by Bri Sailor
“Ky?” she whispered meekly.
A bright golden light appeared out of nowhere and completely enveloped the princess. She could feel herself fading.
“Ky!” she yelled desperately as her voice carried on the wind as she disappeared.
#
Atreyis gasped and sputtered to life. Her lungs burned as she choked on air. It felt as if she hadn’t taken a breath in years. She rolled over on her hands and knees. Her belly burned with new life where the mortal wound had been. A hand on her back sent her flying. She recoiled out of fear and fell backwards trying to get away. The bright sunlight burned her eyes.
“Atreyis!” shouted Ehren in relief.
“You’re alive!” cried her mother.
The prince ran over to his sister and knocked her over with a hug. Atreyis grunted at the attack. Her head was fuzzy again. Where was she? What had just happened? Wherever she was felt extremely wrong. Her fear temporarily melted away as she looked up into the smiling face of Cora. Her face glowed with an otherworldly light. The priestess cradled the princess’s face with a glowing hand.
“Fear not, my child.” Said the priestess softly. “You have returned.”
She extended a hand out to the bewildered princess. Atreyis let go of her brother and reached up a shaky hand when she felt the familiar magnetic pull again. She looked to her right and saw the broken and bloody body of Ky. The princess shoved Cora’s hand out of the way as she shot to her feet and ran over to the fallen warrior.
“NO!” she screamed.
She hugged the dead warrior close as the memories came flooding back.
“No! Send me back! I have to go back!” she screamed frantically at the bewildered priestess. “Send me back! She can’t be gone! Send me back! Send me back!”
A confused and hurt look passed over Cora’s face as she returned to her normal self.
“What do you mean? I-I can’t. Atreyis, don’t you realize what happened? You were dead! I brought you back!” Cora stammered.
Atreyis sprang to her feet, her eyes burning. “I know! You think I don’t know? I have to go back! She’s there!”
“What are you talking about?” yelled Ehren as he grabbed her shoulders tightly. “Go back where? She is dead! Cora couldn’t bring her back, only you!”
Atreyis was wild. “Why?! Why me and not her?!”
“Because I could only sense your soul!” shouted Cora angrily.
She spun the princess around and grabbed her shoulders and got in her face.
“Both of you were dead.” She stated tersely. “I could only sense your soul, not Ky’s. When I tried all I could see was darkness. The light of her soul is gone!”
Atreyis violently shoved Cora’s hands off of her. “That’s why I have to go back! I saw her! I know it was her. You don’t understand the Darkness that was there!”
Toran stepped up and tried to put a gentle hand on Atreyis’ back.
“Atreyis, were did you go?” he asked with evident concern. “What happened to you?”
“I don’t know! I woke up in some sort of palace.” Cried the exasperated princess as she began to weep. “There was an opal throne and the most beautiful lands I have ever seen. As I stood on the balcony I witnessed a hellish storm the decimated the entire place. There was no light. Only…”
Cora hugged her and the princess allowed it.
“What happened, Atreyis?” she asked softly.
Atreyis leaned into the hug a moment as she cried. Suddenly, she shrugged her off again.
“I don’t know! There was this…this…dragon there.”
“Béloneras!” gasped Arainya.
“No!” shouted Atreyis. “It was Ky! It had to be! It had her eyes. I don’t know what happened but I need to get back there!”
Cora looked at her with sad, sympathetic eyes. “I don’t know how to send you back. I don’t even know how exactly I got you back. I’ve only ever been in that realm through projection of my own spirit, but that has taken years! I don’t know how to get anyone else there.”
“Lusha figured it out!” shouted Atreyis, she could see the hurt in Cora’s eyes but did not care. The frantic princess looked around. She spotted Ky’s broken sword a few feet away and quickly dove for the shattered metal and rolled away from everyone. Her bloody shirt flapped in the wind.
“Then I’ll do it myself!” she shouted as she held the broken sword high in the air. “I’ve died twice before! It means nothing to do it again!”
She moved to plunge the sword in her heart in an attempt to end her life. Cora reacted on instinct and threw a blast of energy at her.
“No!” screamed Cora. “Atreyis, you can’t! I won’t be able to bring you back again!”
The princess was violently thrown back a few feet and the sword was ripped from her hand. She lay on the scorched earth of the hilltop a moment. She was eerily silent as she rolled over onto her hands and knees. Her face hardened with resolve as her fingers dug into the ground. A deep rage began building in her belly. She could feel the fiery heat bubbling up. This heat was different than what she had felt in that realm. Her muscles were twitching and she began thrashing around like a wild animal. Her eyes were yellow and reptilian. Thick black scales began to cover her body.
“Atreyis!” screamed Arainya frantically.
