Valandra: The Dragon Blade Cycle (Book 2)

by Tristan Vick

  “You are a peculiar one, Arianna De Amato,” Dina says, a half smile curling onto her lips.

  “You have no idea,” I affirm. Then, taking my resolve, I turn and march into the dark tunnel toward whatever awaits me on the other side.

  Dina trails after me, and her words from earlier echo in my mind, about all of this being one big trap. I can’t shake the sneaking suspicion that she’s probably right. What’s worse, however, is that if it is a trap then we’re walking straight into it on our own volition.

  Oh well, I think. Everyone finds their end eventually. Maybe today is where I meet my end. Maybe today is the day I will die. Still, it’s like Master Kel always said, “It’s better to die the hero, with your honor intact, than to fall victim to your vices and become the villain.”

  THE DRAGON BLADE CYCLE

  VALANDRA

  PART II

  13

  A series of hidden underground passages guides us safely through the precarious areas of the city. Sabolin is overrun with the dead, the wraithlike souls stuck halfway in this world and the next, unable to free themselves from the malign influences of Daeris Darkthorne’s black magic. Their torment is real, their anxiety neverending, and the dead only want to return to the grave and sleep. Unable to do so, however, until they carry out the bidding of the demon knight Ashram, Daeris Darkthorne’s personal henchman in the world of the living.

  Dinalagosseth stops and puts her hand upon the rock wall of the corridor. I look back and ask, “What is it Dina?”

  “The central hall of the temple lies directly behind this wall.”

  I begin searching the wall, running my hands along the surface, searching for a lever, a loose rock, or something that would designate a secret entrance, but it’s too dark. “I can’t see a thing in this dimness,” I lament.

  Dina reaches into her satchel which rests on her hip and pulls out three white stones. Then holding them to her lips she whispers, “Gemma Illuminare!”

  Suddenly the stones begin to emit a brilliant white light. Brighter than ten candles.

  “You know magic?” I send her a sideways glance showing my continued amazement at the number of tricks Dina has up her sleeves.

  “I learned some during my time as a legionnaire in The Great War. Not enough to be a mage, but enough to get by when in a pinch. A little magic goes a long way, I think you’ll find.”

  “You’ll have to teach me that trick sometime,” I say, and nod my head toward the glowing stones.

  Dina pushes on a reddish rock that doesn’t match the others, and suddenly the wall creaks open. She looks at me and then clamps her hand around the stones. Their light dims until, finally, they go out just as if she smothered a candle’s flame with the pinch of her fingers. “Be ready for anything,” she informs me. I nod in confirmation.

  Cautiously, we enter the inner chamber of the temple and step out from behind a row of pillars off to the side of one of the basilicas. Scanning the surrounding area for signs of movement, we see that everything appears to be deserted. Dina motions with her hand for me to go right while she goes left. I nod and we split up.

  I creep along the back row of columns, checking behind each one for any signs of the living or the dead. But still, nothing.

  After walking more than half the perimeter I decide there’s nobody here and I step out into the open atrium. “It seems that they abandoned the city,” I say, cutting across the open grounds between the columns as I make my way back toward Dinalagosseth.

  “Arianna! Watch out!” Dina yells out.

  I turn just in time to see dust kick up all around me as a massive thing crashes down before me. Through the dusty cloud, I see two pink glowing eyes rear up before me and then there is a whirring noise, sort of mechanical in nature. The sound gradually grows higher in pitch as the whirring sound seems to grow faster and faster. Then, without a single warning, arrows begin flying toward me. Not just any ordinary arrows either, but arrowheads charged with the fiery energy of Dragon crystals.

  Arrows miss me by mere centimeters as I leap into action. I do a back handspring twice over then tuck into a ball and roll. The arrows seem to follow me and suddenly my back is up against one of the pillars. I look up just in time to see a final arrow flying straight toward my position. By the angle, it looks as though it will pierce me right through the face. Not an overly pleasant prospect, I assure you.

