Once upon a Dragon Gift (Once Upon a Dragon Series Book 4)
Once upon a Dragon Gift: Chapter 8

The next few days, I even presented a class with King Albert about the wyverns. This time, a group of King Albert’s fleet also sat in, listening to everything we knew about them.

“We know from the books that there are five species and that they are all fire-breathers,” the king started with the lecture. “What Blake told me earlier is that we had their names wrong and also a few things that they can do.”

“Other than breathing fire?” George asked.

I nodded, and the king pressed the button. A burly figure of a wyvern with a hulking head covered in thorns filled up the wall. His face resembled the shape of a hammer, hence the name we’d given it. The budgie-shaped nose was yellow and in contrast with black stripes. It looked pretty mean. Two wings instead of two front paws laid flat on its back, and its hind paws looked like an eagle’s claws.

“The Hammer-Head,” King Albert said. “They are very smart and extremely fast. They do not like to kill, and it is overall a very peaceful wyvern.”

My eyes rose, and a couple of my friends laughed.

“What, you do not agree?”

“On that peaceful part?”

More laughter erupted.

“The colony I lived with, they were peaceful and extremely intelligent.”

King Albert gave their statistics of just how much he truly knew about them. But he didn’t know everything.

When he was finished, he looked at me to add.

“You sure?”

More laughter erupted as King Albert’s lips curved. “Give me the shock of my life.”

I smiled. “Okay. They are also known as the Trickey, a trickster, so we can forgive King Albert that this colony tricked everything that he knew about them.”

King Albert just looked at me. Dad smiled. The fleet chuckled.

“Their human form is as cunning as their wyvern form. They are not fast; they have the ability to appear and reappear, meaning that you do not see them coming.”

“You don’t say,” King Albert sounded bored.

I shrugged. “They have a second ability which makes them dangerous and also very much needed in the wyvern community. The older they get, the more copies they can generate.”

My father squinted with folded arms as he stared at the king. Something told me that the king didn’t know that last part.

“What do you mean by generating?” Dad questioned.

“Clones, Dad. They are important when it comes to a war. Make a five hundred army look like a five thousand army, if you have a hundred of them at your side.”

All of them stared at me.

“And they can strike and kill?” King Albert inquired. I could see him going back in his mind; wyverns had lied to him during that time. I could only imagine.

A cuss word slipped through Dad’s lips as he wiped his face.

I nodded at the king, and he hit the button. The next slide filled the wall.

The wyvern had one long horn on top of its head, followed by a row of brown horns that ran down straight to the tip of its tail. It was one ugly fucker as tiny horns appeared all over its face and it, too, had a sharp, bird-like beak.

“The Brown-Horn,” King Albert said. “I’m almost too afraid to say what I know of them.”

“Please, my king. I would love to hear what you know about them.”

“The Brown-Horn has retractable scales. It can be weaponized, and they are not afraid to use them. They are like the big three in a dragon colony for the wyverns. Attack dragons. There is venom in their scales that is like a sedative. I actually asked one of them to cut me. Catherine thought it was hilarious as I could only feel my legs after two days. I said never again.”

Our audience loved his ability of storytelling as he went into detail about everything he knew about Brown-Horns. He knew all the good about them. Maybe, who knows, one day there might be a truce with them. But not with the kind that was fighting with Goran. They were too twisted.

The king finished and gave me the side-eye.

“Your knowledge of them is admirable, my king. You see the good when others don’t. Some say it is your ability.”

“That is very kind of you to say that, Blake, but I’m afraid my ability is what has cost me my daughter.”

“I know this dragon as the Thornchey, and like King Albert mentioned, their scales are like flying stars. It carries a poison that paralyzes you in less than a few seconds. The difference between these scales is that once they release them, new scales grow back. The same with the horns. Their main horn is dangerous and carries a poison that ages you extremely fast until you die.”

Everyone’s gaze flickered to mine. Horror danced inside those irises, even in King Albert’s. He didn’t know about their main horn.

“They are dangerous, all of them. It’s about time we knew just how dangerous.”

I could tell that King Albert didn’t like the fact that there were still things he didn’t know about the wyverns.

I motioned for him to go to the next slide, and he pressed the button.

The Spike-Tail bounced onto the wall. Red scales with black, inked wings made them very attractive among the wyverns. Its snout was large and had an eagle beak with the curling tip. Its tail ended in a ball with spikes.

“The Spike-Tail,” King Albert started. “They always had my fascination as they could see through animals’ eyes, whether they were in their human form or dragon form. Some even say, the older they get, the more in tune they become with the animals. We will probably hear in the next few minutes just how twisted they truly are, but the few I remember were completely one with nature. Had the utmost respect for it and had this ritual before they killed. It was really honorable and quite beautiful to watch.”

