The Spires of Dasny: 2: Queen of Dragons

by Cheryl Rush Cowperthwait

Cheers and roars are loud enough to shake the ground we stand upon. Elky and Grifton move towards me. I smile, thankful they stand with me so I don’t have to stand here with only Dreyth under everyone’s scrutiny. But as they approach, they pause in front of us, falling down upon one knee and bowing deeply. Line after line follow suit. Biting the inside of my lip, I work to stay my tears. As I look over the bowed heads, I again see Belinda upon one knee, fist to heart, and I weep. As Grifton rises, Elky does too, and they bolt to hug me.

  After a moment, Dreyth shouts, “I hope the kitchens have plenty of food for all of our fine warriors!” Leaning down, a talon lifts my chin. “Go enjoy your friends and food. I’ll join Ustice and Athan to rustle up some fresh meat. I hope you’ll join me in my lair when you retire.” Those green eyes of his, oh how they sparkle.

  “I’d have it no other way, my King.” Hearing his rumbling purr, I watch him walk off with most of the dragons close behind. I turn to Elky and tell her I’ll meet them in the kitchen area. Battle-worn and filthy, I make my first stop to my chamber to switch out my clothing.

  Chapter 25

  Entering my chamber, I stop, eyes wide. Kneeling, awaiting me to enter is the sweet Kareena. I had forgotten I asked her to stay in my chambers and take any messages as they arrived. Her voice is softer than a bird feather. “My Queen.” I stare at her, really still a child. I see her not as she now appears, but as hidden dreams are. I smile.

  “Rise, Kareena. Thank you for excelling in your duty. Please help me shed these battle clothes so I can wear something clean and light.”

  She at once helps me out of my cloak and jacket, but stops before removing my tunic, fingers trembling near my neckline.

  “What bothers you?” I turn my head, looking at her in puzzlement.

  “My Queen, your shoulders…”

  I glance down and see the scales now have multiplied to my shoulders. I shuck off the tunic and am down to my camisole. We both discover the scales are across the tops of my arms and stop above my wrists. Softly, I smile as my finger trails over them. They’re beautiful. Just like the scales of my Night Sky, but so much smaller.

  “Shall I get you a long sleeved tunic?”

  “No, Kareena. A sleeveless one, if you please.” She smiles up at me. As if the people of the Spires have nothing to speak about over our evening meal, we walk out of my chambers, both of us grinning, knowing everything is about to get more interesting.

  With head held high, I move through the crowd of people seeing Elky waving me over to the slab of stone where she’s sitting. Already murmuring whispers follow me as I pass. I flash a grin. I sit as Kareena asks to bring me a platter of food. Gratefully, I accept and save her a seat at our table. Almost immediately, Elky spots the new scales and jumps up pointing at them. She never was subtle.

  “Look what happened!” She gushes.

  I trace my fingertips over the trail of scales. “I never felt them emerge. Whether it was brought on by the crystal or the battle with the new dragons, I don’t know. I discovered them when I changed.”

  Elky peers under her new Warrior uniform and raises her head with a frown. “None for me,” she sighs. Her words make my heart swell. At first, my scales offended others, but now they almost seem like a rite of passage.

  Kareena dodges around other riders clustering close to our table and brings me a hefty platter filled with several kinds of meats, potatoes and a full round of bread. “Thank you, Kareena. Please fill your platter and join us.” There is something so innocent about her, I feel moved to watch over her. Just now, her eyes go wide at such a small invitation. I need to find out more about her and how to lift her up. The thought brings me such a warmth, it not only feels right… it feels fated.

  Kareena returns, followed by Belinda. A small groan escapes my throat. I already feel the tension set in my shoulders. I’m tired, hungry and definitely don’t want to listen to more insults. As usual, she slides out a stool and sits close to Grifton. She leans over, to see me better and speaks to me. “Congratulations Queen Seyra. We appreciate all you have done for us.” My eyes rove over her face, looking for a hidden agenda. I’m surprised not to see any.

  “Thank you, Belinda. I appreciate your support.” I nod my head before I return my thoughts to the steaming heap of food awaiting my taste buds. Listening to the happy chatter around me, I can’t help thinking what could have happened had we not stopped the Stone dragons from entering the Spires. Never in my life had I expected to come across the Xi people and their dragons nor had any indication other dragons, like the Stone dragons, were around.

