by Ben Hale
“You wanted to change how the Empire views slaves,” Mind said.
“It will change how slaves view themselves,” Tardoq corrected, his voice tinged with understanding. The dakorian looked to Ero with new eyes, and Mind wondered if that was part of Ero’s plan. He’d wanted to show Tardoq the purpose of the Eternals.
“This is why you agreed to bring me here,” Mind said. “So I could become a rallying cry.”
“It won’t galvanize change,” Ero said. “The Empire is too big for a single act to alter, and the generations of broken spirit cannot change so quickly. But this moment will be remembered.”
Mind spotted Ursun listening to the sphere at his side. The speaker was not shouting, and his voice was too low for Mind to hear. But the dark greed in his eyes were easy to understand as he looked to Mind.
“The Empire will try to kill me,” Mind said.
“It’s true,” Tardoq said. “He’s ordering Ursun to have us followed.”
“I suspected as much,” Ero said. “But we’ll be gone soon, and Lumineia is the one place they cannot follow.”
Ero pressed his hand to the Gate and it glowed to life. He nodded reassuringly to Mind and then disappeared through the Gate. Tardoq stepped into the Gate but turned back, a faint smile on his features.
“Ero may have manipulated you, but he was right. The duel will be examined by many, but they will not see guile or intent. You defeated him merely because you could, not because you were under orders.”
“I don’t like being manipulated,” he said.
“That’s what the krey do,” Tardoq said. “Even Ero. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed seeing a human stand so tall.”
He inclined his head in respect and then stepped through the Gate. Mind looked back, his eyes sweeping the interior of the sphere. Most of those in the cages were dakorians, but some were krey and humans. One human caught his eye, the man staring at him as others shouted. He did not speak, his expression filled with a single thought.
Wonder.
Chapter 10: A New Direction
Light trudged down the road, yawning and wishing the sun would just come up. It seemed like they’d been walking for days and the sun had set hours ago. Surely it was nearly dawn. He nudged Willow, who walked at his side.
“How long until the sun rises?”
“The sun set thirty minutes ago,” she said. “Night has just begun.”
Light groaned, long and loud. Willow grinned, as did Rake and Senia. The quartet had departed the gathering and headed south and east, intent on reaching Xshaltheria within the week. Initially they’d flown on the back of the white dragon, until Senia had foreseen Serak aboard his own dragon. No one wanted that encounter. But did they have to walk so late?
“Can’t we fly again?”
Rake shot him a scathing look. “You almost fell last night because you decided the back of a dragon was a great place to take a nap.”
“I was tired,” Light mumbled.
“You can rest when we find a good place to camp,” Senia patted him on the arm.
Resigning himself to wait, Light tried to keep up with the others. How did they not get tired? None of them were guardians, so where did they draw their strength? He shifted closer to Willow and lowered his voice.
“Why are you three so strong?”
“Determination,” she said.
He chuckled at her answer. “That’s what Mind would say.”
“What’s it like, without the fragment of Power?”
The question surprised him, and he shrugged. “Strange. At first I just felt weak. Now? I don’t feel like myself.”
“How so?”
“I’m not sure.”
He didn’t know how to answer. Everything felt subdued. His magic, his curiosity, even his love for Willow, all of it had been muffled like a handful of cotton had been pressed over a squeaky hinge.
He stole a look at Willow and flushed when he found her watching. When he’d seen her in the past, a fire had ignited in his chest. He still felt the stirring, but it lacked the same power it had carried before. Did he still love Willow?
“I watched Draeken separate from you,” she murmured.
“You saw it?”
She looked away, into the dark trees. With her vision she would be able to see through the shadows, see the wind rustling the branches, and the deer attempting to escape around them to reach its herd. Light had seen it as well, but the usual impulsiveness that would have driven him to find the creature was noticeably absent.
“The door was broken open,” Willow said, “and I watched the fragment of Power be ripped from the fragments. It looked painful.”
“Like removing my own limb,” he said ruefully.
“And since then you’ve been . . . different.”
“I’m still me,” he said. “I think.”
“There’s a clearing adjacent to the road ahead,” Senia said. “We should be able to camp there for the night.”
“How far are we from Xshaltheria?” Willow called up to Senia.
“Another two days, as the dragon flies.”
Rake asked the oracle a question and Willow slowed her steps. Light did as well, giving more space between them and their companions. Curious, Light fell back to walk with Willow, and for the first time noticed the distance between them.
He’d loved Willow for years, and whenever they journeyed together, there had been a proximity. They’d walked side by side, fought together, laughed together. Now she walked a short distance away from him. He wanted to close the gap, but instead of acting on the impulse, hesitation bound his feet.
“Draeken was part of you,” Willow said. “And now that he is gone, you feel the lack.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize for who you are,” Willow said. “But you do need to figure out your new identity. I suspect that nothing will feel the same, and it will take time to discern your new self.”
“We’re fighting a war,” he said. “I’m not certain our foes will stop so I can meditate on my new future.”
