The Dragon’s Child
Published by Larissa Jones at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Larissa Jones

Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Hawk sat close to the edge of the stream, feet just barely grazing the surface of the water. He felt the coolness of it, the contrast with the heat of the sunlight shining through the trees. Reaching inside himself for a moment, he closed his eyes and searched for a particular image in his mind.

It was a well, covered in mossy greens and browns, stones worn with age. No bucket sat at the edge, nor was there a rope to pull one up. The well only sat there, surrounded by the trees and growing things. If he stepped closer, he could easily see the surface of the water, even reach out to touch it. So he did. The water felt warm to the touch, comforting. He felt complete when he touched the water of that well.

“Hawk, what do you think you’re doing?” The sound of his sister’s voice, accusing and more than a little annoyed, made him jump. Water splashed around him and left him with dripping clothes. Hawk shivered at the sudden cold. “Thanks for the warning,” he muttered under his breath. Ilfette had a habit of showing up just when he least expected her to. He certainly hadn’t thought she’d come so deep into the forest looking for him. His sister was so obsessed with ensuring he never got any practice. She thought magic was dangerous, but she hadn't yet felt its beauty. Just because she didn't know what it was like, that didn't mean she had to stop him from feeling it too.

Hawk crossed his arms and turned away, the annoyance he was feeling clear on his face. He felt his sister's eyes on him, but refused to turn around. An exasperated sigh sounded behind him. "You know how dangerous it is to practice magic. I shouldn't have to remind you anymore. We've already had far too many people die because of it, so why do you keep doing it?" Hawk turned to face her. "Because it's amazing and beautiful and it's the only thing I'm any good at!" His voice rose as he went on. "At least you can hunt. Merula doesn't need any special skills yet, but I do! Someday I'm supposed to be the one to take care of my family and I can't even do that. I'm not good at anything except magic and considering the people that live here, that should be enough! But if I can't practice anything, how am I supposed to get better at it?"

His tirade came to a halt and he breathed heavily, trying to calm down. He could feel the well of magic in him still, so close, and it took great effort on his part to not pull on it in anger. While he needed a spell to do any sufficient damage, any word could be turned into a spell. That's what his mother said, anyway. 

Ilfette laughed and reached down to ruffle his hair like she did when he was very little. "You'll find your talent. You know what mother said, magic is the one thing that none of us should try our talents at, no matter how much we want to. Too many in the village have gone mad or died because of it, so why would you want to share their fate?"

He glared at her. "I don't believe magic is as evil as mother says. It can't be! Why would we have been given a gift like this if it wasn't for good?" It was Ilfette's turn to glare as she said, "It's done nothing but harm to us, so I don't even understand why you'd want to practice it. You know it'll just kill you in the end."

Hawk turned away to face the stream, reaching down to run his hands through the water. "Father said magic is a gift, but it's all in how we use it. Good people can help others with it and evil people can cause harm. I want to be one of the good ones, like he was," he said quietly. Their father had died when Hawk was still young and he had hardly knew what the words meant then. Now, things were a little different. He only wished his sister could see what he did.

Ilfette leaned against the tree behind her brother and closed her eyes, making an effort to choose her words very carefully. "Father liked to see the best in things. You weren't old enough then to understand who he was and what he really meant when he said such things. I hardly think you're old enough to understand now."

Her thoughts were fairly clear and it made Hawk feel more and more like the useless little brother that he had always been. But this time, he couldn't stand it. This time, he desperately wanted to prove her wrong, especially about their father. "You're worse than mother! You can't stand the fact that I might be right! I bet father knew just what he was talking about and you don't want to admit it, because it'd mean that there's one thing I can do that you can't!" He pushed himself up off the ground and turned to face his sister, resentment and anger flaring in his eyes. "Admit it. You wish you could do what I do." Matching anger showed in Ilfette's eyes now and she clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "I wish? Bloody hell, what I wish for was that you had been born without it! I wish that I didn't have to sit here and watch the magic drive you mad!"

Soft footsteps sounded nearby, but neither heard. They continued to shout at each other, each one striving to make a point and keep from admitting the truth behind the other's words. A girl dressed in the greens and browns of a hunter stepped forward between the two, laying a hand on each of her siblings.

"Stop it, you two! This is ridiculous!" Merula looked at each one of them in turn with silver eyes. No feeling showed upon them like her brother and sister, as she had been blind since birth. Yet her emotion was clear in her words. "You've had this argument a dozen times by now and it always ends the same. Do you really believe that things will be any different this time?"

