As if on cue, everyone left around the campfire stood and made to leave. I even saw a few of the Slayers and all of the dragons accept Alpha’s invite and follow the wolves to the camp. As the barrels of ale were taken along, I suspected that the party would continue there and no one would get enough sleep.
The only ones left were Morganna, Ash, Alpha, Spear, Xander and my parents. Jasper had left to drink the ale with the wolves and dragons. How times had changed!
“I have something to tell you all,” my father said as we sat back down around the dying embers of the campfire. I pulled my cloak around myself more tightly, wishing the fire was still burning. As Ash was now in his human form, I could hardly ask him to turn back and light the fire again. Instead, he caught me shivering and threw a log into it, hoping it would catch the flames.
“The swords...” He gestured to the pile that the villagers had brought to us. My fathers were on top, the most majestic of them all. “This isn’t all of them. There are others.”
“Where are they?” Spear asked.
“That, I cannot say. For centuries, the eighteen-year-olds of this village have been given swords. Some have been plain, some have been the swords of warriors, but all of them have come from the Goblins. Now, not every eighteen-year-old has become a Slayer. Some chose not to. Many decided to have their sword as a keepsake or memento rather than something they used. However, most used their swords, if only once on their eighteenth birthday. Killing a dragon is a rite of passage in this village, and most like to try, even if they never kill again. Although the families of Dronias can be traced back for generations, there are some, like Morganna here, who chose to leave.”
“Where did they go?” interrupted Spear.
My father sighed. “I know the whereabouts of some of those who left since I have been around, but there have been many more.”
“Just how many swords are we talking about?” asked Spear, getting agitated. I couldn’t blame him. I’d told him how many swords we had to collect without accounting for lost swords from centuries ago. I had a feeling there were a lot more than I originally thought. I held my breath, waiting for my father to answer the question, not wanting to know the answer but needing to know what we had in store for us at the same time.
“There could be as many as a hundred,” my father admitted.
I let out a long breath. A hundred swords! I looked over at the pile. There was less than fifty that I could see.
Spear’s voice rose, not in anger so much as disbelief. “We have to find a hundred swords to free all of my people?”
“I’m afraid so. Although, that is only my guess. The correct number could be more or less.”
“It could be more than a hundred?” asked Ash. He was having the same difficulty realizing the enormous task ahead as the rest of us were.
“It could be less, too,” my mother squeaked. Always the optimist. I squeezed her hand and she gave me a shy smile.
I looked at the assembled people. Just one day ago, I could not imagine we could all sit around the same fire and converse in a civilized manner, and yet here we all were. We’d come so far in so little time.
I stood up tall. “We can find them if we all work together.”
“It’s an enormous task, Julianna. Impossible even,” my mother answered.
“If I’d have asked any of you yesterday if you thought you could sit around a campfire with the people you are with, would you have believed it to be possible? Two dragons, a Wolvren, Slayers. How many hundreds of years has it been since this has been possible? Has it ever happened before, or are we the first? This to me is impossible, and yet we are doing it. No one is fighting and we are all talking to each other. This seems more impossible to me than finding some swords. Between us, we can do it!”
I wasn’t sure I really believed it myself, but my speech elicited a round of applause from the group. It spurred them into action if nothing else.
“We keep a registry of all the births and deaths within the village,” my mother said. “We can use it to find out who we need to look for. If they were born here and died here, their swords would have been taken to the vault.”
“The vault!” my father shouted, suddenly excited. “I’d forgotten about the vault. There are many swords down there.”
“A hundred?” asked Spear hopefully.
“No. Not quite. Thirty or forty maybe, but it’s a start. Some people choose to be buried with their swords, too.”
“So, we are going to have to dig up graves now?” Ash asked, looking sick at the prospect.
“It’s late,” said my mother, standing. “We have a lot to discuss, but I fear I’m too tired to get it all through my mind. I would love to invite you all to stay at our home, but unfortunately, we don’t have a home at present.” She was being nice. She didn’t have a home because the dragons had burned it down.
“Those without beds can come back to the camp,” invited Alpha. “We can meet up tomorrow and make a plan for the future.”
Ash put his arm around me and guided me back to the camp. I was so tired I could barely see, but a bed had been made for us in one of the tents. I rested my head on Ash’s chest and fell asleep almost immediately.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I woke up to a hive of activity outside. I assumed breakfast was being cooked thanks to all the yummy smells coming through the tent. I guessed that someone had started a fire and was cooking something upon it. I snuggled up to Ash’s still sleeping form, reluctant to move from the warmth he provided. I felt happy. It was not an emotion I was used to in recent weeks. Not fully, anyway. Sure, being around Ash always made me feel better, but the war had been plaguing my thoughts and dreams ever since I first met him. There was still so much to do, but for the first time, we were all on the same side.
Ash shifted slightly in his sleep so I kissed him lightly on the lips. His eyes flashed open and he gave me a lazy grin.
“Like a prince, huh?” he mumbled.
“What?” I asked, wondering if he was still caught up in a dream.
