“Aybo, what have you done?” asked Ayzu wearily. Ayre didn’t know whether he had discovered that he couldn’t move either or whether he simply knew from his reaction that Aybo was to blame.

Aybo chuckled. “My dear brother,” he said as nastily as before, “a punishment wouldn’t be so memorable or wouldn’t be considered a proper punishment if you could make yourself comfortable during it. I simply put a spell on your knees to keep them glued to the floor of the cave until I’m done talking.”

Ayre was seething. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. Yet he knew better than to talk back: with Aybo’s cruel streak running unchecked it would only get him and Ayzu in more trouble and he didn’t want Ayzu to suffer even more because of him.

He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath, reaching deep within himself for a cool touch of calm. But just as he was about to breathe out, having envisioned himself submerged underwater, two short jets of fire burst from his nostrils, telling everyone exactly how furious he was. Ayre’s eyes snapped open, all colour draining from his face. He had never lost control like that before!

If the cave they were in had an echo it would be now ringing with Khun Pring’s mocking laughter. He was laughing so hard he rolled off the pillow he’d been reclining on and ended up sprawled on the floor. Ayre’s only consolation was that such a humiliating occurrence as losing control over one’s flame and its humiliating consequences numbed him to other painful sensations.

“Aybo, I was under the impression that you brought us here on a matter of some urgency,” said Ayzu in a dignified manner. He had spared a single disapproving glance at Ayre before sighing and shaking his head.

Ayre hung his head. 

“Yes, I did,” replied Aybo. “Yet our little brother’s display has been quite entertaining. I got distracted. You know,” he added as though he had just thought of something, “I sometimes wonder what would have happened if our father hadn’t put a stop to Ayre’s desire to become a dancer – ”

His words were interrupted by Khun Pring’s high-pitched giggle.

Ayre’s whole body began to shake. It was a gruesome and painful memory that had forever marred his relationship with his father. He never stopped loving or respecting him after what he had done, but something corrosive had settled in his heart that had never healed. It had been the only time that his father punished him but his punishment had been so severe that he couldn’t move without Ayzu’s help for weeks.

Ayre had always loved dancing, but in their society dancing (a sensual but lowly form of entertainment) wasn’t considered a proper pastime for a dragon prince. He was only ever allowed to dance during his own mating dance that looked more like a battle than a dance. When his father caught him in the act, his wrath was quick and terrible…

“Aybo!” hissed Ayzu.

Aybo dismissed his middle brother’s warning tone with a raised hand – then pointed a finger in the centre of Ayre’s bowed head.

“You see – even back then – I knew that he wasn’t good enough to be a dragon warrior.”

Ayzu tried to attract Aybo’s attention again but Aybo wasn’t done grinding Ayre into dust.

“Look at his hair,” he went on with a sneer. “Doesn’t your lot have to wear the same hairstyle?” he asked, pointing at Ayzu’s short dark hair closely cropped around his head so that it resembled a mushroom top. Ayre’s short dark hair, on the other hand, was streaked with reddish stripes and deliberately swept back as though he was flying through the wind with two rather fancy curls falling across his forehead.

“There is no rule that says so nor is there any particular hairstyle that we have to wear,” replied Ayzu calmly. “It is true that most dragon warriors wear the same hairstyle but that is nothing more than a habit. Ayre has broken no rules.”

Aybo snorted. “You are too soft with him. He has deliberately chosen to wear a different hairstyle just so that he could stand out among his fellow warriors.”

“Aybo,” said Ayzu, “did you really bring us here to talk about Ayre’s hairstyle?”

 “No,” replied Aybo; his brutish face had twisted into a grimace of distaste. “But his hairstyle is as offensive as the rest of him.”

Khun Pring got to his feet and placed his arms around Aybo’s shoulders before whispering something in his ear. The other two dragons couldn’t hear his words but they made Aybo burst out laughing. Pleased with himself, Khun Pring returned to reclining on his many pillows, enjoying his favourite fruits, while watching Ayre’s and Ayzu’s growing discomfort.

