by Corin, G.
He waved as he followed Amar out of the clearing. As they walked away Ramaeka looked back once more, but the clearing was empty. The only proof of their encounter he had was the weight of the food in his belly and the image of the sword burned into his mind.
They walked in silence for a while as Ramaeka turned everything over in his mind. He decided that he liked both of the elements, strange though they were. Perhaps if they survived the battle he would meet them again, he might even get them to teach him about being an Elementai.
He was shaken abruptly from his thoughts by Amar who had abruptly stopped.
“This is impossible,” Amar said furiously. “Steal the sword from one of the most powerful humans in existence, against whom I cannot even lift a finger, armed only with a single dragon who is a mere child. A child!”
By this point he was pacing back and forth in front of Ramaeka crackling with power, his eyes blazing fiery red with anger. Shocked and a little hurt, hadn’t he proven himself in battle? Ramaeka stepped back from him.
“If it weren’t for these shackles this would not be able to happen,” he ranted, holding up his wrists so that his sleeves fell back to reveal silver cuffs carved elegantly with runes which Ramaeka had never noticed before. “Through my own stupidity and arrogance I have led us to this, listening to those fumble-brained, silver tongued parasites. I have allowed evil into my worlds. I should break these bonds and wipe everything clean, start over again completely.”
“No,” suddenly Ramaeka was furious as well. How dare Amar threaten everything he had come to love in a temper tantrum worthy of the most flutter-winged dragon child? How could he fall apart now?
“You gave us choices because it was the right thing to do, otherwise we would be just as shackled as you are. Yes agreeing to some of the things you agreed to was rock-brained but you’re talking about wiping away Stripe and Shady and the warrior women. The General and Makkie. Me.”
Amar dropped to his knees, head in his hands, his eyes turning grey with despair like ashes after the flames.
“But what can we do Ramaeka? This is impossible.”
“I thought escaping my father was impossible,” he told his friend sternly. “But it happened. Sometimes the impossible stuff is actually not that hard.”
He held out a hand. Amar stared at it for a moment before nodding and taking it.
“Forgive me Ramaeka,” he smiled tiredly. “You are probably correct.”
“Of course I am,” Ramaeka grinned. “You know that’s the first time you’ve acted like you’re a child, I know you said you were really young for your people but I only really understood that now.”
Amar blushed. “Well now you know,” he muttered. “Let’s find somewhere safe and come up with a plan.”
Ramaeka nodded falling into step beside him. After a few moments Amar looked sideways at him.
“Thank you,” he said. Ramaeka just smiled.
They stopped around midmorning to plan, hidden not far from the road on which the army marched north though the main army had passed through already.
“Amazing really, to get such a horde here at such a rapid pace.” Ramaeka nodded in reluctant admiration.
Between the two of them they finally agreed that disguises would be the best way to approach their problem.
“I already look like a monster to humans anyway,” Ramaeka explained cheerfully. Despite the risk he really did love sneaking around and tricking people like this.
“It’ll be easier than your invisibility spell. That camp will be teeming, getting through without bumping into something will be way too hard.”
Amar acquiesced to that with a shrug.
“You are correct. So what disguise shall I don?”
Ramaeka thought for a moment.
“I could use my magic on you and turn you into a dragon,” he grinned. “Or an apple.”
His friend glared at him. “Since your control over that aspect of your magic is rudimentary at best we shall have to come up with something better.”
“Then we should go closer and see what we can find because I don’t know much about the things he has in his army,” Ramaeka admitted.
“If I remember correctly,” Amar said thoughtfully. “He has Sasayin mage-warriors, Barakian soldiers and Killarian knights among his people.”
Seeing Ramaeka’s confused expression he explained.
“All of whom wear full body robes or armour. The less of me they see the better.”
He nodded in agreement.
“So how do we get the armour or robes off them?”
“Well since you mentioned the orange to apple trick,” Amar looked at him thoughtfully. “Healers use similar techniques; if you think you are able I will teach you how they send a patient into a deep sleep. It can be done at a slight distance if need be, which would be ideal for us.”
