Legend of the Great Dragon (4 page)

“Knowing you, it's not just a question. There's always a reason behind everything you say.”

“Please answer.”

He shrugged. “I haven't thought about it much, but I suppose it's possible. Why not? Are you asking because you think you had a dream about your future?”

“It was a nightmare.” She exhaled slowly. “I was walking through Oceina City, and then the next instant I was in a park. The weather had changed from winter to summer. In the park was a man.” Heat began to fill her cheeks. Teo started to laugh, so he must have noticed her blushing. “He was so handsome. I don't think I've ever seen a man so good looking before in my life. Blond hair, blue eyes, strong, tall, just about everything I could ever want in a guy, he had.”

“I don't know how this is a nightmare, at least not for you. If this is going in the direction I think it is, please spare me the details because I don't need to have those kinds of images in my head!”

Mikko smacked him across the shoulder. “Like I would tell you anything if I ever had such a dream! Get your mind out of the gutter. As I got closer to his man, there was a great wind that pushed me away from him. I fell to the ground and when I looked up I saw the eyes of a demon.”

Teo's brow furrowed. “Interesting.”

“I thought so.”

“Do you think this man is your future husband?”

A small smile formed on her lips. “It's a possibility, don't you think? The wind, the demon, might be trying to keep me from him. At the same time, I'm not sure if that theory is right. I think the wind was trying to warn me, protect me from something. The demon… I've never felt something so evil before.”

“And you've always been sensitive to all things spiritual.”

“Right, so I'm not sure what the dream means. He's certainly an attractive man. In that aspect I wouldn't mind for him to be my future husband,” she said in a soft voice. Her gut churned at the thought, and she knew that meant the idea wasn't right. Shaking her head, Mikko played with a few strands of her hair. “Whoever he is, I know I'm supposed to find him.”

 

 

Ichi watched the sunrise from his hotel room. Or rather, he watched the sun reflect off of the glass buildings. They amplified the orange glow as well as its size. He'd never seen anything like it before. Watching the sunrise from the mountain tops was also a beautiful thing, but in such a different way. In the mountains, it was natural and peaceful. Here in the city, he found it humbling and ominous.

When the sun fully crested the horizon, he went down to get a complimentary breakfast from the hotel diner. From there, he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do. Exploring was the most entertaining of his options. In the city, he was almost positive he stuck out like a sore thumb. How could he not in his handmade clothes and heavy hiking boots? The other young men in the city all wore designer fashions from head to foot.

Just as he stepped outside the hotel doors, he was approached by a young Oceina man who was a few years older than him.

“Ichitaca?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ichi said. “Can I help you?”

The young man pointed to a car. “Your presence is requested by the Lady Oceina. She would like for you to come to her home at your earliest convenience.”

“That would be now since I didn't make any real plans for my day.” He made sure the agitation in his voice was clear. Visiting the Lady Oceina again wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but he had hoped for some time to be alone too. He didn't realize she would want to see him so soon.

The young man held the door open for Ichi and got into the back of the car. The ride over was painfully quiet and thankfully short. Ichi got out
and
walked into the condominium again. The young man who had driven waved for Ichi to follow him to an elevator. Riding up inside of the elevator was more awkward than the trip the two had taken in the car. Ichi couldn't figure out why that was, either. He tried to make his sigh of relief discreet the instant they stepped out.

“Please wait here. The Lady Oceina will be with you shortly,” the young man said and pointed to a chair not too far away from the elevator doors.

Ichi sat down, knowing it was the polite thing to do, but he wanted to move. New places always made him excited. He wanted to see the rest of the building, to explore its nooks and crannies. During the party he had been too overwhelmed to think about seeing the rest of the inside. There had been plenty to look at inside of the ballroom as it was. Now he was in a new area of the Oceina family home, and he was curious as to how this other culture lived.

When the Lady Oceina entered with her entourage, he rose from his seat and greeted her with a hug. He'd seen many people do that to those they were supposed to be close to. Since she was his godmother, he figured it would be an appropriate gesture. The hug was a little awkward all the same. Then again, he couldn't remember the last time he'd exchanged one with another person. Behind the old woman was the beautiful woman from the party — Mikko — and then he spotted a young Terran man behind her. Ichi was pretty sure the man was the same one Mikko had been flirting with at the party.

“You wished to see me, my lady?” Ichi asked, trying to keep up the politeness. She deserved his respect and kindness.

The Lady Oceina smiled up at him and took his hand in her own. “I'm glad you agreed to come. We are going to go spend a day in the city and were hoping you would join us for some sight-seeing. You had mentioned wanting to explore. Who better to go exploring with than a woman who has lived here for far more years than she ever would care to admit to?”

He laughed, thinking she was trying to make a joke. It wasn't one he understood, but he would make the effort to. “I am honored you would invite me.”

