* * * * *
The traumatic events at Netiro’s cave gradually faded into memory. Alas, the dragon could never truly be forgotten. The perpetual grumbling amongst the villagers and the roars echoing over the hills served as constant reminders of their curse. It wouldn’t be long until they would have to return to the dragon’s lair.
Meanwhile, life for the family resumed its normal routine. Nehemiah hunted and made repairs around the house. Ezria cooked, sewed and cleaned; and Demetrius tended to the crops and animals.
Demetrius squatted on the ground by the wilted grapevines. The soil crumbled and sifted through his fingers. The air was hot and arid; if it were possible to be dryer than yesterday, it was. He dusted off his hands and wiped away the sweat running down his neck. How ironic that his body produced so much moisture yet his crops had none. He stood over the withered young vines that wouldn’t make it to maturity. Lifting his eyes to the cloudless sky, Demetrius brought his hands together and prayed for rain.
It began as a small tingle. He scratched his hand and shook it, but the sensation didn’t go away. To the contrary, it grew more intense. It expanded to the other hand and spread upward through his arms. At first he was frightened, but his instincts told him to remain calm. He opened his hands to examine them. His fingers twitched and the hairs on his arms were raised. A shadow fell upon the crops. He looked up and watched in amazement as a dark cloud formed directly above him. He didn’t know what was happening, or if he were responsible for it, but it felt good; it felt right. The tingling dissipated; leaving him filled him with a powerful confidence. He spread his arms out over the crops and relaxed his mind to allow this energy to flow. His eyes closed and rain poured from his personal cloud.
He smiled to see that this heavy downpour had targeted him as its deliberate destination. With a wave of his arms the rain flowed out to his left, then his right, and finally across the entire field.
Hearing his name, Demetrius turned to see his mother running toward him. He quickly drew back his hands. The rain stopped immediately and the cloud dissolved in the sky. Her arms flailed and her panic was palpable from a distance.
Ezria was out of breath when she reached Demetrius. She grabbed both his arms and shook him.
“Demetrius! Don’t ever, ever do that again! Come with me. Come right now.”
She led him to the house, looking in every direction as they went. Once inside she pointed for him to sit at the table. She leaned her back against the door and rubbed her hands roughly over her face.
Demetrius realized he’d done something wrong, but had no idea why it was wrong. Nevertheless, there he sat, awaiting his punishment. Waiting was always a horrible thing; the silence broken only by the crackling fire and his heavy mother’s breathing.
The aroma of baking bread, usually a welcome smell, now served only to emphasize his mother’s love. He hung his head in shame. He tried so hard not to be a burden to his parents; he wanted so much for them to be proud of him. If he had done something to frighten or disappoint her, he would never do it again.
“Demetrius listen to me,” she knelt on the floor beside him. “You must never do that again. You may never even speak of it. Magic is forbidden. I cannot have you putting yourself and the rest of the family and the village in danger.”
“But, why…?”
“No. Listen…if the dragon sees you, or even thinks you can do magic, he will kill us all for sure.” She took him by the shoulders and looked into his dark eyes.
“Please, son. Do you want to keep our family safe?”
“Yes.”
“Then promise me you will never do magic again.”
“He will promise no such thing,” Nehemiah asserted, walking into the room. “If my son has magic he will do magic.”
“Nehemiah! What are you saying?” Ezria rose to her feet and stared wide-eyed at her husband. “You know what Netiro will do if he finds out!”
“Netiro knows magic is the only way to defeat him. That is why he won’t allow it. If we were to learn magic, we wouldn’t be slaves to that lazy dragon any longer. Not only that, he knows we would be able to kill him.”
“You want the boy to learn magic despite the consequences?”
“Ezria, do you want to be a slave to the dragon for the rest of your life? Would you like our children and grandchildren to live in fear?”
“Of course not, but I do want them to live. As long as we obey, we are safe.”
“But we are not safe! Do you not remember what happened the last time it was our turn to bring food? We brought him grain and fruit many times before, but that day he decided it wasn’t enough, so he ate our ox. Who knows when he might get angry and eat one of us? Besides, he eats too much. We will all starve to death trying to satisfy his appetite.”
