Tiger's Voyage (54 page)

The golden dragon rose up quickly.

“And I don’t want to see your metal hide for at least two hundred years!”

“Yes, Yínbáilóng. You won’t hear a peep out of me. Thank you.”

Jīnsèlóng glanced at us on his way out. I winked at him, and he squealed and ran the rest of the way. We heard the dragon’s heavy body enter the water with a splash, and it was gone.

The white dragon turned to us and smiled warmly. “He is so fun to frighten, isn’t he?”

I flushed and nodded.

“That was quite a clever trick you three played on him. It was very well executed. He’ll think twice before he barters again. Oh, he’ll still do it, mind you, but at least he will think twice, which is more progress than I’ve made with him in centuries.”

The white dragon moved fluidly across the room and bent his tall frame to fit the chair recently vacated by his brother. Crossing one leg over the other, he crooked his elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his head against his finger as he studied us. White hair was smoothed back from a prominent brow. His lips were thin and pressed tightly closed as he appraised us, but his wizened face was full of expression. His eyes were icy blue, almost translucent, and were full of curiosity. His demeanor and accent reminded me of a British professor.

“So,” he began. “You’re here for a key and not just any key. You want
the
key.”

“We need to find Durga’s Necklace. I don’t know about a key,” I ventured.

“Ah, yes. You seek the way to the Seventh Pagoda.” He stared into my eyes and froze for a minute.

“Are you reading my thoughts?” I asked.

“No. I wouldn’t do that without permission. Just … studying you. I haven’t conversed with a human in a long time, let alone one so lovely.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve had a long journey, then, haven’t you? To make it this far must have been a tremendous effort.” He stood as if startled. “Now what kind of a host am I? Here you sit, frozen, hungry, thirsty, and tired while I go on about things that can wait until later.”

He whirled his hands and a blue fire lit in the grate near us. It crackled like ice breaking, but it was amazingly warm.

“But won’t it melt your castle?” I asked.

Yínbáilóng laughed, a warm sound in a frozen room. “Of course not. My home is protected from melting. Perhaps you have more questions about dragons. I would be happy to answer them over dinner. May I have the pleasure?”

He strode over to our couch and offered his arm. Ren’s arms tightened around me, and I heard a little growl from Kishan.

The white dragon chided, “Now, now, gentlemen. There’s no need for jealousy. I merely meant to escort the young lady through the halls. You two may follow, of course. If you would, miss?”

“Alright. Thank you.”

I took his hand, and Ren reluctantly let me go. He and Kishan immediately trailed along behind us.

We passed what appeared to be a game room with a billiard table, and the dragon asked, “Do either of you young men enjoy billiards? I haven’t played a game in quite some time, but it would be a nice way to pass the hours.”

“How do you differentiate the snowballs?” Kishan asked with a chuckle.

“They are colored much as my trees outside.”

“How do you get them to glow those different colors?” I inquired.

“Bioluminescence.”

“You mean phosphorescent animals?”

“Not exactly. Ancient men once stared at the night ocean and saw a glow. They mistakenly associated it with the burning of the chemical phosphor. What is typically called phosphorescence in the ocean has nothing to do with burning at all. It involves no heat. Living creatures called dinoflagellates create my light. Similar to your fireflies on the land, these animals glow with an inner light. Most of them are microscopic and actually create light when reacting to oxygen above the water. I have duplicated the environment necessary to make them glow here. Feeding and caring for them gives me great happiness.”

“So your plants and trees are like tiny aquariums? They’re your pets?”

“Precisely. Each tree hosts a different animal that creates different colors. Jellyfish, shrimp, squid, various types of worms, some plants, and also
Cypridina
, which create the most beautiful blue color.”

“What are
Cypridina
?”

“They are similar to clams, but their shells are tiny and transparent. Normally they’re found in the waters of Japan.”

“But don’t they freeze inside your ice trees?”

“I can modify the temperature and the environment to meet their needs. In fact, you might have noticed you no longer need your winter gear.”

Now that he mentioned it, I was slightly warm. I slipped off my outerwear and tucked it over my arm. We entered a large dining room made of ice. Each chair had a greenish hue, and the large table was red. I moved closer to inspect the surface and saw thousands of tiny creatures wriggling around under the ice.

