by Kyle West
A screech sounded from outside, seeming to come from a safe distance away.
“Stay quiet,” Mara said.
The house did remain quiet, and in the silence, I could only wonder why that dragon had been so set on attacking me.
An old woman, likely a grandparent, spoke from behind me. “There hasn’t been a Mindless this far south since my grandparents’ time.”
“Why are they here?” Kilan asked, her voice high and afraid.
“Gods be damned if I know,” her father said.
Mara shot him a look for cursing, but the father didn’t seem to care — at least not that I could see.
“I should be out there, fighting,” he said, after a moment.
“And get yourself killed?” Mara asked. “You have no sense, Orin. A fine hunter you may be, but even your longbow couldn’t pierce a dragon’s scales.”
Orin closed his mouth, and didn’t argue further.
No one said a word after that. A long time passed, the silence only broken by the screeches of dragons. There were no human screams — apparently, everyone who had escaped had found safety by now. Mara held her daughter close, whose face was buried in her shoulder. Orin stood with an old wood ax in hand. The other people were quiet, standing close together.
Isa and I seemed to wait for at least a quarter of an hour. From time to time she would sniffle. I kept my arm around her, letting her know that she was safe.
“I wish I had never come down here,” she whispered. “I had a choice, you know.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “We’ll get through this.”
The silence was broken by the screams of dragons, only this time, there were far more than before.
“Are they attacking again?” Kilan asked.
“No,” Mara said, after a moment. “It’s the Seekers. They’re fighting them back.”
“How?”
“They must have rallied and are using the Askaleen,” Orin said. “They may need help…”
“Leave to the Seekers what is Seekers’ business,” Mara said. “I nearly lost my daughter, and I’m not about to lose my husband.”
Orin didn’t protest. He’d only wanted to make brave words for his wife, counting on the fact that she would not allow him to make good on them.
The sounds of the fighting soon died, and all that was left was the void of silence.
“Is it over?” Isa asked.
No one answered.
Presently, voices could be discerned outside. Everyone looked at each other, but no one was willing to take the chance to see what was going on.
In the end, it was me who went to the door.
“Shanti…” Isa said.
No one else tried to stop me as I turned the handle.
I opened the door to the night, only to find the street mostly empty. Several Seekers were going door to door, telling people it was safe. Among them were Seeker Garin, Elder Isandru, and Eldress Karu.
“Elders…”
I hadn’t spoken loud, but in the silence of the street, my voice carried far. All of them seemed relieved to see me.
“Shanti, are you all right?” Eldress Karu asked.
“Yes. Isa and I both are.”
Isa came out to join me, peering into the dark sky.
“We beat them back,” Garin said. “But we’ll need to be vigilant.”
Isandru remained quiet, his light gray eyes deeply troubled. After a moment, he broke his silence. “There were only three. If they had wanted to destroy the village, they would have sent more.”
“Even the Mindless don’t attack my hold in the north,” Isa said. “What would they want to do with Nava Village?”
No one answered her, but it was clear that they were all wondering the same thing.
“None of the initiates or apprentices were harmed, thank the gods,” Karu said. “Nor were any Seekers.”
“And the villagers?” Isa asked.
Karu’s face darkened. “Those who didn’t escape…weren’t so lucky. It’s a dark day for Nava. It’s a dark day for us all. We’ll treat who we can at the Sanctum, but some are beyond help.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Six, so far,” Garin said. “It happened on the green, when we were caught unawares.” He shook his head, unable to say more.
“We need to move on,” Isandru said. “We still have ten Champions in the air, so the skies are watched. Isa, Shanti…work your way down that row of houses and let the people know it’s safe to come out. Tell them to gather here.
I nodded, just glad to be given something to do.
Isa and I worked over the next half hour going door to door. Depending on the home, there were either a few people inside, or as much as fifteen or twenty. Sometimes they took convincing to come out, but most often, they didn’t. They left their homes looking dazed and lost. There hadn’t been much damage to the buildings — nothing a few new shingles couldn’t repair. The dragons had specifically targeted the people. When we reached the village green, we saw that several men had lined up the dead, while loved ones stood around the bodies. Some merely stood, shocked and unbelieving. A mother cradled a daughter no more than twelve in her arms, and I had never seen such grief by the way she cried. I couldn’t bear to watch.
“Why did this happen?” Isa asked.
I shook my head. I wanted to say something to her to make it all go away, but of course, that would never happen. Some things were too horrible for words.
But I started to wonder at the why myself. Planning this attack didn’t seem to be something the Mindless were capable of. I had always been taught that they only attacked people who violated their territory, or villages that were within striking range of their aerie. The fact that it had happened during the height of the Festival was telling in and of itself. As Isandru had said, if their goal had been obliterating the village, they should have attacked with more than three dragons.
I couldn’t make any sense of it, but I did know these dragons had some object in mind.
We returned to the Elders, but they told us to get back to the Sanctum, with Garin as an escort. Likely if the dragons came back, Garin wouldn’t have been able to do much on foot, but it still felt good to have him with us.
