That "friend" was none other than a dragon – a living, fire-breathing dragon. Zoe passed out from the shock; she thought she was seeing things since, after all, dragons are imaginary creatures. Zoe was also very frightened. Why did Bud leave? Surely he wouldn't put her in any more danger by leaving her alone with a dragon, but he obviously had his reasons. Zoe worried that her hostess might kill her on the spot. That was far from the truth, as her draconian friend tried to explain. In time Zoe would get to know more about Neva, but for now she focused on the fabulous creature who inhabited the bowels of the Centralia. How long has she been down here?, Zoe wondered. How did she come to be? And why hasn't anyone discovered her by now.
"I mean," Zoe tentatively asked, "people think dragons are stuff of fairy tales. If they knew a dragon actually lived beneath 2003 Chicago, it would be the event of a thousand lifetimes! Why have you hidden yourself all this time?"
Neva could only reply, "I have my reasons, Zoe. Now, hush. You've been through a trying ordeal; you need your rest." That said, Neva settled in a far corner to sleep.
Zoe couldn't sleep if she tried. All she could do was observe and assess this fabulous animal. In a strange fascination, Zoe couldn't help admiring the dragon's beauty, inside and out. Maybe she's not evil or vicious, like the stories have always portrayed dragons. This one is kind, wise, intelligent, warm-hearted. Why else would Bud leave me here, alone, with a dragon?
Zoe watched Neva, awed by the sheer size of the creature. Neva was not quite twenty feet long. Her slender body was covered in bluish-green scales which sparkled in the bright crystalline light of the chamber. Her head was well-shaped with its long slender snout, multi-hued crest, large golden eyes, gilt horns, and ivory teeth. Neva's wings were most beautiful – large gossamer wings that shimmered iridescently.
This is no monster, thought Zoe as she fought her own need for sleep. She knew she would return home to her father, but what would she say to the folks on the outside? Would they believe that she came face to face with an actual dragon?
Then it sunk in for Zoe: The Centralia, ultimately Neva's home, may be destined for the wrecking ball. At least that's what Bud told her on the way down to Neva's chambers. Where did Bud get a crazy idea like that? Why raze the historic Centralia? That is not what her father had planned.
"What Bud said isn't true! Daddy doesn't want to destroy the theater; he wants to restore it! He told me so himself," Zoe said out loud, waking Neva from a deep slumber.
"Zoe," Neva said in a soft voice, "I know the truth. What Eldon told me not long ago, about the theater's fate, is false."
"Then," asked Zoe, "where would Bud hear such lies? I mean, Daddy said he had a tenant lined up long before the renovation was on paper. No one knows this except him and me. It's to be announced later after the renovation gets underway."
Neva nodded, saying, "Those people spreading the rumors have their reasons; but, for now, let us concentrate on returning you to your father."
Zoe didn't quite understand why her hostess, this dragon, a creature from another time and place, treated her so kindly yet guardedly. However, in the back of her mind, Zoe knew she would in time return to her father, and her fiancé.
She began to cry, whispering, "Nathan..."
Neva roused herself from her sleeping spot, ambling her way towards Zoe. The dragon felt nothing but empathy for the young woman and made it her mission to protect her at any costs. However, now was not the time to confront those responsible for the kidnapping; they will pay later, thought Neva.
I know she has questions, and fears, about me. She is obviously grieving over her love; she fears she may never see him again.
"Zoe," she gently said, settling herself beside her guest, "in time you and your beloved will reunite. But, please, for your sake, stay with me. You will be safe here."
She smiled – at least, to Zoe, it was a smile – and placed her azure-scaled, gilt-clawed hand upon the girl's shoulder.
"You have questions, about me. How I came to be here, in your century, in your Chicago."
Zoe looked at Neva without fear; she regarded the dragon as a trusted friend, as close a friend as Fran. Her fears and doubts melted away as she said, still fighting tears, "Yes, I wondered how you came to be. I mean, dragons don't exist, at least in the minds of rational people."
Neva softly laughed, saying, "My dear Zoe, I shall tell you about my life and you, in turn, shall tell me about yours. But I know much about you already."
"OK," said Zoe with a smile, wiping away tears streaming down her sepia-toned cheeks and brushing away stray strands of dark wavy hair. She hadn't checked her appearance since being snatched off the street. She glanced at the massive quartz mirror and caught her reflection. Oh my!, she thought with a shudder, I look a fright!
