Chapter 6: Realization

       He figures it out and I am free about thirty silent minutes later. I shake the net off and use my teeth to unhook a few holes from a couple of the spines along my back. Jake starts to mend his arm and I lightly touch his mind with mine, ‘Thank you.’

He doesn’t look at me but says, “You’re welcome,” anyway. My attention goes back to the door and I still can’t feel the link connecting G’reth and I.

‘What do you think they are doing to him?’ I wanted to know, but I didn’t at the same time, afraid of what his answer might be. At this, he looks at the door then at me.

“I couldn’t tell you what they are doing,” his expression turns sympathetic, “That isn’t my department.”

I thrum sadly and look at the doors that keep me from getting to G’reth. I look back at Jake and lower my head so my nose is touching his arm. I close my eyes and focus.

“What are you…?” Jake stops as he realizes I am healing his arm. He lets out a yelp of pain as the bone goes back together. Once I am finished, I consider my work.

“Th-thank you, Grace…” Jake stammers.

‘You’re welcome.’

Jake sits down heavily and looks at me with a sort of pained expression. I sit down myself, ‘What?’

“It’s just, we have been so wrong about dragons for so long and we’ve been killing them because we thought they were killers themselves.”

‘No, we only kill if we have to and, when we get hunted, we have to kill to protect ourselves. It’s you hunters that have been the murderers. We keep balance to this world while your kind seemingly enjoys destroying it.’

Jake seems to have not heard me because he keeps going, “And not one of them but me knows this. And if I tell anyone anything that I have found out, they will all either think I’m crazy or that I’ve taken your side and, quite possibly, kill me.”

I don’t say anything as Jake puts his head in his hands. He runs his hands up and raking through his hair.

“I should get going or people are going to wonder where I am,” he stands up with a groan.

‘Oh yeah, what’s your story?’

Jake sighs, “I don’t know. I was thinking something about having gone looking for supplies to replace the broken ones…”

‘But you didn’t come back with anything.’

“Don’t always have to. They might’ve not had what I was looking for.”

‘Yeah, until someone goes to see if your story checks out and they have everything.’

“Like I said, I don’t know yet.”

‘Well, you better make it snappy seeing as to how as soon as you meet someone, the questions of ‘where have you been?’ will, most likely, be asked.’

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Jake walks up to me and I lower my head. He puts his hand in the middle of my nose, “Thank you.”

‘You’re welcome, Jake.’

Jake takes his hand away and walks to the doors. It wasn’t until Jake went to the middle of the large set of doors that I noticed a smaller set of doors. He turns to me before leaving, “Would you mind using your,” Jake does a circle motion with his finger slightly above his head, “mind thing to scan the perimeter around here?”

I smile, a bit humored, ‘It’s still called telepathy for us, but yes, I can’

“Thanks.”

‘Mhm,’ I close my eyes and reach out past the walls with my mind and sweep the area for anything that could get Jake caught. I retreat from the perimeter and open my eyes again, looking at Jake who raises his eyebrows. I tell him what I found, ‘Well, no one is out there, but there is a camera facing the left so be careful.’

“Okay, thank you,” Jake opens the right door, trying to stay away from the camera and looks at me once more before closing the door again, leaving me alone.