Jaydon didn’t wake up the whole day. As soon as Ralem had left he had gone to the only inn in town- Blackbird’s Inn. It was old and was rumored to be infested with rats but had really good food. He had no other choice. He checked himself in under the first name he could think of- which happened to be Jaydon. The innkeeper looked at him suspiciously before handing him his key.

And this is where he spent almost the whole day, sitting on his cot looking out the window at the small town. He couldn’t believe he was here- back in Redfield again. He couldn’t believe how dramatically his life had changed: from preparing for a ball in Baroke to handing his dragon over to his sister in Redfield. He dug his face in his hands. What am I to do? He thought. I can’t go back to Baroke without Jaydon. I can’t do… anything without him. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks in his stomach. He didn’t realize how much he… depended on the dragon. Which made him feel even worse about dumping him at his sister’s house.  

He fell back on his thin bed, reaching out for Jaydon. The dragon was unconscious, but responded weakly to him. Stay strong, Jaydon. I’m here. Ralem said even though he knew Jaydon wouldn’t hear. Right here, he said, closing his eyes. Trust me, he said and he was out without even realizing it.

He dreamed about Arianna.

At the Blake household it was a flurry of activity. The healer was mumbling and doing her magic on Jaydon, who was prone and shirtless on a soft pad by the fire. The wondering children were dismissed as the healer did her job. While Sarah and Taylor watched she wet a rag and gently cleaned Jaydon’s back -staying well away from the deeply colored swelling where his back had broken- exposing raw cuts and welts from ant bites. When she wiped the mud away from Jaydon’s shoulder blade Sarah gasped in amazement at the silver tattoo. “Ralem never told me he got a tattoo,” then she shut up as the healer shot her a look.

The healer touched the tattoo and- was she just seeing things?- it seemed to move! The healer’s crinkled face crinkled even more in disgust. She got out a bowl and some strange smelling herbs and started mixing frantically. “Who took him to you? Did you see their face?”

“Umm no. He didn’t even give us his name. Just said he had been in an accident,” Taylor said helpfully, massaging Sarah on the shoulders.

The healer made a frustrated noise, “Did you remember his stature? Was he tall?”

Sarah crinkled her brow and looked at Taylor. He returned a blank look. “Well… I suppose he was tall,” she ventured. “But we couldn’t see much under his cloak.”

            The healer nodded, but kept on muttering as she mixed the herbs and fed the nasty mixture to Jaydon.

Sarah spoke up again, “Will he be okay?”

            “I don’t know,” the healer replied- was that anger in her voice?- “It depends on one critical factor that I am going to have to figure out. It could be months before he could walk again. It could be days.”

            “Days? But-” Sarah started.

            The healer dipped her head, “Things aren’t what they seem, Sarah. Ralem is… different from the brother you remembered him as.”

            There was a heavy silence except for the crackling of the fire and Jaydon’s hoarse breathing. Taylor had stopped rubbing her back. “What do you mean?” she asked in a small voice.

            The healer turned her head slowly and when her gaze met Sarah it made her stiffen. “It is a bad omen that he has come. He has foolishly brought trouble on your family. But you must keep him,” she motioned towards Jaydon, “safe until his master comes back to collect him.”

            “Master?” Sarah said, “What are you talking about?”

            “You will know soon enough.” The healer said cryptically, “That is all I can do for now. Make sure to give this medicine every two hours, keep him as close to the fire as you can without burning him.” Her voice grew dangerous, “Don’t touch the tattoo. Don’t let the children play around him. I will be back in a few hours.”

            And just like that, she left.

            “What the heck was she talking about?” Sarah asked, her brow wrinkling.

            “I don’t know but I’m sure it isn’t good. We should be really careful until he is well. I will keep an eye on the kids.” He saw the look on Sarah’s face and leaned down to kiss her softly, his arms wrapping around her. “We’re going to be okay,” he whispered.

            Little did they know, her ‘brother’ was the most dangerous thing they had ever seen, that attracted one of the most dangerous creatures on earth.

