Veering off course slightly, Dax headed instinctively toward a volcanic tunnel leading into the island. Melted rock and sulfur welcomed him with acrid smoke, as if he’d come home, but there were other smells he’d not experienced before. New and fresh. He hadn’t even seen a human yet, but these strange, subtle differences piqued his interest.
He found a safe spot to land and used his tail to hold his satchel as he delved deeper inside to see where it led. Gone were the aches and pains of overused muscles. Only the ghost of their memory remained as eagerness to explore reinvigorated him.
The volcano was active, of that he was sure, but the heat it produced radiated from elsewhere, as if the volcano had cooled and hardened and then warmed again, getting ready for a fresh wave of Mother Nature’s blood to come rising to the surface. Still, it would make for a good place to curl up and sleep at night. Not that sleep was on his to do list. So close to finally meeting a human in the flesh, Dax felt ready to take on the world.
If only he could figure out that smell.
It seemed to permeate the air all around, almost flowery despite an unnatural edge. It wafted through the caves, teasing him, stronger in some areas and completely absent in others.
The ground rumbled as if the volcano recognized Dax for what he was and welcomed him home. He tried to follow the scent, but the tunnel began to shrink where the fragrance was strongest.
Then he heard voices. There was only an echo of words at first, but it was enough to set Dax’s heart thrumming with excitement.
Humans!
And they were getting louder.
Dax pressed himself up against the wall, using his long neck to peek around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of them as they approached.
Ramos’s words echoed in his memory: Please don’t allow yourself to be seen.
The voices were coming in his direction.
Dax set down his satchel and closed his eyes, imagining himself as a human. Tall and tan, with hair as black as charcoal and eyes to match his shimmering scales. He crouched down, tucking his wings next to his body, and willed them to shrink. Bones and muscle contracted as his body reshaped. His scales melted into smooth flesh. His claws receded into tiny nail beds. Massive as his tail was, it shrank to nothing as his body reformed. The spikes on his head, rather than disappear like all his other features, exploded into a wild mess of dark hair.
The moment he took his other form, the heat from the volcano intensified. His skin – thinner now that his scales had faded – stung slightly but not uncomfortably. It was enough to make him aware of the limits his new body might have.
The transition from drake to human happened painlessly but left Dax disoriented and unsteady. He breathed through the dizzy moment and gave himself a chance to regain his balance on his two back legs before picking up his satchel of clothes. On the Teevee he’d seen how humans wore them, and tried to mimic putting on the correct items. Those creatures had far too many layers for his liking. Covers for almost all parts of the body, from top to toes. He wondered why they bothered to hide their bodies from others. Dragons needed nothing of the sort; they were proud of their scales. Dax especially so. But despite the discomfort of so much cloth on his body, in the end he felt he’d done a good job dressing the part.
An angry rumble shook the entire tunnel, a warm-up for the show the volcano was preparing. The voices spoke frantically, just around the corner from where he stood.
“Jane, it’s time to go,” a deep male voice said. “Seismic activity is increasing. And the heat sensors are going berserk. Look at these readings.”
“I know, I know. I just want to place this last camera so we can record the flow,” a female, Jane presumably, responded.
This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. First contact.
Dax shouldered his bag and took a few wobbly steps, trying to balance. Four legs were better than two, but he had to look the part, and that meant walking like a human.
If I had the use of my tail, balancing would be so much easier, he grumbled to himself, holding out his front limbs and pushing against the wall for support.
Rounding the corner, he nearly ran head on into one of the humans.
“What are you doing here?” The startled voice was female, but her face and body were covered by an odd-looking shiny protective suit. At first he thought he might not have brought the right coverings to wear, but after a quick search through his memory, he felt confident in his clothes. It was these strange humans standing in front of him who were dressed differently, as if they were trying to be dragons. Their suits shone like scales, but they were smooth and flexible. The coverings concealed all their features including their faces.
Had they discovered Dragonkind and were trying yet again to replicate a metal version of their own protective skin? What lengths would humans go to be like his kind?
The female barked at him again. “Hello? Are you okay?”
Though her words had been shouted, Dax understood the undertone of worry in her voice.
“I…Uh…” He fought to come up with a response, half in shock that he was actually standing toe to toe with a human, and at the same time completely unprepared for this first meeting. He knew their language from the Teevee, but in that moment Dax’s mind had gone blank, unable to summon appropriate words to explain himself.
“Idiot tourists.” The female reached out and took hold of his arm. Surprisingly strong, her grip on him was uncomfortably tight. She pulled him as she turned to head down the smaller end of the tunnel. “I’m not having another one of you die on my watch.”
Dax lumbered behind her, confused but more than willing to follow her lead. This was it. His first encounter with a human. A real human. They were shorter than he’d expected. Or maybe that was just because this one tugging at his arm was female. The other one stood a bit larger. But it was so hard to tell with those silly suits they wore. The other one had to be male; his voice had a deeper tone. He walked alongside Dax, mumbling, “He’s not choking right now.”
Dax turned his head to look at the male, not that it did him much good. The suit he wore covered his face just as completely as it did the female’s. It was the tone he used that piqued Dax’s curiosity. She seemed angry and concerned about him, but he sensed none of that from the man. Curiosity, maybe, though not surprise.
Before he could muster up some words, a tiny handheld device in the female’s hand squawked. “Seismic activity too high. We’re coming to pull you out.”
She punched a button on the small square device and shouted, “We’re on our way out. Picked up a straggler from the lava tours. I’ll need O2 and medics on call for our arrival.”
She continued to pull Dax’s arm, increasing her pace as they headed toward sunlight.
“I’m fine,” Dax tried to say, but it appeared his words were useless.
The male’s gaze traveled down to the ground and back up to Dax multiple times. “Where are your shoes? Aren’t your feet burning?”
The female didn’t stop but hit her little handheld device again. “Bring a burn kit as well.”