“There are two matters that I wish to discuss with you,” he finally said once he had stopped laughing. “First of all, Ayzu, I believe the time has come for you to get mated.”

“Mated?” spluttered Ayzu while Ayre mouthed the word as though he had never heard it before.

“I don’t know why you look so surprised, Ayzu. A lot of dragons choose to mate at your age. I don’t know why you keep dawdling.”

“I just don’t have anyone in mind.”

“Good,” replied Aybo. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with your plans.”

“My plans?” Ayzu frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’ve already chosen a perfect mate for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. All you have to do now is start preparing for the courtship process.”

“You have chosen a mate for me?” repeated Ayzu in disbelief. “Why would you do that?”

Aybo raised one thick eyebrow.

“It is my right to do so as the head of the clan.”

“You have chosen your own mate,” pointed out Ayzu. “Why should you choose one for me?”

“I have made an excellent choice once,” replied Aybo, making Khun Pring preen beside him like a peacock. “You can trust me to choose the right one for you as well.”

“I want to choose for myself,” said Ayzu firmly. “We mate for life and we live long. I don’t want to find myself mated to someone I might never like – or love.”

Aybo looked amused, which somehow made his face look even more brutish.

“Love?” he echoed mockingly. “That’s why I should be the one to choose a mate for you, Ayzu. You’re thinking like a human – I’m thinking like the future dragon lord. We need to form an alliance with the right clan – a powerful clan whose position and resources will help to reinforce our own standing.”

Ayre’s knees felt as though someone was poking them with a burning bamboo stick but he knew better than to interrupt his eldest brother’s speech. He couldn’t understand what he was getting at. Was something threatening their standing?

“What are you talking about?” asked Ayzu, sounding as bewildered as Ayre felt.

“I’m talking about the future of our realm,” replied Aybo. “Our father is dying. Even now the heads of other dragon clans are gathered around his rotting flesh, mourning his impending departure, recollecting his many victories and celebrating his greatest achievements.” Aybo snorted. “Naturally, none will admit that his greatest achievement is also his greatest failure.”

Ayre jerked his head upwards. Ayzu had gone rigid beside him.

“Yes, I’m talking about the so-called “era of peace” that our esteemed father established after the Great Cave Massacre.” His cold voice was filled with disdain. “Personally, I deeply despise his solution to go into hiding and to erase the memory of our existence from people’s minds and history.”

“How can you say that?” croaked Ayzu in disbelief. “Father preserved our race and ensured its continuing survival in a land of peace and harmony! He removed us from humans who only ever wanted our magic and treasure and made sure that they posed no threat to our existence!”

“He turned the greatest race on earth into cowards!” bellowed Aybo, jumping to his feet. “We live in obscurity and stagnation, cowering behind a magically constructed mountain that is, in fact, a mass graveyard of every single dragon who was slaughtered during the massacre, while humans continue to live and prosper on the other side, pilfering our caves and stealing our treasure!”

“You don’t know that,” said Ayzu quietly, shaking his head. 

“I know enough about humans to know what they are capable of!”

“Aybo, what is it exactly that you are planning?” asked Ayzu cautiously.

Ayre could feel a strong wave of fear coming from him, which both stunned him and told him that Ayzu already knew the answer to his question but needed Aybo to confirm his worst suspicions.

“I intend to put a stop to our pitiful existence,” declared Aybo, taking his seat once again and letting Khun Pring’s touch on his hand restore his composure. “I am going to remind humans whose bounty they have been living upon all these centuries. I will make them pay for every drop of dragon blood they have ever spilled and every gemstone they have ever stolen.”

Ayre was horrified.

“In other words, you mean to ruin everything that our father has created,” concluded Ayzu with a heavy sigh. “Do you care for anything other than your coffers?”