“You fought well today,” he said. “But true bravery is demonstrated under great duress.” He paused. He didn’t hand out praise often, so it was probably hard for him to voice his thoughts. “You acted bravely today. The both of you.”
Isa smiled. “I was just a blubbering mess.”
Seeker Garin chuckled, the sound deeply resonating. I had never heard him laugh before. “It’s important to remember that courage isn’t about how you feel when you’re afraid — it’s about how you act.”
Nothing more was said until we reached the Great Hall, where most of the initiates and apprentices were gathered. Upon our entry, all eyes went to us. It was clear Isa and I were the first to return from the village of those who had stayed behind. Aela and Deanna were missing from the crowd, and neither did I see Isaru, Ret, or Nabea — though for all I knew, they were safe in their dorms.
“The dragons have been driven away,” Garin called out. “We haven’t found any of our own number killed or injured, thank the gods…but until we take an account of everyone, we cannot be sure. Six villagers are counted among the dead, and many more are injured. It seems most of you are already here, but in a quarter of an hour, I want to see everyone who is in the Sanctum gathered here.”
It was only a few minutes later that the Great Hall was filled with everyone who had returned to the Sanctum. The buzz of conversation filled the crowd until Garin made another announcement.
“Any Seekers here — or any Clerics or those apprenticed to the Clerics — I ask that you return to Nava Village to see how you might be of help.”
“What about the rest of us?” a voice called out.
“Remain here. If you are an apprentice, you are to remain awake and see how you might be of help. Over the next few h
ours, injured villagers are going to be brought up from Nava for treatment, and I want your services to be available. If you are an initiate, please clear out as quickly as possible. Return to your dorm unless you are otherwise needed.” Garin took a moment to look over the crowd. “That is all.”
Again, the crowd started talking while Seekers and the Clerics’ apprentices left the Sanctum to return to the village. It was a while before the initiates cleared out.
“Where’s Isaru?” Isa asked.
“He might still be back at the village,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” Despite my words, I did feel worried. “Let’s just get back to the dorm.”
Isa nodded, and as we walked out of the Great Hall, I remembered how that one dragon had been so dead set on coming after me. I couldn’t help but feel that there had to be a reason.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
IN 2064, RAGNAROK CRATER WAS still as inhospitable and forsaken as the day Askala was defeated. The thick, oppressive air was filled with smoke and heat, though a resilient strain of xenofungus had taken up residence on the hellish Crater floor. Molten magma still churned from below the surface through chasms, and rivers of lava flowed across the scarred landscape, collecting in fiery lakes. Over a great many years, the Crater might become shallower from the solidifying of that lava, but that wouldn’t be during Anna’s lifetime.
Quietus, impervious to the heat, settled on the Crater’s rocky surface. Anna wasted no time sliding off and drawing her katana. There probably wasn’t any need for it here, because all the monsters that had terrorized them during the war were now part of the Elekai consciousness. Still, Anna felt safer with it out. More important than the blade was her pack, filled with three days’ worth of food and water. She’d have to continue the journey to the Sea of Creation alone. Quietus could fly her, but the Dragons’ Way was a literal furnace superheated by magma. Anna would be burned to crisp within seconds if she went that way, and the way in, even by air, took longer than seconds. The very density of the atmosphere and the constant updrafts from below made descent by air difficult, so Anna had to go in through one of the many tunnels that opened on the surface.
The Warrens were a literal maze, but she felt the pulse pulling her stronger than ever — the pulse that compelled her to the Sea. For the first time in four years, outside of dreams, she saw him. Alex wanted to speak to her, and he could only do it if she came here.
She had been putting this off for months. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him. She did.
It was just she didn’t want to see a version of him she wouldn’t recognize.
She knew Alex would never Call for her if it wasn’t important, so in the end, she had asked Quietus to take her. Finding the dragon had been a challenge in and of itself. The dragons little associated with humanity these days, preferring to tend their gardens in the Great Blight. She had heard reports of people going out there — humans that were calling themselves Elekai as well. Apparently, the Xenofold had chosen them for some purpose…whatever that meant. And more strangely, they thought of Alex as their god, not calling him by his name, instead using Elekim. Anna supposed that he was a god, in his own way. He controlled the entirety of the Elekai consciousness on Earth, and if that wasn’t being a god, then what was?
Anna entered one of the many dark tunnels riddling the surface of the Crater. During the war, these would have been the tunnels the crawlers used to access their pools deep below the surface. Now, though, they were empty, but a strange musk still clung to the air, despite the extreme heat.
Anna made her way down — always down — in silence. She had brought a massive flashlight with far more batteries than she would ever need. She wasn’t afraid of getting lost. Alex wouldn’t let her get lost down here. She trusted in her own sense to guide her.
As she descended, the air cooled, though it was still overbearingly warm. Anna was already down to a loose shirt and shorts, and she splashed some water on her face to keep cool. She knew she shouldn’t use her water like this, but she also knew that water could probably be found somewhere below.
