“They were hunting us for months and you still have a bounty on your head!” Zerae exclaimed.
“That gets me more bounty hunters to play with,” Astril smiled back.
“Like the delegation from Mar Gorash who came to trade with us and mysteriously disappeared on the way?” Zerae smiled poisonously.
“That was an accident! I mistook the priest for another one who had a cool shiny necklace,” Astril made an innocent smile.
“I should put you on a leash,” Zerae sneered.
“Ooh... sounds kinky,” Astril laughed and rubbed herself on Zerae like a cat would rub on a human.
“Don’t fuck this up, Astril, you won’t get a second chance,” Zerae concluded.
“Have I ever? … nevermind, don’t answer,” Astril chuckled.
“I will get you as much time as I can, make it worth the effort,” Zerae continued.
“Chill, if the girl has a third of her father’s potential, she will be one of the strongest of us one day,” Astril tried to calm Zerae down.
“She doesn’t have that long,” Zerae stated.
“Is the council stirring trouble again?” Astril asked.
“They say they found a way to our Goddess,” Zerae revealed.
“Bullshit,” Astril barked.
“Maybe, maybe not. We don’t get to decide,” Zerae sagged her shoulders.
“Theeey just seeee what theeey waaant to seee, afraiiiid looooosing their poooowwweeeerrrrr,” third daughter of dreams joined in.
“Are you stoned? AGAIN?” Zerae turned to Leena who was sagged by a rock nearby.
Leena had mahogany hair and grey eyes, devilishly cute face, armor a mixture of brown and grey.
“Nooooooooope!” Leena grinned back, putting the still burning blunt behind her back.
“Don’t be so suspicious, Zerae, I am sure it’s just some tobacco,” Astril comforted Zerae.
“I should have both of you whipped unconscious,” Zerae frowned.
“You will get wrinkles if you keep doing that,” Astril smirked.
“Liiiiike thaaaaat would heeeeelp… AHAHAHAHAHAHA,” Leena laughed.
Zerae hit her face her palm and headed to her mount. Her mount was a massive bird with black feathers trimmed with red color.
“We are leaving,” Zerae concluded.
Leena got up, fell over, then crawled up to her feet while holding onto a tree and got caught by Astril before she fell over again.
“You need to get me some of this stuff,” Astril demanded.
“Soooooo youuuu waaaaant to flyyyy iiiinto a mooountaaaaiiiin agaaaaiiin?”
“It appeared out of nowhere! How could I expect that to happen?” Astril complained. Leena just laughed. Astril took her to her wyvern, a massive grey beast who was looking at Leena with a look that could only be described as full of worry.
“Don’t worry, Wawek, she is just a little tired,” Astril told the wyvern as she approached and went on to help Leena get up to the saddle. Wawek huffed and shook his head, then turned away.
“Eeeeveeen he doesnnn’t belieeeveeee youuuu, AHAHAHAHAA!”
Astril finished strapping her in and Leena just collapsed on the wyvern, hugging it tightly.
“Let’s move. Belenus!” Zerae ordered and the massive black bird leaped off the cliff to fly. Leena’s wyvern followed, ignoring its rider who was now mumbling something while holding onto him.
51
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Collward cried for days. She refused to leave the cavern where her father left her. Zerae didn’t bother to convince her and just had the other Faye pick up her stuff and move it. Astril stayed behind with Elise. She spent most of the time playing with the mechanical dragon who now lay lifeless in the cave. The cave that now smelled like someone spilled a barrel of flower-scented perfume into it as Astrils smell filled it. It made Elizabeth want to vomit. Astril tried to talk to Elise multiple times, but Elise refused and just held herself or Niuffie. Unlike Elizabeth, Niuffie liked Astril.
TRAITOR!
“Someone sounds hungry,” Astril remarked playfully as another sound echoed from Elise’s stomach. She had already eaten all the food she had packed and now was just hungry.