The wheels in Dax’s head began to spin. He wasn’t supposed to reveal himself, and he’d already attracted attention. And now they were asking questions he couldn’t answer. On top of that, they were bringing more people with them, additional humans who would ask more questions.
Ramos had warned him before he left, and he’d arrogantly ignored his brother’s pleas not to cause trouble. Not even two minutes and Dax had screwed it all up. This first meeting was nothing like he’d imagined, and no doubt would get worse the longer he remained with these people.
He had to get away. Fast.
They were closing in on the edge of the tunnel, and Dax sent up a silent prayer that the exit would be clear. The one holding him had a strong grip, but her smaller stature would give him the leverage he needed to break free without hurting her in the process. If luck was on his side, he could run before more humans came to their aid.
The little handheld device chirped, and a voice squawked, “ETA five minutes.”
“Make that two, Charlie. I have a liability here. Asswipe thrill-seeker in the active tube. No telling what state his lungs are in, and his shoes look as if they’ve melted to his feet,” she responded. “I need you here, like, yesterday!”
“Really. I’m fine.” Dax tried one last time to get her to listen.
“If we bring him in, it’ll be on our insurance. Maybe we should let him go. We don’t need the bad press his condition might bring,” the male said in a reasonable tone.
Dax agreed completely. But the female wouldn’t let him go, and kept pulling him along briskly as if their lives depended on it.
They came out of the edge of the tunnel, and when he saw there were no others waiting, Dax ripped his arm from her grip and took off in a sprint, running as fast as his new legs could carry him.
Smoke billowed out from various places all around them. He realized quickly they’d made it to the center crater of the volcano with nowhere to go but up if they wanted to get out.
The female shouted for him to come back, but her voice was drowned out by the beating of wings from a large flying beast. Like a stuttering roar with no beginning or end, it droned on, increasing in volume as it appeared over the edge of the rocky walls and slowly descended toward them.
Unlike the airforce-ones he had seen from a distance, this one was no larger than a Drake, but its wings, rather than flap, spun around its head, creating that terrible stuttering sound. It swirled the smoke into a thick fog as it came closer to them, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
As much as Dax wanted to get a good look at this new metal flier, instinct told him to get out of there quickly. He ran hard and fast over the rocky surface of the crater, his legs surprising him with their strength and stability as he hunted for another cave or lava tube to disappear into.
Bright lights flashed overhead as the metal creature closed in.
The earth rumbled violently this time, as if answering the mighty beast’s call, and a small explosion of lava belched out from a trench ahead of Dax.
He altered his course, turning back to avoid the hot pumice raining down around him.
The wings of the metal beast beat harder and it lifted up again, rising to the edge of the crater as rocks pinged against its body.
The earth continued to rumble, Mother Nature’s warning that fiery rain would soon come.
His people were heat-loving, their scales stronger than rock and their bodies already boiling inside with their own magical fire. The great Mother’s flames still burned hotter but brought with them rebirth for the land. His people celebrated these eruptions with parties and games, staying out of the direct explosions while basking in the heat they brought.
But this was not his home, and the other people in the crater with him were not Dragonkin. They would surely die if they remained.
Another explosion of magma sprang upwards into the crater, beautiful and deadly at the same time. A sprinkle of melted rock hit his face, the sting an instant reminder that he was not in his true form. Without his armor of scales, his human skin would burn.
Just like the real humans, he would not withstand a minor blast, and this volcano was signaling she was ready for a release.
The metal beast circled around a few times, as if trying to find a place to land. Loud voices called out to the humans below who’d first found Dax, and he watched them scurry toward the flying machine.
The male reached it first and climbed into a hole in its gaping belly. From his vantage point, Dax judged the female to be only a few steps behind. She looked back before she reached the beast, as if searching. He’d been told humans were savages, but though he couldn’t see her face, he knew she was taking one last look for him. She had tried to save him despite his protests. Maybe humans weren’t just savage creatures.
Another rumble shook the earth, creating new cracks below the flying beast’s legs.
The female lost her footing on the shattering ground, and her body slammed down hard. A fissure opened up between the female and her metal flier.
With the earth still threatening destruction, it lifted up into the sky, its tiny circular wings beating so hard they looked as if they were one solid rotating circle.
The female reached a hand up, screaming for help, but the volcano’s mighty roar drowned out her cries as the earth fractured, coughing up clouds of steam. The flying machine lifted slowly upwards.
Another spray of hot rock shot up into the air. More would come. This was only the preshow.
Leaving the girl stranded as it was pelted with pumice, the flying beast spun out of view.
How could they do that? Leave one of their own behind to die? And a female at that. Perhaps it was only the male members of the species that were savage.
Horrified by what he’d just witnessed, Dax sprang into action without a thought of the consequences. Humans stood no chance against Mother Nature’s molten heart.
He tore his clothes off and shifted quickly into his true form.
With a mighty leap he covered the distance between them and landed over her body. Clasping her gently in his back claws, he lifted the female up and took to the sky, carrying her under cover of the smoky clouds toward the beach.
***
From the sand Dax watched the mountain continue to rumble, but the explosion he’d been expecting never came. The whole island growled like an angry creature, belching smoke out into the sky from various craters sloping up toward the main caldera of the volcano. Giant plumes of gray blocked out the sun, but the heat and magma he’d hoped to see never reached the top.
Below his claws, however, heat radiated from within the earth. There would be no further explosion; at least not today. Mother Nature’s blood ran hot through her veins just below the thin crust of dirt where he stood.
In his true form, he connected with the earth on a level only his kind could understand. Born of flames themselves, Drakes were one with the volcanoes they inhabited, caring for them and nurturing their fires.
The female had lost consciousness somewhere between the top of the crater and his swift descent to the beach. Small mercies. He could at least change form before she awoke. That would save him an awkward explanation about his dragon form, but he couldn’t with a clear conscience leave her out in the open all alone. Humans – from what he’d seen on their Teevee – were not survivalists. They lived in close proximity to one another, and he worried that alone, she might not make it back to her people. Despite the almost certainty of consequences, honor demanded he ensure she returned to her people before he left her.
