“No, don’t stop. That felt great, much better than rubbing my head against a tree or a rock.”
Patrik resumed the scratching, and Larkin continued to rumble. “What do you think we should do?” he asked while he scratched.
Larkin snorted out a deep breath. “I have to tell my elders, but how am I going to explain how I found out? I can’t tell them I heard it from you, because they think all humans are evil. They probably won’t even believe me. They don’t think much of me as it is.”
“I think you’re wonderful.”
Larkin curled up his lower jaw in a smile. “I think you’re pretty special, too, but we still don’t know what to do. We can’t allow this war to happen, but I have no idea how to stop it. Do you?”
“No, I don’t. I wish I did.” Patrik grimaced. He’d heard the same words from Wizard Allard not that long ago. “I haven’t told anyone about you. But maybe I should tell my master. Maybe that will give him some ideas about what to do.”
“Your master is a magic user?” Larkin asked with hesitation.
“Yes, but he’s not like the others. He already tried once to stop this war.”
“I don’t like this idea. I was taught that all magic users are evil.”
“Yes, but didn’t they say you’ve been taught all humans are evil, too? I’m a human and you don’t think I’m evil, do you?” asked Patrik.
“No! I know you’re not, but by dragon jewels, I just don’t know what to do.”
“That makes two of us.”
“If we were older, maybe somebody would listen to us,” Larkin said. “If we were older, maybe we could do something to stop the war.”
The sun sat low on the horizon, and Patrik realized he needed to start back for the cabin. “Listen, I’ve got to go now. I’ll meet you here tomorrow. Maybe I’ll be able to come up with some ideas by then.”
“Don’t tell the wizard about me just yet. Let me think on it too.”
Even though Patrik felt sure Allard might be able to help, he nodded his agreement. He straightened his back as he walked away, determined to find some way to stop the war that was coming.
Chapter Six
The council arena was packed with dragonets. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the hard stone floor, listening to the elder as he spoke.
“Skyhawk is the most powerful dragon that ever lived. He is a white dragon, the only one of his kind, and the only dragon who uses magic.”
An awed hush filled the arena. No one had ever seen a white dragon. Larkin raised a foreleg.
“Yes, Larkin?”
“You talk like he’s still alive. Is he?”
“Many of us believe he is. After all, dragons live for hundreds of seasons to begin with, and since Skyhawk is the most powerful of all, it makes sense that he would still be alive.”
Larkin raised his foreleg again.
“Yes, Larkin?”
“Where does he live?”
“I was just getting to that. No one has seen Skyhawk in many, many seasons. To some he has become just a myth. But those that believe in him think he lives in the Singing Mountains on the other side of the Valley of Death.”
The hush deepened.
“The Valley of Death lies on the other side of the great sea. It is there that the souls of the lost and evil ones go. Denied entrance into the eternal Cloud Caverns, they roam the valley, hating the living and the dead.”
Larkin raised his foreleg again.
“What is it, Larkin?” the elder snapped, impatience with Larkin’s constant questions making his jaw snap and clack.
“What are the Cloud Caverns?”
“Ah, yes,” replied the instructor, his impatience forgotten as he described the dragons’ eternal home. “The Cloud Caverns are where our souls go when we die. There is no winter there. It is never cold, rainy, or snowy. If you are hungry, food appears for you the instant you think about it. Your days are filled with dragon song, companionship, and peace.”
“Do humans go there, too?” Larkin asked, forgetting to raise his foreleg.
The instant he asked the question, Larkin knew he had made a mistake. The instructor’s jaw clamped down tight into a frown and his eyes spun darkly with displeasure. “I don’t know where humans go, and I really don’t care. For all I know, they roam the Valley of Death, and it serves them right.”
The elder made a gargling noise, as if clearing his throat. “Well, enough of this. We were talking about Skyhawk. As I was saying, Skyhawk created all the dragons and the humans. The humans were all created the same, but he created four different kinds of dragons. We are called phoenix dragons. Then there are the earth dragons, the sky dragons, and the water dragons. At one time, each type of dragon had a different task to perform for the humans. But no one now knows what those tasks were, because hundreds of seasons have passed since humans and dragons worked together.”
