While the yard filled with voices calling for defenses against an attack, Vahrik ducked inside to avoid a rain of arrows. He would not risk his life, but would watch from the security of a room beyond the reach of the invaders.
Calls rang through the castle.
Men rushed to the gates with heavy posts and wagons to set up a blockade.
Others raced up the steps to the top of the walls to take posts vacated by those who fell.
Vahrik stepped back into the hall, away from the commotion. While the guards inside clattered across the floor, he marched for the steps to the upper levels.
With one foot upon the steps, another thought occurred to him. Had they all coordinated this effort to distract him? How?
Only one answer satisfied him.
“Lusiradrol!” She had no loyalty to him over any other. It had to be her.
He redirected his steps to a side door and raced down the corridors into the darker, unoccupied areas to where the woman was held.
__________
Jayson
Any opposition they faced fell before them. Tahronen’s magic set many to slumber, disabling them but not harming them, Jayson noted. With Darius and Gaispar, he followed her through the dark corridors of the first level. They reached a nondescript door hiding in a nook set off from the corridor, the door he had exited to escape Vahrik after unraveling Lusiradrol’s spell. The door of the room where Calli was held in a block of crystal.
Now, a heavy timber bolted the door shut. He and Darius pushed it aside without a problem. They could save Calli. This might work! His heart jumped from his chest.
But the dark cloud that passed over cooled his excitement.
Without touching the door, Tahronen sent it swinging open. They followed her inside, Jayson a step behind Tahronen and ready to face the dark woman within.
Lusiradrol stood before the block of crystal.
“Majera!” The sinister voice hissed the name as a curse. “How dare you show yourself!” She waved her arm and threw them aside.
Jayson caught sight of Tahronen unmoved, while he slammed into the wall by invisible forces. The crack of his skull against the stone made him wince. Spots danced before his eyes. This is familiar, he thought on his way to the floor.
“I will not be defeated like that.” The calm of Tahronen’s voice carried a hint of threat.
Jayson knelt forward and risked lifting his head in time to see Lusiradrol shrivel amid the fading spots.
“Hurry!” Tahronen took his hand. With more strength than he thought possible from such a petite woman, she yanked him to his feet. But, as he recalled, she was no woman. She was Light, one of the two forces battling over control of their world.
Already on his feet, Darius helped Gaispar.
The black-clad woman grew and stretched into her full form.
“Stay close,” Tahronen said.
The forces of magic rushed about them in a flash of colors, which faded a moment after it started. Jayson gasped in surprise.
When he breathed again, they stood at the edge of the forest with Calli beside them still in her prison. The clamor of battle rose at the castle while the roar of dragons filled the air.
“Fools! I will not be defeated by tricks!”
Tahronen whirled, her hands before her. Lusiradrol’s magic had no effect.
While keeping her eyes on the woman stalking their way, Tahronen directed her words over her shoulder. “Call for the dragons. I’ll keep her busy.”
Lusiradrol threw a ball of lightening at the Majera.
Jayson jumped back with the others as it encompassed Tahronen, remembering at the last second her order. He could not pick out any single dragon to contact but caught Gaispar’s eyes. “Do it!”
She gave a nod and threw her arms up to transform. As a hawk she took flight toward the melee above.
A few seconds later, the trap around Tahronen dissipated. She stood unmoved, her lips forming a rueful smile. Her robes waved gently in a gust of wind.
The gust lifted Lusiradrol high into the air before releasing her to fall to the ground.
Jayson frowned as the dark-spirited woman vanished before hitting.
“Nice try.”
He blinked; she stood behind them.
With an instinct trained into him, Jayson grabbed Darius’s wrist and muttered the words to protect them. The moment he did, Darius opened himself, lending his power to enforce the shield.
All their lives training to defend against such an attack gave them a reflex reaction. They were the elite guards, now as before. In the back of his mind, Jayson swore not to allow her to pass through again.
A heartbeat later, the woman directed her attack at the crystal next to them. Tahronen joined him on the other side, lending her power to him. Jayson gasped at the brilliance of magic coursing through him.
Lusiradrol tried to break through and failed. She continued her assault of magic but nothing had any effect.
Jayson flashed back to her attack on him and the others at the vault. If Haiberuk and Tahronen had the same power, what would have happened if Haiberuk had joined with them? He could have stopped her without any effort. Why had he not? Had he wanted her to free her clan?
Jayson frowned at the disturbing thoughts. Why would Haiberuk allow such darkness to spread over the world?
As if sensing his confusion, Tahronen turned to him, a knowing smile on her face. She squeezed his hand. Yield not to such thoughts.
The warmth of her being brushed aside his concerns.
Lusiradrol ceased her attack with a growl. “The war has only begun!” In a plume of fire, she vanished.
With the immediate battle over, Jayson released the hands of those he held.
But Tahronen gripped his hand yet. He met her eyes, trapped in an intense stare that penetrated his core for a few fleeting seconds. Then, as if nothing had happened, she released his hand.
Jayson said nothing, realizing she must have had her reasons. Hopefully she would explain later, although, if she was anything like her brother, that might never happen.