He kept on telling us about this one wyvern girl that was a Spike-Tail. Queen Catherine wasn’t crazy about her as the king was very interested in her as a wyvern, but she sort of didn’t read his interest and saw it as infatuation. She fell madly in love with him. His time with them sounded magical. It was hard to imagine they were the same breeds I’d lived with.

When he was done, he looked at me to carry on.

“The Seeker. King Albert is right once again. They have a very close relationship with nature. They can see through animals’ eyes, but what the king forgot to mention is that some of them can control their minds. There is a downfall to this little ability. They end up becoming that animal and have to ditch the animal’s behavior, which can take up to twenty-four hours or a week.”

“Control them, meaning that if they can, we have to fight animals too?” George asked.

I nodded.

“Wicked,” Lu remarked.

“Lucian, no. Not wicked.” Tabitha sounded horrified.

My lips curved as the two of them quarreled softly.

The king hit the button, moving on to the next wyvern. The Spear-Tail. This was a mother fucking wyvern, resembled the Spike-Tail with a few differences. The Spear-Tail’s snout was smaller, more falcon-like and the tail ended in a spear.

“The Spear-Tail,” King Albert began. “I’m too afraid to tell you about how amazing this wyvern is, afraid that hope-crusher over here is going to set things straight.”

Everyone chuckled.

“Please, my king. Don’t hold back.”

“There weren’t many Spear-Tails in the colony I lived with. Something about a darkness that always lingered around them. That they have to fight constantly. But the one that I knew had battled all his demons, his darkness, and he was extremely wise.”

“Do you know what they can do?”

“You know what, Blake? I never asked what any of them could do. Sooner or later, they all revealed to me what it was they could do. I have no idea what a Spear-Tail can do. So how dangerous are they truly?”

I nodded as I looked at the picture of the Spear Tail. “Probably the most dangerous of them all. They are also known as the Reapers.”

“The what?” Lu asked, as everyone stared at me.

“The Reaper, and yes, it got his name, as he is like the Grim Reaper. Only problem is, he doesn’t help your soul to reach your final destination. They keep it, and the more they have, the longer they live. You do not want one of them to kill you. With each soul, they have a life, so they can die ten times over.”

“Ahh, okay,” King Albert commented. If it wasn’t a serious matter, it would be extremely comical. “Is there a way to free those souls?”

“Yes, by killing them the amount of souls they had to gain. I haven’t met a Reaper that didn’t lust for war or crave the killing. To them, killing someone has an entirely different meaning.”

The king nodded as I answered his question.

It was enough about the Reaper. I could only imagine what the image of his friend in his head had become from my wonderful explanation of what they could do.

He hit the button after I nodded, and the last one filled the wall.

It was raven black with yellow stripes along its back. Its snout was shaped like an eagle’s beak, and it had a crown of various-sized horns on top of its head.

“The Raven-Snout,” King Albert said. “They are like the snow dragons. Extremely smart and always one step in front of you. I’ve never figured them out completely. But I have this feeling that they are so much more than just fire breathers. Which I might add is green.”

“Green fire?” George asked.

The king nodded as he went into details about the Raven-Snout. The ones he knew were extremely talented and very artistic.

I smiled as I knew he meant. Sad that it was all a big lie, and I really didn’t want to be the one that was going to alter that last image in his head.

Everybody listened to the king as he kept on speaking about a different time. He could speak little wyvic too. A very difficult language to learn. It was just a difficult language.

His story finally came to an end and then he looked at me.

“I’m sorry, my king.”

Chuckles broke lose again. “They have my daughter, Blake. I need to know what it is they can really do.”

I nodded. “Raven-Snout, also known as the Black Weaver.”

“Cool name,” George said as the king mouthed their true name.

“Yeah, not so cool to be around. The guy that tried to get into the academy was a Black Weaver. Also, the reason we couldn’t see him was because of his ability. The one that also made the Raven-Snouts from King Albert’s stories appeared to be super talented.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“It’s not just Goran protecting them. It’s these little shits that can provide safety because of one thing. They can read minds, and with that, they can basically put thoughts in your head, too. One could stand in front of you, and you wouldn’t even see him as he put thoughts in your mind that there was nothing out of place. That he was simply not there.”

“What?” Dad asked as they all stared at me. Including the king. I could see him becoming uncomfortable as the memories, those beautiful memories, meant something completely different to him now. It was as if he finally saw the truth.

“Our luck, there aren’t a lot of them left. They are rare, but Goran has enough, and he sort of forces Black Weavers to breed so that their undying species can flourish again. They are very dangerous, if not the most dangerous of all the wyverns. So don’t underestimate their size.”

“Is there a way to keep them out of your head?” Lu asked, and my lips curved.

“There are always ways. Someone who thinks too much wouldn’t stand a chance. Your head needs to be clear from everything if you are up against one. Because then you will know it’s an illusion, and you will be strong enough to see through it.”

“We need soldiers for them alone,” King Albert spoke up.

All of them applauded at our presentation. I grabbed the king’s shoulder and was ready to apologize.

