StormBreathers Saga Episode 132
StormBreathers Saga Episode 132
“He claims an ‘invisible’ dragon landed on his car."
With a satisfied nod, the showman stepped back away and handed the paper to Novalie. “Thank you. The best proof of her being your dragon was her reaction to you, but that certificate does help clear things up a bit.”
Polaris’ tail was still wrapped around Novalie protectively and her stance was battle-ready, but the ferocity of the fire in her eyes cooled and the hot light in her nostrils slowly receded.
“Amazing,” the showman murmured as he stared at her. “Most people thought the Starstorm must have flown off to Eye of the Storm and probably died there from complications like the other experiments, but she looks perfectly healthy to me.” He looked at Novalie. “The two of you must have had a pretty strong bond for her to come back to Paikka looking for you. Especially after everything that happened to her here.”
Novalie tucked the certificate back into her pocket and blinked hard, trying not to choke up again. She hated crying in front of people, and when those people were cape and mask wearing strangers that she had been admiring from a distance for years, the awkwardness shot to a whole new level.
“We are pretty tight.” She smiled fondly and rubbed Polaris’ ear, earning another deep, rumbling purr. “I raised her, and I’m not sure if she knows I’m not a dragon.”
The showman laughed and gave his own StormBreather a scratch behind the ear. “Either that or she thinks she’s at least half human. That seems to be what ours think they are.”
“You guys seem pretty tight, too,” Novalie said with a small smile as the Windstorm rubbed his big head against his master’s shoulder affectionately.
The showman patted his dragon’s neck and nodded. “Yes we are. We’ve been through a lot together.”
Sensing the interaction between their humans was getting more friendly, Polaris and the Windstorm stretched out their necks to touch noses. They exchanged a few grunts, sniffs, snorts, puffs of smoke and breezy breaths before their tensely twitching muscles relaxed with a friendly nicker and gentle nuzzle.
Then the Windstorm turned to Novalie, and her heart just about leapt into her throat. Flaring his nostrils to draw in her scent and flicking his ears with curiosity, the beautiful beast she had watched in awe so many times through the window of her computer screen stepped forward and tentatively nuzzled her hands.
Only then, with his ornately painted face so close to her own she could feel the warmth of his breath brushing her cheeks, did she notice something about him was different. His eyes, which were a stunning shade of sunrise gold, didn’t have the glasslike clarity of most StormBreathers’ eyes. They were softer, cloudy even, and seemed to look past or through instead of directly at her.
“Is he...blind?” she asked softly.
“Mostly,” the showman answered with a hint of regret or sadness, Novalie couldn’t tell which, in his voice. “He can see light and shadows, but that’s about it.”
“Poor boy,” Novalie murmured, stroking the Windstorm’s muzzle. “What happened to his eyes?”
“That’s a long story.” The showman tugged at his mask and for a second Novalie thought he might take it off, but he only adjusted it and changed the subject. “How was Polaris stolen from you?”
Novalie sighed heavily. “That’s also a long story. But in short, there was an accident that landed me in the hospital for a week. I don’t remember most of it, but when I woke up a friend told me he had gone to my place to check on her multiple times while I was out, but she wasn’t there.” Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on Polaris’ mane as she spoke. “I talked him into helping me sneak out of the hospital early to look for her...but we never found her. And I guess it’s hard to identify a camouflaging dragon with a brand that’s covered in fur from a missing poster picture.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness creeping into her voice when she added, “Either that or returning her for the reward I could offer just wasn’t as profitable as selling her off at auction.”
“I see.” The showman held his hand out to let Polaris sniff at his fingers. She didn’t nuzzle him with the same level of friendliness his Windstorm had shown Novalie, but she didn’t growl or bite his hand off either. She just grunted and coiled her tail closer around her plaid-clad human, the ardent glare of her vivid purple eyes cooling to a suspicious stare with a hint of guarded curiosity.
The showman drew his hand back slowly and rested it on the crest of his Windstorm’s neck. “Did you know we use light training with our StormBreathers too?”
Novalie’s whole face brightened. “Yes! I’ve been studying and following the Circus of Storms for...well for forever I guess. I didn’t know your exact training techniques of course, but I picked up everything I could from clips of your performances.”
“So you didn’t go to a dragonmanship academy then?”