Of course, Ichi would have preferred to have done his exploring alone, but if anything it was a chance to spend more time with Mikko. If he was going to have any hope at wooing her, he would need to get to know her better. That was the one lesson he remembered from his father about dealing with women: females liked it when they were paid attention to and understood. He also had to size up whatever competition he had. Beyond his own selfishness, however, he also knew it would be good to connect with the woman whom his father had decided would be best to raise Ichi after he died.

“You've met Mikko, yes?” Lady Oceina asked and pointed back at the beauty.

Ichi nodded, his gaze meeting Mikko's, and he was once more lost in her amazing amethyst eyes. “Yes, we met last night.”

Mikko smiled softly and quickly averted her gaze. “Ichi tells me that you are his godmother. Why didn't you mention that earlier when you told me to go and talk with him?”

His heart sank. She'd only come by out of obligation to her grandmother?

The Lady Oceina linked arms with both of them. “Because it didn't seem necessary. It is his story to tell. Don't frown so much, Ichitaca. I told her you looked lonely standing all by yourself and she should make your night more enjoyable. Darien wouldn't have liked seeing such a sad face. She obviously agreed.”

“I didn't realize I was frowning,” he said.
Don't make my emotions so obvious.
He wasn't used to having to mask them from others. Usually, there wasn't anyone else around for him to hide them from.

“It's perfectly fine. I wouldn't want to feel like a duty quest either.” The Lady gave her granddaughter a rather scolding glare which caused the young woman to wince.

Mikko bit her lower lip. “I did not mean…” She shook her head. “I was only curious.”

Pity is almost as bad as obligation,
he thought. Ichi shoved his hands into his pockets.
It figures I would see a woman who actually catches my eye and is interesting, and she doesn't have even an ounce of interest in me. I'm not going to let this thwart me from trying. Father said to never give up on anything.

“No harm done,” Ichi said. He turned his attention to the Terran man. “And who are you?”

“Teo,” he said. “I'm a family friend.”

Family friend. Interesting.
“Nice to meet you too.” He had to stop himself from laughing because the small group no doubt looked like an interesting mix. All of the dragon races were represented.

“Shall we?” the Lady Oceina asked.

Ichi nodded, glancing over at Mikko one more time.

****

Several hours later, Ichi stood on the top floor of the tallest building in Oceina City. They had taken one of the trains to the observation deck. The view was incredible. Off in the distance he could see the Aero Mountains to the north, the beginnings of the Inero Desert in the south, to the west was more of Oceina's lands, and a mass of ocean to the east. If the sky hadn't been clear, he was positive they would have been higher than a cloud. Even when flying, he'd never seen anything like it. Of course, when Ichi was in his dragon form and flying through the sky, taking in the scenery wasn't usually a priority of his.

He pressed his face to the glass, staring down at what ground he could see below him. The people milling about below were nothing but ants from this high.
I wonder if this is how God sees us. Small, like ants. Maybe that is why we're so easy to squish.
His gaze wandered to Mikko once more. He'd been watching her a lot, but her natural beauty kept drawing him in — especially when she smiled.
Or perhaps he walks with us on our level, and that's why we're blessed in unexpected situations.
A strange thought for him to think. Somehow, Mikko inspired him to think the best of everyone. Apparently, that included a God he wasn't entirely sure he believed in.

Mikko approached him and looked straight ahead. “I never grow tired of this. It's one of my favorite places to be in the city.”

“There's hardly anyone here,” he observed.

“People are afraid of heights.”

He shrugged. Not a fear he shared in, let alone understood. Of course, he would also have more than enough time to transform and fly to safety before he ever hit the ground. Ichi's magic was powerful and fast.

“Teo doesn't like them either,” she added. “He can't fly, so when I come here I am usually alone. It's nice to not be.”

“Yes, it is nice to be around someone,” he said quietly. Ichi wanted to elaborate further, to tell her all about just how lonely he truly was.
It might scare her away if she realized how little I see anyone.

She was smiling, and he would do anything to keep it that way — if only so he didn't have to lose sight of the shimmer of her lips from her lip gloss or the sparkle in her eyes. How was it possible for such a perfect creature to exist?

Mikko touched him gently. “We should probably leave. I don't want Teo to be uncomfortable for too long or he might have a panic attack.”

“We didn't have to come here if it makes him upset,” Ichi said. “I know he's important to you. Don't worry about being a polite host.”

“He doesn't mind. He never has. I want to be courteous of his feelings all the same.” Then she winked. “And I'm as much of a guest as you are. Oceina is not my home.”

“It's not?” he asked. “But I thought the lady is your grandmother? And you have a lot of the traditional markings of an Oceina.” He paused, taking in her golden tan skin. “So you live in Inero?”

She shook her head. “Still cold. I live in Terran with Teo.”

They live together? And people thought my family was scandalous.
“Oh… I've never been to Terran. I'm sure it's nice there.” That was the only polite thing he could think of to say. He had a lot of questions, but they were not in a private enough place for him to ask them.

“It's as different from here as night is from day.”