"You worry too much about your appearance, Zoe."
Zoe, caught off-guard, laughed out loud and long, the first real laughter since last night. "Oh, Neva, I'm such a mess! Look at me. My dress in all tattered and soiled, my hair is a wreck, my makeup is all streaked, my nails–"
"Nonsense! You are beautiful!," Neva pronounced loftily; but she grew serious as she began to recount to Zoe how she came to America so many centuries ago.
Zoe couldn't believe what Neva just told her, that the dragon was more than 500 years old.
"You were actually born in the 15th Century? But how did you end up here? How did you survive?"
Noticing Zoe's shivers, Neva aimed her fiery breath at a makeshift fireplace Bud had fashioned months before. Zoe watched in amazement as the dragon kindled a cozy blaze; she was even more amazed when the dragon waved her hand at the quartz mirror, conjuring images of the Chicago Symphony in concert.
"One of the things about your country I've come to admire: the diverse culture and arts. I love Copland's music, especially Appalachian Spring, don't you?"
Huh? A dragon – a creature born in 1400's Europe – loving contemporary American classical music? Zoe was flabbergasted. She could only nod and listen in silence. Feeling more at ease, Zoe snuggled next to Neva, reveling in the creature's warmth and beauty. She listened intently as the dragon recalled life events.
"I was born in 1430, in France. From what I've learned, my parents were the last of a long noble line of dragons. So many of us either were slayed by humans or died of old age. My father possessed the gift of foreshadowing of which he passed on to me. My mother possessed immense magical powers of which I have, too. For centuries, my family lived peacefully, high in the Alps, away from humans, that is until an evil wizard placed a curse upon my family, for what reason I still do not know. My mother, very frightened and having just laid her eggs, deliberately destroyed all her offspring save one."
"That would be you," Zoe commented.
"Yes," replied Neva with a wistful look in her eyes. "I really never knew my parents. I later learned that I, still within the confines of my egg, was snatched by an adventurous human, a Frenchman named Abelard, who had hoped to sell me to a Venetian nobleman who himself dabbled in the dark arts."
"Oh my God! Neva, I had no idea someone actually wanted to sell you!," exclaimed Zoe. "What would that person do to you once he got hold of you?"
"Who knew? Perhaps he had his own selfish reasons, but, of course, the sale was never made."
"Why?"
"Because Abelard unwisely decided to lock me in a chest then stashed me aboard the Doña Lucia. He accompanied a special expedition and had hoped no one would suspect what was in that chest. So he allowed the rumors to fly: that the chest contained gold and costly gems. Of course, he didn't count on the curiosity of a certain navigator. That man, Facio, set me free."
******
It was almost dusk, and Bud kept looking back, making sure he wasn't followed. Surely, he reasoned, those guys who took that girl have already discovered she's missing. Bud shuddered that those kidnappers could come after him out of fear he knows something that would blow their cover. Then again, Bud thought that the kidnappers may not return here; they probably figured Zoe may be elsewhere.
With a sigh of partial relief, Bud entered the building, saying to himself, "I hope Zoe likes fried chicken. Them ladies at the church sure know how to cook up some good food."
Once inside, Bud immediately made his way toward the orchestra pit. Setting the bag on the floor, he reached into his pocket and produced that blue crystal orb. Now, placing the orb just so on the secret door, Bud waited for the door to snap open. Just then, Bud felt hands upon him.
"Hey, old timer. Going' anywhere? Or should I say, going to where you stashed the girl!"
Bud wheeled around to face the voice. There were two men: one tall rough-looking young man with long dishwater blond hair, the other short, stout, gray-haired, and much better dressed. Bud just stared at the men, not knowing what to say or do.
The short man said through gritted teeth, "You heard me, old man! Where's the girl? Where did you stash Zoe? And don't lie to me because I know you've been here last night."
The younger man chimed in, "It's him all right, boss. I saw him coming out the place after Donna and I left here last night. After we discovered the girl missing."
"Then," said the older man, "he knows where Zoe is."
He ordered the younger man to rough up Bud in the cruelest fashion. The homeless man was too old, too infirm to fight back as the young man repeatedly pummeled him with many blows to the face and gut.