“They’re beautiful!”

“They are. You may all be seated. The chairs won’t freeze you any longer. It will feel like you’re sitting on chairs made of oak.”

After we took our places around the table, the white dragon whirled his hands, and a feast appeared before us. I was starving. We hadn’t dared use the Golden Fruit in front of Jīnsèlóng, and the seaweed crackers hadn’t been that appealing after I found out what they were. I took a moment to study the banquet in front of me. Ice bowls held king crab legs with clarified butter and cold peeled shrimp with cocktail sauce.

Other dishes were kept warm. There was lobster pot pie, toasted flatbread with a warm cheesy dip made with artichokes, spinach, and crab. He had platters and bowls full of stuffed sole, seafood gumbo, a julienned salad in a vinaigrette sauce, clam chowder, garlic shrimp linguini, and the biggest maple-and-cherry-glazed salmon I’d ever seen— even in Oregon. He poured us fruity drinks called electric ices that looked like snow cones.

I picked strawberry, and the dragon went to work. He poured a few drops of red syrup into the top of an amazing detailed dragon ice sculpture centerpiece and spoke a few words. The red liquid began to travel through the curvy dragon. Then, Yínbáilóng scooped up a frosty mug and held it under the mouth of the ice sculpture. The drink looked like a slushy but with more liquid and less ice. He repeated the process, making a grapefruit drink for Kishan, lemon for Ren, and cherry for himself.

Indicating the smorgasbord set in front of us, he said, “Please enjoy.”

Still slightly cold, I started with the hot clam chowder. It was the most creamy, most flavorful clam chowder I’d ever tasted. I ate half the bowl before I remembered I wanted to ask the dragon some questions.

“Yínbáilóng? Your brother told me that you were all born in different oceans and that he was the Earth Dragon. What does that mean, and who were your parents?”

The Ice Dragon set down his fork and leaned forward, clasping his hands under his chin. “My parents,” he said, “are whom you would call Mother Earth and Father Time.”

I set down my spoon, hunger forgotten. “You mean they’re real people?”

“I don’t know that I would call them people, but they are real beings.”

“Where do they live? Do you ever see them? What are they like?”

“I do see them though it’s doubtful you could because they reside mostly in another dimension. They live … well … everywhere. If you could train yourself to see, you could find them. Mother is a part of every living thing on Earth. Plants, animals, people, and even dragons are all her children, and she and Father Time will never cease to exist. He is the past, present, and future. He is omniscient. He knows everything that will happen but is endlessly curious to see the course of the world unfold, regardless. He told me you would be coming. My brothers would have known that too if they would ever listen. They’re so young. Like teenagers, really. They think they know everything, so they never listen to our parents. But a wise child always regards parents with respect.”

He sipped his drink and went on. “They’re … retired now. At least as much as immortals can be. They’ve turned over the duties of guarding Earth and its occupants to us. Jīnsèlóng watches over the treasures of the Earth. He makes sure mineral deposits are created and found, and despite his faults, he inspired the industrial revolution, though his chief purpose was not entirely altruistic. He wished to manufacture goods more quickly, so he could increase the size of his collection. He does have his quirks, but by and large, he’s been good for mankind.

“Lǜ sèlóng is the Earth Dragon, as you know. He is responsible for keeping the balance between the land and sea. He watches over growing things. Trees, flowers, mountains, deserts, and forests are all under his purveyorship. He makes crops grow. He taught the Egyptians how to create papyrus and keep records. If it weren’t for him, humankind wouldn’t have any books.”

“What about Qīnglóng?” Ren asked.

“Qīnglóng is the laziest of my brothers. Disasters have happened because he refuses to pay attention. He is supposed to be keeping Jīnsèlóng has so many treasures piled up is because Qīnglóng hasn’t been caring for the ocean properly. His job is to provide the world with water.

“He governs the rain clouds, the rivers, lakes, and most of the oceans, though every so often we help out our own territories. There are creatures becoming extinct in the oceans every day due to his negligence. Overfishing, pollution, and drought are largely his fault. The entire whaling industry happened during one of his naps. But, to be fair, he did inspire your early explorers to find other lands. He was young and eager to please back then.”

