I'll Get You Where You Need To Go. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Prologue can be found here (the story picks up immediately after the prologue):

The ground was a blur as the Dragon ascended, its wings dipping into view with each downbeat. The pull of gravity was disorienting and my neck bent forward as the beast surged higher.

Abruptly the forceful tugging stopped and weightlessnesss stole over me like an oddly comforting blanket. The sudden pause as the Dragons upward climb halted was almost as shocking as the ascent had been. The ground so very far down became clear and I tried not to hyperventilate.

This can't be happening, this can't be really happening, this can't be…I squinted.

That...Asshat!

Down below Douchebag was running so hard he was almost to Unity's gated entrance, while dozens of feet behind him, one of his wives was being helped to her feet by none other than Carl. The other wives huddled around them, instead of running a head.

Maybe I was wrong about Carl, I thought as the skinny man guided the women ahead of him. My eyes moved back to Douchebag who was entering the town and not even looking back. A flash of anger invaded my fear. I welcomed it.

"Couldn't you have taken him?" I yelled. "I help people. I went around the damn valley! But you take me and let that arrogant, cowardly, useless sack of flesh go?"

The dragon let out a deafening huff and suddenly banked, my left side dipped, as my view again blurred with the speed of the movement. I choked on a scream as my stomach flipped. Nausea swept through me and a groan escaped through my clenched teeth.

I have never been so happy that I skipped breakfast in my entire life! This puts the giant roller coaster at Magic Mountain to shame. For crying out loud, I've been on helicopters in bad weather and it was less upsetting than this!

The Dragon flew and I tried not to pass out. My whole focus narrowed to staying conscious. At some point I closed my eyes and focused on deep breathing.

You have to get past this Saffron. You need to think and find a way out of this! A bubble of laughter burst from my lips and I knew I was on the slippery edge of sanity about to slide into hysteria if I didn't get a grip fast.

My stomach flew upwards as a falling sensation had my eyes flying open. Blue Valley was rising up to meet us. A day's journey crossed in less than an hour. Flying did have its perks but I preferred a pressurized airplane cabin to swinging from dragon feet.

The Dragons wings beat hard, slowing our descent but the ground still approached faster than I liked. Dirt and pieces of vegetation gusted up into my face and I closed my eyes and turned my head, trying not to breathe too deeply but still coughing hard by the time the wind stopped throwing stuff at me. I was several feet above the ground. Thick green grass, sprinkled with wildflowers common to mountain valleys around Mount Rainier greeted me.

We had landed in my favorite place in the valley. Everytime I came here I could hear my father's laugh, could feel the nylon of my tent with the pads of my fingers. I would give anything to be camping with my Dad again in the shadow of the same iconic mountain I could see outside my bedroom window growing up.

For a second, I considered that dying in this place would be somewhat fitting as it was as close to home as I was likely to ever get. Then the Dragon moved, carrying me along so smoothly you would think it was hovering along the valley floor and not walking on three feet.

I craned my head backwards in an attempt to see where we were going. I was relieved to not see any other Dragons. Although amazingly talented at hiding, a creature the size of a mansion would struggle to hide in three feet tall grass. I was fairly certain that at the very least, my Dragon was not planning on sharing his meal.

That's a depressing upside, Saf.

I tilted my head to the side, to relieve the strain from bending my neck back, just as a huge scaled leg moved forward. The claws passed by, each the length of my body, before the leg straightened and the claws dropped, disappearing into the thick grass. The scales were the color of fire. White- blue rising to orange red. As if each scale was a flame. It was ridiculously gorgeous. I’d only seen dragons from hundreds of feet away and they ranged in color from solid reds, blues, greens and yellows, most were bulky and some slender. Their overall shape was the same. Four clawed legs, wings, a spiked tail and horns. Other guides and travelers described dragons with multiple colors, yet never had I seen or heard of this combination of colors.

Did that make my Dragon special? It certainly wouldn’t be any comfort when it ate me.

Up a head loomed the Blue Mountain, or the base at the very least. It was on the opposite end of the valley from the ridge I had traveled so recently. To my growing unease, I discovered a likely destination for where we were headed. A large dark spot in the mountain base that was likely a cave.

An unwelcome memory crept into my brain. I was 13, movie night and Mom had chosen an old Fantasy about a Dragon that took young women, offered as a sacrifice, to its lair, a mountain cave, to feed its babies.

Oh come on! I do not deserve to be eaten by baby Dragons!

“I um hello?” I said. The Dragon kept moving. “So I uh heard you guys are really intelligent and I really think we can work something out.” It didn't acknowledge me in any way.

Well damn, it doesn't seem very interested in bargaining with me. It was kind of a long shot. Isn't bargaining some kind of stage of grief? Wait, it goes anger, bargaining, acceptance, or something like that and I was angry before…No that’s ridiculous, I’m not grieving my death while I’m still alive and I’m certainly not accepting it.

The cave was getting close alarmingly fast.

Stop rambling to yourself about the grieving process and focus Saf!

“Look, I’m not at all nutritious, I eat terrible foods. I would not make good baby food.” The Dragon noticeably paused midstep and then continued.

Oh maybe this is working.

“Seriously, very bad for baby Dragons. I mean, my name is Saffron, that’s a human spice. I don’t know why I was named after a spice, although it is an expensive spice…” What the hell am I saying? The cave loomed ahead and my heart rate picked up as did my breathing.

“Not that price matters, but you know Saffron is not a spice a Dragon would enjoy, trust me on this.” My voice was getting that hysterical edge to it and a whimper escaped as the shadow of the cave enveloped us and hard packed dirt replaced thick valley grass.

Suddenly the ground flew towards me. I sucked in a breath to scream but was on the ground before it came out. The Dragon gently released me and I was stunned for a half second before I flew to my feet and ran into the darkness.

Why are you running towards the place where baby Dragons would be most likely to find you and eat you or whatever else is in this cave?

I turned on my heel, almost losing my balance as my feet slid on the dirt. I glanced at the Dragon and found it resting on its belly, completely blocking the entrance and watching me.

It lays like a cat, I thought and slowed down to watch it. Just like Caprica used to lay when she was watching me study. It’s back legs were tucked under it, while the front legs were crossed and its tail was curved around its side, the tip just under the swell of its chest. Its neck was curved and it watched me with glowing eyes.

It was huge, deadly, and beautiful. It shifted slightly and I jumped. When had I stopped running?

“Don’t eat me,” I ordered and then cringed. That is not how you plead for your life!

“I mean, please don’t eat me, or um feed me to your kin,” I begged.

The Dragon rolled its eyes and tilted its head in an exact imitation of a 13-yeard-old with some serious attitude, or you know, me.

My mouth fell open.

“He’s not going to eat you,” a lovely voice said, right next to me.

I screamed and jumped, spinning to face the voice.