by Mary Duke
“Yeah.” I chuckled as I caught the ring in my hand. Twisting the altered gem in the soft orange glow of the flames, I admired the craftsmanship Sno had pulled together in seconds.
“Did you really know her as a child?” Cassian asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I did. It was for only a brief moment, but she is the reason I am here today,” I replied deciding to put the ring in my chest pocket, but as I slid it inside, I remembered what I had put in there days ago.
“It’s just crazy how this realm works,” Cassian said. “So many paths cross, for so many different reasons.”
I pulled the envelope from my pocket and held it out between us.
“What is that?” Cassian asked his eyes narrowing. “Is that food?”
“I’m afraid it’s not food,” I replied. “But it just so happens that your ol’ man does have magic in his pocket.”
“Magic?” he repeated surprised, as he leaned forward to study the envelope. “Where did you get that?”
“Sno,” I replied. “Back when we tracked her to the meadow and saved you three from the hellhounds.”
“No way,” Cassian said shaking his head. “What does it do, can it get us out of here?”
“Perhaps,” I replied. “Sno said something about taking this, and it would put me to sleep, and I’d be able to talk to her.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Take it before Tamara comes back. We’re not allowed to have anything, the Queen's orders.”
I opened the envelope and hesitated to look inside at the few small seeds.
“Well,” he said urging me on.
“What will you tell your sister if she comes back?”
“I’ll tell her you passed out, and she needs to bring us food,” he answered, his genuine smile lighting up his face.
“It’s always food with you, isn’t it?” I said lifting the opening of the envelope to my lips.
“I’m just like you, I can’t help it.” Cassian laughed.
***
“Am I awake or asleep?” I asked myself, as my mind raced in the darkness.
“Both,” Sno replied.
“Sno!?!” I said excited and confused.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“I’m so glad you are alive,” I replied, thankful to hear her voice.
“As I am you are as well. We were told you gave your life on the battlefield.”
“I did.”
“That’s impossible. If you were dead, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you right now.”
“You see,” I said, trying to carefully choose my words. “I had died on the battlefield, but as Tamara and Cassian journeyed back to Dragon Island, the Queen interfered.”
“Interfered how?” Sno questioned, the tone of her voice changing.
“She offered Tamara a deal. She said she would heal me and return my soul to my body, and in exchange, Tamara had to offer her magic up to her. I really don’t know how all this works, to be honest.”
“So the Queen returned your soul, and you're you?” Sno asked, concern growing in her voice.
“I guess so. I at least think I’m me.”
“How did she do that?”
“Cassian said before he got locked in this cave with me that he overheard the Queen, with the help of someone named Quint, had got a hold of Illian’s pendant…the one that allows him to control the souls crossing over into the under realm, or something…”
“Yeah, that lines up. But why are you reaching out to me?” she questioned, her voice growing distant.
“I…” I started to say. “Cassian said that if she kills Illian, she’ll gain all of the strength that was given to him when Thanatos died…and if that happens, it’s the end.”
Sno paused, trying to decide if this was a trap. “Is that all you know?”
“I am afraid so. I don’t even know where I am or who my daughter is…” I trailed off. “If you would have seen her today, it was... I mean… She just exploded in rage. She’s back to being covered in flames again, she can’t control any of it. I don’t know what is going to happen to her.”
“And what is it you want me to do?”
“I want you to find Illian first. Keep him away from the Queen. If she gets a hold of him first, there is no way I will get my daughter, my Tamara, back.”
Sno remained silent, unable to decide if what Jethero said was the truth.
“Are you still there?” I asked after a moment of silence.
“I am,” Sno replied.
“What are you going to do?” I questioned, looking for a mere sign that would give me hope.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if you are real.”
“What do you mean you don’t know if I am real? I’m talking to you, ain’t I? I used the magic you gave me to reach out to you, don’t you know that?”
“But I can’t know if it is you for sure,” Sno said. “The Queen doesn’t like to leave loose ends.”
“And you believe I’m a loose end?” I asked confused.
“If she wants Tamara for her magic, the Queen is going to want her focused. You are a distraction, therefore a loose end in her plan.”
“Sno,” I said trying not to panic. “I know you have no reason to believe me and every reason to doubt me… I understand, I do. But, if you think about it, there is no way saving Illian will benefit the Queen… I’m just asking that you save him. Tamara has made her own choice and it’s something we will overcome together. Your job is, and always has been, saving the people of this realm.”
“Jethero,” Sno said softly. “We’re already looking for Illian, and I’ll do what I can to help Tamara, but dark magic is…”
“It is a world of its own, I know,” I replied. “Save our realm, so we have something to come home to.”
Sno chuckled.
“Just don’t forget…” I started to say before the connection ended.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SNO
“A little help?” Illiah yelled from the well.
Zavery reached into the darkness and grabbed her hand. “If you’re still alive, that means you have powers; can’t you get yourself out?” he teased.
“You can’t use magic in the well,” Illiah said as she rung out her hair.
