She Will Burn

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

But magic calls to magic and as soon as they arrived, my people knew they were a gift from the gods.

"You ready?" my mother asked as she pulled my long dark hair into ceremonial braids.

I nodded even as the knot in my chest tightened. She gave me a knowing smile. "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." The words came out sharper than intended. My cheeks flamed red but my mother's soft smile never wavered.

"Of course not." She tied off the last of my braids and helped me into my gear. As she buckled the last of the straps over my shoulder she said, "Keep your heart and your thoughts open."

"Mama, I—"

She pressed her hands to my cheeks, forcing me to look her in the eye. "Listen. They hear you. Here," she pointed to my head, "and here." She moved her hand down to my heart. "Do not act superior."

I wanted to scoff but that seemed counterproductive to my argument. "I don't act superior."

My mother gave me a look before gently shaking her head. "It is a big day. Nerves run high. But remember, you are not alone."

I knew this. Everybody knew this. No one was alone during the choosing ceremony. Others my age would be there along with whoever else from the village felt like attending. Which was usually everyone and their grandmother.

Everyone except my father.

But that's not what my mother meant. She did not mean the people. I shook the thought of my father away and moved to stand in front of the mirror. The sight of myself in the armor I had dreamed of wearing since I was a child sent an electric zap through my spine. I was excited. Nervous, yes. But excited. Possibly to the point of throwing up. But that was expected. There was hardly a new rider that didn't spew their guts as they prepared to ascend the steps leading to the platform.

A pounding sounded at the door. I left my mother in my room and went to open it. Riki's smile was wide as she threw her arms around me. "Today is the day!"

She called hello to my mother who made her way into the kitchen before quickly moving to help Riki reassemble her riding straps.

"You'll fall off the second that thing takes flight." She clucked her tongue. Riki wiggled beneath her though she was perfectly happy to let my mother help.

The seventh of twelve children, Riki had grown up forgotten. Her elder siblings had found caring for her past the age of eight tiresome and instead focused on helping the younger children or going off to start their own families. Riki was horrible with children and despised them as much as they displeased her. The maternal instinct just wasn't there for her, though it wasn't something she was worried about. Her love remained with the dragons down in the valley. It was actually one of the reasons she and I had become friends in the first place. After all, what better way to meet your best friend than hanging off the side of a mountain?

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my Fallon," my mother said as she finished up Riki's gear just as she had mine. "Keep your head and your heart open."

I gave Riki a knowing look but didn't say anything. I knew she loved my mother's sage advice. The gods knew she didn't get it from her own mother.

Riki came to stand next to me. "Ready?"

My fingers itched to fidget with my straps, my hair, anything to keep my mind off of what was to come. I clamped them down on my arms instead. Tried for a smile. "Ready as I'll ever be."

We said our goodbyes to my mother and made our way down the sodden path that lead to the village. We would meet with the others our age and all make the descent further down the mountain.

Riki was practically jumping with excitement. "You know," she said hopping in front of me. She hardly looked where she was going as she walked backward but managed to maneuver the path more gracefully than I ever could. "For someone who claims to be excited for this day, you're awfully mopey."

"I'm not mopey. I'm... nervous."

"What's to be nervous about?"

I chewed at my thumbnail. "Well for one they're terrifying. They could kill us."

"That's never happened and I hardly think it will happen now." She slung her arm over my shoulder as we made our way into the village. “Wilhemina.”

“What?”

“I hope she picks me.”

Wilhemina was one of the dragons Riki and I had been watching for years. We named her ourselves and even convinced ourselves she had grown used to us. Liked us even. But a dragon only likes its rider. It is dangerous to go near any but your own.

And today, we get our own.

I snorted. “Don’t we all.”

“I swear she looked me dead in my soul last night.”

“It was midnight. You couldn’t see any more than I could.”

Riki shrugged. “Don’t be jealous when she chooses me.”

I smiled. “No promises.”

We arrived last, as usual, and after a glaring look from our trainer the class took off. There weren’t many of us, a handful at best. But these were the kids I had grown up with. Roamed the mountainside with as we learned how to forage, how to hunt, and how to stay out of the dragon’s way.

Stefan fell into step beside Riki. He was even more nervous than I was. Sweat lined his upper lip and caused his long red hair to stick to his forehead.

“Good gods, Stef, what’s wrong with you?”

Stefan stumbled over a rock in the path, one that had been there since we began going to school at the age of nine. Riki steadied him. “Stefan.”

His gaze snapped to mine. “Can’t you feel it?”

Riki and I shared a look.

“No. Feel what?” I asked.

