“Here are its brothers and sisters, Xander.” Jacinth nodded towards the clutch nestled in the burrow. “Be careful, now.”
His hair dripping wet, Xander looked around at the dragons watching him- Adder, Sky, Theo…his gaze rushed past Wolfe. Then Theo noticed him glance a little too purposely past Lichen.
He’s going to make a run for it, Theo predicted to herself.
Sure enough, the moment he had lowered the egg back into its place, he leapt up and shot past Lichen.
“Catch him!” Jacinth alerted.
Panicky and on impulse, Lichen tackled the boy, leaving him groaning and squirming where he was pinned.
“Lichen!” Jacinth balked, mortified.
“I’m sorry!” Lichen bawled, backing off of him. “I’ve never handled a human before!”
Theo rushed forward to see him with Lichen peering cautiously from behind.
“Did I break him?” he fretted.
Theo watched Xander as he sorely sat himself up and stared at his scraped hands and knees. “No,” Theo exhaled. “He looks fine.”
Jacinth again sent away Wolfe, who was laughing hysterically at what had just happened. Wolfe walked away, practically lapsing over in her shrill fit as she went.
“Now we have a decision to make,” Adder said when Wolfe’s batty laughter faded into the distance. “What do we do with the human child?”
Xander’s head shot up at the mention of him, but he didn’t dare say a word.
Everyone was silent, looking around to everyone else for the answer.
“Well, we can’t just kill him!” Lichen finally let out.
All agreed.
Xander looked board-stiff in fear that such an option was up for consideration.
“Yet we would be fools to let him run back home with such knowledge.” Jacinth gritted her teeth.
Adder agreed grimly.
“So we have to keep him here,” Jacinth decided, looking down at the boy who shook uncontrollably, wide eyes swiveling. “I will keep watch over him.”
Theo stared. We’re going to hold this boy against his will? She supposed she couldn’t think of a better solution.
Xander began to beg, his words barely decipherable as they all molded into one endless strand of pleas.
Jacinth ignored him. “River,” she said. “I would appreciate it if you accompanied me while I look after him, considering you used to be-” She broke off, giving Xander a side-long glance. “Well, you know.”
Theo inhaled deeply. “Yes, of course,” she consented. “Although, I must warn you, it’s a big commitment.”
Jacinth met her gaze. “I understand completely,” she said.
. . .
Theo awoke to the sound of sniffling and moved her eyes in the boy’s direction.
He was curled up against a tree near Camp, where Jacinth had brought him. He hadn’t left her side the whole rest of the day and Jacinth didn’t seem to need Theo’s help with managing him, after all.
The night was screaming with beetles in the trees and the sound of owls’ wings whirred overhead. Something wailed in the dark and Xander held himself tighter, stifling sobs into his tucked in knees as the breeze rattled the pine needles.
Other dragons had picked up on his noise as well. Many of the females appeared to be instinctively drawn to it, leaning inward and peering at the small child in distress. Theo wondered if it was a long forgotten maternal behavior- a fragment of what the dragons originally used to be.
Theo closed her eyes once more, knowing she could be of no comfort to the boy. He would have to get over his fear on his own.
Yet, she found she could not sleep, unable to ignore his sounds. With a sigh, she rose to her feet and the child’s cry cut off abruptly. She turned to look back at him, moonlight bathing her scales and saw that he was staring straight at her, eyes wide.
She took a deep breath. There’s nothing I can do, she told herself, nodding in acknowledgment to Jacinth as she walked away to find some place less unsettling.