With a deep breath, Dax shifted down again, trading his magnificent wings and shimmering scales for a pair of legs.
So many transitions in such a short amount of time left him disoriented and uneasy in his new skin. The feeling passed after a moment, and Dax was able to stand without his head spinning. He wobbled a few steps as he hunted for his satchel, trying to regain the balance he’d had earlier. If Humans only knew how much easier it was to balance with a tail, they’d probably manufacture one.
Dax pulled more clothes from his satchel and remembered to put shoes on this time.
Once he felt he looked the part, Dax returned to where the female lay, still unconscious, and bent down to inspect her more closely. He unsnapped the strange metallic hood on her suit, curious to see the face that it hid.
He’d seen humans before on the Teevee; they were curious creatures just as varied in color as his own people. This one, however, looked somehow less delicate than he’d expected. Her face had no colorful paint on it. Women on the screen he viewed were smooth and had deep reds in their lips; too perfect to be real. But this one had scars and splashes of light brown dots across her snout, almost as if she’d had scales that had shrunk and faded.
On top of her head, flaming red hair had been tied up into a ball, like a horn that had never hardened. He admired the way it made her head look long, emphasizing the sharp angles of her cheeks and gentle curve at her chin.
She was so dragon-like, and that thought stirred strange feelings within him – warmth that came not from the earth but settled just as deeply inside, a burning ember in his belly, the kind of spark that erupted into flames of lust. But that was out of the question. She was human.
He put the thought from his mind and tore his eyes away from the serenity of her sleeping face.
Unconscious, but still breathing. And with no signs of physical damage, at least to her head, he felt certain she was out of danger. He must find a way to get her back to her people, and then he could continue with his exploration. Alone.
Mother Nature’s furious roar had quieted to a distant rumble. The beach around them was tranquil, with only the breaking of waves against shore to disrupt the calm. He could not have asked for a more perfect place to be, though the events that had brought him to this spot were less than ideal. But even with the insanity of this first meeting, he couldn’t suppress his excitement. He’d made it. He’d met a human.
She groaned, and he turned to face her. Her bright green eyes fluttered open as she struggled to regain consciousness, and then widened in horror the moment she focused on him. “You,” she gasped.
“Are you okay?” Dax spoke softly, hoping to put her at ease.
Her eyes frantically darted around. “How did you… Where are we?” She gazed up, toward the distant crater still billowing smoke into the sky. “What happened?”
“You took a pretty nasty fall out there.” With all the excitement, he’d failed to come up with a cover story for what had happened. Dax fumbled with his thoughts, trying quickly to form words and sentences in a convincing order.
But before he could say anything, she snapped back at him. “I didn’t fall down a mountain. How the hell did I get down here?”
He offered a toothy grin and shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Can we just leave it at thank you?”
“No!”
His shoulders slumped. “Of course not.”
“Well?” she demanded, her expression transitioning from confusion to aggression.
“I don’t have an answer to give you. But you’re safe now, and I should be going.” He turned to face the water, not really sure where he’d walk. Away. The only direction he could go at that point.
“No,” she called after him. “Don’t leave.”
He couldn’t really. It wasn’t the honorable thing to do. He let out a smoky breath before facing her again. “Do you have a way to contact your people?”
“I do.”
“Good. Then you don’t need me anymore.”
“But I do need answers.”
“Get used to disappointment. And stay away from volcanoes.”
“No!” she barked back at him. “Volcanoes are my life.”
“That shiny suit isn’t going to protect you from the fire,” Dax chuckled.
“And what protected you?”
He shrugged at yet another question that could not be answered truthfully. “Maybe I’m not real. Just a figment of your imagination. Too many sulfur fumes.”
“If this is a dream, don’t wake me up.” She sounded almost pleading, and that stopped Dax before she could utter, “Please. Don’t go. Stay and talk to me.”
“You ask too many questions.”
“What are you, some kind of secret agent?” she said with a laugh.
The sound of her laughter had an endearing quality to it that forced a smile across his face even as he tried to remain stoic. “See? More questions.”
“It’s what I do. I’m a scientist.” She held her head proudly. “We get the facts.”
He didn’t know what a secret agent was, but if it stopped her from demanding answers, he wouldn’t mind staying with her for a little while longer. “I’m secret, all right. And that is all I can say.”
Her lips quirked in a smile as devious as it was appealing. “How about this? If I guess something right about you, then you have to answer truthfully.”
“And if you guess wrong?”
“Then I just keep guessing,” she offered.
“Why don’t you tell me about you, and why you were in those tubes wearing that shiny suit?” Dax deflected with his own line of questioning.
“Tit for tat?” she asked.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Hmm. You sound foreign. Not from America, are you?”
Her words confused him. America. Tit tat. He simply shrugged in response.
“Okay… um… Visiting Hawaii on vacation?” she asked.
“Is the shiny suit something all human… er… females wear?” Dax countered, with his own curiosity.
“Definitely foreign. Okay. Well, your English is really good. I’m Jane, by the way.” She pulled off a shiny glove and reached her hand out to him.
He’d seen this behavior before. Humans clasped hands and bounced them up and down as a greeting, so he mimicked the move, taking hers in a tight grip.
“Damn. You’re strong.” She massaged her hand after pulling it from his iron grip.
He mimicked her, rubbing his own hands together. “I’m Dax.”
“Is that your code name?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Sure.” He couldn’t help but feel he’d failed completely in acting like one of them, but at least she was still smiling at him. That had to count for something.
“I’m not going to get any real answers from you, am I?”
He snorted. “You haven’t answered any of mine. Why do you play in volcanoes when your skin is so weak?”
