by Ramy Vance
Alex stretched and shook her head like she was trying to free herself from cobwebs. “No, it’s not just you. I feel weird too. Chine says it’s because we’re getting close to the ether dragons. They have a psychic barrier up to confuse people. No one knows they’re here because of it; they’re hiding in plain sight. Chine isn’t affected, and he’ll make sure we get there.”
Anabelle glanced at Rasputina, who didn’t seem to be affected. “How are you holding up?”
Rasputina tapped her head and smiled distantly. “Most of this is already gone. There isn’t much to tamper with.”
Anabelle continued to watch her surroundings. There were trees again, but she didn’t remember when they had entered another forest. Then there was a waterfall flowing out of a mountain. She couldn’t say when they had left the forest and come into the mountains. Everything began to blur together.
When Anabelle turned to look at her fellow travelers, she couldn’t tell them apart. Their faces were smeared. They looked like wax figures exposed to heat for too long. “We need to stop.”
She leapt off her mount and stumbled, and Suzuki did the same. Suzuki leaned forward and held his head as he vomited. “Fuck! What’s happening?”
Alex got off Chine and ran over to him to help him to his feet. She slung his arm over her shoulder, dragged him back to his axebeak, and flung him onto its back. Then she took the axebeak’s reins and pulled it forward, swaying slightly as she walked.
Rasputina approached Anabelle, who scampered backward and shouted, “Get the fuck away from me!” Rasputina’s eyes glowed bright green, and flames erupted from beneath her eyelids. Her skin melted down her face, revealing the alabaster skull beneath.
Anabelle’s mana flashed around her, searing the grass beneath her and lashing out at Rasputina.
Rasputina raised her hand, and it glowed green too. “Trust me.”
Anabelle frantically looked from Rasputina to Alex, who was holding her head as she muttered to herself. The flames around her subsided.
Rasputina knelt beside the elf and pressed her finger to her head. A warm feeling flowed from Anabelle’s forehead to the rest of her body, and the crippling nausea faded enough for her to get back to her feet.
The lich helped her up, guided her to her horse, and helped her mount. Then she took the reins and pulled the horse up to Alex. “How much farther?”
Chine raised his head and sniffed the air. Alex turned to Rasputina and said, “We’re closing on the inner sanctum. Take Suzuki’s reins. Chine and I will make sure everyone’s heads don’t explode from the strain.”
Rasputina took the reins, and Alex climbed onto her dragon.
Alex shut her eyes, and the air around them all rippled and then grew still as if it had been encased in a bubble. A psychic shield spread out from Alex and Chine as they moved to the front of the party and guided Rasputina.
Anabelle watched this happening as if she were in a dream. Everything continued to move, swaying back and forth and melting. She stared at the back of the lich’s head and watched flames flickering.
Finally, Alex stopped.
As the party came to a halt, the pain vanished from Anabelle’s head, and her vision returned to normal. They were beneath a sky of stars, even though the sun was still in the sky. A lake spread out like an ocean and craggy black rocks surrounded it.
Dozens of eyes opened across the rocks.
They had arrived at the Palace of the Ether Dragons.
Chapter Seventeen
Dozens of dragons slunk out of the shadows. Most of them dwarfed Chine, demonstrating just how young Alex’s dragon was. The dragons hissed violently, hardly a friendly sound.
Anabelle’s senses had come back to her. Apparently, the psychic bubble was the outer defense. Here within the palace, everything was back to normal.
Alex dismounted and walked toward the approaching dragons. She held up both hands, signaling that she had come in peace. Suzuki walked up beside her but made no such gesture.
One of the older dragons, a graying creature with jagged wings who was covered in scars, flew down and landed before them. It stretched its wings and let out a mighty roar. As it leaned forward to get a better look at the mortals who had entered its court, the dragon’s telepathic voice boomed in Anabelle’s head. Who dares to enter our sanctuary?
