Dragons' Vale

Dragons' Vale

Teagan Rose parked her bike and pulled off her helmet.  Pulling out her cell phone, she looked at the map on its GPS app.  Highway-Two continued another forty miles, following the Wenatchee River before crossing it right after Leavenworth, but the road to her left wasn't on any of the maps of the area.  It wasn’t necessarily surprising, there were tons of small access roads that weren’t captured on maps.  But something about this road called to her. 

Letting impulse guide her, she tucked her phone away, put on her helmet and took the turn that led through the primordial forest.  Sunlight flowed through the trees illuminating the evergreens which stood like giant sentries on either side of the narrow thoroughfare.  As she rounded a bend, a strong sense of déjà vu came over her. 

Her earliest childhood memories were of her first foster family when she was around eight.  There were no records of her birth or who her biological parents were.  She had been found swinging on a school playground by a teacher.  All attempts to get her to remember who she was, or where she’d come from had failed.  She’d never felt any sense of familiarity to a place before.  Slowing down, she tried to figure out what had suddenly triggered the sensation.

Dried fallen leaves fluttered as she passed them, stirred up by the air-stream of her motorcycle.  In the undergrowth, there were fallen logs covered with moss, large ferns and random blue and yellow flowers.  She could hear the sound of water rushing over stones and recognized the sound of a nearby miniature waterfall.  Taking a deep breath, her nose was filled with the scent of clean mountain air.  She smiled to herself; no air freshener could ever imitate this icy, sweet, green smell.

Glancing down at the gas gauge of her V Star 950, she cursed. It had been awhile since filling up her tank, but she hadn’t expected to see it below the one-eighth mark. She had maybe ten miles at best.  If there wasn't a place to fuel up soon, this day was going to turn ugly fast.  She could just picture calling home and asking Dana to bring her some gas.  The call would end up in a fight, as everything did lately.  Oh well, that’s what Triple-A was for.

Following the road, as it twisted to the south, she sent a small prayer of thanks out into the universe.  A small tavern was nestled into the trees surrounded by an empty gravel parking lot.  To one side was a single gas pump. Pulling up beside it, she got off her bike and removed her helmet.

"The Dragon's Head?" she laughed, looking up at the worn wooden sign over the double doors.  Shaking her head at the odd name, she strolled around her motorcycle to put gas in the tank.  One look at the antiquated pump left little doubt that she would have to go in to pay for fuel.

Inside, the tavern looked like a typical biker bar.  Dark, with lots of wood, the stale smell of beer and cigarettes hung on the air, even though no one smoked in public places anymore. Neon signs for alcohol and beer illuminated the bar and posters and album covers covered all of the walls.

"Nice bike," said the bartender.

"Thanks,” she replied. “Nice bar.”

"It ain't a Harley, though."

"Nope,"  Teagan grinned.  "And this ain't the Ritz." They both chuckled. "Hey, can I get four gallons from your pump?"

"Sorry, that pump don’t work -- hasn’t for thirty years or so," he said.

"Shit." Pulling out her cell phone, she cursed when she saw there was no signal available. "I hate to ask, but can I use your phone to call Triple-A.  I'm down to fumes."

"It'd take hours for them to get out here." He ran a cloth over the wooden top of the bar. "I'll tell you what," he added, wiping the inside of a glass. "I'll give my nephew, Jed, a call and he can bring you some gas if you want.  Save you some time."  He folded the rag and set it to the side.

"Yeah, that'd be nice.  Any chance I could get a burger while I wait?"

"Sure thing.  Want anything to drink?”

“A glass of ice water would be awesome,” she replied, closing the distance.

He pulled a frosted glass out of a small refrigerator and filled it up.  Handing it to her, he said, “Here ya go. Why don't you have a seat and I'll bring out to your food when it's done."

She smiled her consent and watched as the bartender went through a pair of half doors.  Soon, the smell of cooking meat replaced the musty smell of the bar. Choosing the booth in the corner, Teagan set the glass on the table. She rested her helmet on the bench seat, shrugged out of her Kevlar riding jacket, then draped it over the back of the bench.

Record covers and posters adorned the walls without any rhyme or reason -- other than each piece contained a dragon.  There was an old Disney album cover with a cartoon dragon next to one with a neon outline by Busta Rhymes. Movie Posters, fantasy art, and strange anatomical mock-ups were all included in the random works on the walls. 

“Have to stick with the theme, I suppose,” Teagan mumbled to herself, removing her skullcap and braiding her strawberry blond hair.

