Dragon Rising

Dragons are beautiful creatures.

They also scare the crap out of me.

I stand on the edge of the Rainbow Jungle looking out at a huge ring of barren grey stone. The center of the ring is a massive dark hole, as in holy crap that's a big hole. A good sized town would probably fit in it. I wonder again how deep it is and what is hidden in the dark below. I already sort of know the answer. The dragons live down there.

Pale mist rises from the hole. I don't know what causes it, or if it hides more mysteries.

High above, a dragon flies out of the mist before soaring off over the Tall Forest to my left. The giant trees catch my attention again. They look like something from Earth, unlike most of the things in Ever. I've spent the last few weeks in that forest, searching for the Lost Tree, which ended up being on the ring of stone. I'm still pissed off at the shape-changing witch, Avi, for giving me wrong directions.

A smile comes to my face suddenly. I did find the tree. Not only that, I found proof my dad is here, or at least he was. He left his driver's licence and a note tucked into the thorns of the tree. Most of the note I can't read. It's old and faded, but there's a map on the bottom. If I'm lucky, it will lead me to where Dad is.

I hope he's still alive.

Sucking in a deep breath, I close my eyes for a moment. He has to be alive. Dad is strong. Raising a hand, I open my eyes and call a small flame to dance on my palm. My parents are firestarters too. Mom died of cancer a few months ago. I thought I was alone until Dad's brother showed up and took me home with him. Uncle Jeff and his family weren't that great. Women apparently aren't supposed to be able to have the full power of the fire, only carry it dormant within them. That's why Dad hid Mom from them I think. When he disappeared though, she didn't know to hide me. Uncle Jeff and his friends banished me here to Ever. He said he'd sent my dad too, though I don't know why. I'm guessing because Dad hid me and Mom, but I don't know if that's the only reason.

I look out over the bare rock again. Unlike me, Dad at least knew how to use his power when he was sent here. He was an adult when Uncle Jeff banished him.

Pearl chitters in my ear as she peeks out through my red curls. She's a creature of Ever, as far as I know, living just in the Rainbow Jungle. I'd seen a lot of her kind there when I was with Jadus. I got her from an old wise man named Sage in the Tall Forest though. He said he'd saved a nest of babies he'd found. He had a bunch of them crawling all over him. Pearl decided to come with me.

She looks like a cross between a puppy and a squirrel and is blue. She's not only cute, but useful too. Her talent is knowing what is safe to eat and drink. Whatever she can have, so can I. It certainly comes in handy here in Ever, where so many things are deadly.

"Misha?"

I organize my thoughts. I have a plan, a general plan, but still a plan. "The arrow on the map points that way." My finger points out over the rock and giant hole, south southwest.

There's a sigh behind me and I turn. Shade looks grumpy, but then he always does. I met him in the Tall Forest and he's stayed with me for the most part. He has a living shadow inside of him. Unfortunately, Ever has no sun, so the only way his shadow can come out is from the light of my fire. Shade is a decent enough guy, but not exactly good. He's not really human either, with his strange dark eyes.

My other friend isn't human either. I met Jadus on my first day in Ever. He took me under his wing, teaching me how to survive here. He protects me. We got separated by the river a few weeks ago and I just found him again last night. The feathers on the backs of his ears always make me smile. His eyebrows are feathery too, and his brown hair has patterns like a bird's chest on it. I finally realized I love him, and I think he at least likes me, too. He came looking for me and is coming with me on my new journey. That means a lot.

Sadly, the boys don't seem to get along very well. I'm wondering if it's a guy thing.

"Was there anything else?" Shade doesn't sound pleased.

"Um, not really."

Jadus shrugs. "It is a start."

I nod quickly; glad someone is on my side. "And remember, Sage mentioned a city in that direction. I think we should look for it."

"A hidden city," Shade mutters.

I grin at him, partly because I know it will irritate him. "Yup! But it's a city. It can't be that hidden."

Jadus laughs quietly and I smile over at him.

Shade glares at the hole and rock in front of us. "How much of a hurry are you in?"

My eyebrows go up. "Why?"

He tilts his head, indicating the hole. "The quickest way would be to go in as straight a line as possible. However..." his voice trails off and we all look at the dragons flying above.

The dragons have risen. Hungry dragons. The old guy, Sage, told me they came out because the dangerous beasts of Ever have multiplied too much. With people and creatures being banished here all the time, there's a lot of food. Lots of food means lots of baby beasts, which grow into big ones. I've noticed there seem to be more nasty things trying to eat me.

In a way, I'm happy the dragons have come to cut back the numbers of nasty creatures. Then again, the dragons also consider us food, which isn't so great. I've almost been eaten a few times already.

I turn to look right and see my first problem. The river. It's wide, and poisonous and full of nasty creatures. I only got across it the first time because a giant hawk snatched me up to eat me and when I managed to escape, I fell on the other side.

Beyond it, the Rainbow Jungle goes on for a while. That won't be a problem; both Jadus and I know how to survive there. Past it I see some pink. I'm guessing part of the Pink Desert reaches the circle. I can't tell what comes next.

I suck in a deep breath and force a smile. "We'll go the long way then." I turn to Jadus, "First things first. How did you get across the river?"

"There's a tree down across it, further up." He frowns, his feathery brows drawing together. "It's not easy to cross."

I'm not liking the thought of trying to balance my way across the deadly river. "Nothing is easy here," I mutter.

"I'm more worried about the jungle. We should stick to the river's edge and then travel the rock along the jungle."

I'm not following his thoughts and he notices. His fingers touch my wrist and then trail up my arm-- my bare arm. His touch makes my breath catch. I look up at him quickly, hoping he didn't notice.

If he did he doesn't say anything, just watches me, clearly worried. I clue in he's worried about all the poisonous plants in the jungle. I know what not to touch, but accidents happen.

I did have a hoodie once. Wiggling out of it was how I escaped the giant hawk. Now all I have is my ripped T-shirt, jeans, and running shoes.

Shade grumbles something and I look over at him. His frown has turned into a scowl. I take in his boots, pants, and long coat. All in black, he looks like the ultimate bad boy. At least he's covered up. "You should be okay," I tell him. "Most of the plants are poison to touch. So don't touch anything. Or eat anything. Walk where we walk–"

"I know," he snaps. He stomps off, heading upstream.

I'm not really sure what's pissing him off now. Smiling weakly at Jadus, I shrug. Pearl chitters quietly and curls around my neck. Jadus squeezes my arm a little, and only then do I realize he's still touching me.

I look over my shoulder and watch Shade's retreating back. Biting my lip, I follow Jadus as we go in search of the fallen tree he used.

Sweet Light	Sanctuary	Seeing the Elephant	Prophecy: Child of Light	Sea Change