She smiled at his tone, the expression brightening his heart. Willow’s dark form was hardly visible, yet her smile had the same power as a blazing torch. He tentatively reached out and touched her hand, and smiled when her fingers threaded into his.
“Conflicts have a way of forcing self-discovery,” she said.
“Like a forge?” He raised an eyebrow. “Elenyr used to say that we are all metal in a forge. The heat and hammering shows what we’re really made of. A mighty weapon? Or the scrap heap.”
“The Hauntress is ever wise,” Willow said.
His smiled faded and he looked into the dark forest. “I think she knows exactly how we have been changed.”
Willow swept her hand to the forest. “A part of you is gone. Everything from the sky to your foes will look different.”
“I can still see your beauty,” he said, and then flushed.
She smiled, and then looked beyond him, to the center of the road. He felt a prickling on his neck and rotated, searching the darkness for an attacker. Senia and Rake turned as well, all four facing the floating spark of light.
“What is that?” Rake asked.
Senia frowned and took a step forward. “I’m not sure,” she said. “But it could be—”
BOOM.
The sound burst across them like thunder cracking in their midst. Light flinched and raised his hand, squinting into the expanding light. It resembled an arch but the light was blinding and silver. His eyes widened with wonder.
“Hey, is that—”
Willow grabbed his elbow and yanked him to the ground. On the opposite side, Rake tried to do the same with Senia, but she brushed him off and he flopped in the dirt. Light burst into a laugh as Willow yanked her sword and dagger from her skin, the ink pooling and hardening into weapons.
A person appeared out of thin air and stumbled to her knees, where she promptly vomited. Light stood and brushed Willow asid
e. He leaned down and twisted, trying to identify the intruder. Then she turned her head and Light realized it was Rune.
“Are you well?”
“No I’m not well,” she gasped. “It’s like my guts have been ripped inside out.”
“Rune?” Senia asked, advancing and helping her to her feet. “How did you get here?”
“She brought me,” Rune said, and then shuddered. “We needed to get you a message and she said she knew the fastest route. I thought she meant a messenger, and then I was yanked into—”
She crouched and retched again, and Willow patted her on the back as Light craned his neck into the dark trees. “Shadow could have sent a messenger.”
“Rune used a Gate,” Senia said.
“I don’t think I’m ever doing that again,” Rune said, wiping her mouth.
“You said something about a message?” Light asked.
“It must have been urgent,” Rake said.
The man was dusting himself off, his face burning red from embarrassment from his fall. Senia spared him an apologetic look. Rake withdrew his waterskin and handed it to Rune, who gratefully took a swig and offered it back.
“Keep it,” Rake said.
“What’s the message?” Senia asked.
“Shadow and Elenyr managed to get inside Blackwell Keep,” she said. “They spoke to Gendor.”
“The assassin?” Light yawned, the momentary excitement having failed to alleviate his fatigue.
“Elenyr and Shadow saw a memory,” Rune said. “It was a memory of the four horsemen, and one that could close the Gate.”
“Where did they get this memory?” Senia asked.
Rune’s expression turned apologetic. “You.”
Senia frowned in dismissal. “I don’t recall such a vision.”
“Serak visited you in disguise,” Rune said. “You saw his future, and he removed the memory of the vision.”
“Impossible,” she said.
“They saw it,” Rune said, taking another swig of water. “And there’s more. Apparently you foresaw there was someone that could defeat Draeken, one born with the blood of dwarf, human, and elf.”
“Lachonus?” Light blurted.
“Who?” They all turned to face him.
He hadn’t really been listening. In fact, he’d begun to fall asleep, but the mention of the three races mingled could only be one person. Was it him? Light shook his head, now uncertain. Then he noticed the others were still waiting.
“Lachonus helped us destroy the Order of Ancients in Talinor,” he said. “His father was a dwarf. Not sure if there was an elf in his line.” He yawned.
“This is all based on a vision I cannot remember,” Senia said.
“Can you not see it again?” Rake asked.
Senia shook her head. “I could only replicate the vision if I had Serak in front of me.”
“Could it be a trap?” Willow asked.
“Elenyr thought of that,” Rune said. “She didn’t think so. The vision and its source did not strike her as deception.”
Willow returned her weapons to her tattoos. “If it’s true, it’s our first real weapon against Draeken.”
“Hey!” Light protested, and then recalled that Draeken was not part of him anymore. “Sorry.”
Willow patted him on the shoulder. “So is it true?”
Rune shrugged. “I don’t know. But Elenyr believes it.”
“And I trust Elenyr,” Senia said.
“Then my message is delivered,” Rune said with a nod of satisfaction. “I guess I’ll just . . .” her eyes widened in horror. “Not again.”
BOOM
She disappeared in a burst of energy which crackled across the road. Light shielded his gaze and when the energy had diminished, Rune was gone. He advanced to the spot and found the ground to be burned, scorch marks going in multiple directions.
“Can I go next time?” he asked Willow.
She rolled her eyes. “You would enjoy such a thing.”
Light grinned as Rake swept a hand to the departed Rune. “What does that mean for us?”
