by Marc Secchia
“Friend or foe?” asked Sanu.
“I’ve no idea. Friend, I think.”
Jesafion shrilled, “Those Dragons? The domicile would have stopped them before the Storm-Pegasi attacked.”
“My idea, Jezzer.”
He ‘popped’ another of Worafion’s attacks, voicing a high-pitched whinny of frustration. But the camp was coming alive now, Darkwolf Clan converging from all directions, the Human soldiers forming into their ranks and cohorts. Wolves ran about howling in demented chorus, some scraping their muzzles or heads on rocks in clear distress. Sensitive hearing, Zara realised.
Gryphons flapped heavily into the sky. Rhenduror and his cronies appeared over the Vale from the South – had they been planning a sneak attack on Pellucid Pond’s forces under the storm’s cover? Ten Dragons, Zaranna counted. Her head snapped about as Sanu shot past her, clashing violently with Tayburrl before Worafion slapped her out of the way with a wall of fire that Jesafion swiftly neutralised. That did not save Sanu the blast, however. She flew backward, smacking her cheek awkwardly against one of the Obsidian Chargers, still lying on his side.
Zaranna waved her sword at the pair. “Surrender, Worafion, before I call those Dragons down on you.”
He answered with another blast; the Pegasus Prince was quicker, this time, saving her a good singeing. “You have much to answer for, Wizard!” he yelled sidelong at Zaranna. “I’m taking you to the Council.”
“Been there,” she retorted, trying another hack at Worafion’s boot. The Hooded Wizard tried to backpedal but his own troops were obstructing his path. The words ‘farmer’ and ‘hoe’ sprang to mind, uncomfortably. “Broke Zanfurion’s ribs.”
Jesafion squeaked, “What?”
Soldiers poured past the Hooded Wizard to engage Sanu, Jesafion and Zaranna, who was admittedly doing about as much to scare her allies with the way she swung her sword, as her foes. Prince Jesafion snarled something vitriolic about betrayal as he rushed past, spearing a Darkwolf soldier with his horn. Zara tossed back over her shoulder that she had not known she was a Wizard when she left him at the Obsidian Pentacle, and came within a whisker of losing her nose to a flying sword due to inattention. Sanu slithered by, literally, doing something on her belly that involved hamstringing five or six of their opponents amidst a jaw-dropping assortment of breakdancing moves. Zaranna contrived to spear a very tall Twisted Darkwolf through the thigh, yanked out her blade and accidentally disembowelled a backstabber behind her on the reverse stroke.
Cool.
“It’s only because you’re stark naked,” Sanu snorted as the two enemies dropped either side of her.
“Oh. Shoot!” Zara froze in a welter of humiliation. “No, I can’t fight like this.”
“That’s the first truly idiotic thing I’ve heard you say,” retorted her friend, disembowelling a man behind her without even bothering to look.
“I’m only keeping you alive because you seem to be against these Darkwolf Clan,” Jesafion hissed on the way past – again. The Pegasus was everywhere at once, spraying his distinctive horn-magic across their foes and using his horn and hooves liberally on those who escaped his fire.
“Cyantoria helped me,” she shouted after him.
“Earthen fires, have you corrupted my beloved, too?”
Zaranna hacked wildly at a soldier approaching her with his hammer upraised. In an evident fit of pique, Jesafion kicked the soldier into a group of his fellows, bowling them all over.
Sanu growled, “Honestly, Zaranna. Keep the strokes closer to your body. Move like this. Feet flat on the ground.”
“Tutoring? Now?”
“No time like the present!” Sanu shot off, felled three Human soldiers and returned with a fresh cut on her knee. “Point up! Knees flexed. Imitate me.”
But the soldiers facing Sanu seemed rather distracted by what they saw bearing down on them just behind the smaller girl; a tall blond Wizard in a patently enchanting state of undress. Having despatched the trio to a place where they would leer no more, Sanu turned with folded arms and a scowl better suited to a dyspeptic tiger. “Very well. I’ll grant your tactic is reasonably effective, you filthy beautiful sorceress. Can we grip our weapon less like a –”
“Behind you!”
Sanu parried behind her back. “Where’s Worafion?”
As the Outlander dealt with her opponent, Jesafion loomed over them both. “Escaping. Freaking Wizard.”