  Reflexes kick in, and I throw up my arms to, hopefully, allow the arrow to impale my hand instead, thereby prevent it from doing any serious damage to my face. Out of the blue, a voice cries out, “Stop!” and a hand reaches up and catches the arrow mid-flight. I gasp as the arrow tip stops less than two centimeters from my nose.

  “Thanks Dina,” I say, letting out a big sigh.

  “It wasn’t me,” a voice says to my left. I look over to see Dina walking toward me.

  I snap my head back to the right to see who saved me. To my utter surprise, Alegra stands to my right, clutching the arrow tightly in her hand. Blood begins dripping down from her clenched fist from where the arrow clipped her palm when she caught it. She looks at me with those beautiful amethyst eyes.

  “Alegra?” I say, overjoyed to see my girlfriend.

  “Miss me?” she asks.

  I leap into her arms, wrapping my thighs around her waist, and begin plastering her face with wet kisses. She staggers back a step, forced to catch me as I pounce on her, but she welcomes my embrace. It doesn’t take long for my lips find hers and we sink into a deep, sultry kiss.

  Once both of us are satisfied, I slide down her body, and rest my hands on her hips. Tears begin to flood into my eyes and, my voice quivering, I squeak, “I was so worried. I wasn’t sure I’d find you alive.”

  “We weren’t exactly sure you were alive either,” Alegra says.

  Dinalagosseth steps up to us and bows her head, acknowledging Alegra, who responds by bowing her head as well.

  As the dust settles, Guerriero takes a clunky, ground-rumbling step forward.「Apologies Mistress Arianna,」　he informs me in a soft voice.「I was on patrol and saw two dark figures lurking in the shadows and acted accordingly.」

  “It’s fine,” I reply, smiling up at him.

  He gazes at me for a moment then turns and clunks away. As he departs us I see Leif and Lisette step out of the basilica and into the atrium.

  “Arianna?” Leif says in a shocked tone. Walking briskly up to me, Leif unexpectedly throws his arms around me, picks me up and spins me around. Setting me back down, he looks into my eyes and says, “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

  I laugh and bashfully push back some loose strands of hair. I wasn’t really expecting such an outpouring of affection from him. A tear builds up in the corner of his eye. He turns away in embarrassment and wipes it with his thumb.

  I hit him in the arm and say, “I always knew you were a big softy.”

  “Just a speck of dust, that’s all,” he counters, slipping back into his usual tone filled with macho bravado. He tugs on the fancy vest he wears over a blue silk shirt, making him extra fetching. I can tell by the way Lisette has trouble taking her eyes off him anytime they’re near.

  Lisette reaches over and takes my hands in hers, brings them to her lips, and kisses the tops of my knuckles. “I’m so relieved to see you in one piece,” she says, looking up at me with her blue-gray eyes.

  Without even thinking about it, I reach out and pull her into me and embrace her. Suddenly tears are streaming down both our faces and we begin sobbing into one another’s shoulders.

  “That’s quite enough of that,” a voice says. “I won’t be having my knights falling apart when I need them to keep a stiff upper lip and a strong chin.”

  I turn to find Queen Sabine standing before me. She is missing her left arm and in its place, there is a metal arm, made of living armor. Embedded inside the left hand is a pink gem, like the one that can be found inside Guerriero. A small Dragon’s eye crystal.

  “By the Goddess!”
I gasp out in horror. “Your arm.”

  Sabine looks down at her metal arm and replies in a solemn tone. “Ah, yes. This. Well, I’m afraid that after you were abducted by that traitorous wretch Zarine, the battle took a turn for the worse. I thought I could take on Ashram myself. As it turns out, I was wrong.”

  She opens and clenches her hand, examining her metal arm as though she’s still getting used to it.

  “Guerriero donated a small piece of his Dragon crystal so that the Queen can power her new arm, which Gromelin built for her,” Lisette informs me. “One of the holy priests then bonded it to her and linked her mind to the crystal so she can control the arm just as naturally as though it were any other part of her.”

  “I thought Guerriero had given up fighting,” I probe.