“It means we are going the wrong direction,” Senia said. “Rake? You think you can fly us to Terros?”
“Is Light going to fall asleep?”
“That happened one time,” he protested.
“Six times,” Willow corrected. “But the bigger question is, will Serak be in our path?”
“I think not,” Senia said.
Light sighed. “Do we have to travel at night? I thought we were going to camp for the night.”
“We need to leave now,” Senia said, and motioned for Rake to change form. “We got the information from Serak, so he will be searching for Lachonus as well. We must hasten.”
Rake bowed his head and his body began to change shape, the large wings sprouting from his back, his forearms swelling and his hands morphing into claws. As Isray appeared, Willow stepped close to Light.
“You almost fell off last night. Are you sure you can stay awake?”
“It’s not my fault a dragon’s hide is so comfortable,” Light muttered.
Willow smiled and the trio mounted the dragon’s back. The white dragon launched them skyward and soared over the forest. In the still night, Light relished the sensation of power granted only on the back of a powerful dragon. But several minutes later fatigue got to him, and his eyes began to droop.
“You’re falling asleep,” Willow whispered. “Do you really want to fall off?”
“I can’t help it,” he murmured. “I got tired in the dark before the separation, and now it’s worse.”
“Your body is more flesh than magic, now,” she replied. “You need more rest, like everyone else.”
“But you all sleep for a third of your days,” Light said. “That must be such a waste of time.”
Senia glanced back. “It kind of is. Doesn’t mean we can avoid it.”
“Am I going to have to sleep that much?” Light shuddered at the thought. “My head is beginning to hurt.”
“People sometimes get headaches when they are tired,” Willow said. “It’s fairly common.”
“Am I going to get sick too?” he asked.
You’ll be fine, Isray rumbled, the thoughts coming into Light’s mind. The dragon sounded annoyed.
Behind him, Willow pulled her whip from her flesh and wrapped it around Light’s body, binding them together. Light shivered as her hands brushed across his waist. Willow smiled faintly, the expression dim in the darkness.
“I’ll hold you,” she said.
“Thank you my love,” Light murmured, and closed his eyes. A dragon really was a great place to sleep . . .
Chapter 11: Targeted
“Light!” Willow hissed.
He snapped awake, and then groaned. He raised his hand to the bright sunlight streaming into his eyes. Why did the sun have to be so bright? He shoved Willow’s hand away and tried to go back to sleep, before he realized what he was doing.
“What time is it?” he asked, appalled at the late hour.
“Almost noon,” Senia called back. “Since you were sleeping so soundly, we just kept going.”
“I slept late?”
He’d never slept late a day in his life, not unless it was overcast or exceptionally dark. He’d slept extra in the Deep, but they’d been underground and he hadn’t been able to see the sun. Whenever the sun came up, he experienced a surge of energy that erased any fatigue.
“I love sleeping late,” Willow said.
“Me too,” Senia said over her shoulder, her tone wistful.
“But it’s me,” Light said, rubbing sleep from his eyes as if that would help. “And I slept until noon? Noon?”
“You did.” Willow seemed to be suppressing a smile.
He wanted to protest further but his stomach rumbled. “And now I’m starving. What did you eat for breakfast—wait, was it determination? Did that taste good?”
“It’s rather unsatisfying for a meal,” Senia said. �
�If I’m totally honest.”
I prefer a few juicy horses, Isray said. Or a nice roast pig.
“Stop,” Light protested. “You’re making it worse.”
“Bacon and cheese on a nice slice of bread,” Willow said with a smile.
“Or elven frybread with sugar and fresh berries?” Senia asked.
“Please,” Light pushed a fist into the ache in his side. “Stop talking about food.”
The two laughed and Senia directed them out of the sky. Isray dropped through the clouds and banked south. He spotted Terros to the north, it’s spires and war camps arrayed in the midday light, but they were traveling away from the city.
“I thought we were going to Terros,” he said.
“I looked ahead,” Senia said. “Shortly after we would have landed, we would have been told that Lachonus is leading a cavalry unit through the elven forests. We’re going to meet him in route.”
Light looked down at his stomach. “And how soon can we get this monster fed?”
I haven’t eaten in days, Isray said. Stop complaining.
“Your stomach is bigger than my whole body,” he protested. “You can eat a few times a year if you want to.”
“Here,” Willow said. “I was saving this in case of an emergency, and this clearly qualifies.”
She passed a small pouch of dried fruits. He wanted to savor them, but the first tasted like the dews of heaven, and the pouch was empty in seconds, except for the last one, which he offered back to Willow.
“You left one for me?” Willow sounded surprised.
“I’m hungry, not stupid.”
“How many did he leave you?” Senia asked.
“More than I thought he would,” Willow said, and popped it into her mouth.
Light’s stomach still ached, but he did not think it prudent to speak any more. The dragon banked left and soared across the rocky terrain, keeping his body partly in the white clouds. Moisture speckled Light’s face and he smiled. How much he loved to fly.
“There,” Senia said.