            Ralem woke up the next day, feeling a lot better. He checked on Jaydon; who was thankfully still resting. He didn’t seem any stronger-yet. But he was in a safe place and that’s all that mattered.

            That day he got out his cloak and walked around town- buying regular peasant clothes and food as well as a mediocre sword. A couple people wished him a good day and asked who he was but he just responded with, “I am a traveler from Baroke,” and would say no more. People respected his privacy, thankfully.

That night he sat at the desk and wrote a letter to Lauri explaining what had happened:

Dear Lauri,

      We have run into some trubble. Jaydon was flying and he got hurt. I don’t know what is rong with him. His back is brokin but it is not heeling. He is getting help from a heeler here. We are in Redfield. Pleese send someone quik.

                        So sorry,

                                    Ralem Blake

            He looked over the letter, biting the end of his quill nervously. It was blunt. But it got down what he needed. He let it dry before putting it into an envelope and sending it out on a messenger heading to Baroke.

            Now all he could do was wait.

            Jaydon slowly opened his eyes. He immediately wished he could go back to sleep. He was so incredibly tired. His back throbbed with steady, intense pain, and a horrible pain was building in his chest. He coughed weakly and tasted blood. Ralem? He asked.

            I’m here, came the reply almost immediately. How are you feeling?

            Bad. Jaydon said, groaning. His groping eyes searched the small kitchen for any sign of his Rider. To his left a fire burned, heating the half-dead fire in his belly. All he could see from the floor was a pair of leather sandals, standing not five feet away and the dusty floor shadowed by a couple cabinets. A small table stood a few feet above where his head lay and he could spy a pair of little legs swinging from a chair, a little toe sticking out of dirty brown socks. Where are you? He asked.

            I’m nearby. What’s wrong?

            I… I can’t see you! Jaydon said, trying to lift his neck. A shot of pain. He gave a brief cry before sinking back into the pillow.

            “Mommy!” a little voice cried. “I think Uncle Ralem is awake!”

            The sandals turned toward Jaydon and she crouched so Jaydon could see her bushy blue hair and sparkling green eyes- similar to Ralem’s. She ran the backside of her hand down his face, a sad smile on her own. “Hey Baldy. Welcome back. How are you feeling?”

            Jaydon remembered that Ralem’s sister occasionally called him Baldy. Ralem had never really liked that name. Sarah had started calling him that when he was ten and got pine sap stuck in his hair. He got it so bad that they had to cut a chunk of his hair out. He had a bald spot on the back of his head for months.

            Jaydon smiled as Tessa crawled next to her mother, a huge smile on her angelic face. “Hello, Uncle!” she said in a sing-song voice.  

            “Hi Tessie,” Jaydon said, trying to imitate Ralem’s voice. “Have you been a good girl while I was gone?” He coughed lightly and blood speckled the sheet he was laying on.

            Sarah put on her ‘mother’ face that Ralem had seen so many times. “Shh, shh,” she put a finger over Jaydon’s mouth, “Only speak if you feel well enough to.”

            “I can talk,” he protested even though his voice sounded like it had been strangled.

            “How are you feeling?” Sarah asked.

            “You might want to cover Tessie’s ears for that one,” Jaydon said, surprising himself with a joke.

            Sarah laughed, “Ralem,” she said, “You’re the same as always.”

            He felt a little hand take his fingers in a gentle grip. He watched as Tess took his hand in her lap, cradling it between her two little legs. “They were scared you’d never wake up. But I knew you’d wake up. You’re a ninja!”

            “A ninja? Really?” Jaydon repeated, smiling.

            Tess nodded furiously, her curly hair bouncing. His dragon heart melted at her little face lighting up in happiness. “I knew you’d wake up!” and she threw her little arms around his neck and dug her head by his. Sarah was about to tell her off but Jaydon shook his head, no. He curled his own arms around little Tess, a most dragonish smile lighting up his face. “I love you, Uncle Ralem,” Tess said happily, her voice muffled by his coat.