“I’ll have to remember that for future reference,” Zavery said.
Illiah shook her head. “Where is Sno?”
“She’s with Evander,” Zavery explained.
“Well, that’s going to have to wait; we have to get back to Dragon Island, now,” Illiah said heading back up the path to the cabin.
“What do we need on the island?” Zavery asked.
“We need to find my father, and if Quint has him, I can use Fabien for leverage,” Illiah answered.
Zavery chuckled, “I never took you for that kind of girl.”
“There is no other option,” Illiah said defending her choice. “If we don’t get my father first…”
“Everyone in this realm will die,” I said finishing her sentence.
“Yes…” Illiah said slowly.
“Quint doesn’t have him,” I said throwing Illiah her bag. “At least not yet.”
“How do you know?” Illiah and Zavery said at the same time.
“Jethero?” Zavery questioned. “I thought he was dead?”
“He was,” I explained. “His daughter, Tamara made a deal with the Queen, and she returned his soul.”
“So they weren’t lying,” Illiah said out loud.
“Who?” I asked.
“The Council,” she replied. “They said that the Queen had gotten a hold of the ring that Thanatos gave my father, the one that allows him to rule the underworld.”
“Right.” I said, acknowledging we were in over our heads. “How are we getting back to the island; did you get your powers back?”
“Kind of,” Illiah replied, rubbing her hands together.
“Can you get us back or not?” Zavery questioned.
Illiah began to mutter some
thing under her breath, twisting her hands and focusing on the space between Zavery and I. Wind began to whip through the grove as leaves, twigs, and rocks began twisting together.
“Well, it’s not ideal,” Illiah said, as the dust began to settle and the howling wind died down. “But it will work.”
“What kind of portal is this?” I questioned.
Illiah rolled her eyes. “It’s one that will get us there.”
“Are you sure about that?” Kegan asked, snapping one of the twigs off the side and tossing it into the darkness testing it.
“Yes,” Illiah responded before lightning emerged from the portal, leaving a crack between her and the others.
“Hmmm,” Zavery said. “What’s our other option?”
“There is no other option!” Illiah yelled.
“This is an open portal,” I said dragging my hand across the surface.
“So?” Illiah said. “It’s the same one I’ve always used.”
“When you were immortal?” I fired back.
“What’s it matter?” Illiah said, her hands falling to her hips in annoyance.
“Open portals are dangerous. It’s the primary use of travel for those who dabble in dark magic,” I explained.
“Well, we’re not using it for dark purposes,” Illiah replied.
“No, but those who do usually keep tabs on who’s going where,” I tried to tell her.
“Rubbish,” she spat, grabbing Zavery by the shoulder and steering him towards the gate. “There is no way someone can tell we’re using this.”
“If Quint knows you had to come here to get your powers back, he’ll know to watch the Grove, and if either of them is tracking us, we’ll be vulnerable.”
“We don’t have time for what ifs,” Illiah replied locking arms with us before she jumped into the darkness.
Instantly it became apparent that my speculations were reality, as the three of us began to be separated.
Before there was a chance to react, the three of us fell in a heap before a bonfire.
“Someone send for Itheus,” one of the men shouted.
“Cilla,” a woman called to the crowd who gathered around us.
I jumped to my feet just in time to see the old woman emerge from the crowd, my eyes following hers to Zavery, who laid unmoving in Illiah’s arms.
“I tried to keep him out,” Illiah said. “I tried everything; he was too strong.”
“Who?” Cillia asked.
“Quint,” Illiah whispered.
Cilla pointed to two men in the crowd. “You and you, take him up the mountain,” she said before wrapping her arm around my waist. “I’ll see what I can do. I don’t believe the wounds are too deep. Why don’t you and Illiah head on up to Itheus? There’s someone waiting for you there.”
“I should have listened to you,” Illiah said, as we wound up the path.
“There was no other way,” I replied. “Nor was there any way of knowing for sure.”
Illiah’s voice was soft and distant as if for the first time in her life she was scared, “I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
“The realm has never been like this before,” I said stating the obvious, my focus on Zavery, who remained still.
I turned to Kegan. “Where’s Tork?” I asked, just realizing that he wasn’t hovering over Zavery.
“Tork,” Kegan’s voice cracked. “Tork did as he was meant to do,” he continued, clearing his throat. “He gave his life in order for Zavery to continue his.”
My heart dropped, and all the jokes about his hovering over Zavery like his mother faded from my mind.
“If I would have known,” Illiah said, trying to apologize. “If I knew Sno’s concerns were more than what ifs, I would have never…”
“It’s not your fault,” Kegan replied filling the gap between Illiah and I. “My brother knew the risks. No guardian can live forever, and anyone who knows him knows he would have wanted it no other way.”
I reached out to Kegan. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Stay strong,” Kegan replied. “The dead cannot change the future, only the living.”
I shook my head; this man lived for the moments he could answer questions with quotes. “If Tork gave his life for Zavery, that means that Zavery will survive this, right?”