“Don’t you dare apologize. I’m grateful that you told me everything that I didn’t know. It shows you how cunning they truly are.” He looked at his men. “We have a lot of work to do if we want my daughter to come home. The soonest we start, the better.”

They all got up and left with the king and my dad.

“That was pretty enlightening, Blake. Thanks for sharing with us just how wrong we had it,” Professor Warwick stated.

Everyone sniggered as I went to sit down.

“Brian and Brit are in the house.” Brian’s voice came from the hallway as they entered the class.

We all cheered as we got up and shook their hands.

The girls made Brittany feel welcome as Brian slap-shook our hands.

“Brian was a major idiot. It’s not a spell or enslavement. But Brian has a feeling he’s going to be her slave willingly.”

We laughed as Lucian was the only one not understanding what the hell happened during a Dent.

Brian was back speaking in third person, and Prof. Warwick gave us a few minutes to welcome the two new members of the Dent club.

Classes carried on.

It took a few hours to fill Brian and Brittany in on what they’d missed. And that was just covering the important details. Tabitha was still searching at night for Garrison.

We showed them the Elementals, and Brit lost it when she met Kerby.

The water dragon had a thing for Tabitha and Lucian, which Becky didn’t like, but the air dragon had something for George.

My sister kept heating the fire dragon, and the fire wyrm was completely smitten with her.

We left after a while since I couldn’t find in which hole the earth dragon had buried itself.

We carried on showing the newcomers the rest of the castle, and they all bowed when they met Elena’s father. The rest of us just walked by.

“Learn from these two,” King Albert joked and told them to get up. His house was theirs for the time being.

The two rushed back to join us.

“That is King Albert, guys,” Brit gushed.

“So? The guy dines with us every night. You will get used to him pretty fast,” Becky replied.

At dinner, it was hilarious to watch Brian and Brit trying to impress the king.

Brit blushed bright red as we teased them and smacked Brian as he kissed her all over the face.

George was the only one who wasn’t himself, and Becky told him to go lie down.

“Is he okay?” the king asked when George headed to his room.

“He has a headache. Blake thinks it’s his sight waking up,” Becky responded.

“That would be impressive. It usually shows itself in their mid-twenties. How old is he now?”

“Nineteen.”

“Wow,” King Albert commented, sounding really in awe. He would not say that if he discovered it had awakened because of a scrying spell.

After dinner, we went to our rooms. I took a shower and then tried to distract myself with the TV as I fiddled with Elena’s bracelet, which was around my wrist. I had to put another clasp on since her wrist was smaller than mine.

Why did Goran take it off of her? Was he scared that she would ask too many questions? Scared that it was an object that would link us?

A scream filled the corridor, and I knew nobody but me would hear it as there were soundproof walls.

I rushed out door and into George’s room. He was crawling on his bed in pain as my dad entered.

“Blake?”

“It’s a headache, Dad. This one is bad.”

“It fucking hurts,” he growled on all floors.

“Push through, George,” I said.

“This is not normal, son.”

“Dad, please,” I begged and wished I could take the pain from George.

His screaming stopped, and I closed my eyes, knowing that he had passed out. Thank heavens Becky wasn’t in his room. She wouldn’t sleep for days.

He gasped, and his eyes were pure white like Arianna’s that day when she’d done a scrying spell. He looked around him like a crazy person and zoned in on the window.

He got up and walked like he could see where the furniture was.

“Blake?”

“Shh,” I said to my father with an outstretched hand.

“He is not saying anything.”

“Shh,” I repeated.

George went on his haunches and looked at the wall.

“What the fuck?” George whispered and then gasped and coughed like crazy as he fell over.

I rushed over to him and went on my knees. “Bud?”

Dad came with a glass of water. I took it and handed it to him. He gulped it right down, and his eyes were red.

“What did you see?”

“Give him some time, Blake,” Dad urged.

“Dad, it could be important. What did you see?”

He swallowed the rest of the contents and took huge breaths.

“George?”

His gaze flickered to me. “Garrison.”

Everyone got together in King Albert’s room as Dad wanted to know who Garrison was.

“Later,” I said as we waited for Irene. King Albert had summoned her. She was great at guiding other Moon-Bolts, and we should’ve known that George was close to his first vision.

She entered with King Albert and hunched down in front of George, sitting on the chair. She looked into his eyes. “How bad was the headache?”

“Like my head had split in two.”

“And now?”

He shook his head.

“He won’t make prophecies. He sees things, though.”

“Who is Garrison, George?” I asked.

Everyone gasped.

“You saw him?” Becky asked, worried, and he nodded.

“You saw Garrison?” Irene asked.

“Yes, it’s not a person.”

“Then what is it?” she inquired.

“It’s seven.”

“Garrison is seven people?” Irene clarified.

He lifted his finger to her face.

“One, you are not making any sense,” Irene said.

“He becomes one. Garrison is us. We are the Saadedine.”

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