            “Love you too,” Jaydon replied. His back was hurting like heck, but this was worth it.

            Tess shot back, giggling, her ‘blue’ hair flying everywhere. “Uncle Ralem, are you purring?”

            Jaydon cleared his throat, his purr dying in his chest. He tried to lie, but what came out was, “I’m hungry.”

            Tess giggled even louder, “Mom, Uncle Ralem was purring! I heard it! It was just like a cat, ma!”

            Sarah smiled down at her daughter before looked back at Jaydon. “Are you up to company? Aidan and William would just love to see you. If you’re not that’s totally fine.”

            Jaydon was definitely not up to company. He was ready to go back to sleep right now. But he was hungry. And he wanted to see his ‘nephews’. “I’d love to see them,” he croaked.

            Tess ran off, yelling for them so loud it made Jaydon’s ears hurt. There was a noise like a stampede of small elephants and William and Aidan came tumbling down the steps, little wooden soldiers in their hands. Their faces lit up when they saw Jaydon, awake by the hearth. They scrambled to his side, “Uncle Ralem!”

            “Hey boys. How are you?” Jaydon managed.

            “We’re good but you’re not. You need to stop getting into these adventures, Uncle Ralem,” Aidan said, mock-sternly.

            “I guess I do,” Jaydon said weakly, laughing.

            The boys went criss-cross applesauce and Tess sucked her thumb behind them. “So tell us,” Aidan said excitedly, “What happened to you? What monster did you fight? Did you fight… the great dragon?”

            “What- do you mean?” Jaydon asked.

            “Well, four nights ago, the night before you showed up, there was a dragon that fell out of the sky! A couple people saw it, it was like a flaming fireball sent by God! It crashed just outside Jeb’s field, and then disappeared in thin air. Did you kill it?”

            “Aidan, stop with the nonsense. There is no such thing as dragons and you know it. It’s just some fantasy nonsense they made up.”

            “But, but, I saw it, mom! It made this huge trail from where it touched down,” he flattened a hand as if it were the dragon and traced it up his arm. “And came to a stop in the woods. It blew up twenty five trees and left without a trace, mom! What else could do that?”

William looked from Aidan to their mother with wide eyes.

“It was not a dragon,” Sarah said sternly, “So stop with this rubbish.” She drew in a deep breath. “Sorry Ralem. I’ve made some vegetable stew for you. Would you like that?”

If there was one thing Jaydon didn’t like, it was vegetables. It didn’t agree with his dragon stomach and tasted just plain nasty. “Could I perhaps have a pie instead?” he asked, licking his lips.

“Pie?” Sarah laughed, “You wake up and the first thing you want is pie? Well that’s new.”

I’m supposed to act like Ralem! Jaydon thought nervously. What was Ralem’s favorite food? Oh yes. “Or, erm, lamb stew would be great,” he amended.

Sarah raised an eyebrow, “Lamb stew is a little harder to make. I’ve got some pie left over from last night. Do you like peach pie?”

“Yes,” Jaydon said. Sarah turned to get some from the pantry.

“Do you believe me?” Aidan asked in a low whisper, “Was it a dragon?”

Jaydon didn’t know what to say. Finally he decided to tell the truth, “Probably was.”

Aidan sat back, relieved, “Thought so. So, what happened to you? Can you tell us the story?”

Jaydon knew Ralem would come up with an awesome story even if it had been something lame, like he had been apple picking and fell down. But, for the life of him, he couldn’t make up a story. His mind had drawn a blank. The kids were waiting expectantly to hear a good one. “Well,” he began, “I… fell.”

“Fell?” Aidan prompted after a second, “Fell from what? A griffin’s nest? An evil witches’ castle?”

“I fell,” Jaydon searched his mind for something imaginative. “From the sky.”

William raised an eyebrow.

“I was above the clouds!” Jaydon protested, “I was thousands of feet above the sky! Falling! Fire, everywhere! Everything was spinning, round and round, I couldn’t see anything!”