“The suit helps protect my weak skin from the heat. It’s called a proximity suit.” She unsnapped some hidden buttons, and it split open in the front. “Of course, it’s like wearing an oven, just not as sting-y,” she laughed.
“Not an ideal place for a female to visit,” Dax commented, becoming more curious about her with each moment they spent together.
“Female,” she snickered. “This woman goes wherever she wants. And as for the mountain… It’s my job. I study volcanoes. Help to predict when she’ll blow her top.”
“Mother nature has no schedule,” Dax snorted.
“True, but we have tools that help us understand her patterns. Take today, for instance – she was not supposed to pop.”
“That is arrogance.”
“It’s science! We study the faults. We monitor the tubes and the magma chambers. But there must have been some sudden shift. A seismic event that caused that chamber to burst.”
“Your words confuse me.”
“What were you doing in there?” she asked.
“Secret agent stuff,” he responded. She seemed to accept that with some measure of understanding.
“But you had no suit. No shoes.”
“Bad day.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t prepared.”
“And yet somehow both you and I escaped from the crater and landed miles away, with not even a scratch to show for it?”
“Yep. It’s a mystery.”
“I don’t do mysteries. I deal in facts.”
Dax shrugged again.
“Speaking of, since I’m clearly not going to get anything from you, I need to get back to my office and check the readings on that eruption. Looks like a new vent burst through.”
“Is your office far?”
She dug into her suit and pulled out a small black device. “Just need to get a signal.” She waved it in the air and tapped the screen a few times. “Yeah, it’s far. GPS is telling me we’re miles away from my lab, but…” She took off running.
Jane captivated him with her curious nature, and yet though she clearly wanted answers, she hadn’t pushed that hard for them. Hardly the act of a savage race. Her actions proved much more patient and thoughtful. But that went against all he’d been taught.
Captivated by her, Dax followed closely as she took off into the barren lands, still holding her little device like it was leading her.
They headed along the rocky coast, following the water until Jane turned sharply and put the water behind her. After a few more moments, they came to a paved road. “Chain of Craters Road. We’re on the east rift zone. Kilauea likes to flow down this way. She didn’t pop her top, so that means over the next few hours, this is where any runoff will flow through the tubes.”
“You enjoy this, don’t you? Following the fire.” Dax’s people did not have such technical terms for how the volcanos worked. His people had carved out their home from the roadways Mother Nature provided, widening them to fit their large forms and creating nesting spots and temples in the caves within the mountains. Her love for the place he called home was endearing, which took him by surprise.
Perhaps his people had been wrong about humanity.
“I’ve always been fascinated in how Mother Nature shapes and reshapes our world. It’s awe-inspiring and demands respect.”
“That it does,” he agreed.
“But it’s also deadly, and if my work can help save people from that destruction, then it’s my duty to do it.”
“You’re very noble, Jane.”
“You say that like it surprises you.”
“I don’t know many… people… who seem to care so much for the land.”
“There aren’t many. But the few of us who do try and make up for it.” She tapped on her little hand-held device a few times and grumbled in frustration. “Damn it. No bars. I lost my signal. Looks like we’re walking until I can call someone.”
“I’ll accompany you until you’re safe with your people.”
“How honorable,” she snorted.
“It wouldn’t be right to leave you by yourself,” he responded with confusion to her laughter.
“And where would you go?”
“Secret agent places,” he offered again, hoping she’d accept it.
“That excuse will only work for so long, mister.”
She led and he followed down the paved path heading back toward the steaming crater that had just spat them out. Dax didn’t like the idea of them heading anywhere near the fire. She might say she knew the mountain, but no one, not even the dragons, could truly predict Mother Nature’s temperament. If the volcano was threatening fire, the smart thing would be to head the other way. But she seemed to know where they were heading, so he kept pace and walked along her side.
***
“It’s magnificent. Just look at the size of that cloud.” Jane’s eyes fixed on the crater they’d just escaped from as it belched out a thick yellow column.
“It’s poison gas,” Dax said, confused by her excitement.
“A new vent must have been opened with that last explosion. Oh, man, if I could only get to the chopper! I bet we could see some excellent drainage out to sea.”
“Chopper?” More strange and confusing words. He’d thought he had a good grasp on their language, but listening to her talk made him feel lost.
“Oh, no… the helicopter! I hope it’s okay. Did you see it take off? I blacked out.” Panic stopped her in her tracks.
“That flying mach...” He stopped himself and attempted to use the human word. “Chopper?”
“Yeah. The helicopter. Did it get away?”
It had all happened so fast. Dax’s memory failed him. He remembered seeing it lift into the air, but whether or not it had cleared all the debris was another story. But the look of fear in her eyes made him willing to say anything to comfort her. “I think so.”
She exhaled a long breath and looked down at her little hand-held device again. “Still no signal. I need to get ahold of my people.”
“How far are we from civilization?” Dax asked, mentally preparing himself to meet more humans.
“We’re on a main park road. If we’re lucky, we might catch a tour bus,” she responded.
“Humans really like volcanoes?” The idea of people susceptible to incineration being excited by the very thing that could burn them made Dax’s head spin. It was complete insanity to him. But that was the point of this visit, wasn’t it? To learn about the humans and why they stayed so far from them.
“Humans?” Shock and confusion battled for control of her expression.
“I mean… uh…” He quickly searched for the right word to use. “People.”
“You’re not pulling this off very well, you know?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re foreign. That I get. But you’re clearly not a secret agent.”
“Maybe not, but at least when I say it, you stop asking me things.” He’d thought he had prepared himself to visit the human world, but nothing had prepared him for this. Conversing with Jane was the hardest and most exciting thing he’d ever done. He was screwing it up royally, but still, the back and forth between them was teaching him so much he found himself hoping it wouldn’t end.
She sighed and shook her head. “One thing I do believe is that you know something about this volcano.”
“I like volcanoes. They remind me of home.”
