The Dragonstones Trilogy
Chapter 14

Sara looked down at the ground below her. She was hundreds of feet in the air, yet felt no fear. She went flying almost every day, and had abandoned any fear of heights she may have had long ago. Sara flapped her wings harder to catch up with James, who was farther ahead, singing one of his many floatation songs.

Sara had the Dragon Magic, which allowed her to turn into a dragon, and with the Dragon Stones, was able to speak to dragons in the Land of the Dead. Sara was a venom dragon, one of the rarest kinds, which had claws and teeth that glowed green with deadly venom.

James could fly, but for a different reason. He used magic through music, and the songs he sang enabled him to do whatever the song was about. Sometimes, he was able to create his own spells, but they usually backfired horribly. Luckily, James hadn’t needed to invent anything when he discovered a song about flying. He used it daily, singing it whenever he went flying with Sara. The orange light that surrounded him whenever he sang or was in the presence of music, was becoming more visible as the sky slowly darkened.

Sara glanced down at her emerald scales. They were becoming harder to see. It was getting dark, and even through it had been months since she had almost been killed by dark magic, she still got uneasy when night came.

Sara wasn’t sure she could ever forget how Drusk had died. She didn’t understand how he had turned into black glass then shattered, but she did know the image would haunt her nightmares for a long time. That was not how normal people died. Then again, Drusk had not been a normal person, and not for a good reason.

James suddenly sang a different song and disappeared, reappearing next to Sara. She jumped, which was kind of hard to do hundreds of feet in the air. James grinned, then continued to sing the song keeping him airborne.

James! Sara complained. Dragons communicated telepathically with each other and other species.

A pause came in James’s song. “Sorry. I’m experimenting,” he said. Had she been a human, Sara would have rolled her eyes. He stopped singing, and the orange glow around him died. He sank a few feet, but started singing again and flew back up to where Sara was flapping her wings.

Sara looked behind her at the sunset. The brilliant colors were gone, replaced by duller shades. Soon there wouldn’t be any light at all. I need to talk to the dragons. It’s getting late. She told James.

James quickly said, “Okay. See you at school tomorrow.”

Sara nodded and slowed her flapping. Wind rushed past her as she slowly approached the ground. When she could see the houses more clearly, Sara flew to her house and landed on the front lawn. Sara yawned. She was more tired than she thought.

Sara changed back into a human before entering the house. She had barely closed the door when a bottle of cleaner flew past her, followed by a rag. The bottle squirted cleaner on a nearby window and the rag wiped it down. Sara’s mom was cleaning the house.

Sara walked upstairs and dodged another bottle of chemicals. A duster flew out of her mom’s room. Cautiously Sara entered, and saw the vacuum moving of its own accord, and her mom sitting on the bed with her eyes closed.

Lately her mom had been experimenting with her magic, as had Sara and James. Sara’s mom had household magic, but had not known about it until recently, around the time Sara realized she had magic. Household magic allowed her to do numerous things, and Sara had gotten used to dinners cooking themselves, her room always being sparkling clean, and clothes loading themselves in the washing machine.

“Mom?” Sara asked.

“Shh. I’m concentrating,” her mom said. Sara wondered how many chores were getting done at the same time due to her mother’s magic. After a minute, she opened her eyes. The vacuum put itself away, and downstairs Sara heard closet doors opening and closing.

“Did Mrs. Robinson like the recipes I gave her?” she asked. Mrs. Robinson was James’s mom, who also had James’s magic. Unlike James, though, Mrs. Robinson’s aura was lavender, not orange like her son’s.

“Yep. Even Benson and Drana liked them.” Benson and Drana were two of James’s siblings, and Sara’s least favorite. When she had met Sara, Drana had instantly disliked her, and Benson was evil in the form of a small, eight year old boy with brown hair a shade or two lighter than Sara’s. Sara tried to avoid him whenever she could, and she treated Drana in a similar manner. Drana had dark magic, and Sara could tell. Whenever she was around Drana, Sara felt an energy she had only felt around one other person: Drusk.

Sara felt the presence in her head before she heard the voice. Sara?

