Fireheart
Chapter 2: Dragon's Grief
The Dark Dragon stood before them in the moonlight. He stared down at Jake, as Chang fit a muzzle over the young dragon's head. Jake struggled against her, but she struck the side of his head, leaving him dazed. When it was secure, Jake found that he couldn't open his mouth wide enough to breathe fire. He could still speak however.
"Well look who's back." he said, glaring up at the black dragon. "And you're still as ugly as ever."
"You would do well to mind that tongue of your's;" growled Chang, "before you end up losing it."
"Come now," said the Dark Dragon to her, "Is that any way to treat a guest?" He smiled cruelly at Jake. Jake said nothing, staring back into his cold eyes. Then, the Dark Dragon came forward, seized Jake by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him into one of the nearby warehouses.
After Jake had been thrown into a corner, Chang came up to him.
"It won't do you any good trying to call for help." she said, looking down at Jake. "This entire room has been magically sound proofed. And don't think returning to human form will help you either, as you'll find you won't be able to. Those chains have been specially enchanted to prevent that." She smiled, admiring her work, then turned to face the Dark Dragon.
"Master," asked Chang, "I'm afraid I still don't understand. Why don't we just slay him now and be done with it?"
"Patience." said the Dark Dragon, "My plan requires timing in order to work. Besides," he looked down at Jake, "I need him alive for what I have mind."
"So what are you gonna do with me?" asked Jake, glaring up him.
The black dragon smiled cruelly. "You will know soon enough." he said.
"You'll never get away with this." said Jake, "When Rose and the others find me-" But the Dark Dragon's laughter cut him short. Jake stared at him. "What's so funny?" he asked.
The Dark Dragon's smile widened. "They won't find you." he said slyly.
"Rose will!" said Jake fiercely, "She won't stop looking for me!"
The older dragon seemed confused for a moment, as though he were trying to remember something.
"Rose? Rose... oh yes... the Huntsgirl. Yes... that was unfortunate..." he looked down at Jake again, "She would have been a good mate for you. Such a pity..."
"What are you talking about?!" snarled Jake.
"That's right...You don't remember, do you?" asked the Dark Dragon. "She's dead."
"What? No!"
"Oh yes..." he said, "And by your claw no less..."
"No! You're lying! " roared Jake.
The black dragon stared hard into Jake's eyes. "Am I?"
As he met that gaze, Jake felt a cold, numbing dread stealing over him...
"No... it can't be... Not Rose... " As grief overcame his shock, the young dragon bowed his head in defeat. "You might as well slay me now." he said in despair, "What good is my life without Rose?" The Dark Dragon put a talon under his chin, turning Jake's face upward so that their eyes met.
"No." he said, "I'm not going to slay you. To kill you now would be doing you a favor. I'm going to let you live with your guilt."
The older dragon then turned to face Chang. "Keep an eye on him." he said, "I will return for you both tomorrow night. But for now, I have other business to attend to."
"Master?" asked Chang, "What are you planning to do with the boy?"
He smiled slyly and said, "All in good time, my loyal servant. For now, all that you need to know, is that it will take place tomorrow night."...
The next day...
Splash! Jake sat bolt upright, as the ice cold water hit him, then he fell over again. He looked around, coughing and sputtering, then saw Chang with a bucket in her claws.
"You're awake." she said, "Good."
Jake just lay there, shivering and glaring at her. Then he said, "You got a towel anywhere?"
Chang glared at him, "You should be grateful I didn't drown you." she growled.
"Well," said Jake, "Is it too much to ask for some food around here?"
Chang thought for a moment. "I suppose won't do for you to starve before my Master can make use of you."
She left him then, and came back a minutes later with a loaf of bread.
"Where'd you get that?" asked Jake.
"I took it off of someone's window sill." she said. She put the loaf down at his feet. Then, crouched in front of him and started to loosen the muzzle.
Jake let his eyes wander while he waited, anything to keep from looking at Chang. He could see that the door was locked, and the windows were boarded up. There would be no getting out those ways. Then he caught sight of something hanging from the ceiling. They were rows of fire sprinklers, and fire sprinklers meant fire alarms...
Chang caught his stare, then saw what he was looking at. She smiled at him slyly and said, "A clever idea, American Dragon. Pity for you it won't work. I made sure those alarms were disabled while you slept." Seeing the look on his face, she added, "I also took the liberty of placing fire proof spells on this building. Just in case you got any ideas. You won't be able to send any smoke signals from here."
Jake glared daggers at her, as she pulled the muzzle off. He yawned, then asked, "How long was I asleep anyway?"