“Nothin?” William spoke up for the first time.

“Nothing,” Jaydon repeated, closing his eyes, “Except cold black. It was terrifying. And then… right before the crash, I saw I had hit him.”

“Hit who?”

Jaydon realized what he had been about to say. He struggled for the words to cover up his mistake, “My friend,” he finally said.

“Your friend?” William peeped, “Who? Is he dead?”

“No,” Jaydon said, “He’s fine. Then I crashed. And I didn’t wake up until hours later.”

A minute’s silence. Then, “What really happened?” Aidan asked.

Jaydon didn’t know what to say to that.

“I mean, you couldn’t have just fell from the sky and survived!” Aidan persisted, “That was the worst story I’ve ever heard.”

“Aidan!” Sarah hissed.

“It was!” Aidan continued, “Come on, Uncle Ralem. Tell us what happened. I can cover Tess’s ears if you want me to.” Tessa frowned and shook her head.

“I… did,” Jaydon said sadly.

Sarah bent by his side with a chunk of pie. “Don’t move your head. I’ll feed you.”

I like this, Jaydon thought as Sarah dunked a spoonful of delicious pie in his mouth. A spark of neon flickered in his eyes, then quickly fizzled out. By the time she was done, he was already back fast asleep.

            High pitched laughing, dangerously dark eyes. Claws, jabbing, poking. He was in a cage with huge iron bars. No escape, they had told him, no escape. He tried to spread his great wings, but found they were cut off, severed by the cat’s huge claws. No wings, no wings. He pounded against the bars, his huge body banging against the steel with thunderous clangs. It didn’t even budge. They were closing in. Where was his Rider? Thunder boomed overhead, illuminating a starch white face hanging from the branch. Rider? RIDER!

            “RIDER!” Jaydon yelled, hoarse, jerking in his bed. He screamed in pain as he felt his back shift. Almost immediately concerned faces were by his side, asking what was wrong. He shoved them away, looking for that familiar face. “Rider, Rider,” he gasped, inconsolable. “Where is he?” he cried, “Where is my Rider?”

            “I’m going to get the healer,” Taylor said quickly, jumping to action.

            “I don’t want the healer,” Jaydon cried, tears falling down his stricken face  and sizzling on the sheets, “I want my Rider. Where is he?”

            Sarah and Taylor made eye contact. Not good. He’s going crazy.

            Jaydon’s eyes grew distant as he made a mental emergency call to his Rider. RALEM!

RALEM! RIDER! I NEED YOU NOW! ANSWER ME!!!

Ralem shot up in his rickety bed, sweating like crazy. He had just had the worst dream… RALEM!

It was his dragon! Jaydon, Jaydon, what’s wrong? He replied quickly.

I need you. I need you right now. Come quick!

Wait- is anyone around?

Yes, but that doesn’t matter. I need you.

Ralem bit his lip. Okay, I’ll come. But wait- you’ll need to do something. Calm down- I can sense you’re freaking out. Tell them you’re fine. Pretend you’re going back to sleep. When they go back to bed, call me and I’ll be there. Okay?

Okay, Jaydon said solemnly, but you better be here.

He was gone. Ralem let out a deep breath, letting his legs to the ground and bowing his head. He ran his hand through his thick hair, trying to get his heart rate to normal. Today had been the first day Jaydon had been awake in four days. That was way too long. Ralem had felt like he was dying inside. He was secretly really happy that Jaydon had called for him.

Time to go, he thought, pulling on his boots and cloak.

"Rider, Rider," Jaydon moaned, feverishly twisting in a muddle of heavy blankets. Ralem crept in, feeling like a bandit in his own home. He used his raptor vision to make sure that nobody was watching. "Shhh," he urged softly when he saw the coast was clear, sliding on to the bed. The fire crackled in the corner of the room, casting an orange glow on Jaydon’s sweaty face. "I'm here, it's okay."

Jaydon gave a weak smile before coughing slightly, a grimace creating lines on his forehead, "You... came." He whispered, his voice almost impossible to hear.

