by C D Muller
Silver did not move, nor did he flinch. He simply stood his ground.
“You two don’t really talk much, do you? You know this is a condemned piece of property, do you not? It’s dangerous to be in here.”
“Kill him,” one of the cultists ordered. The other nodded and immediately turned around and rushed after Silver with a weapon and shield drawn. However, he came to a full halt when his blade was a breath away. Silver did not flinch; instead, he simply held out his hand in front of his attacker’s chest.
Suddenly, the cultist’s chest swelled. He became short of breath as blood began to pour through the sockets of his mask. Beneath Silver’s palm, a small, gaping hole was blasted through the assassin’s chest. The force of the impact splattered blood all over the place. The follower fell to the floor after the air was sucked from his lungs and bled to death in moments.
Silver, still smiling, moved his hand to grab his glasses and began cleaning the blood off the lenses.
“You know,” he began, taking a step over the corpse, “I really did not appreciate how you two treated Miss Liongod this morning. That is no way for you to treat someone of her stature. Commoner filth such as yourselves don’t even deserve to be near her.”
Without delay, his last foe pulled out a concealed pistol to shoot at Silver. However, Silver remained unaffected by the chaos of barraged bullets flying through the air as he continued to wipe the remaining blood from his glasses.
Silver stopped when one of the attacks knocked his glasses out of his hand. He cocked his head off to the side with a sly smile, not appearing angry at this accident.
“Who are you?”
Silver closed his eyes and lowered his head. When he looked back up, his normal ice-blue eyes were replaced with slits like those of a dragon, his teeth became fangs. His hands turned into talons just before he delivered a deadly strike.
“I am no one!”
* * * *
Selena kept the piece of parchment folded on top of her dresser that she found several days ago, not having the faintest idea as to what the phrase could possibly mean. What bothered her the most was that she could not understand how she, in a dream sequence, knew where it was.
She sat at her desk, waiting for the hour that Rahim was to arrive. She fervently searched through some of her papers with notes written about details from her dreams. Her head buzzed with questions that regarded all that happened in the last fortnight. She knew Rahim would not believe her if she told him of her adventures.
Selena’s heart jumped as she heard footsteps down the hallway. However, she relaxed a little when she heard Rahim’s voice.
“Selena! Where are you? Oh by the Divines, I am so sore!”
He pounded on her door and when it came open, he collapsed on the floor in front of her. Selena jumped from her spot and quickly went over to help Rahim on his feet.
“Thanks,” he breathed out. Selena nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but realized that perhaps she should wait until Rahim was fully rested to hear her tale.
“I…I think I’m heading to bed.”
He limped towards the door.
Selena looked even more confused and she asked, “What exactly happened at your Uncle’s house? I know you lie to Matu whenever she asks you how your visit was with him.”
Rahim sighed.
“Ok, ok, I’ll tell you.”
He took a deep breath.
“You know that Uncle Rowan used to be an Imperial spy, right?”
Selena nodded slightly, recalling all of the stories that Chaliss used to tell her of Uncle Rowan when she first arrived.
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Well, as it turns out, I think he may be…slightly insane,” Rahim continued, “the entire time I was there, I was bombarded with these ridiculous puzzles that he would set up. Some days, he would take me into the middle of the forest and told me if I wanted dinner, I would have to make it back before nightfall.”
Selena could not help but snicker at this. She tried to hide it by putting her hand to her mouth but she could not stop.
“Was it fun?” she asked, still trying to control her laughter.
“I’ll say it like this,” Rahim said again, “I spent about one-fourth of my trip hanging upside down from trees, stuck in his ridiculous traps. The rest of my trip was praying to just come back home. Also, no offense, but Uncle Rowan cannot cook to save his life. But he did tell me something interesting.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of stories about the war.”
Selena nodded, recalling some of the information of the One Hundred Years’ War she gathered from the books.
“My Uncle was telling me secrets that were passed down about the war that he heard from the other soldiers;” Rahim continued, “he told me that there was a prophecy that was made over a century ago by three Oracle triplets. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but he told me that the prophecy predicted that a person born of a dragon will be the savior of Armageddon.”
Selena squinted at him.
“How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know,” Rahim said, “like I said, Uncle Rowan might be just too insane though, so I can’t really trust everything that he says anymore. I might as well go and unpack and try and get some sleep.”
Rahim turned around and headed out the door. Selena shook her head at the ridiculous fable, knowing it was probably just a myth.
Chapter 8:
Selena trudged back through the house with the book in her hands. She stopped when she saw what appeared to be a fox running through her house.
“Loki?” she immediately called out, “you startled me!”
“Oh I beg your pardon! I was merely looking for Chaliss. Have you seen her?” the fox spoke.
“The last I saw her, she was in here. I don’t know where else she went to.”
Selena set one of her books down on the table as her mind shifted over to what Silver said about looking for a fox.
“By the way, Loki, there was someone looking for you.”
“Oh, was it Chaliss?” He stood up once more with a huge grin, wagging his tail like a dog.
