Dragons Awakening
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: Friendship

The vision of mountains, sharp and steep, remained as the golden warmth of the strange being dissipated. Akolo kept his eyes closed, watching enormous waves crash against the rugged cliffs in the strange other world. Makes Everest look like a hill. A cloud of winged apparitions rose from the nearest peak. Joy surged through Akolo. And then nothing.

The link was broken. On the backs of his eyelids, Akolo replayed the mountainous vista in slow motion. Behind the purple-hued crags, the sky glistened lavendar. A ball of red hung in the sky. Not the golden sun the dragons had come to know in this world. Nothing but craggy mountains and boisterous sea on that world. No wonder Jokul felt at home at the Top of the World. The dragon realm offered nothing for humans but it looked perfect for a race of creatures who feasted on stone, ore and gems - all found aplenty in the mountains.

Akolo clambered to his feet, stepping lightly across the barren ground. This had been the inviting shore of Southern Italy? It looked more like the smooth pathway leading away from Kilauea to the Pacific Ocean. Shouldn’t that make him feel at home? The sun peeped over the Eastern horizon. Night was coming.

The flaming jet had crashed into the sea further south. The three parachutes descended in that direction, as well. His best chance of rescue lay with the wealthy Oohara’s. What would Zi Yan say about the strange apparition that had spoken to him?

His hand drifted to the center of his chest, just to the right of his heart. When the golden light hit him, a blanket of peace descended. The accusatory questions he had about his mother’s untimely death were snuffed beneath its weight. Why had the being - the one Ezer called Omni - touched him that way? Was it to keep him from pursuing the reason behind his mother’s sudden death?

Even now, a strange tingling coursed over his chest. Proof he hadn’t imagined the encounter. Ezer’s deity had appeared and taken him back to the dragon realm. Did that mean Jokul had been returned to Everest? Clearly, Qwystanak was dead, although nothing remained of his corpse. A good thing. How would that be explained to the scientists sure to swarm the area to perform massive amounts of research? Others would come to rebuild.

Behind him, Vesuvius shadowed the destructive scene. A small cloud of steam vented upward, but no more lava flowed. The explosive entranceway of the dragon was nothing more than a post-eruption haze. The earth was saved.

What about his father? The data he’d been collecting and studying during his career had all been corrupted by the dragon’s presence in the center of the earth. With that gone, what would it mean for the geological community? Would they be forced to relearn science in this new world where a solid inner core and molten outer core pushed against the restraints of gravity, sending molten lava through the mantle?

And his parents’ theory? It meant nothing now. Hollowness yawned beneath the warm pool of golden light still hovering over his chest. There were no answers to the past. Only a future without dragons.

Akolo’s throat tightened at the thought. He’d enjoyed meeting the fearsome beasts. Not so fearsome. After all, he’d been able to influence their actions like he had other animals. But Jokul and Ezer were so much more than animals. They reasoned, felt emotion and practiced religion. Crazy.

But their deity? Akolo’s scientific mind rebelled at the thought of such a powerful being manipulating everything. And yet, he’d seen the golden-skinned angelic man with his own eyes. Spoke to him. Felt his invigorating touch. Did that mean he now believed in God? He believed in Omni. And hoped never to see him again.

Death isn’t all bad. His mother’s voice whispered in his mind. It separates us from those we love, but only temporarily. Her words echoed through his mind, stemming from his tingling breastbone. As if Omni’s touch had opened up a communication link with his mother.

I miss you. I wanted to prove your theory.

Theories are important for planning life on Earth. It means nothing to me now, Oho. The wind tossed a salt and sulfur perfume into his face. Her whispered words faded beneath the breeze.

Volcanoes and earthquakes had been linked together. Perhaps they still were without the interference of an angry dragon. Time to prove the connection stretched before him now that doomsday had been averted. His sneaker poked through the black crust. The Earth hadn’t escaped unscathed, but its future looked bright again.

Akolo topped a slight rise and the land fell away toward the Tyrrhenian Sea. A nose of land jutted outward. Red and white roofs sparkled in the setting sun. That seaside village remained intact.

Three slender figures hiked along the shore toward the distant mirage. Akolo’s heart sprang into his throat before plunging to wrestle with his stomach.

He cupped his hands around his mouth, “Zi Yan Oohara!”

From his left, waves lapped against the remnants of lava beds. His sixth sense registered the brain waves of a gaggle of seagulls. He shaded his eyes. They circled a few meters off shore, taking turns diving toward the water, coming up with limp fish carcasses. Lava superheated the water, killing the fish. A natural side-effect of a volcanic eruption. The normality of it soothed along his ruffled worldview.

“Akolo?”

