by E. J. Krause
"Where are we?"
"In his memories," Ben said. "Or we will be. While I was scanning him, I put this together so we can watch it like a movie."
"I can sense you in two places. Wait, you can take memories and make them into movies? That's totally cool."
"Yeah, but you're the only one I can show."
"I'm the only one who matters anyway," she said. She reached for him, where he should have been, but found nothing physical. So in the world of memories, wherever it was, they couldn't touch. That was no fun.
"No doubt about that. As for the two me's you feel, one is my actual body in the living room, and the other is in a small sliver of my consciousness here in Fillmore's head. I can sense two of you, too, by the way."
"Okay, so what are we going to look at? I mean, I'm assuming it'll be Fillmore's mate, but what about her? Is this where she gets put in the living death?"
"Yeah. Ready?"
She nodded, and the world popped around her. If this was like a movie, she wanted to find the theater, but there was none. Like with the memory disc or when Rico showed them Mom and Dad's history, they stood in the middle of it all.
This was a throne room, and she felt the stone under her feet and the warm sun shining through the large window on the outer wall. She smelled the various odors wafting through the room, mostly a flowery scent that masked other unpleasant stenches that permeated everything. The other scent that vied for her attention was the smoky smell of a used fireplace, one that was so large that it took up most of the inner wall. It was at least a hundred feet long and ten feet high, more than big enough to keep the room toasty warm even in the darkest of winters.
She looked around further, and the thrones on the far side of the room caught her eye. Neither was a match for the fanciest thrones she'd seen in pictures, but these were still intended for royalty. The wooden frames were painted gold and adorned with jewels and gems of every color. With her lust for all that was shiny, Andi could tell the paint was that and not actual gold, but the gems and jewels were the real deal. Pelts that looked like they were worked to the height of comfort were draped over the actual seating area, not covering up any of the decorations. As she stared, wishing she had one of her own, figures appeared in the thrones, as well as all around the room. This must be where the memory began.
A dragon, Fillmore, turned from the window. His young, so young, face, maybe fifteen or sixteen in dragon years, held much worry. "What do we do? They're driving our army back." She wasn't sure if he was addressing the king and queen sitting in the thrones, or the dragon and guard, his parents, standing next to them.
"We do nothing," the king said. "We need patience and faith. If our army can't restrain them, the castle guards will. They're my elite troops, and they know how to spring plenty of surprises from our castle's defense system."
"You know if we intervene, their mages will have the spells to deal with us," his father, the dragon, said. "Not like earlier in the war when we had our way with them."
A young woman, Fillmore's age, ran in. She wore a long flowing dress of silky materials studded with the same types of gems and jewels that adorned the thrones. She stood almost the same height as Andi, and had long curly brown hair to go with her bright brown eyes, which, at the moment, held a good deal of fear. Though there was no way for Andi to know at present, this was Mila, Fillmore's mate, and the princess of this small kingdom, which was currently in a fight for its very existence against a much larger neighboring kingdom looking to swallow it up.
"How do I know all this?" she whispered to Ben.
"You have access to his memories. Or this one, at least. The spell I cast lets you know whatever you want or need to about what's going on. As long as Fillmore knows, anyway. It's all in his mind, after all."
That made sense in a weird sort of way. She turned her attention back to what was going on. Fillmore now had fear coursing through his veins, as she would have had Ben rushed in in a similar state.
"They've breached the castle walls," she said to her parents. Mila then looked at Fillmore, more fear than ever bleeding off her, before turning back to her parents. "A powerful wizard is leading the charge. He's decimated our elite guards, and is now heading up here. What are we going to do?"
This time the queen, Mila's mother, spoke. "Fillmore and Barlan will transform into dragons to fight, while you and Winnie will assist. And don't forget your father and I have both taken up arms plenty of times in the past. The six of us will kill this wizard, and the kingdom will rally behind us. All of that is only if the invaders can get past the guards outside the door."
"Bravo," the king exclaimed. "Spoken like a true queen of Tezuwyne. To arms!" The king and queen rose from their thrones and armed themselves with short swords and small shields.
