The other two trembled, their heads shrinking into their shoulders.
“No kheshlar would treat us like this,” Breemurh said.
“No city kheshlar would use such harsh words. It seems there is a lack of manners from you wood kheshlars. I am to be respected, I am your master, and you are my slaves.”
“I would rather die.” Breemurh spat.
Arria leapt forward, grabbed Breemurh by the throat, lifting him into the air. Arria held him aloft, staring into his hazel eyes, laughing before shoving her dagger below the ribcage. Breemurh dropped to the ground, wailing in agony.
“For a kheshlar, an injury like this will take weeks to claim your life, and yet I hit every nerve I needed to paralyze you. I want you to live long enough to watch your friends treat me with the respect I deserve.” She spun to face the other two. “Now where can I find the rest of the wood kheshlars?”
“In the forest to the north west … they cannot be found by wandering eyes. They only show themselves to ones they trust,” Lemnur said.
“And you will take me?” Arria asked.
“Yes … I will take you.” Lemnur dropped his head.
“That’s all I ask.” She kissed his cheek, rubbing her hand against his thigh.
He flinched at her motion. Arria backed away, laughing. She spun around, glancing over her shoulder at them. “You will tell me everything you know, everything about the wood kheshlars and everything you know about the city kheshlars.”
Their mouths parted in objection, but fell closed when she slipped off her nightgown, letting it drift to the floor.
She turned around, grinning when she saw their wide eyes. Biting her bottom lip, she watched them carefully. She noticed even the dragons seemed uneasy. She sashayed toward the two motionless kheshlars.
“If you two wish to live … then you’d better please me in every way you know how.”
Chapter Fifteen
After Starlyn entered the clearing, she retched. A gorge of acid traveled from her stomach to her chest, burning her throat and turning her mouth sour. Never before had she seen such a revolting sight. There didn’t appear to be any survivors, and they were left where slaughtered. A few hundred draeyks were stacked high and burning, but the kheshlars remained untouched. Their blood stained the snow crimson.
“This is barbaric,” Starlyn whispered.
“Yes … quite revolting. As I said … a war is coming. You are but a few … these were hundreds. You don’t stand a chance,” Shronan said.
“You may be right, mage.” Vil’ek’s lip curled as he stared at the trampled bodies.
“We should turn back before this becomes us,” Shronan said.
“Not yet,” Starlyn said. “We need to search for survivors.”
“In this?” Vil’ek asked.
“Even if there is only one, it is a life we can save. Start searching,” Starlyn said.
“Okay, but let’s not dawdle here long,” Shronan said.
Starlyn rummaged through piles of limp bodies. It brought bile from her stomach, but she didn’t give up. There had to be at least one survivor. She couldn’t believe they were all dead. She shivered as she went through the bodies. They appeared strange to her, unlike anyone she’d ever seen.
She studied their ears, which were significantly smaller than her own, and rounded at the bottom. Her own ears had a sharp edge on top and bottom. It had been obvious they were kheshlars, but they were different from her kin. Their green skin blended with the trees much better than Starlyn’s light blue.
“They are so different,” Starlyn said.
“They are alike in many ways, but yes … they are different from you,” Shronan said.
“My whole life I’ve wondered if we’d ever find them,” Starlyn said.
“I appears you have, though, not in the way you might have liked. I’m sure there would be many questions for their disappearance. I met the wood kheshlars once, they helped fight the dragons. Very sincere people.” Shronan brushed his hand through his long hair.
“We have to keep searching. There has to be at least one alive,” Starlyn said.
“Don’t stretch your faith, but I hope you’re right,” Shronan said.
She stormed through the massacre, rolling over body after body to check for life. Nothing breathed. She hoped the draeyks weren’t nearby. She prayed her sister hadn’t been with them or a part of the massacre. Surely her sister couldn’t be that cruel, no, not Arria.
