Shadow of the Crown

by Amber Morant

  Tosh could feel the soft sand underneath his feet and could now stand up and walk out of the river. His body felt cold against the air and he wished there was someplace he could set up a camp and start a fire to warm his body.

  "We're almost there! Just a little bit more!"

  "You're kidding, right? I've been marching with you all for Devata knows how long. We're nowhere near—" he stopped as he heard the caw of a seagull behind him. Tosh turned around, his eyes growing wide as he realized he had made it to the ocean. "No way, I didn't even walk long enough to get here. That takes at least a week if we were to walk!"

  "And we also stepped through a portal. So, stop trying to use dumb elf logic and just trust us."

  The sprites all flew toward the beach and circled a small area in the sand. From the ground erupted a small boat large enough to fit perhaps two or three people inside. It was old, with many of the pieces of wood looking rotten from age.

  "Please, tell me I'm not—"

  "Getting in the boat?” the sprite that had been leading the group added. “Yep and we will push you to Devata's island. So, don't worry about drowning again."

  "Yeah, I won't worry about that, but you don't exactly tell me what else I may expect that could kill me."

  The sprite flew into Tosh's face. "Either get into the boat willingly or we will force you in. We're tired of dealing with you complaining. Just accept that Devata wants you to do something and just do it. "

  Tosh let out a silent grumble and climbed into the boat. He felt awkward as it still lay on the beach instead of the water. At this point, he didn’t want to question anything from them. Too much trouble and the longer he stayed above ground in such a place, the more easily the dragon guardian would spot him.

  He continued to sit on the boat for a few more minutes without any movement. Tosh looked around for the sprites but couldn't see anyone. "Sprite? Anyone? Devata? Wait, did I just get left to die as a sick joke?" Tosh stood up, ready to get out of the boat, feeling betrayed when the boat began to rock and pull toward the water. He fell back down in his seat, holding onto the sides so he wouldn’t fall into the water.

  The boat began to go faster, every second as it went into the water and away from the beach. He looked down to see if he could see the sprites. There was no white glowing light below him, but he did see something moving below the surface. At first it looked like a tail, then he saw an arm. If it wasn't so small, he would have believed it to be some kind of alligator.

  He reached down, trying to grasp for it and felt a soft jelly-like substance where the creature should have been. "Definitely not a jellyfish. Maybe it's covered in algae?"

  The creature popped its head out of the water. Instead of the tail and legs he had seen earlier, it looked like a large rain drop. It opened what he imagined was a mouth to reveal rows of sharp teeth. "Don't touch me again human. Devata asked that we don't harm you, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a finger bitten off." The water droplet changed shape into a small dragon and dived back into the water to push the boat along.

  Tosh laughed out loud. "Great! My boat is being dragged around by water sprites. Who would have imagined I'd see those in my lifetime as well? Though the books didn’t mention how blood thirsty they are. Mental note for farther research that water sprites do not, in fact, eat seaweed, but perhaps actual fish...and fingers."

  The boat continued its fast pace across the ocean. The actual island for Devata wasn't very far off the coast. He estimated they would be there within a few minutes, judging by how quickly the water sprites were pulling him. His guess was right as he saw the small island rise over the horizon and seemed to grow as they approached.

  The boat started to slow down, and Tosh looked over the side to see that many of the sprites were departing back into the depths of the ocean. He continued to see them all leave until there were none left, and he drifted toward the island alone. It was strange being completely alone once again. He had been surrounded by scholars for so long he had forgotten true silence such as this.

  "Perhaps after all of this I can just go find a cabin and enjoy this kind of silence. Might be nice."

  The boat coasted up to the beach and he climbed out. Most of the plants were overgrown. He couldn’t see from his vantage point any power lines or lights indicating civilization. A completely untouched island by anyone in decades. The island was sacred to all elves and yet he was the first person to step forth onto it for over a hundred years. There were a few books in the college that had described the island from the very last elf who had ventured here, but his descriptions did not put the beauty to justice.

  Tosh stepped forward with caution and pushed his way through the overgrowth. The plants were larger than those he had experienced back in Narishma. Perhaps from the help of the magic abilities brought upon by Devata, but he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that his own magic was being suppressed here to the point that he couldn't feel any power compared to how he was while on the ocean. It was as if he was drained of all magic in his body.

  Despite this new lack of abilities, he continued his trek toward the center of the island. Standing in the center of the island was a lone willow tree. The trunk was large enough that Tosh would have needed a full-sized fire dragon to wrap its body around it. Tosh had expected there to be sprites flying around Devata or something magical. Instead, he felt like he was simply facing a tree that should have been chopped down long ago. It held an old beauty about it, but the sigils back home that gave an ethereal aura to the tree, he couldn’t feel it here.

  "Child, I am still here," a voice called out, shaking the earth under Tosh's feet.

  Tosh stepped back, realizing the voice belonged to Devata. "I am sorry Devata, I didn't mean to offend you. Please have mercy on me. You called for me, I am here to be your body in Narishma to focus your vengeance on the drow."

  "No. Not vengeance. Child, come to me and I’ll show you what I request of you."

