Ruin of Dragons

by Clay Kronke

  "Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice hushed.

  Bran stood silent, but neither heard nor felt anything. "No," he said.

  "It feels like thunder, like when it approaches from a distance," she said. "But you can't hear it yet, you can only feel the vibration." She turned to him. "But it can't be a storm, there weren't any clouds outside."

  As they listened, the vibration slowly grew more intense, until a definite rumble could be heard alongside. "I can feel it now," Bran said, his eyes widening. "That's no storm."

  A sudden scraping sound drew their attention and they turned just in time to see a dragon leap out from the back end of the chamber, followed immediately by a second, both advancing at a terrifying speed.

  "Run," was all Bran could manage before panic kicked in and both he and Petra found themselves bolting in the opposite direction.

  "There!" Petra shouted, pointing off the path to a cluster of four column formations that offered a small crook of shelter between them and the side wall of the cavern.

  They weren't fast enough. The first dragon out crossed the space alarmingly fast, using its bent wings as front legs, propelling itself forward at a gallop. Bran pulled Petra to the ground, barely avoiding being trampled by the creature, but it didn't notice them, continuing past in a blur as it climbed up the side wall of the chamber and disappeared into one of the circular openings. The second dragon followed suit but traveled farther into the space before disappearing down the center crevice.

  Petra looked up at Bran, wide-eyed, as the rumble vibrated in waves through the chamber, followed by more scuffling and scraping sounds from multiple directions. They picked themselves up off the floor and scrambled for the columns, just as the entire chamber seemed to explode in a flurry of activity.

  The rumble and vibration became deafening as dozens of dragons poured into the chamber, a flood of shining black flowing from the darkened end of the chamber to the other. Petra and Bran ducked into the crook between the group of columns, shielding their faces from the chunks of stone that were being kicked up as claws dug into the surfaces of the cavern on all sides.

  Some of the creatures coming into the chamber made for the passage at the far end, but many disappeared down into the center crevice, while still others climbed up to the tunnel openings near the top of the chamber. Petra tried to watch, fascinated and terrified at the same time, but kept flinching and covering her face as creatures would shoulder past mere feet away, kicking up dirt and stone, filling the chamber with a cacophony of high pitched shrieks.

  Petra tried to shift farther back in the crook, but her vision suddenly blurred and the wind was knocked out of her. The room spun around, the floor dropped out from under her, and for two disorienting seconds she couldn't feel anything and thought she was dying, but after another jarring impact she found herself staring up at the ceiling of the chamber. Unable to move, unable to breathe, she was dimly aware that she had somehow been thrown through the air and was now lying flat on her back while rampaging dragons tore up the earth around her. Her momentary shock passed, and Petra felt a dizzying pain as all of her limbs were suddenly on fire, her chest seizing as she gasped for breath. She contracted into a huddled ball, protecting her head with her arms as she tried to avoid being trampled by massive indestructible monsters.

  After an interminable moment, the noise died down, leaving an awful ringing in her ears as silence took its place. She tried to sit up, but her arms were shaky to the point she had to lie there another minute letting her heart rate calm down and her breathing even out.

  She propped herself up on her elbow and looked around. There were chunks of rock strewn all over the chamber, a haze of dust hung in the air, and she was alarmed to see the group of column formations they had been hiding in completely obliterated. The largest had simply broken and fallen over, but two of the smaller ones had been shattered, with large blocks of stone trailing away from the formation in several directions, leaving nothing but a flat patch of rock where she and—

  "Bran!" she sat up straight, but regretted it immediately, gasping at the pain of what was surely bruised ribs. She took a second to catch her breath, then looked around. "Bran?" she shouted, her voice echoing coldly through the chamber. She gritted her teeth and rose unsteadily to her feet, turning around to face the brighter end of the cavern.

  "Bran!" she shouted again, panic rising as she heard nothing but her own voice reverberating around the space. She flicked her eyes back and forth, scanning the floor of the chamber, but saw nothing but piles of rock and the undulating surface of the cavern floor. She started toward the chasm in the center of the space, getting a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had watched several of the creatures disappear into it, so even if it wasn't as deep as it looked, it still seemed like a dangerous place to accidentally get knocked into. She slowed as she approached the edge and crouched down on all fours, not giving her own shaky legs the opportunity to possibly do the same. She leaned her face past the edge to look down and had to immediately stifle the urge to vomit.

  What Petra had assumed was simply a large split in the rock, was instead a vast vertical fissure that widened the deeper it got and seemed to descend for miles. There were veins of phosphorescent crystal formations slicing through the stone at various levels, giving off the same eerie blue light in increasingly distant layers, until it finally disappeared into darkness, making it impossible to tell where it all ended.

  And spread across every layer, dotting almost the entire visible surface, were the same circular openings, hundreds upon thousands of them, from one end of the fissure to the other.

  It's a hive, she thought, her breath catching in her throat as she stumbled backward away from the edge and scrambled to get to her feet. "Bran?" she called again. "Talk to me!" She turned and started making her way to a higher point up the side wall of the chamber, having trouble finding stable footing among the scattered piles of rubble and stone that were once standing cave formations.

