Chapter 2 THE SUMMONING

The rain hadn't stopped in three days.

It poured continuously over the village of Edenvale, wetting the cobblestones and rendering the lively village quiet. The streets were wet and slippery, and smoke rose from every chimney in the village. The elders were restless because the consistent rain only meant one thing.

Dragons.

Haven Thorne sat in her bedroom staring at the window, lost in thought.

With the rain falling nonstop, delivering bread was nowhere close to easy. And if they weren't able to deliver bread, her aunt won't make any sales. If their aunt didn't make any sales, then she wasn't going to get the dress she wanted so much for the market festival in a week.

Gosh! She hated the rain.

“Stop daydreaming, Haven,” her aunt called from the kitchen. "We still have a lot of work to do. Lyra isn't leaving the bathroom, and these breads need delivering."

Haven stood up and pulled herself to the kitchen with as much reluctance as she could muster. " When is it going to stop raining?”

" I heard, it's going to stop raining only when the dragons arrive,” Lyra said, stepping into the kitchen. " The consistent rain is a sign that the dragon king's emissaries are coming soon to choose a bride?”

Haven's face twisted in utter confusion.

Dragons? The dragon king? What was Lyra talking about?

Lyra noticed the confused look on her cousin's face and erupted into a feat of laughter. " I forgot you live under a rock, Haven.”

She moved further into the kitchen and settled on a stool. " It's rumored that in a kingdom far beyond the mountains, the dragons reside under the reign of a man so terrifying that his gaze can put a volcano to shame. They say every twenty five years, he visits a human village and takes one of the girls as a bride. She's to be used as a ritual to keep the peace between the humans and dragons, and keep the dragonkind alive.”

The explanation did not help Haven understand better. Rather it drove her further down the lane of confusion.

She had no idea of the world beyond her little village. She knew dragons were just childhood fairytales. But somehow, she couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that suddenly washed over her.

She laughed, in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. “You listen to a lot of gossip, Lyra."

" It's not gossip,” Lyra protested. ‘" That's what the cobbler's old mother says. “

“You listen to a lot of filth, Lyra," Mira said, walking over to her and handing her a basket full of bread. “Put that energy to good use and have these loaves of bread delivered to the Harlows."

“But Mama it's raining!" She whined despite the fact that she had already gotten to her feet.

“Then you'll have no food because it's raining."

Lyra huffed and stomped out with the basket in her hands, grumbling about how she was going to catch a cold.

Meanwhile, after her departure, the activities in the kitchen continued in silence.

As her hands worked the dough into perfection, Mira couldn't get her mind off the fact that the dragons were coming. She had that unsettling feeling in her stomach and somehow couldn't shake it off.

Her eyes keep drifting to the mark on Haven's neck. It had become more visible these past few days.

Her mind went back to the day when she had found Haven on her doorstep. She was still a baby, maybe two. Mira had fallen in love instantly and decided to keep the child.

However, she told no one about the mark that glowed from time to time. She couldn't risk anyone finding out about it. Not when it was rumoured that anyone carrying the mark was reserved for the dragons.

Meanwhile, oblivious to her aunt's worries, Haven worked on the dough she had been assigned to, all the while glancing out the window.

The rain had intensified, beating hard against the roof and threatening to break through the thin window pane.

A loud sound rippled through the clouds, loud and furious. It was just thunder, but somehow Haven couldn't shake the feeling that she heard something beneath the sound of the thunder.

A loud ear piercing growl.

The ground trembled slightly and a bowl fell off the shelf shattering to pieces.

“No," Mira whispered, eyes filled with horror. “They're early!”

“Who?" Haven asked. Mira didn't give her answer. Rather she ran to the window and stared out at the sky. Among the mist, streaks of faint red glow flickered atop the distant mountains, like molten fire breaking through stone.

They were here and Mira knew there was nothing she could do.

Outside, the village erupted into chaos. Bells start ringing all at once. Not church bells, but the bells used to warn the villagers in time of danger.

People began running to get to the safety of their homes before the threat on the horizon arrived. Men packed up their stores, women ran to their houses, carrying their kids who were too slow to run and mothers shouted around for their children to get home.

Haven stared at the occurrence in surprise.

There had never been such an uproar in the village. Not even when the other villages waged war on them.

“The emissaries are here!" A man shouted as he ran past their window.

The emissaries?

Mira recovered from whatever trance she was in and grabbed Haven by the shoulders turning her around. “Go upstairs, shut your bedroom door and windows, and don't step out till I say so."

“Aunt…"

“Now!" Mira yelled.

But before Haven could take another step, a large shadow flew across the house and the flapping of wings were heard, followed by a loud deafening roar that made the shutters shake and caused every dish on the shelf to rattle.

She rushed to the window and stared outside. In the distance a huge figure could be seen flying on the back of something enormous.

A closer look and she realized that whatever she was seeing in the distance wasn't just one, but six of them. As they approached the house, Haven felt the mark on the side of her neck burn.

Mira knew there was nothing else she could do. They were here and they would take

her. She raised her hands to her chest and whispered,” God have mercy…they've come for her.”