Suzuki stepped forward, bowing low. “My name is Suzuki, the Most Mundane of the Mundanes, Dragon Bound to the Great Red Dragon. These are my companions. Anna—”
The dragon raised its hand, cutting Suzuki off. Your name is loved among dragons, but only enough to suffice for you. You are welcome among all dragons, but your companions must answer themselves.
Alex clicked her tongue at Suzuki before muttering, “Showoff,” and lowering her hands. She spoke to the dragon. “I’m Alex Bound of the dragonriders’ squad Boundless. I’m Chine’s rider.”
The dragon eyed Chine, his one eye also focusing on the dragon. “Yes, I know Chine. A child of one of our sister tribes, one angry enough to forsake his horde for battle. Tell me, Chine, how does your decision sit with you now?”
Anabelle heard Chine’s voice in her head for the first time. He must have been making an effort to speak to all the dragons and mortals. War is harsh. I have seen many lives lost, those of my friends and those I consider family, but none from my new herd have fallen. Alex is a brave leader and a caring human. There are no riders as noble as she is.
The old ether dragon roared as he dug up the ground with his claws. And that is why you bring this great evil to your home?
Rasputina removed her hood and released the reins of the horse she had guided. “I see you still recognize me, even with a new layer of skin.”
Anabelle wasn’t surprised that the ether dragons knew Rasputina, but she wasn’t sure how well. Most creatures of the nine realms knew liches as an abstract evil, and many had been touched by a lich’s evil.
The old ether dragon snarled as his lizard eyes narrowed on Rasputina. How could we forget? Our lives and stories are not so short that we would neglect to tell our children the tales of Rasputina, the profane lich, who cut our numbers down to what they are today. I believe it was my mother who managed to burn off your skin?
Rasputina opened her robe, showing a scar that ran down from her neck to her groin. “Aye, it was she who cut me open and spilled my guts for the first time. A powerful warrior.”
And yet, that didn’t stop you from burning our homes to the ground and covering the earth with our corpses. Forgive me, lich, if my memory distorts the truth, but was it not you who gnawed the bones of our fallen for centuries, guarding them like a feral beast?
There was no remorse on the lich’s face as she listened to the dragon. “Your memory serves you well, and it would do no good to tell you that I am not the same lich. I’ve had a portion of my soul restored. Perhaps I am still a monster, but not as monstrous as I once was.”
The dragon breathed a plume of smoke from his nostrils. Ah, a soul now? It’s obvious that its weight is dragging you down with remorse.
Rasputina’s face showed no change. “I did not come here to apologize. It would fall on deaf ears, regardless of my capacity for feeling. All I need for you to know that I came here for the same purposes as these three.”
The dragon took a step forward and bowed his head in front of Suzuki and Anabelle, watching them closely. And what is that purpose?
Anabelle and Suzuki exchanged glances as they tried to figure out who should speak. “Uh, I think you should handle this one,” the elf said. “You’re the one with the dragon clout.”
Suzuki cleared his throat to speak and Anabelle saw the warrior disappear for a second, replaced by a twenty-something man riddled with insecurity, but only for a moment. If Anabelle hadn’t been used to looking for those small moments, she wouldn’t have seen it.
“We’ve come to ask for your help against the Dark One,” Suzuki explained.
A mighty hiss went up from the dragons crouching o
n the craggy black stones.
Anabelle didn’t need decades of people watching to know what that sound meant.
The old dragon chuckled as he leaned back on his hind legs, towering above Myrddin’s agents. You wish us to join your fight? This battle among mortals is of no consequence to us. The dragons have been and always will be. Whatever happens to you small, scurrying, naked creatures is of no importance to us. We have told countless young dragons who wished to fight the Dark One the same thing. This is not our problem or our fight.
“Except it is,” Anabelle said.
The old dragon leered at Anabelle, his mouth slightly open as if to remind her that he could swallow her if he felt the need to. How is it our problem?