"Yes. How are you feeling?"

"Bad. I had the worst dream that my-” he choked out before stopping abruptly.

“I know. I know,” Ralem said softly, scratching him under the chin. “But it was just a dream. You’re still the greatest dragon alive,” he smiled sadly as a light purr buzzed from Jaydon’s chest. “You don’t deserve this and I’m sorry. It’s my fault you’re in this.”

“No it’s…not. It was Frederick’s,” Jaydon said firmly.

“Frederick’s?” Ralem repeated, shocked. “What do you mean?”

Jaydon locked eyes on Ralem, “Did you buy me a chocolate pie for the ball?”

Ralem was confused, “What do you mean- chocolate pie?”

“Exactly,” Jaydon continued, his voice a faded whisper, “At the ball he gave me a chocolate pie, saying it was from you. It smelled weird. He smelled weird. I know it was him. And I will kill him when I get better.”

Ralem got up, staring into the fire. Frederick? No way. That guy was all talk. He wouldn’t. Would he?

 “Don’t leave me!” Jaydon whispered as loud as he could.

Ralem immediately sat back down, “I’m not leaving you. It’s just… the fire’s hot.”

“Don’t leave me tonight. Don’t leave me ever. I don’t like being… this helpless alone,” Jaydon pleaded.

Ralem knew that it killed the prideful dragon to admit he was helpless. “I’m not far away. And besides, you’re not alone. You have Sarah and Taylor and the kids. They’re sure to keep you entertained.”

Jaydon grimaced as a shot of pain zigzagged up his back, “No. You don’t understand. I need you. It makes me feel better.”

Ralem frowned slightly, “Well is there anything I can do to help you feel better now?”

There was a heavy silence. Then, "Can you tell me a story?"

"A story?" Ralem asked slowly, contemplative.

Jaydon coughed painfully, and blood sprinkled his lips. Please, he asked in his mind.

Ralem could not say no, so he worked hard on creating a new story, one Jaydon did not know. Finally after a long silence he began, "Once upon a time there was a great green dragon..." And so the story began; a wild story of imaginary adventures of the great Ventus Rex. It was far out, but judging by the small smile on Jaydon’s face it had worked. When the dragon was about to save the princess from an evil troll, Ralem looked over to find his dragon fast asleep. He gave a shuttering sigh and got to his feet.

            "Don’t stop now! How does the dragon save her?"

Ralem almost jumped out of his skin. A half moon face appeared, lit by the flicker of the fire. Ralem exhaled. "Aidan. What are you doing up this late?"

"And who is that man in the bed pretending to be you?" Aidan shot back, his arms folded.

Next to him, William’s hazel eyes were huge and staring. Tess padded up behind them, sucking her thumb.

Ralem couldn’t think up a good answer. So he decided to tell the truth. “He’s my dragon.”

“Dragon?” Aidan repeated, “He doesn’t look like a dragon to me.” William shook his head.

“I know. But that’s because he’s magical. He can turn human. And when he does, he looks just like me.”

“How does he know about us so well? He can pretend to be you pretty good,” Aidan persisted.

“That’s because he has all my memories,” Ralem tapped his temple.

“So is he just like you?” Tess spoke up.

Ralem actually laughed. “Nope. Not at all.”

“How?” Tess asked.

Ralem held his arms out and let her climb up into his lap. “Well for one, he loves to shop. And guess what his favorite thing to buy is?”

“Swords?” Aidan guessed.

“Cannons?” William wondered.

“Dollies?” Tess guessed.

“Nope.” Ralem laughed, “He loves jewelry. Especially ear rings. He has all his stash in a couple pairs of my boots at home!”

“Seriously?” William asked.

“Not even kidding,” Ralem replied, “And he just loves shopping for anything. His favorite food is pie. He would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I’d let him.”

Aidan laughed, “That was one of the first things he asked for when he woke up today.”