“You mean make them sleepy while still hiding,” Ramaeka grinned bouncing as Amar nodded.
“Let’s do it.”
Amar strengthened the wards around them before sitting across from him.
“Let us meditate,” he murmured.
Taking control of his breathing, Ramaeka let himself sink into the peace of meditation. As he relaxed he felt Amar’s presence bloom into his mind.
“Your power has grown substantially,” the Amar voice murmured in his mind. Surprised Ramaeka realised that he was right; his core of power had grown.
“Magic is like any other muscle,” Amar told him. “It will grow stronger every time you exercise it.”
“Now gather a bit of your magic and draw it up.”
Ramaeka did so with ease, drawing his magic up through his body.
“Open your eyes,” Amar commanded softly. “Now look at me and imagine how tired I am, how much I need to sleep.”
Ramaeka tried, telling his magic of weariness, of the many miles they had travelled, sleepless nights they had endured. A bone deep weariness spread over him, sleep would be wonderful he thought with a yawn.
He yelped as a shock zapped through his body. He opened his eyes to glare at Amar who was trying not to laugh.
“You were supposed to send me to sleep, not yourself.” He sat back. “Now try again.”
Grumbling to himself, Ramaeka sank back into his magic. Right he thought I have to send it to Amar somehow. He stared at his friend through his magic, how to send it was the problem. Perhaps he could just sink it in through his skin. With that in mind he reached out a hand and sent his power out. However as he pressed it against Amar his friend winced and pulled away. Ramaeka frowned pulling his power back. That wasn’t going to work, if only they had a sleep potion or a doze lily. He stopped. A doze lily he thought, maybe if I send the sleepiness out like a scent or pollen. He gathered his magic again pouring thoughts of exhaustion into it and then gently wafted it towards Amar, imagining the scent pouring through his airways sending him into slumber.
Amar fidgeted then yawned. His eyes began to droop and his head nodded. He waved a hand as if to ward off Ramaeka’s magic.
“Good,” he yawned. “Very good.”
With a grin Ramaeka pulled his power back.
“Not exactly what I expected but effective enough,” Amar told him before dumping a flask of water over his own head.
He made Ramaeka try it twice more before he was satisfied, then urged him to get some rest.
“We will both need our strength,” he urged when Ramaeka would have argued. He rolled over and fell asleep immediately; Ramaeka sighed in agreement and curled up to sleep.
Several hours later, wide awake and rested, they hid beside the road watching the stragglers of Gasha’s army walk past and hoped luck would be on their side. They had chosen an ideal spot which allowed them to see the road for some distance either way. None of these few stragglers showed any wariness, testament to the fear and awe that Gasha’s nearness afforded them. They simply didn’t think that anyone would dare attack them.
To fill in the time Amar taught him about t
he different kinds of humans and creatures which passed them by. It was late afternoon before the right target appeared, a Killarian knight in traditional black armour astride a huge war horse.
Right thought Ramaeka nervously scrubbing his hands on his pants, I can do this. Amar squeezed his shoulder reassuringly while keeping his eyes on the road. Taking a deep breath he slid his power out towards the knight as the horse walked steadily towards them. After a few worrying moments the knight began to sway in his saddle while the horse slowed to a stumble as it also succumbed to the spell.
Its working he thought gleefully as the knight slumped forward.
“Let’s get him out of sight,” Amar said quickly moving forward.
And of course that was the moment when everything went wrong. The horse dropped to its knees with a snort as it succumbed to the deep sleep, pitching the knight forward over its head. Jarred by the fall, the knight clambered to his knees, fumbling with his sword as he saw Amar.
Ramaeka leapt forward spell forgotten, changing shape so fast he thought he may have pulled a muscle somewhere. Sliding to the side of the knight, he whipped his tail around slamming it into the man’s helm with a ringing clang before pivoting to catch him before he could crash to the ground. He winced as he saw the dent in the man’s armour; he hoped Amar would be able to do something about that.