Fillmore's father transformed into a magnificent green dragon, while his mother pulled out two small hand axes. Mila rushed into Fillmore's arms, where they shared a quick kiss and a few whispered words before readying for battle themselves. Fillmore, like his father, became a green dragon, and while he wasn't as large, held all of the splendid brilliance. Mila rushed behind the thrones and pulled out a short bow and a quiver full of a dozen or more arrows.
Andi wondered what she and Fillmore had whispered to one another, realized she could find out, but decided against it. Who was she to pry into their words of love? She wouldn't be keen on letting others hear what she and Ben sometimes said to each other.
A crash sounded outside the door, and then silence followed. After a few seconds, which seemed years longer than that, the door exploded. Once the smoke cleared, a man in long black robes stood in the rubble. He had a thin, rope-like brown beard with specks of gray peppered through it, and wore a pointed cap atop his shaggy hair. With that getup, he looked like the stereotypical bumbling wizard, but there was nothing bumbling about him. No, he wore his mastery of the dark arts well, and even Ben bristled at the evil exuding from him, though this was nothing but an ancient memory.
"Did you look into Fillmore's memories for this guy?" Ben asked.
"No, not yet. Big news?"
"You could say that. He's a mercenary who, earlier in the war, helped this kingdom. Fillmore's guess is that the other kingdom doubled or tripled the payment to get him to swap sides."
"Yeah, that's what mercenaries do," Andi said. "They aren't loyal to anything but money."
The combatants eyed each other, neither yet making a move. Fillmore and his father stood in the front, while Mila nocked an arrow into her bow and stood up on her father's throne to get a better shooting angle. The other three stayed in the middle, but looked more than capable of handling themselves in a fight. The wizard eyed each of them.
"It gets murkier. Guess who introduced this mercenary to Mila's parents in the first place."
"Who?"
"Timothy and Sasha."
Andi gasped. "Did they get him to change sides?"
"Fillmore doesn't know. He doesn't think so, but it wouldn't surprise me. If this is the company they keep, have kept for centuries upon centuries, none of it's surprising, is it? In this memory and in our time."
"No. I wonder how many underhand schemes they've orchestrated over their lifetimes."
Before Ben could answer, the fight started, though massacre was a more apt description. The dragons both unleashed their breath weapons, but the wizard blocked the acid streams and deflected them onto the king and queen, who melted on the spot. Before the thought that her parents had been burned alive even hit Mila, she was snatched up by an invisible hand of force and thrown face-first into the brick wall behind the thrones, her bow breaking and the arrows in her quiver scattering all over the stone floor. Fillmore took a step towards her, but a quick roar from his father brought him back on task. The two dragons launched forward, while Fillmore's mother threw both hand axes with expertise precision. The wizard blinked out of existence and reappeared behind them in front of the thrones. The dragons snapped at nothing, while the axes flew t
hrough the door and clattered against the wall on the other side of the hallway. Before they could turn around and face their enemy, he shot a bolt of energy into Fillmore's mother's back. It burned a hole right through her, leaving her gaping at it for an instant before she dropped dead, as did her mate. Fillmore flew into a rage, but he didn't make it halfway across the room before a hammer of force smashed into him, sending him skidding across the throne room floor, unconscious. The wizard moved forward, ready to end him, when a voice called out, "Stop!"
The wizard looked up, and Timothy and Sasha stepped into the throne room. Though they were much younger, Sasha wore her familiar disdainful scowl. The wizard shrugged and backed off.
"You've won your employers the war, so no need for another insignificant death," Timothy said. "These two could be useful. Sasha?"
"How are we seeing this if Fillmore's knocked out?" Andi asked.
"The power of the subconscious mind," Ben said. "He doesn't even know about this, but his mind recorded it."
Sasha stepped forward and rose a hand at Mila's prone body. Both she and Fillmore jolted, but with a wave of her hand, they stopped. Mila didn't breathe, but Fillmore's huge green belly still moved up and down. It was shallow, but he showed life.