Two bulges form on the princess’ back. Her arms and legs and body lengthened and grew massive. Her father ran to her. She let out a feral roar through her sharp teeth. Toran, Kova, Joslette, Doan, Ehren and Arainya fell back in fear. Cora stood her ground. Atreyis stood up and flames spewed out of her mouth. The priestess’s eyes turned gold and her tattoos lit up as she stood strong. She readied a spell to hurl at the princess to subdue her. Wings sprouted from Atreyis’ back. She stared down the priestess and gave a final roar before leaping into the sky. The wind from the beating of her massive wings knocked everyone over. The half-beast flew across the sky, barreling towards the jungle, roaring and spewing flames. As she flew over the jungle her strength began to wane. With a final roar of despair she hurtled out of the sky and crashed hard into the trees below.
Chapter 6
Sunlight streamed through the stone ceiling. The large dust cloud had begun to settle around the still body of the princess. Her clothes were in tatters and rubble lay all around her. A large chunk of stone cracked overhead and fell to the stone floor with a ground-shaking boom. The sounds stirred Atreyis. She cracked open an eye and tried to sit up. Every muscle in her body ached and her skin felt as if it had been stretched too tight. Groaning, she sat up and looked around. Above her was an opening that led to the world above. She could see the trees and a faint blue sky. She wiped the dust out of her eyes and staggered to her feet. Her head was fuzzy but she could just remember flying over the battlefield and over the jungle just before…
Her heart began to pound as she spun around. It was very dark and the air was old and musty. She could just make out the outline of what appeared to be bookcases. She stumbled into the shadows and grabbed a scroll, inside were ancient runes she had only seen in her history books. She carefully placed the scroll on the shelf. Wherever she was, was very old, very ancient. She could be the first human presence in this place in hundreds of years, maybe longer. As her eyes adjusted to the dark she decided to explore further. She went deeper into the mysterious library. There were so many scrolls and books it would take a hundred years to read them all she figured. The rows of shelves suddenly stopped. The princess squinted against the darkness but could see no further. Just as she was about to turn back ancient sconces and fires exploded with new life. There, in front of her, was an enormous statue not unlike what she had seen in temples before, but this one was vastly different. At the feet of the Goddess were four priests, male and female, clad in long flowing robes. They stood tall and steadfast. Each held a gemstone in their hands. Sapphire, ruby, emerald, and amethyst. Atreyis stared in awe. There, larger than her head, in the center of the Goddess’ chest was a diamond. The gems sparke
d in the fire light.
“This is no library…” the princess whispered to herself.
The sound of running water perked up her ears. She followed it around to the back of the statue. Just a little taller than herself was another statue. It was of Ailana crying. Tears of water trickled form her eyes and into a vast pool at her feet. In the middle of the fountain was a large, empty pedestal. From the dusty outline the princess could tell that whatever had been there was moved. She looked around for any other indication of recent activity. Nothing. As far as she could see there wasn’t even a way out of this place. She found herself walking towards the site of her crash landing. How did she even survive such a fall? A fifty foot freefall through a stone ceiling onto a solid stone floor. She pushed a heavy piece of rubble with her bare foot. She paused a moment and stared at the bare flesh. Her eyes followed up her leg and to her body. When did she take off her armor and why were her clothes in shreds? She held her hands in the sunlight and inspected them. Nothing appeared different. She concentrated and they slowly changed into the same sharp claws as that night at the inn. Her tan, muddy and bloody skin morphed into shiny black scales.
The princess sighed deeply and sat down in the warm sunlight. She studied the lizard-like fingers before her. Her mind briefly disconnected her hands from her body as she tried to absorb the reality before her. Above, the leaves rustled in the trees as a warm wind blew. Atreyis’ mind wandered back to Ky and wherever it was that she was trapped. The hollow feeling in her abdomen came back and she felt utterly powerless. In a fit of rage the princess slammed her fists into the stone floor, cracking it. She had to get back there. Needed to go back. But how? Her thoughts quickly turned dark. She had already died before, and would have again had Cora not stopped her. She looked around. There was no one to stop her now. She slowly and lightly dragged a claw across her neck. It felt just as sharp as Lusha’s blade.
“Atreyis…” a voice whispered on the wind.
Atreyis jumped to her feet, her heart was pounding and her claws at the ready.
“Who’s there?” she shouted overly aggressively.
Moments passed. The only sounds she could hear was her own pulse beating in her ears. After a minute she calmed down and looked back at her claws. There had to be a reason for them. There just had to be. She hadn’t questioned it before, back at the inn, on some level it seemed almost like a natural progression of things. But now. It felt different. An idea that felt like a memory suddenly struck her. She looked down at her bare feet.
“I wonder…” she muttered to herself.