  Although the food and companionship is wonderful, all I want to do is sleep for a moon cycle. Not realizing my thoughts have drifted off, I miss Elky speaking to me.

  “Seyra, did you hear me?” She gazes at me with her brows crinkled.

  “I’m sorry, no I didn’t. What is it?”

  “Oh, I was telling everyone about the way we defeated the Xi and how you flew in the air, slashing and stabbing them.” Elky’s face radiates excitement as she re-tells the tale.

  My face flushes. I’ll never get used to being singled out for fighting as any other warrior would do. “We all fought to save ourselves and the Spires.”

  “Yes, but you were amazing! Every time I looked around, you were dashing off one dragon and killing another.”

  “Ah! Perhaps that is why I can hardly keep my eyes open.” I give her a knowing wink.

  “Why don’t you go rest. We’ll have plenty of time tomorrow to tell everyone all about the battles.” She scoots out of her bench, squeezing away my breath with a strong hug.

  Glancing at Grifton, I see he’s beaming ear to ear. I remind myself to lift him up tomorrow when we speak of the battles, to let it be known it was his quick thinking to save his sister that worked to save the rest of us by breaking the Xi’s mind spell. I’m looking forward to when the Spires will return to the everyday challenges.

  Kareena rises, ready to follow me. “No, Kareena. You eat and enjoy the companionship. I’ll be spending the night in Dreyth’s lair. Enjoy my room and rest well.” Her constant look of surprise at the smallest of things makes me even more curious to find out all I can about her. Something in her nature causes me to believe life hasn’t always treated her well, and I’m determined to change whatever possible to help her find her best potential.

  Entering Dreyth’s lair, I find it has been freshened with dried grasses and the pelts have been cleaned and fluffed. Someone has also made me a large pallet of the same and placed my saddle, not the one I had to use in battle, at the end of the chamber. Suddenly, I realize I forgot to bring the crystal!

  Dodging back out of the chamber, I run through the Spires searching for the borrowed saddle to remove the crystal. I don’t know what would happen if someone else got a hold of it. I almost trip over Belinda. I didn’t see her bent over by a saddle…the one I borrowed. She’s locked in a gaze at the crystal and her fingers reach out to touch it.

  I yell and pull her away, accidentally pushing on her back. “Stop! Don’t touch it!”

  Her eyes go wild as she gapes at me.

  “I’m sorry Belinda. I was afraid you were going to touch it and it would, it could have given you a nasty shock.”

  Her eyes narrow at me for a moment and then she looks back at the crystal. “I thought I saw a light. I only came over to investigate what it was. I meant no harm.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t. I worry what could have happened.” I raise my palm to her and show her the design burned into the flesh. “The last time Elky, Grifton and I touched it, it left its mark on us.”

  Her jaw drops as she looks at the marking. “I’ve— seen this somewhere…” Before I can ask her anything else, she jumps up and runs in the opposite direction.

  I scoop the crystal up with the edge of my tunic and carry it back to Dreyth’s lair. Hunting for a safe place to keep it, I discover a niche in the wall that’ll hold it out of the way. Setting it down I breathe a sigh of relie
f, glad it’s safe here in Dreyth’s lair, relatively hidden from the curious. I wonder why Belinda looked so frightened, and what she might know about the mysterious crystal. I can’t help but stare at the mark on my palm. When I look up again, I think I see a flash of light from the crystal. As I walk near it, I watch it the whole time. I don’t know how long I stand there like this but when Dreyth walks into the lair and speaks to me, I jump nearly out of my skin.

  “Seyra, what has you on edge?”

  “Oh, nothing really.”

  “For it to be nothing, you certainly looked as if you were going to cling to the roof. Is it the crystal?” He peers at the place I nestled the crystal.

  “I’m okay now. I think I’m overly tired. Are you ready to sleep?”

  “I’ll return shortly, I need to find Hu’gan first. Sleep, my Sparrow. You are safe here.” His rumble fills me with contentment. I wrap myself up in a soft blanket and wiggle deep into the soft bedding laid out for me.