"I've torn out her soul and tethered it to her corporeal form," Sasha said. "She's alive, but barely. I don't have the power to put her back in, but…"
"But we don't want that anyway," Timothy finished. He turned towards the wizard. "Thank you, my friend. Go collect your reward. If you can, give us another few minutes before you send the soldiers in to claim their new kingdom."
The wizard nodded and smiled, which was an unpleasant look on his face. "Thank you for all your help, my friends. We will meet again."
"Yes, we will," Timothy said. Andi couldn't tell by the tone of either of their voices if they were sincere or passive-aggressively threatening each other.
Once he was gone, Sasha shot a bolt of force into Fillmore. He woke at once and transformed back to human. "What happened? I…I can't feel Mila." His face crumpled, and he was seconds away from losing it. Andi wouldn't blame him one bit.
Timothy put on a mask of pure sympathy, and put a comforting hand on Fillmore's shoulder. Andi wanted to punch him right in the nose. "The wizard killed her, but Sasha was able to tether her soul to her body."
"I can't put it back, but she'll live." Sasha's sneer grew a little less pronounced. That was her idea of comforting back then? At least she'd gotten better at that as the centuries moved on.
"There's a prophecy that states a dragon and his guard will become the most powerful duo in the multiverse," Timothy said. "No one is aware of it yet, but Sasha and I are the subjects. Once we're powerful enough, Sasha will be able to insert your mate's soul back into her body."
Sasha's sneer came back in full force. "But when we obtain such power, our last thoughts will be on those such as you. Unless, of course, you promise to serve us in any way we so require and desire. In exchange, we'll keep you both safe, and I'll bring her back to a proper life as soon as I can."
"Serve you?" Fillmore asked, a frown on his face. Neither Timothy nor Sasha said anymore, and their silence seemed to unnerve him. After a few seconds, Fillmore nodded and said, "Yes, it's a fair exchange. Anything for Mila." He pushed himself to his feet and bowed before them. The scene went dark, and Andi and Ben again stood in the black cave of Fillmore's mind.
"So he doesn't know," she said. "He thinks the evil wizard killed her, when it was actually Sasha."
"The other evil wizard," Ben said.
"Will he remember when he wakes up?"
"Normally it would stay locked in his subconscious," he said. "But there's nothing saying I can't unlock it for him."
"I owe you a big kiss when we're tangible again."
"Speaking of which, ready?"
"When you are."
Chapter 38
The world blinked, and Ben found himself back home with Andi. Fillmore lay at their feet in his magical sleep, slumbering until Ben deemed it time to revive him. He'd watched Fillmore's memory when he put the narrative together, but he hadn't studied it like this full viewing with Andi. Fillmore was telling the truth, that what he'd done had been for his mate's safety. No mind control spell from Sasha had been necessary. Ben knew this because if he'd been in Fillmore's shoes, he'd have agreed to anything to keep Andi with him. Well, actually, he knew death would bring them together, but Fillmore obviously didn't, so that was excusable. The final test, of course, would be how he reacted when he had the truth of Mila's demise.
"That was interesting," Andi said. She looked down at Fillmore. "He was disgusting to me, and Mom and Dad, and, I guess, the dragon community at large, but now we know why. I feel sorry for him."
Ben nodded. "It'll be interesting to see if that's part of his personality, or if Timothy and Sasha forced him to act like a douche."
Andi giggled, but quickly sobered. "I'm willing to bet on the latter. They made me act terrible at times."
"Shall I wake him?"
"Yeah. But can we help him? Put his mate's soul back in, I mean? Or will Sasha's magic stop us?"
"Not a problem. With both of us there, his mate will be back on her feet in no time."
"Good."
Ben snapped his fingers, and Fillmore's eyes fluttered open. He looked around, confusion etched on his face, and then the fire of hate flashed into his eyes. "All this time. All this time, and it was her. She did it to my Mila, not the wizard. She would have woken if not for Sasha." He stood, looked ready to rage, but took a deep breath and calmed down. "I apologize. I'll save my anger for them. Thank you for showing me the truth."
