The Fire Keeper

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.”

“Exactly! I wish they weren’t here now. They’re a royal pain in my ass.”

“Samson!”

“They’re a regal abomination to—”

“Oh, my God! What’s wrong with you? You can’t just talk about them like that!”

“I don’t care, Brina. They’re disgusting. If I have to see one more of these things molting, I’m going to puke. Their scaly asses invaded the Valley, and if you haven’t noticed, they ruined everything. We’re basically slaves, they’re burning up land, and did you forget? Mom’s in jail!”

“Shut up!” Brina whispered as she tightly wrapped her arm around her brother’s shoulder and spun him in the opposite direction.

“Hey, where are we going? I want to go to the bakery!”

“Uh, you obviously can’t be near the Hive right now. We’re going back home so you can calm down and act right on assignment tonight. I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

At that moment, one of the Queen’s massive guards walked across their path.

“G-good morning, Sir! Your molt is going beautifully.” Brina said as she bowed, bending in half like a tortilla.

For the record, the molt was not going beautifully. Not from any human’s perspective, at least. Brina said what she said but she also threw up a little in her mouth. Luckily, her head was already deeply bowed.

The guard looked like he was wearing a giant suit of dead, gray skin. There were strips of the shedding skin hanging off his face and 15-foot frame. It was a windy day, and the dangling pieces flapped from his massive body like tentacles. Usually, a dragon’s eyes are beautiful, mesmerizing even. But when dragons molt, their eyes look like pools of thick fog. They reminded Samson of when his mother used to pour milk into the stream behind their house when they picnicked in the field. “For the Guardians that look over us,” she used to say. The dragons’ foggy eyes forever tainted Samson’s fond memories of his mom’s ritual. He didn’t believe anyone was looking over them now, not with his mom in prison and dragons invading their home.

Samson bowed halfheartedly, just enough to look away from the guard.

“Third molt this year,” the dragon said, puffing out his chest.

Samson reached for Brina’s hand as they raised their heads, pulling her away from the guard and towards their house. Luckily, their family lived close to the Valley before the Dragon Queen’s takeover. Others were forcefully moved there so the dragons had the manpower to build and service the Royal Hive. In the swoosh of a dragon’s wings, thousands of lives were uprooted. Families were crammed into huts, often not speaking the same language as their new neighbors. The dragons had no sympathy for this. Each person was only as important as what they contributed to the Queen and her Hive. The Hive was a labyrinth of stone and fire where the Queen, her eggs, and her Royal Flock of giant guards lived. Everything the guards and people did was according to the Queen’s wishes and in service of the nest of unborn Dragons.

Once far enough from the guard, Samson turned to Brina. “Your molt is going beautifully?” he mocked.

“Oh, shut up! What am I supposed to say? ‘Your face gives me nightmares?’ I hate them just as much as you do but I’m not going to get detained for it. We’re already struggling as it is. Our entire family is being targeted and you know it.”

Brina was right. It was true even before their mom got arrested. Their family, and a few others, heavily resisted the takeover from the minute the dragons landed in the Valley. Their participation in the resistance caused a dangerous level of suspicion from the Queen and she placed them under an unrelenting level of surveillance and scrutiny. There was no room for error or even an inkling of disobedience.

Abandoning their plans to get lunch from the bakery, Samson and Brina rushed home to eat and then left for the Hive, where they worked as Fire Keepers.

A few days after her arrival, the Queen laid seven eggs. The eggs were incubated in a nest of fire and required constant care from the Fire Keepers. They chopped wood and fed the fire, ensuring the eggs were always cradled in flames. Every hour they carefully rotated the eggs so the growing embryos were evenly heated. On top of that, the structure and integrity of the nest required frequent maintenance. For months, Samson and Brina’s entire family worked Fire Keepers. The nest was in the heart of the Hive and heavily guarded. It was the perfect place for the Queen’s guards to keep a close eye on their family. Unfortunately, it was also an incredibly dangerous assignment. Using the wrong kind of rocks in the nest, or heating them too quickly, could have catastrophic consequences. The Fire Keepers had already lost several of their crew members.

The siblings entered the Hive and hurried through the twisting corridors that led to the nest. Their father and younger sister were on duty now, and they hoped to talk to them during shift change. It was a little over a half-mile to the nest, and they walked in silence. The Hive was a disorienting and oppressive place. After months of traversing the labyrinth, Brina and Samson finally knew the correct route to the nest. They didn’t need to worry about getting lost anymore, but they still felt suffocated and uneasy in the Hive. There were huge guards always within eyesight, towering stone walls, and eerie shadows dancing all around them from the lit torches. Samson was cursing the dragons and this awful place in his mind when there was an explosion.

