Phoenix (23 page)

“Over a century,” Chen concluded. “But it has been longer still since we saw many dragons. We feared we were the only ones left.”

“There are others. My family—grandfather, parents, three sisters, and brother. My brother has a wife who is also a dragon. One of my sisters has just married a dragon, as well.”

Chen and Zhi exchanged looks. Felix did not know them well, and could not read the look. Their faces appeared young, but there was a wisdom in their blue and orange eyes that hinted at a great age.

They had to be at least a hundred years old, based on what they’d said—and probably many centuries older than that.

But were they too old to have children? The general understanding among dragons was that females were only capable of laying eggs until about six or seven hundred years of age, but no one he knew had known any females of that age, with the possible exception of Eudora, who was mysterious on many levels and no help in answering the question of potential dragon fertility, as the rumors about her raised more questions than they answered.

Was Zhi too old to have dragon babies?

Given the way Chen phrased his statement about how long it had been since they’d seen any other dragons, it hinted that perhaps Zhi was hundreds of years old, maybe even too old to bear young.

And even if she wasn’t, she had Chen.

Felix fought against disappointment. He’d found dragons. That was something. Even if they couldn’t help regenerate the dragon population, nonetheless, they were his kind.

“Please, come inside. We would like to speak with you.”

Felix followed them into their cave. The eagles fluttered in after them and perched on stands around the room, while Zhi puttered about in a tiny kitchen around a flame-lit stove whose smoke curled away through an opening above it on the wall.

The cave was an odd, tunneled space, illumined in flickering, yellow light by flaming torches stuck into niches high on the walls. It was cozy, especially once Chen drew the curtain that closed off the wind from outside.

But it was a small space—in places, Felix had to duck to avoid knocking his head against rocky protrusions that extended from the ceiling or walls. He couldn’t imagine that the dragons would be able to assume their dragon form inside the cave. They’d have to go outside—a huge disadvantage should they ever find themselves attacked in the cave.

And an indication of the risk they were taking by inviting him in.

But then, he couldn’t turn into a dragon inside the cave, either.

Like the village homes Felix had visited, fur pelts provided rugs, cushions, and even tapestries on the walls, making the stone dwelling feel less cold.

Chen gestured to a few padded cushions around a low table, and invited Felix to take a seat.

Zhi served tea in small carved stone cups.

Once he’d sipped some tea, Chen spoke in an animated voice, telling Felix stories of the dragons of long ago, and the various ways they all been killed off over the centuries. Chen’s dialect was slightly different from the Chinese Felix had learned, and he had to listen carefully to understand.

While he was listening, he observed the two dragons. Zhi seemed entirely submissive, speaking only in whispers, and then only to Chen, and only when she was directly addressed. She didn’t look at Felix, but kept her eyes averted toward the floor when she was in his presence, though he caught her peeking at him from the kitchen now and then.

After growing up with three independent and outspoken sisters, and especially after his adventure with Nia, who didn’t hesitate to speak her mind, Felix wasn’t sure how to respond to Zhi’s behavior.

As Chen neared the end of his tales, he mentioned, in various ways, that he and Zhi had hoped to someday see dragons again, and would like to travel with Felix to meet his family.

And so Felix invited them. Two days passed before they could make the trip—Chen and Zhi had to train the eagles and return them to the villagers, besides making other preparations to travel. During this time, Felix resigned himself to the fact that Zhi was not a viable mate for him. While he felt disappointed not to have found a mate, nonetheless, he was somewhat relieved that Zhi had Chen, because, to his dismay, Zhi did not appeal to him.

She seemed kind enough. That wasn’t the problem. And she was lovely in both human and dragon form. Perhaps it was the way she followed after Chen like a lost dog, and never spoke above a whisper. Or maybe it was something deeper, something about her that felt so very old, that Felix found himself thinking of her as more of a grandmother figure than a potential date.

Which was strange, since he’d never known either of his grandmothers. But Zhi puttered in such a grandmotherly way, setting the cave in order, everything precisely in its place, that Felix was often taken aback to look at her and see that she didn’t look any older than he was.

