Chapter Five - The Next Day

I swept up some glass and dumped it into the waste basket that Sharena had brought over to me. The glass replacement workers were busy putting in the new window. I sighed. Me a couple days ago, those guys yesterday, what would happen next? The only good thing about this whole thing was that nobody seemed to care about ‘that dragon that Kineas was hiding’ anymore. Nobody was really paying any attention to me, anyway, but at least some people might not connect ‘Riley the dragon’ to ‘Riley the teenage girl’ now.

Those Royal Escorts (as Kenny had called them) had left with their prisoner shortly after they lost the other guy. I was just happy that they didn’t ask me any questions. I wouldn’t even be able to answer the questions I’d heard them ask Sharena. For whatever reason, they seemed to believe that Sharena might know who the three suspects were.

“Riley,” Sharena called from the checkout counter. I propped my broom up against the wall by the front door and picked up the waste basket. I wanted to dump it into the trash can out back. “How’s your reading coming?”

“It’s been two days.”

“And?”

I grabbed a pill bottle from the shelf closest to me. “I can read hydro, and the rest is gibberish.”

“Has Kineas taught you how to spell your name yet?”

I nodded. “I’m doing pretty good with the alphabet, yeah.”

“Good. There’s a man out back with a shipment of medicine, can you go sign for it?”

I nodded again. “Yeah.”

“You’re doing pretty good after two days.”

I smiled. “Thanks.” I walked to the back door and reached into my pocket for the keys. The short one was the house key, the long one was the prescription cabinet key, the medium one was the back door key. I was grateful Sharena only gave me three keys to deal with. I set the waste basket down beside me and noticed - almost stupidly - that there actually was a ladder to the roof. I guess if I’d known that the night before, things would have happened differently with that one guy.

I sighed. He looked so familiar. I couldn’t figure out where I recognized him from. I shook my head and tried to focus on something else. I needed to sign for some medicine. That was all I needed to focus on.

I unlocked and opened the door, and Kenny was standing there, talking to the guy who had brought in the medicine. Kenny looked like he was having a great time talking. “Oh, here she is,” he said, turning his attention from the medicine guy to me. “Ortzi, here’s my sister, Riley.”

“Your mom adopt her, or something?” Ortzi asked. He looked a little older than Kenny, though somewhat thinner. He was taller than Kenny, most definitely. “Nice to meet you,” he said to me, slightly bowing. Sharena had told me that some men bow to women, whether they’re royalty or not. I hadn’t met any yet, save for this guy.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I said, trying my best not to sound surprised or anything. “I’m supposed to sign something?”

He shook his head. “Kenny took care of that. Don’t worry.” He picked up a box sitting on the ground beside him and passed it over to me. “Don’t drop it, it’s kinda heavy.”

“I can tell,” I said, after nearly dropping the box. “What’s in here, anyway?”

“Lots and lots of breast enhancement cream.”

I wanted to ask why anyone would want to have bigger breasts, but something told me this was a human culture thing that I’d just have to learn as time went by. Another question I wanted to ask is why a pharmacy would carry breast enhancement cream, but we had so many different kinds of potato chips that it was easy to understand somebody wanting it. I wondered if there was breast reduction cream, because that would help me in every way.

“Where are you from, Riley?” Ortzi asked.

“Oh, uh… Eberson. It’s out in the neutral territories. Kenny’s dad was there, dragon hunting, and he adopted me and put me on a train here. I was gonna get kicked out on my own a couple days later, because the orphanage doesn’t keep most people past their seventeenth birthday.” That was starting to become second nature, and I’d only told three people before Ortzi.

“How long ago was that?”

“I got into town a couple days ago.”

“Huh. Cool. How do you like it?”

I smiled. “It’s nice having a family, even if it’s an adopted one.”

Kenny walked over to the door and opened it for me. “Sharena’s probably waiting to stock that stuff. Tell her I’ll be back inside in a few minutes.”

It almost felt like he was trying to force me away from him and Ortzi. “Um, okay. Nice to meet you, Ortzi,” I said, smiling a little.