“You woke me with a kiss like a fairytale prince would.”
“Does that make you a princess?” I teased. He grabbed me and pulled me toward him, enveloping me in a hug that turned into a tickle. I started to laugh until I heard Morganna’s voice admonish us from outside the tent.
After a quick but delicious breakfast of roasted bird and bread, Morganna, Alpha, Spear, Ash and I made our way back to the village where we had promised to meet the others. My father had come a long way since yesterday on a personal level and he was the first to greet us as we walked into the village square. The skies had begun to open, drizzling us with drops of rain. He showed us into the townhouse that sat above the vault. The swords we had collected the day before were already piled up, ready for us.
“I’ve been thinking hard about things,” he began as we all took our seats at a large table in one of the town hall’s conference rooms. “I’ve spent my life being a coward and compensated by pretending to be the bravest Slayer. I wanted to be the best, but I ended up being the worst. Julianna, you taught me the real meaning of bravery. I saw those scars on your arms yesterday and I have a hunch I know where you got them. I will not allow you to hurt yourself again. I will free the dragons. After all, I captured many of them.”
I saw the pride on my mother’s face as my father spoke. It took a great deal for him to speak this way. I guess the years of guilt at what he was doing to innocent people had finally caught up with him.
“You don’t have to do it alone,” replied Xander. “I will help, too. My skin is already scarred. I do not mind adding to them.”
“We all appreciate your offer,” began Spear, “but neither of you can help. It is not enough to spill your own blood. You also have to be innocent of spilling blood before. If you have committed a murder, or in this case, taken a soul, your own blood will be useless.”
He waited for this to sink in. Finally, my father spoke. “You mean to tell me th
at only Julianna can free the dragons?”
“No,” butted in Ash. “Julianna has done enough already. She is strong, but I fear that too many more cuts will hurt her beyond repair, kill her even.”
My mother made a sound like a cry.
“Anyone who has owned a Goblin-made sword and who has not used it to draw dragon’s blood will be able to do the task. Are there any people in your village that can do it?”
“There are some,” my father replied. “As I said yesterday, some use their swords purely for decoration. I cannot ask them to injure themselves, though.”
“Would you prefer Julianna do it all to wake the dragons up? That is your only other option.” Morganna said.
“I’m not letting Julianna do that to herself. She’s been through enough!” shouted Ash. I placed my hand on his arm to calm him down.
“No one should have to go through that,” my father countered. “I see what Julianna has done. It is my eternal shame that she felt that was the only option. I will never let my daughter go through that again.”
I gave him a smile. It was nice to see him sticking up for me. I remembered how he had always been my hero. How I’d idolized him growing up. I’d lost that in the past few weeks, but with a little time, I hoped we could get back to where were once were.
“What do you suggest?” asked Morganna.
“We need to go back to the Goblins.”
“We’ve already been up to the Goblins,” replied Spear. “They won’t tell you anything.”
“We have two of the most famous Slayers in the kingdom seated around this table. We have dragons and we have wolves. We will make them talk.”
Spear nodded his head and with that we were once again at war, only this time not with each other, but with the Goblins. “I agree!” he said, standing up.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“There is no time like the present. The Wolvren are here now. I have my men ready for action. Let’s go today. What say you, Slayer?” He looked over at my father. My father stood and for the first time in centuries, the leader of the dragons and the leader of the Slayers shook hands.
It wasn’t as easy as just setting out. We had to gather up the villagers who wanted to go. All the dragons in the village and all the Wolvren agreed to come with us. In the end, there were about thirty of us willing to make the journey back up the Triad Mountains. The dragons could fly, but there weren’t enough of them to carry the rest of the men and women who had volunteered so we had to make the journey on foot.
At first, my father said he didn’t want me to go, but a swift word from my mother had him quickly changing his mind. She walked with us to the base of the mountains. She wasn’t going to come with us, but she wanted to be a part of it if only for a little way. Surprisingly, Jasper appeared and volunteered to come. Even more surprisingly, he didn’t try to make fun of me as we set off on the journey.
My mother and some of the other ladies in the village had organized and packed up food for us all. It would be an arduous journey, and we would need all the food and water we could carry. We also had to take extra blankets to keep out the cold now that the weather had turned for the worse.
The dragons led the way, with Spear at the front. It made sense as he had already been to the Goblins’ lair and knew the way. My father joined him and from the back, where I walked with Ash, I could see them chatting as if they had been friends for years.
I gave my mother a quick hug as we climbed the wall that separated Dronias from the base of the Triad Mountains. As I put my foot up to climb, she pulled me lightly back down.
“You go ahead,” I said to Ash. “I’ll catch you up.”
He hesitated for a second but headed with the others into the forest which marked the first part of our journey. I waited until he’d been swallowed by the foliage and turned back to my mother.
“I’m so proud of you. I...” A tear followed a trail down her cheek.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I said, wiping the tear away with my sleeve. “I know.”
