Airen

"There weren't always Dragons in the Valley," Grandma Trisendre said.

"What are Dragons?" My sister asked.

"Airen," I replied, and Grandma nodded.

"Dragon is an old word from before when my great-grandmother was your age Marisendra. Before they spoke to us and told us their name. When there were no walls and humans were everywhere."

“How were humans safe without their wall?” Calindre asked, golden eyes wide and dark red hair in ringlets.

Loud hammering came from outside and Grandma sighed, looking out the kitchen window. I knew Papa was out there making the wall bigger and stronger, he had told me himself just that morning.

“Walls keep us safe… most of the time,” Grandma said carefully, returning her attention to the dough she was kneading. “But only a fool believes they will always keep us safe. We need the Airen for that.”

The sound of boots scuffing the wood floor had us looking towards our small living room. Mamma stepped off the last step to our cottage loft with a heavy sigh.

“Sit down sweetheart, you look exhausted,” Grandma said and Momma looked up at us.

She smiled and I smiled back. Callie got up, wrapped her arms around Momma’s legs, and started yammering at her but I stayed seated, working on separating peas from their pods for Grandma. Momma stroked my head as she walked by and took the seat next to mine at the table. Callie sat down next to her and Grandma handed her some dough to roll into balls.

“I don’t know how you managed Lucina and Masina Mom, twins are exhausting,” she said. Grandma smiled at my Momma and opened her mouth then froze. Everyone froze. I held a pea pod in my hand, my eyes going wide.

A loud bell crashed outside and then the door to the cottage flew open.

My head whipped towards the sound as the pod fell from my hand into the bowl before me.

Papa stood at the door, blue eyes wide, blond hair a mess.

“Carina…” he said, out of breath. No more words were needed. Momma flew up the stairs and Grandma hurried around the kitchen table to Callie. Her normally gentle hands gripped Callie’s blue dress hard, leaving flour stains as she pulled her out of her seat.

“Up Mari!” Papa ordered and I stood so fast my chair toppled backward. Uncaring, I rushed to my little sister and took her hand as Grandma led us outside.

Everywhere was chaos. Our neighbors were moving past us so quickly, it was like a river of wool and cotton. I blinked, struggling to take it all in, and heard a rushing in my ears then Grandma’s face was filling my vision.

“Mari, wait for your parents, I must go and help Grandma Fiona, don’t let go of your sister, keep her safe,” Grandma kissed my forehead and was gone.

I blinked again and looked down into the terrified face of my sister. Suddenly everything snapped into place and the world grew sharp. People were no longer a blur of motion, the rushing faded and sounds became crisp and distinct. I heard screams in the distance and looked down the street to the wall. It was so tall. Solid gray stone Papa called Granite, the metal bracings near the top were shiny and new. Something dark poured over the top, eating up the shiny metal and swallowing the gray in inky black.

What is…? Before my mind could fit what I was seeing into a shape, Callie yanked on my hand.

“Come on Mari,” she said and I looked up to see Momma and Papa, each carrying one of our baby sisters, a few steps away, waiting for me.

I ran towards them, Callie at my side and we joined the stream of people heading away from the wall. My heart thudded hard in my chest as more screams pierced my ears. Papa looked back at us and met my eyes, before facing forward again.

Daiven had never seemed so large before. Why is this taking so long? I’ve walked to the circle before in less time than it’s taking us to run there now.

Callie tripped and I stumbled and slowed.

“Ow,” she said as I pulled her up. She gripped her knee and then moved her hands, there was blood on them.

“It’s okay Callie, just a little further,” I said and she nodded her head at me.

I looked ahead but Momma and Papa were gone. People shoved into us and I bumped into Callie, barely keeping us from falling over. We lived closer to the circle than half of the village and so many tall adults were rushing past us. Callie held onto me as I struggled forward. A space opened up before us and I moved towards it quickly. Suddenly a horrible sound cracked the air and people surged into us.

I flew forward and landed in the mud, quickly rolling over onto my back and letting out a shriek as I twisted to avoid a pair of heavy boots. The person just kept running.

Callie! My eyes flew around and then I found her, huddled on her side, arms over her head. I crawled towards her and threw myself over her small body just as a pair of legs slammed into me.

It hurt, but I stayed where I was. Every time I looked up, I had to duck immediately to avoid getting kicked in the face. Callie was shaking beneath me.

I have to protect her. I looked up, my gaze moving past the people still coming at us, and saw something dark. The light of the setting sun glinted on a long curved dagger amidst the darkness. No, not a dagger…a claw? Terror gripped me, then a body blocked the image as a huge man ran toward us. A different fear choked me as I held onto Callie tight. I turned my head and squeezed my eyes and then, hands were grabbing at me.

“Let go sweetheart.”

Papa!

My head flew up, the big man was nowhere to be seen and I turned to find Papa kneeling over me. I let go of Callie and rolled away.