“Aero is as well,” he said. “But I think all of our respective cultures are as equally different as the next. That's what makes them so interesting.”

“Someday, I hope to see the whole world. I've only been to Terran and Oceina. It would be great to visit the Inero and see where my mother came from, and to see Aero.” She nudged him. “I can use you as an excuse to go visit it.”

Ichi smirked. “Feel free to use me any way you want to.”

Mikko's eyes lit up as her smile spread even wider, and then in an instant it disappeared. A frown took its place and in a blur of movement she was gone from his side. He watched as she rushed over to Teo who was sitting on the floor near the train station. His head was between his knees and there was a sickly shade of green to his dark skin. Ichi followed her over, standing behind her as she knelt down to check on her friend.

“We should go,” she said. “I shouldn't have kept you up here for so long. I told you to wait for us down on one of the other floors.”

“I'm fine,” Teo wheezed.

She exhaled slowly, and Ichi noticed her fists clench tightly at her sides. “Obviously you are not fine.”

Teo gazed up at her with large, chocolate-brown eyes, and Ichi knew then for a fact that the young man loved her. “Take your time.”

“We're done now,” she said sharply. She bent over to help him up off of the ground and together they boarded the train.

Ichi gave her a nod. “I'll get your grandmother.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at
him
and it filled him with a whole new kind of sensation. Almost like a tingle in his tummy, mixed with something warm like fire.

Strange.
He left to find the Lady Oceina. She was standing in front of the large window that faced the east. Gently, he placed a hand on her upper arm.

“My lady,” he said softly. “It's time to leave. Teo isn't feeling all too well.”

She gazed up at him with tear-filled eyes. “I will message Mikko to meet us on the commercial floor. We can find something to eat there and do a bit of shopping. That will help settle us all down. I wish to talk with you for a bit longer, just the two of us.”

“Um, okay…” He stared out the window with her, looking at the expanse of water. Mikko wasn't the only one who wanted to see all of the world.

Lady Oceina wiped at her eyes. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying.”

“You have every right to be sad for as long as you want. Your husband has just moved on.”

“Yes, but that doesn't make me sad. Of course I miss him, but we'll see each other again. We're already together again in Heaven, I'm sure. Time is but the blink of an eye there. It won't be much longer either way.” She closed her eyes for a moment and blinked back the last of her tears. “What makes me so sad is knowing what's about to come. I don't think I can stand seeing those I love hurting so.”

Ichi let her talk, even if he was confused. It had to be the babbling of an old woman. She'd been through a lot lately, so it made sense for her to enter into some kind of emotional shock. To help her sort herself out, he listened. But then she stopped talking all together. He faced her, but her gaze never left the window to meet his.

“All of the Touched are dead,” she said.

“What?” Ichi asked.

“The Touched. They're all dead. Darien was the last.”

“I don't understand what that means,” he admitted. “I've never heard that term before in my life.”

Her eyes went wide in surprise. “That's interesting, seeing as how your father was one of them. The Touched, as I always understood it, were blessed with extra magic by God for the sole purpose of doing incredible things in the world.”

“Dad wasn't exactly a religious scholar,” Ichi mumbled. “If anything, he was always pretty angry with God for whatever reason. He didn't talk about that kind of stuff with me. My mom would pull out the Aero Holy Book on occasion and read it to me. Her lessons were basic. Don't kill people, don't mate outside of marriage, don't steal or lie. You know, the list of Holy Commandments given at the beginning of life for our people.”

“I'm not surprised,” she said.

He ran a hand through his short, black hair to help keep him calm. Religion was never a pleasant topic of conversation for him. “So the Touched were supposedly brought here to do all sorts of good deeds for the planet. I suppose my father didn't live up to that expectation of greatness since he spent most of his life in hiding.”

“He created you and you were a miracle.” She finally turned to look up at him. “Sometimes the great things we do aren't recognized by many.”

Ichi stepped back, stunned, and uncertain of what to think of her words. He was far from being anything special.

“Is there a point to telling me all of this?” He tried to keep his tone from sounding too harsh, but that was easier said than done.

“Yes, and it's an important one.” She grabbed his face with both of her wrinkled hands and pulled him in closer to her. In a low voice she said, “With all of the Touched dead, a great trial is going to befall all of humanity and dragonkind. No matter what happens, whatever temptations you may face, you must keep true to your heart or all will be lost.”

“I don't understand,” he whispered. “Why is this so important to tell me?”

“It was something Darien saw before his death. He said I had to find a way to warn you. I don't know the importance of it, but he was told you were one of the keys.”

“Got it.” Ichi nodded, wanting to keep being polite, but by then he was convinced she had fallen off the deep end.

The Lady Oceina smiled and he could see a
deep
sadness in her eyes. She pulled him in for a tight hug. “You two will be fine. I don't know why he worried so much.”

“Two?”

“Let's go join Mikko and Teo, I'm sure they're hungry by now. I'm certainly starving.”

“All right.” Ichi's brow furrowed.
What just happened?