Zaranna was unsure if he meant her, or Worafion, or both in the same breath. Charming.
A fierce battle had joined over the mountains, with the Dragons far outnumbered by the Gryphons, but giving better than they received. Flame roared and Gryphons hissed their hatred. Dragon-thunder echoed across the peaks. She saw the Hooded Wizard blast two Dragons with a bolt of purple lightning, then he flicked his fingers at an approaching posse of River Horses, cutting them off from the battle. Marvellous. Worafion was still powerful, rallying his troops with a series of sharp commands and Wizard-fire for those who did not listen fast enough. A squad of Tayburrl’s heavies had formed a shield-wall between them and Worafion, who irritably waved off a hovering medic.
“Charge!” yelled Sanu.
Jesafion spared half a second for his jaw to hang open as the mite charged the wall of massive Darkwolf Clan wolf-men, before he snapped at Zaranna, “Use your magic!”
“Uh … fountain!”
Her butterflies erupted in a pretty fountain formed of yelling Twisted, who tumbled or flew aside as if Sanu’s charge carved an invisible wedge through their formation. Seeing this, Tayburrl scragged his boss by the neck and ran. The hood flapped back. Zaranna had a moment to glimpse a white, hairless head that looked like nothing so much as the head of a moulting maggot, and a pair of burning red eyes, before the Commander vanished into the thick of the fighting. The melee closed about them. Obsidian Chargers carved through the press of bodies, trying to chase River Horses as they skittered about, using the wet to trap and drown their enemies. Earthen Fires flared up sporadically as the barrels ignited; Zaranna saw teams of Human Wizards igniting them and Gryphons trying to build a line of fire to cut off the encampment from the marauding River Horses. Pegasi swept overhead, spraying Worafion’s soldiers with shards of ice and bursts of Pegasus-fire from their horns.
But even she saw the truth of the matter. They were few, and Worafion’s army was huge and well-disciplined. Despite the terrible losses caused by the Lord of the Storm-Host’s strike, the army had lost perhaps a quarter of their fighting capability, she estimated. Soldiers and Chargers drew back into their silvery, beetle-like cohorts, the Humans linking their shields as they retreated and consolidated their forces.
Now the Earthen Fires roared massively, cutting off the valley floor. Zaranna and most of the River Horses quailed. Worafion’s handiwork. No doubt about it.
Sanu shouted, “We lost that cursed Wizard! We only bloodied his nose.”
“Strategic retreat,” called Jesafion.
Imagined Reflection dashed past, hot on the heels of a pack of wolves of the four-footed kind. The Prince snarled them with his horn-magic; Imagined Reflection finished them in a whirlwind of water, then turned to grin fiercely at Zaranna. “Girl who runs like a Horse? Are you back?”
“Of all the nerve!” snorted Jesafion.
A quick glance about assured Zara that the immediate danger was past. “Can you help the Dragons?” she asked Imagined Reflection.
“Will I?” In a splash of water and a streak of blue, she was off again, calling to her fellow River-Horses with a series of ringing neighs.
“Before we leave, I’m taking that Kenzo for interrogation,” said Sanu. “I’ll have something to show for this battle, at least.”
“He isn’t where we left him,” Zaranna puzzled.
The Pegasus cast about with his horn-magic. “Human blood, leading that way. Toward those trees.”
Sanu flashed away like an arrow from a bow. To the Pegasus’ evident surprise, Zaranna foll
owed almost as fast and he was left to catch up, which he duly did, being Mister Overcompetitive.
They raced away from the main battleground toward a stand of the willow-like trees, which abutted the northern cliffs of the Vale. Sanu plunged into the undergrowth without pause. A wild yell, a few flying leaves and a crashing of bushes later, she returned with Kenzo firmly clasped in a strangulation hold. Clear attraction, Zaranna thought, pleased to see that Kenzo still walked upon wet spaghetti legs, even if he was not too dazed to notice her lack of clothing. Ha. Her chin rose; the man flushed and dropped his gaze. Mess with the Dreamer, would he? She chuckled at herself. Perhaps an imperious Wizard-presence might come with practice, and the right clothes. Or maybe not at all.
