Shaynen crawled onto the rocks of the riverbank. Shaking violently from the cold, battered and bruised, he choked on the cold water that had forced its way in when he dropped from the falls. The river below was not deep and Shaynen’s knees took the brunt of the long fall. There wasn’t a single inch of him that didn’t ache or howl in pain.

His stomach bubbled as he choked out the water, triggering his gag reflex and throwing up over the rocks. Instinctive tears mixed with the freshwater dripping from his hair. His mind was still running to catch up and couldn’t process anything more than immediate single syllable thoughts, all of which said; run.

Shaynen pushed to stand, but his bloody knees gave out on him. Dropping him and making him cry out again. His voice was hoarse from the water and coughing. It barely resembled a whisper. Sobs dug their claws into his aching chest. Sharp pain from his fist jerked him back onto his shins instead of on his hands and knees.

Blood ran down his wrist, made thin by the water drops. He opened his stiff hand. Inside was the silver dragon pendant. Now slightly bent, its tail and wings left minor cuts in his palm. The silver chain dangled brokenly between his bruised fingers. The stiff pain in his hand slid the pendant to the ground between the river stones. Shaynen’s broken voice screeched and he dove after it. Forcing the large rocks out of the way until he dug the necklace from the gravel and mud. Holding it to his chest, he rolled over off his knees. Blood was pooling beneath him, staining his clothes. He could only see the two bloody masses over the knees of his pants, but he was sure there were rips.

Shaynen looked up at the waterfall. His stomach lurched and he thought he’d throw up again. He tried to get to his feet again. His knees shook, but they held his weight. Everything seemed to float around him. His better judgment said to stay put, where his mother and father could find him. When they came looking. They would come looking. They had to.

The river banks stretched on with no cover in sight. Nothing to protect him. Shaynen limped to the cliff, the only standing thing as far as his weary eyes could see. The round stones hurt his feet and tried to trip him or roll his ankles. He hit the rock wall hard and slid down to the ground. Rolling to the side, more exhausted than he’d ever felt in his life. His blurry vision focused on the small nook hiding behind the waterfall. A dim light lit up in the fog of his mind. As if possessed, Shaynen pulled himself up the wall and used it to stumble to the waterfall.

The nook behind the waterfall was small, but so was he. His limbs shook and barely carried him up the wet and slippery rock into the tiny hollow. He squeezed his shoulder into the nook and pressed his knees to his chin to fit, resting his head against the rock. It wasn’t comfortable, but there was nothing that could make him comfortable in the current circumstance. He gazed unseeing, through the falling water. It was distorted but gave a light-based view of the immediate surroundings.

Shaynen slipped in and out of consciousness. The air behind the waterfall was cold, even with the bright heat of the sun beating down on the water of the falls. It turned the clear water gold and radiated bright light from the river stones. Only a minute had passed before shadows appearing behind the water interrupted Shaynen’s dozing. His heart jumped into his throat. He clapped a hand over his mouth as if he’d be heard over the falls.

“There’s blood here!” yelled the figure on the left bank. Where Shaynen had surfaced.

“Any trails?” The shadow on the opposite side of the bank cupped his hands around his mouth to yell over the noise of the falls.

“Trails?” the first yelled back for confirmation. “Not that I can see. There’s mud here and there, but the heat’s dried up a lot of the moisture here.”

“What?”

“NO!”

“LET'S GO TELL THE PROFESSOR!”

The two shadows joined again on the right side of the river. Shaynen’s pounding heartbeat in his throat made him nauseous again. Even when the two figures vanished, Shaynen was sure they'd reappear and find him.

He watched the water. Even when his eyes grew heavy and he began to nod. Phantoms appeared in his dreams and he'd wake up instantly. With his heart racing and tears falling down his face. Shaynen nodded off again when an explosion jolted him alert again. He slipped and nearly fell out of the nook and into the water.

The mist from the falls kept his clothes damp and deposited giant dew drops over his skin. His face hurt and his eyes were heavy. Their weight vanished when Shaynen’s eyes focused on the giant black shape looming over the falls. Shaynen’s breath caught painfully in his chest, and he pushed himself into the nook tighter. His heels slipping, stiff bloody knees popped painfully, and he whimpered before covering his mouth to stifle the noise.

The moving shadows turned toward the water, and Shaynen’s eyes widened. He shifted harder as the shadow began moving closer. It was so big it blocked out all the light from the sun that Shaynen could see. It was so big that when Shaynen strained to hear; he heard the shifting of rocks on either side of riverbanks. The shadow shifted and a giant claw pressed against the rock high above the nook Shaynen hid in. Parting the water and revealing his hiding place.

