Scales and Flames

by Catherine Banks

  Adjusting her rucksack, Julian made sure the straps held tight before she took off running. The heavy sack of clothes, food and water bounced against her spine as she sprinted towards daylight.

  Finally, the six kingdoms. The home she was certain she’d one day have, and she was about to see it.

  Her breath fogged the air as she pushed around the last bend. Brilliant light burst from the mouth of the cave, sending white lights across her vision. Julian squinted and shielded her eyes with her hand, but she didn’t stop, not until the rock beneath her boots gave way to perfectly green grass. It swallowed her feet to her ankles, sliding beneath her pant-leg and tickling her skin.

  “Grass,” Julian exclaimed. She fell to her knees, gripping the long wet fibres between her fingers. They were slick and not quite as silky as they looked, but still, she couldn’t contain the joyful squeak unleashed from her throat.

  Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Julian looked up at the pine forest down a short hill, at the birds cawing as they leapt from the lush branches of trees, and squirrels scuttled along the forest floor, leaping for cover up the thick trunks.

  Beyond the forest, smoke rose from a town, and a river banked around its far side. Hills continued as far as she could see, hundreds––no––thousands of trees, all under a bright blue sky.

  Her thudding heart slowed as she kneaded the grass between her fingers.

  Home. It was the only word she could use to describe it. One day, this would be her home.

  Wiping the dew on her hands across her thighs, Julian rose, her shoulders lighter than ever, even with ten pounds of goods on her back. She couldn’t wait for her mother to see this again. She couldn’t wait to fly over the mountaintops and leap into a river.

  Julian grinned as she descended the hill. Before she could enjoy Warshard properly, she had a mission to complete––a mission she hoped would take her across more of the beautiful countryside.

  But first, she needed to find that town and figure out where she was going. All she had was her sense of the magic girl who might save her mother from a life of service. She had no town or city name, just a sense and a direction. Explaining that to anyone willing to aid in her travels wouldn’t be easy.

  Chewing on her lip, she reached the bottom of the hill. Tall trees shaded her from the sun, casting dappled light across the pine-needle-strewn roots protruding from the ground.

  From what her mother described, the people of the six kingdoms were generally kind. She should be emerging in a kingdom called Salander, but beyond that, her mother had no idea what city she needed to travel to.

  Julian took a deep breath. She hoped it was close, so she could get the girl and return to her mother, who hopefully would have a plan by the time she returned.

  She paused at the edge of the forest, a dirt path inches from her boots. She closed her eyes and pictured the hills and trees. In her mind she flew over the land, reaching out for the burn of magic once more.

  Her stomach flipped and hollowed. Flames ran through her gut and up into her chest. Julian turned left, right, back the way she’d come. She stepped in each direction until the hunger reached up into her throat and burned her tongue.

  That way.

  Julian opened her eyes and let the magic go. Cold air filled her lungs with each breath, settling the beast back down. Directly south: just as her mother had said. She stepped onto the path heading towards the smoke. Maybe someone in town could give her an idea of where she was going.

  An hour later the sun crested the top of the trees. Noon. Her stomach growled, not with hunger for power, but with genuine hunger for food.

  She chomped on an apple as the trees parted and the lane widened. Sour juice burst across her tongue and sent a shiver up her spine. She hoped her mother hadn’t given her too much of their food. She’d be treated like a queen this close to the birth, as if treating her well right before the baby was born could somehow determine its gender. But once the baby was born, as with the ones before it, as soon as it was clear the baby was male, her mother would be sent back to her chambers and shunned until someone thought to impregnate her again.

  Fury burst through her, sending heat to her fingertips. She clenched her fists so flames wouldn’t leap from her palms.

  She took a deep breath. This is why she was on this journey. She’d save her mother and make the dragon lords regret they ever enslaved her.

  Though her calves ached and her shoulders grew sore, she continued down the road at a brisk pace. The sweetness of the apple faded and she tossed the remainder into the trees. Her excitement over new things still sent her heart racing, though it was clouded by her desperate desire to fix things.

  The light smoke in the distance grew thicker the closer she got, until it was a solid gray cloud hovering in front of the sky.

  Julian looked down as the edges of buildings came into view. Buildings not made from thick slabs of rock, but from wood and stone. She raised an eyebrow and slowed her pace.

  The soft rumble and clack of rocks came from ahead, as did soft chatter and the whinny of horses.

  Again her heart leapt. She’d never seen a horse or even a human before. Though her mother told her they looked the same as dragons in their human form, she still wanted to see them for herself.

  Julian was sprinting before she realized what she was doing. A cart pulled out from an adjacent street, a large brown animal with long legs, wide hooves and thick hair pulling it along the road. A horse.

  She stopped at the intersection, her heart pounding as she looked back and forth. Pens of small white-feathered birds with orange beaks, boxes of plants and a fire pit with the thick smoke she’d seen on the walk.

  Two tall men sat by the fire pit, chewing on long pieces of yellow grass and speaking with each other in low, rumbling voices. On the other side of the lane a woman with large hips and an apron hung sheets from a line attached to a bar near her front door, and a post ten feet away.