Up on the heights, the River Horses had joined Illume’s Dragons, managing to hold the Gryphons at bay, at least, with powerful, directed blasts of water. Illume broke away from the fracas, angling toward their group. Jesafion and Kenzo stiffened, of course, but the Dragon only bowed his muzzle aerially, before landing lithely beside them to provide a walking escort upon her other flank.
“Well met, o noble Jesafion,” he said.
“Well met, o noble Illume,” responded the Pegasus Prince.
Illume said, “We Dragonkind wish you to convey a message to King Arafion.” At Jesafion’s cordial but formal inclination of his head, the Dragon said, “According to the mighty deeds of the Dreamer known as Zaranna, daughter of the Autumn Wizard and granddaughter of the Winter Wizard, deeds which can never be repaid in this lifetime or that to come; and according to the knowledge I, Illume the Stars of the Bluewing Clan, have come to possess regarding the character and soul of this Dreamer, we Dragons travelled to Amorix Vale to fight alongside the Equines. We seek an alliance with Sentalia Vale, o Prince. We ask, would the King be amenable to negotiations?”
Jesafion threw Zaranna a thunderstruck look.
She said, “I am charged with high treason by the Council, Jesafion. That’s a long story. And likely, if the Wizards ever return to Equinox, I will likewise be charged with high treason by my own kind.”
Illume dismissed this with a snort.
“What did you do to win this accolade?” wheezed the Prince.
Sanu put in, “She used the Imjuniel on this Blue Dragon to bind him to returning us speedily from distant Safeways to Amorix Vale. Then she released Illume. She gave him the Imjuniel at the cost of her own finger, a free gift for the Dragonkind.”
Zaranna held up her four-fingered hand sheepishly, never more grateful for Sanu’s facility in smoothing over the matter of their journey to the Beyond. She was certain Illume appreciated the elision as well.
Jesafion’s eyes bulged and he stamped the ground with his forehoof, exclaiming, “Hrr! I thought I saw the asteroid belt flying backward around the sun.”
“Earthen Fires! Is that what you say to our rescue?” huffed Sanu.
“Nay, this was a deed to be celebrated through the ages,” said the White Pegasus, unable to bring himself to a simple ‘thank you’, as usual. “This is a historic event, when the mighty Dragons will come to Sentalia Vale to renew our ancient ties. But as for you, Dreamer, I will simply ask what I asked before. By the Ancestors, who are you?”
“Just a girl finding her way in the world, Jesafion.”
Chapter 34: Equinox Reprise
THe Granddaughter of the Winter Wizard held court at the poolside table as her family shared dinner on a warm, fragrant Cape Town evening. “So we won a victory, but not the war,” she concluded. “The Hooded Wizard departed, not daring to rear his ugly head again, and the Red One also retreated to reassemble his Dragonwings and Gryphons. Having saved Jesafion, I was able to put our own message to him on behalf of the family, Nonno. I hope I didn’t speak out of turn in offering a full apology for past misdeeds, and a new alliance of Human Wizards with the Dragons and the Pegasi.”
He nodded slowly. “I’m not too proud to bend the knee to King Arafion, Pixie. But I am too proud of you to … to honour you with mere words.”
Sanu patted him on the knee. “If I’ve learned anything in the few flares I’ve known you, Winter Wizard, then I am certain a surplus of words will shortly become available.”
“Scabrous little ragamuffin,” sneered the Whiz.
“Delinquent old cliff-lizard,” she teased in return.
Whiz put an arm about Sanu’s shoulders, making her stiffen in outrage, then mussed her dark hair, drawing a yowl of protest. “Your Dad is going to do his nut when he learns about your deeds, Sanu,” he enthused, drawing a look that clearly misplaced the connection between nuts and deeds. “And just look at all this cultural learning you’re enjoying. No mouth-veil –”
“I feel naked.”
“Loose hair –”
“Lewd and improper.”
Whiz beamed at her. “You’re far too splendid a flower for that Kenzo.” Sanu opened and closed her mouth without managing another word.
Christi added, “Make sure you don’t torture him too badly, Sanu. Men have their pride. And, you may find other uses for him later.”
“Earthen fires!” gasped Sanu, turning beetroot red.
“We’ll have you in a bikini soon,” said Whiz.
Christi punched his arm sharply. “I’ll have less lechery and more manners from you, Whiz. Now, Zaranna, how’s the current state of affairs in Amorix Vale? Did you find some clothes?”