“She’s not gone.”
Jayson blinked away the thoughts at the sound of Darius’s voice and followed his eyes to the sky.
One of the red wyverns rose above the fighting, a black speck on its back. Before their eyes, the Red Clan reorganized their attack.
The answer hit Jayson like the stone wall in the castle. “She’s directing them.”
“Can we do nothing?” Darius asked.
Tahronen watched in silence, her concentration focused above.
In that moment, Jayson caught movement around the castle. Across the clearing, the fighting intensified between those inside the castle and those without. Men scrambled up ropes and ladders as those above fired arrows and tossed stones down. Meanwhile, the slow and steady boom of a ram against the doors thundered over the noise.
None of the invaders cared about them, or so it seemed. The three of them, and Calli, stood at the edge of the forest outside the range of either battle.
__________
Gayleana
Gayleana relaxed when Anthârgal righted himself from his dizzying dive. They rose above the battle after a dragon of a rich jade color bit through the neck of the red dragon on Anthârgal’s tail.
The other dragon suggested they fly out of the tangle for her sake. No others pursued them.
The dragons that had followed her from Eyr Droc outnumbered the Red Clan and they used their advantage.
Now, with Lusiradrol in command of the battle, the Red Clan fought with greater ferocity than before. They also took on the other dragons in groups.
But that left others free to help their brethren.
Free of the Red Clan, Sethirngal flew up beside them.
This battle is almost won.
Other business have I, undone.
When a hawk flew up and landed between the ridges of his spine, Gayleana frowned. The moment the bird transformed into a woman, she realized t
he truth. “Another one?”
“Where have you seen him?” The woman’s words left no room for argument.
Him? Did she know about Galen? Gayleana opened her mouth, but closed it as a thought raced by. “Who are you?”
This one is messenger to all the lands.
Our trust have we placed in her hands.
Sethirngal spoke with a soothing tone, but his words carried a deeper meaning. Gayleana nodded acceptance of his explanation. She had seen the hawk before, in Tahronen’s quarters but had assumed Tahronen merely kept the bird for her own purposes. Now the pieces fit into place.
The other woman smiled. “Now you know.” Her attention turned to the dragon she rode and she patted his scales. “The high priestess requests assistance.”
Before she could ask, Sethirngal dove from the sky with other woman. Anthârgal followed in his sire’s wake.
Relief poured through Gayleana. At last, solid ground! She swore she would not ride off on a dragon so eagerly next time; her sister was right.
* * *
The two dragons landed hard. The vibrations ran up from the ground through Jayson’s legs. He glanced aside at Darius, whose smile said enough. Darius would be with Istaria soon.
And he, Jayson, would have Calli, if they survived this fight and if she escaped her prison of crystal.
From the smaller of the two dragons, a familiar face appeared on the woman who stepped down. When she reached the ground, she knelt down on hands and knees. Darius and Jayson both rushed to help her but she brushed them off. “I’m fine, just…glad to be on solid ground.”
“Had some rough flying?” Jayson could only imagine the excitement. As much as he would have traded places with her, he would not leave Calli.
She gave him a dirty look. Without a word she stood and dusted herself. Afterwards, her eyes fixed on Tahronen and she bowed her head. “High Priestess.” She frowned. “Why are you here?”
“To protect my children…all of them.” Her eyes passed over them with a look revealing a secret waiting inside.
If she was anything like Haiberuk, she would tell them what they needed when they needed. No more; no less. The Majera had no reason to explain themselves to mere mortals.
When Tahronen’s gaze fixed on Sethirngal, the dragon spoke.
What honor may we bear
of the first and most fair?
Before she could answer, a red and blue projectile plummeted from the sky behind her.
“Darmîndren!” Gaispar gasped. Sethirngal rose beneath her.
Jayson ducked with the others to avoid the crushing blow of Sethirngal’s large wings. When he could safely stand again, he saw the problem. Three red wyverns attached to the large blue dragon. Darmîndren let out a howl of pain that tore at his heart.
The dragon knew his fate. Sethirngal would not reach him in time to prevent the fatal drop.
As if bumped, the cluster of dragons shifted. Jayson glanced aside and realized by the focus of Tahronen’s eyes that she had nudged them directly over the castle, likely in a futile effort to break the fall.
Men scattered from the castle.
“You interfered.”
“I know.” A tear glinted from her cheek.
Haiberuk had warned them that the Majera’s place was not to interfere or step in to change events, unless facing the Darklord directly. By her tone and the tears, she wished to do more but dared not.
The beasts crashed into the fortress with a resounding BOOM! The ground quaked and a cloud of dust rose into the air.
Slowly, the thunder faded, while they waited in quiet expectation. Even the men fighting stopped in their tracks to watch.
__________
Istaria
Pain squeezed her middle and burned between her legs. Istaria held her breath, waiting for it to pass, but the second it faded, the pain and pressure started again.
“Breathe! You must not hold your breath like that!” Her mother’s voice snapped her to attention and she inhaled and exhaled.