Anabelle knew dragons were exceptional at oration, and they valued it second to none. She was going to have to be careful with her words. She’d seen enough from Suzuki to know what to shoot for.
“The elves believed this conflict was above them for years. Myrddin had tried for years to convince us to fight alongside him, but we thought it was the problem of the dust children. The problems of those who lived a mere two hundred years at most were not ours. We would simply wait for the conflict to end and go back to our lives.”
Anabelle watched the dragon’s expression, trying to read it. She couldn’t gather much other than that she had his attention and perhaps that of those watching as well.
“But that isn’t what happened. The Dark One enslaved the orcs before we realized it and then began attacking and enslaving every living being in the nine realms he could get his hands on. You dragons are not above it. I have fought drakes, wyrms, and dragons under the Dark One’s control. It might be difficult to find and subdue you, but it is possible, and it is happening. You can make the same mistake the elves made and stand by idly as your people are reduced to pawns, or you can bring the fight to him and end this threat before it wipes you out.”
The old dragon settled down on all his legs and smiled. Oh, little elf, you speak of your people’s pain with a candor unseen among most of the fae folk. Your words ring true, yet you allow that despicable creature to walk at your side as if you were equals? Explain this.
Anabelle didn’t have time for bullshit. She was going to say it as plainly as possible. “This lich killed thousands of humans in cold blood. She cut open my friend’s stomach and nearly killed her. Another former lieutenant of the Dark One is also working with us. That one tortured me for a week. Made me lick her boots after she pulled three teeth out of my mouth. I would kill them the moment I had the chance and enjoy it more than I’ve enjoyed anything in my entire life, but for now, I need them. That’s how important defeating the Dark One is.”
The old dragon thought these words over, humming under his breath before turning back to the dragons behind him, still humming. Anabelle assumed they were speaking. He finally said, The words you speak ring true, but my brothers and sisters are not convinced. We have seen the guile of the Dark One. You are not the first to come to our home and request our services.
“Who came to you?”
A man dressed in black, glowing with purple energy. He was quite upset when we refused to join him. And many before him.
Anabelle recognized the description as the same one Abby had given her of Tesla. “How long ago did that man come here?”
The dragon scratched his chin as he thought. A few days ago.
Anabelle breathed a sigh of relief. Tesla obviously knew the weakness the DGA was planning on exploiting, but he wouldn’t have enough time to figure out a workaround if she was able to convince the dragons to join their cause. Not even Abby could figure something out that fast. “What do we have to do to prove ourselves?”
A simple test. Only one of you is necessary. We will present you with a situation, and you choose what you believe to be the best decision. It is the same challenge, to a certain degree, that we’ve given all who request our help. What do you say?
“May we have time to choose?”
As long as you need.
The party huddled together, looking at each other.
Anabelle figured either Suzuki or Alex should go. Suzuki’s name was highly esteemed among dragons. Alex had a relationship with an ether dragon. Both were competent leaders and would probably make the right decision. Obviously Rasputina was out of the running.
She was about to offer her opinion when Rasputina said, “Anabelle.”
Suzuki and Alex were caught mid-sentence, both saying, “Anabelle” as well.
The elf was taken aback. “Why the hell would you guys select me? Neither of you knows me.”
Suzuki shook his head. “I’ve been hearing rumors about the DGA for a while. If you’re a fraction of the leader I’ve been hearing about, you can handle this.”
Alex scratched behind her ear, looking uncertain. “You’re one of the few people who seems like you genuinely want to give me a chance. I feel good about you speaking for us.”
Anabelle tried not to meet Rasputina’s eyes. She would have thought she’d be unconcerned about why the lich named her, but that wasn’t true. The curiosity was there, even if she didn’t want to ask.
Rasputina must have picked up on her interest. “I’ve fought many foes, none of them as simple and honorable as you.”
There wasn’t any reason to waste time arguing. If they wanted Anabelle to take the test, she would.