“No, you don’t know. I’ve watched you grow from this scrappy little thing to being the strongest woman I’ve ever met. These last few weeks have been tough, tougher than I ever thought possible, but it wasn’t losing my home, nor the fight between us and the dragons that scared me. My biggest fear was that I’d lost you.” The tears were really coming down now. She made no effort to conceal them or wipe them away.
I hugged her again, my own tears matching hers. “You’ll never lose me, Mama. I love you too much.”
“I love you, too. More than you could ever imagine.” She sniffed and pulled my scarf tighter around me. “Be safe up there. I couldn’t bear to lose you again.”
“What did I just say?” I smiled. “You’ll never lose me. I promise.”
“He’s a good man you’ve found for yourself.”
I turned to where she was looking behind me. Ash waiting patiently for me between the trees. “He is a good man, Mama, just wait until you get to know him properly. You’ll love him.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
I gave her one last hug and vaulted over the low wall. Ash took my hand as we made our way into the forest.
“So many people have told you how proud they are of you, but I don’t think I have.” Ash’s warm fingers intertwined with mine.
“You don’t have to.”
“I can’t believe we started this adventure together. Whatever happens, we’ll end it together.”
“You mean finding Morganna or looking for the swords?” I asked.
“I’m talking about our lives. Mine began the day you tried to kill me.”
“I didn’t technically try to kill you. I fell off a ledge if you remember.”
He smiled. “You did, and I’ve never been gladder of anything. If it wasn’t for your bad sense of balance, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“You mean walking up a mountain in the freezing cold on the way to find some Goblins?”
“I mean together. I want us to stay that way. I’ll never leave you. Never!”
And as I looked into his eyes, I knew he meant it. Whatever life threw at us, we’d get through it together.
Protector
Chapter One
I gazed at the people surrounding me, amazed at how far we’d all come. We still had a long way to go to reach the top of the mountain, but I never thought I’d see the day that Slayers, dragons, and wolves would come together for a common cause.
Not that they were all especially happy about the situation. Apart from Alpha, Morganna and, of course, Ash and me, the others had formed very distinctive groups. The dragons took the lead with Spear heading up that group. Rocco followed behind with a group of Slayers. Then, at the very back, were Morganna and Alpha with the wolves. From where I stood, I could see all of them and the long trek ahead of us. I’d made this particular trek before but that seemed so long ago now.
After the fighting and the traveling, all of us were exhausted, including me, and we’d only just set off. It was going to take us a lot longer than it had before to traverse the rocky pathways. We hadn’t even gotten through the trees on the lower part of the mountains and I was already flagging with fatigue. The trip to the Wolvrens’ home and then back to Dronias, not to mention all the blood I’d lost, had taken its toll on me.
“Are you ok?” Ash asked, noticing my discomfort. I couldn’t hide anything from him, he was so perceptive.
“I’m fine,” I replied, plastering on a smile. I wasn’t fine, but if I said that, he’d either make me turn around and head back to my mother at the bottom of the mountain or insist on turning into his dragon form and carrying me up the mountain himself. I wasn’t willing to let either one happen. Truth be told, I was scared that if I left the group, something would come between them. Our solidarity was hanging by a thread as it was and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. As much as I hated to admit it, I was the glue that held us all together. Ok, Morganna could tec
hnically do the same job. She knew the wolves well and, of course, she was a Slayer, but it still felt like my responsibility to keep everyone together.
“Do you want me to carry you for a while?” asked Ash. “You look really tired.”
And there was my second option. The problem was, he looked tired, too, and if he carried me up the hill, the others might expect the same treatment. Besides, I really didn’t want to show weakness this early on in the trek. I shook my head and grasped his hand. Just holding onto him gave me strength and if he pulled me up a little and helped me over the rocky terrain, who else was to know?
After centuries of fighting between the Slayers and dragons, it was strange to see us working together. I could still feel the hate and dislike between the two groups. Friendship would take a long time, but with a common enemy in the Goblins, at least we could focus on something other than killing each other. Once we reached the Goblins’ cave, bloodshed would be inevitable. I wasn’t so naïve as to believe that we could sort out the problems without it. We still had many dragons to save and as I was the only one who could do it, I had to remain fit.
Ash and I had only just left the leafy shade of the wooded area, beginning the long, arduous journey over the rocky, gray terrain that made up the next part of the mountains, when up ahead, Spear came to a stop. I paused under the pretense of seeing what Spear was up to, but as far as I could tell, he was simply gazing out over the view below us. I couldn’t see it from where I was near the back of the caravan; I could only see the dark forest behind me, but I knew once I cleared the tree line, I’d see fields of gold and green laid out before me like a patchwork quilt. I’d seen the view enough to remember it well and had even flown over it on Ash’s back.
Looking back up at Spear, I could see him speaking animatedly to my father. At the beginning of the hike, before the groups had split, the two had been doing well, chatting about the route, both of them leaving old wounds behind them. But as I watched them now, I could see animosity between them. They were too far ahead to hear what they were saying and the wind that whipped around us swept their voices away, but it was plain to see they were having some kind of disagreement. Nudging Ash, I pointed up at them.
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