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The Heart Of The Dragon
by Brian Dolton
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The following is an excerpt from The Heart Of The Dragon. For access to the entire story, sign in or create an account to purchase this issue. “Dragon!” he cried, with all the breath in his lungs. “I call upon you! I stand at the Heart of the Dragon, and I call upon you!” His voice echoed back, off the boulders, and seemed to drown out everything; the wind in the leaves, the call of birds, the constant susurrus of the waterfall. “There is no need to shout.” Wei Tzu turned. The voice had been mild, a gentle reproof. It seemed to have come from a small, slightly plump, man, who had a prayer-mat rolled under his arm, and an indulgent smile on his face. There had been no man, a moment before. He had been alone. He narrowed his eyes. “You are the Dragon.” “Do I look like a Dragon to you?” the man asked. He unrolled his prayer-mat, and sat down on it, gesturing for Wei Tzu to do likewise. “I am but a humble scholar, who loves this place. It is a fine place to think, and to learn. If, that is, there is nobody shouting.” Wei Tzu did not sit down. “You are no scholar. I am a learned man, and I know that this is the Heart of the Dragon.” “Really?” The scholar looked about him, at the grass, and the rocks, and the pines, and the waterfall. “You would think I would have noticed.” “Do not play games with me,” Wei Tzu said. “You are the Dragon.” “If I am the Dragon,” the man remarked, “then should I desire to play games, it would not be for you to command me otherwise.” He said it mildly; but there was something behind the words, something vast, and old, and enormously powerful. Wei Tzu found himself bowing. “I . . . please, forgive me. I spoke in anger. It is just that . . . my need is great. I am Wei Tzu, of Xia Lao province. I have come to request a boon.” “And why should the Dragon grant this boon? As I understand matters, the Dragon is bound only to the command of those who have walked the Dragon Path. And you? You have not walked the Dragon Path, to reach this place.” “But I am here. I beg you, do not deny me this.” “There are rules, for those who would command the Dragon.” “You are the Dragon. You are all that is Fei Chu. You are power above and beyond all things. You are not bound by rules.” “I am the one who made this rule.” He had, it seemed, dropped his pretence. “Then you can break it.” “I could. If I chose. But I created the rule for a reason. Should I grant the desire of every man who comes to this place? There would be a horde here; a host, all making their entreaties. All seeking my power, for their petty purposes. No; if you would rouse me to action, you must be determined. You must walk the Dragon Path.” “I do not have time,” Wei Tzu said. “My son is dying. It took Chao Han years to walk the Dragon Path. Before I had covered a fraction of the journey, my son would be dead. My purpose would be lost.” “Then your purpose is but transient, and unworthy of attention.” “How can you say this? My child is dying. My son . . . ” Excerpt from The Heart Of The Dragon © Copyright 2009, Brian Dolton
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