“She’s hurt,” I said as he picked her up. She put her arms around his neck and he looked at me.

“Mari, can you run?” he asked.

“Yes.”

I ran as hard as I could. I could see the torchlight perimeter of the circle ahead and the worried faces of my Momma and Aunts. When Momma saw me she passed my baby sister to my Aunt Lucina and ran forward to grab me up. She hugged me and kissed me, then set me down and did the same to Callie.

“Inside the circle girls,” she said and Callie again took my hand. We moved towards the center as my aunts passed our baby sisters to our Mom.

Papa moved towards the edge of the circle and behind him stood our Aunts. I couldn’t see Grandma. Momma was directly in front of us.

My head swiveled around as Callie cried silently next to me. In the center of the circle gathered all of the children. Our closest neighbor Allina, who was older than I by a year, stood nearby holding her baby brother. Her Papa and Uncle stood next to my Papa holding hammers. They were blacksmiths. Her little brother held a wooden anvil the size of my fist, a toy. I watched as he put it into his small mouth with one chubby fist.

Everyone was quiet and still. A moment ago there had been screaming and running and now, everyone was just waiting. Callie shifted next to me and then suddenly squeezed my hand hard.

I looked at her and opened my mouth to ask why she was hurting me, but she was staring straight ahead. Her mouth was open and her eyes were really wide. I looked up but Momma’s back was blocking my view. I leaned towards Callie, looking over her head to see what she was staring at.

Over the heads of the adults, I could see nothing but darkness. I looked up and the sky still held plenty of light. My eyes shifted to the left and I could see the roof of the closest cottage, but everything else was a deep black that was somehow moving. I stared, squinting my eyes to focus more. The darkness began to take more shape, a roiling, oily-looking shape and then, I felt something looking back at me. A hint of white, the color of spoiled milk, and suddenly I could see one. Its eyes were white, its body was not natural.

Callie made a sound and I moved in front of her. Grandma asked me to protect her, I reminded myself. Be brave, Be brave. My knees were shaking and my face felt wet. I squeezed Callie’s hand and she hugged me from behind burying her face in my back.

The thing moved forward and opened its twisted mouth. Teeth as long as Callie’s arm gleamed in the firelight. I looked away, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I forced my gaze back and saw something yellow. Papa’s hair. It was right in front of him. No,no,no,no. “No,” I pleaded in a whisper of breath. Then a gust of wind hit me so hard, that I nearly fell. Momma turned towards us with a baby in each arm and went down on one knee.

A roar shattered the silence and Callie screamed and tugged me to Momma. I held onto her hand as she got on the ground. My eyes panned around me, wide-eyed. I could see everywhere because I was the only one standing. I looked up as a shape blocked out the fading light in the sky.

Airen…

A yank on my arm had me stumbling to my knees. I blinked at Momma’s hand on my arm. Callie was holding one of our baby sisters. I met Momma’s golden eyes and then looked up again. Another roar and a different Airen flew overhead. The ground rocked and air hit us hard. Momma had to let go of me to brace herself on the ground. Even shorter than the adults around me, it was impossible not to see what was happening. Scales flashed in colors I never imagined. Dirt clods flew through the air and I covered my head as one narrowly missed me.

The Airen were taller than our cottage, their wings seemed to blot out the sky. They tore through the living darkness that was the Ravenous, the monsters that lived outside our walls, and I watched as the darkness fled. It did not fight, it ran. I turned my head and counted. Three, there are three. Each was a different color and a slightly different shape. Their horns were different and so were their tails. They’re so beautiful. I was not afraid of them. I could look at them forever. I turned my head and gasped.

The one furthest from us, at the other end of the circle, was silver and blue, with curled horns and shimmering wings. It was looking right at me. I met its eye, giant and faintly glowing the loveliest shade of green I had ever seen in my life. Time froze and then the Airen tilted its head and slowly blinked, breaking the spell I was under. All three rose into the sky, their wings beating the air with such force that I had to close my eyes and look away.

I was too young then to understand everything that happened that day. I did not realize that although not a single life was lost to the Ravenous, the people of Daiven still lost something vital. Faith. Deep inside every citizen of Daiven, whether they were aware of it or not, had been the belief that our walls kept us safe. And if we built them high enough and strong enough, one day we wouldn't need the Airen's protection any longer. Wouldn't have to sacrifice any more daughters to the tithe. At that age I did not even understand the tithe, having only been two years old when the last one had occurred. I did not understand that my admiration of them, my intense longing to touch one, was dangerous. In later years, recalling their beauty, I flippantly thought that death by Airen didn’t seem so terrible. At least it would likely be swift and I could see one of them up close.

Perhaps that very flippancy was too great a temptation for fate because 12 years later, I faced that very death.

The story continues below in Chapter 1