by Kessie Carroll

Created on: April 09, 2009

The skydrake pair lived on the hilltop north of town. They had been there for as long as Jay could remember, and the town considered them good luck.

Some days the drakes flew so high that they were out of sight, but their songs came trickling down the wind like a whisper of blessed rain. During their songs, the villagers took offerings of food and flowers and left them on the drakes' hilltop.

The drakes ate everything, but they were fond of fresh bread. Seeing as their presence made the crops grow exceptionally well, the villagers didn't begrudge them a loaf or two.

Jay's father was the village miller, and his mother wove cloth in a small lean-to on the side of their house. Altogether they were well off, and Jay often had a loaf or two to take up the drakes' hill. As he placed it on the polished stone alongside other such offerings, he whispered a wish to the drakes: "I wish I had a little brother."

Sometimes when he climbed the hill, one of the drakes was there, lying stretched out in the warm sun. He respectfully left the food on the stone and backed away, and watched as the creature stretched out its long neck and licked up the food. Then it sang him a brief song of thanks.

The male drake was larger than the female. Both of them had long, snaky bodies covered in fine hair, short legs, and wide, feathery wings. The male was golden, while the smaller female was pure white. They had voices like harps and violins, and they communicated by singing.

Jay loved their songs. He liked visiting their hilltop and seeing them up close, and never felt afraid. The drakes loved their humans. In return, they drove away the wolves and wildcats from the surrounding countryside. There was even a story about how a black dragon had once come to raid the cattle at calving time, and the two skydrakes had attacked it and driven it off.

At midsummer that year, a ripple of news spread through town. The drakes had dug a deep, sandy nest on their hilltop, and the female was coiled in it, laying eggs. Jay's parents kept him away, pointing out how hens were irritable while on the nest, but others climbed the hill and reported that there were seven eggs, all half-buried in the warm sand. The female never went far from them.

Then disaster struck.

Jay was hoeing weeds in the vegetable patch when he heard shouts in the distance. He looked toward the drakes' hill, and saw a glint of sun on metal.

He set the hoe against the garden fence, jumped over it and set off at a quick walk toward the hill. He

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