Larkin scratched his lower jaw, thinking, and almost raised his foreleg to ask another question.
I wonder what phoenix dragons did for the humans. The water, sky, and earth dragons probably did something related to their names. But what did phoenix dragons do?
“Skyhawk ruled over them all, including humans, and the world was a different place than it is today,” the elder continued, interrupting Larkin’s thoughts. “There was peace between the races. When there was a problem too big for the humans and the dragons to solve, he was there to help them. However, when the humans learned to use magic, Skyhawk got angry and disappeared.”
Larkin’s eyes, shading into the green of excitement, began to whirl, spinning like leaves caught in an eddy as a thought occurred to him. He barely heard the rest of the morning’s lesson. His tail switched in anticipation and he fidgeted with his claws, clicking them against the stone floor as he waited for the lesson to be over, drawing annoyed looks from both the elder and the other students. He couldn’t wait to talk to Patrik, for if he was right, he had just figured out a way to stop the war.
∞
Patrik debated whether or not to tell his master about his new friend. He knew the wizard wasn’t like other humans, didn’t hate all dragons, and most importantly didn’t want this war to take place, but he had made a promise to Larkin. So even though he believed that telling Wizard Allard was the best thing to do, he kept his mouth shut. Oddly enough, when Patrik left to meet with Larkin, the wizard never even asked where he was going.
“Now that’s strange,” he muttered to himself, thinking out loud. “Normally he always wants to know where I’m going and what I’ll be doing.”
Rat jumped out of the tall grasses, wrapping herself around his legs, and almost tripping him. “Get back, cat!” he growled to no avail. The animal was determined that her human would pet and caress her. Patrik finally complied by scratching her ears, and with that the animal was content to lead the way.
It took the better part of two sunmarks to reach the valley. Patrik knew that Larkin was waiting for him by Rat’s reaction. Her tail fluffed out into a large bottle brush and all the fur on her back stood straight up before she charged off into the bushes to hide.
“Good riddance,” he said to her departing back. “Hello,” he called into the clearing. A shaft of green light answered his call as the dragon appeared, sunlight gleaming on his emerald body.
“I think I found a way to stop this war,” Larkin said, not wasting any time.
Patrik’s jaw dropped as he lowered himself to the valley floor. He was tired after the long hike and settled down into the dale’s lush grasses.
“How?” Patrik asked.
“First tell me what you know about the creation of the races,” Larkin answered.
Patrik thought for a moment, his tongue peeking out from behind his teeth. “Not much,” he answered at last. “The subject has never really come up for discussion. Most of my lessons focus on trying to teach me how to use magic.”
“Okay then, before I tell you my idea, let me tell you what dragons believe about how we were created.”
Patrik sprawled out on the grass, his hands behind his head, listening in fascination as Larkin told him the story of creation. “So,” he said when Larkin finished, “this Skyhawk created us all?”
“That’s right, and that’s how we are going to stop this war.”
“What?” Patrik’s brow crinkled up in puzzlement “We’re going to go find him, and ask him to help. He used to help the races, and we need him now.”
“But what if he doesn’t want to? I mean, you said he was angry because humans learned to use magic. What if he’s still angry?”
“We’re going to have to convince him to change his mind.”
“But how are we going to do that?”
“I don’t know, but we have to try. He’s the only one I know of who’s got the power to stop this war.”
“But you said he’s supposed to be in the Singing Mountains. How are we going to get there?”
“We fly.”
“What!” Patrik dropped the blade of grass he had been fiddling with and bolted straight up. “You can fly, but I can’t.”
“I don’t hear you coming up with any better ideas,” Larkin said, curling his lower jaw in disgust. “Either you want to stop this war, or you don’t.”
“But…but I’ll have to tell Wizard Allard. I can’t go charging off halfway around the world without telling him. He’d come looking for me, and worse than that he’d tell my parents, and they’d come looking for me, too.”
All the boy’s excuses were straining Larkin’s patience.
“What exactly is the matter?” he snapped at Patrik. “All you’ve done is bring up reasons why we shouldn’t go. We both agreed this war can’t take place, and this is our one chance to stop it.”