“Did he? How am I not surprised?” Ralem grinned at his niece and nephew. “He also has a deeper voice like this,” he imitated Jaydon’s voice, “and loves to sing. A lot. In fact, in church he sings so loud that he drowns out the choir! His favorite place to fly is the beach and he loves swimming. It always feels like he’s taller than me because he almost walks on his tiptoes just to make sure he’s a lot taller than everyone else. And his eyes are usually so green you can’t see the black. You want to see? I can make my eyes green too.”

The kids all nodded, excited. Then gasped as Ralem lit up his eyes for them. “That’s so cool, Uncle!”

He nodded, “I’m glad you think so.”

“How long have you been hiding this from us?” Aidan asked.

“Not long.” Ralem patted Jaydon’s leg, “He’s only four months old.”

“Four… months?” they all said. “He’s younger than me!” Tess said triumphantly.

“How did you find him? Can you tell us that story?” Aidan piped up.

“I think it’s your bed time, kids.”

“No, no, please!” they all joined in pleading.

He made a shushing noise. “Hey, okay. I’ll do it. You just got to be quiet, okay? So here it goes. It starts out on a spooky day out on the way to Baroke. I was slogging through the…” And so the story started, crazily embellished but mostly true. The children were enthralled by his story and he couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride as he looked down at the three faces he loved and had missed for so long.

By the time the story had ended the children were almost nodding off. Before they could file off, though, Ralem cleared his throat. “Listen, guys. This is a secret between you and me, understand? If people knew there was a dragon here, bad people could come and hurt him. And that would hurt me. So you guys have to keep it quiet. Don’t even say a peep, not even to your mother. And treat Jaydon here as if he was me.  Promise, troops?”

“Promise!” they all said, saluting like he had shown them how.

He kissed Tess and William goodnight on the forehead and they sleepily went back to bed. Aidan stayed, too old to be kissed goodnight. He had his hands folded over his skinny chest. “Was that the truth?” he asked cautiously when they had left, “Every bit of it?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Ralem said, doing so.

“So… was it really you that fell from the sky? Er, Jaydon told us the story today.”

“Jaydon? He told you a story?” Ralem asked.

“He was horrible.” Aidan remarked, “That was kind of a tell-off for me. But he had said he was falling and he had hit… a friend. Was that you?”

“Yes it was. He got me with his tail. It was probably one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done in my life… falling like that.”

“But… how did you survive?” Aidan protested, “How could you survive?”

“Luck,” Ralem replied, “And a little bit of magic.”

“Magic? Magic is for babies,” Aidan scoffed.

“But dragons are magic, Aidan. You know that. You’ve had a fascination with them all your life, Aidan. I remember you when you were but knee high telling me you were going to hunt dragons when you grew up.” Ralem made a tsking noise, “And maybe that’s not the best thing considering Jaydon, but still.”

Aidan laughed, “True. But maybe- when Jaydon is better- can I have a ride on him?”

“Sure can, Aidan,” Ralem ruffled Aidan’s hair, “I promise. Just hang tight. I don’t know how long it will take for him to heal.”

“But why did he fall in the first place? Was someone shooting arrows at him or something?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did. Something… wrong happened.”

“He thinks someone poisoned him,” Aidan said.

“You heard that?” Ralem rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Well… Jaydon is a little hot headed. He doesn’t like Frederick, so he’s the first person he blamed. I’m not entirely convinced.”

“Well, what if Frederick was forced to do it? By a bad guy?”

“I just don’t know, Aidan. Listen, I got to go,” Ralem said.

“Wait! You’ll be back, right? Tomorrow?”

“I guess Jaydon wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t. I’ll probably be back after your parents hit the sack. How does that sound?”

“Awesome,” Aidan said before giving Ralem a tight hug, “You’re the coolest Uncle ever,” he breathed. “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.” And with that he turned around and rushed back to his bedroom.

Ralem let out a breath. He better enjoy it while it lasted. “Good night, Jaydon,” Ralem whispered before he too swept out of the room, silent as the wind.