Sara glanced down at the blue stones on the necklace she wore every day. The dragons were contacting her. Hold on. I’ll be right there. she said. Sara quickly made her way to her room, then closed the door. Sara reached up and touched a Dragon Stone. The blue flash she had become accustomed to lit up her room, and Sara was in the Dragons’ Cave.

The Dragons’ Cave was in the Land of the Dead, full of flowing lava streams, and most importantly, dragons. Dragons covered almost every inch of the cave, which was impressive since the cave seemed to have no end. Sara barely knew any of the dragons by name, and a few more by sight, and yet they all knew her. She was the last human to have the Dragon Magic.

Sara walked over to a group of young dragons and set down her backpack. For some reason, the younger dragons enjoyed doing her homework. If she looked closely, Sara could see the black edges of their scales. Most of the dragons in the Dragons Cave had died at the hands of Aevill, who had become immortal through dark magic and had succeeded in killing all of the dragons. He was able to do almost anything, and, somehow, Sara had survived an attack from him with the dragons’ help.

Sara shifted into a dragon, and chatted a bit with the dragons, telling them about recent events in the Land of the Living. Sara was caught off guard when one of the dragons asked, How has James been doing? The dragons almost never mentioned or even thought about James.

He’s been learning more songs and spells. She answered. A dragon she did know by name stepped forward. Smolder was a small red dragon who could see into the future. He had also been the friend of Sara’s ancestor, Nathaniel Day.

He is in your future. You both need to be ready. Evil is going to strike soon. He said.

Aevill? Sara asked.

He will be a part of it. Sara ignored Smolder’s cryptic remark. She had learned that Smolder was particularly fond of vague comments that when clarified only confused Sara more. Smolder probably couldn’t help much more anyway. From Sara’s experience with magical foresight, the visions were often random and rarely made sense until the destined events came to pass.

Sara talked a little more with the dragons, then changed into a human, gathered her homework, now completed, and touched a Dragon Stone. She closed her eyes, and after a moment she was back in her room sitting on her bed.

As Sara got ready for bed, she thought about what Smolder had said. You both need to be ready. Evil is going to strike soon. Sara fell asleep with those thoughts bouncing around in her head.

Sara woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside her window, and her alarm blaring. To quiet its annoying cries, Sara pushed the snooze button. Sara quickly brushed her hair, then went downstairs to eat breakfast.

When she reached the kitchen, Sara walked over to the fridge. Another benefit to her mother’s magic was the fact that the fridge was always full of food. Sara didn’t know where the food came from, but her mom hadn’t found a way to make the food disappear, as if she wanted to; and it tasted just fine.

After eating, Sara grabbed an apple and went back upstairs. She climbed out her bedroom window and onto the roof. She looked around. Her mom’s car was gone, meaning she was already at the hospital she worked at. No neighbors were in sight, so Sara changed into a dragon. Regular humans couldn’t see magic, but Sara was still careful. She never knew who had magic and who didn’t. She jumped off the roof, and flew to her school.

Sara scanned the ground for any activity. When she found a empty good spot, Sara slowed her flapping and landed. Sara changed back into a human, and walked around the building until she found a door.

The morning passed quickly, with James in most of her classes. Aspen Churchill and Victoria White, two of Sara’s other friends were in those classes as well. Aspen had blonde hair and blue eyes. She could also speak to plants. Victoria had dark hair and eyes, and could see magic. Before she knew it, lunch break was there.

Aspen and Victoria were already at the usual table when Sara arrived. Both stopped talking when she sat down. Victoria looked away, and Aspen giggled. Sara resisted for a second, then gave in. “Okay. What?” she asked them.

Victoria looked at her, then smiled. “We were just talking about you and James. You know you two were made for each other,” she said.

Sara rolled her eyes. Ever since Victoria had met James, she and Aspen put their matchmaking skills to the test and continuously tried to pair Sara off with James. Sara kept trying to tell them that she and James were just friends, but they never believed her. It didn’t help when Sara’s own feelings made her want to agree with Victoria. It didn’t help that James had such amazing eyes.

“What should I expect this time?” she asked them. Sara thought back to previous attempts the two had tried: pushing Sara into James while ice skating, seating Sara and James next to each other at the movies, and other smaller things.

