Dragon Wars Read online

-

  At the far end of the valley were a series of high hills that reached far above the sheltered valley. Several large caves went back deep into the side of the hills, and the two dragons had made them their lairs.

  For years the two dragons had hunted together, flying over the desolate land always searching for food. Every year it became harder as food sources became scarcer. Whenever they found a food source, they would stay until the food source was gone and then resume their search once more. The two dragons had gone days without eating and were about to attempt a flight over the great ocean when they had found the human inhabited valley.

  The dragons had hesitated about feeding in a valley that contained humans. From their dim past, they knew that humans had created them and could perhaps destroy them. The dragons were semi-intelligent and understood some basic concepts. However, in the end, their driving hunger had led them to stop and feed in the valley. They didn’t know where else to go.

  -

  Anson was worried about the dragons. After getting everything unloaded from the wagon, he joined his wife inside their farmhouse. She set a steaming cup of tea down in front of him on the kitchen table and, after sitting down, reached out to take his hand.

  “What are we going to do about the dragons?’ she asked in a calm voice with her blue eyes meeting his dark brown ones.

  “I don’t know,” Anson replied with a heavy sigh. “The people in the village just want to wait and see what happens. Some are already hoarding food in case supplies grow short. There were a lot of empty shelves in the general store. A number of the farmers are nervous about going out to work their fields with the dragons flying around. People are going to get hungry soon if the food runs out because no crops are being planted.”

  “How can anyone blame the other farmers for being afraid to go out and work their fields?” responded Carolyn, standing up and walking over to the kitchen window to gaze out toward the barn. The kids were still inside. She knew that Jennifer and Marten would be back at the house shortly. Probably before Anson finished his tea. “The dragons are frightening creatures.”

  “Things were just starting to get better here,” muttered Anson, letting his frustration show. He gazed at the steaming tea in his cup and took a cautious sip knowing it was still warm. “The stock’s healthy, the land’s starting to grow better crops, and we have had more children born in the last few years than at any time in the past. There are nearly twelve hundred people living in the valley now.”

  Carolyn walked back over to the kitchen table and sat down across from her husband. Anson had always been a good provider and had done a remarkable job of taking care of her and raising their two children. She was quiet for several minutes as she watched Anson slowly sip his tea. “Where do you think the dragons came from?”

  Anson was just about to answer when their two children came in through the kitchen door. Marten had heard his mother’s last question. “Yes, where did they come from?”

  Anson was quiet for a moment looking into the expectant eyes of his family. “From what I’ve heard and read, the dragons were created in a land far across the great ocean.”

  “By sorcerers!” Marten interrupted, his eyes growing wide at the thought. “The dragons were created by sorcerers and then the Worldfire destroyed everything.”

  “I don’t know for sure,” replied Anson, slowly shaking his head. “What we do know is that very soon after the dragons were created, all the major countries of our world fell into war. It was a horrible war, and the dangerous weapons they used brought about the Worldfire and an end to those glorious times. For years after the Worldfire, anyone that ventured far outside the safety of our valley became sick and died.”

  “That’s why no one leaves anymore,” spoke Jennifer, recalling what Collin had told her just a few days before. Collin was a young man in the village that Jennifer was extremely fond of. Perhaps someday, she and Collin might even marry.

  “Yes,” her father replied. “There was even some sickness here in our valley for many years after the Worldfire.”

  “But a few people did come to our valley after the Worldfire,” spoke Jennifer, recalling some of what Collin had told her in their past conversations.

  “The few strangers that came to our valley all died shortly after arriving here,” responded her father. “They claimed that the ancient cities were full of disease and death. It was decided that for the safety of the people living in our valley no one should ever leave again.”

  “But the ancient books say that sorcerers created the dragons,” persisted Marten, wanting to know more about the dragons.

  Anson hesitated for a moment. He took another sip of tea and looked over at his son. “Yes, they do, but it’s hard to believe in something one has never seen.”

  “We never saw the dragons until they came here,” Marten pointed out, feeling positive that sorcery had to have been involved in creating the dragons.

  “No one has ever seen any sorcerers,” Anson replied his voice filled with doubt. “The world outside of our valley is just too dangerous to explore. No one knows what may be out there.”

  “And now we have the dragons,” Jennifer said with a trace of worry in her voice. She was standing next to her brother with her arms folded across her chest. The dragons had made their lives so much more complicated.

  “Yes, now we have the dragons,” her father responded. Then, in a more serious tone, “Tell me what happened this morning out in the meadow. What did the dragons do?”

  For the next few minutes, Jennifer and Marten described in detail what the dragons had done in the meadow and how the two of them had hidden amongst the trees watching the entire, horrid episode.

  “I’m glad you two are okay,” said Anson, looking over at his wife. He had made a decision. “It may no longer be safe for the two of you to watch the stock anymore.”

  “I would feel better if they stayed closer to home for a while,” added Carolyn, gazing at her husband. Her eyes showing him the worry she felt for their children. “The dragons are just too dangerous.”