Hours passed, and the rocky tunnel began to transition into xenofungus-covered walls. The fungus kept things cool, somehow, and it was when she had entered a wide, xenofungal cavern that she decided to stop for lunch.
She was halfway done with her sandwich when the sound of quick, scuttling feet put her on alert.
She dropped the sandwich, stood up, and held her blade in front in a basic defensive posture. From around a rock wall came an unwelcome sight — a large, insect-like creature that was evocative of a scorpion.
A crawler.
Its tail twitched, as if sensing Anna’s presence, and its white eyes blazed brightly in the gloom. It made a strange cooing sound — something Anna had never heard out of a crawler before. The crawler seemed relaxed, but Anna still held her blade in front, just to be sure. She didn’t think it would hurt her, but all the months she had spent fighting these creatures made it difficult to feel at ease.
In time, though, she lowered her blade. She picked up her sandwich and continued eating, even as she watched the monster. The crawler lowered itself to the ground, closing all three of its eyes. Anna had a thought.
Can you hear me?
The crawler responded instantly. It felt…different…from talking to a dragon. It was dumber, for sure. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t be of use.
She ate the last of the sandwich and walked forward while toting her pack, completely sure that the crawler was not there to harm her. She paused a moment by its side, but the crawler remained still. Then, Anna threw her pack on its back, and hopped on its chitin shell. It was a bit unwieldy, but she tightened her legs around the crawler’s form while shimmying her bag on her back. She held tightly to the armor plate directly in front of her, and connected her mind to the beast’s.
Take me to the Sea of Creation.
The crawler chortled, then scampered forward at a fast clip. Anna had to lean forward to keep from falling, and she bit back a scream. Then, she smiled. She was positively flying across the cavern, and the air whipped her hair behind in a stream.
She might reach the bottom before Quietus after all.
* * *
The cavern ended at a cliff, a cliff which fell what seemed thousands of feet. Anna could see the bottom far, far below, illuminated only by the surrounding xenofungus and a lake of pink ichor.
“End of the line?” she asked.
The crawler cooed once more, seeming to respond to Anna’s comment. She was about to get off when the crawler started forward.
“Wait, no…”
And then, they were going straight down. The crawlers many, spindly legs lodged into the cliff’s face, finding plenty of hold where there was xenofungus, and it seemed to do well on the rocky bits, too. The challenge was staying on. The crawler’s armor plate in front of Anna flared up, keeping her from falling to her death far below. Her heart raced as she tried not to scream.
It was going to be a long way down.
“You didn’t even ask, did you?”
The crawler ignored her, seeming to concentrate instead on the task at hand.
It took thirty minutes for the crawler to reach the bottom, and when it did, Anna wanted nothing more than to hop off. It was still a long way to the Sea yet, so she stayed on as the crawler bounded away, not even needing to rest from its descent.
They wove between rock spires, silver xenotrees, and giant mushroom stalks, and far above the crystalline ceiling glowed and cast a pearly light. Anna remembered this place — a massive, underground cavern that would end with the Sea itself. When she and the crawler had entered the first of a series of canyons, Quietus swooped overhead. By the time the crawler rounded the next bend, Quietus was waiting on the canyon floor.
Stop, Anna thought.
The crawler stopped, and Anna jumped off, stretching her stiff legs.
Sensing that it was no longer needed, the crawler scuttled back in the direction
from which it had come.
Interesting use of that creature, Quietus mused.
It got me here and that’s what counts, Anna said.
Quietus unfurled her wings, allowing Anna to mount her. With a running start and a few flaps, she was rising above the network of canyons, and Anna could see the shore of the Sea about half a mile distant.
Upon seeing it, the past rushed to join the present. A horrible choking feeling clutched Anna’s throat, and it seemed as if they had gone back in time four years, to the day Alex had died and the world was saved. He wasn’t really dead, though. He existed in the Elekai consciousness, a consciousness he could never escape.
In a way, that might be worse than death. But he at least seemed peaceful when he and Anna last spoke. Anna steeled her heart for whatever was to come.
Before long, she was setting down on the rocky shoreline. The glowing pink ichor stretched as far as the eye could see, and rippled against the shore in tiny waves. That pulse came from the maelstrom in the center, the Point of Origin — the very entrance to the Elekai consciousness and its beating heart.
When Anna thought about going inside that consciousness, four years ago, she could hardly remember what it was like. She could only remember the terror of being pursued, and the terror of losing the one she loved. She had escaped, in the end, her body recreated by the Sea. But for Alex, there could be no escape.
She walked to the shore of the Sea, not sure how to begin communicating. She assumed it was Alex who would speak first. He was the one, after all, who spoke to her in dreams.
She took off her boots and socks. The journey she had expected to take a couple of days had only taken a few hours. She had hoped for more time to mentally prepare herself. Nothing, however, could prepare her for this.
She stepped into the Sea, hoping that her touching the ichor might spur Alex to know that she was there. She closed her eyes.
I’m here. Whatever you need…I’m here to help.
