Dragon Flight: Sisera's Gift 3 (Dragonblood Sagas Book 5)

by Robyn Wideman

  “There have been some adventurous enough to leave Evresh but most are more than content to stay. They have everything they require already here so they really have no need to venture away. On the rare occasion that they require something then they just go get it, nothing can stop them. But, to be very honest, on the whole, they don’t really like humans all that much. The Wisps need humans for their research so Pal’Rhoc exists but that is it.”

  Kai’s mind was bursting with questions but he held his tongue because his questions were not more important than his sanity. The less he talked to the rage-inducing boy, the better.

  After a few more moments, they continued on their way, with Kai and Aarav staring off to the right side in hopes of catching another glimpse of the little people but with no luck. The closest they came was seeing the path that led to the gate of the city.

  “It’s impressive but it is a day’s journey in the wrong direction,” Bastion said before either of his companions could ask to go see it.

  Near the end of the third day, Bastion led them off the main path and down a hidden path that even Kai’s trained eyes had missed. They walked down the path for twenty minutes until it abruptly came to a dead end.

  “Over here,” Bastion said and lifted a trapdoor disguised to look like a rock. “Pull it closed after you,” he said and disappeared down the hole.

  Kai and Aarav cautious peered over the edge and saw there was ladder leading down into a secret chamber. Aarav looked at Kai and shrugged then made his way down the ladder.

  When his friend reached the bottom, Kai carefully descended the ladder after pulling the heavy door closed. A familiar purple glow came from the chamber below but the source was blocked until he reached the bottom. When Kai turned after getting to the bottom, he was greeted with a chamber that was completely lined with glowing purple stones.

  “Vividus crystals,” he said excitedly, his defence mechanism forgotten. “What is this place?”

  “Oh good. You’re speaking to me again,” Bastion said with a nod as he settled himself on a short stool made from a stump of wood. “I thought you might. Sit. We can only stay in here for a few moments.”

  Kai and Aarav settled themselves down on similar stumps which were placed in a circle around the middle of the chamber. It was not big room but it could comfortably fit another three or four people. Kai could not help but stare at the intricate designs the purple crystals made when they were so tightly set together.

  “Because of your stupidity, you and I are now bonded.” Kai tried to defend himself but Bastion held up his hand for quiet. “Just listen,” he said sternly. “When you bonded yourself to me, what you did was make yourself my responsibility. What that means is, if the Wisps want to test you, which I’m very sure they will since there had never been any reports of anyone drinking trollseed the way you have, then I am bound by blood oath to deliver you to them for as long as they see fit.”

  Bastion paused for a moment to let Kai absorb what he had said.

  “So, if I ran, you would hunt me?” Kai said.

  “Exactly. And, my career at Pal’Rhoc would depend on my performance. It is the only thing I’ve ever wanted since I came here as an orphan, so really think about how dedicated I would be to the hunt.”

  Kai nodded slowly, a grim look on his face. “I didn’t know that’s what I was doing,” he managed to whisper.

  “What’s done, is done. We just need to understand each other very clearly from here or we will find ourselves at odds. I understand I am hard to get along with. I won’t apologize for being myself but I will try to be more lenient with your inevitable stupidity.”

  What shocked Kai the most was that he actually understood what the boy was saying. “You are offering me a truce?”

  Bastion nodded.

  “Why wait until now? Why now and why here?”

  “This is a place of silence where I can speak without being heard. I am connected to them so they can see and hear through me, should they have a need to do so. Although, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, it is important to me that my loyalty to them remains unquestioned,” Bastion said.

  Kai looked into the boy’s eyes and he could see sincerity. “So, what do we do?”

  “Nothing we can do. Just need to be aware of it. I will help you as much as I can but you have to trust me and do exactly as I say, no matter what. That will be hard for you to do but please try, for both our sakes.”

  Kai felt anger starting to rush into his mind but he fought against it. He knew that Bastion was right. This was his world and Kai was merely an uneducated tourist in it. The boy had not actually failed him at all up to this point so he saw no reason not to trust the young man.

  “Agreed. I just want to get to Sova as quickly as possible,” Kai said with resolve.

  Bastion nodded his head. “Good,” he said. “We will reach the Temple of the Wisps tomorrow. With any luck, we will get through quickly because we still have a long way to go to reach Sova’s island. The most important thing is that we don’t get stuck there for too long.”

  Kai and Aarav both nodded in agreement.

  “OK. Let’s get out of here. The smell of you two is making my stomach turn,” Bastion said with a wrinkled nose. He got up and left without another word.

  Kai would have been more offended has his mind not been on more concerning matters. Why did the boy feel the need to warn him secretly, and took great measures to do so?

  He followed Aarav out of the little cave and it was not until they reached the sweet, clean air of the surface that Kai really understood what Bastion was talking about.

  “He must’ve been talking about you. Phew, you stink,” he said to Aarav with a straight face.

  Aarav played along. “Afraid not, my friend. That is your own odor offending you. It is just so great a stench that it seems to be coming from me.”

  “Would you idiots hurry up,” Bastion shouted at them from far down the path.

