Dragon of Blood and Fire, PG-13

[tsaiko]

After a thousand years, something changed. One of the old warriors of the Sun God had passed away and another warrior was chosen from a distant province. Days passed as the young man traveled to the temple. He arrived on a day where the skies seemed to weep, never a sign of fortune.

There something was different about him. He had the same dark hair and brown eyes, the same tanned skin, and the same lithe body as the other warriors. This warrior was loyal and stoic and trustworthy. In fact, he was better at his job then some of those who had been chosen already. Still there was something off about him. Not wrong but odd. None of the Sun God's warriors mentioned it around the new warrior, but they spoke of it among themselves.

They were not the only ones to notice. From within his prison of molten rock, the dragon stirred. The heart of the new warrior called to him in ways no other did. Every seventh day, the dragon would rise to the surface and call out to the new warrior.

At first the new warrior stood strong against the dragon's temptation. He shut his ears and heart away from the dragon's words, and refused to even listen. As the days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, and the months to years the warrior began to listen. Much to the dragon's surprise, the warrior talked back in return.

A strange sort of friendship developed between the warrior and the dragon. The dragon told stories of the gods or tales he remembered from other dragons. The warrior talked about the other warriors of the Sun God or the changes wrought to the land since the last time the dragon took to the air.

Even though they were friends, the warrior always remembered his duty. He learned to relax around the dragon, but never fully dropped his guard. In return, the dragon learned what it was like to care.

For awhile, talking was enough for both of them. Then, one day, the dragon dared to raise himself above the surface of the molten rock on the warrior's watch. The dragon did not fly away to cause destruction. Instead, he settled himself on the stones of the temple where the warrior stood watch. His scales gleamed in the sunlight and his massive wings blocked the sun. Despite this the warrior felt no fear. He gently touched one scale and was neither burned nor sickened.

"My name is Eztilinhuica," the dragon said. There was power in his name, but he gave it freely to the warrior.

The warrior gave the dragon the same power in return. "My name is Ilhuiti."

***

The steps down from the temple on the rim of the volcano to the one just above the crater floor were carved out of the very stone that made up the volcano. They were also steep and narrow. If it wasn't for the wooden railings, Ilhuiti would have killed himself getting down those stairs more than once.

It didn't help that more often than not, he was late. Like now.

He pelted across the small flagstone courtyard, ducked into the temple proper, and emerged on the other side to the plaza over looking the crater. Chimalua was waiting for him impatiently. The sun was just beginning to crest the edge of the rim when Ilhuiti skidded to a stop.

"I'm not... late," he got out in between pants. Chimalua raised an eyebrow.

"Barely," the warrior replied. He wasn't the oldest of the Sun God's warriors, but he was by far the most traditional. It was just sheer bad luck that Chimalua was the sixth warrior and he was the seventh.

Then again, it could always be worse. His rotation could come right after Tlazi's. Then Ilhuiti would be forced to see the other man every seventh day as opposed to only once in a while.

"I'm here now. Why don't you go on to bed? You must be tired." Ilhuiti was trying for innocent and casual, but he failed miserably. None of the warriors of the Sun God were particularly thrilled that he was sleeping with the dragon they were supposed to be guarding, but as long as Eztil didn't try to leave, they tolerated. Some better than others.

"I'm not stupid," Chimulua replied. "You want me gone so you can fool around with him. Try not to wear yourself out too much before Yaoti relieves you." With that, the warrior turned on his heel and left.

"I still don’t see why you won't let me eat him." The voice was familiar as were the arms that wrapped around his waist. Ilhuiti leaned back into Eztil's embrace. "It's not like the Sun God won't choose a replacement if I do. Maybe the next one will have better manners."

"The answer is still no." Ilhuiti turned in Eztil's arms, silently asking for and receiving a kiss.

"What about Tlazi? He was asking about you a few days ago when he was on watch." Ilhuiti went very still while Eztil watched him like a hawk. The problem was that he was never sure if the dragon was telling the truth or testing him. Quite possibly both.

"You didn't tell him anything, did you?"

"I baited him a bit, but didn't tell him anything." Eztil cocked his head to one side. "Why do you hate him so much? Aren't you from the same city?"

"That's part of the reason we dislike each other so much," Ilhuiti replied. "I've told you before, I'd really prefer not to talk about it."

For a moment Ilhuiti thought Eztil would push the matter. Then the dragon smiled and shrugged. "As you wish. I won't ask you about it again."

***

"Why does Ilhuiti hate you so much?"

Tlazi almost jumped out of his skin at the question whispered into his ear. He whirled around, turning his spear so that the eye on the shaft faced Eztilinhuica. The dragon of blood and fire growled, but backed off.

"You startled me." It was not the safest thing to admit, but Tlazi found he couldn't help himself. "What do you want?"

"An answer," Eztilinhuica said. He sat down on the flagstones and looked up at Tlazi. "I've already asked Ilhuiti and he doesn't want to talk. So I'm asking you."

"Why should I give you an answer?" Tlazi lowered the spear only slightly. He didn't want to antagonize the dragon any more than was necessary, but he also didn't trust Eztilinhuica.

The dragon of blood and fire smiled. It was all teeth. "I might not be able to stand against the warriors of the Sun God in a fight. I might not be able to hurt you when you wear that armor or come near you when you hold that spear, but I can make your life very, very difficult."

He narrowed his eyes at Eztilinhuica. "It's a long story."

"I have all the time in the world," the dragon replied.

"Ilhuiti always wanted to be one of the Sun God's warriors. Always. It was one of those things everyone who knew him knew about," Tlazi replied. He looked away from the dragon, out towards the far side of the volcano's rim. Clouds lazily drifted in the afternoon sky. "I don't know how it was done in your time, but now there are six main cities that control six provinces. A warrior is chosen from each province. The last warrior, the seventh warrior, can come from any province. I am sure you are... intimately familiar with how that process works."

"Considering that there is a seventh warrior only at my discretion, yes, I am aware of how they are chosen. By me." The dragon looked entirely too pleased with himself. Tlazi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Since you are one of the chosen Sun God's warriors, I assume Ilhuiti did not get what he wanted?"

Tlazi had never told anyone why he'd been chosen over Ilhuiti. Everyone knew, but he'd never admitted it. He wasn't sure telling the dragon lover of the one he'd cheated out of his dream was a good idea. Then again, he'd never been accused of being prudent.

"Ilhuiti's best friend was a priest in the temple of the Sun God. They were always hanging out together. Everyone knew that when it came time for the votes on who should be sent to the Sun God's temple that he would vote for Ilhuiti. He didn't. He voted for me. And since both Ilhuit and I had an equal number of votes until that point, I was sent as my province's chosen."

"I wonder why didn't he vote for Ilhuiti?"

"Quite possibly because I slept with him the night before so that he'd vote for me," Tlazi replied. He hadn't known he would get as many votes as he did. He'd just wanted at least one guaranteed vote so he wouldn't humiliate himself.

"You whored yourself out just to become a warrior of the Sun God?" The dragon looked impressed and amused, which just sickened Tlazi.

"Some would say the same thing about Ilhuiti," Tlazi snapped. It was the wrong thing to say. In a blink of an eye, Eztilinhuica turned from human to his dragon form. His claws cracked the flagstones and his roar echoed.

The only reason Tlazi wasn't running was the spear. He turned the eye towards the dragon and willed him away. For a long minute, Tlazi was sure it wouldn't work. Then the dragon returned to his place beneath the volcano, leaving Tlazi sweating and shaking.