He looked at Amar who blinked at him. “That will do I suppose.”
They left the man bound just off the road after seeing to his head wound as best they could, the horse, still asleep, was left next to him. Amar explained to Ramaeka, as they slid the armour off, that the Killarian knights trained their steeds to accept only their one master on their backs. They would fight anyone else that tried to the death. As they donned the armour Ramaeka noticed that though it was initially too large for Amar, by the time they had put it on it mysteriously fit quite snugly. Things would be easier if his friend could just do whatever he wanted he thought wistfully as they started out for the camp. He shook that thought off; nothing ever really came easy in his humble experience.
It was late afternoon when they reached the edge of the camp from which they could finally see Jangor. The besieged city was wrapped in stone walls which gleamed red in the late afternoon light. All around the walls were men armed with bows sending continuous showers of arrows down at those of the enemy who were harrying them. The great walls had not been breached at this point, they saw to their relief. The invading army was immense; Ramaeka could not even begin to estimate their number. For every man or creature shot down by the arrows there were several more resting in their camp to fill their place. And they were not just standing there idly Ramaeka saw, they were bringing up great ladders to the walls. Great winged creatures were dropping rocks onto the defenders below. A huge creature was batting at the main doors with a tree; it looked much like a troll but was violently blue. The arrows simply seemed to annoy the creature, barely making a mark on its skin.
“Great Mother,” Amar breathed.
Ramaeka simply nodded in agreement. The city was going to fall before long that much was obvious. His friend turned to him.
“If you would like to back out now I will not blame you,” he said.
“Not a chance,” Ramaeka replied grimly, “Not while Stripe and the others are down there.” “All right,” Amar sighed. “I guess neither of us wants to take the sensible path.”
The camp itself was immeasurable, monsters and men crammed together, bickering and fighting as they awaited their chance to march to battle. They wandered as inconspicuously as possible through the sprawling camp, making sure to rudely shoulder past anyone in their way. Most stayed out of their way, even a small dragon like Ramaeka was bigger than a horse and its cart. It took almost an hour of wandering towards the centre of the camp before they finally came upon what they were searching for.
“There,” Ramaeka hissed softly at Amar, flicking his nose in the direction of the largest tent.
It was guarded by two tall creatures. They had glowing white skin and dull black eyes, their long spiked tails twitching behind them the only sign of movement.
“You sure about this?” Amar murmured.
Ramaeka nodded and arrogantly stalked forward. The element of luck was definitely on his side he thought happily as one of the huge bright blue troll like creatures ambled towards him. Deliberately he swept his tail out as he passed the creature almost directly in front of the tent. It tripped over his tail with a surprised yelp. With a roar it leapt back up, turning towards Ramaeka with its claws out. Turning Ramaeka roared back at it, baring his teeth in a vicious grimace. Despite the fact that the creature was larger than him, Ramaeka rushed it. Gripping its arm in his teeth he swung it forcefully towards the dead eyed guards who jumped back hissing in anger. The blue troll leaped back at Ramaeka and the two rolled around in a vicious whirl of dust and stones.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ramaeka saw a slim figure emerge from the tent; fury was in every line of its body.
“Stop this at once,” it roared at them. The man slid a sword from his belt and cut of the troll’s head off in a movement Ramaeka couldn’t even follow. The head clumped down in front of his face as he crouched down in a position of obeisance. This man was the evil one he thought, the smell of it clung to him, a truly horrific stench like decaying flesh. And to cut off a troll’s head in one strike! The man glared at him, sneaking a quick look Ramaeka noticed that he had dark hair and yellow brown eyes much like Shady’s. He rested the very tip of the sword on Ramaeka’s nose, a drop of foul blue blood dripping on to his snout.
“There will be no more of this,” he growled at Ramaeka and the crowd that had gathered around the fight.
They all bowed deeply, slipping away as fast as possible. The man narrowed his eyes at Ramaeka keeping the sword pressed to his nose.