  Tosh stepped forward. His hands shaking as his mind raced to figure out what Devata had in store for him. Sure, he wanted to destroy the queen, but Devata said no vengeance. He reached his arm out to touch Devata and stepped toward the tree, closer this time.

  "Time is of the essence, child." Tosh felt his body stiffen and pulled forward. All his movements now controlled by someone else as he felt his body step forward faster now.

  His feet lifted into the air, his knees making a sharp angle, so he was now marching toward the tree. His hands brushed away a few of the branches and was thankful Devata had the common courtesy to not let him run into them. He continued marching until his hand pressed against the tree and felt control of his body return to him.

  "I'm here. Are you going to show—"

  His vision went blank and pain seared through his body. He no longer felt the ocean breeze against his skin and the smell of salt disappeared. The scent was replaced by brimstone and he was no standing at the edge of the island at the beach. The plants that had grown in, through a green splendor, were now ash, dusting dried earth.

  "What's going on? What are you showing me?"

  "Look!" Devata’s voice boomed from the center of the island.

  Tosh's eyes turned to see what Devata was referencing but could only see darkness. He could hear the flapping of wings and a loud roar. A dragon. From the roar, erupted bright red and yellow flames. The fire grasped onto Devata and wrapped around the tendrils of the tree, turning the life it had into an inferno. He tried to run to help in any way he could to save the tree, but his body refused to react.

  The flames continued to grow in strength until he could no longer see Devata anymore. In its place, was a large gold flower burning in the center of the island. The roar continued to fill the air, accompanied by the sound of burning, but he couldn't see the dragon still despite trying to look around.

  Before the flames could die away and the tree collapsed, the flames formed into a large phoenix that burst forth from the tree, lighting up the sky. Behind the phoenix was a wh
ite dragon. Its scales had a light orange glow from the flames, but Tosh could clearly see there was someone riding on the back of the dragon.

  "The queen!" he gasped, recognizing it as a moon dragon, and knowing that the queen was well known to have been a dragon guardian with a moon dragon partner.

  The dragon heard Tosh and turned its head toward the elf. It flew through the phoenix, causing it to disappear in flecks of flames. The dragon landed in front of him and let out a puff of smoke from his nostrils. From up on top, Tosh could see the woman climb farther forward to look down at him.

  She had smoother features compared to the queen and was far younger. Despite this, she was still a drow. On her back was a pair of raven wings that sprouted and fluttered in the air. From her chest he could see a dim light emanating while the rest of her body was enshrouded in a darkness like rippling water.

  The woman smiled down at him before the dragon and guardian merged into one large mass of brilliant white light. The form shrunk down until it became a small orb floating in front of Tosh. The light pulsated, beckoning for Tosh to reach out to it. He complied, his arms outstretched, amazed he could move. As his hands grasped the orb, it solidified into a pearlescent egg in his arms.

  "Find her," Devata's voice hissed.

  With that, Tosh was launched into the air. The ground below formed back into the greenery that had been there before, leaving no sign of destruction anywhere. Next to Devata, he could see his own body connected to the tree, his eyes rolled back into his head. Tosh only had a short chance to see this before the island became a small spot in the middle of the ocean.

  He could see all Narishma before him and the countries far beyond that he had only dreamed of one day seeing. His body lurched again and flew toward the mountains. Despite the mountains growing closer to him, his form slipped through like a ghost.

  "Find her," the voice echoed again.

  "Who? Who am I finding?" Tosh called out as he left the mountains and could see the fields below him again.

  There was no response. His body floated high above the ground and the sky began to turn dark. Tosh looked up and saw the sun was blocked out by a large raven. He let out a loud gasp and fell toward the ground. His breath leaving his entire body. He still didn’t understand the message, but he had to find the egg and he had to find who the raven drow was to save Narishma.

  Ten

  Azrael continued to circle the nearby fields. He knew the elf was around here somewhere, he just needed to know where. This should have been a simple stop, yet here he was trying to help accomplish a mission that the guards should have properly been prepared for. If the queen found out about this debacle, she would have his head for this.

  He reached up and brushed some of the fur around his ear until he touched his skin underneath. There was a sharp pain as the electricity of the communicator shot through his ear and down to his jaw. "The elf is somewhere in the tunnels. I better see someone capture him and kill him by the time I return. If I come back and you don't find him, I will make sure to burn all of your bodies and claim them as the escaped elf's to the queen and then execute your entire family too."

  There was static in reply for a few seconds. "Understood, sir. We will capture him and report in as soon as we capture him."

  "Good. That little disrespecting shit deserves the worst."

  The communications went silent, leaving Azrael alone with his dragon in the skies above. He touched the communicator to turn it off, the electrical pain once again gone. His frustration was getting the best of him now, but he had a mission.

  "No more side trips. If this is any indication of how the rest of this damn trip will be, then I just want to get it over with." He let out a soft yawn. "At least she hasn't demanded I report in yet. Probably left the castle in a fit of rage and forgot about me for a short time. Thank Devata for her paranoia sometimes."

