• “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Briar said. Strangely, there was no flash of red.
    “If you know nothing about it, then why did you think it?” Jana asked.
    “I don’t know whose thoughts those were, but they weren’t mine,” Briar said. Again, there was no flash of red.
    “If those thoughts did not belong to you,” Gihan said, “then to whom did they belong?”
    “I don’t know,” Briar said.
    Jana recoiled mentally as a harsh voice spoke in her mind without warning.
    You thing you’re so smart, don’t you, girl? it said. You’re an adult, yet you have no idea what your parents really are!
    Who are you? Jana asked. And what do you mean by ‘what my parents really are’?
    Your brothers and sister aren’t like you, the voice said. Actually, they aren’t your true siblings.
    What? Jana asked. Of course they’re my true siblings!
    No, they aren’t, the voice said. Your parents adopted them before you were born.
    You have no proof of that! Jana said.
    Try to contact your sister and ask her yourself, the voice said, a smug note in its tone.
    Jana called out with her mind, but no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to reach her sister.
    Why won’t it work? she wondered. It’s always worked before.
    Did you ever think maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you? the voice asked.
    Why wouldn’t she want to talk to me? Jana asked. We are sisters, no matter what you say.
    Alright, then ask yourself this, the voice said. If your parents loved you so much, then why did they leave you?
    My parents would never leave us on purpose!     Jana said. At least, not without telling us where they were going and how long they’d be gone.
    But they did, did they not?     the voice said mockingly. They couldn’t stand to look at you, so they left.
    Just as Jana was about to make a cutting reply, a new voice spoke in her mind.
    Don’t listen to him, Jana, it said. This new voice was vaguely familiar, and Jana wondered where she’d heard it before.
    Do I know you? she asked.
    You don’t remember my voice, do you? the new voice asked.
    No, Jana said. Should I?
    Think back to when you were eight years old,     the new voice said. You were hiding from a boy who was bullying you, and your brothers chased the boy away. You told me about it later that night.
    Mama?     Jana asked, not sure if she could believe what she was being told.
    Yes, Jana, the voice said, and Jana could hear a smile when it spoke.
    I don’t believe it! Jana thought ecstatically. Where are you?
    That isn’t important right now,     her mother said. What is important is that you learn as much as you can about the golden dragons from Gihan and any other available source.
    Why do I need to learn as much as I can about the golden dragons?     Jana asked.
    Gihan knows more than he is telling, her mother said.
    How do you know, Mama? Jana asked.
    Your father and I have known Gihan for years, her mother said. Believe me, he knows more than you think.
    How much more?
    More than he’s willing to let on,     her mother said. I have to go, now.
    But I have so many questions!     Jana thought quickly. How will I talk to you again?
    I will contact you,     her mother said. Now, go and learn what you can.
    But Mama-
    We will talk again soon, Jana,     her mother said gently. For now, research and study while you still can. Goodbye, my daughter.
    With that, her mother’s voice retreated, leaving Jana feeling empty inside.
    “I have to get going,” Briar was saying.
    “Come and visit again sometime,” Gihan said, as the three of them stood. He shook hands with Briar, and then he and Jana left the café, heading back to inn for lunch.
    As they ate, Jana grew quiet, thinking about what her mother had told her to do. Why did her mother want her to learn as much as she could about the golden dragons? What was so important about them? And what did Gihan know that he wasn’t willing to share? She didn’t realize Gihan had spoken until she felt his hand on her arm. She jumped and looked up at him.
    “Are you alright, Jana?” he asked. “You have not spoken much.”
    “I was just thinking about something I was told earlier,” she said.
    “What was it?” he asked.
    “Someone told me to learn as much as I can about the golden dragons from any available source,” she said, “including you.”
    “What would I know about the golden dragons?” Gihan asked. “And who asked you to learn what you can about them?”
    “Someone who said they’ve known you for years,” Jana said. “They also said you know more than you’re letting on.”
    Gihan blinked once, then sat back in his chair with a sigh.
    “Alright,” he said. “What would you like to know?”
    “Anything you can tell me,” Jana said.
    “Very well,” Gihan said. “Let us start at the beginning. As Salo said yesterday, golden dragons were the rarest of all the dragons. They were so rare that it would be many years, often as long as a century, between sightings and/or encounters with them.”
    “Salo said that the last true golden dragon died a thousand years ago,” Jana said. Gihan nodded.
    “That is the rumor,” he said. “Of course, no one has ever been able to prove it, as no bones have ever been found.”
    “How would anyone be able to tell if any skeleton was a golden dragon’s, anyway?” Jana asked.
    “That is not known, again because no bones have ever been found,” he said.
    “Okay, so besides being the rarest of all the dragons, what is so special about the golden dragons?” she inquired,
    “Not only were they rare, they were also shape-shifters,” Gihan said.
    “Wait, so golden dragons could change into other animals?” she asked, confused. Gihan nodded.
    “Not only animals, but humans, as well,” he said. “That is one reason that no golden dragon skeletons have ever been found. No one knows what form they take when they die.”
    “So they can die?” Jana asked.
    “Yes, they can die,” he said. “They cannot be physically or magically slain, however. They only way they can die is from old age.”
    “How old is the oldest golden dragon that you’ve heard of?” Jana asked.
    “If I recall correctly, the oldest recorded golden dragon lived to be nearly five thousand years old,” he said.