The Human-Magma

“Who is injured? Is everything all rig…….? You brought a human here!!” Maximus bellows loudly.

“What were you thinking. Take him away. We don’t need the trouble and you know Xander can have your head for this” he shifts on his feet as he yells staring daggers at the man.

“He is injured I need to take him to doc. Would you help me get him there and I promise I will explain” I ask.

Maximus still stands there scowling at me. In our brief talk I can hear the humans heartbeat start to slow even more. He is losing too much blood and I don’t have the time for this. I grab the arm of the man and heft as much of his weight as I can lift onto myself. I grunt underneath the strain as I start to carry him to show Maximus that he will not sway me. He would know that I would never do anything that could cause our village harm. We have both been here since we were kids.

“I really hope you know what you are doing. You may control the fires of the forest, but this is one fire you won’t be able to put out” he murmurs taking the man from me completely. As I watch him lift the man over his shoulders I feel a since like I lost something run through my body. I shake the emotion away feeling silly about for someone I barely know. With my hands now free. I untie the sack from calf and quickly pull my clothing free. I rush to put on the robe as we walk covering my nakedness. While we are all used to seeing each other without clothes it is a well-known rule that one must be dressed when walking through the village.

I wanted to be the one to carry him. I seem to feel a strange responsibility towards this human. I tell myself that he needs our help because it could be my job on the line if he doesn’t return back to work. All smokejumpers need a captain to follow after all even if he isn’t from my station.

Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.

He will belong to us soon whether we accept it or not. My dragon says.

He is human. He doesn’t belong to us, and he never will. We just need to help him get better so that he can leave. I try to explain to her.

I sigh audible as she turns her back on me. In the clinic Maximus places the man onto the examination table just as the doctor is running through the door.

“I hear we have a trauma case in today. What have you done to injure yourself now Magma” Dr. Frost says with a frown.

“It is not me who is injured. I need you to fix this human.” I say as she comes over to examine him. “He has second and third degree burns from what I can tell. He also appears to be suffering from heat exhaustion, dehydration, smoke inhalation and he is bleeding from his leg heavily.” She raises a hand in the air stopping me from giving her my assessment of his needs. She listens to his heart and lungs with a stethoscope. She listens for what feels like forever and her expression gives nothing away.

She pulls away from him with a frown on her face. “If you know where he comes from I would call his people. There is nothing that we can do to heal him. His heart is failing and one of his lungs sounds like it may soon collapse. I am sorry Magma but there is nothing I can do.” She says placing a hand on my arm.

Noooooo! He is mine. He will not die today. She can save him!

You can save him doc. You know what you have to do.” I say as I stop her from leaving the room.

She lowers her head to the ground, and I see her shoulders sag. “There is nothing I can do Magma. You know the rules. We are never to use it on a human. I will leave you to say your goodbyes.

Maximus has stood there off to the side watching our entire exchange. His eyebrows are drawn together as he stares at me. “You know she is right dear sister. We do not break our vows for the humans. Doing so would only bring destruction to us. You must let the human die. I will return later to help you take his body to his people.” He says. I look at him with all the rage I feel. Of course, his voice sounds sincere but as usual his expression lies blank on his face.

Normally I find his statue demeanor comforting but today it just makes me want to smash in his face. I turn my back on him and look at my human.

There is nothing we can do Drakaina. We cannot break our vows unless we want to lose our home. One human isn’t worth that. I inform her as I look at his aura slowly fading away.

You do not understand. We must save him. You see his aura. He belongs to us! She demands inside my head.

No, he doesn’t. we do not even know his name. he means nothing to us! I scream.

I hunch over as I feel my bones begin to break as if she will shift in the room. I pant trying to get air to calm her. She has never tried to force a shift since our first. I have no idea what has gotten into her.

You will save him. He belongs to us. You will save our mate! NOW!! She roars.

My mate. This is my mate. As the thought runs through my mind I feel my Drakaina take pause as I process. I run over to the supple cabinet and rummage through searching for a needle. I quickly grab one and rush back to his side. There is only a little bit of his silver aura left surrounded the pinkish hew. He doesn’t have much time left. I poke the needle into the crook of my elbow and meet my skins resistance.

Make our skin vulnerable for a few minutes. If we want to save him I need to get blood. I tell her

Done! Now hurry! She informs me.

The needle slips into my skin and I tap a vein watching the luminescent blood fill the gauge. I don’t know the precise measurement I will need so I decide to fill the needle all the way. I yank the needle from my arm and feel the small wound heal immediately. As his aura only shows that slight pink color I jab the needle into his heart and push the plunger down with heavy breath. I remove the needle from his chest and toss it across the room.

I put my face in front of his waiting for a change to happen. The seconds seem to tick so slow, and his aura barely reaches out beyond his body. In the seconds as I watch him his aura slowly fades away.

“No.no.no. I can’t have been too late.” I cry. I climb onto the examination station and straddle his body. My hands fold over one another over his diaphragm as I start the rhythms for CPR. One. Two. Three. Four. Breathe. One. Two. Three. Four. Breathe. My vision burns as tears leak from my eyes while I try to save him.

After a few more rotations I feel his heart starts to beat once more. I sag against him as he begins to take air into his lungs. I blink my vision clear and look into his face. He is still covered in ash in grime. I run the back of my hand along the stubble on his jaw wishing that he would open his eyes for just a moment. I want to see them to make sure he is truly alive. Seeing the colors of his aura come to light and hearing him breath just aren’t enough for me. I wipe the tears from my face and climb off the exam table. I stand there staring at him when I hear footsteps behind me. I know there will be consequences for what I have just done. I broke the vow that all dragons were forced to make when we found out about our blood. I tense my shoulders as I hear him sniffing the air. After two long inhales his growl fills the room. I know he scents my blood and has come to the decision of what I have done.

“What did you do Magma?” Maximus ask turning me to meet his furious gaze. “You will face Xander’s wrath for this. I won’t be able to help you this time. I will be forced by my duty to turn you in. Why would you choose to do this. He is just a human!” he screams in my face.

“I had to. I couldn’t let him die” I whisper.

He takes my arm in a forceful grip and begins to pull me from the room. I look back at the stranger who is to be my mate and silently hope that the decision I made will be worth it. I hope that I didn’t save him only to die for the crime I committed. As we exit the clinic I solidify myself to make the consequences of my actions as we head to our leaders home.