“I know you are right. I just do not want to see Demetrius hurt. God has blessed us with only one child. He is just a boy.”
“Ezria, look at him. He is not just a boy. After a few more harvests he will be a young man. Let him learn the magic. Let him posses the most powerful weapon there is. It is the only way for us to be free of the curse forever.”
Demetrius sat silently awaiting his mother’s response. He understood what his father was saying. He wanted this thing they called “magic.” He wanted to free his family and friends from this horrible curse. He dared not speak, even though this matter concerned him. He knew it was not his decision. At least not yet. For now, he would abide by his parents’ wishes.
Ezria rubbed her temples as she paced the small room. She pressed her palms together and lifted them to her lips, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“If the dragon finds out,” she said, opening her eyes, “He will kill Demetrius before he even has a chance to learn his magic.”
Nehemiah took her by the arm and led her away from Demetrius.
“Ezria, you do not look at the dragon. I do,” he whispered. “Every time we go to his lair I study his ugly face. I know his expressions, his gestures. The dragon hates Demetrius.”
“Of course. He hates us all.”
“No. You did not see the way he looked at Demetrius. He glared at him with disgust the entire time. He may already know. I don’t know how—maybe it’s a smell or something he sees that we do not—but I fear it could be only a matter of time before…”
Ezria flinched as though she had been physically struck. Nehemiah caught his wife by her arms and held her close.
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to frighten you or the boy,” he said, lowering his voice. He stole a quick glance at Demetrius who sat quietly waiting for their verdict. “I didn’t understand why he would hate Demetrius more than anyone else. But if he can sense Demetrius’ magic, it only makes sense.”
Ezria covered her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. She looked back at her son, who stared silently at them from his seat.
“What do we do?” she whispered. But she read the answer in her husband’s eyes. With a nod, she shut her eyes and lowered her head. Nehemiah gently lifted her face and kissed her. Then he crossed the room to sit beside his son.
“Demetrius.”
“Yes, Father?”
“Do you understand what’s going on?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Somehow you have discovered magic within yourself. Long ago, Netiro banned magic. He promised to kill us all if anyone were caught doing magic. So, this—above all else—is the most important thing. You must not get caught. With magic you could destroy the dragon without even laying a hand on him. Go ahead, Demetrius. Learn your magic, do it every day, every chance you get, but do it in hiding. Let no one know your secret. Who knows, one day you may be our only hope for freedom.”
Demetrius glanced questioningly at his mother.
“Do as your father says, my son.”
“I will do my best. You’ll see. One day I will save us all.”
His words hung in the air until Ezria found her voi
ce.
“Now go outside and finish your chores. Work fast, dinner will be ready soon.”
When Demetrius left the room, Nehemiah went to his wife and kissed her.
“Don’t worry, Ezria. Things will work out fine.”
She nodded, but instinctively knew things would not work out fine at all.
Demetrius worked quickly so he would have time to practice his magic. He was eager to discover what magical capabilities he possessed. With no one to ask, the questions circled through his mind: Who will teach me? Who else has magic? How can I control it? How can I find out about this thing if it must be kept secret? He could only hope that time would reveal the answers.
For the next two months, Demetrius completed his chores quickly and devoted all his free time to the practice of magic. As far as he knew, no one, not even his best friend learned of the secret he and his parents shared. He was surprised by the ease of learning new tricks; it all came so natural to him. He discovered he had the power to command water and fire, and to move objects with his mind. Plants and animals seemed to understand and obey him.
“Demetrius!” his friend Kaleb called. “How have you been? No one’s seen you in a long time. Have you been ill?”
“Hey, Kaleb,” Demetrius answered, setting his tool down. “I’ve been well. Mother and Father have given me more chores lately.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have lots of brothers and sisters like you, Kaleb. And I’m old enough now to do more of the work.”
“Hey, maybe when I finish with my chores I’ll help you with yours and we can have fun again.”
“Thanks Kaleb, but you don’t have to do that. You have enough of your own work to do.”
“Once my chores are done, I don’t have anything to do until you’re finished with yours.”
Demetrius smiled. He was so busy learning his magic he hadn’t even thought about his friends. Maybe he should take some time to play with them.