“I will go get something,” Astril said, went to the entrance of the cave and took out a whistle. She blew it and nothing happened. She returned inside to sit down and started to whistle. Elise ignored her. Astril was always making some sounds. Soon after Elise heard the beating of large wings in the air and stiffened, it landed with a loud crash and Elizabeth screeched. A massive monster landed at the ledge in front of the cave entrance. Its size matched the mechanical dragon; it had a long scaly tail finished with a sharp spike, its legs were like those of a lizard with huge claws, but then its arms were merged into huge feathery wings and its head was that of an eagle. In terms of color, the creature was a mixture of brown and green of varying shades.
“There, there,” Astril leaped to the monster and caught it by the beak. It bowed its head down and Astril petted it on the head. It rubbed itself gently on her.
“Whooo’s a good boy? Hmm? You are! You are such good boy!”
Elise just sat and stared.
“I will go get some food, wanna come with me?” Astril offered.
Elise couldn’t get out a word.
“Your loss,” Astril said, then went to the side of the monster to leap up into a saddle. She quickly strapped herself in and tucked on the beast. It made a few steps back before it leaped off the edge backward.
“WEEEEEEEEEEEE!” screamed Astril as she was falling. Soon after, Elise saw her flying off on the creature.
Elizabeth was alone.
I must get out of here! I must find dad; I am sure this is some kind of a misunderstanding. I will make him take me back!
She quickly picked up whatever things she had. She hid the spear at the side of the cave as it was just too large and heavy for her to carry. So, Elise took her backpack, grabbed Niuffie and headed out of the cave to the path leading downwards.
It was long, much longer than she had thought. Her legs were hurting, she felt weak, but she kept going. She fell a few times as the ice made the rocks slippery and got a few ugly bruises, but she did make it to the forest under the mountain. She continued on through it. She saw from the mountain which way the other Faye went and headed the opposite way. She went by the side of the mountain, then into the forest. She was hungry and thirsty. But Elise went on through it. Soon she heard a sound of water and headed to it. She was dirty and scratched from the plants she passed, but she made it to the water. The stream was crystalline clear and not frozen. She went down and drank thirstily. Niuffie went to drink down as well. Suddenly, Niuffie leaped on Elise and caught on her with her claws.
“OUCH! Niuffie what are you?” Elise shouted then froze. As she gazed up, a massive tiger was drinking from the water just across the stream, only a couple of meters away. It rose its head and looked at her. Then went back to drinking and later left as if nothing happened.
Why didn’t it eat me?
Elizabeth didn’t have an answer but didn’t feel like complaining about it. She went on to drink until she couldn’t anymore, then washed herself. She had quite a few bruises and multiple cuts on her soft skin. She was dead exhausted but hungry. Sleeping next to water didn’t feel like a good idea, so she took Niuffie and carried her a bit away. Niuffie was also tired, so she put her down to rest and tried to find something to eat afterward. She was looking for some wild fruit, but there was none. Soon after luck smiled at her and she found a few large fruits smashed by a tree. She looked up but saw nothing, only other fruit hanging up on the tree. She went to the fruit and smelled them. They smelled fresh, must have fallen off recently. Hungry, she went on to grab as much of the half-smashed fruits as she could.
“Shoo!” small monkeys were gathered around her and tried to take pieces of the fruit. Normally, she would be amazed to see them; now she wanted to keep the food she has found.
&nbs
p; If I am here faster than the monkeys, then I had to find it within seconds of the fruit falling.
Elizabeth grabbed full hands and went back to where she left Niuffie. To her surprise, Niuffie was eating something that looked like a large rat.
“Seems we both got lucky” Elizabeth smiled at Niuffie. Niuffie meowed back to Elizabeth. Even when being bloodied from eating the carcass, Niuffie was so sweet it made Elis’ heart melt. She sat down by the tree and went on to eat the fruit. It tasted great. Elizabeth figured that the fruit would go bad overnight, so she ate all of it. The ground was wet and cold, the air almost freezing, but she was too tired to move on and search for some shelter. So, Elizabeth took Niuffie into her arms and they slept together by the tree.