About to take a seat, she noticed a framed map hanging on the back wall by the table she'd chosen.  She hadn't noticed it when she'd looked at the rest of the wall art and it didn't seem to quite fit in with the rest.  Humming a tune from Sesame Street -- "One of these things is not like the other", she went to take a look at it.

Topographical, it was an image of the local area with no visible dragons on it.  Highway-Two showed on the southwest corner and to her surprise, the road she had taken to get here was marked. Using her finger, she traced the route.  Five miles east of where she estimated the bar to be, the terrain took a sharp increase in altitude.  A stream bisected the road after three miles, before turning south and hooking back up with the highway.  North of the thoroughfare, there appeared to be a valley which someone had circled in red.

“Interesting story behind that map.  If you don’t mind a bit of company," the bartender said coming out into the bar from the back room where he'd been cooking, "I’ll tell it to you while we wait for Jed."

The large burger and a mountain of fries he set on the table smelled like heaven and Teagan’s mouth instantly started to salivate.  He fished out bottles of mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup from his apron, lining them up next to the plate.

“Sounds good...my name is Teagan,” she said, approaching the table and holding out her hand.

“Merle,” he said taking it in his big meaty paw.

“The food smells amazing.” she said sitting at the table.

Two inches thick and as big as her palm, she picked up the massive burger with both hands.  It was kind of Merle to bring out the condiments, but she knew by the smell of the meat that she didn’t need them.  Opening wide, she sank her teeth in and groaned in appreciation.  Juices dribbled down her chin and she leaned forward so they would land on her plate instead of her tee-shirt. She finished a quarter of the hamburger before setting it down.

“Delicious,” she said, giving him a big toothy grin.

He smiled back broadly. “Glad you like it.” 

“So the map?” Teagan waved at it with one of the fat steak fries, before shoving it in her mouth.

“Was about twenty years ago.  A man stormed in here waving it around. It was a Friday, so we actually had some customers.” He looked around the room appearing a little self-conscious. “He was hysterical, laughing and crying... talking to anybody who would listen.  Proclaimed he finally had proof,” Merle leaned forward grinning and said in a false whisper, “...proof dragons existed.”

Teagan inhaled the French fry she was eating and started to choke. Picking up her napkin she coughed the remains of the fry into it and set it aside.  Reaching for her glass of water, she sipped the cool liquid letting it soothe her throat before trying to speak.

“You’re...joking -- of course”

“Serious as a heart attack.” Merle looked over at the map. “Said it was a day’s drive away.”

“What kind of proof? I mean that’s impossible. Short of producing a dragon, who’d believe him?”

“We all laughed and told him the same thing.” Merle chuckled. “He ranted and raved, said he’d seen them with his own eyes.  If we would just follow him to the valley...the area circled in red on that map, then we would have our proof.”

“Did any of you go?” Teagan took another bite of her burger realizing it was almost gone.  She’d been hungrier than she’d thought.

“Nope.  Seemed a fool’s errand to us. So he left and we thought good riddance. Well, about a month later he came back.”

“Oh? And did he have his proof?” Teagan laughed as she finished her burger.

“Yes…yes he did.”  The faraway look in Merle’s eye caused her laughter to stop.  Watching him carefully, she drank some water and waited for him to continue. “In the back of his truck was a cage with a creature in it.”

“A creature?” Sitting forward, she grabbed a fry and started nibbling on it.

“Aye...a strange little animal. It looked like a small iguana...except with wings and a forked tail.  Tiny little thing, barely a foot long.  We joked that it was a trick…'til the little creature spat out a small puff of fire, that is.”

“What?” Teagan laughed in disbelief.

“Yeah....strangest thing. Tiny green lizard with iridescent wings shooting a stream of blue flame. He threw the map at me and got into his truck, shouting that everyone would know the truth soon enough.” Merle ran his hand through his graying, greasy hair.  “We ran after him, but we weren’t quick enough.”

“On foot?” she asked in disbelief. Merle nodded. “He was in a truck; did you really think you could chase down him?”

“We almost had him,” he said smiling around yellowed teeth.  “He just had too big of a head start, was all.”

Teagan narrowed her eyes.  The story couldn’t be true, dragons…real?  She shook her head. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Maybe.” He shot a quick grin at her. “...maybe not.  But enough about the map, tell me about yourself.”

“Eh, there isn’t much to tell, really,” Teagan said.  “I just finished college and thought I would have one more adventure before settling down into being an adult.  I sold all of my stuff to buy my bike.  Thought I would just ride to where the road took me, except I should have realized that how low I was on gas when I passed the last gas station.”