“And you’re fireproof. I’m going to go with alien,” Jane giggled.
He liked the sound of that. Her laughter and the warmth that rose to her eyes made him smile in return.
“Is that believable?” Dax asked curiously.
“More than you being a secret agent.”
“Okay. And will others believe it too?”
“No. They’d expect a little green man.”
“Blue.”
“What?” She stopped in her tracks and stared at him. Dax caught the crinkle of her nose, and it reminded him again of how dragon-like she was. Maybe in another life she’d been a drake.
“Blue is a nicer color.” He smiled innocently at her.
She rolled her eyes and resumed walking. “Stick to being a secret agent, then.”
“I’m not fireproof. Just fire resistant.”
“Are you divulging secrets now?” She gasped exaggeratedly.
“Only if you can keep them that way,” he replied, not even sure why he was willing to let her in on his secret identity. Being around her disarmed him in ways he couldn’t understand. Jane was human, but nothing like the people he’d seen on the Teevee. She had a love and respect for nature, intelligence, and beauty that came from within, as if she were one of his own kind, only trapped in a feeble form.
Jane opened her mouth to answer, but before the words escaped her lips, the sound of beating wings stole their attention. She looked up and pointed. “They found us.”
The large metal beast had returned. And now Dax had a name to put with it: helicopter.
Its flimsy wings rotated, making the horrid drumming sound, scattering the dust and debris as it touched down with a gentle landing reminiscent of Ramos when he was showing off.
A male emerged from the belly of the beast and came running toward them.
“Jane! I was so worried.” He pulled her into an embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around Jane’s body as if he wanted to crush her.
“Trevor, I’m fine.” She pushed against his chest, fighting to break his grip. “Don’t ask me how, but we’re safe.”
Trevor turned his head and scrutinized Dax silently. Cobalt eyes narrowed with unveiled anger, but Dax couldn’t be too sure of it. Human faces were hard to read. His kind breathed fire when angry – a clear sign. These people, it seemed, just scrunched their faces, which made them look older and weirder than they should.
“Oh, and this is… Sorry. What was your name again?” Jane asked.
“Are you safe now?” Dax asked. “Is he a friend?”
Jane’s face did that scrunching thing, but he saw a difference this time. She wasn’t mad; if anything, he felt she looked disappointed by his statement. Her eyes shifted from his face to Trevor’s. “Yes. He’s my partner.”
“Why did he leave you in danger?” Dax asked, his eyes locked on the furrowed brow of the male. There was something not quite right about him. Never having seen humans up close before he couldn’t be too sure, but there was something familiar in Trevor’s dark eyes and the odd ripple to his angry brow that made him stare that much longer.
“He just made it to the chopper first,” Jane answered.
Trevor broke eye contact with Dax. “I thought you were right behind me. I would have jumped out to get you, but they pulled me in before I could do anything.”
“She should have been in front of you,” Dax said flatly. Maybe humans did not care much for their female counterparts, but in Dragonkin society, they were revered and cherished as the bringers of the next generation. To protect was duty; to love, an honor. To leave her behind was cowardly and worthy of ridicule.
“She would have been if she hadn’t been chasing after your dumb ass,” Trevor replied, with a threatening tone.
“What the hell is wrong with you both?” Jane asked.
Dax snarled to himself, seeing the way Trevor’s hand glided down Jane’s back, a display of protectiveness or ownership. It was hard to tell with human body language, but if he’d cared so much for the woman, he shouldn’t have left her the way he did. And that, coupled with the way he’d greeted her, made Dax want to roast the pathetic male.
He might not have been in his true form, but the flames that burned within threatened to break free.
“He’s right. Jane, I am so sorry for not ensuring your safety.” Trevor’s tone softened as he looked at the woman. His hand clasped around her arm and he pulled her toward his chest. “Can you forgive me?”
Pathetic. Dax nearly snorted a ring of smoke. He turned away, his chest burning with a mix of annoyance and desire to resume his natural form.
“I’m fine.” Jane said. “And relieved to see you guys made it out okay too.”
“Thank god for your tracking beacon, or we’d never have found you way out here.” Trevor turned his eyes back on Dax with a glare. “How the hell did you make it all the way out here?”
“That’s a mystery. We both blacked out and woke up here.” Jane cut him off. “What matters is that we’re all safe.”
“And since you have found your people. I will take my leave,” Dax said.
“We can’t leave you out here all alone,” she protested.
“I’ll be fine.”
“But you can’t. There isn’t a town for miles. At least let us take you back to the lab. You can catch a cab to your hotel or whatever you need,” she offered.
“He said he would be fine.” Trevor urged her toward the chopper.
“Your partner does not seem to want me to join you,” Dax sneered at Trevor.
“He’s not in charge.” She pushed him aside and took a step toward Dax. “Come with us. We’ll make a quick circle around the coast to see if the lava has begun to flow out the tube and then had back to the lab.”
Dax bent to whisper in her ear. “You just want to know my secrets, don’t you?”
She smiled. “Of course I do. But you’ll have to trust me first before you divulge them. So let me show you that you can.”
Dax had been wrong about humans. This one surprised him at every turn and made him even more curious to see what she could shock him with next. “Fine. Let’s see the lava.”
Trevor ground his teeth so loudly Dax could hear it over the sound of the chopper’s wings as they beat with increasing speed.
The two humans entered the metal beast’s belly, and Jane held her hand out for Dax to climb in after.
He didn’t like the idea of going inside their flying contraption. Large and heavy as it was, Dax couldn’t be certain how it managed to lift off the ground. Its wings were so tiny. None of it made sense.
After a few minutes of staring, Jane cleared her throat. “You going to get in, or were you planning on flying alongside us?”
If she only knew how true her little joke was. He’d much rather rely on the power of his own magnificent wings to bear him into the sky. But doing that went against all the rules. “Just wondering how it flies. That’s all.”
