Lady Dragon, Tela Du

by Kendra E. Ardnek

  “Oh, yes, at once!” the woman cried, standing up, and hastily clearing off and folding down a bit of counter. “Yes, indeed, ma’am. I wouldn’t think of doing otherwise.”

  Laura motioned for Tyler and Summer to follow her as she slipped around the counter.

  “Oh, Doorkeeper,” the woman suddenly spoke, after she watched Laura sort through the tapestries for a few seconds, “do you by any chance notice the fine handiwork – the delicate designs?”

  “I’m afraid that I don’t have any crescents with me today,” said Laura, shaking her head. “My trip here was rather impromptu, and I’m not here for very long.”

  “Ah, but perhaps you could mention them to Queen Diamond sometime?” the woman prompted. “I hear that she has quite an eye for beauty. Perhaps she would like to hear about the handiwork of Elia?”

  “Elia?” Laura repeated. “You’re Elia? Intriguing. Well, I can’t promise any particular date – it could be years from now before I meet with her again or next Thursday – but let me see what I can do. Thank you again for your cooperation and the use of this door. Come along, my friends.”

  So Summer and Tyler followed Laura as she slipped between two of the hanging rugs. It was very close quarters, but their guide just kept pressing forward, shoving the rugs aside to clear their way. “I usually don’t throw my title around like that,” she said at length, her voice echoing once again despite their fabric surroundings, “but this was a pinch, and it actually works in Luna. Not all worlds know me, so it’s usually pointless, anyway.”

  After a time, Summer realized that the bright colors that Laura was pushing out of their way weren’t rugs anymore, but leaves on tree branches. Soon after that, they emerged in a multi-colored forest. Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead.

  “Well, I guess I can leave you here now and return to keeping Silver in line,” said Laura, waving her arms about wildly. “Granite can’t do it all by himself in these final days. Don’t forget to give that bit of paper to Reuben and Petra – but don’t peek as it’s for their eyes only. Add whatever warnings you’d like, though. Have fun. Your guide for the rest of your trip should arrive shortly. Hopefully, you’ll like him better than you like me.”

  And with that, Laura started running and blurred out of sight. It was like those kid’s cartoons. Summer was officially done with the girl.

  Moments later, a man appeared further down the path, stopped short as he drew near, and then broke into a wide grin that Summer found achingly familiar. “Summer! Tyler! You finally made it.”

  “Um, yeah, I guess,” said Summer, tilting her head to the side as she examined the man’s face. “Should we know you?”

  “Oh, right the disguise,” said the man, glancing down at himself. “Well, it might be confusing. One moment.”

  A thick, blue mist spun around him, and when it dissipated, it was an entirely different man who stood before them. He was younger, with darker hair and a squarer jaw, among other changes. Summer’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized him.

  “Robert?”

  “Well, I’m not Reuben, that’s for certain – he’s in Klarand with Petra,” said Robert, grinning. The familiar sight did much to set Summer’s world back to right. “Now come on. We have to get you to them.”

  He stepped forwards and pulled Summer in for a close hug. “It’s been way too long since I last saw you, Sunshine.”

  Chapter 3

  Amber stormed into the weapons hall where she knew she would find her husband.

  “Where are they!”

  Granite looked up at her from the length of his sword. His eyes were all wide and innocent.

  “You know who I’m talking about,” she hissed, before he could play his sickening game of feigned ignorance. “I wasn’t done with Summer and Tyler yet – and you’ve gone and released them.”

  “They actually released themselves,” said Granite. “I merely guided them through our maze of hallways and passages. They can be quite confusing to newcomers, you know, and you hadn’t given our visitors a proper tour.”

  “They released themselves?” Amber repeated, layering her voice with a scoff. “They have no powers, and those bars are not easily opened. Yet you expect me to believe that they released themselves?”

  “I did not see them do it,” said Granite, with a shake of his head. “They were already out of their cells when Laura and I found them. They did claim that the boy – Tyler, wasn’t it? – opened the door with your Nyika stones, though.”