“Who and what are you?” he demanded. His nasal voice had a sullen whine to it Ramaeka noticed.
“Wavaki,” he growled in response, keeping his voice as low as possible. “Just joined.”
“Well wavaki, consider this your first and only warning, there will be no fighting amongst my army,” he narrowed his eyes. “Is that understood?”
“Yes Greatness,” Ramaeka growled, bowing his head.
Rather than wasting anymore words, the man turned and stalked back to the tent; stopping briefly he shoved the sword into a terrified human man’s arms.
“Clean this at once,” he demanded wrinkling at the smell of troll blood. The man bowed and stammered backing away as Gasha entered his tent. Ramaeka also backed away before turning and fleeing towards the edge of the camp where Amar would hopefully meet him.
Suddenly a figure appeared at his side yanking at one of his spikes. Rearing around Ramaeka started to swipe at the knight who had grabbed him before realising who it was.
“Go, go, go,” Amar whispered fiercely. “I’ve got it. Don’t ask questions just start walking.”
Trying not to be conspicuous they walked as quickly as possible towards the edge of the camp. They had almost reached it when they heard a rising storm of noise behind them. Creatures roared and howled while the human’s yelled and cursed. And beyond all that came a rising sense of power and that nasal voice at a shriek.
“Find them!”
Sweat broke out along the ridges of Ramaeka’s spine as the noise swamped them. Men and monsters alerted by the furore unsheathed weapons and claws, looking around suspiciously. There were still far too many of them between them and the edge of the camp, far too many to fight in all the clutter.
“Ramaeka,” Amar whispered fearfully. Who would have known Ramaeka thought, even gods get scared.
“Strip off the armour.”
Amar looked at him like he was insane. “We will lose our cover.”
“We already have,” Ramaeka said as yelling reached his sensitive ears. That the people yelling were pointing at the two of them had not escaped his notice.
“Strip and get on.”
&nb
sp; Amar ripped off the armour rapidly, probably with magic Ramaeka thought with approval at the speed. Then, wincing he pulled himself onto Ramaeka’s back clutching the precious sword, disguised in the Killarian knights sheath, to his chest.
“Hold on,” Ramaeka called, swiping viciously at an approaching giant spider creature. In the near distance he saw Gasha wrapped in pulsing power point a finger at them. He launched himself up with a roar, wings flapping furiously. Flying with so much weight was harder than he had assumed it would be. Suddenly a blast hit him from below, sending him flying upwards. Amar yelled and clutched at one of his spikes. Heart in his mouth, Ramaeka looked down expecting horrific injuries from the evil man’s blast; instead he found a friendly open face grinning at him.
“Thowra,” he whooped exultantly.
The element laughed, waved and dissolved back into the air. Ramaeka swooped along in joy with the second sudden blast of wind. The enemy camp was far below, not even the evil one could reach them here.
“Ramaeka, we need to go down,” Amar yelled in his ear. “The walls are breached; we need to get the sword to Stripe.”
Looking down Ramaeka saw that he was correct. The enemy were swarming over the walls like ants. Angling his wings he sped downwards, gathering his magic as he went.
Chapter Eleven
“Ramaeka,” Amar yelled. “Behind you.”
Ramaeka turned around mid-flight in a manoeuvre so fast he almost flicked Amar off. What looked like a giant flying shell lizard was hurtling towards him. Ramaeka was used to quick thinking in battle though thanks to his father, and he quickly threw the fire spell and dodged. The monster withdrew its legs, head and tail into its shell, the fire of Ramaeka's spell sweeping over it harmlessly. Thinking quickly Ramaeka hooked his claws around the edge of the shell, holding on as they spun wildly. The creature growled and snapped at his claws with a dangerous looking beak. He pulled back quickly then jammed his tail spike into one of the creature’s leg holes. As the creature screamed in pain he flipped neatly off forgetting that he still carried Amar who yelled, grabbing at his neck ridges.