  She stopped suddenly as she saw a scrap of brown poking up from between two large chunks of rock. "Bran!" she shouted, a fresh surge of relief and adrenaline propelling her forward as she rushed over and around a larger pile of rubble to get to where Bran was lying prone on the ground, partially pinned down by sections of fallen column. "Don't worry," she said, pushing away the top rock from the pile. "We'll have you out of there in a minute—"

  Petra was startled as another chunk of stone toppled over, revealing Bran's face staring up at her. She froze, the look on his face making her stomach lurch, her confusion turning to horror as she realized he wasn't moving. "Bran?" she said, her voice small, barely a whisper.

  The world seemed to stop as she dropped to the ground next to him, kneeling closer, unable to see anything but the expression of pain mixed with fear that was frozen on his face. "No," she breathed, noticing that his head lay at an odd angle. "No no no no no," was all she seemed to be able to say. She shook her head, tears starting to well up, but she couldn't feel the emotion yet, numbness making everything feel distant.

  She reached a hand over to him, but hesitated, knowing what she would find yet not wanting it confirmed. She took a breath, closed her eyes and placed the tips of her fingers on his neck just under his chin.

  There was no pulse.

  At the touch of his skin, her emotions broke and she started crying in earnest. "No," she said again through her tears, shaking her head. "You can't leave me yet, how am I supposed to do this on my own?" She looked at his face again, at his eyes that looked through her to nowhere.

  "Stop staring at me," she said, reaching up and closing his eyes. After several minutes, her tears subsided and she felt herself lying down, turning her back to Branson Tachett's lifeless body and closing her eyes.

  catching up

  Voss was sitting at a table in an empty holding room when the door opened, and Kale was pushed inside
. The door shut tight behind him before he could say anything. He huffed a bit, muttering something in Dwarvish as he turned around, but stopped when he realized he wasn't the only one in the room.

  "Well I guess that answers my question," he said, sitting down at the table across from Voss.

  "Oh good, you're here," Voss said, her face tight. "Glad we're moving right along."

  "I couldn't get anyone to tell me what they had done with you."

  She shrugged. "I'm fine," she said. "Only reason I'm here is bait."

  "Typical," Kale said. "These Republic types have no honor."

  "Well it worked, didn't it?" she said. "Frakes didn't think you'd be particularly amenable without a little persuasion."

  Kale shook his head. "It's all so completely unnecessary."

  "Is it? That's what I've been trying to tell them, but they seem to think you know something. What did you tell them?"

  "Nothing," Kale insisted.

  "Did you tell them why you've been seen on Republic worlds? Because I'm dying to hear that one."

  Kale frowned. "I have my reasons," he said, his voice curt. "It's personal."

  "Well it'll stay personal," Voss said, "because as long as you're connected to all this, they're not gonna let you out of this room. Besides, I thought you wouldn't be caught dead on a republic world."

  "I don't know if I'd say that."

  "I believe 'prefab hellscape' was the phrase you used," Voss said.

  Kale frowned. "That does sound like me."

  Voss nodded in agreement.

  "Don't worry," Kale continued. "It was completely above board," he said. "They have nothing on me."

  Voss leveled a glare at him but didn't pursue the matter further.

  "What about you?" he said, seeming to want to change subjects. "How have you been getting along?"

  "You mean in the twenty-four hours since we saw each other last?"

  "I mean in general," Kale said. "We didn't exactly get a chance to talk."

  "Why do you suddenly care?"

  Kale looked confused. "You're family," he said.

  "Really," Voss said, her tone flat. "You haven't reached out to me in almost six years."

  "Okay fine," Kale sighed. His face seemed to drop, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. "You're the only family I have left."

  That was not what Voss was expecting to hear, and it took her a minute for his meaning to come across. When it did, she felt a sudden weight lift from her shoulders, a tension she didn't realize she was still carrying. "The bastard finally kicked it, did he?"

  Kale looked hurt, but not surprised. "You may have walked away from your father years ago, but he was still my brother," he said, his voice strained. "And yes, two weeks ago. I was working up the nerve to talk to you, but I didn't expect you to give me the time of day, honestly."

  "You didn't say anything when we were there," Voss said.

  Kale's tone softened, and his expression lost its defensive edge. "I was frankly surprised you contacted me at all, and you clearly had other things on your mind, it didn't seem like the right time."

  Voss took a breath. Her uncle was showing an odd amount of emotion for what she was used to, and it was slightly disarming. "I'm sorry," she said, putting a hand on his. "I know he meant a lot to you."

  He shrugged. "Look, I won't deny he was an abusive ass," he conceded, "but … he was the last brother I had left. And don't get me wrong, it killed me the way he treated you and your mother. I certainly don't blame you for disappearing."

  "You didn't exactly try to fix it," she said, but held up her hand before Kale could respond. "I know, you had a title to maintain," she continued, her tone softening. "And I'm not blaming you. I have no idea what kind of life you lead, so I don't have any right to judge the way you do. Of course I wish things had worked out differently, don't you think I miss my family too? But we all ended up where we did, and you won't hear me complain about it, and you sure as hell won't hear me apologize for it."