  A haze filled with an explosion of colors swirls around me. I didn’t see what it stems from, only the beautiful colors of gold, silver and blue. From the haze I’m aware of three figures, but I see nothing but the markings on their palms— the same marking that is on my own. The next image I behold is the world, rippling water and vast sky. It shifts to show me a being, first a woman, then an angelic form and finally this glittering light of colors spiraling together shooting off to infinity. Next, I see a goddess with the sun caressing her shoulder. She’s screaming in ecstasy and pain and she gives birth and lifts the child to the sun. Suddenly, bright golden light blankets the world before total darkness overtakes it, but the sun rises again, different somehow that I can’t decipher. I feel all alone. I find myself in this small cave, a pulsing light drawing me in. A voice resounds, ‘Guard your kingdoms well…’

  I awaken, sweat covering my face and dripping down my back as I spring into a sitting position. Glancing to the crystal, the light slowly dims until it’s dark once again in the lair. I’m baffled by this dream and want to know what it all means. I also remember how Belinda hurried away from me once she saw the symbol. If Dreyth is still with Hu’gan, this would be the opportune time to share the dream with them, whilst I remember the details.

  I’m surprised there’s still so much hustling and bustling in the Spires. The clatter of platters rings through the air, as well as wooden benches scraping against the rock floor. Out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of Belinda heading towards the cave entrance. Breaking into a run, I catch up to her and grab her arm.

  She spins, eyes wild. Her jaw drops as she looks at my hand on her arm and she wrestles out of my grip. It’s like she wants to crawl out of her skin.

  “I wanted to ask you if you’ve seen Dreyth, but now I’m more interested in why you looked at me that way?”

  “Y-you carry their mark…the Divine Ones,” she stutters.

  “What do you know of this mark?” My curiosity pushes me between her and the cave’s entrance.

  She’s rubbing the place my hand touched, as if my mere touch has stained her somehow. “Don’t you remember the Birth of the World stories?” She tosses me an incredulous look.

  I simply shrug. I want to hear what she’s been told.

  “How the three Divine Ones set our world in place? One formed the lands, one formed the sky and one formed the oceans and streams. They told the first people they had to leave, but they’ve insured our continuation by placing the Guardian Stone deep within the world.” She takes a step backwards.

  “What else?” I hang on every word, looking for answers of the crystal and her apparent fear.

  “The Guardian Stone must never be found nor touched. If so, the gates of the Underworld open and chaos is loosed as a darkness upon the world.”

  Heat rushes up to my cheeks. I clutch my heart that tries to escape through my chest.

  “No Belinda, this can’t be the same stone. Why would it allow me to touch it? Because of the stone, we were shown where Hu’gan and his Warriors were trapped by the mind magic of the Xi. Without its help, they would still be captive and our Spires would have been torn asunder.”

  “You— loosed those Stone dragons!” She points and me, stepping further away.

  “I didn’t! Dreyth had already been turned to stone by those dragons before I found the crystal. They were already on our world. It was the Xi who gave them passage from the crevasse they lived in. I had nothing to do with it, nor did the crystal.”

  Scanning her face, I can tell she still doesn’t believe me. “I’m trying to find Dreyth and Hu’gan to shed more light on this crystal. The reason is, Hu’gan stated that Elky, Grifton and myself were the Power of Three. That is what he thinks this crystal does. It increases the Power of Three to do good for our kingdom. Did you know it’s not only me that carries this mark, but Grifton and Elky do too?”

  I inwardly groan as her jaw tries to scrape the ground. Try as I might, everything I say only makes her thinking of me, now of all three of us, worse. “Why don’t you come with me. We’ll find Hu’gan and have him explain it to us all.”

  “I— can’t. I left him in the training room. He gave me permission to go to my village to check on my parents. I only have one day and then I have to return. Tell Grifton, I’m sorry.”

  My brows furrow. There are tears sprouting in the corner of her eyes. She gives a shrill whistle and her purple dragon, Sezalor, lands right behind me, causing me to dodge to my left, away from the entrance. Before I can think of anything to say, she leaps onto her dragon and they launch through the cave’s entrance, disappearing from sight.