Staring at him was a creature that personified the night sky. With pearl eyes like the shifting phases of the moon. Cloaked in midnight black feathers with speckled white like stars. Large feathered wings tucked up on its back and a shape that was vaguely equine. Spiraling black ivory horns defined the head as that of a dragon.

The dragon lowered its head, so it was eye level with Shaynen. Its long snout had glittering onyx scales covering the maw, from jawline to under its eyes. The air it breathed out was warm and smelled like fresh rain. Shaynen couldn’t perceive his heart beating any longer. His hand fell from his mouth, letting it agape. He barely remembered to breathe. The eyes of the dragon visibly moved, from wide round full moon pearls to the white parts waning. Showing every moon phase the longer Shaynen stared frozen into them.

It removed its claw, and the water fell like a curtain back over Shaynen’s hiding place.

“Come out, if you please”

The deep voice rolled like midnight waves over the sea, but was heard crystal clear through the roaring falls as if it were inside Shaynen’s head. He drew in a sharp breath and grew light-headed. Nothing in his body moved. On the other side of the falls, he saw the dragon shift and lower.

“I will not harm you. Come out.”

The sound fascinated Shaynen. It was coming from his own head. He slid his legs down, hissing from the stiff ache in his legs. Whimpering from the shake and difficulty of trying to stand. He crept along the wall, sliding off a rock and plunging into the river. Getting doused in the falls, making him scramble up onto the ledge again. Shaynen crawled the rest of the way out from under the falls. Shoving up onto his feet and leaning against the wall, emerging and facing the black, feathered dragon. Their eyes were at the half-moon and waxing towards full. Shaynen didn’t like the fixed stare that focused solely on him. He sheepishly played with his hair, looking down at the smooth river rocks. Staying under the falls kept his hair damp, the top nearly dry while the bottom was still dripping wet. It had fallen back to the natural way his hair parted.

“What is that?”

Shaynen looked up and noticed the motion toward his still fist. He shakily turned and held out his hand. Forcing it open to reveal a glimpse of the pendant. The dragon shifted up and leaned forward. Shaynen snapped his fist closed and jerked backward.

“No! It’s my mom’s!” He yelled. The dragon was taken aback. Staring in surprise. Their eyes turned to full moons.

“I see.” The dragon settled again. “And where is your mother?” Shaynen’s jaw tightened, and he pressed his lips together. All he could manage was a stiff shrug.

"I see." The dragon said again, this time with a nod. They shook their wings out, a layer of star dust glimmering from the feathers. "Come with me then."

"Where? What about my mom and dad?" Shaynen slid back toward the nook behind the falls.

"They aren't coming," the dragon said so matter-of-factly that Shaynen didn't comprehend it. He stared blankly as the dragon got to their feet and shook out their feathers. Their eyes were completely black, reflecting a new moon. "They are dead." The same matter-of-factly tone. It sounded meaningless. As if the topic were how poorly the garden was coming.

"Oh." Shaynen numbly vocalized. He still didn't understand, but he felt he needed to say something.

“This way” The dragon lifted their giant wings and slowly lowered them. Throwing sparkling dust clouds into the air. In a few flaps, the dragon became completely obscured. Shaynen turned to ice despite the sun burning down on him. It was too cold for him to move, but as the ends of the mist dissipated, Shaynen was kicked into action. He sprinted, eyes closed and arms over his face, into the mist. It was cold, but only for a split second. After the rush of damp cold, Shaynen felt nothing. The surrounding temperature blended with his own mildly warm body temperature. He opened his eyes.

Shaynen stood in the middle of a giant stone room. Its ceilings rose so high that the longer he looked at it, the surer he was that it was moving. The walls and floor were unnaturally still, however. With a silence that held its hands over Shaynen’s ears. The sharp gasp Shaynen took had no sound. When he breathed out, the air trickled out like mist. Its bits and pieces broke into a cloud of butterflies that flew up toward the ceiling. A tiny noise of amusement escaped his throat.

At the far end of the room, Shaynen saw what looked like an altar. Up a short five or six steps was a giant stained glass window that was neither a window nor entirely made of glass. It looked as solid as the stone walls of the room, but was bordered by a stone wall frame. The window was also glassy, but not entirely see-through. The stained glass itself was of a starry-eyed dragon among a prismatic rainbow of clouds. Under it sat a large onyx basin and two sconces that held a fire that constantly changed colors but were perfectly in sync.

Shaynen didn’t see a doorway in the room. He moved forward, still clutching the pendant in his hand. There was nothing inside the basin as he looked into it. He spent a few minutes looking around from the steps for anything to do or that he was supposed to do. Kicking at the smooth ground and walking around the basin and sconces. The ache in his knees made his legs shake. He collapsed onto the steps, completely exhausted. Everything about his body felt heavy, from his eyes, his shoulders, his spine and to his toes.