His head snapped toward the sound. Zi Yan trotted toward him, while the other two men waited further back. The fluttering in his chest had nothing to do with Omni’s tingle. He jogged toward her, fingers itching to pull her into a hug.

But he didn’t. She threw her arms around his neck. Perspiration overwhelmed her trademark cherry blossom scent. He imagined he smelled like he’d been bathing in brimstone.

“What happened?” Zi stepped back, craning her neck to look behind him.

“They’re gone.” The words made it true. The wings on his heart turned to stone. He’d never see them again. Unless you climb Everest. Akolo shook the thought away. “You rescued your dad.”

“Not really. He bailed out.”

“Ezer said to tell you he’s glad your vision proved false.”

Her pale eyes glistened, and she swiped at them with her fingers. “Did he get back home?”

Akolo nodded. He opened his mouth. Zi asked, “What about Jokul? I guess they managed to kill the red dragon, then.”

“One question at a time,” Akolo said. Beginning with his close call in Qwystanak’s mind, he told her everything.

“It’s nearly dark.” A stern-faced Chinese man stopped a few steps away from them. Akolo hadn’t even noticed his approach. Did he hear about the strange golden being?

“We’re coming.”

“Walk faster.”

ZI Yan rolled her eyes. “This is my father. This is Akolo Duboff, the one who kept the red dragon from destroying us.”

A bubble swelled behind Akolo’s tingling breastbone. The slight man’s grip as they shook hands was firm.

“Sying is calling in a helicopter. Let’s get moving.”

“Yes, sir.”

The man turned away. Zi grabbed Akolo’s arm, pulling him beside her, several steps behind her father.

“I’m afraid the fight may have been spotted by cameras.” Her breath tickled across his ear, making his cheeks flush.

Akolo shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. They’re gone now, anyway. Even the dead carcass.”

“You sound almost sad.”

Akolo glanced sideways, “Once a scientist, always a scientist.”

“I doubt there’s a scientific explanation for anything we’ve experience recently.”

Maybe science isn’t everything.

Akolo stared into the sky, listening to the seagulls squabble over their meal.

In no hurry to face her father, Zi pulled the comb through her damp hair. Let’s face it, even the shower at the hangar offered refreshment from her sea water and volcanic ash body wrap. Not something they’d be offering up at the posh spas anytime soon. Her blue eyes reflected back at her while she braided her hair down her back. No need to think much about that routine task.

Akolo’s story bobbed to the surface of her thoughts again. Since hearing it a couple hours before, she’d hardly been able to think of anything. Her heart raced at the thought of meeting a god-like being.

“It hovered on wings like an angel,” Akolo had said. “It’s golden skin glimmered like it was lit from within. When it spoke, music and majesty. That’s all I’ve got.”

Impossible to describe. What would he expect of a deity? Face and voice like any regular old person? That’s what some people thought. Ezer’s god sounded more majestic, more amazing, more capable of giving special abilities to people.

Did she think that’s where her foretelling came from now? What happened to the idea that fifty decades had passed and the spirit of the former Visionary had been released to replace its way into a new body? If she had been reincarnated, wouldn’t she have some memories from the earlier lives?

She wrapped a tie around the thin end of her braid, flipping the tail over her shoulder. Time to face her father. Maybe he would be so involved in his business activities that he would leave her alone.

Maybe the dragons would return and eat her.

Pungent fuel fumes bit into her nose. She wrinkled it. Not that it helped. Across the narrow hangar, Her pilot stood at stiff attention. Her father stood inches from his face. Her chest tightened. He was not going to fire Manning for following her orders.

ZI strode across the cement floor, the satin slippers and silk pantsuit whispering with every step.

“You will be relieved of duty once we return to Beijing,” her father was saying. “Your paycheck-”

“Is covered by me,” Zi Yan interrupted, stopping out of arm’s reach of her father. The pilot’s dark gaze flitted toward her. His cheek jumped and he dropped his gaze to the center of her father’s chest.

“You may pay severence then,” her father said, tone filled with disinterest. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the former fighter pilot. “Your employment is terminated.”

“Since he is my employee, I’ll be the judge of that.”

Her father turned an icy gaze on her. “You’ll have no need of a pilot since I will require the use of this plane.”

“Until you have a new one constructed.” Heat crawled up the back of Zi’s neck, even in the drafty cement building.

“I’ve decided I won’t need another jet right away. Obviously, allow you access to one has encouraged poor decisions.”

The flush spread across her chest, but Zi refused to fan herself. She turned to Manning, “I’m sure you have pre-flight checks to perform, Manning. We’ll speak more of this later.”

“Yes, Miss Oohara.” With military precision, he about-faced and clambered into the jet.