“Wish I could answer that for you. Best not to think about it if you’re scared of flying.” Jane giggled. “Either way, get in before we take off without you.”
Dax grudgingly stepped up into the beast. “I love flying.”
“Wouldn’t be able to tell by the look of fear in your eyes,” Trevor joked. “Strap in. You’ll be safe enough.”
The helicopter lifted with a jerk into the sky, and Jane turned to speak to two men sitting in the front. He heard her mention the tubes and the coast, and understood they were the ones controlling the beast.
Dax looked out of the clear walls as they moved over the land. For a huge metal contraption, their flight was smooth. Lacking all the natural motion he was used to, Dax found himself unconsciously shifting his weight around, as if searching for the air currents to correctly position his body. He’d all but stretched his arms out before Jane had turned back to face him.
“You don’t have to be nervous. We’re perfectly safe.”
“This is not flying. This is some kind of…” He stopped, too close to revealing himself to the humans.
Jane just laughed.
“We’re near the coast. But I’m not seeing any activity yet,” Trevor said.
“Too soon,” Dax mumbled.
“What?” Trevor asked, his voice threatening rather than inquisitive.
“Lava doesn’t move that fast. It will be hours if not days before the tubes carry it to the sea,” Dax responded, with an equal measure of aggression in his voice.
“Who is this guy?” Trevor asked.
“He’s an expert on volcanoes, apparently,” Jane said. “Do we have the thermal cameras on deck?”
Trevor dug through some bags attached to the walls and retrieved a large box. “Yep. Let’s have a look, shall we?”
Jane took the camera and pressed her face against it as she looked down at the ground below. Both she and Trevor excitedly pointed to spots below as if they could see the lava under the surface. Dax had no need of such things. He’d felt the heat while walking and knew the direction of the sloping ground. The path seemed obvious to him, but the humans with their weaker senses and abilities all depended on their creations.
“We’ll have to come back tomorrow and check the progress again,” Jane exclaimed. “We’ve got a new vent in the cone and what looks like three active tubes.”
Trevor seemed to share in her joy. Dax tried to mimic their excitement, but after twenty minutes in the chopper he wanted nothing else than to be back in his own skin.
The moment they landed, he would have to find an escape.
***
If he never got caught in one of those horrible flying contraptions again, it would be too soon. Dax leaped out the moment they landed and started heading toward the open road.
“Hey. Where are you staying?” Jane asked.
He hadn’t intended on sticking around, but the sound of Jane’s voice was like a siren song that he couldn’t ignore. Dax shrugged as he turned to face her. “Don’t really know.”
“Are you being secretive again, or do you really not know where you’re going?” she asked.
Always so inquisitive! But he didn’t mind her questions. He only wished he could give her a real answer. The best he could come up with was, “I’ll be around. Why?”
“You seem to know your way around a volcano. I was hoping you’d maybe want to come check out the lava flow tomorrow.”
He shouldn’t. Observing humans was okay, but getting close to them went against everything his Elders taught. But staring into Jane’s gem-like eyes, silently begging him to say yes, he couldn’t resist her offer. “Will your partner be with you?” Dax glanced over to Trevor, seething by the helicopter door.
Jane looked over her shoulder and back at Dax. Those tiny lines that reminded him of hidden scales appeared across her brow, and she did a double-take. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“I don’t get a good feeling about him,” Dax responded bluntly.
She scoffed and shook her head dismissively at his remark. “He’s fine.”
“Is he your mate?”
Jane snorted and quickly covered her face with her hand. A flush of red hit her cheeks as she shook her head. “He’s my lab partner. Assistant, really.”
The heat radiating from her body spoke more truth than her words. But he wasn’t about to pry into her affairs. He’d only had a brief interaction with Trevor, but it was enough to send red flags up for Dax. That man wasn’t the trustworthy sort. “Be careful, Jane.”
“Thanks. I will.” She winced as if his words had struck a chord.
“I’ll be around.” Dax turned to leave. He walked down the long driveway leading toward the open road, feeling as if he should have said something better to Jane. But words failed him. She was clearly someone of intelligence. He respected her for how she’d handled their time together; rather than pressing him for answers, she was allowing him to build a trust with her. They’d only had a few hours alone, but it had been enough for him to feel something. More than respect. But she was human. He was a dragon. Nothing could ever happen between them, no matter how warm their connection was. He couldn’t. No. Putting words to it would make it real, and whatever these feelings were, they could not be real. He’d be going home in a few days, and their paths would never cross again.
“Hey!” Trevor came running up behind Dax. “What’s your deal?”
“Excuse me?”
“You show up out of the blue. Disaster happens, and you and she are both unscathed, with no explanation. What are you hiding?”
“I could say the same. You’re attracted to the woman. Yet you’d have let her die to save your own skin.”
Trevor’s eyes darkened with anger. “I told you, man, I didn’t know she was that far behind me.”
“When you care for someone,” – Dax faced him head on, ensuring his point hit home – “you make it your business to know.”
The man should have backed down. Even in his human form, Dax knew how large he was. But Trevor didn’t so much as flinch. He met Dax’s threatening glare with stoic determination. “It all worked out. She’s safe.”
“No thanks to you.” His insides burned with fury, threatening to melt away his façade. This was exactly the kind of person his Elders had warned him about. Savage. Uncaring. Not worthy of the life he’d been granted. If not for the fact this human was connected to Jane on some emotional level, he’d have been more than happy to incinerate him.
“You having a go at me?” Trevor’s lip curled into a wicked sneer.
“I am. What are you going to do about it?”
Trevor’s hand cocked back, ready to strike, but before it went flying, Jane called out from the across the parking lot. “Trevor, let’s go. We have to check the sensors and see if the tubes are active.”
The distraction gave Dax time enough to sidestep Trevor and take his leave. “If you care, you’ll keep her safe. If you don’t, I’ll be watching.”