He curled down on the step and laid his head on his arms. His knees touched his chest in his curled up ball. Shaynen promised he wouldn’t fall asleep, he wouldn’t fall asleep. His blinks grew longer but he wouldn’t fall asleep, he just needed a rest. Just a rest.

When Shaynen realized he’d fallen asleep, he chose not to wake up. Everything was still silent and despite being stiff from the awkward position he slept in, he was comfortable and his dreams hadn’t ended yet.

The dream was relatively straight-forward with near perfect realism. He could still feel the swinging of the trees beneath his feet. Could hear his mother yelling, telling him not to wander. A chilly breeze made him shiver, and he grabbed a jacket. It felt so real.

Knowing it was only a dream made his head hurt. He tried to force himself back into the dream and sleep, but the sensations were fading. The touch felt less real, and the ground beneath him was falling away. He mumbled his displeasure and tried to roll up tighter to recapture his sleep, but it was gone. With a sigh, Shaynen let his eyes open. The first thing he laid eyes on were scales and long, black claws attached to them.

Shaynen jumped and scrambled up the last step until he bumped into the pillar holding the basin.

"You have slept long." Instead of a voice in his head, Shaynen heard the voice coming from all around the room. Shaynen curled behind the pillar and looked out distrustfully.

“Where am I?” He didn’t speak, he didn’t have to. His thoughts were projected aloud, as if he had spoken.

“This is a temple.” The dragon turned their head in contemplation. “I am not sure what to do with you. I did not expect such uninitiation.”

“What does that mean?” Shaynen didn’t get time to consider his questions before they were spoken.

“Do you know what business your kind has here?”

“No,” Shaynen tightened his jaw. He had to consciously keep his mind blank and quiet, and it was a considerable effort.

“This is a place where deals are made.”

Shaynen looked up at the basin.

“Here?” His head said without his permission. His jaw shut harder, so hard it ached. He stood up and looked into the basin. It was empty. “There’s nothing in it.”

“You do not take from it. You must give of yourself something of value.”

Shaynen turned to the dragon with a frown.

“I don’t have any money. I don’t have pockets!” Shaynen said. The thoughts kept in line with his voice.

“It needs not be of monetary value, but of personal value.”

“But I don’t want to.” Shaynen slid down to the ground and grabbed his knees.

“Understandable,” The dragon nodded. “I will not force you. However, without you, I will fade away.”

“Why? How?” Shaynen cradled his hand, still holding the pendant. Looking back up and scooting back a little farther. Feeling overwhelmingly small under the stare of the beast.

“My kind only exists on the powerful will of those pacts. The memories. The emotions.” The dragon rested their head on the scaled claws. “Soon, I will be the last of my kind. Just as you are.”

“How do you know that?” Shaynen wiggled his hand into his lap. Feeling the urge to offer it up.

“Time does not flow only forward in this place. At all times, I know. At all times, I see. Yet a fog of powerlessness obscures it.”

Shaynen kept the surface thoughts away, so they didn’t come out without his permission.

“I still don’t want to,” He said. The voice of his mind whispering compared to his voice. He leaned his head on the pillar and looked up through his lashes with a pout.

“Is there a compromise?” He asked.

“A compromise? Is there such a thing you can offer?” The dragon lifted their head in intrigue.

“My mom and dad said that a compromise is two sides meeting in the middle. Is there a middle?”

The dragon looked around the ever-expanding roof in contemplation.

“I believe that is doable. It is unorthodox but I am willing to try something… unusual. It will still require an item of personal significance.”

Shaynen tightened around his hand, still holding the pendant. The odd position made the beaded bracelet press into his ribs. He felt his lip tremble.

“Do I have to?” His thoughts projected.

“You do not. I will not force you, as I did not force your father before you.”

Shaynen sat up. His mind was blank, but his chest was buzzing. He dragged himself to his feet. Feeling like he would throw up. He held up the pendant to the basin but couldn’t release it. It choked up his throat.

“I can’t do it,” the thought was so loud it echoed around the halls. Tears welled up and fell down his face. The dragon stood up. Shaynen could see right through them. They looked over his shaking hand.

“What is that?” They motioned at the beads on his wrist. Shaynen stared at his partial reflection in the blue beads.

“You’re going to give it back, right?” He asked.

“If that is what you choose.”

Shaynen shakily pulled the beads off his wrist.

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Shaynen let out a breath and closed his eyes, dropping the bracelet into the basin.