“Uuuggghhh!” Elizabeth woke up difficultly. She felt the pleasant fur on her fingers and heat that was filling her.
“Thank you, Niuffie,” she whispered as she tucked into the fur.
Wait a second…
Elise looked up and saw she is hugging a huge tiger who is lying next to her. She looked down and saw Niuffie lying next to her, hugging a paw of the tiger. Big, adult tiger.
Screaming is not a good idea.
Elizabeth slowly slid to the side of the tiger and softly pried Niuffie from it. Niuffie woke up and meowed in a greeting. The tiger twitched and looked at them.
Hi...
Then it got up, shook itself, releasing a spray of icy water and walked away.
Sense... this makes no sense. Elizabeth evaluated as she looked around. The tiger was gone. She then went back to the stream to drink. The tiger didn’t show this time. A few birds and a fox were around the stream drinking from it. They all ignored her as she approached, drank and left. They would look at her and then go back to whatever they were doing.
This is beyond weird, but I suppose it is better than them wanting to eat me or Niuffie.
She headed back to the forest to continue her journey. This went on for days; she would travel until she was exhausted, then search for food and find some fruit while Niuffie hunted some smaller rat-like creature and then she would sleep. The tiger showed up every night. She never saw it coming, but always woke up lying on it while holding it tight. When she couldn’t find water, she melted ice in her mouth and drank that. Over time, Elizabeth found out that the fruit didn’t go bad if she wrapped it in snow before going to sleep, so her diet became more regular and she slowly regained some strength. She didn’t know how long it was. Elizabeth had long lost the sense of time. After days, maybe even weeks, she finally found it – a road!
The road through the forest was faint, old and crumpled. But it was a road and by the tracks, it was often used. That cheered Elizabeth up and she went on it. She had a faint idea where she came from so she headed the other direction. Travelling on the road was much easier, she was still able to find food and the tiger would keep coming to warm her up every night, so she was slowly recovering. A few days later she heard a sound of horses and almost started crying with happiness. I am saved!
There were twenty men on horses accompanying a large wagon pulled by four more horses.
Elizabeth went to the side of the road and waved at them. They waved back. As they approached, she got a better look. Their armors were mostly black and they were armed. The wagon was large and had cages on it. Elise was so happy to see people that she got tears into her eyes. The men went in front of her and stopped.
“Are you lost, girl?” one of the men asked.
“I am. I look for a way to get back to some city. Are you going somewhere like that?” Elise asked happily.
“We are. Why don’t you come with us?” the man offered and pointed to the wagon. Elise thanked him and walked toward it.
Wait a second… these cages feel weird.
Elise jumped up as she walked and saw people inside the cages.
Slavers!
Elise ducked and just dodged hand of the man who was trying to catch her from behind. She dashed under the horse between its legs. The men laughed and followed. She was in the forest soon, but they got down from the horses and followed.
Shit!
Elise sprinted as fast as she could, but the men were quickly upon her. She leaped left to dodge one and slid to dodge the other. Niuffie was holding herself tight on her chest, digging her claws into Elise. Elise leaped over a stone. The men followed and caught up again. She slid under a root to dodge the next attack. The men just jumped over it with ease. Elise stopped and pivoted left.
“AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!”
Pain shot through her body. Her left leg gave out with a jolt of pain and Elise collapsed sideways. The men laughed and slowed down to step in front of her. Elise tried to stand up, but her knee hurt so hard it made her cry and she couldn’t put strength into the leg. She pushed herself with the other leg. Her back hit a tree. Three of the men stood in front of her, cornering her.
“Seems like you can’t run anymore,” one of them evaluated.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
“Making us sweat like this, you would better compensate for it,” another man joined it.
“Let me be!” Elise shouted as sharply as she could. The men laughed. Elise was petrified.
There is nothing I can do.
“She won’t fetch much with a twisted knee,” the second man stated.
“Then I guess we might as well have some fun with her,” the first man announced and stepped closer to Elise.