  He squeezed his legs and shifted his weight on his dragon. The dragon obeyed and turned its flight pattern to the north. The fields were dotted with patchwork crops far below him. Despite that, he knew as he got closer to the mountains he would be back home in the desert. It had been too long since he had seen his family. Once he had wished to return there on good terms, now they were simply another leader in the countries that created Narishma that refused to listen to Kalio that he had to stop.

  The air grew heavier, the lack of water parched his throat. Even his dragon was slowing down. The once green grass below had dissipated and in its place was long reaches of sand that seemed to never end.

  At the edge of his vision he could see a wall the stretched for miles to the east and west. The guardian and dragon continued to fly up until they were close to the wall. It towered above them, stretching for distances high above them. The people who once had built this created it to protect them from dragons and enemies, yet no one ever found interest in his people. No one wanted the sand and treasures the desert brought until Kalio.

  "All right, let's land here and get inside. I need to get away from this heat. Even your fire doesn't compare to this hell."

  The dragon grunted in acknowledgement and folded his wings closer to his body as they dived toward the ground. The wind blasted past their faces, sending sand particles into their eyes. Only a few feet above the ground and half blind, the dragon reared back up and landed on his hind legs send a cloud of sand up and engulfing them.

  "Well, can't say we'll have a clean presentation when we get inside."

  Azrael climbed off his dragon and wiped away as much sand as he could before walking over to the wall. There were no doors or cracks showing a latch, but he knew this was the place. It had been years, but every cait shidhe knew how to get home.

  He takes a deep breath and blows it out at a small spot in the wall, revealing four small holes indented into the wall. It was jagged and plenty of small scrapes surrounded it from cait shidhe not paying attention to their own hands.

  He held his hand out and extended his claws. His dragon watched from behind him, making Azrael nervous. Sure, the dragon’s own claws couldn't open the door, but he remembered all too well the rule to never let someone else watch you open the door. Not even a fellow cait shidhe. He ignored those old warnings, they didn't apply to him or his dragon anyways as a dragon guardian.

  He inserted his claws into the wall until he felt a soft click. His hand turned, revealing a set of hidden gears underneath the sand covered wall. Each one turned setting off more clicks internally. Azrael felt the lock in his own hand release and pulled his hand out, retracting his claws.

  "Welcome home," he muttered to himself.

  The wall halted its clockwork march and lifted twenty feet in the air, the sound of stone grinding against stone filled the air. It was dark beyond the wall as the ground dropped in front of him into a long ramp into the earth. He was thankful that his people had created the protection so many generations ago so they could live somewhere far cooler versus the heat of the true desert.

  The two walked in. Once his dragon was past the entry Azrael could hear the bustling within the streets. Most didn't even know of his arrival. When he had left, guards used to line the entry watching whomever came in and out. Things were way too strange now and he would be approaching his parents on this shortly. It was one thing to not provide the proper funds and goods to the crown, but they had completely changed the proud culture they once held.

  "Just another thing to add to the list. Once I'm done here and free of the queen's control as her ward, I'm taking over this damn place and fixing it up."

  Azrael walked through the streets, many of the buildings boarded up with signs saying they were permanently closed. Others were open with only one person working inside. As he continued to get farther into the city, he could see a few more shops were open and busier than the outskirts. There was no doubt that the shops in the center of the city would be filled to the brim with those who could afford to spend any money.

  He wouldn't bother with walking the entire way. The city
was too large for that and he was already getting tired. Instead, he stopped at one of the corners where a pedestal stood. He tapped the top of it and a clear screen popped up showing different prices and routes through the city.

  "Hmm, only one going to the actual Assembly. Well I guess I will have to wait then," he mumbled and tapped the screen to book a cab for the Assembly Hall. He heard a ding from the monitor before it turned off, confirming his selection.

  He watched as cars and buses continued to drive through the streets. Each one painted in a different advertisement for random products. Even the personal cars had revolving signs on the side-view mirrors. Another ding came from the pillar. Azrael looked over at it and saw a small cait shidhe hologram standing on top. It had pitch-black, short fur and golden yellow eyes that were too large for its own body.

  "Who are you? Personal guide to let me know when my cab is here?" He poked at the figure, waiting for a response.

  The hologram looked up at Azrael with a blank stare. "Hungry? Join us at the Fire Claw, restaurant personally liked by our own dragon guardian Azrael. Today only, we have a special for natto and rice from the far reaches of Ombramoor only two drakes." Once the announcement was done the hologram disappeared back into the pillar.

  "I like the place?” he asked with a chuckle. “Don't think I recall ever authorizing a restaurant to use me. I'll try their food out later. Better pull up the actual hype or I may be a bit offended they connected my tastes to it." The holograms were definitely a new addition to the city, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it using this type of advertisement.

  The cab had still not arrived yet, and after a few minutes the hologram reappeared announcing the restaurant again. After three times of the announcement, the cab pulled up. Inside was a cait shidhe with long, multi-colored fur inside. He wore a newsboy hat that had small slits for his ears to still poke out of. Azrael chuckled to himself, reminded of the older elves from Narishma that wore similarly styled hats and how this cait shidhe looked so much like a bearded elder elf.