Once the eagles were returned, the three of them left in the late afternoon and flew through the night to Azerbaijan. Chen and Zhi knew the mountains well, and so they were able to travel without detection until it grew dark out. By flying quickly, they made the trip, following the moon on its course, and reaching the Caspian Sea at daybreak.

From there, Felix was able to use his knowledge of the region, as well as the low-lying cloud cover, to reach his home village in time for lunch.

The two newcomers generated much excitement, which was slightly awkward since they, like many dragons, were quite shy of human attention. Also, they needed Felix with them constantly, since he was the only person who could understand them, and then not terribly well.

While he’d felt slightly annoyed with Zhi’s refusal to speak directly to him back at the cave, now that he was acting as translator, it created an infuriatingly unnecessary additional step, since Zhi would have to first whisper to Chen, who would then try to explain to Felix, who had to pass everything along to everyone else.

He grew to rather resent Zhi, which made it all the more awkward when a few hours into their visit, Chen made a comment about his sister.

“You have a sister?” Felix clarified, putting stress on the Chinese word and adding for clarification, “Daughter of your same parents?”

Chen looked completely confused and put his arm around Zhi. “My sister,” he repeated. “Hatched two days apart.”

Everyone else in the room had gone silent, awaiting explanation. Ram and Nia were still away on their honeymoon, and Nia who was the only person who knew much Chinese, so there was no one else present to clarify. But Felix didn’t dare translate until he was sure he understood. “Zhi is not your wife?”

“No. Neither of us are married—we have never met other dragons to marry. They were hunted from before the time we were born. When we were young, those we knew were killed. Our mother died when we were two years old. It was a great loss, as she and my father had hoped to have more children. We stayed close to home, but even still, dragon hunters killed our father when Zhi and I were fifteen. He had gone in search of other dragons to arrange marriages for us. His guide and translator brought back the news. They had found no other dragons, and my father was killed. We have been in hiding, in fear for our lives, ever since. This was a little over a century ago.”

Felix listened to the story with a heavy heart. He felt bad for Chen and Zhi and all they’d lost—but more than that, he realized Zhi was an eligible bride.

He’d always wanted a bride.

But he didn’t even like Zhi.

*

Felix was glad that everyone wanted to ask questions of the dragons. He thought perhaps his sisters Rilla or Zilpha would take an interest in Chen, but instead, Rilla took the first opportunity to pull him aside while Chen and Zhi were busy eating.

“We’ve had a call from Ed and Wren.”

Something in her tone sent concern shooting through Felix. “Is everything okay?”

“I guess. They’re doing great, but they’ve found something.”

“What?”

“You remember that Ed knew our grandmother Faye long ago, before she met grandfather Elmir, and laid mom’s egg and died, and all that.”

“Yes.”

“Ed didn’t know until Wren told him, that Grandma Faye was dead. She’d gone off and never returned, and he searched the world looking for her, but he never knew what happened to her.”

“I think I knew most of that.”

“Here’s what you don’t know.” Rilla squeezed his hand as if to physically impress upon him the importance of what she was about to reveal. “Long before Grandma Faye even left Scotland, she’d given Ed a key to her apartment in Edinburgh. It was automatically paid through a trust. Ed called the building and the apartment is still registered in her name. It hasn’t been touched since before she left Scotland.”

“How long has that been? Forty years?” He did the math in his head. Their mother had only just turned forty—but she was hatched after Faye died, after she’d been rescued from Eudora’s dungeon, after she’d left Edinburgh, even longer before that.

“Forty-one years, give or take. But here’s the best part, Felix. Grandma Faye was a social butterfly. She kept correspondence with friends throughout the world.”

“Friends? People friends—or dragons?”

“Most of the dragons had been killed off by that time, but Ed remembers her mentioning a dragon who lived in France.”

“Male or female?”

“Female.”

Eagerness kicked Felix in the heart, sending his pulse stumbling forward unsteadily. “A female dragon.” He glanced at Zhi, who was sitting next to his grandfather Elmir in a set of arm chairs. Zhi was drinking her tea and casting subtle glances at Elmir. “Are they going to investigate?”