I walked back inside and set the box down by the door to the store floor, where Sharena had made a square out of tape for me to know where the ‘stock check area’ was. She was being extremely patient with me, considering she was used to Kenny helping her out, and he knew where everything was.

I walked out onto the store floor and saw that the store was empty. No customers, no Sharena, not even the guys replacing the window up front. I sat down at the chair beside the door to the back room and grabbed the one of the books that I was using to practice reading. They were children's’ books, but I didn’t mind. If I didn’t start somewhere, I’d never know how to read. I was getting to the point where I could read about half of the words on the page, and the pictures sort of helped me figure out the rest.

“Excuse me,” a voice said from in front of me. They surprised me, whoever they were, and I nearly dropped my book. I set the book down and saw a man who looked vaguely familiar. “I’m here to pick up my prescription.”

It took me a second, but it was his voice I recognized. This was the man who had stabbed me in the hand the other day. I made sure my scarred hand wasn’t visible to him, for fear that he might connect me to, well, me. “Hello, sir,” I said, hoping my nervousness didn’t shine through. “Um… There’s a slight problem there.”

“What’s that, is my prescription not in?”

“That’s kinda the problem. I don’t know. I’m new here, and I only just started learning how to read.”

“And Sharena put you in charge of watching over the pharmacy? Is Kineas here?”

“He was out back, talking to a friend.”

“Well. We’re in a bit of a bind young, um… I never got your name.”

“Riley.”

“That’s an interesting name for a girl. Pretty name. Kineas has a cousin by that name, are you her?”

“No, Kenny’s cousin was a boy, and he died. I’m his sister, his - our - dad just adopted me last week, and I just got here a couple days ago.”

“Hrm,” he mumbled. “Well, I’ll check back later today to see if Sharena’s back in. Thanks, Riley.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding in. I couldn’t tell if he was suspicious of me or not, but I was glad he was gone. I nearly collapsed back into my chair and felt the relief wash over me. I had to get used to him, though, otherwise he might figure me out later, if he hadn’t yet.

I was about to grab my book again, but I nearly fell out of my chair when Kenny said, “I don’t think Ortzi believed you.” He looked down at me and asked, “What?”

“Don’t just sneak up on me like that!”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was possible to sneak up on a dragon.”

“For one, I’m not a dragon at the moment, I’m no different from any other human. Two, you’re not supposed to say that out loud. And three, dragons get snuck up on all the time, or at least I did.”

He nodded. “Oh. Why are you so jumpy right now, anyway?”

“You remember the guy who stabbed me in the hand?”

“Torkel?”

“His name is Torkel?”

“From what Sharena tells me, he was mocked when he was younger.”

“Well, he was here to pick up a prescription.”

“It’s not due in until tomorrow.”

“He seemed to think it was due today.”

“Huh. Sharena told him last week it’d be in tomorrow.”

“You’re not putting me at ease.”

“Whaddya mean?”

“I couldn’t tell if he recognized me or not.”

“You mean if he somehow connected the awkward and cute five foot seven girl to the roughly seven foot tall dragon that he stabbed in the hand?” When he said it, it sounded stupid that I’d even be nervous about the guy recognizing me, but I still couldn’t help it. “Did he see your scar?”

I shook my head. “I kept my hand under the counter.”

“Even so, Sharena’s potion made it look old, so even if he does connect you to you, he’s gonna havta come up with some reason to justify that scar looking like it does.”

“It’s already common enough that people think dragons heal faster than humans, so I don’t think it’d be too much of a stretch for him.”

Kenny hopped over the counter and walked over to the door. “I don’t think you’re in any trouble. When Dad gets back, he’ll back your story, and then everybody will believe it, it’s that simple.”

“You say that like you expect him any day.”

“I do, actually. Dad pops in randomly, runs the inn for a couple days, then hands it right back to me.” He flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED and locked the door. “Now, c’mon, let’s get home.”

I was confused. “Doesn’t the sign say we’re open from eight to six?”

“You mean you still can’t read it?”

I shook my head. “No, I mean, why are we closing early?”

“Oh, because it’s dinner time and Sharena wants us back home.”

I sighed. Being a human was still gonna take getting used to.