Selena shook her head.
“No. I met him a couple of weeks ago. He wore all white and he goes by the name of Silver. He said he was looking for you, or someone like you.”
Loki’s expression quickly changed from being happy to almost a look of horror.
“No, you never saw me!”
Judging by his reaction, Selena figured that the two were acquainted, but that Loki did not want to see him for some reason.
“Why? What’s wrong?” Selena asked.
“It’s…it’s nothing! I beg you to not tell him that you’ve seen me! He is always so mean and he keeps chasing me and telling me that he wants to eat me for some reason!”
Selena tried to control her laughter.
“I promise I won’t tell him anything,” she said.
“Thank you!”
His ears perked up when Chaliss walked through the front door with a loaf of bread. She stopped when she saw the fox.
“Oh! It’s a pleasant surprise to see you here, Loki. Were you here on the Empress’ orders?” she asked as she set her supplies down.
“Yes. I need to speak with Chaliss alone, if you please.”
“Then I’ll take my leave,” Selena said and walked back towards her room. However, when Loki and Chaliss began talking again, she stopped and leaned against the wall to eavesdrop.
“Has she regained her memory?” Loki asked.
“No. It might be better that way. At least she’s happier here.”
“I hope that you know the Lich is growing restless. There have been more sightings of the Obsidian Order as of late. It won’t be too long now before they burst through your door for the child, especially since she doesn’t remember anything. We should invite them over for tea, since they would soon be on their way.”
“Enough. You may not seem to take this situation s
eriously,” Chaliss said again, growing slightly agitated by his attitude.
“Oh no, no,” Loki said, shaking his head, “the opposite of this fact is true. I know all too well. I also know how this event will end. However, I find it much easier to deal with a grim situation with a smile rather than frowning, for your face might fall off. Or, is that just a human thing?”
Selena laughed to herself as she overheard this, but Chaliss shook her head.
“As to why the Empress decided to have you as her personal messenger, I will never know.”
Loki smiled.
“Oh, yes, that. That is such a wonderful story. It was many years ago…”
“I don’t need to hear it again! I changed my mind about what I said earlier in that it was good seeing you again.”
“I have to tease. It’s been a while since we’ve talked about anything. Usually I’m here for Selena. However, not this time.”
Loki put his paw up and summoned a roll of parchment.
“I was sent to deliver this from Vidar Helios himself,” he said again.
Chaliss immediately snatched it from the air and read it with haste.
“He wants to visit my home tonight but he doesn’t explain why,” she said after finishing.
“He never said anything to me about it as well, so I’m just as lost as you are,” Loki replied.
The two exchanged glances.
“Do you think he may suspect Thor’s existence?”
Loki scratched his ear with his hind leg.
“Regardless if he does or doesn’t,” he began, “I would still recommend keeping him hidden in the forest outside of town or something.”
“But that is where he has been staying. Something doesn’t seem right. We will have to take every precaution so that the Council doesn’t suspect anything.”
Selena felt a stone drop in her stomach.
Immediately she bolted out the back door to make sure that her dragon was still there; to her relief, he was curled up and sound asleep.
He yawned and opened one eye as she walked over.
A nap feels fantastic after a meal, he mumbled.
She gave him a sad smile.
Tonight we need to be careful.
Is everything all right?
Vidar is coming over this evening without any explanation. We need to make sure that you are well hidden so he doesn’t suspect you’re here.
Thor did not respond at first, but instead looked up towards the heavens with his neck stretched out.
I smell the storm clouds. They are heading this way.
* * * *
“Come on, we need to hurry!”
Rahim grabbed Selena down the hallway. He came bursting through her door a few moments ago.
“Vidar will be here any minute!”
He led the way up the stairs and down the hallway to the empty bedroom that Chaliss had prepared for the guests who were soon to arrive.
Rahim opened the door. A long, wooden table prepared with food and wine sat in the middle of the room with four chairs. The dishes and silverware with napkins were neatly laid out. A tall wooden wardrobe sat behind the table. Selena smiled, for it was the perfect hiding place for them both.
She and Rahim quickly went inside and closed the door a little, patiently waiting for Chaliss to arrive with her guests.
Selena tried to conceal herself behind the hanging clothes. Rahim pushed her a little so he could fit as well. The wardrobe made a little noise with every movement they made.
She peeked through the small crack at the door, but Rahim shoved her a little off to the side so he could look too.
“I think I hear them coming,” Rahim whispered.
A few moments passed before the door swung open.
Selena pressed her fingers to her lips, signaling to Rahim to be quiet. Chaliss walked in first, followed by a plump man and a third follower. The third companion was concealed in a dark red cloak. Unfamiliar symbols were etched in gold along the edges of the silk cloak.
The plump man took his seat in one of the chairs at the end of the table, while Chaliss and the other guest sat down beside him. He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his forehead.
Chaliss reached over to grab the wine bottle and poured him some.