“Watch your mouth!” snapped Aybo. “I am not the only one among our people who believes that our father should have destroyed every single human responsible for the massacre! Now we finally have the chance to set things right.”

Ayzu pointed his chin in the direction of Khun Pring’s golden-attired form. “I see that even your mate’s great wealth hasn’t been enough to satisfy you.”

Aybo clucked his tongue. “You are mistaken if you think that this is about my desire to live like a dragon lord is supposed to live. It is about our heritage and justice. We will take back what is ours – we will rip it out of humans’ dead hands like they once ripped out our hearts from our frozen chests – and your future mate’s superior military prowess and highly-trained dragon warriors will help us to do that.”

Aybo paused. In the silence that didn’t promise anything good, Ayre’s heart began to beat fast in his chest. He tried to guess which clan his brother was talking about, but more than half of their clans trained dragon warriors, so it was impossible to tell.

He glanced sideways at Ayzu and noticed a muscle jumping in his jaw. Ayre wondered if he had figured it out. From what he could tell, Ayzu looked livid. Then something clicked in Ayre’s brain and his eyes widened. There was only one dragon warrior who could make Ayzu lose his cool.

Ayre looked back at his eldest brother.

Aybo’s thick lips spread into a malicious grin.

“Your mate will be arriving shortly,” he said. “Ah, yes, you probably want to know his name. Ayzu, I believe you remember P’Forge?”

Ayre gasped – but no one heard him.

Ayzu’s roar filled the cave while the force of his fury destroyed Aybo’s spell.

TO BE CONTINUED...

GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING:

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

EVEN DRAGONS DIE, chapter two

“And you call yourselves dragon warriors?” continued the voice, now even colder and meaner than before. “You two are pathetic. I don’t know why your brother puts up with your nonsense.”

Ayre bowed his head, placed his hands behind his back, and slowly turned around. He couldn’t ignore his eldest brother’s mate no matter how much he wanted to evaporate him from existence every time he opened his mouth.

Instead, he glared at his fancy high-heeled golden buckled shoes that looked very different from his own simple scarlet boots made from soft leather with a curved nose that made them quite bouncy when he fought on the ground or scaled the rocks.

“Khun Pring,” said his brother politely. “You so rarely grace us with your presence in the training arena that it is always an unexpected pleasure to see you here.”

He had come to stand right next to Ayre, his head bowed and his hands placed behind his back just like Ayre’s in deference to Khun Pring’s higher position both within their family and their kingdom.

Their shoulders were pressed together. Ayre closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, absorbing his brother’s soothing magic. His brother rarely lost his temper and always bore Khun Pring’s mockery with unwavering composure.

“Obviously I have much more important things to do than waste my time in the training arena,” replied Khun Pring so obnoxiously that Ayre ground his teeth together. It was impossible to believe that anyone could be more arrogant than his eldest brother but his mate might have actually surpassed him.

“Of course. I understand,” replied his brother humbly. His shoulder twitched slightly and Ayre wondered if he was trying not to laugh in the other man’s face.

“Those of us in the higher recesses of power,” continued Khun Pring, “have our hands full with great matters of the realm.”

Ayre bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from snorting at that. He knew that all they did was lounge on soft pillows, chew betel leaves, and gossip over a spittoon.

“Could it be that one such great matter has brought you here today?” inquired Ayre’s brother in a polite manner as he finally straightened his back.

Ayre followed his suit a few seconds later – and wished he hadn’t. His eyes began to water at the sight of so many golden ornaments that decorated Khun Pring’s person. They almost completely obscured the scarlet colour of the fire dragon clan he now belonged to and gave him a strong resemblance to a golden statue.

His long black hair was woven into a single braid that was twisted and pulled upwards and held in place on the top of his head by several thick golden circlets. There was a large golden ring in his nose and a whole array of golden earrings of different shapes and sizes in his ears, not to mention arm-rings and anklets.