  “The Nyika will only respond to my touch – or to that of one who shares my blood. I have no living relatives.”

  “Indeed, which means that I can’t use them either,” Granite pointed out. “How did you think that I released them?”

  “No, I thought that Laura released them, but I couldn’t find her,” Amber answered. “She’s the only other person who can control the Nyika stones.”

  “The boy is the brother of the Tela Du,” said Granite, quietly. “Laura hinted that there might be a connection there. Perhaps your resemblance to your enemy goes deeper than the face?”

  “I cannot see how that could be possible,” said Amber, darkly, “but it is something I should take into consideration. If her brother can manipulate my magic, she surely shall as well. What might she twist them into doing?”

  “Perhaps you should practice your weaponry then, my dear.” Granite offered Amber the hilt of his sword. “If you’re to win your Final War, then you should be at the peak of your skill. It’s been so long since we last properly sparred.”

  “By all accounts that I have heard, the Tela Du is little more than an inexperienced child,” said Amber, shaking her head. Now was not the time for distractions.

  “But is it wise to underestimate her?” asked Granite. “You still don’t even know what powers she possesses. Queen of Eliue – now that’s a title to make a man quake in his boots.”

  “Perhaps not, but raw talent and power can only bring a person so far. She has not had my years to hone her skill,” Amber pointed out.

  “You were the same age as she when we met with Jade and Jasper in their battle,” said Granite. “Yet we still prevailed.”

  “She shall fight alone. I had you by my side,” said Amber.

  Granite said nothing but continued to offer her the sword’s hilt. Amber knew he was right in his way. She ought to practice, and it truly had been far too long since they’d last sparred, but now was not the time – she couldn’t let him distract her. She drew herself together and looked up at him sharply.

  “Summer and Tyler were not my only prisoners,” she told him.

  She watched his hopeful expression shatter.

  “Amber, he is the Bookholder, the chosen of Alphego,” he protested.

  “He is also her brother-in-law.” Amber turned back to the door. “I have to make sure that you don’t go about giving him his freedom as well.”

  She heard him follow after her, pleading for her to not do what she’d set about, but she paid him no mind. He would learn when to not interfere.

  Besides, it wasn’t as though the old elf was comfortable in the drafty old tower where Granite had stashed him. Ritis would truly be far more comfortable in a liquid state.

  Amber shuddered as she entered the Hall of Blood, the conversation about the Tela Du echoing far too loudly in her head for her to be comfortable here. She avoided this place in the best of times – why in all the worlds did Granite decide to stash the Bookholder here?

  Amber relaxed as she entered his tower, going over what she would say to the Bookholder as she wound up the staircase. In truth, she knew that the words wouldn’t be important. Ritis would be ice, another blow to the Tela Du, and that was all that mattered. She severely regretted having done nothing to Summer and Tyler, but Laura had warned that such an act would have been disastrous, so she would have to let it go.

  The old Bookholder was staring pathetically out of the window when she reached his cell.

  �
�Missing your freedom?” she taunted, her lip curling in a sneer.

  Ritis turned away from the window. “As any caged creature does.” His voice was so annoyingly calm and quiet.

  “I would let you go, but at your age, I fear you wouldn’t survive a trip back down these stairs,” said Amber, lifting her chin. “Really, I cannot understand why my husband put you up here – he’s always preaching to me about having respect for the physically aged.”

  “I asked for a tower view. I chose to make the sacrifice,” said Ritis.

  “I killed your first wife, if you will remember,” said Amber, tired of discussing these frivolities. “She was the sister of the Tela Du, as you chose to forget.”

  “Indeed,” said Ritis. “I learned of her relation before she did. Greatly did I wish that I could warn Sarah in advance, but her death was appointed, and both the Doorkeeper and the Book warned me to not interfere.”

  “The Doorkeeper also told you to forget many things, you have said,” Amber mentioned. “She denied you the time you needed to properly mourn your wife. Tell me, are you sure that everything that Laura tells you to do is wise?”