  Further down the lane more men and women rode by on horseback, silver armor glinting in the sun instead of the pale cotton of the others. They had to be warriors of some kind, with swords at their hips and shields on their backs.

  Julian turned in circles to take in all the wonders of the town. She’d never seen so many people in her life, or so many unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells.

  “Dear, you’ve been standing there for some time.”

  Julian spun to find the woman in the apron smiling kindly. She held her hands in her lap, and unlike Julian and her mother, had dark hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head. She was older than her mother’s human form, and a bit wider, but her eyes shined like the grass on the hillside.

  “Hello.” Julian grinned. “I’m sorry, I’ve never seen so many interesting things this close together.”

  The woman raised an eyebrow, wrinkling her forehead. “This is only a small town, dear. Where are you from?”

  “The mountains,” she said. “What is the name of this town?”

  “Elmhurst.” The woman continued to look at her strangely, but Julian could only beam.

  “Elmhurst.” Her very first town. “And what is that way?” Julian pointed south, in the direction her sense was taking her.

  The woman followed the direction of her finger. “Well, there are forests, and fields, other villages, the sea, the capitol.”

  Julian’s eyes widened. So many things she wanted to see, especially the vast expanse of water her mother claimed lie beyond land. “That’s incredible.”

  “Are you looking for something in that direction?”

  “Yes, a girl.” Julian paused. There weren’t words to describe the feeling in her belly, and she was sure the woman would think her mad. Humans didn’t believe in magic, even if it was all around them.

  “Where is this girl? Maybe I can help.” She smiled kindly, while concern flashed in her eyes, just as it did when mother sensed the dragon lords coming.

  “I don’t know, but I need to find her.” Julian
shook her head. How could she explain it?

  “What’s your name, dear?”

  “Julian.”

  “Julian. A beautiful name. My name is Glenrys.”

  “Well met.” Mother had said that was the proper way to greet someone. It occurred to Julian that she’d never properly met someone before. She’d only ever known her mother, and sometimes briefly, her siblings. But babies didn’t talk, and there wasn’t any real meeting them when all they did was cry.

  “Well met,” Glenrys replied. “Let’s see if we can find someone to help you.” She glanced back down the road, the way the warrior people had gone.

  “All right.” It couldn’t hurt.

  Glenrys lay a hand gently on her back, turning her to walk the length of the road, further into Elmhurst. Tall and short homes rose on either side of the street, as well as a short building with open doors, and horses outside and in, penned up in cages.

  Her brows pulled together. She couldn’t imagine living in a small box was any kind of life, but then again, some of the horses were outside grazing in a large wooden pen. A small one, a baby perhaps, even chased around a larger horse. Maybe they weren’t always confined inside.

  They walked passed a stone forge with molten flames inside a pit, and hot coals burning red. A tall bearded man with gloves pulled white-hot iron from the forge and doused it in water. Steam hissed up into his face, reddening his cheeks.

  “What is that man doing?” Julian asked.

  Glenrys glanced at the man. “That’s the blacksmith. He’s making a few new blades for the guards.”

  “Guards?” Julian tilted her head. “Were they the ones on horseback with armor?”

  “Yes, that’d be them.”

  “What are they guarding?”

  Glenrys laughed as if Julian had told a joke. When she was done wiping her eyes, the woman raised her brows as if surprised Julian had been serious in her question. “Well, us of course.”

  “Elmhurst?”

  “Yes. They keep us safe from crime, and protect us if war ever reaches us.”

  “War?” Julian’s eyebrows furrowed.

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Great battles between kingdoms.”

  “But why would the kingdoms fight?”

  Glenrys twisted her wide jaw back and forth as she thought. “For land, resources, their rights… many things.”

  “Hm.” Julian looked at the sky. Her mother had told her of the great dragon wars centuries passed. She didn’t imagine the people of the six kingdoms ever had anything to fight about. They had grass and trees and food and water. They had so much light and so many beautiful things. Why bother fighting about it?

  Glenrys glanced at Julian with confusion in her eyes until they reached the end of the lane and three men and one woman on horseback came into view. They stood next to a large building with a set of five steps to reach the door. It was the only building with windows on top and not just the bottom.

  At their approach, the men smiled and nodded at Glenrys while the woman raised an eyebrow at Julian, curiosity clouding her clear green eyes. She had the same thick brown hair and wide jaw as Glenrys. The guard had to be her daughter.

  “Mum, who is this?” the woman asked. She swung down from her horse, jostling and clinking her armor and sword against each other.

  “This is Julian.” The older woman raised her brows meaningfully. “She’s wandered into town and isn’t quite sure where she’s going. She says she’s from the mountains.”

  Julian nodded. That basically summed up most of their conversation.

  “Julian, this is my daughter Helga.”

  Helga glanced back at the other guards. “Where is it you’re headed?”

  “South.” That’s all Julian could really explain.

  “South,” Helga said. “Anywhere specifically?”

  “I’m not quite sure yet. I’ll know when I get there.”

  “You’re heading to Ithrendel soon aren’t you?” Glenrys raised her brows. “You might be able to find her somewhere to stay in the city.”