“Thank you my dear,” he said, taking the wine glass from her. She offered it to her other guest, but he refused. Selena’s mouth watered a little when she watched the plump man and his companion eat; Chaliss, on the other hand, did not.
“Is the child present?” the plump man asked after wiping his face with a napkin.
“No,” Chaliss answered, “She is asleep.”
“That’s good. We wanted to make sure that she was doing well since she was rescued.”
He cleared his throat. Selena shifted a little to make herself more comfortable.
“We are honored that both you and Ashur took the time to come all this way,” Chaliss said.
“It is definitely no trouble at all,” Vidar responded with a wave of his hand, “we were on our way back from Alfheim anyway after recruiting more for the Air Force. We suspect that the Lich has built his army to over ten thousand. We had to start a draft for any and all young men who are of age to fight.”
Chaliss swallowed hard.
“Rahim isn’t sixteen yet...” she began, but Vidar held out his hand.
“We know, that’s why he never received any orders from the Council.”
Rahim and Selena exchanged glances. All the while Chaliss and Vidar were engaged in conversation, the third who was referred to as Ashur remained quiet.
“We are almost on the brink of war,” Vidar said again, “especially since we sent our scouts to rescue that young girl from the Lich. Despite it being the Empress’ request, from now on the Council is in charge of every decision made in regards to the Empire. We cannot let this happen again.”
Chaliss simply nodded.
“I don’t like where he’s going with this,” Rahim whispered in Selena’s ear.
“I am certain that the Lich would have done a surprise attack in the near future whether or not we infiltrated his fortress to save the child,” Chaliss responded.
“We cannot focus on assumptions, but rather what is being done now and the consequences of our current decisions,” Vidar sternly retorted.
“I understand but...” Chaliss attempted to say more, but was immediately interrupted.
“Which is why the Council has decided on the matter. The girl will be re-homed tomorrow morning,” Vidar declared.
“Re-homed? What does the Council plan on doing with her?” Chaliss demanded.
“You need to understand that this is for the sake of Armageddon,” Vidar continued, “and therefore, we cannot disclose that information.”
Selena froze in her spot and just stared blankly at the group, her legs became like rubber. She and Rahim looked at each other in horror.
“How can they do this?” Rahim gritted but Selena shushed him.
“Vidar, please, the Council has to reconsider,” Chaliss pleaded, “she is a wonderful and sweet child. Why in the Divine’s name would you do this to her?”
“It has already been decided.”
“Please reconsider,” Chaliss said again, “I can take care of her here just fine! Please, there has to be another way!”
“We understand but I need you to see why the Council has decided this. We spent money and resources on rescuing this girl from the Lich, all on the Empress’ request. We want to know why. Why did we risk so much just to save this child? We don’t know who she is, nor do we have any records of her. We don’t even know her name! Her ladyship was not able to provide us any other information in regards to the matter, and so now, we have to take action. We will be back in the morning.” Vidar took another sip of his wine. “Thank you for the dinner.”
Vidar and his companion left the room after Chaliss got up to open the door for them. Her eyes filled with tears. She looked over at the wardrobe before she l
eft the room with a hurtful gaze. Selena gasped; Chaliss knew that she and Rahim were hiding in the room. However, she did not speak. Instead, she left the room with the two gentlemen.
Chapter 9:
The storm clouds billowed in the evening.
Selena lay in her bed with the covers over her as the thunder echoed. The rain tapped on her windowpane. She was frightened and confused; she did not know what to do.
She pulled the covers and looked to her books that she pulled out earlier. The one sitting on top had a photograph of the first soldiers when the Air Force was established.
“I’m sorry, Matu,” she whispered.
Selena sprung out of bed and went towards her dresser drawers to find a pair of scissors. Walking to the mirror, she grabbed pieces of her long hair and began cutting.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she worked her way around her whole head. When she finished, her hair was just below her ears.
Near her pile of clothes on the floor was a thick, long piece of cloth that she grabbed next. She took off her shirt and tightly wrapped the fabric around her chest.
As the evening went on, she quietly went into Rahim’s room and began searching through his dresser and wardrobe closet and found some new apparel that fit her perfectly. She knew that Rahim was a sound sleeper and that he wouldn’t have noticed the missing clothing.
She stopped when she saw at the bottom of one of his dresser drawers was a small, tied leather pouch filled with coins.
“Forgive me, Rahim,” Selena said through her tears when she grabbed it.
After making sure that she had all that was needed, she tip-toed out the back of the house with her large pack.
The lightning flashed once more and saw Thor stir in his spot. She did her best to not let the storm frighten her as it did in the past.
He looked up at her and growled, but she held up her hands in defense.
Thor, it’s me!
Selena? What have you done to yourself? Thor immediately backed down.
We cannot stay here anymore. The Council wants to send me some place else away from here, Selena whispered.
But where will we go?
Selena held up a rolled map.
At least no one will be able to recognize me, or that I’m a girl. She reached into the top of her pack and pulled out Rahim’s black bandit cap to wear.