  “She sees and knows more than any other mortal soul and never have her instructions interfered with those of the Book,” Ritis answered. “What she asked of me was for the sake of Rizkaland. I had long before pledged my life to serve my country and Lord. I was prepared for sacrifice.”

  “And yet you are grateful for this chance to finally mourn your Sarah without your second wife to make things awkward?” asked Amber.

  “I have chosen to find reasons for gratitude even in the most terrible of circumstances,” said Ritis. “In a life such as mine, it would be easy to fall into a trap of bitterness. I have lost so much.”

  “You’re useless, Ritis,” Amber spat, done with the game that he had wasted so much of her time playing. “And I’m done listening to your subtle accusations.”

  “Do my words sting your conscience, Amber? I didn’t realize you still had one.”

  “Silence! I said I was done listening to your accusations! All I wish to hear is information about the Tela Du. Do you have anything that might convince me to keep you?”

  “You threaten an old man who has little left to live for,” said Ritis.

  “You have a wife. You have a family.” Amber pulled the star Winsot out of her pocket, twisting it to activate its magic. “You have a sister-in-law.”

  “I imagine they shall get over my loss with time,” said Ritis. “I’m an old man and already at death’s door. People can accept the death of the aged far easier than that of the young.”

  “It isn’t death that I have in mind for you,” said Amber, shaking her head. “Death is too final, it’s messy, and I want you to remain alive so that you can tempt the Tela Du into coming here. You might not be her brother, but you are her brother-in-law, old you might be. You must be worth something to her”

  And before he had a chance to say anything else, she struck him on the arm with Winsot. Instantly, he was solid ice – rapidly melting ice at that. She turned and left the tower, ready to be done with the place.

  Laura was waiting for her in the hall, arms folded across her chest.

  “Are you satisfied now, Amber?” she asked. “Does the wanton taking of life fulfill you?”

  “I didn’t take his life,” said Amber, walking past Laura towards the Hall’s nearest exit. “If she should win the battle – well, if she’s the daughter of Queen Jane, I think she would be able to find a way to free him.”

  “But you intend to win,” said Laura, following Amber. “You might as well have killed him.”

  “So where were you?” Amber asked, glancing over her shoulder at the Doorkeeper. “I couldn’t find you anywhere in the castle when I returned.”

  “I grew restless, you know how I am,” Laura explained, shrugging. “Decided to cure my restlessness by popping over to Luna for a quick visit with Elia. You remember who Elia is, yes? She wove a good many of the rugs in this palace and lived during the early reign of Queen Diamond and King Marble.”

  “Whose lives lasted the longest of any of the kings and queens of Luna,” Amber admitted, rolling her eyes. “Yes, I know who Elia is. You’ve given me this lecture before.”

  “Have I? Well, I’ll look forward to that. It was six hundred years before Diamond and Marble rebelled against me and another six hundred years before I had to bring Emerald and Sandstone to them,” Laura continued. “Diamond was a naïve thing, to be certain, but a breath of fresh air, as you were yourself. ‘Twas such a pity when her husband’s ambition finally overcame her adoration of me.”

  “By any chance, did Summer and Tyler come with you when you made your jaunt into Luna?” Amber asked.

  “There is a distinct possibility that they did,” said Laura. “After all, I had a message for the Tela Du that only they could deliver. And before you protest, let me have my say. The message is for your benefit. After all, you speak of luring Petra here, yet you do nothing to let her know that you have prisoners that mean something to her. Where is the logic in that?”

  “Surely you didn’t have to send both of them for one message?” asked Amber. “Perhaps the girl. Tyler would have made the better bait.”

  “Unfortunately for you,” said Laura, “Tyler and Summer must both speak with Alphego today. So, as you must understand, I really had no choice in the matter. Now, we were talking about Diamond, weren’t we?”

  “I believe you were,” Amber admitted. “I really wasn’t interested.”