  I stand there unsettled and rub my face. I’m more lost than ever after listening to Belinda. I need to find Hu’gan. Spinning on my boot heels, I head for the training room.

  I hear Dreyth before I see him. I round the passageway where he’s ready to leave the training room. Hu’gan’s keen eyes lock on me; he motions me forward.

  “Seyra, I thought you were going to meet me in my lair?” Dreyth comments, but gives me a radiant smile.

  “I fell asleep, and had dreams. I wanted to see what Hu’gan thinks. Also, when I awoke, the crystal was just dimming, so I know it was shining its light, if that makes any sense.”

  Hu’gan steps forward and his eyes glaze over. A shiver runs up my spine. “Tell me all that you remember.” His words crawl through the air and seep into my skin.

  In a daze, it’s like I woke up again. I have no memory of speaking. One minute Hu’gan spoke and the next minute, my eyes flutter and Dreyth and Hu’gan are looking at me in bewilderment.

  “What is it? What does it all mean?” Moistening my lips, I wait in silence.

  Hu’gan, chin resting on his staff, crooks a partial smile. “The crystal is speaking to you. It gives its history in many of its forms, for it differs from area to area, yet it is always the same.”

  Tilting my head, my brows furrow.

  “All nations have stories of the beginning, and yet they don’t vary much in the telling,” he simplifies.

  “Then, I need an answer as to why Belinda is so worried over my palm marking.”

  It’s his turn to look puzzled. “What did she say or do? I thought she’d already left.”

  “I went looking for you and Dreyth but I saw her about to leave, and asked her if she’d seen you. But when I stopped and grabbed her arm, I thought her heart would stop. She had such a look of fear on her face. She couldn’t leave fast enough to go see her family.”

  “Family?” The word almost thunders around me. “Tell me what she said.”

  After I relay all the information he starts pacing in front of me. Finally, he stops in front of me. “Just as a tree has many branches, is it not true all stem from the same tree?”

  My eyes blink rapidly and I nod.

  “Even though all the branches come from the same tree, there will be strong branches and weak branches and some that fall by the wayside. The belief that Belinda holds is from a fallen branch. A bra
nch that brought the tree no nourishment and broke away. People are much like branches. Some will embrace the tree and its nourishment. Others look only at its enormity, grow mangled with fear and fall away. Belinda’s thoughts radiate from that fallen branch. Give her time. She may recover and her thoughts broaden. I will speak to Grifton on this. If she hasn’t returned within a day, I’ll send him to bring her back so we can all visit with her. In the meantime, it changes nothing. You are what I told you in the beginning. A part of the Power of Three that has been told would bring about a change in the kingdom.”

  Dreyth calls to me. “Come, Seyra. Let’s go to my lair. We have a great need to rest and I’ll be at your side should you have any more dreams.”

  I take a deep breath. Walking through the passageways to his lair, we don’t speak. Not to say it’s all quiet. Dreyth rumbles a contentment that relaxes even my shoulder muscles that I didn’t realize were tied in knots.

  I fall heavily against the bedding and pull up the pelts of furs to my chin. Dreyth situates himself in the large oval bed of dried grass. “Tonight, I shall sing you the Gortel’tung. That reminds me; it is time to make a new song for you, my Sparrow. A song of the Queen of Dragons who saves her King and her kingdom.”

  My eyes close in contentment. As I wait for sleep to carry me away, I think of all the changes we’ve gone through at the Spires. I wonder about the crystal, the Guardian Stone as Belinda calls it. Is there such a thing as fate or destiny? Why was I not killed as so many in my village were, when the renegade knights appeared? Did they set into motion all that has happened since then?

  “Shhhh, Seyra. Questions beget questions and never bring sleep. There will be time enough for answers in the morn.”

  Smiling, I drift away to the sound of his dragon-purr: like the sound of hundreds of wagons moving across a land, with thunder on its heels.

  The End

  Chapter 1

  It’s a crisp winter’s morn. The rays of the sun hardly graze the interior of the Spires. Bundled in my heaviest cloak, I stare out into the morning seeing the shorn grasses below blanketed in frost. As I sip the hot tea, I reflect: At least it isn’t the snows we traveled through to bring our warriors safely home last moon’s cycle.