Victoria and Aspen both grinned. “Nothing, yet,” Victoria added. James walked over with his tray of food and sat down next to Sara. Aspen giggled again, then looked down, avoiding James’s curious gaze.

“You guys want to go to the cave after school today?” James asked.

“Sure,” Sara said, as she grabbed her apple.

Aspen and Victoria shook their heads. “I have homework,” Aspen said. “And I don’t want to go hiking out in zero degree weather,” Victoria said. She looked at Sara. “How can you stand it?”

Sara shrugged. Dragons weren’t affected by temperatures the way humans and other creatures were. It had come in handy on more than one occasion, especially when she went flying.

Sara felt a wave of dread wash over her. She knew to trust this feeling. It came whenever she was in danger or a hostile presence was nearby. Sara glanced around, but didn’t see anything that seemed like a threat. Sara closed her eyes and used her dragon-enhanced senses. Nothing sounded threatening either. Sara scanned the room again. This feeling always came for a reason, but Sara detected nothing.

Sara was jerked back into the conversation when James asked her a question. The bell rang, and Sara spared one last glance back. She could have sworn she felt eyes on her, but could not see anyone watching her. She shrugged and headed to her next class. She tried to tell herself that the feeling had been nothing of importance.

After school, Sara met James at their usual meeting spot. James sang a flight song, and flew in the direction of the cave. Sara glanced around before shifting and following James. She was still uneasy about earlier when she had felt someone watching her. Sara ignored it for now, and hurried to catch up with James.

Before they found out that they could fly, Sara and James had had to hike to the cave. Now, Sara could still see the beautiful trees covered in snow from above, but didn’t have to worry about walking all that way. Ahead, Sara could see the hill where the cave was.

The cave had been one of Sara’s first encounters with magic. Full of floating colored orbs, glowing pools that showed possible realities, and jewels that had formed overnight hundreds of years ago, the cave was one of Sara’s favorite places to visit.

James slowed his singing and descended to the ground. Sara followed his lead, approaching the ground at a safe speed. She stopped for a second to admire the entrance to the cave. Several trees guarded the cave, which were always in full bloom. The vibrant colors were even brighter because of the glittering snow, which could be seen in every direction.

Sara changed back into a human, then followed James inside. It was darker than outside, but the cave was by no means dark. A cluster of colored glowing orbs flew over to Sara, then glided away from her and further into the cave. The farther Sara looked into the cave, she only saw more orbs, and more glowing pools. The cave seemed to have no end, just like the Dragons’ Cave.

The cave had gotten its magic from an ancient sorcerer near death who had transferred his essence into the cave, hoping to prolong his survival. He had failed, but succeeded at creating an amazing magical landmark, unknown to all but a few.

The thing that comforted Sara most was the fact that the cave would not let any dark magicians enter. There had only been one time when the cave had had dark magic, when Drusk first tried to kill her, one of the times.

Sara tripped over a rock, then regained her balance in time to not fall. She glanced down at a pool near her feet. She looked closer, and saw a playground. Kids were chasing each other, and somewhere Sara heard laughter. A little girl Sara had never seen before fell off of the monkey bars, and started crying. Sara saw what looked like an older version of herself run to the little girl and comfort her. In the background, someone was wearing an orange shirt who looked a lot like James. Sara looked away before she could see anything else. She didn’t need to know her future before it happened.

The magic orbs suddenly all flew to one place, forming a huge glowing mass of color. Sara had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted to the brightness. The orbs lazily floated over to Sara, then shot forward, going deeper into the cave. Sara blinked. This was new. The cave normally had a few surprises, but this was a new one.

Sara looked over at James. A white light shone around him, not unlike his normal orange aura. His expression was the same one he always had whenever he listened to music. After a second, he felt Sara’s eyes on him. “They want us to follow them,” he said. Without another word, he ran after the orbs, his way lit by the glowing pools and the occasional orb that had stayed behind. Sara hesitated, then followed him. James had grown up knowing about magic, so if he said magic orbs wanted them to follow, Sara trusted him.

As Sara jogged after James and the orbs, she noted the ceiling was getting higher and the walls wider apart. Sara guessed several dragons could fly in this cave and still have plenty of room for more.

The orbs increased their speed, and the only way for Sara and James to keep up was to use magic. Sara shifted into a dragon and flew after the lights, which were getting smaller and smaller with the increased distance.