Anabelle left the huddle and approached the old ether dragon. “I’ll do it.”
He smiled, his sharp fangs gleaming. Then we will begin.
The court disappeared, melting in the same fashion Anabelle had seen the world warping on their ride toward the dragons. She was in a blank space, a reality coming into existence.
There was a wail in the darkness. A child crying. The darkness shifted around her, taking form and shape.
Anabelle was in a hut. A woman stood above a crib, cooing to the child crying in it.
The ether dragon’s voice echoed in Anabelle’s head. Our tribe is gifted with an immense boon in our final years. Many dragons can see into the past, but we are the only ones who can send a person to those moments.
“Where am I now?”
You are watching the Dark One’s first moments.
“Can they see me?”
No, but they will feel you.
Anabelle’s heart froze, but she could not keep herself rooted to the spot. She walked over to the side of the crib, as far from the woman attending the child as she could get, and looked in.
The child in the crib was a small, pink thing murmuring softly, calling out for his mother.
You could end it here, Anabelle. For years, we have wondered if we should do it ourselves, but we are old. We don’t have the perspective we once did. But you…you have fought this war and seen your own die. If there is anyone who knows the sacrifices that have been made, it is you. Do you wish to end the Dark One’s reign?
Anabelle looked down at the child. She could stop it all right now. Smother the Dark One with the pillow in the crib. Put an end to the suffering of the nine realms before it even began. The child meant nothing to Anabelle. It struck no chord in her. There was merely the whining of one who would eventually take the lives of those who were dear to her.
She stood above the child and glanced at the mother. There was no feeling there either.
For the first time, Anabelle realized she had changed. She wasn’t the same person who had wanted to quit being Myrddin’s public face, who wanted to join the war effort and fight on her own terms. Now she knew hard choices had to be made, choices that she would eventually regret.
“If I kill him now, he’s gone forever. Just like that?” Anabelle asked.
The old dragon’s words echoed in Anabelle’s mind. It will be as if he never existed. Your actions here will reverberate throughout time.
Anabelle reached down into the crib, past the pillow beside the child’s head. Instead of grabbing the pillow, she brushed the child’s cheek, stroking it gently. The chil
d looked up at Anabelle and cooed softly. “This child hasn’t done anything. I’d kill the man for his crimes, but not an innocent baby.”
The room disappeared, and Anabelle was back in the dragon’s grotto. The elder dragon was looking at her, smiling his toothy grin. You would let the Dark One live?
“I’d let a child live.”
The dragon laughed, his voice ringing in Anabelle’s head. You’ve chosen an interesting champion, humans. It takes a very special heart, one of a kindness we have not seen before, to make that decision. I wonder what any of you would have done in her situation.
Alex and Suzuki avoided Anabelle’s eyes when she asked, “Did you see it too?”
Both nodded, but it was Rasputina who spoke. “I would have killed him.”
The older ether dragon spread his wings as he leaned back on his hind legs. Then it is good you were not chosen. In case you didn’t know, elf, dragons are constrained by time like the rest of you. Our gifts are often exaggerated.
Anabelle let out a sigh of relief. “So, did I pass?”
The dragon looked over his shoulder at the rest of the ether dragons, who were walking toward Anabelle and her group. I believe you have the moral fortitude to wield the power of our flames.
Chapter Eighteen
Anabelle, Suzuki, Rasputina, and Alex returned to the base on Middang3ard. Generally, congratulations would have been in order for having pulled off such an important mission, but it seemed as if everyone was stuck in their own thoughts. Anabelle knew she was.
She kept thinking about the choice she’d made in the elder dragon’s mind trap. There hadn’t been any real thought behind it. She’d done what she thought was right. But was it?
Even if the child was innocent, he was responsible for the deaths of thousands, maybe even millions. Anabelle knew the scenario was merely a trick, but if she had really been able to kill the Dark One as a babe, would it have been right to walk away and leave him living?