“If she dies, we haven’t lost anything, after all,” the second man agreed.
The first men stood in front of her, drew his sword and stabbed it into the ground. He unbuttoned his belt.
“I will bite if off!” Elise challenged.
“I will knock your teeth out first... if I want to use that hole, that is,” the man smiled as kept opening his pants.
“I won’t let you touch me!” Elise shrieked and grabbed a stone with her right hand, using her left to cover Niuffie who was holding herself tight on Elise’s chest.
The man froze. The other men too.
What happened?
Elise realized he isn’t looking at her. He was looking straight at her. Elise looked up. Astril stood above her.
The men quickly drew their weapons. Astril’s face was impassive; her eyes gave a strange feeling which Elise couldn’t place.
“This isn’t your territory!” the first man shouted at Astril.
Astril said nothing, just drew her swords. They were straight single edged swords with small circular crossguards.
“We didn’t know she is one of yours, sorry, we will just go,” the second man tried.
Astril’s swords looked like they suddenly caught on fire. One was burning bright blue, the second bright yellow.
“This is neutral territory, Astril! We have a non-aggression pact with your clan! You can’t touch us!” the first man shouted, fear was palpable in his voice.
Astril leaped forward and rammed her swords through the man’s belly. The other men shouted and charged at Astril. She took the swords out and met them. A split second later, they were falling to the ground, their bodies already catching on the blue and yellow fire. Elise stared at the scene. The men were about as good as soldiers that Elise remembered from show matches. They weren’t bad by what she could tell. But Astril was unreal. She was so fast her burning swords made blurry lines as she moved. Astril didn’t make any flashy moves or spins. There was nothing graceful or elegant about how she fought. It was just lethal. In a few seconds, she cut the men down like they were children with wooden toys.
“I will be right back,” she turned to Elise with a faint smile. Astril dashed into the forest where the rest of the men were. Elise couldn’t see much through the trees. All she saw was the yellow and blue light from the fires on Astril’s swords. What she heard were screams. Screams of anger, fear, pain, despair. Silence. Silence disturbed only by the crackling of the flame. It took less than a minute. Astril was coming back, her swords back in their sheaths. The corpses of the t
hree men in front of Elise were burning strongly, swiftly turning to ashes. Astril walked toward Elise and ducked in front of her.
“That’s gonna hurt for a while… why would you twist your knee?” she smiled playfully as she poked Elise’s knee with her finger. Elise shouted with pain and started crying. Astril slid next to her, wrapped her arm around Elise and pushed her legs on her body. Elise hugged her strongly and just wept.
52
Lucas
The night was cold and quiet, exactly how he wanted. Lucas was diligently preparing the fire around the depots at the lower part of the city. The area was guarded reasonably well, but not nearly enough to slow him down. He was almost disappointed. Things didn’t go well with Iowen and Miranda, putting salt into the wound didn’t make it better. At least Merewen was happy with the latest development, although he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
I wish I at least had my spear. It never complains.
He was done preparing the fire, so he went to check the surrounding area from the roof.
Soldiers, soldiers… what is that?
There was a strange group making way around the streets. They looked like soldiers, except that there were too men too large to be humans and a woman in their midst.
Looks like I found someone to vent the steam on.
He went back to start the fire and then to intercept the group. They were just running to be burning depot when he jumped to the street in front of them.
“Yen, I believe,” he greeted the gorgeous black-haired woman in the middle of the group.
“Agent Lucas, to what do I owe the honor?"
“I was looking for some trash to take out… and seems like I found some,” Lucas mused as he summoned the new spear into his hand. He had it painted black.
“Why so angry? Ice woman isn’t spreading her legs as easily as you would like?” Yen retorted. She stretched out her hands toward Lucas. From each palm flew out a small ball of blood-red fire. Lucas leaped forward and the balls exploded into massive fiery explosions where he stood. He charged their formation, then teleported behind it at the last second. He ran his spear through one man, ducked under the strike of another and impaled him too.
Legacy of Dreams: Freedom Page 31