Bang!

The walls of the Hive rumbled, and rocks smashed violently ahead. People shouted in terror before the excruciating scream of a dragon cut through their skulls. It sounded like 100 people were being tortured at once. Brina and Samson both doubled over and covered their ears in a useless attempt to escape from the horrific noise. Samson’s ears were ringing so loudly, and he became so disoriented that he thought he might pass out. Steadying himself, he leaned against the cool rock wall. Underneath the ringing, he heard footsteps coming toward him. There were muffled voices, like the sounds you hear when you’re underwater. But mostly there was just the ringing, a faint but persistent echo of the dragon’s cry.

“Samson! Samson!”

He felt someone shake his shoulder and then roughly pull him away from the wall. Blinking his eyes repeatedly to clear his vision, he could finally see straight. Brina and another Fire Keeper, Ollow, were staring at him, shocked.

“It came from the nest, Samson. Dad and Lily were still there. We have to go now!” Brina said before she turned and sprinted down the pathway.

Fear and fury exploded from Samson's belly and filled his entire body. The rush of adrenaline snapped him back to his senses and he took off after his sister.

“No, no, no!” he screamed.

Ollow ran next to him.

“What happened?” Samson shouted.

“Cold river rock. It exploded!”

This was not the first explosion. Maintaining the Dragon’s nest was a labor of trial and error for the Fire Keepers. They made many mistakes along the way; three of which were deadly.

Samson and Ollow sped past a group of guards and into the nest’s chamber. There was broken rock everywhere, and part of the wall was damaged from the impact of the explosion. Samson saw Brina and their dad huddled together nearby but couldn’t see Lily. She was so small, she must be lost in the jumble of people. Samson rushed over to his family.

“Dad! Where’s Lily?”

“She, she was too close to the nest,” his dad replied.

Samson pushed through a cluster of people nearby and saw Lily. She was lying unconscious on a stretcher, the entire left side of her body covered in bandages. There were already bruises forming on the right side of her face. She looked so fragile and even smaller than usual lying there. Samson’s heart broke.

“Lily!”

He bent down to his little sister and softly kissed her right hand. It was one of the only places that weren’t cut or swollen. Brina and their dad were soon at his side, telling Lily to stay strong and that it would be okay.

“Vaughn,” one of the medics said as she placed her hand on their father’s shoulder, “We need to go now. This head wound, it’s bad.”

“Is she going to be okay?” their dad asked.

“She has a chance but we need to get her to the clinic right away.”

Their dad nodded, and Samson and Brina followed his lead as he stood up and stepped back. The Medics lifted the stretcher and began to carry Lily towards the exit. Samson felt like he was floating as he followed behind. Then, one of the giant dragons stepped in front of the Medics, blocking the exit.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“Sir, we need to get her to the clinic immediately,” a Medic said.

“That’s fine. But you two have to stay,” the guard replied, pointing at Samson and Brina.

“What?” Samson yelled.

The guard stepped right in front of him, towering over Samson by at least seven feet.

“You stay. You are Fire Keepers. Incompetence doesn’t change anything. This explosion put the safety of the entire nest at risk. Do you want me to tell the Queen you abandoned your assignment, too?”

Rage rolled through Samson’s entire body. He had never hated anything more than the dragon in front of him but he knew that if he lost control, he may not even be lucky enough to be thrown into jail. He could be executed.

“No, sir,” he responded through clenched teeth.

“We’ll come to the clinic as soon as we’re done here!” Brina shouted to their dad as he exited the nest chamber with Lily and the Medics.

Brina and Samson spent the next few hours in a complete daze. If it wasn’t for these eggs and the dragons, their little sister would be safe. Their mom would be free. And yet here they were, repairing a dragon’s nest. The pain and irony was more than their minds could handle and they both went into auto-pilot. It was a protective mechanism. If they allowed themselves to feel the full weight of their agony, they would either be weeping heeps on the floor or foolishly raging against dragons. Either way, the consequences would be dire. Instead, they went through the motions of good and obedient workers. Ollow and the rest of the Fire Keepers on duty had their backs. Over the months, the Fire Keepers formed deep bonds with one another, and everyone loved Lily. She was the youngest Fire Keeper on the team; everyone knew she was forced into such a dangerous position because of the Queen's resentment towards her family. The other Fire Keepers always tried to look out for her and even made up secret games they could play with her on duty. But no matter how many games they created, Fire Keeping had already proven to be a deadly assignment. None of them could bear the thought of losing Lily, and they’d do anything to help Brina and Samson on his terrible day. Ollow and the rest of the team gave them the most mindless tasks, anything to make it look like they were working. The rest of the Fire Keepers hustled all around the pair, creating a flurry of activity around them to prevent the guards from focusing on the siblings. Finally, the mess of the explosion was cleaned and the nest repaired.