  "That sounds like you think I disapprove," he said.

  "Don't you?"

  "Not … completely," he replied, but Voss wasn't convinced. She raised an eyebrow, but Kale continued. "Look I won't lie, I don't totally understand why you hang around with the people you do. I get it's your job, but it's like you've gone as far from your Dwarven heritage as you can. The ranger I get, you can't throw a stone without stirring up a Republic's nest, but an elf?"

  Voss sat up straighter. The derision in the last word had been clear. "You do not get to talk bad about her," Voss shot back. "Not all elves are the same."

  "I don't mean her specifically," Kale amended, seeming to realize this was a touchy subject, "but what she represents—"

  "Are you seriously still holding that grudge?" Voss cut him off, not having any of it. "You can't honestly blame the entire elven people for something your stupid grandfather started in the first place—"

  "And why not?" Kale interjected, not used to being challenged. "What did they ever do for us before?"

  Voss stood up. "That's not the point!"

  Kale looked up at her, surprised. Voss took a breath, resisting the urge to throw a punch. She sat back down, massaging her temples. "The point," she continued, her voice under noticeably better control, "is that I've managed to find a life that works for me, and all you can see is how it reflects on you. Doesn't it mean anything to you that I'm happy?"

  "Are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

  "Yes," she said. "The job's not ideal and I'm frequently risking my life, but that would've been true even if I'd stayed on Vorsk. But I love what I do. All things considered, I love my life." She leaned close and enunciated clearly so he wouldn't misunderstand. "And I love who I live my life with."

  He regarded her for a moment, doing his best to read her expression. Voss was firm, but didn't look angry, merely determined. He appeared to be thinking back to their last interaction, his face finally settling on surprise as he seemed to get it.

  "It's the elf," he said.

  She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, glad he had made the connection on his own, but wary of his response. "Is that such a bad thing?"

  Kale paused, his mouth drawing into a thin line. He seemed to be weighing what was more important to him in his head. "I suppose not," he said finally, his face relaxing as he shrugged. "Guess I can't act surprised you're not being very dwarflike when that's what I've been complaining about the whole time." He paused again, the hint of a smile pulling at the edge of his mouth. "She did seem rather more protective of you than the others," he said. "Hell, she looked ready to punch me, which I guess puts her a couple notches above any other elves I've known."

  "She'll be thrilled you think so highly of her," Voss said, sarcastic, but her voice softened as she smiled for probably the first time that day. "Her name is Mira, by the way."

  Kale smiled, looking thoughtful. "As long as she is worthy of you."

  "She is," Voss said. "And, you know, it might be nice to see her again, so maybe help me figure a way out of this?"

  Kale nodded. "Of course," he said. "Are you familiar with these Republic carriers?"

  "No," Voss said. "This is my first time on one, and all I've seen is the hangar and the inside of holding."

  "Well I am," he said. "I heard them talking about a conference with an elven tribunal, which means we'll be taken up to an interrogation area. We're only a few corridors over from the main lift cluster, so we shouldn't have too much trouble overpowering the guards and making our way down to the hangar bay—"

  "Wait, did you say elven tribunal?" Voss interrupted. "Why are they involved?"

  "You didn't hear? Aelden got hit this morning."

  Voss was stunned. "What?" she managed.

  Kale nodded. "Same pattern as Barrast and the others, only
bigger."

  Voss sat back in her chair. "Well this won't look good on us."

  "It won't matter," Kale said with a dismissive gesture. "They won't be able to hold us long enough to—"

  They both looked up as the door suddenly opened. Frakes walked in, flanked by two armed men. "Hands please," she said, stepping up to Voss.

  Voss stood up, lifting her wrists in front of her, looking over to Kale. She was expecting to be led away, but instead Frakes pulled out a key and proceeded to unlock the binders from her wrists.

  "What's going on?" she asked as the commander turned to Kale, who had stood up, offering his own wrists.

  Frakes didn't look up as she undid Kale's binders. "These two agents will escort you down to the hangar bay."

  "Are we being transferred?" Kale asked.

  Frakes stepped back, handing both sets of binders to one of the guards. "No, you're being released," she said, turning back to Voss. "I appreciate all of your cooperation, and I do apologize for any inconvenience it might have caused."

  Kale frowned. "That sounded like it hurt," he muttered.

  Voss was skeptical. "What's the catch?"

  "No catch miss Voss," Frakes said, her voice cool. "We've received new evidence that exonerates you. You're free to go." She then handed Voss a small case that contained the handful of personal effects that were confiscated when she was taken into custody. Frakes then stepped aside and gestured to the door. "If you would be so kind as to follow them," she continued. "They'll get you on your way."

  Voss regarded her for a moment before deciding that she really didn't have anything to lose. "Um, thank you," she said, then turned to the guards. "Lead the way."

  The first stepped out of the room while the second stepped aside to let both Voss and Kale out into the hall. Once the second guard joined them, the four started toward the end of the corridor. Voss glanced back to see Frakes step out of the room. She had her handheld out and was talking to someone on her comm, not paying them any more attention. Voss turned back to Kale, sidling up a little closer as they walked.