Ayre never thought about having a mate before – he was still too young to be even allowed a peek into The Great Dragon Book of Mating – but he suddenly wished he had one at the moment, so that he could laugh with him about it through a mind bond all mates shared.

Khun Pring gave them both a lofty look.

“Your brother wishes to see you in the Silent Cave,” he said.

“Now?” asked Ayre before he could stop himself; from the corner of his eye he could see his brother’s minutest head shake, but it was too late to take his question back.

“Well, what do you think, Nong Ayre?” snapped Khun Pring so savagely that all his golden trinkets began to jingle in disapproval. “Would I be standing here now if he wished to see you tomorrow?”

His words were as vicious as a whip. Ayre bowed his head, his cheeks burning with humiliation.

“Let us go then,” said his brother in a pacifying manner. “If Khun Pring himself was asked to give us the message, then the matter must be truly urgent.”

Khun Pring huffed and clapped his hands together. Six young men in short tunics rushed towards him. Four of them were carrying a large scarlet pillow with swinging golden tassels on two long bamboo poles. Their arms shook as they lowered the pillow for him to sit on. Ayre had the distinct impression that they were shaking with fear more than with the effort of carrying him. Two more were holding large palm-leaved fans above his head.

Ayre narrowed his eyes and balled his hands into fists. If only his father was still in his right mind, he would never allow this. He had raised them to be humble and to treat everyone with respect – even if they belonged to lower dragon clans. But ever since he had lost his ability to turn back into his human form, their eldest brother was getting more and more brazen and his mate was using every chance to show and exploit his high status.

“Ayre, stop glaring.”

His brother reappeared next to him and nudged him with his shoulder.

“That’s not right,” muttered Ayre, looking back at him.

“No, it’s not,” agreed Ayzu. “But glaring at him or provoking him is not an option. I hope you understand that. I’m afraid we must prepare ourselves for many more changes now that our father…” He broke off when Ayre’s face crumpled. His own facial expression had become stern. “Your temper and your emotions are out of control. Why? Have you not been meditating?”

“I…”

“Tomorrow you will spend the whole day disciplining yourself.”

Ayre hung his head.

“Yes, Phi.”

“Let’s go.”

They followed Khun Pring’s moving pillow through a barren landscape surrounded by rocks under the scorching sun towards the nearest cave entrance, their steps soft and silent on the sand.

“Why does he want to meet us in the Silent Cave?” whispered Ayre, even though they were keeping just enough distance between themselves and Khun Pring’s entourage so as not to be overheard. Unlike other caves the Silent Cave had no echo and could be used for the most secret of meetings and discussions.

“We will soon find out,” replied Ayzu calmly.

Ayre admired his brother’s cool but sometimes it was very annoying. Ayzu smiled as though he knew exactly what he was thinking about.

“There is no use wasting our time guessing when our brother will be only too happy to tell us.” He lowered his voice. “You know how much he loves to hear the sound of his own voice.”

Ayre’s lips twitched.

“Careful!”

Khun Pring’s warning cry made Ayre jump. For a split second it appeared as though he had heard his brother’s words and Ayre could only imagine the reprimand that would follow. Then – 

“Look where you’re going, imbecile! Do you want me to fall?”

As the young men carrying the bamboo poles with the pillow began to bend over and apologise, Khun Pring snatched one of the palm-leaved fans that was used to shield him from the glare of the sun and began to smack one of his attendees with it.

Ayre stopped dead in his tracks, too shocked to speak. Fury, instant and uncontrollable, rose inside him and, without thinking what he was doing or what the repercussions would be, he moved forward, fully intending to take the fan away from Khun Pring and to smack him with it instead.

A strong hand grabbing his upper-arm in a vice-like grip stopped him just in time.

“You don’t want to do that!” hissed his brother in his ear.

“Yes, I do!” argued Ayre, hissing back, dropping formalities in his fury and indignation.