Bud lay on the floor, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain. During the attack he dropped the orb. He called out, very inaudibly, "Neva, hurry up and come here. They're onto us. Keep Zoe safe."
Soon he heard the older man say, "Take him upstairs to the green room, Andy. Tie him up real good. Make sure he doesn't escape."
"What if he tries, boss?"
"He won't, once I get Bruce up here to watch him. Besides, he's a bum. Where's he going to go?"
******
"So, you thought this Facio named you, but he was talking about the snow."
Zoe Kendall sat before the massive fireplace and savored spicy cakes Neva conjured out of thin air. She was hungry and never once questioned the dragon, "How did you do that?" It was amazing, she thought, that, not long ago, her fate hung in the balance. Now, with the help of an elderly street bum and a magical dragon, she was safe from those who wanted to do her harm. They were still out there, the ones who kidnapped her, so Zoe abided by Neva's wishes to remain within the secret chamber until she could be reunited with her family.
Actually, Zoe gave her predicament little thought as she listened to Neva's tales of how the dragon came to America. She learned how a newly-hatched Neva vanished just before the ship sank offshore; about the ill-fated voyage of the Doña Lucia; the fate of the ship's and of two survivors: Björn and Facio. Neva told her about the shipwrecked pair thinking they had washed ashore in somewhere in Scandinavia or the frigid island nations far north of Britain.
"You found that cave where Björn and Facio died."
"Yes, I managed, despite my infancy, to secure shelter and food before the approaching storm. I knew the men would eventually follow the smoke wafting from the cave. I left enough sustenance and a warm fire for their survival. Alas, it was not to be. They, being fragile humans, quickly succumbed to the elements."
Zoe nodded as she rejoined, "And Facio, before he died, saw you in the cave, and he saw the snow and ice blocking the entrance. He said 'il drago', meaning you, then 'il neve', meaning the snow."
Neva answered, "Only I didn't quite know what he meant, but I assumed he was giving me a name. I already knew I was a dragon." She paused to laugh then grew serious and said, "They died never knowing they were actually in America – what is now known as New England precisely – and not far from the place where another group crossing the Atlantic would land nearly one hundred years hence."
"Plymouth! Facio and Björn were in Massachusetts," exclaimed Zoe in realization.
"Yes," replied Neva, "and I simply went about my way in this new land, quietly observing its journey through history."
"But where did you go from there? And didn't anyone see you?"
"No, I took great pains not to be seen by humans. I followed my family's lead by not interacting with humans lest I lose my life to sword and musket, and closed minds. However, the natives did get a glimpse of me every now and then, and they thought I was sent as a sign of things to come."
"Such as the coming of the Europeans, and the ensuing conflicts."
"Yes."
Zoe then wryly said, "Let's see. You're in Chicago now, and you're a dragon. I don't suppose you had any role in the Great Chicago Fire."
To this Neva laughed long and hard. It was good, to Zoe, to hear the dragon laugh. At least this creature, despite her age and grand wisdom, does have a sharp sense of humor.
"My dear Zoe, I did not come here until 1900. I assure you that Mrs. O'Leary's cow still bears the responsibility for that conflagration."
Zoe smiled and laughed then asked the dragon, "Why choose the Centralia? How did the crystal chamber evolve, and what did you experience during your Chicago century?"
Neva was about to tell Zoe just that but stopped as the crystal mirror fogged over. Something is wrong, thought Zoe, or else Neva would tell me more of her life in America. She noticed an unearthly light shining in the dragon's golden eye. Yes, something is afoot.
"What's wrong, Neva?," she asked.
"Something has happened to Eldon."
"Oh no, I hope he didn't get caught..."
"I'm afraid, dear Zoe, he did."
Now Zoe was growing more adn more apprehensive. Here she was stuck in the dragon's chambers; the main key to her return home was now in danger.
"What are we going to do?," asked Zoe.
Neva's mind was made up. Although she knew the consequences if other humans ever saw her, she had to take those risks.
"Stay here, Zoe, while I go help Eldon."
"But, Neva, what if those kidnappers have Bud? They could kill him because they don't have me."
"Hush, child," said Neva as she closed her eyes, spread her wings, adding, "I shall return soon."
The dragon vanished in a cloud of multi-hued crystalline light.
TO BE CONTINUED...To Chapter 4!
Copyright©2003 by P.R. Parker. All Rights Reserved.