“Alright,” he agreed.
“I’ll go get my brothers. We’ll be done in no time. Then we can go swimming!”
Demetrius continued working while Kaleb ran off to fetch his family. When all five of them pitched in, Demetrius’ work was finished in no time. Soon they were running off to cool themselves in the river.
Ezria stepped out of the house to wave goodbye to her son as the boys ran off.
“Dinner will be ready at sundown Demetrius, so don’t stay away too long. Kaleb, your mother wants you and your brothers home soon, too!” she called.
She returned inside, picked up her needle and thread and continued her sewing. “Demetrius is growing so fast lately all of his clothes are becoming too small.” Ezria said to Sara who was sewing clothing for her own boys. “I don’t know how you do it with so many children.”
“It’s not so bad anymore, now that my eldest are married and take care of themselves. Now it’s just the two girls and the boys. Since Ruth doesn’t have any children yet, sometimes she helps me.”
“That’s nice of her, and your boys are so sweet to help Demetrius finish his work.”
“They’ve been wondering where he’s been. He’s missed out on a lot of their games and such.”
“Yes well, we’ve been keeping him busy around here.”
Ezria and Sara talked and sewed until they each had a few finished garments. They’ve been friends since childhood. Together they learned how to become good mothers and wives, trading recipes, teaching each other different stitches and sharing stories. It only made sense that their families would get along just as well. Sara’s husband Bakuk usually hunted with Nehemiah—as they did this afternoon—and the two men often assisted each other with heavy labor. They too, had grown up together in the village of Nephram.
Demetrius and Kaleb were born the same year and have been playing together since before they could walk. Even the older boys enjoyed Demetrius’ company, and the youngest one simply adored him. Ezria secretly hoped that one day Demetrius would marry one of Sara’s daughters.
Sara and Bakuk had been blessed with a very large family: three girls and six boys. For unknown reasons, Ezria had only Demetrius; but that made him all the more special. At times Ezria wished she had more children, maybe a few daughters as well as sons. A lively full house was something she’d always wanted. Many hands make the work lighter, and many hearts bring more love to share. Still, she appreciated her single blessing.
Soon, Nehemiah and Bakuk returned with enough wild game on their horses’ backs to feed both families for many days.
“Good hunting tonight, I see,” Sara said when she and Ezria stepped outside to see what their husbands brought home.
“The Lord saw fit to smile upon us this evening, Beloved.” Bakuk kissed his astonished wife then turned to Ezria. “Good evening, Sister Ezria.”
“Hello, Bakuk. My, oh my, Nehemiah! You two haven’t come home with this much in months.”
“Thanks to Bakuk,” Nehemiah said, nodding toward his lifelong friend. “If I did not know his father, I would think he was but a shadow. Bakuk can move so silently over the ground that he could hop a deer’s back before it could raise its tail.”
“It is no talent of my own doing, Brother. Just a gift I have been given that I may be a blessing to others.”
“You are too modest, my friend,” Nehemiah said, patting Bakuk’s back.
“Come, Sara. There is meat to clean. We should be going.”
Sara went and gathered her sewing things into her basket. She returned outside as the men finished dividing their catch.
“Goodnight, Bakuk. Good blessings, Sara,” Nehemiah said, shaking their hands.
“Goodbye. I’ll see you at the Temple tomorrow.” Sara and Ezria hugged. “If you see the boys tell them to come home.”
Nehemiah immediately began to skin the deer outside while Ezria hurried inside to prepare dinner. The sky was painted in hues of pink and orange when Nehemiah heard the voices of Demetrius, Kaleb, and his brothers. The boys’ clothes were covered in dirt and their hair was plastered against their sweaty heads as they raced back to the house yelling about who won and by how much.
“Quiet down, quiet down,” Nehemiah laughingly commanded. “I see you’ve been out having fun. I suppose it was well deserved, but now there is much to do. Kaleb, take your brothers home. Your father has meat that needs cleaning and your mother has dinner ready.”
They boys yelled their goodbyes and ran home laughing and teasing. Demetrius and Nehemiah watched them chase each other home. Nehemiah ruffled his son’s damp hair and smiled at him.