  “You have no interest in your own heritage?” asked Laura. “Ah, then perhaps we should talk about a different queen – Emerald, say? She only lasted ninety-six years – well, a bit longer if you factor in her sixteen years before she became queen.”

  “She should not have had Jade so young,” said Amber.

  “Oh, Amber, Amber, I think you misunderstand,” said Laura. “Their death did not come because of when she had Jade. I brought Jade – and Jasper – because Emerald and Sandstone’s death had been appointed and her time for repentance was over. The same way I brought you and Granite to Jade and Jasper when their death was appointed.”

  “You … brought.”

  “The same as I brought every queen and king of Luna after Amorite and Flint brought my control upon themselves,” Laura continued. “Amber, Amber, did you really think you were the first to be barren? None of you Immortal Queens could have children, no more than you can age or die.”

  “Then … where did we come from?” asked Amber, her heart clenching as this knowledge changed everything Amber thought she knew.

  “For the most part, I chose children off of the streets of Luna, children who had no futures, or not happy ones anyway, girls as old as five, boys as old as seven – you and Granite were among the oldest,” Laura explained. “There were a few exceptions, children that I took from other worlds – Pumice and Peridot for instance – but there weren’t many of those, and I only chose them for very special reasons.”

  “Then … I’m just a nobody?”

  “You are Amber, the queen of Luna and of Lintooalintae,” Laura answered. “It isn’t your birth that defines who you are, but rather what you make of your life – and what did you make of yours? Many knew you at your brightest – when you walked wholeheartedly in the ways of El Shaddai, and you listened to me. But Rizkaland won’t remember you that way. Rizkaland learned only of your dragon fire. They only learned to fear you.”

  “I tried to control it.”

  “You were never meant to rule Rizkaland,” said Laura.

  “I was promised!”

  “You would take nothing less,” Laura retorted, and anger edged her voice now. “It was three thousand years before you rebelled against me and Yehu – so you were given another three thousand years to turn back – you spat upon the mercy. That hour of mercy is over. To you, I haven’t brought a daughter, a child whom you could raise to follow in your footsteps, whom you could mold and measure. I
have brought the Tela Du, and she is far more dangerous. She’s a wildcard with no love for you.”

  “It must have been difficult for you to find a girl who looks just like me,” said Amber. “Fancy her being Jane’s daughter. I would never have expected it.”

  “And fancy her having had a twin sister for you to kill fifty years before,” Laura added, darkly. “Amber, it wasn’t difficult at all for me to find Petra. I’ve actually known her for most of my life.”

  “No doubt because you always knew of her role here in this battle?” Amber guessed.

  “A tiny part of it.”

  Amber frowned as she sensed that Laura wouldn’t say anything more about Petra. “If I was already … older when you brought me to Queen Jade … then why don’t I remember life before that? What about Granite?”

  “When I declared you and Granite to be the ones who could slay Queen Jade and King Jasper, it wiped your memory of life before that, replacing them with memories of a childhood with your new parents,” answered Laura. “It changed many memories that day.”

  “Did I have … another name?”

  “You and Granite both,” Laura answered. “As did almost every one of the children. Yet for you to hear me speak your name would kill you and possibly me, and then reality would collapse because it’s not time for my death yet. Such is the nature of the magic bound upon you. Now, no more questions. You have a speech to prepare for and a battle after that. I must find something to eat and then a bed to nap in.”

  Chapter 4

  Summer’s head was spinning as she and Tyler followed Robert through the forest. He’d returned to the “older” appearance that he’d had when they’d first met. It was rather disorienting to go from Granite, who looked like her older brothers but wasn’t one, to … this.

  “So how long have you been here?” asked Tyler. “And how are you doing that disguise thing to make yourself look older and younger like that?”

  “Twenty-six years,” Robert answered, “Just over half of Amber’s reign. I’ve honestly meant to pop back home and say hi to everyone, but it’s never been the right time. This is my proper age, though not my proper appearance. I didn’t want to be mistaken for Granite when I was younger, and I’m also trying to pass as an elf.”