There weren’t any weapons on the field. She wondered if the kheshlars didn’t have weapons, or were caught unaware. Vultures circled above them. Most of the bodies were in the center of the small clearing. Only a few littered the outskirts. Starlyn had been afraid to call out for survivors because she didn’t know how close the draeyks might be. She nudged each body with her foot as she passed. She grew tired of turning them over to see pale, lifeless faces. No sign of life existed anywhere.
Starlyn stopped at the edge of the clearing, closing her eyes. All her kheshlarn companions searched the bodies for equipment which may be useful for their journey, but it seemed the draeyks took everything practical. Starlyn focused on the serenity inside her mind. Outside showed chaos, everything around her made her want to scream, but she couldn’t. She was a kheshlar and stronger than that. She felt energy flow around her as she kept her eyes closed. She noticed the movements of birds and winter butterflies as they flew above. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel them. Using all of her energy, she stretched her senses farther, searching for anyone still alive.
When she wanted to give up, she sensed something. A slow heartbeat echoed through the cold. Starlyn’s eyes opened. She ignored everything around her except for the heartbeat. She could sense the vibration of the heartbeat clearly, everything else became a blur.
She found a small path on the east side of the meadow. An oak tree stood at the path’s end with two bodies lying against it. Starlyn remained steady as she lurched toward it. Her footprints barely penetrated the snow with her cautious footsteps. She held her hammer’s handle tight as she paced toward the tree. Two kheshlars hugged each other, neither breathed well, but each breathed. The two heartbeats seemed to beat as one.
Starlyn knelt next to them as she stroked one’s hair. The woman flinched. Her eyes opened, growing wide, and she stumbled away from Starlyn, falling into the snow.
“Who are you? Get away from me!”
“Shh, be quiet … I’m here to help you … please,” Starlyn said.
“Where am I? Leave me be.”
“Do you remember anything? Do you remember what attacked you?” Starlyn whispered, eyes searching for any hidden enemy.
“No … I can’t remember anything. Please leave me.”
“I want to see you safe, please come with me.”
“How do I know if I can trust you?”
“You must have faith,” Starlyn whispered. “Who is this, the one you lay with?”
“I … don’t know.”
“What is your name?” Starlyn asked.
“My name … my name.” She glanced to her side, mumbling.
The other woman stirred, opening a bloody eye, her body too weak to move. The sound of her heartbeat began to fail. Dried blood was caked on a wound from her abdomen. It was a wonder she had still been alive.
“My sister … do not forget who you are … where you came from,” the dying kheshlar said.
“Sister?” The other kheshlar crawled to her dying sister.
“Yes … you are my sister … your name—” The woman gasped, coughing hard twice. “Your name is … Anaela. You are a kheshlarn ranger.”
Her voice faded, she closed her eyes as she trembled.
Anaela clutched at her sister. “Sister, don’t leave me.”
Her sister opened her eyes, smiling. “Do not forget who you are.”
She coughed her last breath, her head falling against the tree. Her eyes remained open, gazing into the white clouds scattering the red sky. Starlyn
knelt on the ground, grabbing Anaela into her arms. Anaela fought at first, but gave up, putting her arms around Starlyn. Tears streamed down her face.
Chapter Sixteen
Arria stood alone inside of her tent’s bed chambers. Hers had been the only tent in the camp. The dragons never used tents, therefore, it would be an unnecessary luxury for them. She liked the dark silence the tent provided. She considered the two speared heads next to her bed. The two kheshlars appeared surprised by their deaths. Arria enjoyed killing them. They were useful in the beginning, but she grew bored when she learned everything they knew. She enjoyed them one last time, but when they grew tired, she had the dragons hold them as she slowly sawed their necks with her dagger.
She had them dripped in tree sap, preserving them. She enjoyed gazing at their terrified expressions. She knew the location of the wood kheshlars. Without them alive, she would have to come up with other ways to bring the rest out of hiding. She had many ideas to get them to show themselves. She became unsure if she wanted to carry on with the plan or not. From what she learned, there seemed to be as many of them as high kheshlars. She dared not weaken her force by attacking a hidden race when she needed to strike Sudegam. She needed to get her mother from the forsaken kheshlarn capital. Once she had her mother, she could do anything.
