Chapter 13

Ray dropped the FMK and collapsed again, feeling a deep sorrow come over him. He was responsible for the deaths of two men. Granted, he had saved the lives of his comrades, but it wasn't a good feeling nonetheless.

Ben helped Ray over to Firedrake, who blew a flame onto him. He felt a familiar feeling, the same one when Firedrake healed his arms come over him. The bullets fell out of Ray's wounds, and they immediately closed, although the holes in his clothes where the gunshot wounds were and the bloodstains were still there. He felt no pain, but the emotional pain from ending two men's lives didn't leave.

"So," Ben sighed, at a loss for words. "Where did you learn Russian?"

Ray didn't even make eye contact with anyone, he couldn't even smile after Sorrel thanked him, nor did he thank Firedrake for healing him.

"I'll tell you later," Ray put the pistol in his back pocket and looked at the two corpses.

"We should move, if they heard those gunshots they'll be sure to come investigate," Ben said.

Ray looked back at the soldiers. Two AK-47s just going to waste. Ray went over to the body of one of the soldiers and picked up his rifle. It wasn't an AK-47, but a more recent variant, the AK-103. Then he scavenged 8 magazines full of ammunition on their persons. They each had a sidearm, and what looked like grenades clipped to their belts along with radios. Ray unclipped the grenade. On the side, in Russian, it read "Flash bang." Stun grenades.

He stuffed the magazines in his pockets, and clipped two flash bangs to his belt, and left the bodies to catch up to Firedrake.

He could tell Firedrake was sleep deprived, but they had to move. They walked a few miles in the woods, and settled down again. No one said anything, and Ray kept to himself.

After a while, he approached Firedrake.

"Hey," He sat down on the forest floor. "Thanks for," Ray scratched his head. "For healing me, again."

"No problem. Thanks for saving Ben and Sorrel," Firedrake said.

"Where did you learn Russian, anyway?" Ben asked.

Ray still felt cold in the chest, as he did when he was afraid or depressed.

"I was born here. In Moscow," Ray explained. "After communism ended, my country was in a deep recession and there was a lot of violence. My parents moved to America when I was 5."

"Why did you lie to Ben about not knowing Russian, then?" Sorrel asked.

"My father abandoned us just after we got to America. I already had some relatives in America, as well. My mother and I never really had a good relationship, so she tried to pawn me off on several of my relatives. I lived with my grandfather and my uncle, both of whom died while I was living with them. So I went back to live with my mother when I was ten. She inherited some money from my grandfather and uncle, and she spent it all on drinking, partying, and trips to California. I got some inheritance, too."

"What did you spend the money on?" Ben asked.

"A Kawasaki Ninja," Ray smiled. "My laptop, some other things. I ran out of my inheritance money after I bought the motorcycle, I didn't get as much as my mom. But just before we left, I spoke to my mother. She decided it was best for her to stay in California, and she wouldn't come back until I was moved out at eighteen."

"Oh," Firedrake listened intently. He didn't understand some of what Ray was saying, but he got the main point. "No wonder you wanted to leave so badly."

"I don't really like talking about my past. I tried to forget Russian, but I guess you can't forget your native language," Ray sighed. "Ben, I'm sorry I lied to you."

"Ray," Ben punched him in the shoulder. "You don't have to apologize, I understand."

"And I'm sorry I led those soldiers back here," Ray nodded. "I should have been more careful."

"Ray!" Ben smiled. "Shut up!"

"You didn't mean to, don't worry about it," Sorrel muttered.

Ray picked up the AK-103 and removed the magazine, then cocked it. He examined it inside and out, but refrained from firing it. The AK-103 could be easily disassembled and fit in Ray's backpack. Ray gave Ben his Remington R-25, and taught him how to empty the magazine and switch on the safety.

With half of their journey done, they were well on their way to the Rim of Heaven. It wasn't easy, but Ray changed his attitude, even with blood on his hands. He was starting a new life, living with dragons. He had found friends that accept him for who he was, and that was enough for him.

The trip across Russia was long and cold. Ray had gone into another Russian village, one far away from the border to minimize risk with the military, and to buy a new jacket. The village he entered was very rural, but there were some modern shops and stores. As he walked around the small community, children followed him. They asked where he was from, what his name was, and how old he was.

He shooed them away and changed the American bills into Russian at the bank. The clerk at the bank looked at him funny, but honored his request and handed him a wad of Russian cash. Unsure of why the clerk gave him a hard time, he crossed into the bazaar, and found a shop selling cheap clothes. He spent the rest of his cash on a black jacket. It was warm wool on the inside, and nylon on the outside. It would protect him from the cold, that's for sure.

As he was walking out of the bazaar, Ray picked up a newspaper, and saw that there was a story regarding the deaths of two soldiers on the eastern coast of Russia. Ray gulped, and read through the article.

"Two National Guard soldiers were found shot to death near the Kalashiknov Military base, only two hundred kilometers from Alaska. Footprints and several shells of an American made 9mm handgun were recovered. Reports indicated they had encountered what they believed to be an American spy. Upon discovery of the two bodies, one soldier's rifle was missing. The gunman is said to be armed and highly dangerous. The United States denies all accusations, declaring they value the Russian Federation as an ally and would never attempt espionage on our great nation."