  Helga nodded and again exchanged glances with her comrades. “Yes, we are. I’m sure we have room for her.” She smiled tightly.

  Julian shifted from foot to foot. On one hand, she didn’t need anywhere to stay, but on the other, if they rode on horseback that’d get her farther much quicker. If she needed to go past this Ithrendel she could simply continue without them, or if the magic girl appeared before the city, she could disembark.

  “I’d appreciate the ride,” Julian said.

  “Excellent. Why don’t you come with us?” Helga motioned back towards the building. “We’re just getting our things and then we’ll be on our way.”

  “All right.” Julian said her goodbyes to Glenrys and joined the guards. Hopefully, the magic girl would appear along the way, or else she might be in for a long walk, yet.

  As the sun began to lower toward the distant mountaintops, Julian loaded the last of the goods into the back of the wagon. Bags of fresh apples, boxes of salted meat, and a few cages for chickens occupied the back of the trolley.

  “We’re just about ready to go, Julian.” Helga wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even with the sun setting, heat still covered the open road. “You should say goodbye to my mother before we head out.”

  Julian smiled. “All right.”

  Heading back down the road, Julian slowed as she approached the corner. Voices drifted on the breeze, the same familiar timber of the guards Helga worked with. She stopped and peeked around the corner. Helga had sent them off to fetch the last of the supplies, not to loiter in alleys.

  “That girl is as crazy as your ex-wife, Jordan,” one of the men said, a growl of a laugh rumbling in his beard-covered throat.

  The other, a younger man, flashed his teeth in a wide grin. “Don’t remind me. She even has the look of the crazy old bat.”

  “Wasn’t your late wife younger than you?”

  “No, she was a few years older.”

  “Why do you think the Lieutenant agreed to bring the little loon to Ithrendel?” Their laughter ceased as he scratched the back of his head.

  “I don’t know, maybe she feels bad for her.” He shrugged.

  “Could be.”

  Julian pressed her back to the wall and leaned away from the alley. Her heart raced and her brows furrowed. So she was right, they did think her crazy. But crazy or not, they were still taking her with them. It would be the fastest way across the country. All she needed to do was slip off before they arrived, and she’d find the ashen her mother needed.

  “Julian!” Helga’s voice called down the road.

  Her heart jumped as she leapt from the wall. “Coming!” She took off back down the road as the sun dipped lower, sending shadows across the town.

  Flames burned in her belly, the beast she’d never accept returning to torment her. Julian shifted for the thousandth time. After several days in the back of a bouncing trolley, she was ready to be done with her mission. The closer they rode to Ithrendel City, the capital of Salander, the more intense her beast fought.

  Heat coursed through her limbs, a constant irritation she couldn’t ignore. Chickens squawked behind her and crates slammed against her side as they rolled over another bump.

  She narrowed her eyes at the road disappearing beneath the wheels. Did the road really need to be this bumpy? What caused so many divots anyway?

  Julian sighed and turned once more, shifting to look ahead between the trees. She started as enormous gray stone walls appeared behind the treetops. Beyond the walls, turrets rose: the castle. Her heart sped with excitement. She’d never seen a castle before, nor had she been to a real city. As Helga explained along the way, the city housed thousands of people. The houses spread around the walls as well as inside up the hill before the castle.

  She kneeled on the wooden floor, holding a chicken crate and the edge of the trolley for balance. The fire inside her grew stronger with every step the horses took. With every
inch of land they crossed, claws scratched her insides. She wanted that girl. She wanted her power. Whoever she was, Julian needed her––no––the beast needed her.

  Swallowing, she shook her head. She wished she had cold water to splash over her face, to tame the heat inside and quell the dragon for even a moment.

  “You see the towers?” Helga rode up beside the trolley, her bun a mess in the wind, and her eyes wild. “That’s the royal castle where King Brae and his son Prince Emeril reside.”

  Julian nodded. She understood their titles from her mother’s teachings, though their names meant nothing to her. Should she know this king and his son? Were they known for something in particular?

  “We should arrive within the walls shortly.” Helga smiled and kicked her heels. Her brown stallion trotted up to join the others at the front of the trolley.

  Julian sat back on her heels as they crested the hill and hundreds of wooden homes came into view. They rested halfway down the hill on flatland before sloping up again to the castle walls on the hill. She’d never seen something so magnificent, so daunting in all her life. She couldn’t wait to explore it.

  The trolley slowed as the dirt road shifted to cobblestone. The bouncing didn’t lessen any, but the new sights and smells were enough of a distraction. Something tart drifted on the breeze, like fresh baked goods. Children and their parents walked the edges of the road, some with mules, others with dogs, or horses. Most had dark brown hair, while others had haloes of dusty orange.

  She’d never known such a color was possible on a human. Then again, she had very little knowledge of humans to draw from.

  As she settled back down to watch the town go by, the fire inside her shifted. Where it had come from directly south for days, now it came from the east. Her heart sped as she glanced back and forth at the road. She hadn’t seen anyone she’d assume was an ashen, then again she’d never seen one either.

  Julian crouched on the ever-moving floor, holding herself steady with the wooden slats.

  “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” the driver called back. He narrowed his dark eyes with suspicion.