She stroked each face. “Be good. Stay.”
She wished she could have preserved more than just their heads, but decided she could find more companionship with the next village or city she conquered. There were still the weak minded humans she could ensnare, but the lack of a challenge didn’t appeal to her. They could be hers in one swift strike, it would be better to take care of a challenging foe before one so weak. The kheshlars needed to be slaughtered before taking all of Calthoria.
The flap of her tent opened as three creatures stepped inside. Each were captains with colored scales in patterns on their black hide.
“Misstress, theyy arre readdy forr youu in thee dungeonn.”
“As you wish.” She smiled, following them.
She hadn’t been sure what awaited her in the dungeon. The dragons gave out their secretes a little at a time. Whatever they were hiding deep in their dungeon had been important. She knew it for certain.
They traveled far and long until the entrance of the dungeon. Instead of turning at the right path like she’d been shown when her sister had been captured, they continued straight. Darkness overwhelmed her. Only a dragon with red and black scales held a torch. They arrived at a dead end. The black and blue creature stepped forward, digging his claws into the wall. The ground shook underneath Arria’s feet. She noticed a part of the wall shift upward. A small hole appeared in front of her. It had been too small to be a doorway, but large enough to crawl through. They ushered her through the opening.
On the other side, the cave became well lit. Candles burned along the walls on each side. She stared in awe for a few moments before being pushed forward. Her hand moved to the hilt of her flamberge, enraged at the creature who touched her, but she stood in an unfamiliar place. She didn’t want to hinder her escape. She exhaled, nodded, and continued forward. There were doorways on every side of her, some were open, while others were molded into the walls, almost overlooked.
The end of the tunnel had a large opening. She stepped through it with care. Inside were six dragons. Each of them stared at her. None had weapons. She hadn’t met any of them before. They were larger than the others. They were much taller and full of muscle. They weren’t black scaled like the others. Each had a different color from blue, yellow, red, gold, silver, green, and white. They each had small black spots with patterns on their body.
“Ahh, sshe hass come.”
“What are you?” Arria asked.
“Wee? Wee arre of thee olderr racce. Theese creaturesss whoo serve yoou came froom usss.”
“Are you what they wish to show me?
“Noo, not uss. Him.”
She glanced in the direction the creature pointed as she almost lost her balance. In front of her lay the terrifying creature from every kheshlarn history book. The same species who nearly annihilated the kheshlars: a true dragon. The creatures around her were dull in comparison to the dragon. It sized a hundred ells in length and one-hundred fifty spans in height. She fell to her knees in awe as she studied the creature.
Its tail stretched long enough to wrap around its body with sharp barbs, sharper than the tip of a dagger. The creature was silver with each scale reflecting a blinding light toward her. Its neck was half as long as its tail and curled so its head could rest on one of its gigantic claws. A light snore came from the creature as it slept. It seemed so carefree to be the last dragon alive, but she assumed these creatures took good care of it. The raw power which stood before her, the magic, was unbelievable. There weren’t supposed to be dragons anymore. Without dragon’s, magic was supposed to fade from the world. She smiled as she studied it. She wanted to stroke its side, to admire its glory.
“Are yoou ssatissfied?”
She spun around to gape at the creatures who studied her. “This is a true dragon … what are the likes of you compared to such as this?”
“Wee are nothingg. Wee are lowly draeyks. Dragonsss wee worshipp.”
“Draeyks … how many dragons are there?”
“Only onee.”
“He is the last?”
“Sshee.”
Her eyebrow raised. She glanced to the sides of the cavern. Eggs of every color surrounded her. Half of them were twice her size. Her eyes grew wide as she went to them, touching them. She heard a growl behind her. She turned around to find the dragon awake, its head inches from hers. A grin found her face as she stared at the marvelous beast. There were hundreds of eggs, yet none had hatched. She wondered why.