“You two stay right here,” Ollow said.

“The eggs need to be turned in 15 minutes and again in an hour. We’re low on wood so the rest of us are going to collect more. Just hang tight, and don’t forget to turn the eggs.”

Samson and Brina thanked Ollow and the team and sat on the little bench near the nest. The fire blazed strongly and Samson found himself mesmerized by the vibrant blue at the center of the flames. When he watched closely, he could even see swashes of purple and green. After a bit, the siblings worked together to carefully rotate the eggs and then settled in to rest for the next hour.

The eggs were about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. The shells were made of what appeared to be smooth scales that changed colors. Initially, they were dull beige. From there, they changed to silver, then gold, and black. At the moment, each egg was a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. There was one egg for each color of the rainbow. Despite himself and his hatred for the dragons, Samson found himself amazed at the way the eggs looked iridescent in the flames. Colors shifted from light to dark shades depending on how the fire danced on the shells. It was hypnotic. In fact, it almost looked like the shell was rippling and the egg itself was moving. Was it moving? Samson shook his head, blinked his eyes, and looked back into the flames.

“Oh, God,” he said.

“What? What is it?” Brina asked. She was not paying attention; all she could think about was the image of Lily unconscious on the stretcher.

“That egg is moving. The green one. Look!”

“Huh? These things aren’t supposed to hatch for another month. I can’t deal with this, I’m getting a guard. ”

Brina stood up and walked over to the guards looming at the entryway. Before she even finished explaining, the pair of dragons rushed past her to the nest, looking down at the eggs.

“We’re still a month away from the Eclipse, right?” one of the guards asked, sounding rather confused.

“Yep, but that Dragon is ready today. Probably from all these explosions. The eggs need a controlled environment, but they went through hell- thanks to these Fire Keepers. Poor things.”

Samson's mouth dropped open and he scowled at the guard. How dare he say that? Three Fire Keepers already died for these stupid eggs! Brina could see every thought playing out on Samson’s face and sharply snapped her finger in his direction, prompting him to collect himself before the guards noticed his reaction.

“You need to get the Queen, now. She has to be the first thing the baby sees when it imprints. I’ll alert the Captain so we can assemble the Royal Flock. Go!”

The guards rushed from the chamber to announce the premature hatching, leaving Brina and Samson alone with the nest. By now, the green egg was moving more and more. It rocked from one side to the next and the entire thing shook.

“Is this really happening?” Brina asked out loud in exasperation.

Samson didn’t respond, he was intently staring at the moving egg. For once since the explosion, it felt like his mind was clear.

Not at all interested in the egg, and counting down the minutes until the end of their shift, Brina paced back and forth. It seemed like it was taking the guards forever to return. Losing patience, she was worried they would be blamed for something else going wrong today.

“Come on, Samson. Let's wait near the entryway. We aren’t supposed to be near these things when they hatch anyway,” she said as she turned her back to the nest and walked away.

“Our shift should end soon. Ollow and the others will be back, and the next crew will come in so we can go and see Lily. I wonder how she’s doing. I wonder how Dad is. God, does mom know what happened yet? Samson? Are you listening to me?”

Brina turned back towards the nest and froze in her place.

Her brother was bent down over it, staring intently at the green egg that now had visible cracks growing on the shell! Samson knew he should step back, but his feet were cemented in place. A magnetic force came from the egg; it was so strong that Samson was afraid he would reach his hands straight into the fire. He braced himself, trying his hardest not to get any closer to the flames.

“Brina, I, I don’t know what’s happening! Why can’t I move? It’s pulling me!”

Crack!

Just then, a small arm broke through the shell, creating a hole in the egg. Through that opening, Samson saw the profile of the baby Dragon’s face and one golden eye staring directly at him. He felt a heat wave rush over him as the creature’s pupil dilated and contracted repeatedly.

“No! Samson!” Brina yelled as the Queen stormed into the nest with half the Royal Flock pouring in behind her.

The Queen's eyes locked on Samson as he crouched over the hatching egg, and she unleashed a harrowing cry. The sound crumbled Brina to her knees in agony, but Samson didn’t hear it. Entirely captivated, his world was the little golden eye peering at him from inside the egg. Then, the baby Dragon shattered the top half of the shell, freeing its head and upper body. With its gaze fixed on Samson, the Dragon let out a tiny chirp and cocked its head to the side.

“The Fire Keeper! Seize him!” The Queen ordered before she let out another dreadful screech.

Samson felt his body yanked backward right before everything went black.