  “Then what will happen to our animals?” Jennifer asked, her blue eyes taking on a look of concern. They would scatter if left unattended.

  “We can’t just let the dragons kill them!” Marten protested with wide eyes. “We can’t lose them all!”

  “We will move a few of them closer to home so we can put them in the barn in the evenings when we know the dragons are out hunting,” replied Anson, wanting to attempt to save at least a few. “Perhaps that way we can save some of them.”

  “And we let the dragons have the rest?” Marten said with shock in his voice. He couldn’t imagine just letting the dragons have what was left of their animals. There had to be something they could do.

  “It will be best this way,” responded Anson, looking at his son and hoping that Marten would understand. “Better to save a few than to lose them all.”

  -

  Later, Jennifer was sitting in front of the mirror in her bedroom and thinking about what her father had said. She could tell that he was extremely concerned about the dragons; everyone was. How could they survive if the dragons killed all the stock? What would they eat? Jennifer felt a cold chill run down her back as she realized why her father was so concerned. There were nearly twelve hundred people in the valley. Would the dragons turn on them when the animals were gone? This was something she needed to talk to Collin about. He was very smart and knew a lot of things about the past.

  Jennifer looked at herself in the mirror. She untied the blue bow that held her hair and, shaking her head slightly, began brushing the tangles out. Her blue eyes gazed back at an unblemished face full of curiosity. Yes, she would talk to Collin. Perhaps between the two of them they could figure something out.

  What future would there be for Collin and her if the dragons destroyed everything? There had to be an answer, and they needed to find it. She also knew they needed to find it soon. Jennifer had a terrible feeling that they were r
apidly running out of time.

  Chapter Two

  Two days later, Jennifer and Marten were down in the root cellar. It was nearly twenty feet long and ten feet wide. Along one entire wall, wooden shelves reached all the way to the ceiling. Each shelf was full of precious jars of canned fruits and vegetables. Other vegetables and herbs hung on thick strings from the ceiling to allow the air to circulate completely around them, aiding in their preservation.

  At the far end of the root cellar was a heavy door, which was always kept shut. Jennifer walked over to it and placed her open hand on the wood, noticing how cold the door felt.

  “Do we have to clean that?” Marten complained with a disgruntled frown. He ran his hand through his short brown hair and shivered, knowing what was next. “It’s cold and damp in there!”

  “You know we do,” replied Jennifer, shaking her head at her brother. She knew he disliked this next chore. She couldn’t blame him; she didn’t care for it either, but it had to be done. “We have to mop up the water.”

  “You could do it while I finish up in here,” Marten suggested slyly, his brown eyes focusing on his sister.

  “I don’t think so,” Jennifer responded as she opened the heavy wood door. “You got out of mopping last time. You’re not getting out of it this time. Come on!”

  Marten walked over to Jennifer with a crestfallen look. He carried an old metal bucket and a worn down mop in his hands. The two passed through the door, and Jennifer shut it firmly behind them. The air took on a sudden chill and she shivered.

  She held a small lantern, which cast out a feeble yellow light. They went down four more steps and found themselves in a small eight by ten foot room. Small bins along the walls were full of ice. Jennifer placed the lantern on a high shelf so its light would spread through the room.

  During the winter, their father brought chunks of ice from the creek and put them in the bins. If they were careful, the ice would last almost until fall. This allowed them to store milk and other perishable items on the shelves in this room for long periods of time. Even this far underground, where it was much cooler, the ice slowly melted during the hot summer months. As a result, Jennifer and Marten came down twice each week to mop up all the excess water.

  “I wonder how our animals are doing?” Marten said as he mopped up the water and put it in the bucket.

  Jennifer watched Martin carefully, making sure he was getting all the water. “I don’t know; Father hasn’t said too much about them. The dragons haven’t been back out hunting, so they should still be okay.”

  Walking over to the nearest bins, Jennifer opened the wood lids to see how much ice remained, surprised to see how much was left. They were still a little over half full.

  “I wish we could go check on them. I’m not afraid of the dragons as long as we stay out of sight.”

  Jennifer frowned at her brother. He just didn’t seem to understand how dangerous the dragons were. “Dad’s afraid the dragons will eventually turn on us. Mom and Dad just don’t want us anywhere close to where the dragons may be hunting.”

  Martin shook his head and started mopping up the last spot of water. “I still think we should at least check on them,” he muttered quietly to himself.

  The two of them had helped their father round up all of their animals the day before. Two cows, two calves, the bull, and four sheep had been brought back to the safety of the barn. The rest had been left to graze in one of the large meadows. Their father had told them that they would have to wait each morning until they were sure the dragons weren't feeding. Once it was safe, they would let the animals out of the barn to forage in one of the nearby meadows. Each evening the animals would have to be rounded up and put back inside the barn to keep them safe from the dragons.

  Marten didn’t like hearing that. He had a strong suspicion he knew who would be responsible for rounding the animals up in the evening.

  Jennifer wondered just how safe the barn actually was. If the dragons wanted to get in the barn, there was little doubt in her mind that they could easily smash their way in. The dragons were just too big to keep out!