She raised her hand to rest on the dragon’s nose. “You are such a beautiful creature.
She could not be sure, but it seemed the dragon laughed as it stared at her.
Chapter Seventeen
Starlyn traveled south to Sudegam. They would need help against those who wiped out Anaela’s kin. Shronan had been right, there was a war brewing. They would need all of their power before they could achieve victory. Starlyn only wanted to bring her sister home, and save her mother, but it felt like a distant dream. Anaela still couldn’t remember anything. She could talk and efficiently use the bow strapped on her back. Her first memory had been of her dying sister.
Starlyn felt bad for Anaela. She had been curious about the differences between the races, but without Anaela’s memories, she could only learn physical appearances. She tried asking Shronan about the wood kheshlars, but he added little value on the subject. His observance had been like any man, slim and far between. He claimed he never paid any attention between their differences. To him, a kheshlar was a kheshlar.
Starlyn remembered stories claiming wood kheshlars were unmatched with a bow. She decided to test the theory against Anaela during their journey. She felt like a child with a bow compared to Anaela. Her arrow soared two hundred paces to strike a cherry. Starlyn impressed herself with the shot … until Anaela stepped an extra two hundred paces before releasing. Her arrow hit Starlyn’s, splitting it in two from four-hundred paces. The shot impressed every one of the kheshlars, even Vil’ek. Shronan’s eyes widened as well. He claimed he had never seen such a feat.
When they returned to the entrance of Sudegam, twelve of the king’s guard met them. Each nodded to Starlyn before inspecting the crowd. Their swords left their scabbards in seconds, blocking Shronan and Anaela.
“Who are they?” a guard asked.
“Shronan Onderon, wandering mage of Calthoria, at your service.” Shronan bowed.
“Mage? We do not accept magic inside our city. Be gone.”
“This man saved my life. He is to be permitted into the city under my authority. Let him seek judgment with the king before his fate is decided.”
The kheshlar guard gaped at her before coughing. He lowered his sword. �
��As you wish.”
Starlyn stepped forward only to be stopped again by another guard.
“Hold it, who is this? She doesn’t look like one of ours,” the second guard said.
“This is Anaela of the wood kheshlars,” Starlyn said.
“Wood kheshlars?”
“Will we be permitted through?” Starlyn asked.
The king’s guard lowered their weapons, circling around them as an escort. The group traveled through the red and yellow tulips on the yellow dirt road into the center of Sudegam. Everyone in the city stared their way as they followed their escort to the center tree of Sudegam. They called it the Tree of Life because all life originated from the tree before expanding outward. Kheshlars considered trees the most beautiful form of nature; the ancient tree drew kheshlars to it. The kheshlars built their city around the tree. Their king, Elsargast, had built a palace on top of the large sequoia tree.
They entered the tree, following the king’s guards to the top through the spiraling wood staircase. Birds sang songs around them as dragonflies danced with butterflies.
“This is beautiful,” Anaela whispered.
“I’m sure the wood kheshlars have a palace as beautiful,” Starlyn replied.
“I wish I could remember. Really I do.”
“It’s okay Anaela. You have a large bruise on your head. It may take some time.”
They stepped onto a lift where a kheshlar pulled a rope to raise them to the top.
When they stepped off the lift, they came to a tall red door where two large peacocks flanked the entrance. Starlyn nodded to the two beautiful creatures. Their tail feathers spread to show their magnificent beauty. Kheshlars respected the ancient magical peacocks, none dared to oppose them. They permitted the guards’ entrance to the king first, followed by the rest of the party. Inside, the halls were lined with gold as far as the eye could see. Unlike the rest of the palace, there were no paintings in the hallway. At the end of the hallway stood an enormous silver door.
The Chronicles of Starlyn (Calthoria Chronicles Book 1) Page 7