On the horizon, Sara saw a blue green glow. In the distance, waves could be heard. As they approached, the waves grew louder and the glow became brighter. The glowing green venom on Sara’s claws could no longer be seen in the bright light.

The orbs stopped suddenly, and Sara landed on the edge of a cliff, next to James and the orbs. Sara changed back into a human and looked around. They were at the edge of an enormous underground sea. It was too large to be called a lake. Giant waves crashed into the cave walls and the cliff Sara and James were on. She was glad they were high enough up that the waves did not reach her, as large as they were. This sea was made of pure magic.

Sara heard talking and looked behind her. The orbs weren’t making the noise, and James was still staring at the magic waves. Sara looked down at the watery substance and thought she saw shapes moving. When she blinked, they were gone.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Have you ever been here?”

James shook his head. “I’ve never been this far into the cave.” His light hair looked almost blue in this light.

“Why did they want us to come here?” Sara motioned at the orbs.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it was just to show us this place is here,” James said.

A roaring noise filled the cave. Sara’s gaze snapped back to the sea. The waves had stopped, but something was happening in the distance. The waves started again, but this time all in Sara’s direction, and all of them getting larger and larger.

A wave large enough to be a tsunami crashed into the cliff, causing the ground to shake. “Maybe we should come back later,” James said, stating the obvious.

“Yeah,” said Sara, not willing to argue. Both turned to go, but were blocked by a wall formed by the orbs. Sara tried to push through, but the orbs wouldn’t budge. For something light enough to float, they were too heavy to move. Another enormous wave crashed into the cliff. This time it was large enough that the magic flowed towards Sara and James.

“C’mon.” Sara changed into a dragon and once again tried to get past the orbs. Sara pushed against the wall of magic again, but knew it was useless. They were trapped. She looked behind her, and saw an ocean’s worth of blue rushing towards her and James. Sara changed back into a human and looked at James, who was still frantically singing any song he could think of. None were working. James looked behind him and paled. He quickly sang an entirely different song.

Sara looked behind her, and knew why James was scared. The orbs and sea of magic was closer now, and still speeding toward them. “Hold your breath,” James said.

Sara barely had time to register what he said when the magic hit her. When Sara dared to open her eyes, she saw James right away a few feet away. He was floating, and his hair was moving as it would have underwater. Sara assumed hers did the same. Sara started seeing spots in her vision, and was forced to risk taking a breath. To her surprise, she could breathe just fine. Sara looked back at James and saw that he was still singing. He was casting a spell that enabled them to breathe.

He doesn’t have to do that. You both are perfectly safe. A voice said in her mind.

Sara turned to see a woman behind her. Her blue eyes and hair matched the color of the magic they were in. Sara was too shocked to speak. I am here to help you. The woman said. She motioned behind her. What you see here will aid you in fulfilling your part of the quest. If you truly wish to fight Aevill, many magical creatures will not hesitate to aid you, if you replace them and ask for their help. Before Sara could say anything, the woman was gone.

Sara looked around. Now what? Sara took another tentative breath. She wasn’t even sure what had just happened. Sara turned her attention back to where the woman had been. Something was happening. Sara looked closer, and suddenly saw a boy about her age with dark hair and eyes. The illusion was so lifelike, Sara wondered if he was really there for a second. In his hand was something that looked like black fire. Shadow flames? The image of Sara in her dragon form appeared to her left. The next second, the boy threw the shadow flames at her. The image changed, but was just as realistic.

Sara saw black magic fly toward James, who had appeared in front of her, and hit him head on. Sara heard herself screaming, “James!” James fell to the ground, unconscious, a man walked toward James. She didn't recognize him until he looked at her. Sara had seen those same eyes on Drusk. This was Aevill, the magician whom Drusk had tried to kill Sara for. Tendrils of black magic flew toward James and Sara, and the image changed again.

Sara saw dark stones, so dark they seemed to be made of shadows. The stones were held together on a silver chain, small enough to be a bracelet. She heard the woman’s voice again. This will lead to your victory, or be your destruction. Be careful with the Shadow Stones, and use them well. The image dissolved, and Sara saw the blue magic again before she blacked out.