"Well I'll be damned," Ray thought. "I'm causing an international incident." He tore the article off the paper and pocketed it, and then quickly left the village, making sure not to attract any attention.

He showed the article to Ben, just before they were taking off. "Well that's not good, at least they don't know who you are."

"Let's hope not," Ray sighed.

They continued southwest, finally reaching the Himalayas after two straight months of flying. The mountain tops were taller than anything Ray had ever seen before. He wasn't used to flying and having no lights beneath him. The only humans that could settle this area are the ones that lived in monasteries.

Firedrake seemed to have his bearings after a few days of flying the Himalayas, and finally approached nine jagged peaks surrounding a valley.

Ray's heart began to pound, knowing the journey had come to an end, but a new one was about to begin. Ray's AK-103 bounced around, slung on his back as the wind shuffled Firedrake around.

Firedrake seemed excited. As he was coming in to land, several figures streaked across the sky. They were other dragons. There were some below them, basking in the moonlight or playing in the cold water of a crescent shaped lake. As Firedrake landed, several dragons approached him. Sorrel let out a sigh of relief, and Ben was smiling. Ray was afraid. Here he was, a Russian country boy biker from Atlanta, Georgia, in the middle of the Himalayas surrounded by creatures that aren't supposed to exist.

"Firedrake!" A dragon, a bit larger than Firedrake, called. "You're alive!"

"Indeed I am, Shimmertail!" Firedrake laughed. Shimmertail glanced at Ray and Ben. "You brought humans with you?"

Ben undid his strap and dropped to the ground. "I believe we've met before, Shimmertail," Ben ran a hand through his hair.

"The dragon rider, Ben!" Shimmertail smiled. "You've grown a lot."

"And this is Ray," Sorrel nudged Ray, who was too nervous to speak.

"Nice to meet you Ray," Shimmertail said. Ray didn't know what to say, so he nodded.

Sorrel and Ray dropped off of Firedrake, but Ray kept his rifle close. He put his backpack on and slung the AK over it, and kept close to Firedrake. He was introduced to many dragons and brownies, but he still felt shy. Some of the brownies he was introduced to had four arms, instead of two. As the dragons and brownies crowded around them, they began to part. An old, yet humble looking dragon strode up to Firedrake.

"Slatebeard," Firedrake murmured.

Slatebeard assembled the dragons and led Firedrake, Ray, Ben, and Sorrel to a small ledge above the valley.

"My brethren, we have good news today. Young Firedrake and Sorrel have returned to us, and brought friends!" Slatebeard made eye contact with Ray, and then Ben. Ray looked down at all the dragons and brownies looking up at him, which made him nervous. They whispered and murmured to each other, which added to his anxiety.

"Which one is Ben?" Slatebeard asked Firedrake quietly. Firedrake gestured to Ben with his head.

"Ben, the dragon rider of the legend, has returned here once again," Slatebeard said. Ben walked forward and leaned against Firedrake.

"And what is your name?" The wise dragon asked Ray.

"I'm Ray," he said. "I ran into Firedrake several months ago."

"I see," Slatebeard said. "Maybe that wasn't chance, but fate."

"Maybe," Ray looked at the ground, the fluttering in his chest going away now.

"You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, Ray." Slatebeard said.

"Thank you," Ray replied with respect. Firedrake turned to Slatebeard.

"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about, Slatebeard." Firedrake explained what had happened and what Ray had did, along with the story Ray told them about how he came from Russia.

"So my question is, can Ray live here with us?"

"Like I said," Slatebeard didn't hesitate to say. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, Ray."

Ray felt overjoyed, all anxiety subsiding within him. With their introductions out of the way, Ray stuck with Ben and his rifle, losing more fear as the night went on. He met so many dragons and brownies he couldn't remember their names, and never had a moment to himself.

He caught a dragon, large and intimidating with darker scales than the rest of the dragons he'd seen, eyeing him savagely several times. He could see some hostility in some of the dragons he met, but they accepted him and Ben because of Firedrake.

Eventually, Ray was so hungry he had to cook something. The best thing about having dragons around is that you never need a lighter. He cooked a can of soup and split it with Ben. The duffle bag had lost a lot of weight, there was almost no food left.

"There are some yaks that graze in a field not too far from here," Luca, a dragon Ray had just been introduced to explained. "But I could be wrong. There's not a lot of wildlife here."

"I'll survive," Ray put out the embers of what used to be a flame by stomping on it.

Firedrake was nowhere to be seen, until they saw two dragons flying overhead. "That's Maya," Ben explained as they watched them effortlessly glide through the air together.

When the sun began to rise, the excitement had ended and most of the dragons went to sleep. The crowd of young hatchlings that had followed Ben and Ray for most of the night were retrieved by their respective parents, and Ben and Ray were left alone.

Ray didn't feel like sleeping, but Ben was out like a light. With all the excitement, how could he fall sleep? Luca, the dragon Ray had made friends with, was sleeping next to Ben. Ray looked around, at the lake, and then at the nine peaks, where he had seen a large entrance to a cave. Ray shrugged and slung his rifle, remembering the dragon he saw earlier watching him, and headed towards the lake.