“What do your parents have to say about you traveling around with no plans?”

“I was…." She picked up the napkin and started fidgeting with it.  Questions about her childhood always made her uncomfortable. "I never knew my parents.  I was raised in foster homes.”

“I’m so --"

Teagan held up her hand and cut him off before he could continue.  “Please... don’t offer me sympathy,” Teagan smiled wistfully. “I’ve met some good people and had some amazing adventures.  I didn’t go through the horror stories you see on Law and Order.”

“It’s not the same as family.” He looked away abashed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It is what it is. I have about twenty brothers and sisters and four sets of adults who all claim to love me. I never felt inclined to call any of them mom or dad, but they are all great people.”  Merle nodded, but his eyes still showed too much pity for Teagan’s taste.  Smiling, she reiterated, “Seriously, I don’t have a bad life.”

“No…I can see that. But you don’t have the life you were born for either.”

“How can you say that?  Maybe having no serious ties and traveling whenever I want is what I was born for.” Teagan shook her head. “It doesn’t matter either way...it's the life I have.”

“I didn't mean any offense," Merle said, looking abashed. "So what did you study in school?”

“Law.  Passed the bar exam last week.”

“There are lots of type of law.”

“I want to practice environmental.” Teagan shrugged. “I don’t feel it's right for big corporations to just come in and take what isn’t theirs. I think it is our job to protect the Earth.”

“That’s a pretty noble cause,” Merle said, smiling at her.

“Yeah well,” Teagan shrugged and squirmed in her seat a little, wiping the last fry in the salt on the bottom of the plate.  “I can’t believe I ate all of that food,” she chuckled as she shoved it in her mouth.

Merle nodded and then looked toward the doors.  “Jed’s here.”

“Oh,I…how much do I owe you for the food and gas?”

“Not a thing. The interruption of my monotonous day was payment enough.”

“Are you sure?” she narrowed her eyes at him.  This far out in the middle of nowhere, she knew the customers must be few and far between.

Merle nodded and grabbed one of Teagan’s hands, patting the top of it as he smiled at her.

She smiled back. He wasn’t what she expected in the keeper of a dive stuck in the middle of nowhere.  No tattoos, no piercings, and clean shaven, he was dressed in a button-down shirt and a pair of slacks.  He looked more like a pastor at a church than a bartender.

“Hey, would you mind if I took a picture of that map?  Maybe I’ll go and see this Dragon Valley for myself.”

“Be my guest,” Merle said, gesturing toward the framed artifact.

“Thanks.” Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she was suddenly glad that she had insisted on excellent camera resolution when purchasing it.  She took one picture of the whole map and then another focusing on the area around the red circle.  Turning around, she saw a dark-haired man standing in the doorway.

“Ready to get out of here, Princess?  Obviously, Merle has talked your ear off about the Valley of Dragons.”

“Jed! Mind your manners.”

“It’s no problem.  Hi, Jed. By the way, the name is Teagan, not Princess.” Grabbing her jacket, she went to put it on when Merle moved behind to help her. “Thank you," she said to the barkeep.

“Teagan, then,” said Jed, nodding his head in her direction.

“Just let me get my stuff.  Thank you for bringing me some gas.”

“Gas?  I was supposed to bring you gas?” 

Teagan paled and Merle stood up.

“Joking, joking, sorry,”  Jed said holding up his hands. Smirking, he gazed up at her under his lashes. He opened the door to outside and bowed slightly, holding his hand out toward the entrance. “Your chariot awaits milady.”

“Thank you for the story and food; both were excellent," Teagan said, turning back toward Merle.  "Maybe I’ll stop in on my way back home,”

“I hope so.  You’re going to have to tell me what you saw.”

“Deal,” she said smiling at the older man and resisting the urge to hug him. Pulling on her skullcap to keep her hair, she picked up her helmet and walked toward Jed who gave her a large toothy grin.

Sitting by the front tire of her V Star was a large five-gallon gas can.  She moved to pick it up but Jed reached it first.

“Allow me,” he said as he unscrewed the gas cap of the bike.  Pulling out the nozzle, he poured the gas into her motorcycle's tank. “Nice bike, what’s it get, around fifty miles to the gallon?”

“Thanks.  Yeah, almost fifty.”  Teagan got on her bike.

“I’ll bring another can of gas, so you can fill up before heading back home,” Jed said.

“I…Thank you, and hey, tell Merle I said thank you as well.  I really appreciate this, you two saved the day.”  She smiled up at him.

“Don’t think anything about it. Be safe and we’ll see you soon, okay?” He reached out and lightly grabbed her shoulder. He turned away quickly and went into the bar.