The white dragon snickered. “Imagine! Columbus discovering land in those tiny ships on his own? Without a dragon, he would have been lost at sea in the first two weeks.”

“Kelsey.”

I looked over at Ren, who was pointing at my plate with his fork.

“Eat, please.”

“Oh, right.” To my delight, my fish was still warm. I took a bite and said, “Please, go on.”

The Ice Dragon chuckled and ate a bit more himself. “Lóngjūn is the most distant. He rarely visits. He imagines himself to be above us all just because he resides in the sky.”

“What’s his job?” Ren asked.

“Can you guess?”

“Something to do with the stars?” Kishan suggested.

“Correct. He is in charge of the constellations. He keeps the stars lit and comets on safe trajectories. He governs meteors. Small showers are allowed, but large meteors are moved or destroyed. He’s been having trouble with the ozone lately, and that’s always his excuse now to miss family reunions.

“He watches over space stations and shuttles and trips to the moon. Lóngjūn was on the moon when Neil Armstrong first set foot on it. In fact, if you watch the old video, you can see his shadow hovering overhead. He is very proud of the space program. He inspires scientific discovery, specifically astronomy, was great friends with Galileo, and actually visited him in dreams. He’s also fond of mathematics. He even taught Pythagoras how to play chess.”

“Well, that takes care of everyone except you. What do you do?”

“I am the eldest brother and have the most important charge. You might wonder, what could be more vital than caring for space, land, water, or minerals? Than giving humankind science, math, discovery, technology, or a green planet?”

He paused with a twinkle in his eye and waited for one of us to guess. No one got the right answer. He politely dabbed his lips with his napkin and said, “I am the white dragon of the ice. I watch over the ice caps and the poles. I turn the Earth on its axis. I whirl us around the sun. I cause the seasons to change.

“I inspire humans in philosophy, democracy, order, and the law. I cannot afford to nap. I cannot afford to ignore my duty. One mistake would send our planet whirling off into the dark universe. One misstep would damage the time line. One tiny loss of control, and the axis of Earth would shift, plummeting us into chaos. I was the voice behind the world’s greatest philosophers, religious reformers, and political revolutionaries. I follow the laws of the universe—the basic fundamental truths that govern all humankind.”

My fork clattered noisily to the table. I picked it up, embarrassed, but he continued.

“Of course, such things are transitory. Greed and avarice can overtake anyone, but I still have hope. It worked in Shangri-la.”

“You’re responsible for Shangri-la?” I asked.

“Indirectly. I can teach only basic right and wrong, so the people learn self-governance. The society then has to choose to accept it fully or in part. If even one member chooses to go another path, the system will eventually fail. The Silvanae not only accepted but also embraced the concept. They have lived peacefully in their land for millennia, and the animals that choose to accept and abide by their laws live there in harmony as well.”

“But what about the world tree? The iron birds didn’t seem to follow the same law.”

“The birds of which you speak were created for one purpose. They protected the Scarf. They did not wish you harm until you took the object they were designed to guard. They ceased to exist after the Scarf left their lands.”

“And the ravens and the sirens?”

“They were only fulfilling their purpose. They did not mean to injure you.”

“And now what do they do?”

“They have been given a choice. The ravens and bats chose to follow the Silvanae law and may come and go as they please, but the sirens preferred to leave. They found no one among the Silvanae willing to become their …
inamorata
. So they chose to leave the tree, which can still be found just outside the Silvanae lands. Incidentally, the invisible protector remained in Shangri-la as well.”

“Interesting. But how do you know about the Scarf and the Fruit when Jīnsèlóng didn’t?”

“As I mentioned, he often doesn’t pay attention when important events occur. Would you like some more? You haven’t eaten much, young lady.”

“It’s hard to eat when I have so many questions.”

“Don’t let that ruin your appetite. I will remain at your side and answer as many questions as you have time for. In fact, I would like you all to remain as my guests this evening. You will need a good night’s sleep before you journey to the Seventh Pagoda.”