---

“Nobody thinks Sharena’s weird for living in the woods?” I asked, trying to ignore the creature that was doing its best to annoy me. It was… Odd. About the size of a house cat, with a similar face, but instead of fur, it was covered in feathers.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot that we haven’t told you that yet.”

The feather cat was rubbing up against my leg. “What?”

“Technically, we don’t live in the woods.”

“Then why are walking home in the woods?” That cat was desperately trying to make me pick it up.

“I like the walk. You mean you’ve never noticed that there’s a house just down the road from Dad’s inn?”

“Not really.”

“That’s the house.”

“We walk home in the woods when we live a block and a half away from the pharmacy?”

“I told you, I like the walk.” It looked as if he noticed the cat-thing following me. “What is that and why does it seem to like you so much?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” I knelt down and the cat stopped rubbing up against me, and instead just looked up at me. I reached out to pat it on the head, but it swatted my hand away. I tried again, slower, and this time it let me touch it before putting its paw on my arm. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

And to my surprise, it said, “I know.”

I fell backwards, landing roughly on a pile of sticks. “Did you just talk?!” I screamed.

It glared at me. “That’s a cheeky thing for a dragon to say.”

Fear gripped me. “You know what I am?!”

It nodded. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t be much use to you if I didn’t.”

“What… What are you?”

“I suggest we continue this conversation elsewhere.” It licked its paw for a second. “It’s dirty out here.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You can’t even tell me what you are?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re inside.”

I looked up at Kenny, who shrugged. “It wants to go inside, I guess we go inside.”

I sighed. “Fine. We’ll go inside.”

---

“You two are a little late,” Sharena said, pulling an apron off. She looked like she’d just finished cooking something, so despite my concern over the feather cat that I was carrying into the house, I was a ready for food. Sharena was a very good cook. “You didn’t get lost on your way home, did you?”

“No, Riley just found a talking cat,” Kenny answered.

She looked at the cat in my arms and looked about as confused as I felt about it. “That’s… Do you even know what you’re holding onto there?”

I asked, “You mean, other than a feathered cat that talks?”

“A creature like this hasn’t been seen - Did you say ‘talks’?”

The cat answered for me. “She did.”

“You’re not actually the creature that you look like, are you?”

It shook its head. “No. I’m one of the conduits.”

“Riley, set it down.” I did as I was asked and set it on the counter. It sat there, cleaning itself like a cat would do. “Who are you here for?”

It stopped cleaning itself for a moment to look over its shoulder at me, then turned back to Sharena. “Your daughter.”

I pointed at myself, like an idiot. “Me?”

“She’s powerful, even more so than most.”

I repeated, “Me?”

Sharena ignored me. “You’re aware that she’s a dragon, correct? Dragons are on the lowest end of the magic spectrum.”

I asked, “Didn’t you tell me I had a lot of mana in me?”

Again, I was ignored. “There’s something special about her,” the cat said, “hence why I was sent to this plane of existence.”

“Do you have a name?” Sharena asked.

It shook its head. “No. Name me if you wish.”

She looked over at me. “Riley, since he’s your conduit, do you want to name him?”

I practically shouted. “Why isn’t anybody paying attention to me?!” Everyone - the cat included - was looking at me like I was nuts. Kenny looked like he was about to burst into laughter, and I really couldn’t blame him. “Now, when I got here, you - “ I pointed at Sharena, “ - told me that everybody has mana, but not everybody has enough for it to matter. You explicitly told me that I had a lot of mana. Now it’s like only certain people have mana at all, and that it’s even rarer to find a dragon that has mana.” I paused to take a short breath, then once again shouted, “Explain this stuff to me! This time, Kenny did burst into laughter.

---

Sharena sat down on the couch, and I sat down beside her. The cat jumped up on my lap and curled up. It felt weird, but I’d never had another animal sit in my lap when I was a dragon.

“I understand your confusion,” she said, starting the conversation, “yes, everyone on the planet has mana, and yes it’s mostly related to whether or not your body houses enough mana that makes you a true magic user. The difference is that most of the magic users out there aren’t mages. A mage can conjure the dead, summon forth mythical beasts and everything a simple sorceress like me can’t do. I deal mostly with potions and common spells, like making the house seem like it’s in the forest rather than a block and a half away from Irvine’s inn.”