  “Yeah, hurry up, you stinky idiot,” Kai said, doing his best imitation of the brash youth.

  The two men shared a laugh as they followed after their guide.

  28

  “This place puts Pal’Rhoc to shame,” Aarav said, his eyes bright with excitement.

  Kai could not help but agree. The structure that stood across the dark-water bay was the most impressive he had ever seen in his life, a list that included many lavish castles that were said to be the most impressive in all the world.

  “It is ridiculous to compare the two, really,” Bastion said, matter-of-factly. “The Temple of the Wisps is many thousands of years old, built by the Uduk at the dawn of time. The keepers of the ancient lore tell us that all the world was born on the island where the Temple sits. Pal’Rhoc is a pathetic attempt at a hovel when compared to the Great Temple.”

  Kai and Aarav both laughed at the boy’s description but neither could disagree.

  “How do we get there?” Aarav asked, unable to hide his excitement at seeing the impressive structure up close.

  “There is a bridge. How else would we get there? Do you see any boats?” Bastion asked sharply.

  Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He held it until he no longer felt like slapping the youth across the mouth.

  “I don’t see a bridge either,” Aarav said, choosing to ignore the boy’s poor manners.

  Bastion let out a long breath and rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said and walked in the direction of two stone pillars that stood out on the sandy beach.

  The twin obelisks stood ten feet apart and parallel to the water line. As Kai approached, he could see that the stones had been carved with a series of symbols that were unfamiliar to him.

  “This is a wind bridge,” Bastion said. “It is only really visible when there is fog but it is there, if activated. Each individual who wishes to walk upon it must say the phrase, indicated by the symbols, as they pass between the pillars or they will end up with nothing under their feet except the lake. They were
used frequently through the ruins of the Deadlands. This one, and the one on the other side of the Temple Isle, are the only examples still in use.”

  “Can the Pyx not create more?” Aarav asked as he inspected the pillar.

  Bastion thought for a moment, brow furrowed. “That would be up to the Pyx, I guess. Not really any of my concern,” he said, but the moments of uncomfortable silence that followed, as he appeared to contemplate the question, showed otherwise.

  Kai cleared his throat several times, to the point where it became uncomfortable to do so, in an attempt to bring the boy’s attention back to the situation at hand. Finally, the boy’s eyes seemed to refocus and he pursed his lips. He nodded and nonchalantly turned his attention to the pillars.

  “Each symbol is associated with a sound. Put the sounds together for the activation phrase. It is simple but ancient and strong magic, the kind that seems to elude today’s spellcrafters,” he said. He showed Kai and Aarav each symbol and taught them the associated sound.

  “Ho-ga-wer-te-ze,” Bastion said as he walked between the pillars. The ground beneath him disappeared and he appeared to be walking on air above the water. “Alright, come on.”

  Kai repeated the phrase as he followed through the mystical gateway. The mixture of sensations was unnerving. He could feel solid ground beneath his feet but his eyes saw things differently which made his stomach do flips.

  Aarav followed suit and the trio began the long walk across the surface of the lake toward the Temple of the Wisps.

  The gleaming white outer wall of the Temple stood forty feet high and followed the edge of the island perfectly. Kai suspected that the construction of such a wall would be impossible without the use of magic. The wall was built using giant slabs of torstone, blocks much bigger than even a crew of skilled stonemasons could manage.

  From behind the wall, Kai could see two massive spires stretching toward the sky, both gleaming white and topped with golden crowns, that he later learned were solid gold roofing tiles. A palace with such riches in the possession of creatures who do not place value on such things. Oh, the irony, he thought with a laugh.

  As they got closer to the island, Bastion pulled something from within the folds of his cloak and spoke words unintelligible to Kai. A section of the wall began to creak loudly before a seam appeared and broke open, revealing a gateway into the Temple. As soon as they passed the gateway, the wall closed itself, leaving nothing but a smooth, white wall behind.

  Walking through the wide roadways of the Temple complex made Kai feel very small. There was only a dozen or so buildings but each was oversized in every way. It was like walking through a city built by giants and he said so.

  “It is said that the Uduk were much larger in stature than today’s peoples but there is nothing to suggest that they were giants,” Bastion said with a shrug.

  Kai did not accept that explanation but he knew better than to vocalize his opinion. He walked in silence with his head craned back as he marveled at the size of the beautifully constructed buildings.

  The avenue they traveled on was wide and paved with smaller blocks of torstone, which gave it the same gleam as the buildings. It led to a tall building that stood in such close proximity between the two massive, golden-crowned towers that from a distance they appeared to be connected but upon closer inspection, Kai could see there was definite separation between the structures.

  The building was richly decorated, more so than any other building they had seen, save for the gold roofs on the towers that stretched high above the rest. The entrance was a set of tall double doors made from large sheets of cloudy, white crystal. Kai ran his hand along the polished surface as they passed by and could feel how solid it was. The doors were held open so he could not test the weight but he imagined that they would be very heavy to move.

  Until they entered the building, the trio had not seen any other life around the Temple. This building was a different story though. They passed through the crystal doors to find a massive room alive with the sounds and sights of Pyx performing magical experiments.