He didn’t bother to listen for Trevor’s reply, though he expected more posturing and threatening words from the savage creature. That was their way. Trevor meant nothing to Dax, but the woman had left her mark on him, and he couldn’t shake the image of her from his mind.
Against his better judgment, he decided he would join her to see the lava flowing in the morning, if only to make sure Trevor wasn’t taking her well-being for granted.
***
The human world was vast and filled with colors and sounds unlike anything he had ever encountered before. A nearby city was alive and bustling even past the setting of the sun. Dax walked the streets, curiously watching the people move about. Humans were good at building things to help them with every task, it seemed. Rather than walk, they’d built metal beasts with wheels to carry them and packed the streets with these vehicles in every color of the rainbow. Invisible even to Dax, the gasses they emitted were as noxious as the poisons spewing from the nearby volcano, but the humans didn’t seem to mind.
Rather than speak to one another face to face, they talked through small hand-held devices. He wasn’t clear on what they were called; the Teevee back home had given them so many names he wasn’t sure which was correct. No matter their name, humans used them to avoid interaction. Even the few people he saw walking together were busy with their eyes looking at these little screens. A general disconnect with their surroundings seemed to be the theme of humanity. It was no wonder they were viewed as savages. They might be smart enough, but they lacked understanding of what connected them to this world. Or maybe they just didn’t care. Except Jane. She cared.
Why couldn’t he get her out of his mind?
A few humans ducked into a building with bright, colorful lights. Curious, Dax followed.
Inside was darker than out. It was a cave of a building that made him feel almost at home, except for the fact it was filled with people.
Upbeat music flooded the air, loud enough to cover the conversations of the people around him but not enough to drown out his own thoughts. Tables and chairs sat waiting to be filled. At the end of the room, lit like a welcoming beacon stood a long bar with individual seats. Behind the bar Dax saw a familiar feature. Much like the screen his people had set up in the main marketplace, there was a Teevee, only this one was much brighter, flatter, and mounted to the wall.
Dax wandered up to the bar and took an open seat.
A woman with strange markings all the way up her bare arms and hair as pink as the flowers that grew on his home island, walked up. “What are you having?”
Unprepared for the question, he shrugged. “Surprise me.”
“You look like a beer man.” She walked away, and Dax turned his attention to the screen. Back home they watched a show like this: news reports from all over the world. He didn’t recognize the faces of the humans talking, but he did recognize the mountain they were showing.
“Outside of the park along the southeast edge is the projected path of the lava flow. We have volcanologist Jane Calman here to give us an update.”
The screen flashed over to an image of Jane still in her lab. She’d done something to her face – added more color to her lips and eyes. Her hair, no longer tied up in a tight knot, hung in a wavy mass like a ring of fire around her head. Dax wasn’t sure if he liked it; she looked like all the others on the Teevee, pretending to be something they weren’t. Still, he watched as she spoke.
“We’re expecting to see an eruption from the tube system leading down the southern edge of the island. Our data suggests that this won’t be a violent eruption. What we’re looking at is a backup in the tubes that will essentially melt the roof to allow the magma to escape as it makes its way down to the sea. In the new vent that was created by this afternoon’s eruption, we’re already seeing a lot of smoke. That isn’t going to dissipate anytime soon. Volcano watchers are warned not to get too close to the crater. Highly concentrated levels of sulfur dioxide can pose a serious health risk.”
Jane disappeared from view and another woman with a painted face began speaking into the screen. “That’s an excellent point. In the past, when Kilauea has been active, park visitors have surged to over 10,000 a day.” As the reporter talked, the screen changed again to the same view he’d seen earlier when flying in that damned chopper. “Everyone wants to see the spectacle. Eruptions are often seen as historic events. However, safety first.” The reporter glared into the screen as she gave that final warning, and then the view changed as she addressed Jane again. “Ms. Calman, other than the poison gas, what dangers do volcanoes poses to those who might want to visit?”
Of all the sights on the screen, Dax preferred to see Jane’s face filling it. Why did she have such an effect on him?
Jane stared into the screen just as the reporter had while she spoke. “Volcanoes are unpredictable, even with all our technology and equipment. We were up in the crater today and nearly got caught in the eruption from this new vent. Lava is an unstoppable force. My recommendation would be to not visit right now; but for those that do, stay clear of the smoke. Wear protective gear, and stay far away from the path we’ve outlined here, as readings indicate that lava should reach the surface within the next few hours and begin traveling down this ridge.”
“Does this pose a risk at all to the community?” the reporter asked.
Jane was quick to answer. “As long as the winds don’t change, air quality shouldn’t be affected. As for the flow of lava, it’s heading for the water. Its path will be determined by any seismic activity and obstacles it encounters. At this time, we’re not predicting any damages to homes or roadways, but as always, we’ll continue to monitor and update as we get more information.”
The reporter’s painted face again filled the screen, and Dax found himself sad to see Jane’s face disappear. “You heard it, folks. Kilauea is at it again, and the team at the Observatory is keeping a close watch. Keep it here for more updates.”
The lady returned carrying a large glass of amber liquid. “You want me to start you a tab?” she asked.
Again Dax found himself unsure of how to answer, so he nodded.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked.
He should. He’d spent the better part of the last hundred years dreaming of the day he could talk to a human. He’d had list drawn up of the things he’d wanted to ask and the topics he’d discuss when he got here, but now all his thoughts and his focus were narrowed down to one point of interest. And forbidden as it was, all he could do was think of Jane. “Not much to say,” Dax grunted, when he noticed the woman was staring at him.
“You see that volcano eruption today?” she asked.
Dax nodded.
“Volcanoes are good for business. When they blow, the people flock to watch.”
“People are stupid,” he grunted, and set his gaze to the strange designs on the woman’s arm. A snake or perhaps a crude depiction of a dragon wrapped its tail around her wrist and appeared to crawl up the length of her arm. He struggled to remember the human word for these permanent drawings they put on their skin and what purpose they served. But aside from its purpose, he admired the novelty of it.
