brought over skin changers who faced discrimination and danger.
“Many families relocated here, but many more refused to run.” He looked away. “You know what happened to them.” Gaspare stopped for a moment as the old memory resurfaced. “In fact, we used actual events to hide the people who are here. Many who’ve made their homes in Pearl were thought killed in battle. It was meant to be temporary, until the unrest in Thayer settled, until public sentiment returned to normal. But these people formed a community here. An accepting, open, loving community, and they chose to stay. Pearl Isle is what Thayer used to be, what I continue to hope it will be again. But, as you’ve felt all too keenly tonight, isn’t.”
We mumbled our agreement and watched as the dragons’ powerful forms silhouetted against the crescent moon.
It was the nasally chuff that got my attention. Until I heard it, I’d been fully absorbed in Gaspare’s story, and in the extraordinary beauty of a clan of dragons flying freely in the night sky. I turned toward the sound and found Bay’s change almost fully complete. She stretched her long neck and snorted again, whipping her fine, strong tail as she finished the transformation.
“Bay, what—”
“’ Tis fine, dear ,” she spoke wordlessly. “ These are my people .”
“But it’s dangerous.”
She wheezed a throaty laugh and thrust powerful back legs, vaulting into the darkness and shaking the ground beneath us.
Bay’s elegant silhouette joined the others, and together they performed an aerial dance stunning in its fierce beauty. The dragons’ masterful wings pulled in tight as they dove and swooped, and then snapped outward, a glide so delicate their wings seemed made of gossamer.
My mother, who’d crowded in close beside me, let out a nervous whine.
“Go ahead, Mom. Look, Bay’s fine.”
“No,” she shook her head violently. “No. I don’t think so.”
My poor, complex, damaged mother. Together with Bay, she’d found the strength to save me from Brandubh. But once that fight was over, she’d shrunk back into her old shell. I squeezed her hand in support.
“Do you think Bay knows some of them?” I asked Gaspare.
“Hmm?” He, too, was entranced by the aerial display.
“Bay. Do you think she knows some of the dragons she’s flying with?”
“Almost certainly. Look how they’ve let her in. Look at them soar as one. Beautiful. Transcendent.”
“How long do they usually stay up there?” I asked.
“Until they come down.”
I scoffed at his typical non-answer. “So, what now?”
“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. I’ve a cottage here. You’re welcome as long as you like.”
“Oh, I don’t like that,” my mother said.
I let out a pent-up breath. “Well, what choice do we have? We can’t go back to the cabin. It’s gone. I can’t go back to The Root. We can’t sleep here on the sand.”
“We could go home,” she said in a low voice, her eyes studying the ground.
“Home? You mean home -home?”
She nodded and looked up, her eyes as deep and cloudy as the dark lake in front of us.
“You left our home,” I said, losing the fight to keep my emotions in check. “You left me . At a time when I desperately needed your help. I was so confused, Mother. The world around me came crashing down and I needed a firm foundation. I needed you .”
As usual, when faced with conflict or criticism, she closed down and folded in on herself. Her shoulders hunched and her head drooped like an abused dog.
In the past, I had always felt so guilty, so sorry for her when she shut down that I held my anger in. Confronting my mother always felt like berating her because she just took it. Engaging in an argument was impossible because she never fought back.
That we couldn’t get this out in the open; that I couldn’t get any straight damned answers to my questions was beyond irritating. I balled my fists and let out a frustrated “Argh!”
She
“Many families relocated here, but many more refused to run.” He looked away. “You know what happened to them.” Gaspare stopped for a moment as the old memory resurfaced. “In fact, we used actual events to hide the people who are here. Many who’ve made their homes in Pearl were thought killed in battle. It was meant to be temporary, until the unrest in Thayer settled, until public sentiment returned to normal. But these people formed a community here. An accepting, open, loving community, and they chose to stay. Pearl Isle is what Thayer used to be, what I continue to hope it will be again. But, as you’ve felt all too keenly tonight, isn’t.”
We mumbled our agreement and watched as the dragons’ powerful forms silhouetted against the crescent moon.
It was the nasally chuff that got my attention. Until I heard it, I’d been fully absorbed in Gaspare’s story, and in the extraordinary beauty of a clan of dragons flying freely in the night sky. I turned toward the sound and found Bay’s change almost fully complete. She stretched her long neck and snorted again, whipping her fine, strong tail as she finished the transformation.
“Bay, what—”
“’ Tis fine, dear ,” she spoke wordlessly. “ These are my people .”
“But it’s dangerous.”
She wheezed a throaty laugh and thrust powerful back legs, vaulting into the darkness and shaking the ground beneath us.
Bay’s elegant silhouette joined the others, and together they performed an aerial dance stunning in its fierce beauty. The dragons’ masterful wings pulled in tight as they dove and swooped, and then snapped outward, a glide so delicate their wings seemed made of gossamer.
My mother, who’d crowded in close beside me, let out a nervous whine.
“Go ahead, Mom. Look, Bay’s fine.”
“No,” she shook her head violently. “No. I don’t think so.”
My poor, complex, damaged mother. Together with Bay, she’d found the strength to save me from Brandubh. But once that fight was over, she’d shrunk back into her old shell. I squeezed her hand in support.
“Do you think Bay knows some of them?” I asked Gaspare.
“Hmm?” He, too, was entranced by the aerial display.
“Bay. Do you think she knows some of the dragons she’s flying with?”
“Almost certainly. Look how they’ve let her in. Look at them soar as one. Beautiful. Transcendent.”
“How long do they usually stay up there?” I asked.
“Until they come down.”
I scoffed at his typical non-answer. “So, what now?”
“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. I’ve a cottage here. You’re welcome as long as you like.”
“Oh, I don’t like that,” my mother said.
I let out a pent-up breath. “Well, what choice do we have? We can’t go back to the cabin. It’s gone. I can’t go back to The Root. We can’t sleep here on the sand.”
“We could go home,” she said in a low voice, her eyes studying the ground.
“Home? You mean home -home?”
She nodded and looked up, her eyes as deep and cloudy as the dark lake in front of us.
“You left our home,” I said, losing the fight to keep my emotions in check. “You left me . At a time when I desperately needed your help. I was so confused, Mother. The world around me came crashing down and I needed a firm foundation. I needed you .”
As usual, when faced with conflict or criticism, she closed down and folded in on herself. Her shoulders hunched and her head drooped like an abused dog.
In the past, I had always felt so guilty, so sorry for her when she shut down that I held my anger in. Confronting my mother always felt like berating her because she just took it. Engaging in an argument was impossible because she never fought back.
That we couldn’t get this out in the open; that I couldn’t get any straight damned answers to my questions was beyond irritating. I balled my fists and let out a frustrated “Argh!”
She
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