  Although he felt like the whole scene should surprise him but what really stood out to Kai were the three humans who were working in amongst the little creatures.

  “I thought you said there were no humans past Pal’Rhoc?” he asked but as soon as the words passed his lips, he regretted breaking his silence.

  Suddenly, all attention was on them. Hundreds of little faces turned in their direction and a flood of little bodies began to surround them. The three humans turned their attention toward the intruders and Kai could see that there were two men and a woman. All three were elderly in appearance but they moved with the vigor of youth. They wore matching white robes trimmed and stitched with gold. This was where the similarities ended.

  The men were separated by about a foot in height. The taller man was slimmer, with short dark hair and a hawk nose. His companion was thicker around the midsection and had bright red, freckled cheeks to go along with his fading coif of orange. The woman, who was a more than a few inches taller than the ginger man, had a stern but pretty face and long, dark hair, streaked with silver and pulled into a tight braid.

  Bastion knelt down and motioned for Kai and Aarav to do the same as the Pyx surrounded them with a ring of little bodies. The three elderly humans walked abreast with the tall man in the middle. The Pyx created a hole for the humans to enter the ring which quickly closed as soon as they had.

  “Welcome, Bastion,” the hawk-nosed man said with a smile. “These are the travelers then.”

  The three elders smiled warmly as they knelt on the floor across from Bastion, Aarav, and Kai. The ring of little people seemed to close in as they did.

  “Thank you, Vessel,” Bastion said with more respect in his voice than Kai thought the boy would be capable of.

  These must be very special people indeed, Kai thought.

  “This is Aarav and Kai,” Bastion said using an open-palmed hand to point to the man as he said the name. “They seek Sova Zlo in the east.”

  “Yes. This one is interesting,” the woman said as she stared at Kai. She would not make eye contact but inspected him like he was an artifact. “I see something in him. Very interesting.”

  Kai and Aarav looked at each other nervously but remained silent.

  “Yes, Vessel,” Bastion said. “He was inspected at Pal’Rhoc.”

  “Ah, good,” the woman said with a nod.

  “May I ask why you seek Sova?” the hawk-nosed man asked.

  Kai told him a quick version of the story that led him to Evresh. The three humans listened intently and when he was finished they shuffled until they were in a circle and appeared to discuss what Kai had told them.

  Kai lean nervously toward Bastion and whispered, “I thought we were good. It looks like they are discussing if they are going to let us pass.”

  “They are. The Three are above all other Pyx so do not adhere to promises made by others,” Bastion whispered back, turning his head toward Kai only slightly. “Now be quiet. We can talk later.”

  Kai remained silent as he watched the three robed elders discuss his fate. His knees began to ache from being in the same position for too long but he forced himself to be still. He tried to focus his mind on other things but the pain started to creep up his legs and back.

  After what seemed like hours, the Three finally shifted back around to face the trio.

  “We have seen her and she is safe. There is no reason for you to continue on this journey,” the hawk-nosed man said. “We commend you, though. It is a noble cause to quest for a friend in need.”

  Kai did not know how to respond but he did not need to as Aarav did for him. “How have you seen her? Where is she?”

  Bastion snapped his head around and shot Aarav an angry look. “What are you doing?”

  Aarav shrugged as he saw nothing wrong with his line of questioning. Kai agreed with it as well.

  “We can see all. She is safe with family.”


  Kai was about to speak but Bastion stopped him and spoke instead, “I apologize, Vessel. You are wise and correct. There is no need except for the longing he has to find her. We are happy she is safe but that is not enough. We must find her and take her home.”

  “But, she is home,” the hawk-nosed man said, a look of slight confusion on his face.

  Bastion nodded. “Yes. That used to be her home. She has a new home now. She lives on Seron with the Dragonblood.”

  “Ah, yes, the girl is impressive. We approve of her.” All three elders began to nod in unison which was very unnerving to Kai and Aarav. Bastion did not bat an eye.

  “I am charged with taking him to Sova to fulfill his oath to save the woman and it’s my trial for Pal’Rhoc to see him safely there,” Bastion said.

  “He has agreed with the blood bond,” the hawk-nosed man said.

  “Trollseed. It looks very interesting,” the woman said, continuing to nod long after her companions had ceased.

  “I know he agreed and he will submit. All we ask is that the testing be postponed. Let us complete our tasks first as they are both noble causes,” Bastion said. There was a certain desperation that could be heard in his tone.

  The boy’s plea was met with nothing but silence. The elders remained perfectly still for a few long moments. Even their eyes looked blank and lifeless as they stared forward, unblinking.

  Kai leaned forward to whisper to Bastion when the hawk-nosed man’s eyelids fluttered and he cleared his throat. Instead, Kai looked at the man expectantly.

  “Unacceptable.”

  The word rang through Kai’s head as his stomach began to tumble. What did that mean? Fear rushed through him which was well justified as the floor suddenly opened beneath him, like a great stone mouth, and swallowed him up.

  29

  “For savages, these Northmen sure know how to make a tasty beer,” Santaal said as he wiped the frothy head that clung to his beard. “Reminds me of the swill from the Wretched Goose in North Port.”