"You should be angry," Andi said. "I can't imagine what I'd do if I were in your place, but it wouldn't be pretty."
Fillmore bowed his head and started crying. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you and your parents, Alexandria. It was beyond disrespectful. It was disgusting. They made me act that way every time they sent me out. If I protested, they threatened to cut the mystical tether between Mila's body and soul. I had no choice but to do and act exactly as they ordered." He put his hands over his face and cried harder.
Andi stepped forward and hugged him. Fillmore buried his head into her shoulder and continued sobbing. Ben had to hold back a chuckle at Andi. She'd surprised herself at the fact that she was so quick to offer the formerly horrible Fillmore a comforting hug.
After a moment, Fillmore regained his composure. He pulled away from Andi and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face. When he finished, he asked, in a meek, pitiful voice, "Will you help me? Will you save Mila?"
"Yes, of course," Ben said. "We just need to know how to get there."
Fillmore beamed, and the smile lit up his face. It wasn't condescending or smarmy, but nice. It was the smile of a good man. "That part's easy. Grab my shoulders, and I'll take us there. Might as well use the magic Sasha gave me one more time."
They did, and an instant later found themselves in a small, Spartan room consisting of a single bed and a worn wooden chair next to it. In the bed lay Mila's mother, but Ben realized it was actually Mila herself after all those years. Magic kept her body functioning, meaning she had no need for the tubes, IVs, and machines of a hospital room that most coma patients would require. She had the underfed, too skinny look one would expect, but she didn't look malnourished, which was good.
"Her Dragon Guard healing powers kicked in once she was stabilized," Fillmore said. "What Sasha's sustaining magic hasn't helped, that piece of hers has. She's always had an excellent ability to heal, which is nice. Watch." He pulled out a pocket knife, and before either Ben or Andi could stop him, he slashed a chunk out of his left palm. Of course it was no big deal as it healed almost instantly. "Wow, she's never been that fast before."
Ben chuckled. "Sorry. My bad. I let my healing factor fix you up."
Fillmore smiled at him. "Thank you. It would have taken less than a minute, but she would have patched me up good as n
ew."
Ben patted his shoulder, and then he and Andi went to Mila's side. She looked like she was sleeping. He put a hand on her forehead and concentrated. They'd have to be quick, but they could do this. If they didn't break Sasha's tether and get Mila's soul back in quickly, he didn't think they could resurrect her and Fillmore at that point. The spell Sasha had cast to keep Mila alive would muck up their return. At least they'd be together again, though, even if it was in the afterlife. It was better than what they had here.
He looked over to Andi and said, "What do you sense?"
"Why ask me? This is your area of expertise."
"But you know the answer."
She frowned. "Yeah, I do. You need to break her soul free from Sasha's spell and draw her back into her body that same instant."
"Exactly."
"Will it be hard?" Fillmore asked. "Can you do it?"
"Of course we can do it. It'll be somewhere between the casual and hardcore difficulties in Mass Effect 3."
Andi sighed and rolled her eyes, exactly the response he'd been aiming for. "In English, dear, not geek."
"Relatively easy if we're careful."
Fillmore nodded. "Good, good. Can you do it now?"
"Yeah, sure. You ready, Andi?"
"Do you need me to concentrate for a power boost?"
"No. I need you to heal her body so her spirit will zip in there when I snip Sasha's hold on her."
She looked as though she was waiting for him to say he was kidding and of course he wanted her to concentrate on boosting his power, but he wasn't going to do that. She needed to learn sooner or later, so why not now?
"When I say go, you do it," he said.
"What are you talking about? I don't have the power. Not to cast the spells anyway. That's all you."
"You're wrong. We've been too busy for Felix to teach you anything yet. I'm the necromancer, but most of the Healing Arts are inside of you. If I understand correctly, you'll never weave spells like I do, but you can make things happen. Like this, for instance. "