Ilfette gave a snort and looked away. "I only want to take care of you both. It's suicide to practice magic and he should know better by now." Hawk didn't say a word, but started stomping off toward the village and home. Merula sighed, turning toward the sound and following him with careful steps. When she caught up to her brother, she touched his shoulder, knowing where he was by instinct more than clear sight. "Brother, you know she means well. She wants us to be safe. And looking at how things have been at home, neither of us can blame her." She was quite right, even more than any of them could have imagined. Over the years, those that had been using magic had started hearing strange voices, some said the very voices of the dead. Each one that had started hearing them had been driven mad with the pain of it, until they either killed themselves or their family... or both. Half the village had been buried over the last ten years, young and old alike. And no one could see an end to it.

Dragonvale had been a place of peace and beauty, one of learning. The greatest mages and scholars had come there to collect their knowledge. Now, no one came. No visitors or travelers. It was a cursed place.

Yet, none of the children quite knew the scope of the problem. They had never left Dragonvale, nor did they ever expect to. Ilfette had come to believe that all mages were like those in their little village and so believed that all magic was a thing of evil. It didn't matter what Hawk or Merula said, there was nothing they could do to change their sister's mind. So Hawk went on practicing in secret and Ilfette kept on finding him. Merula would calm them down and thus the cycle began again. This went on for quite some time, so long that it was a routine. Who was to say what made things change. Maybe Ilfette just gave up, or maybe Hawk just found a better place to hide. Whatever it was, things changed. Hawk grew into a young man and Ilfette into a beautiful woman. Merula just stayed behind, the quiet sister who remained blind. Or so they thought.

Their mother, Lilith, refused to teach Hawk any magic. It was quickly apparent that this was both because she used air magic and his type was water, and because she thought it horrid for him to learn such a thing. She barely practiced magic herself, only when she thought her children weren't looking. They never asked her why she stayed in a village of mages and didn't practice magic, nor did she answer. Perhaps they ought to have asked, but by the time it occurred to anyone, it was far too late.

When the siblings got back to the village, they proceeded down the path to the fountain in the very center. Hawk took a moment to stop there, touching the water as he always did, while Ilfette looked on disapprovingly. He knew she wouldn't object, as he wasn't actually doing anything, but it was still *feeling* the water, which was close enough to meet with thorough disapproval. Sticking his hand in deeper, he gasped at the unusual cold. Hawk closed his eyes for a moment, reaching into his well of magic and pushing it outward, chanting softly. 

When nothing happened, his eyes snapped open in surprise. Pulling his hand out of the fountain and drying it off on his tunic, he sat down on the edge, dangling his feet on the outside and looking confused. For once, he had no desire to touch the water or feel the magic within it. Ilfette sat down next to him. "What's wrong?" she asked, for once forgetting that he had disobeyed strict instructions again. He looked at her solemnly. "Something's wrong." She raised an eyebrow. "You're going to have to be more specific." Hawk looked down at his feet, studying them for a moment before replying. "The water feels wrong. Like there's a layer of slime on top, but not." He wondered if she would even understand, or just attribute it to his imagination. She liked to do that about things she didn't understand about his magic. Merula stood motionless, listening to the conversation and staring in the direction of the water. Ilfette said, "It feels slimey. Have you ever felt anything like that before?" When Hawk shook his head, she bit her lip in thought. Maybe tell mother? No, she'd kill any one of them if she found out that Hawk had been feeling for the magic in the water again. But who, then?

Ilfette shook her head. "I don't know what to tell you. There's no one around that'd believe you. Anyone still sane, that is." She stood and reached out to pull her brother to his feet. "Let's just go home, okay?"

Hawk could hardly believe his ears. She was just ignoring the problem! But some part of her knew she was right. Who could they tell? He got up and followed Ilfette toward the edge of the village and home, taking Merula's hand to help guide her along. 

The cottage they lived in was one of the largest houses in the area. It had enough space for three bedrooms, so Hawk didn't have to share with his sisters. He wouldn't have minded if he had. Despite every argument they had had over the last couple years, he loved Ilfette and wouldn't ever want to truly fight with her. The only reason they argued now was because he couldn't stand the thought of not feeling the magic within him, of not using it to help others. When he didn't use it, the presence of it gnawed at him until he could hardly stand it. And the voices would get worse.

Hawk hadn't told anyone the day he had started hearing them. He knew Ilfette was terrified of the thought and he didn't want to hurt her. But at the same time, he knew he would start showing signs eventually. The continual sound could be maddening at times and he completely understood how the other mages in the village felt.