I asked, “How come nobody mentioned that to me earlier?”

“You never asked, sweetie.” She put on a warm smile. “Dragons are similar to sorcerers and sorceresses, and even before the white dragon appeared, there weren’t too many who actually practiced magic. It’s a little difficult for some dragons to mix potions, y’know, and so they mainly stick to common spells.” She pointed to the cat. “He is the difference between sorcerer and mage. And only one dragon has had a conduit, an ancient dragon that was rumored not to have any descendants. Since the ability to become a mage is passed on from one generation to the next, then that would mean you are a descendant of that dragon.”

“Okay, so I’m descendant of the only mage dragon, and I’m powerful enough in magic that I can do… What, exactly?”

“Pretty much anything,” the cat answered. “And I’m the proof of that.”

I turned back to Sharena. “So, why does a mage need a conduit?”

She patted the cat on the head. “A conduit is your connection to pure mana. Mana that common people have access to is filtered through the world’s conduit, and intentionally made weaker.”

“The world has a conduit?”

“The world is a living being as well, Riley. Mana is what keeps it together and what gives life to all of its beings. That’s why everyone and everything has mana within it. Pure mana, on the other hand, can kill someone who tries to access it without a conduit.”

“So, there are ways?”

“Dangerous ways. Deadly ways. To tap into pure mana without a conduit, you’d need to use a spell that few have ever been able to find, let alone wield appropriately.”

I looked down at the cat. “If you hadn’t shown up, how would I have known I could tap into pure mana?”

It licked at its paw. “Perhaps you would have destroyed a city, or a country. The world’s conduit creates beings like me when it feels a creature capable of pure mana manipulation has been born.”

“I’m seventeen. So, shouldn’t you have shown up seventeen years ago?”

“Humans need to come of age before their conduit is born. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same with dragons.” It curled up again. “But so few dragons have been capable of mage power, so I don’t know.”

“The question,” Sharena said as she stood up, “is this: Is Riley capable of dragon level power or human level power?”

“Is there a difference?” I asked.

“That dragon that you’re potentially a descendant of? Rumors exist that it shaped the continents. If your mana is decided by your being a dragon, there might not be a limit to what you can do.”

I gulped. Loudly.

---

I laid on my bed, the cat sleeping by my head. He was a quiet sleeper, unlike Kenny, who I often heard snoring through the walls. I sighed. So, I was a mage, or, I could be a mage. And a very powerful one, too. That concerned me. What if I couldn’t control my own magical power? What if I ended up hurting the people I cared about?

“Who do you care about?” the cat asked. I looked over at him, and he looked as if he hadn’t been sleeping beside me.

“What?”

“I’m asking the question. Who do you care about? Until a few days ago, you were a dragon that flew place to place and hadn’t even seen your first adoptive family for years.”

“Sharena and Kenny are my family now, so I care about them.”

“Why?”

“Whaddya mean why? Kenny gave me shelter when I needed to sleep, and Sharena’s hiding me and treating me like her daughter, why wouldn’t I care about them?”

“If it wasn’t for Kenny, you wouldn’t have been found the other day.”

“If it wasn’t for Kenny, I’d have died the other day. I would have flown until I couldn’t fly anymore, and I would have fallen unconscious - not to mention out of the sky - and some people would have killed me.” I sat up. “I’m just in hiding, I’m not dead. I don’t care if I have to be a human to survive, I’m happy I’m alive and because of that, I care about Kenny and Sharena.” I leaned closer to him. “Is it really that hard to understand?”

He just sat there, staring at me, then said, “Mithra.”

“What?”

He nodded toward the comic book that was sitting on the night stand. “That character there. According to the cover, his name is Mithra. I like it.”

I sighed. “I still don’t have reading one hundred percent down, y’know?”

“You can’t read?”

“I’m getting better, every few words is okay.” I laid back down. “Wait a second.” I turned to look at him again. “You knew I was a dragon but ya didn’t know I couldn’t read?”

“Just because I know everything about you doesn’t mean I know everything about you.”