But when Stefan got like this his communication skills went out the window. He simply spent the rest of the hike down the mountain glancing into the skies, twitching whenever a twig snapped. It wasn’t that we didn’t think he didn’t have the gift of foresight, it was just that no one had been gifted that sort of ability since before the dragons arrived. There weren’t always dragons in the Valley, but there had always been magic. I wondered if maybe Stefan had had an ancestor who had the ability to see the future and through some washed up passing of traits had received the ability to do the same.

Riki elbowed me in the side.

“Ouch—”

“We’re here.”

The muddy path opened up into the valley. It was further than any of us had been allowed to travel before. Even Riki and I had never ventured this far down. There were too many dragons to safely maneuver our way through. But with the riders each holding their own dragons accountable it was considered safe. I looked out over the field in awe. There was a ledge halfway up the mountain the younglings and elders were able to watch from. But to be here, at the base of the mountain standing among our village’s greatest riders was unlike anything I had experienced before. Dragons stood all around, their wings tucked in tight. A dias sat out in the field, a set up steps leading up to it where each of us would ascend to meet our match. Not to battle and conquer, but to connect and bond. Once the dragon had chosen its rider, it was a done deal. It was a soul match unlike any other.

Riki was buzzing beside me. Next to her, Stefan appeared as though he may be the first to upchuck his breakfast.

“Gather round,” Trainer Pen called. We made our way over but were too antsy to pay much attention. “Now. When your name is called, you may take the staircase up to the platform. But be mindful, dragons are sensitive creatures. They can pick up on your energies. Do not look any in the eye, keep your head bowed. When your dragon approaches, it will bow back. If a dragon approaches and does not bow, lower yourself to the ground and put both hands out in front of you. The dragon will leave and you may stand back up until your rightful dragon approaches. Questions?”

I looked to Stefan whose face mirrored the horror in my own.

“They never told us we might get rejected,” Stefan squeaked.

Riki swatted him on the arm. “Oh it will be fine. That’s just what they tell us to be safe. It rarely happens.”

I couldn’t think of a single time that had happened. I stared at Riki. She only rolled her eyes.

“It will be fine.”

It was a race against time of who would throw up first. Me or Stefan.

“I thought you were excited, Fallon?” Riki asked pointedly. “You’ve dreamed of this for years.”

“Yes. Yes, I know. But,” I shifted from one leg to another as I glanced up at the dias. “It’s not quite as I imagined it would be.”

“Well, what did you imagine?”

The group had moved up toward the bottom of the staircase. Time was moving too quickly.

I licked my lips. “I don’t know. Something less… grand. More intimate.”

Riki looped her arm through mine. I was immediately comforted. She patted my shoulder in a motherly fashion. “You’ve got this. Your dragon will be the sweetest of the bunch. The most gentle.”

I frowned and Riki laughed. “I’m already a laughing stock, I don’t need my dragon to get laughed at too.”

“You’re right,” Riki nodded. “I bet you get Eion. He seems right up your alley.”

“The only thing keeping me sane right now is knowing I won’t get him. He’ll choose someone like Tig or Wellem.”

We glanced over at the two boys who happened to be having some sort of stand-off and laughed. My nerves settled but my gut still insisted I was nervous. I channeled my mother’s inner energy and took deep soothing breaths. I felt Stefan come to stand beside me. I glanced at him and was caught off guard but his faraway gaze.

“Stefan?” I asked, right as Trainer Pen began calling names. It went in alphabetical order so it wouldn’t be long before my name was called. “Stefan, what is it?”

His head snapped to mine. He blinked as if just waking up.

“You okay?” I asked, handing him my water sack.

He took it with shaky hands. “I—I don’t know.” His gaze shifted to the stares where Alistair had begun his ascent. “I guess we’ll find out.”

We each stood frozen as Alistair reached the top. I could feel my pulse in my throat. My hands. I couldn’t keep still. Meanwhile, Riki was enraptured. In awe of the entire process. Alistair made his way to the center of the dais where he stood watching the riderless dragons fly overhead. It really was a beautiful ceremony. To see these great creatures find a rider that could take them to new heights, and share their experiences and magic with, was a gift only the gods could bestow. A new wave of calm washed over me. I could do this. I would be okay. In less than an hour, Riki and I would have everything we’d always dreamed of having. We’d be soaring through the clouds on the backs of our dragons. Free and unafraid.

I slipped my hand into hers and squeezed once. She squeezed back twice.

A dark shadow crossed overhead as a large red dragon Riki and I had yet to name came to a landing in front of Alistair. As instructed, he bowed.

And slowly, the dragon bowed back.

It felt as if the air had been knocked out of my lungs. I was suddenly reminded why I was so excited to make my connection with my dragon. I wanted that feeling. To be chosen. To know I wasn’t alone. Just like my mother said.