  Lisette lowers her eyes and, after a brief pause, regretfully answers, “I’m afraid I had to order him to fight.” Looking back into my eyes she adds, “It was only because of him that we were able to retreat back inside the safety of the temple walls. He held the army of the dead at bay and gave us the time we needed to retreat.”

  “That bad?” I ask.

  “You have no idea,” Leif interjects. “It was a bloodbath from start to finish.”

  “We lost a lot of good soldiers,” Queen Sabine adds, her voice heavy with remorse.

  “Where’s the Princess? Where’s Bethriel?” I ask, looking around at all the familiar faces and noting she’s not among them.

  “You’d better come with me,” Sabine says, her face battle-hardened but her eyes revealing a deeply felt aching.

  I look back at Alegra, still finding it hard to let go of her hand, and I mouth the words I love you. She mouths the words I know, back to me. And then we pull away, my fingers slipping from hers, but our gazes still fiercely entangled.

  Queen Sabine pulls her cape back over her metal arm, concealing it from view. I don’t know whether it’s out of misplaced sense of shame and embarrassment or because it’s hard for her to show any kind of weakness, and a missing arm, for such a proud warrior as herself, would certainly be a sign of weakness. She turns and addresses the others. “The rest of you return to your stations. I need all the reinforcements we can spare on that wall. Also, send a couple of guards to watch this secret entrance just in case anything else comes through. Anything unfriendly.”

  “Catch ya’ later, Arianna,” Leif says. Lisette waves and then turns and prances up to Leif, not letting him get a step out of her sight. Alegra smiles at me then follows the others. I find myself on the brink of having an anxiety attack as she leaves me. But I take a deep breath and calm my nerves. You’ll see her again, I tell myself.

  Sabine turns toward Dina and then places a hand on the elf’s shoulder. “It’s been a long time,” she says.

  Dina bows her head reverently and then, without uttering a single word in reply, dutifully carries out her orders and joins the others as they return to their positions to help reinforce the doors of the temple and fend off the evil ghouls that threaten to break through our last line of defense.

  14

  Queen Sabine guides me into the inner sanctum of the sacred, and past rows and rows of wounded soldiers and villagers. They are scattered about the entirety of the inner chamber. There are babes crying, peasant women weeping, and priests praying over the recently deceased. Monks and healers do their best to attempt to soothe the injured and suffering, but amid the pain-filled moans and weeping of soldiers pushed beyond their breaking points, there is a dreadful atmosphere which lingers over them all, like the specter of death.

  Amid the rows of soldiers lying on blankets, we finally arrive at a cot, and on the cot rests Bethriel De Atano, daughter of Queen Sabine, Princess of Bellera. Her head is bandaged up tightly, and the wrap covers one eye. Although she appears to be intact physically, her legs, arms, and torso are all bandaged. It seems that she took a real beating.

  “When we found her lying on the battlefield, she wasn’t even breathing,” Sabine says in a morose voice, trying to push back her emotions. The emotions of a mother yearning to spill her tears on the battered body of her only daughter.

  “My Goddess!” I gasp, dropping to my knees at her bedside. Reaching down, I take Bethriel’s hand in mine and just hold it.

  Queen Sabine takes a folded linen at the foot of Bethriel’s bed and lets it unravel. Fanning the linen, she covers her daughter and tucks her in. Sabine brushes a strand of Bethriel’s blonde hair from her face and then reaches toward a bowl of warm water next to the bed She fishes a wet cloth from it.

  Gently, Queen Sabine dabs her daughter’s cheek and then moves down to Bethriel’s bruised and bloodied shoulder. After cleaning off some of the dried blood, she wrings out the cloth, forcing a drizzle of liquid back into the bowl, and then hands it to me.

  “Please, watch over her. I’ll call for you when I need you.” Bending over her daughter, she kisses her fingers then presses them to Bethriel’s forehead. “Be strong, my love.”

  I watch the Queen leave the room and then turn back toward Bethriel, who sleeps peacefully before me.