She watched him for a bit.  His behavior was strange, there wasn’t any reason for him to be so emotional or dramatic. He was acting like some long lost relative or something.

Before sliding her helmet on, she looked around the parking lot.  Her motorcycle was the only vehicle in sight.  How had Jed gotten there and for that matter, shouldn’t Merle have a car? She shook her head, it wasn’t any of her business.  Her business was enjoying one last road trip and going where the road took her.  Starting up her bike, she navigated out of the parking lot and took off down the road.

The late afternoon sun gave the air a golden glow as sunbeams streamed through the trees.  The bends in the road curved first one way then another as the ancient forest grew thicker.  Wild flowers grew in scatter patches along the tree line and birds flew overhead and in the distance.  Teagan stopped the bike in front of an old wooden bridge.

Pulling out her phone, she looked at the picture she'd taken of Merle’s map.  If she stayed on the road she would end up back on Highway-Two.  The red circled space was to the north on the other side of the bridge.  Putting her phone away, she still wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

As soon as she crossed the bridge, she made up her mind.  After all, this was her adventure she could go wherever she wanted. She parked her bike behind some bushes at the foot of a trail head.  Making sure that it was locked down and hidden from the road, she started up the path.

Ferns, rhododendrons, and Shasta daisies were interspersed with the pine, cedar and fir trees of the forest.  Sunlight speckled the ground as it made its way down through the tangled branches of the trees.  A rustling sound to her left caused her to jump before she realized it was only a black-tailed deer.  As it made its way across the trail in front of her, it stopped and stared, allowing her to come within feet of it before leaping off through the woods.

Struggling up a steep incline, she came to the top of a ridge overlooking a deep valley.  The lake in the center reminded her of a smaller version of Crater Lake and she wondered if she was really looking at a caldera.  A mountain stream, on the other side of the valley, cascaded over a distant ridge in a spectacular waterfall before continuing on to feed the lake.

The sun was shaded for a moment.  Looking up, she saw a large wing block out the sun for half a second. As she tried to get a better look at the bird whose wing was large enough to block out the sun, she stepped back and lost her footing.  Two hands grabbed her before she could tumble down the way she’d come.  On either side of her stood Jed and Merle.

“What?  What are you doing here?”

“She wanted you to know that you were safe,” Jed answered.

“She…safe?  I don’t understand what--"

Teagan backed up as an enormous winged beast landed in front of her.  Huge, awe-inspiring and beautiful, its lizard-shaped body, the size of a semi-truck, was covered in iridescent scales glimmering green, blue and purple on a black background. Large leathery wings came off of its shoulders and were folded along its back. Perched on a long sinuous neck, the triangle head was big as a VW bug with an array of horns jutting out from the sides. Teeth the size of hands lined a mouth that looked like it could swallow her in two bites. The animal was an impossibility.  Dinosaurs died a million years ago.  There were no flying reptiles or any reptiles this big. As much as she wanted to deny it, there was only one possibility, this was a dragon.

Just as her panic was reaching a manageable level, the air around the dragon shimmered and the dragon’s shape changed into that of a woman. Teagan could feel herself start to hyperventilate.  There was no way this was even remotely possible.  Closing the distance between them, the woman reached out and stroked the side of her face.

“Remember,” she whispered.

Tears sprang to Teagan’s eyes as a million memories crashed into her mind.  Laughter, playing tag in the clouds, chasing the birds and bats, jumping from tree to tree, warmth, and love.  This was her home.  But the memory that caused her to gasp was that of a man stealing her away from all of that as he crashed into her nest and put her in a dark sack.  She burnt a hole in it with the heat from her recently found flame, but it was too late, she had already been caged.  She could hear her mother screaming her fear and rage into the night as everyone searched for her.  She remembered Merle chasing after the truck and when he realized he couldn’t catch it, casting a spell to make her stay in her human form and forget about Dragons' Vale.

“Merlin, not Merle,” Teagan said as she turned toward the barkeep hugging him.  Releasing him, she looked at Jed. “Jedidiah?  I…” He embraced her tightly cutting off her words.

Turning to the woman standing in front of her, a knot formed in her throat.  It was like looking in a mirror; tall, strawberry blond hair, green eyes, freckles. Tears ran down her cheeks before she even realized she was crying.  It took a few moments before she could actually speak.

“Mom?”

The woman grabbed her in a fervent hug squeezing her tight, sobs racking both their bodies.  Her mother’s voice was a strangled whisper.

“Welcome home.”


WC: 3858