  With one final wring of his mop, Marten finished the stone floor and looked expectantly over at Jennifer. It was cold in this room. It felt great on warm days, but for some reason it didn’t today. Too many things were happening. Marten was thinking about getting up early in the morning and going to check on the animals they had left in the other meadow. Someone should see if the animals were still okay. If he was careful, he could sneak off and be back before anyone realized he was missing.

  “I guess that’s good enough,” Jennifer said as she checked the floor. She didn’t see any spots that Marten had missed.

  A few minutes later, the two of them were back in the house. Jennifer had just sat down on her bed when she heard her mother talking to someone at the kitchen door. Bouncing up, she recognized Collin’s voice. She had hoped he would come out to see her; it had been over a week since she had last seen him.

  Going into the kitchen, she saw Collin standing next to her mother. His face broke out into a smile when he saw her come into the room. Jennifer smiled back, pleased that Collin had come to pay a visit.

  “Hi, Jennifer,” Collin said. “You’re mother was just telling me about the dragons getting some of your stock. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  He was slightly taller than Jennifer was and had thick, black hair and enchanting, dark brown eyes. Jennifer could spend hours talking to Collin. It seemed as if they never ran out of things to talk about. They were both highly attracted to each other and had already discussed making a future together. They just hadn’t told their parents all the details yet.

  “Let’s go outside,” suggested Jennifer, taking Collin’s hand. “I want to show you the baby calf down in the barn.” It would also give her some time to talk to Collin privately.

  The two walked slowly down to the barn with Jennifer giving Collin a detailed explanation of what had happened with the dragons. Collin had never been that close to one and felt extremely uneasy about the dragons. It was a situation that he feared was going to end badly for the valley.

  “I can’t believe you were that close to the dragons,” Collin spoke with a large disapproving frown on his face. “We don’t know dangerous those things might be. What if one of them had attacked you?”

  “They didn’t,” Jennifer replied as they entered the barn.

  They walked over to where the small calf was laying on the hay in its stall. It made her feel warm inside knowing that Collin was concerned for her safety.

  Upon seeing Jennifer, the calf got up and ran over to the edge of the stall, watching her expectantly. It bawled loudly, expecting to be fed.

  “The poor thing’s hungry,” commented Jennifer, reaching her hand out over the top of the stall and petting the calf. It had calmed down a lot the last several days and had finally started eating. Her father felt the calf would probably survive.

  “My father’s getting worried,” Collin confessed as he watched Jennifer pet the calf. She had such a wonderful way with animals. “Each day there is less and less food in the village. Most people are getting by on their gardens for now, but the farmers aren’t working their fields. Very little has been planted. They’re afraid of the dragons. I don’t think there will be enough food for this winter.”

  Jennifer was silent for a moment. “Marten is very upset about our father’s decision to abandon some of our animals. He keeps asking if he can go and check on them. I fear other farmers will be making some of the same decisions soon. The dragons are frightening everyone.”

  “It’s only going to get worse until the dragons leave.”

  “I know, Collin. You’ve read a lot of the old books in the village library. What do they say about them?”

  Jennifer leaned gracefully against the stall, folding her arms against her well-formed breasts and waiting for his answer. Her blonde hair was tied back with a bright green ribbon.

  Collin was silent for
a moment. Jennifer was beautiful. They had been planning a life together, but now the dragons were here. What type of existence would they have if they had to live in constant fear of the two dragons?

  “Only two of the old books even mention the dragons. Supposedly, in a great country far across the ocean they were created by the powerful sorcerers of the Golden Age.”

  “So they really were created by sorcerers,” Jennifer said surprised at that revelation by Collin. Marten had been right, but Jennifer still found it hard to believe in sorcery even after hearing it from Collin.

  “What happened to these sorcerers?”

  “No one knows,” Collin answered, his brown eyes looking into Jennifer’s blue ones. “There was some kind of great war that destroyed everything; the Worldfire. Everything was burned and poisoned. The books hint vaguely at the sorcerers being responsible. No one seriously believed any of this until the dragons showed up.”

  Jennifer nodded her head slowly. “Collin, we need to find somewhere safe to go in case the dragons don’t leave when all the animals are gone.”

  “You’re afraid they will turn on us,” Collin stated with raised eyebrows. “Once the animals are gone, you think it will be our turn.”

  “I don’t know,” replied Jennifer, biting her lower lip. “But what if they do? We need someplace safe to go!”

  “Most of the people in the village think the dragons will leave once they have finished off our animals.”

  “What do you think, Collin?”

  “My father agrees with yours, he fears that the dragons will turn on us.”

  “Then we need to find someplace safe to go when that happens.”

  Collin was silent as he thought. He knew that Jennifer was probably right. “The dragons always go to the southern end of the valley after they’re finished feeding. I suspect they’re using some of the old mines in the high hills as lairs.”

  “There were ancient mines in the northern hills also,” mentioned Jennifer, recalling what her father had said about that area. He had cautioned Marten and her about ever going there, telling them that it was too dangerous.