I cannot do this! Why could the whole thing not be done with already? No one had told her about this. She wanted nothing less than to sleep. The labor tired her, weakened her.
“Yes, you can! I did it—twice!”
More gently, her mother said, “Believe in yourself, Istaria. Breathe and try to relax. You’re almost done.”
As she took another breath, the pain faded. What seemed like one long contraction ended. She struggled to catch her breath. Her heart pounded against her chest. Her eyes weighed a ton and she let them close. Just for a minute…
A soothing hand brushed her cheek. The trickle of water reached her through the haze of exhaustion.
She swore she had just fallen asleep when a contraction unlike any other pulled Istaria from her rest and tightened around her. She remembered where she was all at once and gave in to the urge to bear down with all her strength. A new pain pressed and ached with her efforts.
“Good! Remember to breathe.”
The contraction faded and she breathed hard. But the short break had given her new strength to keep going.
“Keep it up.” The soothing voice of her mother encouraged her to continue, despite her exhaustion and the discomfort. “You’re doing wonderful, Istaria.”
She looked down at the smile on her mother’s face and almost cried with emotions at the connection between them during this difficult time. All her life she thought her mother had feared her. Since her abduction and their reunion, everything had changed.
Before any tears welled up, another contraction started. She pushed hard with her mother reminding her to breathe and encouraging her.
For what seemed an eternity, the pattern continued, the pressure growing stronger each time.
All at once, in the midst of pushing, the worst of it ended and relief poured into her. She fell back on her pillow, her head dizzy with exhaustion. A new sound broke through, her baby’s first cries and the weeping of her mother.
Her emotions overwhelmed her, sending a torrent of tears from her eyes. It doubled when her mother set him on her chest. She heard none of the screaming nor did she care that he was still wet. She cradled him in her arms, until her mother threw a blanket over him and wrapped it around the slimy body.
The crying lessened as her mother wrapped him tight.
With him bundled in her arms, Istaria stroked his tiny head. In that moment all the pain and effort washed away.
“I love you,” Istaria whispered and kissed his forehead.
__________
Jayson
Amid the dust and debris of what had been Wynmere Castle, a blue tail rose into the air and slapped down. A pair of red wings stirred. Stones ground together with the shifting of the leviathans. A spiked blue head rose from the mess, followed by a mound of blue body.
No sooner did the dragon stand than he collapsed again. A shimmer of light radiated from the old dragon and dissolved into the air.
The wave of magic passed through them. Jayson caught his breath at the immensity of the power.
One of the wyverns shook itself and looked around, its jaws open and hanging down, dazed but not dying.
Sethirngal, who had looped around them when he failed to reach them in time, dove at the beast. He caught the wyvern’s neck in his jaws and lifted it up, clamping down hard as he carried off his prey. The wyvern fell limp and a steady stream of oily black flowed down its neck as the magic of the beast sparked and sputtered in release.
Jayson turned away to the others with him. At the sorrow in Tahronen’s eyes, he swallowed.
“It happened too fast.” The words were inadequate to what she must be feeling. The Majera had created the dragons first.
She flashed a grateful smile and took a deep breath as if to exhale the sorrow before the tears started.
When he looked up again, Sethirngal returned to them, black blood staining his green scales. The surviving men from the fight fled into the forest.
Jayson guessed that even t
he quiet presence of the smaller green dragon—Anthârgal—was enough to frighten them.
After he landed, Sethirngal turned his gaze upwards. Jayson looked up at the receding Red Clan survivors.
Riding the lead red wyvern, Lusiradrol led her clan away. Several of the younger blue and green drakes chased them close behind.
* * *
Jayson gazed on the hidden entrance to the cavern and swallowed. The day had brought defeat with their victory.
All for one person. Calli stood in the same pose as that fateful day along their journey. He would do it again, with or without the help of the others; but he was grateful they stood by him.
A pat on his shoulder drew his eyes to Darius. Despite the pain the excursion had caused the man, he still smiled. “We did it.”
Jayson nodded with a false smile that fell into a grimace. “But at what cost?” They had lost one of the elder drakes. Tahronen had interfered, and if Nekrâos did emerge, he could use that as an excuse to act directly.
Darius had also suffered in taking the brunt of Vahrik’s torture. What happened to the kid? Was he in the castle when the dragons smashed into it?
Tahronen turned from the cavern to face them. “Had you not followed your heart, the cost would be greater…to everyone.”
He wanted to say that it was his heart Lusiradrol had used to cause this mess in the first place, but clamped his jaw and nodded. Arguing with one of the Creators was unwise.
She said nothing but pushed the crystal block forward as if it weighed no more than the air. She levitated it without a hint of the power she used, as she had transported them.
They followed in silence. The past several days had taken their toll on his emotions, and he welcomed the coming quiet of the Second Realm.
__________
Jayson
Jayson sat in the clearing, staring at the crystal and its prisoner. The openness of the Second Realm, untouched by the Darklord, dispelled his guilt but could not ease the pain of his heart.
The drakin played their games along the edge of the meadow, showing no remorse, only the joy of living in each moment. How he wished he could feel the same!
Legends Page 32