Patrik scratched his head in thought, and then thinking aloud he said, “It’s only that we’re both so young. Your elders don’t take you seriously, and neither do mine. I can’t help but think that when we get there, this Skyhawk of yours will treat us the same way. I don’t want to get my hopes up and then be let down at the last minute.”
Larkin considered the human’s words. “I can understand that,” the dragon said at last, “but at the same time, don’t you think we have to try? You told me what would happen to the world if this war takes place. We have to do something to stop it, don’t we?”
Patrik sighed, “I guess you’re right. We have to try. When do you want to leave?”
“I need to find out exactly where the Singing Mountains are located,” Larkin said. “All I know for sure is that they are on the other side of the Valley of Death.”
Patrik’s face turned as white as the underbelly of a salamander. “What did you say?”
“I said that the Singing Mountains are on the other side of the Valley of Death. Why?”
“Have you lost your mind? Do you know how far that is? We have to cross the Sea of Lights to get there. And no one’s ever done that and lived to tell about it.”
Patrik shook his head, and Larkin couldn’t tell if the human was thinking about backing out, or if he simply thought his new friend was crazy. The boy’s words cleared up the matter.
“You’re crazy. Are all dragons as insane as you are?”
“I don’t think so. I’m sort of different from the rest.”
“Yeah, I bet you are. Okay, so we’re going, but I still have to tell my master. There’s no way I can do this without his permission. What about you, don’t you have to tell someone?”
“Nobody’ll miss me,” Larkin said, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he thought about Redwing. “Well, maybe one dragonet might. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell your master.”
“Listen, I am not going to argue with you. I have to tell him. Either I tell him, or I’m not going.”
Larkin’s shoulders drooped in the dragon equivalent of a sigh. “All right then, but I am going to be there when you tell him. After all, he is a magic user, and it’s my life that’s at stake.”
“Don’t worry, I told you, he’s not like the others. He’ll understand.”
∞
Wizard Allard did not only not understand, he absolutely refused to let the boy go.
“That’s absolutely out of the question. You have no idea what kind of danger you will be putting yourself into and the risks you will be taking. No one’s ever even been to the Singing Mountains. No one’s ever even made it across the Sea of Lights, and you think I’m going to let a boy of twelve seasons, accompanied by a dragon that’s barely fledged, try to do it alone. You’re out of your mind!”
Patrik sighed. The wizard hadn’t been surprised when the boy had shown up with a dragon flying overhead. Neither had he been surprised when the dragon landed, with a bump and a scrape, almost on his front doorstep.
“I knew you’d been visiting a dragon,” Wizard Allard said. “I could smell dragon smoke on you. And there’s nothing in the world that smells the same as dragon smoke. Remember, I too was once visited by a dragon.”
But when they told him of their plan, the wizard was surprised and angry. His bald head wrinkled up like a ball of wet silk, and his hand gestures made his robes flap like a grounded bird. Each time he paced the room they flared out behind him, causing Patrik to have to jump out of the way.
“Do you have a better idea?” Patrik asked at last in an attempt to calm the wizard into considering the possibility.
The question seemed to take Allard by surprise, and running a hand through his scraggly beard, he said, “Yes, I do. I’ll go to the Singing Mountains and talk to Skyhawk myself.”
Larkin, who had remained quiet, spoke up, “That won’t work. You’re a magic user and Skyhawk won’t have anything to do with magic users. It has to be the young human who does the talking, because he has no magic.”
The sun was beginning to set, and a shiver went through Patrik, but the boy couldn’t tell if the cool spring breeze had caused it or the words he’d just heard.
The wizard stared at Patrik for several heartbeats. “You’re right,” he said to the dragon. “The boy has no magic. I’ve been trying for two whole seasons to teach him how to use it, and not once has he ever shown even a spark of magic. But, I still can’t let him go on this journey.”
“Not even to stop the war?” Patrik asked.
The wizard looked like a becalmed ship that had all the wind knocked out of its sails. “There is that,” he said at last.
“It’s the only way,” Larkin said.
“No it isn’t,” the wizard said. “I’ll go with you.”