We flew higher and higher, speeding away from my friends. A mountain loomed up ahead, and Joichan made a beeline for what looked to be a gray, unforgiving rock face. He didn’t slow as we approached. I screamed, the wind whipping away the sound. I turned my face away, squeezing my eyes shut as I braced myself for the inevitable hit of flesh against stone….
And suddenly the air felt much, much cooler than it had moments before. Joichan had come to a complete stop, setting me gently on a hard rock surface. I opened my eyes, scrambling to stand up.
We were in a cave, dimly lit from the outside of the mountain. Joichan was just in front of me, his wings tucked behind him. He solemnly regarded me with his big golden eyes.
I whipped around to look behind me. I could see treetops, the bright sun, and the blue sky. Turning back to the dragon, I asked, “Where are we?” I knew we had flown a good distance from my group. And to the best of my knowledge, we were nowhere near his cave by the river.
“You are in my true home. Come.” Joichan disappeared into the darkness.
I followed the dragon, hoping I wouldn’t trip or get lost. The walls of the cave seemed to glow, illuminating each step I took farther in. I found the dragon near the back, curled up against a wall, his breathing shallow. The glow from his scales was gone, replaced by a dull tarnish. The knife was still embedded in his skin, and he lay awkwardly, trying to avoid further discomfort.
“Let me help you,” I said, although I wasn’t entirely sure what I could do.
“Are you able to heal?”
“Uh … no.”
“Then there’s not much you can do.”
Feeling foolish, I unclasped the moonstone necklace and held it out to the creature. “Would this do anything?”
He held out a claw. I placed the necklace in it, marveling at how small the piece of jewelry looked against his huge talon.
“Yes. Yes, it does.” Sounding stronger already, he motioned to the opposite wall. “There’s cloth and some medicinal salve stored in a chest over there. After you get it, we’ll work on removing this dagger.”
I hurried over to where he had indicated, locating the chest and the items Joichan wanted easily. I dropped my bag next to the chest, where it would be out of the way. When I came back, Joichan had already shifted to a position where I could reach the dagger. Carefully, I dislodged the weapon, wincing when Joichan groaned in pain. As quickly as I could, I smeared some salve on the wound and bound his side, hoping the blood flow would stanch soon.
My ministrations done, I stepped back. “What now?”
“Now, I sleep.”
While Joichan slumbered, I attempted to contact Taryn. But even though I sent out a calling spell several times, she did not respond, nor did I feel any bounced back magic. It was like Taryn didn’t even exist. It worried me. However, there wasn’t much I could do, except get back home as quickly as possible to find out what was going on.
I felt bad poking around a stranger’s home, but Joichan was deep asleep and I was bored. I walked around the cave, noting the human-sized furnishings in one section. Finding some books piled on the floor, I flipped through them, finally deciding on one that looked interesting.
I was about a third of the way through the book when a deep voice said, “That one was always one of my favorites.”
I looked up. The dragon still lay in his corner, looking much better. The internal radiance was back, like a small sun lighting up the cave.
“It’s entertaining so far.” I put the book down, stood up, and walked over to Joichan. “How are you feeling?”
“See for yourself.”
Cautiously, I pulled back the bandages. The wound had already closed over. Gaping, I looked at the dragon.
“Thank you for returning this to me.” He held up the necklace carefully in his claw. “This made my recovery much faster.”
“How—?”
“Do you know how soulstones work?” When I nodded, he continued, “Part of my magic is stored in here, from my link to it and all the times I’ve used it in the past. I tapped into that magic to help me heal.”
There were so many questions I had, so many things I wanted to say. Of course, my brain stopped on the most inane of these. “I have got to get one of those.”
He laughed. “You had one of those. You had mine. Most people would never give up such a treasure. Why did you?”
I took a deep breath, fearful and hopeful all at once. What would he say when I told him?
“I had to,” I said. “It was yours. And you’re my father.”