She concentrated a moment in the same manner she had her hands. Suddenly, her feet grew in size. Shiny black scales raced up her legs and sharp talons grew. It took her breath away. Her attention resumed to her hands. The scales began creeping up her arms as well. An odd feeling tingled in her stomach and warmed her entire body. It felt familiar. She wryly raised her eyebrow in a manner reminiscent of the warrior and flashed a cocky grin. She took a deep breath. Pulling the warmth from her belly she opened her mouth and unleashed her firestorm. The flames spewed nearly fifty feet in front of her, scorching the floor and melting a sconce on the wall. The astonished princess fell back a few steps.
“It was her!” she shouted to the temple-like library.
She looked up to the sky. “It was Ky! She was the dragon! She’s alive!”
Relief, excitement and determination washed over her as a few tears of joy streamed down her dirty face. She balled her hands into tight fists.
“I am chosen by the Goddess.” She stated with utter determination to the self-doubt pitted in her gut. “I have the power of the dragons flowing in my veins. I will bring you back, Ky. And we will end this once and for all!”
She tilted her head back and shot flames out of the ceiling into the sky above.
#
Thundering hoof beats echoed throughout the trees as seven horses raced through the jungle. Where could she have gone? Cora worried. She could feel the princess’s life force but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Ehren led the pack in the same direction that his sister had flown. How was Atreyis able to perform such a feat? Was this the “weapon” that his father had believed the two of them to be? What more could she do? Would it be enough against Lusha and the coming White Dragon? Could two best one? Deep down the prince felt a sense of dread that many of his questions wouldn’t be answered until they were face to face with evil. Maybe Cora knew more than she was letting on. Something had happened to her as well after her fusion with the crystal. It was more than just power. The prince’s heart suddenly stopped. No! They wouldn’t be able to fight with two dragons, Ky was dead, and Cora couldn’t bring her back! Everything seemed lost. Suddenly, the priestess blew past him and was headed towards Dragonhearth. Through the trees he could see flames spewing out of the ground. That had to be Atreyis! His stomach dropped. What if she was stuck in that beastly form? How would they get her back? Could they?
The pack burst through the trees and into the seemingly desolate city. A few wary citizens peeked out of windows and doorways. All eyes were on a large hole in the ground near the crumbling, ancient dragon temple where Oldrin had trained Cora and where the Tear had been. Cora, Ehren, Kova, Joslette, Toran, Arainya, and Doan quickly dismounted and ran over to the chasm. Cora and Ehren were knocked back by another column of flames. Cora scrambled to the edge.
“Atreyis!” she screamed down into the darkness.
Down below, the princess stopped herself from releasing another scorching breath.
“Cora?” she shouted back.
Relief visibly washed over everyone.
“Thank the Goddess you are alright!” exclaimed the priestess.
“Are you yourself?” shouted Ehren with concern.
“Yes.” The princess sounded surprised. “Just…stuck. I haven’t found a way out. I’m in some sort of library. Or temple. Wait. How did you find me? Where are we?”
A deep chuckle of relief perked the princess’s ears. “A column of flames shooting out of the ground in the middle of a hidden city isn’t exactly a common site.”
“Father!” shouted Atreyis.
“Cora helped too!” added Arainya.
“Mother! You’re both safe! Thank the Goddess!”
“We’re going to get you out of there! Don’t worry!” shouted Ehren.
“No!” said the princess. “Cora needs to get down here and see this first!”
Ehren jumped up to look for some rope. Doan was already one step ahead and was walking back with an armload of rope.
“Think that’s enough?” asked the prince.
Doan simply shrugged. “You can land on your feet, right?”
During the exchanges no one seemed to notice that Cora had wandered away from the hole. Her heart ached as she remembered her friend, Oldrin, and how he sacrificed his life to bring out her god-like powers and awaken the dormant piece of the Goddess’ soul within her. She put a hand over her heart and held the crystal necklace as she walked into the crumbling temple. Oldrin’s words seemed to echo on the wind.
“You are Vvarrío.” Said an ethereal voice. “…the vault…”
Cora found herself at the back of the temple near the stairs that had led up to the Tear. She turned to the left of the stairs and followed along the wall. Her hand dragged across the ancient stone. She suddenly stopped. The texture of the wall felt different. She took a step back and studied the surface. It appeared to be the same as the rest of the wall. She touched it again. Smooth as glass. A small shock raced up her arm.
“I wonder…” she said under her breath.
She focused on her hand. It began to gently glow.
“Í án Vvarrío d’mémméh. Órél.”
The stone around the door groaned as the door opened. Cora studied it in awe. It was truly made of an enchanted glass. It was almost two inches thick, eight feet tall, and a few feet wide. From the back it appeared as if there was nothing there but a faint shimmer. The priestess conjured a
ball of light and walked down the dark stairs.
#
Ehren dropped from the rope to the ground a few feet below. He was immediately enveloped in a bear hug by his battle-worn sister.
“I’m so glad all of you are alive!” smiled Atreyis.
The prince scrunched his face in confusion, this was not the same sister who tried to kill herself before him, her grief transforming her into a deadly beast.