  After a few moments, silent tears begin rolling down my face. I begin to sob uncontrollably. “I’m so, so sorry,” I whisper. “I never meant for anything to happen to you. To any of you.”

  I wipe a tear from my cheek with the back of my hand, then realizing this might be the last time I ever see Bethriel alive, I lean in and whisper into her ear. “If I wasn’t involved with Alegra, you know I’d be into you, right?” I look upon her sleeping face, and unable to help myself, I purse my lips, bend my neck down, and kiss her on the lips.

  As I pull back, a faint voice asks, “What was that for?”

  I look down to see Bethriel’s one crystal clear blue eye trained on me.

  “Oh, you’re awake!” I pull back in shock, but I feel her give my hand a squeeze to beckon me to stay with her. So, I do.

  “It’s the best wakeup call a girl could receive,” she says with a weak smile.

  “What happened to you anyway?”

  “My headstrong mother rushed into the fray after you were abducted. She tried to take on Ashram all on her own.”

  “I noticed.”

  Bethriel smiles again. “I was the one who went in and got her. I carried her out on my back. Suffered a thousand and one cuts for my troubles. I’m afraid after I heal, I’ll be so scarred that nobody will want to be with me ever again.”

  “Don’t say that!” I snap. “It’s not your fault. And your face is still as beautiful as the first day I laid my eyes upon you.”

  “Why Arianna,” she says in a playful tone, albeit weakened by fatigue. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re flirting with me.”

  “Well,” I say, leaning in and allowing my lips to hover over hers, “what if I am?”

  Suddenly a single tear drops out of the corner of Bethriel’s eyes and rolls down the side of her face, where it lands in her ear.

  “Don’t cry,” I say, dabbing the wet area of her face with my thumb. “Don’t cry.”

  “Arianna, will you do me a favor?” she asks.

  “Anything?” I say.

  “I know this is terribly embarrassing, but I have to pee, and well, as you can see…I can’t exactly move now. Will you assist me?”

  “Um…” I hesitate, thinking it might be better to find a nurse. But, looking around the room, it seems everyone has their hands full. I smile at Bethriel and answer, “Sure. Why not? What do you need me to do?”

  “Just get that bedpan over there,” she says, looking at the bedpan laying at the foot of her bed, “and slip it under the blankets. And make sure I get it all into one spot.”

  I fetch the bedpan and then, sitting on my knees, I extend it over the bed and then carefully place it underneath the linens, between her legs.

  “You’ll have to help me slip off my underwear, if you don’t mind.”

  Embarrassed, I look away as I let my hands feel around for her undergarments. Once I’ve fou
nd them I slip them off her legs and pull them to her knees, then I bring the bedpan into position underneath the blanket.

  Bethriel lets out a small gasp as my cold fingers touch her skin, but then she sighs in relief when she can finally release what she’s been holding in and a tinkle begins to fill up the bedpan.

  Once she’s finished with her business, I slide out the bedpan, set it aside, and then reach back under the covers to help her get her underwear back on.

  “Thanks,” she whispers. I merely nod politely in response.

  After helping her dress, I tuck her back into bed and then look into her eye, which is fixated on my face. I blush, smile, then look away. I know she still has feelings for me, and I have feelings for her too, but there’s not much beyond being a good friend that I can do for her.

  “Arianna,” Bethriel whispers.

  “Yes?” I reply, my voice matching her softness.

  “If I don’t make it—” she begins.

  “Don’t speak like that,” I interrupt.

  “If I don’t make it,” she continues, ignoring my interruption, “I need you to know something. Something important.”

  “You can tell me,” I answer.

  “From our first conversation, that day in the prison cell, and from the first moment I laid eyes on your face, I knew…I knew…you were the one.”

  “The one?” I gulp nervously.

  “What I’m trying to say,” she relays, her voice growing weaker by the second. “I just want you to hear it from me directly…no matter what happens…no matter what stands in your way…you don’t have to….”

  “Don’t have to what?”

  But it’s too late. Bethriel fades out before she can finish her sentence and falls into a deep sleep.