“I can purchase my own transportation, Father. My Ruan inheritance. Or did you forget?”

“My memory is perfect. Yours might not be.”

He strode up the stairs into the jet. Zi clenched her fists. So much for wishful thinking.

When Zi entered the plane, her father sat at his preferred chair, communication tablet propped open.

“We will be ready for departure in thirty minutes.” His low tones carried over the sound of packing from the cargo hold.

Sying must be reporting after safely delivering Akolo to his father on the QEII. Zi covered her sinking stomach with one hand. It would have been nice to say goodbye to Akolo without an audience. They had exchanged contact information, but she doubted he would remember to contact her once he rejoined his father. Likely he wasn’t facing wrath. His father was thrilled he had survived the eruption. Mr. Oohara? Not so easily moved.

When she sat on the sofa, her father powered on the media screen, flicking a few stations until a full-sized picture of Ezer and Qwystanak flashed to life. As usual, the sound was muted, but the close-captioned screening rolled across the bottom. Scientists and military were actively searching the area between Naples and Salerno where the dragons were last seen.

“Tell me what happened to these beasts.”

“Dragons. You know, revered by our forefathers.”

His gaze scorched her. “Your attitude is unwelcome in this conversation.”

Because Mr. Oohara could command everyone to respond in a specific way. Acid bubbled up, burning her insides. Keep the anger in check. Mr. Oohara regarded emotions of any sort as a major weakness. What had her mother ever seen in this man?

ZI heaved a huge sigh. So he could understand her acquiescence wasn’t without objection.

“They’re gone. They came from a different realm and returned there.”

He stared at her with unblinking eyes. Zi fought the urge to squirm.

“Why were you so willing to step into your role as Visionary two days ago?”

One question about the fearsome dragons and he was letting the subject drop? He must be funding the search of the area. Dragons had to scream of profit to him.

“Lives were at stake.”

“People die every day.”

“I prefer not to watch them.” Her heart slammed against her chest. Two specific death visions wavered near the surface of her conscious thought. She steeled herself against them.

“The governor of the Eastern Concord expects you to call on him as soon as your school break arrives.”

ZI’s stomach plummeted into her red slippers. Precisely the reason she stayed out of the spotlight. The Chinese people had waited for five centuries for a new seer. They considered her to belong to them. The days of emperors had fallen long ago, but the ideal of the prophetess ushering China - even though it no longer existed as China - into another golden age.

“Of course, Father.”

His eyes narrowed. She never agreed with him easily. Of course it would earn his suspicion. She swallowed a fortifying breath.

“This close call had opened my eyes. My gift is not my own. I must use it to help others, as I did a few days ago.”

“How philanthropic of you!” His lips turned downward. He cared only about helping himself.

ZI gritted her teeth. “I need assistance from the former visionaries. I’ve decided to enter the Lhasa monastery to study the scrolls kept in their sacred library.”

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I believe Mother planned for me to do this.”

“Your mother had many superstitious ideas.” She was twice the human being you have ever been. “You will call on the governor. And attend the state dinner with me first.”

ZI shoved her hands beneath her thighs. The fabric soothed her nerves. She concentrated on the cool cloth until the bubble of ire expanding in her lungs deflated.

“Of course, Father.”

He combed her face with his dark eyes. Back and forth. Expecting to replace a weakness? She was a better Oohara than that.

“I will speak with the khenpo at the college to make arrangements.” He turned his attention to his computer.

Dismissed, Zi stared at the media screen. A video of the dragons plunging into the Tyrrhenean Sea, clenched in a horrible embrace played. Some general outlined his plan of for cornering and subduing the beasts once they were located.

“Good luck with that,” she muttered. A quick glance toward her father showed he paid her no heed.

Strange to miss the gruff voice inside her head. But Ezer had proved to be almost as much of a friend as Akolo. And he certainly was a better father figure than the one seated a few feet away.

Was he reunited with his family? Did he think about her at all?

One thing she knew, if she discovered more of the most recent Visionary’s writings at the monastery, she might learn more about Ezer. That Visionary had prophesied that Zi would break the curse or spell that bound him into the form of a horse. How much had the old woman interacted with the dragon? Did she realize what he truly was or where he came from?

ZI stretched her arms above her head and walked to the refrigeration unit at the back of the plane. Only two bottles of water remained. She pulled one out. She pushed the intercom button.

“This is the pilot.” Manning’s voice sounded tight. Did he think it was her father contacting him?

“Manning, will you check on food and beverage restocking? I think it may have been overlooked.”

“Yes, Miss Oohara.”

A glance revealed her father working with fervor on his tablet. Bottle in hand, Zi left the cabin. No sense spending more time with him than she had to.