"Half a day." said Chang, "It's past noon now."
Jake felt panic start to rise within him. Half a day?! He thought, And the Dark Dragon comes back tonight! I gotta find a way out of here! But even as he thought this, one glance around the room squashed the idea. There was no way he was getting out before nightfall.
To buy himself time to think, Jake started tending to the scratches and bite marks in his hide. He spat fire on the cuts to clean them and seal the wounds. It hurt, but it was better then letting them get infected. Besides, the heat from the flames dried his scales and took away the chill the water had left. Chang watched him, looking on in silence. Even though he tried to hide it, she could tell that he was worried. He had good reason to be.
By the time Jake had finished nursing his injuries, he had come up with a plan to escape. He would wait until the Dark Dragon returned. Then, once they got him outside; roast the Dark Dragon and Chang and yell as loud as he could until the others came for him. It wasn't a very good plan, he knew, but it was better then nothing. By now, his hunger was getting the better of him. He started eyeing the bread that Chang had left.
She followed his gaze and said, "If you're going to eat that, then do so. I didn't get it just to be kind to you."
"How do you expect me to eat, when you've got me chained up over here?" asked Jake.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." said Chang, smugly. She seemed to be enjoying his discomfort.
The loaf of bread was just out of reach for his claws, and lying on his side like he was, he was in the wrong position to get his tail around it. After shuffling around a bit, which didn't help at all; Jake took a minute to catch his breath. Then, he had an idea. Lining his head up with the food, he shot his tongue out, and finally snagged the meal.
Chang watched him closely as he ate. He was too hungry to notice the sly smile that crept across her face.
Jake was halfway through the loaf, when he noticed something strange happening. His eyelids started getting heavy, then he felt himself going limp. He felt tired and lightheaded, and a strange numbness was spreading through him.
Chang's smile widened. "I see that sleeping potion is finally taking effect." she said, looking down at him.
"Sleeping potion?..." Jake said thickly, "What... are you talking about?..."
Chang laughed at this. "I spiked that bread with a powerful sleeping draft, just in case you had any ideas of trying to escape when my master returns." She leaned closer to him and said, "Oh, and just so you know, he should be here within the hour."
Jake struggled to keep his eyes open, but the potion was already taking effect. Chang laughed again, as his eyesight started to dim... It was the last thing he knew...
...............................................................
"Wake up, American Dragon." said a voice, "We wouldn't want you to sleep through this..."
Jake slowly opened his eyes, then wished he hadn't. The Dark Dragon was standing over him. It was his voice that had spoken.
As the feeling returned to his chained limbs, Jake began to notice intense heat all around him. The light of the half moon was shining through a crack in a stone wall above and behind the larger dragon's head. Jake twisted his neck around, trying to see more of where he was. He saw a circular chamber made of rock, with a high domed ceiling. A faint orange glow all around them was what lit the chamber. He, the Dark Dragon and Chang, were on a raised circular platform in the middle of it. There were other chambers that branched off from this one. Then he saw where the glow and heat were coming from. Magma. Rivers of molten magma flowed all around the platform they were on. They were inside a volcano.
Not just any volcano, Jake realized, This is a volcano on the Isle of Draco! It was in this very chamber that Jake had first fought the Dark Dragon, after coming to rescue Fred Nerk, the Australian Dragon; whom he'd been racing against for his Test of Courage in Flight.
"Look familiar?" asked Chang, seeing the look of shock on his face. "Yes... we thought you might remember this place. And we have another reason for bringing you here."
The Dark Dragon looked down at Jake as he said, "There is a concentration of powerful dark magic that flows here... The very place were I became the Dark Dragon..." For a moment, he seemed lost in memories. Then, looking back at Jake, he said, "But here I am reliving history, when we have work to do."
As midnight drew near, the Dark Dragon began chanting in a strange language, while scratching symbols in a large circle in the center of the platform. Then, the moon cast a silvery light upon the circle. A smile crossed the his face as he said, "It is time." As the moonlight touched the symbols, A pool of darkness bubbled up from the circle. Tendrils sprouted upward from the pool, writhing and twisting in the moon's glow.
The Dark Dragon turned back to Jake, and the young dragon looked up at him with fear in his eyes. "What- what are you gonna do to me?" asked Jake, trying to keep his voice from shaking. He knew that whatever this evil dragon planned for him, it wasn't good.