“People can be as stupid as they like as long as they bring their money and a whetted appetite.”
Still not completely sure of human facial expressions, he wondered if it was annoyance he was seeing from the barmaid or perhaps that was just the way her face looked, slightly snarly with a curl to her lip. Maybe he had insulted her somehow by staring at her arm. Dax softened his tone and asked as politely as he could, “Why risk life and limb to see hot rocks shooting from the mountain or magma dribbling slowly toward them destroying everything in its wake?”
“Because it’s something different.” She rolled her eyes.
“You don’t seem to care much.”
“The volcano has been erupting since I was a kid. I’ve seen it before.” She shrugged and turned to walk down the other side of the bar.
Humans were an odd breed, that was certain. Dax had had his fill of them for one evening. He left his drink untouched and exited the bar in search of a place to sleep that would allow him to return to his natural form.
***
Volcanoes were good for creating things. Destructive though their nature was, sometimes the old had to be burned away for new things to develop. It was the cycle of nature – sometimes cruel, but never without purpose.
Once free of the city, he resumed his natural form and spread his wings wide to take to the air. The earth below rumbled from more than just the smoking crater. Fiery beast that she was, Mother Nature’s veins ran red hot.
Below he could see signs of other smaller craters beginning to warm as earth’s blood rose to the surface.
Back home, his own island had regular eruptions, and he’d witnessed the cycles of new land formations as heated rock met icy water, deadly and beautiful at the same time.
For his own people, the fire was welcome, but as Dax flew and saw the twinkling lights of human settlements, he remembered that they could not cope with the heat or destruction.
These people had moved as far from nature as anyone could. Should the mountain explode with all the pent up fury below, it would mean the death of all who inhabited the island.
What would the Elders do in this situation?
Tell him to return home. They would not do anything to risk revealing themselves to the humans. Savage creatures as they were, to learn the truth would lead to the extinction of Dragonkin. That was their mantra, one drilled into every little Wyrm from the moment of their hatching.
He circled lower, seeing a hard line of magma breaking through the surface of the earth. It was a magnificent sight, glowing brightly against the darkness of evening.
He hadn’t been the only one to notice its glow. A he closed in, he spotted swarms of people. Humans, just as the barmaid had predicted, heading for that very same fissure.
Jane had proven that not all humans were ignorant. She had a reason to be close to the mountain while she studied it. But these people, rushing toward danger in the dead of night, were welcoming trouble.
He veered away from the crowds and landed in a crater that had not yet begun to warm.
Dormant for the moment, it had old caves and vents created from the last of its eruptions that would make a perfect shelter for Dax to sleep in.
He tucked his wings to his side and scooted into the small opening, hoping it would widen as he explored within.
Although it had seemed abandoned on the outside, once he’d made it past the entrance, Dax caught the smell of home: molten rock mixed with the earthy musk of his people. He’d never considered that the island might be inhabited by others of his kind. All the warnings of his Elders made it seem as if they alone were the last of their kind, having been slaughtered and driven out by the humans all those years before.
And yet, there was an unmistakable musk that said another dragon was close.
That thought made him excited to explore deeper into the caverns, where light failed to reach and even his keen eyes could no longer make out the shapes of rocks.
He inhaled a deep breath and let it ignite with his inner flame before blowing out a long stream of fire.
In the moment of heat and light, he saw another tunnel. Carcasses of dead rodents and debris left by spelunkers caught fire and burned slowly, creating beacons for him to use as he traveled.
Twisting and turning, he continued his trek until he caught the soft crimson glow of magma. And a voice, low and rumbly.
He peeked his head around the corner. The tunnel ended at the edge of another crater, alive with a fresh river of molten rock. Even more exciting was the Drake lounging next to the steaming lava. He had massive with scales of deep crimson, glowing around the edges with the fire that burned within his belly.
Dax took a step closer, ready to introduce himself, but hesitated the moment he heard him speak.
“Come to watch the mountain burn?” At first Dax thought the Drake was speaking to him, but after brief pause, he continued to talk to himself. “Tourists love the fires. They’re so pretty. Oooh, look at how it burns!”
There was something familiar in the deep, haughty voice, as if he had heard it before, but he couldn’t place exactly where that was. He stared, scrutinizing the other dragon as he continued to ramble.
“Stupid humans. The whole lot of them. They have all this glorious land to enjoy, and what do they do?” The Drake laughed maniacally. “They destroy. They abuse. They don’t even see the beauty. They don’t deserve any of this.”
Hearing those words, Dax was reminded of some of the Elders back home who’d preached about the horrors of humanity. The abuses of the land. The drive to conquer and destroy. They spoke as if humanity was a plague to be endured until they destroyed themselves, and then the day of the dragon would come.
“Come. Flock to the mountain.” Laughter continued. “And burn with it.”
As if in response, the ground shook below them.
Burn was right. He could feel it in his bones. This volcano was nearly ready to release, and when she did, everything in her path would burn.
But Dax did not share the same enjoyment in knowing that cleansing by flame meant loss of life. Even the Elders of his people who preached against the vile human plague would never go as far as wishing their destruction. Patience was always their motto.
This Drake, however, with his maniacal laughter, was clearly hoping to see them all die.
He hadn’t seen much of humanity, but even if they were ignorant of their place in nature, there was no joy to be had in their potential destruction. Dax chose to turn away from the madness, hoping to avoid crossing paths with him in the future.
And again his thoughts turned to Jane. She would burn. His heart nearly froze as the reality struck him. The mountain would erupt. Lava would flow and bring with it destruction. If not for her, he’d leave the island and return home. He could see a volcano there and not have to endure the sight of people dying.
But Jane was here, and despite not knowing her well, he felt something strange whenever her image came to mind.
He cared whether or not she survived, and for that reason alone, chose to stay longer – if only to warn her.