“You know what I mean!” replied Ayzu. “You don’t want to bring painful punishment upon your head for harming your brother’s mate. Seriously, Ayre, haven’t you been practising discipline at all? Do I have to supervise your training as though you were a know-nothing novice?”

His eyes still fixed on the abhorrent scene before him, Ayre ignored his brother’s reprimand and concentrated on the problem at hand.

“I don’t care. This is wrong and it must be stopped. Besides, Aybo hates me anyway,” he gritted out.

“So you want him to hate you even more?”

Ayzu didn’t even try to deny that their eldest brother hated Ayre’s guts. It was, after all, a well-known fact.

Their argument was interrupted by Khun Pring’s piercing shriek.

“A splinter! A splinter!” He yelled and dropped the fan as though it was a poisonous snake and he was a mere human. “Get it out! Get it out! Get it out!”

The same attendee he had been smacking just a second before dropped down on his knees and rushed to help. He took Khun Pring’s hand in his as carefully as though he was dealing with a baby dragon who hadn’t learned to control the power of his flames yet and latched his lips to his palm, sucking out the splinter that got stuck there.

Ayre looked at the scene in disbelief. It was inconceivable that anyone should be so helpless with magic at their disposal. A simple one-motion spell would have been enough to get rid of that splinter and yet the dragon prince’s mate had chosen to make such a fuss over it. If only his father knew how his eldest son allowed his mate to dishonour his doctrine… Ayre’s eyes began to sting again. Stupid tears. Ayzu was right. He had to devote more time to self-discipline – or else permanently seal his tear ducts shut. He wondered if there was a spell for that.

Khun Pring’s procession had finally resumed its journey. Ayre and Ayzu followed behind, maintaining their distance and silence. They approached the mouth of the cave and continued along a series of spacious tunnels carved out inside the mountain whose rough walls were shimmering with the soft glow of lanthorn flies. As soon as they came to the Silent Cave, Khun Pring alighted and shooed his attendees away. Once they were out of earshot, he walked inside, though not before sneering at the two younger brothers.

Ayre and Ayzu exchanged bewildered looks and entered the inner cavern. Ayre followed a few steps behind Ayzu and walked right into him when the latter had come to an abrupt stop.

“Did someone spill rice?” he heard him ask.

Ayre looked down and noticed that the floor of the cave right in front of them was sprinkled with small white granules that formed a thick strip whose position looked quite deliberate.

Ayre frowned.

“Don’t tell me that you called us here to pick it up,” continued his brother in a joking manner. Though he would never joke with their eldest brother’s mate he would sometimes joke with their eldest brother, even though Ayre was convinced that humour wasn’t something Aybo understood.

“Ayzu, you are my brothers – not my servants,” replied Aybo. “That being said,” he continued in a voice that was so cold it would have pierced even dragonhide, “you are also my dragon warriors and I expect you to behave as such. I simply cannot allow any lapse in discipline or judgement among your lot.”

Ayre lifted his gaze and glared at his eldest brother. Aybo was sitting cross-legged dressed in scarlet and gold among brightly-coloured pillows and lotus-shaped bowls filled with nuts and fruit. He had a broad face that looked quite brutish and his mean dark eyes were so narrow they looked like two horizontal slits.

“Pring has told me about what happened during the training.”

“Ah.”

He must have spilled it all through their bond on their way. Ayre turned his glare at his brother’s mate who was currently lounging among the pillows, picking his way through fruits with an extremely smug look on his face. It would have been a very pretty face if it wasn’t permanently possessed by malicious intent.

“He also pointed out that you failed to punish the warrior responsible for his squadron’s failure simply because he happens to be your younger brother. I cannot allow for such practices to persist. I have things I wish to discuss with you, so I decided to combine our discussion and your punishment.”

Aybo bared his teeth and waved a hand in the direction of rice.

“Kneel.”

TO BE CONTINUED...

GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING:

CHAPTER ONE