"Calm yourself." said the Dark Dragon, "It will all be over soon." His voice might have actually been soothing, if Jake hadn't caught the evil intention within it. Then, the black dragon undid the chains that bound him; but before Jake could move, the larger dragon seized him by the scruff of his neck, lifting the young dragon off his feet. Jake hung limp as a kitten from the big dragon's claw. The Dark Dragon stared deep into Jake's frightened eyes, then, threw him into the pool!
Jake struggled wildly, frantic to escape. But it was no use. The tendrils coiled around his limbs, lifting him above the pool as more darkness surged upward, piercing into his very heart. The young dragon still struggled, writhing to break free, roaring in agony and terror.
"It is useless trying to fight it." said the Dark Dragon, "No one can resist the dark magic's power."
It seemed he was right. After a few more moments, Jake's struggles ceased. He hung limp as the darkness entered him. Finally, as the moonlight faded, the pool disappeared, sinking back into the circle from whence it came. The young dragon fell to the ground as he was released.
"Now," said the Dark Dragon, coming towards him, "rise, and join me." The red dragon slowly got to his feet, looking down at himself.
"I've never felt so much power." he said. He looked up, staring at the other dragon with fierce, burning eyes.
"And you shall have even greater power, as my apprentice." the Dark Dragon said, "But first, you must prove your loyalty to me by completing one simple task..."
The young dragon smiled at this, "What did you have in mind?"...
Three days later...
The Chinese Dragon flew out over the nighttime city. The pale light of the crescent moon rippling off his dark blue scales. For two nights now, he had been searching. Searching, for what he knew in his heart could not be found. Yet here he was again, searching still.
Loa Shi landed on a nearby rooftop, and looked out over the city. The old dragon thought back to that fateful night. The night that Rose had fallen from the sky over Central Park...
The others were heartbroken by the news of what he'd seen. Rose's mother had wept all that night from grief; as had the others, though they tried to comfort her. But for Loa Shi, his grief was beyond tears. He had not only lost his grandson for a second time, but Rose as well.
That night, he climbed the ladder to the rooftop. As the moon glowed red from a rare eclipse, the old dragon lifted his voice in song. It was an ancient song that only he knew, and though it had no words, its meaning was all too clear. And all who heard it bowed their heads in sorrow. Yet there was a strange comfort in that music. Though no one knew why, it seemed to ease the pain they felt, for the loss of Jake and Rose.
Loa Shi sang all through the night, until the first rays of dawn peeked over skyline. When the song was finished, he shut himself away from the others, refusing to even speak to them. All that day, he lay on his bed in dragon form, grieving. They tried to coax him out with food, but the old dragon wouldn't touch it.
It was Spud who finally got him to come out. Spud, Trixie, and Fu Dog tried to talk some sense into him (88 and 89 had given up already). They tried to convince Loa Shi that it wasn't his fault, but nothing worked. Finally, Spud was fed up with the old dragon. He started taunting Loa Shi, trying to anger him out of his depression.
"You're just gonna lie there all day?! And you call yourself a Dragon Master?! You're no Dragon Master! You're not a dragon! You're just a- a big ugly lizard! No, wait, you're not even a lizard!" But the insults fell on deaf ears, until, "You're nothin' but an overgrown salamander!!!"
That did it.
Roaring in fury, the Chinese Dragon pinned Spud to the floor; his claw at the boy's throat, eyes blazing and teeth bared in an angry snarl.
Calling a dragon "salamander" was like calling them "Weakling", "Slimy", "Coward", and "Hatchling" all at once.
No one ever called a dragon "salamander"- and lived.
Fortunately, the old dragon regained his senses before anything worse happened. He released Spud and apologized. It was then that Fu Dog told Spud and Trixie about the danger of calling a dragon by that name, and they both promised to never do it again.
After that incident, both families decided to go out and search the Park for any sign of Jake or Rose. None of them were sure why they searched, or what they hoped to find, but it gave them something to focus on, since nothing else was working. And so for two long nights they went out searching, but to no avail... By the third night, the others had given up. Now Loa Shi was the only one still searching, but not even he knew why.
Loa Shi was pulled away from these thoughts by movement out of the corner of his eye. Overhead, a pair of shooting stars streaked across the midnight sky. The sight of them made the old dragon smile in spite of himself. And in his heart, he felt the faintest glimmer of something he'd never expected... Hope...
The first American Dragon Jake Long podcast aired last night! (Also, we're still in need of voice actors if anyone wants to audition.) Head to www. savetheshows. com to check it out (and to audition/ or submit anything to help with the savetheshows movement, btw, we also need oneshots for the podcast)! Also: the first long-running podcast we'll be doing, is Dragonfire!