Novalie could feel heat rising in her cheeks as she answered quietly, “No. Too expensive.” Of all the dragonmanship professionals she had ever met in Paikka, there had been only one who didn’t seem to look down on her, so she braced herself for being snubbed yet again.
But instead of showing condescendence or disgust, the showman’s voice shifted to an almost teasing tone. “Spent all of your money on the dragon instead, huh?”
“Well...sort of. What I paid for her wouldn’t have made much of a dent in tuition anyway though. Her breeders were happy to get rid of her cheap.”
The showman chuckled. “Well I wonder what they would be willing to pay to get her back now that she’s the Queen of Storms.”
Novalie draped one arm over Polaris’ neck and kissed her smooth, scaly cheek. “Even the Helgates couldn’t afford what she’s worth to me, with or without Starstorm status.”
The showman folded his arms across his chest, cocked his head slightly to one side, leaned back against his dragon and asked, “What if I offered to buy her?”
Novalie stiffened and instinctively tightened her arm around Polaris’ neck. “I’m sorry, but she is not for sale.”
“You haven’t heard my offer yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t need the money.”
“Not even if it was millions of dollars?”
Novalie’s eyes widened a little, but she barely hesitated before answering, “No. I don’t need millions of dollars. Now that I’ve got my best friend back, I have everything I want.”
There was a long pause, and she was almost positive the showman was smiling again. The trouble was, she couldn’t tell what kind of smile.
“Well then,” he said at last, “since your dragon doesn’t seem intent on destroying my circus anymore and you don’t seem interested in becoming a millionaire, would you like to stay until after the show to meet the rest of the group?”
Novalie opened her mouth and shut it twice before any words came out. “What? I mean...y...yes! Absolutely! But...I thought you didn’t do those...those backstage pass, meeting fans and signing autographs types of things.”
“We don’t,” the showman said matter-of-factly.
“Then...how come...why are...I mean...” Novalie could have slapped herself for stammering so much, but the showman didn’t even seem to notice.
“You like pizza, right?” he asked as if it were the most normal thing in the world for the most famous and mysterious dragon performers of all time to have pizza with someone like Novalie Robinson.
She twiddled her fingers uncomfortably. “Uh...yes. I definitely eat pizza.”
“Good. Because that’s what we ordered for dinner.” The showman casually turned toward the doorway to the corridor, talking over his shoulder as he walked. “You and your StormBreather can wait back here. The crowd is already thinning out, so we shouldn’t be too long.”
Just as he went to step through the curtain a tall, stocky performer with an unruly lock of auburn hair sticking out from behind his ice-blue mask poked his head into the room. In a loud whisper he asked, “Is everything officially under control back here?”
The showman nodded. “For the moment at least.”
The rider’s hazel eyes darted from Novalie to Polaris, then back to the showman. “Good. Because now we have another conundrum to deal with.”
The showman’s shoulders sagged. “Great. What is it this time, a ShadowBreath invasion?”
“No. The pizza delivery guy is just having a panic attack in the parking lot.” The stocky rider eyed Polaris again. “He claims an ‘invisible’ dragon landed on his car. In most cities that would be considered insanity, but being that this is Paikka, I assume he’s actually telling the truth.”
The showman sighed. “I’ll be right there. I’m sure it’s nothing a thousand dollar tip can’t fix.”
Novalie raised her hand shyly. “Um, excuse me? Does this particular hysterical pizza guy happen to be from Dragon Paws Pizza Place?”
Both of the masked men nodded.
“And does he happen to be kind of scrawny...I mean lean...with dark hair and glasses?”
This time only the red-haired rider nodded.
“And was he driving a really ugly two-toned orange and yellow car?”
“I can’t say precisely what it looked like before your dragon landed on it, but it definitely falls under the category of ugly now.”
Novalie rubbed her temples and groaned. “Then I better be the one to talk to him.”
“I think you should stay in here with the Starstorm,” said the showman. “There’s too many people filing out of the parking area right now to take her there with you, and she’ll probably get riled up all over again if you try to leave her in here alone.”
Novalie pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. “I don’t have to go anywhere. I’ve got the panicking pizza guy on speed dial.” She sighed as she lifted the phone to her ear. “And am I ever gonna owe him one seriously big plate of brownies for this one.”
To be continued…