Two more took the stairs skyward to the dais before my name was called. Each of their dragons chose them with no problems and I found myself giddy with excitement. But once my name was called and I found myself in front of those stairs, all the excitement left me in a whoosh. I was left standing afraid.

“You got this!” Riki called from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see her with two thumbs up. Behind her, Stefan looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

I turned back to the stares. They were much more daunting from this angle.

One step at a time, I made my way up. My heart raced and I felt more vulnerable walking out into the middle of the platform than I like to admit. Dark thoughts raced through my mind. I pushed them away, trying to keep my mind and heart open as my mother had instructed. I didn’t have time to think about how my father should have been there. How it was his fault my mother and I were pushed to the outskirts of the village and left to fend for ourselves. Anger bubbled up in the pit of my stomach. I took a deep breath. Pushed the thoughts from my mind. Today was about me. I wouldn’t let anything ruin that.

But as I stood there, the dragons flying above me, I realized I hadn’t been approached yet. I couldn’t have been up there for longer than five minutes, but it was uncommon for a dragon to not approach within that time frame. I glanced over my shoulder at Trainer Pen. He looked… confused.

I turned back. Time seemed to slow down. I couldn’t be sure, but it felt as if I stood up there for fifteen minutes. I began to panic. I looked back at the group. It looked like Trainer Pen was going to come after me when a great gust of wind almost knocked me over. I turned back around again in time to see the dragon land at the edge of the dais. I almost threw up.

Eion, the largest and angriest of the dragons, stared down at me. Smoke drifted from his nostrils and his eyes burned a fiery red. His scales were an oily black that blended into his sharp talons.

My knees buckled beneath me as I remembered to bow. Eion's roars shook the tree tops. The silence following was deafening.

But to my utter surprise, Eion slowly bowed back. As terrified as I was, my soul was on fire.

My dragon. I had a dragon.

I didn’t even flinch when he took to the skies once more.

As I made my way down the stairs, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. That is until I saw the faces of everyone else. Trainer Pen gawked just as badly as everyone else. It was Riki who broke the silence, running and screaming my name. She flung herself at me and shook my shoulders with vigor.

“YOU HAVE A DRAGON!” She cried out. “And not just any dragon. EION!”

I tried to push her but it was no use. The other students shot their nasty looks our way and turned to watch the next ascend.

“Shh, Riki, please calm down,” I insisted, pulling her to sit next to me on a rock. “Quiet!”

“Alright, alright. But only for now. Tonight, we celebrate!”

“Obviously. Everyone celebrates after their choosing.”

“Yes, but not everyone gets chosen by the oldest, meanest dragon in the bunch. That has to be a sign right? The best choosing you is a sign you were meant for greatness. But I already knew that.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. As I squeezed back, I caught Stefan’s eye across the clearing. He looked odd and a bit...frightened. But was he frightened of me? Could it be because of Eion? I opened my mouth to ask Riki her thoughts but her name was yelled out across the clearing, cutting me off.

She jumped up, squeezing my hand before taking off. I didn’t even have time to squeeze it back twice. She practically floated up the steps and out onto the platform where she stood as stoic as any rider.

A few moments passed. Then a few more. Like me, she looked over her shoulder. I frowned.

My situation had been odd. For it to happen twice was even odder. I moved to ask Trainer Pen his thoughts on the matter when a shadow crossed overhead.

Eion landed in front of Riki.

Could a dragon pick two riders? Were Riki and I linked so closely the dragon could see the bond we shared?

I let myself imagine it for a moment when a hand clamped onto my arm. “You have to stop him!” Stefan cried out.

“What?” I looked back to the dais. Riki had bowed but Eion had not. Smoke drifted out his nostrils in thick waves.

“Fallon!” Trainer Pen called out. I turned to see him running my way. But then Eion roared a great, terrible sound, and when I turned back Riki was on the ground, her arms stretched out just as we had been instructed.

“Go away,” I whispered to Eion. “Move on.”

I tried to make my legs move but it was as if my feet had been encased in stone.

Eion reared back onto his hind legs. Beat his wings in a show of dominance.

“Go away!” I shouted, pushing through the crowd of people. I had just reached the bottom of the steps when he let out a great gust of fire. The flames shot out over my head, over the heads of the other students, lighting a portion of the forest on fire.

My heart stopped. I fell forward, scraping my hands on the stone as I forced myself up the stairs, one step at a time.

Riki was no longer there.

All that was left was a pile of ash and bones.

A noise like none I had heard before ripped its way up and out of my throat. I fell to my knees beside what remained of my best friend.