“I’ve not seen that level of dark magic since I was a child, and it was banished when the eleven realms were created,” Kegan answered.
“But,” I said hoping he had more to say.
“But,” he said repeating me. “Zavery will eventually awaken. Though when he does, he will not be the same.”
“What do you mean he won’t be the same?”
“History tells me that when he awakens and finds that the darkness has yet again taken the one thing he has away from him, he is going to be hell bent on destroying it, and he isn’t going to care who gets hurt in the process.”
The door to Itheus’ cabin flew open, and Ayana emerged picking Zavery up from the cloth the men used to carry him up the mountain. The men bowed as she thanked them before they turned to walk back down the hill.
“He’ll be fine,” Cilla said sliding her hand down his cheek.
“He’ll live,” Ayana corrected her, as she carried him into the cabin.
“That’s Ayana right?” I said glancing at Kegan before we followed her through the door.
“The one and only,” he replied.
“Please take a seat,” Itheus said once again welcoming us into his home. “I’m glad to see that you’ve all made it back.”
Illiah muttered under her breath, “Barely.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” Itheus reminded her. “Though you may not see the meaning of it now, there will come a day when justification of this is evident.”
“Where’s Fabien?” Illiah questioned, not feeling Itheus’ rhetoric.
“He’s here,” Itheus replied.
“Where is he; I need him to find my father,” Illiah asked.
Ayana took the seat beside Itheus, across from Illiah and I. “When the time is right, Fabien will join us. As for now, there are more pressing concerns.”
“I don’t mean any disrespect,” Illiah said. “But what’s more pressing than finding my father?”
“How do you plan to get to where he is? How do you expect to get back to the Dark Mountain and release my brother?” Ayana answered her question. “If I am correct, though my mother once again gave you the ability to wield magic, you are not as powerful as you were once.”
Illiah nodded.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked trying my best to contain my excitement. I had seen Ayana before, but never in the flesh, never sitting in front of me here in my own realm.
Ayana leaned over, picking up a small chest from the floor and placing it beside her on the table. “I had hoped Zavery would be awake by now, however, there is no time to wait,” she said unhinging the latch. “When I was a child, though I had many brothers and sisters, I always felt alone. More than that, since I was the youngest, I never felt like anything was only mine. Keeping this story short, my father Aryn, father of all creatures, gave me a gift. He told me it was his greatest creation, and though it was one of his first creations, it was so dear to his heart that he had not yet released her into the universe” Reaching into the chest she revealed a large white egg cradled in her hands and held it out to me. “Go on, take it.”
I carefully took the egg into my own hands, excited. “This is a dragon's egg!”
“This is not simply a dragon's egg,” Ayana corrected me. “This is the very first dragon's egg, the same egg in fact that my father gave me.”
“How is that possible?” I questioned pulling the egg closer.
“A rarely known fact about dragons is that if a wild-born dragon wishes to become someone’s companion, they must be reborn,” Ayana explained.
“So when they say that dragons choose their being, it’s true?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “You are holding, Eris. My father gave her the name because she is the first immoral creature he created.”
“If your father gave her to you, why are you giving her to me?” I questioned.
“I’ve spent a thousand years with her, Sno. In a thousand years, she has always done what is best for me, as well as everything needed to keep me safe. Right now, I need to do the same for her. With the darkness brewing in the eleven realms, her children and her legacy are at risk.” A smile filled Ayana’s face. “The two of you will be an unstoppable force of light, I know it.”
“Thank you,” I replied, running my hand across the egg.
“Illiah,” Ayana said, reaching back into the chest and pulling out a large jagged black egg. “Being honest, I had not planned on giving you a dragon. As it so happens, Hayes found me while I was on my way here.”
Illiah held her hands out, taking the egg from Ayana.
“I gave this egg to my brother, Thanatos, not long after he took reign of the Underworld.”
“If this is your brother's dragon, why are you giving him to me?” Illiah questioned. Surely Ayana knew that they were going to be releasing him soon.
“I’m not giving Hayes to you as a gift,” Ayana corrected Illiah. “Hayes chose you; I am merely delivering him to you.”
Zavery nearly collapsed onto the chair beside me, before he leaned across the table. “Do you have one of those shiny rocks for me?”
“Zavery,” Ayana said surprised. “I’m glad you can join us.”
Zavery lifted his head off the table. “I’m sure you are.”
Ayana pulled a steal grey egg from her chest. “There were a few select dragons I spoke with when it came to you. Knowing what you have been through, what you would be going through, and what was to come, Alec seemed to be the best bet.”
Zavery reached out for the egg, however, Ayana kept it in her hands.
“With the help of my father, I created Alec as a companion for Eris. Though he and Eris had a love that is everlasting, not long after he was created it became apparent he was not happy in the Realm of the Gods. He longed to be free and to protect all creations. So Alec became the first dragon known to all in the realms outside of my own,” Ayana explained.