“They’re leaving in the morning for Edinburgh to go through the apartment. Someone needs to go through Grandma’s things, regardless. But if they find something, some clue that might lead them to this other dragon...”

“It could be a mate for me.” He squeezed Rilla’s hands in return.

Her robin’s-egg blue eyes shot a glance toward Zhi, then back to him.

Felix inhaled patiently. “I know she’s a dragon. She’s my species. But I don’t think she’s my type. I hate to reject her, but the thought of marrying her,” he suppressed a shudder. “If there’s another female, though, that will make it easier on Zhi, won’t it? To know there was someone else, and not that I just couldn’t stand—”

Rilla squeezed his hands again. “It would be best. Wren and Ed wanted to know if anyone was interested in flying up and going through the apartment with them.”

“I could rest through the afternoon and leave tonight. I’d have to sleep tomorrow, halfway there, but—”

“It will take them more than a day to go through everything in the apartment. Ed was talking about driving his truck down to move her things back, and terminating the rental agreement.”

“That makes sense.”

“They won’t even get to Edinburgh until lunch time.”

“Perfect.” Felix gave his sisters’ hands a final squeeze before letting go. “Do you think it would be too rude for me to head off to bed?” He looked back at Chen and Zhi.

Zhi was giggling at something Elmir said. It was almost like they could communicate. But as far as Felix knew, his grandfather didn’t know more than ten words in Chinese.

“How’s that possible?” Felix murmured.

“I don’t know how,” Zilpha whispered back, “but those two appear to be communicating just fine.”

*

Felix explained his intentions briefly to Chen and Zhi. Then he went to bed and slept through the afternoon, into the evening time. When he awoke, he went to the kitchen so he could eat a big meal before setting out on what would be a taxing trip. He’d need all the energy he could eat.

Several of his family members were there, along with Zhi and Chen, who immediately approached him. “We want to go with you.”

“We?” Felix still felt a little groggy from sleep, and wanted to make sure he understood.

“Zhi and I want to accompany you on your journey.”

“It’s going to be a hard, fast flight. You’ll want to stay here, among other dragons.”

“You are the only one we can talk to. Besides, your grandfather says he’s going.” Chen cast a pointed look at Elmir, who once again was sitting next to Zhi. Like all dragons, Felix’s grandfather Elmir hadn’t aged visibly beyond the point of maturity, so he still looked like any college student.

As did Zhi.

In fact, they made a cozy couple.

Felix swallowed. His grandfather had been a widower ever since Grandma Faye died, forty years before. Of course Elmir would want to be there, to help go through his deceased wife’s apartment, even if it dated to the time before he’d met her. And it wouldn’t hurt for Zhi to join them on the trip. Felix hadn’t thought of his grandfather as an eligible bachelor, but now that he considered the idea, it made sense.

And Felix wouldn’t have to worry about hurting Zhi’s feelings if she was more interested in Elmir.

“May we accompany you?” Chen asked after some silence.

“Honestly? I think that would be a great idea.”

They ate a fortifying meal and then set off at sunset—Felix, Ilsa, Elmir, Chen, Zhi, and Zilpha. Felix was pretty sure Zilpha was only going along because she knew Chen was an eligible bachelor, and Zilpha, of all his sisters, was most eager to marry. He’d watched several times as she’d attempted to communicate with Chen, but whatever nonverbal magic Elmir and Zhi had worked out, it appeared to be evading Zilpha and Chen.

But Zilpha was trying, at least. Things didn’t look promising, but she was trying.

After flying through most of the night, at dawn they set down in the courtyard of a familiar abandoned castle in Romania. Members of their family had been visiting the spot for years on their travels to and from Azerbaijan and their mother’s native Scotland. Now that Wren had married a Scotsman, they were sure to visit the spot even more often.

It was a comfortable place, if abandoned. Its remote mountain location meant that, not only had they never seen another human being near the place, but animal life was abundant, and they were able to quickly hunt a meal. The well water in the castle courtyard was cool and fresh, and the many rooms, though showing the effects of long neglect, were nonetheless relatively secure.