She sipped her Ceres grape juice appreciatively. Yum. “Well, Sanu and I are sleeping very decorously right now, just holding hands.”
Alex squeezed her leg possessively. “Clothed?”
She debated teasing him. Why not? “A few Garden of Eden-style fern fronds. Until I find something more suitable.” And he could just drool over that image! With an answering squeeze of his knee, she added, “Touch seems to help my Dreaming to include another person. But I do feel … stretched. It’s a drain on my resources to Dream people across the Universe – sorry, Brains. You could explain it better.”
“No, I couldn’t,” her sister corrected bluntly.
Zara smiled at Yolanda. “You’re quite the Dragon sometimes.”
“A problem for another day,” quipped Yols.
The sisters shivered in concert. What new trouble, and glory, might that day bring?
“Well, a sizeable contingent arrived from the south of Amorix this evening to bolster our forces, and tomorrow, we hope the Pegasi from Sentalia Vale and Kesuu’s Tribe will join in to drive the Hooded Wizard’s forces right out of the Vale.” Zaranna paused. “I guess there’ll be rounds of negotiations and politics, which I love so much, and Gramps, will you ask Mom and Dad to bring Misty Dawn down here?”
A perfect Zip-Zap conversational flip caught Alex and Christi napping, but not Gramps.
He said, “Oddly, they’ve already proposed that. Why do you ask?”
“She’s from Equinox,” said Zaranna, as if that explained everything. Whiz’s eyebrows crawled upward like bushy blonde caterpillars. “We need to talk about what we will tell Mom and Dad. Especially the Mother Dragon. But I was thinking, Whiz – and Sanu – that Kenzo kind of looks a bit like Dad. Do you think they could come from the same world or tribe?”
“The League of Nasty Assassins?” sniffed Sanu.
Zaranna chuckled, “That’s my dad you’re talking about. And no, I’m not used to the idea of him being Pytor. I’m a bit leery about taking you lot to Equinox, you know.”
Everyone else at the table blurted out, “Why?”
“It’s like dragging a whole closet full of family skeletons about,” said Zara. “Assorted Wizards and mad scientists, gorgeous medics, fierce Dragons and an assassin on the side. All those rattling bones – perfectly dreadful.”
Laughter drifted up to the rosy skies. Zaranna explained that she intended to work out how to restore the portals between worlds just as soon as she could carve out time in her busy schedule – of sedition and world-shaking mayhem, Sanu interjected – but was a touch concerned about the possibi
lity of reintroducing Dragons to Earth. Too late for that, Whiz noted, for Dragons had always been present. And once she was done chatting to Pegasus Kings and Dragon Elders and sorting out minor issues such as the noose tickling her neck, she intended to Shapeshift into Storm-Pegasus form and … cause more trouble, everyone shouted!
Ugh. Another blush.
“Hunt down the Hooded Wizard, of course,” she protested. “The work Sanu and I set out to accomplish is far from complete. The Dragons are divided. The lore of portals is lost.”
Then, Alex said, “How far you’ve come from that girl I pulled off the train tracks, Zars.”
She coughed and blushed even more.
“You were depressed, understandably. I must confess, however, that I mistook you for something of a mouse at first. It took us forever just to hold hands, never mind that unforgettable kiss in the Yorkshire rain.”
“Alex …”
“And I am so going to pound that Jesafion for making moves on my girl.”
“Alex! He couldn’t have known.”
“I dare you to kiss her again,” suggested Christi.
Alex pretended to consider this. “Well, Doctor Martinez, the act of kissing a budding Wizard is not a matter to be taken lightly. She’s dangerous, a Shapeshifter. I might end up kissing a buzzard, for example. Or a pony-rat.”
“Alex, honestly –”
“Now, Beauty,” he said, catching her hand in his. He shifted in his chair, teasing her with his nearness. “I would have you know that kissing a Wizard is a magical and life-changing experience. Why, here she is, negotiating with Kings and beating up vile underworld slugs. Saving the Vales. And in a minor riff, trying to heal her family too. I find that kissing this amazing girl is most definitely and entirely unavoidable –” he dodged an attempt to muzzle his lips with hers “– do try to restrain your passions, my dear.”
